Devotions

hidden in his quiver

Posted on June 17, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 49:1-6

¹ Listen to me, coastlands, and listen attentively, peoples from far away! Yahveh called me in utero; from the inside of my mother he made my name known. ² And he installed my mouth like a sharp sword; he hid me in the shadow of his hand, and he positioned me like an sharpened arrow; he hid me in his quiver. ³ And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, through whom I will show my glory.” ⁴ But I myself said, “I have laboured uselessly; I have used up my strength for nothing and emptiness! Nevertheless, I will get justice from Yahveh, and I will be rewarded by my God.” ⁵ he says, “Is it too light a task for you to be my servant, to re-establish the tribes of Jacob, and restore the remnant of Israel? Okay, I will make you a light to the nations, so you can also bring my deliverance to the remote regions of the land.”

hidden in his quiver

I love the image that Isaiah uses here to describe the role of Yahveh’s servant. Isaiah was discouraged, thinking that he had wasted his life on the light task of seeking revival among the Israelites. But Yahveh reminded him that he had been called in utero for a much more important task. He would also be a light to the nations, spreading the word of God’s deliverance to the remote regions of the land. He was an arrow hidden in God’s quiver, brought out for a special purpose which had not been guessed by all those around him.

Fast forward in time a few centuries and the world would see that light in Christ.[1] Then those who the Lord called to himself also became a light to the nations around them.[2] Because Yahveh has a quiver full of arrows, hidden and designed for the purpose of revealing his truth and glory to the world that needs him. Strike true with your life. You have a purpose.

LORD, reach into your quiver, and use us to reveal yourself to this godless generation.

[1] John 1:4-9.

[2] Acts 13:47.

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no peace for the wicked

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 48:17-22

¹⁷ Thus says Yahveh, your redeemer, the holy one of Israel: “I am Yahveh your God, the one teaching you to profit, leads you in the way you should go. ¹⁸If you had only listened alertly to my commandments! Then your prosperity would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea. ¹⁹ And your offspring would have been like the sand, and the descendants of your insides like its grains. It would not be cut off, and its name would not be destroyed from my presence.” ²⁰ Go out from Babylon! Flee from Chaldea! Announce it with a rejoicing shout; proclaim this! Cause it to go out to the end of the land; say, “Yahveh has redeemed his servant Jacob!” ²¹ And when he led them through the deserts, they were not thirsty; he made water flow from a rock for them, and he split a rock, and water gushed out. ²² “There is no peace,” says Yahveh, “for the wicked.”

no peace for the wicked

Israelite: “Yeah, Isaiah, I hear you. But will you just wake up and realize that these hated Babylonians have been ruling over us in peace for as long as we can remember? How can you say “There is no peace for the wicked.”?

Isaiah: “I didn’t say it. Yahveh said it. Don’t you think Yahveh knows what we have been experiencing all our lives? But, you have to remember, that no matter how long we have been under this oppression and bondage, it has been like just a moment for the God of creation. He is eternal, and we are not. He sees with a wider perspective than we do. We see decades of bondage and failure. He sees beyond that. He sees from the perspective of permanence. Do you really think our God is going to allow this oppressive pagan empire to be at permanent peace? I didn’t think so. Our peace is coming, theirs is going. Our rescuer has made his promise. Will we dare believe it?

LORD, we believe your promise. We trust in your rescue.

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fall in!

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 48:12-16

¹² “Listen to me, Jacob, and Israel, “who was called by me” I am he. I am the first; also I am the last. ¹³ Indeed, my hand founded your land, and my right hand spread out those skies; when I am calling them, they stand at attention together. ¹⁴ Assemble, all of you, and listen! Who among them declared these prophecies? Yahveh loves him; he will do his wish against Babylon and display his arm against Chaldea. ¹⁵ I, I myself, I have spoken! Indeed, I have called him. I have brought him, and he will be successful in what he plans. ¹⁶ Draw near to me; listen to this! I have not spoken in secrecy from the start; from the time it came to be, there I have been; And now the Lord Yahveh has sent me and his Spirit.

fall in!

Any soldier who has ever heard those words knows what they mean. They are the words a commander or Sergeant belts out when he wants his group to stop what they are doing, come together, stand at attention, and receive their instructions. Isaiah is the voice of the Son of God here. He commands his people to stop what they are doing and saying, gather together at attention, and hear his plans to send a foreign ruler to accomplish his will against Babylon. He reminds them that even the land and the sky do this as soon as he speaks. He gives the word, and they fall in at attention, awaiting their next task.

How much more should we, as creatures of this almighty God, stop what we are doing and listen attentively to our Lord’s instructions. Sadly, we are failing to do this. For some of us who read the Bible often, his words are very familiar. So familiar, in fact, that we have stopped feeling the need to listen carefully to them. For others, his words seem ancient and archaic, and irrelevant, so they, too choose to ignore them. The end result is the same for both groups. The commander summons us to fall in, and we just keep doing what we do.

LORD, give us the discipline of a solid soldier, who jumps to attention at your voice, and who pays careful heed to your commands.

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the furnace of unhappiness

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 48:1-11

¹ Listen to this, O family of Jacob, you who are called by the name ‘Israel,’ and are descended from Judah, who take oaths in the name of Yahveh, and invoke the God of Israel– but not in an honest and just manner. ² Indeed, they live in the holy city; they trust in the God of Israel, whose name is Yahveh who leads armies. ³ “I announced events beforehand, I issued the decrees and made the predictions; suddenly I acted and they came to pass. ⁴ I did this because I know how stubborn you are. Your neck muscles are like iron and your forehead like bronze. ⁵ I announced them to you beforehand; before they happened, I predicted them for you, so you couldn’t say, ‘My image did these things, my idol, my cast image, decreed them.’ ⁶ You have heard; now look at all the evidence! Will you not admit that what I say is true? From this point on I am announcing to you new events that are undisclosed and you do not know about. ⁷ Now they come into being, not in the past; before today you did not hear about them, so you couldn’t say, ‘Yes, I know about those things.’ ⁸ You did not hear, you do not know, you were not told beforehand. Because I know that you are very deceitful; you were labelled a rebel from birth. ⁹ For the sake of my reputation I hold back my anger; for the sake of my prestige I restrain myself from destroying you. ¹⁰ Look, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have purified you in the furnace of unhappiness. ¹¹ For my sake alone I will act, for how can I allow my name to be defiled? I will not share my glory with anyone else.

the furnace of unhappiness

Long after Isaiah’s death, all of his predictions came true. What God was doing was for the purpose of refining Israel, ridding his people of their pride and idolatry. In the end, those long centuries of the furnace of unhappiness had a positive result: God alone was glorified. And, to this people, humbled by suffering, God sent his Son, and our Saviour. Everything happens for a reason.

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lies the world tells itself

Posted on June 13, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 47:1-15

¹“Get down! Sit in the dirt, virgin daughter Babylon! Sit on the ground, not on your throne, O daughter of the Babylonians! because you will no longer be called delicate and sensitive. ² Pick up millstones and grind flour! Remove your veil, strip off your skirt, expose your legs, cross the streams! ³ Let your private parts be exposed! Your genitals will be on display! I will get revenge; I will not have pity on anyone,” ⁴ says our protector– Yahveh who leads armies is his name, the sovereign king of Israel. ⁵ “Sit still! Go to a hiding place, O daughter of the Babylonians! Indeed, you will no longer be called ‘Queen of kingdoms.’ ⁶ I was angry at my people; I defiled my special possession and handed them over to you. You showed them no mercy; you even placed a very heavy burden on the old people. ⁷ You boasted, ‘I will rule forever as permanent queen!’ You did not think about these things; you did not consider how it would turn out. ⁸ So now, listen to this, you who live so lavishly, who lives securely, who says to herself, ‘I am unique! No one is like me! I will never have to live as a widow; I will never lose my children.’ ⁹ Both of these will come upon you suddenly, in one day! You will lose your children and be widowed. You will be overwhelmed by these tragedies, despite your many incantations and your numerous amulets. ¹⁰ You were complacent in your evil deeds; you thought, ‘No one sees me.’ Your self-professed wisdom and knowledge lead you astray, when you say, ‘I am unique! No one can compare to me!’ ¹¹ Disaster will come upon you; you will not know how to charm it away. Destruction will fall on you; you will not be able to prevent it. Calamity will come upon you suddenly, before you recognize it. ¹² Persist in trusting your amulets and your many spells, which you have faithfully recited since your youth! Maybe you will be successful– maybe you will scare away disaster. ¹³ You are tired out from listening to so much advice. Let them take their stand– the ones who see omens in the sky, who gaze at the stars, who make monthly predictions– let them rescue you from the disaster that is coming upon you! ¹⁴ Look, they are like straw, which the fire burns up; they cannot rescue themselves from the heat of the flames. There are no coals to warm them, no firelight to enjoy. ¹⁵ They will disappoint you, those you have so faithfully utilized since your youth. Each strays off in his own direction, leaving no one to rescue you.”

lies the world tells itself

Babylon was the epitome of domination by an invincible foe. So much so, that when John described the dominating power of evil, he saw it as the city, Babylon the great.[1] This generation has seen that great city dominate through both religious and political influence. The lies that a dominating power tells itself are revealed in this chapter of Isaiah.

“I am special – the queen of kingdoms.”
“No one can judge me.”
“I am insured – there is no problem I cannot fix.”
“I’ve got an answer for everything.”

Nations come and go, but within each society this prideful consistent behaviour reveals itself. Meanwhile, God is watching.

LORD, forgive us for falling for the deception. Show us how to live with integrity, without falling for pride of self or pride of society.

[1] Revelation 14:8; 16:19; 17:5; 18:2,10,21.

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no burden

Posted on June 12, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 46:1-13

Bel bows down, Nebo bends low. Their images weigh down animals and beasts. Your heavy images are burdensome to overworked animals. ² Together they bend low and bow down; they are unable to rescue the images; they themselves go into captivity. ³ “Listen to me, O family of Jacob, all you who are left from the family of Israel, you who have been carried from birth, you who have been supported from the time you left the womb. ⁴ Even when you are old, I will take care of you, even when you have grey hair, I will carry you. I made you and I will support you; I will carry you and rescue you. ⁵ To whom can you compare and liken me? Tell me whom you think I resemble, so we can be compared! ⁶ Those who empty out their gold from a purse and weigh out their silver on the scale hire a metal worker, who makes it into a “god.” Then they bow down and worship it. ⁷ They put it on their shoulder and carry it; they put it in its place and it just stands there; it does not move from its place. Even when someone cries out to it, it does not reply; it does not deliver him from his distress. ⁸ Remember this, so you can be brave! Think about it, you rebels! ⁹ Remember what I accomplished in antiquity! Truly I am God, I have no peer; I am God, and there is none like me, ¹⁰ who announces the end at the beginning and reveals beforehand what has not yet occurred, who says, ‘My plan will be realized, I will accomplish what I desire,’ ¹¹ who summons an eagle from the east, from a distant land, one who carries out my plan. Yes, I have decreed, yes, I will bring it to pass; I have formulated a plan, yes, I will carry it out. ¹² Listen to me, you stubborn people, you who distance yourself from doing what is right. ¹³ I am bringing my deliverance near, it is not far away; I am bringing my salvation near, it does not wait. I will save Zion; I will decorate Israel with my splendour.”

no burden

Yahveh speaks through Isaiah to explain the difference between himself and the “gods” of the nations – and the gods that the rebellious Israelites had followed.

The idols were heavy objects that could not carry themselves. They became burdens for the animals to carry from place to place. Those animals are moving to a new place, a place pf slavery and submission, and they carry the idols with them. Yahveh is no burden. In fact, it is he who has carried Israel for every generation.
The idols take pompous names like “lord” (Bel). But they are not the sovereign Lord. They bow and bend the knee to Yahveh.
The idols make no plans, and could not carry them out if they did. Yahveh has made a plan to deliver his people, and invites them to watch him carry his plan out.

LORD, our idols are different today, but they are still weak and incapable of delivering us. Help us to break cleanly from these idols, and trust our lives to your plan.

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ignoring the evidence

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 45:20-25

²⁰ Gather together and come! Approach together, you refugees from the nations! Those who carry wooden idols know nothing, those who pray to a god that cannot deliver. ²¹ Inform me! Present the evidence! Let them consult with one another! Who predicted this in the past? Who announced it beforehand? Was it not I, Yahveh? I have no peer, there is no God but me, a God who vindicates and delivers; there is none but me. ²² Turn to me so you can be delivered, all you who live in the earth’s isolated regions! Because I am God, and I have no peer. ²³ I solemnly make this oath– what I say is true and reliable: every knee will definitely bow to me, every tongue will solemnly affirm; ²⁴ they will say about me, “Yes, Yahveh is a powerful deliverer.”‘” All who are angry at him now will cower before him then. ²⁵ All the descendants of Israel will be vindicated Yahveh and boast in him.

ignoring the evidence

Isaiah expresses God’s anger and frustration at a generation who refuses to accept the truth that he alone is God, and that he alone can deliver. Is it not logical to conclude that God would be just as angry and frustrated with this generation, who refuses to accept the same truth? Today, the theological backdrop is normally one of secular atheism. But the end result is the same: God’s existence and sovereignty is ignored. No doubt many who ignore God today excuse themselves by imagining that if God wanted to make himself known to them, he should do so. But God has made himself known, by creation, by the 66 books of the Bible, and by the Christ-event. The God who is peerless challenges all of us to present the evidence. He has more evidence than we can begin to answer.

LORD, forgive us for ignoring all of your evidence. Give us courage to express your frustration with this world content on ignorance.

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here’s my right hand

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 45:1-19

¹ This is what Yahveh says to his chosen one, to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold in order to restrain nations before him, and disarm kings, to open doors before him, so gates remain unclosed: ² “I will go before you and level mountains. I will shatter bronze doors and I will hack through iron bars. ³ I will give you hidden treasures, riches stashed away in secret places, so you may recognize that I am Yahveh, the one who calls you by name, the God of Israel. ⁴ For the sake of my servant Jacob, Israel, my chosen one, I call you by name and give you a title of respect, even though you do not recognize me. ⁵ I am Yahveh, I have no peer, there is no God but me. I arm you for battle, even though you do not recognize me. ⁶ I do this so people will recognize from east to west that there is no God but me; I am Yahveh, I have no peer. ⁷ I am the one who forms light and creates darkness; the one who brings about peace and creates calamity. I am Yahveh, who accomplishes all these things. ⁸ O sky, rain down from above! Let the clouds send down showers of deliverance! Let the earth absorb it so deliverance may grow, and deliverance may sprout up along with it. I, Yahveh, create it. ⁹ One who argues with his creator is in big trouble, one who is like a mere scrap among the other scraps on the ground! The clay should not say to the potter, “What in the world are you making? Your work lacks skill!” ¹⁰ Danger awaits one who says to his father, “Who in the world are you fathering?” and to his mother, “Who in the world are you bringing forth?” ¹¹ This is what Yahveh says, the sovereign king of Israel, the one who formed him, concerning things to come: “How dare you question me about my children! How dare you tell me what to do with the work of my own hands! ¹² I made the earth, I created the people who live on it. It was me–my hands stretched out the sky, I give orders to all the sky’s lights. ¹³ It is me–I stir him up and commission him; I will make all his roads level. He will rebuild my city; he will send my exiled people home, but not for a price or a bribe,” says Yahveh, who leads armies. ¹⁴ This is what Yahveh says: “The profit of Egypt and the revenue of Ethiopia, along with the Sabeans, those tall men, will be brought to you and become yours. They will walk behind you, following along in chains. They will bow down to you and pray to you: ‘Truly God is with you; he has no peer; there is no other God!'” ¹⁵ Yes, you are a God who keeps hidden, O God of Israel, deliverer! ¹⁶ They will all be ashamed and embarrassed; those who fashion idols will all be humiliated. ¹⁷ Israel will be delivered once and for all by Yahveh; you will never again be ashamed or humiliated. ¹⁸ For this is what Yahveh says, the one who created the sky– he is the true God, the one who formed the earth and made it; he established it, he did not create it without order, he formed it to be inhabited– “I am Yahveh, I have no peer. ¹⁹ I have not spoken in secret, in some hidden place. I did not tell Jacob’s descendants, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I am Yahveh, the one who speaks openly, who makes reliable announcements.

here’s my right hand

The great empire of Babylon — that impenetrable fortress that conquered the earth — was itself to be conquered. The prophet not only knew that this was going to happen, he knew how it was to happen . He also knew who would be God’s instrument — his anointed — to accomplish his will. His name would be Cyrus. This is not prophecy after the fact. The whole point Isaiah is making is that God challenges the nations to give up their useless idols and follow him. Why? … because he is God, and he can save his people. He can take a future Gentile king, call him by name (3-4), take him by the right hand (1) and cause him to conquer the world. God will do this in spite of the fact that Cyrus does not know him (4). He does it “so people will recognize from east to west that there is no God but” him. (6).

This same Yahveh wants to take us by the hand and accomplish his will. Will we let him?

LORD, take us by the hand as you did to Cyrus. accomplish your will through us.

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remember these things

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 44:21-28

²¹ Remember these things, O Jacob, O Israel, for you are my servant. I formed you to be my servant; O Israel, I will not forget you. ²² I remove the guilt of your rebellious deeds as if they were a cloud, the guilt of your sins as if they were a cloud. Come back to me, because I will protect you.” ²³ Shout for joy, O sky, for Yahveh intervenes; shout out, you lower regions of the land. O mountains, give a joyful shout; you too, O forest and all your trees! For Yahveh protects Jacob; he reveals his splendour through Israel. ²⁴ This is what Yahveh, your protector, says, the one who formed you in the womb: “I am Yahveh, who made everything, who alone stretched out the sky, who fashioned the earth all by myself, ²⁵ who frustrates the omens of the empty talkers and humiliates the omen readers, who overturns the counsel of the wise men and makes their advice seem foolish, ²⁶ who fulfils the oracles of his prophetic servants and brings to pass the announcements of his messengers, who says about Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited,’ and about the towns of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt, her ruins I will raise up,’ ²⁷ who says to the deep sea, ‘Be dry, I will dry up your sea currents,’ ²⁸ who commissions Cyrus, the one I appointed as shepherd to carry out all my wishes and to decree concerning Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and concerning the temple, ‘It will be reconstructed.'”

remember these things

The role of Isaiah’s predictive prophecies was to serve as a sign that the God who created all things is still at work in the lives of his special people. He will send his appointed shepherd, Cyrus, and will see to it that Jerusalem is rebuilt and the temple reconstructed. He will do this because he wants his people to know that he is able to remove, guilt just like he removes clouds on a cloudy day, by the blowing of his wind upon them. The prophecies, now fulfilled, continue to remind us of God’s power and wisdom, but we must be careful that we do not forget that these things are demonstrations of his heart for the lost.

LORD, we are amazed at what you have done. May we never forget the reason that you have done it. May we seek to save the lost by bringing them to you.

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bowl of ashmeal

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 44:9-20

⁹ All who form idols are nothing; the things in which they find enjoyment are worthless. Their witnesses cannot see; they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame. ¹⁰ Who forms a god and casts an idol that will prove worthless? ¹¹ Watch, all his associates will be put to shame; the craftsmen are mere men. Let them all assemble and take their stand! They will panic and be put to shame. ¹² A blacksmith works with his tool and forges metal over the coals. He forms it with hammers; he makes it with his strong arm. He gets hungry and loses his energy; he drinks no water and gets tired. ¹³ A carpenter takes measurements; he marks out an outline of its form; he scrapes it with chisels, and marks it with a compass. He patterns it after a man, like a well-built man, and puts it in a shrine. ¹⁴ He cuts down cedars and acquires a cypress or an oak. He gets trees from the forest; he plants a cedar and the rain makes it grow. ¹⁵ A man uses it to make a fire; he takes some of it and warms himself. Yes, he starts a fire and bakes bread. Then he makes a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it. ¹⁶ Half of it he burns in the fire– over that half he eats meat; he roasts a meal and fills himself. Yes, he warms himself and says, ‘Ah! I am warm as I look at the fire.’ ¹⁷ With the rest of it he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships it. He prays to it, saying, ‘Rescue me, for you are my god.’ ¹⁸ They do not comprehend or understand, for their eyes are blind and cannot see; their minds do not discern. ¹⁹ No one thinks to himself, nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves: ‘I burned half of it in the fire– yes, I baked bread over the coals; I roasted meat and ate it. With the rest of it should I make a revolting idol? Should I bow down to dry wood?’ ²⁰ He feeds on ashes; his deceived mind misleads him. He cannot rescue himself, nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’

bowl of ashmeal

The big ideological giant of Isaiah’s day was idolatry. It was the worldview and mindset that had captured the societies all around Judah, and was also taking hold of the inhabitants of Judah. It was tied to the belief that there were spirits inhabiting all the material world, and that those spirits had power that could be harnessed and manipulated through rituals, taboos, sacrifices and spells. The idols of wood and stone were fashioned as representatives of the unseen spirits. Like a voodoo doll, it was believed that whatever happened to the likeness of the spirit would happen to the spirit. So, people lavished gifts, praise and respect on their idols, in hopes that the spirits would bless and protect them in return.

In this passage, Isaiah points out the stupidity of that kind of thinking. He likens the idolaters to people who feed on ashes, expecting to stay healthy. A bowl of ashmeal is not a healthy breakfast. There is still a considerable lot of folks around the world who are sitting down to a steaming bowl of idolatry every day. Isaiah’s ridicule still fits them.

But before we pat ourselves on the back saying we are not as stupid as they are, perhaps we should check our pantry. What ideological stuff are we feeding ourselves. In the secular, atheistic mindset, there are no gods and no spirits. There is no higher power to appeal to for help, and power is for those who are fit enough to take it. “Christians” who “just never find time to pray” are quacking like that duck. To use Isaiah’s analogy, they are feeding on ashes as well.

What happens when people who say they believe in God actually take a look at his promises, and trust his word, and seek him for help? Let’s find out.

LORD, forgive us for feeding on the ashmeal of secular atheism. We choose to seek you, to pray for you to meet our needs, and to nourish ourselves on your message.

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