Devotions

Joy After Joy in Yahweh (the Lord)

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The Lord has been speaking through Isaiah about the judgements he will bring against the nations beginning with Israel, “Ariel” here who seems to think their history will protect them. Then Lord speaks a parable about how he is working and he says “the plowman plows” but it is so he can sow seed and some he scatters and some he plants in rows, “and his God instructs him” but there is also a different method of harvest for each, so also the Lord is dealing differently with each nation and people. But it isn’t judgement the Lorrd desires, it is “Joy after joy” that he wants to bring his people to when “the tyrant is no more”. 

And his God Instructs Him About the Prescription

Isaiah 28:23–29
Every kind of plant produces different kinds of fruit and there is seed within. For us to use that seed, we must process each in a different way. Grains are separated on the threshing floor are are thrown into the air to separate the grain from the stalks and chaff. As he says here, cumin is beaten out in the field. It is God that instructs us in the right way to harvest. It is God that brings the increase to us. 

It Will Happen in an Instant, Suddenly

Isaiah 29:1–9
The children of Israel celebrated their history, and had feasts the Lord had called but as we find here, in this city they also had a regular festival. But no matter how many festivals we may celebrate, and no matter how important our history is to us, it is God’s plan that is established. They said of this city Ariel in

Isaiah 29:1 “Ariel, the city where David encamped!”

But God said in

Isaiah 29:2 Yet I will inflict Ariel, and there shall be mourning and lamentation, and it shall be to me like an altar hearth.

But what city is this?, It is “Jerusalem; Ariel means “Lion of God,” that is, city rendered by God invincible: the lion is emblem of a mighty hero”.1

Their Fear of Me is a Commandment of Men

Isaiah 29:10–16 

Joy After Joy in Yahweh (the Lord)

Isaiah 29:17–24
The Lord is doing a work to cleanse the land and certainly that means removing the evildoer, the tyrant in

Isaiah 29:20–21 For the tyrant shall be no more, and the scoffer shall come to an end. And all those lying in wait for evil shall be cut off; 21 those who mislead a person into sin with a word and set a trap for the ⌊arbitrator⌋ in the gate and guide away the righteous by emptiness.

But it is much more than that, it is also bestowing blessing in fruitfulness and health and joy as it says in Isaiah 29:17-17 “a fruitful land … the deaf shall hear … the eyes of the blind shall see … the meek have joy after joy in Yahweh, and the needy of the people shall rejoice in the holy one of Israel”.

And I think the opening of ears and eyes is more than just physical healing. It is also the ability to see and learn God’s ways as he goes on to say in

Isaiah 29:23–24 For when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in his midst, they will treat my name as holy, and they will treat the holy one of Jacob as holy, and they will stand in awe of the God of Israel. 24 And those who err in spirit will acquire understanding, and those who grumble will learn instruction.

They Do Not Ask of My Mouth

Isaiah 30:1–5

In Returning and Rest You Shall be Saved

Isaiah 30:6–17

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Isaiah 28:23-29
  • Isaiah 29:1-24
  • Isaiah 30:1-17

References

  • 1. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 461). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
Devotions

Look! I am Laying a Stone in Zion

by  • 

The poor, the needy, the downtrodden of the land of Judah are looking for the salvation of the Lord and when it comes, they will celebrate. They will thank the Lord for making this place a place of eternal peace. But there are others in the land that have secured themselves with lies and alliances and position that they think will protect them. So the Lord says in Isaiah 28:17 “I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the plumb line”. And the Lord will establish “a tried stone” as he builds the city on righteousness and justice. 

This Song Will be Sung

Isaiah 26:1–6
There is a day when the people of the land of Judah will not only celebrate Gods victory, but they will live in peace. But when we hear peace, we often jump to peace of mind. Here, “the Hebrew does not probably mean “mind,” but “a thing formed,” Eph 2:10), so constantly “supported”; or else “formed and supported (by Thee) Thou shalt preserve (it, namely, the righteous nation) in perpetual peace.”1

And this is only possible because in Isaiah 26:4 (LEB) “in Yah, Yahweh you have an everlasting rock”. The repetiion of Yah may seem odd, but “The union of the two names expresses in the highest degree God’s unchanging love and power (compare Ps 68:4)”.2 But even more than peace, in Isaiah 26:5-6 “he has thrown down the inhabitants of the height … the lofty city” and turns the world system right side up. Now, in

Isaiah 26:6 The foot tramples it (the lofty city), the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.”

Those who were left with nothing, the poor, the needy will be filled and will be free and will take their rightful place in Gods economy.

Yahweh, You Will Establish Peace For Us

Isaiah 26:7–17
It is the Lord that makes the way in Isaiah 26:7 “you clear the level path of the righteous”. And he then shows us the path as it says in

Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go. I will advise you with my eye upon you.

Then in Isaiah 26:8 “we wait for you in the path of your judgement, Yahweh”. If there is any waiting for us as Christians, it is living in path he has directed as we wait for the fulfillment of His plan and there will be a day when it has been fulfilled. 

Yahweh is About to Come Out From His Place

Isaiah 26:18–21
Here is a description of the futility that we face in the world, in Isaiah 26:18 “We cannot bring about deliverance on the earth”. Some have said that Jesus will return when we, the Church, rise up and take dominion, but we weren’t able to save ourselves without Christ, why would we think we could “bring about deliverance on the earth”? It is not for us to accomplish this, we are not here to destroy the infidels but there is one coming, in

Isaiah 26:21 For look! Yahweh is about to come out from his place to punish the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth against him, and the earth will disclose her blood and will no longer cover her slain.

A Great Trumpet Will be Blown

Isaiah 27:1–13

Yahweh of Hosts Will Become a Garland of Glory

Isaiah 28:1–13 

Look! I am Laying a Stone in Zion

Isaiah 28:14–22
Isaiah has the word of the Lord for the people of his generation in

Isaiah 28:14 Therefore hear the word of Yahweh, men of mockery, rulers of these people in Jerusalem:

The Lord sees all they are doing and have done and they say in Isaiah 28:15 “The overwhelming flood, when it passes through, will not come to us”. They believe that their alliances and their position and their wealth will protect them. But the Lord says in

Isaiah 28:16–17 Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this: “Look! I am laying a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a founded foundation: ‘The one who trusts will not panic.’ 17 And I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will flood over the hiding place.

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Isaiah 26:1-21
  • Isaiah 27:1-13
  • Isaiah 28:1-22

References

  • 1. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 458). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
  • 2. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 458). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
Devotions

Yahweh of Hosts has Planned It

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God has established the boundaries of peoples and nations. He establishes and brings down kings and authorities but that doesn’t prevent men, or even the devil himself from trying to exalt themselves. God did tell man in Genesis 1:28 “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of heaven, and over every animal that moves upon the earth.” and this was as a father might say to his children seeking the best for their future. But then God sees that in Isaiah 24:5 “the earth is defiled beneath its inhabitants. For they have transgressed” and in Isaiah 24:6 “Therefore a curse devours the earth, and the inhabitants in it suffer for their guilt”.

You Did Not See the One Who Created It

Isaiah 22:1–14 

I Will Put Your Authority Into His Hand

Isaiah 22:15–25
Sometimes people get the idea that they are exalted because they are so superior, that they have made themselves great. But it is God who sets up and tears down.

Isaiah 22:22–23 And I will put the key of the house of David on his shoulder, and he shall open and no one will be able to shut; and he shall shut and no one will be able to open. 23 And I will drive him in like a peg into a secure place, and he will become like a throne of glory to the house of his father.

Yahweh of Hosts has Planned It

Isaiah 23:1–9
Tyre was a great sea port for commerce. Here, the ships would be returning with great cargo to be distributed throughout the region. These are “ships of Tyre returning from their voyage to Tarshish, or Tartessus in Spain, with which the Phoenicians had much commerce (Ez 27:12–25). “Ships of Tarshish” is a phrase also used of large and distant-voyaging merchant vessels (Is 2:16”.1

And since great wealth passed through the city, they thought highly of themselves as it says in

Ezekiel 27:3 And you must say to Tyre, the one who sits at the entrance of the sea as the merchant of the peoples to the many coastlands, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Tyre, you yourself said “I am perfect in beauty!”

But God gave the fruit of the earth for all to enjoy, not to be hoarded and used to build wealth for a few as it says in

1 Timothy 6:17–19 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be proud and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of riches, but in God, who provides us all things richly for enjoyment, 18 to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, sharing freely, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the future, in order that they may take hold of what is truly life.

So, the Lord tells us what he will do in

Isaiah 23:9 Yahweh of hosts has planned it: to defile the pride of all glory, to humble all the honored ones of the earth.

Yahweh Has Commanded Concerning Canaan

Isaiah 23:10–18 

A Curse Devours the Earth

Isaiah 24:1–12
Sin entered the world through man and in every way mans actions have tainted God’s creation as it says in

Isaiah 24:5–6 and the earth is defiled beneath its inhabitants. For they have transgressed laws; they have passed by statutes; they have broken the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore a curse devours the earth, and the inhabitants in it suffer for their guilt. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth burn, and few men are left.

The first and one of the most obvious ways man has sinned is “with innocent blood (Ge 4:11; Nu 35:33; Ps 106:38)”.2 Jesus said in

John 10:10 The thief comes only so that he can steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

And somehow, we have been deceived into thinking that we can kill our unborn children, that we can poison and pollute our environment, that we can steal from and oppress those weaker than us and we can do it with impunity. But the great deceiver will be thrown down in

Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

But man has also sinned in every way and cannot go guiltless, “First, they have transgressed revealed truth (5b). Disobeyed (√’ābar) is to cross over a boundary. The laws: the plural denotes ‘law of every sort’ and ‘law covering every aspect of life’. But the basic idea of law (tōrâ) is not so much authoritative imposition as authoritative instruction. God spoke but they did not submit. Secondly, they changed the unchangeable (5c). Violated (√ḥālap) is used of one thing replacing another. Statutes: from √ḥāqaq, to carve, engrave, hence to make a permanent mark. They rejected divine moral absolutes and invented an innovative morality. Thirdly, they discarded a given relationship with God (5d). Everlasting covenant is used of the Noahic covenant (Gen. 9:16), the Abrahamic covenant (Ps. 105:10), the Sabbath (Lev. 24:8) and the Davidic covenant (2 Sam. 23:5) with its future messianic fulfilment (55:3; 61:8). But the world has not wished to live faithfully under the promise of the rainbow (Gen. 9:12–17), nor has it seen itself in need of the blessing that comes only through Abraham’s seed (Gen. 12:3; 22:18; Gal. 3:8), nor has it ordered its timetable so as to remember the Sabbath (Exod. 20:8–11; Deut. 5:12–15), nor has it wanted this Man to reign over it (Luke 19:14) nor loved his appearing (2 Tim. 4:8).”3

Yahweh of Hosts Will Rule on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem

Isaiah 24:13–23

Yahweh, You Are My God; I Will Exalt You

Isaiah 25:1–12

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Isaiah 22:1-25
  • Isaiah 23:1-18
  • Isaiah 24:1-23
  • Isaiah 25:1-12

References

  • 1. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 455). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
  • 2. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 457). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
  • 3. Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, pp. 185–186). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Devotions

All You Inhabitants of the World

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As we read through this section of Isaiah, we find God is dealing with each nation, each group of people individually as they deserve. Yes, many nations are caught up as the Assyrians are called by God into Israel. But God is dealing with each group specifically as he brings together His plan for salvation for the world. As the Lords judgements roll forward on each nation, they will each be brought into place for God’s plan for them and here we find Assyria, Egypt and Israel together in peace and not war. 

All You Inhabitants of the World

Isaiah 18:1–7
God’s plan is for the whole earth. God’s day of judgement is for all nations.

Isaiah 18:3 All you inhabitants of the world and dwellers of the earth, when a signal is raised on the mountains, you must look, and when a trumpet is blown, you must listen!

We have seen nation against nation at war. We have experienced what we call World War. But at the time of the end, no one will be sitting on the sidelines. There will be no conscientious objector. Everyone
will have chosen, not only by mentally deciding, but by the actions in the way they live. This is the way the Lord spoke it to in Isaiah 18:4-5 “For Yahweh said this to me: “I will be quiet, and I will look from my dwelling place … 5 For before the harvest … 6 They shall all be left for the birds of prey”.

He is watching and when the day comes, it will come quickly. 

Yahweh (the Lord) is Riding on a Swift Cloud

Isaiah 19:1–15
The Lords judgments have begun and are rolling forward in Isaiah 19:1 “on a swift cloud”. Have you ever experienced the rolling thunder and clouds moving across the plains? You see it far off, then the wind, and the sound of thunder, and lightening and then the full force of the storm is on you.

Now, the Lord’s judgement of the nations is moving forward and Isaiah 19:1 “the idols of Egypt will tremble in front of him”. 

Israel Will be the Third With Egypt and Assyria

Isaiah 19:16-25
Assyria will overrun Israel and then Egypt. And in Isaiah 19:20 “when they (Egypt) cry out to Yahweh because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and a defender, and he will deliver them”. But this is not any ordinary deliverance because the Lord will make Israel, who they have trodden over, the head and then Assyria and Egypt will stand together with Israel. In

Isaiah 19:24–25 On that day, Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom Yahweh of hosts blessed, saying, “May Egypt my people be blessed, and Assyria, the work of my hands, and my inheritance, Israel.”

How Shall We Escape?

Isaiah 20:1–6

Babylon Has Fallen!

Isaiah 21:1–10

Watchman, What of the Night?

Isaiah 21:11–12

When You Meet the Thirsty, Bring Water

Isaiah 21:13–17

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Isaiah 18:1-7
  • Isaiah 19:1-25
  • Isaiah 20:1-6
  • Isaiah 21:1-17
Devotions

Yahweh (the Lord) of Hosts Has Planned

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The Lord is the Lord of all the earth. Some have said the Bible is just the history of the Jewish people, and it does include their history, but it is also the revelation of God and His plan for the whole earth and all of mankind. Here in Isaiah there are judgements for nations beginning with Israel, then Assyria, and many others are included. In today’s reading it is Philistia and Moab. Here, the Lord cautions Israel, in Isaiah 16:4 “be a hiding place for them from the presence of the destroyer.” When the oppressor is no more, destruction has stopped” then in Isaiah 16:5 “a throne shall be established in steadfast love”. 

Yahweh (the Lord) of Hosts Has Planned

Isaiah 14:24–27
The Lord has a plan and it is not just for the children of Israel in

Isaiah 14:26 This is the plan that is planned concerning all of the earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out over all of the nations.

His plan begins in Isaiah’s day with the when the Lord will, in Isaiah 14:25 “break Assyria in my land” and “remove his burden from his shoulders”. And the Lord’s plan will be accomplished as He has planned it as it says in Isaiah 14:27 “”who will frustrate it?” which is certainly rhetorical because no one can. 

Yahweh Has Founded Zion

Isaiah 14:28–32
These words from the beginning of Isaiah are judgments of Israel, and then judgments of the nations around Israel. But the Lord makes it clear, each judgement stands on its own. Each group as they have stored up for themselves. It would be easy for some to celebrate the demise of their enemies, and this is the caution given to the Philistines because their own judgement is coming upon them in

Isaiah 14:29 You must not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken, for a viper will come forth from the root of the snake, and its fruit will be a flying serpent.

Their celebration at the demise of the Assyrians will not last long because the Lord says in Isaiah 14:30 “I will cause your root to die in famine, and it will kill your remnant”.

They Gird Themselves With Sackcloth

Isaiah 15:1–9 

When the Oppressor is No More

Isaiah 16:1–14
Now, the Lord gives instruction to the children of Israel that they must open their arms to “my outcasts of Moab” in

Isaiah 16:4 Let my outcasts of Moab dwell as aliens among you; be a hiding place for them from the presence of the destroyer.” When the oppressor is no more, destruction has stopped, the one who tramples has disappeared from the land,

The Lord is not looking to utterly destroy, He is also making a way of escape for the outcasts, for those that are crying out to him for salvation. As his people show themselves hospitable to the outcasts of their enemies they are demonstrating the love of God. John said it this way in

1 John 3:17 But whoever has the world’s material possessions and observes his brother in need and shuts his heart against him, how does the love of God reside in him?

And the Lord is faithful to raise up those that will follow after him, not just in word, but in the way they treat the people around them. So, the Lord now says in

Isaiah 16:5 then a throne shall be established in steadfast love, and one shall sit on it in faithfulness, in the tent of David, judging and seeking justice and zealous for righteousness.

Mankind Will Look To Its Maker

Isaiah 17:1–11
When in Isaiah 17:1 “Damascus will cease being a city and will become a heap of ruins” and in Isaiah 17: 3 “And the fortified city will disappear from Ephraim” and in Isaiah 17:4 “and the fat of his flesh will become lean”. Then, in

Isaiah 17:7 On that day, mankind will look to its maker, and its eyes will look to the holy one of Israel;

The Noise of Many Peoples

Isaiah 17:12–14
In Isaiah 17:12 “The nations roar … but he will rebuke him” and in Isaiah 17:14 “Before morning he is no more. This is the fate of those who plunder us”.

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Isaiah 14:24-32
  • Isaiah 15:1-9
  • Isaiah 16:1-14
  • Isaiah 17:1-14
Devotions

God Is My Salvation

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Isaiah looks forward to the day after the day of judgement. He looks to the day when the descendents of evildoers will never be remembered. He looks forward to the day when “he will gather the outcasts of Israel”. But Isaiah is not just seeing the war between nations in his day, he is also speaking prophetically about the end time, the last days when the the devil himself and “mystery Babylon” will be put down, the one who deceives the nations. But that is not the end, the Lord will “choose Israel” and will establish His throne in Jerusalem. 

God Is My Salvation

Isaiah 12:1–6
Isaiah says, “on that day”, the day after the day of judgement, the day after the wrath of God, on the day when in Isaiah 10:11 “The Lord will again extend his hand a second time to acquire the remnant of his people that is left … And he will gather the outcasts of Israel, and he will gather the scattered ones of Judah together from the four corners of the earth”. It is on that day that those who have done as Isaiah was instructed in

Isaiah 8:13 You shall regard Yahweh of hosts as holy, and he is your fear, and he is your dread.

Those that have kept themselves will now say,

Isaiah 12:2–3 Look! God is my salvation; I will trust, and I will not be afraid, for my strength and might is Yah, Yahweh; and he has become salvation for me.” 3 And you will draw water from the wells of salvation in joy.

 

The Day of Yahweh (the Lord) is Near

Isaiah 13:1–11
The Assyrians were mighty in Isaiah’s day, but the Lord had already spoken to their arrogance. And Isaiah is writing well before the Babylonian seventy year exile that was to come so there are days of battle and destruction. And one commentator puts it all to “humankind’s will” saying, “There was a dark power in the shadows, biding its time … humanity’s bid to organize life and create security and stability by its own resources and without reference to God began at Shinar/Babel (Gen. 11:1–9). More than any other name, therefore, ‘Babylon’ typifies humankind’s will to be its own saviour.”1

But this goes beyond the war of Isaiah’s time and even the desolation of the Babylonian Empire that follows and we find ourselves in the middle of end-time prophecy as we come to Isaiah 14:12 the fall of Lucifer and the connections later with reference to “mystery Babylon” in Revelation 17:5. So, it is not just humanities will, but also the devil and his fallen angels and “the day of Yahweh (the Lord)” is coming for a purpose in

Isaiah 13:9–11 Look! The day of Yahweh is coming, cruel and wrath and the burning of anger … and he will destroy its sinners from it … And I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. And I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant, and I will bring the haughtiness of tyrants low.

I Will Make the Heavens Tremble

Isaiah 13:12–22
Now there is a new entry, the Medes, described in Isaiah 13:17-18 “who do not value silver and do not delight in gold” but even worse, “they will not show mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not look compassionately on children”. 

Yahweh (the Lord) Will Again Choose Israel

Isaiah 14:1–2
In these two short verses, Isaiah 14:1-2 the Lord says he will

  • have compassion on Jacob
  • again choose Israel
  • set them on their land
  • the immigrant will attach themselves
  • the nations will bring them to their place
  • the house of Israel will take possession of then (nations) as slaves

so, “they will take their captors captive and rule over their oppressors”.

Yahweh (the Lord) has Broken the Staff of the Wicked

Isaiah 14:3–12

The Descendants of Evildoers Will Not be Mentioned for Eternity

Isaiah 14:13–23

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Isaiah 12:1-6
  • Isaiah 13:1-22
  • Isaiah 14:1-23

References

  • 1. Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, p. 129). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.