Readings 1 Samuel 25; Hebrews 7

Good Morning Brothers and Sisters,

Today we are going back to Isaiah.  Thanksgiving is coming up and this study is very appropriate for the holiday. 

Isaiah 44:1-2

"But now listen, O Jacob, My servant;

And Israel, whom I have chosen:

2Thus says the Lord who made you

And formed you from the womb, who will help you, 'Do not fear, O Jacob My servant;

And you Jeshurun whom I have chosen.

Israel has been chosen from among the nations.  "Jeshurun" is a symbolic name meaning "the upright one", Deut 32:15; 33:5, 26.  Israel is seen as God's hand picked upright nation.  This illustration is also used to speak of Israel in Ezekiel where God demonstrates His love for Israel just before they go running after other gods.

God took care of Israel through the ages, and we can cling to that truth.  "Do not fear", is a catch phrase that permeates the entire Bible.  For God to constantly repeat that phrase means that it must be very important for us to listen to.  Moses in reference to the Egyptians, Ex 14:13; it is one of the strong themes in Joshua and Isaiah, Josh 8:1; 10:8, 25, Isa 10:24; 40:9; 41:10, 13, 14; 43:1,5; 44:2; 51:7, Jesus carried the theme to the New Testament, Matthew 10:26, 28, 31; Luke 5:10; 12:7; Luke 18:4, Revelation 2:10-11.  I only did a search on "do not fear", I did not go to any other compilation of these words, such as "good courage", 2 Corinthians 5:6-8.  Or "be strong and courageous", a similar theme that runs through the Bible, I attached the search to the bottom of the document.  Thanksgiving is here; it is time for us to be thankful and to rely upon the strength of God in our lives today.

Isaiah 44:3-4

'For I will pour out water on the thirsty land

And streams on the dry ground;

I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring,

And My blessing on your descendants;

4And they will spring up among the grass

Like poplars by streams of water.'

There seems to be a little dispute over whether this is referring to Israel, who was called by God, or to the Gentiles who were substituted in the place of Israel.  Either way, He poured His Spirit out upon the deserts as was indicated in Isa 41:18.  The result of the outpouring of the Spirit will cause grass to grow where it had never grown before.  Grass depends upon water for its life; its roots only reach a few inches into the soil.  For grass to stay green it must have a constant supply of water.  Poplar trees also depend on water in order to grow tall and strong.  The illustration of the water being the Holy Spirit is also given through the scriptures, follow it in your concordance, it is a great study. 

Joel 2:28

"And it will come about after this

That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;

And your sons and daughters will prophesy,

Your old men will dream dreams,

Your young men will see visions.

Isaiah 44:5

"This one will say, 'I am the Lord's';

And that one will call on the name of Jacob;

And another will write on his hand, 'Belonging to the Lord,'

And will name Israel's name with honor.

 I found this verse particularly interesting.  In today's world people are not afraid to admit that they belong to the Lord, largely because there is little persecution for believing.  At this one time in history, we are not intimidated by admitting that we belong to Jesus.  We literally wear t-shirts and hats declaring whom we belong to, and not only that; they often carry a message to encourage others to do the same.  Our nation was founded on the Gospel, and I don't remember ever seeing any pictures from years ago where people are so willing to advertise their faith.  Yes, we bear the name of Jesus with honor, we praise and offer thanks in His name.  We have assumed the privilege of being spiritual children of Abraham, claiming our spiritual kinship to Jacob.  This is not a Gentile phenomena however, our Jewish brothers are waking up like never before, clinging to Jesus.  They are bold in the face of the persecution that they are receiving from their peers, willing to make a stand for the Messiah at all costs.  When we consider the idea of bearing the name with honor, I believe that most of us fit that bill. 

Isaiah 44:6

"Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel

And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: 'I am the first and I am the last,

And there is no God besides Me.  

Look at the names for the Lord here; they could be a small study by themselves.

Lord:  From Strong's 3068, Yahovah, translated to english Jehovah. Translated as "LORD" 6510 times.  It is "the proper name of the one true God" according to the Enhanced Strong's Lexicon.  A little careful study on this reveals that Jesus claimed to be Jehovah God.

King of Israel:  This is another study that could go on for pages, Timothy 6:15-16 gives us a birds eye view of Jesus' Kingship.  Also look to Revelation 17:14; 19:16, Jesus is referred to as "King of kings and Lord of Lords".  This is another study, which could go on for pages.

Redeemer:  "I, redeem, avenge, revenge, ransom, do the part of a kinsman." Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament.  God takes it personal, and He personally came to earth to claim His people back.  This gives us several applications from the Old Testament, including "an avenger of blood" referring to someone going after a murderer, Numbers 35:12-28, it speaks of the book of Ruth as the kinsman was required to redeem the land and raise children, Deuteronomy 25:5-10.  These two illustrations give us an idea behind the Old Testament view on a redeemer.  Isaiah throws another twist into the mix referring to God as one who ransomed his children, Isa 43:1-3.  This was also fulfilled in Jesus; He paid the ultimate ransom for all man.

Lord of hosts:  There are 239 occurrences of the phrase "Lord of hosts" in the Old Testament.   The word "hosts" from the Hebrew is an interesting word.  It is a military word referring to "a military congregation as a large fighting unit" also "large group, vast array, i.e., a huge amount of persons, creatures, spirit beings, or objects of all the same class (Ge 2:1; Dt 4:19; 1 Ki 22:19)" Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew. It is a complex word giving the idea of a fighting God who has a military attitude, set on re-conquering the earth, and redeeming man unto Himself.  Again, a complex study in itself.

"I am the first and I am the last"  Jesus called this name for Himself in Revelation, establishing that He was the God spoken of here.  Rev 1:8, 17; 22:13; Isa 41:4; 43:10; 48:12.

Isaiah 44:7

'And who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it;

Yes, let him recount it to Me in order,

From the time that I established the ancient nation.

And let them declare to them the things that are coming

And the events that are going to take place.

 Who is like the Lord?  The answer obviously is that there are none like the Lord.  Tomorrow when we look into the following passages on this chapter, these verses set the tone for the rest of the chapter.  In the rest of the chapter Idolatry is addressed. 

Look at all the tremendous prophecies that are listed in these verses.  God establishes an ancient nation, one that had gone into extinction.  He has placed in their literature and in their message the word for the future.  The passage that we are studying today has significant prophecies that are fulfilled and applied to today. 

Isaiah 44:8

'Do not tremble and do not be afraid;

Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it?

And you are My witnesses.

Is there any God besides Me,

Or is there any other Rock?

I know of none.' "

 God declares that He is God, and there is none other besides Him.  Israel is witness to this fact in every aspect of their history.  God is our rock; the Old Testament usage of this word indicates rock built up as it composes mountains.  Rocks were considered to be a safe place to hide during times of trouble.  If someone were shooting arrows at you, the rocks offered the best protection Psalm 94:22; 27:5; 28:1.  God refers to Himself as a Rock, 1 Sam 2:2.  He is there through all generations, and He never changes.  Deut 32:4; Ps 92:15.  God is the rock of our strength, Psalm 62:1-8.  Jesus is the stumbling stone, and the rock of our salvation, Mat 21:24; Romans 9:32-33; 1 Peter 2:7-10. 

Time has gotten away from me, there was so much in this passage that I hardly scratched the surface.  Thanksgiving is coming up, keep it in mind, keep in mind that He is the rock of our salvation.  It is all about Jesus.

Father, thank You for salvation, thank You for the way that You have worked it out for us to have been saved and ushered into Your kingdom.  I ask that You will convict each one of us this week of the need for thankful hearts and minds set on Your ways.

In Him,

Joe Turner.

Verse list:

Readings 1 Samuel 26; Hebrews 8

Good Morning Brothers and Sisters,

Yesterday we focused upon the greatness of God, and how that He redeemd us, providing for us power and courage.  Today Isaiah contrasts that with the stupidity of man.  He paints a graphic picture for us illustrating the way that man ignores God, creates idols, and the tremendous way that God provides for man.  The verses and concepts skip around a lot in the verses, try to follow the story line.  There are basically three concepts woven through the story, first, the frailty of man, second, the stupidity of idols, and third the providence of God. 

With Thanksgiving here, this is an excellent passage for study.  It demonstrates for us the lack of attention that we give to the little things in life, and the failure of man to give God the proper credit that He is due.  As men we would much rather give credit to providence than to God.  When it became possible for me to get my computer exchanged, I was excited that I had finally had some results with the battle with Best Buy.  I was excited that, elated over the fact that providence had shined upon me.  My wife was quick to point out that God had provided the new computer, I failed to recognize that, I was so centered on the battle at hand that I forgot Who was behind the battle.  This graphically demonstrates the idea behind this passage.  The first three verses of this passage give a brief summary of the following verses.  I am a little unsure as to how to approach this study, so I am going to default to verse by verse.

Isaiah 44:9

Those who fashion a graven image are all of them futile, and their precious things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame.

Here is a picture of men, they are witnesses to themselves, traveling in their own knowledge, and creating gods according to their own image and likeness.  The verses that correspond to this are 11, 12b, 15-16, 18-20.

Isaiah 44:10

Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to no profit?

 Here is a picture of the foolishness of men, fashioning gods for themselves out of wood.  Little gods who are nothing but a block of wood or metal, literally worthless in the long run.  The verses that correspond to this concept are 12a, 13, 17.

Isaiah 44:11

Behold, all his companions will be put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them together be put to shame.

When a man creates for himself an idol, he fashions it after himself, the greatest thing in a mans mind is himself.  Psalm 115:4-8 gives a great description of idols. 

11b The final concept of the undercurrent of God in His providing  for man's needs is ignored.  The simple logic of God's provision is missed by the natural man.

Isaiah 44:12

The man shapes iron into a cutting tool, and does his work over the coals, fashioning it with hammers, and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary.

The craftsman shapes the idol with his strong arms and the sweat from his work.  In the end he gets hungry, and thirsty, (forgetting to recognize where the food and water comes from).

Isaiah 44:13

Another shapes wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with red chalk. He works it with planes, and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of man, so that it may sit in a house.

The craftsman shapes the idol to fit his views and his thoughts of what beauty and power resemble.  It will only sit in houses and look pretty.

Isaiah 44:14

Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a cypress or an oak, and raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow.

 Man plants the tree that he did not create, he waits for it to grow with water that he cannot provide, and harvests it for his own personal use.  He forgets the way that God provided the water and sunshine to cause the tree to grow.

Isaiah 44:15

Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also makes a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image, and falls down before it. 

 Just as man could not cause the tree to grow, he must find food and shelter from the elements.  The tree is used as fuel to warm him, and to bake his bread.  Man has forgotten who is behind the provision of the food, shelter, warmth, and wood.  He makes his own god, worships it, and misdirects the worship that should go to the true God. 

Isaiah 44:16

Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, "Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire."

God provided man with enough wood that he is able to waste half of it on an idol, while using the rest to backe his bread and warm him.  Mis-directing worship, man foolishly figures that the fire must be god, since it warms him.

Isaiah 44:17

But the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, "Deliver me, for thou art my god."

 Notice who the idol is in the image of man.  Today our gods are in the image of our desires, we seek deliverance from the rat race with our toys, big homes and fancy cars.  The purpose behind them is that they are an excess of the needs that God has provided for us.  Just like the men of old, we have thrown away half of what God had provided for our providence, throwing it away on false gods.  We are putting our trust in "things" rather than recognizing who the "things" came from, and who made the income possible to purchase them.

Isaiah 44:18

They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend.

God has blinded man so that he cannot see his own foolishness.

Isaiah 44:19-20

And no one recalls, nor is there knowledge or understanding to say, "I have burned half of it in the fire, and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then I make the rest of it into an abomination, I fall down before a block of wood!" 20He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver himself, nor say, "Is there not a lie in my right hand?"

This is great, Isaiah gets right to the point of his discussion.  The foolishness of man fails to recognize that God had provided, and as a result of that, man chooses to worship a "block of wood!"  Man is so deceived that he fails to recognize that the idols are actually idols.  To him they are truth, in his mind the idols are not only valid, but necessary. 

As I read through this passage, I could not help but relate our lives today to it.  Our idols are not chiseled out of wood or stone, our idols are much more sophisticated than that.  They take the form of computers, cars, atv's, houses and boats.  Our idols are carefully fashioned by hard work and lots of intense labor to make the money by which we purchase our idols.  Our idols are just like the ancient mans idols in that we fail to recognize who is the provider behind them.  God still provides foolish men with enough income to provide for his food, clothing and shelter, with enough left over to purchase his foolish idols.

Father, as we consider Your word this morning, I ask that You will cause each one of us to focus our hearts on thanksgiving.  That we will realize that You are behind the provision of every need in our lives, and lastly, show us our idols, remove the blinders from our eyes so that we can focus our worship on You the creator and provider for our lives.

In Him,

Joe Turner.

Readings 1 Samuel 27; Hebrews 9

Good Morning Brothers and Sisters,

I am going to spend the day with my family today, so this study will be very short.   We are starting the Thanksgiving celebration a little early. 

Isaiah 44:21-23

"Remember these things, O Jacob,

And Israel, for you are My servant;

I have formed you, you are My servant,

O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me.

22"I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud,

And your sins like a heavy mist.

Return to Me, for I have redeemed you."

23Shout for joy, O heavens, for the Lord has done it!

Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth;

Break forth into a shout of joy, you mountains,

O forest, and every tree in it;

For the Lord has redeemed Jacob

And in Israel He shows forth His glory.

Isaiah sings a short song of praise to God for the way that He is much greater than the idols spoken of in yesterdays study.  Man is so utterly hopeless, that with the sight of God, everything is totally hopeful.  Jacob and Israel are reminded that God has redeemed them.  It is quite a contrast to the idols who were just blocks of wood.  God purposefully protected them, and purposefully redeemed them.  He is singing the same song that was given in 44:1-8. 

Isn't the picture of the forgiveness of sin tremendous?  Think for a moment on the sin of the people.  They had deviated from God's will to the point of following the idols that were only the construction of man's hands, as we studied in 44:9-20.  They had deviated so much that they were not just following idols; they had also delved into the Molech worship, where babies were sacrificed by burning them to death.  They had gone after many other gods, giving priority to every heathen god available over the One True God.  Isaiah demonstrated how that God had provided for them even when they were rebellious in the previous lesson.  Now God has promised that He had already wiped out their sins and transgressions.  Imagine, before Christ the sin was covered, or fogged over by the sacrifice of animals.  The blood sacrifice covered sin, blotting it out from God's sight much like a thick cloud or heavy fog.  It was not until Christ came and died on the cross that the sin was finally deleted completely.  When He died on the cross, it fulfilled every single Old Testament sacrifice, forgiving all the sins that were formerly covered by the blood of animals.  God had redeemed Israel, He had already done it, because God does not deal in time, He is beyond time.  He saw the work on the cross as already completed, finished.  Look at these tremendous verses.  Exodus 32:32-33; Rev 20:12; Lk 7:43-47.

Psalm 103:12

As far as the east is from the west,

So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Psalm 19:12-13

Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.

13Also keep back Thy servant from presumptuous sins;

Let them not rule over me;

Then I shall be blameless,

And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.

1 John 1:7-9

but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Zech. 12:10

"And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born.

Luke 24:47

and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

Acts 3:18-19

"But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19"Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;

Referring again back to 44:9-20, Isaiah reminds the Jews that God has witnessed through the elements of the earth.  The trees, mountains, and forests were all provided to provide for the needs of man.  God redeemed Jacob in spite of her actions toward Him. 

Isaiah 44:24-28

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, "I, the Lord, am the maker of all things,

Stretching out the heavens by Myself,

And spreading out the earth all alone,

25Causing the omens of boasters to fail,

Making fools out of diviners,

Causing wise men to draw back,

And turning their knowledge into foolishness,

26Confirming the word of His servant,

And performing the purpose of His messengers.

It is I who says of Jerusalem, 'She shall be inhabited!'

And of the cities of Judah, 'They shall be built.'

And I will raise up her ruins again.

27"It is I who says to the depth of the sea, 'Be dried up!'

And I will make your rivers dry.

28"It is I who says of Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd!

And he will perform all My desire.'

And he declares of Jerusalem, 'She will be built,'

And of the temple, 'Your foundation will be laid.' "

Read this passage out loud; emphasize the "I's" that are listed in it.  In a direct contrast to the idols we studied yesterday our God is a powerful God.  He is the creator of all things, and He did it all by Himself.  1 Cor 1:20, 27 States that God has confounded the wise.  As we studied yesterday man rates his wisdom in comparison to man.  God is so wise that even the wisest of men appear to be fools by comparison.  God looks into the immediate future of Israel naming the man who will rebuild the temple and the city of Jerusalem, Cyrus.  He made it clear before it even happened that He was the one who anointed Cyrus, He is the one who is the power behind the rebuilding. 

To reflect for the holiday for a moment, read through the passage again and apply it to your life.  Look at all that God has done in your life that is so easily overlooked.  How that God has provided all of us with shelter, good jobs, and food on our tables.  How that He is in control of every single aspect of our lives, even that of our employers.  (For those of us on the railroad, this is hard to imagine.)  God has raised up every single person in this Bible study, raised us up to hold to a higher calling.  He is the power behind the growth in all of our lives, using us to re-build the churches that we all belong to.  I am thankful to God that He has joined all of us in a study, which is designed to ground us deeply in His word, and to make us a group of leaders in our churches.  I am thankful to God for each and every one of you, because you are a constant encouragement to me to grow in the Lord, to hold to a higher standard.  I am thankful to God that He has raised this study group up so that we can bond together, holding each other accountable to the higher calling of Jesus Christ.  Just as God promised Israel that the cities of Judah would be built, I believe that He has promised to us that our churches will be built stronger through us.  They will be built from strong building blocks that are rooted in the word of God.    Those of us who lead irregular lives and are willing to devote our time to the Lord for study of His word will be an example to those who have regular lives with set schedules.  I am thankful to God that we are all able participate in this study together.  God has demonstrated awesome power in each one of our lives, and it is established every day.

Father, Praise You for Your provision, and for Your guidance in each one of our lives.  We praise and thank You for the simple things, all the things that we are prone to overlook.  Praise and thank You Father for Your ever-present power in our lives.  Open our eyes so that we can see how that You have taken care of all our needs, even the little ones.

In Him,

Joe Turner.

Note:  All References from the New American Standard Bible.