Isaiah 16
COMMENTARY:
:2 “For it shall be as a wandering bird thrown out of the nest; So shall be the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.” The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.)
DEVOTION: How often we want God to work in our lives according to our demands and desires instead of according to His directives. We think that we have all the avenues figured out and that if the Lord will bless our attempts everything will be fine. The Moabites thought that, they attempted to ask Israel to help them and deliver them from the Assyrian assault. God had promised that Jerusalem would be spared but instead of going there the Moabites determined to go their way! Then when the attack from Assyria came they cried for help!
When God makes a direction clear it is foolish to try to do it our own way. Like the Moabites we can think our old systems of doing things will work but it is destined to failure. We can depend on resources or people and the result is defeat.
Running to the fortress of Petra may look good but if it is not where God desires you it is wrong.
Today as you make decisions and plans don’t go with the acceptable or traditional, if God is leading you differently. Trust Him and He will not lead you astray!
CHALLENGE: : It is better to trust the Lord than to depend on practices that have worked well in the past!(Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
: 5 And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness. (4106 “hasting” [mahir] means well versed, expeditious, quick, experienced, prompt, diligent, ready, or skilled.)
DEVOTION: This chapter begins with Isaiah informing the Moabites that they need to flee to Jerusalem instead of to Edom. They are running in the wrong direction. The LORD is going to spare Jerusalem from the Assyrian invasion.
However, they will not listen to a prophet from Israel. God has promised HIS “hesed” toward Jerusalem. There is a coming time for someone from the seed of David to reign in Jerusalem again. This is a prophecy to Christ’s reign on this earth during the Millennium. HE is the only truly and wholly righteous ONE who will come from heaven to rule. HE will judge righteously. HE will be quick. HE will be skilled. HE is well versed in the commands of heaven.
We live in an age when our system is not looking to God for guidance. There are many judges who are not judging righteously. Many are judging to please people. Many are only concerned about their future and not righteousness. Christ will judge righteously and all these judges will face HIM one day.
We are declared righteous, on the basis of HIS blood, because HE has never sinned. We will be able to reign during HIS reign if we have become followers of HIM as our personal Savior. That will be the only time when this world will be ruled with godly righteousness. That will be the only time TRUTH with always be stated.
It is a warning to Moab to treat Israel right or there will be future consequences for them after their captivity. Praise HIS name. God judges HIS people righteously but HE also promises to restore a remnant in the future. HE never gives up on HIS people.
CHALLENGE: With judgment recorded throughout the Word of God we need to warn those in our nation and the nations around us of their need to establish a proper relationship to the LORD.
: 10 And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vintage shouting to cease. (8057 “gladness” [simchah] means joy, mirth, rejoice, mirth, gaiety, or loving pleasure.)
DEVOTION: We know that the Bible teaches that whatever we sow we will reap. Sometimes we reap what we sow in this life and sometimes the LORD waits for final judgment. Individuals pay the consequences to their actions. Nations are a different story. Usually the LORD doesn’t wait until eternity to judge them.
Remember that each nation has a good angel and a bad angel. There are battles going on in second heaven that we know nothing about. Daniel gives us insight into these battles. As a side note we know that Paul visited the third heaven where the throne of God is located. It is thought that the angels dwell in the second heaven. We dwell in the first heaven.
Here we find Isaiah receiving a message from the LORD regarding the nation of Moab. He didn’t like delivering this message. He cried while delivering it. It is sad to see people who have a chance to become followers of the LORD and they reject the message. Not only do they reject the message but they thought their false god could save them. They didn’t want the help of the LORD.
Once they rejected the LORD, the LORD caused a famine in their land. There was not going to be any harvest of grapes. There would be no singing while they were trampling out the grapes to make wine. The LORD caused their joy to leave. They had nothing to sing about.
If our nation rejects the message of the LORD there could be the same consequences here. The LORD blesses the nations that serve HIM. HE brings judgment on those that don’t. Moab was being judged for their rejection of the LORD and their treatment of Israel.
CHALLENGE: Take the lessons given in the Bible to heart and preach them to those around you. Pray for a revival. God can still send one to our nation. There should be weeping over the conditions of our families, churches, schools and government. Rejection of the LORD has consequences.
: 14 But now the LORD has spoken, Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the glory of Moab shall be contemned, with all that great multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble. (7033 “contemned” means to become contemptible, to treat contemptuously, to be reduced in worth or character, to be made light of, or to be counted despicable.)
DEVOTION: God is a God of patience. HE is willing to wait for us for a certain among of time before judgment.
Here HE is giving Moab a time period to change but then judgment. HE was willing to work with other nations but when they rejected HIM or hurt HIS people HE would send judgment on them.
HE used other nations to get the attention of HIS chosen people, Israel, they had a tendency to wander just like those who claim Christ today are doing at time.
There comes a time period when we, that are believers, will be judged if we don’t turn around and follow the LORD that we have claimed to be our Savor. Many claim Christ but are not genuine followers of HIM but there are some that are genuine who seem to turn their back on HIM for a time period and HE has to send judgment to have them return or face pre-mature death.
God wants all genuine believers to follow HIM with a daily confession of sin and daily time of studying HIS Word and praying for guidance.
Too often we find people who attend church every Sunday and tell people that they are reading their Bibles and praying but it is not really happening. God has to get the attention of those who are genuine on a regular basis because we are so prone to wander.
CHALLENGE: Moab was a nation that didn’t honor the LORD and HE sent judgement to them. We claim to honor the LORD but at times are not listening and HE need to send discipline. Where are you with the LORD today!!!
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