Isaiah Chapters 28-30

28:1 - Absurdly, the people try to ignore their coming judgment and the enemies stacked against them by throwing on festive laurel wreaths and getting drunk...by throwing parties. Isiah says these crowns and the crowns of fortresses lining the hills of Israel will be thrown down and destroyed. How often do we try to ignore the reality of the world and the consequences of our actions by just indulging ourselves in meaningless pursuits that will fill our mind and time. This world is passing away - do not put your trust and your hope int he things you find here.

28:5-6 - Throughout the book of Isaiah, no matter how dark the prophecies becomes, there is always hope interspersed. Isaiah tells us that when the Lord acts it will be beautiful to His people - those who have truly remained faithful. He will lend strength and courage to those who have been fighting to hold true to their faith...who have been holding the gates against the temptation to becomes just like everybody else. Know that when you trust in God's way and choose to way in it...you will get the strength you need.

28:11-12 - The people of God have refused to listen tot he warnings and instruction He has sent, so they will have to hear it from the lips of the foreign people who conquer them. This must be so heartbreaking for God. He loves His people and wants to show them the truth, but they refuse to listen and will have to be utterly crushed by their enemies before they can see the truth. Kinda like a child that will not listen tot he wisdom of their parents and the only way they will ever learn is by getting crushed by the consequences of their actons and being brought to their knees before God.

28:29 - God gives simple, uneducated peasants the knowledge to be able to grow crops. They know that they cannot just continue to plow over and over thinking that crops will grow. They have to plow, then plant, then water, and then gather the crops the correct way. God has taught these people the complicated process of crop growing and yet the "wise" rulers and religious leaders of the day cannot see the folly of thei ways. They continue living in opposition to God and will not be reaping ay fruit...they will only reap judgment. Are there things in your life that you just keep doing over and over and expecting to get different results, that you need to change?

29:7 - Ariel probably means roaring lion or heroic figure. Isaih is referriung to God's people as they should be...as the lions of the Lord...as heroes of faith in the world. But because of their refusal to truly follow God, they will be beseiged and conquered by other nations. Even in this there is hope. Isaiah says that the people who besieg and conquere them will be like a bad nightmare...they will last only for a short while and then it will be over. There is hope in the midst of their judgment. There ois also hoep in the midst of this fallen world. It may seem like the problems fo the world will never end, but when we are with God for eternity, it will seem like these issues were just the blink of an eye.

29:13 - The peopel believe that they worship God, but it is false worship. They worship with mouths, but do not worship God in their hearts. They believe that because they are the people of God that they are beyond judgemnet, but they must learn to fear God and love Him fully and God will do whatever it takes to get His people to understand that truth.

29:16 - The people try to turn the reality of creation upside down - they try to deny their creator...make themselves the gods of their own lives. They believe they know how to live their lives better than the one who created them, which is absolutely unnatural and absurd. Does the pot of clay say to the potter - who are you to tell me what to be? No! It is just as absurd for us to think that we know better than God how we should be living our lives.

30:1 - The people stubbornly try to save themselves by turning to other nations...they try to devise their own plans for salvation without consulting God. They want to trust human "wisdom and strength" more than they trust God's and that doesn't really work out very well for them. Has it ever worked out for anybody? Unfortnately, there are still timnes in my own life when I try to depend on my own "wisdom" instead of faithfully turning to God...and it never ends well.

30:15 - If you turn back to God in repentance and choose to find rest in His presence - that is where you will find salvation. Jesus has offered us the means of true repentance...the ability to turn to God and be made righteous. In quiet trust of God, you find the strength to face the problems of this world. Oddly enough, these actions: repentance, trust, humility, quiet - these are opposite of the typical human efforts to bring salvation to ourselves.

30:19-20 - Always there is hope for God's rebellious people. He disciplines out of love to bring His people back to Him. God never ceases to love and listen to His people.

30:33 - This verse sounds alot like the hell/eternal judgment pictures painting i the New Testament with regards to the end times. I thought it was interesting to notice that the source of heat in these eternal flames is the breath of God. Elsewhere the breath of God is described as life-giving. Read Malachi 4:1-2...it says that the sun light of God brings healing to the wounded and it burns away every bit of moisture from the chaff. The light and truth of God is healing power to the faithful and it is devouring flames to the unfaithful. Rob Bell once had a series called "the flames of heaven might just be hotter than the flames of hell" where he talked about the fact that the people who reject God may not want anything to do with eternity with Him. Th same source of goodness and light that is beautiful to those who love God...is terrifying torture to those who hate Him.