98th Week, Isaiah Chapters 15-19

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Click on Title for Video Introduction


Monday, Isaiah Chapter 15
Isaiah 15
Bart Strayer


THOUGHT
The people of Moab were not known for the friendly relationship they carried with their neighboring nations. For many years, Moab had plagued Israel and Judah with border wars and dissension. Many ‘wicked’ generations had lived in the nation of Moab, so I am sure that the people of Israel were all in agreement with Isaiah’s prophecy. What an easy thing to listen to, “God will bring destruction on your enemies of old.”

As we know, Moab was birthed in sin with Lot’s relationship with his daughter. It is amazing to think how a poor decision by a leader can negatively affect so many people. In addition, how the bad choices of a person can affect the generations to come. We should stop and be thankful for the great spiritual leadership that we get from our church leaders and spiritual leaders in our families.

Upon reflection, I can now see how Grandma Hall’s death left a ‘spiritual hole’ in our family. (Big shoes to fill.)  Unfortunately, I am just now starting to appreciate the next generation of leaders that are stepping up to the plate and providing doctrinal leadership. Thank you to the next generation!

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, You know the circumstances in all our lives. Some of us are facing health issues, relationship struggles, issues with our faith and struggles in obedience. We pray that You strengthen us in the areas that we are weak and provide the healing that needs to take place in our bodies and spiritual lives. We thank You for the spiritual leaders of the past.  Help us to be the spiritual leaders You want us to be. We pray all of this in Jesus Name. AMEN


Tuesday, Isaiah Chapter 16
Isaiah 16
Verse 12
Bart Strayer

Verse 12: (New Living Translation) “On the hilltops the people of Moab will pray in anguish to their idols, but it will do them no good. They will cry to the gods in their temples, but no one will come to save them.”

THOUGHT
Oh Yeah!!!  Well my God is bigger than your god.  Upon the destruction of Moab from God, the people of the nation began to pray to their gods, but nothing happened. When we flee from God and put our trust in earthly idols or false gods, we can expect the same result that people of Moab experienced: A big fat nothing. This reminds me one of my favorite stories of the Old Testament, Elijah’s spiritual face off on Mount Carmel. The following is a few lines from The Message:
1 Kings 18
21 Elijah challenged the people: “How long are you going to sit on the fence? If GOD is the real God, follow him; if it’s Baal, follow him. Make up your minds!”
23 Let the Baal prophets bring up two oxen; let them pick one, butcher it, and lay it out on an altar on firewood——but don’t ignite it. I’ll take the other ox, cut it up, and lay it on the wood. But neither will I light the fire.
24Then you pray to your gods, and I’ll pray to GOD. The god who answers with fire will prove to be, in fact, God.”  All the people agreed: “A good plan——do it!”
26 So they took the ox he had given them, prepared it for the altar, then prayed to Baal. They prayed all morning long, “O Baal, answer us!” BUT NOTHING HAPPENED -NOT SO MUSH HAS A WISPER OF BREEZE. Desperate, they jumped and stomped on the altar they had made.
27 By noon, Elijah had started making fun of them, taunting, “Call a little louder-—he is a god, after all. Maybe he’s off meditating somewhere or other, or maybe he’s gotten involved in a project, or maybe he’s on vacation. You don’t suppose he’s overslept, do you, and needs to be waked up?” (Who says the Bible doesn’t have humor?)
28They prayed louder and louder, cutting themselves with swords and knives——a ritual common to them——until they were covered with blood.
29 This went on until well past noon. They used every religious trick and strategy they knew to make something happen on the altar, BUT NOTHING HAPPENED——not so much as a whisper, not a flicker of response.
36 When it was time for the sacrifice to be offered, Elijah the prophet came up and prayed, “O GOD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make it known right now that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I’m doing what I’m doing under your orders.
37Answer me, GOD; O answer me and reveal to this people that you are GOD, the true God, and that you are giving these people another chance at repentance.”
38 Immediately the fire of GOD fell and burned up the offering, the wood, the stones, the dirt, and even the water in the trench.

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, we thank You for being our Mighty Magnificent God! We thank You for pursuing us so that we may have a personal relationship with the living God of the universe. May we be molded to Christ’s likeness. AMEN


Wednesday, Isaiah chapter 17
Isaiah 17
Bart Strayer

THOUGHT
The demise of Damascus

Once again we see the consequences of nations engaging in worship of false gods. There are countless times in the old testament of nations turning from God to sinful worship. The fall of these nations underline the most important of the Ten Commandments. ‘Love the Lord your God.’  Do not put
your faith in anything else. Damascus and others had, and it was their demise.

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, we thank You for this time together. Help remind us of the importance of loving You above all other things in the world. Help prepare our hearts and our minds for this week of reflection, remembrance and celebration of the life of Christ. We thank You for Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. In His Name we pray. AMEN


Thursday, Isaiah Chapter 18
Isaiah 18 
Verse 4a
Matt Strayer

Verse 4a:  This is what the Lord says to me: “I will remain quiet and will look on from my dwelling place...” 

THOUGHT
All of us have probably had times in our lives when we wanted to hear something from God, but He was silent. As humans, this might frustrate us, because we have timetables and schedules. We want results to match our agenda. Yet, God does not operate like we do. 

I suppose when you understand eternity on the level God understands it, time isn’t so relevant. I think we have to have faith that God has a purpose for the times when He is quiet or doesn’t act. Maybe it is to prepare us or to orchestrate other events first. Whatever the reason, we have to believe that there is a reason and continue to trust in God and His timing.

PRAYER
God, we thank You for the times You speak clearly to us and for the times when You choose to wait. We know You have perfect timing and that nothing You do is without purpose. Help us to wait on You in the times of silence and continue faithfully following after You. We thank You so much for the gift of the scriptures and how You speak to us through them. Please help us to understand them more fully!  AMEN


Friday, Isaiah Chapter 19
Isaiah 19
Verses 21-22
Matt Strayer

Verses 21-22:  God will openly show himself to the Egyptians and they’ll get to know him on that Day. They’ll worship him seriously with sacrifices and burnt offerings. They’ll make vows and keep them. God will wound Egypt, first hit and then heal. Egypt will come back to God, and God will listen to their prayers and heal them, heal them from head to toe. The Message Bible

THOUGHT
In the first part of this chapter, Egypt is far from God, so God brings hardship on them. The Egyptians gain a fear of God and turn to Him. They begin to follow God in obedience, and then God gives them another hardship! The NIV calls it a plague. In our human minds, this doesn’t seem very fair. The Egyptians repented and were following God, yet He sent this disaster. The amazing part is that God then healed them.

Maybe God’s purpose in this was to bring their faith to maturity. Likewise, just because we follow Christ does not make us exempt to problems. Living in a fallen world means we are going to experience difficulties. Yet, I truly believe God will use them for good in our lives and the lives of others. 

The other amazing thing is that as Christians, we only are going to experience suffering while on earth. God has given us hope by saving us from eternal suffering!

PRAYER
Thank You, God, for all the hard times You have given us and the character You have built in us during those times. Thank You for the deliverance You have offered to us. Thank You, Jesus, for paying the price for us and restoring us to God. The Egyptians didn’t deserve to be healed and neither do we, but Your love for us is so great! Thanks for giving us everything we have even though we haven’t earned any of it! You are so generous!  AMEN





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