Devotional on Isaiah

2003 – Colorado

Beginning Isaiah
Isaiah 1: The vision that Isaiah son of Amoz saw regarding Judah and Jerusalem.
My devotional journey through the Message has thus far taken me through the O.T. books of history and wisdom. The history books were the easiest and the books of wisdom were the most surprising. Now I turn my attention to the 16 writing prophets. It becomes clear right off that these men of God aren’t interested in winning popularity contests. In the words of the old west, they “shot from the hip.” They also insist that God is central to all of their lives and that their nation(s) canā€™t keep the Almighty confined to “acceptable” parts of their lives. That’s a message my nation needs to hear too. The words of the prophets are driven by the holiness, righteousness, and connected-ness of God. I start off with the most famous of all prophets, Isaiah. It has been suggested that Isaiah isnā€™t one person, but three or more. Thatā€™s because the tone and, according to the experts, vocabulary of his writings are as varied as it would be if three different people wrote. They also point out that in this culture, the disciples of a person would never dream of using their own name, viewing that as a breach of ethics. Again, the identity or identities of “Isaiah” won’t be much of an issue as I write from a devotional point of view. So, for months to come Iā€™ll write from Isaiah and the other prophets of Israel. Let’s see where it takes us.
Take Away: Once again words written centuries ago speak in fresh ways to our current lives.

Devotional on Isaiah

2003 – Colorado

Checking the church calendar
Isaiah 1: Meetings, meetings, meetings, I can’t stand one more!
As a pastor I admit that this phrase resonates with me! In this case, though, itā€™s God whoā€™s talking and he’s weary of his people going through the motions, filling their lives with meetings and other religious activity, but never simply getting about the business of righteous living. Sometimes, I think, religious activity is a cover up for spiritual failure or it may be a substitute for actually going out and making a difference in the world. There’s a time for meetings but those meetings are to move us to real living in the Lord. I fear that we church folk attend a committee meeting and think weā€™ve done what Jesus intended we do. In some cases, we’d be better off to drop the meeting and get out into the real world, making a difference in people’s lives for Christ’s sake.
Take Away: Remember, Jesus told us to ā€œgo and make disciplesā€ ā€“ not ā€œgo and have meetings.ā€

Devotional on Isaiah

2003 – Colorado

No reboot necessary
Isaiah 1: If your sins are blood-red, they’ll be snow-white.
If I have the idea that the prophets are all about denunciation and condemnation I need to spend some time with this passage. Yes, God is fed up with their religious charades; their going-through-the-motions spirituality; their under-the-table shady deals. The Lord says heā€™s going to put a stop to it. However, it doesn’t have to be with defeat, misery, and destruction. “Let’s be reasonable about this,” the Almighty says, “we can fix this, and when Iā€™m finished things will be better than before.” All it takes is their being sensible and cooperating with God. This isn’t about having a sword hanging over their necks. It’s about grace and mercy, not justice. It’s still true today. If God wants to do away with us itā€™s his right and itā€™s just what we deserve. However, rather than hitting the “delete button” on humanity he offers restoration. This passage is filled with sunlight and hope. Plus that, it’s a genuine offer from Heaven’s Throne to each of us. Come on; let’s be reasonable about this…God can fix things, making them right between us and Him. It’s too good an offer to refuse.
Take Away: Rather than a re-start of humanity the Lord wants to restore us. Thatā€™s grace.

Devotional on Isaiah

2003 – Colorado

The Peace Maker
Isaiah 2: No more will nation fight nation; they won’t play war anymore.
We think that our day, with all its international stress points, is somehow unique but we know it really isn’t. It isn’t war thatā€™s unique to human experience, its peace. Human history, including that which is included in the Bible, is filled with war and every generation seems to take its turn at it. Israel’s possession of the Promised Land started with a war and it’s still at war today. Isaiah’s promise of peace sounds as fantastic today as it did then. However, his promise isn’t that of a politician who sincerely promises a “war to end all wars” but all too soon sees an even more devastating conflict break out. Isaiah’s promise isnā€™t man-centered, but is, instead, God-centered. The secret to peace on Earth isnā€™t “one more war” or “bigger weapons” or even the leadership of some gifted peace-maker. That’s because the real battle field isnā€™t in the Middle East or any other geographical location. Rather, itā€™s the human heart. James put it this way, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Donā€™t they come from your desires that battle within you?” (James 4:1). Until the conflict of the human heart is resolved there isn’t a chance “in the world” of peace between nations. Our hope then is Christ. Itā€™s the peaceful rule of the Messiah that Isaiah looked to. Today, Iā€™m reminded that the dominion of the one who “on earth brings peace to men” begins, not out on the battle field, but in my heart.
Take Away: The only hope of peace in the world is Christ.

Devotional on Isaiah

2003 – Colorado

Who it is that America should be worshiping
Isaiah 2: Quit scraping and fawning over mere humans…can’t you see there’s nothing to them?
“American Idol” is a TV show that gets a lot of attention. I havenā€™t been a fan of the show. In fact, I don’t think Iā€™ve ever seen an entire episode. Honestly, now that I know more what it is about my attitude toward it has softened a bit. It’s basically a modern version of Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour (you can look it up if itā€™s a strange name to you!). Do you want to know why I never started watching “American Idol”? Itā€™s the name of the show! As soon as I saw it the Commandment, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image” sprang to mind. Really! As anyone would, I guessed the premise of the show, but the name left a sour taste in my mouth so I never bothered checking it out. Of course, Isaiah isn’t thinking about entertainers when he warns his fellow countrymen to stop “idolizing” people but if he had had access to 140 channels of TV I think he would have been pretty specific in warning us about our attitude concerning everyone from sports stars to singers to actors to politicians. I’m not against people being impressed by a golfer who can drop the ball within two feet of the hole from 150 yards out, but really, he or she is nothing to get excited about. The same people who will rise before daylight to get a prime spot for watching some golf star tee off don’t even bother to attend a worship service in hopes that the King of Kings will make an appearance. Now that’s having mixed up priorities.
Take Away: The warnings about idols should cause us to do a priority check.

Devotional on Isaiah

2003 – Denver, Colorado

That stinks!
Isaiah 3: Those women are going to smell like rotting cabbages.
The books of the prophets are often hard to read, not because we don’t understand whatā€™s being said, but because of the harshness of the message. Still, reading these words from a distance of centuries enables us to see some of the grim humor here too. In chapter 3 Isaiah talks about how the socialites of his day who pride themselves in their appearance and expensive perfumes will look revolting and smell like rotten cabbage. The common people of that day who see those in the upper class getting away with (literal) murder probably recognize the ironic humor in Isaiahā€™s words. Of course, this isn’t a comedy routine. These are real warnings that need to be taken very seriously. After all, the next lines of the prophecy describe death and mourning. Why is all of this going to happen? The answer is that Isaiahā€™s intended audience has fallen so in love with themselves that theyā€™ve forgotten who they really are: a people who exist only by the grace of God. With that in view, I see that this isn’t punishment so much as itā€™s abandonment. That is, God isn’t going to ruin their lives. Instead, heā€™s going to let them continue down the path away from him to where that path leads. Modern Christians need to take a hard look at passages like this. Weā€™re sometimes in danger of falling in love with our own spirituality. In time, we tend to claim responsibility for what good Christians we are and when we do that, this passage no longer contains ancient words directed to people who lived long ago. In the context of the passage Iā€™m reading today, I can say that no matter how spiritual I might think I am Iā€™m what I am by the grace of God. To cut myself off from that truth is to travel a road to an unwanted destination. Pardon the tenuous connection here but such a life “stinks.”
Take Away: Any good is my is because of the grace of God in my life.

Devotional on Isaiah

2005 – Virginia

Remade People
Isaiah 4: Everyone left behind in Zion, all the discards and rejects in Jerusalem, will be reclassified as “holy.”
The intention of God is frightening. Jerusalem will be emptied out, cleansed of its sin. The people who were given this land as a gift of the Lord are going to be ripped from their inheritance. The only people not taken will be those the invaders don’t think are worth taking. These will be discarded and left behind like some broken household item that isn’t worth moving. It will be these survivors, these “worthless people” who will be the hope of life continuing in Jerusalem. God intends to take these who are considered unworthy and transform their lives, classifying them as holy in his sight. Our testimony isnā€™t as dramatic but itā€™s just as thrilling. The Lord takes us in our brokenness, our sin, our worthlessness and as we cooperate with him he begins to remake us. He transforms us, making us into new people. Jesus called that transformation process being “born again.” Oh, the grace of God — how powerful and how wonderful.
Take Away: We are made new by the grace of God, made holy in his sight, transformed by his power.

Devotional on Isaiah

2005 – Washington DC Metro

Holiness
Isaiah 6: Holy, Holy, Holy is the God-of-the-Angel-Armies. His bright glory fills the whole earth.
Isaiah is already a prophet of God when he has his vision of the holiness of God. However, itā€™s that vision that fuels his ministry and transforms his relationship with God. He sees worship taking place in heaven, with heavenly beings shouting out the holiness of God. Everythingā€™s impacted by that holiness: foundations trembling, billowing smoke…and a humbled prophet of God. So what does it mean for God to be “Holy, Holy, Holy”? While I think the triple statement of God’s being holy is intended to cause us to think of his holiness as being complete and not meant to give pastors the makings of three point sermons I do see three aspects of the holiness of God. First, his holiness is that of purity. God is untouched by sin and sin is absolutely foreign to his character. Second, his holiness is that of separateness. God isnā€™t humanity multiplied. Thereā€™s an “otherness” about him and while weā€™re created in his image, there is that about God which is forever beyond our understanding. Third, his holiness is that of transcendence. Even as the brightness of the sun both warms the earth, giving life, and at the same time is so powerful as to be frightening to us, so is God’s holiness both beautiful and at the same time awesome and untouchable by us. Had God not revealed his holiness to us weā€™d have zero chance of even dimly contemplating it. Isaiah doesn’t write an essay about his thoughts on God’s holiness. Rather, he has a God-given vision of it, and once he has that vision heā€™s never the same.
Take Away: A God who is holy, holy, holy should be worshiped and feared.

Devotional on Isaiah

2006 Caddo Lake, Louisiana

Moment of truth
Isaiah 6: Every word I’ve ever spoken is tainted…words that corrupt and desecrate.
Isaiah’s first reaction to seeing the holiness of God isnā€™t reverence or ecstasy. Rather, itā€™s horror. In view of a holy God he realizes his own lack of holiness. When compared to his fellow citizens, Isaiahā€™s a good man, even a righteous man. However, when he finds himself in the presence of God he sees himself as he really is, and that vision brings him to his knees. Isaiah’s words are deeply personal and my reaction to this passage, if itā€™s honest, starts with me and not with what I perceive to be failure in others. Jesus touches on this in the Sermon on the Mount when he says, “Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Also, I note that Isaiah doesn’t announce that heā€™s now going to commence a self-improvement campaign. Instead, itā€™s honest recognition of his sinful ways and deep sadness as he realizes just how broken his life is. Isaiah, in just a few words, says it all: “Iā€™m doomed because everything about me, even my words, is unclean and unholy. Now that Iā€™ve seen God I realize the depth of my lostness. In myself I see no hope whatsoever.” The hope of Isaiah isnā€™t found within himself. He knows it, and the Lord knows it.
Take Away: Itā€™s only as weā€™re honest with ourselves and with the Lord that the Lord can begin transforming our lives.

Devotional on Isaiah

Lost Maples State Park, TX – 2006

Godā€™s response to my need
Isaiah 6: Gone your guilt, your sins wiped out.
Isaiahā€™s vision of Godā€™s holiness breaks his heart. In light of that vision any claims to righteousness are blown away. His brokenness brings him to the place of honest confession which is just what the Lordā€™s waiting for. Immediately, the Lord takes action to cleanse him of his sin. Since this is a vision, thereā€™s a lot of symbolism here. We have an altar of sacrifice with fire, which speaks to us of surrender and purification. Thereā€™s Isaiahā€™s direct reference to his ā€œunclean lipsā€ which refer to, not just a tendency to say the wrong thing, but his whole life, which he sees as speaking in ways that reflect a deep level of spiritual need. The thrilling thing is how the Lord responds to Isaiahā€™s cry of repentance. A heavenly being touches his lips with the burning coal from the altar declaring the wonderful truth that his sin is ā€œwiped outā€ and his guilt is gone. Listen, I donā€™t have to pull some surprising insight out of this passage. In fact, itā€™s surprising enough just as it is. When I realize the purity of God and see my own deep failureā€¦when I confess it, throwing myself on the mercy Godā€¦when I do that, I place myself in the only place where the Lord can help me. I canā€™t forgive my own sin and I canā€™t purify my own life, but when I ā€œrepent and turnā€ he immediately does for me what I can never do for myself. Thereā€™s no better word from the Lord than ā€œgone your guilt, your sins wiped out.ā€
Take Away: As I confess my need the Lord does for me what I can never do for myself.

Devotional on Isaiah

Texas Hill Country – 2006

Cleansed and called and sent
Isaiah 6: Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?
Isaiah’s vision of God brings him face to face with God’s holiness and his own uncleanness. However, his cry for mercy is heard, and through the symbolism of fire from the altar, we see true cleansing for this man of God. Now hereā€™s his commission. Immediately, Iā€™m reminded of the need for “sent people” in the Kingdom of God. The need is great, and, as Jesus said, “The workers are few.” The Lord wants to touch every life on the planet in wonderful ways, but workers must be willing to go and work in the harvest. Also, we see that just any worker wonā€™t do. The call comes after the cleansing, or, maybe as a part of it. A cleansed heart seeks only that which pleases the master while the carnal heart is divided between what self wants and what God wants. A soldier who filters every order he or she receives, deciding whether or not he or she really wants to obey isn’t going to be very effective in the heat of the battle. The call of God to go is for those whoā€™ve died out to self and been purified by the work of the Lord. Finally, there must be absolute willingness on the part of the one called. The Lord doesn’t force Isaiah out into the difficult ministry to which heā€™s to give his life. Isaiah’s free will isnā€™t compromised. The call goes out for workers and Isaiah willingly steps forward with, “I’ll go. Send me!” Workers in God’s Kingdom are servants of the Lord, but we aren’t in bondage. We serve gladly and willingly.
Take Away: Workers in God’s Kingdom are servants of the Lord, but we aren’t in bondage.

Devotional on Isaiah

Texas Hill Country – 2006

No guarantee of success
Isaiah 6: …they won’t have a clue about what is going on…so they won’t turn around and be made whole….
Isaiah’s commission is powerful and associated with a vision of God’s holiness. The prophet is personally transformed by the grace of God and heā€™s ready to “go” for the Lord. However, the next thing the Lord tells Isaiah must be very difficult to swallow. In spite of his being a man with “lips touched with a coal from off the altar” his ministry wonā€™t bear fruit. I know it takes commitment to step forward and say “send me” but how much more to go on this mission with the promise of failure. The Lord says that the people Isaiah goes to minister to will not respond. Why the Lord tells Isaiah this is a mystery to me. Why not just send him on without telling him of the failure to come? I have no answer. However, I do see one important thing here: I belong to the Lord and I have to leave the results of my ministry in his hands. For Isaiah the important thing is “going” — being faithful. Thatā€™s how it is for all of us who serve him.
Take Away: Weā€™re called to obedient faithfulness. The results we leave in the hands of the Lord.

Devotional on Isaiah

Texas Hill Country – 2006

Virgin Birth
Isaiah 8: Because when all is said and done, the last word is Immanuel–God-With-Us.
When the tiny nation Judah is under attack on two fronts Isaiah goes to King Ahaz with the promise that Judah will prevail and the attack will fail. Ahaz can hardly believe it. His nation is out manned and out gunned by the invaders. Isaiah tells him to ask for a sign, any sign, and it will be given him. However, Ahazā€™s lack of faith is apparent when he off handedly says, ā€œOh, I wonā€™t do that.ā€ Isaiah tells him that the Lord’s displeased with his refusal to even bother asking for a sign, but that one will be given anyway. It’s here that we get into ā€œvirgin birthā€ talk. However, the promise isnā€™t for the Messiah to come, it has to do with current circumstances. Isaiah says that before a girl, now a virgin, can marry, conceive, and give birth (in other words, a poetic way of saying ā€œnine monthsā€) that those armies attacking Judah will be gone. To underscore the reason for this withdrawal the child could properly be named ā€œImmanuelā€ or ā€œGod-With-Us.ā€ Isaiah goes on to express Godā€™s displeasure with Ahaz but, still, the bottom line remains. When all else is ā€œsaid and doneā€ ā€œImmanuelā€ remains true, God is with us. When Christ is born this incident comes to mind and is played out in a very literal way. This time it is literally a virgin who gives birth, and this time it really is God who is with us. In these related incidents we see the dual nature of prophecy as there’s a very current application that’s echoed in an unimaginable way in a more distant future. We also see that, today, we can grasp this wonderful truth at a level Isaiah could hardly imagine: God is with us indeed.
Take Away: How wonderful to be reminded of Immanuel God-is-with-us.

Devotional on Isaiah

Texas Hill Country – 2006

Free will and accountability
Isaiah 8: No, weā€™re going to study the Scriptures.
While telling of future events wasn’t the major job of most prophets, itā€™s the one we immediately think of when we think of the work of the prophets. Actually, these men of God mostly “forth-told” rather than “fore-told.” Even when they speak of the future itā€™s often spoken of in a conditional way: “If you do this, then that will happen; if you do that, then this will happen.” In fact, a major theme of these men of God is to remind the people of their free will. That doesn’t mean God is helpless, but it does mean, at least in this context, that the Lord allows people the freedom to decide, and then makes them accountable for their decisions. As Isaiah goes about proclaiming whatā€™s coming if these people stay on the road theyā€™re on, people say to him, “When I want to know what’s coming, I’ll go to a fortune teller or hold a sĆ©ance.” Isaiah says, “If you want to know whatā€™s coming, take a look in the Scriptures.” He isnā€™t saying that the Scriptures contain some kind of secret road map to the future. Instead, heā€™s saying that thereā€™s plenty of evidence in the Scriptures that God wonā€™t forever put up with their foolishness. Repeatedly, in the Scriptures, the Lord has warned them and it doesn’t take some supernatural experience to see whatā€™s coming. Talk about a timeless truth, this is one! Today, I donā€™t need a fortune teller. There’s plenty of information already available to me in the Bible about how God responds to sin and rebellion. If I insist on ignoring God I don’t need a crystal ball to know whatā€™s coming.
Take Away: The Bible is quite clear as to the intentions of the Lord.

Devotional on Isaiah

2006 – Near Hunt, Texas

Dual level preaching
Isaiah 9: For a child has been born — for us! The gift of a son — for us!
Sometimes the prophet does exactly what we generally think of a prophet doing: he speaks of the future. Isaiah says that even when oppressors come and seem to destroy everything that God will have the last word. That Word, Isaiah says, will be in the person of a Child who can rightly be called names like “Strong God” and “Eternal Father.” Have you ever wondered about the state of mind of men like Isaiah when they speak words like this? Does Isaiah see it all: manger, shepherds, and wise men? Or does he scratch his head and wonder why he just said that? I think the answer is somewhere in the middle. I can give a very minor personal example of what I mean. A few weeks ago I was delivering my Sunday morning sermon and found myself emphasizing something that had originally been only a minor part of my sermon. Such an event is hard to describe to people who haven’t preached, but I think most everyone who has carried on spiritual conversations have, at times, experienced something similar. Honestly, as I thought about that sermon and remembered who was in the congregation I had the idea that maybe the Lord wanted to encourage a good person who was going through some challenges in their life. Still it never crossed my mind to “aim” that portion of the sermon at anyone. I was surprised that I had pursued that point as far as I did. A few days later, with no thought of that sermon, I was praying and dealing with what I thought was a totally unrelated issue. Suddenly, the words that I had said on Sunday morning came back to me and I realized that on an entirely different level they were meant for me! At that moment, the “deeper meaning” of what I had said became real to me. I think that prophets like Isaiah operate at that level when they speak of things like those in Isaiah 9. Had you had a frank conversation with Isaiah about his promise of the “gift of a son” I think he would have plugged it into some current situation in his nation. That isn’t to say he was ignorant of there being more than he could grasp, but that, for him, these words applied right then and there. Only as God’s plan is played out does the greater meaning of the old prophet’s words come to light.
Take Away: Even when we think we know whatā€™s going on weā€™re often surprised to later realize that the Lord was working at levels beyond our grasp.

Devotional on Isaiah

Texas Hill Country – 2006

Twigs and forests
Isaiah 11: The life-giving Spirit of God will hover over him.
The flow from current events to spiritual events of the future makes some passages hard to read. Isaiah has declared that the army of their enemy, Assyria, was used of God to purge his people, but went too far. He pictures Assyria as a great forest filled with huge trees. However, for all its majesty, that forest will be leveled because of the anger of God. Then, with no real segue Isaiah continues with his “forest” illustration, proclaiming that out of the remains of Judah just one small twig will spring up. Compared to the great ā€œforestā€ that is Assyria, this green twig might seem insignificant. That ā€œtwig,ā€ though, will be overshadowed by the Spirit of God. It will grow to such a size that all the forests of the world will seem small in comparison and that ā€œtwigā€ will reach out in wisdom, understanding, direction, strength, and knowledge. I donā€™t know what Isaiah or his contemporaries thought of the unexpected direction of this prophecy, but to a Christian reader it makes perfect sense. The army of Assyria is long gone, only of interest to historians and archeologists. However, that ā€œtwigā€ ā€” the one who sprang up as a helpless baby in Bethlehem so long ago ā€” well, his Kingdom continues to flourish to this very day.
Take Away: ā€œAnd he shall reign for ever and ever more. Hallelujah!ā€

Devotional on Isaiah

Texas Hill Country – 2006

Looking to the distant future
Isaiah 11: The whole earth will be brimming with knowing God-Alive, a living knowledge of God ocean-deep, ocean-wide.
Isaiah doesn’t spend all his time looking to the future but when he does, he does it big time. He describes not only a 700 year distant future and the coming of the promised Messiah, but an even more distant future, thousands of years ahead. That future is my future too. People generally think that they have to go to the book of Revelation to look forward, but here in Isaiah we are also able to turn to the end of the story. It ends with a world that knows God. That “knowing” is anything but superficial. Itā€™s as deep and wide as the ocean. Here we not only get a profound look forward, but a look backward as well. This is our purpose, God’s intention when he walked with Adam in the Garden. He desires a deep and intimate relationship with human beings who are the crowing act of Creation. Even as Isaiah describes the strong medicine thatā€™s coming to his generation, he gives a glimpse of what that medicine is intended to accomplish. In this case, itā€™s to move people one step closer to what the Lord created humanity for in the first place.
Take Away: From the beginning our purpose has been to know the Lord and to live in a deep relationship with him.

Devotional on Isaiah

Lost Maples State Park, TX – 2006
Living Water
Isaiah 12: Joyfully you’ll pull up buckets of water from the wells of salvation.
As I read this statement from Isaiah about drawing “buckets of water from the wells of salvation” I canā€™t help but think of Jesus and the woman at the well. Jesus offers the Samaritan woman “living water” that she might “never thirst again.” As I see Isaiah promising a day when abundant “salvation water” will be available and remember Jesus offering just such water, well, I can’t help but focus in on this wonderful offer. I’m glad today that Jesus didn’t just offer a philosophy of life or a new approach to religion. Instead, his “well of salvation” contains that which is “living” and fully satisfying. Whether Isaiah’s prophecy really applies here or not, it does remind me of all Jesus has made available. In the words of the woman at the well, “Give me that living water that I might never thirst again.”
Take Away: The ā€œliving waterā€ is nothing other than an abiding relationship with the Lord, himself.

Devotional on Proverbs

2004 – Big Island, Hawaii

Put God first
Proverbs 1: Start with God.
The Bible tells us about God and about ourselves. Many of its pages contain a history of God and us, telling us not only where we have been but God’s desire for us in the future. However, thereā€™s more than even that. The Lord doesn’t just want all of us to go to heaven when we die. Rather, he wants us to live the best lives possible in the here and now. That’s what the book of Proverbs is about. These wise sayings aren’t written to tell us our history and they aren’t written to point to way to heaven. They tell us how to live the wisest way today. So, as we begin to read this collection of insights into life weā€™re immediately given the foundational secret: “Start with God — the first step in learning is bowing down to God.” Theoretically, I might get everything else right, but if I miss this number one concept before long it will all tumble down. Wisdom begins with God and because of that the satisfied, complete life starts here too. Jesus says it this way, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).
Take Away: When we build our lives around the Lord we have the potential of building a rich, satisfying lifeā€¦ā€œStart with God.ā€

Devotional on Isaiah

Lost Maples State Park, TX – 2006

Letting the Bible say what it says
Isaiah 14: You said to yourself, “I’ll climb to heaven…instead of climbing up, you came down.”
If you were raised in church as I was youā€™ll identify with my observation that church folks develop a lot of folk theology. When I was a kid someone told me that Isaiah 14 describes the fall of Satan from the splendor of heaven. I believed it and grew to adulthood assuming that all Christians thought that about this passage. One day it dawned on me (and I probably had some help with that awakening) that this passage is about Babylon and its king. The ruler of Babylon thinks heā€™s bigger than God. In fact, because of his nationā€™s unequaled economic and military power and his unlimited authority over it all that he concludes that he, himself, is a god. Isaiah prophesies that mighty Babylon is going to fall, and will fall in a very big way. Now, this passage can be used to illustrate other things, but it really isn’t about anything aside from Babylon. For instance the true-ism, “the bigger they come, the harder they fall” comes to mind. Sometimes, even well-meaning people can mistakenly use Scripture in improper ways. As God’s people weā€™re to be people of truth, “rightly dividing the Word” even if that means we lose a handy proof text.
Take Away: Even well-meaning people can mistakenly use Scripture in improper ways.