Bible Reading Reflection from Isaiah 1-12

[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (FG), a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible] 

𝕀𝕊𝔸𝕀𝔸ℍ 𝟙:𝟙𝟠

"‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ Says the LORD, ‘Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.’"

Prophet Isaiah begins with a dreadful indictment but he also includes a distinctive invitation! There will always be a light for those who look for it, salvation for those who seek it, a cleansing for those who come to Him!

 

𝕀𝕊𝔸𝕀𝔸ℍ 𝟚:𝟙𝟙

"The proud look of man will be abased And the loftiness of man will be humbled, And the LORD alone will be exalted in that day."

It's repeated again in v17. The certainty of the humiliation of man and exaltation of God. Thus, ended with v22 to stop esteeming mere man but to entrust oneself to God. A Day of Reckoning is Coming.

BTW, we read the Scriptures on our good normal days so that we may be able to learn how to live in the sudden days of difficulty. Watchmen may not be appreciated in the daytime, but when they catch a thief in the middle of the night one day, people will know the value of watchmen. A difficult day always comes and goes!

 

𝕀𝕊𝔸𝕀𝔸ℍ 𝟛:𝟝

"And the people will be oppressed, Each one by another, and each one by his neighbor; The youth will storm against the elder And the inferior against the honorable."

Disorderliness, chaos, corruption, and wickedness all come from God. Not actively brought in, but by removing the good leaders and system of the lands.

America pulled out its soldiers from Afghanistan and see how the Taliban captured the country.

 

𝕀𝕊𝔸𝕀𝔸ℍ 𝟜:𝟛

"It will come about that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy--everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem."

How dreadful the day of reckoning may be, there will always be the mercy of God on those who trust in Him. How dark the world may plunge into, there is always a remnant of faithful people.

No persecution, no apostasy, no diseases, no calamities, no schemes of man, no schemes of Satan, nothing can prevail against the faithful remnants of God.

The faithful themselves cannot jump out, for God holds them fast. Are we the faithful remnant in any sinking issues of a cultural war?

 

𝕀𝕊𝔸𝕀𝔸ℍ 𝟝:𝟙𝟛

"Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; And their honorable men are famished, And their multitude is parched with thirst."

God often judged people by removing restraints. He removed Lot to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. He judged Israelites by removing the word of God. When there's a lack of knowledge of God, people live in sin and wickedness, resulting in a ripe harvest of judgment.

The church gathering is taken away. People no longer have a sacred day of worship. Conscience is tampered with and seared. Public Health is preferred over anything!

Lack of knowledge is culminating. No wonder if the world plunges into another dark age. Yet, there shall be always remnants, physically and spiritually thriving!

 

𝕀𝕊𝔸𝕀𝔸ℍ 𝟞:𝟙

"In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple."

One of the most successful and prosperous times of Judah was when Uzziah was reigning. Now, he is dead. The kingdom looks shaky. The dark days might usher in. Well, God is alive ruling over everything on his heavenly throne. Uzziah is dead, but God is ever alive, active, and about to do something awesome!

When we think life and society are about to go dark, and they shall; remember God is light, and He will be our light.

 

𝕀𝕊𝔸𝕀𝔸ℍ 𝟟:𝟙𝟙-𝟙𝟚

"‘Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.’ But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!’"

Ahaz was offered a choice of sign. He refused. Pretending to be religious and reverential. Well, he didn't want any sign. Because he didn't like the message of the sign. He was told to trust God and not on the strength of his soldiers. He was told to believe and be calm. And that's difficult, right? To sit still and believe.

Saul was rejected because he didn't wait for Samuel. He didn't wait because the enemies were coming and his soldiers started to depart because Saul wasn't fighting.

Many people don't want and won't ask the counsel of God or wise people because they know they won't like it. Ahaz pretending to be reverential was actually despising the counsel of God.

Anyway, a sign was given. And since he refused the offer, the real sign was fulfilled long after his death in Jesus Christ!

 

𝕀𝕊𝔸𝕀𝔸ℍ 𝟠:𝟙𝟟

"And I will wait for the LORD who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; I will even look eagerly for Him."

John Owen in his book "Mortification of Sin" discussed this verse to some extent. Sometimes, God will not answer our prayers because of some certain sin in our life. God will hide from us.

And in this context, God hid from the Israelites because of their sins. Their seeking of God was not earnest. Earnest seeking involves turning away from sin.

E.M. Bounds writes that God will not answer the prayer of everyone, He will answer only the earnest prayer of earnest people!

 

𝕀𝕊𝔸𝕀𝔸ℍ 𝟡:𝟙𝟟

"Therefore the Lord does not take pleasure in their young men, Nor does He have pity on their orphans or their widows; For every one of them is godless and an evildoer, And every mouth is speaking foolishness. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out."

I remember last year when Modi declared a national lockdown, many migrant workers rushed out to bus stations, train stations, and border areas. Well, Modi was rightly criticized heavily. However, in the due course of human society, the migrant workers were equally to be blamed.

In a sense, there's no injustice on earth because everyone is getting what he deserves. We are sinners, the ground is cursed. In fact, it's a mercy and grace that we are able to survive until now.

God looked at the Israelites, it was their leaders who had led them astray, but they were equally wicked and wouldn't be spared from judgment. They should have lived differently, like Daniel, Josep, Job, and Abraham. Such a person God saved!

 

𝕀𝕊𝔸𝕀𝔸ℍ 𝟙𝟘:𝟝

"Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hands is My indignation."

Assyria was God's chosen nation to punish the northern kingdom of Israel. However, they were not a chosen nation to bless others. That task was for the children of Abraham, and we have seen it through Abraham’s descendant, Jesus Christ.

Assyria was far more wicked than Israel or Judah, and after they had been used by God to punish His people, He will punish Assyria by the Babylonians again. The Assyrians were proud of the power they were given. But they were just a club in the hands of God (v15) They shouldn't exalt themselves over the One who wields them.

Our prosperity may not be a blessing for others, and perhaps not because God is pleased with us. Perhaps we are far worse than others, and God lets us prosper just to shame His people. Tajuang-tajumei guai lung gai bam mei, aniu guai ta tikalak tikachik lou ding cho. And they shall have their due end as well!

We must be a blessing to others as God has blessed Abraham to be. Then, our prosperity could be well thought of as coming from the good pleasure of God! Think about that!

 

𝕀𝕊𝔸𝕀𝔸ℍ 𝟙𝟙:𝟙𝟚

"And He will lift up a standard for the nations And assemble the banished ones of Israel, And will gather the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth."

Much of which is written in Isaiah 11 has not been fulfilled yet. We have never seen it in history or the present, and will never see it in the near future according to the course of this present time. Literally or metaphorically, we have never seen it realized. It is to be fulfilled in the future, known as the millennium kingdom.

Something drastic and strange has to happen to usher in such a state of society because the world in our eyes and comprehension is going worse by worse year after year. But God's word shall come to pass that in the end the righteous will triumph! They will stand up from their grave to join the celebration and reign!

 

𝕀𝕊𝔸𝕀𝔸ℍ 𝟙𝟚:𝟙

"Then you will say on that day, “I will give thanks to You, O LORD; For although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, And You comfort me.”"

A chapter of Salvation. A chapter of Joy. A chapter of Restoration. A chapter of God's favor. A chapter of Praise.

God humbles and exalts a person. He chastises and rewards a person. He causes sorrow and joy in one's life. And everything He does is good, right, pleasant, and is also for our own good! We are called to be fearful of Him but at the same time to never be afraid of Him.