Day By Day - Isaiah 24
By Jacob Muthsam
Opening Thoughts:
We are about a third of the way through Isaiah and some of you, like me, maybe struggling to grasp all of that is going on here; and to truly get a grip on all that is happening we may need much time reading commentaries of the whole book. (So, as for me, I have decided not to try and recreate commentaries, as you can read them for yourself with scholars much sharper than me, but I have decided to give you the thoughts God gives to me as I read.)
Can I encourage you not to quit but to push through and see what God wants to reveal to you as we go through the whole chapter? As I’m reading it, I’m asking God, through His Holy Spirit, to simply highlight three keys for me. Here are mine from Chapter 24. After reading mine, maybe you could do the same. Pray that the Holy Spirit reveals three things to you in this chapter. Perhaps you could write them down and do that for each chapter and then revisit then later for encouragement.
Personal Thought 1: Title does not equal Privilege…
Verse 2 says: “It will be the same for the priest as for the people, for the master as for his servant, for the mistress as for her servant…”
Verse 1 tells us of the destruction to come and verse 2 shows us that regardless of our status, title, role, etc the punishment and or judgement handed is the same…
My role as a pastor does not save me; others' roles, regardless of what they are - don’t save us.
God has a respect and an ordination of titles in scripture but they don’t bring favour or protection. Only Jesus does.
Personal Thought 2: Sin Wrecks everything…
In verses 4 - 6, we see the reasoning for the Lord’s anger and judgement explained in the first few verses…
Verse 5 is brutal language, but absolute truth… “The earth is defiled by its people, they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant…"
We shouldn’t be surprised by things, such as God’s judgement and Hell. Sin has a consequence…. But we should be all the more thankful for our Saviour.
Personal Thought 3: The level of our praise and worship is dependent on our understanding of God’s Love...
Verse 14: "They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the Lord’s majesty…."
Here is the deal:
- If you don’t understand you’re a sinner, you won’t understand the need for a saviour.
- If you don’t understand you were condemned in your sins, you won’t understand the majesty of the One who saves you.
Having trouble praising God? Remember what He has saved you from…
Final Thoughts:
Gods judgement is real. Our failure to acknowledge God’s covenant is real. There are real consequences. We have no chance if not for Jesus - works can’t help us, Title can’t help us, good looks and giftings can’t help us, big words won’t save us…
Only Jesus can save us from utter destruction and despair. Because He has saved us, we have reason to (as they did in verse 14 ) - Raise our voices and shout for Joy!
Opening Thoughts:
We are about a third of the way through Isaiah and some of you, like me, maybe struggling to grasp all of that is going on here; and to truly get a grip on all that is happening we may need much time reading commentaries of the whole book. (So, as for me, I have decided not to try and recreate commentaries, as you can read them for yourself with scholars much sharper than me, but I have decided to give you the thoughts God gives to me as I read.)
Can I encourage you not to quit but to push through and see what God wants to reveal to you as we go through the whole chapter? As I’m reading it, I’m asking God, through His Holy Spirit, to simply highlight three keys for me. Here are mine from Chapter 24. After reading mine, maybe you could do the same. Pray that the Holy Spirit reveals three things to you in this chapter. Perhaps you could write them down and do that for each chapter and then revisit then later for encouragement.
Personal Thought 1: Title does not equal Privilege…
Verse 2 says: “It will be the same for the priest as for the people, for the master as for his servant, for the mistress as for her servant…”
Verse 1 tells us of the destruction to come and verse 2 shows us that regardless of our status, title, role, etc the punishment and or judgement handed is the same…
My role as a pastor does not save me; others' roles, regardless of what they are - don’t save us.
God has a respect and an ordination of titles in scripture but they don’t bring favour or protection. Only Jesus does.
Personal Thought 2: Sin Wrecks everything…
In verses 4 - 6, we see the reasoning for the Lord’s anger and judgement explained in the first few verses…
Verse 5 is brutal language, but absolute truth… “The earth is defiled by its people, they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant…"
We shouldn’t be surprised by things, such as God’s judgement and Hell. Sin has a consequence…. But we should be all the more thankful for our Saviour.
Personal Thought 3: The level of our praise and worship is dependent on our understanding of God’s Love...
Verse 14: "They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the Lord’s majesty…."
Here is the deal:
- If you don’t understand you’re a sinner, you won’t understand the need for a saviour.
- If you don’t understand you were condemned in your sins, you won’t understand the majesty of the One who saves you.
Having trouble praising God? Remember what He has saved you from…
Final Thoughts:
Gods judgement is real. Our failure to acknowledge God’s covenant is real. There are real consequences. We have no chance if not for Jesus - works can’t help us, Title can’t help us, good looks and giftings can’t help us, big words won’t save us…
Only Jesus can save us from utter destruction and despair. Because He has saved us, we have reason to (as they did in verse 14 ) - Raise our voices and shout for Joy!
Posted in Isaiah