Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Running with Horses
Jeremiah, if you get tired in a race against people, how can you possibly run against horses?
If you fall in open fields, what will happen in the forest along the Jordan River?
Even your own family has turned against you.
They act friendly, but don't trust them.
They're out to get you, and so is everyone else.
I loved my people and chose them as my very own.
But now I will reject them and hand them over to their enemies.
My people have turned against me and roar at me like lions.
That's why I hate them.
My people are like a hawk surrounded and attacked by other hawks.
Tell the wild animals to come and eat their fill.
My beautiful land is mined like a field or a vineyard trampled by shepherds and stripped bare by their flocks.
Every field I see lies barren, and no one cares.
A destroying army marches along des en roads and attacks everywhere.
They are my deadly sword; no one is safe from them.
My people, you planted wheat, but because I was furious, I let only weeds grow.
You wore yourselves out for nothing! - Jeremiah 12:5-13 CEV
You think things are hard now? Sometimes it can be just the beginning—,and for good reason. Jeremiah was just a man. Like any human being, he occasionally was worn down by the day-to-day grind. But God offered him neither commiseration nor relief. Rather, he added to Jeremiah's burden by letting him know that what he had experienced up until then was just the beginning. His previous experiences were nothing compared to what was coming. He had to learn to buck up.
What would Jeremiah face? He would be imprisoned in a cistern, he'd be mocked, and eventually he'd be taken as an unwilling captive down to Egypt by people who called him a liar when he told them something they didn't want to hear. But those people took him with them anyway because they believed he was a prophet who heard God. They just didn't believe he always told them what God had actually said.
If the people of Israel had turned against God, Jeremiah had no reason for surprise when they wouldn't listen to God's spokesperson. Jeremiah found strength to continue his work because he knew he and God were working toward the same thing. Like Jeremiah, we're not facing our lives alone even when every minute seems like a struggle.
Information for your soul. Daily devotionals and Observances to celebrate.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
A Year with God
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Why Cling to Old Lies?
"In that day," says the LORD, "the enemy will break open the graves of the kings and officials of Judah, and the graves of the priests, prophets, and common people of Jerusalem. They will spread out their bones on the ground before the sun, moon, and stars—the gods my people have loved, sewed, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up again or buried but will be scattered on the ground like manure. And the people of this evil nation who survive will wish to die rather than live where I will send them. I, the LORD of Heaven's Armies, have spoken!
"Jeremiah, say to the people, This is what the LORD says:
"When people fall down, don't they get up again?
When they discover they're on the wrong road, don't they turn back?
Then why do these people stay on their self-destructive path?
Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back?
They cling tightly to their lies and will not turn around.
I listen to their conversations and don't hear a word of truth.
Is anyone sorry for doing wrong?
Does anyone say, "What a terrible thing I have done"?
No! All are running down the path of sin as swiftly as a horse galloping into battle!
Even the stork that flies across the sky knows the time of her migration, as do the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane.
They all return at the proper time each year.
But not my people!
They do not know the LORD'S laws. - Jeremiah 8:1-7 NLT
Once something becomes a habit, it's hard to break, even when we know that its not good for us. Israel had been worshipping false gods for generations.
When Babylon invaded, they took their stuff. Part of an army's pay was the plunder. And since human beings tended to bury valuable items with their dead, armies commonly dug up the graves. For this reason, the bones of the dead wound up scattered beneath the sky. Those who had spent their lives worshipping the sun, moon, and stars were exposed to them until they rotted away.
Israel had repeatedly offered sacrifices and said prayers to their false gods. The rituals never satisfied and the gods never answered, but that didn't stop the Israelites because they knew nothing else.
We can't embrace lies and expect to discern the truth when we hear it.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Why Cling to Old Lies?
"In that day," says the LORD, "the enemy will break open the graves of the kings and officials of Judah, and the graves of the priests, prophets, and common people of Jerusalem. They will spread out their bones on the ground before the sun, moon, and stars—the gods my people have loved, sewed, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up again or buried but will be scattered on the ground like manure. And the people of this evil nation who survive will wish to die rather than live where I will send them. I, the LORD of Heaven's Armies, have spoken!
"Jeremiah, say to the people, This is what the LORD says:
"When people fall down, don't they get up again?
When they discover they're on the wrong road, don't they turn back?
Then why do these people stay on their self-destructive path?
Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back?
They cling tightly to their lies and will not turn around.
I listen to their conversations and don't hear a word of truth.
Is anyone sorry for doing wrong?
Does anyone say, "What a terrible thing I have done"?
No! All are running down the path of sin as swiftly as a horse galloping into battle!
Even the stork that flies across the sky knows the time of her migration, as do the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane.
They all return at the proper time each year.
But not my people!
They do not know the LORD'S laws. - Jeremiah 8:1-7 NLT
Once something becomes a habit, it's hard to break, even when we know that its not good for us. Israel had been worshipping false gods for generations.
When Babylon invaded, they took their stuff. Part of an army's pay was the plunder. And since human beings tended to bury valuable items with their dead, armies commonly dug up the graves. For this reason, the bones of the dead wound up scattered beneath the sky. Those who had spent their lives worshipping the sun, moon, and stars were exposed to them until they rotted away.
Israel had repeatedly offered sacrifices and said prayers to their false gods. The rituals never satisfied and the gods never answered, but that didn't stop the Israelites because they knew nothing else.
We can't embrace lies and expect to discern the truth when we hear it.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
A Year with God
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
From the Rising of the Sun
The LORD saw,
And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice.
And He saw that there was no man,
And was astonished that there was no one to intercede;
Then His own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His righteousness upheld Him.
He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing
And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.
According to their deeds, so He will repay,
Wrath to His adversaries, recom-pense to His enemies;
To the coastlands He will make recompense.
So they will fear the name of the Loin from the west
And His glory from the rising of the sun,
For He will come like a rushing stream
Which the wind of the LORD drives.
"A Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob," declares the LORD.
"As for Me, this is My covenant with them," says the LORD: "My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your off-spring, nor from the mouth of your offspring's offspring," says the LORD, "from now and forever." - Isaiah 59:15—21 NASB
Truth and justice are not as popular as some slogans might make us think. Instead, people would rather know what they're comfortable with.
God understands that the world of human relationships and activities sometimes fails to work the way he'd like. In the time of Isaiah, the Israelite government hated his message. Most of the people in the land also disliked what he had to say. The truth can be painful, unpopular, and make no one feel good. God predicted the destruction of his nation by the invasion of powerful neighbors. People were suffering, which is why God would bring judgment. Those who heard God's message accused Isaiah of being a traitor and of hating his own countrymen. They were wrong. He loved Israel just as God loved Israel.
But God's people needed the Babylonians in order to be saved. So God took the task of rescuing his people upon himself. Salvation was dependent upon him alone. He would see to it that his people came back from captivity in Babylon too.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
From the Rising of the Sun
The LORD saw,
And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice.
And He saw that there was no man,
And was astonished that there was no one to intercede;
Then His own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His righteousness upheld Him.
He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing
And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.
According to their deeds, so He will repay,
Wrath to His adversaries, recom-pense to His enemies;
To the coastlands He will make recompense.
So they will fear the name of the Loin from the west
And His glory from the rising of the sun,
For He will come like a rushing stream
Which the wind of the LORD drives.
"A Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob," declares the LORD.
"As for Me, this is My covenant with them," says the LORD: "My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your off-spring, nor from the mouth of your offspring's offspring," says the LORD, "from now and forever." - Isaiah 59:15—21 NASB
Truth and justice are not as popular as some slogans might make us think. Instead, people would rather know what they're comfortable with.
God understands that the world of human relationships and activities sometimes fails to work the way he'd like. In the time of Isaiah, the Israelite government hated his message. Most of the people in the land also disliked what he had to say. The truth can be painful, unpopular, and make no one feel good. God predicted the destruction of his nation by the invasion of powerful neighbors. People were suffering, which is why God would bring judgment. Those who heard God's message accused Isaiah of being a traitor and of hating his own countrymen. They were wrong. He loved Israel just as God loved Israel.
But God's people needed the Babylonians in order to be saved. So God took the task of rescuing his people upon himself. Salvation was dependent upon him alone. He would see to it that his people came back from captivity in Babylon too.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
A Year with God
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
An Everlasting Name
Thus says the LORD:
"Keep justice, and do righteousness,
For My salvation is about to come,
And My righteousness to be revealed.
Blessed is the man who does this,
And the son of man who lays hold on it;
Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil."
Do not let the son of the foreigner
Who has joined himself to the LORD
Speak, saying,
"The LORD has utterly separated me from His people";
Nor let the eunuch say,
"Here I am, a dry tree."
For thus says the LORD:
"To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And hold fast My covenant,
Even to them I will give in My house
And within My walls a place and a name
Better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
That shall not be cut off." - Isaiah 56:1—5 NKJV
God addressed people who had believed and obeyed him but who still felt estranged because of circumstances beyond their control, such as where they were born or of what had been done to them.
Non-Israelites who converted to Judaism often felt excluded. After the captivity, many were in fact cut off. The Samaritans and others who could not demonstrate a genealogy, a direct connection to Jewish ancestors, were excluded from participation in most aspects of worship. According to the Mosaic legislation, a descendant of Aaron who had "damaged testicles" (Leviticus 21:20 NLT) could not serve as a priest in the temple. Eunuchs—men who were castrated when they were young—would not even have testicles, of course, and so all eunuchs descended from Aaron would be excluded. Worse for them, of course, was the simple fact that they could never have children—no descendants. When they died, there would be nothing of them left behind. But God reassured them, as he reassured the foreign convert, that they belonged to God as much as anyone else might, and that if they had accepted God's covenant, they were as everlasting as God was. Our great-grandchildren might not remember our names, but God will never forget us. We'll be part of him forever.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
An Everlasting Name
Thus says the LORD:
"Keep justice, and do righteousness,
For My salvation is about to come,
And My righteousness to be revealed.
Blessed is the man who does this,
And the son of man who lays hold on it;
Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil."
Do not let the son of the foreigner
Who has joined himself to the LORD
Speak, saying,
"The LORD has utterly separated me from His people";
Nor let the eunuch say,
"Here I am, a dry tree."
For thus says the LORD:
"To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And hold fast My covenant,
Even to them I will give in My house
And within My walls a place and a name
Better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
That shall not be cut off." - Isaiah 56:1—5 NKJV
God addressed people who had believed and obeyed him but who still felt estranged because of circumstances beyond their control, such as where they were born or of what had been done to them.
Non-Israelites who converted to Judaism often felt excluded. After the captivity, many were in fact cut off. The Samaritans and others who could not demonstrate a genealogy, a direct connection to Jewish ancestors, were excluded from participation in most aspects of worship. According to the Mosaic legislation, a descendant of Aaron who had "damaged testicles" (Leviticus 21:20 NLT) could not serve as a priest in the temple. Eunuchs—men who were castrated when they were young—would not even have testicles, of course, and so all eunuchs descended from Aaron would be excluded. Worse for them, of course, was the simple fact that they could never have children—no descendants. When they died, there would be nothing of them left behind. But God reassured them, as he reassured the foreign convert, that they belonged to God as much as anyone else might, and that if they had accepted God's covenant, they were as everlasting as God was. Our great-grandchildren might not remember our names, but God will never forget us. We'll be part of him forever.
Monday, March 14, 2011
A Year with God
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
My Deliverance Will Be Forever
Listen to me, you who know righteousness, you people who have my teaching in your hearts; do not fear the reproach of others, and do not be dismayed when they revile you.
For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool; but my deliverance will be forever, and my salvation to all generations.
Awake, awake, put on strength, 0 arm of the LORD!
Awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago!
Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon?
Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to cross over?
So the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. - Isaiah 51:7—11 NRSV
God promised Isaiah, and the remnant who had remained faithful to him, that they need not fear what their enemies said about them. The idolaters would soon be history. Even the Babylonians would someday be gone, just as every other enemy in the past had gone away. God had taken care of the Egyptians, and he would take care of the current bad guys too.
God used a familiar old story well known to the ancient world to make his point. It was a pagan story. Rahab was a mythological beast, a dragon in charge of chaos, that had become a symbol for Egypt in Isaiah's day. (This Rahab was not the Rahab of Jericho.) In the myth, this Rahab was chopped to bits by God, allowing God to then create the universe. In a similar way, Egypt had been overthrown by the plagues that God had sent against it, allowing God to make his people into a new nation. So God repurposed this old story and reapplied it.
God promised his people that just as he had delivered them from Egypt, so he would deliver them from the Assyrians and the Babylonians who had taken them captive. The current oppressors would meet the same end as all other oppressors who dared to rise up against God's people. Remembering how God has helped in the past can help us fight discouragement today.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
My Deliverance Will Be Forever
Listen to me, you who know righteousness, you people who have my teaching in your hearts; do not fear the reproach of others, and do not be dismayed when they revile you.
For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool; but my deliverance will be forever, and my salvation to all generations.
Awake, awake, put on strength, 0 arm of the LORD!
Awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago!
Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon?
Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to cross over?
So the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. - Isaiah 51:7—11 NRSV
God promised Isaiah, and the remnant who had remained faithful to him, that they need not fear what their enemies said about them. The idolaters would soon be history. Even the Babylonians would someday be gone, just as every other enemy in the past had gone away. God had taken care of the Egyptians, and he would take care of the current bad guys too.
God used a familiar old story well known to the ancient world to make his point. It was a pagan story. Rahab was a mythological beast, a dragon in charge of chaos, that had become a symbol for Egypt in Isaiah's day. (This Rahab was not the Rahab of Jericho.) In the myth, this Rahab was chopped to bits by God, allowing God to then create the universe. In a similar way, Egypt had been overthrown by the plagues that God had sent against it, allowing God to make his people into a new nation. So God repurposed this old story and reapplied it.
God promised his people that just as he had delivered them from Egypt, so he would deliver them from the Assyrians and the Babylonians who had taken them captive. The current oppressors would meet the same end as all other oppressors who dared to rise up against God's people. Remembering how God has helped in the past can help us fight discouragement today.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
A Year with God
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Eagerly Waiting
The LARD says:
You are my people and nation! So pay attention to me.
My teaching will cause justice to shine like a light for every nation.
Those who live across the sea are eagerly waiting for me to rescue them.
I am strong and ready; soon I will come to save and to rule all nations.
Look closely at the sky! Stare at the earth.
The sky will vanish like smoke; the earth will wear out like clothes.
Everyone on this earth will die like flies.
But my victory will last; my saving power never ends. - Isaiah 51:4—6 CEV
God offers a lifetime warranty like no other. The earth wearing out like a garment is an image quoted by the author of Hebrews 1:11 as part of his exaltation of the Son of God, who created the universe and who, unlike the angels, always was and always will be.
Isaiah brought God's message to the Israelites who were facing the destruction of all they knew. The Assyrians were going to carry them far away to live as exiles. But they could not be separated from God no matter how far they went. Instead, he would ultimately defeat the Assyrians and bring his people back to their home. Someday the Israelites would accept God's truth and everything he had tried to teach them.
But God's salvation—his justice, his teaching—were not just for the people of Israel. Instead, God was for all people everywhere. He told the Israelites that soon he would reach out to everyone everywhere and rule over all the nations, not just over Israel. Israel had picked up the disease of their neighbors, the delusion that their God was small and ruled over only the lands that Israel called home. To be exiled from one's homeland was not just to be removed from what you had known, it was also to be removed from the care—and reach—of your god.
But God told them that he was more than just for the nations. Look at the sky, he told them, look at the earth. In Hebrew thinking, to refer to heaven and earth in the same passage meant "everything that there is." It was equivalent to our modern conception of the universe. God wanted them to see he ruled everywhere and through all time. The universe will end, but neither God nor his salvation will. We have a future with God.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
Eagerly Waiting
The LARD says:
You are my people and nation! So pay attention to me.
My teaching will cause justice to shine like a light for every nation.
Those who live across the sea are eagerly waiting for me to rescue them.
I am strong and ready; soon I will come to save and to rule all nations.
Look closely at the sky! Stare at the earth.
The sky will vanish like smoke; the earth will wear out like clothes.
Everyone on this earth will die like flies.
But my victory will last; my saving power never ends. - Isaiah 51:4—6 CEV
God offers a lifetime warranty like no other. The earth wearing out like a garment is an image quoted by the author of Hebrews 1:11 as part of his exaltation of the Son of God, who created the universe and who, unlike the angels, always was and always will be.
Isaiah brought God's message to the Israelites who were facing the destruction of all they knew. The Assyrians were going to carry them far away to live as exiles. But they could not be separated from God no matter how far they went. Instead, he would ultimately defeat the Assyrians and bring his people back to their home. Someday the Israelites would accept God's truth and everything he had tried to teach them.
But God's salvation—his justice, his teaching—were not just for the people of Israel. Instead, God was for all people everywhere. He told the Israelites that soon he would reach out to everyone everywhere and rule over all the nations, not just over Israel. Israel had picked up the disease of their neighbors, the delusion that their God was small and ruled over only the lands that Israel called home. To be exiled from one's homeland was not just to be removed from what you had known, it was also to be removed from the care—and reach—of your god.
But God told them that he was more than just for the nations. Look at the sky, he told them, look at the earth. In Hebrew thinking, to refer to heaven and earth in the same passage meant "everything that there is." It was equivalent to our modern conception of the universe. God wanted them to see he ruled everywhere and through all time. The universe will end, but neither God nor his salvation will. We have a future with God.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
A Year with God
Selection Taken From:
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
The End from the Beginning
Remember this, fix it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels.
Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.
I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.
From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do.
Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted, you who are far from righteousness.
I am bringing my righteousness near, it is not far away; and my salvation will not be delayed. I will grant salvation to Zion, my splendor to Israel. - Isaiah 46:8—13 NIV
God's sense of speed bears no resemblance to ours. So we need to have the mind of Christ.
God's people, the Israelites, had been conquered and captured by the Assyrians. Judah would soon follow when the Babylonians conquered them. But that exile would end when God rescued them with the Persians. Persia—modern-day Iran—was to the east of Israel. The "bird of prey" from the east, "a man to fulfill my purpose," was none other than Cyrus the Great. In Isaiah 45:1 God referred to Cyrus as his "anointed," from the Hebrew word messiah. The Jewish captivity in Babylon and Assyria would end because God would use Cyrus to destroy the Babylonian Empire and set his people free. God gave Isaiah the prophecy of Cyrus about a hundred years before it would happen, and yet God said that the fulfillment—the rescue—was going to happen soon.
When Isaiah prophesied, the Babylonians hadn't yet conquered or attacked Jerusalem. The seventy years of captivity were far in the future. Before the Jewish people even needed salvation from the Babylonians, God was already letting them know that he would save them. From a human standpoint, a hundred years doesn't seem to be very soon. We become impatient just waiting a couple of seconds for a Web page to come up or two minutes for our food to heat in a microwave. God's definition of quick is not nearly as rushed as ours.
A Year with God by R.P. Nettelhorst
Make this the year you let God's Word "dwell in you richly"---and marvel at the results! Each entry in this 365-day devotional features Scripture verses in which God speaks, accompanied by insights and applications to enhance your understanding. Learn what God says about hope and fear; perseverance and quitting; companionship and isolation; and more! 384 pages, softcover from Nelson, Copyright 2010.
The End from the Beginning
Remember this, fix it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels.
Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.
I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.
From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do.
Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted, you who are far from righteousness.
I am bringing my righteousness near, it is not far away; and my salvation will not be delayed. I will grant salvation to Zion, my splendor to Israel. - Isaiah 46:8—13 NIV
God's sense of speed bears no resemblance to ours. So we need to have the mind of Christ.
God's people, the Israelites, had been conquered and captured by the Assyrians. Judah would soon follow when the Babylonians conquered them. But that exile would end when God rescued them with the Persians. Persia—modern-day Iran—was to the east of Israel. The "bird of prey" from the east, "a man to fulfill my purpose," was none other than Cyrus the Great. In Isaiah 45:1 God referred to Cyrus as his "anointed," from the Hebrew word messiah. The Jewish captivity in Babylon and Assyria would end because God would use Cyrus to destroy the Babylonian Empire and set his people free. God gave Isaiah the prophecy of Cyrus about a hundred years before it would happen, and yet God said that the fulfillment—the rescue—was going to happen soon.
When Isaiah prophesied, the Babylonians hadn't yet conquered or attacked Jerusalem. The seventy years of captivity were far in the future. Before the Jewish people even needed salvation from the Babylonians, God was already letting them know that he would save them. From a human standpoint, a hundred years doesn't seem to be very soon. We become impatient just waiting a couple of seconds for a Web page to come up or two minutes for our food to heat in a microwave. God's definition of quick is not nearly as rushed as ours.
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