How often do I forget the way God has moved in my life? How often, as an adult, have I cried out in frustration and shaken my fists at the God I believe in? There is a pride that comes with age, this is the dark secret they do not tell you, a pride that comes along with the wisdom of age and it is dangerous like a cancer. Believing fiercely that I have a handle on my circumstances—that I perceive them as they are and that my emotions are appropriate to the moment, I often become desperately frustrated or even angry that God is not swooping in to fix it, change it, or tell me I am right.
In Isaiah 49-52 we see the prediction of the coming Messiah as God’s promise to redeem Israel, a call to the Israelites to rise up and prepare for His coming, and a prediction of the “Servant’s” suffering. Woven through all of this is a reminder of God’s goodness in the past to His people.
When I read through these passages the first time the thing that jumped out at me was Israel’s blindness. They will not look to the past nor hope for the future, but only seem to complain about the present. "The LORD has forsaken me, the LORD has forgotten me," (49:14). I want to be angry with them and point my finger at all the passages that remind these silly Israelites of God’s provision, but the truth is I identify with them. Just two nights ago I was laying in bed telling God that amidst all of his chiding and guilt tripping it would be nice to just hear that I am loved. Girls, I cannot tell you how often God has reminded me of his love for me. Nonetheless, the other night I was tired and my feelings were hurt and in the moment I felt justified.
My heavenly Father must sigh patiently, for I know He is patient, but I imagine it is a long sigh quietly breathed out through parted lips. He refrains from rolling His eyes at me and instead the Holy Spirit reminds me of old and new blessings. This is what God does in Isaiah as well. As you read through chapters 51 and 52 find these reminders. Of what does Isaiah remind God’s people? Can you think of other miracles or signs he had already given them in their past?
The incredible gift of being God’s own is the promise, the hope of the future. Whenever I get so overwhelmed with my own self that I can’t see past the swirling tornado of selfishness that stretches up further than I can see, God reaches in and shakes me. Then He reconfirms His commitment to work in me. I feel those carpenter’s hands molding me and making me new. I am reminded of the ultimate end, and the purpose for which I am here. All through Isaiah 49-52 is promise. Chapter 49 is a beautiful depiction of Jesus, can you see it? If you don’t at first then you will understand the Israelites’ plight. Then there is the description of restoration, where God holds nothing back. This kind of passion almost makes me uncomfortable. “I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine,” (49:20). Not only is God’s love immense and capable of redeeming a wayward people, it is also fierce and almost feral. I don’t want to run off on a tangent, but another question arises here. Am I willing to be loved with untamed and uncut passion?
Finally, at the end of this selection, there is the mention of . “…[My servant’s] appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness…” (52:14). I hear these words from Isaiah like a quiet whisper, the overlooked prediction that sums up the restoration and future glory of Israel. We know from the New Testament that Jesus was rejected. Why?! In heaven’s name, why are they not ready for him? Read John 25-33, where we hear a summary of all that is said here in Isaiah.
You are an Israelite if you think about it. You are the one to whom He has poured out promise on promise, you are the one who wants to focus on here and now. You are a critic, a skeptic, and you and I have to recognize that as we think about these truths in Isaiah.
Conclusion:
1. Where has God already moved mightily in my life that I tend to overlook?
2. What things do I complain to him about now that are largely of my own doing?
3. What hope have I in my own future and how should I redirect my focus from present complaints to future glory and gratefulness for what has already been done?
Monday, January 24, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
"I AM" strikes again...
Here is a picture of what's left of a temple where the Babylonians went to worship Nebo. Their god of wisdom and writing. This isn't what it looked like when Isaiah was writing chapter 46 but it's the picture he saw in the future and described to his listeners. We split up chapter 45 and 46 so you need to go back in your mind and note that they really go together. In chapters 45-48 Isaiah explains that God is greater than our enemies. Specifically the Babylonians. They already know that the Babylonians are going to come and destroy Judah but now they are getting to see the happier part of that story. In the end God is going to rise up someone to overthrow Babylon and restore the Temple.
In chapter 46 there are two verse of prophecy followed by eight verses where God once again establishes his authority, reminding his people who he is and why they should listen.
46:3 I have upheld you since you were conceived, carried you since your birth
46:4 I will sustain you to the end of your days and I will rescue you
46:5You can not compair me to anyone, there is no one that is my equal
46:6-7 No one has ever been saved by something they created
46:8 You have rebelled
46:9 I am God there is no other
46:10 I can tell you how it ends before it begins because I am the author of life, therefore my plans never fail.
In the last part of the Chapter the Lord once again explains his plan that ends with the ultimate goal: "I will bring Salvation to Zion, My splendor to Israel"
Question: In verse 12 who are the "stubborn hearted, those far from righteousness"?
Chapter 47 is more of the explanation of what God is going to do to Babylon.
Chapter 48 describes the stubbornness of Israel.
Read both chapters. Note God's tone in both chapters. After reading these what would you say is the basis for the different fates of these two peoples. On the one hand you have people who will be destroyed and on the other people who will be saved. What is the difference in between them? Knowing God is the same yesterday, today and forever, how do your conclusions make you feel about your own salvation?
In chapter 46 there are two verse of prophecy followed by eight verses where God once again establishes his authority, reminding his people who he is and why they should listen.
46:3 I have upheld you since you were conceived, carried you since your birth
46:4 I will sustain you to the end of your days and I will rescue you
46:5You can not compair me to anyone, there is no one that is my equal
46:6-7 No one has ever been saved by something they created
46:8 You have rebelled
46:9 I am God there is no other
46:10 I can tell you how it ends before it begins because I am the author of life, therefore my plans never fail.
In the last part of the Chapter the Lord once again explains his plan that ends with the ultimate goal: "I will bring Salvation to Zion, My splendor to Israel"
Question: In verse 12 who are the "stubborn hearted, those far from righteousness"?
Chapter 47 is more of the explanation of what God is going to do to Babylon.
Chapter 48 describes the stubbornness of Israel.
Read both chapters. Note God's tone in both chapters. After reading these what would you say is the basis for the different fates of these two peoples. On the one hand you have people who will be destroyed and on the other people who will be saved. What is the difference in between them? Knowing God is the same yesterday, today and forever, how do your conclusions make you feel about your own salvation?
P.S. I wrote out a long thing about how Cyrus leads to Jesus but somehow it got deleated after working on it for the past two hours...so just come ready for a good dose of history Thursday night. :)
Sunday, January 9, 2011
All By Myself
Read Isaiah 44.
Throughout the Old Testament we hear God telling Israel, His chosen people, to be holy. Israel had its own laws and restrictions that were given by God for the purpose of keeping them from being like the outsiders living around them. As Isaiah is prophesying about the coming exile—a time when the Israelites will be forced to live among foreigners, when they will be the outsiders—he gets specific about some of the ungodly behavior they will encounter.
In verses 6-23, Isaiah describes those who make and worship idols. I’m always pleased when scripture is a little sarcastic and this passage gets a little snarky. A man takes a tree and with half of it he makes a fire, then makes some bread, then thinks to himself, “What should I do with the rest of the wood? I know! I’ll make an idol and worship it.” God wants His people to see the futility of worshiping something they create, how absurd it is to bow down to something they could use for kindling.
It’s as if God is saying, “That’s not a god. I’ll show you God.” God wants Israel to be different from the idol-worshiping culture around them because He is different from the idols men worship.
1. As you’re reading verses 24-28, write down some of the qualities of God that are described; attributes that distinguish Him from the other loser gods.
One quality I don’t want you to miss comes in verse 24,
“ I am the LORD,
the Maker of all things,
who stretches out the heavens,
who spreads out the earth by myself”
Did you catch it? Everything God has done, He’s done by Himself. He is not dependent on the arm of the blacksmith. He doesn’t need us to get things moving here on Earth. God is independent. We weren’t created because He was lonely. Like Israel, we were created by Him to be separate, to reflect His glory.
Just like the Israelites, we Christians are supposed to be distinct. We are called to be different because our God is different. It is no small thing to live a life that glorifies God and to resist the temptations offered by our culture. But we have an advantage the people of Israel didn’t have. In verse 3 God promises to “pour out” His Holy Spirit. Our ability to worship God doesn’t come from our strength or creativity; it comes from His Spirit that He chose to give us. By Himself.
2. Verse 28 is pretty epic. Why is it significant that Isaiah was talking about Cyrus?
3. These chapters of Isaiah have already showed us many attributes of God. One thing God is not is passive. Read chapter 45 and list all the things God is actively doing.
Throughout the Old Testament we hear God telling Israel, His chosen people, to be holy. Israel had its own laws and restrictions that were given by God for the purpose of keeping them from being like the outsiders living around them. As Isaiah is prophesying about the coming exile—a time when the Israelites will be forced to live among foreigners, when they will be the outsiders—he gets specific about some of the ungodly behavior they will encounter.
In verses 6-23, Isaiah describes those who make and worship idols. I’m always pleased when scripture is a little sarcastic and this passage gets a little snarky. A man takes a tree and with half of it he makes a fire, then makes some bread, then thinks to himself, “What should I do with the rest of the wood? I know! I’ll make an idol and worship it.” God wants His people to see the futility of worshiping something they create, how absurd it is to bow down to something they could use for kindling.
It’s as if God is saying, “That’s not a god. I’ll show you God.” God wants Israel to be different from the idol-worshiping culture around them because He is different from the idols men worship.
1. As you’re reading verses 24-28, write down some of the qualities of God that are described; attributes that distinguish Him from the other loser gods.
One quality I don’t want you to miss comes in verse 24,
“ I am the LORD,
the Maker of all things,
who stretches out the heavens,
who spreads out the earth by myself”
Did you catch it? Everything God has done, He’s done by Himself. He is not dependent on the arm of the blacksmith. He doesn’t need us to get things moving here on Earth. God is independent. We weren’t created because He was lonely. Like Israel, we were created by Him to be separate, to reflect His glory.
Just like the Israelites, we Christians are supposed to be distinct. We are called to be different because our God is different. It is no small thing to live a life that glorifies God and to resist the temptations offered by our culture. But we have an advantage the people of Israel didn’t have. In verse 3 God promises to “pour out” His Holy Spirit. Our ability to worship God doesn’t come from our strength or creativity; it comes from His Spirit that He chose to give us. By Himself.
2. Verse 28 is pretty epic. Why is it significant that Isaiah was talking about Cyrus?
3. These chapters of Isaiah have already showed us many attributes of God. One thing God is not is passive. Read chapter 45 and list all the things God is actively doing.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Peace for today, and bright hope for tomorrow.
(For some reason the spell check isn't working...I'm afraid you are just going to have to enjoy my creative spelling)
It's a new year, but seeing as we have not finished the great work of Isaiah are not moving on to a new book. We are however, skipping ahead just a tad.
Maybe it's my 27 years of wisdom or the fact that I am turning into my mother but New years is hardly ever a happy time anymore. I can't stop myself from thinking, what crap is going to hit the fan this time around.
I know this is not a good attitude, and the past week while I have been battling these thoughts the Lord has pushed me past, "In this world you will have trouble" to "take heart, for I have overcome the world". So I believe that it is perfectly fitting to skip forward to Isaiah chapter 40. Where the setement is the same, "Take heart for our God is always greater than our ciurcomstances and our fears."
Isaiah chapter 40
Step one: Think about the horrible things you fear...take an honest look at the nightmares you drum up in your mind on a daily baisis. I won't throw out any here because I don't want to make generic shalow examples that we can all relate to an therefore give us all an excuse to ignore to real deep personal ones.
Once you have noted some of these demons in your closet open up the word of God and turn to Isaiah chapter 40. Read through the chapter slowly considering all the claims that Isaiah makes about God. He is the one encthrowned above the circle of the earth, and it's people are like grasshoppers.(40:22) He does not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.(40:28)
What Judah needed was a good old reminder of how Awesome their God was. They also needed to be reminded that although he was awesome, he is also personal. He is ready to give strength to those who put their hope in Him. They did not know what tomorrow would bring but they did know that they would not be alone.
Now that you have some time for the warm fuzzies it's time to get down to buisness.
The next two chapters continue to talk about God's character and the peoples sin/chooseness/createdness. Despite the clear representation of God's people as complet failuress as far as the law is concerned Isaiah paints a picture of who they are as the redemmed. God's faithfulness is a clear theme but so is his might and ultimate power over creation. (One thing to note is all of the refences to creation and the fact that his people are a part of it.)
I don't strugle with the mightness of God as much as I used to. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom..He is not a tame Lion...I get it. :) But reading through these chapters this week and studying the pictures of God's people as a part of creation I was suprised at how I don't think about myself that way. Not that I don't understand that I was created by God...but I don't really factor that into my identity. I feel because we people all have souls and we were made in his image that we are seperate from that ultimate plan for everything that he had before he spoke the world into existance. By seperating myself and making myself more importaint than a noraml part of creation I take me out of the comfort of his soverignty.
I am not really explaining this all so well, so I am going to lead you in the direction of the scrpture give you some questions to answer and I will see you, my fellow created beings on Thursday. :)
Try to take the time to read through 40-43. I know a lot of these chapters we have read a millon times but try to read them with fresh eyes.
1.Find five verses that create pictures of who God is.
2. Is there anything that you have read that scares you more than comforts you?
3. Throughout the passage there are several references to reasons for God's mercy on his people. There is a clear understanding that the people the people were created by Him for HIS glory and because of his mercy they would be his "witnesses".
a. What refrences do you find that talk about why God created his people?
b. After so many amazing pictures of the mightness of God, what does it mean to you that you are part of His creation?
c. Does the fact that you are God's creation created for his glory make you feel differently about the worries you have about the future?
I'll close with a good one for the new year. See you Thursday.
"Forget the former things, do not dwell in the past.
See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not precieve it?>
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." 43:19
It's a new year, but seeing as we have not finished the great work of Isaiah are not moving on to a new book. We are however, skipping ahead just a tad.
Maybe it's my 27 years of wisdom or the fact that I am turning into my mother but New years is hardly ever a happy time anymore. I can't stop myself from thinking, what crap is going to hit the fan this time around.
I know this is not a good attitude, and the past week while I have been battling these thoughts the Lord has pushed me past, "In this world you will have trouble" to "take heart, for I have overcome the world". So I believe that it is perfectly fitting to skip forward to Isaiah chapter 40. Where the setement is the same, "Take heart for our God is always greater than our ciurcomstances and our fears."
Isaiah chapter 40
Step one: Think about the horrible things you fear...take an honest look at the nightmares you drum up in your mind on a daily baisis. I won't throw out any here because I don't want to make generic shalow examples that we can all relate to an therefore give us all an excuse to ignore to real deep personal ones.
Once you have noted some of these demons in your closet open up the word of God and turn to Isaiah chapter 40. Read through the chapter slowly considering all the claims that Isaiah makes about God. He is the one encthrowned above the circle of the earth, and it's people are like grasshoppers.(40:22) He does not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.(40:28)
What Judah needed was a good old reminder of how Awesome their God was. They also needed to be reminded that although he was awesome, he is also personal. He is ready to give strength to those who put their hope in Him. They did not know what tomorrow would bring but they did know that they would not be alone.
Now that you have some time for the warm fuzzies it's time to get down to buisness.
The next two chapters continue to talk about God's character and the peoples sin/chooseness/createdness. Despite the clear representation of God's people as complet failuress as far as the law is concerned Isaiah paints a picture of who they are as the redemmed. God's faithfulness is a clear theme but so is his might and ultimate power over creation. (One thing to note is all of the refences to creation and the fact that his people are a part of it.)
I don't strugle with the mightness of God as much as I used to. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom..He is not a tame Lion...I get it. :) But reading through these chapters this week and studying the pictures of God's people as a part of creation I was suprised at how I don't think about myself that way. Not that I don't understand that I was created by God...but I don't really factor that into my identity. I feel because we people all have souls and we were made in his image that we are seperate from that ultimate plan for everything that he had before he spoke the world into existance. By seperating myself and making myself more importaint than a noraml part of creation I take me out of the comfort of his soverignty.
I am not really explaining this all so well, so I am going to lead you in the direction of the scrpture give you some questions to answer and I will see you, my fellow created beings on Thursday. :)
Try to take the time to read through 40-43. I know a lot of these chapters we have read a millon times but try to read them with fresh eyes.
1.Find five verses that create pictures of who God is.
2. Is there anything that you have read that scares you more than comforts you?
3. Throughout the passage there are several references to reasons for God's mercy on his people. There is a clear understanding that the people the people were created by Him for HIS glory and because of his mercy they would be his "witnesses".
a. What refrences do you find that talk about why God created his people?
b. After so many amazing pictures of the mightness of God, what does it mean to you that you are part of His creation?
c. Does the fact that you are God's creation created for his glory make you feel differently about the worries you have about the future?
I'll close with a good one for the new year. See you Thursday.
"Forget the former things, do not dwell in the past.
See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not precieve it?>
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." 43:19
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