Devotions

unjust justice

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 10:1-4

¹ Oy! Those who decree troublesome decrees, and writers of harmful writings, ² to keep weak people away from taking legal action, and to steal the justice from the poor of my people, to make widows their spoil; also they plunder orphans. ³ And what will you do on punishment day, and at destruction time? It is coming from a distance! To whom will you run for help, and where will you leave your wealth, ⁴ so as not to crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain? In all of this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is still stretched out.

unjust justice

Isaiah had a corrupt congress to deal with. Wealthy crooks were using the legal system to keep the weak from taking legal action against their oppressors, and using it to line their own pockets at the same time. What could the prophet say about this system of unjust justice? He said that the Yahveh of armies was sending his judgment from a distance. These wealthy lawmakers who abused their power would find themselves as powerless prisoners of an invading force, or corpses. They were supposed to have been people the weak and powerless could go to for help. Since they were not, they will not find anyone to help them when destruction time comes. The invaders would not be stopped by words on a page.

LORD, make us people of integrity, and guide us by just laws, which protect the weak from the strong.

Posted in integrity, law, partiality | Tagged Isaiah 10 | 1 Comment

cannibals in the ranks

Posted on February 22, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 9:18-21

¹⁸ Because wickedness burned like fire; it consumed brier and thorn. And it kindled the thickets of the forest, and they swirled upward, making a column of smoke. ¹⁹The land was burned because of the wrath of Yahveh of armies, and the people became like fire fuel. A man does not have compassion toward his brother. ²⁰ They ate to the right but were still hungry and ate to the left but they were not satisfied. Each one devoured the flesh of his arm, ²¹ Manasseh Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; together they attacked Judah. In all of this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is still stretched out.

cannibals in the ranks

Some of the destruction that was to come upon the holy land – predicted by Isaiah – was self destruction. He predicted that the people would turn on each other, and devour each other. The compassion expected of one brother to another was lost. Already, Israel had split from Judah. Now, Isaiah said it was going to be like a person who is so hungry he takes a bite out of his own arm.

Churches experience this kind of cannibalism in the ranks as well. Conflicts and differing opinions about purpose and programs often get out of hand, and we turn on each other. Such a thing is a sign of spiritual sickness. It is not normal. If we find ourselves doing that, we need to repent, and get help.

LORD, forgive us for devouring each other. Teach us how to love and care for each other as your people. Then, maybe the lost will believe us when we say that you are love.

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on being a “Christian”

Posted on February 21, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 9:13-17

¹³ But the people still did not turn to the one who struck him, and they did not seek Yahveh of armies. ¹⁴ So Yahveh cut off head and tail from Israel, palm branch and reed took one day. ¹⁵ The “honorable” elder is the head, the “prophet” teaching lies is the tail. ¹⁶And the leaders of this people were misleading, and those who were being led were being confused. ¹⁷ For this reason, the Lord did not enjoy its young men, and he did not take pity on its orphans and widows, because everyone was godless and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks foolishness. In all of this his anger did not turn away, and still his hand is still stretched out.

on being a “Christian”

Isaiah looked all around his people and he saw hypocrisy. The elders who were supposed to be the honorable ones were acting like fools. The prophets were prophesying lies. The leaders were misleading and those being led were just confused. Yet they were all convinced that God could never judge them because they called themselves by his name.

One of our biggest problems today with the Christian community is that so few of us are acting Christian. We talk the talk, but our walk betrays us. Normal morality, honesty and integrity seems to be in short supply. Not much has changed since Isaiah said these things.

So, if you are a “Christian” and you keep telling yourself and others that God would never bring disaster and distress upon us because of his name’s sake, take this warning. That is the very kind of thing that the “prophets” were saying in Isaiah’s day. They are wrong, and so are you. God is faithful to his promises. He promises not to pull back his hand.

LORD, restore us to yourself, before you hand of judgment comes upon the whole land.

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rebuilding and replanting

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 9:8-12

⁸ The Lord has sent out a word against Jacob, and it fell on Israel. ⁹And all of the people knew it, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria in pride and arrogance of heart, saying, ¹⁰ “bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild using dressed stone; sycamore-fig trees were felled, but we will replant cedars.” ¹¹ So Yahveh strengthened the adversaries of Rezin against him, and he provoked his enemies—¹²Aram from east and Philistine from west– and they devoured Israel with the whole mouth. He has not turned away his anger in all of this, and his hand is still stretched out.

rebuilding and replanting

Isaiah calls his God Yahveh of armies. His powerful work is seen in devastated lands, engulfed in the terror of warfare, and left destroyed after the battles are done. But Isaiah looks at his own people and sees them stubbornly refusing to accept God’s message to them, a message he sent them by means of invading armies! He wants them to look at these invading pagans as a sign of God’s judgment, and turn from their paganism, idolatry and injustice. Instead, they just pick up the pieces when each battle is over, rebuild, replant, repeat.

So, God, who is always faithful to himself, picks up the same attitude. Isaiah speaks of the devastation that is going to come upon the holy land in four sections, and he concludes each section with a picture of God’s hand, still stretched out in judgment, because the people are not getting the message.[1]

The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is still Yahveh of armies. He wants to show us his love and grace, and bring us to the light, the way he did Galilee. But his hand can still stretch out in judgment, if that is what it will take for his own people to listen. Even though he does so with tears in his eyes, our God can still send the armies.

LORD, before we decide to rebuild again, help us to listen to find out whether the disaster was a message from you.

[1] 9:12, 17, 21; 10:4.

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Galilee in the future

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 9:1-7[1]

¹Because there is no gloom for that one people worried about. Like the time he ignored the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee, so full of the Gentiles. ² The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; light has shined on those who lived in a land of darkness. ³ You had made the nation numerous; but you had not made its joy great. They will rejoice in your presence like joy at the harvest, like they rejoice when they divide plunder. ⁴ Because you have shattered the yoke of its burden and the stick of its shoulder, the rod of its oppressor, like you did the day of Midian. ⁵Because every boot, shaking as it marches and each garment is rolled in blood. And it will be for burning–fire fuel. ⁶ Because a child has been born for us; a son has been given to us. And the dominion will be on his shoulder, and he has been named: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ There is no end to the increase of his dominion and to the peace he brings to the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and sustain it with justice and righteousness now and forever. The zeal of Yahveh of armies will do this.

Galilee in the future

If you had asked the average citizen of Judah in Isaiah’s day about the north country, Galilee beyond the Jordon river, their assessment would have been that it was a write-off. Isaiah had just talked about how paganism and idolatry had turned out the light in the holy land, and Galilee was considered the darkest of the dark. There was no hope for Galilee in the future. But, now Isaiah says that it is in this gloomy land of darkness that the light is going to shine first. What? Galilee… are you kidding?

If you are one of those people who thinks that you are the least likely to get religious or do something spiritual, watch out. The LORD has his eye on you. He wants to show the world his grace by shining on the least likely candidates. Like Galilee, which the respectable people had written off as hopeless, the LORD wants to bring his hope to you. He has a destiny for you, and it is not the one you think you have.

LORD, we surrender to the light of Jesus Christ. Take us out of our darkness, and help us to shine so that others will know your grace.

[1] Isaiah 9:1-21 in the English Bible is 8:23-9:20 in the Hebrew Bible.

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no dawn in them

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 8:18-22

¹⁸ See me and the children whom Yahveh has given to me, like signs and omens in Israel from Yahveh of armies, the one who dwells on the mountain of Zion. ¹⁹Now if they tell you, “Consult the ghosts and the spirits, those who tweet and those who mutter. Should not a people consult its gods, the dead on behalf of the living, ²⁰ for teaching and for witness?” They say things like this to show that there is no dawn in them. ²¹ They will pass through the land, greatly worried and hungry; when they are hungry, they will be infuriated and will curse their king and their gods. They will turn their faces upward, ²²or look to the land. But they will see suffering and darkness, the gloominess of affliction! And the land will be thrust into darkness!

no dawn in them

The advisers would tell Judah that it was time to consult the crystal balls and the Ouija boards. They would suggest that the spirit world has answers that would guide the nation in the dark times of the coming Assyrian invasion. But Isaiah warned Judah that advice like this comes from people already overcome by the darkness themselves. There is no answer from the dead. The dead are dead. When people claim they are reaching another world of light, what they are really doing is communicating with the demonic world of darkness.

No, in times of distress and disaster, we need to seek God and the light of his revealed word. We need the objective truth of his word, because it alone is a sure foundation for making the right decisions, to get us out of the darkness we are in. The solution to the consequences of rebellion cannot be found in more rebellion. We need to turn back to God, not to the unclean spirits, masquerading either as the gods, or our ancestors.

LORD, we repent of seeking light where there is only darkness. Show us how to follow your Holy Spirit inspired, written word.

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the one you all should fear

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 8:11-17

Because Yahveh said this to me with the strength of the hand resting, and he instructed me against walking in the way of this people, saying, ¹² “You must not call conspiracy everything that this people calls conspiracy, and you must not fear its fear, and you must not live in dread. ¹³ You should regard Yahveh of armies as holy, and he is the one you all should fear, and he is the one you all should dread. ¹⁴ And he will become like a sanctuary and a stumbling-stone, and like a stumbling-rock for the two houses of Israel, like a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁵ And many shall stumble among them, and they shall fall and they shall be broken, and they shall be ensnared and they shall be caught.” ¹⁶ Bind up this testimony; seal this teaching among my disciples. ¹⁷ And I will wait for Yahveh, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will await him.

the one you all should fear

During World War II, president Franklin Roosevelt told the U.S.A. that the only thing we had to fear was fear itself. That was not true in the strictest sense. It was a terrible time, and everybody had lots to fear. But it was true in the sense that fear of what might happen was to prove to be a greater enemy that the ones we were fighting.

Isaiah saw all of Judah in terror over the might of Assyria, which he had just described as a mighty flooding river. But then he said that Judah needed to put their fear not on that target, but the one they should fear is God. Yes, the king of Assyria can kill you, but God can destroy you entirely, body and soul, in hell.[1] Also, fearing the mighty Assyrian army is not the solution to the problem. Fearing God is, because it leads to national repentance and restoration by his power.

LORD, remove our fear in everyone else but you.

[1] Matthew 10:28.

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the coming flood

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 8:5-10

⁵ And Yahveh continued to speak to me again, saying, ⁶ “Because this people has refused the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and enjoys Rezin and the son of Remaliah, ⁷therefore see the Lord bringing up the waters of the great and mighty river against them, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And he will rise above all his channels, and he will flow over all his banks. ⁸ And he will sweep into Judah; he will overflow and he will flood up to neck height. He will reach, and the outspreading of his wings will be the fullness of the breadth of your land, oh God with us.” ⁹ Be broken, peoples, and be disappointed. And listen, all you distant land; gird yourselves and be disappointed; gird yourselves and be disappointed! ¹⁰Plan counsel but it will be frustrated! Speak a message, but it will not stand, because God is with us!

the coming flood

When Penny and I are out hiking on the long trails, we don’t often encounter mighty rivers. We most often encounter gentle streams, and those are the most ideal water sources when you are thirsty. A roaring river is great to look at, but it poses problems when you are trying to fill a water container. So, when we come to a stream, we usually take advantage of it, and fill up our empties. We don’t wait for something bigger. Besides, a stream can be easily crossed, but a river – not so much.

Judah was enjoying the fact that they had just outlived the threat of an invasion by Syria and Israel. They patted themselves on the back for their good luck. But Isaiah told his people that Syria and Israel were just a trickle; a mighty river was coming, which they would not be able to negotiate. Assyria would flood the whole land like a mighty river. Judah would prepare themselves for war, but this time the enemy would not be stopped, so they would be disappointed.

It is in this context that Isaiah slips in another reference to Immanuel, God is with us. It does not mean that the flood will not happen. God’s presence does not always divert his judgment on sin, even in this life. In fact, for Judah, God’s presence guaranteed that they would face the mighty waters of Assyria, because that is what God promised. The LORD will not abandon his people, even when they deserve it. He’s there, going through the trial with us.

LORD, teach us how to walk with you. We know you are here walking with us.

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plenty of room

Posted on February 15, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 8:1-4

¹Then Yahveh said to me, “Take yourself a large tablet and write on it with a regular stylus pen: for Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.[1] ² And I will require reliable witnesses as a witness for me: Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.” ³ Then I was intimate with the prophetess, and she conceived, and she gave birth to a son. And Yahveh said to me, “Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. ⁴Because before the boy knows to call out ‘my father’ and ‘my mother,’ he will carry away the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria in the presence of the king of Assyria.”

plenty of room

The name of Isaiah’s newborn was given to him by God before he was conceived. The child was to be a sign that God was going to remove the threat of Samaria and Damascus by having them become somebody else’s prize. Assyria would look upon those nations as its next conquest. This would happen before little Maher would learn to say “Ma.”

There may also be some significance in the fact that Isaiah was told to write the child’s name on a large tablet with a regular stylus pen. This would leave plenty of room for a long list of things that would be promised to the boy. It would be saying that Yahveh promises not only new life, but also a bountiful legacy for that new life.

Disaster and doom looms all around us. In the midst of it, God promises us new life. Then, when we take him up on his promise, we find that that are plenty of other blessings that were part of the package.

LORD, thank you for your glorious deliverance. Thank you also for the many blessings we are already beginning to experience, even as we wait for your return.

[1] quick to the treasure, speedy to the prey.

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barbers and bushes

Posted on February 14, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 7:18-25

¹⁸ And this will happen: On that day, Yahveh will whistle for the fly at the end of the stream of Egypt and the bee in the land of Assyria. ¹⁹ And all of them will come and stay in the rivers of the cliffs and in the clefts of the rocks and on all of the thorn bushes and watering places. ²⁰ On that day, the Lord will shave the head and the hair of the feet with a razor of the one hired from beyond the river–with the king of Assyria–and it will even remove the beard. ²¹ And this will happen: on that day, a young man will keep a young cow of his herd and two sheep alive. ²² And this will happen: because of the they will produce lots of milk, he will eat curds, because every one that is left in the midst of the land will be eating curds and honey. ²³ And this will happen on that day: Every place where there are a thousand vines for a thousand silver pieces briers will appear, and there will be thorn bushes. ²⁴One will go there with arrows and bow, because all of the land will be a brier and a thorn bush. ²⁵ And all of the hills that they previously hoed with the hoe, you will not go there, for fear of brier and thorn bush. And it will become like cattle pastureland and sheep trampling land.

barbers and bushes

Isaiah continues to tell Ahaz what is really going to happen, as opposed to what Ahaz (king of Judah) is preparing for. Ahaz wants to take care of things himself. Isaiah says it is not going to work that way. God is going to send Assyria as a barber, who will give Judah a shave they will never forget.

Recently I asked a barber to cut my hair for a trip to Africa. She must have thought I meant to cut my hair and shave my beard so that I could walk all across Africa before it grows back, because she really cut me too close.

Isaiah said that Assyria was going to figuratively cut Judah’s hair so close that he would wind up bald and beardless. He said that once Assyria was finished, Judah would be crop-less, a place where one could only raise animals, because all the land formerly hoed for crops would be deserted pastureland. The briers and thorn bushes will have taken over, because the people who had managed the land will have gone into exile.

LORD, give us the wisdom to seek you, and not try to solve all our problems in our own strength. We do not want to have to learn the embarrassing lesson that you had to teach Ahaz. We know you love us, and you want to be the answer that we are seeking.

Posted in dependence upon God, preparation, trust | Tagged Isaiah 7 | Leave a comment