Finding Lasting Joy Beyond Worldly Pleasures

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“The grapevines waste away, and there is no new wine. All the merrymakers sigh and mourn. The cheerful sound of tambourines is stilled; the happy cries of celebration are heard no more. The melodious chords of the harp are silent. Gone are the joys of wine and song; alcoholic drink turns bitter in the mouth. The city writhes in chaos; every home is locked to keep out intruders. Mobs gather in the streets, crying out for wine. Joy has turned to gloom. Gladness has been banished from the land. The city is left in ruins, its gates battered down.”
Isaiah 24:7-12 NLT

“Joy has turned to gloom”. But the preceding verses seem to indicate that the “joy” that had been lost was largely due to alcoholic beverages. No new wine is produced because the grapevines have wasted away. And without wine, there is no celebration, no “melodious chords of the harp” and the “cheerful sound of tambourines is stilled” (not sure about that one – when has such an instrument sounded cheerful? But then, each to their own). And it looks as though anarchy has become represented by mobs plundering the city, looking for any remaining wine supplies, forcing the inhabitants to keep their doors locked.

But the problem is that sinful and evil behaviour eventually steals away joy. All the celebrations, underpinned by the world’s pleasures, sooner or later, collapse into gloom and doom. Too much wine in the evening leads to a hangover the next day. Pleasure seeking may satisfy briefly, but the effects never last. The world seeks happiness but reaps a harvest of regrets and a lack of joy. Many people around the world spend their lives and resources searching for happiness, only to find nothing that lasts. It is only the joy that comes from a relationship with Jesus that has any lasting effects. You see, there is a huge difference between joy and happiness, as any believer will find. Psalm 16:11, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore”. Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:9-11). Full joy? Is this something we pilgrims experience, or is it wishful thinking as the dawn emerges after another sleepless night? 

So, we have contrasting pictures, one of the devastated city, with nothing left of any worth, once the hedonistic pleasure seekers have no foundation for their happiness. And the other is the world of joy that is experienced by believers in God, those who have trusted Him for their future and who are totally unfazed by the collapse of the city. Joy is independent of circumstances, and although hardship caused by the world’s problems doesn’t go away, joy remains for God’s children. We pilgrims have found that our joy is a deep, supernatural sense of peace and satisfaction. It comes from God through the Holy Spirit, and unlike normal happiness, which depends on good life events, spiritual joy stays strong even during hard times and suffering. Joy is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s fruit, as we read in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law”. We cannot manufacture joy on our own because the joy that is rooted in God can only come from Him. 

So, dear fellow pilgrims, are we full of joy this morning? Or are we struggling with our circumstances, emotionally drained and tired of battling life’s challenges? At such a time, we fellowship with those imprisoned in a foreign land for their faith, or wondering where their next meal will come from in a land of devastation like our city in today’s verses. At such a time as this, we get down on our knees and call out to God, and we feel His peace flooding into our souls. Philippians 4:7, “Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus”. God knows our difficulties, but He has the answer for each and every one of them, as we stay close to Him. And with His peace, we feel the joy of knowing the Lord start to bubble up inside of us. 

Paul wrote, “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35, 37-39). As we live our lives connected to Jesus, we can look up and beyond the circumstances that are holding us down. There is a two-line poem that goes, “Two prisoners looking through the bars; one saw mud, but the other saw stars”. We pilgrims are star gazers looking up into Heavenly places, assured of our salvation and because of that, we have within us an inexpressible joy.

A final word from Peter, “You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9). So, let’s rejoice together today, trusting in God’s love and the “salvation of our souls”. 

Dear Heavenly Father. You are the only Source of true joy. The happiness that belongs to the world will never last, and instead, we trust You for Your provision and promises. Amen.

The Consequences of Sin: Lessons from Isaiah 24

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Look! The Lord is about to destroy the earth and make it a vast wasteland. He devastates the surface of the earth and scatters the people. Priests and laypeople, servants and masters, maids and mistresses, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, bankers and debtors—none will be spared. The earth will be completely emptied and looted. The Lord has spoken! The earth mourns and dries up, and the land wastes away and withers. Even the greatest people on earth waste away. The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted God’s instructions, violated his laws, and broken his everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse consumes the earth. Its people must pay the price for their sin. They are destroyed by fire, and only a few are left alive.”
Isaiah 24:1-6 NLT

Isaiah 24 is sometimes called “Isaiah’s Little Apocalypse”, because it moves beyond the judgment of individual nations (chapters 13–23) to a vision of God’s judgment on the whole earth, something thankfully followed by the hope of His glorious reign. It is both sobering and encouraging, reminding believers that while this world is passing away, God’s kingdom is eternal. The chapter starts with “the Lord is about to destroy the earth” but it doesn’t say when. Those impacted by this event are listed, but there are no exceptions. Everyone alive on Earth at the prophesied time will be affected. It is significant that social standing, career, or even religious affiliations will make no difference to those caught up in the catastrophe that will occur on the appointed day. As Paul wrote in Romans 3:23, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard”. And as is often said, the ground before the Cross of Christ is level; we all approach with repentant hearts, able and willing to receive forgiveness for all our sins, or we don’t approach at all and accept the consequences. 

Isaiah continued his prophecy, explaining why all this would happen, and it is a damning indictment that only has one remedy. In today’s verses, we read, “The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted God’s instructions, violated his laws, and broken his everlasting covenant”. And it concludes that “Its people must pay the price for their sin. They are destroyed by fire, and only a few are left alive”. Quite how they would survive after such devastation isn’t clear until we read Isaiah 24:13, “Throughout the earth the story is the same— only a remnant is left, like the stray olives left on the tree or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest”. 

The world will be broken not because God failed, but because mankind rebelled. Isaiah painted a picture of creation itself mourning under the weight of human sin. The earth “dries up,” and “withers”, because we find that “the sins of its people” affect far more than individual lives; it damages families, societies, and even creation itself. Paul wrote, “Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time” (Romans 8:20-22). Think about the impact sin can have. A lie destroys trust. Greed ruins communities. Sexual sin damages families. Pride destroys churches. Violence scars nations. Selfishness causes wars. We may think that our sins are private and don’t affect anyone else, but nothing can be further from the truth. We read in Numbers 32:23, “But if you fail to keep your word, then you will have sinned against the Lord, and you may be sure that your sin will find you out”. In the news recently, there has been the story of a Cambridge professor who has been forced to resign following revelations about claims that he has made, revelations that boil down to a series of lies or “half-truths”. Several things about his life have come to light, including his academic qualifications, his authorship, his charitable work and his athletic prowess. The poor man is finding out the reality of the Scripture in Numbers 32. But we pilgrims cannot take the moral high ground because we ourselves will at one time or another have stretched the truth to bolster our credentials, and we need to look on with compassion rather than condemnation. Jesus said, and as recorded in John 8:32, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”. Perhaps we can ask what the truth will set us free from, but we intuitively know that we tend to live deceitful lives, riven by sin, populated by lies, and that it is only by believing in Jesus that we can be set free to live a life God designed us for. 

Sin has devastated God’s perfect creation through Adam, but it didn’t stay with him and Eve. It spread throughout the world just as an oil slick will keep spreading and spreading across the surface of a lake, destroying or covering everything that gets in its path. But God has a remedy. He didn’t create the earth with a view to walking away from it when mankind screwed up. He had a plan. Revelation 20:11, “And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide”. Up to now, a series of woes had brought disasters upon the earth and its people (see the Trumpet woes in Revelation 8-11), but finally, the earth had to go, fleeing from His presence. And then we read the glorious event that John saw in Revelation 21:1, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone”. God always makes all things new. As a prophetic demonstration of this, we know that each Spring, after the winter when trees are bare, and vegetation has died away, new shoots appear, and once again we share in the excitement of God’s provision. Jesus makes all things new, in creation as well as the lives of new believers.

We pilgrims are the fruit of God’s plan, brought through Jesus and His willingness to die in our place as punishment for our sins. It is as though we are a prophetic statement of God’s provision and plan for dealing with the curse of sin that has blighted the world in which we live. But the question is, are we revealing this prophecy to those around us? Paul wrote, “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins” (Ephesians 2:1). And I don’t think any of us pilgrims can dispute the truth in that verse. Two verses on in Ephesians 2, we read, “All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else”. But here’s the truth that the world needs to hear: “But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)” (Ephesians 2:4-5). You see, the Cross is empty. The Tomb is empty. All because Jesus is now in Heaven, mission accomplished, the price for mankind’s sin paid for all who believe in Him. Jesus said, “That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). 

Paul wrote, “But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree”” (Galatians 3:13). In Revelation 22:3, following the establishment of the New Heavens and the New Earth, we find, “No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him”. The curse has gone. Dealt with through God and His plan for eliminating sin. We pilgrims cannot walk away from the amazing love and grace that God has poured out on His creation. 

Dear Father God. We are so sorry for our sins, and we confess them before You today, believing that through Your Son Jesus, they are dealt with once and for all. Please help us, through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, to live our lives Your way, and we pray, as David wrote, search our hearts for anything that offends You. We ask all this in Your precious name. Amen.

Lessons from Tyre: God’s Redemption and Purpose

Posted on by Adrian Clark
Two shipwrecked wooden boats on rocky coast near medieval castle ruins under cloudy sky with sunrays

“For seventy years, the length of a king’s life, Tyre will be forgotten. But then the city will come back to life as in the song about the prostitute: Take a harp and walk the streets, you forgotten harlot. Make sweet melody and sing your songs so you will be remembered again. Yes, after seventy years the Lord will revive Tyre. But she will be no different than she was before. She will again be a prostitute to all kingdoms around the world. But in the end her profits will be given to the Lord. Her wealth will not be hoarded but will provide good food and fine clothing for the Lord’s priests.”
Isaiah 23:15-18 NLT

Something strange happened, as the Lord revived Tyre after 70 years of forgotten neglect. Isaiah’s prophecy stated that Tyre would be laid low and forgotten (punished or sidelined by dominant empires like Babylon or Assyria) for 70 years—symbolising the lifespan of a king or a complete cycle of judgment. After this period, Tyre would be revived and return to its old ways. The “song about the prostitute” (playing a harp and singing in the streets to attract attention) describes an ageing harlot trying to lure customers back. It symbolises Tyre going right back to its aggressive, opportunistic trading habits. Surprisingly, the passage notes that Tyre’s eventual commercial profits would not be hoarded for selfish pride, but would instead end up consecrated to support those who dwell before the Lord, something that was historically fulfilled in part when Phoenician merchants supplied materials to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.

But all this is remarkable until we understand that God’s goal was never merely destruction. His purpose was consecration. There is a parallel here for us, pilgrims and believers everywhere, when we consider how God deals with us when we get things wrong. We read in Hebrews 12:10-11, “For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterwards there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way”. We need to realise that God is in the recycling business. He takes imperfect and sinful human beings who are useless to Him, but, through Jesus, He makes them useful to Himself once again. 

We read in the last verse of Isaiah 23, “But in the end her profits will be given to the Lord. Her wealth will not be hoarded but will provide good food and fine clothing for the Lord’s priests”.  Tyre’s wealth once fuelled pride, but one day that same wealth would honour God. This anticipates a biblical principle seen repeatedly, that God often takes what once served sin and redirects it for His glory. I once knew a man who was a successful entrepreneur, and he established an IT business. But part of his testimony was that he heard the Gospel and encountered a crossroads in his life. Before that, his life could have gone one of two ways: a life of crime or a life dedicated to God. Thankfully, he chose the right way. We pilgrims all have natural gifts that can be used for sinful purposes as well as for God’s glory. We remember the Bible stories of people like Moses. He had a classical Egyptian education as a prince in Pharaoh’s court, which stood him in good stead when he was negotiating with Pharaoh for the release of the Israelite slaves. Of course, when a young man, he nearly screwed up, forcing him to run for his life, but God is patient and brought Moses back again at the right time. Another example was in the case of Zacchaeus, who was, according to the people, “a notorious sinner”. But we read what happened in Luke 19:8-10, “Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!” Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost””. God doesn’t merely forgive people for their sins: He transforms and restores them. 

Tyre thought that their trading would continue forever, invincible as they thought they were. But God had other plans because their wealth was being used for corrupt purposes, fueling their pride and arrogance. There was a time when Tyre supplied what was required to build the Temple in the days of David and Solomon, but later Tyre opposed God’s purposes and paid the price. But if we extend the message and lesson about Tyre to global proportions, we see that there will come a day when the world’s wealth will be devoted to the glory of God. Referring to the new Jerusalem, we read in Revelation 21:24-26, “The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. And all the nations will bring their glory and honour into the city”. Commerce by itself is not necessarily evil, and it becomes holy when it is surrendered to God. 

But none of this was a surprise to God, and Jesus taught similar principles. Tyre’s wealth faded and eventually disappeared, but Jesus warned against using our earthly treasures for the wrong purposes in Matthew 6:19-20, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal”. I suppose we pilgrims need to ask ourselves what sort of wealth we are building. Many a person has come to grief making unwise investments, but there is nothing unwise about investing in the Kingdom of God. Those who do will hear one day, “Well done, …” 

Another lesson from Tyre is that earthly kingdoms will come and go, but God’s Kingdom lasts forever. Tyre is now just a pile of ruins, a monument to a kingdom long gone. But we read in Psalm 145:13, “For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule throughout all generations. The Lord always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does”. In Daniel 2:44, we read, “During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever”. But one day God will renew this earth, destroying all the remaining earthly kingdoms in the process. Revelation 21:1-2, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband”. One day that will be our dwelling place, you and I, and we read the next two verses, “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever””. 

We pilgrims are a truly favoured people because we are God’s people. Before Him today, we repent of our pride, and in all humility, we kneel before Him, giving Him all the praise and all the glory. In awe, we look into the face of Jesus, with inexpressible gratitude rising up within us. Thank You, Lord.

Dear awesome Heavenly Father. Thank You for Your Word, that teaches us so much. And even more, we thank You that You never give up on us, patiently leading and guiding us in Your ways. Thank You, Jesus, for coming to this world, bringing a touch of Heaven with You. And thank You, Holy Spirit, for living within me, empowering me for all that I face in the day ahead. Amen.

God’s Sovereignty: Understanding Tyre’s Judgment in History

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“This message came to me concerning Tyre: Wail, you trading ships of Tarshish, for the harbour and houses of Tyre are gone! The rumours you heard in Cyprus are all true. … The Lord held out his hand over the sea and shook the kingdoms of the earth. He has spoken out against Phoenicia, ordering that her fortresses be destroyed. He says, “Never again will you rejoice, O daughter of Sidon, for you have been crushed. Even if you flee to Cyprus, you will find no rest.” Look at the land of Babylonia— the people of that land are gone! The Assyrians have handed Babylon over to the wild animals of the desert. They have built siege ramps against its walls, torn down its palaces, and turned it to a heap of rubble. Wail, you ships of Tarshish, for your harbour is destroyed!
Isaiah 23:1, 11-14 NLT

In this oracle written against Tyre, the ancient Phoenician trading port located just South of Beirut, God’s presence was clear. In the natural, and without any sort of divine intervention, they would probably have continued to trade for many years, sinfully plying their maritime businesses from a city that was nearly impregnable, located as it was partially on an offshore island. But their pride was their downfall, and eventually God had to act in judgment, as we read in Isaiah 23:8-9, “Who has brought this disaster on Tyre, that great creator of kingdoms? Her traders were all princes, her merchants were nobles. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has done it to destroy your pride and bring low all earth’s nobility”. But did God’s intervention apply in all the wars and skirmishes that took place in Old Testament times? The Israelites entered the Promised Land of Canaan, driving out the people who lived there, but they found no peace, as one nation after another fought them for land or plain hatred. But God couldn’t allow Tyre to continue because it was starting to use its economic strength to plunder the nations around it, and particularly God’s people. 

Ancient Tyre experienced something like the Wall Street crash of 1929, when the market collapsed almost overnight, leading to the Great Depression of the 1930s. In 1929, the stock market collapsed due to poor financial decisions and over-inflated share prices. Tyre experienced something similar with the collapse of its commerce. It relied on its immense economic power, its status as a maritime superpower, and its mighty sea fortresses to act with pride and arrogance, treating its renowned merchants like princes and forgetting God’s ultimate sovereignty.

We pilgrims live in a world driven and underpinned by capitalism. Nations trade with one another. Businesses buy and sell. But the message from Tyre is that capitalism on its own is a poor foundation for mankind’s future. The stock market can crash, and businesses can crash with it. Currencies can collapse, destroying buying power and bringing hardship over which ordinary people have no influence or control. Closer to home, we occasionally see houses lose value, putting the owners into what we call negative equity, where they are unable to realise sufficient value from their investments to repay the loans taken out to purchase the property in the first place. And then to compound the problems, health can be impacted, bringing uncertainty and misery in more extreme cases. But in all of this, we have a God who is unchangeable and who is immune to human systems and market crashes. Paul gave Timothy some great advice: “Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life” (1 Timothy 6:17-19). Regarding the future, the only sure and solid foundation is Jesus Himself. He never changes and is “… the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). 

One repeated emphasis throughout Isaiah is God’s rule over history. To their merchants, Tyre looked untouchable, but God simply announced its fall. And we know from history, and the ruins that we can see today, that what He said happened. The time we live in today is politically uncertain, with a war going on between the US, Israel, and Iran and its proxies in Lebanon and Yemen. Ever since it was established in 1948, Israel has been under attack from one source or another. Anti-Semitism is an ongoing problem in many nations. And then we have the war going on in the Eastern borders of Europe, and now in its fifth year. But these are just the headline conflicts. There are many other skirmishes going on as nations rise and fall, and leaders come and go. We could be tempted to think that God doesn’t care, but the story of Tyre says otherwise. God is always active in world events, and He will act when necessary because he is sovereign. For us pilgrims, we trust in Him, and we agree with Paul about what he wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:18, “Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen”. The Psalmist wrote, “The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever” (Psalm 121:7-8). And of immense comfort to believers everywhere is Psalm 46:8-10, “Come, see the glorious works of the Lord: See how he brings destruction upon the world. He causes wars to end throughout the earth. He breaks the bow and snaps the spear; he burns the shields with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honoured by every nation. I will be honoured throughout the world””. There will come a time when all wars will end, and many believers, looking at today’s world events, feel that this won’t be far off. 

We pilgrims rest in God’s loving arms, secure and trusting that He will bring us safely home. Isaiah 26:4-5, “Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock. He humbles the proud and brings down the arrogant city. He brings it down to the dust”. There may be much dust in the world around us, but we stand firm on the solid Rock, God Himself. No dust there.

Dear Father God. Thank You for Your presence in our lives. In these uncertain times, we look to You as the Source of all that we need, confident in our salvation, and sure that one day You will welcome us home. Thank You. Amen.

Isaiah’s Warning: Tyre’s Pride and Its Consequences

Posted on by Adrian Clark
Jeweled crown on stone pedestal with wooden scepter in ruined stone building

“This message came to me concerning Tyre: Wail, you trading ships of Tarshish, for the harbour and houses of Tyre are gone! The rumours you heard in Cyprus are all true. Who has brought this disaster on Tyre, that great creator of kingdoms? Her traders were all princes, her merchants were nobles. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has done it to destroy your pride and bring low all earth’s nobility. Come, people of Tarshish, sweep over the land like the flooding Nile, for Tyre is defenceless.”
Isaiah 23:1, 8-10 NLT

Isaiah 23 is an oracle against Tyre, the great Phoenician trading city. Tyre was the wealthiest commercial city of the ancient world and was built partly on an offshore island, making it almost impregnable. It was famous for shipping, trade, cedar wood, purple dye, and international commerce, and was closely linked with Israel during the reigns of David and Solomon (1 Kings 5). It later became proud, wealthy and spiritually corrupt. It is believed that Isaiah wrote this prophecy about 700 BC, and it was fulfilled during several sieges, the first when Shalmaneser V and Sargon II pressured Tyre in the 8th century BC. Then Nebuchadnezzar came along and besieged Tyre for thirteen years (586–573 BC), as we can read in Ezekiel 26, but it was Alexander the Great who finally conquered the island city in 332 BC by building a causeway to it. But why did such a magnificent city, the focus of Isaiah’s oracle, fall? Today, the ancient city of Tyre lies in ruins in Sour, Lebanon, about 83 kilometres south of Beirut. It is still accessible by the causeway built by Alexander.

The downfall of Tyre was due to God’s judgment for its pride, a theme common to these early chapters of Isaiah. There is something about the sin of pride that God detests, and we can see His judgment in Isaiah 23:9, “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has done it to destroy your pride and bring low all earth’s nobility”. In its pride, Tyre believed that wealth guaranteed security, influence guaranteed permanence, and success guaranteed significance, but the Lord declared otherwise. In Proverbs 16:5, we read, “The Lord detests the proud; they will surely be punished”. Further down the page, we read the proverb, “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall. Better to live humbly with the poor than to share plunder with the proud” (Proverbs 16:18-19). James quotes another proverb in James 4:6, “And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble’”. 

In Luke 18, we read the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Jesus addressed this parable to “some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else” (Luke 18:9). Who were these people? The description fits the Pharisees very well and the parable commences, “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector” (Luke 18:10). We can read the arrogance in the Pharisee’s prayer, as he thanked God that he was not like other people, especially the tax collector who was praying “at a distance” and not even daring to lift his eyes to Heaven. But Jesus concluded His parable with, “I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Luke 18:14). 

In Matthew 23:12, Jesus said, “But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted”, and this principle is clearly demonstrated by the life of Belshazzar, which we can read about in Daniel 5. We all know the story, I’m sure, of when King Belshazzar was giving a great feast for 1000 of his nobles, and to accommodate the wine, he used the gold and silver goblets that had been taken from the Temple in Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. But then we read, “Suddenly, they saw the fingers of a human hand writing on the plaster wall of the king’s palace, near the lampstand. The king himself saw the hand as it wrote,” (Daniel 5:5). With his knees knocking together in fear, the king called for his motley crew of astrologers to interpret what the writing said. They failed, and eventually, at his mother’s prompting, the king called for Daniel, who began by reminding Belshazzar of what happened to his predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel 5:20, “But when his heart and mind were puffed up with arrogance, he was brought down from his royal throne and stripped of his glory”. Then Daniel delivered the coup de grace, with “You are his successor, O Belshazzar, and you knew all this, yet you have not humbled yourself. For you have proudly defied the Lord of heaven and have had these cups from his Temple brought before you. You and your nobles and your wives and concubines have been drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor know anything at all. But you have not honoured the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny!” (Daniel 5:22-23). It didn’t end well for Belshazzar, as the story ends in Daniel 5:30, “That very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, was killed”. 

We should note that God is not opposed to success, but He is opposed to pride and self-sufficiency. Pride slowly engulfs us with attitudes such as “I built this”, or “I earned this”, things that can develop into the person thinking that they don’t need God at all. The inhabitants of Tyre eventually considered their city a monument to human achievement, which made it the focus of divine humbling. People throughout history, and even today, have found that God often removes the things they trust in, often bringing them down to earth with quite a bump. 

Pride is quite a common attribute among people in our societies today. In a culture focused on achievement, God has been forgotten, and people have generally become puffed up with pride and arrogance. Perhaps a person happened to meet a film star or another prominent person and bragged about it, full of pride. Perhaps a person achieved a degree at University and put their success down to their hard work. But God’s gift of intelligence never figures in their boasting. Even we pilgrims can fall into the trap of bragging about our prowess in our gardens or kitchens, our jobs or qualifications, our abilities in fishing or on the golf course, or even our ability to write blogs and books. We constantly need to humble ourselves before God, pointing to Him as the Author and Finisher of our faith, and the One who has given us so many good gifts. So perhaps a little self-examination is appropriate today, as we thank God for His grace and favour, giving Him all the praise and all the glory.

Dear Father God. Our success in life is all down to You and Your grace working out in our lives. There is nothing we can claim to be able to do or achieve without You being there behind it. Thank You. Amen.

Dependability in Leadership: Lessons from Eliakim

Posted on by Adrian Clark

““Yes, I will drive you out of office,” says the Lord. “I will pull you down from your high position. And then I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah to replace you. I will dress him in your royal robes and will give him your title and your authority. And he will be a father to the people of Jerusalem and Judah. I will give him the key to the house of David—the highest position in the royal court. When he opens doors, no one will be able to close them; when he closes doors, no one will be able to open them. He will bring honour to his family name, for I will drive him firmly in place like a nail in the wall. They will give him great responsibility, and he will bring honour to even the lowliest members of his family.” But the Lord of Heaven’s Armies also says: “The time will come when I will pull out the nail that seemed so firm. It will come out and fall to the ground. Everything it supports will fall with it. I, the Lord, have spoken!””
Isaiah 22:19-25 NLT

Today we are having another look at these verses about Eliakim. Yesterday it was all about the importance of Eliakim having “the key to the house of David—the highest position in the royal court”. But as we read on, we find these words: “He will bring honour to his family name, for I will drive him firmly in place like a nail in the wall”. In ancient homes, a nail or peg in the wall indicated something dependable, and it would support valuable possessions. Eliakim was about to be given great responsibility, appointed to an important position in the Jerusalem royal court, one that would bring great honour to all levels of his family. Previously, we can see how important he would be, because the Lord said that he would be a father to the “people of Jerusalem and Judah”. But Eliakim’s appointment would be more than something symbolic. He would become a rock, a cornerstone even, that the stressed Judeans could depend on. Perhaps some of us, tired of a succession of inadequate politicians, wish that an Eliakim could emerge in our own country, someone with the leadership ability to unite our divided country and make decisions in the people’s best interest. Yesterday, we considered that Eliakim, holding the key to the house of David, was a type, a prophetic picture, of Christ Himself, who held the same key in His message to the Philadelphians in Revelation 3:7. Eliakim’s position in Jerusalem, as the father figure showing strong leadership in a time of crisis, is also an indication of the role Jesus will play when He comes in His Kingdom. But there is one major difference. Jesus is sovereign, and His rule and reign will be perfect and without end.

How do people around us see us pilgrims? Are we to them Eliakim figures, fathers and mothers, dependable, faithful, reliable, and solid? Or are we something else? Psalm 1:1-3 describes what Eliakim would have been like, and how we ourselves should be. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers”. 

There are some Bible characters who were solid and dependable, and we find them in the Book of Daniel. Daniel 1:8, “But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods”. There were three more young Jewish men who we can find in Daniel 3:16-18, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up””. Daniel reappears in chapter 6, where we read, “But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God” (Daniel 6:10). These were four Jewish men who, even in the face of extreme persecution, were not prepared to compromise their beliefs. They were solid and dependable.

We pilgrims need to ask ourselves how faithful and dependable we are. God desires His people to be spiritually reliable. Can others depend upon us, seeing that we are faithful in prayer, worship, service to God and in difficult times? We need to realise that God is looking for dependable disciples.

But all was not going to end well for Eliakim. In Isaiah 22:24, we read that he was a peg or nail upon which everything would hang. But in the next verse we read, “The time will come when I will pull out the nail that seemed so firm”. It is an indication that no human leader is capable of handling all burdens placed upon them. Even the best leader eventually reaches his or her limits. No pastor, parent, friend, church leader or even government can carry the weight of everyone’s hopes. Only Jesus never fails. Only He can carry our burdens. “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). 

So we pilgrims need to be dependable and faithful, never giving up in times of adversity and always there for those weaker brothers and sisters who need encouragement on their journeys through life. And always we need to point to Jesus, the “Author and Perfecter of our faith”. It is only through Him that we will find the Source of the strength that we need ourselves. Our own strength is painfully lacking. 

Dear Heavenly Father. You are the only Source in life that fills our every need. It is only in You that we can find the Cornerstone on which we can build our faith. Thank You. Amen.

The Keys to the Kingdom

Posted on by Adrian Clark
Wooden door partially open with an ornate iron key glowing in the lock

““Yes, I will drive you out of office,” says the Lord. “I will pull you down from your high position. And then I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah to replace you. I will dress him in your royal robes and will give him your title and your authority. And he will be a father to the people of Jerusalem and Judah. I will give him the key to the house of David—the highest position in the royal court.     When he opens doors, no one will be able to close them; when he closes doors, no one will be able to open them. He will bring honour to his family name, for I will drive him firmly in place like a nail in the wall. They will give him great responsibility, and he will bring honour to even the lowliest members of his family.” But the Lord of Heaven’s Armies also says: “The time will come when I will pull out the nail that seemed so firm. It will come out and fall to the ground. Everything it supports will fall with it. I, the Lord, have spoken!””
Isaiah 22:19-25 NLT

In his oracle, Isaiah recorded something very significant about Eliakim. He wrote the words of the Lord down in verse 22 of today’s verses, “I will give him the key to the house of David—the highest position in the royal court. When he opens doors, no one will be able to close them; when he closes doors, no one will be able to open them”. Occasionally, we have a civic ceremony in our towns and cities, where a person, perhaps a sportsman or woman, or a politician or charity worker, is honoured by being presented with the key to the city. In such a ceremony, King Charles III was recently presented with the keys to the city of Edinburgh in the traditional Ceremony of the Keys, marking the official start of Royal Week in Scotland. Such ceremonies usually use an oversized, decorative key which doesn’t open any actual lock. Nor does the ceremony truly bestow special rights. But it is an opportunity to honour someone. The tradition of presenting a key to the city dates back to medieval times. City gates were locked at night to protect residents from outsiders and threats. Gifting a physical key to a visiting noble or trusted individual symbolised open access, deep trust, and freedom to enter and leave at will.

The new leader, Eliakim, was honoured in this way. The Lord declared His intention to grant authority to him, in his new role as palace administrator, the new steward of the king’s court. This man of God and father-figure to the nation would wear the key to the house of David. As with the modern ceremony, this may have involved a physical item representing authority. A man with the key had the authority to decide who would be allowed to have an audience with the king and who would be excluded. The king’s decision to give the key to Eliakim, by the Lord’s will, was a sign of great respect and trust. The one who carried this responsibility exercised authority in the name of the king. Eliakim was the final word on whether the gates remained open or closed.

But there was another time mentioned in the Bible, this time when Jesus applied the Scripture about the key of David to Himself. Revelation 3:7, “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the one who is holy and true, the one who has the key of David. What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open”. So perhaps we can see that Eliakim became a wonderful picture of Christ.

Possession of the keys of the house of David signifies absolute authority, and with them, Jesus can open doors that no person can close, and can close doors that no person can open. For us pilgrims, for believers everywhere, it means our confidence in Jesus rests in His sovereign rule over His Kingdom, now and forever. 

There is another occasion when keys are mentioned, and we find that in Matthew 16:19,“And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven”. Jesus was talking directly to Peter, and indirectly to the other disciples. Jesus’ words meant that Peter would have the right to enter the kingdom himself, that he would have general authority symbolised by the possession of the keys, and that preaching the gospel would be the means of opening the kingdom of heaven to all believers and shutting it against unbelievers. Although other branches of the Christian faith apply this verse differently, for example, the Catholic and Orthodox traditions see this as the foundational authority given to Peter and his successors (the Popes) and priests to forgive or retain sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, I’m sure that pilgrims of either persuasion will accommodate the Gospel as the outward-looking interpretation of our verse from Matthew.

The preaching of the Gospel is a very good illustration of how the Kingdom of God can be accessed, because the Good News about Jesus and all He did for us pilgrims at Calvary unlocked access to God’s Kingdom for us. Before, we were dying in our sins, with no hope for the future, but when we came to believe in Jesus, we found salvation through God’s grace, and he opened the door into His presence for us. What a wonderful Saviour! Jesus has given each of us the key to unlock this door for everyone we meet. To think that Jesus has entrusted me to do this is a wonderful honour, far more valuable and significant than any civic ceremony in a town or city. No city gate with a ceremonial, but otherwise useless, key can ever match up with a real key that can open the only door that really matters. 

If we pilgrims open our hands this morning, can we see the key to God’s Kingdom resting there? If not, we have only to ask God, and He will place it there. There are many duplicates of this key available, and there is one marked with our name. So, the question is: “What am I going to do with this key today?” Just hanging it on the key rack in our hall is not an option. We have access to God’s Kingdom, and with it comes the responsibility of unlocking the door for anyone else who is lost and unable to find it. Perhaps we should pray this prayer today:

Dear Father God. I have in my hand the Key to Your Kingdom. Please lead me today to anyone who is looking for the Door so that I can lead them to it, by sharing Your Good News about Jesus. Thank You. Amen.

The Pilgrims’ Tombstones

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“This is what the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, said to me: “Confront Shebna, the palace administrator, and give him this message: “Who do you think you are, and what are you doing here, building a beautiful tomb for yourself— a monument high up in the rock? For the Lord is about to hurl you away, mighty man. He is going to grab you, crumple you into a ball, and toss you away into a distant, barren land. There you will die, and your glorious chariots will be broken and useless. You are a disgrace to your master! “Yes, I will drive you out of office,” says the Lord. “I will pull you down from your high position.”
Isaiah 22:15-19 NLT

There was a man in Jerusalem named Shebna, who was the palace administrator. It appears that he was neglecting his duties, instead building himself a “beautiful tomb”, presumably because he thought things in Judah and Jerusalem were not going to end well, and he would soon end up dead. Quite how his dead body would be interred in his “beautiful tomb”, with everything else going on, was not made clear in this part of Isaiah’s oracle. However, his plans were pointless because, unfortunately for him, God’s message through Isaiah was that Shebna would be taken into exile “into a distant barren land” where his death would follow, accompanied by the destruction of his chariots. In the short term, however, the Lord said that He “will drive [him] out of office”, demoting him from his prestigious position as palace administrator. Speculating, perhaps Shebna hoped that his “beautiful tomb” would become a monument in Jerusalem, promoting him as a great man for future generations. This was a brief cameo of the events in Jerusalem through Isaiah’s eyes, with the Holy Spirit bringing revelation, and a human story about a particular person’s reaction to the mayhem unfolding in and around Jerusalem. 

Shebna hoped to be remembered as a great man in his city, which perhaps suggests a question: “How will we be remembered in future generations, if at all?” And, come to that, would we want to be remembered at all? Near where I live, there is Dunfermline Abbey, the resting place of kings at a time when Dunfermline was the religious capital of medieval Scotland. Perhaps the most famous was King Robert the Bruce, who was interred in the Abbey in 1329, and whose name adorns the tower over the 19th-century Abbey church, which is located at the East end of the original 12th-century church building. The surrounding graveyard is populated by the remains of a number of local dignitaries and their families, some of whom were involved in Dunfermline’s linen and weaving industry during the 18th and 19th centuries. We therefore have a number of people remembered through their gravestones and other edifices located on the site. But is that how we pilgrims would like to be remembered? A name carved in a block of granite?

Perhaps another question to ask when we consider our legacy of memories is, “During my life, was Christ glorified through me”? We look back to the lives of great men of God, such as Billy Graham and others, men who dedicated their lives to spreading the Gospel. Some men and women gave their lives in God’s service, as we Elim Church members know when we remember the events in 1978 when 13 Elim missionaries were murdered in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). But for pilgrims such as us, quietly doing what God has asked us to do, in our daily lives, as salt and light in our families and communities, how will we be remembered? 

We pilgrims hope to be remembered for a life rooted in love, active faith, and quiet service to others. Rather than seeking personal glory, the core Christian calling is to point toward Jesus Christ and leave a legacy defined by grace, kindness, and perseverance through hard times. Perhaps physical memories will soon fade over the next generations, but our legacies will be recorded in Heavenly realms, one of which is the Lamb’s Book of Life. I also have a thought: once we reach Heaven, through God’s grace, we will find souls there who remember us and the influence we had on their lives while they were here on earth. I’m sure I will find men and women whom I can thank for their influence on me when I was in need of support during my pilgrimage.

But it is how we live our lives now that is important. James wrote, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honour” (James 4:10). Paul wrote, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had” (Philippians 2:3-5). Humility is just one attribute that will underpin our lives on earth and ensure that memories endure. The key is following in Jesus’ footsteps, living the Godly life that He did, with love and compassion toward those around us. 

There are a number of practical ways in which we will be remembered in this life and for future generations. We regularly communicate with our Heavenly Father through prayer, including praying for our fellow believers. And of course, we pray as the Bible encourages us, for our government and for the needs of our societies. We pilgrims also regularly participate in the Lord’s Supper, remembering Jesus and all He did for us, and keeps on doing, day after day. We must also encourage one another, as Paul exhorted us in 1 Thessalonians 5:11, “So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing“.

And of course, we pilgrims mustn’t forget that Jesus reminded us of our responsibilities in our neighbourhoods and families. Matthew 5:13-14, “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavour? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden”“. However, in the end, it is not about our legacy so much as our standing in Christ that will matter. We pilgrims trust in His grace and mercy for our salvation. It is not about how many times we go to church or how many hours we spend working for a Christian charity. We are saved and will be saved, purely through God’s grace. Shebna was heading for a sticky end because he failed to trust God for his salvation. His focus was on his works rather than God. A warning to us all?

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You that You are a righteous God, and that Your judgment is totally without fault. Amen.

Eat and Drink for Tomorrow We Die

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“… But you never ask for help from the One who did all this. You never considered the One who planned this long ago. At that time, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, called you to weep and mourn. He told you to shave your heads in sorrow for your sins and to wear clothes of burlap to show your remorse. But instead, you dance and play; you slaughter cattle and kill sheep. You feast on meat and drink wine. You say, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!” The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has revealed this to me: “Till the day you die, you will never be forgiven for this sin.” That is the judgment of the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”
Isaiah 22:11b-14 NLT

We continue our thoughts on Isaiah’s chapter 22 oracle, reading about what he said would happen in Jerusalem. This appears to be a snapshot of events in Jerusalem on the day he wrote the oracle, with the people dancing, playing, feasting, and getting drunk, rather than responding in tears and remorse. They followed the age-old philosophy, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!” Sadly, they responded to God’s warning with reckless pleasure. We pilgrims are aware, I’m sure, that one of the signs of a hardened heart is treating serious spiritual matters lightly. Then as now, cultures often respond to uncertainty by seeking greater entertainment, more possessions or constant distraction. It portrays a flippancy that seems inbuilt within human beings, and we find it still alive and well in our societies today. We may have even behaved similarly ourselves. What about someone who gets to the end of the month and finds they have some money left over in their bank account? Perhaps, instead of putting it away for a “rainy day”, they go and spend it on something useless. A mild example, I know, but it illustrates the mentality present in many people.

Of course, some will follow something Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 8:15, “So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way, they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun”. Over the page, he wrote, “So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!” (Ecclesiastes 9:7). But to counter a life based on such thoughts, Jesus told the parable of the Rich Fool, which started with the warning, “… Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own” (Luke 12:15). I’m sure we all know the parable, but there was a rich farmer who, one year, reaped a bumper crop. He tore down his barns so that he could build new and bigger ones, in which he could store all his wheat and other goods. The account continues with the Rich Fool saying, “And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”” (Luke 12:19). The next two verses conclude the story with Jesus saying, “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God”. So, there is nothing implicitly wrong with “eating, drinking and enjoying life” as long as it is in line with God’s will. Some people, of course, have a view of God that he is a killjoy who sternly and puritanically forbids all sorts of pleasure. But nothing can be further from the truth. Jesus Himself enjoyed a meal with His disciples. We read in Luke 5:33, “One day some people said to Jesus, “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are your disciples always eating and drinking?”” And in Luke 7:34, Jesus said, “The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’” The key in all that we do is the conclusion drawn by Jesus when He referred to having a “rich relationship with God”.

As we look back in Genesis, we read how God created man and a Garden that He planted with beautiful trees that produced all sorts of delicious fruit. But if that was not pleasure enough for Adam, God then created the birds and animals, and involved the man in their naming. And then came the moment when God created a woman to be his companion. Was that received with grudging acceptance or a “Wow” that reverberated around the Garden? I’ll let you, my readers, be the judge of that! But in the act of creation, God introduced the principle of pleasure. Whether delicious fruit of eating and drinking, it is all part of God’s plan.

Ultimately, we have to ask ourselves how we respond when God provides direction or conviction. Is it with flippant distraction, or will it be with repentance? The Judeans got it wrong, but that is no reason why we should. Our Heavenly Father knows what is best for us, and He delights in rewarding us when we respond to Him with trust and obedience.

Dear Father God. Thank You for all the good things that You have given us. You blessings never cease. Amen.

Judeans Living In The Moment

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“This message came to me concerning Jerusalem—the Valley of Vision: What is happening? Why is everyone running to the rooftops? The whole city is in a terrible uproar. What do I see in this revelling city? Bodies are lying everywhere, killed not in battle but by famine and disease. All your leaders have fled. They surrendered without resistance. The people tried to slip away, but they were captured, too. That’s why I said, “Leave me alone to weep; do not try to comfort me. Let me cry for my people as I watch them being destroyed.” Oh, what a day of crushing defeat! What a day of confusion and terror brought by the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, upon the Valley of Vision! The walls of Jerusalem have been broken, and cries of death echo from the mountainsides. 
Judah’s defences have been stripped away. You run to the armoury for your weapons. You inspect the breaks in the walls of Jerusalem. You store up water in the lower pool. You survey the houses and tear some down for stone to strengthen the walls. Between the city walls, you build a reservoir for water from the old pool. But you never ask for help from the One who did all this. You never considered the One who planned this long ago.”
Isaiah 22:1-5, 8-11 NLT

Isaiah provides a prophecy, an oracle, in chapter 22 addressed to Jerusalem. One possible event here is the siege of Jerusalem by King Sennacherib and the Assyrians in 701 BC, since Isaiah experienced it firsthand. Another option is the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 586 BC, during which Isaiah could have prophesied about events yet to occur. Some scholars suggest that Isaiah’s oracle is intended to speak to both events. But this chapter commences with the city in uproar; in fact, it was a “terrible uproar”. There was much revelling going on, as the people within Jerusalem’s walls were partying, eating, drinking and making merry. Some event had occurred to warrant such a celebration, but Isaiah could see something else coming – “Bodies are lying everywhere, killed not in battle but by famine and disease”. So Isaiah’s message was that they should not be “revelling”, but instead they should be sober-minded because of what was to come.

History informs us that the nation of Judah had been overrun and destroyed by Assyrian sieges of the towns. Everyone of any importance had fled to Jerusalem and had been trapped inside the walls by the siege. Isaiah tells the people not to look at him while he is weeping for those who have died. He recalls how loud the noise became from outside the walls as the siege was being established. There was a great racket and loud shouting. Mass confusion fills the air, perhaps inside the city as well as outside. The valleys around Jerusalem were filled with war chariots. The enemy horsemen were right outside the city gates. Judah was uncovered and helpless. What did the leaders do when they knew the siege was coming? They inventoried and distributed the weapons from the armoury. They found breaches in the walls and repaired them. They diverted springs from outside the walls into the city for a water supply. They even tore down houses between the inner and outer walls and flooded that area as a reservoir. They did all they could except for one thing: call out to their Lord God. Isaiah wrote, “But you never ask for help from the One who did all this. You never considered the One who planned this long ago”. 

All the preparations carried out by the Judeans were not wrong. In fact, it was wise to do what they did. But their sin was that they trusted in their preparations rather than in the God who had given them wisdom and who ultimately ruled over their future. There is a message for us pilgrims in this as well. There is a difference between preparation and dependence, because God expects us to act wisely, but never independently of Him. The danger is that we can organise our lives so efficiently that prayer becomes an afterthought. There is a proverb that is well worth writing on a Post-it note to stick on our fridges, and that’s “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5-6). There is another verse that applies both to the Judeans and to ourselves, and that is Psalm 127:1, “Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good”. And here’s a bit of wisdom from James, “Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil” (James 4:13-16). Of course, James’ advice was too late for Jerusalem in 700 BC, but it is there for our benefit, as we navigate the highways and byways of life in our 21st-century societies. 

Isaiah’s picture of a city that is living in the moment, rejoicing one minute because of battlefield successes, but mourning the next when adversity strikes, is just as applicable today as it was then. We pilgrims are heading for a new world, where the rules and outcomes are different. It would seem to make sense to start living God’s way, but then I’m sure we are already. But nevertheless, when we are tempted to live the way the world around us does, we should pause and find a quiet spot to take stock and pray. As we read a Psalm such as Psalm 23, it sets the scene for the life we should lead, under the direction of the Good Shepherd. His closeness will strengthen us as we rest in His presence. He will lead and guide us and one day will welcome us into “the house of the Lord forever”. And with the Psalmist, we declare, “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue [us] all the days of [our] life…”. It surely will.

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for Your care and compassion for us pilgrims. Without You life in this world is impossible. We pray for Your guidance as we journey on, day by day.Amen.