Devotional Thoughts on Isaiah
Proper Clothing
“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” (Isaiah…
The Light to Come
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.” (Isaiah 60:1–2, ESV) When we lived in Chicago, we would drive…
Access to the Throne of Grace
“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1–2, ESV) When I grew up, my dad…
Busyness Versus Character
3 ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers . . . 6 “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds…
Comfort for the Righteous
1 The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from calamity; 2 he enters into peace; they rest in their beds who walk in their uprightness . . . 15 For thus says the One who…
Guaranteed Success
10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me…
True Satisfaction
“Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.” (Isaiah 55:2, ESV) In June 1965, an English rock band named “The Rolling Stones,” released a hit song titled,…
Feeling Abandoned Never Forsaken
“For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you.” (Isaiah 54:7, ESV) Many years ago, we used to vacation at the Jersey shore. These were some of the most relaxing of our summer vacations. However, they were not without some interesting experiences. One hot summer day we were all…
Complete Victory
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like…
Contrasts
“Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.” (Isaiah 50:10, ESV) When I took a course in photography, I remember learning something about contrasts. We could take a…
Not Forgotten
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15, ESV) Can you remember the things you have forgotten? Of course not. In a lifetime, we remember a lot, but also forget much. Researchers…
The Light of Hope
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6, ESV) When growing up, my…
The Blessings of Faith
17 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go. 18 Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like…
The Blessing
“remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me,” (Isaiah 46:9, ESV) The motto, “In God we trust” is currently on our United States currency. This motto appeared on most U.S. coins since 1864. Most people would be surprised to…
Success
9 remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ (Isaiah 46:9-10, ESV)…
Syncretism
“Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:22, ESV) When I was younger, our family would take an annual vacation for two weeks in Cape Cod, primarily to fish for striped bass. On one occasion, someone suggested that we go…
Unlikely Vessels
Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself . . . who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She…
Living Water and Fruitfulness
“3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. 4 They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams. 5 This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s,’ another will call…
Enough Is Enough
“For a long time I have held my peace; I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor; I will gasp and pant.” (Isaiah 42:14, ESV) When I was a boy, I remember watching the cartoons in the morning. One of the cartoons we watched was Popeye…
To God Be the Glory
“I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.” (Isaiah 42:8, ESV) One of my most favorite Hymns is, “To God Be the Glory.” The first verse starts, “To God be the glory – great things He hath done!” The chorus concludes, “O…
Out of the Bleachers and on the Field
“Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.” (Isaiah 42:1, ESV) As many know, I love football probably more than other sport. As a young man, we would often get together after school and have…
An Ever-Present Help
9 . . . “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”; 10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 11 Behold, all who are…
Correct Devotion
“A voice says, ‘Cry!’ And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’ All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word…
The Best Use of Time
““Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.” (Isaiah 38:5, ESV) There is a poem by Robert Herrick titled, “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time.” Here is…
Put Your House in Order
“In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.”” (Isaiah 38:1, ESV) The Lord had spoken to Hezekiah that…
The Lord Is Our Defense
7 “Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.” (Isaiah 37:7, ESV) 33 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this…
Assurance In Prayer
Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him:” . . . “Have you not heard that I determined it long ago? I planned…
Help In Times of Need
“As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz.” (Isaiah 37:1–2, ESV)…
The Way of Holiness
8And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. 9No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on…
Pray Watch and Remember
“O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble. At the tumultuous noise peoples flee; when you lift yourself up, nations are scattered, and your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers; as locusts leap, it is leapt upon.” (Isaiah 33:2–4, ESV)…
Nobility or Ignobility
“But he who is noble plans noble things, and on noble things he stands.” (Isaiah 32:8, ESV) In the movie, “Forrest Gump,” Forrest’s mother used to tell him, “Stupid is as stupid does.” Her point to Forrest was that a person is only stupid if they do stupid things. Here we have another sentiment with…
Seek God for Direction
1 “Ah, stubborn children,” declares the Lord, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; 2 who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for my direction, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh and…
True Worshippers Needed
“And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,” (Isaiah 29:13, ESV) In my years as a Christian, I have observed church folk from both the pulpit and…
The Pride and Humility Paradox
“The Lord of hosts has purposed it, to defile the pompous pride of all glory, to dishonor all the honored of the earth.” (Isaiah 23:9, ESV) This section of Isaiah deals with a prophecy concerning Tyre and Sidon. Tyre was a seaport, a prosperous and pompous city that historically had its rises and falls. This…
Some Will Listen
“In that day the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth; and behold, joy and gladness, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’” (Isaiah 22:12–13, ESV) Jerusalem was under siege. Biblical historians believe that this was…
Observe, Discern, and Teach
“For thus the Lord said to me: “Go, set a watchman; let him announce what he sees.” (Isaiah 21:6, ESV) One of the great practices of elementary school days was that of the “Show and Tell.” The student would bring something from home and tell the story about it. Similar to this is the next…
Trust God Not Man
“And the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?’” (Isaiah 20:6, ESV) Today, we as a nation seem to be…
Waiting On God
“For thus the Lord said to me: “I will quietly look from my dwelling like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”” (Isaiah 18:4, ESV) Here Isaiah gives an oracle concerning Cush. Cush is the area that broadly refers to the countries of the Upper Nile, south of…
Consequences of Forgetting
“For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and sow the vine-branch of a stranger, though you make them grow on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow, yet the…
Consequences of Forgetting
“For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and sow the vine-branch of a stranger, though you make them grow on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow, yet the…
None Can Oppose God
“The Lord of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand . . . For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?” (Isaiah 14:24, 27, ESV) In life,…
A Day Is Coming
“Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come!” (Isaiah 13:6, ESV) We see the phrase, “the day of the Lord,” frequently in the Scriptures. Many see this as pointing to one specific day when the Lord will return victoriously to bring judgment on the unbelieving. However,…
Realize and Rejoice
“You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me. “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he…
Thy Kingdom Come (Isaiah 11:1-10)
“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” (Isaiah 11:1, ESV) When we speak of the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of heaven, we think of many things. In fact, these terms carry with them a broad spectrum of present and future…
Woe To the Decree Makers
“Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression,” (Isaiah 10:1, ESV) To pronounce a woe upon anyone is a frightening proposition when God speaks it. This is because it speaks of a future pending judgment. That is the case here as it pertains to the legislators of Israel. Those…
Perfect Governance (Isaiah 9:1-7)
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David…
Living On a Higher Plane
“Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread.” . . . “And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead…
The Sign of Immanuel
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14, ESV) Here we have one of the most famous prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures. Matthew quoted this prophecy in his gospel account and attributed it to Christ, Israel’s Messiah.…
Strength For Today
“If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.” (Isaiah 7:9, ESV) Do not worries and fears plague us today? Many of us walk through this life with much fear and trepidation. There is an antidote for this. It is faith. Faith is at the core of firmness or confidence…
The difference is in the experience.
“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.” (Isaiah 6:1, ESV) Have you ever wondered what the difference is between those who have a deep devotion to the Lord and those who do not? I…
What fruit are we yielding?
“. . . he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.” (Isaiah 5:2, ESV) This section of Isaiah records a metaphor that pertains to house of Israel (v1-7). Israel was God’s chosen and beloved people. He did everything to make them fruitful and productive. Yet they chose to go the way…
That Glorious Day
“In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel.” (Isaiah 4:2, ESV)“Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and…
Where are we heading?
“For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their deeds are against the Lord, defying his glorious presence. For the look on their faces bears witness against them; they proclaim their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.” (Isaiah 3:8–9,…
Fight the Quintessential Sin
“And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.” (Isaiah 2:17, ESV) Isaiah speaks of a glorious day, a day when the Lord shall defeat the quintessential sin in our lives once-and-for-all. What is the quintessential…
The Way of Peace
“He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4, ESV) The year was 1969. The Vietnam War (conflict) waged with devastating…
100 Percent Pure
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18, ESV) Ivory Snow had a commercial slogan that said it was 99 and 44/100 percent pure. This was from an…
No Middle Ground (Isaiah 1:24-31)
“Zion shall be redeemed by justice, and those in her who repent, by righteousness. But rebels and sinners shall be broken together, and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.” (Isaiah 1:27–28, ESV) I was a member of a church once that relocated to the corner of Middle Ground Road and Montgomery Cross Road.…
The Devout Few
“If the Lord of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.” (Isaiah 1:9, ESV) When the Lord brought this message to the nation, it had just experienced a time of great prosperity. Judah, the Southern Kingdom, had experienced a time peace and prosperity and…
Follow My Blog
Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.
Renewing the Heart 