If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest.

Ecclesiastes 10

If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place, for calmness will lay great offenses to rest. Ecclesiastes 10:1

I continue my study of Ecclesiastes using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book. My focus this morning is Ecclesiastes 10 and how the takeaway of this text relates to the first division of the commentary: God Has a Design for Everything.  Upon an initial reading of the full text of Ecclesiastes 10 followed by a pause to seek how to outline the text, I see much of the focus on a comparison between wisdom and folly (and fools), particularly vv1-3, v6a, and vv12-15. V4 offers an admonishment on anger (which is a sin).  Vv8-11 is a segue from vv6b-7 where Solomon sees evil in the world and he sees a paradox in this evil where good is perhaps the intention but harm is the outcome.  This leads me to share, building on my post from a couple of days ago about how God is in control and we should view His providence in all circumstances and strive to see how what God is doing is good and that He loves us.  V4 in particular strikes me because of my own desire to control all aspects of my life and not trust in God (and His design and providence).  Anger, in my view is a natural response when things are not going our way - yet we should be careful because our lives should follow God's way.  I think of Exodus 14:13-14, and while its focus is not on anger but instead fear, the application is the same: trust God and be still. 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an incredible God who loves me, whose design is perfect, and who is in all things.  And You never stop loving me - despite my sin.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such a God.  My sin continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.     

But there the Lord in majesty will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams, where no galley with oars can go, nor majestic ship can pass. For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver; the Lord is our king; he will save us.

Isaiah 33-36:10

But there the Lord in majesty will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams, where no galley with oars can go, nor majestic ship can pass. For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver; the Lord is our king; he will save us. Isaiah 33:21-22 

I continue my deep dive of Isaiah, based on the Precept Upon Precept study series. Today, I resume Lesson 13, moving to Day 2, which focuses on Isaiah 33.  My commentary describes three main divisions for this chapter, including:

1. You will see the destruction of the treacherous (v1-6): God addresses Assyria (or any other warring power against God's people) issuing them a warning that they will be destroyed.  Judah had sent peace envoys and tributes to Assyria (see 2 Kings 16-18) and yet Assyria still sacked Judah - betraying a peace agreement. 
   
2. You will see the King arise in power (v7-16): Here God is angry at not just Assyria, but also sinners in Judah such as those who relied on self-salvation vs God.  God's anger is directed near and far - v13 - who are warned to acknowledge God's might and how it stretches over the entire universe. Sinners in Zion are called out specifically - v14. God's power and His reign must be acknowledged v14-16
3. You will see the beauty of the King and His kingdom (v17-24): pointing to a coming Messiah, Isaiah delivers a message of comfort for the faithful; at the same time, the unrepentant and insolent (v18-19) will see the King but will be damned for eternity. 

This morning, I hang on the promise of how God will be a place of "broad rivers and streams," and how He "is our judge...lawgiver, king, [and how] he will save us."

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God and Your promises are where I gain my peace and security - thank You for my salvation and for the comfort and confidence it provides.  I am not deserving of such a gift.  I often fail to go to You first - please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

“Ah, stubborn children,” declares the Lord, "who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for my direction, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!

Isaiah 30-32

“Ah, stubborn children,” declares the Lord, "who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for my direction, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt! Isaiah 30:1-2

I continue my deep dive of Isaiah, based on the Precept Upon Precept study series. Today, I started Lesson 12, beginning with Day 1, which again focuses on Isaiah 30. With an invasion from Assyria pending, Israel faced limited options, which my commentary describes as (a) fighting on its own (and likely getting slaughtered), (b) aligning with a neighboring Gentile nation such as Egypt, (c) relying on God for deliverance and salvation.  Israel proceeds with an alliance with Egypt, and also seeks self-serving council from prophets (or seers - v10) who refuse to confront sin. God wants Israel's future generations to see the hardness of heart so he instructs Isaiah to write his prophecy on a tablet (v8). Self-salvation is a dangerous path - of course a path the leads to eternal damnation. Viewing others in terms of "what they bring to the table" is core to such a sinful path.  V5 describes the folly:

[E]veryone comes to shame through a people that cannot profit them, that brings neither help nor profit, but shame and disgrace. Isaiah 30:5

In this case, Israel's association with Egypt took them away from God. We must surround ourselves with others who sharpen us and point us to God.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who never leaves or forsakes me, and who delivers and rescues me - You are my personal Lord and Savior - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such salvation. My sin is great and it continues.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.

Isaiah 7

If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all. Isaiah 7:9

I continue my deep dive of Isaiah, based on the Precept Upon Precept study series.  Today, I continue with Isaiah 7, looking more closely at the extent to which Ahaz truly was firm in his faith.  The study refers us once again to 2 Kings 16, where we see a more detailed account of Ahaz's response to the threat of Rezin (king of Syria) and Pekah (son of king of Israel). From an earlier reading of 2 Kings 16, we saw that Ahaz "did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God" (v2), so it should be no surprise that his faith was not firm at all. Ahaz instead hatched a plan of his own - and he initiated an alliance with Assyria and Assyria overtook Damascus, killing Rezin (v7-9).  Ahaz went as far as create a worship space modeled after that which he found in Damascus (v10-11) - idol worship! We all have our idols in life, that which we worship, including other people - the key question is the extent to which these idols are at or above the One True God. 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are indeed great and You have blessed me beyond what I deserve - far too many blessings to even count or describe.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of these blessings.  My sin is daily and it is great.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.  

“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.

Isaiah 18-20 and 30-31

“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. Isaiah 30:15

Day 189 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) continues as today we see the impact of Israel's fall on Judah.  My commentary* describes how fear of an Assyrian conquest of Judah pushes some in Judah to seek "an alliance with Egypt ([at the time] ruled by Cushites from Ethiopia)". Isaiah delivers God's message of warning against such alliances and to trust in the Lord.   

*Smith, F. LaGard. The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) . Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Today I am reminded of Isaiah 55:8 where is says “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  Like those in Judah who trusted in Egypt's military strength, I too often trust in the world vs God.  Yet I must find my strength in God alone.

I am also reminded of Exodus 14:10-14 where Moses points the frightened Israelites to seek God in the stillness of a complete surrender to Him as the Egyptian army barrels down to recapture them and return them to bondage in Egypt:

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who provides rest, strength and salvation - I must simply surrender my life and trust in You.  Help me do this please Lord.  You have blessed me and there are areas where I yet to surrender.  Please forgive me Jesus and Help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the Lord. He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus, who had defeated him; for he thought, “Since the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.” But they were his downfall and the downfall of all Israel. Ahaz gathered together the furnishings from the temple of God and cut them in pieces. He shut the doors of the Lord’s temple and set up altars at every street corner in Jerusalem. In every town in Judah he built high places to burn sacrifices to other gods and aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of his ancestors.

Isaiah 21, 23, 34, 2 Kings 16, 18, and 2 Chronicles 28-29
 

In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the Lord. He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus, who had defeated him; for he thought, “Since the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.” But they were his downfall and the downfall of all Israel. Ahaz gathered together the furnishings from the temple of God and cut them in pieces. He shut the doors of the Lord’s temple and set up altars at every street corner in Jerusalem. In every town in Judah he built high places to burn sacrifices to other gods and aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of his ancestors. 2 Chronicles 28:22-25

Day 182 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) continues my study of the prophecies of Isaiah.  God continues to use Isaiah to judge all nations - see also my post yesterday; this morning we see God judging Edom (Isaiah 21, 34), Arabia (Isaiah 21), and Tyre (Isaiah 23) - see map.

We also see Ahaz's downfall in Judah and Hezekiah assumes the throne.  Ahaz does not trust and depend on the Lord but instead has allowed himself and Judah to become dependent on Assyria and this leads to worship of foreign Gods. 

In contrast we see Hezekiah's rule as a return to love of the Lord:

[Hezekiah] did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan). Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. 2 Kings 18:3-7, 2 Chronicles 29:2

I am reminded this morning how dangerous it can be to depend on others more than I depend on God.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who blesses me and gives me life to the full!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such love.  I worry and I have other sins.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.