1010.) Proverbs 24

Proverbs 24   (NRSV)

Do not envy the wicked,
nor desire to be with them;
² for their minds devise violence,
and their lips talk of mischief.

³ By wisdom a house is built,
and by understanding it is established;
⁴ by knowledge the rooms are filled
with all precious and pleasant riches.

“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”

–Jorge Luis Borges

⁵ Wise warriors are mightier than strong ones,
and those who have knowledge than those who have strength;
⁶ for by wise guidance you can wage your war,
and in abundance of counselors there is victory.
⁷ Wisdom is too high for fools;
in the gate they do not open their mouths.

⁸ Whoever plans to do evil
will be called a mischief-maker.
⁹ The devising of folly is sin,
and the scoffer is an abomination to all.

¹⁰ If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength being small;
¹¹ if you hold back from rescuing those taken away to death,
those who go staggering to the slaughter;
¹² if you say, “Look, we did not know this”—
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it?
And will he not repay all according to their deeds?

“The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a time of great moral crisis maintain their neutrality.”

–Dante

¹³ My child, eat honey, for it is good,
and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
¹⁴ Know that wisdom is such to your soul;
if you find it, you will find a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁵ Do not lie in wait like an outlaw against the home of the righteous;
do no violence to the place where the righteous live;
¹⁶ for though they fall seven times, they will rise again;
but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”

–Winston Churchill

¹⁷ Do not rejoice when your enemies fall,
and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble,
¹⁸ or else the Lord will see it and be displeased,
and turn away his anger from them.

Ephesians 4:32   (KJV)

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

¹⁹ Do not fret because of evildoers.
Do not envy the wicked;
²⁰ for the evil have no future;
the lamp of the wicked will go out.

²¹ My child, fear the Lord and the king,
and do not disobey either of them;
²² for disaster comes from them suddenly,
and who knows the ruin that both can bring?

Further Sayings of the Wise

²³     These also are sayings of the wise:

Partiality in judging is not good.
²⁴ Whoever says to the wicked, “You are innocent,”
will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations;
²⁵ but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight,
and a good blessing will come upon them.
²⁶ One who gives an honest answer
gives a kiss on the lips.

“We kiss and I feel like a millionaire.”

–Ali Harris

_________________________

Music:

HERE  is Faith Hill and “This Kiss.”

_________________________

²⁷ Prepare your work outside,
get everything ready for you in the field;
and after that build your house.

²⁸ Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause,
and do not deceive with your lips.
²⁹ Do not say, “I will do to others as they have done to me;
I will pay them back for what they have done.”

Ephesians 4:32   (CEV)

Be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.

³⁰ I passed by the field of one who was lazy,
by the vineyard of a stupid person;
³¹ and see, it was all overgrown with thorns;
the ground was covered with nettles,
and its stone wall was broken down.
³² Then I saw and considered it;
I looked and received instruction.
³³ A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
³⁴ and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want, like an armed warrior.

“Idleness brings want.”

–Aesop

_________________________

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)    New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Ephesians 4:32.    http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4MW1A4dEgBM/UFah_KIVPpI/AAAAAAAAI_s/KyIGYUyNTEA/s1600/ephesians+4-32.png

library.    http://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/the-best-places-to-be-if-you-love-books

take a stand.    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b1Q4CLo–FA/T1DiHElt_QI/AAAAAAAAAJA/prBFQQjEoWo/s1600/takestand_web.jpg

Failure isn’t falling down.   http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd5/lilmissmontana/scripture/Proverbs/ajustmanfallethseventimesandrisesagainProverbstwentyfoursixteen.gif

The Kiss, Times Square, 1945.    http://worldsfamousphotos.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/the_kiss.jpg

the ant and the grasshopper.    http://jokeapart.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/ant-n-grasshopper.png

1009.) Isaiah 57

Isaiah 57   (ESV)

Israel’s Futile Idolatry

The righteous man perishes,
and no one lays it to heart;
devout men are taken away,
while no one understands.
For the righteous man is taken away from calamity;
²  he enters into peace;
they rest in their beds
who walk in their uprightness.
³ But you, draw near,
sons of the sorceress,
offspring of the adulterer and the loose woman.
⁴ Whom are you mocking?
Against whom do you open your mouth wide
and stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
the offspring of deceit,
⁵ you who burn with lust among the oaks,
under every green tree,

Here, the Lord begins to expose the spiritual adultery of His people. They are “hot” with passion for other gods, worshipping them in the ritual worship places of Canaanite paganism (every green tree . . . among the smooth stones of the stream . . . on a high and lofty mountain).

In this picture, the Lord is the husband of Israel, and their passionate, chronic attraction for idols was like the lust of an adulterer. His people pursued the false gods like a lover runs after the focus of their love, and they yield themselves to the idols as a lover yields themselves to their beloved (you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me).

–David Guzik

who slaughter your children in the valleys,
under the clefts of the rocks?

One of the Canaanite gods the Israelites worshiped was named Molech, and he received children as sacrifices. Molech was “worshiped” by heating a metal statue representing the god until it was red hot, then by placing a living infant on the outstretched hands of the statue, while beating drums drowned out the screams of the child until it burned to death. Molech was one of the “lovers” God’s people went to in their spiritual adultery, when they forsook the Lord.

⁶ Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion;
they, they, are your lot;
to them you have poured out a drink offering,
you have brought a grain offering.
Shall I relent for these things?
⁷ On a high and lofty mountain
you have set your bed,
and there you went up to offer sacrifice.

“According to the presentation of verse seven, the whoredom of Judah is compared to that of an adulteress who has become so impudent that she no longer commits her sins in secret but publicly and shamelessly. She acts without and restraint and refuses to blush with shame.”

–Harry Bultema

⁸ Behind the door and the doorpost
you have set up your memorial;

In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, God told Israel to inscribe His name and His word on every door post.  Today it is known as a mezuzah.   Here, there is a perverse twisting of that — to remember their pagan gods “behind the doors and the doorpost.”

Geoffrey W. Grogan writes, “The sensitive Israelite reader would, of course, remember that it was the word of God — and, most aptly, the assertion that there is only one God — that was the be inscribed on the doors.”

for, deserting me, you have uncovered your bed,
you have gone up to it,
you have made it wide;
and you have made a covenant for yourself with them,
you have loved their bed,
you have looked on nakedness.
⁹ You journeyed to the king with oil
and multiplied your perfumes;
you sent your envoys far off,
and sent down even to Sheol.
¹⁰ You were wearied with the length of your way,
but you did not say, “It is hopeless”;
you found new life for your strength,
and so you were not faint.

¹¹ Whom did you dread and fear,
so that you lied,
and did not remember me,
did not lay it to heart?

Here, the Lord confronts the fact that His people do not fear Him, and that they do fear someone or something else.  Their superficial relationship was connected to a low view of God, and their lack of respect for Him.

Have I not held my peace, even for a long time,
and you do not fear me?

Why did God’s people lack respect for Him? In part, because He showed mercy and did not punish their sin immediately. They made a crucial error, common to fallen humanity: they mistook God’s mercy and forbearance for weakness or lack of resolve. 

–David Guzik

¹² I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,
but they will not profit you.
¹³ When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!
The wind will carry them all off,
a breath will take them away.
But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land
and shall inherit my holy mountain.

Comfort for the Contrite

¹⁴ And it shall be said,
“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
remove every obstruction from my people’s way.”

In the next verses, Isaiah teaches the people what they need to know to be right with God.

1)  They must understand and respect His great majesty.

2)  They must be humble and contrite before the Lord who is holy and high and lifted up.

3)  They must believe that God acts out of love.  Even His discipline is meant for their ultimate good.

4)  They must know that lasting peace comes only from God and God is willing to bestow it upon His children.

¹⁵ For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
¹⁶ For I will not contend forever,
nor will I always be angry;
for the spirit would grow faint before me,
and the breath of life that I made.
¹⁷ Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry,
I struck him; I hid my face and was angry,
but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.
¹⁸ I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners,
¹⁹     creating the fruit of the lips.
Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the Lord,
“and I will heal him.

This promise is fulfilled perfectly in Christ.

Ephesians 2:17   (NLT)

He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near.

This peace is God’s shalom, which is more than the absence of hostility; it is the gift of precious well-being.

²⁰ But the wicked are like the tossing sea;
for it cannot be quiet,
and its waters toss up mire and dirt.
²¹ There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

_________________________

Music:

No peace for the wicked, but we who have confessed Christ as Lord have peace in Jesus, the Prince of peace.  HERE  is Mark Condon and “Peace of God, Cover Me.”

Peace of God… Cover me
Cover me… Cover me….
Peace of God. Cover me…
Through the Storm.. Cover me..

Only in You I am safe
Only in You I’m secure
Only in You I find peace
So Cover me… Cover me….

Cover me when I am hurting
Cover me when I’m not strong
Cover me when I am going through
The Storm………
Cover me when all seems hopeless
Cover me when my faith is gone
Let the Peace that passes all I understand
Cover Me….. Cover Me…

_________________________

English Standard Version (ESV)   The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Images courtesy of:

rainbow.    http://www.tidingsofcomfort.com/assets/isaiah_57_15_holy_spirit.jpg

drawing of Molech.    http://www.whale.to/b/020105bgrove6.jpg

mezuzah.    http://i.ytimg.com/vi/GpSb9CLRWzc/0.jpg

The Lord is not slow.    http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-28b5kChvM8k/UCnyFcYJc6I/AAAAAAAADyI/1vWfuWLlQIE/s1600/IMG_1373_b.JPG

Shalom.    http://saintsofyah.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/shalom.gif

1008.) Isaiah 56

Isaiah 56   (ESV)

Salvation for Foreigners

Thus says the Lord:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my righteousness be revealed.
² Blessed is the man who does this,
and the son of man who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,
and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

We are to continue with these good things—keeping justice, doing righteousness, honoring the Sabbath—in anticipation of what God will do!  Perhaps your life has been hard recently, and you are a little tired and even discouraged.  Take heart!  God is blessing your obedience!

³ Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,
“The Lord will surely separate me from his people”;

Who can be saved?  Not only the Jews!  All sorts of others, be they local or far-away, young or old, sick or well, rich or poor—all who turn their hearts truly towards God!  Those who obey the Word of the Lord will belong to Christ’s kingdom!  Here we will find true diversity and sincere unity combined!

and let not the eunuch say,
“Behold, I am a dry tree.”
⁴ For thus says the Lord:
“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant,
⁵ I will give in my house and within my walls
a monument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.

Yad Vashem  is Israel’s official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust,  established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.  Yad Vashem is the second most-visited tourist site in Israel, after the Western Wall.

The name “Yad Vashem” is taken from a verse in the Book of Isaiah:  “Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name (yad vashem) better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off” (Isaiah 56:5). Naming the Holocaust memorial “yad vashem” conveys the idea of establishing a national depository for the names of Jewish victims who have no one to carry their name after death.

–Wikipedia

⁶ “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
and to be his servants,
everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
and holds fast my covenant—
⁷ these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.”

Mark 11:15-18   (NLT)

Jesus Clears the Temple

When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”

When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching.

⁸ The Lord God,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,
“I will gather yet others to him
besides those already gathered.”

Israel’s Irresponsible Leaders

⁹ All you beasts of the field, come to devour—
all you beasts in the forest.

Beasts of the field — a metaphor for hostile nations.

¹⁰ His watchmen are blind;

Blind watchmen, silent dogs, shepherds without understanding — various negative references to the leaders of Israel.

they are all without knowledge;
they are all silent dogs;
they cannot bark,
dreaming, lying down,
loving to slumber.
¹¹ The dogs have a mighty appetite;
they never have enough.
But they are shepherds who have no understanding;
they have all turned to their own way,
each to his own gain, one and all.
¹² “Come,” they say, “let me get wine;
let us fill ourselves with strong drink;
and tomorrow will be like this day,
great beyond measure.”

_________________________

Music:

HERE  is Delirious and “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever.”  The Lord has welcomed us into His forever family.  God has written our names on the palm of His hand.  He has given us every breath and guided us step by step.  His love was irrevocably proved when He sent Jesus to be our Savior.  Indeed, we can sing of His love forever!

_________________________

English Standard Version (ESV)   The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Images courtesy of:

Isaiah 56:1.    http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5BbCJpnBarw/UNMsRWzXUjI/AAAAAAAAA30/xStPcjP4P6k/s1600/Isaiah-56.1.jpg

many people praising God.    http://impacteternity.com/images/appendix1.GIF

Yad Vashem, the Hall of Names.    http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bR0e87ZFbWI/TRCkEAhVkTI/AAAAAAAAAXk/I6J79BHqmsc/s1600/hall%2Bof%2Bnames%2B2%2Byossi.jpg

Jesus clears the temple, by Eric de Saussure, 1968.    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pKxJGDbWZho/URX9jZDSTJI/AAAAAAAABnc/P6P2QkTsZPk/s1600/jesus-clears-the-temple-modern1.jpg

1007.) Isaiah 55

Isaiah 55   (ESV)

The Compassion of the Lord

“Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.

William MacDonald says that the “blessings are the waters of the Holy Spirit, the wine of joy, and the milk of the good Word of God.”

² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
³ Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
⁴ Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander for the peoples.
⁵ Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,
and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,
for he has glorified you.

⁶ “Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;

2 Corinthians 6:1-2   (NIV)

As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says,

“In the time of my favor I heard you,
    and in the day of salvation I helped you.”

I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

⁷ let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

from Experiencing God Day-by-Day,
by Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby

GOD’S WAYS ARE NOT OUR WAYS

Rarely does God do things exactly as we think He will.  Our problem is that we try to second-guess God, saying, “Oh, now I know what God is planning to do!”  Moses experienced this as he learned how God was going to deliver the Hebrews out of Egypt.  God told him He would harden Pharaoh’s heart.  Yet, the result was not what Moses anticipated.  Rather than allowing the Hebrews to leave, Pharaoh increased their hardship.  Rather than becoming a hero among the Hebrews, Moses was despised by them for bringing greater suffering.  Moses returned to the Lord and ask, “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people?  Why is it You have sent me?” (Exodus 5:22).  Much of the frustration we experience as Christians has nothing to do with what God does or doesn’t do.  It has everything to do, rather, with the false assumptions we make about how we think God will and should act.

Have you ever done the will of God and then things seemed to become worse?  Moses completely misunderstood what the results of his obedience to God would be.  When things did not turn out as anticipated, Moses became discouraged.  God had told Moses what to do, but He had not told Moses what the consequences would be.

It is foolish to attempt to do God’s work  using your own “common sense.”  God does not eliminate your common sense.  He consecrates it.  He gives you His wisdom so you can understand His ways.

¹⁰ “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
¹¹ so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

¹² “For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord,
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

_________________________

Music:

I love the visual of the trees clapping their hands!  HERE  is “Go Out with Joy” by the Maranatha Singers.

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English Standard Version (ESV)   The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Images courtesy of:

You are invited.    http://brighton.org.sg/home/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Isaiah55-New.jpg

My thoughts are not your thoughts.    http://www.malankaraworld.com/Newsletter/images/isaiah55_8-9.jpg

You shall go out in joy.    http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3024/2971403541_1e224408e3.jpg

1006.) Isaiah 54

Isaiah 54   (ESV)

The Eternal Covenant of Peace

“Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
break forth into singing and cry aloud,
you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord.
² “Enlarge the place of your tent,
and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
and strengthen your stakes.
³ For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,
and your offspring will possess the nations
and will people the desolate cities.

⁴ “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed;
be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
⁵ For your Maker is your husband,
the Lord of hosts is his name;

Dennis F. Kinlaw compares our relationship to Jesus with characteristics of a marriage relationship.  First, he says, marriage is exclusive.  “You shall have no other gods before Me.”  Second, marriage touches every aspect of our existence.  The totality of the commitment means there are no areas of our life that are left unaffected.  Finally, marriage is a permanent relationship.  Jesus has promised never to leave  us or forsake us.

and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
the God of the whole earth he is called.
⁶ For the Lord has called you
like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
says your God.
⁷ For a brief moment I deserted you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
⁸ In overflowing anger for a moment
I hid my face from you,
but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
says the Lord, your Redeemer.

⁹ “This is like the days of Noah to me:
as I swore that the waters of Noah
should no more go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,
and will not rebuke you.
¹⁰ For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

Today is the 100th birthday anniversary of my husband’s father.  Tom Mitchell was born in Michigan but spent most of his life in Ohio.  After retiring from his job, he and his wife moved to California, where he spent the next 13 years ministering in a church and working especially with the seniors there.  He often said those were the best years of his life.  Tom’s faithful life has left my husband David with (at least) two lasting impressions:  1) that a Christian need never retire from doing Kingdom work, and 2) that the steadfast love of the Lord presents new gifts day after day one’s whole life long.

_________________________

Music:

Tom Mitchell liked hearing Steve Green sing, and this song from Steve Green reminds David of his dad’s joyful faithfulness to the Lord.  Click  HERE  for Steve Green and “Find Us Faithful.”

_________________________

¹¹ “O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,
behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
and lay your foundations with sapphires.
¹² I will make your pinnacles of agate,
your gates of carbuncles,
and all your wall of precious stones.

Jerusalem will be restored to rich beauty.

¹³ All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
and great shall be the peace of your children.
¹⁴ In righteousness you shall be established;
you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
and from terror, for it shall not come near you.

Divine education will be given to all, and prosperity will abound.  Righteousness will prevail.

¹⁵ If anyone stirs up strife,
it is not from me;
whoever stirs up strife with you
shall fall because of you.
¹⁶ Behold, I have created the smith
who blows the fire of coals
and produces a weapon for its purpose.
I have also created the ravager to destroy;

¹⁷ no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,
and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”

_________________________

English Standard Version (ESV)   The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Images courtesy of:

His love endures forever.    http://th05.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2012/157/9/e/god__s_love_endures_forever__by_wawaw1111-d52k7vs.jpg

prayer of Jabez.    http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5msd2Ctx0Vc/TYLpvwPad6I/AAAAAAAAAgk/sqDLNxuV0pM/s1600/image525new.JPG

wedding rings.    http://www.myfavjewelry.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Jewelry-Wedding-Rings1.jpg

mountains.   http://wallpaper4god.com/wallpapers/isaiah-5410_3675_1600x1200.jpg

sapphire.    http://www.stallandkessler.com/files/htrf/sapphire.jpg

The Lord Our Righteousness.    http://sovjoy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Lord-our-Righteousness.jpg

No weapon formed against you.    http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/2748/isaiah5417copysg2.jpg

1005.) Isaiah 53

Isaiah 53    (ESV)

Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
² For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.

“Christ” by Lisa Turnquist

³ He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

⁴ Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.

Hebrews 2:17-18   (NIV)

For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.  Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.

1 Peter 2:24   (NIV)

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

John 10:14-15   (NLT)

“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.”

⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.

1 Peter 2:23 (NIV)

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?

The holiest site in Christianity: the tomb of Christ inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This slab is believed to be where Jesus’ body was laid in the tomb. The vase of candles marks the place where his head was. The banner behind it varies with the liturgical seasons: this one is after Easter and says “Christ is Risen.” Photo © http://www.HolyLandPhotos.org.

⁹ And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

¹¹ Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.

1 Corinthians 15:26   (NLT)

And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.

¹² Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.

_________________________

Music:

HERE,  from Handel’s Messiah — “Surely He hath borne our griefs,” The King’s College, Cambridge.  The music is followed by a recitation of a poem, “The Coming,” by R. S. Thomas.

Click  HERE  to see the poem.

_________________________

English Standard Version (ESV)   The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Images courtesy of:

This chapter.    http://menashedovid1.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/chos.jpg

Turnquist.    http://lisaturnquist.com/works/lisaturnquist/resized/image.w450h450.jpg?2008

He took on our pain.    http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sn2tC0Yot4A/TbGBk7e7pcI/AAAAAAAACig/ETUk3BjLAYo/s1600/007.JPG

But he was pierced.    http://files-cdn.formspring.me/photos/20120405/n4f7e4e446f66d.jpg

We all, like sheep.   http://oneyearbibleimages.com/isaiah53_6.jpg

Jesus beaten and taken to Calvary.    http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qpE5hNwi618/S7UUHbf3QTI/AAAAAAAAFiE/1KHMpoHkeGk/s1600/exedesan+me.jpg

Jesus with the crown of thorns.    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UVCeRUjvCEs/UIOb1EV66fI/AAAAAAAAELw/cHPx6nQsvOE/s1600/jesus-crucified.jpg

Jesus lives to intercede.   http://newlifeaghyd.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/intercession2.jpg

1004.) Isaiah 52

Isaiah 52   (ESV)

The Lord’s Coming Salvation

Wake up to the Lord’s redemption of Zion!

Awake, awake,
put on your strength, O Zion;
put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city;
for there shall no more come into you
the uncircumcised and the unclean.
² Shake yourself from the dust and arise;
be seated, O Jerusalem;
loose the bonds from your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion.

The Lord vindicates His name before those who blaspheme His name!

³ For thus says the Lord: “You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.”

You shall be redeemed without money – but it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t cost anything. The end of Isaiah 52 begins to describe the great cost of redemption, but it is a cost paid by another.

–David Guzik

⁴ For thus says the Lord God: “My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing. ⁵ Now therefore what have I here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail,” declares the Lord, “and continually all the day my name is despised. ⁶ Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.”

The whole earth sees that the Lord redeems Zion!

⁷ How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
⁸ The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice;
together they sing for joy;
for eye to eye they see
the return of the Lord to Zion.
⁹ Break forth together into singing,
you waste places of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people;
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰ The Lord has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.

A call to and confidence for those who will return!

¹¹ Depart, depart, go out from there;
touch no unclean thing;
go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves,
you who bear the vessels of the Lord.
¹² For you shall not go out in haste,
and you shall not go in flight,
for the Lord will go before you,
and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions

The exaltation and humiliation of the Servant of the Lord brings salvation to many nations!

¹³ Behold, my servant shall act wisely;
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
¹⁴ As many were astonished at you—
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
¹⁵ so shall he sprinkle many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
for that which has not been told them they see,
and that which they have not heard they understand.

At His first coming (v. 14), many were astonished at the depths of His suffering.  His face and His body were marred beyond recognition as a man.

But when He comes again (v. 15), men will be startled at the magnificence of His glory.  They will understand then that the humble Man of Calvary is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

–William MacDonald

_________________________

Music:

Verse 7:  

How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”

Click  HERE  for  “Our God Reigns.”  It is, admittedly, a repetitive song; as it runs through your mind today, let it not be an annoyance, but rather let it be an inspiration to praise.

_________________________

English Standard Version (ESV)   The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Images courtesy of:

How beautiful on the mountains.    http://www.confessionsofasnowflake.com/wp-content/uploads/image-import/_zg9UXNiSVOg/S6BAA7q1_gI/AAAAAAAABEA/f5VBYHkQr0M/s1600-h/Isaiah_52.jpg

Blessed be the name of the Lord.    http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2qigmqlJK1qen423o1_400.jpg

to save the world.    http://data.whicdn.com/images/30285921/tumblr_lxgjh6duu71r1pokbo1_500_thumb.jpg

The Lord our God is with you.    http://img3.etsystatic.com/000/0/5275793/il_570xN.178843287.jpg

Jesus on the cross.    http://hello.becbygrace.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/jesus-on-the-cross.png

1003.) Isaiah 51

Isaiah 51   (ESV)

The Lord’s Comfort for Zion

“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the Lord:
look to the rock from which you were hewn,
and to the quarry from which you were dug.

² Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah who bore you;
for he was but one when I called him,
that I might bless him and multiply him.

Hebrews 11:11-12   (NLT)

It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.

³ For the Lord comforts Zion;
he comforts all her waste places
and makes her wilderness like Eden,
her desert like the garden of the Lord;
joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the voice of song.

⁴ “Give attention to me, my people,
and give ear to me, my nation;
for a law will go out from me,
and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.
⁵ My righteousness draws near,
my salvation has gone out,
and my arms will judge the peoples;
the coastlands hope for me,
and for my arm they wait.
⁶ Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;
but my salvation will be forever,
and my righteousness will never be dismayed.

Mark 13:31   (NLT)

Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.

God’s people will be eternally secure in the salvation and righteousness of Christ!

⁷ “Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
the people in whose heart is my law;
fear not the reproach of man,
nor be dismayed at their revilings.
⁸ For the moth will eat them up like a garment,
and the worm will eat them like wool;
but my righteousness will be forever,
and my salvation to all generations.”

⁹ Awake, awake, put on strength,
O arm of the Lord;
awake, as in days of old,
the generations of long ago.
Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,
who pierced the dragon?

¹⁰ Was it not you who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
who made the depths of the sea a way
for the redeemed to pass over?

Psalm 106:9   (NIV)

He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;
    he led them through the depths as through a desert.

¹¹ And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

¹² “I, I am he who comforts you;
who are you that you are afraid of man who dies,
of the son of man who is made like grass,
¹³ and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,
who stretched out the heavens
and laid the foundations of the earth,
and you fear continually all the day
because of the wrath of the oppressor,
when he sets himself to destroy?
And where is the wrath of the oppressor?
¹⁴ He who is bowed down shall speedily be released;
he shall not die and go down to the pit,
neither shall his bread be lacking.
¹⁵ I am the Lord your God,
who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—
the Lord of hosts is his name.

¹⁶ And I have put my words in your mouth
and covered you in the shadow of my hand,

Exodus 33:17-23   (NIV)

And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

establishing the heavens
and laying the foundations of the earth,
and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”

¹⁷ Wake yourself, wake yourself,
stand up, O Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord
the cup of his wrath,
who have drunk to the dregs
the bowl, the cup of staggering.
¹⁸ There is none to guide her
among all the sons she has borne;
there is none to take her by the hand
among all the sons she has brought up.
¹⁹ These two things have happened to you—
who will console you?—
devastation and destruction, famine and sword;
who will comfort you?
²⁰ Your sons have fainted;
they lie at the head of every street
like an antelope in a net;
they are full of the wrath of the Lord,
the rebuke of your God.

²¹ Therefore hear this, you who are afflicted,
who are drunk, but not with wine:
²² Thus says your Lord, the Lord,
your God who pleads the cause of his people:
“Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering;
the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more;
²³ and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,
who have said to you,
‘Bow down, that we may pass over’;
and you have made your back like the ground
and like the street for them to pass over.”

This “barbaric practice . . . is well documented in the ancient Near East, featured especially, but not exclusively, in Assyrian inscriptions” (Geoffrey W. Grogan). But God will give this humiliation to those who humiliated His people.

–David Guzik

_________________________

Music:

Click  HERE  to hear John Foley sing “Turn to Me.”  Oh, Jesus, may my heart and mind and soul be turned to you today!
Based on Isaiah 45: 22-23 and Isaiah 51: 12,4,6

ANTIPHON
Turn to me, O man and be saved,
Says the Lord for I am God;
There is no other, none beside me.
I call your name.

1… I am He that comforts you;
Who are you to be afraid of man who dies,
is made like the grass of the fields, soon to wither.

2…Listen to me, my people;
Give ear to me my nation:
a law will go forth from me,
and my justice for a light to the people.

3…Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth down below.
The heavens will vanish like smoke,
and the earth will wear out like a garment.

_________________________

English Standard Version (ESV)   The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Images courtesy of:

pink rose.    http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4018/4677589731_170a97c572_z.jpg

Abraham and Sarah.    http://whenintime.com/EventDetails.aspx?e=955fa390-6c2c-419e-a726-ad929b6ca360&t=/tl/fish321/Events_of_the_Bible/

sun, earth, moon.    http://www.zonu.com/fullsize-en/2009-11-06-10886/The-earth-moon-and-sun.html

Red Sea.    http://www.comeandseeicons.com/m/inp159.jpg

Moses in the cleft of the rock.    http://jackbaumgartner.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/moses-in-the-cleft.jpg

1002.) Isaiah 50

Isaiah 50   (ESV)

Israel’s Sin and the Servant’s Obedience

Thus says the Lord:
“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce,
with which I sent her away?
Or which of my creditors is it
to whom I have sold you?
Behold, for your iniquities you were sold,
and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.

“The people of Israel in exile are likening themselves to a divorced wife, forgotten and forsaken of God. The Lord interrupts this kind of thinking, and breaks into it with a challenge to His people, saying: ‘Where is the bill of divorcement? Produce it. Produce the bill and show me where I divorced you.’ But Israel cannot do it. Of course she cannot find it, because He has never given it to her. God cannot divorce those whom He has taken into covenant relationship with Himself.”

–Alan Redpath

“Divorce accuses unfailing love of failure; slavery accuses sovereign power of weakness and sovereign resources of inadequacy. The truth, however, is very different, for it was all a matter of due reward of sins.”

–J. Alec Motyer

² Why, when I came, was there no man;
why, when I called, was there no one to answer?

“Here the Lord compares Himself to a man and father of a household who is treated shamefully by his own wife and children. When he came home, there was no one to welcome him and when he called, no one answered him. Hence, He who had the right to all their respect was treated as one without any rights.”

–Harry Bultema

Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?
Or have I no power to deliver?
Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea,
I make the rivers a desert;
their fish stink for lack of water
and die of thirst.
³ I clothe the heavens with blackness
and make sackcloth their covering.”

Spurgeon relates this to the crucifixion: “The last miracle recorded here, namely, that of covering the heavens with sackcloth, was performed by our Lord even when he was in his death agony. We read that, at high noon, the sun was veiled, and there was darkness over all the land for three black hours. Wonder of wonders, he who hung bleeding there had wrought that mighty marvel! The sun had looked upon him hanging on the cross, and, as if in horror, had covered its face, and traveled on in tenfold night. The tears of Jesus quenched the light of the sun. Had he been wrathful, he might have put out its light for ever; but his love not only restored that light, but it has given to us a light a thousand times more precious, even the light of everlasting life and joy.”

⁴ The Lord God has given me
the tongue of those who are taught,
that I may know how to sustain with a word
him who is weary.
Morning by morning he awakens;
he awakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.
⁵ The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious;
I turned not backward.
⁶ I gave my back to those who strike,
and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
from disgrace and spitting.

This prophecy speaks in chilling detail of the sufferings of the Messiah. We know that Jesus was beaten on the back (Mark 15:15). We know Jesus was beaten on the face (Luke 22:63-65). We know that Jesus was mocked and spat upon (Mark 15:19-20).

–David Guzik

⁷ But the Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
⁸     He who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who is my adversary?
Let him come near to me.
⁹ Behold, the Lord God helps me;
who will declare me guilty?

Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up.

¹⁰ Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys the voice of his servant?
Let him who walks in darkness
and has no light
trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on his God.

1 John 1:5-9   (NIV)

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

¹¹ Behold, all you who kindle a fire,
who equip yourselves with burning torches!
Walk by the light of your fire,
and by the torches that you have kindled!
This you have from my hand:
you shall lie down in torment.

_________________________

Music:

Click  HERE   to join Chris Tomlin in “Our God.”  Let us not neglect to praise the Lord for who he is, almighty and everlasting!

_________________________

English Standard Version (ESV)   The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Images courtesy of:

Philippians 2:8.    http://wallpaper4god.com/wallpapers/philippians-28_4494_1024x768.jpg

divorce decree.    http://www.criminaljusticedegreesguide.com/wp-content/uploads/image/30%20blogs%20to%20help%20you%20get%20through%20a%20divorce.jpg

darkness at crucifixion.    http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/crucifixion.gif

If God be for us.    https://www.versaday.com/images/Months/1010/1014-ROM008031ENGKJV08000480-000.jpg

John Calvin.    http://blog.logoscdn.com/wp-content/uploads/Quotations-Slide-Carlyle.png-620×348.png

1001.) Isaiah 49

Isaiah 49   (ESV)

The Servant of the Lord

Listen to me, O coastlands,
and give attention, you peoples from afar.
The Lord called me from the womb,
from the body of my mother he named my name.

² He made my mouth like a sharp sword;
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow;
in his quiver he hid me away.
³ And he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
⁴ But I said, “I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my right is with the Lord,
and my recompense with my God.”

⁵ And now the Lord says,
he who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him;
and that Israel might be gathered to him—

One purpose of the Servant is to reconcile the people of Israel with God.

Psalm 98:3   (NIV)

He has remembered his love
    and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
    the salvation of our God.

for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord,
and my God has become my strength—
⁶ he says:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
I will make you as a light for the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Another of the Servant’s purposes is to bring the gospel to all nations.

Psalm 98:3   (NIV)

He has remembered his love
    and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
    the salvation of our God.

⁷ Thus says the Lord,
the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,
the servant of rulers:
“Kings shall see and arise;
princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

The Restoration of Israel

⁸ Thus says the Lord:
“In a time of favor I have answered you;
in a day of salvation I have helped you;
I will keep you and give you
as a covenant to the people,
to establish the land,
to apportion the desolate heritages,
⁹ saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’
to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’
They shall feed along the ways;
on all bare heights shall be their pasture;
¹⁰ they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,
for he who has pity on them will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.

Isaiah’s listeners would hear echoes of the exodus story here, and would remember accounts of the wandering in the wilderness.

Exodus 15:13   (NIV)

In your unfailing love you will lead
    the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
    to your holy dwelling.

¹¹ And I will make all my mountains a road,
and my highways shall be raised up.
¹² Behold, these shall come from afar,
and behold, these from the north and from the west,
and these from the land of Syene.”

¹³ Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord has comforted his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted.

¹⁴ But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”

¹⁵ “Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.

from Experiencing God Day-by-Day,
by Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby

GOD WILL NOT FORGET

God never becomes preoccupied or neglectful toward one of His children.  God said it would be more likely for a nursing mother to forget the infant at her breast than for Him to forget on of His children!  The nursing mother has a keen sensitivity to her baby.  Even if the infant is in another room the mother’s senses are in tune with her child.  The mother knows when it is time to feed and care for the child.  The mother never becomes so preoccupied with other things that she neglects the needs of her child.

It is fitting that God chose this imagery to describe how He looks after His people, for He is more sensitive to the needs of His children than even the most loving mother.  He anticipates every cry for help.  Even before we can call out  in need, God is responding with his answer (Isaiah 65:42).  This is one of the most comforting promises God has given to us:  that He will never forget us.

Don’t let the difficult circumstances you are facing convince you that God has forgotten you.  Don’t ever assume that God is more concerned with the needs of other, more significant, more spiritual people than He is with yours.  Scripture teaches that God looks upon you with the same love, interest, and concern as a nursing mother would look upon her infant.  It should reassure you to know that your Father loves you like that!

¹⁶ Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.
¹⁷ Your builders make haste;
your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you.
¹⁸ Lift up your eyes around and see;
they all gather, they come to you.
As I live, declares the Lord,
you shall put them all on as an ornament;
you shall bind them on as a bride does.

¹⁹ “Surely your waste and your desolate places
and your devastated land—
surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants,
and those who swallowed you up will be far away.

The “waste and desolate places” if Israel will experience a population explosion.  After such hardship — so many children!  They will pour into the land!

²⁰ The children of your bereavement
will yet say in your ears:
‘The place is too narrow for me;
make room for me to dwell in.’
²¹ Then you will say in your heart:
‘Who has borne me these?
I was bereaved and barren,
exiled and put away,
but who has brought up these?
Behold, I was left alone;
from where have these come?’”

²² Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,
and raise my signal to the peoples;
and they shall bring your sons in their arms,
and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
²³ Kings shall be your foster fathers,
and their queens your nursing mothers.
With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,
and lick the dust of your feet.

The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III (825 B.C.) is from Nimrud and was discovered in 1846. It stands 2 meters tall (6.5 feet) and commemorates Shalmanesar III’s conquests and depicts vassal kings paying tribute. King Jehu of Israel is shown in Semitic dress bowing to the ground before the Assyrian ruler.  Isaiah says, the tables will be turned, and all the world will know how much the Lord loves you and how wonderfully God cares for you.

Then you will know that I am the Lord;
those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.”

²⁴ Can the prey be taken from the mighty,
or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?
²⁵ For thus says the Lord:
“Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken,
and the prey of the tyrant be rescued,
for I will contend with those who contend with you,
and I will save your children.
²⁶ I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,
and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine.
Then all flesh shall know
that I am the Lord your Savior,
and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

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Music:

HERE  is James Kilbane (Irish Gospel Singer of the Year 2012) and a song from Isaiah 49.

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English Standard Version (ESV)   The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Images courtesy of:

The Lord called me before I was born.    https://dwellingintheword.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/isaiah49_1.jpg

And she will bring forth a son.    https://dwellingintheword.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/5275316085_dedc3fc3f8_z.jpg

now is the day of salvation.    http://missionventureministries.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/2-corinthians-6-vs-2.jpg

mother and child.     http://birthandmotherhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Going-through-Nursing-Cramps-what-you-should-know1.jpg

Black Obelisk.    http://www.bible-history.com/destruction_of_israel/black-obelisk-close.jpg