Isaiah 58

Isaiah 58:7

"Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

I don't recall ever having heard this as the proper activity during a Jewish fast.  You think in terms of them fasting and praying, remembering special events.  But for the purpose to be charity to the poor is a new concept for me to hear about.

I guess this matches with James, where he says true religion is to help orphans and widows in their distress.  Same idea, different time.  We are here to support our fellow man when he's downtrodden, and that is how we can honor God.  That's convicting to me.

Isaiah 57

Isaiah 57:21

"There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked."

Obviously, this isn't a statement meant for the short-term.  We all know people who have done terrible things and are completely guilt-free.  They seem to get away with anything, with no repercussions.

So, what is God talking about?  Obviously, he's looking at the long game, either over the course of years or a lifetime.  Their gains are fleeting, and do not lead to long-term contentment.  They always want more, or something else.  Also, they will face an eternity without peace, and there will be nothing they can do about it.

Isaiah 56

Isaiah 56:8

The Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declared,
"Yet others I will gather to them, to those already gathered."

I'm not quite sure who is being referred to here.  My first inclination is that this is talking about non-Jews who God will bring to Himself.  Presumably, that would mean Christians.

However, is it instead referring to foreigners of that time, what might be called God-fearing Gentiles?  Or is it talking about more Jews He will bring home?  Or is it all of the above?  I'm not certain, but whoever it is, it is people God brought to Him, to know His love and serve Him.

Isaiah 55

Isaiah 55:7

Let the wicked forsake his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to the LORD,
And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.

It seems like such a simple formula, doesn't it?  Stop doing bad things, start doing thing God wants, and He will forgive us.  So, if it's so simple, why are we so bad at doing it?

I think it's partly human nature, since we're sinful by default.  We want to do the easy things, rather than what God wants, which are usually harder.  We want to be in control, not surrender control.  In addition, the benefits often seem illusory, or a reward that will never get here.  Until we accept that God really does know best, we will continue to be stuck in our negative feedback loops, with God standing by to use us properly.

Isaiah 54

Isaiah 54:17

"No weapon that is formed against you will prosper;
And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
And their vindication is from Me," declares the LORD.

The first part of this verse is fairly well-known, but that isn't what caught my attention.  It was the third line I noticed, where it talks about the servants of the LORD.  That makes all this a conditional statement.

Most of the time I try to be careful to not infer upon Christians that which is fairly directly meant for Israel of the time.  However, this one makes me wonder if it might cover us as well?  We are servants of God, and the context of the chapter sounds like this could be for perpetuity.  So, is this promise for us, as well as them?

Isaiah 53

Isaiah 53:10

But the LORD was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.

 At first glance, this verse made me pause.  God was pleased to crush Jesus (as we now interpret this passage to mean)?  How could God be pleased to destroy His son?

But then the rest of the verse comes into play.  God was pleased for Jesus to offer himself as the offering we can not be.  As a result of this sacrifice, He raised Jesus, and made him the means for God's pleasure to be available to all of us, should we accept it.

Isaiah 52

Isaiah 52:12

But you will not go out in haste,
Nor will you go as fugitives;
For the LORD will go before you,
And the God if Israel will be your rear guard.

This is a reassuring statement.  Many times, we think of believers having to scurry through the night, persecuted and afraid to be seen.  And I don't want to say that isn't supposed to be the case, given this specific passage wasn't written to Christians, but to Israel.

However, the statement that God will go before and after us is always true.  He will guide our paths, if we are willing to follow them.  And He will ensure events don't overtake us, before we've done the work He set out for us to do.

Isaiah 51

Isaiah 51:13

That you have forgotten the LORD your Maker,
Who stretched out the heavens
And laid the foundations of the earth,
That you fear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor,
As he makes ready to destroy?
But where is the fury of the oppressor?

This struck me because, as much as I like to try and deny it, I do live most of my days in fear.  Fear of being caught slacking off.  Fear of being unprepared.  Fear of never achieving the things I want to achieve, or getting the things I want to have.

And yet, in all that, God is still there, with all the answers for my questions, if only I would trust that those answers will be revealed in time.  I'm not going to claim that I'll like all the answers.  In fact, probably part of my fear is that God's answers won't match the ones I want to hear.  But I must learn to better trust Him, or I will continue in my current cycle of self-damage and unimportance.