Tues.’s Devo - God’s Grace

Read: Isaiah 19:1-21:17; Galatians 2:1-16; Psalm 59:1-17; Proverbs 23:13-14

Egypt had long been an enemy of God’s people. God often warned his people not to return to Egypt. Isaiah saw God getting ready to wage war against Egypt. He began by stirring up internal strife within Egypt to weaken them so that when he sent the Ethiopian Shabaka in 711 B.C., it would fall. 

Egypt depended on the Nile River for its livelihood and God caused it to fail. A drought causes famine and disease. Their false prophets spoke lies and their wise men gave bad counsel because they were not seeking God. 

In verse 16 it begins with “in that day” speaking of the day when the Egyptians will return to Yahweh as their God. Egypt, Israel and Assyria will repent and come to the Lord. This is in the future. God will heal Egypt and they will set up a pillar to the Lord at its border. The whole nation will turn to the Lord and God will make a way for Egypt and Assyria to fellowship together. Israel, Egypt and Assyria will all be one and be a blessing and be God’s people.

In Chapter 20, Isaiah returns to his time and warns Egypt and Ethiopia that the Assyrians are coming to invade their land and to warn Israel not to trust in the help of Egypt. 

In Chapter 21, the Wilderness of the Sea is referring to Babylon. In 703 B.C., Babylon was defeated by Sennacherib of Assyria. This is terrible news to Israel who knows she is next. Isaiah responds to this like a woman in labor. He warns them to set a watch for the enemy day and night. 

A warning goes out to Edom and Arabia about the coming Assyrians. There was an oasis city in Arabia called Tema, who is being called upon to help the refugees who will escape the Assyrians. Arabia will be taken in a year.

In Galatians, Paul is still giving his life story.  After his salvation he had spent 14 years in the regions of Syria and Cilicia before coming to Jerusalem. The churches of Judea had heard that he was now preaching the gospel of Jesus and had rejoiced.

When Paul came to Jerusalem he brought Barnabas and Titus with him. Titus was a Greek and he was told by some of the Judaizers who had infiltrated the church that he must be circumcised, but they didn’t give in to the lie. Paul had been called by God to preach to the Gentiles and Peter had been called to preach to the Jews. It took some explaining, but James, Cephas and John who were the pillars of the church understood the grace that Paul preached and received them as their brothers in Christ. 

Paul had to confront Cephas when he arrived at Antioch because he was two-faced. He ate with the Gentiles, but when the Jewish leaders showed up, he only ate with Jews. Paul called him out for being a hypocrite. He explained that a person is not justified by doing the law but by faith in Jesus Christ.

Lord, may we remember that when we are condemned by Satan. May we remember that our salvation is because of our faith, not our works. Thank you for grace. 

Mon.’s Devo - The Grace of God

Read: Isaiah 15:1-18:7; Galatians 1:1-24; Psalm 58:1-11; Proverbs 23:12

This prophecy was thought to have been delivered in the first years of Hezekiah’s reign over Judah. It was fulfilled in the fourth year. Moab had probably joined with Israel and Syria against Assyria and now Assyria had come to conquer it. Ar was one of Moab’s great metropolis which was taken very quickly by Assyria. The survivors and others in the country had fled to their high places in Debon and Medeba and to their temple in Nebo  to pray to their god Chemosh.

They were taken so quickly that even the armed men gave up the fight and joined in the lament. The people traveled to their southern boundary which is the Dead Sea, but there is no water to drink or grass. 

Isaiah is grieved to see this happening even to their enemies. The refugees of Moab come to Judah for escape. They had stopped sending lambs for tribute, but are now bringing them in hopes that Judah will receive their gifts and help them. Isaiah tells the to let the outcasts of Moab in and be a shelter to them. He speaks of the day when a throne established in love will one day judge in justice and in righteousness. What a picture of the Gentiles coming into the kingdom. 

Isaiah sees Moab praying to their god which will not help them. He sees that in the next three years, Moab will be reduced to a very few.

Then Isaiah has a word for Damascus, the capital of Syria. He says they will cease to be a city. He sees that what happened to Israel will happen to Syria. Israel had fallen and Damascus was next. 

Finally, the people of Israel will stop looking to their false gods and idols and return to their God who created them to be his children. When their cities are deserted and destroyed, they will seek refuge in the Lord, their rock. 

God will do a great pruning of his people. Then, instead of giving tribute to some other king to keep them safe, they will bring their tribute to the Lord. 

Galatia is an area which includes the town of Antioch Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. Paul addresses his letter to them. Paul probably wrote this letter on his third missionary journey while he was in Macedonia or Corinth. 

The Judaizers in the church were the legalists who taught that the people were still obligated to keep all the law of Moses. They said that God’s promises were only to the Jews and the Gentiles had to be circumcised to experience salvation. They taught that one must have the law and faith to be saved.

This was the opposite of what Paul taught that salvation was by grace through faith. This letter was Paul’s reaction to their evil propaganda. He begins by extending grace to them. He is astonished that they have so quickly received this message of bondage which he calls a different gospel. 

Paul reminds them of his testimony. He used to be the greatest of Judaizers and it led him to persecute the church. But then, he got a download from heaven about the grace of God. He spent three years in Arabia learning about Christ before he came back to preach the truth about faith and grace. 

Lord, may we not be tempted to come under bondage again to the law but live in your grace and freedom. Thank you for the truth of your goodness and grace. 

Sun.’s Devo - The Fall of the King of Babylon

Read: Isaiah 12:1-14:32; 2 Corinthians 13:1-14; Psalm 57:1-11; Proverbs 23:9-11

The day will come when God’s wrath is over and his people will rejoice and sing praises to him once again. They will call on his name and sing for joy.

Isaiah saw the fall of Babylon. God had used them to judge the nations and now it was time to judge them. God is calling forth his host to fight Babylon and destroy their whole land. This is what is called the “Day of the Lord” throughout scripture. It is when God takes out all his wrath on Satan and his followers. All evil and arrogance and pride will be brought down and their lives will be over. Man will become scarce as many will die. The land of Babylon will be completely destroyed and all life gone. 

God will bless his people and set them in their own land again. They will rule over the ones who once oppressed them. God will give his people rest. Then they will taunt the king of Babylon. They will sing for joy and even the trees will rejoice. 

Sheol will meet the king of Babylon with taunts also. They will mock him who was once full of pride and power. He had boasted that he would become more powerful than God and become the God of the earth. But now he is cast down to his grave into the pit to be trampled on. All his sons will be slaughtered because of what their father did. Their posterity will be cut off. 

The king of Babylon is a type of Satan who thinks he rules the earth. He is about to be taken down. His rule is coming to an end!

In verse 28, Isaiah has a prophecy about the Philistines to comfort the people of Judah. The Philistines had taken some of the towns in southern Judah when Ahaz was king, but Isaiah is proclaiming that they will be kicked out, which they were in the reign of Hezekiah. 

In Corinthians, Paul is giving a warning to those who hadn’t repented during his last two visits.  He will not spare them when he comes the third time. He wants them to do some self-examination before he gets there and reminds them that Jesus is their judge. He is praying for their restoration and prays that they will have purged themselves before he and his helpers comes so they can build them up instead of tearing them down.

Their goal should be to restore and comfort one anther so they can live in peace. 

Lord, may that be our goal to restore, comfort and love one another so that we may all live in peace as the family of God. Thank you that you are destroying our enemies from the earth and restoring your kingdom on earth. 

Sat.’s Devo - God’s Hand of Judgment

Read: Isaiah 10:1-11:16; 2 Corinthians 12:11-21; Psalm 56:1-13; Proverbs 23:6-8

Isaiah addressed the ones who wrote laws that oppressed the poor and didn’t protect the widow and the orphan. It will not go well for these lawmakers. Their money will not be able to buy them out of judgement. 

God was using Assyria to be his hand of judgment. He would send them to Israel to carry out his fury on them. In verse 9 Isaiah compared a city in Syria like a city in Assyria, a walled city to a city that was all spread out, and the capital of Israel to the capital of Syria. They all had idols and were destroyed because of them. Should God not do the same to Jerusalem who was full of idols?

When it is all over, then God will punish Assyria who he used to punish the nations. They will boast that they conquered all these nations but God was the one who did it. God will punish Assyria with a plague among their troops. They will be judged in a day. Their nation will be destroyed in soul and body. 

A remnant of Israel and those who survived the fall of Jerusalem will turn to the Lord and lean on him. He told his remnant not to be afraid of what the Assyrians were doing because they would not last long. They will soon be gone and the burden of them lifted off their shoulders. God will destroy Lebanon.

But the remnant will be the branch of the Lord. The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon them and God will send his Spirit, his Spirit of wisdom and understanding, his Spirit of counsel and might, and his Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. He will judge the poor and decide what is just and fair for the meek of the earth. He will kill the wicked and righteousness and faithfulness will reign in the earth. There will be peace among the animals and no fear of harm. The whole earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord.

God will call his people home to Israel. There will be peace in the Middle East. Their enemies will be under them. The Red Sea will be divided into seven channels and God will lead his people across it. There will be a highway from Assyria for God’s people to come to Israel.

In Corinthians, Paul defends his position as an apostles and reminds them of the signs and wonders and mighty works they did. He reminds them of the ones he sent to them like Titus and asks if they in any way took advantage of them. 

He fears that if he comes to see them he will be disappointed that they have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality and sensuality they practiced. He also thinks they might be disappointed in him that he is not what they thought he would be. 

Like in our Psalm, Paul can say, “ God is for me, in him I put my trust. What can man do to me?”

Lord thank you that we will walk before you in the light of life. You delivered our soul from death and keep our feet from falling. We trust that you will bring us through to a better day.

Fri.’s Devo - A Child is Born

Read: Isaiah 8:1-9:21; 2 Corinthians 12:1-10; Psalm 55:1-23; Proverbs 23:4-5

I heard that many believe that Jesus was born on September 11th which was why they chose that day to blow up our trade center. I don’t know if this is the actual birthday of Christ or not but how interesting that we would read on this day that the prophesied child was born to the prophetess on this day. This was Isaiah’s wife. Isaiah called the child Maher-shalal-hash-bazaar which means “the spoil speeds, the prey hastens.” Isaiah said that before this child would know right and wrong, Samaria and Syria would be sacked by Assyria. Because Israel refused to repent, they would be overtaken by the army of Assyria like a flood.

Israel and Syria will plot and get ready to defend themselves but it will not help. They fear the Assyrians, but who they need to fear is God. Isaiah says he will hope in the Lord. Israel would seek their sorcerers and witches but they should seek the Lord.

The land of Zebulun and Naphtali had been weakened with foreigners who came into their land. But, in times to come these Gentiles and Jews will be the ones that Jesus would come to and teach them of his salvation. This child will be Emanuel and his name will also be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and kingship will last forever. The people of Samaria boasted of rebuilding better but God says they are boasting in vain. (Reminds me of Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan. God will use the Assyrians to devour them because they refused to turn to him. God would cut off the wisdom of the aged and the lies of the prophets in one day. Both of them had led Israel astray and both would die. No one would be spared young and old. They were all wicked.

In Corinthians, Paul then tells then of the visions he has seen. (Obviously these false prophets and apostles had told their stories of visions, so Paul is sharing his.) In Paul’s vision he was caught up to heaven and was told things he cannot share. To keep him from being conceited because of his visions, he was given a thorn in his flesh who harasses him. He calls him a messenger from Satan. He keeps him humble. He asked the Lord to take this demon away, but the Lord told him that his grace is sufficient for him. Paul knew that humility brings God’s power. When we are weak, we can depend upon God’s strength because it is great.

Lord, thank you for sending us your son. Thank you that you live in each of us making us strong in the midst of our weaknesses. 

Thurs.’s Devo - Isaiah’s Vision

Read: Isaiah 6:1-7:25; 2 Corinthians 11:16-33; Psalm 54:1-7; Proverbs 23:1-3

Isaiah had one vision in his lifetime and this was it. He saw the Lord on his throne which the seraphim around him that cried out “Holy, holy, holy is he Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” When they did, the foundation of the temple shook and Isaiah was filled with awe and shame. He felt the depths of his sin and the sin of his nation. An angel took a coal from the altar and touched his mouth to cleanse him. 

The Lord asked Isaiah who he could send to the people and Isaiah volunteered.  God sent him to dull the ears and blind the eyes of the people until their cities were destroyed and the land desolate. The people would be led into exile and only a small remnant would be left.

At that time Ahaz was the king of Judah, Rezin was the king of Syria and Pekah was the king of Israel. Rezin and Pekah had come to attack Jerusalem which caused Ahaz to shake in fear. 

God sent Isaiah to tell Ahaz not to be afraid of Rezin and Pekah because their plan will not prosper. Israel would be the one to be conquered. God asked Ahaz to ask him to give him any sign he chose to prove that what he was saying was true. Ahaz refused to ask for a sign so God chose the sign. He said that the virgin would have a son and his name would be Emanuel which means “God is with you.” This sign was for then and prophetic of the birth of Christ. 

We will read tomorrow that the prophetess became pregnant and had a son which was one of the fulfillments of the prophecy. The prophecy went on to say that the child would be a son and before he was old enough to choose good or evil, the land of their two adversaries, Syria and Israel, would be deserted. 

In Corinthians, Paul compares his life to those of the super apostles who were leading them astray. Instead of telling them how great he is, Paul told them of all of the suffering and danger he had endured to bring them the truth. He doesn’t boast in his strength, but in his weaknesses. 

Lord, may we take the advise of our Proverbs today and not be deceived by what we see, but have discernment and only ingest what is holy and of you.  

Wed.’s Devo - Woe to Judah

Read: Isaiah 3:1-5:30; 2 Corinthians 11:1-15; Psalm 53:1-6; Proverbs 22:28-29

God said he was taking away all support and supplies from Judah. The support and supply were their people. God was going to take away their soldiers and armies, their judges and prophets, their elders and leaders and their charmers and sorcerers. Instead of their wise and elderly as leaders, they would be led by immature boys. The people would not be united but filled with hatred towards one another. (Sounds like what they tried to do to America.) They would beg anyone to lead them and no one would feel qualified or equipped to lead. 

They will be proud of their sins and not even try to hide them. But, he told the righteous that it would go well with them. They will eat the fruit of their righteousness. The wicked will receive what they dealt out to others. God will judge the elders and the princes who devoured the people and taxed them to poverty while they enjoyed the spoil. The wicked women of the land would be exposed for their sin and all their finery will be taken from them. 

The men will fall in war and there will be no men left to marry. Women will beg men to marry them just to take away their reproach of singleness. 

But, it will be a great day for the children of God. They will remain and be called holy. God will cleanse Jerusalem with his fire and cover his righteous with a cloud by day and fire by night just like he did for the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt. 

Chapter 5 is a song about a vineyard that God established on the earth. It was supposed to be his testimony on the earth of who he was but it produced wild grapes. This vineyard was Jerusalem. God had done all he knew to prune them but they refused to yield good grapes. So now he was going to get rid of it and it will be hard for them to make a living there. They will go into exile because they refused to know the Lord and be taught by him. They will be humbled, but God will be exalted. God’s chosen remnant will receive the ruins of the wicked. 

Isaiah gives many woes to the wicked who called good evil and evil good. They were wise in their own eyes, took bribes and drank themselves into stupidity. They despised the Lord and will reap the reward of sin. God will send nations from afar to destroy them. 

In Corinthians Paul explains how he married them to Christ and is afraid they have strayed away from their devotion to Christ. They were quick to receive a different Jesus than the one he told them about. Their deceivers were what he called “super apostles” who charged them money to hear what they had to say. He reminded them that he taught them free of charge and came to serve them. Paul called these men false apostles and deceivers. He said that even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light just like these men have done. 

Lord, we are nearing the day when you are going to do again what you did in Isaiah’s day. You are coming to judge the unrighteous and set the captives free. Thank you that You are our deliverer and our strong tower. We trust in your loving care.