(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)
(Isaiah 9:1-21) But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He will make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
2 The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
3 You will multiply the nation,
You will increase their joy;
They will rejoice in Your presence
As with the joy of harvest,
As people rejoice when they divide the spoils.
4 For You will break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
5 For every boot of the marching warrior in the roar of battle,
And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
6 For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of armies will accomplish this.
8 The Lord sends a message against Jacob,
And it falls on Israel.
9 And all the people know it,
That is, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,
Asserting in pride and in arrogance of heart:
10 “The bricks have fallen down,
But we will rebuild with smooth stones;
The sycamores have been cut down,
But we will replace them with cedars.”
11 Therefore the Lord raises superior adversaries against them from Rezin
And provokes their enemies,
12 The Arameans from the east and the Philistines from the west;
And they devour Israel with gaping jaws.
In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away,
And His hand is still stretched out.
13 Yet the people do not turn back to Him who struck them,
Nor do they seek the Lord of armies.
14 So the Lord cuts off head and tail from Israel,
Both palm branch and bulrush in a single day.
15 The head is the elder and esteemed man,
And the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail.
16 For those who guide this people are leading them astray;
And those who are guided by them are confused.
17 Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men,
Nor does He have compassion on their orphans or their widows;
For every one of them is godless and an evildoer,
And every mouth is speaking foolishness.
In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away,
And His hand is still stretched out.
18 For wickedness burns like a fire;
It consumes briars and thorns;
It also sets the thickets of the forest aflame
And they roll upward in a column of smoke.
19 By the wrath of the Lord of armies the land is burned,
And the people are like fuel for the fire;
No one spares his brother.
20 They devour what is on the right hand but are still hungry,
And they eat what is on the left hand, but they are not satisfied;
Each of them eats the flesh of his own arm.
21 Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,
And together they are against Judah.
In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
2 The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
3 You will multiply the nation,
You will increase their joy;
They will rejoice in Your presence
As with the joy of harvest,
As people rejoice when they divide the spoils.
4 For You will break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
5 For every boot of the marching warrior in the roar of battle,
And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
6 For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of armies will accomplish this.
8 The Lord sends a message against Jacob,
And it falls on Israel.
9 And all the people know it,
That is, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,
Asserting in pride and in arrogance of heart:
10 “The bricks have fallen down,
But we will rebuild with smooth stones;
The sycamores have been cut down,
But we will replace them with cedars.”
11 Therefore the Lord raises superior adversaries against them from Rezin
And provokes their enemies,
12 The Arameans from the east and the Philistines from the west;
And they devour Israel with gaping jaws.
In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away,
And His hand is still stretched out.
13 Yet the people do not turn back to Him who struck them,
Nor do they seek the Lord of armies.
14 So the Lord cuts off head and tail from Israel,
Both palm branch and bulrush in a single day.
15 The head is the elder and esteemed man,
And the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail.
16 For those who guide this people are leading them astray;
And those who are guided by them are confused.
17 Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men,
Nor does He have compassion on their orphans or their widows;
For every one of them is godless and an evildoer,
And every mouth is speaking foolishness.
In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away,
And His hand is still stretched out.
18 For wickedness burns like a fire;
It consumes briars and thorns;
It also sets the thickets of the forest aflame
And they roll upward in a column of smoke.
19 By the wrath of the Lord of armies the land is burned,
And the people are like fuel for the fire;
No one spares his brother.
20 They devour what is on the right hand but are still hungry,
And they eat what is on the left hand, but they are not satisfied;
Each of them eats the flesh of his own arm.
21 Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,
And together they are against Judah.
In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
The book of Isaiah has so many prophecies regarding Israel and the Jewish Age, although in this chapter there is also a very clear message to us (to everyone), confirming what God promises in the Abrahamic covenant that through his seed "all nations will be blessed!"
Verses 6 and 7 speaks about the Lord Jesus Christ, and that He will accomplish the things mentioned. There will be justice. His arm will still be stretched out until there is Jesus, who is God, hates sin and will judge all those who have not come to Him for forgiveness. Until death, everyone has a fair chance of making this decision. And because He loves everyone and has gone to the cross to pay the price for everyone's sins, His hand is also still stretched out to anyone who wants to be saved.
There will be peace and joy, for anyone who accepts Jesus' free gift of salvation and walks in His light. When we become a Christian, we receive Jesus' righteousness and forgiveness, therefore we will not be judged according to our sins. Even though, as believers, we will still struggle with sin until we reach heaven, let us remember to continue walking in His light. It is a daily and purposeful step-by-step kind of thing where we need to remember to ask the Lord to help us in His love, strength and righteousness. His hand is always stretched out.
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