Isaiah 1:7

Isaiah 1:7 says, Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.  Isaiah then remanded the people of the state of their country.  God had given them a land flowing with milk and honey and control over it as long as they remained obedient to Him, but they had started chasing after other gods, so God had allowed them to be enslaved once more.   God has set us free from the power of sin if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, but if we fail to be obedient to Him, we may find ourselves enslaved by sin once more.   

Verse eight adds, And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Isaiah then used some descriptive terms to describe the daughter of Zion, or Jerusalem.  This was God’s glorious city and now it was a poor city under siege.  God gives us glorious freedom from sin as Christians, but if we turn away from Him, we will become spiritually desolate and under the bondage of sin once more.   Since God seals us as His when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we will never lose our salvation but can certainly lose our effectiveness in doing His work and the joy of our salvation if we turn away from doing His will.   

Verse nine continues, Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.  Isaiah then said that God left a small remnant of people who were true to Him.  I believe that this was still their choice, and that God didn’t just pick out a few people and force them to do His will.  Isaiah also said if not for this remnant that the people Judah and Jerusalem would have been destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah.  If Christians ever cease to exist in the world, then God’s judgment will certainly come, but so far, we still have a remnant of people who are faithful to Him.  As followers of Christ, we should always be a part of that remnant.   

Verse ten states, Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.  Still comparing them to Sodom and Gomorrah, Isaiah called on the people of Judah to hear the word of the Lord.  If we find ourselves personally or as a nation to have turned away from God, we need to hear His word once more.   

Verse eleven adds, To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.  Isaiah then said that even though they were going through the motions of offering sacrifices to God, since they weren’t acting out of faith in Him, He was tired of all their sacrifices.  We can give a great amount to God, but if we do not give it out of true obedience to and love for God, He is not going to be pleased with us.  We can never buy God’s favor but must always give to Him whatever we do give out of love and thanksgiving for His gift of salvation.   

Verse twelve continues. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?  Since they weren’t offering sacrifices and assembling by faith and obedience to God’s word and will, He asked them why they were even appearing before Him.  If we go to church and give a great deal of money to His work, if we are doing it without believing in Jesus Christ, then God will still ask why we are doing it.  When we gather as a local body of believers, we need to always put God and His will first.   

Verse thirteen says, Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.  Isaiah said that God had stated that their empty worship, going through the motions without any real faith or devotion to Him was an abomination to Him.  He also said that God had said He wouldn’t accept it so they should do away with it.  If we are just going through the motions of worship without any spiritual devotion to God, all the physical actions we take are not going to be acceptable to God.   

Verse fourteen continues, Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.  This seems to imply that the people were more interested in guidance by the stars or moon than they were in God.  God did not say that He was tired of them keeping His feast, but that He was tired of them keeping theirs.  If we make worship about what we want instead of what God requires, He will never accept it.  We should also never believe that the stars have any influence over us and avoid anything that would lead to that conclusion.   

Verse fifteen concludes, And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.  Isaiah said that God said that as long as their hands were full of blood, or that they were putting their own desires above helping others I believe, that even when they reached their hands out to Him, He would hide His eyes from them.  Isaiah also said that God would not hear their prayers.  If we are praying selfish prayers, God is not going to hear them, especially if we are mistreating others when we do.  Our actions must be consistent with our claim to be obeying God’s word. 

Isaiah 1:1

 Isaiah 1:1 says The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.  Isaiah means the salvation of the Lord.   Matthew Henry states that some people think this first verse should be the title of the book of Isaiah.   He also says that it was the first sermon that the prophet Isaiah was appointed to publish by posting it on the temple door so that everyone might read it.  The things that we proclaim for God, which should be done under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, need to be done so that as many people as possible might hear what we have to say or even write.  Isaiah said this was a vision that he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.  What we proclaim to the world today may not come as a vision, but it must come from God if it is the truth.   

Verse two adds, Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.  Isaiah said that they needed to hear, because God had spoken, and He was especially speaking to those whom He had nurtured and raised as children, but who had then rebelled against Him.  This wasn’t written to the people who did not know God, but to those who had seen His work in the world, or His chosen people in other words.  We need to pray that as His people today, those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, that God never finds us rebelling against Him.   

Verse three continues, The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.  Isaiah said even the ox and the ass knew their master but that the people of Israel did not.  In other words, they were dumber that simple animals that weren’t known for being very smart.  If people today, in particular Christians, fail to acknowledge God’s Voice when He talks to us, we are dumber than the dumbest animal, no matter how high our I.Q. might be. 

Verse four states, Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.  This verse is quite an indictment against the people Judah and Jerusalem.  As already stated, these were God’s Chosen People who had entered into a covenant relationship with Him, but He said they were full of iniquity, were the children of evildoers whose own children were corrupters, and that they had all gone away backward in their relationship to Him.  They had provoked God’s anger at their actions.  As Christians, we have been freed from the power of sin, and if we go backward in our faith and fall into sin and iniquity once more after we establish a personal relationship with God by putting our faith in Jesus Christ, He will always be displeased with our actions.   

Verse five adds, Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.  Isaiah said if they asked why they should be stricken as God’s Chosen People, it was because of their actions and not the actions of God.  He said they had become totally corrupted and were revolting against God.  If we as followers of Christ find things going wrong in life today, we need to first make sure that our actions are not corrupted and that we are not rebelling against God.  This is not to say that anytime this happens that we have fallen away from faith in God, but it is always the best place to start.  I believe that too often we cry ‘why me' instead of first examining our own heart.   

Verse six continues, From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.  Isaiah said that they were afflicted from the top of their head to the soles of their feet, which would be totally corrupted.  He also said that these wounds were not healing because they were still rebelling against God. If we allow sin back into our lives as Christians, it will totally corrupt our relationship with God until we confess and ask His forgiveness once more and there will be no spiritual healing until we do. 

Esther Review

In the time that the Book of Esther was written, the Jews were once again in bondage.  This happened quite often when they failed to obey God.  We as followers of Christ are God’s people today, but if we refuse to obey Him, we will once again find ourselves under the bondage of sin, even though we have been set free from its power as long as we are faithful to our calling as Christians. 

Women especially had limited power in that time as they do in many parts of the world today.  Yet, God was going to use one of His daughters to save all the nation of Israel.  Esther was going to be put in this position because of the former queen having been seen as disrespecting the king and then being divorced and disinherited for her actions.  God used this fact to help Esther become queen. 

Mordecai and all the Jews were under a death sentence because of the fact that Mordecai would not bow down to Haman, even if by law he may have been required to do so.  We cannot give in to man’s laws if they are contradictory to God’s law, even if it leads us to a death sentence here in the world.  We are forever saved spiritually if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, and that is all that matters. 

Mordecai did not use his power in the world to enrich himself, but he only sought for the Jews to not be killed.  We don’t serve God for our own personal material wealth, but we only serve Him for His honor and glory and to help our fellow Christians in their time of need and to reach out to the world with the gospel. 

 

 

 

 

 

Esther 10:1

Esther 10:1 says, And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea.  King Ahasuerus put a tribute, or tax, on all the land.  This would have included the Jews.  They may have escaped the death sentence on them, but they were still under the authority of King Ahasuerus.  If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we have escaped the spiritual death sentence that sin brings, but we are still subjected to the law of the government, unless it contradicts the law of God.  We cannot claim that since we are Christians that the laws of man do not apply to us.

Verse two adds, And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?  The question is then asked if all the acts of Ahasuerus about his might and declarations of greatness of Mordecai after he was put in a position of power are not found in the books of chronicles of the kings of the Medes and Persia.  We can assume that they were, but we do know that if they were, these books are not a part of the Bible, but we have the important things concerning Esther and Mordecai preserved for us in the Bible, God’s written word to us today.  All the other acts of Ahasuerus are not of any real importance, just as any acts that those in power or even the lowest of person in the eyes of the world performed outside of God’s will and for the advancement of His kingdom are really unimportant today.  No matter how great we may be viewed by the world, it is only the things that we do for God that He is going to record as being good.  Everything else will be forgotten if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ or will be used to condemn us if they have been done out of sin. 

Verse three concludes, For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.  Mordecai was second in power to King Ahasuerus.  He had come a long way after being under a death sentence that was procured by the jealousy of Haman.  The Jews had seen him as a great man, but he was really just standing up for God and His people after Esther was made queen.  There is not much else written for us about whatever else he did, though it does say he sought for the wealth and peace of all his brothers and sisters, or his fellow Jews.  Once again, as Christians, we should not serve God for our own glory, but for His glory, and we can only do this if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ.