2 Chronicles 29:3–31:21

Hezekiah is one of the seven last kings of Judah and one of only two good kings during that time period. He does what is right and the people respond, but it’s really about more than that.

2 Chronicles 30:12 (WEB) “Also the hand of God came on Judah to give them one heart, to do the commandment of the king and of the princes by Yahweh’s word.”

Sometimes we can feel smug about our spirituality and our faith. But is it really about us? Jesus took the initiative and died for us. The Spirit reveals the truth of God to us. The Spirit indwells us and gives us the desire to follow God. The Spirit helps us to understand the truth of the Word. In truth, our spirituality is more about God than about us! Can we rebel? Sure. Can we grieve the Spirit? Yes. Do we have a part of play in our growth. Absolutely! But we owe who we are and what we can be to God. God takes the initiative. God give us the means. God is the one who makes it all possible.

Ezekiel 37:3-6 (WEB) “And he said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ And I answered, ‘O Lord GOD, you know.’ Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.’ ”

2 Kings 16:19-20; 2 Chronicles 28:26-27; Isaiah 13:1–16:14

Some thoughts:

• God may use other nations to judge his people, but those nations will face judgment too!
• And even though his people are down now, they are not out. They will be restored (14:1-2)!
• Pride seems to be one of the worst characteristics of the nations. It’s also a horrible characteristic for us (Isaiah 2:17).
• Isaiah states that Assyria will fall to Babylon (14:25), Babylon will fall to the Medes (13:17), and Babylon will ultimately cease to exist (13:19-22).
• Babylon’s judgment is called “the day of the Lord,” and various eschatological signs are used to describe it (Isaiah 13:9-11). It’s because of passages like this that some people look at descriptions in Revelation and think that they are symbolic rather than literal.
• Philistia and Moab also face judgment, and their only refuge will be the city of Jerusalem (14:32). They cry out for help, and that help will come in the form of a king from David’s lineage who will again rule in Zion (16:1-5). Jesus is the Messiah for all!

Revelation 21:22-26 (WEB) “I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city has no need for the sun or moon to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk in its light. The kings of the earth bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. Its gates will in no way be shut by day (for there will be no night there), and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it so that they may enter.”

Isaiah 1:21–5:30

Isaiah is the most quoted prophet in the New Testament. In fact, the apostle John talks about how Isaiah foresaw the glory of the coming Messiah: “Isaiah said these things when he saw his glory, and spoke of him” (John 12:41, WEB).

Isaiah 4:2 is actually the first Messianic reference in the Book, because the “Branch” is a title for the Messiah in the Old Testament. Here is what the “Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary” has to say about the term:

“This messianic usage apparently originated with the prophet Isaiah (4:2; 11:1). It reappeared in the prophecies of Jeremiah, where it referred to a future king in the line of David, whose coming would bring judgment and righteousness (Jeremiah 23:5–6). After the Captivity, the term was a recognized title of the Messiah (Zechariah 3:8). By this time it had taken on priestly, as well as kingly, connotations. Both parts of this expectation are fulfilled by Christ, the Son of David, who is also our great High Priest.”

Did you notice the way the passage alternates between judgment and hope? That’s actually a very common device in the prophetic writings and elsewhere (check out Psalm 22 for example). And in Isaiah we have some incredibly hopeful passages that refer to the coming Messianic kingdom!

Isaiah 2:2 (WEB) “It shall happen in the latter days, that the mountain of Yahweh’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it.”

And, speaking of alternating between hope and judgment, the issues from Isaiah 5 are ongoing problems in our own society: unbelief, calling evil good and good evil, ungodly leadership, living for pleasure, and greed. Is it any wonder that judgment is coming against Judah? But here’s a sobering thought: could judgment be getting ready to fall on us?

Isaiah 28:1-29; 2 Kings 17:5; 2 Kings 18:9-12; 2 Kings 17:6-41; Isaiah 1:1-20

Why does God hate drunkenness so much? Because it lowers our inhibitions, makes us more likely to sin, and more likely to make poor decisions. It’s particularly reprehensible when a leader engages in it.

Proverbs 23:29-33 (WEB) “Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who stay long at the wine; those who go to seek out mixed wine. Don’t look at the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly. In the end, it bites like a snake, and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will imagine confusing things.”

Israel continually looks to other nations for strength rather than to God. There is a warning for us there! But the other issue is that the help they were getting was from ungodly nations. They also continue to practice idolatry, refuse to follow God’s law, and reject the prophets that God sends them. As a result, God is going to use Assyria to punish them! Assyria ends up resettling the land with foreigners, but they experience hardship and attribute it to wrong worship. The king of Assyria sends Jewish priests back to teach the inhabitants, but what ends up happening is an amalgamation of religious beliefs.

In the midst of the Northern kingdom’s judgment Isaiah warns that Judah is next! God doesn’t want their sacrifices without their hearts. And if their hearts are right they will do right things. God pleads with them to turn to Him to have their sins forgiven. He hasn’t changed much since then!

Acts 3:18-21 (WEB) “But the things which God announced by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send Christ Jesus, who was ordained for you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God spoke long ago by the mouth of his holy prophets.”

Hosea 9:1-14:9

Judgment.  Repentance.  Remnant.  Restoration.  Hope.  Over and over again.

Hosea 11 is a heartbreaking chapter. It reminds me of Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son in the NT. God is holy, and loving. Righteous, and forgiving. His perfect nature comes together on the cross. God’s righteousness is satisfied by Jesus’ obedience and death, and God can pour out His compassion on us because of Him!

Romans 3:21-26 (WEB) “But now apart from the law, a righteousness of God has been revealed, being testified by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all those who believe. For there is no distinction, for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God sent to be an atoning sacrifice through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness through the passing over of prior sins, in God’s forbearance; to demonstrate his righteousness at this present time, that he might himself be just and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus.”

Or, as I like to think of it, on the cross: “Mercy and truth meet together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” (Psalm 85:10, WEB)

Hosea 14:9 is a great conclusion for the book, and a wonderful everyday reminder for how to live: “Who is wise, that he may understand these things? Who is prudent, that he may know them? For the ways of Yahweh are right, and the righteous walk in them; But the rebellious stumble in them.”

And if we have transgressed, what do we do?

Hosea 14:1-2 (WEB) “Israel, return to Yahweh your God; for you have fallen because of your sin. Take words with you, and return to Yahweh.”

Hosea 2:14–8:14

Speaking of object lessons! Hosea has had a hard life, and it isn’t getting any easier. The buying back of his wife after she sold herself into slavery is a great lesson about God’s love for His people, but a miserable one to have to live out. They will eventually repent and return, but not until they have been punished for their sinfulness. And their transgressions are numerous:

Hosea 4:1-2 (WEB) “Indeed there is no truth, nor goodness, nor knowledge of God in the land. There is cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break boundaries, and bloodshed causes bloodshed.”

Hosea 4:11 (WEB) “Prostitution, wine, and new wine take away understanding.”

Hosea 5:3 “you have played the prostitute”

Hosea 5:5 (WEB) “The pride of Israel testifies to his face.”

The lesson for us? Neglecting God and His Word leads to ignorance, which leads to sin, which leads to judgement.

Hosea 4:6 (WEB) “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you.”

Hosea 8:7 (WEB) “For they sow the wind, and they will reap the whirlwind.”

Isaiah 12:1-6; Isaiah 17:1-14; 2 Chronicles 28:16-21; 2 Kings 16:10-18; 2 Chronicles 28:22-25; 2 Kings 18:1-8; 2 Chronicles 29:1-2; 2 Kings 15:30-31; 2 Kings 17:1-4; Hosea 1:1–2:13

Some thoughts:

• The song of praise in Isaiah 12:1-6 works great for believers!
• Isaiah 17 reminds us of one of the purposes of calamity: it encourages us to look to God (17:7-8).
• Unfortunately, some are like King Ahaz, and they don’t learn from calamity!
• Note that Judah is now effectively under the control of heathen nations. Not only that, but their king is taking inspiration from them! We need to be on guard that we don’t allow our own beliefs and practices to be infiltrated by worldly and pagan ideas.
• And just when you think all is lost, along comes Hezekiah! It’s easy to think that each generation will be worse than the last in debauchery and idolatry, but that’s not always the case. Even as we acknowledge that things will get worse and worse until Jesus returns, we should also realize that there may be bright spots and times of repentance and revival before then!
• In the last 20 years of the Northern Kingdom, 4 of the 6 kings were assassinated. Talk about political upheaval!
• But even worse was the spiritual upheaval represented by the life of the prophet Hosea. His wife’s harlotry represent the nation’s unfaithfulness to God, and his children’s names also represent Israel’s strained relationship with their Lord. And yet, there is hope! Punishment will come as a result of their idolatry, but it will not be forever. Those who were called “not my people” will again be called “my people,” and those who were called “not loved” will be called “the ones I love”!
• Thank God that we are now loved and are God’s people because of Jesus Christ!

Isaiah 8:1–11:16

Some thoughts:

• God often had the prophets use their lives as object lessons for His people. Here, God has Isaiah name his son “swift to plunder and quick to carry away,” because that is what is going to happen to Israel’s riches.
• God cares for His people (8:6), but they have rejected Him by continually turning to witches and idols for guidance. God cares for us too, but we often do the same, except our idols are often the secular forces in the world around us.
• God is going to judge His people for their sinfulness and disobedience, and He is going to use the nations to do it. The destruction will be devastating, because the fury of the “Lord of Heaven’s Armies” will be unleashed.
• The pride of Assyria will be their downfall. They will be used by God in His sovereignty, but they are not mighty or powerful on their own, and they will consumed.
• But there is hope! Not only is there a remnant left, but a light is coming in the darkness! Peace will reign! The Messiah is coming, and the Messiah is God (9:6)!
• Isaiah 11 shows us what the Messiah’s kingdom and rule will ultimately be like. We understand that all of this will happen when Jesus Christ returns and sets up His earthly kingdom (Revelation 22:1-5).
• Is the “Lord of Heaven’s Armies” holy in our lives (8:13)? Do we seek Him (9:13)?

2 Kings 15:32-38; 2 Chronicles 27:1-9; Micah 1:1-16; 2 Kings 16:1-9; 2 Chronicles 28:1-15; Isaiah 7:1-25

God is done. His patience is finished. Israel has never been faithful to Him, and Judah, although having times of purity, continually flirts with idolatry. Why don’t the godly kings try to get rid of the high places? Perhaps they try, but the people go back and rebuild them. Or perhaps the kings don’t fully recognize how offensive the high places are to God. So judgment is coming, and God will use Assyria as his vessel to perform that judgment. But first, Syria is used to judge Judah, and they kill and capture over 300,000 people. A prophet of God challenges them concern the treatment of their hostages, and, to their credit, they repent! However, Israel and Syria join forces to attack Judah again, and Ahaz, perhaps wary because of what had just happened, reaches out to Assyria for help. Isaiah challenges Ahaz, because he should have relied on the Lord instead. When Isaiah tells him to ask for a sign, Ahaz refuses, but God gives him a sign anyway. A particular young woman will conceive and will give birth to a child called “Immanuel.” Before that child knows the difference between right and wrong the kingdoms of Israel and Syria will be defeated, but ultimately Judah will be judged for their disobedience as well. The very kingdom they reached out to will become their doom.

There is much discussion about Isaiah 7:14 and what it means. I think that it is a dual-fulfillment prophecy. I believe that the way it’s worded indicates that it had a contemporary and real meaning for Ahaz. The Hebrew word almah can mean a young woman or a virgin, which also give us a hint to the prophecy’s dual nature. It refers to something specific for Ahaz, but it’s also a very real prophecy about what is yet to come. The sign points to the future and finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ!

Matthew 1:20-23 (WEB) “But when he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take to yourself Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She shall give birth to a son. You shall name him Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.’ Now all this has happened that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel,’ which is, being interpreted, ‘God with us.’ “

Amos 7:1–9:15; 2 Kings 14:28-29; 2 Kings 15:8-29, 6-7; 2 Chronicles 26:22-23; Isaiah 6:1-13

Twice God allowed Amos to intervene for the people, but then he showed Amos how sinful the people were. He showed a plumb line against a leaning wall, and used that as the illustration that the nation was beyond hope. They were about to fall over! How could they be excused anymore?

One group of people that Amos singles out are the merchants who cheat people. They do it out of greed. They can’t wait for worship to be over so that they can go back to making money! They may be the worst of the lot, or they may be indicative of a society that doesn’t care about the poor and needy anymore. God loves those who are taken advantage of, and we would do well to heed that reminder.

We may again have a famine of hearing the words of the Lord (8:11), but God’s people will always know what it right and follow Him. God always has a remnant (9:8), and there is a promise of restoration. There is always hope in judgment!

Revelation 19:1-8 (WEB) “After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory belong to our God; for his judgments are true and righteous. For he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and he has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.’ A second said, ‘Hallelujah! Her smoke goes up forever and ever.’ The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, ‘Amen! Hallelujah!’ A voice came from the throne, saying, ‘Give praise to our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, the small and the great!’ I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of mighty thunders, saying, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns! Let’s rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let’s give the glory to him. For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready’” It was given to her that she would array herself in bright, pure, fine linen, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”

Isaiah has a similar message, but his message is to Judah instead of to Israel. He may be a priest, because he receives his prophetic calling in the temple. God’s overwhelming attribute is revealed to him first: God is holy, holy, holy! This vision of God prompts him to volunteer for God’s service. He is to speak God’s truth to a primarily deaf people until God’s judgment comes, but there will be a remnant! There will be a holy seed left, like a single stump left over after the forest has been burned over.

Amos is a good example of a limited calling. God called him from his flock, gave him a message to deliver, and then presumably he went back to his sheep. He was not a professional (7:14)! God calls all of us to love, worship and obey him. He gives us gifts and talents to use. That is our lifetime calling! Other jobs or ministries can be seasonal, or temporary, instead of permanent. Have you been resisting doing something for God because you’re afraid of the commitment? Perhaps it’s something that he’s just calling you to do for a period of time, rather than forever. If you think of it like that, are you more willing to give it a try?