ISAIAH

Chapter 7

God does not want His people to align themselves with those about them.
He knew their tendency to absorb the values, thinking and behaviors of others.
They wandered so quickly from His way.
Yet the king, because of fear, was seeking coalition with others.
Isaiah, God's messenger, reassured the king that within a relatively short time
the powers he feared would be powerless.
He was to stand firm in his faith ~ or he would not stand at all.
Whether the king refused to acknowledge Isaiah as God's messenger
or if he was simply stubborn and wanted to do as he wanted to do (or both),
he would find that God had revealed truth in the years to follow.
God would work through the Assyrians to humble His people.
Their land would be plundered.
Yet, despite this, there would be those who were faithful to their God,
and these would know His provision amidst the devastation.

Twila Charles Leichty
April 1, 2009




ISAIAH

Chapter 8

As God released His enemies to reveal the truth of His word,
God encouraged Isaiah to stand firm,
not to go with the people's thinking and course of action.
He was to continue to stand strong in his faith,
to continue to follow, without fear.
His trust in God Almighty would be rewarded.
He would be protected, sheltered from ruin.
He and his family would dwell securely in Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, as those things God said would be, were happening,
the people who had followed their king would find themselves starving,
would lash out against their ruler (and God),
and consult other sources they credited as knowledgeable,
but the light of truth was no longer available to them.

Twila Charles Leichty
April 1, 2009