September 24: Isaiah 43:14 – 45:10; Psalm 68:1-18; Proverbs 24:1-2; Ephesians 3



Overview

            Isaiah: The Lord, Israel’s Redeemer will send to Babylon and bring back the fugitives. He says not to remember the old ways because he is making things new. The wild beasts honor him but Israel didn’t. They didn’t offer sacrifices or offerings. Yet God is the one that removes their sins for his own sake and will not remember them. This is in light of the fact that everyone has sinned and he will punish them.
            The Lord tells Israel to fear not for he will pour his Spirit on their descendants so that they will say they belong to the Lord. The Lord is their Redeemer, the first and the last. If any one is like him, he should speak up because God has made all people. So, they need not be afraid because God is the only one to tell what will happen. There is no god beside him and he is the only Rock. He knows of no other.
            People who make idols and worship them are put to shame. They will be terrified. Each craftsman designs and makes the idol. They cut wood that God has made grow. He cooks and heats with some and makes an idol out of another piece. He prays to and worships a piece of wood that had just warmed him and his food. He thinks it can deliver him. He has no discernment. He can’t see that he has a lie is in his hand.
            Israel should remember that God formed them and blotted out their sins. They should return to God who has redeemed them. The heavens sing of Israel’s redemption. The Lord who formed them in the womb and stretched out the heavens is the one that makes idol worshipers fools. He confirms the prophet’s words. He controls the weather.
            He calls Cyrus to restore Jerusalem and rebuild the temple’s foundation. Cyrus is anointed by the Lord to subdue nations. God will go before him to conquer and take treasures. For the sake of Israel, he will lead Cyrus though he doesn’t know God. There is no other God beside God and he equips even the one who doesn’t know him. God creates peace and calamity. He sends showers of righteousness giving salvation as fruit on the earth. But woe to the one who fights against God. A clay pot can’t argue with the potter. Woe to the one who complains about the way he is formed by his father and mother.
            Psalm: The Lord’s enemies scatter and perish like smoke before him. The righteous are jubilant and rejoice before the Lord. We sing his praises. He takes care of orphans, widows, the lonely, and prisoners but not the rebellious. When the Lord led Israel in the wilderness, the earth quaked and rain refreshed the land as he provided for the needy. The Lord scattered the kings and the people reaped the plunder acquiring silver and golden articles.
            Proverbs: Don’t envy evil people or want to hang out with them. They desire violence and talk about trouble.
            Ephesians: Paul was given the responsibility of telling us about the mystery of the grace that has been given to Gentiles. It was given to him by revelation, which he had mentioned. Previous generation had not known this but it was revealed to the apostles by the Spirit. The mystery is that Gentiles are heirs along with Jews, part of the same body, and have the same promises in Jesus through the gospel.
            Paul is a minister of the gospel by God’s grace and power. He is the least of the saints but grace was given to him to preach to the Gentiles about the riches of Christ and enlightened everyone about this grace of God – who made all things – which was hidden in previous ages. Through the church, God has shown all the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places that this was his plan in Jesus all along. In Jesus, we have the boldness to come to God in faith. There is no reason to be downcast about what Paul had to suffer to bring the gospel so they could believe.
            This is the reason Paul knees before the Father from whom all his heavenly family is named. Paul prays that out of God’s glorious riches will strength us through his Spirit so that Christ will dwell in our hearts through faith and through his love be able to know the extent of his love for us and to be filled with all of God. That love surpasses all ability to know it.
            Paul praises God who is able to do more than we can think of asking him because of his work in us. This brings glory to God in the church and Jesus forever.

What Stood Out

            Isaiah: “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins” (Isa 43:25).                  
            Psalm: “God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate him shall flee before him!” (Ps 68:1).
            Proverbs: “Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them” (Prov 24:1).
            Ephesians: “And to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph 3:19).

Insight

            Isaiah: One of the important things to remember is that God saves us and forgives our sins because that is what he wants to do. He says he “blots out your transgressions for my own sake” (Isa 43:25). Think about that for a while. It is only for his own interests that he forgives our sins. It isn’t because of anything we have done. It isn’t because another person has asked. It is only because that is his desire. He also says he will not remember our sins anymore (Isa 43:25). How can God, who is omniscient, not remember our sins? It is his choice. Just as he chooses to forgive, he also chooses not to recall or bring up our sins once they have been forgiven.
            If we have a hard time not remembering our sins, we should know that it isn’t because God wants us to feel perpetually guilty. He isn’t the one causing us to remember our sins. So, it is either our own memory or Satan trying to get us to be ineffective by dwelling on our past sins.
            When we forgive others who have sinned against us, we should also follow God’s example. We should not recall those sins. We should not think about them and stew on them. Any time we remember them we should say to ourselves, “I’ve forgiven that person just as God has forgiven me. I will not think about it anymore.” We can then thank God that he has forgiven us for his sake and he doesn’t bring our sins up to dwell on them either.
            Psalm: When God raises up, he scatters his enemies. Everyone who hate him will flee. In the Old Testament, those who opposed Israel were counted as God’s enemies. When we look back at Assyria trying to take Jerusalem, the opening of the Psalm certainly could be seen as killing his enemies. God killed 185,000 of the Assyrian troops. It must have been quite a shock to learn that the successor to that king, Cyrus, was actually being used by God to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. They certainly had considered Cyrus as their enemy.
            But, who are God’s enemies today? Romans 5:8 and Ephesians 2:3 clearly label us as God’s enemies before we are saved. Thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ, we are no longer enemies to be scattered and we don’t need to flee from him. Rather we can run to him and call him Ababa, Father.
            Proverbs: Envy comes from being discontent with what you have and wanting what others have. It even goes as far as wanting to be just like others when they have talents or abilities that you would like to have. What could a Christian possible want that an evil person has? Sure, they may have glamorous possessions, power, and lives. But that is all temporary. They don’t have what we have and that is the assurance of eternal life in heaven. They may have tight families but we are part of the family of God. What they have here will perish but our inheritance is in heaven and will never perish, spoil, or fade (1 Peter 1:4). If anything, they should be envious of us. As a matter of fact, some of them are but are unwilling to let go of what they have and yield to Jesus for salvation. Talk about trouble!
            Ephesians: We quote Romans 5:8 thinking that it explains how much God loves us. We also have theories about why God created us in the first place. We have theories about why he let Adam and Eve sin. While many of these theories are solidly Bible based, they are still our attempts at understanding God. We will never completely understand why God does what he does, why he created us, and why he loves us. Even though Paul prays that we may know the extent of Christ’s love for us, he also says that we will never really understand it because it surpasses knowledge (Eph 3:19).
            When I’m talking to someone who is dead, you know, those people whom God hasn’t made alive yet (Eph 2:1), I need to remember that if I can’t know the full measure of God’s love, then it is impossible for them to even understand a smidgen of it. It is futile to get into an argument with them and try to explain it. They can say all they want about who they believe is the God of wrath and I can’t convince them otherwise. All I can do is tell them what the Bible says and then the Holy Spirit can make it clear to them. It is only through the Spirit giving them faith that Christ can dwell in their hearts. I can tell them the same gospel that Paul preached and then watch as God works in their hearts. I can pray for them and know that God can do more than I can imagine or think to bring glory to himself through me and other members of the church (Eph 3:20-21).

Application

             God’s word has much in it that I can share with a person who isn’t yet saved. I can tell about our sins being forgiven for his sake. I can tell about how we were enemies and what that means if we never reconcile with God. I can tell them we can become part of his family. I can tell of Jesus’ love. But I must remember I don’t save anyone. It is only by the Spirit working in us that Christ dwell in our hearts.

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