Finding Hope in Isaiah 25: Praise Amidst Chaos

Posted on by Adrian Clark
Person in a cloak kneeling and praying on a rocky peak above a sea of clouds at sunrise

“O Lord, I will honour and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them. You turn mighty cities into heaps of ruins. Cities with strong walls are turned to rubble. Beautiful palaces in distant lands disappear and will never be rebuilt. Therefore, strong nations will declare your glory; ruthless nations will fear you.”
Isaiah 25:1-3 NLT

We leave the devastation of God’s judgments in Isaiah 24, and move on to the next chapter. Isaiah 25 is one of the most hope-filled chapters in Isaiah’s writings, and here the prophet suddenly turns to praise. The chapter looks beyond immediate historical events to God’s ultimate victory, the salvation of His people, and the coming Messianic kingdom. It also contains one of the clearest Old Testament prophecies of the resurrection. But in many ways this chapter follows on from the previous verse at the end of chapter 24, which ended on a note of hope, “for the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will rule on Mount Zion. He will rule in great glory in Jerusalem, in the sight of all the leaders of His people”. It is almost as though Isaiah turns in a different direction, away from looking at the destruction of the earth, to God Himself, the One who destroyed all because of the “sins of the people, for they have twisted [His] instructions, violated His laws, and broken His everlasting covenant … its people must pay the price for their sin”. Isaiah understood well the consequences of sin.

So, Isaiah turned to God Himself, bursting into a personal outpouring of his praise. You see, God’s purposes had been completed in the previous chapter, the end of the story leaving Isaiah free to look at what God means to Him. Today, we pilgrims look on as life around us seems to reflect a maelstrom of chaos, both near and afar, but Isaiah knew that nothing was going to happen that God had not already planned. World events, on the one hand, and even personal happenings when we walk out of our front doors, all fit in with God’s plans for mankind. This is a hard statement to believe, because we have to face into the reality that sooner or later God will have to act because of mankind’s sin. Many people today are very worried and concerned that someone will push the nuclear button and the world will self-destruct, but we can be assured that nothing like this will happen unless God allows it. For other people, there is a huge cry of “why!” when a baby dies, or a plane crash kills all on board. They shake their fists in God’s face in anger and frustration, that is, if they ever believe He exists in the first place. Could God stop such occurrences? Of course, He could, and one day God will judge the world and its sin, bringing righteousness to bear when there is now only evil and sin. In the perfect to come, we read that there will be no more crying and no more death. Revelation 21:4, “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”. Through the resurrection of Jesus, we received a message of hope, because He was the first to defeat death. And this one event sealed our faith in God and His plan for the future, a future to be enjoyed by us pilgrims as we live with God forever.

Isaiah saw in his vision what the judgment would look like, but we never find him remonstrating with God with a “why”. Instead, he said, “O Lord, I will honour and praise your name, for you are my God”. Isaiah referred to what had happened as “wonderful things … planned … long ago”. Isaiah praises God for dealing with Israel’s enemies, and those nations that stand against God will one day have to praise Him. But we know that from Paul’s writings in Philippians 2:10-11, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”. That’s a very complete count of everyone who has, or will, ever live. No exceptions at all. Paul echoes the same confidence as Isaiah. He wrote, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them“.

For us pilgrims, there is a principle we do well to follow. When life makes little sense, then we look upwards into the Heavenly realms, where we find the One who has all under control. We may not understand what is going on, but we do know the One who does. So, when life makes little sense, and we are tempted to look at the circumstances around us, it is more profitable instead to get on our knees in praise and worship. Faith trusts God’s plan before seeing God’s purpose.

Dear Heavenly Father. When all around us is descending into ever deepening depths of evil and sin, we instead look to You, the Rock upon whom we stand. 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.

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.

Choosing Light Over Darkness: A Spiritual Perspective

Posted on by Adrian Clark
Golden and white flowing light streaks over dark blue textured background

“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice. They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder. For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor’s rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian. The boots of the warrior and the uniforms, bloodstained by war, will all be burned. They will be fuel for the fire.”
Isaiah 9:2-5 NLT

Darkness and light. Opposites that are well known to human beings, used as we are to day and night. From the earliest times, mankind has found ways to illuminate a place of darkness, from a candle to a modern light bulb. Today, we think nothing of flicking a light switch to transform a dark room into a place where our eyes can discover all that we want to see. But in a totally dark place, and should no light source be available, a human being’s eyes cease to be of any use, as any blind person will testify. 

In a spiritual sense, darkness and light have parallel meanings, and we must consider God as a light source that illuminates our darkness and brings into focus what we want to see. But that is where the similarities end. A physical perspective on light and dark is under a human being’s control. We can choose whether or not to flick a light switch or light a candle. But spiritually, we cannot switch God on and off at will to illuminate our situation. There is much more involved than that.

Jesus said, “And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants” (John 3:19-21). The propensity of man to prefer sin and evil started in the Garden, and we read, “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too” (Genesis 3:5-6). We can rationalise our thoughts and actions, but only from the wrong perspective. Our selfish desire for personal control and the pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25) will always drive us in the wrong direction, time and time again. 

But Jesus taught much about the light that reveals the sin and evil in people’s lives, because turning our backs on it is a fundamental requirement for eternity spent with God. There is no sin and evil in Heaven, and those who tried to introduce it there, the angel called satan and his followers, were cast out: “Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels” (Revelation 12:7-9). 

Jesus said to the people (and the Pharisees who were there with them), “… I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (John 8:12). We know what the “life” is from an earlier verse in John – 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. Jesus was referring to the only life that really matters, eternal life. Life in His presence forever. But there is an alternative for those who prefer the darkness, and that is an eternity away from God’s light, in the company of those who were ejected from Heaven.

So people today have a choice between light and darkness. Many claim to walk in the light because they are “good” people who don’t do the things traditionally associated with sin and evil. They haven’t killed anyone or stolen anything, they avoid alcohol as a beverage, and don’t visit nightclubs. They don’t gamble or swear. But they miss the point that sin in its basic form is following their selfish desires and, in the process, rebelling against God and His ways. Paul wrote, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23). We pilgrims decided to repent of our sins and turn to God, committing our lives to follow Him. And through Jesus, we have been cleansed of our sin and have found ourselves covered by His righteousness. We have a wonderful, loving and caring God who wants us to be with Him forever. We have “seen the light” and have shunned anything to do with darkness. And because of that, we are entrusted with illuminating the dark places with our witness and testimonies. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). Genesis 1:3 we read, “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light”. Today, His word continues, but this time through His people, as we continue His creative work in the lives of those around us. 

Dear Heavenly Father. In a land where the darkness seems to be increasing, we pray for the grace and boldness to shine even brighter so that our fellow citizens can discover how dark their lives really are. Please help us we pray and lead and guide us in Your ways. Amen.

Isaiah’s Message: Trusting God Over Mediums

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“I and the children the Lord has given me serve as signs and warnings to Israel from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies who dwells in his Temple on Mount Zion. Someone may say to you, “Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings, they will tell us what to do.” But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead?”
Isaiah 8:18-19 NLT

The Jews today, looking back to the days of Isaiah, must thank God or him and his family, because they stayed strong in their faith in a time when most had turned away from God. And more, Isaiah kept writing down his prophecies about the disasters that would fall upon a sinful and rebellious people. We know from Isaiah 6:13b that, “… as a terebinth or oak tree leaves a stump when it is cut down, so Israel’s stump will be a holy seed”. There would be a remnant of the people who, like Isaiah and his family, would not have succumbed to the pressures of the sinful lifestyles of those around them; instead, they would ensure the continuation of the nation of the “descendants of Jacob”. Though the people of his generation would not respond to his preaching, the hope of Isaiah’s messages rested in this “holy seed”, pointing to the coming Messiah who would, as we know, bring salvation to the world. Isaiah’s mandate, first given to him after his vision of the Lord “high and lifted up” in the Temple, was to “serve as signs and warnings to Israel”, a mandate given to him by the “Lord of Heaven’s Armies who dwells in His Temple on Mount Zion”. Did God really live there? Isaiah thought so, and he knew that was the case because he saw the Lord there.

It appears that, in their concern about what was happening in their nation, the people of Judah were given to asking the mediums “and those who consult the spirits of the dead”. And they really expected that this would result in instructions as to what actions they should follow. Quite rightly, Isaiah asked, “But shouldn’t people ask God for guidance? Should the living seek guidance from the dead?” I came across a headline in a newspaper the other day that said, “ChatGPT convinced me to quit my job. I wish I hadn’t listened”. I’m not saying that ChatGPT is the same as a medium or a dead spirit, but the principle is the same. There is only one person who sees the end from the beginning, and that is God Himself. Why would someone ask a piece of computer software, even if it is supported by a huge dataset and very clever algorithms, a potentially life-changing question about their employment and believe it would be acting in their best interests? As I say to people today, artificial intelligence is a helpful servant but a terrible master. 

But people today still consult sources of data that are not from God. Take horoscopes, for example. Or the palm readers and others who frequent fairs and other similar events. God specifically told the Israelites, “Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead. I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:31). It was so sad that the Jews had forgotten the basics of their faith. God Himself continually reached out to His people. Through Isaiah, He said, “My care for the people of Judah is like the gently flowing waters of Shiloah, but they have rejected it” (Isaiah 8:6a). There was a remedy from the distress to come, but God, their Source, was ignored.

The Bible bulges with helpful verses that explain God’s relationship with His people. Even before they crossed into the promised land, God warned the people. “Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. But he does not hesitate to punish and destroy those who reject him” (Deuteronomy 7:9-10). Ever since, God has been reaching out to His people, even to the point of sending His Son, Jesus, to die for them. The Apostle John wrote, “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognise that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. … Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him” (1 John 3:1, 4-5). 

Such love! God made a covenant, and he has never broken it. And because of Jesus, we have a remedy for our sin and can be assured of our future, regardless of the storm clouds that might be massing on our personal or national borders. Whatever we are facing today, we know that God is there just waiting for us to reach out to Him for more of His love and grace. There may of course be hard times ahead of us in our lives, but we know the One who is with us and who will support and encourage us every step of the way. 

Father God. We don’t have to concern ourselves about the future because we know that You know what is ahead and have the resources to help us reach our ultimate destination. And so we look to You today and every day, assured of our salvation and Your love and grace. Amen.

Ahaz, the Bad King

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“When Ahaz, son of Jotham and grandson of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, set out to attack Jerusalem. However, they were unable to carry out their plan. The news had come to the royal court of Judah: “Syria is allied with Israel against us!” So the hearts of the king and his people trembled with fear, like trees shaking in a storm.”
Isaiah 7:1-2 NLT

Ahaz was the king in Judah for 16 years around 735 BC. In 2 Kings 16:2, we read, “Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had done”. His list of misdemeanours can be found in the next two verses, “Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel, even sacrificing his own son in the fire. In this way, he followed the detestable practices of the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the pagan shrines and on the hills and under every green tree”. Faced with an invasion by an Israel-Syria coalition, he forged an alliance with Assyria, which cost Judah much gold from the Temple and made it a vassal state of Assyria. 

Well, that is the background to the next phase in the life of the nation of Judah, and as we read on, we find a series of alliances and wars that bring political volatility and instability that was never in God’s plan for His people. A bad king, and rampant idolatry and sin permeated throughout the nation regardless of God’s appeals and warnings. Was God supposed to turn His back on His people and let them get on with it? Perhaps another option was to destroy them all, as He did in Noah’s day, and start again, but the Noahic Covenant He made at the time meant that this was never going to be a divine option. And so, the decline of Judah commenced in line with Isaiah’s previous prophesies. It wouldn’t end until all the inhabitants had been cleansed by death, destruction or exile. So sad, when all the time God was reaching out to His people with unlimited love and grace.

Israel and Judah were surrounded by belligerent nations that they were supposed to have driven out when they entered their promised land. That would have enabled them to occupy the land and live in accordance with God’s plan, and to be protected from any nations outside their territory. But time and again, they rebelled against God and adopted the sinful practices of the nations that they were instructed to destroy. Yes, there were bright spots when they rose up and did what they were supposed to do, and we can read about some of them in Judges and elsewhere, but overall, there was a downward spiral of evil that they were unable to overcome, having rejected God’s help in it all. They were given a choice between blessings and curses, and chose, for much of the time, a way of life that brought upon themselves the curses God warned them about.

The same choices that were before the Jews in the BC centuries and ever since are before mankind today. The UK and US have their roots in Christian principles and morals, founded on a faith in Jesus. Laws have been based on Jewish precepts, such as the Ten Commandments, and Western nations have, in the main, flourished and prospered. But today, secularism and humanism is on the increase, and laws are being passed that are at variance with what God desires. The outcome will be the same as it was for the Jews. Blessings and curses are still before us today, because God is the same, yesterday, today and forever. 

So what do we pilgrims do? We pray, of course, and keep on praying, that our leaders in government will turn from their wicked paths and embrace the one true God and His ways. We pray for a new awakening in our countries and revival in our churches and denominations. We remember that we are salt and light in our communities, telling people everywhere that there is a God in Heaven, and that Jesus, His Son, came to bring salvation from the consequences of sin. Many Christians are also called to get involved in the politics of our nations and, by doing so, bring a Godly perspective to largely godless assemblies. 

Ahaz failed to do “what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord his God”, and he ultimately paid the price. He was twenty when he became king and reigned for sixteen years, which meant he died in his thirties, although we do not know for sure how or when. Did God cut his reign short because of his evil? Perhaps, but there is a warning for the leaders in our days that God may intervene when necessary and when the time is right. 

Heavenly Father. It was a depressing period in Israel’s history when Your people abandoned Your ways and lapsed into sin and idolatry. We too live in a depressed world, with evil leaders causing so much mayhem. And so we pray for peace and for Your Kingdom to come, as Jesus taught us to pray. And we echo the words at the end of the Bible, “Come Lord Jesus”. Amen.

Isaiah’s Message: Called to the Deafening Silence

Posted on by Adrian Clark
Woman with white cane being guided by two people in a church aisle

“Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” And he said, “Yes, go, and say to this people, ‘Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.’ Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing.””
Isaiah 6:8-10 NLT

The Greek version of the Old Testament (Septuagint) puts a slightly different interpretation on verses 9-10 today, with: “And he said, ‘Go and say to this people, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend.’ For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them”. Regardless of the translation, however, Isaiah’s job was not going to be easy. He was ordained and commissioned to take God’s message to his people, but they were already predisposed to ignore what he said. So perhaps you ask, “What was the point”?

But what else could Isaiah do? The vision of the Lord and His holiness in the Temple had brought Isaiah to his knees in the realisation that he was a sinful man and, worse, his people were sinful as well. What followed was Isaiah’s atonement for his guilt and sin, as, symbolically, the burning coal touched his lips. Freed from sin, Isaiah was eager to answer the call of the Lord and to be His messenger to the people. No matter how hard it would be, Isaiah was God’s man for the impossible task of reaching the people, preaching a message given him by God.

What was this message that Isaiah was to say to his people, the inhabitants of Judah? Well, the first one would seem to be, “Listen carefully, but do not understand”. A strange message? What were the people supposed to be listening out for, and why would it be so hard to understand? There was only one message, and it was the same one that Isaiah received in the Temple. Compared to God’s holiness, Isaiah’s guilt and sin became exposed, and the only remedy was repentance. So Isaiah was commissioned to tell the people of Judah that their sins were so great that, unless they repented, they would be destroyed. A simple message, but the people were so steeped in their sin that they were unable to recognise God’s voice anymore. Yes, some form of worship was continuing in the Temple, but it had become corrupted and distorted by idolatrous practices that made it totally pointless. The people were deaf and blind to God’s message and ignored it as though it didn’t apply to them. But before we climb up onto the moral high ground, it might be worth asking God if we have any blind and deaf spots regarding sin in our own lives. It is quite likely that we do, and we need to deal with it, under God’s loving and gracious gaze.

Consider the following analogy. We all have smoke detectors installed in our homes, but consider the person who ignores theirs. After a while, they become so used to the loud sound that they learn to tune it out entirely. They hear the noise, but they refuse to understand the danger. Because the people of Judah had tuned out God’s message of the upcoming danger to themselves and their nation, they couldn’t hear it anymore.

Jesus’ disciples asked Him a question, “… Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?” (Matthew 13:10). Jesus replied, “To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand” (Matthew 13:12-13). Jesus went on to quote our verses from Isaiah today, “This fulfils the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them’”.

We pilgrims have the same commission and message that Isaiah had, even though the occasions are separated by nearly three thousand years. Our Gospel message is readily available to the people around us, but as the people in the societies in which we live become more secular, it is increasingly tuned out by those who dispute its relevance. I often meet people who, in their defence, say that they are “good people” and God will never send them to hell. I can’t prejudge what will happen to these people one day before the Great White Throne (Revelation 20) – only God knows what the outcome will be – but the message we preach to those around us is the same as the one preached by Peter in Acts 2:38, “… Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”. 

So we pray that God will lead us to the people who need to hear about His love and grace, but always aware that our message will mostly fall on deaf ears. Regarding His message, Jesus said, “To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them” (Matthew 13:12). As we know, even Jesus’ message was ignored by most of His people. But we pilgrims are obedient servants of our wonderful Saviour, and continue to share God’s love regardless of how it is received.

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for our salvation and for Jesus, who made it possible. Please help us and lead us to those who need to hear about You and Your saving grace, this day and every day. Amen.

Isaiah’s Vision: The Power of Forgiveness and Transformation

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.””
Isaiah 6:5-7 NLT

The vision of God in the Temple was a life-changing experience for Isaiah, and the first thing he encountered was his sin. His vision of the Lord included seraphim, six-winged beings who were constantly calling out to each other, “… Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isaiah 6:3), and the sound and presence of their voices “shook the Temple to its foundations”. A scary experience, but instead of a terror response in fear and trembling, Isaiah becomes very aware of his sin. In the presence of our holy God, everyone, sooner or later, will be confronted by their sin. But Isaiah also became aware of his “filthy lips”, a condition that also impacted all the people he lived with. As we considered yesterday, it is through a person’s lips that come the thoughts and desires of their hearts, and in his innermost being, Isaiah became aware that he was corrupted by sin, and the fruit of that came from his sinful lips. Rightly, without a remedy, he concluded that he was “doomed”. 

But burning coals as a remedy? The temple would have had a fire burning on the altar, as we know from Leviticus 6:13, from the instructions given to Aaron, “Remember, the fire must be kept burning on the altar at all times. It must never go out”. Was the coal a real ember from the fire or was it a spiritual experience? In this context, I think the coal was taken from the Heavenly altar, which represents the place of sacrifice, atonement, and the presence of God. The book of Revelation contains several references to an altar in Heaven, such as Revelation 8:3, 5, “Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne. … Then the angel filled the incense burner with fire from the altar and threw it down upon the earth; and thunder crashed, lightning flashed, and there was a terrible earthquake”. The altar in the Temple, complete with its fire, was no more than an earthly copy, a “type” of what was in Heaven. 

The act of touching Isaiah’s lips with the burning coal was life-changing because it cleansed him from his guilt and sin. His guilt was removed, and his sins were forgiven. But were Isaiah’s lips permanently damaged by the contact with the coal? We don’t know, but we do know that this was the point when he was ordained to a prophetic ministry to his people.

We pilgrims of the New Covenant are in a different season than that of Isaiah’s, nearly three thousand years ago. No Temple, no animal sacrifices, and a society that was very different to ours. But there are similarities: people then and today are burdened by their guilt and sin. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17). He also said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost” (Luke 19:10). Jesus’ mission was clear, and He constantly reached out in compassion to those who were sinners. We think of Zacchaeus, or the woman caught in adultery and others. He told the parable of the lost sheep, and we read in Luke 15:4, “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?” In the parable of the Lost Son, we read that the Father constantly looked out for the return of the prodigal, and when he saw that he was coming, He ran to meet and greet him, something even more significant when we realise that running was considered undignified in those days. God will go to extraordinary lengths to ease the transition from guilt and sin to forgiveness and spiritual cleansing. 

The people around us are burdened by their guilt and sin, and we pilgrims know the remedy. Our encounters with the risen Jesus changed us from the inside, and we are now able to stand in God’s presence, with our guilt removed and our sins forgiven.

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for Jesus, without whom we would still be lost in our sins. Thank You for Your love and grace. Amen.

From Filthy Lips to Grace: A Biblical Reflection

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke. Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.””
Isaiah 6:3-5 NLT

Faced with a vision of God and His holiness, Isaiah immediately could see how sinful he was. It was as though he held up a mirror and immediately saw himself through God’s eyes, his sin being displayed before him and leading him to exclaim, “I am doomed”. But he continued with the realisation that he had “filthy lips”. Other translations are a little more genteel and refer to “unclean lips”, but the meaning is the same. In ancient Hebrew thought, the mouth revealed what was truly inside a person. By admitting his words were corrupt, Isaiah was confessing that his own heart—and the rebellious society of Judah he lived among—was spiritually defiled. 

We can read in Matthew’s Gospel what Jesus said about “filthy lips”: “Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth”” (Matthew 15:10-11). A little later, His disciples asked Him to explain further, and we read, ““Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you”” (Matthew 15:16-20). 

Isaiah was brought face-to-face with his uncleanness and sin because he could see what he was like from God’s perspective. But regardless of that, he had received a vision of “the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies”. Consequently, he could see no remedy for his uncleanness and considered himself “doomed”. Presumably, he expected to be zapped on the spot and find himself in a place where sinners will eventually end up. But what a revelation! 

Today, we pilgrims have “filthy lips, and … live among a people with filthy lips” as well. We know that, and we haven’t even seen the Lord as Isaiah did. In his day, Isaiah would have obeyed all the traditions and rituals defined in the Law of Moses and would have assumed his righteousness. So it must have been a bit of a shock to be suddenly exposed to his real state before God. But we pilgrims have a remedy for sin that was not available to Isaiah. We are the children of a New Covenant, brought to us by the love and grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus, who took on board Himself the punishment we deserve for our sins and “filthy lips”. 

We must never take such grace for granted, becoming blasé and almost over-familiar with God. What Jesus did for us was an act of love and grace so far-reaching and mind-boggling that, had Isaiah been in our shoes. He would immediately have fallen prostrate before the Lord in worship. Have we pilgrims had a vision of the Lord “high and lifted up” in a church somewhere, or is our vision one of a cross in a corner of Jerusalem two thousand years ago? A cross where the Son of God was crucified by a sinful people with the same “filthy lips” that we have. Were we there in that crowd calling for His death? 

The old Negro spiritual had these words, Were you there when they crucified my Lord? / Were you there when they crucified my Lord? / Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble. / Were you there when they crucified my Lord? The people who penned those words got it. They knew how much it cost God to send His Son to die for us. They “trembled” and so must we, in a place of deep gratitude and worship. On our knees or even prostrate in worship if necessary, because that is what God deserves. 

O Lord. Please forgive us for our sins and “filthy lips”. Your grace and love is without limit and we worship You today. Amen.

Exile and Captivity

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“He will send a signal to distant nations far away and whistle to those at the ends of the earth. They will come racing toward Jerusalem. They will not get tired or stumble. They will not stop for rest or sleep. Not a belt will be loose, not a sandal strap broken. Their arrows will be sharp and their bows ready for battle. Sparks will fly from their horses’ hooves, and the wheels of their chariots will spin like a whirlwind. They will roar like lions, like the strongest of lions. Growling, they will pounce on their victims and carry them off, and no one will be there to rescue them. They will roar over their victims on that day of destruction like the roaring of the sea. If someone looks across the land, only darkness and distress will be seen; even the light will be darkened by clouds.”
Isaiah 5:26-30 NLT

A scene of devastation marks Isaiah’s vision, as God calls upon foreign nations to administer His judgment over Judah. Wonderfully poetic language graphically describes the invading forces and their motivation to complete the day of destruction, leaving the land full of darkness and distress. Miraculously, in a way, the invading army will not suffer the usual irritations, like breakdowns in military equipment. What a terrible day that would be for the Judaeans, but we know from our historians that the exile took place in 586 BC, because the people never turned from their sinful ways. 

Did the people of Judah, languishing in captivity, ever regret what happened to them? Did they remember their sinful ways once more and long again for their parties, their drunken orgies, and their idol worship? Or did they finally come to their senses and decide to turn back to God? Psalm 137 provides a partial answer: “Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem. We put away our harps, hanging them on the branches of poplar trees. For our captors demanded a song from us. Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn: “Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!” But how can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a pagan land?” (Psalm 137:1-4). 

Jesus Himself could see what would happen to Jerusalem much later in history. He knew what was going to happen within a few years of His death, as recorded in Matthew 24:1-2, “As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings. But he responded, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”” Jesus entered Jerusalem on the day we now call Palm Sunday. In the Jewish calendar, this took place just before the Passover festival. He wept over Jerusalem, as we read in Luke 19:41-44, “But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognise it when God visited you””. Once again, the Jewish people had rejected God’s care and compassion, even to the extent, as we know, of killing His Son.

But God never gave up on His Covenant with His chosen people. There will be another day, yet to come, when an invading army will once again approach Jerusalem. In Revelation 19:19-21, we read, “Then I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army. And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshipped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulphur. Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies”. 

We pilgrims worship a faithful God, who has throughout history always loved His people, first the Jews and now the Gentiles. We know that He sent His Son, Jesus, to be the One who saved us from our sins, an act of love that sets Christianity apart from any other religion. Jesus said He was “the way, the truth and the life” and still is today. We pilgrims have the opportunity to extend God’s love to those around us in this season of grace, secure in the knowledge that His mercies are new every morning to those who love him.

Dear Father God. We praise and worship You today, the God of love and grace. Amen.