Isaiah - Verse By Verse

Scripture:  Isaiah 3:10 (NIV):  "Tell the righteous it will be well with them for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds."

Thought:  To me, it is a comfort to know that God always preserves the "righteous."

Question:  Am I among the righteous ones?

There is a need to encourage the righteous who live among the rebellious and amidst the same difficulties of life.  "The rain falls on the good and the bad", scripture teaches.  But one's deeds make the difference.  Good results (fruit) come from good behaviours (deeds.)  And afterward, the righteous will have a time of enjoyment--of reaping the reward of their behaviors.  Now, there is little, if any, enjoyment in this scriptural context.  God reassures us here that though judgmental punishment is coming, due to the wicked's behavior, the righteous should take heart.  All is not lost.  God's protection is available:  "it will be well with them..."  Judgment came upon everyone and everything in Noah's day--all were affected; but Noah, who found grace in the eyes of the LORD, and his family were safe in the ark.  And Noah did enjoy the fruit of his vineyard later on! 

There is always a remnant of the righteous.  In every age God has His faithful followers.  And God saves them from the appointed wrath that rebellious ones will receive.  The righteous are spared.  Who are the "righteous'?  Those who trust God and those who trust Christ as Savior are the righteous ones.  Because they trust Christ they will "enjoy the fruit" of knowing Him!

If we are part of the "righteous", remarkably, this scripture can encourage!  "Disaster" will not come upon us.  God protects His own because He is in us, and He cannot be disloyal, or unfaithful, to Himself (II Timothy 2:13).

Prayer:  God of the Righteous, thank You for Your protection of those who trust You.  Thank You for the everlasting "fruits" of knowing Christ.  Amen.

Scripture:  Isaiah 3:9 (NIV):  "The look on their faces testifies against them; they parade their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it.  Woe to them!  They have brought disaster upon themselves."

Thought:  To me, there are far too many open indicators in our country today that demonstrate defiance against God.

Question:  Have I stopped trying to hide my sin?

The look of arrogance, defiance and hatred of God becomes evident here.  There is no covering up now.  Their sin has consumed them, inwardly and outwardly--there is no reason left to mask it.  In the beginning stages of sin, one usually tries to hide his behavior.  But these rebels are far beyond that.  God declares woe upon them and that they are responsible for where they are and what they've come to.

God hates "a proud look."  No doubt this is "the look on their faces" as they defy God (previous verse), and shun His "glorious presence" (also, previous verse).

Their sin is paraded just as sin was openly practiced in Sodom.  From door to door and house to house, the sinful Sodomites sought their "partners".  (Genesis 19:4 and 5.)  Here the rebels openly "parade" their behaviors and make no attempt to cover up or hide their evil.  This is a point of no turning.  This is a maximizing of sin's fullness.  This is one step away from God releasing His wrath!  "Disaster" is upon them.

Prayer:  Holy Father, forgive our country's "parade of sin"!  Forgive me too, Lord, for open rebellion and blatant sin.  Thank You for Christ's cleansing blood!  Amen. 

Scripture:  Isaiah 3:8 (NIV):  "Jerusalem staggers, Judah is falling:  their words and deeds are against the LORD, defying his glorious presence."

Thought:  To me, as a nation, too many of our "words and deeds" today are definitely "against the LORD."

Question:  Am I "defying" God's "glorious presence?"

As a Christian I may sometimes feel as though I am staggering and falling.  Yet God is with me.  True failure is for those who resist God--not those who obey Him and seek Him.  Satan delights in turning everything upside down, doesn't he?  The truly weak ones are those who energetically oppose God.  For a time they may appear to prosper, but in the end, they will come to desperation.  (Perhaps the inverse is true for Christians:  today some of us may appear defeated and desperate, but in the end, we prosper and succeed.)  It's interesting to me that the only way the rebels can demonstrate their defiance is in a position of staggering and falling.  Their independence is so valuable to them that they maintain it at all costs--even to the point of collapse.  Defiant to the end, they fall, hating God's very presence with them.

What does it really mean to "defy His glorious presence"?  Webster defines "defy" as:  "to resist or disregard openly or boldly, to oppose or invite to combat."  These rebels actually preferred to fight against God's "glorious presence", or, as we have seen in earlier verses, against "the spendor of His majesty" (Isaiah 2:10; 2:19; 2:21), with open disregard, disrespect, hatred, rebellion and resistance.  No wonder their cities and nation fell!  What a warning for us today!

Prayer:  Great and Splendid God of All, I bow to thank You for giving us this prophetic Word and warning.  May we hear, understand and correct our course, in this nation, before it is too late!  Amen. 

Scripture:  Isaiah 3:7 (NIV):  "But in that day he will cry out, 'I have no remedy.  I have no food or clothing in my house; do not make me the leader of the people'."

Thought:  To me, man left to himself without God eventually dissolves to poverty and hopelessness.

Question:  Are we near "that day" of loss and ruin?

When man has "no remedy," when there is "no food or clothing", perhaps some will be awakened to God.  Often when we hit bottom we finally begin to look up.

God is not in the business of the destruction of man!  God's desire is to redeem and save mens' souls.  Often what seems to be His harsh judgments are really His wisdom in letting us go down so He can lift us up in the end.  And in so being lifted, while in His close embrace, as it were, maybe we'll take a look and really see God for Who He is.

The reluctance of this "brother", (see yesterday's verse), is also an indicator of what the state of mind will be like for those who have worshipped idols, rejected God and lived for themselves.  They arrive at a place of complete defeat.  The very spirit of life has left them, it seems, and even the weight of responsible leadership is shunned.  

This only reiterates to me how blessed I am today!  But let me not take my blessings for granted--let me respond fully to God now, without having to be stripped of all He has allowed me to have so far.  Yet if I depart from God, He has no other choice than to judge me. 

Prayer:  Loving God, may I never resist You unto such judgment!  Help me rather to seek You early, find You gracious and let You be the "leader" of my heart always.  Amen. 

Scripture:  Isaiah 3:6 (NIV):  "A man will seize one of his brothers at his father's home, and say, 'You have a cloak, you be our leader; take charge of this heap of ruins!'"

Thought:  To me, it is because God is rejected that chaos, panic and desperation come upon us.

Question:  Have I ever known desperation and then turned to God?

This "heap of ruins" probably refers to fallen Jerusalem; or it could refer to the home of these two brothers:  a home minus their father.  The land will exist in hard conditions.  There will be disorder and shortages and violence.  People will be desperate for relief.  People will be hungering for a leader who can bring order, peace and plenty, especially after having been stripped of all other leaders.  They are ripe to see God, or are they?  Until that moment they may, as a last resort, try, in a kind of panic, to enlist any kind of leader.  The criteria will be very simple:  even a brother, whom they might be more inclined to trust, who is slightly better off because he owns a cloak while they don't, will be "seized."  The ownership of a cloak becomes the new standard of leadership!

This paints a revealing picture of deep desperation.  To what level has Jerusalem sunk?

These are the consequences of the removal of God!

Prayer:  Oh Father, may our nation learn how to turn to You so that if and when a day of desperation like this comes, we will know Who is Our Maker and Savior!  Amen.   

Scripture:  Isaiah 3:5 (NIV):  "People will oppress each other--man against man, neighbor against neighbor.  The young will rise up against the old, the base against the honorable."

Thought:  To me, oppression among people increases when God's authority is ignored.

Question:  Do I see rebellion against authority today?

How like our country this is!  Respect is out the window.  Victimization is a way of life.  God's Day of Judgment will take place in just this kind of setting.

The chaos this unleashes into society is obvious.  When a nation resorts to oppression on all levels, it is symptomatic of having rejected God completely.  Think of the Communist, Fascist and Nazi regimes.  The people were so horribly oppressed.  And atheism was magnified. 

The last portion, "the young will rise up against the old" speaks of the kind of attitude that Paul described in 2 Timothy 3:2 as he writes of the end times:  "people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money...disobedient to parents, ungrateful..."  These are all indications that the end, God's "Day", is near, with His wrath about to be released.

Prayer:  Father, I am so glad that if faced with any kind of societal chaos, I have Your guidance, Your leadership to trust in!  Thank You, Father.  Knowing You brings peace.  Amen. 

Scripture:  Isaiah 3:4 (NIV):  "I will make boys their officials; mere children will govern them."

Thought:  To me, God sometimes lets us taste the worst so we will choose something better.

Question:  What kind of leader do I long for?

I think of the USA and our recent line of politicians:  how like immature "boys" they have been.  How we long for leadership with integrity!  Yet God has done this and for good purpose.  Through it we look to Him instead of trusting man.  Of course, we have to live with the consequences of this kind of leadership; yet even that chaos will be used by God to work His purposes.  All our leaders and politicians are in His hands and under His control for His purposes, even if they are "boys" or "mere children".   

Those "purposes", in such times of "chaos", will result in anarchy that often has characterized periods of history where godless societies are described.  For Israel, this can be seen in the book of Judges where, after God's leaders and prophets were done away with, the Kings were put into rule.  Then these deteriorated also and over time, corruption swept over the land and people did "what was right in their own eyes."  Hopefully we can learn from such instances how important it is to have God's leadership!

Prayer:  Father, may I ever set You as my King and Ruler of my heart.  May You ever be my strong and faithful leader.  I trust You!  Amen.

Scripture:  Isaiah 3:3 (NIV):  "the captain of fifty and man of rank, the counselor, skilled craftsman and clever enchanter."

Thought:  To me, God pulls down the "best" of men to reveal Himself as All-Powerful.

Question:  Who am I looking at?  Who am I following?

Taken with previous verses in this chapter, we see that God pulls out all of Israel's "man" props.  He wants the people to look at Him, not at other people.  How human a thing that is--looking at others!  Even as Christians we often stumble because our eyes are on people instead of God.  Let us remember verse 22 of Isaiah 2:  "Stop trusting in man...of what account is he?"  God is The One with whom we have to do.  Let us wake up to this truth!  

Perhaps, like Israel, we will only awaken to God when all our glorious human heroes are removed.

Prayer:  Oh God, give me worshipping eyes only for You!  May You be my only "hero"--the only One I truly, deeply admire and look to for purpose, goodness, power and life.  Amen. 

Scripture:  Isaiah 3:2 (NIV):  "the hero and warrior, the judge and prophet, the soothsayer and elder,"

Thought:  To me, when mankind rejects God, God "takes away" the position and power man was given.

Question:  Do I see an absence today of leaders with integrity?

These are leaders.  These are strong men that are sought out for inspiration, defense, wisdom, spiritual guidance, predictions of the future and other publicly prominent roles.  God normally blesses us with good leaders, but when men fail to put God first, fall into idolatry and prefer to flee from God's splendor (see previous verses in Isaiah 2), God is left with only one choice:  He will "take from"...(Isaiah 3:1)...Israel the very leaders who are guiding the rest of the population, (even the leaders we think are valuable, like "soothsayers").

Do we see a removal of good leaders today? 

I feel that whenever we see, either historically or prophetically, the chaos of the absence of good government, we should remember these scriptures:  it has not happened by chance, nor is man entirely the source of the issue.  God, the LORD Almighty (Isaiah 3:1), is behind the removal of power.  God is in control--of EVERY action.  God sets up "kings" and removes them.  God gives authority of all kinds, and He is the One who removes it.  We need to be asking why.

Prayer:  Father God, help us to put You first.  Help our leaders, on every level, to put You first and to love and serve You as they ought.  Amen. 

Scripture:  Isaiah 3:1 (NIV):  "See now, the LORD, the LORD Almighty, is about to take from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support:  all supplies of food and all supplies of water,"

Thought:  To me, we ought to be aware of what God "is about" to do.  We ought to pay attention.

Question:  Have I acknowledged God's sovereign control of everyday provisions?

Here in this country I thank God for His daily supplies, and now, today, this scripture deals with its removal in judgment!  Oh, that I may never rebel to the point where God feels it necessary to strip me of daily provisions to get my attention! 

Will it work for Jerusalem and Judah?  Will it open their eyes?  ANYTHING DIFFICULT THAT MIGHT HAPPEN TO OPEN OUR EYES TO GOD, WHEN WE WERE PREVIOUSLY BLIND, IS WORTH GOING THROUGH.  And God is especially gracious to have given the Israelites a warning such as He did through this and other prophets.  

Today we read this same warning:  it is here for our benefit.  Notice the tone here:  first of all, God is in charge!  He has all along supplied their food and water.  Have they thanked Him?  Have they acknowledged Him?  No!  They have constructed idols instead and credited them with their prosperity.  "See now the LORD,"... God will take over control now.  And He begins by taking away the daily basics:  food and water.  God has ceased from waiting and is now acting.

Prayer:  Oh Lord, thank You for Your gracious and faithful provision of food and water to me every day.  Show me how to live within Your grace so that I may not lose these blessings, and, more importantly, that I may not lose You!  Amen.

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