Beulah Land
Isaiah 62: You’ll be called Hephzibah and your land Beulah.
The best known song of singer and songwriter Squire Parsons is “Beulah Land.” That song is inspired by this passage, in fact those words are found nowhere else in the Bible. Isaiah is describing God’s love for the people he created, picturing it as being like the love a groom has for his bride. Things haven’t gone well for Israel up to this point. Their sin separated them from God and brought destruction to their land. As a people they’ve earned the nickname “Rejected” and their land can be rightly called “Ruined.” Because of God’s love and forgiveness everything’s going to change. The “Rejected” people will be restored and the “Ruined” land will be brought back under the protection of the Lord. The new name for God’s people will be “Hephzibah” or “My Delight” and the land will be called “Beulah” or “Married” meaning that the land will reflect its unique connection to the Lord. Squire Parsons took the idea of a land uniquely the Lord’s to refer to heaven and his song is that of God’s people who long to go to that place that’s God’s very own.
Take Away: The love and forgiveness of the Lord for us changes everything about us.
Author: GR 'Scott' Cundiff
Devotional on Isaiah
Praise list
Isaiah 63: I’ll make a list of God’s gracious dealings.
The old gospel song says, “Count your blessings – name them one by one; and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” I don’t know that hymn writer Johnson Oatman was inspired by this passage but it certainly fits. Isaiah says he’s going to make a list of the things “God has done that need praising” and then work his way through that list. Like many Christians I have a prayer list that’s filled with concerns and needs. I think it’s a good idea; after all, there are many genuine needs and the Lord welcomes us to share our heart’s concerns. However, I need to balance that out by having, in addition to a prayer list, a “praise list” as well. Otherwise, I’m in danger of behaving like the nine lepers who are healed by Jesus. They rush on into their new lives without a backward glance while only one returns to say “thanks” to our Lord. I need to purposely make the effort to spend time each day rejoicing in all the Lord has done for me.
Take Away: Our “need filled” prayers should be balanced by strong component of “praise filled” prayers.
Devotional on Isaiah
Looking back and looking forward
Isaiah 64: Oh, that you would rip open the heavens and descend.
Isaiah longs for God to move and bring salvation to his people. He envisions the sky splitting apart as the Lord comes in dramatic, powerful fashion bringing hope to their hopelessness and healing to their brokenness. Hundreds of years later when that coming takes place its earthshaking indeed. The Gospels tell us of that powerful event, especially at the crucifixion and the resurrection of our Lord. However, this passage causes me to look forward as much as it causes me to look back to the first Easter. Even as Isaiah anticipates the coming salvation of the Lord, I anticipate his Second Coming. What an event it will be as Jesus splits the eastern sky and causes the mountains to tremble. “What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see.”
Take Away: Never doubt it – Jesus is coming back.
Devotional on Isaiah
Surprise, surprise, surprise!
Isaiah 64: Since before time began no one has ever imagined…a God like you.
I know there’s much (and that’s too mild a word) about God that’s beyond my imagination. However, it isn’t the vastness of God that’s on Isaiah’s mind here. Isaiah’s talking about what he does know. The Almighty has revealed his intentions concerning his broken people and their enemies. Isaiah isn’t saying “no one knows what God’s going to do.” Instead, he’s saying “here’s what God’s about to do and it’s something no one has ever before imagined.” The Lord is about to move in their lives bringing restoration to them. Everything’s going to change as the Lord works in a never-seen-before way on their behalf. His plans aren’t a secret; they’re being announced ahead of time. This verse reminds me of the passage from the New Testament that’s based on Isaiah’s words here. In 1 Corinthians 2:9 Paul says: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” A lot of folks stop right there, thinking Paul’s talking about the future and unknowable plans of God. However, they need to go right on reading. Paul continues with: “but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.” Paul’s saying the very same thing as Isaiah. No one could ever guess ahead of time how God is going to redeem his people, and now that we know it we stand amazed. From our point of view, who could ever imagine that a baby born in a barn can save the world? But God, through his angelic messenger right up front announces that that’s exactly what’s going to happen.
Take Away: The Lord’s wonderful plan of salvation is both known by us and amazing to us.
Devotional on Isaiah
Greater grace
Isaiah 64: We’re all sin-infected, sin-contaminated.
My hope isn’t that God will look beyond all my failures and decide I’m still basically a good person. I’m not the victim of circumstances and my problem isn’t that I’ve been mistaken about a few things. Isaiah’s words point to the core problem: I’m a sinner. Beyond that, I’m not just a sinner by action; rather I’m a sinner by nature. I’m not a traveler who somehow wandered onto the wrong road; I’m a rebel who rejected God’s way because I preferred mine instead. Even when I try to do my best I’m a failure at it. The picture Isaiah paints is of a human race that’s rebellious, stained, and lost. Any possible hope must come from the outside. That’s where God comes in. This God specializes in mercy and hope. He doesn’t patch up my messed up life; instead he makes it brand new. Isaiah does a frightfully good job of describing my perilous condition, but he doesn’t leave me there. As great as my sin is, Isaiah reminds me of the greater grace of the Lord.
Take Away: The Lord specializes in mercy and hope.
Devotional on Isaiah
Better pay attention
Isaiah 65: I reached out day after day to a people who turned their backs on me.
Sometimes I think we read passages about the merciful patience of God and conclude that we can get away with about anything; that in the end, God will still be there, willing to forgive and forget our sins. Isaiah’s picture of the Lord isn’t quite as comforting. Things start off that way though. God says, “I’m available, ready to be found and reaching out day after day to even those who turn their backs and walk away.” Know what? We’d better keep reading. In that same message the Lord says he’s sick of them and their home made religion. Even while God has been waiting he’s been watching and as he watches he takes note of all the rebellion that’s going on. It may be that the most important words in this message aren’t that God has continued to reach out to them even in their sin. Rather, the words that arrest our attention ought to be, “I’m not putting up with this any longer.” It’s one thing for a person to have honest doubts and even honest misconceptions about the Lord and how he works in this world. It is something else to take the patience of mercy of God for granted.
Take Away: Don’t take for granted the mercy and patience of the Lord.
Devotional on Isaiah
Speaking the truth in humility
Isaiah 65: There are still plenty of good apples left.
Even as Isaiah reports that the Lord’s running out of patience with the stubborn resistance of many, he reminds us that God’s very aware of those who live obedient, faithful lives. The nation of Israel is about to go through a culling. Many will face the wrath of God but others will be preserved by his grace. Frankly, from the devotional side of things I’m not sure what to do with passages like this. Am I to be somewhat frightened and spend a few moments doing a personal spiritual inventory? Am I to take on Isaiah’s role and start warning those “sinners” that the clock on God’s mercy is running out? I guess the answer is somewhere in the middle. I never arrive at the place where I’m above consideration of my own spiritual condition. Just a quick of reading the gospels reminds me that it’s spiritual pride that’s the downfall of the religious people of Jesus’ day. On the other hand, if I’m going to be effective in both warning and inviting the “outsiders” to come to the Lord I must do so in a sense of humility. Otherwise, I’ll drive them away from both myself and their Savior.
Take Away: Always deal with lost people with a strong sense of personal humility.
Devotional on Isaiah
God doing something new
Isaiah 65: I’m creating new heavens and a new earth.
This is an interesting passage. Later on, the Revelator will remember these words when the Lord describes to him what’s coming at the end of time. In fact, some think that Isaiah is having a vision of the same thing John sees in Revelation. However, left in context Isaiah’s describing the end of the exile of his people; the return to their beloved Jerusalem. The language is that of poetry: God’s doing something new and is, therefore changing everything. Life’s going to be much better than it has been. Wonderful blessings are in store. I think this is another dual prophecy. Isaiah’s speaking to current events, describing things in a big way but unaware that his words will literally come true in his (and our) distant future. If I leave things there, I still find the transformational language of Isaiah quite interesting. The Lord is bringing salvation to his people and as a result, everything’s going to change for the better. However, at an entirely different level than Isaiah speaking to his contemporaries or John writing about the New Jerusalem I find myself thinking of the change Christ makes when he bring salvation to an individual’s life. When I’m forgiven of my sins and become a child of God “all things become new.” If Isaiah’s view of the restoration of Israel brings to mind visions of “new heavens and a new earth” I don’t think that it’s off base to find a parallel to the radical transformation being “born again” brings to each life.
Take Away: The Lord doesn’t just forgive us our sins – he also goes to work in us, transforming our lives, remaking us in wonderful ways.
Devotional on Isaiah
Sometimes God answers before I even ask
Isaiah 65: Before they call out, I’ll answer.
This passage is written in future tense. The day being described is certainly coming but it hasn’t arrived yet. Isaiah probably sees it as a time in their near future when Israel’s restored and lives under the direct blessing of God. Today, I read it as the promise of a blessed future when under the rule of the Messiah the peace promised at his First Coming is made real in the world. One of the promised blessings is that God will answer our prayers before we can even voice them. I’m reminded that I already have at least a taste of that. There are times when I realize God has been at work in some concern of my life before I ever realized it was there. What would have been a cry for God’s help becomes, instead, a word of praise for what the Lord did for me when I was ignorant of the need. Since I’ve experienced things like this, I have just a faint vision of what it will be like in that blessed future. Obviously, in that day I’ll spend a lot more time thanking and praising God and a lot less time earnestly asking for his help. Since that kind of praying will be the norm, maybe I had better start practicing the praising part a bit more right now.
Take Away: Thank the Lord for answering our prayers – even before we’ve known enough to pray them!
Devotional on Isaiah
A given life
Isaiah 66: But there is something I’m looking for: a person simple and plain, reverently responsive to what I say.
I don’t know much about the wise men in the Christmas story, but I do know that they come to Jesus. The gifts they bring are, I understand, expensive ones. Beyond those material things, though, the important thing is that they bring themselves. In this passage Isaiah reminds me that God made it all and he owns it all. He’s not depending on me to bring him gold, frankincense, and myrrh or anything else for that matter. He is, though, counting on me to bring him my reverent obedience. I believe a person ought to practice their faith in Christ in practical ways, including being a good steward of all that has been placed in his or her hands. However, the offering I give is simply an outflow of a given life. That’s a gift that’s guaranteed to please the Lord.
Take Away: Our offerings are an outflow of our given lives.
Devotional on Isaiah
Old Testament worship wars
Isaiah 66: You choose self-serving worship, you delight in self-centered worship — disgusting!
And all this time I thought that the “worship wars” started in my generation with battles between “traditionalists” and “contemporaries.” In Isaiah’s case the Lord is weary of all the “I like it this way” approaches to worship. He says that when I insist on worshiping “my way” that, no matter “what way” might be, it isn’t “his way.” The Lord tells them that they can do worship in technically correct ways but because of their attitude, it’ll be seen as an act of sin rather than an act of worship. What does the Lord think of my approach to worship? As a pastor am I so wrapped up in keeping the program on track that I fail to give myself over to the act of worship? It’s likely that only a pastor or worship leader will understand this, but I find myself in services wondering why the sound person doesn’t adjust the volume down a bit or if the head usher is aware that one of the regular ushers is out of town or if anyone has greeted the guests who’ve just slipped into the back row. While I’m worrying about such things, the “worship” service is proceeding without me. If I’m giving more energy to organizing and running the service according to my standards, whatever standard that might be, than I am in surrendering myself to worship, then my worship experience is self-centered rather than God-centered. Isaiah reminds me today that that isn’t a good thing!
Take Away: When I insist on worshiping “my way” that, no matter “what way” might be, it isn’t “his way.”
Devotional on Isaiah
Everyone a missionary
Isaiah 66: I’ll send them out as missionaries to preach my glory among the nations.
The final section of Isaiah’s prophecy has to do with restoration. The Lord’s going to gather his people from the exile and restore them to their beloved homeland. Then, he’ll send them out again. This time, though, it won’t be as slaves being relocated by a conquering king. Instead, it’ll be as missionaries spreading throughout the world proclaiming God’s goodness. Isaiah pictures them returning with those who’ve responded to the message, presenting these newly found followers of the Lord to the Lord as an offering gladly received by God. In this I see the heart of God. His desire is that all his Creation be gathered in love; that we experience unity with one another and with him. Jesus says the same thing when he talks about us being “one.” As a believer I’m called to participate in that missionary task; to understand the culture of my society and to go out and engage it for the cause of Christ. The day will come when, as it is in Isaiah’s prophecy, I’ll stand before God. I don’t want to do so empty handed.
Take Away: The Lord uses his people to reach out to all peoples; engaging them, inviting them, and then bringing them to himself.
Devotional on Jeremiah
Taking too much for granted
Jeremiah 1: The Message of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah…this is what the Lord said.
Jeremiah lives in a time of international upheaval that rivals anything we see in history. His nation is caught in the middle of it all. They’re small players caught between giants and have only one hope of survival: the supernatural. Only God can save them from the disaster that’s marching relentlessly through history toward them. The problem is that his people take God for granted. After all, God gave their forefathers that land saying it was theirs forever. They’ve concluded that they don’t have to do anything to remain under the protection of God. In fact, they don’t even have to live God’s way. Jeremiah is given the task of telling them that they have it all wrong and that God can never be taken for granted. This message isn’t preached just once, but repeatedly and in various forms. Sadly, we know that his message is rejected and Jerusalem falls in 587 B.C. Since I live in days of unrest and amazing change, and since my nation seems to take a lot for granted, I’m going to read Jeremiah as not only a historical figure, but as a man who just might have something to say to my society too.
Take Away: The Lord must never be taken for granted.
Devotional on Jeremiah
God’s call
Jeremiah 1: Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you.
It would be easy for me to make this into a pro-life passage. In fact, I am tempted to do just that. However, I find myself thinking more about God’s call on lives. How does God pick people to speak on his behalf? What criteria does he use? Apparently, at least sometimes, he picks people to represent him who have no credentials at all! In this case Jeremiah looks back on his call to be a prophet and remembers that it was God who picked him, not he who picked God. Before he had any “credentials,” in fact, before he could make any decisions at all, God laid his hand on him, calling him to be his servant. Clearly, the Almighty has his own agenda and makes decisions based on things totally beyond us. Now, I have to add that that doesn’t mean that Jeremiah had no say in the matter. God’s call came: that was God’s role alone. Jeremiah had to cooperate: that was his role. In theory at least, Jeremiah could have refused God and walked away and another person’s ministry would appear in place of this book of the Bible. Since God called and Jeremiah (howbeit reluctantly) said “yes” we have his story here. I’m reminded today that when God calls we can’t always understand why. We just have to “trust and obey.”
Take Away: The Lord doesn’t call us to understand everything but he does call us to obey all we understand him to call us to.
Devotional on Jeremiah
Speaking God’s Word
Jeremiah 1: I’ve just put my words in your mouth.
Jeremiah isn’t being falsely humble when he hesitates to accept the role of prophet. Frankly, he doesn’t think he’s up to it. After all, what will he say? He feels inadequate for the task. The Lord understands. In fact, the Lord probably agrees that Jeremiah’s an unlikely prophet. However, the Lord isn’t necessarily looking for the most capable person anyway. For reasons known only to him, the Lord chose an unlikely person for a very important job. To encourage Jeremiah, the Lord puts words in his mouth, a demonstration of how it will work. Today, I very much identify with Jeremiah. As a young person I felt God’s call on my life. Growing up in a small, wonderfully supportive church I marched forward with the confidence of youth. It was during my first year in college that I realized I’m, at best, a very average person. One day, as I faced my inadequacies the Lord took mercy on me as he did for Jeremiah in this passage. As I read Matthew 10 these words became a personal promise to me: “Do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” It seemed to me that the Lord said to me, “If I could give words to the disciples even when they were being abused, I can help you as a preacher to say things I want you to say.” That day was a “Jeremiah 1” day for me. It wasn’t that I now understood all there was to know, but I grasped this promise of God to me. If he called me to the ministry, he would help me do ministry. Over 40 years later, I can report that the Lord has been faithful to keep that promise.
Take Away: If the Lord calls you to it he will help you do it.
Devotional on Jeremiah
Walking with God against the flow
Jeremiah 1: You’re a one-man defense system against this culture.
Several times in my journeys I’ve had the misfortune of driving along the highway, minding my own business, and coming up on fresh skunk road kill. The stench lingers in the car even after the site of the demise of the skunk is behind me. In commissioning Jeremiah to his life’s work, the Lord says that the culture of his nation stinks. God’s sick of it and is going to bring in enemies of theirs from the north to do a thorough cleaning. Jeremiah’s job is to prepare the way for that event by mounting an offense against that rotten culture. From the beginning it’s made clear to him that he’ll operate counter to the prevailing culture of that day. He’s going to be the focal point of some big explosions and his only hope of surviving them is that God’s going to make him rough and tough, as “solid as a concrete wall.” Jeremiah’s ministry is to be one of confrontation. Frankly, I doubt that the culture of my nation is any better than was that of Jeremiah’s. If God was sick of the stench of that culture then he must be pretty tired of that of our day too. Who knows? Right now God might be rising up a new Jeremiah. Whether or not that’s so, I do understand this: we believers have to do more than just go with the flow and feel pleased that we’re keeping our heads above water. We need to take a stand for righteousness in our homes and in other places where we have influence. Can God count on me to be a “one-man defense system” at least in those areas?
Take Away: Sometimes Christians have to take a stand for righteousness, even if that stand isn’t well accepted.
Devotional on Jeremiah
Have it your way
Jeremiah 2: When things go badly, they don’t hesitate to come running.
Jeremiah’s charge against his people is that they’re addicted to pagan gods and that they run this way and that way in search of something that will satisfy them. They ignore God until things go wrong, then they don’t hesitate to run to him for help. The Lord says, “You’ve plenty of gods, let them take care of you; let them save you from the bad times.” I’ve seen it. I’ve known people who know God’s purpose for them but don’t want any part of it. When the wheels come off, they “get religion” and want God to rescue them. I know the Lord is gracious and forgiving and long suffering. As one of his people I want those qualities to be evident in my life. At the same time, there’s a fair word of warning in this. At some point, the Lord yields to our decisions and allows us to have it our way. We shouldn’t presume on the grace of God.
Take Away: Thank the Lord for his grace – at the same time don’t be so foolish as to see just how far you can push the Almighty.
Devotional on Jeremiah
Insulting God
Jeremiah 2: But my people forget me. Day after day after day they never give me a thought.
Jeremiah says people think about the things that are important to them. Women don’t forget that they own beautiful jewelry. Guys don’t forget that the NFL playoffs are on. Political junkies don’t overlook the New Hampshire primaries. Jeremiah says that God’s charge against his people is that they’ve forgotten him. They live their days without giving God much thought, taking him for granted while focusing on things that really do matter to them. It isn’t so much that they’ve made a decision that God doesn’t matter. They’ve just concentrated on other things and neglected the spiritual. Now, they can go for days without giving the Lord any thought at all. I imagine that all that can change in an instant. When trouble comes they can get all “spiritual” in a hurry. God doesn’t like being treated that way. He created us to live in constant fellowship with himself. Apparently, he takes it personally when I can spend a day immersed in other things without giving him a thought. With that in mind, I must discipline my mind to keep God on my mind. Lord, let it never be said of me that I can wander through my day without giving you a thought.
Take Away: I must discipline my mind to keep the Lord on my mind.
Devotional on Jeremiah
God’s telling the truth to lost people
Jeremiah 3: I’m committed in love to you.
The sins of Judah and Israel are described in graphic terms. Their idol worship has a sexual component and the Lord uses that imagery to speak of their betrayal of him in terms of adultery. He’s loved them and been faithful to them but they’ve betrayed that love and degraded themselves in the most lewd ways. If this were a husband and wife relationship no one would question the husband’s right to kick her out. It isn’t that way though. In spite of their unfaithfulness God calls out to them saying he’s committed to love them and that all they have to do is admit their sin and return to him. The imagery changes to that of a parent speaking to a rebellious child as the Lord says, “Come back wandering children.” Before Jesus ever tells the story of the prodigal son Jeremiah pictures for us a loving God reaching out to those who’ve rejected him, wounding his heart. On one hand, it’s foolish to presume upon the mercy of God, thinking, “When I’m good and ready I’ll return to him.” On the other hand, it’s an insult to him to say, “I’ve sinned in such a terrible way that he won’t take me back.” God says he’s “committed in love to” us. He promises that if I repent and return he’ll welcome me back. To doubt that is to think that God doesn’t tell the truth.
Take Away: God is the God of Second Chances.
Devotional on Jeremiah
The weeping prophet
Jeremiah 4: My insides are tearing me up.
If Jeremiah was a modern film maker this portion of his writings would be rated “R” for violence. In one disturbing scene after another he describes the utter destruction that’s coming. Adam Clarke says this is “imagery scarcely paralleled in the whole Bible.” Jeremiah’s not untouched by his own prophecy. We don’t know exactly how this word of the Lord came to him, but if it was in a dream, it was a nightmare and if it was a vision it was a very disturbing vision indeed. He reports “I’m doubled up with cramps in my belly — a poker burns in my gut.” I can’t say that Jeremiah is my favorite Hebrew prophet to read, but his humanity does draw me in. Jeremiah didn’t want to be God’s spokesman in the first place. However, he accepts the Lord’s appointment and his journey begins. When he sees the coming destruction he isn’t a disconnected reporter. Instead, he’s part of the story. As wave after wave of visions of destruction wash over him he’s sick to his stomach. He says to the Lord, “How long do I have to look at the warning flares, listen to the siren of danger?” All he wants is out of this. As a “proclaimer” of God’s Word in my generation I need some of his spirit. Otherwise, I (and other Christians) sound hard and hateful and am easily rejected by the very people who must hear the message. If I can interact with lost people without being moved by their plight something’s wrong with me and I need a spiritual transfusion from this “weeping prophet.”
Take Away: Judgment, when it must be preached, must be preached with tears in our eyes.