The Lord Washes Away...

Scripture:
Isaiah 4 (ESV)

And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach.”

In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy. There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.

Devotional:

Isaiah chapter 4 starts off with the hardships and fall of Jerusalem, Israel is defeated.  But later in chapter 4 Isaiah shares God’s promises.  Isaiah tells of Christ and His eternal reign.  How God’s presence will once again be with His people.  Sins will be washed away, and His people restored.

Are there times when you feel far from God?  There are times when we can drift from God.  Sometimes our decisions are intentional and sometimes we do not even realize we have drifted.  Regardless of why or how we may feel abandoned there are times that we feel all alone.  Times in our lives when we think God is not to be found.  We struggle and we try to make a go of things on our own.  Maybe we do not think we need God.

I have just a few thoughts to share on this.  One, we do need God.  We cannot make it on our own.  Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”.  This means that no one is worthy.  None of us can make it to heaven on our own merit or actions.  That because of our sin we fall under God’s judgement just as the Israelites did in the Old Testament.  The second thought I have is that when we face judgement we can do so on our own, or we can have an advocate.  Jesus is ready and willing to stand judgement for all of our sins.  Romans 3:24-25:

and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.    

We are restored through what Jesus has done.  God’s promise in Isaiah was fulfilled through Jesus.  No matter where we are or what we have done or are doing God’s promise includes us.  The Messiah came for all.  He will come again.  My final question.  Are you ready?   

Clothed In Righteousness

Scripture:

Isaiah 3:13-15(NIV)

The Lord takes his place in court;
    he rises to judge the people.
The Lord enters into judgment
    against the elders and leaders of his people:
“It is you who have ruined my vineyard;
    the plunder from the poor is in your houses.
What do you mean by crushing my people
    and grinding the faces of the poor?”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

Devotional:

God’s judgement, people seem to think it isn’t real.  In verse 11 it says, “Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them!  They will be paid back for what their hands have done.”  The bible makes it clear that the wicked, evil, and unrighteous will be judged.  Who is that?  Well to be honest, that is everyone.  Romans 3:23 (NIV) “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” yes it does means each one of us. 

The Israelites are God’s chosen people, yet they faced judgement.   Why is that?  They forgot who they were.  They became self-seeking.  Isaiah 3:12 states, “Youths oppress my people, women rule over them.  My people, your guides lead you astray; they turn you from the path.”  Because of leadership the entire nation was being led astray.  Because of this God was preparing judgement upon the people.

Romans 3:23 states all have sinned and fall short.  This means that each and everyone of us faces God’s judgement.  But there is good news.  Isaiah 3:10 says, “Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.”  Those that are righteous will be blessed and spared God’s judgement.  Actually, the righteous have a substitute for their judgement.  Romans 3:24, “and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”  Those who are of faith, believe in Jesus and accept Him as Lord and Savior, will become justified.  They will become righteous.  Our rags are exchanged for His righteousness.  Jesus took upon Himself our judgement upon the cross.

Will you stand before judgement alone?  Will you stand before judgement clothed in the righteousness of Christ?  The choice is yours.

Not To Stray...

Scripture:

Isaiah 3:8-9 (ESV)

For Jerusalem has stumbled,
    and Judah has fallen,
because their speech and their deeds are against the Lord,
    defying his glorious presence.

For the look on their faces bears witness against them;
    they proclaim their sin like Sodom;
    they do not hide it.
Woe to them!
    For they have brought evil on themselves.

Devotional:

Here Isaiah shares the reasoning behind the suffering and fall of Israel.  In short, the people left their first and true love.  They lost site of God.  They failed to adhere to God’s teachings.  The end of verse 9 says “…For they have brought evil on themselves.”  From the beginning God told the Israelites that as long as they stayed true to Him and He was their first love they would be blessed.  In fact, as a nation they were blessed.  Israel was a world power with untold riches.  In the end though they strayed.  Earlier in verse 9 Isaiah writes “…they proclaim their sin like Sodom;…”

It does seem that those who are evil or do bad things are on top.  They have power, wealth, and everything they could ever want.  It may be true that for a time it they are the ones who get ahead or come out on top.  But eventually it will catch up to them.  Eventually they too will fall.  Remember Romans 14:11 (ESV) “for it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’”  Like it or not, believe it or not, Jesus is the ultimate authority.  He does reign supreme.  Those who only seek for themselves and live as they please will confess Jesus is Lord.  They will fall. 

It is important to keep our focus on Christ.  We need to follow His teachings.  We cannot afford not to.  God is with us.  He will bless us and provide.  In the end we will have an eternity to be with Him.  Israel lost sight of God and it cost them dearly.  Do you really want to do the same?  Keep in mind that even if we cannot see it God is with us.  We just need to keep from straying.    

From Blessings to Judgements

Scripture:

Isaiah 3:1-4 (ESV)

For behold, the Lord God of hosts
    is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah
support and supply,
    all support of bread,
    and all support of water;
the mighty man and the soldier,
    the judge and the prophet,
    the diviner and the elder,
the captain of fifty
    and the man of rank,
the counselor and the skillful magician
    and the expert in charms.
And I will make boys their princes,
    and infants shall rule over them.

Devotional:

When the Israelites left Egypt, they were promised great things if they stayed the course with God.  All they had to do was stay true to Him and in His ways.  Israel ended up wandering in the desert for forty years because they failed to trust God and fully follow His commands.  During the times of the judges they had good times when they all turned to God.  They had bad times when they strayed from God.

After king Solomon God gave the Israelites warnings and sent profit after profit to get His people back.  Isaiah is giving warning of what is to come.  God is going to remove His blessings.  In fact, He is going to take everything away to get His people to refocus on Him.  He is going to remove all competent leadership. 

One of my thoughts on this comes to a belief I have.  God does not call those who are qualified.  In fact, the less you know or can do the better.  I know you are asking why He would not call someone flowing with qualifications.  Let’s take a look at war.  If you go to war and you have the best generals and military leaders who gets the credit?  If you are honest with yourself, you would say the military leaders.  After all we credit winning the civil war in great parts to General Grant.  In WWII we give Eisenhower a ton of credit.  But where is God?  Take a look at Gideon.  He was the least of his clan.  His clan was the least of the Israelites.  He new nothing about leading people or fighting battles.  But look at what he accomplished.  It wasn’t because of what Gideon did.  It was what God did.

In Isaiah’s time Israel more often than not strayed from God.  They strayed so much so for so long God finally withdrew His blessings and placed judgement upon them.  In these first verses of chapter three God is taking everything away from them.  He even removes competent and instrumental leaders.  Instead he allowed anyone to become a leader.  Qualifications to lead were not much more than you are breathing and able to stand upright. (This is my wording for the first few verses in Isaiah 3.)

I think the reasons for what God is going here is two-fold.  First the people are no longer blessed and have fallen into God’s judgement.  Second, I believe this is an attempt to get His people to return and rely upon Him.  I will end with this small thought.  To fix any problem or overcome any situation all you need to do is focus on God.  Any family, community, or nation can be fixed and blessed if they only turn to God.  All you need is to trust and obey…