KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Chapters: Isaiah 18-22
Message: Being Prepared For Christ’s Return
Hello My Friend,
There are those who believe that the judgments of God were intended only for Israel. I believe that while Israel is, in fact, important to God, and He will always protect them, He is not a respecter of persons, He will bless any nation who chooses Him, and He will judge any nation that rejects Him. Israel will always be special to God because He chose them to be His people. Are they perfect? Not a chance. Do they all follow Him? Absolutely not. Will they all be saved from judgment? Sorry, no. Only those who know Jesus Christ as their Saviour will be saved. “Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God.” – Romans 2:9-11.
Of course, God will judge Israel because He always starts with His house, He will judge every nation first that id His. The nations that are His are those that were founded on Him, His Word, their faith in Him, and obedience to His Word. While the law of Moses has been replaced by the law of grace since Christ came and gave His life for all who believe in Him, that still does not exempt nations once founded on Christ from facing judgment. One day Christ will return and will judge every nation, and salvation has never been a Jew or Gentile thing, it is a believer thing. As we continue learning of God’s judgment upon the nations surrounding Israel, God encourages the Ethiopian ambassadors to seek Him, now in Jerusalem, and bring word of the judgment to their own nation.
“All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches. They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them. In that time shall the present be brought unto the LORD of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion.” – Isaiah 18:3-7.
“I will take my rest,” Zion is God’s rest and He will take care of the people who inhabit the land and protect them through all the seasons. Blessed are those who take heed to the warnings of God’s coming judgment of not only their nation, but all nations. Blessed are those who join Him and His people to the place that bears His name. All nations will finally discover that Jesus is true, that He is KING, and that He is God, those who heed the warnings and accept Him will be blessed to be with Him for eternity. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” – I Thessalonians 4:16-17.
When you think of God’s people you automatically associate them as those who are saved through Christ. While this is true, in a sense we must look at the whole picture, when God says Israel is His chosen He is referring to Israel as a nation, not all the people themselves. Are all Jews believers? No and they never have been. Do all Jews get saved because God calls them His people? No, and this has never been the case, we have read several times in which unbelieving Jews were cast into hell so to speak. Why does God call them His? Because He made a promise to Abraham. Every nation that God chooses to put His name on is not all believers, in fact, there is only a small fraction that are, and therefore God judges His house first, they know He exists, they know His ways, and yet they refuse to live by them. Every nation will be judged, but there is also hope for restoration for some, through Isaiah, God foretells of the judgment placed on Egypt, and its restoration.
“The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them. In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.” – Isaiah 19:1,22-25.
“Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria,” Jews and Gentiles alike shall not only unite with each other in the Gospel under Christ, they shall all be united as one nation under God. They shall all share in one and the same blessings, come to the same throne of grace, and serve with each other, ending all disputes and uniting the hearts of believers. “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.” – Romans 11:26-32.
If there is one thing I have learned over the past few years is that people are going to do what they want and no matter how simple you explain things all you do is waste your breath because they will not hear you. Therefore, God tells us not to talk to these fools because they block reason from their brains. I imagine the reason so many Jews reject Jesus it that it has to do with their pride, after all they did cry crucify Him, when Pilate was trying to get them to pardon Him only to get word that He arose three days later. Through Isaiah, God warns Israel that while He has always protected them, the time is coming that they will be judged for rejecting the King.
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house. And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons. In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken it.” – Isaiah 22:20-25.
“And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place;” This is an illustration of the strength of Christ, He is the mighty hand of God, who sits at the right hand of God on His throne, He clothes us with His blood and fastens us upon His shoulders, never to let us go. He is our Saviour and Redeemer, unchangeable, unshakable, and unmovable. Nothing on this earth is certain, but Jesus is, and we are His vessels in a sure place when we accept Him, but those reject Him will not only face hell they will arise from the dead with their bodies and face judgment a second time. “And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” – Revelation 21:6-8.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.” – Isaiah 19:20.
Today’s Prayer: God, While we will never know the hour in which You will send Your Son to judge the world, we can be prepared and keep our eyes open for that day. Lord, lead us and guide us, give us Your power to serve You in whatever calling You have given us, remind us that no matter what it is that You call us to do it will line up with Your Word and be prosperous. Help us to be obedient to Your commands, however silly they may seem as we will become a witness and a testimony to see others receive Your Son too. Let us not get consumed in pride, and keep us humble so that You can lift us up. In Jesus’ name. Amen
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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