12/02/12. Isaiah 20:1-6. ISAIAH BECOMES A LIVING WITNESS- my devotional
12/02/12. Isaiah 20:1-6. ISAIAH BECOMES A LIVING WITNESS
| Isaiah 20:1-6 |
Sunday, December 2, 2012 |
Key Verse: 20:6 Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF
“6 In that day the people who live on this coast will say, ‘See what has happened to those we relied on, those we fled to for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?’”
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for preparing our hearts for Christmas through the KBC Advent messages. Help us to all get to the core of why Jesus came to this world to be our Savior and our Lord. I pray that this Christmas may lead many to Christ. I pray that you may be glorified this holiday season. Please grant me to know you more deeply through this passage. I thank you and I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!
Part 1: Ashdod is Captured (1).
Verse 1 reads, “In the year that the supreme commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it—“
Ashdodwas a Philistine city. When the Assyrian army came, they attacked and captured the Philistine city. At this time, the people ofJudahwere only relieved that they had been spared. They also were confident that their alliances withEgyptandCushwould keep them safe. They trusted their political alliances with strong nations for their help, but they did not turn to the Lord for deliverance.
We are tempted to turn to the things of the world instead of trusting in God. In times of tough economic times, we are tempted to trust in our money and job instead of the Lord. In times of relational issues and in times of struggling with the inner “sin” problems we tend to trust in psychology or our own human rationales than in the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of the Gospel. When we do our strength can be our god.
There are some benefits to the things of the world. But they cannot bring about true and lasting deliverance. They can not bring about salvation from the things that assail us and keep us captive. I pray that I may not trust in my own strength and my own human wisdom, but I may trust in Jesus and the Gospel and the power of God in my life and my family. I pray for our country to trust in the Lord and not in political maneuverings to get us out of the mess that we are in.
Part 2: Stripped And Barefoot (2-6).
Verse 2-6, read, “at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz. He said to him, “Take off the sackcloth from your body and the sandals from your feet.” And he did so, going around stripped and barefoot. 3 Then the Lord said, “Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush,4 so the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared—to Egypt’s shame. 5 Those who trusted in Cush and boasted in Egypt will be dismayed and put to shame. 6 In that day the people who live on this coast will say, ‘See what has happened to those we relied on, those we fled to for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?’”
At this critical time, God asked Isaiah to do a very strange thing in order to teach his word. He told Isaiah to strip off his clothes and walk around naked and barefoot for three years. He meant to display toJudahthat the people they had trusted in would be led away in the same manner-as helpless captives. Sometimes God calls us to do something that does not make sense but it something that God wants us to do and it is something that teaches the world about Jesus and the ways of God. God isn’t calling me to do something as extreme as Isaiah, but I need to be open to ways that God is calling me to minister. I can not have a closed mind about how God is and isn’t going to use me. Lord, I offer you my life to use in anyway that you deem fit.
How can I be a living witness? I can be a living witness at the hospital, among the Bible students that God has brought into my life, at the Kishwaukee Bible Church, at the Network of Nations. I can also be a living witness among the First Nations People of NW Ontario. I may not be called in such a drastic way as Isaiah. But I can be Inca national in my life and ministry. I just need to be open.
Only God can deliver. He is our true help and deliverance. Those who rely on others for deliverance will be put to shame, but those who trust in the Lord are useful for teaching his word and displaying his glory. I would rather be useful to God to teach his word and display his glory than to be put to shame. But, from this passage I know that I will be put to shame if I leave God out of the picture.
Prayer: Lord, you alone are my deliverance. Teach me to put my trust in you. Use me as you choose in order to teach your word and reveal your glory to the people.
One Word: Trust God and allow yourself to reveal the glory of God.
Interact with us using Facebook