(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 57:1-21)
1 The righteous person perishes, and no one takes it to heart;
And devout people are taken away, while no one understands.
For the righteous person is taken away from evil,
2 He enters into peace;
They rest in their beds,
Each one who walked in his upright way.
3 “But come here, you sons of a sorceress,
Offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute!
4 Of whom do you make fun?
Against whom do you open wide your mouth
And stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of rebellion,
Offspring of deceit,
5 Who inflame yourselves among the oaks,
Under every luxuriant tree,
Who slaughter the children in the ravines,
Under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth stones of the ravine
Is your portion, they are your lot;
Even to them you have poured out a drink offering,
You have made a grain offering.
Should I relent of these things?
7 On a high and lofty mountain
You have made your bed.
You also went up there to offer sacrifice.
8 Behind the door and the doorpost
You have set up your sign;
Indeed, far removed from Me, you have uncovered yourself,
And have gone up and made your bed wide.
And you have made an agreement for yourself with them,
You have loved their bed,
You have looked at their manhood.
9 You have journeyed to the king with oil
And increased your perfumes;
You have sent your messengers a great distance
And made them go down to Sheol.
10 You were tired out by the length of your road,
Yet you did not say, ‘It is hopeless!’
You found renewed strength,
Therefore you did not faint.
11 “Of whom were you worried and fearful
When you lied, and did not remember Me
Nor give Me a thought?
Was I not silent, even for a long time,
So you do not fear Me?
12 I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,
And they will not benefit you.
13 When you cry out, let your collection of idols save you.
But the wind will carry them all up,
And a breath will take them away.
But the one who takes refuge in Me will inherit the land
And possess My holy mountain.”
14 And it will be said,
“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
Remove every obstacle from the way of My people.”
15 For this is what the high and exalted One
Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, says:
“I dwell in a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
16 For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would grow faint before Me,
And the breath of those whom I have made.
17 Because of the wrongful act of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on turning away, in the way of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
I will lead him and restore comfort to him and to his mourners,
19 Creating the praise of the lips.
Peace, peace to him who is far away and to him who is near,”
Says the Lord, “and I will heal him.”
20 But the wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.
21 “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
And devout people are taken away, while no one understands.
For the righteous person is taken away from evil,
2 He enters into peace;
They rest in their beds,
Each one who walked in his upright way.
3 “But come here, you sons of a sorceress,
Offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute!
4 Of whom do you make fun?
Against whom do you open wide your mouth
And stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of rebellion,
Offspring of deceit,
5 Who inflame yourselves among the oaks,
Under every luxuriant tree,
Who slaughter the children in the ravines,
Under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth stones of the ravine
Is your portion, they are your lot;
Even to them you have poured out a drink offering,
You have made a grain offering.
Should I relent of these things?
7 On a high and lofty mountain
You have made your bed.
You also went up there to offer sacrifice.
8 Behind the door and the doorpost
You have set up your sign;
Indeed, far removed from Me, you have uncovered yourself,
And have gone up and made your bed wide.
And you have made an agreement for yourself with them,
You have loved their bed,
You have looked at their manhood.
9 You have journeyed to the king with oil
And increased your perfumes;
You have sent your messengers a great distance
And made them go down to Sheol.
10 You were tired out by the length of your road,
Yet you did not say, ‘It is hopeless!’
You found renewed strength,
Therefore you did not faint.
11 “Of whom were you worried and fearful
When you lied, and did not remember Me
Nor give Me a thought?
Was I not silent, even for a long time,
So you do not fear Me?
12 I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,
And they will not benefit you.
13 When you cry out, let your collection of idols save you.
But the wind will carry them all up,
And a breath will take them away.
But the one who takes refuge in Me will inherit the land
And possess My holy mountain.”
14 And it will be said,
“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
Remove every obstacle from the way of My people.”
15 For this is what the high and exalted One
Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, says:
“I dwell in a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
16 For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would grow faint before Me,
And the breath of those whom I have made.
17 Because of the wrongful act of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on turning away, in the way of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
I will lead him and restore comfort to him and to his mourners,
19 Creating the praise of the lips.
Peace, peace to him who is far away and to him who is near,”
Says the Lord, “and I will heal him.”
20 But the wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.
21 “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
The idiom, "You made your bed and now you have to lie in it," has some truth in it. If a person makes their own bed anywhere here on earth, it is temporary and it is doomed. But if we put our faith and trust in the Lord, He "makes our bed" in the heavens! Perfect eternal heavenly peace and rest!!!
As Christians, we do not have to fear death. In fact, I look forward to going to heaven! Immensely so!!! Before the rapture, all believers who passes away, enters a heavenly rest. When the rapture happens, those who are asleep in Christ will be caught up first, and then those believers who are alive will be caught up. Talk about the best possible way to go!!! (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
Now, even though I do not fear death itself, I can find myself fearing the thought of "how" I am going to die. At such times, besides confessing this fear to the Lord, I remind myself to trust Him! I can give the Lord all my worries and cares, and then wait and rest in Him!!! He knows when and how I am going to die, and when that does happen, He will give me the help I need in that moment. As verse 16 above relays, He knows our limits! And He knows exactly what we need!
Trusting that the Lord will sort everything out for us - this is a peace and rest we can experience right now!!!
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