Day By Day - Isaiah 9
By John Horsburgh
Introduction - Personal Thoughts
Once again, there are several levels to this prophetic book. It held a local and immediate truth that was relevant to the listeners at the time of its writing. But of immense interest to us is the beautiful promise of the Saviour to be born and the wonderful endorsement of His life and work. And yet, we live in times when the last half of this chapter is so very relevant as we see the masses turn away from the love and protection of the Father.
Judgement is coming – when, is anybody’s guess – but it is coming.
Key Points:
1) vs. 3 “you have multiplied the nation and not increased the joy”
We live among people who work and slave for their payday but when all is said and done they find little happiness in their material gain. And in many areas of the church, there has been so much emphasis on making the Gospel “relevant to today”, that in many cases the increase has resulted in little or no change in lives. The joy of the Lord is at the heart of God’s people but it belongs to those who willingly place Christ at the very centre of their lives and choose to live according to what He has called us to do and be. When we fail to see the Joy of the Lord increasing in our world we need to go back to the Maker’s manual and seek guidance from Him. He loves us and wants to have us in relationship with Him, and there we will find love, peace and joy.
2) vs. 6-7 “for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given”
What can I say... such beautiful words and they follow words of destruction. I exhort everyone to sit back and read these words out loud and let them permeate your very heart. In the midst of the turmoil of 2020, there is so much in these two verses to lift the spirit, and I just love the manner in which the prophet rounds out this little portion with “the zeal of the Lord of hosts WILL perform this."
Honestly, read vss. 6 and 7 again – out loud.
3) vs.15-16 “and the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail and the leaders of the people shall cause them to err”.
There have been a lot of guesses over time as to who the Anti-Christ may be, but the truth is quite simple, even when he does eventually show up the masses will still be ignorant simply because it is so easy to fall for the lies that emanate from those who aspire to leadership for all the wrong reasons. Politicians will promise just about anything to get people to vote for them just to gain power. But the real issue then becomes who are the real leaders? There is a vicious circle where the people follow the leaders who are following the loudest cry from the crowd.
We need to find truth, real truth and anchor our lives there and avoid the trap of following the crowd... Remember vss. 6 and 7...
Conclusion - Final Thoughts
Once again, there is this dichotomy of rejection of God, God’s promise of the good things to come and the ever-present threat of emptiness, want and destruction. As followers of Christ, it is imperative that we can find the balance in the midst of this complication. To do this I find that it helps to view these three things in a slightly different order...
Rejection of God brings emptiness, want and destruction, HOWEVER... God’s promise is for those who choose to accept His love, repent of their sins and follow Him, wherever He leads us.
“For unto us a child is born, unto us, a son is given...”
Introduction - Personal Thoughts
Once again, there are several levels to this prophetic book. It held a local and immediate truth that was relevant to the listeners at the time of its writing. But of immense interest to us is the beautiful promise of the Saviour to be born and the wonderful endorsement of His life and work. And yet, we live in times when the last half of this chapter is so very relevant as we see the masses turn away from the love and protection of the Father.
Judgement is coming – when, is anybody’s guess – but it is coming.
Key Points:
1) vs. 3 “you have multiplied the nation and not increased the joy”
We live among people who work and slave for their payday but when all is said and done they find little happiness in their material gain. And in many areas of the church, there has been so much emphasis on making the Gospel “relevant to today”, that in many cases the increase has resulted in little or no change in lives. The joy of the Lord is at the heart of God’s people but it belongs to those who willingly place Christ at the very centre of their lives and choose to live according to what He has called us to do and be. When we fail to see the Joy of the Lord increasing in our world we need to go back to the Maker’s manual and seek guidance from Him. He loves us and wants to have us in relationship with Him, and there we will find love, peace and joy.
2) vs. 6-7 “for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given”
What can I say... such beautiful words and they follow words of destruction. I exhort everyone to sit back and read these words out loud and let them permeate your very heart. In the midst of the turmoil of 2020, there is so much in these two verses to lift the spirit, and I just love the manner in which the prophet rounds out this little portion with “the zeal of the Lord of hosts WILL perform this."
Honestly, read vss. 6 and 7 again – out loud.
3) vs.15-16 “and the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail and the leaders of the people shall cause them to err”.
There have been a lot of guesses over time as to who the Anti-Christ may be, but the truth is quite simple, even when he does eventually show up the masses will still be ignorant simply because it is so easy to fall for the lies that emanate from those who aspire to leadership for all the wrong reasons. Politicians will promise just about anything to get people to vote for them just to gain power. But the real issue then becomes who are the real leaders? There is a vicious circle where the people follow the leaders who are following the loudest cry from the crowd.
We need to find truth, real truth and anchor our lives there and avoid the trap of following the crowd... Remember vss. 6 and 7...
Conclusion - Final Thoughts
Once again, there is this dichotomy of rejection of God, God’s promise of the good things to come and the ever-present threat of emptiness, want and destruction. As followers of Christ, it is imperative that we can find the balance in the midst of this complication. To do this I find that it helps to view these three things in a slightly different order...
Rejection of God brings emptiness, want and destruction, HOWEVER... God’s promise is for those who choose to accept His love, repent of their sins and follow Him, wherever He leads us.
“For unto us a child is born, unto us, a son is given...”
Posted in Isaiah