Disclaimer

Disclaimer: I am not a Biblical scholar. All my posts and comments are opinions and thoughts formulated through my current understanding of the Bible. I strive to speak of things that can be validated through Biblical Scriptures, and when I'm merely speculating, I make sure to note it. My views can be flawed, and I thus welcome any constructive perspectives and criticisms!

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Isaiah 13-14

Isaiah 13:1–5, 17–18
- Babylon was not as strong as King Hezekiah’s country in Isaiah's time.
- The “holy ones” are the Holy Spirit and Angels. The “warriors” are the opposing forces to take down Hezekiah, which is Babylon. Holy means “sanctioned by God.”
See Genesis 10:8–10, Genesis 11:1–9
- Babylon’s ancestor was Nimrod. He was famous because he was a “might hunter before the Lord.” The type of attitude expressed by Babylon is pride, lack of humility.

Isaiah 13:6–22
- The repeated phrase is “The day of the Lord is coming” or “The day of the Lord is near.”
- We learn that the day will be a day of destruction; all men will be filled with terror, pain, and anguish. The day will be a cruel day, a day full of wrath and fierce anger. The day will destroy all the sinners. The day will be a dark day, where the stars of Heaven will not shine, the rising sun will be darkened, and the moon will not be lit. God will punish the evil on this day, and He will end arrogance and humble those who are proud and ruthless. On this day, many men will die, because many men are evil and need to be punished.
- From this passage, people might think it is thus okay to be violent, to use violence to gain justice.

See Romans 12:17–21
- However, God’s wrath is God’s wrath. No human being can use it, because we are not perfect, and we are not the Judge. God is the Judge, for He is the one and only perfect being who is perfectly JUST. Furthermore, we are encouraged by the Bible to “not repay anyone evil for evil.” Just because others have done wrong and have done evil in the eyes of the Lord, we have been told to “be careful to do what is right.” Because if we repay evil with evil, then we have also done evil. And on the day of Judgment, we, too, will then be punished by God for the evil that we have done. Hence, we have also been told, “Do not take revenge but leave room for God’s wrath.” Because at the end of times, only God can punish the evil. Because only God is perfect. God will be just and punish all those who have done evil. And so, no matter what, we cannot do evil even if evil has been done to us. God will avenge us for the evil that has been done to us. God will protect us from all the injustice. We must be patient and wait for God to deliver the final judgment.

Isaiah 14:1–8
- After humbling Israel, God will show His love for Israel by uniting the house of Jacob in his own land. There will be peace. God will also relieve Israel from suffering, turmoil, and cruel slavery. God will save Israel from the rule of Babylon.
- Babylon was too proud and think it can be God’s equal or even greater than God, and thus it fell.
- Israel’s relationship with the nations will be restored. Israel will unite all nations, and all nations will be ruled under Israel.

Isaiah 14:9–32
- Babylonian King thinks he would go to Heaven and rise above the throne of God. But in reality, God will strike Babylonian King down and also his descendents and cut them off from God. No one will ever remember Bablyonians, and there is no place in Heaven for them.
- When a person die and is not a Christian, he cannot go home to Heaven, because by choosing never to put his trust in the Lord, he has chosen not to go there. The soul of a non-Christian, when he dies, thus goes to a place where there is no God. Because this place has no presence of God, the world is dark, cold, and unjust. And people call this place Hell, because it is ruled by Satan. People who are weak in spirit are people who chose not to place their trust in the Lord. And because they refuse to be a part of God and His people, they all end up in Satan’s world. These people are proud and thought they were better than everyone else. They thought they were so powerful, they do not need God to teach them, to love them, to guide them. Such prideful behavior weakens their soul, allowing Satan to come and seduce them, to lure them to his world, to Hell.

Compare Isaiah 14:12–15 with Luke 10:18 and Revelation 12:9
- The King of Babylon represents Satan, the devil.

Read Isaiah 14:22–23 and Revelation 18:2, 10 and 21.
- During the end of Babylon, the Lord will rise against them. God will cut off Babylon and its descendents from Him and bring destruction to its land. He will bring an end to the Babylon kingdom; God will bring Babylon its doom. Babylon will then become a home for demons, with evil spirit runs wild, because it would be the home of Satan. And after this day, Babylon will be completely destroyed, never to rise again.

- God will save Judah from Assryia. Assyria will be crushed by God, removing its control on the people of Judah. God will triumph, because He has made the decision, and no one can prevent God’s will, not even Satan. God will therefore set up Zion for the people of Judah, a place where every child of God will be sheltered, protected, and live in peace and harmony.

Isaiah 11-12

Isaiah 11:1–5
- Verse 11:1 is good news, because it is foretelling that Judah’s descendents will rise again.
See also 2 Samuel 7:12–16; Matthew 1:1, 6; Revelation 22:16
- The stump represents King David; the Branch is Jesus

- The qualifications to rule are listed in Isaiah 11:2-5
2The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD
3and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

Exodus 31:3; 35:31
- The Holy Spirit fills one with “skill, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of crafts.”

Judges 6:34; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6
- The Holy Spirit fills one with courage and power.

Numbers 11:25
- The Holy Spirit allows one to witness the future and prophesy it to others.

1 Samuel 10:11; 16:1–13
- The Holy Spirit allows one to be blessed by the Lord’s power.

John 15:26; 16:14
- The Holy Spirit reveals the Truth and promotes sharing of the Truth.

Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 12:13
- The Holy Spirit connects all of us with God. Our bodies are thus temples of God’s Spirit.

Romans 8:15–16
- The Holy Spirit welcomes us as sons and daughters of God, our Lord.

Acts 1:8; 4:31
- The Holy Spirit fills us with the courage to speak to others about God, to evangelize.

Ephesians 1:13
- The Holy Spirit marks us as believers, as followers of Jesus Christ, as Christians.

Isaiah 11:6–9.
The kingdom of the Branch will bring peace, and its people will all know that the Lord is our Father, and that He is our one and only God.
- Matthew 24:36 says that “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” This means that we will not know when exactly Jesus will return to begin his reign on Earth. However, Matthew 24:4-35 says that there will be signs of the end of age, signs of Jesus’s coming.
(I suggest reading Matthew 24. Upon complete understanding, the answer will come.)

Isaiah 11:10–16
See Exodus 13:17–15:21
- The phrase “He will break it up into seven streams so that men can cross over in sandals,” reminds me of how God allowed Moses to lead his people across the red sea.
See Numbers 21:8–9; John 3:14–15; 12:32–33; and Romans 15:12
- The Root of Jesse is Jesus. Jesus will stand as a banner of His peoples by giving them eternal life, salvation from sins.
- The nations Ephraim (Northern Kingdom of Israel) and Judah (southern kingdom of Israel) will unite and become one under the reign of Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 12
- The reason to praise God is because God has brought about peace and salvation under the reign of Jesus.
See John 4:10, 13–14; 7:37–38
- Salvation is sweet, satisfying, and eternal.
- The verbs give thanks, call on, sing, shout aloud, and sing for joy all describe the response of a person who has experienced the blessings of salvation.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Isaiah 10:5–34


Isaiah 10:5–15
2 Kings 18:9–16
- The King of Assyria defeated Israel and Judah, which was reflected by Isaiah's prophecy.
- God’s purpose was to punish the godless nation of Israel; Assyrian’s purpose was to become powerful
- Man thinks he can conquer everyone based on his own powers.
- God will also punish the King of Assyria for his pride. King of Assyria needs to understand that his ability to overpower Israel was due to God’s will, not based on his own power.

Isaiah 10:5–6, 12
- God needed to discipline Judah because Judah was too prideful.
Galatians 6:1–4
Hebrews 12:3–17
- God’s discipline is an expression of His love, because He encourages us all to help each other when we see each other in trouble.
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Discipline is form of love; it shows care. A father who cares enough about his children will take the time to discipline his children. Also, when we see others struggling, we should help but be careful not to fall in.

Isaiah 10:16–27
- Because Judah is a descendent of Jacob, a remnant of them will be saved.
- From the passage, it seems that God will send earthquakes and floods to defeat Assyria.
- The remnant of Judah will rely on the Lord God and not anyone else; they will the be the true Holy One of Israel.
See Exodus 14:15–31 and Judges 7:19–25
- These victories were all won because of God’s will. Recalling these events would comfort Judah because it would remind him that God is Almighty, and when God promises victories, there will be victories.

Isaiah 10:28–34.
- The approaching enemy is menacing and large in number. Their approach puts a lot of fear in the people, and many people have ran away because of their fear.
- The enemy will halt at Nob because God will not let them proceed any further. Once these people reach Nob, God will strike them down.
- People who are too proud will not be able to acknowledge that their success was not their own. They too depend on other people’s help, but because they are so proud, the pride has blinded them. They are eager to take credit for themselves, thinking they accomplish everything all by themselves. However, in reality, there are many people along the way that helped them get to wherever they are today. Many people believe in luck. And maybe it is luck. Or, maybe it is God helping you out.
It is always better to be thankful. Thankful for all the opportunities. Because luck or no luck, things don’t always have to go the way we predict. Thing can always go bad. And when it doesn’t, it is just better to be thankful as opposed to being prideful, thinking all the success belongs to just ourselves.
And by being too proud, people will push God, other people, and nations out. They will no longer be able to listen to anything.
- Love, humility, and forgiveness is the real antidote. Jesus Christ is the ONLY one TRUE PERFECT person that has ever lived. And yet, instead of being prideful, He shared His love with people. Others get jealous and angry over the things He was able to do. Some spat on Him, many wanted to kill Him. In fact, the Philistines succeeded in killing Jesus on the cross. And even then, Jesus still showed love and forgive the people who hated Him.
Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

Isaiah 10:5–34
- God’s ultimate goal is to discipline His children, to teach them about love and courage, and most important of all, to love and trust Him. We may not always be able to understand His great plans, but we should always trust that as our Father, He is always looking out for us. He is always listening and watching.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Isaiah 8:19-10:4

Isaiah 8:19
Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?

Isaiah 8:19–22
1 Samuel 28
- Mediums and spiritists are those who communicate with unclean entities (such as the dead). There are many non-Christian religions that communicate with mediums and spiritists. This is why God gets very angry when His children do this, because they are falling under the control of Satan and his demons.
See Leviticus 19:31; 20:6; 2 Kings 21:6; 23:24; Isaiah 19:3; Jeremiah 27:9–10
- God forbids His children to use mediums and spiritists, do not listen to them. God thinks this is evil. If people refuse to obey and still consult them, God will turn His face away from these people.
- If people refuse to obey and still consult them, God will turn His face away from these people.
See also Romans 1
- By not seeking spiritual truth, God will leave, and leave the mind to rot.
Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.”

Isaiah 9:1–5
- Matthew 4:12-17 fulfills Isaiah 9:1-2 through Jesus. Jesus allowed God’s Light to shine upon the darkness of the Gentiles.
- From John 1:1-9 describes how Jesus is the light that gives light to every man in the world.

Isaiah 9:6–7
- The child from 9:6-7 and 7:14 refer to Jesus. He will bring light and peace to the world.
See 2 Samuel 7:12–13, 16
- This child’s kingdom will come from David’s blood line, and it will last forever.

Isaiah 9:8–10:4
- The repeated phrase is “Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.” It is related to Isaiah’s message against Israel in that because Israel has done evil in God’s eyes, God will punish Israel. But even though God has anger for the evil that Israel has done, God will still welcome His children home if they choose to come home and will thus never abandon them.
- The reasons identified for Israel’s prolonged judgment are listed in Isaiah 9:13-17
“But the people have not returned to him who struck them,
nor have they sought the LORD Almighty.
So the LORD will cut off from Israel both head and tail,
both palm branch and reed in a single day;
the elders and prominent men are the head,
the prophets who teach lies are the tail.
Those who guide this people mislead them,
and those who are guided are led astray.
Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men,
nor will he pity the fatherless and widows,
for everyone is ungodly and wicked,
every mouth speaks vileness.”
- God destroyed the cities Sodom and Gomorrah because the two cities did a lot of Evil in God’s eyes. God “rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah.” (See Genesis 19:1-29)
- God’s grace is that even though no matter how much we try to be good, we will never be good enough, He will still choose to love us and to welcome us. As long as we choose to be with Him and listen to His teaching, we will be welcomed back. God’s grace is the sacrifice of His one and only perfect son, Jesus Christ. Without Jesus, we would still be under the penalty of sin that is so great, we would never be able to set foot in Heaven and be with God. But Jesus died for us and washed away all our sins, allowing us to enter Heaven once again. God’s grace is thus very amazing. He chooses to welcome us back. Even though there is nothing we can ever do to become perfect or good enough to enter Heaven, God sacrificed His own son to allow us to get back to Him. Hence, God’s grace is great and eternal.
God’s wrath, similarly, is thus very amazing as well. He gives his people many chances to turn good before He punishes them (hence, “slow to anger”), but once those chances are ignore, He will punish them (like how He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah).

And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Isaiah 7:1-8:18

Introduction to Isaiah

Isaiah 7:1-8:18
- Quoted text: If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.
- Quoted text: Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test.
- There is no need to fear when one trusts God.
- Interesting points:
Isaiah 7:9
“If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.”
- This means, trust the Lord. If you do not trust Him, then you will fail.
Isaiah 7:12
“Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.’”
- Although this is a good mindset (God has said to never put Him to the test), we can see that this isn’t the case here, as seen in the next sentence, below.
Isaiah 7:13
“Will you try the patience of my God also?”
- This suggests that God is trying to deliver a message/prophecy, as mentioned below.
Isaiah 7:14
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, andd will call him Immanuel.”
- I find this prophecy interesting because it shows that Christ was not the only human born from a virgin!

Isaiah 7:1–9
2 Kings 16:1–6
- Judah's crisis was that they could not overpower Jerusalem.
- The name of Isaiah’s first son means “a remnant shall return.” This means that a portion of Israelites will return to Jerusalem.
- Aram has allied itself with Ephraim, and Ahaz are not allies with these two great powers.
- Always place faith in God and trust that He will do what He has promised to do—and that is, to protect His people.
- The definition of “Sovereign” is:
The person, body, or state in which independent and supreme authority is vested; especially, in a monarchy, a king, queen, or emperor.
Syn: King; prince; monarch; potentate; emperor. [1913 Webster]
Hence, the significance of “the Sovereign Lord” means God is the one true King of Everything.
- God is the one true King, and that there are no other gods.

Isaiah 7:10–16
Matthew 1
2 Kings 16:7–10
Exodus 17:1–7
Deuteronomy 6:16
- Ahaz placed his trust in other gods and chose not to trust in the Lord
- God gave Ahaz the sign, as quoted in Isaiah 7:14-16
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.”
This sign means Israel will eventually be saved.
- According to Matthew 1, this prophecy points to Jesus Christ.
- Most importantly, Christian do NOT disregard Jesus as the sign from God. Israelites do. And the reason why Israelites do is because God had long predicted that they would be blind to what they see and deaf to what they hear. The Israelites thus could not and cannot comprehend the meaning of Jesus Christ until the end of times.

Isaiah 7:17–8:10
- In that day the LORD will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria. They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices in the rocks, on all the thornbushes and at all the water holes. In that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Riverf—the king of Assyria—to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to take off your beards also. In that day, a man will keep alive a young cow and two goats. And because of the abundance of the milk they give, he will have curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curds and honey. In that day, in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels,g there will be only briers and thorns. Men will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers and thorns. As for all the hills once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns; they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.
God will do this to bring on the King of Assyria, to bring the end of Damascus and Ephraim.
- Despite their current hardship, the Lord is on their side and will help them out of this situation.
- “This people” and “You nations” = people of Damascus and Ephraim, people who chose to disobey God , who has no faith in God, who chose to place their faith in other gods. These people and nations will be destroyed.

Isaiah 8:11–18
- Isaiah says if we put our faith in our Lord, we should have no fear.
- To fear the Lord means to understand that He is our maker and thus to respect that He is the one—the ONLY one—who can make anything happen. To realize that we may plan all we want and manipulate all we want and think that we can do whatever we wish, but that at the end of the day, no matter how powerful we THINK we are, God can destroy it all with a simple wave of His hands.

Isaiah 28:16
Romans 9:30–33
1 Peter 2:4–10
- To the Israelites, Jesus is a stumbling stone.
- To the Gentiles, Jesus is a sanctuary.

Isaiah 7:1–8:18
- Trust God no matter what. Especially at times when things are hard and doubts start to set in. It is especially easy for us to lose faith during those vulnerable moments, and thus it is even more critical for us to remain close to God and to constantly seek His guidance.