Isaiah 57
COMMENTARY:
: 1 The righteous perish, and no may lays it to heart: and the merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. (622 “taken away” [acaph] means to assemble, be gathered, and to be collected.)
DEVOTION: Isaiah lived in a time when those who were evil thought it was good for the righteous to die. They didn’t want to hear their message. They didn’t want to hear Isaiah’s message. They wanted to be left alone to do all the evil they possibly could with no interference and no guilt.
In the countries where there are Moslems and Christians today we find the same thing happening. The Moslems want the Christians to die or move away. They don’t want them around. They are bombing churches. They are kidnapping Christian girls to have the convert or die. They don’t want anyone around them that would give a faithful witness for the LORD. Recently, we have seen this activity in Kenya. They have bombed church services. There are at least four pastors in Kenya who receive the devotionals and they write regularly of all that is happening in their nation.
The sad fact is that in Isaiah’s day it was their fellow Israelites who wanted the faithful believers dead. They didn’t want to be convicted of their sins. It was easier to get rid of their fellow countrymen than to stop sinning.
There is a future time when the people of the world will rejoice when those who are followers of Christ are killed. The two witnesses, Moses and Elijah, are killed. The people celebrate by sending gives to each other. They have a wonderful time of celebration at the death of those who are faithful to the LORD.
One author, H.A. Ironside, states that this passage is like the one in I Thessalonians where those who are believers are taken from the world before the Tribulation begins.
God is concerned with those who are HIS children. HE protects them during good times and bad times. Israel is going through a bad time and HIS solution to the problem of righteous people living is to assemble them and bring them into HIS presence in death.
We can have confidence in the LORD doing what is best for us throughout our lifetime. If we need to be in HIS presence HE will take us there. It is a great HOPE for all of us who are trying to serve the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Continue to spread this hope to all those who are going through rough times. Not only here in this country but around the world. God CARES!
: 11 And of whom have you been afraid or feared, that you have lied, and have not remembered ME, nor laid it to your heart? Have not I held MY peace even of old, and you fear ME not? (3576 “lied” [kazab] means deceive, to tell an untruth, pretend with intent to deceive, to prove oneself a liar, or cheat.)
DEVOTION: We find that the children of Israel could fall into the same sins of those around them. There could be a group who said they were following the LORD but were not telling the truth.
These individuals were withholding reverence that was due to the LORD and giving it to others while still saying that they were worshiping the LORD. They were not deceiving God but only themselves and sometimes those people around them.
Today some people call themselves “Christian” but they are not worshiping the LORD in spirit and in truth. They are just going through the motions instead of making real commitments to the LORD.
They may look right and say things that are right but in their hearts they are not worshiping the LORD but serving themselves only. This was true of those in the Old Testament and can be true even today.
God wants us to worship HIM in spirit and in truth. HE wants us to be genuine in our love for HIM. If it is not genuine than heaven is not the place they will spend eternity but the lake of fire is waiting for them when the die.
Each of us knows our own heart and our actions speak louder than words. If we are not confessing our sins daily and worshiping the LORD daily we are not following HIM correctly. Yes, we still sin on a daily basis but confession to the LORD that is genuine forgives our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
CHALLENGE: Keep short accounts with the LORD. Know your heart whether you are genuine in our worship and confession of sin. God knows what is going on even when some people are faking it!!!!
: 15 For thus says the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. (1792 “contrite” [daka] and 1793 [dakka] means dust, humiliated, break in pieces, to crumble, beat to pieces, crushed, humble, oppress, or smite.)
DEVOTION: The LORD is the high and lofty One. HE has eternity planned. HE is holy. The people HE calls HIS own were worshiping false gods. They are not willing to listen to HIM. Those who are true followers are frustrated with all the evil that they are surrounded with on a daily basis. The only escape seems to be death.
There is a statement in verse one that says “the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.” In this case it would mean captivity. In the future it might mean the Tribulation period.
The LORD says that those who are will him have a humble spirit. They are also said to have a crushed spirit. This crushed spirit is not one that forsaken. It is one that realizes that the only way to please the LORD is to submit to HIM. Their desires have to be put on the altar. They have to be servants. A servant is one who is willing to serve a master. The LORD is the master of these individuals.
Once they realize that they are servants, they can experience revival in their inward parts. Once the inward parts are revived, they can express this revival in their outward actions. The LORD then gives them peace. HE also gives them HIS presence. HE will heal them.
However, the wicked have no peace. They are always stirred up. They are always restless. They are always causing mire and dirt to come to the top.
We need to be ones that have been humiliated by the LORD, so that, we can service him with a humble heart.
Our pride gets in the way of service otherwise. Are we the type of servants we should be for the LORD? Has HE humbled us or crushed us, so that, we realize we are totally dependent on HIM?
Today I talked with a friend who has gone through a divorce and watched his “friends” from Christian college and seminary turned their backs on him. He has continued to serve the LORD in his workplace. He has continued to go to church but still there are those who hold him accountable for a past divorce. It has crushed him but he still is serving the LORD.
As believers we are to be encouragers of those who are trying to serve the LORD. In Isaiah’s days they just wanted the faithful to die. Sometimes it seems that even believers would rather that other believers who have failed would just die instead of encouraging them to come closer to the LORD. This is wrong and they will answer for their actions.
God works with those who are crushed and still serve HIM and so should we.
CHALLENGE: If you know of someone you used to love that has fallen away from the LORD try to restore them rather than ignore them. In your actions you are “covering a multitude of sins” of a brother. With a result that he could be a fruitful servant of the LORD again.
: 20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982).
DEVOTION: There is a storm that is threatening the East coast as I write this devotion. It has caused people to leave the beach areas and low-lying areas in case of flood waters and torrential rains. Some people are drawn to the ocean during these times to watch and to frolic in the angry waves and restless currents. They defy the odds and go out to surf and to watch the surging, angry sea. It is like the restless waves and troubled waters reflect their souls and they see mirrored in the waters their souls! The storms of life reveal the dirt and mire that has laid dormant and still until the churning begins. The Lord reminds us that the wicked are like the troubled sea and the revealing of the dark and unseen is only revealed in the storm.
Are you troubled by the adversity and difficulty of your life? Has the storm churned up some sediment and unconfessed sin from the past?
Today is the day to have that cleansed and to begin anew! After the storm the waters take on a different hue and the ocean often becomes tranquil and still. So our souls can as well as we turn to the Lord and have Him settle the storm.
CHALLENGE: Remember what the Apostle John wrote in 1 John 2:1 “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” In the storm, come to the advocate who cares for your sin. (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
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