It’s not too late . . .

 

 

READ Isaiah 21–24

A devotional reading is not the same as Bible study. In devotions, I listen for the Spirit of God speaking to me where I am and in what situations I am in. Bible study could be described as reading this portion of Isaiah and studying historical records that verify past fulfilments of the prophecies made. Or study could involve comparing these chapters to descriptions of the last judgments in Revelation.

As for devotions, I’m observing a world that has lost its bearings. While goodness can be found, evil seems to have a stronghold and it shows in many ways. Yesterday we saw a children’s book bookstore dedicated to several things the Bible forbids. Nearby was a gift shop filled with small idols, ‘artistic’ skulls, and many items associated with occult practices.

Isaiah speaks against various cities and places yet each of them are associated with something else. The first chapter alludes to warriors. Is this pointing to those who love and promote battle, who wage war for personal gain? War is bad news now, but God will end all that:

For thus the Lord said to me, “Within a year, according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end. And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of Kedar will be few, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.” (Isaiah 21:16–17)

The second chapter speaks of Jerusalem and its strength with allusions to its fortifications, perhaps respect gained by religious fervor, or education, or whatever appears honorable, yet this also will come to a sad end:

In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off, for the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 22:25)

The third chapter refers to places of commerce strengths that involve prosperity. Their successes have a different ending — all will wind up as supply for God’s people:

At the end of seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the Lord. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the Lord. (Isaiah 23:17–18)

The fourth chapter is about final judgment. Several sections are like descriptions in Revelation:

Behold, the Lord will empty the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the slave, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor. The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered; for the Lord has spoken this word. (Isaiah 24:1–3)

Humanity has transgressed God’s laws, violated His statutes, and broken the everlasting covenant. “Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left.” (Isaiah 24:5–6) “There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine; all joy has grown dark; the gladness of the earth is banished. Desolation is left in the city; the gates are battered into ruins.” (Isaiah 24:11–12)

Isaiah describes God ending evil much like the visions of John in Revelation:

He who flees at the sound of the terror shall fall into the pit, and he who climbs out of the pit shall be caught in the snare. For the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble. The earth is utterly broken, the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken. The earth staggers like a drunken man; it sways like a hut; its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls, and will not rise again. On that day the Lord will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth. They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit; they will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished. Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the Lord of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders. (Isaiah 24:18–23)

My emotional response is both sorrow and a sense of ‘it has to be’ otherwise evil will continue forever. The spiritual principle of sin leading to death is an anchor in one way and a sadness in my heart also. I don’t want even the vilest person to die — Jesus Christ makes redemption and a changed life possible. And I am certain that God is also not willing that any should perish. I have a responsibility to let them know that His great love and mercy are still available.