Tag: isa55

God Won’t Answer!

In today’s reading, we see the utter lack of respect Israel’s leaders have for God. “Son of man, tell the leaders of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: How dare you come to ask me for a message? As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, I will tell you nothing!’ (Ezekiel 20:3, NLT) Wow! God is absolutely not going to tell them anything! The shamelessness of Israel to think that they can wallow in their sin, their idolatry, their injustice, their utter blasphemy of God and His holiness, and then think that they can tap God for an answer and look into the future! Talk about a lack of spiritual self-awareness!

Why should God answer them? In Ezekiel 20:8, God says they rebelled against Him and would not listen. In Ezekiel 20:13, they rebelled and refused to obey His decrees. In Ezekiel 20:21, He says that their children, too, rebelled. Each time, God spared them from his wrath, desiring that they should repent, but they wouldn’t and didn’t. So, why should God listen to them now and give them an answer when their hearts are not different? God says, “I will tell you nothing.” 

What a reminder of the mercy and patience of God, yet that God will not be mocked by the unrepentant. What a reminder to call upon the Lord while He may be found. Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:6–7, KJV)

Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Ezekiel 20-21.

The End Has Come!

The time is come! In today’s reading, the prophet records several instances where the time has come. The time has come for what? The time for judgment; the end. …An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land. (Ezekiel 7:2, KJV) Now is the end come upon thee…(Ezekiel 7:3, KJV) …An evil, an only evil, behold, is come. (Ezekiel 7:5, KJV) An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come. (Ezekiel 7:6, KJV) …the time is come, the day of trouble is near…(Ezekiel 7:7, KJV) Behold the day, behold, it is come…(Ezekiel 7:10, KJV) The time is come, the day draweth near…(Ezekiel 7:12, KJV) Yes, after centuries of warning, after much patience and pleading, the time, the end, the day has come—such finality.

This is the day when Judah realizes that rejecting God isn’t worth it. That God allows them to receive what they have demanded. That the idols they worship are worthless on the day of calamity. That destruction and death are inseparable companions of sin. The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall know that I am the Lord. (Ezekiel 7:27, KJV) For Judah, it is too late; the end has come.

What an example to all to heed the call to repentance while God can be found! Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:6–7, KJV) The mercy of God, what an offer of hope before the end!

Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Ezekiel 5-8.

God’s Sovereignty & Man’s Responsibility!

Yesterday’s reading and today’s reading highlight God’s sovereignty over the nations. Reading these chapters exposes us to deep theological truth. For example, Scripture makes it clear that God is ruling in men’s affairs. Is man, therefore, responsible for his actions? If God raised Babylon to chasten Judah and exile her—and they do that—but then God holds them accountable and punishes Babylon for doing it, how do we reconcile this? 

A Mysterious Relationship

Great is the mysterious relationship between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. So often, to reconcile this mystery from our massively limited point of view and fit it neatly in our small box of understanding, we deny the one to support the other. Yet the Scriptures unite God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. Did not God harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he refused to let Israel go, yet hold Pharaoh responsible for his actions and judge him accordingly? Did not God bring Babylon against Judah and then hold Babylon responsible? 

The Stumbling Block

This does not have to be a stumbling block, though it often is. Notice what God says about Himself. 

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8–9, KJV) O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? (Romans 11:33–34, KJV)

Notice what Job said of God: For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment. (Job 9:32, KJV)

The sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man united are only stumbling blocks when we have a shallow view of God that fits inside our tiny box of reason. 

God Is Good

What was the testimony of those who saw Jesus on this earth? In Mark 7:37, they say that he did all things well. Acts 10:38 says that Jesus went about doing good. In Romans 8:28, we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God. The Bible says in James 1:17, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Many more verses reveal God to us—that God is good. So, can God be trusted?

The Power of Faith

What is it that pleases God? But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6, KJV) Can we trust God? Yes! Is He good? Yes! Is this trust bigger than our small perspective? Yes! Is God’s sovereignty and our responsibility a stumbling block? Not any longer! Humbling and yet comforting, isn’t it? What we can see by faith is amazing! By faith, let’s trust God and see past these stumbling blocks!

Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Jeremiah 49-50.

The Bread and Water of Life: An Invitation to the Hungry and Thirsty!

Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. (Isaiah 55:1, KJV)

Invited to Come

In previous chapters, Isaiah prophesied of God’s Suffering Servant who would come and provide salvation for the whole world. This morning, we read of an invitation to come and partake of this salvation. The appeal especially calls to the thirsty and poor. It calls to the outsider and the outcast. 

Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. (Isaiah 56:3, KJV) And notice Isaiah’s call for sinners to turn from sin. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:7, KJV)

The Appeal of Jesus

Let’s compare this with the appeal of the Suffering Servant in the New Testament.

…Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. (John 7:37, KJV) And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. (John 6:35, KJV)

The Mercy of God

What a promise and what an invitation! The promise is unrivaled by anything this world can offer. The invitation excludes none; all who thirst, come! Only the mind of God could and would conceive of such an offer and make it available to the unworthy! 

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9, KJV)

Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Isaiah 54-58.