Devotionary

Isaiah is forced to warn the people of Judah that their rebellion was going to turn the sacrificer into the sacrifice. Rather than seeking atonement through a substitute, they would be forced to give their own lives as payment for their sins.

Judah's current spiritual condition was like an unfruitful field full of weeds and incapable of producing any kind of harvest. So, was going to have to prune and cultivate them in order that, one day, they might yield the fruit of righteousness.

God was letting Judah know that their little kingdom, built on lies and deception was going to prove unstable and unsustainable. When the storms of God’s judgment came, their walls would fall because their foundation was faulty.

The people of Ephraim were rebellious and disobedient, but they were also drunk on their own success and self-importance. Believing that they were somehow immune from God’s wrath, they refused to repent and continued their love affair with the world.

While Israel would eventually experience days marked by the judgment of God, their future will feature the unmerited favor of God. That day, while still distant, is not to be discounted or dismissed. It will happen because God has said it will.

Isaiah knew that the fury of God had to fall before the mercy and grace of God could be experienced. But he wanted the people of Judah to have confidence that, once the fury of God had passed, the blessings of God would fall.

The people of Israel and Judah, the Old Testament Saints, the Tribulation martyrs, and all those who come to faith in Christ during the church age, will worship God the Father and God the Son, singing their praises for all that they have done.

God's divine strategy for the future restoration of this world is safe and secure. We may not always see what He is doing. We might not always think that He has His hands on the wheel. But God is in full control and His plans have not changed.

Like so many other passages in Isaiah, this one has a now/not yet aspect to it. Some of God’s promises have been fulfilled in part. But there are still some as yet fulfilled elements for which the people of Judah can still eagerly anticipate.

While we should care about the environment and do all that we can to clean up and care for the earth, God lets us know that it is irredeemable and unrepairable. He won’t just fix it. He will replace it. He will make all things new.

Tyre enjoyed unprecedented wealth, exercised tremendous influence over that part of the world, and had built a reputation as a financial force to be reckoned with. Yet, God was going to bring their pride to an end. He had plans for them.

The two men in this passage were representatives of the king with a responsibility to use their positions for the good of the kingdom. But they failed. As representatives of the King of kings, how well are we using the power and authority left to us by Him?

Judgment was coming because the people of Judah had continually rejected God's calls to repent. And Zion, the holy mountain, was about to become the valley of vision. And the scene surrounding Jerusalem's fall would not be a pretty or pleasant one.

One by one, God is eliminating every nation in Judah’s proximity as possible options to be their rescuer. God was bringing judgment on Judah and there was nowhere they could run and no place they could hide from His inevitable will.

God calls His people to exhibit faith, rather than fear. Even with all that was going on around them, God wanted them to see His sovereign hand at work. If they had faith, they would not fear what was taking place around them. Faith is the antidote for fear.