Isaiah 32
COMMENTARY:
: 1 Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, And princes will rule with justice. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982).
DEVOTION: “A picture of the ideal king and government, fully realized in Messiah when He comes again to establish His righteous government of earth.” (Ryrie Study notes) He comes before us here, not only as a King but as a Saviour. He will be someone that will protect and cover His followers regardless of the circumstances. While we struggle with the sin and depth of depravity that wracks our society Christ foretells of a future where wickedness, deceit and foolishness will be exposed. In the church age we are left here to be light and salt to a world that is in need of a Savior. We are expected to be torches and preservatives in the decaying state of a sinful society. Do not grow weary in the task that Christ has appointed you to accomplish. Examine your life and follow Jesus closely, then anticipate the return of our Sovereign and Holy Savior!
CHALLENGE: May our prayer be that of John in Revelation 22:20, “Amen, Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
: 6 For the vile person will speak villany and his heart will work iniquity, to practice hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. (5039 “villany” [n@balah] means senselessness, folly, foolishness, implying moral failure, senselessness, disgraceful, profane actions or disgrace.
DEVOTION: There are many fools in the world. The word for “vile” is Nabal, which means fool. Abigail was married to a man by that name. He mistreated David before he was king. He humiliated David and David was going to kill him before Nabal’s pleaded for his life. Nabal was kill by the LORD.
The fool has said in his heart that “There is no God.” There were people living in Israel who were guilty of this belief. They faked their relationship with the LORD. They were ignorant of God and how HE worked in our world.
Here we have a fool who speaks senselessness. He speaks folly. He is a disgrace. Isaiah tells us that he practices hypocrisy. He practices speaking false doctrine. He leaves the empty soul hungry for the truth of the Word of God. He causes people who are thirty for the Living Water to go away thirsty.
Does this sound like many churches today? There are pastors who quote everything but the Word of God on Sunday. There are many Bible believing churches that teach very little of the Bible each Sunday. There are many people leaving Bible believing churches that are hungry for the Word and thirty for the Living Water and leave empty. This should not ever happen. Let’s spread the Word each Sunday.
Warning there are many ignorant people in our world who need to know the truth of the Word of God. Some will listen but others will not listen. Our responsibility is to reach all those we can. The fools will have to stand before the LORD on judgment day and answer for their foolishness. We will stand before the LORD at the Bema Seat of Judgment for the rewards we will receive for our faithful service to HIM. Speak to everyone with the realization that most will not be willing to listen because they are blinded by their sin nature and an unwillingness to admit they are wrong. Only a fool thinks he is never wrong.
CHALLENGE: Never give up. Everyone is worth a witness.
: 15 Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. (3759 “fruitful” [karmel] means plantation, garden-land, orchard, or garden-growth.
DEVOTION: This is passage that is surrounded with warning of judgment because the children of Israel were disobeying the LORD. They were called a vile people. They were wicked in their relationship to the LORD and to others. There was going to be a time of captivity because of their disobedience.
However, with every warning and judgment there was a promise of hope. This promise was yet future but it was still coming. Isaiah told of a time when the Holy Spirit would be poured out on the land.
Not only Isaiah but many of the prophets told of a future time period when the Holy Spirit would be very active. HE is active now but at that time period HE was going to be more active.
On the day of Pentecost we have the Holy Spirit filling the disciples so that they could preach with amazing results. They had the Holy Spirit come on them as cloven tongue. They were able to speak in the known languages of many people from other nations that were in Jerusalem. Luke quotes a passage in Joel related to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. Other references to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit are found in Ezekiel (Ezek. 36:26-27; 37:14), Joel (Joel 2:28-29), and Zechariah (Zech. 12:10, niv marg).
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost was nothing compared to what was going to happen in the future during the Millennium. It will be a time period with Christ reigning as King. The land will be fertile beyond belief. These who sow will be followed directly by those who reap. The Promised Land will be so full of produce that no one will go hungry.
Until that day we find that there are going to be hungry in the Promised Land during the time period of Isaiah until the present day and beyond. Sin had affected not only human being but the animal kingdom and plant kingdom. The world is presently groaning until the time period when Christ will reign.
CHALLENGE: We need to look forward to a time period when we will reign with Christ during the Millennial period. It is a time period of hope. We need to share this hope with all those who are around us. There is future hope to those who are presently living in hard times.
: 17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever. (983 “assurance” [betach] means safely, security, a state of confident hopefulness that events will be favorable, without worry, peacefully, or undefended condition.)
DEVOTION: All those who are genuine believers are covered by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. HE paid the price for those who are genuine believers by his death on the cross for their sins.
The LORD wants those who are believers to understand that because of Christ we can have a peace that the world doesn’t understand. It is a peace that lasts through eternity. With this promise we need to face each day with the knowledge that HE is there to give us this peace, no matter the circumstances that we face on that day.
Not only is there peace but we can let the LORD answer all the questions or trials that we face from those around us. HE is going to help us not only face the questions but give us answers that will cause them to step back and wonder where we received the wisdom from to give the answers.
If we understand what the provisions of salvation that are given to us at the time we become a genuine believer we will never doubt when we are faced with questions from those who don’t know the LORD.
CHALLENGE: We are to have the peace that passes understanding in this evil world each day. We are to thank the LORD each day for this peace. We are not to doubt HIS provision.
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)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verse 6
MY peopleverse 18
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
King shall reign in righteousnessverse 1
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Spirit poured outverse 15
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)
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Vile personverses 5, 6
Iniquityverse 6
Practice hypocrisyverse 6
Utter error against the LORDverse 6
Make empty the soul of the hungryverse 6
Evilverse 7
Wicked devicesverse 7
Destroy the poor with lying wordsverse 7
Hurt the needyverse 7
Liberal thingsverse 8
At ease individualsverses 9, 11
Carelessverses 9-11
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Righteousnessverses 1, 16, 17
Eyes that seeverse 3
Ears that hearverse 3
Understand knowledgeverse 4
Tongue speak plainlyverse 4
Joyverse 13
Spirit poured outverse 15
Judgmentverse 16
Peaceverses 17, 18
Quietnessverses 17, 18
Assuranceverse 17
Blessedverse 20
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Kingverse 1
Princesverse 1
Joyous cityverse 13
God’s peopleverse 18
Peaceable habitationverse 18
Sure dwellingverse 18
Quiet resting placeverse 18
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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