God Equips Those Who Don’t Know Him! Isaiah 45-50

Isaiah 45:2-5 (ESV)

“I will go before you

and level the exalted places,

I will break in pieces the doors of bronze

and cut through the bars of iron,

I will give you the treasures of darkness

and the hoards in secret places,

that you may know that it is I, the LORD,

the God of Israel, who call you by your name.

For the sake of my servant Jacob,

and Israel my chosen,

I call you by your name,

I name you, though you do not know me.

I am the LORD, and there is no other,

besides me there is no God;

I equip you, though you do not know me,

The above passage is an amazing prophecy spoken by Isaiah.   It is spoken to Israel but about a king in Assyria.    The kings name is Cyrus.  There is much debate as to who this king is.   We do know from ancient archeological findings that there was a king of the Babylonian-Assyrian time frame that fits this story.    It would have been hard for the nation of Israel to hear Isaiah’s prophecy about a foreign king having the attributes of the above poem.   These types of things were said about the Messiah, not a wicked king who didn’t even know God.   Many theologians ascribe to the thought that the Cyrus in the above picture is a type of Messiah.    It is more likely to take the text for what it says, I equip you, though you don’t know me.    This is a great indication of God’s sovereignty over the political and military powers of the world.   There is no doubt that this Cyrus is going to be equipped by God to conquer the world.   Cyrus, based on simple historical findings, is used by God to set the people of Israel free from their up-coming captivity.  So the above prophecy is both an encouragement and an enigma to them.   The fact that God can take a human being, who knows no relationship with God, and use him to accomplish the will of God, is an amazing truth to latch onto.   God uses the powerful political leaders of this day to impact and fulfill His plan for the world.   We think these leaders act on their own accord.   God does use their agendas and personalities and hunger for power.  But He conducts them like an orchestra maestro who has complete control over each an every instrument and note the members of the orchestra plays.   God is sovereign and we can rest in assurance He rises up the leaders He wants to accomplish the plan He wants.  

Correlation Is Not Causation - Job 18-19

Job 18:11-15 (ESV)

Terrors frighten him on every side,

and chase him at his heels.

His strength is famished,

and calamity is ready for his stumbling.

It consumes the parts of his skin;

the firstborn of death consumes his limbs.

He is torn from the tent in which he trusted

and is brought to the king of terrors.

In his tent dwells that which is none of his;

sulfur is scattered over his habitation.

The above speech is the “counseling” theme or advice of one of Job’s friends named, Bildad.   Job is in pain and suffering.  He is looking for answers.   Note what he will say in response to Bildad’’s speech and you will see how desperate Job is for answers and good “counsel.” 

Job 19:7-8 (ESV)

Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!’ but I am not answered;

I call for help, but there is no justice.

He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass,

and he has set darkness upon my paths.

Can you hear the pain in Job’s heart?   Bildad has a chance to bring comfort to Job.  Bildad, along with his other friends traveled a long distance just to bring Job comfort:

Job 2:11 (ESV)

Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him.

So, if Bildad came to comfort Job and Job is crying out for comfort and understanding, why does Bildad tell Job what is stated in the above passage? Why does Bildad tell job about the plight of the wicked?   That is who the above passage is referring to in Bildad’s counsel and/or advice to Job.   He is telling Job that the wicked deserve the punishment they get.  Bildad is telling Job that the pain he is experiencing is just like what happens to the wicked, therefore, Job, you must be, also, wicked.   Bildad fails to understand two very important truths that the Bible teaches and Job’s story gives to us as examples of these truths:

1.  God’s plan for our lives allows for the suffering of the innocent due the simple fact that sin and Satan are in the world.   Job was innocent, as we know from chapters one and two of the story.   But Bildad and his friends had no concept that in this sinful world we will have the suffering of the innocent that is not due to any sin of their own.   Sin and Satan just cause havoc in the world because that is what they do.  Sin does impact the wicked.  But it also impacts the righteous and the innocent. It has not discrimination between the two.  

2. Correlation is not causation.    There is a fallacy of reasoning that is based upon the fact that two events happen simultaneously and that one, therefore, caused the other.   Because the wicked often suffer and because Job is suffering, Bildad and his friends drew a correlation between the two and therefore believes Job’s wickedness caused his suffering.   However, especially true in the Bible, correlation does not make something the causation of the other.   

When we see others suffer we ought to be wise enough and cautious enough to not always think their struggle is due to one thing we have in our mind.  Bildad and his friends lost their focus.   Instead of comforting their friend they brought judgment to their friend under faulty reasoning.   That is not Godly wisdom.   

Standing Tall In A Slouching World - Psalms 24-26

Psalms 24:3-6 (ESV)

Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?

And who shall stand in his holy place?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart,

who does not lift up his soul to what is false

and does not swear deceitfully.

He will receive blessing from the LORD

and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Such is the generation of those who seek him,

who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah

The above song of David’s addresses some of the same line of a previous song he wrote:

Psalms 15 (ESV)

A PSALM OF DAVID.

O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent?

Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

He who walks blamelessly and does what is right

and speaks truth in his heart;

who does not slander with his tongue

and does no evil to his neighbor,

nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

in whose eyes a vile person is despised,

but who honors those who fear the LORD;

who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

who does not put out his money at interest

and does not take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things shall never be moved.

Both of the poems have to do with the person of God who stands tall in a slouching world.   Here are some of the takeaways for us.  The person who would stand tall in a slouching world would be:

1. Would desire to fellowship and sojourn with God. 

2. Would have clean hands, pure heart and speaks truth. 

3. Would avoid falsehood at all costs whether in their own heart or from the lips of others. 

4. Would live by a set of laws and rules that maintain integrity. 

5. Would be assured to be blessed and held secure by God’s power and grace. 

The entire guarantee to be blessed and secure is based upon a desire to fellowship with God based upon God’s character and attributes.   God secures those who, by faith, wish to look like Him in front of the world around them.   

How Evil Can Man Be When God Is Absent? Judges 17-21

 Judges 19:16-21 (ESV)

And behold, an old man was coming from his work in the field at evening. The man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was sojourning in Gibeah. The men of the place were Benjaminites. And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the open square of the city. And the old man said, “Where are you going? And where do you come from?” And he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, from which I come. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to the house of the LORD, but no one has taken me into his house. We have straw and feed for our donkeys, with bread and wine for me and your female servant and the young man with your servants. There is no lack of anything.” And the old man said, “Peace be to you; I will care for all your wants. Only, do not spend the night in the square.” So he brought him into his house and gave the donkeys feed. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank.

The above story is the beginning of a horrific tragedy recorded in the book of Judges.   The story starts with this old man in the above passage, showing compassion for an unnamed traveler.  From other passages we know the traveler is a priest.  We know he went to find a runaway concubine, found her and was taking her back to their home.  We know that this old man did not want them to stay in the open square of the city and brought them into his own home.  We will later be confronted by the men of the town and be asked to send the traveling priest out  of the home that the wicked men of the city might have sexual relations with him.   The old man does not allow that, but does send out the man’s concubine.  This result in a series of events in the next chapters that just seem so wicked.  The men of this town (Gibeah) are very wicked.  They rape and murder the concubine.   Even though the old man showed compassion on the priest, the men of the town showed wickedness and lack of constraint.   The priest will take his dead concubine home, cut her up into twelve pieces and send each piece to the twelve tribes of Israel and ask them to come and take vengeances on this town of Gibeah.  At the end of the entire story over 40,000 men will die, a city (Gibeah) will be burnt to the ground, a tribe (Dan) will be almost wiped out, and several other women will be put to forced marriages to assure the continuation of the tribe of Dan.  All this started, however, with an act of kindness from an old man.   His kindness kept the priest from being raped, but could not protect the concubine.   This all just shows what Israel was like because their rejected God as their king.    When God does not reign everyone does what is right in their own eyes.  The old man was kind.  The men of the city brutal.   The priest, who would cut up the dead body, was desperate.  The nation of Israel was lost.  No one lead.  When we have no godly leader we have a mixed set of events like the above.   Kindness is always trumped by evil when evil is not controlled by the worship of God.   

Idea-Goal Association Strategy - Genesis 32-35

Genesis 34:18-24 (ESV)

Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem. And the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most honored of all his father’s house. So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city, saying, “These men are at peace with us; let them dwell in the land and trade in it, for behold, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives, and let us give them our daughters. Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us to become one people—when every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours? Only let us agree with them, and they will dwell with us.” And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

The background of this story is that Hamor, the son of , saw Israel’s daughter Dinah and laid with her sexually.  He, in essence, raped her.   Israel, her father, did nothing about it.   But when her 11 brothers found out about it they convinced Hamor that he could marry Dinah (something Hamor wanted) if they and all the men of the town were to be circumcised.    Since Hamor really did love Dinah, they all agreed.  But Hamor had to  convince the fellow men of Shechem to also be circumcised.    This would not be an easy task.   It is one thing to be circumcised on the 8th day after brith (Leviticus 12:3) and quite another to be circumcised as an adult male.   That process is be painful, but you never remember it when you are 8 days old vs 18 and above years old.  The sons of Israel would use that pain to their advantage.  They would eventually come upon these men during that pain and kill them all.   That is the complete story.  But the point in the above text is how Hamor convinced his fellow men to be circumcised.  Their being circumcised would be to HIS advantage.   He would get married but they would be in pain.  To convince them to go along with his agreement, he could not use an argument (an idea) that would benefit him and not them.   Instead he uses the leadership strategy of idea-goal association.   He had to find a way to associate his idea (everyone joins a circumcision party) with a goal that would benefit THEM, not just HIM.   We read in the above passage that he tells them if they want to financial gain (property and livestock) from these men of Israel, they can use circumcision as a tool.   Once they are all circumcised, nothing will stop them in acquiring all of the property from Israel.   His argument was: Pain now, but gain later.  But it would be gain for THEM, not just HIM.   Sometimes when you want to convince others of an idea that would benefit you, you must first present the idea to others in a way it would benefit them.   Idea-goal association strategy. 

Priorities for Life - Romans 15-16

Romans 15:20-22 (ESV)

and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written,

“Those who have never been told of him will see,

and those who have never heard will understand.”

This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you.

Paul wanted to visit those in Rome; the body of believers he was writing to in this book.  But he could not.  Not because he didn’t want to come but because he was busy proclaiming the gospel to Gentiles in another region.   He was hindered from doing what he wanted to do because he had more pressing needs regarding what he was called to do.   We often can’t do what we want because we are doing what we are supposed to be doing.   We all would like a retirement mentality to do what we want, when we want and how we want.  Yet, that is not the ministry of the Gospel.  No matter our station in life, we are called to preach the gospel.   We are called to proclaim to the world around us the truth that Jesus died for mankind.   We might want to do other things; other things that are not bad things.   Paul wanting to fellowship with believers in Rome is not a bad thing.  Yet, he was so engaged in preaching the gospel to the world around him that he was prevented to do something else.   May we all have this challenge in our lives.  

Mob Pressure - Matthew 20-22

Matthew 21:26 (ESV)

But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

Matthew 21:46 (ESV)

And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

Mob pressure is the worst pressure.   When we fear the crowds we lose direction in life.   The above passage are in reference to those who wished to harm Jesus.  So, we might think it is a good thing they feared the mob.   But latter they will use that same mob violence to crucify Jesus.    Peter will succumb to the mob by denying Jesus three times.   

Matthew 26:73-74 (ESV)

After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed.

Later, Herod will so fear the crowd he will give the command to crucify Jesus:

Matthew 27:24 (ESV)

Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.”

Crowd pressure is the worst type of fear to get caught up with when making decisions.   Shame is a powerful tool used against mankind to get them to acquiesce to whatever the crowd wants.   When we give into the fear of man we find ourselves in a snare we can’t friend escape:

Proverbs 29:25 (ESV)

The fear of man lays a snare,

but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.

If we wish to walk with God we have to avoid the fear of man.  

Grace Instead of Wrath - Isaiah 40-44

 Isaiah 43:1-4 (ESV)

But now thus says the LORD,

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

For I am the LORD your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

I give Egypt as your ransom,

Cush and Seba in exchange for you.

Because you are precious in my eyes,

and honored, and I love you,

I give men in return for you,

peoples in exchange for your life.

To better grasp the beauty of the above words from God to Israel you have to remember the context of the book of Isaiah.   God is not pleased with Israel, His chosen people.   God is bringing in Babylonian warriors to crush them.   Their idol worship has grieved their God. As chapters 41 and 42 come to close we read the condemnation of Israel for their sins; their rejection of God’s mercy and goodness.  They turned to the worldly and forsook the blessings of God.   What should naturally follow this declaration by God of their guilt is the condemnation by God in their judgment.   Chapter 43 should begin with an opening phrase like:  “Since you abandoned Me for worthless idols I am going to do this to you ...!”   That is not what happens.  Instead of condemnation God pours out grace.    If you and I were to write the opening lines of chapter 43, it would read like this:

But now thus says the LORD,

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

I WILL CRUSH YOU UNDER MY WRATH!

Instead God speaks through Isaiah:

But now thus says the LORD,

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

“FEAR NOT, FOR I HAVE REDEEMED YOU;

This might be one of the most unexpected turns in Scripture.  This is equivalent to the writings of Paul when he writes:

Ephesians 2:1-4 (ESV)

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. BUT God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,

In the midst of what we deserve God provides mercy and grace to cover our sins.   What an amazing God.   Rather than being disposed in God’s eyes, Isaiah writes that they are precious in God’s eyes.   Instead of judgment we receive salvation.   God is a merciful God.