Devotions

when the big one strikes

Posted on April 4, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 24:1-3

¹Watch! Yahveh, about to lay the land waste and about to demolish it, and he will twist her surface, and he will scatter her inhabitants. ² And the people will be like the priest; like the slave, so his master; like the female slave, so her mistress; like the buyer, so the seller; like the lender, so the borrower; like the creditor, so to whomever he lends. ³ The land will be utterly laid waste, and it will be utterly plundered, because Yahveh has spoken this word.

when the big one strikes

When disaster strikes, it knows no social status. It knows no economic barrier. Those who have more, only have more to lose. Isaiah predicts a time when the people will experience a disaster of epic proportions, and no one’s insurance will cover it. They cannot even “get religion” to see them through this, because Yahveh himself is the author of it.

The ultimate message here is that such a time is coming for the planet. We build up structures and barriers for ourselves, keeping us out of harm’s way. But, deep in our minds is the thought of “the big one” that all these measures are useless to prevent. The big one is God’s judgment and destruction in hell, and when it strikes it will not be extinguished until it has destroyed everything. The only protection against the big one is the God who is bringing it. So, the prophet pleas with his people not to forget this God of judgment, because he is the only one who can protect anyone from it.

LORD, we choose to fear and love you, our Father, bringer of judgment, and protector from it.

Posted in dependence upon God, destruction in hell, faith, fear, judgment | Tagged Isaiah 24 | Leave a comment

the song of the prostitute

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 23:12-18

¹²And he said, “You will not keep on gloating, crushed one, virgin daughter of Sidon. Get up, cross through Cyprus! There will be no rest for you even there.” ¹³Look, the land of the Chaldeans! It was this people! It was not Assyria. They destined it for wild animals. They erected its siege towers; they demolished its citadel fortresses. It made her like a ruin. ¹⁴ Wail, ships of Tarshish! Because your fortress is destroyed. ¹⁵And this will happen on that day: And Tyre is forgotten seventy years, like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will be for Tyre like the song of the prostitute: ¹⁶ “Take a harp, go around the city, forgotten prostitute! Do well, playing a stringed instrument! Make many songs, so that you will be remembered.” ¹⁷ And this will happen: at the end of seventy years, Yahveh will visit Tyre, and she will return to her harlot’s wages, and she will commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the land. ¹⁸And this will happen: her merchandise and her harlot’s wages is set apart for Yahveh; it will not be stored up, and it will not be hoarded, but her merchandise will be for those who live before the face of Yahveh, for eating to fullness and for fine clothing.

the song of the prostitute

Tyre was destroyed, and abandoned for seventy years as Isaiah predicted. He also predicted that she would return to her status of economic greatness, but that her wealth would be “for those who live before the face of Yahveh.” Eusebius and Jerome testify that, centuries after Tyre’s destruction, she had been rebuilt and was once again a profitable port city. And many of the people who benefited from that wealth were the Christian citizens of Tyre.

Isaiah’s picture of the city as a prostitute who goes around singing many songs speaks to how the city would be viewed after her downfall. She had made her living from the lusts of the nations around her. After her downfall, she was forgotten by them.

There are many today whose only goal is what they can get from others. They might acknowledge that God exists, but they do not live before his face. They may even profit from their exploitation of others. But God’s word to them is that the day is coming when that relationship will cease.

The believer has chosen a different purpose. The believer seeks a relationship with God through Christ first and foremost. Nothing can separate the believer from his Lord. Anything can happen, but nothing will ever leave the believer without hope or without God.

LORD, we know you will remember us, no matter what.

Posted in dependence upon God, exploitation, hope, relationship with God | Tagged Isaiah 23 | Leave a comment

the crown installer

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 23:5-11

⁵When news gets to Egypt, they will be in anguish at the news of Tyre. ⁶ Cross over to Tarshish! Wail, coast inhabitants! ⁷ Is this your proud one — her origin from the days of long ago? Her feet brought her to live far away as an alien. ⁸Who has planned this against Tyre, the crown installer whose merchants were princes, her traders — honored ones of the land? ⁹ Yahveh of armies has planned it: to tarnish the pride of all glory, to humble all the honored ones of the land. ¹⁰ Cross over your land like the Nile, daughter of Tarshish; there is no longer a barrier. ¹¹ He has stretched his hand out over the sea; he has made kingdoms shake. Yahveh has given order concerning Canaan to destroy her fortresses.

the crown installer

Why would Egypt and all the honored ones of the land be afraid and humbled by Tyre’s downfall? Part of it is that Tyre had accomplished so much. She had grown to control so much of the trade in the biblical lands that she was known as the installer of crowns – deciding who rules where. So, the news of her destruction by the Babylonians has all the others kings worried. Of course, they are worried about Babylon too. They should be worried about the invisible hand that is moving the armies of Babylon. That invisible hand does not belong to Nebuchadnezzar. It belongs to Yahveh.

In my weaker moments, I see all the famous, powerful people being brought down, and I begin to worry about whether I will stand or not. In a sense, I find myself like the leaders of those other lands, watching the powerful Tyre getting the boot. It’s only reasonable to start thinking “Am I next?”

All life, all success, and all accomplishment is empty unless it is aligned with the purposes of God. Even the great superpowers of Isaiah’s day were helpless to prevent their destruction if God willed it. Since that it true, it makes sense to seek to fulfill the purpose of God with my life. Seeking to simply obey the commands of Christ can bring stability when the dominoes all around me are falling.

LORD, we choose not to look to the powers of the land for our stability, because they cannot withstand your will. We look to you. We seek to follow your words as our foundation, because only that can withstand the storm.

Posted in fear, obedience, sovereignty of God, will of God | Tagged Isaiah 23 | Leave a comment

losing

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 23:1-4

¹The oracle of Tyre: Wail, ships of Tarshish, because the house is so torn down that no one can enter. It is announced to them from the land of Cyprus. ² Be still, coastal inhabitants, merchant of Sidon, who travels over sea, they supplied you. ³ And over much water came the seed of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile its produce, and she brought merchandise to nations. ⁴ Be ashamed, Sidon, because the sea, the fortress of the sea said, saying, “I was not in labor, and I have not given birth, and I have neither reared young men, nor brought up young women.”

losing

Isaiah predicts the destruction of Tyre by telling the nations around her to mourn for her loss. Tarshish will lose its supplier of merchandise. Sidon (who built Tyre, and considered it a daughter) will be childless. In both cases, the LORD calls on these nations to consider the reality of the loss they will suffer because someone they have counted on for support has been taken out of the way. God’s message to them is that he, the God of armies has done this. Nebuchadnezzar’s armies were simply his tool. He is the reason for their suffering.

Many people today are not comfortable with this message. The fact of God bringing about suffering and death is something they would reject. To them, God is only the author of the good things in life. But the prophets speak of a God who orchestrates all the details of our life, the winning and the losing.

We should welcome the times of blessing and achievement the LORD brings upon us. But we should also listen carefully to the message he wants to give us in the losing.

LORD, we surrender to your sovereign will. May we see you hand in all that happens, and trust you no matter what the day brings.

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you can be replaced

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 22:20-25

²⁰ And this will happen: On that day I will call to my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah, ²¹and I will dress him in your tunic, and I will bind your sash firmly about him, and I will put your authority into his hand, and he will be like a father to the citizen of Jerusalem and to the family of Judah. ²² And I will put the key of the house of David on his shoulder, and he will open and no one else shut; and he will shut and no one else open. ²³ And I will drive him in — a peg into a secure place, and he will become like a glorious throne to the house of his father. ²⁴ And they will hang all of the importance of his father’s house on him, the offspring and the offshoot, all of the small vessels, from the vessels of the bowls to all of the vessels of the jars. ²⁵ “On that day – a declaration of Yahveh of armies — the peg that was driven in will move away into a secure place, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load on her will be taken off — because Yahveh has spoken.”

you can be replaced

When I was a boy I saw a sign that said “Look alive – you can be replaced by a button.” Shebna was learning that he was not so important that he was irreplaceable. He would be replaced by someone who not only could do his job as steward, but could also be a father to the citizens and family of Judah. In other words, Eliakim would be more spiritually qualified than Shebna had been. Today, we pause to reflect on our own qualifications for leadership and ministry. If we are not too full of ourselves, we know that somewhere there are those who have skills to do what we do better than we are doing it. Maturity entails recognizing this, and trusting the LORD to make up the difference. A mature leader does not worry about being the best. A mature leader is more concerned about being real. That authenticity factor was what made the difference between Shebna — on his way out – and Eliakim who would replace him.

LORD, give us mature hearts that beat with authentic concern for others, and authentic relationships with you.

Posted in genuineness, leadership, trust | Tagged Isaiah 22 | Leave a comment

control freak

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 22:12-19

¹²And the Lord, Yahveh of armies, called on that day for weeping and mourning, and for baldness and sackcloth girding. ¹³ But see! Joy and gladness, the killing of an ox and the slaughtering of a sheep, the eating of meat and the drinking of wine! “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” ¹⁴ And it was revealed to my ears by Yahveh of armies: “This sin will absolutely not be atoned for you until you die!” says the Lord, Yahveh of armies. ¹⁵ The Lord, Yahveh of armies, says this: “Go! Go to this steward, to Shebna, who rules over the house: ¹⁶ ‘What are you doing here, and who is here with you, that you have cut a grave cutting here for yourself, carving his tomb on the height, a dwelling place for him in the rock? ¹⁷ See! Yahveh, about to throw something at you for real, man! And he is about to catch you with a firm grip; ¹⁸he will wind a winding tightly around you like a ball, to a land broad of sides. There you will die, and there you will see the chariots of your splendor, a disgrace to your master’s house! ¹⁹And I will push you from your office, and he will throw you down from your position.

control freak

Shebna was a control freak. He had to have everything covered. He was steward over Hezekiah’s household, and apparently ran the palace with skill and had made a reputation for himself. He probably had lobbied for an alliance with Egypt and Assyria, figuring that such an alliance would maintain stability throughout his lifetime. As a way of showing his confidence in the future of his master’s reign, he ordered a tomb for himself, expecting to die with honor at a good old age in Jerusalem. The LORD was watching. He sent word by Isaiah the prophet that Shebna would never use that tomb. The control freak would die in exile in a foreign land. He would be surrounded by chariots of splendor, but not his master’s chariots which he had maintained. He would be thrown down, and lose that office which meant everything to him.

LORD, we surrender our sovereignty and control to you, and seek only the stability of your grace.

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what you see

Posted on March 29, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 22:5-11

⁵ Because the Lord Yahveh of armies has a day of commotion and crushing and confusion in a valley of vision, a tearing down of a wall and a cry for help to the mountain. ⁶ And Elam lifted up a quiver, with a man’s chariot cavalry. And Kir uncovered a shield. ⁷ And this happened: the choicest of your valleys were chariot filled and the cavalry confidently stood at the gate. ⁸ And he uncovered the covering of Judah. And you looked, on that day, to the weapon of the House of the Forest, ⁹ and you saw that the breaches in the walls of the city of David were many, and you gathered the waters of the lower pool. ¹⁰And you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you tore down the houses to fortify the wall. ¹¹ And you made a reservoir between the walls for the waters of the old pool, but you did not consult its maker, and you did not recognize its creator from a distance.

what you see

The spiritual condition of Jerusalem is revealed by what Isaiah says that they see. The day of commotion and crushing and confusion has come upon them, and all they see is the threat of foreign invasion. They do not see the power and wisdom of the God. They frantically seek to shore up and protect the city using the motes and barriers they could quickly construct. But they did not even see the LORD who had covenanted to be their God and protector.

God’s people are expected to see more than just the materials that are physically present, which we can use for our benefit and protection. We should see beyond those things to our creator who has promised to protect us in times of crisis.

LORD, open our eyes, so that we can see you, and trust in you when the world threatens us.

Posted in crisis, dependence upon God, trust, vision | Tagged Isaiah 22 | Leave a comment

the inevitable

Posted on March 28, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 22:1-4

¹ A valley of vision oracle: Why have you gone up, all of you, to the roofs, ² full of noises, chaotic city, jubilant town? Your slain did not die by sword, nor your dead from battle. ³ All of your rulers have run away together without a bow; all of your found ones were captured. They were captured together; they had run far away. ⁴ Therefore I said, “Look away from me, let me be bitter in the weeping; you must not quickly seek to comfort me for the destruction of the daughter of my people.”

the inevitable

The inhabitants of Jerusalem saw its destruction coming, and instead of repenting, they merely posited themselves for the new foreign dominion. They refused to mourn the devastation and loss of life. They had resigned themselves to what they considered inevitable. They did not even organize a battle to defend themselves. The rulers were captured while trying to escape their own deaths. They had given up any faith in God, and were merely trying to save their own skins. In a time of crisis, when their people needed them to show courage and leadership, they just gave up.

It is much too easy to take this approach when crisis hits our society, our family, or our church. But the LORD puts us in leadership for just such times. When it comes time to make a stand, we need to be there to do it.

LORD, forgive us for running away from problems in the past. Give us the courage to lead in the crises we face today.

Posted in change, crisis, faith, leadership | Tagged Isaiah 22 | Leave a comment

daily news from the front

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 21:11-17

¹¹ The oracle about Dumah: He calls to me from Seir, “Watchman, what are the night’s results? Watchman, what happened last night?” ¹² A watchman says, “Morning comes, and also night. If you want to ask, ask; keep coming back. ¹³ An oracle in Arabia: You will spend the night in the thicket in a desert-plateau,[1] with caravans of Dedanites. ¹⁴ Upon encountering a thirsty one, bring water. Residents of the land of Tema came to meet a fugitive with his bread. ¹⁵ Because they have fled from swords, from drawn sword and bent bow, and from fierce battle. ¹⁶ Because the Lord said this to me: “In yet a year, like years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end. ¹⁷ And the remainder of the bow tally of the warriors of the sons of Kedar will be few” because Yahveh, the God of Israel, has spoken.

daily news from the front

The watchman would be the person to go to for news of the front. He would occasionally meet a soldier who had deserted the battle, and get news of how the war was going. The citizens would ask the watchman of the city, and he would keep them informed. The LORD encouraged this, because it was a constant reminder of his promise to end Babylonian domination within the year.

I am reflecting as I write this on the past year. A major transition in my life has occurred. Within one year I broke free from a four year period of – well, like an exile. I thank the LORD for that period of my life, but I am so grateful it is coming to an end. My word from the LORD today is to keep my ear out for daily news from the front, and expect God to keep his promise to me, as he did to the Israelites.

LORD, we trust you to keep your promises. We will wait expectantly for news of the changes you are making. We will keep asking.

[1] The Hebrew for “in a desert-plateau” is the same as for “concerning Arabia.”

Posted in patience, presence of God, prophecy, trust | Tagged Isaiah 21 | Leave a comment

a watchman in position

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 21:6-10

⁶ Because the Lord said this to me: “Go, set a watchman in position. He must make known what he sees. ⁷ And he will see a rider, a pair of horsemen, a rider of a donkey, a of a camel, and he must listen alertly, paying attention, paying much attention.” ⁸ And the lion called, “Lord, I stand on a watchtower constantly by day, and I stand at my post all of the night, ⁹and I watch this! A man’s chariot is coming, a pair of horsemen on it!” and he replied and said, “It has fallen! Babylon has fallen! And all the statues of her gods — smashed on the ground!” ¹⁰My subjugated people and the son of my threshing floor, I will make known to you what I have heard from Yahveh of armies, the God of Israel.

a watchman in position

The watchman Isaiah set in position was himself. He saw by virtue of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that Yahveh of armies was in the process of bringing down Babylon. He saw a chariot coming to announce the downfall of the empire. He had the chance to proclaim to God’s subjugated people a hope of rescue and revival because pagan Babylon would be defeated and replaced. He saw history before it happened. That is one of the things God’s word does for his people. It gives us hope because it enables us to see what is going to happen next, and after that. The word cannot believe for us. We still have to put our faith in the word for it to give us hope. Otherwise, it is to us just words on a page. But what God says will come to pass. The LORD of armies still changes the world we live in. Will our generation be able to proclaim to this world what God is doing? — Only if we have watchmen in position, watching his revelation, paying close attention to what he has revealed.

LORD, post us to our watching positions. Enable us to see what is coming next, and proclaim that to a senseless and dull generation.

Posted in bible study, discernment, prophecy | Tagged Isaiah 21 | Leave a comment