Devotions

mountain smashing

Posted on May 28, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 41:11-20

¹¹Watch! All those who are angry with you will be ashamed and humiliated; the men of your strife will be like nothing and will become lost. ¹²You will seek them, but you will not find them; the men of your strife will be like nothing, and the men of your war like nothing. ¹³Because I, Yahveh your God, am grasping your right hand; the one saying to you, “You must not fear; I myself, I will help you. ¹⁴You must not fear, O worm of Jacob; people of Israel, I myself, I will help you,” a declaration of Yahveh, and your redeemer is the holy one of Israel. ¹⁵ Watch! I will make you into a new sharp threshing sledge, owner of sharp edges. You will thresh and crush the mountains, and you will make the hills like chaff. ¹⁶You will winnow them and the wind will carry them, and the storm will scatter them. And you yourself will rejoice in Yahveh; you will boast in the holy one of Israel. ¹⁷The poor and the needy are seeking water and there is none; their tongue is dried up with thirst. I, Yahveh, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. ¹⁸I will open rivers on the barren heights and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness like a pool of water and the land of dryness like springs of water. ¹⁹I will give the cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive oil tree in the wilderness; I will set the cypress, elm, and box tree together in the desert ²⁰ so that they may see and know, and take to heart and understand together that the hand of Yahveh has done this, and the holy one of Israel has created it.”

mountain smashing

Isaiah speaks words similar to Jesus, who promised us that we could remove mountains by our faith in God.[1] Isaiah tells his people, the insignificant worm of Jacob, that the LORD will use them as his threshing sledge. They would smash the mountains surrounding them. Yahveh encourages his readers to believe that, and invites them to watch what happens when they do.

LORD, use us as your threshing sledge. By our prayers, unity, and righteous acts, may we destroy all those things which are obstacles to your coming kingdom.

[1] Matthew 17:20; 21:21; Mark 11:23.

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choosers or the chosen?

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 41:1-10

¹ Be quiet and listen to me, coastlands, and renew your strength, nations. Approach me, then speak your case; We will draw near together for judgment. ² Who has roused salvation from the east, called him to his foot, brings nations before his face and subjugates kings? He brings them along like the dust of his sword, like scattered stubble attached to his bow. ³ He pursues them but passes on peacefully; he does not enter the path with his feet. ⁴ Who has accomplished and done this, calling the generations from the first , I, Yahveh, am first; and I am the one coming with the last ones. ⁵The coastlands have seen and are afraid; the ends of the land tremble. They have drawn near, and they have come. ⁶ Each one will help his neighbour; he says to his brother, “Take courage!” ⁷ And the artisan encourages the refiner; the one who makes smooth with a hammer encourages the one who strikes an anvil, saying of the soldering, “It is good!” And they strengthen it with nails so it cannot be knocked over. ⁸ But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you, the seed of Abraham my loved one. ⁹ You whom I grabbed from the ends of the land and called from its remotest parts and told, “You are my servant; I have chosen you and I have not rejected you.” ¹⁰ You must not fear, because I am with you; you must not be afraid, because I am your God. I will strengthen you, indeed I will help you. Yes, I will take hold of you with my right hand which delivers.

choosers or the chosen?

Notice the contrast that Isaiah makes here. The nations choose their own gods, and fashion them of wood and stone to their liking. But Yahveh has chosen Israel, and he will outlast those chosen gods. Now, reader, I must ask you. What god have you chosen? Is he made in your image? Is your God one of your own liking, or are you seeking to follow the one who has chosen you?

LORD, we surrender to your sovereign choice. Teach us who you really are. Do not let us fashion you to our own liking.

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connected to strength

Posted on May 26, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 40:26-31

²⁶ Lift your eyes up high, and see! Who created these? The one who brings out their army by number. He calls all them by name. Because he is powerfully great and powerfully mighty, no soldier is missing. ²⁷ Jacob, why do you speak, and Israel, why do you say, “My way is hidden from Yahveh, and my judgment is passed over by my God?” ²⁸ Have you not known, or have you not heard? Yahveh is the eternal God, creator of the ends of the land! He is not tired, and he does not grow weary! There is no searching his understanding. ²⁹ He gives power to the weary, and he increases power for the powerless. ³⁰ Even young people might get faint and grow weary, and a young one might stumble, exhausted. ³¹ But those who wait for Yahveh will renew their strength. They will go up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not tire out.

connected to strength

Isaiah encourages his people to look up to the stars, and contemplate the strength of their creator. It is this same Yahveh who has promised deliverance for his people. So, the key to constant renewal of strength is staying connected to him. Isaiah calls it waiting for him. That does not mean the believer will never experience weakness or temporary failure. It means that the source of our strength is God, who never experiences these things. The Christian life is often one of evident weakness. But we stay connected to the God who created the stars, so he continues to manifest his strength even when we are weak. In fact, his strength is made perfect in our weakness. When we feel weak, we should look at the stars for a while, and remember that we are connected to the strength that hangs them in the sky, and never gets tired.

LORD, when we are at the end of our strength, help us to trust in your strength, and know that we are connected to you.

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like no one

Posted on May 25, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 40:18-25

¹⁸ And to whom would you liken God? And what likeness would you compare him to? ¹⁹ A craftsman fashions an idol, and a refiner overlays it with gold, or smelts chains of silver. ²⁰ The one who is too poor for such a gift chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks a skilful artisan for himself to set up an image that will not be knocked over. ²¹ Did you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told to you from the first? Have you not understood from when the land was founded? ²²He is the one who sits above the sphere of the land, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; He is the one who stretches out skies like a veil and spreads them out like a tent to live under, ²³ the one who gives princes over to nothing; he makes land rulers like nothing. ²⁴ In fact, hardly are they planted; in fact, hardly are they sown; in fact, hardly has their shoot taken root in the land when he blows on them and they wither, and a storm carries them away like stubble. ²⁵ “And to whom you will compare me, and am I equal?” says the holy one.

like no one

First, Isaiah said that compared to God, all the mighty nations are like nothing. Now, he stops to ask if there is anyone else who does come up to God’s level. He describes in detail the ridiculous practice of fashioning gods from wood and stone, overlaying them with precious metals, and making them look like the inhabitants of the land. God literally stands above all those “gods” because he created all that is, and he sits above the globe, looking down on all of them in sovereignty.

Then Isaiah looks on the equally ridiculous practice of idolising the princes and rulers of the land. This form of idolatry is still as prevalent as it was in Isaiah’s day. But Isaiah explains why these leaders among men are no equal to God. He had previously admitted that all flesh is but grass that temporarily flourishes, but is soon dried up and blown away. Now he uses similar language to describe the fate of these political and philosophical leaders. They are not like God, because they are mortal, and he is not. Lots of people agreed with Friedrich Nietzsche when he proclaimed that God was dead, but then Nietzsche died, and God lives on. Isaiah is explaining that no one compares to God, so no one can take his place. When we let anyone try, we are just building more stupid idols.

LORD, we surrender to the reality of your existence, and the reality that we cannot produce your equal. You are like no one else. You alone deserve our praise and obedience.

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like nothing

Posted on May 24, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 40:12-17

¹²Who has measured water in the hollow of his hand and marked off sky with a ruler, comprehended the dust of the land in a third of a measure and weighed out mountains with the scale, and hills in a balance? ¹³ Who has measured up the spirit of Yahveh or informed him like the man of his counsel? ¹⁴ With whom has he consulted, who has enlightened him or taught him a path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and made a way of understanding known to him? ¹⁵ Watch! nations, like a drop from a bucket, and they are ignored like dust on balances! Watch! He weighs islands like a thin covering. ¹⁶And Lebanon is not enough to light a fire, and its animals not enough for a burnt offering. ¹⁷ All the nations are like nothing before him; they are ignored by him as if they were nothing and emptiness.

like nothing

In some carefully controlled scientific measurements, the room must be kept dust free, because even the slightest deviation matters. But most of the time a little dust makes absolutely no difference in what the scales show. That is the picture Isaiah gives us. In the scale of actual significance, even the mighty nations that everyone worries about are just dust on balances. They are like a drop of water in a whole bucket. Even Lebanon, with all its forests, does not have enough wood to create a fire to bother God, or enough animals to sacrifice to appease him. The inhabitants of the great nations think of themselves as competitors of Yahveh and Israel. But Isaiah’s words remind us that all the nations of the world are nothing compared to the power and significance of our God, its creator.

LORD, teach us to pray as if prayer is the only thing that matters, because all other powers are useless compared to yours.

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reasons to cry out

Posted on May 23, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 40:6-11

⁶ A voice says, “Cry out!” And he responded, “What will I cry out?” All flesh is grass, and all his loyalty like the flowers in the field. ⁷Grass withers; a flower withers when the breath of Yahveh blows on it. The people are just like that grass. ⁸ Yes, Grass withers; a flower withers, but the word of our God will stand forever. ⁹ Go for yourself up to a high mountain, Zion, bringer of good news! Lift up your voice strongly, Jerusalem, bringer of good news! Lift it up; you must not fear! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” ¹⁰ Look! Yahveh, Yahveh comes strongly, and his arm rules for him. Watch! His reward accompanies him, and his recompense is before his face. ¹¹ He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather lambs in his arm, and he will carry them at his chest; he will lead those who nurse.

reasons to cry out

Isaiah was having a bad day. Maybe he had just sat in a prophet team meeting all day and went over budgets and voted on projects and determined schedules and such. Maybe he had tried to get through to some important somebody only to be ignored or mocked. For whatever reason, Isaiah was not in a very encouraged state this day. And the LORD came to him and told him to prophesy. Isaiah did not feel like prophesying. We felt it was no use. You can’t get through to these people. They are like the grass in a field. It’s going to grow until it stops, then it’s going to wither and die, and crying out to it is going to make no difference.

The LORD reminded Isaiah that he had two very good reasons to keep crying out his prophesies, even to this rebellious grass-like people who would not listen:

1. First, the power of God’s word which Isaiah preaches. The power for change and accomplishment is not in the people. The power is in the word of God itself. All flesh is grass; it is temporary. When the hot air hits it, it dies and returns to dust. But God’s word stands. There is no greater investment that pouring yourself into God’s word, and spending your life preaching, teaching, praying, and blogging it!

2. Secondly, the purposes of God’s word. Yahweh told Isaiah that he had the wrong simile. The words he were saying were not to be like the strong wind that beats upon the grass and dries it out. The prophets words are the strong acts of conquering king, and the caring acts of a loving shepherd. God will give the people what they need. He purposely sent his word to do that.

LORD, we commit ourselves to crying out in every way possible to this needy generation. We also commit to learning your word so that our words are not useless and harmful hot air, but strengthening and nurturing words – from you.

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reasons for comfort

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 40:1-5

¹ “Comfort; comfort my people,” says your God. ² “Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and say to her, that her compulsory labour will be fulfilled, that her sin will be paid for, that she has taken from the hand of Yahveh double payment for all her sins.” ³ Be a voice calling in the wilderness, “Clear the road for Yahveh! Make a highway smooth in the desert for our God! ⁴ Every valley should be lifted up, and every mountain and hill should become low, And the rough ground should be like a plain, and the rugged ground like a low valley. ⁵ Then the glory of Yahveh will be revealed, and all flesh will see him together, because the mouth of Yahveh has spoken.”

reasons for comfort

“God’s comfort is not a hollow, positive-thinking, “There’s-a-silver-lining-behind-every-cloud” kind of message. God always gives His people reasons for comfort” (David Guzik). Isaiah speaks comfort for Jerusalem for the following reasons.

1. The exile will come to an end. God regarded the exile as a period of compulsory labour, and he sees the end of that period. He wants to assure his people that there will be life after exile. He wants to assure us of the same fact. No matter what we may be dealing with, even if we consider it an exile of our own making, God comforts us with the assurance that there will be an end to it.

2. Her sin will be paid for. They cannot overcome their own transgressions, but the Messiah will. He alone can and will bring redemption and restoration. Jerusalem will have paid double for their sins, first by their exile, then by the sacrificial atonement their Messiah will bring about by his own death on the cross.

3. Jerusalem will become a level place and on it the glory of Yahveh will be revealed. All of the former pretence to power and importance will be erased, and while that is happening, the Messiah will come. The glory of Yahveh will be revealed in him. This happens in both advents, and Isaiah puts them both together here. Ultimately, his words reflect the fact that when the Messiah returns to set up his kingdom on earth, all nations will see and recognize him as their rightful king.

LORD, thank you for the comfort from your word, comfort for all who wait for your Christ.

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remembering the future

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 39:1-8

¹ At that time, Merodach-Baladan, son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, because he heard that he had been sick and recovered. ² And Hezekiah was thrilled with them and showed them his house with its aromatic gum, silver, gold, spices, good oil, all the armoury, and all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing that Hezekiah had not shown them in his house or in all his domain. ³ And Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” And Hezekiah responded “They came to me from a distant country, from Babylon.” ⁴ But he asked, “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezekiah responded “They have seen everything in my house. There is nothing that I have not shown them in my storehouses.” ⁵ So Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear this word from Yahveh of armies: ⁶‘Watch! days are coming, when all that is in your house and that which your fathers have stored up to this day will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left,’ says Yahveh. ⁷‘And some of your sons who go out from you, whom you fathered, will be taken, and they will be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.'” ⁸ And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of Yahveh that you have spoken is good,” because he said “At least there will be peace and security in my days.”

remembering the future

Hezekiah had made a huge mistake, letting the Babylonian envoys see all the treasures of his house. The Babylonians would be back, and carry some of his own descendants into exile. Yet, the king consoled himself with the assurance that these consequences would come after his death. How selfish! We need to think about our children and their children. What kind of world will they face? We are deciding that by our actions, or the lack of them. We need to remember the future that awaits our world, because in many respects we are making that future.

LORD, we choose to obey, not for our sakes only, but for the future.

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walking through death’s gates

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 38:1-22

¹In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what Yahveh says, ‘Give instructions to your household, for you are going to die; you will not get better.'” ² Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahveh, ³ “Please, Yahveh. Remember how I have served you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion, and how I have carried out your desire.” Then Hezekiah wept bitterly. ⁴ Yahveh told Isaiah, ⁵ “Go and tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what Yahveh, God of your ancestor David says: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Watch, I will add fifteen years to your life, ⁶ and rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will shield this city.”‘” ⁷ Isaiah replied, “This is your sign from Yahveh confirming that Yahveh will do what he has said: ⁸ Watch, I will make the shadow go back ten steps on the stairs of Ahaz.” And then the shadow went back ten steps. ⁹ This is the prayer of King Hezekiah of Judah when he had gotten sick and then recovered from his illness: ¹⁰ “I thought, ‘In the middle of my life I must walk through the gates of Sheol, I am deprived of the rest of my years.’ ¹¹ “I thought, ‘I will no longer see Yahveh in the land of the living, nor will I any longer see mankind along with the inhabitants of the world. ¹² My dwelling place is removed and taken away from me like a shepherd’s tent. I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth; from the loom he cuts me off. You turn day into night and end my life. ¹³ I cry out until morning; like a lion he shatters all my bones; you turn day into night and end my life. ¹⁴ Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp, I coo like a dove; my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. O sovereign master, I am oppressed; help me! ¹⁵ What can I say? He has decreed and acted. I will walk slowly all my years because I am overcome with grief. ¹⁶ O sovereign master, your decrees can give men life; may years of life be restored to me. Restore my health and preserve my life.’ ¹⁷ “Watch, the grief I experienced was for my benefit. You delivered me from the pit of oblivion. For you removed all my sins from your sight. ¹⁸ Indeed Sheol does not give you thanks; death does not praise you. Those who descend into the pit do not anticipate your faithfulness. ¹⁹ The living one, the living one, he gives you thanks, as I am doing today. A father tells his sons about your faithfulness. ²⁰ Yahveh is about to deliver me, and we will celebrate with music for the rest of our lives in the Yahveh’s temple.” ²¹ Isaiah ordered, “Let them take a fig cake and apply it to the skin blister and he will get better.” ²² Hezekiah asked, “What is the confirming sign that I will go up to the Yahveh’s temple?”

walking through death’s gates

Hezekiah was not known for his consistency. But his illness had taken him close to death. He called it walking through the gates of Sheol (10). He was probably 39 when he was taken ill, and expected to die at middle age. He reflected on the fact that his tent was going to be taken from him, and he would not see the LORD in the land of the living (11-12). He pleaded with God to restore his life, and the LORD did just that. He thanks the LORD for teaching him what is really important through the experience. He resolved that he and his children would worship the LORD all the days of their lives (19-20).

LORD, give us the wisdom to make our relationship with you a priority. May we not have to be at death’s door before we think about you.

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getting the message

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 37:21-38

²¹ Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what Yahveh, God of Israel says: ‘Because you prayed to me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria, ²² this is what Yahveh says about him: “The virgin daughter Zion despises you–she makes fun of you; daughter Jerusalem shakes her head at you. ²³ Whom have you mocked and hurled insults at? At whom have you shouted and looked so arrogantly? At the sovereign king of Israel! ²⁴ Through your messengers you mocked the sovereign master, ‘With my many chariots I climbed up the high mountains, the slopes of Lebanon. I cut down its tall cedars and its best evergreens. I invaded its most distant regions, its thickest woods. ²⁵ I dug wells and drank water. By the soles of my feet I dried up all the rivers of Egypt.’ ²⁶ Certainly you must have heard! Long ago I worked it out, in ancient times I planned it, and now I am bringing it to pass. Here is the plan: Armed cities will crash into piles of ruins. ²⁷ Their inhabitants are powerless; they are terrified and humiliated. They are as short-lived as plants in the field or green vegetation. They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops when it is scorched by the east wind. ²⁸ I know where you live and everything you do and how you rage against me. ²⁹ Because you rage against me and the uproar you create has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose, and my bridle between your lips, and I will lead you back the way you came.” ³⁰ “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: This year you will eat what grows wild, and next year what grows on its own. But the year after that you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. ³¹ Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. ³² “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem; survivors will come out of Mount Zion. The intense devotion of Yahveh who leads armies will accomplish this. ³³ So this is what Yahveh says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city, nor will he shoot an arrow here. He will not attack it with his shielded warriors, nor will he build siege works against it. ³⁴ He will go back the way he came– he will not enter this city,’ says the LORD. ³⁵ I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”‘” ³⁶ Yahveh’s angel went out and killed a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When they got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses! ³⁷ So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh. ³⁸ One day, as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword. They escaped to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.

getting the message

The King of Assyria boasted that the LORD could not stop him, and he had evidence on his side. None of the other gods of the other lands could stop the king’s invasions. Hezekiah and Isaiah prayed. Their confidence was in the power of a God who is unlike any other. The LORD cannot be destroyed like the idols of the defeated lands. He is immortal, and they were not. The battle that took place in the hearts of the praying men stopped the king of Assyria in his tracks. 185,000 dead soldiers later, Sennacherib got the message.

LORD, come and answer our prayers, so that your enemies today can get the message about who you really are.

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