BACKGROUND
After all the prophecies of judgment, how refreshing to come to songs of praise and trust! While the rest of the world is devastated and silent, the redeemed of the Lord will break out in jubilant songs of praise to their God!
Isaiah 24 speaks of God's judgment of sinful people. Isaiah 25 is a praise psalm worshiping the Lord for the deliverance of His people. Isaiah 25:6-8 is a prophecy that "all peoples," with Gentiles and Jews together, will feast together when Jesus, the Messiah, reigns over all the earth. Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 8:11 and Luke 13:28-29. This is a fulfillment of what we have been talking about since Genesis 12 when God promised Abraham that through him, all the nations (peoples) of the world would be blessed. It is the "bottom line" message of the whole Old Testament!
The "covering/veil" that is making the people blind will be lifted, and they will see the true God and Savior! In addition, death will be swallowed up forever and tears will be removed from all faces. This was quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:54 and John in Revelation 7:17 and 21:4. In summation, the people who have been living by faith will be blessed (25:9), but the people who opposed God, as symbolized by Moab, will be humiliated (25:10-12).
Isaiah 26 is a song of trust. Those who follow God's way of righteousness will be blessed with peace and new life, while those who trust in themselves will have the opposite.
REFLECTION
When reading the prophets, I often feel like I am drowning in a sea of judgment day after day, but Isaiah has these wonderful and refreshing chapters in the midst of them where we can "come up for air"! There is hope in this sea, especially for those who believe.
I hope you can have time to linger long in these two songs by reading and responding in prayer. It is a powerful thing to focus on one to two verses at a time, praise God, talk to Him about what you are reading, and move on to the next one or two verses. It makes for such a rich prayer time to pray Scripture. Most women I have discipled say this is their favorite thing that we did during our meeting times.
APPLICATION
I have already suggested one way of applying these chapters by reading and responding. Focus on things about God's character in which you might praise Him.
Another way is through memorizing a key verse or two. Isaiah 26:3 is one of those key verses that I memorized long ago and has given me great comfort over the years. It is part of the Topical Memory System (TMS). I memorized all the verses in the TMS while in my first discipleship Bible study in college. They have been part of the bedrock of my faith.
Scripture memory is a wonderful habit! The TMS is a good place to start because it teaches you how to memorize and apply it.
You do not have to buy it, but it is nice to have the verses printed on cards that you can carry with you during the day.
Here is a list of all the verses:
Here is a list with links to the verses and a "mini-sermon" by LeRoy Eims. (I had breakfast with him once. So, it is special to hear his voice.)
If this seems too daunting, just memorize this verse from today's reading:
The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace,
Because he trusts in You. (Isaiah 26:3)
Hide this verse in your heart and recall it when you are in the storms of life. You will not be sorry!
PRAY responsively through these chapters!
1 comment:
My best friend and I went over all the verse on the way back from a snowshoeing trip. We remembered most of them!
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