Week 2, Day 6
During particularly busy seasons of my life I’ll have to borrow from time to time from others to supplement these devotions. Today is one of those days. The “Think” section is from a devotion written by Marvin Williams in Our Daily Bread in December 2010.
READ: Isaiah 4-6
BACKGROUND:
4:2 – “Branch of the LORD” refers to the Messiah
5 – This imagery recalls God’s presence with Israel during their time in the desert.
5:7 – This verse is very poetic in Hebrew because the words justice & bloodshed are very similar and the words righteousness & distress are very similar as well.
8 – Land in Israel could never be permanently sold. No matter what happened, all land was reassigned to its original owners during the Year of Jubilee.
26 – The “banner” was used by armies to signify their camp – the place of safety and belonging that they could call home.
6:1-13 – One of my passages in the whole Bible. A vision of heaven. A true realization of the separation between the holiness of God and the sinfulness of all of us. A call from God upon the life of an imperfect man. A response from Isaiah of “Hineni!” – “Here I am!” This is a great chapter for all of us to read and take to heart!
THINK:
Leonard Ravenhill (1907–1994), a British evangelist, once said, “The greatest miracle God can do today is take an unholy man out of an unholy world, make that man holy, then put him back into that unholy world and keep him holy in it.” This seems to be what God did to Isaiah when He called him to speak to His people.
Around the time of the death of Uzziah, one of Judah’s more successful kings, Isaiah had a vision of God. The prophet saw Him as the true King of the universe, sitting on a lofty throne. In the vision, Isaiah saw seraphim worshiping God with a hymn that praised His holiness, majesty, and glory.
Isaiah’s vision of God led to a true vision of himself as unholy and broken before God. “Woe is me, for I am undone!” Isaiah said (6:5). This recognition of sin led him to a need for and the reception of God’s cleansing grace (v.7). Newly cleansed, Isaiah was commissioned to spread God’s message (v.9). The Lord sent Isaiah into an unholy world, not only to live a holy life but also to tell an unholy people about a holy God.
The Lord wants to show Himself to us, thus giving us a truer vision of ourselves, a deeper need for His grace, and a greater commitment to live and speak for Him. What a miracle!
Upon my life shed forth Thy grace, Till others seek Thy loving face; Oh, may no thing be seen in me To cause a soul to stray from Thee! —Roberts
ASK: Have I ever felt so unworthy and messed up that I didn’t believe God could use me? How does God want to use me to change my world today?
throughin2.com 
Pastor Mike,
I am a little behind in reading this devotional. But, I found it as a link on
Kelsey’s, facebook page. Today I was reading this one and Isaiah 5:24, when it says.” so their roots decay and their flowers blow away like dust…” Isn’t there a similar verse in Hebrews that says something about humans being like flowers…we bloom and then wither?
Looking forward to hearing from you soon!
Hi Taylor,
I’m so glad you’re following along, and I hope that this will be helpful in your walk with God. I’m not familiar with the reference in Hebrews (not that it isn’t there – I just don’t know it), but this imagery is used all throughout the Bible. Plants – especially grass – are often used to convey a sense of the temporary and fleeting nature of life.
1 Peter 1:24-25: “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
Psalm 103:15-16 “The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.”