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Today's reading
December 16, 2024
Picture: Perfect Posture
Isaiah 39:5b-7, 41:2, 8-10, 15, 20
The remarkable healing of Hezekiah drew interest from around the region. The rulers of Babylon showed up to the city gates with gifts and hoping to see for themselves whether or not the rumors of healing were true. When Hezekiah greeted them, they were astounded. As they fawned over the king and kingdom their pretention went unnoticed. Hezekiah was fully wooed by their actions. He allowed them to tour the entire palace, showing them every part of their kingdom. When Isaiah heard this, he was irate. He confronted Hezekiah and when all this news was confirmed he shared a glimpse of Judah's future.
"Hear the word
of the LORD of hosts:
Behold, the days are
coming, when all that is in
your house, and that which
your fathers have stored up
till this day, shall be carried
to Babylon. Nothing shall
be left, says the LORD."
​
Isaiah 39:5b-7 (ESV)
It would be 150 years before Jerusalem was in the stranglehold of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. After a 30 month siege the survivors were led away to captivity and the treasures of the Judean kings were carried away as icons of their defeat. In the midst of thick grief and trauma the survivors cobbled together a new life in a strange place. All the while wondering whether or not they had been forgotten by the God who had promised them so much.
​
This is where Isaiah's prophetic words from 150 years prior reached their ears and illuminated their minds. God calls all the nations from coastline to coastline to stand before him in an imaginary court. He says, can your gods predict the future or control nations?
"Who stirred up one from
the east
whom victory meets at
every step?
He gives up nations before
him,
so that he tramples kings
underfoot;
he makes them like dust
with his sword,
like driven stubble with his
bow."
​
Isaiah 41:2 (ESV)
God through Isaiah explains that there is a king coming from the east who will do His bidding. This is the Persian King Cyrus. In the courtroom the nations gasp at the proof of Yahweh's sovereign power. They shake in fear and rush to their homelands instructing silversmiths to craft new idols to protect them from destruction. Then the text turns to the battered servant of God, Judah. He says,
"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';
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."
​
Isaiah 41:8-10 (ESV)
He explains that their dire state will be redeemed, they will be used by God once again.
"Behold, I make of you a
threshing sledge,
new, sharp, and having
teeth;
you shall thresh the
mountains and crush
them,
and you shall make the hills
like chaff;"
​
Isaiah 41:15 (ESV)
Isaiah pictures a day when God will bring in a harvest of people from all nation's tongues and tribes. His promise is that Israel would be used as an essential tool to bring in and process that harvest. All the desolate wild land that had grown feral under the weight of sin would bloom into a beautiful garden that would provide refuge for the weary.
"That they may see and
know,
may consider and
understand together,
that the hand of the LORD
has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has
created it."
​
Isaiah 41:20 (ESV)
In this picture, the land and people had been brought to their knees. They had been humbled by circumstance and consequence to the point of desperation. But, they had not been forgotten and they were not alone. In the seasons of life that bring us to our knees, we can rest in the unwavering truth of Immanuel-God with us. Whether humility is a choice or a necessity, it positions us perfectly to encounter the glory of God.
This is Christmas to you.