Be Prepared For Judgment

KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Friday, July 22, 2016
Chapters: Isaiah 5-8
Message: Be Prepared For Judgment

Hello My Friend,

If there is one thing that the Old Testament books ought to teach us it is that while God has always been merciful, He is a just God, and will place judgment upon all who live in sin. Judgment does not always come in the form of jail or corporal punishment, it often comes in the form of things like sickness, war, famine, and poverty. As you study the prophecy books one thing is clear, while God is addressing Israel as nation, He is definitely speaking to all His people, and when He is done with us, He will deal with the rest of the world. “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” - I Peter 4:17,18.

“where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” Sometimes it seems as though the same passages are used over and over again, especially when reading a certain portions of the Bible. I imagine it is just God trying to get it through our heads that judgment is coming. Think about it, if things are as bad as they are while God is placing judgment upon His people, think about what will happen when He comes to the unbelievers? Here is the scenario in Jerusalem during Isaiah’s time, the city was prosperous, and bountiful, but it was full of corruption. God refers to Israel as His vineyard, one that has grapes that grew wild and are out of control, He decides it is time to remove His hedge.

“And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.” - Isaiah 5:5-7,11,12.

“but there shall come up briers and thorns:” If you wonder why the economy is tanking, farms and groves are being destroyed, and the weather has been so crazy, it is because God is warning us that His judgment is coming. While God is very merciful and promises to never let one saved soul get cast into hell that does not mean He will not place judgment upon His people for living in sin. And the thing is, it is not just a couple of people, it is a multitude of saved, born again Christians living in sin, not to mention the ones who take a blind eye to such sinful behavior, and they have no regard for God’s work, or what He has done for them. Remember, we will all be held accountable for the things we have done after we are saved, and that includes times we shunned sin. “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” - Luke 21:34-36.

When we live a life that is pleasing to God, the Holy Spirit works overtime to keep us from hurting ourselves, and you can be sure that when we do something we know it immediately. Case in point, this past week I made a vow to stop eating any processed food, and asked God not to let me eat anything with white flour or sugar in it. I did good for three days, then decided I wanted an ice cream cone, I began eating it and knew I ought to stop, but did not and the rest of the night I was in pain. This is an example of why we cannot live a lavish lifestyle meant to please the lusts of the flesh, and all I did was eat ice cream. God does not want us to suffer more than we have to, the Holy Spirit is that voice in our heads that nudges us not to do something, He is our guide, our teacher, and He will not hesitate to convict us. God gives Isaiah an amazing vision, one in which brought great conviction to him.

“In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” - Isaiah 6:1-8.

“Here am I; send me.” Something amazing is witnessed here, Jesus on His throne. Seraphim’s means fiery serpents in Hebrew, they are angels of the highest order in the celestial hierarchy, and are represented as servants of the King, they stand over Him ready to minister to Him at His command. They are sent by God as His instruments to inflict righteous judgment on people as a penalty of sin. As Isaiah sees this he realizes how unclean he is (that he is a sinner). Then one of the angels comes over, drops a hot coal in his mouth, and all of a sudden he is cleansed. Isaiah was so humbled and grateful that he wanted to tell the world how they could get cleansed. This ought to be the attitude of every, saved born again Christian, we are clean, all of our sins and iniquities have been removed. We may have to stand before Him and give an account, but it will not be for our salvation because He has already taken care of that. “But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;” - Titus 3:4-6.

During the reign of kings certain promises were attached to the family of David, a godly heir would come from the house of David to not only bring righteous judgment, but hope through the affliction. For the most part the house of David remained godly, but they too have rejected God. Now Ahaz is king and even set up an altar for a strange god in the Temple. God sends Isaiah to meet Ahaz and reveal and reconfirm this amazing prophecy.

“Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep; And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land. And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns.” - Isaiah 7:11-16,21-23.

“I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.” Ahaz is like a lot of Christians who ignore God in an attempt to justify sinful living, they have the mentality that if they do not know His Word then they can get away with what they are doing. Regardless of whether or not we believe all of His Word, all of His Word is true and everything will come to pass as it is written. Now, God instructs Isaiah to do something rather strange, write about his son, whom he was to name, Mahershalalhashbaz.

“And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz. For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria. The LORD spake also unto me again, saying, Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son; Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.” - Isaiah 8:3-8.

“O Immanuel.” Judah is called Immanuel's land, because Jesus was to be born there, to live, and to die there; and this is particularly mentioned, to show that, although this land should be overrun by the Assyrians, yet not destroyed, until Immanuel, the son of the virgin, was born here. Maher-shalal-hash-baz, which means, “swift is booty, speedy is prey”, meaning God will destroy Judah, it will be quick, He will take away all their defenses, and they will be as prey. We have been given numerous warnings, and ample time to concede, but God’s judgment is coming and it will come quick. “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” - Revelation 16:15.

Jesus Christ Magnified: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” - Isaiah 7:14. Jesus, the Son of God, born of a virgin, and God Himself who came to redeem all who believe in Him. “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” - Matthew 1:23.

Today's Prayer: God, Thank You for Your gift of salvation, we do not have to do any work to be saved from judgment, all we need to do is believe in and receive Your Son, who gave His life to redeem me forever. I know I am a sinner, but thanks to Jesus I am clean, all my iniquities have been lifted and my sins removed. While I can never do anything to lose my salvation, I do not want to have to given an account as to why I did not use every opportunity to proclaim Your Son. Lord, lead me and guide me, give me Your power, strength, wisdom, mercy, and grace to live in Your will and let me be led by the Holy Spirit and not my flesh. Give me boldness to speak Your truths and in fact, let Your voice speak through me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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