Isaiah 2 (HCSB)
The City of Peace
1 The vision that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
2 In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s house will be established at the top of the mountains and will be raised above the hills. All nations will stream to it,
3 and many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us about His ways so that we may walk in His paths.” For instruction will go out of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He will settle disputes among the nations and provide arbitration for many peoples. They will turn their swords into plows and their spears into pruning knives. Nations will not take up the sword against other nations, and they will never again train for war.
The Day of the Lord
5 House of Jacob, come and let us walk in the Lord’s light.
6 For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob, because they are full of divination from the East and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines. They are in league with foreigners.
7 Their land is full of silver and gold, and there is no limit to their treasures; their land is full of horses, and there is no limit to their chariots.
8 Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.
9 So humanity is brought low, and man is humbled. Do not forgive them!
10 Go into the rocks and hide in the dust from the terror of the Lord and from His majestic splendor.
11 Human pride will be humbled, and the loftiness of men will be brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.
12 For a day belonging to the Lord of Hosts is coming against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—it will be humbled—
13 against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up, against all the oaks of Bashan,
14 against all the high mountains, against all the lofty hills,
15 against every high tower, against every fortified wall,
16 against every ship of Tarshish, and against every splendid sea vessel.
17 So human pride will be brought low, and the loftiness of men will be humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.
18 The idols will vanish completely.
19 People will go into caves in the rocks and holes in the ground, away from the terror of the Lord and from His majestic splendor, when He rises to terrify the earth.
20 On that day people will throw their silver and gold idols, which they made to worship, to the moles and the bats.
21 They will go into the caves of the rocks and the crevices in the cliffs, away from the terror of the Lord and from His majestic splendor, when He rises to terrify the earth.
22 Put no more trust in man, who has only the breath in his nostrils. What is he really worth?
Isaiah 3 (HCSB)
Judah’s Leaders Judged
1 Observe this: The Lord God of Hosts is about to remove from Jerusalem and from Judah every kind of security: the entire supply of bread and water,
2 the hero and warrior, the judge and prophet, the fortune-teller and elder,
3 the commander of 50 and the dignitary, the counselor, cunning magician, and necromancer.
4 “I will make youths their leaders, and the unstable will govern them.”
5 The people will oppress one another, man against man, neighbor against neighbor; the youth will act arrogantly toward the elder, and the worthless toward the honorable.
6 A man will even seize his brother in his father’s house, saying: “You have a cloak—you be our leader! This heap of rubble will be under your control.”
7 On that day he will cry out, saying: “I’m not a healer. I don’t even have food or clothing in my house. Don’t make me the leader of the people!”
8 For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen because they have spoken and acted against the Lord, defying His glorious presence.
9 The look on their faces testifies against them, and like Sodom, they flaunt their sin. They do not conceal it. Woe to them, for they have brought evil on themselves.
10 Tell the righteous that it will go well for them, for they will eat the fruit of their labor.
11 Woe to the wicked—it will go badly for them, for what they have done will be done to them.
12 Youths oppress My people, and women rule over them. My people, your leaders mislead you; they confuse the direction of your paths.
13 The Lord rises to argue the case and stands to judge the people.
14 The Lord brings this charge against the elders and leaders of His people: “You have devastated the vineyard. The plunder from the poor is in your houses.
15 Why do you crush My people and grind the faces of the poor?”
This is the declaration of the Lord God of Hosts.
Jerusalem’s Women Judged
16 The Lord also says:
Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, walking with heads held high and seductive eyes, going along with prancing steps, jingling their ankle bracelets,
17 the Lord will put scabs on the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will shave their foreheads bare.
18 On that day the Lord will strip their finery: ankle bracelets, headbands, crescents, 19 pendants, bracelets, veils, 20 headdresses, ankle jewelry, sashes, perfume bottles, amulets, 21 signet rings, nose rings, 22 festive robes, capes, cloaks, purses, 23 garments, linen clothes, turbans, and veils.
24 Instead of perfume there will be a stench; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of beautifully styled hair, baldness; instead of fine clothes, sackcloth; instead of beauty, branding.
25 Your men will fall by the sword, your warriors in battle.
26 Then her gates will lament and mourn; deserted, she will sit on the ground.
Isaiah 4 (HCSB)
1 On that day seven women will seize one man, saying, “We will eat our own bread and provide our own clothing. Just let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace.”
Zion’s Future Glory
2 On that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of Israel’s survivors. 3 Whoever remains in Zion and whoever is left in Jerusalem will be called holy—all in Jerusalem who are destined to live— 4 when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodguilt from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning. 5 Then the Lord will create a cloud of smoke by day and a glowing flame of fire by night over the entire site of Mount Zion and over its assemblies. For there will be a canopy over all the glory, 6 and there will be a booth for shade from heat by day, and a refuge and shelter from storm and rain.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 3:9): Father, please forgive me for often taking pride in my sin, even flaunting it at times. This is not respectful to You and does not glorify You. Help convict me in those times that I am beginning to flaunt my sin, so that I may acknowledge and correct it on the spot, Lord.
PROMISE (verses 2:2-4): You promise us, Lord, that You will return and that it will be a glorious and joyful return to all those who believe in You. Amazing things will happen by Your hand, such as peace between nations and no longer having the need to train for wars. Thank you for this amazing insight into what we can expect in the future when You return.
ATTITUDE (verse 2:11): Please help me to change my often arrogant attitude to a humble one, Lord. I want to glorify You before You return, so help me to learn how to have an attitude of humbleness at all times.
COMMAND (verse 2:22): You command us to not put our trust in man, because man only has "the breath" in his nostrils, whereas Jesus is an entire, full breath. Man's worth alone is nothing, but with Jesus we are worthy of so much more.
EXAMPLE (verses 2:12-18): Jesus, help me to be the opposite of the examples You give here of what I call the great cleansing. Help me to not be proud and lofty and to not have any idols over You, Lord. Help me to be an example that glorifies You in all things I do, say, and think. Align my thoughts, words, and actions to Your will.
*DAILY NOTE: For some reason I felt the urge to keep reading which is why I read Isaiah 2-4 on this quiet time. It's funny how the Holy Spirit works in us like that! This lesson definitely hit me, so I was stuck in prayer off and on throughout my reading and writing in my journal. I definitely have a lot of bad defaults, but arrogance it often a high one for me that leads straight to pride, anger, and irritability. Help me to be more humble, Father, so that I can be more like Jesus and less like me!
*GENERAL NOTE: I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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