Insights from Isaiah: Part 6

Leave a Comment / Blog, Home Bulletin, My Blog / Christopher Peppler

We are coming to the end of the series, and the next article will be the last of the insights that I want to share. This and the final post contain God’s words of encouragement and hope and a good way to conclude the series.

Isaiah 40:1-5 “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’ ” NIV

This is a wonderfully well-known passage of scripture and a pointer to both the first and second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. It contains much richness, but I want to pass on just one insight.

The first part of the passage is an instruction to Isaiah to comfort and speak tenderly to God’s people. Yes, this was in relation to ancient Israel, but as with much prophecy, it also applies to us today. Our sin has been paid for in and through the Lord Jesus. We, all born-again believers, no longer stand under the judgment of God. Paul stated this boldly and decisively with, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” (Romans 8:1). For us, comfort and tenderness outweigh judgment.

To state the obvious, this does not mean that we can sin with impunity, but it does mean that when we die and stand before the Lord of Life, he will not reject us in judgment. I believe that we will have to give an account of everything we have done and said here on Earth. Paul wrote, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10) I understand from the New Testament that our eternal degree of functionality will be determined here at the Judgment Seat. However, our eternal life in the presence of God has already been settled at the cross of Calvary.

Given this wonderful truth, why do so many preachers spend so many sermon hours castigating and piously correcting their fellow Christians? Of course, there will be times when we need to be corrected and admonished, but even then, comfort and tenderness should motivate and season a preacher’s words and actions. The world is a hard place for so many children of God, and right now, we have so many things to worry about, avoid, and self-correct. We live in a world rushing towards self-destruction, and in countries that are competing with each other to reach the implosion first.

What we need, more than anything else at this time, are words of encouragement, hope, and loving correction.

Let me quote Paul one last time. In 1 Corinthians 14:3 he gives the purpose of prophecy, and I consider preaching to be a subset of prophecy because it should be God’s words to us. “Everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.” The TEV phrases this as, “The one who proclaims God’s message speaks to people and gives them help, encouragement, and comfort”. Therefore, a dominant aim of current preaching should be to convey the tenderness and kindness of God towards his children.

Isaiah 43:1-2 states, “But now, this is what the Lord says – he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” NIV

I won’t go into the historical context of this passage because I believe that the words hold as true for us today as they did for the ancient Israelites.

Fear not! Don’t fear the deep waters of life, or its raging rivers, or fiery experiences. Why not? Well, if the sentiment of so many Christians is any gauge, it must be because God has promised to save us from these things. No, he hasn’t! He has already saved us within those things – he has redeemed us and we are his – and he will save us as we live through the deep water, torrents, and fires of life. Just as many folks expect the Lord to ‘rapture’ them before ‘the tribulation’, they expect him to snatch them out of their current tribulations. This is not what the Lod promises.

There is nothing abnormal or unacceptable in asking God to cut our painful experiences short, but we have no right, either biblically or logically, to demand this as our rebirth right. Even Jesus in his humanity cried out to his Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42-43)

God’s promise to us is not that he will prevent us from experiencing hardships of all kinds, but that he will be with us as we experience hardships (John 16:33). One of the main ministries of God the Holy Spirit is to be with us at all times and to never leave us. As I grow older, and older, I realise that life becomes harder in so many ways. Yet I am comforted to know with certainty that the Holy Spirit is with me and will walk with me through whatever deep waters, raging rivers, and fiery experiences may lie in my future. And this should be the expectation of all believers.

Hebrews 13:5-6 “God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” NIV

Insights from Isaiah: Part 6 Read More »

Insights from Isaiah: Part 4

Leave a Comment / Blog, Home Bulletin, My Blog / Christopher Peppler

Hello again. This time, I want to share insights into just one passage, as it is a little longer and more complex than usual. However, I think it is important that we understand this passage of Isaiah because it says important things about the nature of God, yet the way it is commonly translated nowadays is confusing.

Isaiah 6:9-10 “Go! Say to these people: Keep listening, but do not understand; keep looking, but do not perceive. Dull the minds of these people; deafen their ears and blind their eyes; otherwise, they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their minds, turn back, and be healed”.

(From Holman Christian Standard Bible.)

When I first read it, this passage confused me. Isaiah had just said to God that he was available to be sent by him to the nation of Israel to speak as his prophet. God then commissioned him to tell the people that Yahweh would dull their minds so that they would not understand what God was saying to them. Why? Because he did not want them to turn to him and be healed?? Say what now?! This doesn’t sound much like the redemptive God I know. You know, the one the prophet Nehemiah interceded for because he knew that the Almighty was gracious and merciful? (Neh 9:31)

However, all I needed to do to clear my confusion was to see how Jesus understood the divine commission to Isaiah. When the Lord walked among the people of Israel, he used a lot of parables to teach them. On one occasion, when his disciples asked why he spoke to them in stories, Jesus answered: “The reason I use parables in talking to them is because they look, but do not see, and listen, but do not hear or understand. So the prophecy of Isaiah applies to them: “This people will listen and listen, but not understand; they will look and look, but not see, because their minds are dull and they have stopped up their ears and have closed their eyes. Otherwise, their eyes would see, their ears would hear, their minds would understand, and they would turn to me, says God, and I would heal them.” Jesus quoted the passage from Isaiah that puzzled me, but now, thanks to him, I could understand the meaning of what Isaiah recorded. The Prophet was not presenting God’s will for his people, but simply stating their recalcitrant condition.

Even his disciples did not understand the intended meaning of the parable. It is also clear that he was not saying that their lack of understanding was God’s will for them, because he immediately taught them what his parable meant. Because: “Now here is the explanation of the story I told about the farmer sowing grain …” (Matthew 13:18).

Later, as recorded by John (16:29) the disciples confirmed that his parables usually left them scratching their heads because they exclaimed “At last you are speaking plainly and not in parables.”

There are untold numbers of professing Christians today who also do not understand the Isaiah passage, and the reasons for this provide two important lessons for all of us. Here they are:

They lack understanding of the Triune God’s nature and character. If we read Isaiah 6:9-10 as it is translated in the NIV, HCSB, and ESV, which are three of the most widely read versions of the bible, without raising immediate objections, it reveals our concept of the Almighty. If God is good all the time, perfect love and light, then would he really say what these translations say? The option that God had judged his people and was now imposing punishment is just not tenable. In fact, that same prophet, Isaiah, spent the last seventeen chapters of his writings setting out the most wonderful promises of a future hope, God’s love and comfort.

So, foundational to sound biblical interpretation is the truth that the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100:5) God is GOOD and JUST all the time.

The second lesson for us is that failure to grasp that Jesus is central in everything, even biblical interpretation. In the current case, Jesus quoted the exact passage, and so it’s easy to see how he understood the Isaiah passage. Sure, we could argue that Jesus was quoting from the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint), but that doesn’t make any difference. In Matthew, Jesus frames his response to the disciples in the context of the people of Isaiah’s day not having revelation, whereas they, the disciples, did have revelation. This revelation is, of course, in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Even when we cannot match a passage of scripture to something Jesus addressed directly, we can always deduce it from what he said, did, and revealed about the nature and character of the Godhead. You see, all who are born again of the Spirit of God have been given access to the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven through the written Word of God (the bible) and the living Word of God (Jesus Christ). “As for you, how fortunate you are! Your eyes see and your ears hear. I assure you that many prophets and many of God’s people wanted very much to see what you see, but they could not, and to hear what you hear, but they did not.” Matthew 13:16-17 TEV

Therefore, God is good and Jesus is central; these two foundational facts must inform our understanding of the scriptures.

Insights from Isaiah: Part 4 Read More »

Insights from Isaiah: Part 3

1 Comment / Blog, Home Bulletin, My Blog / Christopher Peppler

First Insight

Isaiah 1:18-20: “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 as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken NIV

This is a well-known text, but I want to highlight something you may not have considered. The statement comes just after a divine castigation of Israel. God tells his people that he is sick of their insincere offerings; “Stop bringing me meaningless offerings!.” He tells them that he cannot bear their evil assemblies and that their festivals have become a burden to him. He even tells them that when they pray he will not listen to them. He concludes by making it very clear what he expects them to do: “Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.”

The Lord then says something that no co-called deity of the ancient world would have said: “Come let us reason together.” He tells them that he is prepared to make their ‘bloody’ sins as white as snow… IF. And this is what I would like to point to in this passage: IF they are willing and obedient, he will reward them abundantly, but IF they resist and rebel, then they will be ravaged by war. God was allowing them to decide for themselves, to choose his way by exercising their wills.

Since the days of John Calvin, there has been much debate in the church as to whether we have meaningful discretion or whether everything we think and do is divinely predetermined. Yet, right here in the Old Testament is a clear divine call for people to decide for themselves. God himself placed a choice before them and called on them to decide which of the two options they would choose. Of course, we also all know that right at the very dawn of human existence, our creator God placed a free-will choice before Adam in the form of the fruit of a special tree. (Genesis 2:16-17)… And we know how that played out!

Did this all suddenly change when the Lord Jesus incarnated and introduced a New Covenant? Clearly not! Jesus lamented over Jerusalem, “O Jerusalem , Jerusalem , you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” (Matthew 23:37) He gave the rich young ruler the choice to follow him (Matthew 19:16–22), he gave the woman caught in adultery a choice (John 8:1–11), and he gave the paralysed man at Bethesda a choice (John 5:1–9). Jesus addressed the Jewish leaders with, “These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5:39-40).

Moreover, he didn’t change his mind at the time of the Protestant Reformation when Calvinist pre-determinism became popular?! No amount of clever verse-picking and philosophical argument even comes close to proving that Paul’s teaching overwrote the Lord’s and reversed an eternal key principle.

So then, for me, a key takeaway from this passage is that almighty and all-powerful God is prepared to reason with his people and give us enough decision-making capacity to decide whether or not to heed him and obey. However, there are consequences to the decisions we make, especially if they are wilfully disobedient.

Second Insight

Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” HCSB

I think the best way to understand the prophet’s use of the word ‘woe’ is as a solemn and heart-breaking warning of impending disaster and even divine judgment. Jesus addressed the Scribes and Pharisees of his day many times with this word. They were doing what the prophet Isaiah warned of; they were calling evil, good and what was good, evil.

In our times, we have religious leaders and preachers who also do this, and so woe to them. We also have politicians who do this on a grand scale. Woe awaits them as surely as night follows day. However, when I read the prophet’s warning to the people of his day, my mind extends beyond the purveyors of lies, misinformation, and ‘darkness’, to those who aid and abet them … and that could be us!

Is it possible that sometimes we pass on their lies and confusion? If we do, then I am sure it is not out of a desire to harm or spread evil, but rather through our woeful lack of fact-checking and critical thinking. A story pops onto our newsfeed, or a friend forwards something on WhatsApp or Facebook, and we just share it without much, if any, thought. We fail to think about the content of the communication, even at a common-sense level, and we seldom, if ever, make a serious attempt to check its source and fact claims. In failing to do this, we are aiding and abetting those who call evil good and good evil. It is not a pleasant thought, but one worth considering seriously. If you would like something to help you think through this modern-day woe, then click on https://truthistheword.com/how-to-evaluate-truth-claims/ or https://truthistheword.com/how-to-fight-fake-news/

Third Insight

Isaiah 2:22 “Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?”

The phrasing here is almost poetical, but the New Living Translation makes the meaning very clear with “Stop putting your trust in mere humans. They are as frail as breath. How can they be of help to anyone?”

We all put trust in people and their work countless times a day. We accept a lift from a friend and tacitly put our full trust in them not to cause us injury or even death. Then there are the people who manufactured our friend’s car … and the mechanic who last serviced the brakes!

However, I don’t think this is the class of trust to which Isaiah refers. The context here is God versus human beings as our primary source of trust.

The question is, do we trust primarily in God or something or someone else? In Old Testament times, pagan people trusted their imaginary regional gods like Moloch, Baal and so on. In many third-world countries, many people trust in their departed ancestors for blessings and benefits. In more Western-oriented cultures, the choice is between God and science, technology, wealth and power. So perhaps for most people reading this post, a paraphrase of what Isaiah wrote could be “Stop trusting in man-made philosophies and human products, which are all as frail as breath. How can they be of help to you?”

The question that occurs to me, though, is, in what ways do I evidence my trust in God rather than myself or others? I can think of many, but here is just one. When confronted with a choice between biblical truth and the opinion of others, which do I choose? Sometimes the teachings of scripture are clear, but often the bible just presents us with principles. “Do not steal” is a command and not just a suggestion (Romans 13:9). However, what about biblical principles such as Proverbs 11:1: “Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, but an accurate weight is his delight.”? So, overcharging someone because you think they won’t notice is not the same as pickpocketing? Think again. We are all faced with life situations that are not regulated against in scripture, but are covered by biblical principles. To violate a principle is surely akin to disobeying a command. When we are guilty of either, are we not, in effect, failing to trust God and his ways? On the positive side, when we obey a biblical injunction or comply with a scriptural principle, we are displaying our trust in God.

Insights from Isaiah: Part 3 Read More »