Isaiah 1
Introduction of visions of Isaiah verse 1
The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz
which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem
in the days of Uzziah – Jotham
Ahaz – Hezekiah – kings of Judah
Statement of the rebellion of Israel verse 2- 4
Hear – O heavens – and give ear – O earth
for the LORD hath spoken
I have nourished and brought up children
AND they have rebelled against ME
the ox knows his owner
AND the ass his master’s crib
BUT Israel does not know
MY people does not consider
Ah sinful nation – a people laden with iniquity
a seed of evildoers – children that are corrupters
they have forsaken the LORD
they have provoked the HOLY ONE of Israel to anger
they are gone away backward
Rebellion invites judgment verse 5- 9
Why should you be stricken anymore?
you will revolt more and more – the whole head is sick
AND the whole heart faint
from the sole of the foot even unto the head
there is no soundness in it
BUT wounds – bruises – putrefying sores
they have not been closed – neither bound up
neither mollified with ointment
Your country is desolate – your cities are burned with fire – your land
strangers devour it in your presence – and it is desolate
as overthrown by strangers
AND the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard
as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers – as a besieged city
except the LORD of hosts had left to us
a very small remnant
we should have been as Sodom
and we should have been
like unto Gomorrah
LORD doesn’t appreciate fake worship verse 10- 15
Hear the word of the LORD – you rulers of Sodom
give ear unto the law of our God
you people of Gomorrah
To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to ME?
says the LORD
I am full of the burnt offerings of rams
AND the fat of fed beasts
I delight NOT in the blood of
bullocks – lambs – he goats
When you come to appear before ME
who has required this at your hand
to tread MY courts?
Bring NO MORE vain oblations
incense is an abomination unto ME
the new moons and Sabbaths
the calling of assemblies
I CANNOT away with
IT is iniquity – even the solemn meeting
your new moons and your appointed feasts
MY soul hates
they are a trouble to me
I am weary to bear them
and when you spread forth your hands
I will hide MINE eyes from you
YEA – when ye make many prayers
I will NOT hear
your hands are full of blood
LORD invites Israel to repent verse 16- 17
Wash you – make you clean
put away the evil of your doings
from before MINE eyes
cease to do evil
Learn to do well
seek judgment – relieve the oppressed
judge the fatherless
plead for the widow
LORD offers forgiveness verse 18- 20
Come now – AND let us reason together
says the LORD
Though your sins be as scarlet – they shall be as white as snow
though they be red like crimson – they shall be as wool
If you be willing and obedient – you shall eat the good of the land
BUT if you refuse and rebel
you shall be devoured with the sword
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it
Decline of the nation of Israel verse 21- 23
How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment
righteousness lodged in it – but now MURDERERS
Your silver is become dross – your wine
mixed with water
Your princes are rebellious and companions of thieves
everyone loves gifts and follows after rewards
they judge not the fatherless
NEITHER does the cause of
the widow come to them
LORD is going to cleanse the house of Israel verse 24- 26
THEREFORE says the LORD – the LORD of hosts
the mighty One of Israel
Ah – I will ease me of mine adversaries
and avenge me of mine enemies
and I will turn my hand upon you
and purely purge away your dross
and take away all your tin
and I will restore your judges as at the first
and your counselors as at the beginning
AFTERWARD you shall be called
The city of righteousness – the faithful city
LORD is going to restore Israel verse 27- 28
Zion shall be redeemed with judgment
and her converts with righteousness
And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners
shall be together – and they that forsake the LORD
shall be consumed
Citizens of Jerusalem
will be ashamed of past actions verse 29- 31
FOR they shall be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired
and you shall be confounded
for the gardens that you have chosen
FOR you shall be as an oak whose leaf fades
and as a garden that has no water
And the strong shall be as tow (tinder)
and the maker of it as a spark
and they shall both burn together
and NONE shall quench them
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD has spoken. I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. (1431 “nourished” [gadal] means grow up, become great and important, to magnify, to look after and care for a child until it is an adult, to value highly or to exalt.)
DEVOTION: God had a special relationship with Israel. HE promised Abraham that HE would make a great nation of his family. HE watched over the family until they were big enough and strong enough to go on the wilderness wandering and conquer the land HE had promised they would own as an inheritance for all time.
However, we fine that once they owned part of the land they gave up conquering the rest and decided to start worshiping the false gods of the land rather than be exclusive worshipers of HIM. HE warned them that if they were not faithful to HIM HE would have to judge them but they didn’t listen.
HE took them through the time period of the judges but they didn’t learn. HE took them through many battles and they still didn’t learn. HE was going to take them into a captivity because they refused to listen to HIM and keep themselves exclusively in a proper relationship with HIM.
God knew what they would do and HE warned them with prophets as to what HE was going to do because of their disobedience. They were not listening because they thought HIS love was one that would always overlook their sins. HE is longsuffering but there is an end to HIS longsuffering.
So Isaiah is sent to tell them that judgment is coming because of their sin. We sometimes think of God’s longsuffering as endless for us as a group of believers. We sometimes think that God will continue to let us sin and do nothing. These are wrong thoughts. We have to continually confession our sin to keep our fellowship with HIM. Our salvation is sure. If we made a genuine commitment to the LORD then our salvation is real.
God is still helping HIS children grow and part of that is times of chastening to cause us to grow closer to HIM. If there is no chastening when you sin than there is probably no genuine salvation in your life.
CHALLENGE: Remember that the LORD wants to encourage growth in HIS children. If you are a genuine believer, HE is going to cause you to grow either through pruning or chastening.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel to anger, they are gone away backward. (268 “backward” [‘achowr] means behind, hinder parts, rear, hinder part, rear, or a part of the body in contrast to the front side of the body with a face, and so have an associative meaning of a lesser association, or hindquarter)
DEVOTION: There are two ways that we can go as followers of the LORD. We can either move forward and get closer to the LORD or we can go backwards and move away from the LORD.
The children of Israel at this time were moving away from the LORD or going backwards in their relationship with the LORD. It is sad because when they went backwards the LORD had to send judgment to return them to going in a proper directions in their relationship.
HE does the same thing today with those who claim to be HIS followers. Some are false claimers who have never really had a relationship with the LORD but others have had a relationship with HIM and HE sends judgment to cause them to return to a proper relationship with HIM.
The LORD wants HIS followers to have a good relationship with HIM. HE sends the Holy Spirit today to cause genuine believers to either get turned around or have a judgment which involves them losing rewards but still allows them to enter heaven.
Our responsibility is to try to daily have a time with the LORD in prayer and reading of HIS Word, so that, we keep closer to HIM and listen to HIS commands that are recorded in HIS Word. The Holy Spirit helps us understand our standing and our relationship on a daily basis.
Today we find many individuals who think they are walking with the LORD that have never made a genuine commitment to HIM. They need to repent and start following. Those who have made a genuine commitment need to repent and turn and follow HIM closer again.
CHALLENGE: We all fall into one of these camps. It is our prayer that we are repenting and serving as the LORD wants us to each day. Our confession of sin is important to our relationship to HIM. Only we know with the LORD’S help whether our relationship is right or not!
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: 15 And when you spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when you make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. (8605 “prayers” [taphillah] means intercession, supplication, entreaty, petition, request, or plea.)
DEVOTION: The main communications we have with the LORD is spreading our hands toward heaven. When we have questions, we can ask the LORD for answers. When we have a problem, we can ask the LORD for help. When we are sick, we can ask the LORD for healing. There are many uses for intercession for others. There are many times when we can entreat the LORD for something that is going on in our life. HE has all the answers. HIS Word gives us direction through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Here we have the LORD stating to Israel that he will not hear when they make their requests to HIM. Why? The reason is that they are living in sin and not confessing their sin. The LORD wants us to confess our sin to HIM on a regular basis. This is a daily activity that we should be practicing. If we forget to ask for forgiveness of sin HE will not hear us according to this verse.
The children of Israel were not confessing their sin. They were not worshiping the LORD with a genuine heart. They were faking their worship. They thought all they had to do was bring some animals and the LORD would be happy. It is the attitude that the LORD looks at when we bring our gifts to HIM.
Their attitude stunk. They wanted to do what they wanted to do and didn’t care if it pleased the LORD. They were giving the LORD HIS five minutes or a few hours and thought HE should be happen with their offering and their attendance. That is not what pleases the LORD.
HE told them HE would not hear their plea if there was not confession of sin. This is true for all those who have never made a commitment to the LORD. HE will not hear their plea for help until they say their first prayer of repentance of sin. Only those who are followers of the LORD will receive answers to their prayers. HE has some restrictions even for married couples. If a husband doesn’t love his wife the LORD will not hear his pleas. Look it up.
Understand the teachings regarding prayer. People have the wrong idea that God will just hear anyone without restrictions. That is not true.
CHALLENGE: If your prayers are not answered there should be an attitude check if you are a genuine believer. IF you have never asked the LORD for forgiveness of your sins and made a commitment to the LORD Jesus Christ, HE will not hear your other prayers. Become a true follower of the LORD.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 18 Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (3198 “reason” [yakach] means argue, make legal dialogue, convince, to decide, appoint, correct, plead, reprove, or dispute.)
DEVOTION: Israel starts the chapter by giving a list of kings under which he ministered to Israel. The LORD informs Isaiah as to the message of judgment he is to give to the children of Israel.
They are acting like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. They are described as sin sick or full of sin. If it weren’t for a remnant of believers the LORD would have treated them as HE did Sodom and Gomorrah. Then the LORD instructs them what to do to stop judgment coming. They are to wash. They are to learn. They are to be better judges. They are to come to the LORD in confession and HE will remove their sins. However, if they don’t come to HIM, HE will send judgment. After the judgment, there will be cleansing. HE didn’t want just outward sacrifices, HE wanted their hearts.
That is true today. We are to read the WORD of GOD. We are to attend church. We are to give our offerings to the LORD. However, HE doesn’t just want the external obedience. HE wants our hearts. HE wants us to worship HIM in spirit and in truth.
HE knows when people are just going through the motions. Too often we have so many people going through the motions that the reality of our faith is lost. Christ came to give us joy in the midst of trial.
If that is missing in our faith, then our faith is missing. Are we only going through the motions in church or is it genuine worship? Is our worship of the LORD a daily listening to the LORD and the getting of direction from HIS Word for our lives?
As one pointed out – we need to be calling 411 instead of always waiting until we have to call 911. There are if-then causes in this chapter that help us understand what God wants us to do with our lives.
HE has a desire to work in our life. We need HIM more than HE needs us. Sometimes we get it all backwards. We think we are doing God a favor by worshiping HIM. That is not true. HE sent HIS Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. HE has given us a gift that we can never repay. HE is in the forgiving business but HE wants us to come to HIM humbly and ask for HIS forgiveness.
CHALLENGE: Isaiah starts out getting our attention. Reread the first chapter to see if you are learning what HE is teaching.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Spread hands verse 15
LORD not hearing some prayers verse 15
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Sacrifices verse 11
Burnt offerings verse 11
Blood sacrifices verse 11
Oblations verse 13
Incense verse 13
New moons verse 13, 14
Sabbaths verse 13
Calling of assemblies verse 13
Solemn meeting verse 13
Appointed feasts verse 14
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Word of the LORD verse 10
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 2, 4, 9, 10, 18,
20, 24, 28
LORD has spoken verse 2
HE nourished and brought up Israel verse 2
MY people verse 3
HOLY ONE of Israel verse 4
LORD of hosts verse 9, 24
Word of the LORD verse 10
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 10
God hates their false worship verse 14
God weary of their false worship verse 14
God hides eyes from false prayers verse 15
God will not hear verse 15
Mouth of the LORD devours unrepentant verse 20
Lord verse 24
Mighty One of Israel verse 24
I will ease ME of MINE adversaries verse 24
I will avenge ME of MINE enemies verse 24
I will turn MY hand upon you (Israel) verse 25
I will purely purge away your dross
and take away your tin verse 25
I will restore your judges as at the first verse 26
I will restore your counsellors
as at the beginning verse 26
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Strangers verse 7
Daughters of Zion verse 8
Sodom and Gomorrah verse 9, 10
Rulers of Sodom verse 10
People of Gomorrah verse 10
Princes verse 23
Adversaries of the LORD verse 24
Enemies of the LORD verse 24
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Rebelled verse 2, 20, 23
People of God not consider God verse 3
Sinful verse 4
Iniquity verse 4, 13
Evildoers verse 4
Corrupters verse 4
Forsaken the LORD verse 4, 28
Provoked the LORD verse 4
Gone backwards verse 4
Revolt verse 5
Faint hearted verse 5
No soundness verse 6
Wrong sacrifices verse 11
Vain oblations verse 13
Abomination verse 13
Incorrect prayers verse 15
Hands full of blood verse 15
Evil verse 16
Sins verse 18
Refuse to reason together with God verse 20
Harlot verse 21
Murderers verse 21
Companion of thieves verse 23
Gifts (bribes) verse 23
Not take care of fatherless and widows verse 23
Transgressors verse 28
Sinners verse 28
Forsake the LORD verse 28
Places of worship of false gods verse 29- 31
Oaks you had desired
Gardens you had chosen
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Nourishment verse 2
Remnant verse 9
Give ear to the law of our God verse 10
Sacrifices verse 11
Calling of assemblies verse 13
Prayer verse 15
Washed verse 16
Put away evil verse 16
Learners verse 17
Seekers of truth verse 17
Relieve the oppressed verse 17
Judge the fatherless verse 17
Plead for the widow verse 17
Reason together with God verse 18
Sin white as snow verse 18
Willing and obedient verse 19
Eat the good verse 19
Full of good judgment verse 21
Righteousness verse 21, 26, 27
Faithful verse 26
Redeemed verse 27
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Isaiah, son of Amos verse 1
Uzziah verse 1
Jotham verse 1
Ahaz verse 1
Hezekiah verse 1
Kings of Judah verse 1
Judah verse 1
Jerusalem verse 1, 8
Besieged city
Israel verse 3, 4
sinful Nation
people laden with iniquity
seed of evil doers
corrupters
forsaken the LORD
provoked the Holy One of Israel
gone backwards
revolt
whole head is sick
whole heart is faint
Desolate verse 7
Cities burned verse 7
Daughter of Zion verse 8, 27
Small remnant verse 9
Rulers of Sodom verse 10
People of Gomorrah verse 10
Calling of Assemblies verse 13
Faithful city verse 21, 26
City of righteousness verse 21, 26
Princes are rebellious verse 23
companions of thieves
love gifts
follow after rewards
judge not the fatherless
forsakes widow
Zion verse 27
redeemed with judgment
her converts with righteousness
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Destruction of the transgressors verse 28
Destruction of the sinners verse 28
Those forsaking the LORD shall be consumed verse 28
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QUOTES regarding passage
1:1. Isaiah’s prophecies focus on Judah and Jerusalem. His book is called a vision, which suggests that the prophet “saw” (cf. 2:1) mentally and spiritually as well as heard what God communicated to him. This word “vision” also introduces the prophecies of Obadiah, Micah, and Nahum.
Isaiah was familiar with the city of Jerusalem and its temple and royal court. By this time the Northern Kingdom (Israel) was in its final years. The Northern Kingdom fell in 722 b.c. to the Assyrians who were seeking to conquer the entire Syro-Palestine area. Isaiah wrote specifically for the Southern Kingdom (Judah), which would fall to the Babylonian Empire a little more than 100 years later in 586 b.c.
For comments on Isaiah son of Amoz and the time of Isaiah’s ministry (in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah) see “Author and Date” in the Introduction Martin, J. A. (1985). Isaiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1034). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
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2a. Isaiah does not explain why the heavens and earth are summoned to hear. The parallel address (10) to the accused suggests that creation is called to court as the perpetual witness of what happens on earth (Ps. 50:4–6) and is therefore able to affirm the truth of the divine accusations. But it may simply be to affirm the dignity of the One who can convene such a court (cf. 1 Chr. 16:31; Ps. 69:34–35) and the awesomeness of the occasion.
2b. But even greater awesomeness is contained in the reason given why creation must pay attention: for the Lord himself has spoken. Here is One whom all creation must obey; it is to him that his people must render account; and in the unique marvel of revelation and inspiration the words of the prophet are ‘verbally inspired’, the very words of the Lord. (Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, pp. 49–50). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
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They were rebellious children (vv. 2–4), who did not have as much devotion to God as animals do for their masters! The word “rebel” carries with it the idea of breaking a contract. At Sinai, Israel had entered into a solemn covenant with Jehovah (Ex. 19–20); but they had broken the contract by their unbelief and idolatry. They did not appreciate what God had done for them and were taking their blessings for granted. They had forsaken the Lord, gone backward, and grown corrupt; and therefore, they were guilty and deserved judgment.
From the human point of view, the nation was prospering; but from God’s point of view, the nation was like a wretched victim that had been beaten from head to foot and left to die (Isa. 1:5–6). The wounds had become infected, the whole body was diseased, and nobody was doing anything to help. The false prophets and hypocritical priests of that day would have challenged Isaiah’s autopsy of “the body politic,” but the prophet knew that his diagnosis was true. In spite of the optimism of Judah’s leaders, the nation was morally and spiritually sick; and judgment was inevitable. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Comforted (p. 19). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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1:2 heavens … earth. God intended Israel to be a channel of blessing to the nations (19:24, 25; 42:6; Ge 12:2, 3), but instead He must call the nations to look on Israel’s shame. Sons. The physical descendants of Abraham are God’s chosen people, in spite of their disobedience (cf. Ge 18:18, 19). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Is 1:2). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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1:2 Moses, who mediated God’s covenant with Israel at Sinai, summoned the heavens and the earth (that is, the entire creation) as a witness that he had duly warned the Israelites that they would be judged by the Lord for their disobedience (Deut. 4:24; 30:19; 31:28). As Jacob and Laban set up a heap of stones as a witness of a treaty between them (Gen. 31:43–55), so the creation is a fitting witness between God and Israel. God’s relationship with His people is personal; He compares Judah to ungrateful children (63:8; Ex. 4:22; Hos. 11:1). The Hebrew term translated rebelled means “to refuse to submit to someone’s authority and rule” (63:10; 66:24). (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (Is 1:2). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers)
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2. Hear, O heavens. This is properly the beginning of the prophecy. It is a sublime commencement; and is of a highly poetic character. The heavens and the earth are summoned to bear witness to the apostacy, ingratitude, and deep depravity of the chosen people of God. The address is expressive of deep feeling,—the bursting forth of a heart filled with amazement at a wonderful and unusual event. The same sublime beginning is found in the song of Moses, Deut. 32:1:
Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak;
And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
comp. Ps. 4:3, 4. Thus also the prophets often invoke the hills and mountains to hear them; Ezek. 6:3: ‘Ye mountains of Israel, hear the words of the Lord God: Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, and to the rivers, and to the valleys;’ comp. Ezek. 36:1. ‘Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord,’ Jer. 2:12. By the heavens therefore, in this place, we are not to understand the inhabitants of heaven, i. e. the angels, any more than by the hills we are to understand the inhabitants of the mountains. It is high poetic language, denoting the importance of the subject, and the remarkable and amazing truth to which the attention was to be called.
Give ear. O earth. It was common thus to address the earth on any remarkable occasion, especially any one implying warm expostulation, Jer. 5:19; 22:29; Micah 1:2; 6:2; Isa. 34:1; 49:13.
For. Since it is Jehovah that speaks, all the universe is summoned to attend; comp. Ps. 33:8, 9: ‘Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake and it was done; he commanded and it stood fast.’
The Lord.—יְהוָה Yehōvâ, or Jehovah. The small capitals used here and elsewhere throughout the Bible, in printing the word Lord, denote that the original word is Jehovah. It is derived from the verb הָיָה hâyâ, to be; and is used to denote being, or the fountain of being, and can be applied only to the true God; comp. Ex. 3:14: ‘And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM,’ אֶהְיֶה אְשְׁר אֶהְיֶה; Ex. 6:3; Num. 11:21; Isa. 47:8. It is a name which is never given to idols, or conferred on a creature; and though it occurs often in the Hebrew Scriptures, as is indicated by the small capitals, yet our translators have retained it but four times; Ex. 6:3; Ps. 83:18; Isa. 12:2; 26:4. In combination, however, with other names, it occurs often. Thus in Isaiah, meaning the salvation of Jehovah; Jeremiah, the exaltation or grandeur of Jehovah, &c.; comp. Gen. 22:14: ‘Abraham called the name of the place Jehovah-jireh,’ Ex. 17:15; Judg. 6:24; Ezek. 48:35. The Jews never pronounced this name, not even in reading their own Scriptures. So sacred did they deem it, that when it occurred in their books, instead of the word Jehovah, they substituted the word Adonai, אֲדֹנָי Lord. Our translators have shown respect to this feeling of the Jews in regard to the sacredness of the name; and hence, have rendered it by the name of Lord—a word which by no means conveys the sense of the word Jehovah. It would have been an advantage to our version if the word Jehovah had been retained wherever it occurs in the original.
I have nourished. Heb. I have made great; גִּדַּלְתִּי. In Piel, the word means to make great, to cause to grow; as e. g. the hair; Num. 6:5, plants, Isa. 44:14; then to educate or bring up children; Isa. 49:21, 24, 13; 2 Kings 10:6.
And brought up. רוֹמַמְתִּי rōmămtī, from רוּם rūm, to lift up or exalt. In Piel it means to bring up, nourish, educate; Isaiah 23:4. These words, though applied often to the training up of children, yet are here used also to denote the elevation to which they had been raised. He had not merely trained them up, but he had trained them up to an elevated station; to peculiar honour and privileges.
Children. Heb. בָּנְים bânīm—sons. They were the adopted children of God; and they are represented as being weak, and ignorant, and helpless as children, when he took them under his fatherly protection and care; Hos. 11:1: ‘When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt;’ comp. Note, Mat. 2:15; Isa. 63:8–16.
They have rebelled. This complaint was often brought against the Jews; comp. Isa. 63:10; Jer. 2:6, 7, 8.—This is the sum of the charge against them. God had shown them peculiar favours. He recounted his mercy in bringing them out of Egypt; and on the ground of this, he demanded obedience and love; comp. Ex. 20:1, 2, 3. And yet they had forgotten him, and rebelled against him. The Targum of Jonathan, an ancient Chaldee version, has well expressed the idea here. ‘Hear, O heavens, which were moved when I gave my law to my people: give ear, O earth, which didst tremble before my word, for the Lord has spoken. My people, the house of Israel, whom I called sons,—I loved them,—I honoured them, and they rebelled against me.’ The same is true substantially of all sinners; and alas, how often may a similar expostulation be made with the professed people of God! (Barnes, A. (1851). Notes on the Old Testament: Isaiah (Vol. 1, pp. 57–59). London: Blackie & Son.)
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ABRUPTLY the voice of the Lord breaks in upon the ears of men who prided themselves upon their religiousness and trusted in their formal observance of the legal ritual, “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, My people doth not consider.” There is something sublime in the very simplicity of this challenge to obedience. Heaven and earth, ever subject to His will, are called to witness the base ingratitude of Jehovah’s people. The objects of His solicitous care from their childhood in Egypt to the moment then present, they had never, as an entire nation, given Him that loving obedience which was His due.
Individual faithfulness there ever was; but nationally, as later in the case of the Church viewed as a collective body, failure had come in almost at the very beginning and there had never been recovery.
Ox and ass know their owner or their master’s crib because of his care for them. May we not well challenge our hearts as to how far we really know our Owner? To what extent do we sanctify Christ as Lord? He is our Owner now. Other lords have had dominion over us, but by Him only will we now make mention of the ineffable Name. The kingdom of God for us is that of the Son of His love. To the Crucified we owe unswerving allegiance. Our Master’s crib is the Word of God, a part of which we have now before us. Do we really know it? Does hunger ever drive us to it; or, are we often found foolishly sniffing the desert air, following the wind like the wild ass, our backs on God’s well-filled storehouse, vainly seeking a satisfactory portion in the world we have professed to judge? Solemn questions these, not to be evaded or ignored, but faced in the presence of the Lord: lest a day come when, of us too He shall have to say, “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward” (verse 4).
There is no breach of relationship suggested here. Judah was still owned of God, but her moral state was such as demanded discipline. Yet that discipline she had despised until it seemed to be useless to chasten her further. The sore seemed too deep to be healed; the whole head was sick and the heart faint. Everywhere the evidences of inward corruption were manifest. Soundness, there was none; nor had their hearts turned to Him that He who had smitten might bind them up in His grace and longsuffering. (Ironside, H. A. (1952). Expository notes on the prophet Isaiah. (pp. 9–11). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
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What a scathing rebuke have we here for any who would profess to draw near to God by sacramental observances while not born of His Spirit and broken before Him! Ritualism is an offence; religious exercises, as they are called, are filthy in His sight, if there be no true recognition of guilt and the need of atonement whereby iniquity may be purged. From all their solemn feasts and sacred seasons, Jehovah turned away in disgust. He would hide His face and close His ears, for the proof of their defiled condition was in their hands. (Ironside, H. A. (1952). Expository notes on the prophet Isaiah. (pp. 12–13). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
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The leaders of the people, who should have set an example of subjection to the Word of God, were rebellious and bribe-lovers. Righteous judgment was forgotten in the base desire for gain. (Ironside, H. A. (1952). Expository notes on the prophet Isaiah. (p. 15). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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These Things
“For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:8)
In this first chapter of Peter’s last epistle, he refers to “these things” (one word in the Greek) no less than six times. That they are extremely important things is evident from our text, but if these things are lacking, one is spiritually blind and has forgotten what Christ did for him in salvation (v. 9). However, if he does “these things,” he will never fall (v. 10).
What then are the things which Peter stresses so urgently? Verse 8 makes it obvious that they constitute simply the hierarchical catalog of Christian attributes listed in verses 6 and 7—that is, faith, virtue (strength of character), knowledge, temperance (self control), patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity (unselfish love).
The same word is used in verse 4, where it explains how we are enabled to acquire these traits of Christian character. “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these [‘by these things’] ye might be partakers of the divine nature.”
When these things characterize our lives, we become nothing less than Christlike. He, in His humanity, was all these things as He shared our nature, and we have become partakers of His divine nature when we manifest them.
The wonderful thing is that they are all mediated to us through the gracious promises of the Word of God. God promises, we believe, and then receive! There is an effectual promise for the achievement of each stage in the growth of a Christlike character. Indeed, as Peter had already said by way of introduction, “his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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Jude 1
Jude is challenged to earnestly contend for the faith against false teachers.
INSIGHT
False teachers were a major problem in the early church, and many of the epistles deal with them. Jude offers scathing rebukes and warnings to false teachers, but in addition he offers insights on how we can protect ourselves from them. In verses 20-21, Jude uses four phrases which are instructive: “building yourselves up” (studying and doing things to encourage your spiritual growth); “praying in the Holy Spirit” (cultivating a healthy prayer life); “keeping yourselves in the love of God” (monitoring your lifestyle and guarding against sin); and “looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (cultivating an eternal perspective).(Quiet Walk)
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PROMINENT DOCTORS SIGN “PETITION TO UPHOLD THE SCIENTIFIC DEFINITION OF SEX IN FEDERAL LAW AND POLICY” (Friday Church News Notes, December 21, 2018, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – Prominent medical doctors and other educators have signed a “Petition to Uphold the Scientific Definition of Sex in Federal Law and Policy.” It is addressed to the Trump administration. Following is an excerpt: “We, the undersigned medical, legal, and policy organizations and individuals applaud the Trump Administration’s intention to uphold the scientific definition of sex in federal law and policy, such that girls and women will regain their sex-based legal protections, and the human rights of all will be preserved. … Not only is an expanded definition of sex unscientific, but it has also proven harmful, as we detail below. According to the Institute of Medicine, sex is a narrowly defined biological term. Sex is a biological trait that defines living things as male and female based on the complement of sex chromosomes and the presence of reproductive organs. … Human sex is a binary, biologically determined, and immutable trait from conception forward. The norm for human design is to be conceived either male or female. Human sexuality is binary by design for the obvious purpose of the reproduction of our species. This principle is self-evident. ‘XY’ and ‘XX’ are genetic markers of male and female, respectively, and are found in every cell of the human body, including the brain. Sex is established at conception, declares itself in utero, and is acknowledged at birth. Sex differences are real and consequential. The Institute of Medicine recognized the singular importance of sex to health and the field of medicine nearly two decades ago. Sex chromosomes impart innate differences between men and women in literally every cell of our bodies. There are over 6500 shared genes that are expressed differently in human males and females. These differences impact our brains, organ systems, propensity for developing certain diseases, differential responses to drugs, toxins and pain, differential cognitive and emotional processes, behavior and more. … In reality, an individual who identifies as transgender remains either a biological male or female. … Sex is not a spectrum; congenital disorders are not additional sexes. The final result of sex development in humans is unambiguously male or female over 99.98 percent of the time. … The use of congenital disorders to advance the myth that there are a multitude of human sexes which exist on a spectrum is ideological and political activism, not science.” The petition has been signed by the chief officers of the American College of Pediatricians (Michelle Cretella, M.D. and Quentin Van Meter, M.D.), as well as many other medical doctors, psychiatrists, and law professors.
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FOLLOWING THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS IN PRAYER
And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. 1 John 5:15
One sees the very Son of God Himself at prayer. So if you are interested in the philosophical aspect of prayer, go immediately to the case of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is the only begotten, the eternal Son of God; there is the one who says of Himself that though He is upon earth, He is still in heaven; there is the one who says, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). Why had He any need to pray? Why, before choosing His disciples, did He spend all night in prayer? If you are interested in philosophical problems, answer that. Why was it ever necessary for the Son of God to pray so much while He was here on earth? And yet He did.
In other words, the Scripture teaches that prayer is essential and vital to us, and everywhere we are exhorted to it. Not only that, but if you read the lives of God’s greatest saints in the long history of the Church, you will find that they were men and women of prayer. I believe I am right in saying that John Wesley used to say that any Christian worthy of the name should spend at least four hours every day in prayer, and he tended to judge his people by that. There has never been a man or woman of God who has been singularly used of God in this world, but that they spent much time in prayer. The nearer people are to God, the more they pray to Him; so the testimony of the Christian Church supports the teaching of Scripture itself.
Furthermore, we have numerous incidents in Scripture of what God has clearly done by way of answer to prayer, and it seems to me that the explanation ultimately is not really difficult. The God who determines the end determines the means; and if God in His infinite wisdom is determined that He is going to bring certain things to pass as a result of and in answer to the prayers of His people, I ask with reverence, why shouldn’t He?
A Thought to Ponder: The nearer people are to God, the more they pray to Him, (From Life in God, pp. 116-117, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Yesterday, when our writing team gathered to discuss the horrific events at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, we struggled to know how to even process what had happened, much less what to say: Yet, another evil attack on vulnerable children; evil so shocking, it’s impossible to fathom; and, at the same time, a story horrifyingly familiar.
On Tuesday morning, an 18-year-old young man, after shooting his own grandmother, drove to his former elementary school, rammed through the security gate with his car, and barricaded himself in a classroom. Before it was all over, 19 children and two teachers had been killed.
As if that were not horrible enough, it came just days after two other mass shootings. On May 15, one man was killed and five more wounded at a California church, and the day before that, 10 were killed in a racially motivated assault in Buffalo, New York. Over 30 dead in less than a week. For what? This simply should not be.
We’re left with a lot of uncomfortable questions. How could anyone be capable of such evil? How long until something like this happens again? Why does this keep happening? Why so often here in America, but rarely elsewhere, in places like Britain or Australia? Why did it not happen here even a generation or two ago? What is plaguing young men in our culture, who are far more likely to commit acts of evil like this?
Basic clarity seems elusive, much less progress. As a friend pointed out, it’s alarming to think that younger generations are being conditioned to think that these events are normal occurrences, and that retreating to political corners and blaming others is the normal way to respond to them. That would be a tragedy upon a tragedy.
Still, what hasn’t changed is that God has called His people to a particular time and place, and He’s called us to be part of His redemptive work in the world in this time and this place. While the temptation to “just do something” at times like this is strong, it also quite often misleading. Thank God for the vast resources He has given us in Scripture, and how they apply even to times as confusing as these.
First, the psalms of lament and the imprecatory psalms offer godly direction for our rage and sorrow. Not just once or twice, but repeatedly, God invites His people to weep before Him for the sorrows of the world and to be angry at the injustices we experience. (Breakpoint)
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Tucked into a remote gorge in western Slovenia, a secret medical facility (Franja Partisan Hospital) housed an extensive staff that tended to thousands of wounded soldiers during World War II—all the while staying hidden from the Nazis. Though avoiding detection from numerous Nazi attempts to locate the facility is in itself a remarkable feat, even more remarkable is that the hospital (founded and run by the Slovenia resistance movement) cared for soldiers from both the Allied and Axis armies. The hospital welcomed everyone.
Scripture calls us to help the whole world to be spiritually healed. This means we need to have compassion for all—regardless of their views. Everyone, no matter their ideology, deserves Christ’s love and kindness. Paul insists that Jesus’ all-embracing love “compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all” (2 Corinthians 5:14). All of us suffer the sickness of sin. All of us are in desperate need of the healing of Jesus’ forgiveness. And He’s moved toward all of us in order to heal us.
Then, in a surprising move, God entrusted us with “the message of reconciliation” (v. 19). God invites us to tend to wounded and broken people (like us). We participate in healing work where the sick are made healthy through union with Him. And this reconciliation, this healing, is for all who will receive it.
(By Winn Collier, Our Daily Bread)
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This is about my uncles who service with there brothers (one was my father in the war:
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THANK YOU TO ALL OUR VETERANS FOR THEIR SERVICE!
This is going to probably be my longest post ever, but this subject deserves the space and time you spend reading it…so please do.
Every Veterans Day, I cannot help but think about my father, Jim Sharpe. We heard the story through the years about my father losing his brother in the war, more specificity the ‘Marine Campaign for Guadalcanal’.
But, I think it was really driven home to me when, I was taking a trip to Hawaii to celebrate the Millennium New Year 2,000 with friends. Before leaving my father called me and asked me to please stop by and see his brother John, who is buried in the Punchbowl Cemetery in Hawaii. I said, “Sure Dad, if I get a chance”. When my father called me three additional times to ask me to make sure I went to see John, I knew this was important to him. So, I did some research into the Gualalcanal Campaign and I couldn’t believe what my Dad and his brother had gone through.
I asked myself then as I still do today…”Could I dig a grave to bury one of my brothers? My father did! Could I endure the pain of physically lowering a beloved brother in the ground and saying goodbye forever? My father did! Could I bear to leave him alone on that Island, knowing, I promised to always take care of him? My father did! Thinking about this gave new meaning to the word ‘unbearable’.
My father had always been his younger brother’s protector his whole life. Dad, and his three brothers were taken to Father Baker’s Home for Boys when their parents had separated during the depression and the family was split up. They lived at Father Baker’s until all four of them were sent to a foster home. Staying together was not something that often happened, so they were lucky in that respect.
My Dad, Jim and his brother, John played together, studied together, and worked together at National Carbon Company in Niagara Falls. Soon after the battle of Wake Island, they enlisted in the United States Marine Corps together. The boys had never been separated before so it made sense to them to go off to war together. Seemed as though it just had to be that way.
They even managed to take training together and both embarked for overseas with the same contingent, 1st Marine Division. We know now that their destination was Guadalcanal. My Dad came back, but John never returned. John lost his life…”he went down only after a grim fight to the finish. He kept pounding away at the enemy just as long as he could stand; and then when he realized his time was up, he broke his gun in two and threw it away, so that the enemy could not use it further against his buddies. That’s the kind of courageous, unflinching Marine fighter Private John Sharpe proved to be.” This was an account by his fellow soldiers at the front line.
The brothers were not allowed to be on the front line at the same time so they alternated their positions. That day, John was up front and Dad was in the rears. When John was brought back, my Dad with the help of his buddies dug John’s grave. Dad made a cross and carved John’s name into it to mark his grave so that when they came back for the fallen they would be able to find him.
My Dad said, “The worse day of my life was leaving John on that Island …alone.” It was almost seven years after that day that John was brought back and buried in Hawaii in the Punchbowl Cemetery.
Dad went to Hawaii to see his brother at the Bunch bowl Cemetery. He even looked into whether he could be buried with John after his death. My father passed away several years ago and is buried in Texas where he made his home, but it is comforting to know that he is not separated from his brother anymore.
My father called me the morning that I left for Hawaii and said, “Bev if you get to see John, will you please tell him…
I love him and I still miss him.”
I love you Dad and I miss you too. And because I don’t think we said it often enough Dad…Thank you for your Service!
Did I Go See John? You’re Damn Right I Did!
John was awarded the Purple Heart & the coveted ‘Campaign Medal’
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