Take Two: Isaiah 66, Proverbs 25

This final chapter of Isaiah again presents a contrast between the righteous who are humbled before God (vv. 2,5) and those who rejected God by [catch this] worshipping in activity but not with their heart (vv.3-4).

The clear choice is presented and the consequences as well.

[NOTE: Isaiah opened with the charge that the people worshipped God in deed but not in sincerity. They rehearsed religion but felt no compulsion to experience a relationship. They had come to place their trust in everything but God...and God desired to draw them back to Himself.]

Both those who are authentic worshippers and those who rebel can trust in the certainty of God’s day of reckoning (vv.6-9). Those who are worshippers are described as occupying God’s Jerusalem…where the nations come to worship. There, they find their supply and rejoice in God’s people (vv.10-14).

At the same time, God will execute judgment on His enemies…those who have embraced rebellion (vvvv.15-17). The basis of God’s judgment will be man’s thoughts and works (v.18). His people will consist of those drawn from every nation and tongue.

Notice v.19. God would send “survivors” (i.e. those who have overcome to the nations…to the distant shores…to those who “have neither heard of [His] fame, nor seen [His] Glory. And they will declare [His] glory among the nations.”

A couple of final observations:

• First, God’s sovereignty is certain and, as such, so is His activity to bring judgment and justice to the world.
• Second, the choice of repentance toward God and humility in yielding to Him…embracing His will for our lives is the prerequisite to experiencing the fullness of blessing.
• Third, we cannot honestly claim to rely on His goodness toward us UNLESS we embrace all of His revelation…including our humility before Him as a prerequisite for experiencing His blessing.
• Fourth, God’s manifest Kingdom is greater and more beautiful than description allows. It is a source of blessing to all who are in it.
• Fifth, God’s expressed will for those whom He has chosen for Himself…involves the bearing of witness of His glory to the nations. Not just testimony within the family of God; but, declaration of His Kingdom to all nations…including those who have never heard (v.19).

The prophet, on behalf of God, confronted the people so that they might choose to embrace God’s will for their lives. I pray that his words bear fruit of that desire in us as well.

Proverbs 25:2 is the takeaway today. “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.” This struck me today as it relates to the contrasting roles. Sometimes we, as believers, think that concealing is akin to forgiveness. It seems though, that the role of those in authority is not to act as judge (forgiving or otherwise), but to investigate, discern, and confront…then pointing others to the only One who can truly forgive. (Certainly this insight breaks down if pressed too far…but is instructive to us if we have ears to hear.)

TOMORROW…we move back to the NT and start in Titus together. See you there!!

Take Two: Isaiah 65, Proverbs 24

In Isaiah 65, as the prophet moves toward the close of the writing, we find an admonition and a statement of impending judgment for those who rebel against God.

In vv.1-5, God (speaking through the prophet) states that He has been silent about the rebellion of the people until now. God was available and desirous, but the people chose a course of their own pleasures…choosing false religions and seeing themselves as “holier than thou.” [NOTE: This self-righteousness is implied. It is not that the people openly declared that they were more righteous than God; rather, they implied such by choosing their own path over the one God ordained. In doing so, they declared that their path was better and more profitable in eternity than the one God required...IOW, they were more holy than even God.]

vv.6-7 declare that God would not remain silent. He will exercise swift and overwhelming judgment at the sin of the people. This judgment would not be indiscriminate. There would be some who would survive because they were servants of God. This “remnant” (which is a dominant theme in theology) would overcome would be saved while the rebellious would be destroyed.

The righteous will experience blessing while the rebellious will experience cursing (another dominant theological theme).

Vv.17-25 speak of the establishment of the Millennial kingdom. This kingdom seems distinct (though one may argue that it is the same as the New Jerusalem, only without the clarity that John brings to the picture in Revelation) in that it does not promise eternal life, but prolonged life (vv.20-22). Peace is promised, but it is accomplished by the reign of Christ and the execution of perfect justice.

Unbroken fellowship is again promised (v.24) and there will be tranquility among all of nature (which certainly seems to picture the New Jerusalem of John’s vision in Revelation.)

NOTE: This is one of the theological divides…and a non-essential one, I might add…of contemporary protestant theology. While I function from a view that seeks to take seriously the OT promises to Israel (which some would call dispensationalism…though I would not embrace that term completely), others tend to see a “replacement” of Israel with the Church of the NT. Wherever you land on this likely affects what you see in this passage…a blessed Israel in a Millennial kingdom or a “New Jerusalem” where we are all God’s people.

The bottom line though, as I see it from the prophet’s standpoint, is not to set out an “end-times” (eschatological) argument; rather, it is to point to the fact that…in the future, those who rebel against God will be judged severely and those who serve God will be blessed. The details…are ambiguous and intentionally so. We must be careful to not miss the forest for the trees and find our pet theology in every verse. We also must not become distracted by “what ifs” and miss God’s message to us.

The choices we make today affect our eternity. If we rebel against God, we choose a path that leads to destruction. If we choose to trust God and serve Him…then we know that He will be faithful to establish us and bless us…to His own glory.

As we apply this today (and in the days to come)…perhaps the question we ought to ask at every choice we encounter…”does my choice trust and honor God…or is it rebellion against His instruction, the principle of His Word?”

Proverbs 24:27 is the takeaway today. “Prepare your work outside and make it ready for yourself in the field; afterwards, then, build your house.” The wisdom of this proverb is immense. Delayed gratification…..

Take Two: Isaiah 64, Proverbs 23

Isaiah 64 is best understood if you back up and read the last five verses of Ch 63. To paraphrase, “God you are amazing and we have missed it. We have pursued our own self-interests and you have allowed us to. You have not pulled us back…and as such, we are like those people who have never known you.” Now: God…please move. V.1 is a plea for God to act and to act on behalf of a people who realize they cannot act for themselves.

The writer does not expect that God would act in spite of the people’s rebellion; rather, repentance is implied as the writer acknowledges that God meets those who do righteousness (v.5).

NOTE: V.5 struck me unusually. God meets with him who does righteousness…who remembers [God] in [doing righteousness simply because it is the way God tells us to act.] Our obedience may accomplish a number of things…but it primarily is our displayed reverence for and honoring of God. Yes a Sabbath is valuable for us…but it first and foremost demonstrates reverence for God. Yes tithing is a powerful reminder of our supply and God’s sufficiency…but it is first of all reverence for God. It is worship.

Obedience to God is always required and expected…even when we cannot rationalize the “why” or the “how.” In fact, when we obey without fully grasping the how…we display faith. The why should ultimately be apparent…because God demands it.

vv.6-7 are statements of self-awareness and humility. God, we have sinned (individually and corporately). There is nothing good in us that deserves your blessing.

Vv.8-12 speak of the request. God we are nothing and you are everything. Do not hold back blessing forever. We have made a mess of your city and your nation. It (and by association…Your Name) has been humiliated. Will you not act and change all of this?

This conversation continues tomorrow but a couple of things about this chapter are worth really pondering/considering/meditating on. First…when we pray…do we really believe that we are nothing…or do we still think we have some good in us that can determine our fate? The people here seem to have found the end of themselves (the bottom). Could it be that our powerlessness is related less to our lack of power and more to our false sense of strength?

Proverbs 23:12 is the takeaway today. “Apply your hearts to discipline and your ears to the words of knowledge.”

Application…is the point of every sermon and every nugget of truth we encounter from God daily. Without application, it merely puffs us up as though we have become something merely by knowing about it.

Take Two: Isaiah 63, Proverbs 22

Chapter 63 opens with a detailing of God’s justice/judgment/vengeance toward to His enemies. The “judgement” side of God’s character makes many uncomfortable. We are “cool” with a God who loves and send His Son to die on our behalf…but a God that demands holiness and repentance…makes us squeamish.

The image present of God as the One who executes justice is quite graphic. But, here is the reason for His judgment and the aspect of His judgment that should bring us to our knees. God has always had judgment for sin in His heart (v.4), and there was no one who could save people from it…so He did it Himself (v.5).

I love vv.7-14 because they speak of recalling God’s faithfulness and mercy (lovingkindness) throughout generation. In consideration of these the Prophet chooses to recount them in praise.

[NOTE: It would do us all good to pause to recount God's faithfulness and mercy in our lives and throughout history. It changes the conversation.]

V.8 reminds us that God initiated our Salvation work. He is the one who chose His people according to His will and not in response to their worth. He did not stop there/ rather, He walked with and guided His people  by His Spirit from then on…simply because He is.

VV.15-19 are sobering and gave me reason to simply pause and reflect. The prophet writes on behalf of the people and asks why God has given His people over to their own desires/passions/and rebellion. The people recognize their distance from God (His absence of blessing) and conclude that it is only because God has stepped back from them. As such…without His restraining hand, they pursued their own passions indiscriminately.

V.17 is a call for God to return to His people…because they have become as those who have never been Chosen (i.e. like the lost around them). What struck me was the implication of this prayer. God…we have become godless and drift further away because you do not discipline us…so return to us and draw us back to You.

Can you grasp the weight of a prayer like that? God…we want You more than comfort and freedom and self-determination. DIscipline us and never let us be without your discipline again.

This is courageous…since it is not like the prayers I often hear and sometimes offer. It is not a call for God to bless us in spite of our rebellion…rather, it is a call for God to overcome our rebellion as a prerequisite for blessing of presence and relationship.

Do you pray like this…or do you have the courage to pray like this?

Proverbs 22:20-21 is the takeaway today. “Have I not written to you excellent things of counsels and knowledge, to make you know the certainty of the words of truth that you may correctly answer Him who sent you?”

Take Two: Isaiah 62, Proverbs 21

In this final installment in the three chapter “movement” pertaining to the restoration and exaltation of Zion, the prophet expresses the glory that is coming to Zion and the “new name” that is hers.

The new name is the part that strikes me as most significant. To you and I, a name is what it is. We name people based on our moods, our favorite ___, a dear remembered or honored relative…but to an ancient Hebrew…a name is a statement of character.

Therefore, a change of name signifies a change in character…a change within. Remember that Saul the Pharisee became Paul the Apostle…and Simon became Peter. Well, the discounted and disheartened Zion…Jerusalem its holy city…would not only be restored but it would be fundamentally changed for all to see.

The image that comes to mind is the New Testament story of the prodigal son. He was an heir, dishonored himself and his father…choose self-interest and self-direction over the calling of his life. When he came to himself and returned home…the father did not simply accept him, but he restored him. He removed the common man identifiers and gave him the marks of blessing and nobility (cloak and sandals) and authority (a ring). He was not the father’s prodigal…but was again an heir.

When you and I yield to Christ and trust in Him, he gives us a new name. We are not “old sinners saved by grace,” but are children of the King, friends of God, and joint heirs with Christ. We are not merely rescued from our demise; rather, we are exalted to the place of the Father and children of God.

Now…in practicality…this life doesn’t feel like we are exalted as yet. We still wrestle and struggle. But…we have a reservation…a hope and a calling…one which encourages us and charges us to continue our striving. While we may even be discounted in many ways in this life…a day is coming when we will be sought out (v.12)…because He gives us a new name (v.2).

Proverbs 21:30 is the takeaway today. “There is no wisdom and no understanding and no counsel against the Lord.”

Take Two: Isaiah 61, Proverbs 20

This chapter speaks of restoration. From a “technical” standpoint…some debate if the speaker is the prophet or the Servant/Messiah; however, the message is the same in either case.

God desires to restore and to exalt. His people had rebelled and His judgment was true and powerful. Judgment is not the end of the story though. God punishes to bring us to repentance…but repentance brings about blessing.

As I read this chapter…I think of the condition of my own life. The choices I have made. The mistakes I have committed. The times I have chosen faithlessness…and the times I have been faithful. God has always restored me and brought me to Himself. In the midst of the consequences of bad choices…it never seems that there is anything redemptive…but God will restore.

In my mind’s eye…I see the rubble of a home destroyed by fire. With smoldering piles of wood, metal and glass the sight can be overwhelming. I also see a loving God who reaches into the pile and begins to pull out items that were in the house when it was burned. He pulls them out one at a time, cleans them off…redeeming them piece by piece. Not everything is recoverable…but in those cases, he sweeps the old away and replaces it with new. Piece by piece and moment by moment, He rebuilds that which was destroyed.

(Now lest you think I am a really weird dude who has prophetic visions…this is not a vision but just how I see redemption in my mind).

The fire analogy is appropriate in my mind because if you have ever been around a fire…the smell of smoke lingers long after the fire is extinguished. In my life…the smell of “consequences” of sin still linger. I can still remember the stupidity of some choices I have made…and I can remember the feeling of certain milestones…when I stood before God in repentance and He picked through the ashes of my life and began to redeem. I know the humility of those moments like they were yesterday…but I remember them…not from a pile of ashes; rather, from a new dwelling…a redeemed existence. The aroma of my failure may always be in my nostrils…but the reality of my redemption is also constantly before my eyes.

The reality for the redeemed believer…HOPE in the promise of God (v.7). The response of the redeemed believer…rejoicing and exultation in God…who alone redeems and restores!

Proverbs 20:27 is the takeaway today. “The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the innermost parts of his being.”

Take Two: Isaiah 60, Proverbs 19

In chapter 60, we find a vision of the exalted Israel. It is the extreme opposite of the picture observed in previous chapters relating to God’s judgment. Now…rather than handing over the people to their oppressors to humble them and cause them to turn back to God, God exalts His people and the nations serve them, to the glory of God.

Now passages like this usually get a little “push back” from folks who have already worked out their theology and come to different conclusions. Some see the promises alluded to here as a spiritualized realization with a spiritual Israel (referring to the church) in a spiritual Jerusalem (Kingdom of God). However, one does not deduce this from the text. If you read the text…the idea clearly speaks to ethnic Jews who were descendents of Abraham, who had received a promise from God to make Him a great nation.

Certainly there is a millennial Kingdom referred to and it seems to be a literal time and place in the future; therefore, it is only reasonable also to take literally the fact that Israel is spoken of as the centerpiece of this earthly millennial kingdom. The kingdom will not consist of Jews only (v.3). It will consist of the nations and those Jews who were scattered…all peoples who belong to the Messiah (vv.14, 16).

Here is the takeaway that came to mind as I read this:

• With the same zeal that He acted against unrighteousness, God reveals His work of restoration.
• God reveals His faithfulness to His promises.
• He does it all…according to His determined plan, for His own glory (v.7).
• The enemies of God’s people were used to serve Him in the past and they will again…this time, not to oppress, but to supply and sustain.

No matter how far away you think you are from experiencing the blessing of God…it is coming; not according to your ability or worthiness, but according to His faithfulness to Himself, His promise, and His purpose.

Proverbs 19:10 is the takeaway today. “A man of great anger will bear the penalty, for if you rescue him, you will only have to do it again.”

Take Two: Isaiah 59, Proverbs 18

Chapter 59 opens with the answer to the question that I hear a lot from different folks. “Why doesn’t God fix ____?” The belief is…that if God is as powerful as He is…and as knowledgable as He is…then He should act to prevent evil and to pour out blessings at all times. He should also “jump” every time we utter a “911″ prayer for the trouble we find ourselves in.

When God doesn’t answer us according to our timing and in the way we think He ought… we begin to ask what’s wrong with Him? Truthfully though…there is and never has been anything wrong with Him. The problem is us (vv.1-8).

Now this doesn’t address every prayer that is seemingly unanswered. It speaks of our living apart from God and then wondering why He doesn’t bless us. It is not His nature to bless us when we are rebelling against His will. Package it any way you want to…but the bottom line is the same. If you are not obedient to what God says…when He says it…how He says it…then it really is not reasonable to think that He should help you be more comfortable in the midst of rebellion or pull your “bacon” out of the fire when you start to experience the consequences of your actions.

What should our response be when we realize that our circumstances are not because of God but are directly resulting from our actions? Confess it and lean on Him! (vv.9-21). Recognizing that we are “broken” and “tainted” and “unrighteous” and “inherently wicked”…choosing our own desires over the will of God is necessary and key. (It is also difficult). It cannot be simply “lip service” but must come form a heart that truly understands that apart from Him…we can do nothing and we deserve nothing.

God…knowing our condition and ability…provides redemption by His own power, according to His grace and mercy and for His own glory (vv.16-20). He did not do so because we were “pretty good” and evolving to become better. He did so because…left to our own power…we could never be righteous or in right standing with Him. So, He intervened and sent His own Son. The result: Our Salvation and His glory.

Our response: A constant and ongoing lifestyle of examination, repentance, and yielding to His will…while enjoying the security and satisfaction of His eternal and unparalleled love.

Proverbs 18:11 is the takeaway today. “A rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his imagination.”

Take Two: Isaiah 58, Proverbs 17

CH 58 is going to make some “heads hurt” among those who read this blog. I know… because some of you are predisposed to examining your “motives” in worship or service. While it is good to examine our motives…we ought not park there…and “over-examine” our motives. In the times when my motives have been wrong before…God usually revealed that to me pretty quickly; whereas, the enemy has a gift of causing “paralysis by analysis: and would have me looking for a deep-seated psychological stronghold that will only be revealed if I sit and wait… [but I digress]

Two specific circumstances emerge from the text. The first is the issue of “fasts” and the motive behind them. In vv.1-4, we see an indictment that the people fast and seek God for His acts of justice against Israel’s oppressors. Israel actually becomes “put out” because God doesn’t seem to answer them or acknowledge that they are “fasting” before Him. I tis as though they see a spiritual “quid-pro-quo” due to them. They suffered for God…God should answer and bless them by destroying their enemies and establishing them as a powerful people.

NOTE: If we would take off our spiritual masks for a few minutes…we all have acted this way at times. It is part of our sin nature…our self-interest.

God, through the prophet, sheds light on how He sees the “fast” of the people. Their actions are not a “fast” in the spiritual sense…because they are not interested in “becoming” or “being used by God to change the world”; rather, they simply want God to change their circumstances. We are called to “cast our cares on Him (1 Pet 5:7)…and I believe the Scriptures that tell us that we do not have because we do not ask (James 4:2-3). At the same time…God is not a spiritual ATM machine…set to give cash advances every time we walk up to it and put in the card and PIN number. God is not a holy 911 operator waiting to take our calls so He can dispatch emergency services every time we complain about our needs or lack of comforts. He is actively and continuously at work (even in our sufferings)…shaping and conforming us to become like Jesus.

If the people were fasting in order to understand God’s heart and to become who God designed them to be, it would be evident in the outworking of their charity and ministry (vv.6-7). Then they would experience the blessing they seek…once they become what God designed them to become.

ILLUSTRATION: I am engaged in a counseling situation with a man who contacted me recently to speak of his anger at a particular injustice he was enduring. He desires God to intervene and “believes God” for His intervention. I told him that, rather than become angry at God’s apparent “slowness” to “fix” his situation…he should try to understand what God wanted to do IN HIM through the suffering. God wants to address the anger and the self-interest. When that is addressed…I imagine that the man’s situation will conclude. Why all fo the suffering in the meantime. HOLD ON…here it is: “Suffering is the great lens of revelation that helps us to see clearly what is truly in our hearts.” The issue of anger and impatience would not come to light without the suffering. DId God cause the suffering? No. It is clearly sin; however, God uses the sin to reveal what He desires to do in the man.

VV.13-14 speaks of the second specific circumstance. It is the issue of Sabbath observance. While we are to have right motives when we seek God…we also are to demonstrate to God His worth through our sacrifice. We may not LOVE sacrifice…but in it, we demonstrate the worth we ascribe to God.

NOTE: This is key and is something that Jodi and I seek to instill in our children and in others we disciple. When we choose God over other things that are also valued to us…it demonstrates to others and to God how much we value God. It also reinforces a value system in us that reminds us where our ultimate value lies. God is…and so we are.

Proverbs 17:13 is the takeaway today. “He who returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.”

Take Two: Isaiah 57, Proverbs 16

A contrast is drawn between the righteous (who find no peace except at their own death…due to the wickedness of the people) (vv.1-2)…and those who claim righteousness while living apart from God’s will (in wickedness) (vv.3-13).

The picture…if you can see it…is a people who profess allegiance to God but live with an acceptance of idol practices. Many scholars believe that the people were worshipping the fertility gods and engaging with their temple prostitutes. At the same time, they felt as though they were “okay” and had no needs from God.

God promises destruction for those who do not choose Him alone. To choose Him is to choose to reject all others.

The day of reckoning will be this: God will declare their WORKS and DEEDS…not merely their confession (v.12). Then, they should call on and rely upon that which they have worshipped…which will reveal that the idols are powerless. Those who, by their DEEDS have declared God as their God…will find refuge in Him.

He exists beyond this world; however, He also dwells with the lowly in this world, since He desires the contrite heart of the repentant (v.15).

In my mind, I picture God fast forwarding the issue of self-righteousness to a place where each man is required to call on the one in whom he trusts. At that time, his deeds are evident and those who are repentant find refuge, while those who are self-righteous…are destroyed. Self-righteousness will never bring peace (v.21).

Proverbs 16:5 is the takeaway today. “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; assuredly he will not be unpunished.”