Isaiah 17
COMMENTARY:
: 4 “In that day it shall come to pass that the glory of Jacob will wane, and the fatness of his flesh grow lean.” The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982). (דָּלַל, דָּלַל [dalal /daw·lal/] – to hang, languish, hang down, be low, “impoverished”)
DEVOTION:: The story is told of a professional football coach who was a believer and left his Bible lying on his desk each day. As players would come in they would notice it and often comment on it. One day a player came in and stated to his coach that he needed to start reading his bible again. Puzzled by the comment the coach asked why he would say that. To which the player responded, “your page marker has not moved for the past two weeks!” The coach also realized he had been getting impatient and short with players and coaches. When we fail to read or meditate on the word of God the glory of God will wane and the watchful eyes of others will notice. How are we doing? DO people see the Lord and His fullness in us or is there a leanness that is appearing in our spiritual life?
CHALLENGE: Do not be like Syria and Israel and only call upon the Lord in times of trouble! Daily look to Him for strength and wisdom! (Dr. Brian Miller)
: 7 At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. (7200 “respect” [ra’ah] means to see, find delight, view, pay attention, take heed, look, see, behold, consider, enjoy or heed.)
DEVOTION: The Bible makes it plain that we are created beings. God has created both man and angels. Many angels fell with Satan when he rebelled against the LORD. All human beings are born in rebellion against the LORD.
We have been created by our Maker. God is our Maker. We need to heed what HE has to say to us in HIS Word. Do we remember that we are created beings or do we think we have made ourselves? Like the children of Israel we go to God when all else has failed. We have tried our own way to handle a situation and when it fails we turn to the LORD for help. It is not something that has happened only once in our lives, it has happened all to often.
Next Isaiah wants the people of Israel to have their eyes focused on the LORD. They were presently looking at their idols instead of the LORD. They thought that their idols could save them. They were wrong. IF we look in any direction besides the LORD, we find ourselves in captivity to something or someone other than the LORD.
We and they also find that the LORD has to chasten them in order to show them and us that HE can bring a solution to the problems that we are facing on a regular basis.
Today we have a new group of scientists that are presenting the belief in “Intelligent Design.” We have been watching the scientific world deal with DNA and other reasons why evolution is not the answer to our beginning. If we have a Creator and we believe that we do. Then we have to take heed to the Word of God. HE has chosen to share with us HIS directions for our lives.
HE has chosen to share with us HIS future plan for our world. Are we taking heed to HIS Word daily? In the Word of God we can see it all laid out in front of us. The LORD Jesus Christ is coming one day and we are to be occupying until HE comes.
What does that mean? We need to take delight in HIS Word and HIS work in our life. We need to share these truths with others. We need to practice what we find in the Word of God and ask forgiveness when we fail.
CHALLENGE: Our delight needs to be in the LORD of our salvation. HE is our ROCK. HE gives us strength to face each day. Show your delight for the LORD to others. Pay attention to HIM more than our favorite sports team or favorite store in the Mall.
: 10 Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not been mindful of the rock of your strength, therefore shall you plant pleasant plants, and shall set it with strange slips. (7911 “forgotten” [shakach] means ignore, wither, to cease to care, fall into oblivion, overlook, unmindful, or mislay.)
DEVOTION: I tell people that I have a good memory but it is short. I have a problem with names. I just called someone on Skype but forgot her name when it came time to pray for her. It is sad but true. I sometimes think about too many things at once and forget what I am supposed to be doing in the present. Some of us go into a room and forget why we are there until we think for a while about it.
When we think about God our memory sometimes is very short. Yesterday HE really blessed me we think and then today we wonder what HE is doing for us. We want HIM to give us exciting blessings each day. HE does but we don’t realize it.
The children of Israel were guilty of this problem as well. The ten tribes were looking to Damascus to help them with Assyria. The army of Assyria was coming so the ten tribes made alliances with other nations to protect them.
Isaiah came along and told them a message from the LORD. HE was not pleased that they looked to others for help instead of HIM. HE had the understanding that they were ignoring HIM. HE was out of their mind. Of course, we follow their example too often.
We can always thank HIM for the provision of our salvation. We can always thank HIM that HE is available for conversation at all times. We can thank HIM for the wisdom that HE gives us each day. We can thank HIM for HIS provision of food, clothes and shelter that HE provides for us each day. In fact, we have more then we can use on a daily basis here in this country compared to many other countries.
So should we be oblivious to HIS blessings? NO!!! Have you been oblivious to HIS blessings in your life today?
CHALLENGE: We need to ask the LORD’S forgiveness for our unthankful attitude at times. We need to complement the LORD to others daily for all HE is doing for us. We need to encourage others to complement the LORD for HIS daily benefits or blessings.
: 13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. (1605 “rebuke” [ga’ar] means reprove, to censure severely or angrily, speak insultingly to, disapprove, or to tell another that they have done wrong.)
DEVOTION: The ultimate judge is the LORD. HE is the one who knows what is right and wrong in this world and in any nation. HE is the one who can disapprove of the actions of people and governments.
Today we have many nations that are not honoring the LORD. Even in our own nation there are many who don’t think the teaching of the Word of God are right and want to stop any teachings from the Bible.
God is going to deal with them and we need to keep preaching the Word of God and teaching our children the Word of God and telling our friends about the truth of the Word of God.
It is the LORD’s responsibility to help us with our message and HIS reasonability to handle those who reject HIS message that we are presenting.
We have to present it in love and encourage those we love to consider the consequences of their actions if they reject HIM.
Too often we take too much of the defense on ourselves when the LORD is able to take care of what is going on. HE does everything in HIS time. HE is patient when we are not. We want God to strike those who oppose HIS teaching to be struck by lightning right away.
CHALLENGE: We have the responsibility to live and teach the Word of God to others and the LORD will handle the rest. Trust HIM! HE works in HIS timing not ours.
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