03.31.09
Posted in
General
| 18:46
Scripture: Isaiah 13:13 (NIV): "Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD Almighty, in the day of his burning anger."
Thought: To me, the coming cataclysm of God's outpoured wrath is not taken seriously today.
Question: Am I subject to God's wrath?
The fourth "I will", spoken by God, appears now in this passage in Isaiah 13. For God to say "I will" seals the guarantee more solidly than any other kind of swearing or binding oath. Now four times He promises to act! He will "punish the world" (verse 11), "put an end to the arrogance" (verse 11), "make man scarcer than pure gold" (verse 12), and now, "make the heavens tremble" (verse 13). No man can do these things; only God Almighty can make "the heavens tremble", only He can "punish the world", "put an end to the arrogance" and "make man scarcer than pure gold."
The "therefore" of this verse is here to gather up all these "reasons" for God's displeasure and give good cause for His wrath. Man has become fully evil; man's pride has been like a stench in God's nostrils. (Certainly today we can see the pride of men all around us--and, unfortunately, we can also see its horrible ill-effects as our economy is crippled by irresponsible debt and overwhelming greed.) The "Day of the LORD", "Day of Judgment", "Day of Reckoning", "Day of Jacob's Trouble" will come. It is a "day" of God's "burning anger."
On this "day" "the earth will shake from its place..." Further ahead in Isaiah in chapter 24 verse 20, come these words: "The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls--never to rise again." It is not an angry God destroying his created planet because the planet is evil; no, it is the men of the earth who have chosen wrong who are now meeting the consequences of their own choices--bringing self-destruction to their home. Currently, God holds the earth on its axis and acts to sustain all our earthy, cyclical patterns. It is Jesus Christ, God's appointed Son, Who now holds all things together, (Colossians 1:17: "He (Christ) is before all things, and in him all things hold together.") When we reject God's ways and refuse to honor His Son, Jesus Christ, we begin to destroy ourselves and our home. This prophecy points out the horrible conclusion to long years of rebellion: "the earth" will not remain in "its place"--it will fall and "never" "rise again." It will actually become necessary for God to create a new earth in its place. (Revelation 21:1: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away...")
God has "burning anger" not for His creation, but for the sins of man within His creation.
Prayer: Father of Holiness, I pray against sin. I pray to confess my own sins and place them under the blood of Christ. Then I also pray for others, that they may end their rebellious ways, acknowledge their need for Christ and repent of their sins. In this way they will not be subjected to any of Your wrath. May it be so, Father! In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Permalink Print View
03.30.09
Posted in
General
| 18:04
Scripture: Isaiah 13:12 (NIV): "I will make man scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir."
Thought: To me, though we have war and death, God's control in and through it must be believed.
Question: Does war disillusion me?
As was seen in Isaiah 4:1, men will become scarce because of war. Young men will be killed in battle and will become as hard to find as buried gold--even the famed gold of Ophir. (Ophir was famous as a location for finding gold. It is disputed where Ophir was located. Some say southeastern Arabia. Some say southwestern Arabia. Some argue its location is in the area of Somalia along the northeastern African coast. India and Zimbabwe have been suggested as well. Solomon brought gold from Ophir and the description in I Kings 10:22 indicates round trips of over three years, implying Ophir was farther away than the Arabian coast.)
But Who is it that creates this absence of men? It is God! He says, "I will make man scarcer than pure gold..." Again, God's sovereignty takes the upper hand and even owns all responsibility in this verse for being behind the "thinning" of the male population. Man may kill other men in war, but it is God Who is over all these events. In fact, this is the third "I will" in a row in this passage: verse 11 has two "I will" phrases just prior to this.
God "will make man...more rare than the gold of Ophir." It is God that is acting here--God is in control of the devastation, the destruction, the desolation. And if God is in control, then God has a purpose in it! And that purpose will be ultimately good because God Himself is good.
Prayer: Lord, God, have Your own way! Whatever plans and purposes You have in mind, may they be accomplished in such a way as to achieve all the goodness You intended--even though methods and circumstances may cause us to be alarmed--may we trust You! Amen.
Permalink Print View
03.28.09
Posted in
General
| 13:17
Scripture: Isaiah 13:11 (NIV): "I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless."
Thought: What God has willed, God will faithfully perform. It is His promise.
Question: Have my sins been covered under the blood of Jesus?
Evil, sin, wickedness, arrogance and haughtiness will be punished. They will never occur with no accountability attached to them. Whether we immediately see the outcome of justice or not, God will see to it that what mankind sows, mankind will reap back upon themselves eventually.
These evils and sins are the reason God must set aside a "day" of judgment. He has reserved His wrath for this occasion. Notice that this verse says God "will punish the world..." As God "saves up" His wrath, the entire world sees the effects of sin spreading over everyone. As Psalm 14:1 and Romans 3:10 tell us, "There is none righteous, none that does good, no, not one." Thus the entire globe will see the cruel wrath of God's judgment.
God Himself is not cruel by nature. But the consequences of our own bad choices and evil sins bring a crop of cruelty back to us, or in other words, back to the earth. God has, before the foundation of the world, provided His own Son, Jesus Christ, to create a way for all our sins to be covered, forgiven, done away with and removed from us. Therefore, those that find Christ and take part in His shed blood, will be spared the cruelties of God's Day of Judgment.
Through His wrath emptied out in "that Day", God finds a way to "put an end to the arrogance of the haughty", and a way to "humble the pride of the ruthless." The "haughty" are the proud ones. The "ruthless" are those who lack compassion ("ruth" is archaic for "compassion"). God is not out to "be mean" and flex His power in bloodshed haphazardly. God is extremely just: that which is sown will be reaped. It is a basic law we can see acted out in many ways throughout all avenues of life. And when it comes to the Day of Reckoning it will be no different: the wrongs we have achieved will reap their own results.
Prayer: Great God of perfect justice, thank You for finally eliminating evil, sin, wickedness, arrogance and pride. And thank You for providing our rescue from condemnation in and through the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Permalink Print View
03.27.09
Posted in
General
| 18:14
Scripture: Isaiah 13:10 (NIV): "The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light."
Thought: To me, it is utterly appropriate for God to dim the lights on a people who have no vision of Him or His bright righteousness.
Question: Do I take the rising of the sun every morning for granted?
God "sets the stage" for a dark day--He "dims the lights"!
This seems to be among the first processes of action in "that Day" of judgment here in Isaiah. Similarly in Revelation 6:12 - 17 the darkening of the heavenly bodies is part of the sixth seal; then the seventh seal opens a new series, seven trumpets. Thus we find the darkening as a kind of precursor to the woes that follow in those "trumpets." So it is also in Isaiah: the first unnatural signs are in the heavens where our sources of light are found. Then more trouble follows that.
Just as Revelation speaks of the "sun" becoming "black as sackloth made of goat hair" so here in Isaiah the "rising sun will be darkened." Just as Revelation says "the whole moon turned blood red" so Isaiah says "the moon will not give its light." Just as Revelation declares that "the stars in the sky fell to the earth" so Isaiah declares that "the stars of heaven and their constallations will not show their light."
The prophet Isaiah is clearly prophesying the same cataclysmic event! And so, once again, we experience through Isaiah, the interweaving of, shall we say, "current" prophecy (involving the fall of the city Babylon in the days of the Israeli Kings) and a much farther-reaching prophecy--one that stretches all the way to the end of time, and the destruction of "Mystery Babylon The Great" (Revelation 17). One is the "sample" (small scale) of the ultimate prophecy (large scale).
Who is capable of darkening the sun and moon? Who can cause the stars to fall? It is only God. And when God resorts to such processes we can know beyond the shadow of a doubt that "His Day" of Judgment is upon us! (Isaiah 13:9)
Let us turn to Him now while there is yet time to turn!
Prayer: Oh, God in heaven, before the sun and moon are darkened, I turn to You, cry out and plead for Your forgiveness! Heal me through Jesus Christ, Your only begotten Son today, so that I will be cleansed before "that Day". Amen.
Permalink Print View
03.26.09
Posted in
General
| 20:25
Scripture: Isaiah 13:9 (NIV): "See, the day of the LORD is coming--a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger--to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it."
Thought: To me, God has given more than adequate warning of what lies ahead.
Question: Do I take the coming wrath of God seriously?
This is a clear warning. God is not without His mercy to say before He judges, "Beware! A tough time is approaching!" He has said so time and time again through His prophets. Anyone who can read, or hear it read to them by someone else, should know by now that the warning has gone out to all the world: "See, the day of the LORD is coming..."! If God says it's coming, it is indeed so. It is more certain than what another person might say to us. God is much more reliable, more consistent, more truthful and more trustworthy than any human being. "The Day" is on its way. Let us not forget this.
It is "...a cruel day," God makes no bones about it. But in looking to the last part of the verse we find who the object of this cruelty truly is--"the sinners". Am I a sinner? Well, of course I am. But if I am a repentant sinner, and one forgiven by Christ, "therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," (Romans 8:1). It is, (like Babylon, who is an example of any enemy of God and God's people), the unbelieving nations, or people, or individual, that will be the target of destruction and cruelty in "that day."
What makes this "day of the LORD" "cruel"? As described here, it is a day filled "with wrath and fierce anger". And though we may have taken anger from another person or persons, we will never see a more piercing wrath than that from God. He is our Creator--He knows us inside and out. He can penetrate to the very center of each heart, specifically directing His anger in response to our exact deeds and choices. There is no hiding from this kind of judgment. In that sense it will indeed be "a cruel day."
God's purposes in judgment are laid out very plainly in this verse: 1) "to make the land desolate" and 2) "destroy the sinners within it". Actually, if we were to study any or many of other biblical texts on judgment we would see the same two purposes every time: 1) judment of the land and 2) judgment of the people. The book of Revelation in its climactic finality also outlines this same framework: first the land is smitten, then the people are slain.
Prayer: Oh, Lord, my prayer is that souls who read these words would heed Your warning, and in fear of Your great wrath to come, would confess their sins and take the blood of Christ as their great cleanser. I thank You that You helped me to find Christ's forgiveness--I pray others would find it as well! Through Christ we escape the cruelty of "that Day". Amen.
Permalink Print View
03.25.09
Posted in
General
| 18:15
Scripture: Isaiah 13:8 (NIV): "Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame."
Thought: To me, we alone are the authors of our own spiritual terror.
Question: Am I free of the pain and anguish of impending condemnation?
The warning given in this chapter's passage is very clear: any who become the enemy of Israel, God's chosen people, are actually and automatically opposing God. And if you end up opposing God, you have chosen a course of action that leads to a very dark and desperate conclusion. Here are some descriptions of that despair:
"Terror will seize them..." Webster defines terror as "a state of intense fear; panic, dread, dismay, horror." This very hurtful emotion "will seize them." It will attack and take hold so that there is no way to overcome it. No, indeed; it will overcome you!
"...pain and anguish will grip them..." It is known that emotional panic can create real and physical symptoms of pain in the human body. Some who experience "waves" of panic compare it to the pain of a heart attack. It "grips" the person completely and will not let go. This results in "anguish", or an extreme sense of distress.
"...they will writhe like a woman in labor." Women who bare children know what it's like to be "in labor." There is no escaping this process once it begins. You are the central birth-giver in a series of actions and you cannot change your mind and become un-pregnant! It will take its course. This idea is very true concerning the flow of God's wrath upon the wicked, and is described using this very allegory in many more places in the Bible; 197 times to be exact. God's judgment once begun must continue until it finishes. And just as pain in birth is inexorably linked to both the pleasure of conception and joy in procreating a new life, so is pain in judgment undeniably linked to both the liberty of free will choice and the consequences of a wrong choice, which, unlike new life, leads to eternal death.
"...They will look aghast at each other,..." There is a portrait called "The Last Judgment" which Michelangelo painted among the many biblical scenes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome that depicts, among other things, a yound man who suddenly realizes he is on his way to hell. The facial expression is unbelievably well-captured by the artist. The young man truly looks "aghast", or "struck with horror" (Webster). His eyes are wide open in amazement, yet sunken with blackened sockets indicating stress or lack of rest or peace. His body is drawn together almost into a ball as though he instinctively seeks to shield, withdraw or protect himself. One hand is on his face, covering one eye, in a sign of shocked grief, as it were, while he is pulled down by demons into the lower regions. To me, this is a very fair representation of what Isaiah is trying to describe in these verses.
"...aghast at each other" implies a kind of group anxiety, maybe even a riot mentality where each one's fear reflects of another's, thus compounding the anguish and confusion.
"...their faces aflame..." could mean a pale, helpless weakness like yellow or white-hot flames mixed with the red blush of shame, anger or frustration.
Indeed, this is a powerful message as one pictures these images and meditates on the significance of this verse!
Prayer: God of Judgment, help me to ever fear Your holy power, while at the same time, always rejoice in Your forgiveness as found in receiving Jesus Christ as Savior. Amen.
Permalink Print View
03.24.09
Posted in
General
| 19:22
Scripture: Isaiah 13:7 (NIV): "Because of this, all hands will go limp, every man's heart will melt."
Thought: To me, the "melted heart" is a direct and full consequence of the kind of fear resulting from the rejection of God's love.
Question: Am I on God's side?
As we recall that this context is an oracle, (a mournful message), against Israel's enemy, Babylon, we begin to understand why destruction, and all its consequences, are coming from God Almighty. Those enemies of both God and His chosen prople, who have rejected God's ways, will fall victim in "that day" to the wrath of God. As we saw in verse 6 of this chapter, "destruction" is sent directly "from the Almighty." And as was seen in verse 3, God summons His own "warriors to carry out" His wrath.
"Because of this..." This phrase is like a large "therefore". Due to all these events, including the "uproar among the kingdoms" (verse 4), which leads to the destruction of "the whole country" (verse 5), THEREFORE "all hands will go limp, every man's heart will melt."
What causes men's hands to "go limp"? Basically, the cause is terror, tremendous fear and/or hopelessness, a sudden realization that one is not in control. Coming very rapidly is the overwhelming power of God and you are no longer the decision-maker you thought you were, He is; you are no longer in control of your own fate as you imagined you were, He is; you are unable to contradict Him, override Him or escape His wrath. How terrible! How paralyzing to know it is to late to "improve" your relationship with the LORD Almighty! How utterly demoralizing to have it finally dawn on you that you were wrong all your life to have opposed this powerful, omnipotent God!
"...every man's heart will melt." There is no other kind of "reaction" left: no more excuses can be manufactured, no more lies can feed into your denial process, no more time can entice you to delay your thinking and no more rationalizations can replace the real truth of the matter--the Almighty Creator God is not only "upon" You, He is "against" You!
This was the fate of Babylon. And it was the fate of all hands and every man's heart in Babylon. No one escaped. No one ever escapes the judgment of God. "Every man" that rejects, opposes or fights against God will find themselves in this condition--including us today.
Prayer: Great and powerful God, I long to be on "Your side"! I am so grateful that I can be through our Lord and Savior, Your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank You that because of His shed blood I can circumvent fear and despair. Amen.
Permalink Print View
03.18.09
Posted in
General
| 21:43
Scripture: Isaiah 13:6 (NIV): "Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty."
Thought: To me, very few "days" are left before the LORD's Day comes!
Question: Will I wail at the "day of the LORD"?
What is "destruction from the Almighty" like? Can we even imagine? If we read biblical descriptions of His destruction we will find, among other things, cataclysmic upheavals in nature, normal patterns of seasons and weather disrupted, the ever-reliable light of the sun and moon compromised, the mountains of rock levelled, the seas and fresh water sources filled with blood and deep, mysterious stores within the earth opened letting who-knows-what up to the surface of the planet (portions of Revelation 6, 8, 9 and 16). And there is much more I have not mentioned here, especially in the minor prophets and Ezekiel.
It indeed causes one to "wail"! Faced with such widespread disaster and totally uncontrollable circumstances, people can do nothing else but moan and cry out in utter despair! This is "the day of the LORD"!
Why is the "LORD's day" so filled with evil and destruction? How can this come from a God of goodness and love? It is a venting of His wrath regarding us. It is His day of judgment for mankind's sins. What men sow, they will reap back from God.
Notice that in this context, (the judgment against Babylon, the enemy of Israel), the elements God permits to befall "the whole country" (yesterday's verse) are "like destruction from the Almighty". In other words, there is one grand and final day when God's destruction will not have ever been matched or equalled (The Great Tribulation); but this destruction (of Babylon at this point in history during Isaiah's day) is "like" it: a "mini" destruction, as it were, at the hand of God--a sample of the ultimate "day" yet to come.
Looking to Joel 1:15 (NIV) we read, "Alas for that day! For the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty." The King James version says "Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come." "Like" or "as", they both signify a comparison of destructions. Babylon's judgment in Isaiah's day may have been smaller in scope than The Great Tribulation of Revelation will prove to be, but the similarity is that God's hand is in it! And if God's hand is in it, we ought to be thoroughly attentive to the warning!
Prayer: Great God of destruction, You Who bring back the consequences of all our unconfessed sins, hear our prayers! Help us to confess our sins and receive the forgiveness You have promised in and through Your Son, Jesus Christ, before it is too late. Put fear into those of us who need it, Lord; those of us who are not heeding Your warnings appropriately. Help us to turn to You today while there is still time. Amen.
Permalink Print View
03.16.09
Posted in
General
| 20:02
Scripture: Isaiah 13:5 (NIV): "They come from faraway lands--from the ends of the heavens--the LORD and the weapons of his wrath--to destroy the whole country."
Thought: To me, God wields His "weapons" for a good purpose.
Question: Is destruction of all the evil "country" the final act of God?
"They come from faraway lands..." Who are "they"? Looking back to Isaiah 10:5 we are reminded that Assyria was pressed into use by God to judge Israel. However, God has shifted His judgment away from Israel for the time being and is instead directing His wrath against Israel's enemies. The first enemy to be judged is Assyria. During Isaiah's day, God raised up Sennacherib (Assyria) against Israel, then turned and brought Cyrus, King of Persia against Babylon, the chief city of the Assyrians empire. Therefore, the "they" of this verse is referring to Cyrus, King of Persia, and his armies. Wherever sin abounds, there God will bring His judgment, first to His people and then to the "nations."
Why does God bring the armies from "faraway lands--from the ends of the heavens--"? What does this mean? To me, it is a picture of the sovereignty of God. He is able to draw from great distances, even from the very "edge" of the farthest distance, "the ends of the heavens", the instruments He needs to accomplish His plans. Persia was yet farther east than the Assyrian empire. That these hordes came from so far away ought to capture the attention.
And so the faraway enemy comes to destroy Israel's nearer enemy, Babylon. War, war, war--is everywhere! These armies are "the weapons of his wrath." God arranges their battles "to destroy the whole country." Perhaps like the flood of Noah's day, God wants to drown away the evil of the world through the destructiveness of these battles. And that thought, and these verses, are again reminiscent of the book of Revelation: the great outpouring of God's destructive final wrath against the evil of the whole world.
The sin of man creates the evil that God must destroy. God's righteous wrath against such evil will be vented!
Then what...?
Prayer: Father, I am thankful You are angry with evil. I am glad You seek to destroy it. I look to see what You will do next, Lord. Have Your good way! Amen.
Permalink Print View
03.15.09
Posted in
General
| 17:51
Scripture: Isaiah 13:4 (NIV): "Listen, a noise on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations massing together! The LORD Almighty is mustering an army for war."
Thought: To me, the Lord is in full control of every battle.
Question: Am I in the Lord's army?
Who is gathering an army for war? The Lord is! "The LORD Almighty is mustering an army for war." Before we moan and grieve over the tragedies of war, let us remember that God's purposes are at work in and through and beyond all battles on earth. Behind every conflict of war, small or great, is the spiritual warfare of good vs. evil, of God vs. Satan. And God will win!
The prophet speaks an oracle against Babylon (Isaiah 13:1) and it warns of coming conflict. Perk up your ears and "Listen!" There is coming "a noise on the mountains", "an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations massing together!" Our practices of combat are different today, but in those days horses and the tramping of many soldiered feet could be heard coming together in legions and companies. The nations are "massing together!" War approaches!
Cyrus, King of Persia, is gathering the nations together to overtake the Babylonian empire. He is doing so under the controlling purposes of God Almighty (see yesterday's blog.) But ultimately it is God working through Cyrus to amass these armies. The prophet says, "Listen..."! Learn to hear and recognize the approach of war because with its approach comes the realization that no one kingdom will outlast or outshine any other on earth: each will only have its "fifteen minutes" of fame and then be swept away by the next summoned army.
Ezekiel chapter 38 describes another "summoned" army, the armies of God and Magog who assault Israel from the north in a battle yet to come. See specifically verses 4, 8, 9, 17 and 21: "I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army...", "After many days you will be called to arms...", "You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm..." "...they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them..." I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed...on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him."
Even so will one last Final Battle be "mustered" in the end days. Yes, one last war! Hallelujah! Revelation 16:12 - 14: "The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the Kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty." Yes, the demons come from Satan, (and the rest of his unholy trinity), but the battle will be allowed, controlled and won by God Almighty!!
Prayer: God of all battles, I bow before Your mighty power! Have Your way, Lord, in the battles You have ordained. I know You will win, Father! Amen.
Permalink Print View
