Fri.’s Devo - A Promise to the Remnant

Read: Isaiah 12:1-14:32; 2 Corinthians 13:1-14; Psalm 57:1-11; Proverbs 23:9-11
Today we have a message to the remnant, Babylon, Jacob, the king of Babylon (which was Satan in type), and lastly to the Philistines. To the remnant, God tells them that they will turn to him and pray to him. They will praise him and trust in him as their strength and salvation. Singing and joy will spring forth from their hearts.
Babylon was warned that their day of judgment was coming. God was mustering an army from the ends of heaven to fight against them. They manifested on earth as the Medes and the Persians but the battle was fought in the heavenlies against the powers of darkness.
The king of Babylon at that time was Belshazzar, who the night of his fall saw the handwriting on the wall (Daniel 5). This occurred right after he had praised every god except God Almighty. He had been so lifted up in pride that he thought he was greater than God. Isaiah explained his homecoming in hell. All the evil kings who had died before him met him and wondered at his great fall. He who was the greatest on the land was now trampled underfoot like a rejected branch.
God promised to rise up against all of Belshazzar’s sons so that none of his offspring would rule and Babylon would be uninhabited. This is also a future prophecy of the end of time when the devil will be destroyed and all his offspring.
God promised to have compassion on Jacob. He said that aliens would join him and unite with Jacob. He was referring to the Gentile nation that would choose to love Jesus and Israel. When that happened, God’s people would expose the devil and put him in his place. This is where we are now.
The Philistines had broken the yoke of King Uzziah under the rule of Ahaz, but God warned them not to rejoice yet because King Hezekiah would come like a cloud of smoke and destroy them. God will establish the people of Zion as a testimony to the world of God’s power.
In Corinthians, Paul was coming to visit them a third time to prove to them that Christ was speaking through him. Apparently, the false teachers had deceived some of them to think differently. Paul reminded them that if they are in Christ and Christ is in them. He gave them three challenges: aim for perfection, be of one mind, and live in peace. If they did these things, the love and peace of God would be with them.
Lord help us to do those three things: aim for perfection, be single minded, and live in peace with others. Thank you that you never leave or forsake us.