Devotionary

God goes out of His way to expose the absurd nature of Judah's infatuation with false gods. Yet, they couldn’t see it. They were ignorant of it. So, they just kept doing it. Sin has a way of deluding us and destroying our ability to see reality.

The redemption of sinful men by a holy God should not be taken lightly or treated flippantly. He is not obligated to redeem, but He does so because He is a faithful, loving God who wants to manifest His glory and magnify His name among the nations.

This merry-go-round of sin, rebellion, judgment, and restoration was going to one day come to an end. Their treadmill-like existence would be replaced with something they didn’t deserve, couldn’t earn, and would hardly believe when it happened.

God wanted Judah to understand that He was their only Savior, who had promised to send His Son as the Servant/Savior who would redeem them again. This time, not from physical slavery, but from spiritual slavery to sin and death.

As we read the Old Testament history of God’s interactions with His chosen people, we can’t help but notice that they seemed to go through the same painful lessons over and over again. But they never seemed to learn.

God was also going to give them what they didn’t deserve: Their future restoration to the land and to their place as His chosen people. And for Isaiah, that was news worth singing about.

The omnipotent, omniscient God knows how the story ends because He wrote it. Jesus died and rose again, but He will return again. And when He does, He will come as the King of kings and Lord of lords. God has decreed it, and God will do it.

This chapter is full of sarcasm, exposing the lunacy of idolatry. God condemns Judah for their love affair with false gods and reveals in embarrassing detail the glaring inadequacies of these man-made gods they have chosen to worship in place of Him.

When it came to the question of who was behind the threat of Babylonian invasion, God said: “I, the Lord, I am He.” The people of Judah may not have liked what was going on, but if they would only trust God, they would learn that His ways were always best.

We’re going to get a primer on the trustworthiness of God, and it’s all based on the unequaled, unparalleled nature of God. He is trustworthy and true because he is holy. He is deserving of man’s trust because He is perfectly righteous and beyond reproach.

God gives Isaiah a rather strange message for the people of Judah. And it begins with the words, “Comfort, comfort my people.” While the future looked dim, God wanted His people to remember that the future was in His hands. And He had a plan in place.

Hezekiah had been just days from death and faced with losing everything he held near and dear. But now that he had received a reprieve from God and an additional 15 years to enjoy life, he reveals what he loved the most: Power, possession, and prestige.

In these verses, Hezekiah displays a natural human reaction to suffering and pain. He wanted deliverance from it. But the real lesson to be learned from this story is whether we are ready, willing, and able to praise God, even when the circumstances of life give us no reason to do so.

When Hezekiah is told he has a terminal illness, he takes the matter to God and God graciously extends his life an additional 15 years. But what changed? God's mind or Hezekiah's heart? It’s a matter of perspective. And a case of the sovereignty of God.

In response to Hezekiah’s simple, yet passionate prayer, God answered and brought about a salvation that had to have left the people of Judah slack-jawed and awe-struck. Practicing humble faith when faced with trouble unleashes the God of the impossible.