Isaiah - Verse By Verse

Scripture:  Isaiah 5:3 (NIV):  " 'Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.' "

Thought:  To me, God has every right to expect good from our lives.

Question:  Do I own a sense of allegiance to God?

God brings this story/analogy to rebellious Israel.  They are to pass judgment--Who is to blame here for this failure?

God is showing how very reasonable it is for a Creator to expect, even demand, that His creatures produce what He intended--what He wants.  He invites the Israelites to feel in their hearts and minds, the weight, as it were, of God's right to expect "good fruit."

Of course He has the right--He is their/our Maker!  I think of Romans 12:1:  "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."  (King James Version)  That word "reasonable" is so appropriate, not only for what Paul is saying in Romans 12:1, but also as we sense the tone of this verse in Isaiah.  Why should God not have the right to expect spiritual productivity in the lives of His children?  It is only reasonable.  And if He does not find it, it is only reasonable that He has the right to pass whatever judgment He sees fit.

Prayer:  Creator God, I bow my heart before You.  Cause me to accept fully Your right to expect good works in my life.  Help me to produce "good fruit"--deeds and works that make You smile.  Amen.  

Scripture:  Isaiah 5:2 (NIV):  "He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines.  He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well.  Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit."

Thought:  To me, God clearly longs to see us "bearing fruit" in our lives.

Question:  Am I accountable to God?

God prepared Israel, His chosen people, to receive Him and serve Him by "clearing" their way and "planting" His commandments among them.  He "built" His protection into the plan and remained watchful over them.  He does the same with us today, giving all peoples open opportunities to come to know Him.  He draws people, influences people, watches out for them and causes His Word to be available to them.  He works in hearts and lives in various ways, many of which are "painful" to us, even as "digging" and "clearing" may be harsh techniques to the earth, but always these diggings and losses are for our good.

The very best quality of planting is used by God--no shoddy vines ever come from Him.  We all have every opportunity to excel with what God gives us.  God goes further.  He erects protection over us to withstand the ever-present enemy, and He "constructs", or causes to develop in us, ways to extract the "fruit" we produce so that others' lives can be benefitted.  All of this is done as we develop and grow--long before we reach maturity.  

Finally God looks into our lives to see if any good fruit, as He reasonably expects to see, has popped out yet.  But in this case there was blighted fruit.  Oh, fruit was there; but it was not fit for consumption or use at all.  How disappointing for God!  He has put all good hard work and all good things into this project, yet it yields Him pain and tragedy.

Prayer:  Lord, because You are my Lord, make me more responsible to You!  Help me to realize I will give an accounting of myself and my "fruitfulness", or lack thereof, to You.  Amen.

Scripture:  Isaiah 5:1 (NIV):  "I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard:  My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside."

Thought:  To me it is a privilege to read of the love God has for us.  The scriptures overflow with warm reassurance.

Question:  Do I know God has a plan of love for me?

Remember, God is speaking here.  He is The Lover of our souls and we are His beloved ones, we who receive what He gives us:  His Son.  The gift of Christ is brought to us like the most beautiful song imagineable.

The beautiful poetry of the prophet Isaiah could never outshine the deep truth of this divinely inspired scripture:  God has a work of love to accomplish!  He has invested Himself in His people Israel.  He has a vision of fruitfulness.  He has goals in His mind's eye.

This also can apply to the church age and to us as believers in Christ.  God retains us as a project of growth and fruitbearing.  We, the vineyard "project" cannot produce wildly on our own.  No vineyard survives long without maintenance and care.  We begin in the fertility of Christ as our Savior and foundation:  God the Father is the "lanowner" and His Son is the "vinedresser".  God becomes our true Father through the work Christ completed on the cross. 

Will we let Him work in us to fruitfulness?

Prayer:  Lord, I want to be a "good" vineyard:  fruitful, free of "weeds" and pleasing to You!  I pray today to that end.  Amen. 

Scripture:  Isaiah 4:6 (NIV):  "It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain."

Thought:  To me, God's protection of His children in the Day of Wrath is the best "insurance policy" anyone could want!

Question:  Do I have the assurance of God's protection?

Indeed the "cloud of smoke by day" and the "glow of flaming fire by night" is for protection!  (See yesterday's verse:  Isaiah 4:5)  What's important, I think, is to see God's loving protection for His remnant of believers--that they will be protected from what the rest of the world will undergo in the "Day":  the "heat" of God's Day, and the "storm and rain."

We cannot say with certainty what the "heat", "storm and rain", may fully entail, but the book of Revelation does give us some insight!  

It is a real comfort to know that God's children, who are not appointed to wrath will be protected from it.  (Romans 5:9: "Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!"; I Thessalonians 1:10:  "...and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead--Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath."; and I Thessalonians 5:9:  "For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ."

What a typical display of the very warm love God has for His children!

Prayer:  Thank You, Lord, for saving us from the wrath to come!  Thank You for Your loving comfort in verses like these.  Amen. 

Scripture:  Isaiah 4:5 (NIV):  "Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy."

Thought:  To me, God longs to be present among us and protective over us.

Question:  Will I be one of "those who assemble there" on Mount Zion?

Once cleansed and forgiven, God draws us together unto Himself.  "Then the Lord will create...a cloud..."  After corrective judgment and restoration comes protection.

These smoke and fire effects are reminiscent of the exodus wanderings--Israel protected and led by a pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night.  Only here, it will be a cloud rather than a pillar.  There is no need of a distinct shaped "guidepost" in this instsance as the "holy" ones will not need to travel!  Similarly, the pillar of fire by night is replaced by a "glow of flaming fire by night."  Again, more broad in coverage and protection than a specifically located pillar, which, as we recall, stood squarely between the Israelites and Pharoah and his army.  But God's presence is the same in both cases and He chooses again to become "visible" this way to His people both day and night.  The "canopy" implies protection, or perhaps conscious, continuous visibility of His presence, or both.  What a reassuring, present blessing!

Prayer:  Lord God, I long to have You hovering over me both day and night in a noticeable way!  Thank You for this most comforting promise of Your presence in future days.  Amen. 

Scripture:  Isaiah 4:4 (NIV):  "The LORD will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire."

Thought:  To me, what God does to cleanse and save us is utterly amazing!

Question:  Have I let the LORD wash me?

Looking back at Isaiah 3:16 we see "the women of Zion" that are here mentioned.  God's judgment and "spirit of fire" cleanses and purifies these women.  God will act through these methods to re-establish Jerusalem.  The washing and cleansing are done in "spirit"--not on a physical plane, but deep within the heart of a person.  The idolatrous women described as having been stripped and judged will be cleansed from their "filth."  Nothing, apparently, is a better representation of cleanliness and purity, from the pen of prophet Isaiah, than a "proper" woman.  Virginity, chastity, morality and purity are her hallmarks.

The "stripping" aspect of judgment prepares a person for "washing."  First, the vile "garments", or coverings of sin, must be taken away.  As the soul is now exposed and laid open with vulnerability, the cleansing "spirit of fire" can now burn away the evil filth--the "blood stains."  This "spirit" is God's spirit.  We know this spirit as the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit can only be applied to do its work as we receive Christ as Savior, because it is only Christ's good blood that can cleanse away bad "blood stains".  Thus we see the Trinity at work.

Fire is violent.  It is mysterious, powerful and thorough.  When God does this kind of purification work, it too is violent, cutting sharply and utilizing deep shame; it too is mysterious, transcending our explanations; it too is powerful, doing what we are unable to do, and it is thorough; doing a work that is eternally irreversible!

Prayer:  Thank You, Great and Powerful God, for Your cleansing "spirit of fire"!  Thank You for Your preparatory judgments!  Thank You for caring enough to establish us with You in Your beautiful city!  Amen. 

Scripture:  Isaiah 4:3 (NIV):  "Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem."

Thought:  To me, "those who are left..." are Christ's remnant of believers.

Question:  Am I "called" holy?

Zion becomes a kind of sanctuary for this remnant of believers.  They are referred to as "those who are left..." because judgment and death have overtaken everyone else!  Those who find physical protection there in Zion will be referred to as "holy."  Notice that Zion and Jerusalem are interchangeable names for the Holy City. 

To me, this speaks of the Millenial Age and the establishment of the Holy City, Zion as Christ's "headquarters."  Within that holy city are its righteous inhabitants, born-again believers in Jesus, made holy only by Him and the application of His cleansing blood, who are "recorded among the living."  This reminds me of the fact that our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life at conversion, as a matter of firm, indisputable record.  As believers, we are "living" only in Christ and only in Him are we reckoned to be "holy."

Again there is a striking contrast between those receiving judgment from the Lord for their various offenses, and these who will be "called holy" and categorized as "the living."  Only through Christ can we find this life.  

Prayer:  Holy Father, can I ever praise You enough for proclaiming all believers "holy" through Your Son's blood?  Thank You that the names of all true believers are written down in the Lamb's Book of Life.  Thank You that I am one of them!  It is all Your doing.  Amen. 

Scripture:  Isaiah 4:2 (NIV):  "In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel."

Thought:  To me, there is great contrast between those who repent and know Christ and those who rebel and refuse to follow Him.

Question:  Am I going to "survive" the crises of the "Day of the LORD"?

Christ is this Branch.  We know from Isaiah 11:1-5 that "the Branch" is Christ.  Also Isaiah 11:10 mentions that this "Branch" will have all peoples "rally to him" and "his place of rest will be glorious."  He will be beautiful and glorious in His Day!  We will see that victorious side of Him we so long to see. 

The "fruit" the land bears at this time will belong to "the survivors" in Israel.  Are these not "the remnant"?  Are these not those who believe and follow Christ?  They have "survived" judgment because Christ has preserved them from it.  And thus their fruit will be pride-worthy and full of glory. 

The majority, however, do not follow Christ and are therefore judged.  What a stark contrast between the glory in this verse and the judgment in previous verses of chapter 3!  What a difference between those judged and those who are redeemed!  I see that those who rebel have behaviors reaching a point where the natural consequences erode positive living, and people are caught having to "sleep" in the very "beds" they have poorly made.

Prayer:  Father of Our Lord Christ, I thank You for Jesus, our Savior, our Branch.  I pray for those who reject Him:  may they see the Truth and turn to Your beauty and glory!  Amen. 

Scripture:  Isaiah 4:1 (NIV):  "In that day seven women will take hold of one man and say, 'We will eat our own food and provide our own clothes; only let us be called by your name.  Take away our disgrace!' "

Thought:  To me, we would do well to recognize God "knocking" on the door of our reason.

Question:  Does disgrace or difficulty drive me to God or away from Him?

The need of these women is not financial provision.  They are willing, and apparently somehow able, to provide their own subsistance:  "we will eat our own food and provide our own clothes."  Their need is to have a husband, to take his name and be identified with him.  Their culture seems to demand this for acceptability.  The apparent shortage of men is probably the result of what we read in chapter 3 verse 25:  "your men will fall by the sword."

The Jewish cultural disgrace of an unmarried woman is used here to show how tragedies of all kinds will be magnified in the Lord's Day of Judgment.  One failing or shortcoming seems to incite a snowball effect:  many are the consequences of sin!  God will not bless, He will allow many uncomfortable circumstances.  He does so hoping to have Israel open their eyes to their need of Him.  A woman's desperation for security and belonging is here used by God to draw the women to Himself.  To me, the significance of seven women illustrates the level of desperation.  Seven is often a biblical statement of fullness or completeness.  

Will they respond?

Prayer:  Sovereign Lord, open my reasoning!  May I see You at work in times of disgrace, desperation, panic and uncertainty.  Help me to turn to You always.  Amen.

Scripture:  Isaiah 3:26 (NIV):  "The gates of Zion will lament and mourn; destitute, she will sit on the ground."

Thought:  To me, we are slow to recognize God at work.

Question:  Has my spirit been broken?  Has God comforted me through it?

The "she" here, I believe, is Zion, the Holy City of God, also known as Jerusalem today.  After all the stripping and judging, Zion will utterly fail and leave a "standing" position being relegated to a vulnerable, "sitting" position of collapse and ruin.  Zion is broken in every way:  her leaders have been removed from power after influencing people into idolatry, her women have been degraded, her men have been killed in battle.  She is left to "lament and mourn" her losses.  

Similarly, God's judgment aims at our spirit.  It may dishearten us completely to be stripped and brought low by God.  To me it is clearly meant to happen so that we will turn and return to God for recovery.  

How slow we are to recognize God!  How blind to see His presence!  How much difficulty God must allow to descend upon us to awaken us!  We need to become children of sensitivity to His Spirit.  We live too much in the physical, mental and emotional parts of our being.  We completely overlook the spiritual.  God therefore must resort to many harsh strippings and substitutions of ugliness to finally awaken us to Him.

Will we respond?  Will He find us teachable?

Prayer:  God of all comforts, meet me in my mourning and lament!  Help me to understand what it is You long to teach me through sadness and loss.  Amen.

• Main
• archives
• Albums
• Links
• Admin
• Send us a story!
• Summary-Blog Directory

• Isaiah - Day 183
• Isaiah - Day 182
• Isaiah - Day 181
• Isaiah - Day 180
• Isaiah - Day 179
• Isaiah - Day 178
• Isaiah - Day 177
• Isaiah - Day 176
• Isaiah - Day 175
• Isaiah - Day 174

• General [338]

• RSS 0.90
• RSS 1.0
• RSS 2.0
• Atom