Isaiah - Verse By Verse

Scripture:  Isaiah 1:27 (NIV):  "Zion will be redeemed with justice, her penitent ones with righteousness."

Thought:  To me, injustice and unrighteousness are very relevant sins of today.

Question:  Have I been "redeemed"?

How ironic that Jerusalem, or Zion, will be dealt with in justice and righteousness from God when she herself failed miserably to display these qualities to her citizens.  God is good in the face of evil, overcoming the evil.  He combats the bad in us by giving the good of Himself, sacrifically.  We are redeemed by the very goodness we are incapable of imitating, that is, the faithful promise of forgiveness from God if we confess our injustices and unrighteousnesses.  

To be "redeemed" is to be "bought back" out of a hopeless, losing fate.  God redeems us by accepting Christ's blood as sufficient payment for our sins.  When we admit our sins humbly we are "penitent", as Webster says, "feeling sorrow for offenses."  This, however must be a true, inward grief of guilt for the wrong we've done and not merely feeling sorry we got caught at doing what someone else is calling wrong.  We must agree it was wrong.  We must agree we were wrong.

Prayer:  Lord God, help me to be thoroughly and authentically penitent.  Give me the desire to agree with You, Father.  Save me from a rebellious attitude that destroys my life and works at cross purposes with Your desire to forgive me!  Amen.

Scripture:  Isaiah 1:26 (NIV):  "I will restore your judges as in days of old, your counsellors as at the beginning.  Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City."

Thought:  To me, God does all the work.  The only task we have is to yield ourselves up to Him and His work.

Question:  Have I allowed God to "restore" me?

Vital to any "city" are its leaders.  God zeroes in on the restoration of those who care for others--those in authority--the "judges" and "counsellors".  Then the people will follow and be cared for properly.  "As in days of old", to me, hails back to the days in Israel before kings ruled, back to the days of Samuel, Israel's great prophet before King Saul was placed into power.  During the era of pre-King rule, the people obeyed God much more directly, only seeking God's leadership through one, holy man.  Much like Moses, Samuel was a singularly authoritative leader, connected, as was Moses, very directly to God.  God seems to wish a return to this more pure system.

In a way, this can be applied to us as individuals.  God must restore the purity of our minds and hearts:  these are the "organs" of leadership and authority within us.  If our minds are renewed and turned and our hearts yielded and submissive, God can direct the rest of our behaviors.

God is the Restorer.  He does this after "turning" to discipline us.  (See Isaiah 1:25).  He has had our restoration in mind all along.  And He has had an "afterward" look to our future all along, as well; to establish a "city" that is "righteous" and "faithful."  The cities of this age were usually walled for protection.  Protected is what we will be when God is finished purging out sin and evil--protected with righteousness, the righteousness of Christ imputed, or set by God, within us.  When this is accomplished we become "the Faithful City" because God, Christ, in us cannot be unfaithful to Himself.  Thank goodness for that!

Prayer:  Great Restorer and Lover of my soul, bring me back to the righteousness and faithfulness of my original, more simple and pure relationship with You.  I need Your protection!  Amen. 

Scripture:  Isaiah 1:25 (NIV):  "I will turn my hand against you; I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities."

Thought:  To me, we need not fear the hand of God turned against us in discipline.  It is not the end for us, but the beginning of cleansing and restoration.

Question:  Has God removed my "dross" and "impurity"? 

Whoever thought that purification was painless was off the mark!  God's hand will be turned against us during purification.  It is like the sharp swat of a loving parent where the very hand that caresses now hurts us.

This "turn" of God's "hand" against us is for good.  Through this process God will purge away all "dross", or useless slag, or, as in the harvest of grain, the chaff or useless husks, and He will "remove all...impurities."  Is this not what we want?  I say, let God have His way!  When a parent resorts to the discipline of spanking or a "turned hand", good is accomplished.  And later the child will learn to appreciate and respect a parent who cares enough to want to separate a child from his own foolishness, (see Proverbs 22:15).  God is better than a loving parent.  His love endures much longer and deeper.  He will not abandon us--He wants to help us.

Prayer:  Loving Father, thank You for caring enough about me to discipline me.  Thank You that this painful process will end in good for my soul.  Amen. 

Scripture:  Isaiah 1:24 (NIV):  "Therefore the LORD, the LORD Almighty, The Mighty One of Israel, declares:  'Ah, I will get relief from my foes and avenge myself on my enemies.' "

Thought:  To me, we need to remove the scales from our eyes and see clearly that God well act in judgment against sin, though it may seem He is delaying.

Question:  Am I God's foe or friend?

Notice the titles of God given here:  there is an acceleration of names:  1) the LORD:  all capital letters means Elohim--the triune God; 2) the LORD Almighty:  this adds a description of power and might--He can do what He will!; 3) The Mighty One of Israel:  He is the One Who chose them, rules them and has every right to judge them.  

Sometimes we think God is passive, tolerant of evil, not actively doing anything.  But God has determined to "get relief" and to "avenge" Himself of the enemy.  He may delay doing so and function in a different or longer time-frame than we would, but He will definitely move.  He will not allow a state of evil to continue.  Where evil is concerned, God will act.

Read the Bible!  There you'll discover how and when God has avenged Himself in the past and how and when He plans to do so again in the future.  For us, the future "revenge" against evil is well recorded in the book of Revelation.  There we see the wrath of God poured out upon the earth as it never has been before nor ever shall be again.  Webster defines wrath as:  "violent anger; rage; retributory punishment for an offense or crime; divine chastisement."  What is Israel's crime or offense?  Many things including idolatry, injustice, lack of mercy toward the needy and breaking God's many other commandments as given in Mosaic law.  Are these not our sins as well?

How can we escape the wrath of God?  How can we switch camps--come out of the enemy camp and move into the camp of the righteous?  There is only one way:  receive the cleansing of Christ's blood.  Joining to Christ will make you the friend of God!

Prayer:  Oh, LORD Almighty, I bow before You!  Please accept my confession of sin.  Thank You for the blood of Christ that covers my sin, washies it away and protects me from Your vengeance.  Amen. 

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