Some thoughts from today’s reading…

Hezekiah’s life is full of interesting events. He comes along and turns Israel back from their evil practices (or you could say he managed to restrain them from openly practicing these things like before), he renewed the temple worship by spurring the Levites to consecrate themselves to serve God and instituted a restoration of the temple, the passover was observed with such a crowd of worshipers that had not been seen since the times of Solomon and David, he even invited the people of the northern tribes to return to God, destroyed the idols, and he instituted other reforms. And yet it is during his reign that the armies of Assyria begin to invade Judah. It is during his reign that Jerusalem was besieged by an army of 185,000 plus and now we have him lying sick on his bed and told that he will die. To man these series of events in the life of a good king doesn’t make much sense. In many ways I think this demonstrates how different our perspective on life is than how God in His wisdom sees things. Judah needed to be punished for the rampant idolatry they had been practicing and the siege of Jerusalem turned into a great demonstration of God power. Even with Hezekiah’s illness, because he turns to God and pleads with Him he is granted an extension on life. There is no guarantees that anyone will live a long life. Not even a righteous person “deserves” to live long. And keep in mind that Hezekiah’s prayer would not have been heard in the first place had he not been a righteous man. All of these things is why I say that Hezekiah’s life was very interesting.

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

When Hezekiah gets the letter from the king of Assyria he takes it before God.  This may seem like an obvious response but there had been many kings who had tries to deal with things on their own.  There had also been many kings who would not have taken such offense at this blasphemy and torn their royal clothes to put on sackcloth.  Hezekiah demonstrated by his response that he indeed cared about serving God and about defending the name of God.  He indeed believed that Jehovah alone is God.  Because of his confidence and trust in God Jerusalem was delivered.

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

Verses 4-6 are good for illustrating how Isaiah gave many prophecies that were ultimately fulfilled in the Messiah.  Isaiah tells them to look forward to the time when the Lord would save them.  He would heal the blind, the deaf, the lame and the mute.  This is the response that Jesus quoted this passage when the disciples came from John and asked if He was the expected one or should they look for another (Luke 7:20-23).  The Lord would cause things to be renewed and for there to be a “highway of holiness” (vs. 8 ) upon which the redeemed would walk.  Isaiah was speaking of an event that would come several hundred years off in the future though.

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

The description of the destruction here makes me think of those old castle ruins that you see pictures of.  Did the castle fall in because of age or was there some huge battle.  Verse 13 mentions how thorns and thistles will come up in their fortified places.  All that would be left after God’s judgment would be a few places of crumbling buildings.  With the pictures of those castles we have to wonder at times what the “story” was behind the ruins.  With the scriptures we have recorded for us both the why and how the destruction came upon these nations.  They were brought down by God’s mighty hand.  Their armies were rendered useless and their cities overthrown.  The lessons from the result of their actions are preserved for our benefit.

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

The message from God turns to having a mixed message.  The beginning speaks of good things to come with a righteous king reigning.  Such righteous leaders will be like refuge from the wind or a storm or shade in a parched land.  They would give the land sweet rest and comfort.  But “within a year and a few days”, vs. 10, they would be troubled and the gathering from the land would cease and the palace would be abandoned.  This is such a dramatic turn.  The captivity for Judah will not be far off.  The people needed to prepare themselves by seeking God.  There would be a few good leaders before the fall but a complete turn around in Judah would not happen.

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

God’s message grows starkly more upbeat in the next few chapters.  In verse 5 He says that He will protect and deliver Jerusalem.  There was coming a day soon when they would cast away their idols and return to God.  Assyria would come upon Jerusalem and siege the city.  The people in their desperation would stop looking to Egypt or their idols for help and would turn to God.  In that day God would cause Assyria to “fall by a sword not of man.”  I believe this is what we find happening when the Assyrian king, Sennacherib, came with a mighty army but God destroyed 185,000 of them with His angel.  They were not destroyed by any weapon of man but by God’s power.  Yet another time when God displayed His power and called for Judah to be faithful to Him only, but they would not remain faithful.

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

The condition in Judah had become very dire.  The corruption had gotten to the point that even the priests and prophets were drunkards (vs. 7).  They were consumed by their drunkenness.  And yet they still  wouldn’t admit their condition.  Instead they viewed the commands of God with contempt.  The statement “order on order, line on line” reflects how they viewed God’s instructions as constant and unrelenting.  I picture this as someone saying they don’t want to hear instruction any longer because all they here is someone trying to tell them what to do.  God had been trying to instruct them about how to have rest and repose but they refused to listen.  This seems to be the case with many who are so far into sin.  They are steeped in their actions and drowning in the misery that results, and yet they still don’t want to hear from anyone how they can escape.  Instead they stiffen their neck and become indignant towards the message.  Sometimes it takes a complete breaking of someone’s will before they will heed instruction.  And so Jerusalem will be punished, stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive (vs. 13). 

But there is a glimmer of hope for God will lay a costly cornerstone in Zion, vs 16.  Again Isaiah gives a message projecting out to the time when God will bring back a chosen people to Himself through the Messiah.

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

The tricky part of this passage is trying to figure out exactly when “in that day” is referring to.  God speaks of pulverizing the altar stones into chalk.  He would also make the idols to be torn down.  Such a purging was accomplished through the destruction brought by Assyria on Israel and the subsequent banishment to captivity.  The remnant that returned did not seek out the idols as they had done before.  In verse 12 God speaks of threshing throughout Egypt and the Euphrates in which He would gather up all of the sons of Israel.  After this gathering they would come to the holy mountain at Jerusalem and worship the Lord.  Such language leads me to think more of an ultimate fulfillment of God gathering His people from all nations through Jesus.  This gathering would not be from only physical descendants of Jews but would include all those who became part of His people.  This passage represents well the difficulties that come with fully understanding all of the intricacies involved in some prophecies.

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

The earth is polluted by its inhabitants (vs. 5).  Whenever you look at how corrupt man is and what all he has gotten into it is impressive to think of the level of corruption.  Isaiah foretold of a time when men would be punished for this corruption.  I believe this was fulfilled sometime near when Tyre and the other nations spoken against were punished because he also mentions in verse 6 that few men would be left after this destruction.  Thus I do not believe it to be speaking of the final judgment nor the final destruction of this earth.  But it does bring you to start thinking about such a day.  A day when all rejoicing and celebrating will end because man will be judged for his sin.  May we ever strive to be ready for that day so that we are not caught unprepared and ready to meet the Father.

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

Tyre is another example of a place where God punished them because there was a standard, even for the Gentiles.  Tyre was a port city that was famous for its trading.  Its people had colonized much of the mediteranean region, especially in northern Africa.  The bounty of goods that came from these colonies made Tyre rich and very important to the area as a hub for trading.  But these riches also made them proud.  God punished them for their pride and made them a desolation.  It is so easy for man to be overcome by his money.  Once you have some then you begin to trust in it and rely on it.  it takes an exceptional people to remain true and faithful to God even during the times of wealthiness.