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Isaiah 1-5
Righteousness and
Justice Required
Psalm 72:1-20 Blessing of a Righteous Ruler
1.“(By Solomon) God, give the king Your justice; Your righteousness to the royal son.2.He will judge Your people with righteousness, and Your poor with justice.3.The mountains shall bring prosperity to the people. The hills bring the fruit of righteousness.4.He will judge the poor of the people. He will save the children of the needy, and will break the oppressor in pieces.5.They shall fear you while the sun endures; and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.6.He will come down like rain on the mown grass, as showers that water the earth.7.In his days, the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.8.He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.9.Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him. His enemies shall lick the dust.10.The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring tribute. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.11.Yes, all kings shall fall down before him. All nations shall serve him.12.For he will deliver the needy when he cries; the poor, who has no helper.13.He will have pity on the poor and needy. He will save the souls of the needy.14.He will redeem their soul from oppression and violence. Their blood will be precious in his sight.15.They shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba. Men shall pray for him continually. They shall bless him all day long.16.Abundance of grain shall be throughout the land. Its fruit sways like Lebanon. Let it flourish, thriving like the grass of the field.17.His name endures forever. His name continues as long as the sun. Men shall be blessed by him. All nations will call him blessed.18.Praise be to Yahweh God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.19.Blessed be his glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and amen.20.This ends the prayers by David, the son of Jesse.
Observations
72:1-4.David asks God to give Solomon (his son and the next king) His justice and righteous so the king can rule God's people righteously and justly.
72:5.
When the people experience righteous rulership as God intended, they will fear God.
72:6-17.
In describing the blessings that accompany a righteous ruler, and the honor that accrues to the ruler, David foreshadows the reign of a more distant descendent, the Messiah (2Sam 7). To a limited extent many of these elements could apply to Solomon, but they will be fully realized in the Messiah.
72:18-20.
David ends his prayers with praise to God for His work in blessing His people.
Application
A righteous and just ruler results in peace and prosperity. Pray for your leaders.
Prayer
King of Kings, while we await Your perfect rule, may our imperfect leaders be guided by Your righteousness and justice, so we may have freedom to openly glorify You. Amen.
Proverbs 18:22-24 Friends and Family
22.“Whoever finds a wife finds good, and obtains favor of Yahweh.23.The poor speaks entreaties, but the rich answer harshly.24.A man of many companions may be ruined, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.“Observation
18:22-24.God blesses the blessable with what's best, when it's best. A wife from the Lord is a reflection of God's goodness and favor. (A wife from anywhere else is not so good.) God would only entrust a good wife to a good husband (and the other way around). So cultivation of one's goodness is a good objective. The poor/humble make requests, being sensitive to how it comes across, but the arrogant rich have no such concern (until they become poor). Someone with lots of friends and acquaintances often fails to develop the deeper relationships that can be relied upon in times of trouble. Usually when someone is in trouble their “friends” desert them, and they turn to their family. However, there are friends that are more loyal than family, usually found in the family of God.
Application
Seek to be the kind of person to whom God would entrust His choice friends.
Prayer
Lord, thank you for being the God who shows favor to His people in giving them what is good; may I be a worthy recipient of Your favor, and a friend to all who seek You. Amen.
Isaiah 1-5 Righteousness and Justice Required
These keynote chapters describe both the imminent judgment of God's people for failure to live righteously and justly according to His word, and the future blessings God will bring upon the earth when a purified and holy Israel lives under the glorious rule of the Messiah. In them, God appeals to His people to reason and repent and reap His goodness, rather than pain. It's their choice (and your choice).
Isaiah 1 God Wants Righteousness, Not Ritual
1.The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.2.Hear, heavens, and listen, earth; for Yahweh has spoken: "I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.3.The ox knows his owner, and the donkey his master’s crib; but Israel doesn’t know, my people don’t consider."4.Ah sinful nation, a people loaded with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken Yahweh. They have despised the Holy one of Israel. They are estranged and backward.5.Why should you be beaten more, that you revolt more and more? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint...9.Unless Yahweh of Hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have been as Sodom; we would have been like Gomorrah.10.Hear the word of Yahweh, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah!11."What are the multitude of your sacrifices to me?," says Yahweh. "I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed animals. I don’t delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of male goats.12.When you come to appear before me, who has required this at your hand, to trample my courts?13.Bring no more vain offerings. Incense is an abomination to me; new moons, Sabbaths, and convocations: I can’t bear with evil assemblies.14.My soul hates your New Moons and your appointed feasts. They are a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them.15.When you spread forth your hands, I will hide my eyes from you. Yes, when you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.16.Wash yourselves, make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil.17.Learn to do well. Seek justice. Relieve the oppressed. Judge the fatherless. Plead for the widow."18."Come now, and let us reason together, " says Yahweh: "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.19.If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;20.but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it."21.How the faithful city has become a prostitute! She was full of justice; righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.22.Your silver has become dross, your wine mixed with water.23.Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves. Everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They don’t judge the fatherless, neither does the cause of the widow come to them.24.Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, the Mighty one of Israel, says: "Ah, I will get relief from my adversaries, and avenge myself of my enemies;25.and I will turn my hand on you, thoroughly purge away your dross, and will take away all your tin.26.I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called ‘The city of righteousness, a faithful town.’27.Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and her converts with righteousness.28.But the destruction of transgressors and sinners shall be together, and those who forsake Yahweh shall be consumed.29.For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, and you shall be confounded for the gardens that you have chosen.30.For you shall be as an oak whose leaf fades, and as a garden that has no water.31.The strong will be like tinder, and his work like a spark. They will both burn together, and no one will quench them."Observations
1:1-1.Isaiah tells us that he saw these things, which implies he stepped outside the boundaries of normal existence to see what's happening in the future. God gives both prophetic revelation of what He is going to do, and sometimes lets His authenticated servants see the future real-time (like John sees the heavenly Jerusalem descending in the Book of Revelations). Isaiah ministered for about fifty years, during the reigns of four kings of the southern kingdom of Judah, beginning a couple of decades before the northern kingdom of Israel went into captivity.
1:2-9.
Israel has rebelled against Yahweh, forsaking Him, and thus experiencing negative consequences. They are compared to Sodom and Gomorrah, ripe for judgment.
1:10-15.
God hates their hypocritical ritualistic worship because their deeds are evil. He wants them out of His house, and He hides from their prayers. The reason He's unhappy is because of social injustice. People are greedily enriching themselves at the expense of others.
1:16-20.
God calls for them to repent, clean up their act and learn to do what's right. Nothing about unmerited favor, although the chance to repent is great grace. He reasons with them about their sin in their “depraved” state. Hmmmm. He gives them the choice to obey and be blessed, or refuse and become refuse.
1:21-31. God then contrasts the present wickedness with the future righteousness which will be in Zion after He cleans house and disciplines them. Then they will be ashamed of their indulgence in sensual pagan worship.
Application
God hates hypocritical, unrighteous, ritualistic worship, especially when we are rebelliously failing to love our neighbor, and are committing injustice.
Prayer
God, don't let me ever deceive myself into thinking You're pleased with participating in ritual when I'm neglecting righteousness and justice. Thank You for Your gracious invitation to repent. Amen.
Isaiah 2 Walk In the Light
1.This is what Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.2.It shall happen in the latter days, that the mountain of Yahweh’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it.3.Many peoples shall go and say, "Come, let’s go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths." For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem.4.He will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.5.House of Jacob, come, and let us walk in the light of Yahweh.6.For you have forsaken your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled from the east, with those who practice divination like the Philistines, and they clasp hands with the children of foreigners.7.Their land is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures. Their land also is full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots.8.Their land also is full of idols. They worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.9.Man is brought low, and mankind is humbled; therefore don’t forgive them.
10.Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, from before the terror of Yahweh, and from the glory of his majesty.11.The lofty looks of man will be brought low, the haughtiness of men will be bowed down, and Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day.12.For there will be a day of Yahweh of Hosts for all that is proud and haughty, and for all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low:19...when he arises to shake the earth mightily.20.In that day, men shall cast away their idols of silver, and their idols of gold, which have been made for themselves to worship, moles and bats;22.Stop trusting in man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for of what account is he?
Observations
2:1-5.In light of the fact that one day all nations will come to Jerusalem to learn the law of Yahweh and walk in it, believers should walk in the light of what He's already revealed. (It's not going to change.)
2:6-9.
Isaiah prays that God won't forgive the house of Jacob for forsaking Him and following the prosperous pagans.
2:10-22.
In the day that the Lord comes in His glory to judge, every proud person will be pancaked. It's stupid to trust in idols, like moles and bats, and similarly silly to trust in man.
Application
You don't have to wait for God to return to learn His law, you've got it in front of you now, so walk in the light that it gives.
Prayer
Lord of light, may my steps be guided by the light of Your word, throughout today, and tomorrow, and... Amen.
Isaiah 3 Pride Parade Payback
1.For, behold, the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah supply and support, the whole supply of bread, and the whole supply of water;2.the mighty man, the man of war, the judge, the prophet, the diviner, the elder,3.the captain of fifty, the honorable man, the counselor, the skilled craftsman, and the clever enchanter.4.I will give boys to be their princes, and children shall rule over them.5.The people will be oppressed, everyone by another, and everyone by his neighbor. The child will behave himself proudly against the old man, and the base against the honorable.6.Indeed a man shall take hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying, "You have clothing, you be our ruler, and let this ruin be under your hand."7.In that day he will cry out, saying, "I will not be a healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing. You shall not make me ruler of the people."8.For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen; because their tongue and their doings are against Yahweh, to provoke the eyes of his glory.9.The look of their faces testify against them. They parade their sin like Sodom. They don’t hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought disaster upon themselves.10.Tell the righteous "Good!" For they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.11.Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them; for the deeds of his hands will be paid back to him.12.As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. My people, those who lead you cause you to err, and destroy the way of your paths.13.Yahweh stands up to contend, and stands to judge the peoples.14.Yahweh will enter into judgment with the elders of his people, and their leaders: "It is you who have eaten up the vineyard. The spoil of the poor is in your houses.15.What do you mean that you crush my people, and grind the face of the poor?" says the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts.16.Moreover Yahweh said, "Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with outstretched necks and flirting eyes, walking to trip as they go, jingling ornaments on their feet;17.therefore the Lord brings sores on the crown of the head of the women of Zion, and Yahweh will make their scalps bald."18.In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, the headbands, the crescent necklaces,19.the earrings, the bracelets, the veils,20.the headdresses, the ankle chains, the sashes, the perfume bottles, the charms,21.the signet rings, the nose rings,22.the fine robes, the capes, the cloaks, the purses,23.the hand mirrors, the fine linen garments, the tiaras, and the shawls.24.It shall happen that instead of sweet spices, there shall be stink; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of well set hair, baldness; instead of a robe, a wearing of sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty.25.Your men shall fall by the sword, and your mighty in the war.26.Her gates shall lament and mourn; and she shall be desolate and sit on the ground.
Observations
3:1-8.God will wipe out everything the nation depends upon, because their words and deeds don't demonstrate dependence upon Him.
3:9-15.
The proud who parade their sin are particularly singled out for judgment, as are the leaders who lead people astray. When both religious and political leaders are ignorant of God's word and ways, disaster is inevitable.
3:16-26.
The beautiful proud women will be abased; all their sweetness will stink, and they will lament and mourn the destruction of all they value and their men.
Application
God pays back sin, particularity that of the proud, by turning their world upside down. (Keep a low profile; better yet, repent.)
Prayer
God, may I be humbled by my sin and forsake it, so I can be among the righteous who will enjoy the fruit of their doings. Amen.
Isaiah 4 Future Glory Like Old Times
1.Seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, "We will eat our own bread, and wear our own clothing: only let us be called by your name. Take away our reproach."2.In that day, Yahweh’s branch will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the beauty and glory of the survivors of Israel.3.It will happen, that he who is left in Zion, and he who remains in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even everyone who is written among the living in Jerusalem;4.when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from its midst, by the spirit of justice, and by the spirit of burning.5.Yahweh will create over the whole habitation of Mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy.6.There will be a pavilion for a shade in the daytime from the heat, and for a refuge and for a shelter from storm and from rain.
Observations
4:1-1.As a result of the men being destroyed in judgment (3:25), they will be in scarce supply and the reproach of childlessness common.
4:2-4.
In a future day, when the Lord returns, the “Branch” or Messiah (Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15; Zechariah 3:8 6:12) will be glorious in His rule over the survivors of God's purifying judgment, who will be holy. However, the purifying process will be painful.
4:5-6.
God will again manifest His glory over Mount Zion as He did over the Tabernacle.
Application
God will reign over a righteous people as purposed and promised. Those who don't purify themselves will experience pain.
Prayer
God, You want me to be holy, and I want to be holy; show me whatever I need to do to be a person who lives in the light of Your glory. Amen.
Isaiah 5 No Wine, But Woes
1.Let me sing for my well beloved a song of my beloved about his vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a very fruitful hill.2.He dug it up, gathered out its stones, planted it with the choicest vine, built a tower in its midst, and also cut out a winepress therein. He looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded stinkberries.3."Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, please judge between me and my vineyard.4.What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Why, when I looked for it to yield grapes, did it yield stinkberries?5.Now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away its hedge, and it will be eaten up. I will break down its wall of it, and it will be trampled down.6.I will lay it a wasteland. It won’t be pruned nor hoed, but it will grow briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it."7.For the vineyard of Yahweh of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for justice, but, behold, oppression; for righteousness, but, behold, a cry of distress.8.Woe to those who join house to house, who lay field to field, until there is no room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land!9.In my ears, Yahweh of Hosts says: "Surely many houses will be desolate, even great and beautiful, unoccupied.10.For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield an ephah."11.Woe to those who rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; who stay late into the night, until wine inflames them!12.The harp, lyre, tambourine, and flute, with wine, are at their feasts; but they don’t respect the work of Yahweh, neither have they considered the operation of his hands.13.Therefore my people go into captivity for lack of knowledge. Their honorable men are famished, and their multitudes are parched with thirst.14.Therefore Sheol has enlarged its desire, and opened its mouth without measure; and their glory, their multitude, their pomp, and he who rejoices among them, descend into it.15.So man is brought low, mankind is humbled, and the eyes of the arrogant ones are humbled;16.but Yahweh of Hosts is exalted in justice, and God the Holy one is sanctified in righteousness.17.Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture, and strangers will eat the ruins of the rich.18.Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and wickedness as with cart rope;19.Who say, "Let him make speed, let him hasten his work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy one of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it!"20.Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!21.Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!22.Woe to those who are mighty to drink wine, and champions at mixing strong drink;23.who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice for the innocent!24.Therefore as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as the dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust; because they have rejected the law of Yahweh of Hosts, and despised the word of the Holy one of Israel.25.Therefore Yahweh’s anger burns against his people, and he has stretched out his hand against them, and has struck them. The mountains tremble, and their dead bodies are as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this, his anger is not turned away, but his hand is still stretched out.26.He will lift up a banner to the nations from far, and he will whistle for them from the end of the earth...29....they shall roar, and seize their prey and carry it off, and there will be no one to deliver.30.They will roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea. If one looks to the land behold, darkness and distress. The light is darkened in its clouds.
Observations
5:1-7.Israel is compared to a vineyard that fails to produce the intended product, righteousness and justice, and consequently, is turned into a wasteland.
5:8-22.
God pronounces a series of seven woes against those who live for what's pleasing in their sight (temporal power, pleasure, and possessions) rather than for what is right in God's sight (righteousness and justice), and a concern for doing His word (fear of the Lord).
5:25-30.
God's anger will consume those who reject His law and despise His word.
Application
If we don't fulfill the purpose for which God created us (bringing Him glory by our righteous and just living which He can bless) we will fail to have a purpose for living, and will face devastation.
Prayer
Lord, show me how to follow Your ways, so I bear You the fruit You desire. Amen.
Digging Deeper
God in a nutshell: God demonstrates incredible patience and grace in calling His people to repent, when they have so rejected Him, that they proudly parade their sins. He raised up His people to demonstrate righteousness and justice, and will angrily bring them low until they are purified and yield the fruit He wants. He has planned to save a remnant for the future, who will do what's right and just after being purified by pain. The Messiah will reign from Jerusalem and all the earth will come to seek His ways and will.Us in a nutshell: We are created to fulfill God's purpose of living righteously and justly in our dealings with others, so that God can bless us and He will be glorified. If we seek our desire rather than God's, and do our will rather than His, as revealed in His word, we will surely suffer. God graciously calls us to repentance and obedience, but if we reject Him, there will be no forgiveness and cleansing, only burning pain.