LifePoint Lubbock

Day 199
Isaiah 23-27

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock. Isaiah 26:3-4 (NLT)

Today’s reading concludes fifteen chapters of judgment upon the earth. Isaiah 24:5-6 gives the reason for this judgment. This is not God’s fault. This is man’s fault. Humanity loves to break rules and overstep boundaries. This ultimate judgment is brought on by man’s hardened, repeated rejection of God. Even in the midst of judgment or perhaps because of His long-awaited judgment, there comes the voices of those singing, “Glory to the Righteous One”. The godly can see the goodness, the greatness, and the glory of God even in His judgment. Chapter 25 praises God for all the wonderful things He has done. We can rejoice when God makes right the wrongs of this world.

Isaiah 25:8 says “He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign LORD will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against His land and people. The LORD has spoken!” (NLT). Sin brought death into this world and one day God will eliminate it completely.

In Isaiah 26:3-4, God promises that we can have perfect peace. In Hebrew this is actually “shalom shalom”, peace upon peace. Perfect peace is kept when our minds are set, fixed on Him. Our minds are fixed on what we are trusting in. The battle for trust in our lives begins in the mind. If you want to experience perfect peace, trust in the Lord always.

Day 198
Isaiah 18-22

I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. Isaiah 22:20 (NIV)

Ethiopia wanted Judah to rebel against Assyria and align with Ethiopia and Egypt. God wanted His people to trust in Him and not in other nations. Egypt worshiped just about everything. Each of the plagues were directed against a particular idol in Egypt. God promises redemption for Egypt, Assyria, and Israel. God’s grace covers the very worst of men and sends a Savior to all. No one is beyond God’s grace.

When God brings judgment on Ethiopia and Egypt, it will be obvious to Judah how foolish they were. Trusting in the wrong thing sets us up for disappointment. There is no other place for God’s people to find security other than God.

The cry of the watchman, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen” was fulfilled when the Medo-Persian Empire conquered Babylon, but it also has a prophetic application. Revelation 18:2 describes God’s judgment against the world system by repeating this phrase. Judgment against Jerusalem is found in Isaiah 22. God removed His protection because they did not turn their hearts to Him. Eliakim, an assistant to King Hezekiah and more importantly, God’s servant, will be given great authority. The chief royal steward had the master key to the palace with the authority to open and shut as the LORD’s representative. Eliakim is a prophecy of the Messiah. Jesus speaks of Himself as the one who has the authority to open and shut (Revelation 3:7) as well as the one who has all authority in heaven and earth (Matthew 16:19). Whatever doors may be opened or shut in our lives, our commitment should be to the follow the One who holds the keys.

Day 196
2 Chronicles 28, 2 Kings 16-17

Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods. Rather, worship the LORD your God; it is He who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies. 2 Kings 17:38-39 (NIV)

Ahaz was perhaps the worst king Judah had ever seen. He embraced the ungodly practices of the kings of Israel. Judah had a mix of godly kings and ungodly kings. Israel only had wicked, ungodly kings and Ahaz chose to follow their pattern. Ahaz began worshiping Molech with child sacrifice. God had pronounced the death sentence against all who worshipped Molech in Leviticus 20:1-5. God had driven the Canaanites out of the land because of their sin of human sacrifice. That same judgment would be brought upon Judah for the same sins.

2 Chronicles 28:22 is a sad commentary of King Ahaz and a sober warning to us all. “In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the LORD.” Trials and troubles do not necessarily drive people closer to God. Sometimes people allow such circumstances to drive them further away from God. Trouble brought more rebellion rather than repentance. Ahaz sought other false gods. Micah described Ahaz as “doing evil with both hands” (Micah 7:3).

Even in all their rebellion and sin, God reminded them that if they had been faithful, they would still stand. God would have delivered them from all their enemies. Instead, they were conquered not only by the Assyrians, but by their own self-destructive sin. The reminder to us is to seek God and serve God, trusting that He will deliver His people.