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Isaiah 17-23
Trusting
the One Constant
Psalm 74:1-23 Giving God Reasons to Answer
1.“(A contemplation by Asaph) God, why have You rejected us forever? Why does Your anger smolder against the sheep of Your pasture?2.Remember Your congregation, which You purchased of old, which You have redeemed to be the tribe of Your inheritance; Mount Zion, in which You have lived.3.Lift up Your feet to the perpetual ruins, all the evil that the enemy has done in the sanctuary.4.Your adversaries have roared in the midst of your assembly. They have set up their standards as signs.5.They behaved like men wielding axes, cutting through a thicket of trees.6.Now they break all its carved work down with hatchet and hammers.7.They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground. They have profaned the dwelling place of Your Name.8.They said in their heart, "We will crush them completely." They have burned up all the places in the land where God was worshiped.9.We see no miraculous signs. There is no longer any prophet, neither is there among us anyone who knows how long.10.How long, God, shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme your name forever?11.Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand? Take it out of your pocket and consume them!12.Yet God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.13.You divided the sea by your strength. You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.14.You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces. You gave him as food to people and desert creatures.15.You opened up spring and stream. You dried up mighty rivers.16.The day is yours, the night is also yours. You have prepared the light and the sun.17.You have set all the boundaries of the earth. You have made summer and winter.
18.Remember this, that the enemy has mocked you, Yahweh. Foolish people have blasphemed your name.19.Don’t deliver the soul of your dove to wild beasts. Don’t forget the life of your poor forever.20.Honor your covenant, for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the earth.21.Don’t let the oppressed return ashamed. Let the poor and needy praise your name.22.Arise, God! Plead your own cause. Remember how the foolish man mocks you all day.23.Don’t forget the voice of your adversaries. The tumult of those who rise up against you ascends continually.
Observations
74:1.It looks like God has rejected His people and is angry with them (and we all know why that happens. Hint: someone rejected God).
74:2-11.
Asaph appeals to God to remember His plans for His people and to recognize the arrogance of the wicked as they seek to destroy any record of the true God (His name) on earth (sounds like modern times).
74:12-17.
Focusing on the power of God in creation and history puts the problems in perspective. He is the King who provides salvation and deliverance on the earth.
74:18-23.
Reminding God that the psalmist's enemies are His enemies gives God reason to honor His covenant to protect those who are loyal to Him. God will vindicate His name and give the poor and needy cause for praise, as He destroys the wicked.
Question
Why should God answer your cries for help?
Application
When times are dark, remember that God owns the night as well as the day, and will take care of His innocent doves, for His name's sake.
Prayer
King of heaven and Earth, please remember Your promises and rescue me, so Your name might be glorified. Thanks. Amen.
Proverbs 19:10-12 Delight of Discretion
10.“Delight is not fitting for a fool, much less for a slave to have rule over princes.11.The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger. It is his glory to overlook an offense.12.The king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass."Observations
19:10.A fool can't rule his passions and becomes a slave to them. It's inappropriate for him to have delight, since delight is a consequence of right living (Job 22:26; 27:10; Ps 37:4,11; Isa 55:2 "Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.") Similarly a slave lacks the prerequisites to rule others, especially those who have the character to be rulers.
19:11.
Discretion or "insightful understanding" was the hallmark of Abigal, and is the product of fearing the Lord and obeying His commandments (Ps 111:10). Understanding why people do what they do gives the empathy necessary to put offenses in context. The discipline required to obey God rather than one's passions enables a response that gains honor rather than revenge.
19:12.
When the king's unhappy it's time to hide because a roaring lion can do damage; but when the king is happy, his favor causes growth and prosperity.
Application
It's good to keep the king in a good mood, which requires both insight and self-restraint.
Prayer
Lord, You are my King, and the source of all my delight; may I daily do what is pleasing in Your sight. Amen.
Isaiah 17-23 Trusting the One Constant
These chapters demonstrate the glory of God in judging the pride of people and nations who don't wholeheartedly submit to Him. From the military power of Assyria, headquartered in Babylon, to the mercantile power of Tyre, maker of kings and economies, all are made to serve God's purposes. Many of them repent and give God the worship that pleases Him, including Israel's greatest enemies, and a mystery nation. There are a number of glimpses of the future, when God will again dwell in Jerusalem in His glory, and all nations will worship Him. The lesson for Israel is to trust exclusively in God, since everything and everyone else will fail or be destroyed by God. It's a good lesson for us, too.
Isaiah 17 God Destroys Damascus and Judah's Enemies
1.The burden of Damascus: "Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap.3.The fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria. They will be as the glory of the children of Israel," says Yahweh of Hosts.4."It will happen in that day that the glory of Jacob will be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh will become lean.5.It will be like when the harvester gathers the wheat, and his arm reaps the grain. Yes, it will be like when one gleans grain in the valley of Rephaim.6.Yet gleanings will be left there, like the shaking of an olive tree, two or three olives in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outermost branches of a fruitful tree," says Yahweh, the God of Israel.7.In that day, people will look to their Maker, and their eyes will have respect for the Holy one of Israel.8.They will not look to the altars, the work of their hands; neither shall they respect that which their fingers have made, either the Asherim, or the incense altars.9.In that day, their strong cities will be like the forsaken places in the woods and on the mountain top, which were forsaken from before the children of Israel; and it will be a desolation.10.For you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered the rock of your strength. Therefore you plant pleasant plants, and set out foreign seedlings.11.In the day of your planting, you hedge it in. In the morning, you make your seed blossom, but the harvest flees away in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.12.Ah, the uproar of many peoples, who roar like the roaring of the seas; and the rushing of nations, that rush like the rushing of mighty waters!13.The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters: but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far off, and will be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the whirling dust before the storm.14.At evening, behold, terror! Before the morning, they are no more. This is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who rob us.Observations
17:1-4.A prophecy against Damascus, the capital of Syria, which had joined with Ephraim (Israel) to fight against Judah. A Day of the Lord's Judgment (see last post) is coming in which they'll go from being a city, to being a pile of rubble. Their glory will be as skinny as Israel's.
17:5-11.
In judgment, a remnant will be left, like the gleanings after the harvest, precious little. Their judgment will result in repentance, and a seeking of God. They will worship their Creator, and not the works of their hands, which has yielded them nothing but grief.
17:12-14.
Looking forward to a future uprising of the nations, Isaiah notes that God will rebuke them, and they who seek the harm of Israel, will be no more.
Application
God brings to ruin those who worship the work of their hands, be they individuals or nations.
Prayer
Mighty Creator God, You will bring to nothing the plans of people and nations, I trust You to protect me, for You are the God of my salvation, and the One whom I serve. Amen.
Isaiah 18 Mystery Nation Brings Gifts to God
1.Woe, the land of the rustling of wings/sailing ships, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia/Cush;2.that sends ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of papyrus on the waters, saying, "Go, you swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people awesome from their beginning onward, a nation that measures out and treads down, whose land the rivers divide!"3.All you inhabitants of the world, and you dwellers on the earth, when a banner is lifted up on the mountains, look! When the trumpet is blown, listen!4.For Yahweh said to me, "I will be still/rest, and I will see in my dwelling place, like clear/dazzling heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."5.For before the harvest, when the blossom is over, and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he will cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and he will cut down and take away the spreading branches.6.They will be left together for the ravenous birds of the mountains, and for the animals of the earth. The ravenous birds will summer on them, and all the animals of the earth will winter on them.7.In that time, a present will be brought to Yahweh of Hosts from a people tall and smooth, even from a people awesome from their beginning onward, a nation that measures out and treads down, whose land the rivers divide, to the place of the name of Yahweh of Hosts, Mount Zion.Observations
18:1-2.The woe is to a land beyond Ethopia, that has sailing vessels, sends ambassadors, and is awesome/terrible/feared from its start (or by those all around), able to tread down enemies at will, and has rivers dividing it. “Tall and smooth” has a number of possible translations including “scattered/drawn out, and peeled.” This description is repeated at the end, leading Bible students to look for the chiastic structure.
18:3-4.
The message looks like it's given to the inhabitants of the world, saying that they will be able to see a banner lifted up and hear a trumpet sound, when God takes His rest in Jerusalem, His dwelling place. There will be dazzling heat, and a cloud of dew, similar to the presence of God in the Tabernacle/Temple. Sounds pretty prophetic.
18:5-6.
These verses speak of a judgment that comes before a harvest (an unexpected time), and prunes the country so its fruit doesn't fully ripen and is left for the animals..
18:7.
At that time the people of this land, feared world-wide, will bring God a present (worship offering) at Mount Zion. No nation at the time of the prophesy (or since) fits all the particulars.
Application
A probable, defensible interpretation is that God is greater than the greatest nation, whom He will prune, and who will worship Him in Jerusalem when He takes up residence there again, with His accompanying glory, which the whole world will see. The application is that our hope and trust should always be in God, even though it doesn't look like He's winning, because “it ain't over til it's over.”
Prayer
Sovereign God I look forward to the day when Your righteous rule is recognized by all; in the meantime, I will live under Your rule ever day, and honor You as my King. Amen.
Isaiah 19 Egypt and Assyria Blessed with Israel?
1.The burden of Egypt: "Behold, Yahweh rides on a swift cloud, and comes to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence; and the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst.2.I will stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians, and they will fight everyone against his brother, and everyone against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.3.The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst. I will destroy its counsel. They will seek the idols, the charmers, those who have familiar spirits, and the wizards.4.I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord. A fierce king will rule over them," says the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts.5.The waters will fail from the sea, and the river will be wasted and become dry.11.The counsel of the wisest counselors of Pharaoh has become stupid. How do you say to Pharaoh, "I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?"12.Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you now; and let them know what Yahweh of Hosts has purposed concerning Egypt.13.The princes of Zoan have become fools. The princes of Memphis are deceived. They have caused Egypt to go astray, who are the cornerstone of her tribes.14.Yahweh has mixed a spirit of perverseness in the midst of her; and they have caused Egypt to go astray in all of its works, like a drunken man staggers in his vomit.16.In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble and fear because of the shaking of the hand of Yahweh of Hosts, which he shakes over them.17.The land of Judah will become a terror to Egypt. Everyone to whom mention is made of it will be afraid, because of the plans of Yahweh of Hosts, which he determines against it.18.In that day, there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan, and swear to Yahweh of Hosts. One will be called "The city of destruction."
19.In that day, there will be an altar to Yahweh in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to Yahweh at its border.20.It will be for a sign and for a witness to Yahweh of Hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to Yahweh because of oppressors, and he will send them a savior and a defender, and he will deliver them.21.Yahweh will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know Yahweh in that day. Yes, they will worship with sacrifice and offering, and will vow a vow to Yahweh, and will perform it.22.Yahweh will strike Egypt, striking and healing. They will return to Yahweh, and he will be entreated by them, and will heal them.23.In that day there will be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria; and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.24.In that day, Israel will be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth;25.because Yahweh of Hosts has blessed them, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance."
Observations
19:1-15.Isaiah prophecies of the day when God will ride into town on a cloud, and Egypt, its idols, leaders, wise men, and people go to pieces. They will destroy each other and He will set a fierce king over them.
19:16-25.
Then, apparently a little later, “in that day” Egypt will fear Judah, cry out to Yahweh, who will send a deliverer, whom they will worship in a manner that pleases God. Sounds like a rewrite of Exodus. Then God will bring another former oppressor, Assyria, and they'll join in the Yahweh pleasing worship. As a result, God blesses all three nations, and calls them His. Who knew? Abraham did (Genesis 12:3).
Application
God will even bless the enemies of His people when they respond to His judgment and repent, and worship Him correctly. (Israel could learn something here.)
Prayer
Gracious God, may I never consider myself or others beyond redemption, but trust that Your power and grace are greater than any human sin. Amen.
Isaiah 20 The Original Hippie
1.In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it;2.at that time Yahweh spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, "Go, and loosen the sackcloth from off your waist, and take your shoes from off your feet." He did so, walking naked and barefoot.3.Yahweh said, "As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder concerning Egypt and concerning Ethiopia,4.so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.5.They will be dismayed and confounded, because of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.6.The inhabitants of this coast land will say in that day, ‘Behold, this is our expectation, where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria. And we, how will we escape?’"Observations
20:1-4.Ashdod was a Philistine stronghold, captured by Tartan (name for an Assyrian military commmander). God tells Isaiah to walk around naked, and barefoot, (for three years!!!), to depict the shame that Egypt and Ethiopia would experience when they were taken captive by Assyria.
20:5-6.
Others will have fled to Egypt and Ethiopia for protection from Assyria, but now who can they trust? The unstated answer is Yahweh.
Application
Yahweh, the God of both history and the Scriptures, is the only source of security; it's folly to trust anyone or anything else.
Prayer
God, I praise You for revealing Yourself to be totally trustworthy. I trust You with my safety, security, significance and future. Thanks for always being there. Amen.
Isaiah 21 Yahweh Smacks Multiple Nations
1.The burden of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the South/Negev sweep through, it comes from the wilderness, from an awesome land.2.A grievous vision is declared to me. The treacherous man deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys...6.For the Lord said to me, "Go, set a watchman. Let him declare what he sees.9.Behold, here comes a troop of men, horsemen in pairs." He answered, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the engraved images of her gods are broken to the ground.10.You are my threshing, and the grain of my floor!" That which I have heard from Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, I have declared to you.11.The burden of Edom/Dumah. One calls to me out of Seir, "Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?"12.The watchman said, "The morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire. Come back again."13.The burden on Arabia. In the forest in Arabia you will lodge, you caravans of Dedanites.14.They brought water to him who was thirsty. The inhabitants of the land of Tema met the fugitives with their bread.15.or they fled away from the swords, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the heat of battle.16.For the Lord said to me, "Within a year, as a worker bound by contract would count it, all the glory of Kedar will fail,17.and the residue of the number of the archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, will be few; for Yahweh, the God of Israel, has spoken it."Observations
21:1-10.Isaiah sees mighty Babylonian destroyed, and her gods broken.
21:11-17.
Additional nations fall at the hand of Yahweh. Yawn.
Isaiah 22 In God Alone We Must Trust
1.The burden of the valley of vision. What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops?2.You that are full of shouting, a tumultuous city, a joyous town; your slain are not slain with the sword, neither are they dead in battle.3.All your rulers fled away together...4.Therefore I said, "Look away from me. I will weep bitterly. Don’t labor to comfort me for the destruction of the daughter of my people.5.For it is a day of confusion, and of treading down, and of perplexity, from the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, in the valley of vision; a breaking down of the walls, and a crying to the mountains."7.It happened that your choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen set themselves in array at the gate.8.He took away the covering of Judah; and you looked in that day to the armor in the house of the forest.9.You saw the breaches of the city of David, that they were many; and you gathered together the waters of the lower pool.10.You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall.11.You also made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you didn’t look to him who had done this, neither did you have respect for him who purposed it long ago.12.In that day, the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, called to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to dressing in sackcloth:13.and behold, joy and gladness, killing cattle and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine: "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die."14.Yahweh of Hosts revealed himself in my ears, "Surely this iniquity will not be forgiven you until you die," says the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts.15.Thus says the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, "Go, get yourself to this treasurer, even to Shebna, who is over the house, and say,16.‘What are you doing here? Who has you here, that you have dug out a tomb here?’ Cutting himself out a tomb on high, chiseling a habitation for himself in the rock!"17.Behold, Yahweh will overcome you and hurl you away violently. Yes, he will grasp you firmly.18.He will surely wind you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a large country. There you will die, and there the chariots of your glory will be, you shame of your lord’s house.19.I will thrust you from your office. You will be pulled down from your station.20.It will happen in that day that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,21.and I will clothe him with your robe, and strengthen him with your belt. I will commit your government into his hand; and he will be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.22.I will lay the key of the house of David on his shoulder. He will open, and no one will shut. He will shut, and no one will open.23.I will fasten him like a nail in a sure place. He will be for a throne of glory to his father’s house.24.They will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the issue, every small vessel, from the cups even to all the pitchers.25."In that day, " says Yahweh of Hosts, "the nail that was fastened in a sure place will give way. It will be cut down, and fall. The burden that was on it will be cut off, for Yahweh has spoken it."Observations
22:1-19.Jumping back a few years to the reign of Shallum (Jehoahaz-see chart and 2Chronicles 36), Isaiah recounts the time God told him to go to the king and warn him to execute justice and righteousness (just like the last chapter). He warns of the devastation that would follow if they forsook the covenant of Yahweh. Shallum succeeded good king Josiah, and was very evil, reigning three months before God had Pharaoh Necho depose and deport him to Egypt where he died according to Jeremiah's prophecy in verse 12. His brother Jehoiakim ruled selfishly (2Kg 23:35; 24), building palaces while his people starved to pay the tribute to Babylon, whose vassal he was. He died unlamented, also as Jeremiah predicted.
22:15-19.
Shebna and Eliakim were sent by good king Hezekiah to Isaiah in 2Kings 19:2 when Assyria threatened Jerusalem. But here, they are recipients of negative prophecies. Shebna, because of his pride, was busy preparing a tomb and name for himself rather than honoring Yahweh and doing His work. Therefore, God would bring him down, and he would die in shame. He is representative of leadership that looks to its own interests.
22:20-25.
Eliakim, a good leader who replaced Shebna, served in preserving the Davidic dynasty. However, he also would be cut down, indicating that only God is the proper object of trust for our safety, security, and success.
Application
Trusting in God means we depend on Him every day to defend our interests and delight our hearts; anything short of that results in failure.
Prayer
God, please show me where I'm trusting in a human or human institution for my safety, security, or success, so I might repent and give You the full trust that honors You. Amen.
Isaiah 23 Howling Ships
1.The burden of Tyre. Howl, you ships of Tarshish! For it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in.5.When the report comes to Egypt, they will be in anguish at the report of Tyre.6.Pass over to Tarshish! Wail, you inhabitants of the coast!7.Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days, whose feet carried her far away to travel?8.Who has planned this against Tyre, the giver of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are the honorable of the earth?9.Yahweh of Hosts has planned it, to stain the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.11.He has stretched out his hand over the sea. He has shaken the kingdoms. Yahweh has ordered the destruction of Canaan’s strongholds.12.He said, "You shall rejoice no more, you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon. Arise, pass over to Kittim. Even there you will have no rest."13.Behold, the land of the Chaldeans. This people was not. The Assyrians founded it for those who dwell in the wilderness. They set up their towers. They overthrew its palaces. They made it a ruin.14.Howl, you ships of Tarshish, for your stronghold is laid waste!15.It will come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. After the end of seventy years it will be to Tyre like in the song of the prostitute.16.Take a harp; go about the city, you prostitute that has been forgotten. Make sweet melody. Sing many songs, that you may be remembered.17.It will happen after the end of seventy years that Yahweh will visit Tyre, and she shall return to her wages, and will play the prostitute with all the kingdoms of the world on the surface of the earth.18.Her merchandise and her wages will be holiness to Yahweh. It will not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise will be for those who dwell before Yahweh, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.Observations
23:1-14.God will destroy the kingmaker Tyre, whose wealth established thrones and economies, because of their pride. He has purposed to make the honorable in the world's sight contemptible.
23:15-18.
Tyre will experience the equivalent of the Babylonian exile for seventy years, then a restoration, and finally a future revival, when its wealth will be used to enrich Yahweh's servants. Like Assyria and Egypt, those that look most opposed to God will serve His purposes.
Application
God lets the wicked prosper, but has plans to humble them, and even use them for His glory.
Prayer
God may I never be impressed with mere worldlings, knowing that they are just Your servants, who will eventually be humbled in the service of Your servants. Amen.Digging Deeper
God in a nutshell: God controls nations, and judges the proud with utter devastation, so they will repent and serve His purposes and people. In the day the Lord acts, what once seemed invincible will be invisible, never to be seen again, unless there is repentance and righteousness. There is a bright future for the people of Israel and Jerusalem, which will be seen by the whole world when the Messiah returns and dwells in His glory in His resting place.Us in a nutshell: As God's judgments unfold throughout history, it becomes clear that we should not trust in anyone or anything other than Him, including ourselves or even good people. We should never underestimate the power of God to use or topple evil regimes, and cause His purposes to be established. Since only God's purposes and promises are permanent, we shouldn't be discouraged by the failure of the temporal.