Isaiah 47
COMMENTARY:
:1 “Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called tender and delicate. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982). 7390 רַךְ [rak /rak/] – Tender, soft, delicate, weak.)
DEVOTION: I have three granddaughters and a fourth that will soon be delivered to our family! Each of these young ladies are special and precious in our sight! They are innocent and tender young girls that have not experienced the pain and hardships that life can bring. The Lord is telling the Babylonian people that things were going to change for the families in that city. As destruction and conquest came to them the very lives of innocent children would be deeply affected. Whereas the sensitive and guiltless lives were common for the people now it would not continue that way.
God would judge the nation and hold it accountable for its evil activities. As He has done that with Babylon so he will do it with us as well. We need to consider and seek the Lord while He is merciful and compassionate. A day will come when He will hold us accountable for the lifestyle and decisions that our leaders and governing authorities have made for our nation. Whether the title of the nation is Babylon, Assyria, Israel or United States the Lord is not mocked and He will hold us to His holy word. I pray for our young people and the leaders of our country today. May our youth be innocent and our leaders wise.
CHALLENGE: God is not mocked and our country will be held accountable. Pray for revival and a return to biblical standards before the tender and delicate offspring pay a tremendous price for our generation’s arrogance. (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
: 4 As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. (1350 “redeemer” [ga’al] means to be the next of kin, save, buy back, deliver, purchase, ransom, or kinsman -redeemer.)
DEVOTION: The LORD explains why the children of Israel are going into captivity. HE has used the Babylonians to chasten HIS people. HE is willing to use those who are not believers to chasten HIS people when they are not obedient. Many of the prophets didn’t understand how the LORD could use those individuals or nations that were less righteous than Israel.
The Babylonians have taken their responsibility to the wrong conclusion. They didn’t believe in God. HE was going to show them that HE does exist and they are going to be judged. Once pride enters into a nation the LORD will judge them with another nation to get their attention. HE used the Babylonians to judge Israel. Then HE used the Medes and Persians to judge Babylon. Then HE used the Greeks to judge the Medes and Persians. Finally we find that HE used the Romans to just the Greeks. HE will use nations to work HIS plan for the future.
HE gives his people hope. Isaiah describes HIM as the LORD of hosts, the Holy One of Israel and the one who is going to ransom them from captivity. HE has the power to do it all. HIS forces enforce HIS commands. HE is holy. HE also loves HIS children. However, HIS one attribute doesn’t outweigh HIS other attribute. HE is a loving God who is holy.
The people of the Old Testament needed someone to protect them. God was their protector. Each time they fell into sin and called to HIM, HE came to buy them back. Repentance and prayer are the steps of obedience that will deliver us from our sinful lives.
Christ has paid our ransom. HE shed HIS blood for our sins. HE was sinless. HE arose from the death on the third day. HE is presently our advocate with the Father. The Father looks at us through the blood of HIS
Son.
Do we appreciate all that our Savior has done for us and is doing for us? We need to remember that we will meet HIM in the near future. Are we prepared to meet HIM? Are we a THANKFUL people?
CHALLENGE: Our responsibility is to understand the holiness of God as well as HIS love. Never mix them up.
: 8 Therefore hear now this, you that are given to pleasures, that dwells carelessly, that says in your heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children. (983 “carelessly” [betach] means boldly, confidence, confidence, freedom from anxiety or fear, securely, or without danger and fear.)
DEVOTION: The people of Babylon thought that they had it made. They thought that there was no nation that could defeat them.
They had given the children of Israel a hard time because they thought their false gods had given them the children of Israel. They didn’t understand that they were a tool of the LORD to judge Israel for it’s sins against HIM.
HE was not done with them but HE wanted them to understand that they were supposed to obey HIM and serve HIM alone and not think they could do it on their own without HIM.
In order to prove this fact HE sent the nation of Babylon against them who took them into captivity and caused them to suffer during their time there. It was a lesson that the LORD had repeated with the children of Israel because they thought they could do as they pleased and the LORD would still protect and provide for them.
Sometimes there are people today who call themselves Christians who think that because they have said and prayer and attend a church that the LORD is going to bless them no matter what they do. This is wrong thinking.
If we are to be genuine with the LORD, we are going to seek to please HIM and not ourselves. HE will bless us but the blessing are to be used to bring glory to HIS name not our own.
Many churches are failing because both the leadership and the people in the pews are thinking that they are OK in the sight of God if they just attend church and live as the please God will bless them.
This is not true. HE wants us to be witnesses to the world of HIS great love through HIS Son Jesus Christ. That means that we should be reaching our friends, neighbors and community with the Gospel. Each Bible believing church should be knocking on every door in their community with the gospel. This can be done with tracts and invitation to attend services.
The church today has lost it’s commission to go into their world with the Gospel and preach. This command has not ended. We are to occupy until HE comes again.
CHALLENGE: What is your church doing to reach your community for the LORD? Can you say that every person in your community has been invited to your church through personal invitation and mailings? If not why not?
: 13 You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels, Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save you from these things that shall come upon you. (1895 “astrologers” [habar] means to divide, they that divide the heavens, those that gaze at the stars, distinguishing sign of zodiac, class of person who tells the future, or horoscopist.)
DEVOTION: The LORD is accusing the Chaldeans or people of Babylon of trusting anyone who wants to tell the future over the LORD.
They have so many people telling them what to do and none of them consult the LORD. They will consult their horoscope in the newspaper each day rather than the LORD. They will ask people who consult the sun and the moon about what the future is going to hold. They ask people about the time when a new moon will appear because that affects people’s actions.
Even in the church we have people who claim to be Christians who come to the pastor for Biblical advice but then will turn around and ask their friends for advice. Sometimes they listen to their pastor and sometimes they listen to their friend. They have not really asked the LORD to give them discernment regarding who to listen too. The Bible should be the final authority but too often is just an authority not the authority in a believers life. This is very sad.
God stated to the Babylonians that they should just listen to whoever they want to because they were not listening to HIM. HE also stated that all other sources regarding the future of the nation were wrong. HE was always right.
In the verse previous to this one we find them using enchantment and sorcerers to help them know what are going to happen. They were going to all the wrong sources.
The question is who are we going to for our understanding of the future? Are we going to the LORD alone? Or are we consulting our horoscope in the newspaper or a Chinese fortune cookie. If we are not discerning about where we seek advice we will be just like the Babylonians who were looking in all the wrong places for answers to important questions.
CHALLENGE: Encourage those you know to receive direction for their future from the LORD. Also follow your own advice. Christians should not consult the stars or their horoscope for advice.
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