Isaiah 27 (HCSB)
Leviathan Slain
1 On that day the Lord with His harsh, great, and strong sword, will bring judgment on Leviathan, the fleeing serpent—Leviathan, the twisting serpent. He will slay the monster that is in the sea.
The Lord’s Vineyard
2 On that day sing about a desirable vineyard:
3 I, Yahweh, watch over it; I water it regularly. I guard it night and day so that no one disturbs it.
4 I am not angry, but if it produces thorns and briers for Me, I will fight against it, trample it, and burn it to the ground.
5 Or let it take hold of My strength; let it make peace with Me—make peace with Me.
6 In days to come, Jacob will take root. Israel will blossom and bloom and fill the whole world with fruit.
7 Did the Lord strike Israel as He struck the one who struck Israel? Was he killed like those killed by Him?
8 You disputed with her by banishing and driving her away. He removed her with His severe storm on the day of the east wind.
9 Therefore Jacob’s iniquity will be purged in this way, and the result of the removal of his sin will be this: when he makes all the altar stones like crushed bits of chalk, no Asherah poles or incense altars will remain standing.
10 For the fortified city will be deserted, pastures abandoned and forsaken like a wilderness. Calves will graze there, and there they will spread out and strip its branches.
11 When its branches dry out, they will be broken off. Women will come and make fires with them, for they are not a people with understanding. Therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them, and their Creator will not be gracious to them.
12 On that day the Lord will thresh grain from the Euphrates River as far as the Wadi of Egypt, and you Israelites will be gathered one by one.
13 On that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those lost in the land of Assyria will come, as well as those dispersed in the land of Egypt; and they will worship the Lord at Jerusalem on the holy mountain.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 4): Father, please forgive me for often producing "thorns and briers" on Your vine. Forgive me of the so many things I've done too often which makes You unhappy and fails to produce fruit for You, Lord. Help me to be a strong branch in Your vineyard, so that I can produce many fruits for Your kingdom, Father.
PROMISE (verse 5): Your promise to us here is that You are the better way for the vineyard we produce in our lives. That if we hold onto Your strength, embrace You, and make peace with You that we will produce Your fruits and not thorns and briers.
ATTITUDE (verses 3-5): You watch over us and even when we stray and produce "thorns and briers" You do not get angry with us. Instead, You show us mercy, grace, peace, and strength through You. Help me to change my default emotion/attitude of anger to one of grace and peace like You, Father.
COMMAND (verse 5): You command us here, Father, to take hold of You, so we can thrive with Your strength. To do this, we must make peace with You, which I feel is done through confession, praise, and relationship with You, Lord. Help me to continually hold You close to me and always be at peace with You, Father, so that I may embrace and live in Your strength.
EXAMPLE (verse 13): This example is amazing. Through great devastation, destruction, and sadness Your people from many different nations will recognize Your return and come together as one to praise and worship You. Help me to follow this example always, so that I may be in praise and worship of You with all nations through all things.
*DAILY NOTE: I have not been the best follower or servant since coming to faith and accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior in 2012. I have often failed at even the simplest tasks that You've asked of me, Father. I'm not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but the renewed Spirit in me that was brought about by You revealing to me the Real Men Connect brotherhood has been amazing. Help me to lean on them fully for accountability so that I can be a producer of fruits for You, Father, and not thorns and briers.
*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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