The Necessity of Light

Light is weird stuff. Sometimes it behaves as if it is a wave; sometimes light behaves as if it is individual photons. We need light to live. Light, according to Isaiah 60.19, is necessary in the life to come, at least for followers of Christ. However, the light will come from God himself (he INVENTED light after all) so there will be no need for the sun or the moon.

This is not to say that God is nothing other than light. Perfect light is one of his characteristics, not the sum total of his being. However, it is about as close as we are going to get in this life to understand his being. "The Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light."

A Day of Salvation, not Judgment

Christ has a dramatic moment in Luke 4.18-21. He takes up the scroll of Isaiah and reads Isaiah 61.1-2a, then sits down. He tells his listeners, "Today is this scripture fulfilled in your hearing." Since both Christ and his listeners understood that the passage was about Messiah, what a moment it must have been when one-by-one the men in the synagogue must have realized, "He is claiming to be Messiah!"

When Christ reads Isaiah 61.1-2a, he ends at "to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." He does not continue with the next phrase "and the day of vengeance of our God." Why not? I assume because Christ did not come for judgment he came for salvation. The day of vengeance of our God will come, but this was not that day. Christ came for the cross. He came for salvation.

A House of Prayer

Reading in Isaiah 56.7 this morning where Isaiah quotes God saying, "For mine house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples" (KJV). Christ will quote this as recorded in Luke 19.46 and John 2.16 as he is casting the guys who sell things in the temple out of the temple. Rather than being a house of prayer they have made it "a den of thieves."

It is a pretty straightforward interpretation from Christ here of the words of Isaiah. God's house is to be a house of prayer and when he saw that it was something else, or something added on—as if it could be a house of prayer AND a place of profit—Christ threw them all out, and in a rather violent manner, one must say. He didn't ask them kindly to leave, he overturned their tables and sent them running.

It might behoove us to have the same zeal that Christ did for the worship of God. I don't know that the application is for a church building per se, but to see God worshipped as he should be and have a grieved heart (and who knows, maybe even overturn some tables) when he is not worshipped correctly.

Equation of Salvation

Reading in Isaiah 53.6 (a favorite verse) today, one finds God's equation of salvation. We = sheep. Sheep = wanderers (metaphorically - sinners). God = judge. Suffering Servant (Christ) = Punishment bearer. We = saved. Yep, seems to add up to me.

Remembrance and Dependence

I'm reading in Isaiah 51.10 today where Isaiah calls God to remember his past deeds; specifically to the crossing of the Red Sea—this seems to be the key event to look back on and see God's deliverance for God's people. Isaiah is calling God to remember his great deliverance "a way for the ransomed to pass over" he puts it, and to act again in the same way on behalf of his people.

It's a huge lesson for us. Calling God to remember the great works that he has already done for his people is a way of expressing our dependence upon him and asking him to do the same work on behalf of his people again.

Dear Sennacherib:

I like to think of Is 37.22-35 as a letter from God to Sennacherib. Verse 22 might read: "Dear Sennacherib: The Israelites will be laughing at you, thanks to my intervention. - Your mortal enemy, God."

I think that sums it up pretty well. So prophesied. So done.

The Ransomed of the Lord

Isaiah 35.10 is one of my favorite verses. "The ransomed of the Lord shall return." That's me! That's you! (if your sins have been paid by Christ at the cross). We shall return to Zion, to God's place with great joy and with everlasting songs. There is no boredom in heaven. None. Zilch. Nada. There is also no sorrow and sighing. Those are gone, replace by joy and songs.

Reversal of Fortune

This is a theme that runs throughout the Scriptures. In Is 26.5 this morning it is reversal of fortune in a negative sense. Those who are lofty will be brought low. So low that God will bring it (here a city, but applicable to all) to the ground, indeed, smother it in dust.

What man exalts, God brings low. Why? Because anything that is exalted tries to in essence take the place of God. Since God is the highest conceivable being in the universe, it is morally wrong for anything else to try and take his place. This would be like trying to call an ant an elephant. It is laughable and offensive to the true elephant.

God must bring the arrogant low because now they are set into their proper place in relation to the one who created the universe, and it is an act of mercy because being made low is perhaps the only way to open one's eyes to the fact that they are not God. Perhaps then they will look for the one who is indeed God.

Behold, This is our God

I love, love, love Is 25.9. When God returns and reveals himself in all of his glory, we who are followers of God will boast, "Behold, this is our God." This is the one about whom we have been talking. We have waited for him and now he has arrived. We have waited for him and now we get to experience his salvation. What a day of joy and praise that will be. One strains to find words in the English language to express the emotions of that day.

There Shall Be Desolation

In Isaiah 17.9 today at the end of which, this ominous statement comes: "There shall be desolation" (KJV). The word "desolation" means "an area deserted and thus arousing awe or terror." I like to think of it as wandering around a deserted factory complex on a moonless night, the sheer creepiness of the surroundings abetted by one's imagination would make it an interesting experience to say the least.

The reason there will be desolation? Stated in the next verse: "Because thou has forgotten God, the God of thy salvation." Forgetfulness of God leads to desolation in life.

The Gospel in 6 (or 3) Words

In Is 53.11 this morning where Isaiah writes: And he shall bear their iniquities. 6 words. Six words that contain the whole of the gospel, the whole message of redemption. In Hebrew it is three words. Implicit in this statement is the fact that 1) People have iniquities; 2) That someone needs to bear the punishment for their iniquities; and 3) That the Suffering Servant is able to bear their iniquities. The whole of the gospel of redemption, in three words.

I Will Carry You

In Isaiah 46.3,4, this morning, a favorite passage. Precious promises from the Lord to his people here. I have carried you from before your birth. I will carry you. I will save you. To your old age. I will.

A Politically Incorrect God

I'm reading in Isaiah 34, today. The language and imagery is, shall we say, a little difficult for the modern ear to take: “For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction. The LORD has a sword; it is sated with blood; it is gorged with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom.” (Is 34:5–6 ESV). Do you see what I mean?

God seems not in the least concerned about appearing politically correct, nor for our approbation of his actions. I like this, even though I do not understand it. If we understood everything about God and could pass judgment on all his actions, then we would have a genie for a God. I do not want a genie for a God. I want God to be God, and for him to be God, there will be times when I do not understand his actions, or his words. This is one of those times.

I am happy to worship a God whom I do not fully understand, because the alternative is to either a. create a God in my own image who is politically correct, or b. live in a world with no meaning, not ultimate foundation for morality, and no ultimate purpose. I do not want to live in that world, and do not believe we are in that kind of world.

As Mr. Tumnus said to Lucy in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe: "He (Aslan) is not a tame lion, but he is good."

Come!

In Revelation 22.17, this morning. Three times the word come is repeated (in one form or another) in this verse. It is a call for the Lord Jesus to come (again). It is a call from the Saints to Christ to come. It is also a call to those who are thirsty to come (to Christ!).

There is a close connection between this verse and Isaiah 55.1. “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” Isaiah calls everyone who thirsts to come. John calls everyone who thirsts to come. It is the same call. It is a free call. It is the offer of the gospel, "Come to faith in Jesus. Come and accept his free offer of salvation. He died for you. It will cost you nothing. It cost him everything."

I like how Bengel comments on this verse (quoted in JFB): The whole question of your salvation hinges on this, that you be able to hear with joy Christ’s announcement, “I come,” and to reply, “Come.”

Come, Thirsty One!

The first verse (Isaiah 55.1) in one of my favorite chapters. Here is an evangelical call to all: Come whoever is thirsty and partake of God's grace because it is free to whoever will have it.

If you are thirsty, come. If you have no money, come and purchase the stuff of life. It won't cost you money, it won't cost you anything. It will cost the Messiah everything. Such is the message of the gospel. Such is the nature of grace.

Fuel for the Journey

Reading through Isaiah 35.4 this morning. The fuel that sustains God's people in difficulty—when they experience pain and suffering—is God himself; the promise that God will come and save us. The promise!

Calvin comments: That strength of which he spoke is breathed into our hearts by God through his word, as “by faith alone we stand” (2 Corinthians 1:24) and live; and therefore he adds the promise of grace yet to come.

Dependence

Meditating on Isaiah 33.2 this morning. (By the way, the Hebrew word for "meditate" means "to growl, or mutter," implying that we ought to ponder and chew on God's word aloud in some sense). It's a verse that screams out "dependence," which is exactly what we do not want to be. This is probably the most difficult part about growing in the faith. We want to continually be our own god, at the root of things. The people of Judah are in deep trouble and independence is not an option when the Assyrian army is literally knocking on the gates of Jerusalem. Thus God severs us from our inclination to depend upon ourselves.

This is our God!

The song that we will sing to our God on the day of salvation as described in Isaiah 25.9. We (saints) have waited for God and on the day of salvation, we will wait no longer. God will finally and fully save his people and we will sing with every breath that we have of his salvation. We will be glad. We will rejoice. This is our God!