S – In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. 8 He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense.
Isaiah 17:7–8 ESV
O – Commentary:
When Israel would be invaded by the Assyrians, God’s people would look to their Maker to see the Holy One of Israel (cf. comments on 1:4). When faced with the terror and distress of warfare they would realize the inadequacy of worshiping idols. The altars were those set up to idolatrous gods, not to the true God. The Asherah poles were wooden symbols of Asherah, Canaanite fertility goddess and consort of Baal. In the Northern Kingdom of Israel, widely influenced by Baalism, were many Asherah-worshipers. But when under Assyrian attack, Israel would realize that only the Lord could deliver them.
John A. Martin, “Isaiah,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 1064.
A – Like the book of Revelation, cities of Israel are being told what awaits their future. They are called out for trusting these other “gods” instead of the true God. In that day, they will look to God himself. Great reminder for us to keep our eyes fixed on the one, true God. Life has many distractions but there is only one God who deserves our faith, trust and love.
R – Heavenly Father, you are the one, True God. Empower us today to see past the distractions to keep our focus on you. We can be confident in what you are doing in our lives. Give us the strength and tenacity to remain strong in our relationship with you.
S – then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.
Isaiah 16:5 ESV
O – Commentary:
God in His love (ḥeseḏ, “loyalty”) will see that the One from the house of David, the Messiah, will sit on David’s throne (2 Sam. 7:16) and judge the world fairly (in justice and righteousness
John A. Martin, “Isaiah,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 1063.
A – God’s loyalty is expressed in love. God is loyal to us – putting up with our wayward thoughts and actions that draw us away from Him. He never leaves us. Great reminder and challenge to take step towards him today. He is worthy of our loyalty and faith.
R – Heavenly Father, you are loyal and faithful. Empower us to reciprocate your loyalty and love by our thoughts, words and actions. Help us to remain loyal when other things draw us away from you. We choose to take a step towards you today.
S – I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ a But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit
Isaiah 14:14–15 CSB
O – Commentary:
By ascending the mountain above … the clouds, he was seeking to make himself like God, the Most High. (The language used here, of course, is hyperbolical.) Yet he would be brought low to the grave (pit is a synonym for grave). Nothing could save him from death and from decay in the grave.
John A. Martin, “Isaiah,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 1062.
A – There are parallels between the earthly King of Babylon and us today. We can make ourselves bigger than God in certain areas of our lives by not letting him in or retaining control. Others may say, “I will be my own God” and live to please themselves, while never recognizing God. We have a choice – I choose God.
R – Heavenly Father, your are God and I worship and surrender to you. Help me to see the areas where I still struggle to yield control over to you. You are the one, true God and I surrender my life to you today.
S – And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
Isaiah 11:2 CSB
O – Commentary:
In these verses the character and work of the “Branch” are described. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, that is, the Holy Spirit would empower Him (at Jesus’ baptism, Matt. 3:16–17) for His work which would be characterized by wisdom … understanding … counsel … power … knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. The attributes of the Holy Spirit would characterize the Messiah. Because of His wisdom, understanding, counsel, and knowledge He is the Wonderful Counselor (Isa. 9:6). Isaiah referred to the Holy Spirit more than did any other Old Testament prophet
John A. Martin, “Isaiah,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 1056.
A – Jesus was filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit. These are the seven attributes that Isaiah gave the Holy Spirit – His presence, wisdom, understanding, counsel, might (courage), knowledge and fear of the Lord. We can have all of those attributes daily. I encourage all of us to invite the Holy Spirit into our lives daily and ask him to manifest all these attributes as we go through our day.
R – Heavenly Father, you are Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We invite your Holy Spirit into our day. We ask for the same manifestations as Jesus did – we ask for the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of understanding, the Spirit of Counsel, Spirit of might and courage, the Spirit of knowledge and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord. Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit.
S – For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6 ESV
O – Commentary:
1. He was to be born a Child. The implication, given in parallel style, is that this Child, a Son, was to be born into the nation of Israel (to us) as one of the covenant people.
2. He will rule over God’s people (cf. Micah 5:2) and the world (Zech. 14:9). The government will be on His shoulders figuratively refers to the kingly robe to be worn by the Messiah. As King, He will be responsible to govern the nation. In Isaiah’s day Judah’s leaders were incompetent in governing the people. But the Messiah will govern properly.
3. He will have four descriptive names that will reveal His character. He will be the nation’s Wonderful (this could be trans. “exceptional” or “distinguished”) Counselor, and the people will gladly listen to Him as the authoritative One. In the kingdom many people will be anxious to hear the Messiah teach God’s ways (2:3). He is also the Mighty God (cf. 10:21). Some have suggested that this simply means “a godlike person” or hero. But Isaiah meant more than that, for he had already spoken of the Messiah doing what no other person had been able to do (e.g., 9:2–5). Isaiah understood that the Messiah was to be God in some sense of the term.
This Deliverer will also be called the Everlasting Father. Many people are puzzled by this title because the Messiah, God’s Son, is distinguished in the Trinity from God the Father. How can the Son be the Father? Several things must be noted in this regard. First, the Messiah, being the second Person of the Trinity, is in His essence, God. Therefore He has all the attributes of God including eternality. Since God is One (even though He exists in three Persons), the Messiah is God. Second, the title “Everlasting Father” is an idiom used to describe the Messiah’s relationship to time, not His relationship to the other Members of the Trinity. He is said to be everlasting, just as God (the Father) is called “the Ancient of Days” (Dan. 7:9). The Messiah will be a “fatherly” Ruler. Third, perhaps Isaiah had in mind the promise to David (2 Sam. 7:16) about the “foreverness” of the kingdom which God promised would come through David’s line. The Messiah, a Descendant of David, will fulfill this promise for which the nation had been waiting.
The Messiah is also called the Prince of Peace, the One who will bring in and maintain the time of millennial peace when the nation will be properly related to the Lord. Together, these four titles give a beautiful picture of the coming Messiah’s character (Isa. 9:6 includes the first of Isaiah’s 25 references to peace.)
John A. Martin, “Isaiah,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 1053.
A – As Christmas is approaching, it is astounding that 700 hundred years before, Isaiah is describing with such accuracy the Messiah. It is also amazing that it took that long for that prophecy to be fulfilled. The belief that the Messiah was coming had to wane as time went on but the word never died. We should endure in our trust and faith when God’s timing doesn’t move as timely as we desire.
R – Heavenly Father, you are the Christ and promised one. Thank you for sending our Savior to set us free from the bonds of sin. Empower us to grow our faith and trust even when the timing is challenging.
S – You are to regard only the Lord of Armies as holy. Only he should be feared; only he should be held in awe. 14 He will be a sanctuary; but for the two houses of Israel, he will be a stone to stumble over and a rock to trip over, and a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Isaiah 8:13–14 CSB
O – Commentary:
To make the Lord… holy meant giving him first place in life and acknowledging that nothing is greater than he is. • Fear of God means reverencing him as God (Prov 1:7). The people of Judah were not to fear Israel and Syria or the Assyrians (7:9; 10:24).
8:14He will keep you safe (literally he will be a sanctuary): God is a place of refuge. • stone … stumble … rock … fall: By trusting Assyria rather than God, the people of Jerusalem would find themselves in a trap and a snare as the Assyrians turned against them. For those who trust in the Lord, however, he is faithful and strong
A – This scripture was almost 2,800 years ago and the challenge is still the same. What do we fear or reverence that is more important that God? Will we allow ourselves to stumble, trip or be entrapped or snared by people, things or situations? We can go out of way to avoid God or we can surrender to the fact that He is Lord over it all.
R – Heavenly Father, you are Lord of all. We surrender our hearts, minds and lives to you today. We invite your Holy Spirit to lead us in all situations. Empower us with your presence, power and peace.
S – Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light
and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!
Isaiah 5:20–21 ESV
O – Commentary:
Some people lead others astray by their perverted values. Evil-for example, adultery, idolatry, materialism, murder, and many other sins forbidden in the Scriptures-is often held up as being good. Those who say such things are under the threat (woe) of God’s judgment. Thinking themselves wise and clever, some people were not relying on God’s power to deliver the nation. They thought they could protect themselves
John A. Martin, “Isaiah,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 1043.
A – It is dangerous to who elevate themselves in God’s eyes. Whether our values, wisdom and intellect, we can easily slip into the belief that we are source of our success. We must keep God in the highest level. That keeps us in a “surrender” mindset and recognition of who is our source.
R – Heavenly Father, you are our source. Thank you for all of the blessings you give us each day. Empower us to surrender it all to you. We honor you for all do in our lives.
S – And I will make boys their princes, and infants shall rule over them. 5 And the people will oppress one another, every one his fellow and every one his neighbor; the youth will be insolent to the elder,
and the despised to the honorable.
Isaiah 3:4–5 ESV
O – Comments:
I will make boys their princes When the generation of leaders is removed, only children will be left to fill the traditional male leadership positions. The lack of experienced leaders will lead to chaos and oppression
John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Is 3:4.
A – The next generation is imperative to the growth of any culture. When established leadership is removed or doesn’t fill that role adequately, it puts a tremendous amount of pressure on young people to assume a role they are not ready to fill. Also, if they do not honor those who go before them, it also establishes a fragile foundation to lead.
R – Heavenly Father, you are Sovereign. Help us to recognize the importance of honoring those who have gone before us. Prepare us each day to lead and serve in good relationship with those around us. We invite your Holy Spirit to work in all the relationships around us.
S – Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
Isaiah 1:18 ESV
O – Commentary:
Come now, let us reason together was more than a call for negotiations between the people and God. The word “reason” (yāḵaḥ) is a law term used of arguing, convincing, or deciding a case in court. The people were to be convinced by their argumentation with God that He was right and they were wrong about their condition. (Other court terms in this chapter are justice … defend, and plead, v. 17.) If they acknowledged the depth of their sins-that their iniquities were like blood-colored stains on their souls (scarlet, a red dye made from a worm, and crimson, red-colored cloth)—then God in His grace would cleanse them, making them spiritually white like snow or wool. Acknowledgment of sin was to precede God’s cleansing. And the same is true today.
John A. Martin, “Isaiah,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 1036.
A – Seven hundred years before Christ, God shares his heart to eliminate sin from people’s lives. It was just as stark and glaring as it is today. Jesus came to remove the “stain” of our sins and make us clean and pure again.
R – Heavenly Father, you are our Sacrifice and Savior. Thank you for loving us enough to send the way and solution to our sin problem. Even before it came through Christ, your heart for us to be free of sin demonstrates your love for us.
S – Then I heard a loud voice from the throne:, Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples,, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.
Revelation 21:3–4 CSB
O – Commentary:
The final revelation from heaven states that God will then dwell with men, that the saints will be His people and He will be their God. In eternity saints will enjoy a new intimacy with God which is impossible in a world where sin and death are still present. The new order will be without sorrow. God will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death with its mourning, and pain with its crying will vanish, for the old order of things will have passed away.
Some have wondered if grief and sorrow will exist for a while in heaven and then be done away with here at the establishing of the new order. It is better to understand this passage as saying that heaven will have none of the features that so characterize the present earth.
John F. Walvoord, “Revelation,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 985.
A – It is hard to fathom or understand what a world without sin or death would look like. It is even more difficult to imagine a day where interaction with God is so intimate and close he would actually wipe away a tear. We endure the present day knowing there is a better one to come. God will empower us with strength, faith and perseverance to be victorious today.
R – Heavenly Father, you are God who sits on His throne and longs to dwell with his people. We are grateful for the opportunity to know you through Christ and the Holy Spirit today. We look forward to the day where we will see you face to face.
Just Add Water . Chris Bonham 