Monday: Foreseen Consequences
Isaiah 7:17-25
Read the above verses. What is the Lord saying that will happen to the land? Why should we not be surprised at this outcome?
Image © Pacific Press at Goodsalt.com
“Invitation upon invitation was sent to erring Israel to return to their allegiance to Jehovah. Tender were the pleadings of the prophets; and as they stood before the people, earnestly exhorting to repentance and reformation, their words bore fruit to the glory of God.” — Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 325.
Thus, for Ahaz, the man of fear rather than faith, the good news from God was that Syria and Israel would be wiped out. The bad news was that Assyria, the ally and “friend” he had chosen to help him, would turn out to be a far more dangerous foe than Syria and Israel had been. By turning down God’s freely offered deliverance, Ahaz was guaranteed defeat. If Ahaz thought his world was falling apart now, things were going to get only worse!
“It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to put confidence in princes” (Ps: 118:9, NRSV). How could Ahaz trust that Tiglath-pileser III would be satisfied with taking the countries to the north and would respect Judah? Assyrian writings, such as annals of the Assyrian kings themselves, testify to the fact that their desire for power was insatiable.
Read 2 Kings 16:10-18 and 2 Chronicles 28:20-25. What was happening to Ahaz? What spiritual principle do we see unfolding here? Why should we not be surprised at his actions?
Second Chronicles 28:20-23 powerfully sums up what resulted from Ahaz’s asking for help from Assyria rather than relying on the Lord.
| Our natural tendency is to trust in what we can see, feel, taste, touch—the things of the world. Yet, as we know, the things of the world vanish. Look at 2 Corinthians 4:18. What is the text saying to us? How can we apply its message to our own lives? And what difference will it make for us if we do? |
(25)
If you have been a Seventh-day Adventist all your life you have probably never played games that depend heavily on strategy. Games like chess and checkers (drafts in this part of the world) depend heavily on strategy to win. The idea is that you make the opponent think you are working towards a particular goal when in fact you are doing something quite different. I realised early on in parenthood that I was not a good strategist. My son and I used to play a game called Connect 4, The aim of the game is to take turns putting tokens in slots until you win by having a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line of 4 tokens. My young son could outplay me by the time he was a teenager. He would carefully place his tokens and you would think you knew what he was up to, when suddenly you were confronted with a no-win situation. That was when I learned he was going to be a better mathematician than me.
Nations at war play strategy games with serious intent. They form convenient alliances with one another but then suddenly the ally becomes the enemy. And in biblical times these strategies were common practice. To be fair to Ahaz, David used that sort of strategy. Solomon had used a variation of the strategy, the marriage alliance approach. And now Ahaz was taken in by the Tigler-pileser III strategy. He was outmanoeuvred!
The really sad part about this is that Isaiah had warned Ahaz the consequences of his decisions but because he was so full of his own importance, he did not take any notice.
And are we any different? True, we may not hold the fate of nations in our hands, but God has given us our own little sphere to work in. How often are we so headstrong that we ignore the good advice that the Holy Spirit gives us through friends, church members, the experience of biblical characters, and the influence of our own consciences. Are we any better than Ahaz?
The "fear of the Lord" is where we develop our practical spiritual strategy!
[Thank you folk, for your prayers and thoughts while I was in hospital. It is humbling to know that I am both appreciated and missed. I am back and everything went according to plan.]
Maurice - Glad that all went well and happy to find your commentary back in the line-up of the many diverse thoughts and insights shared by participants in the online study group.
Glad to have you back Bro Ashton. I tahnk God that he delivered you from your illness. May all the medical personnel who attended to you be blessed by the Lord!
All praise and thanks to God Almighty for taking the lead and the success in your surgery. it's good to have you back Sir Maurice.
It's great to see your well crafted comments again. I trust you are feeling well and getting back your vigor. Thanks for your dedication and daily ministry, It blesses me.
Amen! Glad your recovering speedily!
Welcome back!
Welcome back Bro Ashton. So happy that you had a successful surgery.
I do hope that you are recuperating nicely.
Your comments are always profound.
May God continue to bless you richly
What can we learn from Ahaz? It was not only his final choice of a deliverer but his daily choice of whom he worshipped. Who guides my life daily, who do I trust for every decision I make?
Our battle is not so much against a physical enemy but rather spiritual enemies. The Holy Spirit through Paul has given us the way to win this war - put on the armor of the LORD and trust in Him to win the war.
Shirley- Many times we as a the people of God fight against other in many ways. Here Bro Paul was saying who we are fighting against. But even in those battles, he saw them as light afflictions compared with the glorious unseen. To be victorious in the battle in which we are engaged, we must put on the unseen as mentioned in Eph 6:13-18.
Thank you Jesus our light afflictions are but a moment and the will not last forever.
And they cried out to God asking- how long Lord, how long?
They have forsaken the living water and have turned to broken cisterns. Like Ahaz, have we forsaken the Living waters and have turned to broken cistern whose waters are contaminated and can't do anything for us?
Maurice, praise God everything went well for you. "The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health."(Ps 41:3).👐
Thank you Lord for your watch care over our friend Maurice. For sending your angels to guide and direct the medical team. We praise and give You the glory and honor for all things. Be with each as they study Your word. Amen
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
2 Corinth 4:17
Foreseen Consequences
Qu for today- Our natural tendency is to trust in what we can see, feel, taste, touch—the things of the world. Yet, as we know, the things of the world vanish. Look at 2 Corinthians 4:18.
1. What is the text saying to us?
2. How can we apply its message to our own lives?
3. What difference will it make for us if we do?
Yesterday, as I had finished contributing to the site, a thought came to me saying- this thing you are talking about is by faith, it must be achieved by faith alone. As I pondered those words I realized nothing in the Christian life can be achieved without faith (unseen working of the Holy Spirit). Today the author is pointing us to a certain text. But the text before speaks about our light afflictions. The things that are happening to us in our separate countries, our churches/congregations/our families, even in our own lives. Bro Paul saw them as light afflictions when compared to the eternal glories that awaits us.
Many have gone to universities for four yrs, studying was difficulty but now you are working and reaping the benefits of your hard labor, looking back, those universities years are but light afflictions.
How can we apply its message to our own lives?
When Christ came to this earth, he came to established a spiritual kingdom (something that is not seen) but the disciples and others thought he came to established an earthly, physical kingdom that is seen. Today, am I looking at the things that are seen, e.g the rapid rise of the Covid19 infection and deaths, the political and social unrest, physical wars, rapid rise of other diseases, destruction of our natural earth, etc etc. But has those things engulfed me and taken away my focus on Christ? Am I looking at ways of telling others about the love of Jesus and his soon coming, his unseen kingdom?
What difference will it make for us if we do?
The more we look at the things that are seen(temporal things), like the disciples, the more we will be overcome with stress and disappointments, anger and fighting for the higher post. The more we focus our attention on the unseen (spiritual things/eternal), the more we will be growing in Christ.
While the wind is itself invisible, it produces effects that are seen and felt. So the work of the Spirit upon the soul will reveal itself in every act of him who has felt its saving power. When the Spirit of God takes possession of the heart, it transforms the life. DA 173
Best wishes for continued health and wellness Bro Maurice. Thank God for bestowing upon you His healing Spirit!
We thank God for His mercies towards you Bro Maurice. We love and appreciate you.
Especially the advanced Bible students should realize that the Bible is not only a book of developmental, religious history, but also a biography about the God and His work in this Universe, its Creator. I think the most intriguing aspect about our Heavenly Father is His consistent application of Justice and Mercy based on the foundation of His Righteousness; His Will reigns supreme! Once man comes to grips with this Truth, he has a choice to make to accept it or reject it.
Isa.5:4KJV records God’s Words: “What could have been done to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Wherefor, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?” After all God has done for man, He asks him why man still makes the choices he makes; after all, we now are given 20/20 vision in hindsight!
In this world are forces so cunningly deceptive, so ruinous to our relationship with our heavenly Father, that we have to be on the alert about them at all times and can find rest only in Him.
God gives man all He has to offer, including Wisdom and Discernment. I have learned to only dwell on the wrong as long as it takes me to recognize the right. Empathy with self and others has its place in God’s way of healing, but it takes the acts of faithfully, prayerfully obtained wisdom to find the way out of the predicament; any type of predicament. If no immediate way is offered, we need to be prepared to wait even unto death. This is especially applicable in light of prophecies for the end of time – we need to be assured that our faith in His Word remains unmovable.
Eph.6:10-18KJV talks about the armor of God which the faithful will need to wear at all times to be able to stand. It is humbling to wear this armor; it shows us that we cannot stand alone when facing enemies in all forms coming at us from all sides at all times.
This heavenly armor is not optional; it is the armor of God’s Spirit which protects us – Truth, righteousness, faithfully walking in the Light of the Gospel, Faith; all this we do for the sake of our Salvation as we 'use the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.' V.18 – “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”