Isaiah 26:4-11 - Learn the ways of the Lord

We are to trust in the Lord at all times. He is the rock eternal, He is a sure foundation on which to base our lives. There are proud things that seek to intimidate us, but they will all be brought low by the Lord. Indeed it is the oppressed and poor who will trample on the proud and haughty.

If we want to have a straight and level path we need too follow God's ways. When we adopt human schemes life inevitably gets complicated.

There is a longing in our innermost being for the Lord. His judgements bring clarity. However, there are those who do not benefit from God's grace. He shows them mercy, but they refuse to learn from it. For such people the judgement of God is the only answer.

Isaiah 26:1-3 - The fruits of salvation

Here we get another song of praise. This is a song for what will happen when the people live in the fullness of God's salvation.

When we live in doubt we live in fear, everything seems fragile, but when we live in faith we realise that we are completely secure in the Lord. His salvation is our protection. How does this work out? Well the blood of Jesus has secured forgiveness for all our sins. We are no longer under judgement, and we need to realise that the root cause of man's problems is sin and the judgement upon sin. Moreover, the cross has over come death, it has removed all curse from our lives. 

This salvation is not exclusive, but is open to all who believe. In Acts 15 and in many of his letters Paul ardently defended the universality of salvation in Jesus. The sign of salvation is living by faith.

Those who trust in the Lord will be kept in perfect peace. Men are always looking for peace, only in Christ can we find it. Note that it says He will keep us in perfect peace. Many things will happen in our lives, circumstances will change. Our security does not come from finding a set of circumstances, but from finding the Lord.

Isaiah 25:8-12 - Salvation

Death will be defeated on the day of God's victory. The resurrection represents the start of that victory. Jesus is the first-born among many. What happened to Jesus is what will happen to us. There will also be a complete healing of all tears and pain.

In that day... We will proclaim that we trusted in Him and He saved us. We need to trust in God. Faith is a way of life, living by faith is the sign that we belong to God. There is joy in trusting God in the waiting times, but there is an even greater joy when the trusting is proved justified.

The chapter closes with words about Moab's destruction. At first glance this might seem a little out of place here, but the price of living under sin shows itself in very mundane ways. Moab was a continual thorn in the flesh for Israel. In each of our lives there are no doubt things that are signs of the fact that our salvation is not complete yet (in the sense that we have not yet received the full benefits of our salvation). We can be sure that all these things will one day be done away with.

Isaiah 25:1-8 - Salvation for all who believe

Isaiah breaks out in a song of praise to God. Why does he do this? It is because he sees how God's plans are going to work out. It looks as though all is lost. Israel and every other nation is lost in sin and judgement is the only thing coming their way. Yet this is not how things work out. There is judgement, but there is also salvation, and the glory of the Lord fills the earth. 

The key phrase is "in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things. things planned long ago". This is a theme that lies behind much of the apostle Paul's writings.

The strong will be brought low, and God will look after the poor and needy. 

Verses 6-8 are looking forward to the cross. A banquet is prepared for all nations. All nations are worthy of judgement and condemnation, but likewise the salvation offered by God in Christ is available for all. Through the cross He destroys the shroud that envelops all peoples, and He removes all disgrace.

See how this salvation comes out of seeming disaster. When we look at events around us we often see disaster. We need to know that disaster is not the last word, salvation is the last word.

Isaiah 24 - Devastation on the earth

After various nations being mentioned, Israel and her neighbours, the prophecy is now directed at the whole earth. This devastation is global. All the earth will be affected, and every sector of society will be affected.

Why is all this going to happen? Because of the sins of the people. The people have defiled the earth by not following the ways of the Lord.There will be no respite and no joy left on the earth.

Then in the middle of this destruction we get verses 14-16 which talk of the Lord being praised from west to east. The outcome of all this will be the glory of the Lord.

Isaiah can see nothing but destruction. Both earthly and spiritual rulers come under judgement, and the Lord will reign from Zion.

Times of devastation will come, but the final outcome will be the reign of the Lord in glory.

Isaiah 23 - Tyre & Sidon

Attention turns again to other nations, this time Tyre. Tyre was a great maritime trading city, as was Sidon. Both were part of Phoenicia.  She depended upon Egypt for trade, and her wealth was built upon it. But Egypt was about to fall, and this would spell disaster for Tyre and Sidon.

Nations become proud for all sorts of reasons. Assyria became proud because of her military strength. Israel became proud because she had the Law, Tyre and Sidon became proud because of their economic strength. All pride is built upon an illusion. At the moment we see proud EU leaders being humbled as the Euro stumbles from crisis to crisis. All pride is built upon sand. The only secure foundation is to build upon the Lord, build a life consisting of trust and obedience in Him.

Tyre and Sidon may have been tempted to flee to Cyprus for refuge, but this would provide no respite.

Tyre would indeed start trading again after many years, but her earnings would go to help Israel.

Isaiah 22 - Jerusalem

"Valley of vision" refers to Jerusalem, though it is not clear why Isaiah uses this term here, as it is used nowhere else. There is debate about exactly how this chapter should be interpreted. Some see it as referring to some Assyrian invasion, but Elam (verse 6) was an ally of Babylon who fought against Assyria. So it is maybe better to see it as Isaiah seeing ahead to the Babylonian invasion. This makes better sense of the reference to leaders deserting the city, as this happened prior to the Babylonian invasion.

Many people died of starvation rather than war during the Babylonian seige. Isaiah saw the destruction that was coming upon his people. All Judah's attempts to stave off defeat would come to nothing. They did everything they could except look to the Lord Himself. 

Instead of repenting they carried on partying. "Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die", but there was no need for them to die. They could have turned to the Lord instead.

The destruction of Jerusalem would be inevitable and unavoidable.

Happy Christmas!