Comfort in Isaiah

Posted on July 26, 2011 by JohnJ

I’ve finished the book of Isaiah and started Jeremiah. Finishing Isaiah leaves me feeling a bit sad, like saying goodbye to a dear friend at a train station, when you remember all the fun and delightful fellowship you had. Yes, fun and gaiety, even from the prophet of Isaiah, who you may only think of in terms of prophesying gloom and doom. Certainly there is enough warning of impending devastation, but it is the fullness of glory that impresses itself on me.

There is so much wonderful and magnificent material in Isaiah it is difficult to write briefly. But it is the closing chapters that are so full of encouragement, staring with the beginning of chapter 40 where the Lord cries, “Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God. Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, That her iniquity has been removed, . . . Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” God’s main desire is in comforting His people. While describing the glory of the new creation detailed in a number of locations in Isaiah, particularly chapter 25, we read such comforting words,

“The LORD of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine. And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, Even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.” Now that is a party!

This time of comfort is also detailed a little differently in chapter 11 where another perspective is taken,

And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea. Is. 6-9

Very comforting words considering the polar opposite word they were experiencing in war-torn Judah. But these descriptions of a world filled with the glory of the Lord should have stimulated His people to yearn for Him. Instead the opposite occurred. This would be really discouraging for a prophet but Isaiah was told this would be the case. His prophesying would not result in a Great Awakening. Instead, when God calls his to service in chapter 6, the opposite is revealed:

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.’ “Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.” Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate . . . . Is 6:8-11

Surprisingly a promise of negative results is forecast. Not that individuals could not be turned but the nation itself was on an irreversible slide downward. But that isn’t the whole story, as we see above. God will ultimately fill the earth with His brilliance: “No longer will you have the sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; But you will have the LORD for an everlasting light, And your God for your glory. Is. 60:19

But it is the amazing descriptions from chapter 53 onward that I find most comforting, as they detail the hope of the coming of the Christ who will be exalted and brought low at the same time, the mystery that was still hundreds of years in the future to Isaiah and his people. There are amazing verses herein. All 12 verses of chapter 53. Like verses 3-5:

He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.

Or verses 10 and 11:

But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities . . . .

Or Isaiah 54:7, “For a brief moment I forsook you, But with great compassion I will gather you. “In an outburst of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, But with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you,” Says the LORD your Redeemer.

Or chapter 54:13, 14 “All your sons will be taught of the LORD; And the well-being of your sons will be great. “In righteousness you will be established; You will be far from oppression, for you will not fear; And from terror, for it will not come near you.

Or chapter 55:1-3:

“Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost. “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance. “Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, According to the faithful mercies shown to David.

And so forth, chapter after chapter His comfort is declared. All the way to chapter 66, where we read of the ultimate comfort,

“Be joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who love her; Be exceedingly glad with her, all you who mourn over her, That you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts, That you may suck and be delighted with her bountiful bosom.” For thus says the LORD, “Behold, I extend peace to her like a river, And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; And you will be nursed, you will be carried on the hip and fondled on the knees. “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.” Is. 66:10-13

If you are in need of comforting in this weary, bleary world of woe, it pays well to feast your spirit in the book of Isaiah to be encouraged excessively.

Scriptures taken from the New American Standard Bible © 1995]

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Reading Job

Posted on June 20, 2011 by JohnJ

After reading the book of Esther, I read though Job. Some may avoid this book because of all the poetry. But commentators see the writing of Job as gifted in form and substance as a Shakespearian work. It does take a bit of patience for me, no pun intended, to read through Job, but after it is read a few times some things are seen a bit more clearly.

Most think of the question of Job as why do good people suffer. But that question, a very valid one, is never directly answered. Rather the book of Job is really a statement of a much larger scale. And one that might not seem obvious at first thought. Yes, the subject, Job, is a good man, a man very close to God. Then suddenly, all the riches and comforts and human contacts of this life are swept away, and all he is left with is a foolish wife and a very great torment, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

But the author does not address the whys of the dilemma of Job. The real answer to the book is very simply that God will be God. And He will be glorified in whatever He chooses to do with His creation. It almost seems like the answer belongs to a different book than Job. It is the same answer Paul gives in Romans chapter 9 to a similar question, how is sin and injustice compatible with an all powerful God, “who are you, O man, who answers back to God?” Rom. 9:20 It is an answer that at first seems a non-answer. But is basically the same thing God says to Job when He first speaks at the end of the book. It is incomprehensible to man.

But the question of Job is met with sublime force in a near identical situation in the Gospel of John. The disciples of Jesus saw a man born blind and asked Him “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” (John 9:2). And Jesus gave them an answer they were not at all expecting. The same answer God gives Job. Jesus’ reply was “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” The disciples (and in turn us) look at a situation and find 2 possible conclusions. God looks at it from the center and sees the truth. And indeed it is with this thought that the book of Job concludes. In the end God glorifies Himself through 4 amazing chapters and the result is that Job is doubly blessed.

Indeed, the final chapters of Job is God’s reply to all the so called observations of Job’s friends. It is a litany of the glory of the God who created all things by the power and wisdom for His own glory. And just as virtually everyone in recorded Scripture who comes face to face with the God who is there and is not silent, Job’s response is to humble himself and to be silent.

Now about Job’s so called friends, one wishes they would also have kept their silence after sitting quietly with Job for seven days. Job was obviously in the deepest torment, they didn’t even recognize him when they saw him, so disfigured was he with the disease with which he was inflicted. The remarkable thing about their discourse the increasing antagonism they display to Job’s face. No words of encouragement, no sympathy, only increasingly strident attacks on Job’s character until they finally condemn him. At least they didn’t repeat his wife’s suggestion, that he curse God and die, but I get the sense that given enough time they almost could have.

To me the most powerful parts of scripture are those when God is speaking in the first person and especially when He reveals the details of His character. And the last chapters of Job are very powerful in this way. They start in Chapter 38 with these words: Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, “Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge?” And then for four fabulous chapters God reveals Himself to Job as the master of all that exists, and of all knowledge. Finally Job gets the proper perspective of God because He has spoken openly of the knowledge of God. Just like Job’s friends, we can speak of the things of this world as we see it, as it appears to us, is our understanding can explain. But in the end it is God’s perspective as Creator and Master that decides which view of the universe is correct and is useful for living a useful and fulfilled life. Without hearing it from His mouth we are only guessing, stabbing blindly in the dark. It is only in His light that we see the true purpose of this life.

[Scriptures taken from the New American Standard Bible © 1995]

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What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do

Posted on May 28, 2011 by JohnJ

Fear is a debilitating emotion with which we are too often afflicted. Not that there is a lack of devastating events all around us that might justify fear. Some always live in fear, others hardly at all. When it strikes it can paralyze. A section of the book of 2nd Chronicles, chapter 20, gives some encouragement when under such duress.

It is the story of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, one of the good kings who orders his life and his kingdom after God’s heart. And because he follows his God intensely he is rewarded with peace and wealth. But then some nations gather to the south to wage war with a immense army, and Jehoshaphat felt the fear of panic. But in his case he knew where and to whom to turn. So he prayed.

The closeness of the relationship the king had with his God payed off. Jehoshaphat prayed, reminding the Lord of all the ways God had saved and protected His people since the deliverance from Egypt hundreds of years ago. Reciting examples, he called upon God to show himself again as the protector of His people and their land. “Now behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (they turned aside from them and did not destroy them), see how they are rewarding us by coming to drive us out from Your possession which You have given us as an inheritance.” 2 Ch 20:10-11

The item I found so interesting is that Jehoshaphat made no pretense of having enough strength in himself or in his army. Nor did he do what many did before him and after him, rent the armies of local allies to fight with him. No, instead he declares, “we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” (verse 12) The phrase “nor do we know what to do” is particularly telling. He is at a complete loss of ideas, and completely helpless.

It is an ugly feeling, to be so vulnerable you can’t even figure out how to respond to your fear. It can be debilitating, it can paralyze. Fortunately, he knew of the only avenue to which he could turn. “. . . our eyes are on You.” I was reminded of this verse a couple days ago when an ugly situation surprised me at work, a professional relationship conflict about which I was at a complete loss for a response, and was called to confront an associate that had great potential for disaster. The night before it was to unfold I could hardly sleep. I didn’t know what to do. I recalled these verses in 2nd Chronicles and tried to assimilate the mindset of Jehoshaphat, since just as he was confronted with an overwhelming force, so was I. So I prayed just as he did. “I am powerless before this great multitude who is coming against me; and I don’t know what to do, but my eyes are on You. Go before me in Your great strength and power. You fight this battle.”

In the case of Jehoshaphat a prophet arose and told him that the Lord Himself was going to fight this battle, that he didn’t have to do anything but watch. All he had to do was go out to the battlefield and stand by and watch God work. Do you think that gave him some comfort, some relief from his fear? Probably it did give a measure of relief, but maybe not right away, not until he saw for himself the result. And it turned out just as he was told. God caused the immense army to turn on itself and the result was utter self destruction. All the king’s people had to do was pick up the booty that lay all over the battlefield.

With that result in mind, I left my fear in God’s hands and waited to see him act. And indeed it turned out just as I had prayed. The situation was resolved, peace reigned, and I could thank God for His graciousness. The rest of the morning flowed easily into the late afternoon where our Lord surprised me in a department meeting with an award for which I had been secretly nominated by a coworker, and a glowing report was publicly read about some help I had given to another department. Does the Lord put the icing on the cake or what! “You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, . . . Do not fear or be dismayed; . . . go out to face them, for the LORD is with you.”

It is great fun when you can read a bit of Scripture and make it alive in your own life! And that’s exactly why it is there. And that is why it is so important to know the Scripture. So that no matter the situation, you can use it to your benefit and God’s glory. For the Lord IS with you!

[Scriptures taken from the New American Standard Bible © 1995]

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God’s Timetables Announced

Posted on March 22, 2011 by JohnJ

A lot is happening these days that brings to mind the Last Days, the Final Judgement, Armageddon. It isn’t just movies like 2012, or TV shows like Nostradamus, and worldwide news events like wars, famines and earthquakes. But those things certainly help foster the images of the Book of Revelation.

But people have been looking forward to an immanent appearing of our Lord since the day He was taken up into the clouds while His disciples looked on. Paul wrote frequently about being ready for His appearing.

Interestingly God has often announced when some major things were to happen. As early as in Genesis (15:13) “God said to Abram, ‘Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years.'” One might have thought that while the Israelites were being oppressed by the Egyptians for those 400 years that they would have recalled this declaration to mind and would have rejoiced in hope when their deliverer in the person of Moses stood before them. But that was hardly the reaction he received. He had to virtually fight for a hearing and struggled to convince them God sent him to deliver them. I’d have thought it would have been easier for them all if they paid closer attention to their family history.

God also told His chosen people for how long their exile would be when after they were brought into the promised land and given the promises of blessing and curses (Gen. 25). They were warned that if they got into the land and then rejected God and His teachings that they would be spewed out of the land. Leviticus 20:22 – 24 “You are therefore to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to live will not spew you out.” Well, that’s exactly what happened. But God told them for how long they would be removed from their land. 2Ch 36:21 “. . . to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete.” They had 70 years of exile to put up with once they were removed by the Babylonians and the Chaldeans. But at least this time they were counting. They knew something would happen after the 70 years were up, and indeed, they were then allowed to return to the land of Canaan.

But what about these end times. The summing up of all things, the restoration of His creation, the New Heaven and New Earth, the final judgement of sin and death? Well that is a bit more problematic. God does suggest a timetable for that in the Book of Daniel. The problem is that it is a bit too cryptic to really know when it may occur. I refer to the prophecy of the 70 weeks.

Dan 9:24-27 “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”

Legions of books have been written about how that was all to be played out. To be sure, the last couple chapters of Daniel have occurred just as historians have stated, with Alexander the great leading off the big dance. But that last week. That’s the puzzle. Those legions of books have about as many interpretations of what will happen in that week. But it is just to cryptic to really know until those days are upon us. All we can do is to repeat the plea in the last verses of Scripture, Rev 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

[Scriptures taken from the New American Standard Bible © 1995]

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Abhorent Behavior and the Law

Posted on March 20, 2011 by JohnJ

I’m now into the book of Leviticus. Reading all the laws set forth therein can be prodigious. There are a lot of laws. It can seem a bit overwhelming to read of all the things God wanted His people to observe in order to be called “to be a people for His own possession” (Deut, 4:20). Who could keep from failing in some fashion to remain obedient to every one of them?

But there was a reason for this as God explained many times. Leviticus 20:22 – 24 “You are therefore to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them, so that the land to which I am bringing you to live will not spew you out. Moreover, you shall not follow the customs of the nation which I will drive out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I have abhorred them. Hence I have said to you, ‘You are to possess their land, and I Myself will give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the LORD your God, who has separated you from the peoples.”

So one of the main reasons God as giving the land of Canaan to Israel was as a judgement of the nations who currently inhabited that area. Their judgement now being full (see Genesis 15:16), they were going to pay the price for their rampant immorality. Reading all the proscriptions in these laws were judgments against current evil practices of the Canaanites.

Despicable things like offering one’s children in sacrifice to demons, cursing one’s parents, harlotry, incest, homosexuality, bestiality, being a spiritism or medium. All these things were reprehensible to God and those nations were to be exterminated for these practices. And Israel was not to imitate them. They were to be “holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.” Lev. 20:26

None of these practices seem to have gone out of favor even now about 4 thousand years later, except perhaps passing one’s children through the fire – you don’t hear much of that. But the rest continue as perversions in current societies. Some even have been deemed as honorable behaviors, and worthy of legal protections, such as homosexuality. But these passages in Leviticus make it clear that these evils were not condemned merely because the Law had proscribed them, and thus are now antiquated because the Jewish law is antiquated. But the practices preceded the Law and incurred God’s condemnation before there was a Law. Thus they are practices still validly condemned by God as abominations. And laws that protect these practices as socially acceptable behaviors are also immoral and reprehensible.

The primary concept God wanted His people to understand upon giving them the Law was simple: “I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy” as He repeatedly told Israel (see Lev. 11:44 and 45; 19:2;d 20:7 and 26; 21:8; 22:2 and 3 and 16 and 32).

True, it was impossible to follow the Law perfectly, without failing in some fashion. That is why He gave them the opportunities in the Law to atone for their sins through sacrifices and offerings. That was pretty gracious of Him. Even though it was stated plainly, that “you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them.” Lev 18:5. Yes, if there was any individual who was able to be completely obedient to the Law in every way, shape, and form, he would be able to live before God. But there was no such person. That is not until Jesus was born. And His sinlessness allowed Him to be the perfect and ultimate sacrifice for sin. Not just of Israel, but for the entire world.

The graciousness of God is awesome!

[Scriptures taken from the New American Standard Bible © 1995]

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