this troubled world is not my final home."
Isaiah 33:1-34:17
"The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation; The fear of the Lord is His treasure" (v. 5-6).
Only God is good! Only He can afford us with justice, righteousness, wisdom, and knowledge, and the end results of stability and salvation! Our efforts at peace fail. "The ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly" (v. 7). It may seem that "He has broken the covenant" (v. 8), when, in fact, it's only a matter of timing. "Now I will rise,' says the Lord" (v.10). God will never break a covenant He has made!
Isaiah writes that, "The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness has seized the hypocrites" (v.14). In the same verse he asks, "Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" The answer: "He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, he who despises the gain of oppressions, who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil: he will dwell on high; his place of defense will be the fortress of rocks; bread will be given him, his water shall be sure" (v.15-16).
"Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; they will see the land that is very far off" (v.17). People will be expecting terror and to see "a fierce people" (v. 18). "Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts (the Feasts of God reveal His plan); your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home, a tabernacle that will not be taken down; not one of its stakes will ever be removed, nor will any of its cords be broken" (v.20). "But there the majestic Lord will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams" (v.21). (God has such a way with words!)
The Day of the Lord--the Day of God's judgment on the earth --"For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion" (34:8). "The sword of the Lord is filled with blood" (v.6). "All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll" (v.4). Intertwined in the prophecy in chapter 34, along with the day of the Lord's vengeance is the destruction of Edom. God describes its utter destruction and lists the animals and birds of prey that will make their habitation there. He says, "Search from the book of the Lord, and read: not one of these shall fail; not one shall lack her mate. For my mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them. . . from generation to generation they shall dwell in it" (v.16-17).
Psalm 109:1-5
The Psalmist David cries out to God because of his enemies--"they have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause, in return for my love they are my accusers" (v. 3-4). He continues, "But I give myself to prayer".
Proverbs 25:25-26
"As cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a far country. A righteous man who falters before the wicked is like a murky spring and a polluted well." There is nothing refreshing or encouraging about a man who says he stands for what is right, but then "falters" in the face of wickedness. (I would think that a "murky spring" and a "polluted well" have bacteria growing in them that may have come from something dead that got into the water. And, if water doesn't flow, it may "stagnate"--not a pretty or fragrant situation!)
2 Corinthians 12:1-21
Paul reveals the fact that he has "a thorn in the flesh" and had asked God at least 3 times to remove it. However, God's answer was, "My strength is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (v.9). His response? "Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (v. 9-10).
Paul continues his words of wisdom: "For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children" (v.14). (Paul was evidently viewing himself as the "parent" to these church members in this situation regarding offerings.) He says, "And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved". Evidently Paul was dealing with some in the church who were advocating that he was taking advantage of them financially. He told them he was not making excuses, but speaking before God in Christ--verse 19. He was working toward their edification lest when he came to them he would find "contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults. "Lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced" (v.21).
The Many Lessons and Questions from Today's Study
--Paul's example deserves an in depth study. Have I worked hard enough and smart enough to have something to leave my children? Am I willing to gladly spend myself for God's work and for the furthering of the Gospel? Am I guilty of being contentious, being jealous? Do I have outbursts of wrath? Am I filled with selfish ambitions? Am I guilty of "backbiting"? Do I whisper about others (would I mind them hearing what I say about them?) Do I consider my sins, confess them, and repent before God?
--Do I recognize that God's grace is sufficient for things that I cannot change and that are evidently weaknesses in my body that are probably not going away? Do I take pleasure my trials and difficulties draw me closer to God? Do I rest in Christ? Do I depend on Him for His strength to deal with my weaknesses?
--Do I ask God for courage to help me stand in the face of wickedness? Have I determined in my heart what I will not do when confronted with evil? Do I allow God's Spirit--the living water, to flow through me, that I don't "stagnate" or grow disgusting behavior that smells?
--Do I give myself to prayer when I feel pressure from enemies?
--Do I rest assured in the fact that God will keep His covenant and that His word cannot fail?
--Do I really believe that my eyes will see the King in His beauty and the land that now seems so very far off? Is the majestic Lord a place of (spiritual) broad rivers and streams for me?
--Do my words and my life portray righteousness? Do I despise the gain of oppressions?
--Do I stop my ears from hearing of bloodshed? Do I shut my eyes from seeing evil? (What do I watch, read, & listen to as far as TV, books, movies, games, etc.?)
--Do I grieve over the lack of stability that surrounds us? Do I value justice, righteousness, wisdom, and knowledge? Do I long for stability and salvation for nations and people in need and that only comes from God?
--Do I understand that God love me and that He treasures the fact that I stand in awe of Him and reverence Him?
"The Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart"! Hebrews 4:12
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