Isaiah 10
Injustice judged by the LORD verse 1- 4
Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees
and that write grievousness which they have prescribed
to turn aside the needy from judgment
and to take away the right from the poor of my people
that widows may be their prey
and that they may rob the fatherless
AND what will you do in the DAY of VISITATION
and in the desolation which shall come from far?
To whom will you flee for help?
and where will you leave your glory?
WITHOUT ME they shall bow down under the prisoners
and they shall fall under the slain
For all this HIS anger is not turned away
but HIS hand is stretched out still
Ungodly Assyria will be used to judge Israel verse 5- 7
O ASSYRIAN – the ROD of MINE anger
and the STAFF in their hand is MINE indignation
I will send him against an HYPOCRITICAL nation
and against the people of MY wrat
h will I give him a charge
to take the spoil – and to take the prey
and to tread them down
like the mire of the streets
Howbeit he means not so – neither does his heart think so
BUT it is in his heart to destroy
and cut off nations not a few
King of Assyria will believe his power
destroyed Israel verse 8- 11
For he says
Are not my princes altogether kings?
Is not Caino as Carchemish?
Is not Hamath as Arpad?
Is not Samaria as Damascus?
as my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols
and whose graven images
did excel them of Jerusalem
and of Samaria
Shall I not – as I have done unto Samaria and her idols
so do to Jerusalem and her idols?
LORD will judge Assyria for its arrogance verse 12- 14
WHEREFORE it shall come to pass
that when the Lord has performed his whole work
upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem
I will punish the fruit of the STOUT heart
of the king of Assyria
and the glory of his HIGH LOOKS
For he says
By the strength of my hand I have done it
and by my wisdom
for I am prudent – I have removed the bounds of the people
and have robbed their treasures
and I have put down the inhabitants
like a valiant man
and my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people
and as one gathers eggs that are left
have I gathered all the earth
and there was none that moved the wing
or opened the mouth – or peeped
LORD will correct wrong thinking verse 15- 19
Shall the ax boast itself against him that hewed therewith?
or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shakes it?
as if the rod should shake itself against them
that lift it up or as if it were no wood
THEREFORE shall the Lord – the Lord of hosts
send among his fat ones leanness
and under his glory he shall kindle a burning
like the burning of a fire
And the light of Israel shall be for a fire
and HIS Holy ONE for a flame
and it shall burn and devour
his thorns and his briers in one day
and shall consume the glory of his forest
and of his fruitful field
both soul and body
and they shall be as when a standard-bearer faints
and the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few
that a child may write them
Remnant will survive verse 20- 23
AND it shall come to pass IN THAT DAY – that the remnant of Israel
and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob
shall no more against stay upon him that smote them
BUT shall stay upon the LORD – the Holy One of Israel, in truth
the remnant shall return – even the remnant of Jacob
to the mighty God
For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea
YET a remnant of them shall return
the consumption decreed shall
overflow with righteousness
For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption
even determined in the midst of all the land
LORD reminds Israel HIS anger will abate verse 24- 27
THEREFORE thus says the Lord GOD of hosts
O MY people that dwell in Zion
be not afraid of the Assyrian
he shall smite thee with a rod
and shall lift up his staff against you
after the manner of Egypt
For yet a very little while – and the indignation shall cease
and MINE anger in their destruction
AND the LORD of hosts shall stir up a scourge
for him according to the slaughter
of Midian at the rock of Oreb
AND as his rod was upon the sea
so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt
AND it shall come to pass IN THAT DAY
that his burden shall be taken away from off your shoulder
and his yoke from off thy neck
and the yoke shall be destroyed
because of the anointing
Assyria is coming to judge while Israelites flee verse 28- 32
He is come to Aiath – he is passed to Migron
at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages
they are gone over the passage
they have taken up their lodging at Geba
Ramah is afraid – Gibeah of Saul is fled
lift up thy voice – O daughter of Gallim
cause it to be heard unto Laish – O poor Anathoth
Madmenah is removed
the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee
as yet shall he remain at Nob that day
he shall shake his hand against
the mount of the daughter of Zion
the Hill of Jerusalem
Deliverance is coming in the future from the LORD verse 33- 34
Behold – the Lord – the LORD of hosts shall lop the bough with terror
and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down
and the haughty shall be humbled
AND HE shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron
and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 3 And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? To whom will ye flee for help? And where will ye leave your glory? (6486 “visitation” [paquddah] means oversight, mustering, punishment, vengeance, reckoning, or judgment.
DEVOTION: Both Israel and Judah were moving further and further away from the LORD. They were following the lead of their neighboring nations. They believed that there was more than one god. They believed that they could act any way they wanted and their false god would do nothing to them. They even believed that the one true God who created the universe was the same as their false gods.
Isaiah warned them that a day of reckoning was coming. He wondered who they would turn to on such a day. It was going to be a day of punishment for their sins. They had stopped confessing their sins and were not serious about their worship of Jehovah.
God had sent many prophets to warn them of this day. Again they counted on their alliances with other nations to help them if someone came to fight with them. They were wrong. It was a world much like ours, every man for themselves.
The Bible continues to warn us that there is a day of reckoning and judgment that is coming to our world. It is called the Tribulation time period of seven years. It is the completion of the seventy weeks of Daniel. Sixty-nine weeks have been fulfilled. The time of Jacob’s trouble has not been fulfilled.
Is our world in such a state that that day of reckoning could be coming soon? Many think that because the warning is two thousand years old that it will never happen. Our God is not a liar. HE stated that it was going to happen.
Christ warned HIS disciples to be ready and warned others to be ready. HE taught that there was a coming day. In that day people would run to the hills. In that time period there would be people wishing that the rocks would fall on them.
Our message should be the same of the LORD. We should be busy serving HIM every day. When the trumpet sounds for those who are HIS servants we will leave this world for a time of blessing with HIM. Those left behind will not like living during the day of reckoning. Sin is going to be judged by a righteous God.
CHALLENGE: We need to live each day as if it was our last or it was the day when the trumpet will call Christ’s servants to the Judgment Seat of Christ to receive rewards for what they have done in service to the King of Kings and LORD of LORDS.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 5 O Assyrian, the rod of MINE anger, and the staff in their hand is MINE indignation. (2195 “indignation” [za’am means anger, rage, a feeling of righteous anger, or wrath.)
DEVOTION: It is not always wrong to be angry with something or someone. The LORD expresses HIMSELF as using another nation to discipline the children of Israel when they are not listening to HIM.
The children of Israel were not being obedient and they thought the LORD would not do anything about their sin and rejection of faithful service to HIM. They were wrong.
We need to realize as we read the Old Testament and the New Testament that God wants HIS people to be obedient to HIM and if they are not HE will do something about it.
Today, we know that HE normally deals with us individually because of disobedience. HE wants those who claim a relationship with HIM to be obedient. HE knows that we are not sinless but HE wants us to keep short accounts with HIM.
HE wants us to confess our sin and ask for strength to sin less. We will never be sinless as Jesus was but we can keep the short accounts with HIM and serve HIM after HE disciplines us.
Here we find that the LORD uses a sinful nation to discipline a righteous nation, in order to, cause HIS followers or in the case of Israel HIS nation to return to faithful service to HIM.
CHALLENGE: Our daily accounting the LORD helps us to sin less and be more obedient to HIM, so that, we can witness to others.
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: 6 I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. (2611 “hypocritical” [chaneph] means polluted, defiled, corrupt, not revering God, irreligious, or estranged from God.)
DEVOTION: The president of our nation proclaimed that America is not a Christian nation. America was founded on Christian principles right out of the Bible The Ten Commandments were hung in the Supreme Court and in many court houses around the nation if not all. The laws of the land were based on Biblical verses. Most people went to church when the nation began and many still do but not most.
Our society is trying to remove any Biblical principle from the laws of the land. Also the schools are forbidding people to pray or study the Bible but seem to allow other religions to be taught.
Many of our churches are moving further and further away from the Word of God and trying to fit into society rather than into the commands set forth by God in the Bible. Our judges are individuals who don’t want to honor God any more. Washington continue to persecute those who want to believe the Bible and have it as a guiding principle in their lives and businesses.
One of the greatest tragedies is that we as a nation are shedding innocent blood regularly and selling their parts to make a profit. The children of Israel were also guilty of not taking care of their widows and orphans. There were many babies that were given over to false worship as sacrifices.
So Israel is a corrupt nation and Assyria is going to be used of the LORD to judge Israel for their sins but they are going to be judged in the future as well. God is in control of every nation whether they know it or not. HE uses heathen nations to judge Israel because they were acting like a heathen nation.
God is going to have to judge any nation that continues to act like a heathen nation. HE can even now use a heathen nation to just a so called Christian nation by the people who live in it even if the current president doesn’t consider our nation to be Christian.
CHALLENGE: Is it possible for our nation or any nation to have a revival today? The answer is YES!! If a nation turns from its sins and obeys the LORD. Can you and I be part of the revival? YES!! Pray for the LORD to give us a revival even today!!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again STAY upon him that smote them; but shall STAY upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. (8172 “stay” [shaan] means to lean oneself upon, trust in, support oneself on, rely, and rest against.)
DEVOTION: The tribe of Judah was relying on the king of Assyria to save them from Samaria and Syria. Assyria was the rod that the LORD used to judge Samaria. HE was going to use them to deal with Judah as well.
However, HE stated that when they had completed their task, HE was going to judge them as well. Through all this there would be a remnant left that followed the LORD. The remnant of Israel needed to rely on the LORD alone. They needed to trust the LORD. They needed to rest in the LORD.
HE was still the Sovereign LORD of the universe. HE was still working HIS plan for HIS people. There was only one way to gain salvation from judgment on this earth as well as throughout eternity. The way is through Jesus Christ alone. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ.
The nation as a whole had trusted in themselves and their alliances with other nations. They were worshiping the false gods of these nations. They thought that as long as they brought their sacrifices to the LORD they could do as they pleased. This was wrong thinking. It was a wrong attitude toward the Creator of the Universe. HE was not happy with them.
The king of Assyria was chosen by God to judge the people of Israel because they were being hypocritical. They were worshiping the LORD with their hand but their hearts were far from the LORD. Once the LORD used the Assyrians they thought that they had done it in their own power. They were wrong.
If we are being hypocritical in our worship of the LORD, HE will have to judge us or chasten us. When we look around at the practices of those who claim to be Christians – are they living like they are different from the rest of the world? Look at the habits of those who claim Christ – are they practicing godliness? The Old Testament is an example for us to learn from today. Are we learning? Do we trust the LORD or ourselves or our alliances?
Throughout the Bible God’s people are warned not to trust in their own power. It is our prayer that we have learned this truth. Share it with others.
I was talking with an individual earlier this week regarding control of our lives. I told him that “we think we are in control” and he laughed because he knew it was true and that we had to change our thinking regarding our future.
CHALLENGE: Correcting our thinking to use the mind of Christ is a fulltime job with the help of the Holy Spirit. Ask direction from the LORD so that we can “overflow with righteousness.”
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
My people (Israel) verse 2
Anger verse 4, 6, 25
Hand stretched out still verse 4
Indignation verse 5, 25
Shall cease
Lord – Adonai (Owner, Master) verse 12, 16, 23, 24, 33
Performed HIS whole work on Mount Zion
and on Jerusalem verse 12
Punish the fruit of the stout heart verse 12
Lord of hosts verse 16
Light of Israel verse 17
Holy One verse 17
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 20, 26, 33
Holy One of Israel, in truth verse 20
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 21
Mighty God verse 21
Lord GOD of hosts verse 23, 24
shall make a consumption
calls Israel to not be afraid
GOD – Jehovah verse 23
LORD of hosts verse 26, 33
Lop the bough with terror
Haughty shall be humbled
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Assyrian verse 5, 12- 15, 24
rod of God’s anger
their hand is MINE indignation
take the spoil
tread Israel down like the mire of the street
cut off nations not a few
Nations verse 7
Damascus verse 9
King of Assyria verse 12-
High looks
My wisdom
I am prudent
Removed the bounds of the people
Robbed their treasures
Valiant man verse 13
Child verse 19
Egypt verse 24, 26
Midian – slaughter verse 26
Rock of Oreb
Lebanon verse 34
Shall fall by the mighty one
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Unrighteous decrees verse 1
Prescribe grievousness verse 1
Turn aside the needy verse 2
Take away rights of poor verse 2
Treat widow as prey verse 2
Rob the fatherless verse 2
Leave your glory verse 3
Without ME verse 4
Hypocritical verse 6
Idols verse 10, 11
Graven images verse 10
Stout heart verse 12
High looks verse 12
Haughty verse 33
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Stay upon the LORD verse 20
Truth verse 20
Righteousness verse 22
No fear verse 24
Anointing verse 27
Humble verse 33
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
MY people verse 2
Day of visitation verse 3
Who will you flew for help verse 3
Hypocritical nation verse 6
People of MY wrath verse 6
Samaria verse 9- 11
Jerusalem verse 10- 12, 32
Mount Zion verse 12, 24
Israel verse 17
Standardbearer faints verse 18
Remnant of Israel verse 20- 22
Shall return
Overflow with righteousness
House of Jacob verse 20, 21
Stay upon the LORD verse 20
God’s people verse 24
Dwells in Zion verse 24
Aiath verse 28
Migron verse 28
Michmash verse 28
Geba verse 29
Ramah verse 29
Gibeah of Saul verse 29
Daughter of Gallim verse 30
Laish verse 30
Anathoth verse 30
Madmenah verse 31
Gebim verse 31
Nob verse 32
Daughter of Zion verse 32
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Day of visitation verse 3
In that day verse 20, 27
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QUOTES regarding passage
6 (B1) describes the Lord’s motive. Send … dispatch continue the note of divine initiative and authority behind the Assyrian incursion and contribute to the insistence on the executive, directive sovereignty of God in world affairs, which is central to the whole passage. The first verb is intensive in form and denotes the directive of a superior to an underling; the second (lit.) ‘give him a command’, i.e. ‘brief him for the task’. Behind the mission is a divine moral purpose: godless (ḥānēp), see 9:17; who anger me, justly meriting my (overflowing) anger. Seize … plunder: these words contain the components of Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, 8:1–4, and indicate the fulfilment of the word that was ‘made flesh’ in Isaiah’s second son (cf. 55:11). (Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, p. 108). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
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This oracle clearly relates in its theme to the preceding one (cf. 9:12, 17, 21; 10:4). God uses instruments to manifest his wrath in the judgment of his people. Assyria was the chief instrument God used in Isaiah’s day. The word “godless” (v.6) must have been as shocking as the names “Sodom” and “Gomorrah” (1:10) to those who were fastidious and even excessive in their observance of religious ritual (1:10–17; cf. Mic 6:6–7). In fact, the lack of a specific reference to Judah may even have led Isaiah’s hearers to think that he was speaking of some other nation, till the context put his meaning beyond doubt. The prophet’s choice of a simile here—“like mud”—may be due to his conviction that Judah has become spiritually and morally worth less (cf. Matt 5:13). (Grogan, G. W. (1986). Isaiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, pp. 80–81). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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10:5–6. God had commissioned Assyria to chasten Israel as the rod of His anger and the club of His wrath. Because Israel was godless and had angered God with her sin, Assyria would plunder her cities and ruthlessly trample her people. God often uses unlikely instruments to accomplish His purposes in the world (cf. His using Babylon against Judah, which puzzled Habakkuk, Hab. 1:6–17). Isaiah was not claiming that Assyria was godly or that the empire even knew that God was using it to do His bidding. In His sovereignty He directed Assyria to be His tool for vengeance. (Martin, J. A. (1985). Isaiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1055). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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The Lord will judge the enemy (Isa. 10:5–34). “Woe to the Assyrian!” is the way this section begins (see NIV). Though God used Assyria to chasten Judah, He would not permit His “tool” to exalt itself in pride. Assyria was His rod, club, axe, and saw (10:5, 15, 24); but they treated the Jews like mud in the streets (v. 6) and plundered the land like a farmer gathering eggs (v. 14). God’s purpose was to discipline, but the Assyrians were out to destroy (v. 7). They boasted of their conquests (vv. 8–14; see 37:10–13) but did not give glory to God.
Because of their arrogant attitude, God would judge Assyria, for the worker certainly has mastery over His tools! Like a wasting disease and a blazing forest fire, God’s wrath would come to this proud nation and its army. He would cut them down like trees in the forest (10:33–34). In the days of Hezekiah, God wiped out 185,000 of the Assyrian soldiers (37:36–37); and the great Assyrian Empire ultimately fell to Babylon in 609 B.C. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Comforted (pp. 38–39). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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Notice that it is when the Lord has performed His whole work on Mount Zion and Jerusalem that the Assyrian is to be punished. This needs to be kept in mind as the passage is read and studied. When King Ahaz was threatened with utter ruin by the kings of Israel and Syria, he sent to the king of Assyria for help—only to find later that this covetous ruler aspired to complete ascendancy over all the lands to the west, including Judah. Later Sennacherib descended on the land like a mighty torrent, his army driving all before it until it was destroyed by pestilence in one night as it besieged Jerusalem in the days of Hezekiah. This terrible ruthless enemy became the type of the godless foe which, in the last days, will attempt to bring Palestine under its control, only to be destroyed by omnipotent power on the mountains of Israel.
As the rod of Jehovah’s anger, Assyria was used, as other nations had been used, before and since, to chasten the people of God because of their turning away from Himself; but in the day of their repentance He would destroy the enemy that had brought disaster upon Judah.
On the part of the haughty destroyer there was no realization of the fact that he was just a rod in the hand of Jehovah, the God whose name he despised, but he was to learn at last by bitter experience that after he had been used to punish “an hypocritical nation” he, himself, was doomed to utter destruction. To him Jerusalem was but another city to be overthrown as he had destroyed so many others, but he was to learn that the God whose temple was in that city was supreme above all that men called gods and which had been powerless to deliver these pagan cities out of his hands.
Jehovah’s whole work upon Mount Zion and on Jerusalem will mean the return of His people to Himself. Then in the days that He takes them up again as a nation He will deal with the Assyrian and with all who have afflicted them. (Ironside, H. A. (1952). Expository notes on the prophet Isaiah. (pp. 68–69). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers)
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Ver. 5. O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, &c.] Either as calling him to come against the land of Israel to spoil it, so Kimchi; or as grieving that he was obliged to make use of him in such a manner against his people; or as threatening him with ruin. So the Targum, Septuagint, and all the Oriental versions render it, woe to the Assyrian; wherefore this, and what follows, serve to comfort the people of God; that though they should be carried captive by the Assyrians, yet they should be utterly destroyed, and a remnant of the Jews should be saved. The Assyrian monarch is called the rod of God’s anger, because he was made use of by him as an instrument to chastise and correct Israel for their sins: and the staff in their hand is mine indignation; that is, the staff which was in the hand of the king of Assyria, and his army, with which they smote the people of Israel, was no other than the wrath and indignation of God against that people, and the execution of it, which he committed to them as instruments. Kimchi interprets their hand of the land of Israel, into which this staff was sent, the Assyrian, to smite and chastise them. The Targum is, “woe to the Assyrian, the government of my fury; and an angel sent from before me against them for a curse.”
Ver. 6. I will send him against a hypocritical nation, &c.] The people of Israel, who might well be called so, since every one of them was a hypocrite, ch. 9:17 pretending to love, fear, and serve the Lord, when it was only outwardly, and by profession, and not in deed, and in truth; their character contains the reason of the Lord’s calling and sending the Assyrian to correct and chastise them: and against the people of my wrath who provoked him to wrath, were deserving of it, and upon whom he was about to bring it; it was their hypocrisy that stirred up his wrath against them; nothing is more hateful to God than that: will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey: that is, the Assyrian monarch, to make a spoil and a prey of the people of the Jews, not by any legal commission, or express command, but by the secret power of his providence, guiding and directing him into the land of Judea, to ravage and spoil it: and to tread them down like the mire of the streets; which denotes the great subjection of the inhabitants of it to him; the very low and mean estate into which they should be brought; the great contempt they should be had in; the little account that should be had of them; and their inability to help and recover themselves. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 5, pp. 62–63). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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The Lord reiterates His promise to bless Israel for faithfulness and to judge her for sin.
INSIGHT
Three things happen when Israel lives in a righteous relationship with the Lord. First, God is glorified. Second, Israel is blessed, receiving the fullness of life for which she longs. Third, the unsaved world is drawn to want to know God because of the magnificent picture they see of Him.
Because so much hinges on Israel’s standing before God, the Lord makes it clear to her how serious her position is. If she will trust and obey Him, He will bless Israel forever. However, if she lives in sin, He will utterly destroy her. (Quiet Walk)
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A REVIVAL’S OVERWHELMING CHARACTER
That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever. Joshua 4:24
A revival is something that, when it happens, leads people to say, as the townspeople said in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, “What is this? What is it?” It is something that comes like a tornado. It is almost like an overflowing tide; it is like a flood. Astounding things happen, and of such a magnitude that men are left amazed, astonished.
Let me give you an illustration that is one of the most lyrical and one of the most wonderful. There was a preacher in Scotland three hundred years ago by the name of John Livingstone of Kilsyth. John Livingstone and a number of others had been spending Sunday night after the services in prayer. Monday morning came, and John Livingstone had been asked to preach. He was out in the fields meditating, and suddenly he felt that he could not preach, that the thing was beyond him and that he was inadequate. And he felt like running away. But suddenly the voice of God seemed to speak to him, not in audible language, but in his spirit, telling him not to do that and that God did not work in that way, and it made him feel that he must go back. He preached, he tells us, on Ezekiel 36. And he said, “I preached for about an hour and a half.
Then,” he said, “I began to apply my message,” and as he was beginning to apply it, suddenly the Spirit of God came upon him, and he went on for another hour in this application. And as he did so, people were literally falling to the ground, and in that one service five hundred people were converted.
That is the kind of thing that happens in a revival. And poor John Livingstone says that kind of thing only happened to him on one other occasion.
A Thought to Ponder: Revival is almost like an overflowing tide; it is like a flood.
(From Revival, pp. 115-116, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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From Disciples to Brethren
“Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” (John 20:17)
It is interesting to note that our Lord never called His disciples “brethren” until after His resurrection, and our text, which identifies them as such, was the first thing He uttered after rising from the dead, at least as recorded in Scripture.
Until then He had referred to them in a variety of ways, including “little children” (John 13:33), “brethren,” in the sense of brothers in a family (Matthew 12:49), and even “friends.”
“Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you” (John 15:15). Certainly the disciples held a special place in Christ’s heart.
But it was not until He had risen from the dead, He who was “the firstborn from the dead” (Colossians 1:18), the “firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Corinthians 15:20), that His disciples, and indeed all who would “believe on [Him] through their word” (John 17:20), could be made “sons of God” (Romans 8:14). “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17). This high standing comes as a fulfillment of His determination to “be the firstborn among many brethren” (v. 29).
He has relabeled the “great congregation” (Psalm 22:22, 25 quoted in Hebrews 2:12) the “church,” identifying the individual members as His “brethren,” and is not “ashamed” to do so (Hebrews 2:11). As we see in our text, His God is our God, His Father is our Father; in all ways, we who have believed on Him are His brothers. Oh, what a standing is ours! (JDM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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Rejecting Rationalization
You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions. Mark 7:8
An Atlanta police officer asked a driver if she knew why he’d stopped her. “No idea!” she said in bewilderment. “Ma’am, you were texting while driving,” the officer gently told her. “No, no!” she protested, holding up her cell phone as evidence. “It’s an email.”
Using a cell phone to send an email doesn’t grant us a loophole from a law that prohibits texting while driving! The point of the law isn’t to prevent texting; it’s to prevent distracted driving.
Jesus accused the religious leaders of His day of creating far worse loopholes. “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God,” He said, quoting the command to “Honor your father and mother” as evidence (Mark 7:9–10). Under the hypocritical cloak of religious devotion, these wealthy leaders were neglecting their families. They simply declared their money as “devoted to God,” and voila, no need to help Mom and Dad in their old age. Jesus quickly got to the heart of the problem. “You nullify the word of God by your tradition,” He said (v. 13). They weren’t honoring God; they were dishonoring their parents.
Rationalization can be so subtle. With it we avoid responsibilities, explain away selfish behavior, and reject God’s direct commands. If that describes our behavior, we’re merely deceiving ourselves. Jesus offers us the opportunity to exchange our selfish tendencies for the guidance of the Spirit behind His Father’s good instructions.
By Tim Gustafson
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In his book Letters to a Young Pastor (David C. Cook), Calvin Miller writes: “The work is hard and the pastoral survival rate is scary. Every year 4,000 churches close their doors forever, compared to just 1,000 new church starts…Each year 2.7 million church members fall into an ‘inactive’ status.
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In 1950, married couples made up 78 percent of all households. In 2010, they made up only 48 percent of American households. That’s a nearly 40-percent decline! …. The difference that marriage, or more precisely, the lack of it, can make in a child’s life is startling: boys reared without their fathers are two-thirds more likely to end up in prison; 35 percent of adolescent girls whose fathers left before the age of six become pregnant out of-wedlock, compared to just 5 percent of girls whose fathers did not leave before that age. …. That’s why making the case for marriage begins with asking the question “What is marriage for?” As Christians, we know that it is for the permanent joining of man and woman for the purpose of mutual love and support and the raising of children; that it exists within the context of the family of faith, the church, and that it is a symbol of the union of Christ and his church. In other words, marriage is much more than just a “relationship.” (The Need for Strong Marriages by Eric Metaxas )
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Revelation 22
Jesus reaffirms His second coming and encourages us to be ready.
INSIGHT
Looking forward to the Messiah, Isaiah writes: “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance” (55:1-2). Then John, looking back to the Messiah, picks up the same theme: “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (v. 17).
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Strong into the Night
He who trusts in the LORD will be exalted. PROVERBS 29:25
In September 1939, Great Britain allied with France and several other alarmed countries in declaring war on Hitler’s Germany, which had invaded Poland in its intended march toward global domination. By the end of the year, anxieties throughout England remained on high alert; everyone was fearful of bombing and invasion.
When King George VI sat down before two large microphones to make his Christmas Day speech to the nation, he was dressed in his official uniform as Admiral of the Fleet. With so many parts of the world facing an uncertain future, his goal was to reassure the people that their nation was prepared and able and their cause right and just.
“A new year is at hand,” the king said. “We cannot tell what it will bring. If it brings peace, how thankful we shall all be. If it brings us continued struggle, we shall remain undaunted.”
Then, turning to some lines of poetry his wife had recently shared with him, he concluded his speech with these words, which are a fitting close to our year together. They offer a word of encouragement that—we hope—will settle your hearts amid the troubles of our own era in history. These lines are from “The Gate of the Year,” a poem written in 1908 by Minni Louise Haskins:
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A STEADFAST SPIRIT
Renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10
One characteristic of the Christian is always this: a profound distrust of self and a realization of the power of God. Listen to David: “Create in me a clean heart…and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). The Revised Version margin puts it this way: “Renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
You see, what he was conscious of was his own unsteadiness. Well might David have felt that. He was a man who had experienced God’s blessing, and he had known the joy of the Lord; and yet he had fallen into terrible sins. So he cries out for this renewal and for this reliable spirit within himself. I make bold to say that every Christian knows what this means.
A Christian is not a man who relies upon himself. It is only the Christian who knows his own weakness. It takes a Christian to see the darkness of his own heart and the frailty of his own nature. There is a type of Christian, I regret to say, who behaves as if he can do everything. He has had an experience of conversion, and now he is ready to face hell and the devil and everything. Poor fellow, he will not go very far before he loses that sense of confidence. “Let him that thinketh he standeth,” said the apostle Paul to such people, “take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). No; the Christian is a man who knows his own weakness, and he is afraid of it. So he prays for a steady spirit, a reliable spirit. He wants to be a sound man.
A Thought to Ponder: The Christian is a man who knows his own weakness, and he is afraid of it. (From Out of the Depths, pp. 105-106, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Count Your Many Blessings
“Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.” (Psalm 65:11)
At year’s end, a Christian should stop to count his blessings. If he does this fairly and fully, no matter what his problems may have been during the year, he will have to confess that God, as always, has crowned the year with goodness.
The coronation figure is frequently used in Scripture to speak of God’s blessings in the Christian life. For example: “Bless the LORD. . . Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies” (Psalm 103:2, 4). Even our testings and trials are always in the context of God’s grace and love. Christ Himself wore a crown of thorns so that we may be crowned with mercy and salvation.
Consider also Psalm 5:12: “For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favor wilt thou compass him as with a shield.” The word “compass” is the same Hebrew word as “crown,” with the basic meaning “encircle.” Other jewels in the believer’s year-end crown are God’s grace and glory. “[Wisdom] shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee” (Proverbs 4:9).
Then there is the wonderful testimony that “thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor” (Psalm 8:5). Finally, the believer’s crown is none other than the Lord Himself: “In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people” (Isaiah 28:5).
Most Christians have an abundance of material blessings for which to thank the Lord. Even if they have none of these, however, God has crowned the year with goodness and favor, with lovingkindness and tender mercies, with grace and glory and honor and, best of all, with His own presence. “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits” (Psalm 103:2). (HMM, The Institute of Creation Research)
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