Isaiah 7:1-9:
When Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.
2 Now the house of David was told, “Aram has allied itself with Ephraim”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.
3 Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman’s Field. 4 Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood—because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. 5 Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted your ruin, saying, 6 “Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.” 7 Yet this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
“‘It will not take place,
it will not happen…
If you do not stand firm in your faith,
you will not stand at all.’”
My Understanding: I believe the Lord Jesus would have me look at this passage from Isaiah and look at how it can be practically, in principle, applied to our lives today. Judah was being faced with the real possibility of Jerusalem being overtaken by an alliance between the king of Aram and the king of Israel. When the house of David received this news, the hearts of Ahaz, Judah’s king, and the people of Judah were shaken. So, the Lord sent Isaiah to comfort Ahaz with words of encouragement to him to be careful, to keep calm, to not be afraid, and to not lose heart because of these “two smoldering stubs of firewood,” i.e. because of the fierce anger of Judah’s opponents in battle. Then, Isaiah said something we might not consider all that encouraging. He confirmed the fact that Judah’s opponents were indeed plotting Jerusalem’s ruin, yet the Lord assured Ahaz, Judah’s king, that it would not happen. So, Ahaz and his people were thus counseled by God to stand firm in their faith, for if they did not stand strong and steadfast in their faith, they would not stand at all.
We, as believers in Jesus Christ, and we, as human beings, will face many trials and tribulations in this life that will come to test our faith. God does not promise he will deliver us from every enemy coming against us in the physical realm, i.e. he will sometimes allow us to go through difficulties, persecutions, mistreatment, etc. to bring us closer to him, to mature us in Christ, to strengthen our faith and resolve to follow the Lord wherever he leads us, and to purify us and to make us holy. Even in the book of Revelation we read where the beast will be allowed to conquer the saints of God on a physical level and will be allowed to put them to death for their faith in Christ Jesus. Yet, a physical conquering of our lives does not have to equal being overtaken by our enemy, for the true conquest is when our enemy is able to defeat us in heart and faith to where we give up hope. So, that is why the Lord encourages us, no matter what we go through, to keep calm, to not be afraid, to not lose heart because of our enemies, but to stand firm in our faith, because God is with us!
Isaiah 8:11-22:
Fear God
11 The LORD spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people. He said:
12 “Do not call conspiracy
everything that these people call conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,
and do not dread it.
13 The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,
he is the one you are to fear,
he is the one you are to dread,
14 and he will be a sanctuary;
but for both houses of Israel he will be
a stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
a trap and a snare.
15 Many of them will stumble;
they will fall and be broken,
they will be snared and captured.”
16 Bind up the testimony
and seal up the law among my disciples.
17 I will wait for the LORD,
who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.
18 Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.
19 When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. 21 Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. 22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.
My Understanding: The feeling expressed here is that the people, who were recipients of Isaiah’s prophetic messages from God, were calling Isaiah’s prophesies of judgment against them “conspiracies,” and were perhaps even trying to get Isaiah to fear men over God and to reject these messages God had given to him. So, God placed his strong hand upon Isaiah, warning him not to follow the ways of the people nor to fear what they fear, but to fear God, and to regard him as holy. And God will be a sanctuary for his people, and he and his truth will be what cause men to stumble, to fall, to be broken, to be snared and captured, i.e. this is a picture of God’s divine judgment against the people because of their unbelief. So, the encouragement to Isaiah was to keep trusting in the Lord and to not fear man, and certainly not to follow the ways of men, including not agreeing to get his counsel from those who do not inquire of their God; from those who are spiritually dead; and/or from those who do not speak according to the word of God, for they have no light of dawn. Isaiah was to keep trusting in the Lord and to wait for the Lord to do what he said.
The message for us today is the same as what the Lord gave here to Isaiah. There will be many people among us who will try to get us to doubt God’s word to us, and who will try to get us to follow their ways (the ways of men) and to receive our counsel from men who do not speak according to the truths of God’s word, instead of us receiving our counsel from God and from his divine word to us, his people. Yet, we are not to follow the ways of the people, but we are to fear God and him alone. He is the one we are to regard as holy, and his words are to be trusted above all else. And, he will be our sanctuary. Yet, for those who refuse him and who refuse his words, he will be a rock that makes them stumble and fall, i.e. they will face judgment for their unbelief. Yet, we are to wait upon the Lord to fulfill all that he said he would do through his holy word, and we are to put our trust in him and in his promises to us, and we are to wait for the Lord. And, he will rescue us.
The Peace of Christ / An Original Work / October 31, 2011
Based off of Col. 3:1-17; Eph. 5:19-20
Let the word of Christ dwell in you,
As you teach with all wisdom,
Teaching one another to not
Think on earthly things;
Think instead on things above,
Where Christ sits with God, in love,
Saving us from all of our sins,
Cleansing us; made new within.
Let the peace of Christ rule your hearts,
As you sing songs unto Him;
Speak to one another with psalms,
Hymns, and spir’tual songs;
Always giving thanks to God,
In the name of Christ, His Son,
Who gave His life up for us all,
And gave us eternal life.
Let the love of Christ within you
Rule in your hearts; grace within,
Purifying you from your sin,
Make you whole within.
Forgive as the Lord forgave.
Show His kindness ev’ry day.
In word or deed, whate’er you do,
Glory give to Jesus Christ.
Song Lyrics @ Public Domain
Audio, song lyrics and sheet music (free):
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs2/home/songs/the-peace-of-christ
Song on video:
http://youtu.be/tW7HXchJ9qE
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