Isaiah 34-41

The Joy of the Redeemed:

“They will enter Zion with singing, everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away” 35:10

A beautiful picture of the joy and victory when we enter into Heaven, and into God’s glory.

Chapters 36-38 tells of the victory of the Israelites over the Assyrians; how God delivered the cocky Assyrians into the hands of His people. It goes on to tell about Hezekiah’s illness. due to my lack of knowledge about Kings, i dont know what is the significance of this illness and whatever that is happening, but one thing that sort of surprised me was that initially, Isaiah prophesized that Hezekiah would die, but Hezekiah wept bitterly before the Lord. and the Lord saw his tears and granted Him 15 more years to live. it just surprised me because the Lord really is full of compassion to every single individual, and He sees each tear that is shed, and He understands. i didnt think that God would add 15 (!) years to his life, but truly, each life matters to Him.

Though the Lord punishes, He will redeem and restore His people.

 I love the way it was described in chapter 40, how much tenderness our Lord has:

“He tends his flock like a shepherd, he gathers the lambs in his arms. He carries them close to his heart, he gently leads those who have young..” v11

I just felt really loved when i read that. to know that He carries me (yes me!) close to his heart with such loving tenderness. God is also a Shepherd that paces. For the flock (sheep, meaning mature christians), he tends. For the lambs (younger christians), He gathers them and carries them, being all patient and pacing their growth. He gently leads, and does not force a uniform kind of growth on all His followers, but leads each individual according to their growth.

The Lord is faithful, and these verses really encouraged me:

“He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not any one of them is missing” 40:26

I was really worried about some of the youths in church, but this verse reminded me that God loves each of them very very much, and none of their growth (including mine) will be overlooked. I need to be patient and wait in God’s timing, and to trust that God knows what to do, rather than trying to do stuff in my own strength, for “to whom will you compare me? or who is my equal, declares the Holy One”.

 The Lord- The Helper of Israel:

“Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall. BUt those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint” 40:31

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; i will uphold you with my righteous right hand” 41:10

Isaiah 25-33

Isaiah 25-33
Warning 1:

“as when the hungry people dream they are eating; but they awaken, and their hunger remains; as when thirsty people dream they are drinking, but they awaken faint, with their thirst unquenched” 29:8

The Lord reminded me of my sinful indulgences and my pursuit of the idols of the world. Sometimes, I like to indulge and ‘worship’ idols such as the TV, or clothes, in order to bring me temporary pleasures, but as the verse says, I would wake up and find myself dissatisfied with these things, because the Lord creates in me intimacy and a desire for satisfaction that can only be found in Him alone.

Warning 2:

“[The Lord says] these people come near to me with their mouth; and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught..” 29: 13-14

I fear that one day I will become ‘numb’ to spiritual things, and simply worship God only with lip service, and not from the bottom of my heart; or become simply a hearer of the Word, but not a doer of the Word. It is a clear reminder that we should often check ourselves and our hearts to makes sure that we don’t become legalistic Christians or hypocritical Christians, but Christians who are free from laws, but live a life that is truly worthy of the calling.

Throughout the few chapters of Isaiah, the Lord shows of His righteousness, His justice, and yet His mercy and grace.

“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise to show you compassion… How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you..” 30:18, 19b

How beautiful a picture, to know that our God is a compassionate God! That when we call out to him for help, as soon as he hears, he will answer. He is always doing and working for the good of His children. A gracious God, slow to anger but full of love.

“The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth” 25:9

I want to find the treasures of the Lord, I want to be truly rested in Him. And this is what the Lord has said in His Word:

“In repentance and rest is your salvation; in quietness and trust is your strength.. The fruit of the righteousness [His righteousness] will be peace, its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.. He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure”. (30:15, 32:17, 33:6)

And all these are because of the very fact that.. “The Lord’s justice will dwell in the desert, his righteousness live in the fertile field.. The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness…” (32:16, 33:5)

Put together, it says, because the Lord is full of justice and righteousness, he is our sure foundation for the good and hard times, our source of salvation (rest and repentance), wisdom and knowledge, which will enable us to find strength in Him, by trusting Him and being quiet before the Lord, because our confidence is in Him [our knowledge of our just and righteous God].

And in order to experience all these, it begins with fearing the Lord. It means revering Him, being in awe of His holiness, His justice, His righteousness, the Sovereign and the Most High God. For “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise” (Psalm 111:10)

To fear the Lord entails delighting and walking in His commandments and ways (Psalm 112:1, 128:1)

Isaiah 6-24

These chapters talk about the prophecies against kingdoms and empires like Babylon, Cush, Egypt etc.

Well actually, i thought they would be rather dry, but still the Lord taught me more about His justice and His wisdom. His ways are really higher than our ways. like the Lord sent the Babylonians to capture and govern the Israelites like slaves, in order to bring about punishment on His people for disobedience and wickedness. But that wasnt the end of the story. The Lord would hear their cries and bring about deliverance on His people. They would be free from their captors, and in years that followed, Jesus, the Savior.

 ”In that day the Root of Jesse (Jesus) will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious..” (11:10)

Chapter 9: 6-7 also talks about the Light of Israel; “For to us a child is born… and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, MIghty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace..”

This is the light that the Lord has promised to His people who were living in darkness. That is also the light and the hope to which all of us cling to. Thank God for bringing me out of darkness and into the light, because of Jesus, my righteousness.

Another point to note is that, in the later chapters, the Lord revealed His hand towards those who had brought suffering to Israel (like the Babylonians, Assyrians.. who were equally, if not, more wicked). I guess one application point is that sometimes we may feel like we are suffering some kind of injustice, or being showed unkindness by other people, but the Lord sees it all, and He will bring judgment to them, for vengeance is His. that is why, we should not repay evil or evil, but we must hope that all the injustice that we suffer will one day be brought to an end by God, who sees it all.

“For the Lord has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?” 14:27

Indeed, only the Lord’s purpose will stand throughout the time and generations. and i take comfort in knowing that because the Lord is good, so are His plans and purposes, which will be fulfilled as no word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord will come back in vain. It also applies to His judgment on His people, therefore we are to fear the Lord and take His Word seriously. The destruction that was prophesied on the nations really kind of scared me, because of the amount of devastation and desolation that the Lord brought upon the wicked nations.

Far greater would be the devastation on the Day of Judgment (chap 24)!

Before the Holy God, no one stands righteous. Even Isaiah cried out, “Woe to me!.. For I am a man of unclean lips.. and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty!” (6:5) I realized that sometimes i think of myself as being “better” than others, like i think i sin less and am a “good person”, but this verse has reminded me that no one stands righteous before Him unless we have the blood of Jesus. nothing we can do can ever make us “better” or more worthy of Heaven, because all have sinned.. before the Holy Lord, all darkness is revealed, and i am truly, unclean and unworthy.

I shall close with this verse:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory” (6:4)

Isaiah 1-5

So far, i’ve been reading about the prophecies of Isaiah; the Lord’s judgment on Israel- the one that has abandoned his love and become a deceitful and evil nation.

The Lord brings judgment and punishment because of what they had done.

i learnt about the judgment and the Holiness of the Lord Almighty. We’ve talked about His mercy many times, but this character of God has been, in some sense, much neglected because it’s just not nice to talk about it. it scares people. but if we just know part of who He is, there isnt God in His fullness.

He is holy, set apart and perfect. He tolerates no sin. He is to be revered for His justice and holiness. Amen.

i think this knowledge keeps me in awe of God. a God who doesnt compromise on who He is. and that’s really reassuring.

oh and take me home

home. heavenward.

this blog writes my reflections from my daily devotionals. i dont really like my handwriting, hence, this.

 my resolution for 2008 is to finish reading the Bible in two years.

and i am really excited.

i felt a little dry from reading my devotionals lately, and had been looking for good ones around. but the Lord inspired me to return back to reading the Bible, and reminded me of Marissa’s words during church camp; “the Holy Spirit is the greatest teacher”. i’m reminded of how powerful and authoritative and life changing the Word of God is.

 and i’ve been excited ever since i started reading.

my first book of the year: Isaiah.

Oh Lord, grant me the wisdom to understand all that You have spoken in Your Word.