Scripture

The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well watered garden like an ever flowing spring.

Observation

The people of Israel are sinners, despite their pious actions. They go to the temple every day. They pray and ask God to intervene on their behalf. they fast, expecting God to be impressed.

The kind of fasting the Lord requires is to free the wrongly imprisoned and let the oppressed go free. They are to look after the homeless and care for relatives in need.

When they do that, salvation will come like the dawn. When they call, the Lord will answer. If they feed the hungry they will shine like light in the darkness. Then the Lord will guide them continually and make them like a well watered garden.

Application

The Lord is not interested in our deeds of piety – prayers, praise, fasting and so on. These things are important, but they do not impress God.

The Lord is impressed when we allow our salvation to flow out to others in good deeds and when we set free the oppressed.

We are saved by faith in Christ. That then transforms our hearts and minds so that we live for Him and for other people. When we do that, the little light that is my relationship with God is magnified and shows forth in my community in actions that bring freedom and life.

Then we start to bloom like a well-watered garden. We help others to flourish, and by doing that, God’s grace multiplies in us.

As a a new Christian and a new member of Parliament, William Wilberforce asked God, “What can I do for you?” He dedicated his career to ending slavery and brought liberty to millions of people around the world. He became a well-watered garden that benefited countless people.

Prayer

Lord show me how to glorify your name today. Amen.

Scripture

Whom do you mock, making faces and sticking out your tongues? You children of sinners and liars! You worship your idols with great passion beneath the oaks and every green tree. You sacrifice your children down in the valleys, among the jagged rocks in the cliffs.

Observation

Good people die, sometimes as a young age, but they are going to a good place. God protects them from the evil to come.

The witches and idolaters mock the righteous people. They worship their idols and sacrifice their children. They commit adultery in the high places where they worship Molech and Baal. They travel far in order to find new gods.

God says to rebuild the road and clear away the rocks. God is restoring His people. He will lift up the humble and comfort those who mourn. Those who repent will know God’s peace, but those who reject God are like the sea which is never still.

Application

Those who consider themselves wise and knowledgeable mock those who follow the Lord. They pull faces at people who follow Jesus as if we are foolish and stupid.

Like the people Isaiah describes, they worship under every green tree. They claim that they love the environment, but they are destroying it. They cut down the rain forests to save the planet with windmills and solar panels.

While they are so in love with creation, supposedly, they murder their own children. We don’t have religious rituals of child sacrifice, but each year millions of babies are killed in the name of “reproductive health care.” This is an abomination to the Lord. As the people sacrificed to Molech in the past, our abortion industry is just as dedicated to this evil deity.

But the promise of God is that He will save those who turn to him. Worshipping other gods, abortions, and other sins can all be washed away when we turn to God in true repentance.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for being so gracious to those who turn to you. Amen.

Scripture

I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and I will fill them with joy in my house of prayer.

Observation

The Lord will soon rescue his people. Blessed are those who obey the Lord’s law and who observe the Sabbath days.

Foreigners who obey the Lord are a part of God’s people. Eunuchs will come into the house of the Lord. The Lord will build a monument and give them an everlasting name.

The Lord will bless foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord. They will come to the holy mountain and He will fill them with joy in His house of prayer.

Application

It was unthinkable to some people that the Lord might bless foreigners. By the time of Jesus, good Jews were not supposed to have any fellowship with Gentiles.

But the day would come when the Gentiles would be welcome in the temple, which was to be known as a house of prayer for all nations.

Jesus was the one who broke down the curtain that separated the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place. His death broke down every division between people because we are all saved by grace through faith – Jews, Gentiles, mean, women, eunuchs, and others.

Everyone may freely come and worship, having joy in the presence of the Lord.

Prayer

Hallelujah! You are a mighty and gracious Saviour. Thank you, Lord, for bringing me into your house of prayer. Amen.

Scripture

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.”

Observation

If you are thirsty, come to the Lord. He has the finest drinks all at no cost. Why waste money on things that do not satisfy?

Come to the Lord with your ears wide open. He has the words of life.

His thoughts are nothing like our thoughts, and His ways are far above our ways.

Rain and snow fall from the heavens watering the ground and making the crops grow. God’s word is the same. He sends it out, and it always bears fruit. It will accomplish all that He wants it to do.

The Lord will give us joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song.

Application

It is folly to think that we can work God out. His ways are much higher than our ways. When we think we have God all figured out, He throws us a curve-ball, and our plans fall apart.

This is not to decry theology. We must endeavour to understand God so that we can be faithful to Him. But we must never think that we can predict what He will do.

The Jewish people had the Messiah worked out. He was going to set Israel as a great nation, kicking out the pagan Romans. They saw the Messiah as a freedom fighter.

God’s plan was different. Jesus fought for our freedom by killing sin on the cross. He made Israel great by providing a new Israel called the church. God’s promises were fulfilled, but not in a way that people expected.

God’s ways are infinitely better than our ways.

Prayer

Lord, I thank you that you have things worked out far better than I ever could. Help me to walk in your ways even when I don’t understand them. Amen.

Scripture

“In that day, no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you.”

Observation

Rejoice, childless woman, for the Lord is giving you children beyond number. Jerusalem will have to enlarge her house because she will be bursting at the seams.

You will not live in disgrace or abandonment, for the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will be your husband. Even if the mountains move and the hills disappear, His constant love will remain.

The Lord created the blacksmith who makes the weapons of destruction and the armies that destroy. But in that day, no weapon will succeed against you and every accusing voice will be silenced.

Application

Christians often face many enemies and accusers. The Lord promises that their weapons and accusations will fall short. It I not clear in this chapter whether the promises are for Israel and Jerusalem. But then, in the very last verse, the Lord says, “these benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord.”

Lately some members of my church have faced some frustrations and difficulties caused by witchcraft of various forms, all emanating from one individual. We have had to persevere in prayer, but we know that God’s promise is “no weapon turned against you will succeed.”

People make accusations against christians on social media and in other places. but we can rest assured that God will silence every voice raised up to accuse us.

When we face opposition, we should remember that we are not fighting against flesh and blood, but against forces in the spirit realm. We take it all to the Lord and trust Him to vindicate us and bring victory.

Prayer

Hallelujah! Lord the victory is yours. Please help me to rest in you when the enemies arise. Amen.

Scripture

He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.

Observation

The Lord’s servant grew up like a tender green shoot. There was nothing remarkable about Him. He was despised and rejected by the people he came to save.

He bore our weaknesses and our sins. We thought His suffering was punishment from God. But He was pierced for our sins, and his beatings bring us healing.

He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. His life was an offering for sin, and those whom He has redeemed will be counted as His sons and daughters.

Despite being rejected and despised, He will be honoured in His death.

Application

This is another of the suffering servant songs in which Isaiah looks forward to the life and death of the Messiah, Jesus.

Jesus was crucified,dying a horrible death, for the sake of our sins. He bore the penalty of the whole earth on his body.

Because Jesus died, I can now experience the true freedom of forgiveness. I am a new creation in Christ. Not only does He wipe away the guilt of sin, He removes the bondage of sin, the ability of sin to hold us in captivity.

Christ’s beatings, Isaiah tells us, are the means of physical healing. Salvation is not just about spiritual wholeness. it extends to every part of our being, including the physical. Just as Christ’s death makes us whole in our spirits, He also provides for healing for our bodies.

Prayer

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful salvation in which you are restoring every part of my life. Amen.

Scripture

But I will reveal my name to my people, and they will come to know its power. Then at last they will recognise that I am the one who speaks to them.

Observation

It is time for Jerusalem to remove the chains of slavery from her neck. She is to rise from the dust to the place of honour.

The Lord sold the people into exile with with no price, and now He will redeem them at no cost.

The Lord’s people live in foreign lands where His name is blasphemed all day long. But He will reveal his name to His people. Then they will recognise that He is the one who speaks to them.

Now it is time to leave captivity. They will not leave in a hurry, fleeing From disaster. They will have time to purify themselves, because the Lord is going ahead of them.

Application

The Lord wants us to know His name, His power, and His voice.

When we know the name of the Lord, we recognise who He is. There are seven Covenant names in the Old Testament which speak of His nature. In the New Testament we have the greatest name of all – Jesus our saviour.

When we draw near to God through Christ, we start to see a glimpse of His power. He has given all authority to us. We have His power and His authority, exercised in prayer and led by the Holy Spirit. The gifts and fruit of the Spirit give us the grace to be like Jesus in power and in character.

Jesus tells us “My sheep know my voice.” We must dedicate ourselves to listening to the voice of the Lord. This is not easy in a culture that is so noisy and insistent. We need to tune out the distractions so we can tune into the voice of the Lord.

Prayer

Lord, please teach me so that I can know your name, your power, and your voice. Amen.

Scripture

Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return. They will enter Jerusalem with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness.

Observation

Those seeking the deliverance of the Lord need to return to the rock from which they were cut. Abraham and Sarah were role models for Israel.

God’s law, mercy, and justice will be a light to all the nations. Even distant lands are waiting in hope for the Lord’s intervention.

People are like flies, and the sky will disappear, but God’s salvation lasts for ever.

The Lord’s redeemed will return to Jerusalem with singing and joy. Sorrow and morning will disappear.

The captives will be released. Those who have drunk the cup of the Lord’s fury will have that cup removed, and it will be handed to their tormentors.

Application

We are the ransomed of the Lord. He has bought our salvation through the death of Jesus on the cross. We are redeemed and set free from the power of sin.

Satan has lost his authority over us. It has been snatched away. Yet he tries to control us with his lies and deception.

Those who know the Lord know joy. The mark of the true believer is joy. Unlike happiness, which depends on external events, joy bubbles up from our hearts because of our peace with God.

We can sing in times of victory and in times of suffering. Jesus is the joy giver.

In this life we still have sorrow and mourning. But they no longer define who we are. In the midst of it all, joy remains dominant. In the end, we will be one with Christ forever. Sorrow and mourning will be no more.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for the knowledge of your presence right now. Thank you for the hope that I have in you that sorrow and mourning will be gone forever. Amen

Scripture

Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like stone, determined to do his will. And I know that I will not be put to shame.

Observation

The Lord has given his servant words of wisdom. Day by day, He opens his understanding.

The Lord has spoken to him, and he will do the Lord’s will. He sets his face like flint to do the Lord’s will

Who fears the lord and obeys his servant? Anyone who walks in darkness should trust the Lord. Those who walk by their own light will fall down in torment.

Application

Again Isaiah returns to the message about the Suffering Servant, whom we know is Jesus.

Jesus foresaw the suffering and shame that awaited him on the cross. Yet He trusted the Father to bring Him through.

Jesus knew the price had to be paid in order to bring salvation to everybody who trusts in Him.

The reward was worth the suffering.

Sometimes the Lord asks us to go through difficult times. Like Job, we may see no reason or reward for the tough times. We have to trust that God knows what He is doing. We rely on His strength to see us through.

We would not choose the way of suffering, but God uses these times to deepen our trust in Him.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you for choosing the way of suffering and shame, for dying on the cross for me. Amen.