Does God bless the spiritually blind and proud or the humble? Which are we? Let’s look at how God will deal with Jerusalem in Isaiah 29.
Though her annual festivals will continue, will Jerusalem be humbled? Is the term Lion of God used sarcastically of Jerusalem’s pride?
Ariel, Ariel, [Lion of God, Jerusalem] the city where David camped! Continue year after year; let the festivals recur. I will oppress Ariel, and there will be mourning and crying, and she will be to Me like an Ariel. I will camp in a circle around you; I will besiege you with earth ramps, and I will set up my siege towers against you. You will be brought down; you will speak from the ground, and your words will come from low in the dust. Your voice will be like that of a spirit from the ground; your speech will whisper from the dust. (Isa 29:1-4 HCSB)
Will God suddenly move to defend Jerusalem from her enemies, who will become like fine dust?
But the hordes of your enemies will become like fine dust, and the hordes of tyrants like flying chaff. Then suddenly, in an instant, you will be visited by the Lord of the Heavenly Armies—with thunder, an earthquake, and great noise, with a windstorm, a tempest, and flames from a devouring fire. Then the hordes of all the nations that fight against Aruel, all that attack her and her fortification and besiege her, will become like a dream, with its visions in the night—as when a hungry man dreams—he eats, but wakes up still hungry; or when a thirsty man dreams—he drinks, but wakes up faint, with his thirst unquenched. So will it be with the hordes of all the nations that fight against Mount Zion. (Isa 29:5-8 ISV)
Was Jerusalem acting like a drunkard, in a state of spiritual sleep?
Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. (Isa 29:9-10 KJV)
Will people look at the Bible and claim it’s sealed (closed) or that they can’t read? Is that a familiar excuse people make today for not reading the Bible?
The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, “Please read this,” he will say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” Then the book will be given to the one who does not know how to read a book, saying, “Please read this.” And he will say, “I do not know how to read a book.” (Isa 29:11-12 LSB)
Did Jerusalem have another problem, familiar today? Do the traditions of men seem to dominate church culture, overshadowing the commandments taught by Jesus?
Then the Lord said, “Because this people approaches Me with their words And honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of the commandment of men that is taught; Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the understanding of their men who have understanding will be concealed.” (Isa 29:13-14 NASB)
Do we delude ourselves that God doesn’t see our deeds like ancient Israel did? Do people still say that God did not create us?
Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?” You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, “You did not make me”? Can the pot say to the potter, “You know nothing”? (Isa 29:15-16 NIV)
Is there a time of restoration, where the poor will rejoice and tyrants will be brought to nothing?
Is it not yet a very little while Till Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, And the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest? In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness. The humble also shall increase their joy in the Lord, And the poor among men shall rejoice In the Holy One of Israel. For the terrible one is brought to nothing, The scornful one is consumed, And all who watch for iniquity are cut off—Who make a man an offender by a word, And lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, And turn aside the just by empty words. (Isa 29:17-21 NKJV)
How will Israel feel towards God as a time of restoration comes?
That is why the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, says to the people of Israel, “My people will no longer be ashamed or turn pale with fear. For when they see their many children and all the blessings I have given them, they will recognize the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob. They will stand in awe of the God of Israel. Then the wayward will gain understanding, and complainers will accept instruction. (Isa 29:22-24 NLT)
Did Mary quote a similar sentiment in her words of praise to God?
He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. (Luke 1:52 CEB)
Does God bless the spiritually blind and proud or the humble? Which are we? You decide!
Drunkards (Isaiah 28)
What did God say to drunkards in Israel and Judah? Do we listen to the word about God’s kingdom and bear fruit? Let’s look at Isaiah 28.
What does God have to say to drunkards of the tribe representing northern Israel, Ephraim? Is it a problem today?
And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley Of those who are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent; As a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters, He has thrown it down to the earth with His hand. The splendid crown of the habitually drunk of Ephraim is trampled underfoot. And the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley, Will be like the first-ripe fig prior to the summer, Which one sees, And as soon as it is in his hand, He swallows it. (Isa 28:1-4 NASB)
Though northern Israel failed, who will be the glorious crown for the remnant?
In that day the Lord Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people. He will be a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. (Isa 28:5-6 NIV)
Have the spiritual leaders also failed in this regard, vomiting from excessive drinking?
But they also have erred through wine, And through intoxicating drink are out of the way; The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink, They are swallowed up by wine, They are out of the way through intoxicating drink; They err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filth; No place is clean. (Isa 28:7-8 NKJV)
Rather than repent, do the people insult the nature of God’s holy scriptures?
“Who does the Lord think we are?” they ask. “Why does he speak to us like this? Are we little children, just recently weaned? He tells us everything over and over—one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there!” (Isa 28:9-10 NLT)
If Israel failed to listen to God in their own language, would they hear the Lord in the language of their Assyrian captors?
But he will speak to this nation with stammering lips and in another language, to whom he said, “This is the resting place. Give rest to the weary,” and “This is the refreshing;” yet they would not hear. Therefore Yahweh’s word will be to them precept on precept, precept on precept; line on line, line on line; here a little, there a little; that they may go, fall backward, be broken, be snared, and be taken. (Isa 28:11-13 WEB)
Is this message also for those in Judah and Jerusalem? Is their covenant of lies with a foreign power, a deal with death?
Therefore, hear the Lord’s word, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem. You said, “We’ve cut a deal with death; with the underworld we made a pact. When the overflowing flood passes through, it won’t reach us; for we have made lies our hiding place, and in falsehood we take shelter.” Therefore, the Lord God says: Look! I’m laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a valuable cornerstone, a sure foundation: the one who trusts won’t tremble. I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line. But hail will sweep away the hiding place of lies, and water will overflow the shelter. Your deal with death will be dissolved, and your pact with the grave won’t stand. The rushing flood: when it passes through, you will be annihilated by it. Every time it passes through it will take you, for morning by morning it will pass, by day and by night. It will be nothing but terror to understand the message. The bed is too short to stretch out, and the shroud is too narrow to cover oneself. (Isa 28:14-20 CEB)
Had the Lord given Israel victories at Perazim and Gibeon? Would the next time surprise them with defeat unless they repent?
The Lord will fiercely attack as he did at Mount Perazim and in Gibeon Valley. But this time the Lord will do something surprising, not what you expect. So you had better stop sneering or you will be in worse shape than ever before. I heard the Lord All-Powerful threaten the whole country with destruction. (Isa 28:21-22 CEV)
How long can God teach His people before He expects His plowing and sowing to bear a crop?
Give ear, and hear my voice; give attention, and hear my speech. Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? Does he continually open and harrow his ground? When he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter dill, sow cumin, and put in wheat in rows and barley in its proper place, and emmer as the border? For he is rightly instructed; his God teaches him. Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin, but dill is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod. Does one crush grain for bread? No, he does not thresh it forever; when he drives his cart wheel over it with his horses, he does not crush it. This also comes from the Lord of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom. (Isa 28:23-29 ESV)
Did Jesus also use an analogy about a crop and hearing God’s word? Do some bear fruit?
But the one sown on the good ground—this is one who hears and understands the word, who does bear fruit and yields: some 100, some 60, some 30 times what was sown. (Mat 13:23 HCSB)
What did God say to drunkards in Israel and Judah? Do we listen to the word about God’s kingdom and bear fruit? You decide!
What does God have to say to drunkards of the tribe representing northern Israel, Ephraim? Is it a problem today?
And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley Of those who are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent; As a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters, He has thrown it down to the earth with His hand. The splendid crown of the habitually drunk of Ephraim is trampled underfoot. And the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley, Will be like the first-ripe fig prior to the summer, Which one sees, And as soon as it is in his hand, He swallows it. (Isa 28:1-4 NASB)
Though northern Israel failed, who will be the glorious crown for the remnant?
In that day the Lord Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people. He will be a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. (Isa 28:5-6 NIV)
Have the spiritual leaders also failed in this regard, vomiting from excessive drinking?
But they also have erred through wine, And through intoxicating drink are out of the way; The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink, They are swallowed up by wine, They are out of the way through intoxicating drink; They err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filth; No place is clean. (Isa 28:7-8 NKJV)
Rather than repent, do the people insult the nature of God’s holy scriptures?
“Who does the Lord think we are?” they ask. “Why does he speak to us like this? Are we little children, just recently weaned? He tells us everything over and over—one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there!” (Isa 28:9-10 NLT)
If Israel failed to listen to God in their own language, would they hear the Lord in the language of their Assyrian captors?
But he will speak to this nation with stammering lips and in another language, to whom he said, “This is the resting place. Give rest to the weary,” and “This is the refreshing;” yet they would not hear. Therefore Yahweh’s word will be to them precept on precept, precept on precept; line on line, line on line; here a little, there a little; that they may go, fall backward, be broken, be snared, and be taken. (Isa 28:11-13 WEB)
Is this message also for those in Judah and Jerusalem? Is their covenant of lies with a foreign power, a deal with death?
Therefore, hear the Lord’s word, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem. You said, “We’ve cut a deal with death; with the underworld we made a pact. When the overflowing flood passes through, it won’t reach us; for we have made lies our hiding place, and in falsehood we take shelter.” Therefore, the Lord God says: Look! I’m laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a valuable cornerstone, a sure foundation: the one who trusts won’t tremble. I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line. But hail will sweep away the hiding place of lies, and water will overflow the shelter. Your deal with death will be dissolved, and your pact with the grave won’t stand. The rushing flood: when it passes through, you will be annihilated by it. Every time it passes through it will take you, for morning by morning it will pass, by day and by night. It will be nothing but terror to understand the message. The bed is too short to stretch out, and the shroud is too narrow to cover oneself. (Isa 28:14-20 CEB)
Had the Lord given Israel victories at Perazim and Gibeon? Would the next time surprise them with defeat unless they repent?
The Lord will fiercely attack as he did at Mount Perazim and in Gibeon Valley. But this time the Lord will do something surprising, not what you expect. So you had better stop sneering or you will be in worse shape than ever before. I heard the Lord All-Powerful threaten the whole country with destruction. (Isa 28:21-22 CEV)
How long can God teach His people before He expects His plowing and sowing to bear a crop?
Give ear, and hear my voice; give attention, and hear my speech. Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? Does he continually open and harrow his ground? When he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter dill, sow cumin, and put in wheat in rows and barley in its proper place, and emmer as the border? For he is rightly instructed; his God teaches him. Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin, but dill is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod. Does one crush grain for bread? No, he does not thresh it forever; when he drives his cart wheel over it with his horses, he does not crush it. This also comes from the Lord of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom. (Isa 28:23-29 ESV)
Did Jesus also use an analogy about a crop and hearing God’s word? Do some bear fruit?
But the one sown on the good ground—this is one who hears and understands the word, who does bear fruit and yields: some 100, some 60, some 30 times what was sown. (Mat 13:23 HCSB)
What did God say to drunkards in Israel and Judah? Do we listen to the word about God’s kingdom and bear fruit? You decide!
God's Vineyard (Isaiah 27)
Is there a prophesied time of regathering the descendants of Israel? Will the whole world rejoice? Let’s look at Isaiah 27.
Is this creature a suspected, rarely seen sea monster hiding in unexplored depths, or does it symbolize that fallen angel, the slanderer?
On that day, Leviathan, the sea monster, will squirm and try to escape, but the Lord will kill him with a cruel, sharp sword. (Isa 27:1 CEV)
Is Israel this pleasant vineyard that will become fruitful and fill the whole world?
In that day, “A pleasant vineyard, sing of it! I, the Lord, am its keeper; every moment I water it. Lest anyone punish it, I keep it night and day; I have no wrath. Would that I had thorns and briers to battle! I would march against them, I would burn them up together. Or let them lay hold of my protection, let them make peace with me, let them make peace with me.” In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit. (Isa 27:2-6 ESV)
Was God’s punishment always meant to purge sins that only cause self-harm?
Did the Lord strike Israel as He struck the one who struck Israel? Was he killed like those killed by Him? You disputed with her by banishing and driving her away. He removed her with His severe storm on the day of the east wind. Therefore Jacob’s iniquity will be purged in this way, and the result of the removal of his sin will be this: when he makes all the altar stones like crushed bits of chalk, no Asherah poles or incense altars will remain standing. For the fortified city will be deserted, pastures abandoned and forsaken like a wilderness. Calves will graze there, and there they will spread out and strip its branches. When its branches dry out, they will be broken off. Women will come and make fires with them, for they are not a people with understanding. Therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them, and their Creator will not be gracious to them. (Isa 27:7-11 HCSB)
After a time of punishment, will God eventually gather the lost descendants of Israel, scattered tribes that DNA proves still exist across the Middle East? Does the Trumpet picture the return of Christ?
At that time, the Lord will winnow grain from the Euphrates River channel to the Wadi of Egypt, and you will be gathered in one by one, O people of Israel. Furthermore, at that time, a great trumpet will be sounded, and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and those who had been expelled to the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on his holy mountain at Jerusalem. (Isa 27:12-13 ISV)
Whether or not such a sea creature exists, is there symbolism here?
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil [slanderer], and Satan [adversary], which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Rev 12:9 KJV)
Did salvation come to the Gentiles, to make Israel jealous? When they repent, how much more joyful will that be?
Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness be! (Rom 11:12 LSB)
Is there a prophesied time of regathering the descendants of Israel? Will the whole world rejoice? You decide!
Is this creature a suspected, rarely seen sea monster hiding in unexplored depths, or does it symbolize that fallen angel, the slanderer?
On that day, Leviathan, the sea monster, will squirm and try to escape, but the Lord will kill him with a cruel, sharp sword. (Isa 27:1 CEV)
Is Israel this pleasant vineyard that will become fruitful and fill the whole world?
In that day, “A pleasant vineyard, sing of it! I, the Lord, am its keeper; every moment I water it. Lest anyone punish it, I keep it night and day; I have no wrath. Would that I had thorns and briers to battle! I would march against them, I would burn them up together. Or let them lay hold of my protection, let them make peace with me, let them make peace with me.” In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit. (Isa 27:2-6 ESV)
Was God’s punishment always meant to purge sins that only cause self-harm?
Did the Lord strike Israel as He struck the one who struck Israel? Was he killed like those killed by Him? You disputed with her by banishing and driving her away. He removed her with His severe storm on the day of the east wind. Therefore Jacob’s iniquity will be purged in this way, and the result of the removal of his sin will be this: when he makes all the altar stones like crushed bits of chalk, no Asherah poles or incense altars will remain standing. For the fortified city will be deserted, pastures abandoned and forsaken like a wilderness. Calves will graze there, and there they will spread out and strip its branches. When its branches dry out, they will be broken off. Women will come and make fires with them, for they are not a people with understanding. Therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them, and their Creator will not be gracious to them. (Isa 27:7-11 HCSB)
After a time of punishment, will God eventually gather the lost descendants of Israel, scattered tribes that DNA proves still exist across the Middle East? Does the Trumpet picture the return of Christ?
At that time, the Lord will winnow grain from the Euphrates River channel to the Wadi of Egypt, and you will be gathered in one by one, O people of Israel. Furthermore, at that time, a great trumpet will be sounded, and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and those who had been expelled to the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on his holy mountain at Jerusalem. (Isa 27:12-13 ISV)
Whether or not such a sea creature exists, is there symbolism here?
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil [slanderer], and Satan [adversary], which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Rev 12:9 KJV)
Did salvation come to the Gentiles, to make Israel jealous? When they repent, how much more joyful will that be?
Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness be! (Rom 11:12 LSB)
Is there a prophesied time of regathering the descendants of Israel? Will the whole world rejoice? You decide!
Victory Song (Isaiah 26)
When a nation finally becomes faithful to God, what blessings await? Are we faithful? Let’s look at Isaiah 26.
Will Judah become a law-abiding, faithful nation, able to sing a song of victory, a song of salvation?
The time is coming when the people of Judah will sing this song: “Our city is protected. The Lord is our fortress, and he gives us victory. Open the city gates for a law-abiding nation that is faithful to God. (Isa 26:1-2 ESV)
What happens to the mind that trusts in God? Who is an everlasting rock?
You will keep the mind that is dependent on You in perfect peace, for it is trusting in You. Trust in the Lord forever, because in Yah, the Lord, is an everlasting rock! (Isa 26:3-4 HCSB)
What will the oppressed and needy do to the arrogant city that was filled with pride?
For he has made drunk the inhabitants of the height, the lofty city. He lays it low to the ground casting it down to the dust, by the feet of the oppressed who trample it, by the footsteps of the needy.” (Isa 26:5-6 ISV)
What does a person, headed in the right direction, seek at night and early in the morning?
The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just. Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. (Isa 26:7-9 KJV)
Do the wicked stay stubborn even when they are shown grace?
Though the wicked is shown favor, He does not learn righteousness; He deals unjustly in the land of uprightness, And does not perceive the majesty of Yahweh. O Yahweh, Your hand is raised up high, yet they do not behold it. They behold Your zeal for the people and are put to shame; Indeed, fire will devour Your adversaries. (Isa 26:10-11 LSB)
Has any oppressive foreign power brought the nation peace? Have all those empires died? Who increased the nation?
Lord, You will establish peace for us, Since You have also performed for us all our works. Lord, our God, other masters besides You have ruled us; But through You alone we confess Your name. The dead will not live, the departed spirits will not rise; Therefore You have punished and destroyed them, And You have eliminated all remembrance of them. You have increased the nation, Lord, You have increased the nation, You are glorified; You have extended all the borders of the land. (Isa 26:12-15 NASB)
In pain like a woman in labor, can human efforts alone bring us salvation?
Lord, they came to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer. As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, Lord. We were with child, we writhed in labor, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth, and the people of the world have not come to life. (Isa 26:16-18 NIV)
Who alone can cause the dead to arise from the bowels of the earth?
Your dead shall live; Together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; For your dew is like the dew of herbs, And the earth shall cast out the dead. (Isa 26:19 NKJV)
Can we just go home, lock our doors and hide safely protected by God?
Go home, my people, and lock your doors! Hide yourselves for a little while until the Lord’s anger has passed. Look! The Lord is coming from heaven to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will no longer hide those who have been killed. They will be brought out for all to see. (Isa 26:20-21 NLT)
Who is the rock upon whose words we can build by listening and doing?
Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. (Mat 7:24 WEB)
Was Christ also involved in Israel’s history, bringing them safely out of Egypt?
and all drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. (1 Cor 10:4 CEB)
When a nation finally becomes faithful to God, what blessings await? Are we faithful? You decide!
Will Judah become a law-abiding, faithful nation, able to sing a song of victory, a song of salvation?
The time is coming when the people of Judah will sing this song: “Our city is protected. The Lord is our fortress, and he gives us victory. Open the city gates for a law-abiding nation that is faithful to God. (Isa 26:1-2 ESV)
What happens to the mind that trusts in God? Who is an everlasting rock?
You will keep the mind that is dependent on You in perfect peace, for it is trusting in You. Trust in the Lord forever, because in Yah, the Lord, is an everlasting rock! (Isa 26:3-4 HCSB)
What will the oppressed and needy do to the arrogant city that was filled with pride?
For he has made drunk the inhabitants of the height, the lofty city. He lays it low to the ground casting it down to the dust, by the feet of the oppressed who trample it, by the footsteps of the needy.” (Isa 26:5-6 ISV)
What does a person, headed in the right direction, seek at night and early in the morning?
The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just. Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. (Isa 26:7-9 KJV)
Do the wicked stay stubborn even when they are shown grace?
Though the wicked is shown favor, He does not learn righteousness; He deals unjustly in the land of uprightness, And does not perceive the majesty of Yahweh. O Yahweh, Your hand is raised up high, yet they do not behold it. They behold Your zeal for the people and are put to shame; Indeed, fire will devour Your adversaries. (Isa 26:10-11 LSB)
Has any oppressive foreign power brought the nation peace? Have all those empires died? Who increased the nation?
Lord, You will establish peace for us, Since You have also performed for us all our works. Lord, our God, other masters besides You have ruled us; But through You alone we confess Your name. The dead will not live, the departed spirits will not rise; Therefore You have punished and destroyed them, And You have eliminated all remembrance of them. You have increased the nation, Lord, You have increased the nation, You are glorified; You have extended all the borders of the land. (Isa 26:12-15 NASB)
In pain like a woman in labor, can human efforts alone bring us salvation?
Lord, they came to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer. As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, Lord. We were with child, we writhed in labor, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth, and the people of the world have not come to life. (Isa 26:16-18 NIV)
Who alone can cause the dead to arise from the bowels of the earth?
Your dead shall live; Together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; For your dew is like the dew of herbs, And the earth shall cast out the dead. (Isa 26:19 NKJV)
Can we just go home, lock our doors and hide safely protected by God?
Go home, my people, and lock your doors! Hide yourselves for a little while until the Lord’s anger has passed. Look! The Lord is coming from heaven to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will no longer hide those who have been killed. They will be brought out for all to see. (Isa 26:20-21 NLT)
Who is the rock upon whose words we can build by listening and doing?
Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. (Mat 7:24 WEB)
Was Christ also involved in Israel’s history, bringing them safely out of Egypt?
and all drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. (1 Cor 10:4 CEB)
When a nation finally becomes faithful to God, what blessings await? Are we faithful? You decide!
Joy in Tribulation (Isaiah 25)
Do we have faith in God and His final plan, giving us joy in the midst of tribulation? Let’s begin in Isaiah 25.
Does God give us reason for joy even in the worst times of our lives?
O Yahweh [Lord], You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For You have worked wonders, Counsels formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness. (Isa 25:1 LSB)
Is God fair, punishing nations justly for their atrocities? Will they repent and revere Him?
For You have turned a city into a heap, A fortified city into a ruin; A palace of strangers is no longer a city, It will never be rebuilt. Therefore a strong people will glorify You; Cities of ruthless nations will revere You. (Isa 25:2-3 NASB)
Does God care for the poor and needy in an uncaring and ruthless world?
You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled. (Isa 25:4-5 NIV)
In Mount Zion, the spiritual center of God’s kingdom, what will He do for all people, all nations?
And in this mountain The Lord of hosts will make for all people A feast of choice pieces, A feast of wines on the lees, Of fat things full of marrow, Of well-refined wines on the lees. And He will destroy on this mountain The surface of the covering cast over all people, And the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken. (Isa 25:6-8 NKJV)
Is this salvation that God brings to all the people just a rescue in this life or eternal?
In that day the people will proclaim, “This is our God! We trusted in him, and he saved us! This is the Lord, in whom we trusted. Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings!” (Isa 25:9 NLT)
Will God rule from Mount Zion and reach out to the nations? Will proud nations, symbolized by Moab, be humbled?
For Yahweh’s hand will rest in this mountain. Moab will be trodden down in his place, even like straw is trodden down in the water of the dunghill. He will spread out his hands in the middle of it, like one who swims spreads out hands to swim, but his pride will be humbled together with the craft of his hands. He has brought the high fortress of your walls down, laid low, and brought to the ground, even to the dust. (Isa 25:10-12 WEB)
Does such praise in the midst of tribulation reveal faith in the final outcome?
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more. There will be no mourning, crying, or pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. (Rev 21:4 CEB)
Do we have faith in God and His final plan, giving us joy in the midst of tribulation? You decide!
Does God give us reason for joy even in the worst times of our lives?
O Yahweh [Lord], You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For You have worked wonders, Counsels formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness. (Isa 25:1 LSB)
Is God fair, punishing nations justly for their atrocities? Will they repent and revere Him?
For You have turned a city into a heap, A fortified city into a ruin; A palace of strangers is no longer a city, It will never be rebuilt. Therefore a strong people will glorify You; Cities of ruthless nations will revere You. (Isa 25:2-3 NASB)
Does God care for the poor and needy in an uncaring and ruthless world?
You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled. (Isa 25:4-5 NIV)
In Mount Zion, the spiritual center of God’s kingdom, what will He do for all people, all nations?
And in this mountain The Lord of hosts will make for all people A feast of choice pieces, A feast of wines on the lees, Of fat things full of marrow, Of well-refined wines on the lees. And He will destroy on this mountain The surface of the covering cast over all people, And the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken. (Isa 25:6-8 NKJV)
Is this salvation that God brings to all the people just a rescue in this life or eternal?
In that day the people will proclaim, “This is our God! We trusted in him, and he saved us! This is the Lord, in whom we trusted. Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings!” (Isa 25:9 NLT)
Will God rule from Mount Zion and reach out to the nations? Will proud nations, symbolized by Moab, be humbled?
For Yahweh’s hand will rest in this mountain. Moab will be trodden down in his place, even like straw is trodden down in the water of the dunghill. He will spread out his hands in the middle of it, like one who swims spreads out hands to swim, but his pride will be humbled together with the craft of his hands. He has brought the high fortress of your walls down, laid low, and brought to the ground, even to the dust. (Isa 25:10-12 WEB)
Does such praise in the midst of tribulation reveal faith in the final outcome?
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more. There will be no mourning, crying, or pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. (Rev 21:4 CEB)
Do we have faith in God and His final plan, giving us joy in the midst of tribulation? You decide!
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