Judgment Driven By Righteousness - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 11:1-5,

"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
    with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
    with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his belt
    and faithfulness the sash around his waist."

Jesse was the father of King David. It was from the lineage of David that the messianic king would come, Jesus Christ. Both genealogies of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:6 and Luke 3:31-32 point to Jesse and David as Jesus Christ's forebears. David had been promised by the Lord that a king would sit on his throne from his lineage for perpetuity.

This passage in Isaiah is a prophecy about the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Paul, in Romans 15:12 quotes it in pointing out that Jesus Christ is Messiah for both Jews and Gentiles.

In Isaiah's prophecy the "shoot" from the  stump of Jesse is a reference to Jesus Christ. In a moving and inspiring description of him, Isaiah points to three couplets of perfections, each following "the Spirit''.
Jesus Christ has the Spirit of wisdom and understanding.
Jesus Christ has the Spirit of counsel and might.
Jesus Christ has the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord.

What captures my attention this morning in verses 3-4 is that his judgment will not be guided by what he sees or what he hears, but by righteousness. Geoffrey W. Grogan says, in the Expositor's Bible Commentary, that "Verse 3b does not mean that right judgment ignores evidence available to the senses but rather that it requires inner qualities of character." My perspective is that perfect judgment requires much more than what is seen and heard, but that judgments brought by perceptions are perfected by a righteous evaluation of what it is we see and hear. Jesus Christ is perfect in righteousness, therefore his judgments are perfect.

Perhaps there is a clue here for me. Rather than simply relying on what I see and hear, I need to be aware that wisdom, as perfected in righteousness, is required for good judgment. Perhaps that is why we see so many differing opinions floating around so much these days.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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The Lord Uses The Wicked For His Purposes - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 10:5-7,

"Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger,
    in whose hand is the club of my wrath!
I send him against a godless nation,
    I dispatch him against a people who anger me,
to seize loot and snatch plunder,
    and to trample them down like mud in the streets.
But this is not what he [the king of Assyria] intends,
    this is not what he has in mind;
his purpose is to destroy,
    to put an end to many nations."

Through Isaiah, the Lord declares he is going to punish the Assyrians after they have been used by him to bring his judgment against his people Israel.

Some may find it inscrutable that the Lord would punish the punishers he uses. Here the Lord points out that the Assyrians are those "in whose hand is the club of my wrath!" They will be sent against Israel, "a godless nation, I dispatch him [the king of Assyria] against a people [Israel] who anger me, to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets."

However, the Lord declares, "Woe to the Assyrian". In verse 12 we read, "When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, 'I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes.'"

As I say, some find it inscrutable the Lord would punish those who he has used to judge others. However, we find this consistent with how the Lord portrays himself in Scripture. "The Lord works out everything to its proper end— even the wicked for a day of disaster." Proverbs 16:4. On this verse in Proverbs, Trempter Longman III makes the observation in the Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms, the Proverbs volume, "God is in control of the wicked acts of human beings and uses their evil for good."

Just consider God's use of the Jewish leaders, Judas Iscariot and Pontius Pilate to effect the greatest act in all of human history to bring about the redemption of mankind, the sacrifice of our Lord, Jesus Christ!.

Can you think of other examples of the Lord using wicked people for his purposes?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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The Light! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 9:1-2,

"Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned."

Who is it walking in darkness and what is this great light?

Mankind lives in darkness. Estranged from God, cut off from his presence and cursed with a sinful nature, all mankind walks in darkness. People who remain in this darkness are all who have not embraced Jesus Christ in faith. "But anyone who hates a brother or sister (someone who is not saved) is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them." 1 John 2:11. Before Jesus Christ came to planet Earth, the darkness reigned.

The "great light" is Jesus Christ himself! He says, "I [Jesus] am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12.

When Jesus Christ came two millennia ago, it was to fulfill this passage in Isaiah 9:1-2. We find it quoted in Matthew 4:15-16. How wonderful that God chose to send his Son into the darkness of this lost and fallen world to bring light and life!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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The "Stumbling Stone" - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 8:13-14,

"The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread. He will be a holy place; for both Israel and Judah he will be a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare."

Here is the Lord's direction to Isaiah, warning him against following the way of the people of Israel and Judah.

In the midst of looming war, he reminds Isaiah that he alone is the one to fear, to dread. It is not just blessing the Lord can bring into our lives, he can also bring his terrifying judgment.

This passage is quoted by Paul in Romans 9:33, "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame." Paul uses this passage in Isaiah to point to God's foretelling of the gospel of faith. Israel had always felt their path to a righteous standing before God lay in their covenantal pedigree and their notion of earning their own righteousness by pursuing the law given Moses. In Romans Paul points to the reality that Israel did not achieve their standing of righteousness by law-keeping, but that the Gentiles had through faith.

Faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and in his finished work on the cross, as expressed in the gospel, is what brings righteousness... not our own best efforts. This determination of God is what has become the stumbling stone for all the do-gooders and law-keepers from Israel's history, right up to many today.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Miracles! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 7:14,

"The virgin [or, "young woman"] will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."

In Israel's history, when the nation was split into the northern ten tribes (called Israel) and the southern two tribes (called Judah), the king of Israel joined forces with the king of Aram (from the area of central Syria) to attack the king of Judah at Jerusalem. The Lord told the prophet Isaiah to tell the king of Judah, Ahaz, to not lose heart, that the Lord himself would not allow it to happen.

To bolster Ahaz's confidence in this, the Lord had Isaiah ask Ahaz what kind of a sign he would like to see to strengthen him in it. Ahaz declined, trying the Lord's patience, so the Lord gave him a sign of his own choosing: the virgin [or young woman] would have a son. It is thought that the young woman in this instance was Isaiah's own wife. Her having a son would be the Lord's sign to Ahaz that he would not allow Ahaz to be destroyed by Pekah, king of Israel in cahoots with Rezin, king of Aram.

Amazingly, we learn that beyond the near term fulfillment of this prophecy in the lives of Isaiah and Ahaz, seven hundred years later there would be a far-reaching fulfillment! In this far-reaching fulfillment, it is not simply a "young woman", but a virgin, a young woman who had never slept with a man that would have a son!

In the account of Joseph being told that his betrothed, Mary, was going to have a baby [Jesus] that would be conceived by God himself, Matthew quotes the event as being a specific far-reaching fulfillment of the prophecy Isaiah gave Ahaz! "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel' (which means 'God with us')." Matthew 1:22-23.

The miracle of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ is simply an astonishing thing! In my mind, it ranks right up there with the resurrection of Jesus Christ - as far as miracles go. What a sign to the world of the origin and nature of Jesus Christ!

Each and every miracle we read of in the Scriptures happened exactly as recorded for us. When we wrap our minds around the reality that God entered into his own creation, we realize, as Creator, he can violate all of the laws of physics, or whatever, that he established to rule his creation. Jesus walking on water, turning water to wine, raising Lazarus from the dead, healing sick people, making the blind to see, the deaf to hear, all are miracles that have taken place just as we have been told.

Yes, Jesus Christ was really born to the virgin Mary. And, yes, Jesus Christ was really raised from the dead and appeared to many, proving he had secured his Father's forgiveness of all of our sins!

How wonderful our God has provided us with the historical accounts of miracles to strengthen our hearts!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Our Resplendent Lord! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 6:1-4,

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.' At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke."

This begins the account of Isaiah's commision as a prophet. It is certainly a dramatic vision which portrays the Lord in his heavenly temple in stark contrast to sinful man. Isaiah was most certainly an honorable man who had caught the Lord's attention as being well-equipped for the ministry he was called for. And, yet, not quite.

Upon seeing this vision of the Lord in his glorious splendor, Isaiah recoiled in frightful horror. As he exclaims, "'Woe to me!' I cried. 'I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.'" This required the intervention of one of the seraphim who brought relief for Isaiah as a sinful man who needed his sins atoned for. "Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, 'See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.'"

What captures my attention this morning, which the contrast of sinful man's (Isaiah's) condition only adds to, is the splendor, the brilliancy and magnificence of the Lord's glorious presence. This view of the grandeur of majesty and resplendency reminds me of how exalted our Lord is! How far beyond mankind is his Creator God!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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What More Could God Have Done? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 5:3-4,

"Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?"

In his song of the vineyard, Isaiah quotes the Lord as saying the above. As the Lord prepares to judge the people of Jerusalem and Judah for turning their backs on him, he challenges them with the question of what else could he have done for them in his pursuit of them as his people?

I am mindful of the same question the Lord could ask of all the world in reference to him building his kingdom today. We know that everyone has been invited to God's family, and yet only a few will respond - most won't. Jesus said, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13-14. In John 3:19-20, Jesus tells Nicodemus why only a few find the gate into God's family, "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed."

But, what of God's efforts? As we look at all that God has done to make a way for us into his family, it is astonishing. First, of course, is that he sent his Son to die a miserable death to pay the penalty for everyone's sins for all time, for all people. In this he has satisfied his pristine sense of justice in offering us a place in his family. He has sent his Holy Spirit to draw people to himself, "When he [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment..." John 16:8.

God has provided the world with his word through prophets that produced our Bibles. Within its pages God tells us how we can come to know him, how to reach out to him, how to find him. It is within its pages we learn of God's unfathomable love for us and his desire that we choose him to have a place at his table.

God draws us to himself, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day." John 6:44. In John 12:32 Jesus  said, "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He does this through his gospel that he sends into the world through evangelists he has raised up himself, "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ." Romans 10:17. Who brings that message? "And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'" Romans 10:15. God sends them!

God has sent his Son into the world to make a way for us into his family. God has sent his Holy Spirit into the world to make a way for us into his family. God has produced his Scriptures and had them sent into the world to make a way for us into his family. God has prepared a message for us, the gospel, that he has sent into the world to make a way for us into his family. God has equipped and raised up evangelists with his gospel in hand that he has sent into the world to make a way for us into his family.

God desires all people everywhere to join his family, "God our Savior... wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 2:3-4. God is incredibly patient waiting and hoping all will come to him, "he [the Lord] is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9.

As in Isaiah's day, it is my firm belief that a question floating around on judgment day will be, what more could God have done? Did he not go well beyond all expectations to draw us to himself? Did he not make every effort to bring to his family all who wished to enter it?

On judgment day there will be no complaint that God had not done all he could to save any and all who were willing. Those who don't make it will not make it simply because they were unwilling. What a terrifying reality!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.