Isaiah 31 (HCSB)
The Lord, the Only Help
1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and who depend on horses! They trust in the abundance of chariots and in the large number of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel and they do not seek the Lord’s help.
2 But He also is wise and brings disaster. He does not go back on what He says; He will rise up against the house of wicked men and against the allies of evildoers.
3 Egyptians are men, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit. When the Lord raises His hand to strike, the helper will stumble and the one who is helped will fall; both will perish together.
4 For this is what the Lord said to me:
As a lion or young lion growls over its prey when a band of shepherds is called out against it, and is not terrified by their shouting or subdued by their noise, so the Lord of Hosts will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill.
5 Like hovering birds, so the Lord of Hosts will protect Jerusalem—by protecting it, He will rescue it, by sparing it, He will deliver it.
6 Return to the One the Israelites have greatly rebelled against. 7 For on that day, every one of you will reject the silver and gold idols that your own hands have sinfully made.
8 Then Assyria will fall, but not by human sword; a sword will devour him, but not one made by man. He will flee from the sword; his young men will be put to forced labor.
9 His rock will pass away because of fear, and his officers will be afraid because of the signal flag.
This is the Lord’s declaration—whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
Isaiah 32 (HCSB)
The Righteous Kingdom Announced
1 Indeed, a king will reign righteously, and rulers will rule justly.
2 Each will be like a shelter from the wind, a refuge from the rain, like streams of water in a dry land and the shade of a massive rock in an arid land.
3 Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
4 The reckless mind will gain knowledge, and the stammering tongue will speak clearly and fluently.
5 A fool will no longer be called a noble, nor a scoundrel said to be important.
6 For a fool speaks foolishness and his mind plots iniquity. He lives in a godless way and speaks falsely about the Lord. He leaves the hungry empty and deprives the thirsty of drink.
7 The scoundrel’s weapons are destructive; he hatches plots to destroy the needy with lies, even when the poor says what is right.
8 But a noble person plans noble things; he stands up for noble causes.
9 Stand up, you complacent women; listen to me. Pay attention to what I say, you overconfident daughters.
10 In a little more than a year you overconfident ones will shudder, for the vintage will fail and the harvest will not come.
11 Shudder, you complacent ones; tremble, you overconfident ones! Strip yourselves bare and put sackcloth around your waists.
12 Beat your breasts in mourning for the delightful fields and the fruitful vines,
13 for the ground of my people growing thorns and briers, indeed, for every joyous house in the joyful city.
14 For the palace will be forsaken, the busy city abandoned. The hill and the watchtower will become barren places forever, the joy of wild donkeys, and a pasture for flocks,
15 until the Spirit from heaven is poured out on us. Then the desert will become an orchard, and the orchard will seem like a forest.
16 Then justice will inhabit the wilderness, and righteousness will dwell in the orchard.
17 The result of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quiet confidence forever.
18 Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place, in safe and secure dwellings.
19 But hail will level the forest, and the city will sink into the depths.
20 Those who sow seed are happy beside abundant waters; they let ox and donkey range freely.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 31:1): I so often rely on my own strength and wisdom to get me through things or use the worldly advice to answer questions I have. Please forgive me for not leaning on You for help and advice, Father. Help me to go to You far more often than I have been for Your wisdom, guidance, and truth so that when I do things in this world I know I am doing Your will and not my own, not the flesh’s, and not the world’s.
PROMISE (verses 32:16-18): You make a promise in these verses that one day Your people will live in righteousness, peace, justice, confidence, safety, and security. Such an amazing promise to us, Lord, as well as one that is often difficult to imagine with how bad the world has become; but I know You conquer the world easily, so I can’t wait for the day that this promise is fulfilled.
ATTITUDE (verse 32:10-11): Father, help me to change my attitudes of complacency and over-confidence in myself. I far too often get complacent in my relationship with You and over-confident in myself when things are going well. Help me to change this so that I always have an attitude of Godly action and one based on confidence in You, not myself.
COMMAND (verse 31:1): You command us in the second half of this verse to always look to Jesus and seek His help. Remind me of this command frequently, Lord, so I do not stray.
EXAMPLE (verse 32:3-8): Father, You give us several tidbits here of how we should be living. You tell us to always open our eyes and ears towards You. You tell us to gain knowledge and wisdom from You, so that when we speak we will speak Your truth with confidence. You tell us to help those in need, to make plans according to Your will, and to stand up for noble causes. Help me here, Lord, so that I can live in this example You give.
*DAILY NOTE: Why do I often fall back into thinking I can do this life on my own, Father? I keep failing at this life when I try to do it my own way and with my own strength and wisdom, yet for some reason I keep falling back to that poor habit. Help me, Father, to keep my eyes and ears open for Your, Father. Please help me to ALWAYS look to Jesus for help, guidance, wisdom, counsel, and strength. Thank You, Jesus, for always being there for me in our relationship even though I fail often to reciprocate this relationship.
*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.
Comentários