I am really glad that we are reading of the Consolation of Israel in Isaiah 40, 52-55 at Christmastime. These Scriptures prophesy of the coming of the Messiah. We probably will take more than one day to blog these passages because there is a lot of treasure hidden here. These Scriptures make me wish I were more of a Bible history/prophecy scholar. I am certain there is a lot of symbolism and meaning that we miss when we do not fully understand the history and culture behind the writing. So, if you could help me a little by researching these passages on your own, that would be terrific! If you find a really helpful internet site, or if you know of a great book on these topics, please let us know by clicking on the comment link on the blog.
Isaiah 40 begins with “Comfort, comfort my people—her sin has been doubly paid for.” Israel and Judah needed hope. Israel had already fallen into the hands of Assyria, and Isaiah had prophesied that Judah would be taken into captivity by Babylon. Chapters 40-66 of Isaiah foretell the restoration of the entire nation at the coming of the Suffering Servant. In the face of impending doom, Isaiah wrote of eternal hope. I can imagine that the captives in Babylon longed for God’s Comfort. They needed assurance that their punishment for sin had been paid and that they would soon be restored to relationship with their God. Are you in need of hope during these days of crisis? Look to Christ for your eternal Comfort. He is the only one who knows your future, and He wants to give you hope. Seek Him! (Jeremiah 29:11-14)
Isaiah 40:3-5—John the Baptist would fulfill this prophecy, as he came proclaiming the coming of the Messiah. Jesus was the glory of the LORD revealed. Glory means presence, and Jesus was Immanuel, God with us, the very presence of God come to earth. (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23) Hallelujah!
Isaiah 40:10—“the Sovereign LORD comes with power.” Israel and Judah needed God to rescue them with great power. Do you need Him also? Believe and trust that He is able!
Isaiah 40:11-14—Wow! I love these verses! If you are only reading my blog, and not the Word of God, then you are totally missing out. Get up out of your chair right now and read these words out of your Bible. Read it out loud. Savor the mental images of your LORD cradling you in His arms, carrying you close to your heart. Picture the God of the heavens measuring the waters in his hand, marking off the heavens with the breadth of his hand. He holds the dust of the earth in a basket! I have lived in places where the dust was abundant! It is hard to imagine it all gathered in one basket. God weighs the mountains on a scale. I have stood at the base of the Rocky Mountains, their grandeur towering over me. They are a small thing to be weighed in God’s perspective.
Take time to bask in the splendor of God, your Creator. To whom can we compare Him? He has no equal. He is the Holy One. Worship Him by reading aloud Isaiah 40:21-31. Please don’t cheat your relationship with the One True Savior by failing to bask in His majesty when He is inviting you to His throne. Savor the greatness of our God!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Hezekiah
My pastor for most of my growing up years was Brother Billy Rammage. And he loved to pull pranks. One of his favorites was to tell the congregation to turn to the book of Hezekiah. He liked to make up his own verses and quote from Hezekiah, such as, “Toot thy own horn,” Hez. 2:2. Brother Billy was the one who really taught me and my friends how to study God’s Word, and he challenged us to memorize Scripture. I am very fortunate to have had him for a mentor, even if he got a kick out of teasing us mercilessly.
So, even though Hezekiah doesn’t have his own book, he has enough chapters written about his life to have one: 2 Kings 18-20, 2 Chronicles 29-32, Isaiah 36-39. “He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done. Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the LORD and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses. And the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook.” (2 Kings 18:3, 5-7a) Let’s make it our goal to be that type of follower of the LORD, one who does what it right, who trusts God, holding fast to the LORD and never ceasing to follow Him. Hezekiah still had to face challenges during his rule. His life was not trouble-free. He faced illness and struggled with pride issues. He was human, just like you and me. Hezekiah was not perfect, but God used him mightily to impact the lives of people because Hezekiah was willing to trust God through good times and bad.
“And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: ‘O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to words Sennacherib [the enemy king] has sent to insult the living God. Now, O LORD, our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God.’” (2 Kings 19:15-16, 19) Once again, let me make the point that this is the type of prayer that God is most willing to answer. God delivers when our motivation is to make Him known to everyone around us.
The story of Hezekiah in 2 Chronicles focuses on the rebuilding of the temple and the celebrating of Passover. Hezekiah even invited Israel to join Judah in worshiping God. That’s awesome! “People of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may return to you. . . . Come to the sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the LORD your God, so that his fierce anger will turn away from you. . . . for the LORD your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.” (2 Chron. 30:6-9) Hezekiah sent the message to all the surrounding towns. “Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the LORD.” (2 Chron. 30:12) Unity of mind. Cool!
“In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, ‘This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.’ Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, ‘Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him: ‘Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you.’” (2 Kings 20:1-5b) When Hezekiah prayed for healing, he was able to remind God that he had been a faithful servant. Could I do the same?
While we are on the topic of praying for healing, honestly, it bothers me sometimes that all we ever pray for in our Sunday school classes is for sick people to be well. I suppose I need to consider that much of Jesus’ ministry was healing the sick. And Hezekiah is an example of God’s concern for his servants when they are ill. What is your opinion on this subject?
Unlike all the other kings of Judah and Israel, Hezekiah did stay true to following God his entire life. However, his pride was a stumbling block in the end. The king of Babylon sent Hezekiah a get-well card, and while the Babylonian messengers were at the palace to hand-deliver it, Hezekiah treated them to a tour. He showed them all his treasures. When they left, the prophet Isaiah told the king that everything the messengers saw would be carried off to Babylon in the future. Oops! Hezekiah flunked that test (2 Chronicles 32:31)
Isaiah was Hezekiah's priest and prophet. I wonder if they were good friends too. I wonder if Hezekiah was such a great king because of Isaiah's influence. It makes me thankful for the mentors in my life, people like my mom and Brother Billy, my Sunday school teachers, and Nick my BSU director. My husband is a terrific mentor in my life too. I think I'll tell my mentors "Thank You" today.
We will read Isaiah 40 and 52-55 next!
So, even though Hezekiah doesn’t have his own book, he has enough chapters written about his life to have one: 2 Kings 18-20, 2 Chronicles 29-32, Isaiah 36-39. “He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done. Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the LORD and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses. And the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook.” (2 Kings 18:3, 5-7a) Let’s make it our goal to be that type of follower of the LORD, one who does what it right, who trusts God, holding fast to the LORD and never ceasing to follow Him. Hezekiah still had to face challenges during his rule. His life was not trouble-free. He faced illness and struggled with pride issues. He was human, just like you and me. Hezekiah was not perfect, but God used him mightily to impact the lives of people because Hezekiah was willing to trust God through good times and bad.
“And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: ‘O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to words Sennacherib [the enemy king] has sent to insult the living God. Now, O LORD, our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God.’” (2 Kings 19:15-16, 19) Once again, let me make the point that this is the type of prayer that God is most willing to answer. God delivers when our motivation is to make Him known to everyone around us.
The story of Hezekiah in 2 Chronicles focuses on the rebuilding of the temple and the celebrating of Passover. Hezekiah even invited Israel to join Judah in worshiping God. That’s awesome! “People of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may return to you. . . . Come to the sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the LORD your God, so that his fierce anger will turn away from you. . . . for the LORD your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.” (2 Chron. 30:6-9) Hezekiah sent the message to all the surrounding towns. “Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the LORD.” (2 Chron. 30:12) Unity of mind. Cool!
“In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, ‘This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.’ Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, ‘Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him: ‘Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you.’” (2 Kings 20:1-5b) When Hezekiah prayed for healing, he was able to remind God that he had been a faithful servant. Could I do the same?
While we are on the topic of praying for healing, honestly, it bothers me sometimes that all we ever pray for in our Sunday school classes is for sick people to be well. I suppose I need to consider that much of Jesus’ ministry was healing the sick. And Hezekiah is an example of God’s concern for his servants when they are ill. What is your opinion on this subject?
Unlike all the other kings of Judah and Israel, Hezekiah did stay true to following God his entire life. However, his pride was a stumbling block in the end. The king of Babylon sent Hezekiah a get-well card, and while the Babylonian messengers were at the palace to hand-deliver it, Hezekiah treated them to a tour. He showed them all his treasures. When they left, the prophet Isaiah told the king that everything the messengers saw would be carried off to Babylon in the future. Oops! Hezekiah flunked that test (2 Chronicles 32:31)
Isaiah was Hezekiah's priest and prophet. I wonder if they were good friends too. I wonder if Hezekiah was such a great king because of Isaiah's influence. It makes me thankful for the mentors in my life, people like my mom and Brother Billy, my Sunday school teachers, and Nick my BSU director. My husband is a terrific mentor in my life too. I think I'll tell my mentors "Thank You" today.
We will read Isaiah 40 and 52-55 next!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Hosea 1-4
Let me just tell you how tempting it is to skip over Hosea and the rest of the Old Testament prophecies we still need to read on our Chronological reading list. Honestly, these stories just don’t mesh well with our postmodern theology of name it and claim it, health and wealth, prosperity gospel mindset. Haven’t you been taught in church that God isn’t going to call you to do something and not fully equip you to handle it? In your heart of hearts, don’t you feel like God would never ask you to do anything that is too hard? When you pray for God’s guidance, don’t you ask Him to give you a peace and a sense that everything is going to turn out according to your plans, oh I mean, according to God’s plans??? And when we say that we believe God wants the best for us, don’t we really mean that we believe God wants the easy road for us?
Well, when we take a good, hard look at the lives of most of God’s chosen ones anywhere in the Bible, they did not live easy lives. I really don’t find it biblical that a blessed life is particularly an easy life. Just look at Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus. The angel said Mary had found favor with God; yet God called Mary to a life of heartache and misery. And King David was a “man after God’s own heart”; yet his family life was a shambles with his children killing and raping one another and then attempting to overthrow David’s kingship. Sorry, I’m rambling. We’re supposed to be studying Hosea.
Hosea’s assignment from the LORD was to marry an adulterous wife and be a father to children conceived in unfaithfulness. Doesn’t sound like a cake walk to me! As a pastor’s wife, I know what it’s like to live in a fish bowl, where everyone can walk by and see everything that is going on in the life of your family. It especially feels like that right now because our house is located on the busiest street corner in the county! However, my situation is far more pleasant than Hosea and Gomer’s home life. Their family was called to be a reflection of God’s relationship to the unfaithful people of Israel. Their children were named things like “God scatters,” “Not loved,” and “Not my people.” Hosea was forced to buy back his own wife out of the trade of prostitution. I much prefer the calling that my own family has to play the role of the faithful Bride of Christ.
Chapters 1-4 of Hosea offer harsh criticism for Israel because of her unfaithfulness. My prayer for my family is that we will remain faithful and true to our love relationship with God. I want the following verses to be true of us, “In that day,” declares the LORD, “you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master.’ I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD.” (Hosea 2:16, 19-20)
In these passages there are two things Israel was punished for that are also very prevalent in our day. First, they did not acknowledge the blessings of God, and second, they rejected the knowledge of God. “She [Israel] has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold—which they used for Baal.” (Hosea 2:8) We have to teach our children that everything we have is from God. He is the One who provides for all our needs. Without God, we would have absolutely nothing. I am extremely thankful that my parents taught me that everything we have belongs to God, and we should share all we have with others. My mom would literally give away the farm if God told her to because she knows He is the rightful owner.
“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I will also ignore your children.” (Hosea 4:6) Ladies, you do NOT want God to ignore your children!!! But He says He will ignore them when we ignore our responsibility to teach them the law of God. Do you read the Bible with your children and grandchildren? Do you pray with them? Do you pray for them? Have you taught your children how to find the books in the Bible? Do you help them memorize Scripture? “Thy word have I hidden in my heart that I may not sin against Thee.” (Psalm 119:11) Have you helped your children come to trust Jesus as their Savior? As parents it is up to us to make sure our kids will spend eternity in heaven. Dr. James Dobson commented how tragic it would be to lose our children to eternity. Talk to your family about placing their faith in Jesus today, before it is too late.
Well, when we take a good, hard look at the lives of most of God’s chosen ones anywhere in the Bible, they did not live easy lives. I really don’t find it biblical that a blessed life is particularly an easy life. Just look at Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus. The angel said Mary had found favor with God; yet God called Mary to a life of heartache and misery. And King David was a “man after God’s own heart”; yet his family life was a shambles with his children killing and raping one another and then attempting to overthrow David’s kingship. Sorry, I’m rambling. We’re supposed to be studying Hosea.
Hosea’s assignment from the LORD was to marry an adulterous wife and be a father to children conceived in unfaithfulness. Doesn’t sound like a cake walk to me! As a pastor’s wife, I know what it’s like to live in a fish bowl, where everyone can walk by and see everything that is going on in the life of your family. It especially feels like that right now because our house is located on the busiest street corner in the county! However, my situation is far more pleasant than Hosea and Gomer’s home life. Their family was called to be a reflection of God’s relationship to the unfaithful people of Israel. Their children were named things like “God scatters,” “Not loved,” and “Not my people.” Hosea was forced to buy back his own wife out of the trade of prostitution. I much prefer the calling that my own family has to play the role of the faithful Bride of Christ.
Chapters 1-4 of Hosea offer harsh criticism for Israel because of her unfaithfulness. My prayer for my family is that we will remain faithful and true to our love relationship with God. I want the following verses to be true of us, “In that day,” declares the LORD, “you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master.’ I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD.” (Hosea 2:16, 19-20)
In these passages there are two things Israel was punished for that are also very prevalent in our day. First, they did not acknowledge the blessings of God, and second, they rejected the knowledge of God. “She [Israel] has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold—which they used for Baal.” (Hosea 2:8) We have to teach our children that everything we have is from God. He is the One who provides for all our needs. Without God, we would have absolutely nothing. I am extremely thankful that my parents taught me that everything we have belongs to God, and we should share all we have with others. My mom would literally give away the farm if God told her to because she knows He is the rightful owner.
“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I will also ignore your children.” (Hosea 4:6) Ladies, you do NOT want God to ignore your children!!! But He says He will ignore them when we ignore our responsibility to teach them the law of God. Do you read the Bible with your children and grandchildren? Do you pray with them? Do you pray for them? Have you taught your children how to find the books in the Bible? Do you help them memorize Scripture? “Thy word have I hidden in my heart that I may not sin against Thee.” (Psalm 119:11) Have you helped your children come to trust Jesus as their Savior? As parents it is up to us to make sure our kids will spend eternity in heaven. Dr. James Dobson commented how tragic it would be to lose our children to eternity. Talk to your family about placing their faith in Jesus today, before it is too late.
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