ISAIAH

Isaiah is a pre-exile prophet.  He prophesied before the 70 years of captivity of Judah.  It is a book full of great thoughts, truths, and practical applications.  Here are a few things that jumped out at me as I read this morning: 1) CHILDREN & BABIES- As part of God's judgment on Judah, Isaiah says in Isaiah 3:4 "And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them."  Children ruling over adults?  He wrote this during the reign of Hezekiah, king of Judah.  Notice what takes place right after the reign of Hezekiah:  Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign; Joash was seven years old when he began to reign; Uzziah was sixteen years old (old man).  We see that the prophecy was RIGHT!  God put children to rule over them because of their sin!  Notice Isaiah 3:12 "As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them." 2) FLIPPING TRUTH OVER- Isaiah 5:20 says:  "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"  These evil men take truth and flip it over and now say that the bottom is the top and the top is the bottom!  Isn't that a fair description of many in society today?  This truth is seen right before our very eyes. 3) I SAW THE LORD- In Isaiah 6:1 it says:  "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD..."  This had a profound effect upon Isaiah as well it ought to have.  He had an Upward Look "I saw the LORD" and "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of host:  the whole earth is full of his glory."  Then, he had an Inward Look:  "Woe is me!  for I am undone;".  Then he had an Outward Look: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." You could also put it this way:  When He saw the LORD, there was:  Condemnation "Woe is me"; Cleansing "thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged."; and Commissioning "And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed," So you can see how rich this one chapter in Isaiah is.  Read it and absorb it! 4) TWO PHRASES- There are two phrases you will come across often in Isaiah, and many times they come together:  "it shall come to pass" 24 times; and 'in that day" 43 times.  Isaiah 7:18 says:  "And it shall come to pass in that day,..."  Keep your eye on repetitive phrases as you read the Scriptures.  God is speaking through these over and over.  Let us listen to what they are saying! 5) THERE IS A REASON!  When people speak and live contrary to the Bible, there is a reason.  Isaiah 8:20 tells us this:  "To the law and to the testimony:  if they speak not according to his word, it is because there is no light in them."  People speak contrary to God's Holy Word because they are not saved!  There is no light in them!  That is the reason! 6) 1,000 year reign of Christ Described- Read it in Isaiah 11:6-9 7) MY STRENGTH, MY SONG, AND MY SALVATION- Isaiah 12:2 says:  "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid:  for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation." I personally love verses that have statements like this in them.  God's Word is full of beautiful language in describing the wonderful benefits God showers down upon us.  He IS my strength, my song, and my salvation!  Wonderful! Well, as you can tell, I had too much to write about.  This is only the ones I did not skip over.  There were indeed many more verses I noted to write about.  The Word of God is so full!  I hope you were blessed and helped to see these big nuggets of truth.  May God bless you today and live for Him, who died for you!