Isaiah 10

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God spoke in judgment through Isaiah against the powerful ruling class in Israel and Judah. They imagined that they were invincible when they oppressed the poor and the fatherless. The Lord revealed that they themselves would be prisoners soon, or even among the slain. He would use Sennacherib and the formidable military might of the Assyrian Empire as a rod of discipline against Israel and Judah.

Though God called Assyria “the rod of my anger,” Sennacherib and his armies would also be judged by God. The Lord raised them up for His purposes, yet they exalted themselves beyond limit. They considered the God of Jerusalem as nothing more than all the idols of the earth. One day God would finish His work of judgment against His own people. At that time there would be no safe place of hiding for the rod, Assyria, that tried to lift itself up against the Lord.

In Isaiah's time, when Hezekiah was king of Judah, the march of the Assyrian army toward Israel and Judah was extremely frightening to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Nonetheless, the city was spared. Sennacherib himself recorded his own failure to capture the capital of Judah. He wrote on a clay prism words that were meant to terrify the enemies of Assyria who would dare to challenge his authority. After noting his many foreign conquests, he reported, “Hezekiah … I made a prisoner in Jerusalem … like a bird in a cage.” In reality, Sennacherib was never able to make Hezekiah his “prisoner.” This was the emperor's way of putting the best face on his own failure to take Jerusalem. He had surrounded the city, but the city did not fall. The great ruler of the Assyrians had to be content, in the words of Isaiah 10, to “shake his fist at the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.”

Assyria’s time of power would come and go. Meanwhile, the Lord would preserve a remnant from Israel and Judah. Though many from God's chosen nation would be no more, many others from the Gentiles would eventually be brought into the number of the elect. (Romans 9:27-28 citing Isaiah 10:22)

Numerous rulers throughout history have arrogantly exalted themselves against the Lord Jesus Christ, the descendant of Hezekiah, and against the heavenly Zion over which He reigns. They will have to answer to Him when He comes again. The Lord who reigns on high now will one day be the Judge of the living and the dead.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Our Father, there is a way that is right and there is a way that is wrong. To abuse the weak is against Your Law. We dare not tempt You by despising the powerless. You can bring a very powerful empire against Your people to discipline us in our sin. When You have used that empire for Your purposes, You can correct their arrogant presumption. We should never trust in the strength of any nation or people. We must lean on You. You will make a full end of wickedness. You are the Creator. You will be the Judge. You have shown Your abilities so many times. There can be no question of Your strength. You are the Lord God of Hosts. You will be exalted forever.

Isaiah 9

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The previous chapter ended with “distress and darkness,” but Isaiah 9 began with a contrasting note of jubilation. “There will be no gloom for her who was in anguish.” The prophet looked forward to some future date when a new light would shine, first in the northern part of the country, in Galilee.

Isaiah wrote of the birth of a child, a son given by God. He would ultimately bring an end to war through an astounding victory over all that would oppress the Lord's people. The baby would grow up to be a man who would govern well. He would be one with very wise plans and great strength. He would also be “Mighty God” and “Everlasting Father.” The prophet connected this great God/Man with the throne of David, where the Christ would reign “from this time forth and forevermore.” The fulfillment of these words would begin to come many years later. “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)

Isaiah 9 changed abruptly at verse 8: “The Lord has sent a word against Jacob.” The Almighty would discipline His people. After giving evidence of their rebellion against God, Isaiah repeated this sobering refrain several times: “For all this His anger has not turned away, and His hand is stretched out still.”

The descendants of Jacob still thought that it was only neighboring powers that stood against them. They forgot about the hand of the Almighty One. “The people did not turn to Him who struck them, nor inquire of the Lord of hosts.” Their leaders were not guiding them home to their God. They were “leading them astray.”

The picture that Isaiah presented to his readers was that of cultural disintegration and a great societal divide. Tribes within Israel would devour each other and then turn together against their brothers to the south in Judah, the tribe of kings. Instead of responding with true humility before God, they would face their trials “in pride and in arrogance of heart.” Yes, their adversaries had knocked down their monuments of achievement, but they would rebuild them to be bigger and better than they were before. To the worldly, such a sentiment no doubt struck just the right note designed to help a hurting populace to believe in themselves again. Yet it would not lead them to do what was most needful—to confess their sins against God and to discover His pardoning strength.

The Lord's people will encounter troubles in every era until the day when the Captain of our Salvation, the “Prince of Peace,” returns with full victory. We need to look to our God to seek the good gifts that He is bringing to us through whatever adversity He ordains for us. Through it all, we can be especially thankful that the cross of Christ has turned away forever the anger of Jehovah that stood against us. His hand is still stretched out to His faithful people, but not to destroy us. Because of Jesus, He embraces us in His everlasting love.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God, we have been so greatly blessed. Your Light shines upon the nations. You have broken the rod of our oppressors through the birth and death of Your Son. He is our King forever and our mighty God. Forgive our arrogance when we think that we could have a victory over evil without You. Christ is our only hope. His death has given us life. Why do we think of Your mercy as weak, when it is clearly strong? Grace insists that we cannot save ourselves. Your holiness and love are mighty for the tearing down of every stronghold, and for the building up of the kingdom that bears the Name of Your Son. All glory to You, O God.

Isaiah 8

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In the previous chapter, with the help of New Testament quotations, we received the announcement concerning a child who would one day come, Immanuel, “God with us.” In Isaiah 8 the prophet is told about another child who will be a sign for the Lord's people. His name will be Maher-shalal-hash-baz, “The spoil speeds, the prey hastens.” What spoils of war? What captured beast of what predator? Judah was concerned about Israel to the north and Syria to the northeast. In league together, these nations hoped to take possession of Judah. Yet whatever success those other nations might have had, the Lord was bringing a bigger imperial power from further east, the Assyrian Empire. That imposing military force would quickly take away any gains from the hands of Israel and Syria.

Why would this happen? Because the Lord's people refused the heavenly “waters” of their God. Instead they had preferred the “river” of Assyria's military might. Foreign warriors would soon descend upon Judah like a flood. They would take hold of much of the land that God had given to His people. Only Jerusalem would be kept safe from them. Despite this swiftly approaching danger, the Lord insisted that Judah should not be overcome with panic regarding the threatening forces of this world. Instead, they were to honor God as the Lord of all armies. “Let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.”

The land that would fall into the hands of the Assyrians actually belonged to the Son of God. The good promises of the Almighty were entirely centered in Him. He would be a “sanctuary” for the true people of faith, both Jews and Gentiles, and “a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling” to many who should have received Him as Lord. See Isaiah 8:14 as quoted by Paul in Romans 9:33 and by Peter in 1 Peter 2:4-8.

In general, the people of Judah in Isaiah's day were not willing to honor God and believe His Word. Therefore they fell for every conspiracy theory and were regularly overcome by their terror of other nations. Only the true “children” of Isaiah, his disciples who believed the Word of God, could truly rejoice in the Lord's promises. Most people in Judah were prepared to join the unfaithful and to “inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter.” They should have turned to the living God rather than to dead idols.

How can anyone avoid the loud voices of the crowd that would move them in accord with worldly passions? In the days of Isaiah, too many in Judah were overwhelmed with the military plans of Israel and Syria. What are the dangers that too easily paralyze us today? More importantly, how can we pay more attention to the voice of Jesus than to the advice of others who would lead us into panic? The ancient words of Isaiah still show us the right way to hear from our Lord. “To the teaching and to the testimony!” If any spiritual advisers will not speak according to this Word, “it is because they have no dawn.”

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Almighty Father, You have spoken through the prophets. Your words were faithful in the mouths of Your holy servants, but they longed for a better fulfillment, one that is ours now in Your church. We still desire the best of all answers to our holiest longings. Come soon, Lord Jesus! Until that final day, there is some measure of difficulty among us. Yet You have given Your church the privilege of being a sign to the world. You have planted the seed of Your true Word in our hearts, and we believe. Why will men turn to deceiving demons, when You have clearly spoken to Your people? We trust in You and we cling to Your Word and Your testimony.

Isaiah 7

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Ahaz was the grandson of Uzziah, and he was a very wicked king in Judah in the line of David. During his reign Judah was threatened by an alliance of Israel and Syria. The people of Israel (sometimes referred to by the name Ephraim here), were fellow Jews with the tribe of Judah, but they were unwilling to submit to the chosen line of kings who were the descendants of David. They hoped to use their relationship with Syria, their neighbor to the northeast, in order to conquer Judah for themselves.

Ahaz and the people of Judah were deeply concerned by these events. What was the Lord's assessment concerning this distressing antagonism against Judah? “It shall not stand.” The Lord promised Ahaz that Israel would be destroyed as a nation within the next sixty-five years.

God knew that Ahaz, not being a strong man of faith, would have much trouble believing the Word of the Lord through Isaiah. Therefore He invited Ahaz to request of the Lord a great sign that might help him to believe God's promise that he might find courage in these dangerous times.

Ahaz refused the offer. Pretending to be too pious to put the Lord to the test, he continued in his ways of disobedience. (See 2 Kings 16 for more information on Ahaz's rebellion against God.) Isaiah's response to Ahaz's supposed righteousness? “Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also?”

The Lord Himself would choose a sign. The word translated “virgin” here can also mean “young woman.” Before the ultimate fulfillment of this sign, it must have seemed that the Lord was referring to a very common event: A young woman “shall conceive and bear a son.” Many young women were regularly giving birth to baby boys. How could this mean anything? But the great fulfillment of this promise, as we learn in Matthew 1:18-25, was anything but a frequent occurrence. The “virgin” who would conceive would not merely be a young woman, she would be a girl who had never known a man. The conception of this child would be a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit. The baby would indeed be “Immanuel” or “God with us.”

In the immediate future, the Lord would use the far-off Assyrian empire to break the alliance between Israel and Syria and to scatter the northern tribes away from the Promised Land. God would provide for some who would remain in Canaan, but the land itself and many of her exiled inhabitants would suffer. Yahweh would “whistle” for the Assyrians. This brutal nation would be the Lord's “razor” that would shave the hair off of His chosen people, but a remnant would survive.

Through all the troubles that the Lord's elect would face, the promise of Immanuel would remain. One day the Child of the virgin would be born. He would be “God with us” in His death for sinners. As He assured His disciples, even after His death He would be with them in a new way: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:18) In the person of the Holy Spirit, God is now with those who have faith in Christ.

We need to hear the words of the Almighty to Ahaz: “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.” We need to believe the Lord's promise to us if we are to live a stable life of joyful obedience. He is with us. Despite the corrections that He may yet administer to the church, we know that He is coming soon to show us His perfect salvation. The way to a solid life of holiness is to be firm in our faith concerning the good Word of the Almighty.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

O Lord God, the King that You have provided for Your church is faithful and true. You know the wickedness of those who seek to overwhelm us, but You have the power to stop the hand of every adversary. Make us firm in faith. Help us to rejoice in the sign that You have chosen for us. A virgin has conceived. Immanuel has been given to us. Through Him, sin and death have been overthrown. We thank You for the wonder of His mighty love. The very thought that You are with us through the person of Your Son is a comfort in the present day of trouble. Though all of our problems have not yet been removed from us, the sign of Immanuel speaks to us of a powerful victory that can never be reversed. The Christ has come for our atonement. He will return again to rescue us from this evil age.

Isaiah 6

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“In the year that King Uzziah died” the prophet Isaiah saw the Lord in His heavenly splendor. John 12:41 leads us to believe that it was the glorious Son of God that the prophet saw, the same exalted Jesus that John himself would later see when he was in exile on the Isle of Patmos (Revelation 1). As it was for John, the experience was overwhelming for Isaiah. He was convinced that he had seen God, and that now he would immediately die. Why? “I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

The Lord God Almighty as witnessed by the prophet was perfect in holiness and supreme in authority. Yet in this fearful moment God assured Isaiah that he would live. An angel took a coal from “the altar” in the vision. Out of that place of sacrifice came the only antidote for our spiritual disease. “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Not only would Isaiah live, now he was very eager to serve. The question that came from heaven was, “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah replied, “Here I am! Send me.”

The job that the Lord ordained for him would not be easy. God would send him to a people who would not listen. This was in keeping with the Lord's sovereign plan, “lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

The Almighty had a settled decree that included the disciplinary exile of His chosen people. The Babylonian captivity would take place in the next century, but several centuries further into the future the Lord Jesus would quote these words for His own day regarding those who heard His parables. Only the close circle of His disciples were granted further explanation as to what the stories meant. The crowds would be left in their ignorance. Jesus would bring a new beginning for Jews and Gentiles through His own death and resurrection. Many would not have eyes to see or ears to hear, but some would be chosen by God as the new assembly of the Lord.

Jesus would Himself be “the holy seed” coming out of the dead “stump” of Israel spoken of by Isaiah. From His unexpected resurrection life, a new company of worshipers would be gathered from the nations. People would hear the Word of the Lord preached by His ambassadors and would become the new kingdom of God. The Apostle Paul quoted this same passage from Isaiah 6 when he spoke to the leading rabbis in Rome in Acts 28:25-28. Though many Jews would reject their own Messiah, this “salvation of God” would be “sent to the Gentiles.” Paul's prediction? “They will listen.”

We who worship the God of Israel through the eternal Son of the Father are now among those who have heard the good news and believed. We have listened to the voice of the Messiah in the Scriptures. Many have chosen other spiritual paths that can never lead to eternal life. We rest on the Jesus of the Bible and are committed to the proclamation of His Name as the only hope for sinners. His blood has atoned for our sins.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Holy and Majestic God, You are the Lord. You reign from the heavenly sanctuary, and You are holy. Our sin is made more obvious in the light of Your presence. We thank You for the full atonement which is ours in Jesus Christ. We have been set apart for Your purposes and are willing to be sent out for Your glory. Grant us strength from on high for the service to which we have been called. May we be faithful in speaking the truth by the power of Your love for Your chosen flock.

Isaiah 5

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The Lord had a vineyard that He planted by bringing His people into the Promised Land. He gave them everything necessary for them to prosper there as His special possession, but they did not yield good fruit. He would not put up with this forever, so He sent prophets to them in order to demand their holy obedience. “He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry” against oppressive rulers.

What would God do to the corrupt leaders among His chosen people? He would bring great discipline upon His vineyard. The Lord would eventually use foreign powers to send many of His children far away to other lands.

God spoke six words of woe, particularly against those who should have been setting the example in servant leadership for the whole nation. First, they were ignoring the laws concerning property in Israel. The Lord was the owner of the land. He commanded that they should follow the rules of the year of Jubilee. According to those instructions the poor would not lose their homes forever. Instead of obeying God's Word, many people were amassing large tracts of property for themselves just as people all over the world might do. Second, those who had money were becoming experts at drinking rather than in bringing joy to the downcast. Third, the great men of that day were using their energetic schemes to fill their lives with sin. Through it all they imagined that God would not notice. Fourth, they claimed that evil was good, and good evil (Romans 1:32). Fifth, they were “wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight.” Finally, they were “valiant men” only “in mixing strong drink.” They lived as kings who did not have to answer to the Almighty. They would “acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right.”

God's sentence upon them was clear. Their “root will be as rottenness, and their blossom go up like dust.” Why? Because they paid no attention to the Word of the Lord. Therefore God would send well-equipped fighting men from other nations to teach them a painful lesson.

While this surely happened in the sixth century before Christ through the agency of the Babylonian empire, there can be little doubt that the indictment of Jesus against Israel would make use of a similar parable during the turning of the age between the Old Testament and New Testament. In Matthew 21:33-46, our Lord spoke of the Pharisees and chief priests of His day as heirs to the same judgment that had fallen upon Judah and Jerusalem so many centuries before. First century men of renown had also forgotten who really owned the land. When the Son of God came looking for fruit in the Lord's vineyard, they sought to kill Him, and thus to rid themselves of God's sovereign justice.

As the years of the New Testament age progressed, foreigners would again come into the house of the Lord, not just as agents of God's discipline against His chosen people, but to be grafted into the Old Testament vine through faith in Jesus Christ. In every era, the Lord's church must always remember that we are owned by God Himself. We do not exist to amass our own properties and to host raucous parties for our rich friends. We have been called by the true Servant of the Lord who gave His life as a ransom for many. It is our privilege to serve others. He still demands that there must be good fruit in His vineyard.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Father, we are Your vineyard. You have provided everything necessary for us that we might be a fruitful harvest for You. Yet we have yielded wild grapes in our rebellion against You. Like Your people of old, we have violated Your Law, and we are in danger of being swept away. Despite our sin, You will surely keep a remnant according to grace. You will build Your church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Sanctify us for Your purposes. Teach us to understand the time and place in which we serve You. We long to live as Your beloved sheep, grazing peacefully in Your pasture. Bring about the day of lasting peace. Only You can accomplish such a great blessing. Help us to endure through this time of trouble. You will not be angry with us forever, for You will not turn away from Your promise of grace. We need You now, for enemies come against us, and they are too strong for us. You can scatter them with one word.

Isaiah 4

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The Lord had spoken through Isaiah concerning the devastation that would one day come upon Jerusalem and Judah. Leading men and women were being judged by God. In the coming time of military defeat and exile, desperate ladies would seek the protection of any man's name. Their standards for a husband would be so low that they would pledge to provide for their own food and clothing, “only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach.”

The Lord's plan for His beloved people was much better than their own fearful pleas. He would one day bring a Messiah King, called here “the branch of the Lord.” As we allow Scripture to interpret Scripture, we see other Old Testament passages that share this same imagery of a person who will be a root for His fruitful tree. (See Jeremiah 23:5, 33:15; Zechariah 3:8, 6:12; and Isaiah 11 cited in Romans 15:12.) There can be no doubt that this branch is the Lord Jesus Christ, the promised descendant of David. The church that abides in Him will bear fruit to the glory of His Name (John 15).

Isaiah prepared the faithful for the coming day of this worthy Savior by speaking of His beauty, His glory, and His holiness. Those who would be connected to this great vine would find that they would be cleansed from sin and eternally secure in Him. They would be part of the Lord's planting, together with “everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem.”

The passage, like many key prophetic Scriptures, such as Joel 2:28-32, use Old Testament geography to refer to the New Testament church that will not be bound by the borders of Israel. Passages like Acts 2 and Romans 10 prove to us beyond any doubt that the apostles understood the glorified New Testament assembly throughout the earth to be the true fulfillment of the Lord's promise to bring about a perfect Jerusalem and Mount Zion. The wilderness imagery of “a cloud by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night” reminds us of God's presence with His people. We experience this even today when we gather together to sing to His wonderful Name and to hear His holy Word.

Spiritual guides who ignore the New Testament quotations of Old Testament passages send many eager hearers in wrong directions looking for confirmation of speculative end-time theories. Those who focus on predicting the timing of the coming of the Lord and the meaning of current events for the various geopolitical powers of our own day are missing the point. These mistaken teachers lead God's children in fear and paralysis as they make baseless assertions concerning what will happen today in Israel and her neighboring nations. Such claims are not grounded in the New Testament quotations of Old Testament prophesy. Responsible interpreters have learned over and over again from the words of the apostles that we in the worldwide church are now the temple of the Lord.

In Christ we have a perfect “canopy” of eternal love. He is our “booth for shade by day from the heat.” He is also our “refuge and shelter from the storm and rain.” A correct use of the Old Testament will not lead us into strange interpretations of biblical prophesy. Instead, both the Old and New Testaments will move us away from the fear of present threatening powers and toward a more solid confidence in Christ. Our hallmark will not be instability or panic, but joy from above, and faith, hope, and love.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Almighty God, we come to You now. Grant that we may be called by Your Name and connected to the One Branch, Jesus Christ, who is our hope. Cleanse us from all sin. Move us in the pathway of Your glorious presence, and dwell with us forever.

Isaiah 3

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The Lord God was bringing His judgment upon Jerusalem and Judah. He would take away from them “all support of bread, and all support of water.” He would also remove from them the leading men of their society. The top military people, the best advisers, and the respected religious spokesmen would be gone. In their places would be “boys” who would be unable and unwilling to lead the people with love.

The nation would no longer respect any honorable voices from among the elderly. They would press the unworthy into service who lacked the character or desire necessary to show God's people the right way to go. “You have a cloak; you shall be our leader.” This voice of the people would not seem to inspire great confidence. “And this heap of ruins shall be under your rule.” Despite the encouragement of those around them, such “infants” would never agree to the sacrifice that would be necessary of men who would truly set the best example of righteous living. “I will not be a healer; in my house there is neither bread nor cloak; you shall not make me leader of the people.”

How had the Lord's chosen people fallen so far? The answer was very plain. “Their speech and their deeds are against the Lord.” Those who should have been the top men in their society bore on their faces their obvious immorality. “They proclaim their sin like Sodom. They do not hide it.” They had abused the Lord God Almighty and had taken advantage of the weakest and frailest among them. “The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders and princes of His people.” What had they done? “The spoil of the poor is in your houses.”

The only note of hope in the midst of this withering indictment was the promise of God to rescue those who were truly faithful. “Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them.” But it would not go well with the wicked.

What about the highly placed women among them? Would they be spared? No, the Lord spoke against them for their “haughty” eyes. Their concern was to appear impressive in their outward appearance, but they were not women of excellent character. They would one day find themselves greatly changed. They would be led into exile. Their fancy jewelry and garments of beauty would be replaced by signs of humiliation and subjugation.

This prophetic warning against both highly placed men and their privileged wives should have made it clear to everyone that the respected names in Jerusalem and Judah would not be able to save the Lord's people. They would have to look beyond the best and the brightest among them to find any reasonable hope of deliverance.

The Lord had a plan to provide the only Man who could ever bring salvation. Yet when He arrived on the scene many centuries later, the leaders among His own nation did not receive Him. Though He was despised and rejected by men, the humble and wise Captain of our salvation has proven His worthiness through His love. The brash leaders from the days of Isaiah were long gone. The true Messiah showed His surpassing worth in one great act of obedience: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God of Hosts, what will Your church do when You come to purify us? There is much weakness around us and within us. We want to trust You, even in the day of worst tribulation. Give us grace to be faithful in every time of trouble, and cut short the days of testing, for You know the limits of our strength. Father, Your people have been crushed by their leaders. Men and women have become haughty and complacent, but how will we be proud when powerful enemies come to destroy us? Unite together those who belong to You, and show us mercy because of the wonderful righteousness of Your Son, who shed His blood for our sins.

Isaiah 2

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The prophet Isaiah was given a “word” from God “concerning Judah and Jerusalem.” It was about events that would come to pass “in the latter days.” The mountain of the Lord's “house” would be lifted up above every other hill. Not only that, “all the nations shall flow to it.” The vision was clearly not only about the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Many people groups from all over the earth would be encouraging one another in the journey that would lead them to “the God of Jacob.” Their delight would be to “walk in His paths.” The word or “law” of God would go forth out of His “Zion,” and a powerful kingdom of perfect peace would be established.

Worshipers throughout the world are still waiting for a day when wars cease. But even now, we know that Jesus is the only way to the fullness of the kingdom of God. We join others in calling Jews and Gentiles everywhere to “walk in the light of the Lord.”

When we encounter prophetic passages that contain important Old Testament words like “Zion,” we must be careful in our interpretation. The safest approach is to look at the New Testament usage of these words and concepts from the Hebrew Bible. Joel 2:28-32, like Isaiah 2, uses this word “Zion.” We know from the quotes of Joel 2 in Acts 2 and Romans 10 that the apostles knew that the true Zion was being built through the preaching of the gospel to the people groups of the earth. The new Zion was not a city made with human hands, but an assembly of people who were called by God to put their trust in Jesus.

The problem with the covenant community in the days of Isaiah was that they were “filled” not with the fullness of their God, but with religious ideas from the idol worship of other nations. What would it take for them to find the real eternal Zion? What would be necessary for men and women to turn away from their false deities? An amazing work of God was absolutely necessary. The Lord promised to visit them and to “terrify the earth.” Only then would people abandon their false gods and their foolish pride. Only then would they begin to look for some safe place to hide.

“The Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty.” If God did not teach us to fear, would we ever abandon our idols? When we are finally brought to see the greatness of the real God, perhaps we will “stop regarding man” as if we were the lord of all. When we give up on what is false and low, only then can we find the freedom and obedience of the true sons of God.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Glorious Lord, according to Your promise establish Your church as the highest mountain of truth and righteousness throughout the earth. Teach us to walk in Your light, O Lord. There is great danger for us in all that is proud and lifted up against You. We long for the day when You alone will be exalted. Even now, we yield ourselves to You as the only God. Loosen our grip on every idol and cause us to worship You in Spirit and in truth.

Isaiah 1

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The Old Testament prophets served two very important purposes in their day. First, they were prosecutors of God's lawsuit against His people who had broken covenant with the Lord. Secondly, they were heralds of a coming age of glory.

The two roles might at first seem contradictory. The first yielded warnings of divine vengeance. The second brought forth words of uncompromising hope. These two streams of divine proclamation ultimately came together in the cross on which the Jewish Messiah died. Christ, in taking the curse of the covenant upon Himself, opened the way for God's people to receive eternal blessings as a gift of His extravagant mercy.

During the long period of Isaiah's ministry, touching the reign of four kings of Judah, this great prophet was well aware of the guilt of Judah and Jerusalem. God called the “heavens” and the “earth” as witnesses against His beloved “children.” Of what were they guilty? They were a “sinful nation” who certainly should have known better than to turn against God's commandments. But they were a people “laden with iniquity” who had “despised the Holy One of Israel.”

Worst of all, they had attempted to solve their sin problems by ceremonial righteousness. What was the response of the Almighty to their worship services? “I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.” God's conclusion concerning their religious entreaties: “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen.”

What was the appropriate alternative to their liturgical displays of outward love? Very simple: they truly needed to repent of their sins. If they would not do this themselves, the Lord Himself would purify them through His own discipline.

The Lord's ambassador faithfully announced God's honest covenant warnings. What about the prophetic message of hope? Isaiah wrote this: “Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”

How would such a massive change be achieved? “Zion shall be redeemed by justice, and those in her who repent, by righteousness.” Only through the perfect holiness of a Redeemer could the city of God be so entirely saved.

We look for the revealing of this new city of glory at just the right time. Until that final day we feed our souls on the Lord's promises. We also take to heart every warning first written to Old Testament Israel so many centuries ago. Our solution is not to try to please the Lord with more and more ceremonies, but to respond in the fullest way to His loving directives. The ancient words of Isaiah are still essential today for those of us who believe that Jesus died for our transgressions: “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” God calls us to hear His Word with a tender heart. “But rebels and sinners shall be broken together, and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.”

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God, help us to know You and to know the truth. Teach us to turn away from rebellion. Your Law is good and right, but we have sinned against You. We have brought great trouble upon ourselves in our disobedience. Yet You have a plan of grace that goes beyond our disobedience. You have provided a Substitute who did more than offer ceremonial righteousness to You. He heard Your Word and loved You. He listened to Your voice and obeyed Your commandments. There was no evil in Him. He cared for the weak with true sincerity. He has taken away the deep stain of our sin and has granted to us the perfectly glorious robes of His unfailing goodness. We seek You now for a season of true faithfulness among Your worshipers. We long for the age to come, when all of our sinful thoughts, words, and actions will be taken far away from us forever. The way of idolatry leads only to destruction. Teach us to be earnest followers of Your Son.

Song of Solomon 8

Read Song of Solomon 8

Knowing that a day is coming when you will surely be with your love forever does not take away the longing for him. As that day approaches, does hope's intensity increase? There is no need for despair. Yet there is still a happy and earnest eagerness that is a part of any great expectation.

The good woman of this song of love wants her great man now. Is there some way to satisfy her intense desire other than to wait in faith? She considers the possibilities. What if he were to pose as her brother... Then she could have him now. She would find him and kiss him, and no one would think anything of it. They could go off together, she and her “brother.” She could take him to her mother's house nearby. She would give him spiced wine, the fruit that is his, and he would taste and enjoy. That would be delightful, his left hand under her head, and his right hand embracing her.

This desire is so strong that it is painful. She has good advice for others, for the daughters of Jerusalem: Do not stir or awaken love prematurely in a young girl. The waiting is difficult. One day love will be pleased to wake up within the heart. Love knows its own time. Don't rush it.

But back to this waiting lovesick woman, her love is certainly wide awake. It will not be quiet within her heart. Love calls to her man, and she must face the pain of longing for more of him.

But now suddenly there she is, leaning intimately on her beloved, and the two are coming up from the wilderness. Is it her mother watching her daughter coming toward her in the arms of her great man? It was not very long ago that she gave birth to a little baby girl. Now she is a woman, and she has the man of her dreams. The future is ahead of them. The one who gave her birth and all those in that older generation have learned a new supportive role of celebrating the good that is to come in the lives of those who are just beginning their intimate life together. The older folks will rejoice in the love of the young and will help that love with whatever wisdom and strength they have learned from their days, to the extent that such help is permitted. Like those who greet us as we enter heavenly realms, one generation welcomes the next and is happy.

Hear the vow of eternal love: “Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.”

The flame of the great I AM is eternal love. He has written it as a seal upon His heart and ours. We belong to each other. His love is a fierce love, a jealous love, a love that permits no one else to disrupt and destroy the beauty of the glorious fellowship He desires with His bride. Nothing will put out the flame of that love. Nothing is so precious that it could ever induce him to turn away from His woman.

There is a time when a person is not ready for this greatest of all loves. Like a little girl who is too young to understand the beauty of deep intimacy, you must grow and mature in your appreciation for your King. The day will come when you will be the one coming over the hill arm in arm with your glorious Husband. He went to the cross for you. He will not forget to come for you on the day of your death, so that where He is you also may be. That is His promise.

We see glimpses of the glory of divine love even now. Some get a generous portion in God's gracious gift of a close and wonderful bond of marriage until the sad day when death parts the two that were made one. All who are known to God in His electing love will themselves know the fullness of that love in the life to come. Be patient in hope. The good day is coming for you soon enough. You will testify on that day that you have now come of age, and that in the eyes of your good Man you will be as one who finds a new and full peace.

If you know the love of Jesus, you have a Lover greater than Solomon. Christ paid a very high price to have you forever. This eternal relationship of love required His humiliation and death. Now He lives above, and is full of power, glory, and honor. He is able to bring you to Himself forever. He is calling to you now. He wants to hear your voice. For our part, we in the church are very eager for Him to come for us, and we are looking for all things to be new in the coming together again of heaven and earth in Him. We join with all those throughout the ages who have eagerly anticipated His coming, and we sing to Him, “Make haste, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.” Come soon, Lord Jesus! Amen.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Great God, is today the day when we will meet our Husband more fully than every before? We hear His word of pledge. We receive the fire of His earnest love. The time has come for us to know that love more and more. No one can keep us from our Savior any more. He has purchased us by His blood. He finds His joy in us. Be near us forever Lord Jesus! You will never die again.