Devotions

what Yahveh is doing

Posted on February 7, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 5:8-17

⁸Oy! Those who touch house with house, they join field together with field until there is no space left and you are caused to dwell alone in the midst of the land. ⁹Yahveh of hosts said in my ears: This pile of houses is becoming a desolation, large and beautiful but without inhabitant. ¹⁰ Because ten acres of vineyard will yield one bath,[1] and a homer[2] of seed will yield an ephah.[3] ¹¹Oy! Those who rise early in the morning, they chase strong drink. Those who linger in the evening, wine inflames them. ¹² And lyre and harp, tambourine and flute, and wine will be their feasts, but they do not look at what Yahveh is doing, and they do not see the work of his hands. ¹³ For this reason my people will go into exile without being aware of why, their noble class will become men of hunger, and their masses will become parched with thirst. ¹⁴ For this reason Sheol has enlarged its throat, and it has opened wide its mouth without limit, and her dignitary will go down, and her common crowd, her drunken brawler and those who noisily party in her. ¹⁵ And Adam is bowed down, and man is brought low, and proud eyes are humiliated. ¹⁶ But Yahveh of armies is exalted by justice, and the holy God shows himself holy by righteousness. ¹⁷ And then a lamb will be tended like they are in their pasture, and fatlings, kids will eat among the sites of ruins.

what Yahveh is doing

Isaiah describes an industrious, growing and socially dynamic community. But the community has lost sight of what God is doing, and it will be their undoing. Humiliation, exile, devastation, depopulation and death are what God has in store for this people. The noise of continuous parties is going to be replaced by sheep and goats grazing in the ruins of a deserted city. “Surely you exaggerate, Isaiah! That could never happen to us!”

Sinner, look at all the great things that you enjoy. Do you realize how easily and swiftly all those things can be wiped away? In fact, if you look closely, you can probably see — even now — some signs of what the LORD of armies is doing behind the scenes of your life. Some of your hopes are not being met; some of your dreams seem like the are not going to become reality. What if these are not just bad luck. What if God himself is trying to get your attention!

LORD, we will not turn our eyes from what you are doing. Restore us by your grace.

[1] A bath is about 6 gallons or 22 liters of liquid.

[2] A homer is about 6 bushels or 220 liters.

[3] An ephah is about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters.

Posted in destruction in hell, protection, repentance | Tagged Isaiah 5 | Leave a comment

the vineyard of Yahveh of armies

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 5:1-7

¹ Let me sing for my loved one a song of my love concerning his vineyard: A vineyard was for my loved one on a horn[1] full of olive oil. ² And he dug it and cleared it of stones, and he planted it, a choice vine, and he built a watchtower in the middle of it, and he even dug out a wine vat in it, and he waited for grapes to come– but it yielded wild grapes. ³ And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and man of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. ⁴ What more could I do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? Why did I expect grapes to come, and it yielded wild grapes? ⁵ So, now let me tell you what I myself am about to do to my vineyard: remove its hedge, and it will become a wreckage, break down its wall, and it will become a stomping place. ⁶ And I will make it a wasteland; it will not be pruned and hoed, and it will become overgrown with brier and thorn bush. And I will prevent the clouds from sending rain down upon it. ⁷ Because the vineyard of Yahveh of armies is the house of Israel, and the man from Judah the crop that he enjoys. He waited for justice,[2] but see what came! Bloodshed![3] He waited for righteousness,[4] but see what came! A cry of distress![5]

the vineyard of Yahveh of armies

Isaiah calls God Yahveh of armies 520 times. It is a picture of the LORD as one who commands the armies of both angels and men. It describes God as a mighty warrior. But here Isaiah speaks of this warrior God as if he had a side-job as a gentle farmer. The warrior God planted a vineyard and waited patiently for the fruit to develop on the vines. He used his awesome power to create a hedge around his vineyard, protecting it from intruders and disease, so that its growth would not be hindered.

But then the unthinkable happened. The fruit that developed on the vines was the wrong fruit. So, even though the house of Israel is Yahveh’s vineyard, and the man from Judah is his preferred crop, he will removed his protection and let the vineyard be taken back by the elements and intruders. The farmer will revert to warrior, and this time his warfare will be aimed at his own failed vineyard.

Oh sinner, you have enjoyed the protection of an invisible farmer all your life. But at some point this patient farmer will take a good look at the fruit you have been developing on your vines. He wants to see justice and righteousness. And if he does not, he has another option. He can remove your protection. The farmer is still the warrior. He is still Yahveh of armies. Come to him in repentance while his protective hand is still on you. You do not want to experience his hand of warfare.

LORD, forgive us for producing the wrong fruit. Cleans us with the atoning blood of Christ, and make us fruitful for his kingdom.

[1] a symbol for a hill, the word horn sounds like the word vineyard in Hebrew.

[2] Hebrew: mishpat.

[3] Hebrew: mishpach.

[4] Hebrew: tsedaqah.

[5] Hebrew: tsa`aqah.

Posted in destruction in hell, judgment, protection, repentance | Tagged Isaiah 5 | Leave a comment

seven brides for one brother

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 4:1-6

¹ And seven women will clutch onto one man on that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread, and we will wear our own clothing; only let your name be called upon us. Remove our disgrace!” ² On that day the branch of Yahveh will become beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of what remains of Israel. ³ And this will happen: He who is left in Zion and he who remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone prescribed for life in Jerusalem, ⁴when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the blood of Jerusalem from her midst by a breath of judgment and by a breath of burning. ⁵ Then Yahveh will create over all of the mountain of Zion and over her assembly a cloud by day and smoke and the brightness of flaming fire at night. Indeed, over everything glorious he will create a canopy, ⁶ and it will be a shelter for shade from heat by day, and a refuge and a hiding place from rainstorm and from rain.

seven brides for one brother

Isaiah had predicted a great judgment that would fall on Jerusalem. But in this short chapter, he provides a glimpse of God’s protecting grace in the midst of that firestorm. The imagery shows that even while the burning heat and the engulfing rain are still doing their destruction, the glorious thing which remains will be preserved miraculously by a canopy of cloud and smoke and fire. This harkens back to God’s guiding column of cloud and fire in the wilderness on the way to the promised land. That column had also once served as a barrier, protecting the Israelites from the charging Egyptians.[1] The LORD is promising protection for the righteous that survive, even while he is predicting destruction of those who will not. There will be a terrible judgment, and it will deplete the male population such that seven women will pursue one man, seeking a polygamous relationship because there are so few men left. They will have become widowed presumably due to war.

Both the horror and the comfort of this text are from God. He sends the firestorm, and only he will send the protection for those who make it through it. Such is the case in the world we live in as well. Our God is the author of hell, and the one who promises escaping it in eternal life.

LORD, rescue us with your delivering power, and make us the glorious thing that remains, protected from your righteous judgment to come.

{for another interesting take on this passage, see http://growinggodlyseed.com/eating-bread/}

[1] Exodus 14:19-20.

Posted in destruction in hell, glory, holiness, protection | Tagged Isaiah 4 | Leave a comment

a stink instead of perfume

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 3:18-26

¹⁸ In that day the Lord will take away the fine clothes: the anklets and the headbands and the crescent necklaces, ¹⁹ the pendants and the bracelets and the veils, ²⁰ the headdresses and the armlets and the sashes, and the boxes of fresh breath[1] and the amulets, ²¹ the signet rings and the nose rings, ²² the festal robes and the mantles, and the cloaks and the handbags, ²³ and the mirrors and the linen garments, and the turbans and the wraps. ²⁴ And the result will be: There will be a stink instead of perfume, and a rope instead of a sash, and baldness instead of a well-set hairdo, and a clothing wrap of sackcloth instead of a rich robe, branding instead of beauty. ²⁵ Your men will fall by the sword, and your warriors in battle. ²⁶ And her gates will lament and mourn, and she will be banished; she will sit on the ground.

a stink instead of perfume

Isaiah is talking about the city of Jerusalem and describing her as a woman, fully decked out in all the finery of his day. But God is going to take it all away, and substitute the baldness of disease, the branding of slavery, the sackcloth of poverty, and the stink of neglect. All of that extraneous stuff was a gift from God. But when God is ignored, he sometimes has to strip us of those blessings before we can realize what we have done.

If you are blessed today, praise God for it. But remember that all that stuff is from him, and he is free to remove it. What is left when the stuff goes?

LORD, make our lives virtuous, and a sweet smelling, even when all the extraneous stuff is taken away.

[1] i.e. perfume.

Posted in blessings, dependence upon God, integrity | Tagged Isaiah 3 | Leave a comment

skipping feet and tinkling bells

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 3:13-17

¹³Yahveh takes his stand to conduct a legal case and takes his stand to judge peoples. ¹⁴ Yahveh enters into judgment with the elders of his people and its princes. “And you! You have devoured the vineyard; the spoil of the poor in your houses! ¹⁵ Why are you crushing my people and grinding the poor face?” – This is a declaration of the Lord Yahveh of armies. ¹⁶ And Yahveh said: “The reason for this is that the daughters of Zion are arrogant, and they walk with outstretched neck, and they give flirting glances with their eyes, they go walking and skipping along and they tinkle with bells on their feet.” ¹⁷ The Lord will make the head of these daughters of Zion scabby, and Yahveh will lay their foreheads bare.”

skipping feet and tinkling bells

Isaiah describes the elders and leaders of Judah as arrogant daughters who flirt about with skipping feet, bells on them to ring as they skip, drawing attention to themselves. Yahveh says that he will turn their beauty into ugliness, and stop their flirting. Partly, the flirting was with other nations and their gods. God is jealous over a people who claim to be his but are always flirting with the gods of other lands. But the leaders are also drawing attention away from Yahveh and onto themselves – as if they are a reason to be proud, or a solution to the society’s problems.

God’s leaders must lead in humility. We must dare to draw attention away from ourselves, and toward God. We must avoid the temptation to flaunt and flirt.

LORD, forgive us for our failed leadership. Teach us how to show others the way to you without stealing the show ourselves.

Posted in idolatry, judgment, leadership | Tagged Isaiah 3 | Leave a comment

The look on their faces

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 3:8-12

⁸ Because Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen because of what they say and what they do against Yahveh, defying the eyes of his glory. ⁹ The look on their faces testifies against them and they reveal their sin like Sodom; they do not hide. Woe to their soul! Because they have dealt out evil to themselves. ¹⁰ Tell a righteous one “Good!, because they are eating the fruit of their actions. ¹¹ Warn a wicked one “Bad! because what his hands do will be done to him. ¹² My people–children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. My people, your leaders are misleading, and they confuse the course of your paths.

The look on their faces

Isaiah’s society was breaking down before his eyes. He could see the sin and defiance on the faces of the people, but they refused to accept it. They had produced a land full of oppression, greed and violence but no one was telling them that there would be judgment upon them for it. The leaders were all filling them with positive and encouraging words. The paths of the people were all twisted and confused, but nobody dared to say that.

Look at the faces of the people around you. Is there remorse? Is there a feeling of impending danger because of the sin and sorrow we are causing?

LORD, we see the looks on the faces of those around us. We fear for our generation. Give us the courage to lead this generation away from sin and back to you.

Posted in judgment, leadership, pride | Tagged Isaiah 3 | Leave a comment

when the stuff goes

Posted on February 1, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 3:1-7

¹ Because, see the Lord Yahveh of armies, removing supplies and more supplies from Jerusalem and from Judah: all supplies of bread and all supplies of water, ² warrior and man of war, judge and prophet, and diviner and elder, ³ captain of fifty and dignitary, and counselor and skillful magicians and skillful enchanter.⁴ And I will make boys their princes, and children shall rule over them. ⁵ And the people will be oppressed man by man, and a man by his neighbor. The boy will storm against the elder, and the dishonorable toward the honorable. ⁶ Because a man will seize his brother at the house of his father: “Here’s a cloak for you, so you will be a leader for us, and this heap of ruins is under your hand!” ⁷ He will lift up his voice on that day, saying, “I will not be a restorer; in my house there is no bread and there is no cloak. You can not make me leader of any people!”

when the stuff goes

A society based on the accumulation of stuff will decidedly unravel when the stuff starts to disappear. Isaiah’s Jerusalem had built its leadership on the accumulation of wealth, and Yahveh decided to begin removing the stuff. One of the immediate results would be the loss of leadership. There would be no more ambition to lead because once the motivation of personal gain is gone, potential leaders make themselves scarce. Respect breaks down, and depression and chaos ensues.

LORD, wean us of our dependence upon personal gain. Make us leaders based on our relationship with you, and motivate us with your approval alone.

Posted in dependence upon God, greed, judgment, leadership | Tagged Isaiah 3 | Leave a comment

ultra-light packs

Posted on January 31, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 2:17-22

¹⁷ And the haughtiness of Adam will be humbled, and the pride of humanity will be brought low, and Yahveh alone will be exalted on that day. ¹⁸ And the idols will pass away entirely, ¹⁹ and they will enter into caves of rocks and into holes in dirt from the presence of the terror of Yahveh and from the glory of his greatness as he rises to terrify the land. ²⁰ On that day Adam will throw away his idols of silver and its idols of gold, which they made for him to worship, to the rats and to the bats—²¹ to enter into the crevices of the rocks and into the clefts of the crags from the presence of the terror of Yahveh and from the glory of his greatness as he rises to terrify the land. ²² Stop following Adam, who is only the breath in his nose. What good is he?

ultra-light packs

The more that Penny and I venture out into the wilderness trails, the lighter our packs get. It takes a lot of effort to lug a backpack full of stuff up and down mountains and valleys. So, we have started making tough decisions about what we bring with us. Some of the things we once felt were essential to life are now being left behind. The weight is just not worth it.

Isaiah was trying to get his people to pack for a new day. They had to throw away those things that were part of their Adam existence, but were essentially worthless for the trip into eternity. Idols were top on his leave behind list.

Most of us are not into idol worship today, at least not the statue kind. But we all know that there are some life essentials that we cling to which are not really getting us any closer to God. Time to repack.

LORD, give us the courage to give up those things which are weighting down our packs.

Posted in idolatry, preparation, purity | Tagged Isaiah 2 | Leave a comment

divine terrorism

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 2:10-16

¹⁰ Enter into the cave and hide yourself in the dirt from the presence of the terror of Yahveh and from the glory of his greatness. ¹¹ The eyes of the pride of Adam will be brought low, and the pride of humanity will be humbled, and Yahveh alone will be exalted on that day. ¹² Because it will be a day for Yahveh of armies against all proud and lofty and against all that is lifted up and humbled. ¹³ and against all the lofty and lifted up cedars of Lebanon, and against all the tall trees of Bashan, ¹⁴ and against all the mega mountains, and against all the high hills, ¹⁵ and against every kind of tall tower, and against every kind of fortified fence, ¹⁶and against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the desirable images.

divine terrorism

The terrorists who destroyed the two towers of the World Trade Center in New York had been taught that they were doing God’s work. The picture of God destroying the high and haughty work of prideful man goes back to passages like this – in fact, back to Babel itself. But Isaiah was not depicting the work of brainwashed religious zealots. He was warning the religious and secular alike that every nation has built mega mountains and tall towers, and he, himself, will tear them down. In the day of God’s vengeance, the high and lofty will look for caves and holes to hide in. Only God will be exalted in that day.

LORD, we humble ourselves before you now, seeking the safety of your will, knowing that no other form of safety is truly safe from your wrath.

Posted in destruction in hell, humility, pride, protection | Tagged Isaiah 2 | Leave a comment

mirror image

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Jefferson Vann

Isaiah 2:5-9

⁵ House of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of Yahveh. ⁶ Because you have forsaken your people, house of Jacob, because they are full of diviners from east, and soothsayers like the Philistines, and they clap hands with the offspring of foreigners. ⁷ And its land is full of silver and gold, and there is no end to its treasures; and its land is full of horses, and no end is seen of its chariots. ⁸ Its land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of his hands, to what his fingers have made. ⁹ And Adam bows down; humanity is enslaved, and you must not lift them up.

mirror image

Isaiah’s people thought of themselves as a lonely island of purity in a sea of pagan filth. Isaiah said. “Really? Have you looked at yourself lately? You are just like the pagans. They are full of witch doctors and animistic practitioners of the magic arts; so are you. They are all about amassing wealth for themselves; look at your piles of silver and gold. They are all about building a war machine so they can kill and enslave other humans; ditto. Look in the mirror.”

We will never know true repentance until we stop believing that we are different from all those evil people out there. Really looking into the mirror means coming to grip with our own depravity and repulsiveness.

LORD, show us our true ugliness, and cleanse us so that we reflect your image, not that of the world around us.

Posted in depravity, discernment, repentance | Tagged Isaiah 2 | Leave a comment