Daily Bible Devotionals

Grab your Bible & experience the Groundworks Ministries Podcast as Steve Wiggins leads us through the full chapter of Isaiah 43. Click the links below to watch or listen now!

“Who gave Jacob for plunder, and Israel to the robbers? Was it not the Lord, He against Whom we have sinned? For they would not walk in His ways, nor were they obedient to His Law. Therefore, He has poured out His anger and the strength of His battle; it has set him on fire all around, yet he did not know; and it burned him, yet he did not take it to heart.” Isaiah 42:24-25 (NKJV)

Isaiah is prophesying about the coming judgment upon Israel and Judah for having abandoned God by turning to idols. The Jewish mindset, during the days in which Isaiah prophesied, was of the opinion that no matter how greatly His people sinned, God would not utterly destroy them because of His covenant promise. While that is correct to assume, Israel and Judah had no idea the extent His rebuke was about to take. They could not fathom how small of a remnant He would allow to remain of His people. And they could not imagine that God, Whom they called upon for deliverance, was actually the One who was fighting against them; it would be at His command that foreign armies would destroy Jerusalem, the one city they assumed would stand as “home base,” off-limits to foreign reign.  

Why would a loving God do such a thing to His people? Because His grace and mercy only have value when set against the backdrop of His standard, which validates His judgment. However, do not assume the Lord has abandoned His people! His rebuke, while strong and determined, is intended to turn His people back to worshipping Him, not to destroy them utterly. If you find yourself under the rebuke of the Lord, it helps to remember that His goal is your repentance. That is His goal for Israel AND the Gentiles, and always has been.

“’Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?’ This is the declaration of the Lord God. ‘Instead, don’t I take pleasure when he turns from his ways and lives?’” Ezekiel 18:23 (HCSB)

"Otherwise, I am going to send all My plagues against you,[a] your officials, and your people. Then you will know there is no one like Me in all the earth.” Exodus 9:14 (HCSB)

Consider Pharaoh’s response to God’s rebuke in contrast with King David’s. Will you harden your heart or humble yourself and be restored?

“And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet more; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants.” Exodus 9:34 (NKJV)

“When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, ‘Is the child dead?’ And they said, ‘He is dead.’ So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped.” 2 Samuel 12:19-20a (NKJV)

“Be silent before Me, islands! And let peoples renew their strength. Let them approach, then let them testify; let us come together for the trial. Who has stirred him up from the east? He calls righteousness to his feet. The Lord hands nations over to him, and he subdues kings. He makes them like dust with his sword, like wind-driven stubble with his bow. He pursues them going on safely, hardly touching the path with his feet. Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am first, and with the last – I am He.”  Isaiah 41:1-4 (HCSB)

In the ancient Near East, whenever a vassal failed to satisfy the obligations of a sworn treaty, the suzerain (usually the king) would take out legal proceedings against him by means of a covenant lawsuit. The legal process was conducted by means of messengers. Messengers delivered one or more warnings in the first of its two distinct phases. These were worded in such a way as to reflect non-negotiable terms of the original treaty.

The vassal would be reminded of what he had promised and would be asked to give an explanation for his offense. The vassal would be told to mend his ways. Just in case he did not take the point, the consequences of continued offense would be stated. The curses (retributions) of the covenant would have formed part of the original agreement. Such a procedure as this was an ultimatum. Unless the vassal recruited a neighbor state to help them fight the ensuing battle that would result from their breaking the treaty, wise vassals would quickly mend their ways.  

Sometimes, a messenger sent to deliver this ultimatum was rejected, imprisoned, or even killed! The matter would then move on to the next and final phase. This would take the form of a declaration of war.

“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?’  ‘He will completely destroy those terrible men,’ they told Him, ‘And lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his produce at the harvest.’  Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This came from the Lord and is wonderful in our eyes. Therefore, I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing its fruit. Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder!’” Matthew 21:40-44 (HCSB)

When Jesus told the parable of the vineyard, seeing Himself as the last in a succession of messengers, most of whom had been stoned and killed, He had this same judicial process in mind. It is what Isaiah described, with God calling Israel and Judah to account. In Jesus’ day, Israel had rejected God’s Word (as in Isaiah’s day). They were also about to reject the Son of God.  

Isaiah 41 begins in a courtroom. At the sight of a conquering king approaching, instead of turning to the Lord, the nations (Israel included) turned to their idols. When faced with difficult times, where do you turn?

“Jacob, why do you say, and Israel why do you assert: ‘My ways are hidden from the Lord and my claim is ignored by my God?’  Do you not know? Have you not heard? YHWH is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never grows faint or weary; there is no limit to His understanding. He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless. Youths may faint and grow weary, and young men may stumble and fall, but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:27-31 (HCSB)

Wrong thoughts of God twist our perspective on life. Everything can get bent out of shape and do great harm to the Lord’s cause. In today’s chapter, Isaiah sought to lift our eyes toward heaven and behold God in all His glory. If things are not working out as we would like, it is precisely because life is not all about what we want. Life is about what God intends for us. Waiting on God – His ways, His thoughts, His timing – is the key to spiritual growth and maturity.

Let’s be honest. Have you ever felt that God does not care about you? Trials can make us lose sight of God’s majesty and cause us to feel sorry for ourselves. Some of the people in Isaiah’s time could not reckon God’s timing with His love. They felt that if God loved them, there should be no problems in their lives.

Coping with spiritual depression can be difficult. Almost all of Israel was in the doldrums during Isaiah’s day. The people complained, “God either does not know what we are passing through; or He does not care.”  In times such as these, it is important that we recognize certain realities of God: He is Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, and His Character never changes.

The problem with Israel’s theology was that they sought religion for what God could do for them and not the other way around. As long as we feel God exists for our pleasure, we will probably be disappointed. But the reason we exist is for God’s pleasure. If we have a proper understanding of mankind’s relationship to God, we will understand that God receives pleasure when we faithfully worship Him through difficult times, as well as easier ones.

The way God dealt with depressed believers in Isaiah’s day was to talk about eagles! It is as if He was saying, “You may feel like a bedraggled sparrow, but if you pay attention to what I’m saying, you will mount up with wings like eagles.”  We must remain faithful and wait patiently upon the Lord. If rebuke is necessary, we must accept it. If trials come our way, we must endure them, waiting on God to fulfill His gracious promises.

“Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord of Hosts: ‘The time will certainly come when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored-up until this day will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. ‘Some of your descendants who come from you will be taken away, and they will be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ‘The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.’ For he thought: There will be peace and security during my lifetime.” Isaiah 39:5-8 (HCSB)

Sadly, Hezekiah’s greatness is clouded by the sin of pride that developed in his closing years. Merodach-Baladan, the king of Babylon, wanted (according to the Jewish historian Josephus) aid for a rebellion against Assyria. He is identified with Mardukhabaliddina (bummer of a name), who seized the Babylonian throne in 721 B.C., was deposed by Sargon of Assyria, and then came back to rule again for a short time about 704 B.C.

He sent letters and a present to Hezekiah because he had heard about his illness. After having recovered so wonderfully, Hezekiah was congratulated by the Babylonian king. The flattery was too much for Hezekiah. He fell for it, and in a moment of incredible stupidity, he showed the foreign ruler’s envoys all the treasure in his storehouses. It was an act of folly for which Isaiah gave him a severe reprimand. There is a strong hint of boasting in verse 3, as though Hezekiah wanted to underline just how important he was that such great leaders should show him so much honor. There is only one explanation for Hezekiah’s folly: Pride had grown in his heart.  

“But Hezekiah’s heart was proud, and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore, the Lord’s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.” 2 Chronicles 32:25 (NIV)

Pride is a vice that clinches so tightly to the hearts of men that if we were to strip ourselves of all faults, one by one, we should, no doubt, find it the very last and hardest thing to rip away. It would have been better, had Hezekiah died at the time the Lord appointed, than for him to live and spoil his testimony in this way. After all, Manasseh, the worst king Judah ever experienced, was born during Hezekiah’s “borrowed” time.

Hezekiah made no opportunity to witness to the Babylonian visitors. Instead, he boasted, leading to Babylon’s eventual overthrow of Judah. I believe Hezekiah’s great folly was not restricted to showing off the kingdom treasures. His great folly was actually the fact that he sought his own glory above the well-being of the Kingdom. Once the judgment was pronounced against him, he concurred that it was “good .”But in his mind, the “goodness” had less to do with justice and more with the fact that he escaped direct punishment for his sin. He harbored no remorse for his descendants.

I have met Messianic (Christian) leaders who seemed more concerned with their personal fame than protecting & equipping the next generation. It is incumbent upon us to not just do great things for God but also to prepare the next generation for greatness.

“In those days Hezekiah became terminally ill.  The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Put your affairs in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.”’  Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord.  He said, ‘Please, Lord, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and wholeheartedly, and have done what pleases You.’  And Hezekiah wept bitterly.  Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: ‘Go and tell Hezekiah that this is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears.  Look, I am going to add 15 years to your life.”  Isaiah 38:1-6 (HCSB)

I’ve known countless people who have clung to today’s passage as an anchor verse on the effectiveness of healing prayer.  From one angle, that is true, but in Hezekiah’s case, he really should have heeded the Word of the Lord, set his house in order, and passed away.  After all, the message of his impending death did not come from a secular doctor; it came from the Lord’s spokesman, the prophet Isaiah. Two major negative consequences occurred as a result of Hezekiah’s healing.  

1) Babylon

“At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah since he heard that he had been sick.  Hezekiah gave them a hearing and showed them his whole treasure house – the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil - and his armory, and everything that was found in his treasures. There was nothing in his palace and in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked him, ‘Where did these men come from and what did they say to you?’ Hezekiah replied, ‘They came from a distant country, from Babylon.’ Isaiah asked, ‘What have they seen in your palace?’ Hezekiah answered, ‘They have seen everything in my palace. There isn’t anything in my treasuries that I didn’t show them.’” 2 Kings 20:12-15 (HCSB)

2) Manasseh

Born after Hezekiah’s healing, Manasseh was Israel’s most evil king, vigorously reinstating idolatry. Ironically, he defied Hezekiah’s own words about legacy: “…a father will make Your faithfulness known to children.” Isaiah 38:19

“Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ‘The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good,’ for he thought:  Why not, if there will be peace and security during my lifetime?  The rest of the events of Hezekiah’s reign, along with all his might and how he made the pool and the tunnel and brought water into the city, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.  Hezekiah rested with his fathers, and his son Manasseh became king in his place.” 2 Kings 20:19-21 (HCSB)

“Manasseh was 12 years old when he became king and reigned 55 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, imitating the detestable practices of the nations that the Lord had dispossessed before the Israelites.” 2 Kings 21:1-2 (HCSB)

“Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers, read it, then went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord.  Then Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: Lord of Hosts, God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are God – You alone – of all the kingdoms of the earth.  You made the heavens and the earth.  Listen closely, Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, Lord, and see.  Hear all the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God.  Lord, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated all these countries and their lands.  They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but made by human hands – wood and stone.  So they have destroyed them.  Now, Lord our God, save us from his power so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord – You alone.’”  Isaiah 37:14-20 (HCSB)

Sennacherib’s envoys returned from the outskirts of Jerusalem to find that the Assyrian army had left Lachish to attack the nearby city of Libna, a military fortress in the lowland between the Mediterranean and the hills of Judah. (2 Kings 19:8)

The threat from King Tirhakah forced Sennacherib to retreat, but not before firing a final “missile” threat at Hezekiah.  It came in the form of a letter, probably very lengthy and taking up several leather or papyrus scrolls.  Sennacherib had nothing new to say, apart from the all-important fact that initially, he had accused Hezekiah of deceiving the people of Jerusalem; now he was accusing the Lord of deceiving Hezekiah.

“Say this to Hezekiah king of Judah: Don’t let your God, whom you trust, deceive you by promising that Jerusalem won’t be handed over to the king of Assyria.” Isaiah 37:10 (HCSB)

Hezekiah’s response was to return to the Temple to engage once more in prayer to the Lord.  By spreading out the letter, Hezekiah was making a gesture as if to say, “Lord, look at this!”  His prayer is a model, containing both adoration and petition.  Hezekiah weaves what he knows about God’s character into worship.  Prayer should begin with worship, as Jesus Himself taught in the Lord’s Prayer. (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4)

Even when we are pressed into a corner (as many of us are today), worship should come first when we approach the Lord in prayer.  I am not talking about music, which has become synonymous with “worship” in our church culture.  I am speaking of approaching the Lord with the attitude that recognizes that God saves men: He hears our prayers, has the power to deliver, is present in our lives, and has a consistent character (as revealed through Scripture) that we can trust.

Isaiah’s friendship and ministry to King Hezekiah, urging prayer as the way of deliverance, won the day.  God gave Judah a God-fearing leader (Isaiah) at its most crucial time, and Isaiah has also been given to us by way of the Bible.  Will you heed his counsel, as did Hezekiah?  Will you worshipfully approach the Lord with your requests?

Grab your Bible & experience the Groundworks Ministries Podcast as Steve Wiggins leads us through the full chapter of Isaiah 36. Click the links below to watch or listen now!

“Strengthen the weak hands, steady the shaking knees!  Say to the cowardly: ‘Be strong; do not fear! Here is your God; vengeance is coming. God’s retribution is coming; He will save you.’ Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy, for water will gush in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the parched ground will become a pool of water, and the thirsty land springs of water. In the haunt of jackals, in their lairs, there will be grass, reeds, and papyrus.”  Isaiah 35:3-7 (HCSB)

It has been said that people are like tea bags.  You never know what is on the inside until you put them into hot water!  I have had many “tea bag” moments in my life.  Moments where the Lord, by His grace, dropped me into hot water.  And I would like to report that I always steeped righteousness into those hot water pots.  But I did not.  

I know that the concept of the Lord willingly bringing hardship upon His faithful children seems foreign to some believers.  We would rather believe He will spare us from hardship because we choose to follow Him closely.  But in His wisdom, He chooses from time to time to allow us to experience difficulty.  The therapeutic nature of hardship reveals to us (and to onlookers) how deep our faith really is.  More often than not, through hardship, God reveals the difference between our aspirational faith and our core faith.  The difference between how faithful we believe we are versus how faithful we actually are.

John the Baptist had a “tea bag” moment.  He was in prison and facing execution.  He began to doubt, or at the least needed reassurance, that the One whom he had declared, “The Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world,” was really worth dying for.      

“When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent a message by his disciples and asked Him, ‘Are You the One who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’ Jesus replied to them, ‘Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind see, the lame walk, those with skin diseases are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news. And if anyone is not offended because of Me, he is blessed.’”  Mathew 11:2-6 (HCSB)

Interestingly, Jesus did not answer, “Hold on, John!  There, I’ll dispatch a band of angels to rescue you!”  He simply quoted today’s Isaiah passage, titled in my Bible “The Future Glory Of Zion.”  Jesus reminded John, the “Baptizer,” of God’s promise from His Word.  **As concerned as Jesus may have been with John’s reassurance, He was also concerned with John’s followers’ testimonies!  Notice how He told John’s disciples, “Go and report to John what YOU hear and see.”  That is a valuable lesson!  In the midst of suffering, we need to be encouraged by other faithful believers.  Furthermore, we can be an encouragement in the midst of our own suffering. Remember: salvation doesn’t always mean the end of earthly suffering.  Someday, we will all be liberated from the bonds of earthly suffering and enter the eternal “Glory of Zion,” the New Jerusalem.