Passage: Isaiah 41:8-13
8 But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, "You are my servant,
I have chosen you and not cast you off";
10 fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
11 Behold, all who are incensed against you
shall be put to shame and confounded;
those who strive against you
shall be as nothing and shall perish.
12 You shall seek those who contend with you,
but you shall not find them;
those who war against you
shall be as nothing at all.
13 For I, the LORD your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, "Fear not,
I am the one who helps you."
Journal: Judah is in fear. After all, God is pronouncing judgment on the surrounding pagan nations, and Judah is guilty of many of the same sins. Yet, God is providing reassurance for those in Judah that will remain faithful to Him. He calls them His "servants," which is a term that will be used a great deal in the next few chapters. It is not for us to know why God chose Abraham and his offspring [Jacob; Israel] as His servants, for the bigger question is why He chose any of us at all. [Isaiah 41:8-9 -- "But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, "You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off."]
What God does reveal is that He will protect and keep those whom He has called. [Isaiah 41:10b -- "I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."] The spiritually dead have a great deal to fear. In contrast, the regenerated heart, the heart that is claimed by God from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, is being reminded to fear not, for He is with us yesterday, today and tomorrow. [Isaiah 41:13 -- "For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Fear not, I am the one who helps you."]
Heard 'Round the House: Speaking of fear, apparently I don't cause much. We were all coming home from Luke's [age 12] baseball game in another city the other night and stopped for gas. Apparently, Luke did not like the looks of things around him as I was outside getting the gas and asked his mom to lock the doors. Mom replies that he should fear not for Dad was right outside. Luke, apparently electing to fear, proclaimed the following:
Luke: "Yeah, but Dad's just not that big . . ."
8 But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, "You are my servant,
I have chosen you and not cast you off";
10 fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
11 Behold, all who are incensed against you
shall be put to shame and confounded;
those who strive against you
shall be as nothing and shall perish.
12 You shall seek those who contend with you,
but you shall not find them;
those who war against you
shall be as nothing at all.
13 For I, the LORD your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, "Fear not,
I am the one who helps you."
Journal: Judah is in fear. After all, God is pronouncing judgment on the surrounding pagan nations, and Judah is guilty of many of the same sins. Yet, God is providing reassurance for those in Judah that will remain faithful to Him. He calls them His "servants," which is a term that will be used a great deal in the next few chapters. It is not for us to know why God chose Abraham and his offspring [Jacob; Israel] as His servants, for the bigger question is why He chose any of us at all. [Isaiah 41:8-9 -- "But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, "You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off."]
What God does reveal is that He will protect and keep those whom He has called. [Isaiah 41:10b -- "I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."] The spiritually dead have a great deal to fear. In contrast, the regenerated heart, the heart that is claimed by God from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, is being reminded to fear not, for He is with us yesterday, today and tomorrow. [Isaiah 41:13 -- "For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Fear not, I am the one who helps you."]
Heard 'Round the House: Speaking of fear, apparently I don't cause much. We were all coming home from Luke's [age 12] baseball game in another city the other night and stopped for gas. Apparently, Luke did not like the looks of things around him as I was outside getting the gas and asked his mom to lock the doors. Mom replies that he should fear not for Dad was right outside. Luke, apparently electing to fear, proclaimed the following:
Luke: "Yeah, but Dad's just not that big . . ."
