Chapters of His Heart: Isaiah 18

Read Isaiah 18 here.
I'm not ashamed to say I had some help with this chapter. That is the purpose of all this isn't it, to grow and to learn together? If you read the chapter (which I hope you do every week) then you know how abstract and....different this chapter was. I began digging through some bible commentaries and I found out that I wasn't the only one who thought this chapter was difficult to comprehend. Commentators have been calling Isaiah 18 "One of the most obscure prophecies in Isaiah." (-Homer Hailey pg. 156) since the seventeen hundreds. One modern preacher/theologian coined this "the most difficult chapter encountered thus far." (-Robert Lowth's Commentary pg. 234).  Well that made me feel a little bit better. So this is how chapter eighteen translates; The people of Ethiopia approached the Israelites with the offer of an alliance. The major power of the time was, as we've read, the Assyrians. An alliance between Israel and Ethiopia would mean Assyria would no longer pose as a threat to either country. As you can imagine this was an immensely attractive offer. So why does Isaiah advise the Israelites to tun it down?

I want you to pay close attention to verse 4, which is God's response to the Ethiopian's offer.

For the LORD has told me this:
“I will watch quietly from my dwelling place—
as quietly as the heat rises on a summer day,
or as the morning dew forms during the harvest.”

God doesn't need allies. He looks from His place in heaven and sees all the plans being made but He does't need to run out and seek an alliance to be sure of His future. He calmly looks on and waits. God will protect His people and He will do it Himself. He will cut down the threat before it has time to mature. Those threatening Israel will be left to be feasted on by the birds of prey.

We are so quick to panic when faced with threats. We feel the need to search out the best plan, the best ally, the best escape from our trouble. We forget that with God on our side, we need no other ally. God does not panic when threats arise, He looks calmly on and waits for the perfect time to step in. When a threat arises in your life, to your job, your health, your pocket, or maybe your relationships, don't panic. Look calmly on and wait in faith for God's perfect timing. Trust Him, the 'perfect timing', it's kind of His thing.

God's heart is for His people, we know that. God's heart has a plan and that plan is steadfast and unchanging, we know that too. In this chapter we learn that God's heart does not fear the enemy in times of trouble, so, neither should ours.

A Beautiful Mess

I have to share this little life moment with you.

The other day I was standing in my classroom just having one of those days. (Just like the night before that and the day before that...I was a mess. Like, lucky-I-remembered-my-pants, kind of mess.) I'm rushing around cleaning not-so-washable marker from the tables (for the third time that morning), setting out cots for nap time, trying to coax the class into cleaning up, reminding boy1 that we aren't allowed to shoot the girls (even in pretend), taking a toy from girl1 and returning it to girl2 who had it first, getting boy2 out of the bathroom sink and girl3 into the bathroom to go potty, reassuring girl4 that her boo boo isn't terminal, and rescuing boy3's little nose from being punched by girl5's little fist because 'he said a bad word to me' (something horrible like 'poopy' or 'banana head'), all while maintaining an "appropriate Teacher vocal level". Which is supposedly somewhere between nun and fairy princess...or so I'm told.
 At this point I've decided that I was completely insane when I signed up to teach eleven, three year olds (the jury's still out on that one) and that I'm way under qualified for the job.  Somewhere in the middle of all of that, I stopped and was pulling up my, desperately-needs-cut-and-I'm-about-to-use-safety-scisors, hair. I turn around and one of my little girls is looking up at me smiling and says "Miss Rebek'o (she's three give her a break) you're beauuuteefull!" and then she thought about it and adds, "Just like me!" In the craziness of the moment I smiled and said "Yes, you are very beautiful!", but as I was thinking about that moment later that day God showed me how honest and raw that image of my three year old really was. I'm rushing around doing my 'grown up' things, with my 'grown up' worries, and 'grown up' stresses, and the little pressures of my day are adding up to make me feel completely inadequate. In my eyes I was a mess and I was making a mess of my job, but in the innocent eyes of a three year old I was beautiful, we all were. I realized that's exactly how God see's us. No matter how much of a mess we've made, or think we've made, of things God only sees us as beautiful. It's so easy to get distracted by the daily grind that sometimes we forget whose we are. We are God's and He made us beautiful. He doesn't see the mess in us, and that's beautiful.

Update to a Blog Bug

Hi y'all!

I have received a couple message from you telling me there was a bug with the comment box. Apparently Blogger has not been posting your comments unless you have clicked the 'Preview' button previous to posting your comment. I apologize for the bug, but I think I have it all worked out now and your comments should go through without any problem. So if you have posted a comment previous to this post and did not preview you comment, sorry, but it was never posted. Please let me know if you are still experiencing problems with the comments, and thanks for reading. :)

Chapters of His Heart: Isaiah 17

Read Isaiah Chapter 17 here.
At first glance this chapter seems to start out pretty similar to how a lot of Isaiah has sounded so far. Isaiah is delivering a message to Damascus and Israel about God's coming punishment. However as the chapter progresses I found a couple of nuggets that make the repetition of the chapter become a stepping stone into some great glimpses of God's heart. God has plans of punishment in place. He says everything that makes Israel glorious or beautiful will waste away. The people who are left after the destruction will be scattered, and the harvest will be desolate. Then, God's heart shows through all the darkness. Previous to God's intercession of their lives the people of the Northern Kingdom were worshiping Idols and were involved in some pretty horrible stuff. God desperately wants His people to return to Him. He was willing to do whatever it took, even if it meant He was going to have to punish them to get their attention. Verses 7 and 10 say this,

"Then at last the people will look to their creator
and turn their eyes to the Holy one of Israel."

"Why? Because you have turned from the God who can save you
You have forgotten the Rock who can hide you."

God does not punish us for revenge or to slaughter the sinners. God is not full of malice or anger waiting to exact His perfect plan of destruction on us. When God decides He needs to punish His children you had better believe it is to remind us of His love and is a last resort to get ahold of our hearts. God punishes us to remind us that He is where we should be. To show us that the path we have chosen is going to hurt us. To open our eyes to realize we have turned away from our Rock and Salvation, only He can protect us, only He can hide us and we are not safe until we are with Him. In His love He brings us back to the God who saves and the Rock that hides.

The second nugget I pulled from this chapter begins in verse 12. Here is what verses 12-14 say,

"Listen! The armies of many nations
roar like the roaring of the sea.
Hear the thunder of the mighty forces
as they rush forward like thundering waves.
But though they thunder like breakers on a beach,
God will silence them, and they will run away.
They will flee like chaff scattered by the wind,
like a tumbleweed whirling before a storm.
In the evening Israel waits in terror,
but by dawn its enemies are dead.
This is the just reward of those who plunder us,
a fitting end for those who destroy us."

We have seen the paternal love of God as He teaches us a painful lesson to protect our hearts, and now we see His love as a big brother. Yes God was going to teach Israel a lesson, yes it was going to be painful, but no one was going to do it for Him. God would not let anyone in hatred and greed do to His people what He was going to do in wisdom and love. If God was out to punish us just to see us suffer He would let the first opposing army that came by get the job done for Him. God intended to teach His people a lesson in love to win their hearts, not destroy their lives to punish their sin. That is my God. That is the beauty of His complex, unconditional, Abba Father, Big Brother love. That is His heart.

Chapters of His Heart: Isaiah 15 and 16

Read Isaiah fifteen and sixteen here.

We are going to look at chapters fifteen and sixteen together because they are two parts of one prophesy. We know that these two chapters focus on the coming destruction of Moab, but what do we know about Moab? To fully grasp the heart of what is happening here we need to step back and read the story behind the story.

"Moab was East of the Dead Sea. The Moabites were descendants of Lot through his incestuous relationship with his older daughter (Genesis 19:31-37). Moab had always been Israel's enemy. They oppressed Israel and invaded their land (Judges 3:12-14) fought against Saul (1 Samuel 14:47) and against David (2 Samuel 8:2, 11, 12) Moab would be punished for treating Israel harshly." 

-Life Application Study Bible Notes on Isaiah 15

From the first verse of chapter 15 we can tell that Moab is facing some of the most devastating destruction Isaiah has yet to prophesy. A whole town will be leveled and a city completely destroyed in one night. By the end of Chapter 16 Moab's fate is sealed, three years will see their total downfall.

After reading Moab's story it is easy to think that, 'Moab is getting what they deserved.' 'They messed with God's people and they're paying for it.' 'They were sinners, born of sin.' Let me humbly remind us of our own beginning. We were born of sin, we are sinners. We are God's people and every time we make a decision to sin we are, technically, messing with God's people. So then, what do we deserve? Honestly, to die. To be punished eternally for our sins. Because God is just and He judges fairly.

However, (don't you love that word?) however, we are also dealing with a God of mercy and grace. In His unmatched mercy He doesn't give us what we deserve; death, but in His amazing grace He gives us what we don't deserve; life. One of the most humbling pictures of this love is shown to Moab in it's time of distress, and it comes from somewhere unexpected. After Moab's gods couldn't help them (because they were blocks of wood) the refugees turned to the people they had attacked and plundered for years. They turned for protection to a people who they had killed in battle and Israel willingly opened it's borders and offered to protect their enemies. The Moabites deserved the punishment that was coming to them. No one would have blamed Israel for turning them away. But instead they chose to become a flesh-and-blood example of God's love here on earth. They put aside their pride and stepped away from bitterness, they chose grace and mercy, they chose God. If God's heart is gracious and merciful then so should ours be. When opportunities arise to chose between holding on to a grudge or letting go and loving those who hurt you, ask God to let His heart beat through your heart. Let His Devine love overtake your heart and pour out into the relationships around you. Let His heart live in yours.

My Heart's Home. A Second Date.

If you missed the first part of the story, Love at First Sight, you can read it here.

The next morning was bright and warm. The clouds of yesterday had moved on and the sun was putting on a spectacular show as it rose across the water. Most of the family was up already, some had been to the beach and back and some were sitting in rocking chairs on the deck drinking in the last bits of sunrise. I grudgingly looked out over the sand dunes that kept a safe distance between myself and the crashing monster. My backside hadn't let me forget the punishment I had received at our first encounter. I expected to see the water lapping in triumphant, mocking waves gloating over it's victory. What I saw could not have been more of the opposite and I was immediately entranced in the picture. It was as if the cloudy, grey sky the day before had put the Ocean in a bad mood, but now, glittering in the light of the morning sun, the Ocean danced and smiled. Bits of color flashed across it's surface as it picked up the hues from the beautiful morning. The waves no longer crashed and rolled in violent punches but swept and glided as gentle kisses along the shore. How could this be the same Ocean that I had encountered yesterday? What a glorious transformation had occurred while I slept. My next objective was to see which lounging adult I could convince to get me down to the beach in the shortest time possible. I had a date with the Ocean, and this time I wasn't going to walk away unhappy.

The memories I have of that morning on the beach are among the happiest and brightest ones I own. I remember them almost as a dream. Running with the ocean, in and out with the waves. Laughing and dancing in the sun, jumping to 'outrun' the waves and screaming with joy when they caught me. I remember discovering tide pools with little fish and making it my mission to 'save' them in my bucket and return them to the ocean. It was a glorious second date, and I learned that a first impression isn't always the right impression. The rest of the week was beautiful, swimming, flying kites, building castles, collecting shells, but nothing sticks out so vividly as that second day. My heart was set, it was love.

Chapters oh His Heart: Isaiah 14

Beyond Enough

Lets start by reading Isaiah 14 here.
If you have been following Isaiah so far you will know that Israel has done everything BUT follow the Lord. They have turned their backs and completely walked away from God. After all that, after being betrayed by the people He loved the very most, this is what Isaiah says of the Lord:

"He will choose Israel as his special people once again. He will bring them back to settle once again in their own land."

He STILL chose Israel. After everything, God still loved Israel. God still chose them. How merciful is our God! Love we can not understand. Forgiveness that will never be reproduced on this earth by any man. When God loves someone He deeply loves them, and He never stops loving them. Ever.
When we think we have reached the point of being unlovable how relieving is it to find God waiting with open arms. Our choices, our mess ups and mistakes can not shake the purpose of the Lord. How vain is it for us to think that our decisions are capable of altering the purpose of our lives as set forth by God.

Not only did the Lord have mercy on Israel, He showed them kindness. God didn't stop with forgiveness and acceptance, which would have been enough, He pushed deeper and reached farther. God passed up "enough" and went straight on to "more than we deserve", that's just how He works. He loved them so much that He couldn't leave them in their self-made oppression. He brought them home. The people of Israel had been captive and made slaves, but the Lord had other plans. Those who had taken His people captive would in turn be made Israel's slaves. The oppressors made slaves of the oppressed. Verses 24-27 are addressed to the Assyrians, the people who had captured Israel. The Lord declares that they will be broken of their hold on his people. These verses contain a powerful reminder to us of God's authority and power. No one can move the hand of God once it is set forth. One version says this:

"It will all happen as I have planned. It will be as I have decided... The Lord of Heaven's armies has spoken, who can change His plans? When His hand is raised, who can stop Him?"

Another version says:

"Surely , as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so it shall stand... For the Lord of Hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?"

What a reminder! When you feel captive, to whatever it may be, fear, guilt, depression, loneliness, remember... you are the Lord's, the precious one He loves and He has a purpose for you. Nothing the world can send your way, nothing the enemy can blind you with, nothing is to big, to strong, or to deep that the power of our God can not pervade. When the Lord has purposed something, when he has set His hand to something, nothing and no one can turn Him back. His purpose will always shine through, His hand will always hold strong. He is God, the plans of His heart are not just to give us enough, but to give us more than we deserve.

Chapters of His Heart: Isaiah 13

You can read Isaiah 13 here.
The wickedness of man does not go unpunished by the Lord. He will raise up an army to so destroy the wicked that not a trace of them will be left on the earth. Tolerance is not a word found in God's vocabulary. Wickedness is not an overlook-able occupation. If this is God's heart then so should it be ours. I'm not saying we should wipe the wicked off the face of the earth. I am saying we should wipe the wickedness out of our own hearts. God is to be the judge of others but we are responsible for our own hearts. Never should we tolerate wickedness in ourselves. No status quo, no peer pressure, no person, no desire, should ever convince us to tolerate evil.
When we allow wickedness, or sin, to root into our hearts we choke out any seed of Gods word that was growing there. Without His word we are without His spirit and thats a dangerous place to be. Sometimes I think we over generalize the word 'sin'. When someone says "clear your heart of sin" our first thoughts are sometimes "Well I haven't murdered or stolen anything or committed adultery and I haven't really lied about anything important...so, I'm good, no sin here!". We forget that sin isn't restricted to the ten commandments. Just because our actions don't fall under one of the "big sin" categories doesn't mean we aren't in sin. The bible says worrying is a sin, so is a bad attitude, or jealousy. Those are the things we need to guard our hearts from. Because they aren't "big" things they can slip into our lives undetected. Babylon was destroyed beyond repair because of it's sin, it never rose out of it's ruins. That is the fate of the wicked when faced with a just judge. May we search our hearts and weed out any seed of wickedness that may lie there. May we purify ourselves before God. God's heart is without wickedness, may our hearts mirror His.