Isaiah 48
COMMENTARY:
: 4 Because I knew that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew, and your brow brass. (7186 “obstinate” [qushah] means difficult, stiff-necked, hardhearted, shameless, or unyielding.)
DEVOTION: Have you ever been strong willed? There are books to help parents who have strong willed children. Usually this means that you have to find a method that helps you raise the child to be someone who is obedient and productive in society.
Many families struggle with children who will not listen to their parents. They call on the church to pray for them to find a way to raise them to honor the LORD.
In the Old Testament it was seemingly easy to deal with stubborn and disobedient children. If they would not listen to their parents the parents were to take them to the elders at the gate and if they were found guilty the elders would stone them. They would then have the issue settled.
This cannot be done today in our society. We seem to have a society that think that children can make adult decisions at the age of five or six or seven. If they don’t like what their parents are doing they can have a lawyer declare them independent of their parents.
The children of Israel were a very difficult people to deal with for the LORD. HE didn’t want to destroy all of them. HE had to find a solution to HIS problem with their sin. HIS solution was to send them into captivity where they would suffer for a while and then realize that the LORD had treated them well.
Once they realized this fact, they would start praying for a deliverer and the LORD would send one to bring them back from their captivity. The time of chastening would be over.
Today we find that it is hard to deal with disobedient children in the church. Church discipline is not working because they just move to a new church and start their actions again there.
The LORD wants Christians to mature and that takes discipline. It also take yielding to discipline. God has a desire that we discipline ourselves to live as HE has directed through HIS Word, the Bible.
CHALLENGE: If we are acting stubborn, we need to confess it and ask the LORD to forgive us. Then we can move forward in our growth in the LORD. HE can use a yielded vessel. HE will not use a stubborn vessel.
: 9 For MY name’s sake will I defer MINE anger, and for MY praise will I refrain for you, that I cut you not off. (2413 “refrain” [chatam] means to restrain oneself from doing something, to muzzle, to stop, hold back, hold in, or to be patient and self-controlled.)
DEVOTION: The LORD has control of HIS emotions. It is hard to realize this sometimes when we see HIM judge people. HE could have done much worse to the children of Israel at times if HE was not holding back and letting them realize what they were doing wrong.
It took them a LONG time to realize that that LORD was with them even in captivity. HE wanted them to learn lessons that they never seemed to learn. HE give them many blessings even during their times of captivity but they were not thinking right even then. They always wanted more because they thought they deserved it.
The problem was with them and with us is that we don’t deserve HIS blessings because we continually sin and don’t ask for forgiveness. HE was and is very patient with HIS people but we still don’t get the point.
Our responsibility is to confess our sins and serve HIM will all our body, soul and spirit. This is not easy because we keep thinking wrong about what we deserve from HIM. We deserve Hell for eternity but HE has promised Heaven to HIS genuine followers. Obedience is what HE wants and we are not consistent in giving HIM our obedience or our confession of sin.
Israel was HIS chosen people just like we are today. Our responsibility is to be obedient so that HE can bless us. We sometimes seem to think that we don’t have to work hard at being obedient but that is the case and humans from Adam on expect blessings without too much work.
HE wants us to live a life that is pleasing to HIM, just like HE wanted from Israel. This means we have to work at it every day in our study of HIS Word, prayer and service. If these are not active then blessings are not going to follow.
CHALLENGE: We need to daily examine our actions regarding our growth in the LORD. This takes work through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Are we allowing the HOLY SPIRIT to do HIS work in our life through our study of the Word, prayer and work for the LORD? HE is self-controlled, are WE? With HIS help we can be!
: 12 “Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, My called: I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982).
DEVOTION: As a parent I desire that my children listen to me when I am speaking! It is also true that I want the people in my church to listen when I speak in the services and at meetings. As an individual I expect that people will listen and interact through the communication process. Why do we act surprised when the Scripture instructs us to listen to the Lord as He speaks? Is it because we cannot see Him or that it is written on pages of the Bible that we can only read and it is not someone standing with a commanding voice demanding our attention? Are we like our children or people close to us and because we are accustomed to the word of God we do not listen any longer?
God here is speaking to the people of Israel and saying “listen to me”, it is not the first time He has said this (46:3) but the statements He is communicating is important enough that He wants there attention. His attributes and qualities of He being the First and the Last is highlighted! As God had warned them previously and they had not listened and became amazed that God did His acts of punishments so now He wanted them to listen to Him. Babylon would be judged and they would return to the land of their forefathers. Would they listen and believe?
How about us? Do we listen to the word of God as He instructs us and implores us to listen and to have ears that hear! In Revelation 1:17; 2:8 Christ proclaims that He is the First and the Last! He instructs the churches to take heed to His words and then in the conclusion of the seven churches he speaks and says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (2:7, 11, 17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22) The First and the Last is still speaking today, are we listening?
CHALLENGE: Revelation 22:12-14 states, “ And behold I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. Blessed are those who do His commandments”! Are we listening to the speaker as He speaks? (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
: 17 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD your God which teaches you to profit, which leads you by the way that you should go. (3276 “profit” [ya’al] means have benefit, have value, succeed, to gain, profit, benefit, avail, or good.)
DEVOTION: The LORD has been communicating with HIS people about HIS sovereignty. HE is the first and the last. HE has a plan and is working HIS plan. HE told them that the Babylonians were going to be defeated by a king named Cyrus who wouldn’t be born for quite a while after the death of Isaiah. HE told them that they were saying that they were worshipping HIM but not in truth or righteousness. They were only going through the motions because they were a obstinate and rebellious people. They worshipped idols more than HIM. HE was telling them the future and they were not listening. HE kept repeating the words: “Hear ME.” HE was their Redeemer. HE was HOLY. HE wanted to teach them to succeed. HE wanted to lead them down the right path to peace and prosperity. They didn’t want to follow.
We know that we need to learn. We need to learn from birth how to do things right. We teach little children to do things that are right. We don’t have to teach them how to do things wrong. They seem to be able to do that on their own. We are able to them on our own too. Each year we learn new things in our world. The same is true regarding the Christian life. It is a learning experience. We find that the LORD teaches through affliction all through HIS word. When HE teaches us things it is for our benefit! It is for our good. When do we stop learning? Do we stop learning when we graduate from college? Do we stop learning when we have attended church for over forty years? When should we stop learning? NEVER!! God NEVER stops teaching us until we die. A church was looking for a pastor and asked me the dates in the books of my library. The former pastor had not purchased a book since his graduation from seminary. He had stopped learning. Can a pastor every stop learning from the LORD? NO!! Should we ever stop learning from the LORD? NO!! If we try the LORD will send affliction our way to cause us to learn.
CHALLENGE: Remember everything that happens in our life is for our good. LEARN from it. I am!!
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