Breakfast Club Devotion #27 – Isaiah 40 - 66: Rebuild, Repair, Raise Up!

Immediately following the great Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 61, we find one of those beautiful and poetic passages which at once conveys hope in God’s plans while comforting those who have suffered loss and also calling us to action.

Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, they will raise up the former devastations, and they will repair the ruined cities. (61:4)

Throughout our study of Isaiah 40-66 I have used a “word study” method to explore significant themes of the book. This passage motivated me to develop a study on the theme of the related words: build, raise, repair, restore, and revive. This concordance based word study method is my favorite way to explore a biblical writer’s treatment of specific themes. The passages below indicate almost every use of these five words in chapters 40-66.

In this list, my favorite is 57:14-15 - “Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstacle out of the way of My people. For thus says the high and exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy, I dwell on a high and holy place, an also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.” This is reminiscent of Isaiah 40:3 and the message of John the Baptist – “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness,”

Here the prophet exhorts us to make a path and remove the obstacles that hinder people from knowing God and experiencing his plans for us; he inspires hope based on God’s desire that we be revived, reminding us that God’s agenda is one of restoring, repairing, and rebuilding.

42:22 But this is a people plundered and despoiled; all of them are trapped in caves, or are hidden away in prisons; they have become a prey with none to deliver them, and a spoil, with none to say, “Give them back”! (Hebrew – “restore”)

44:26, 28 It is I who says of Jerusalem, “She shall be inhabited!” And the cities of Judah, “they shall be built.” And I will raise up her ruins again. … It is I who says of Cyrus, “He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.” And he declares of Jerusalem, “She will be built.”

45:13 “I have aroused him (Cyrus) in righteousness, and I will make all his ways smooth; he will build My city, and will let My exiles go free, without any payment or reward,” says the Lord of hosts.

49:6 It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.

54:11 O afflicted one, storm tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set (build) your stones in antimony, and your foundations I will lay in sapphires.

57:18 I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and to his mourners.

58:12 And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise up the age-old foundations; and you will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets in which to dwell.

61:4 Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, they will raise up the former devastations, and they will repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.

62:10 Go through, go through the gates; clear the way for the people; build up, build up the highway; remove the stones, lift up a standard over the peoples.

65:21-22 And they shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit, they shall not plant, and another eat; for as the lifetime of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, and My chosen ones shall wear out the work of their hands.

Hero of the Faith – Watchman Nee and the “Little Flock” Church

One of my favorite authors is Watchman Nee, a hero of the Christian faith who spent the last 20 years of his life in prison in China. Nee’s last written words were found at his side at his death…“Christ is the Son of God who died for the redemption of sinners and resurrected after three days. This is the greatest truth in the universe. I die because of my belief in Christ.”

Watchman Nee (Ni Shu-tsu or Ni To-sheng, 1903 – 1972) was a Chinese Christian pastor and author who is said to have started approximately 400 local churches throughout China before his arrest by the Communist authorities in 1952. As a Christian pastor who refused to adopt the official Communist version of the church, he remained in prison for 20 years until his death. His writings have inspired many Christians around the world. The following excerpt from Against the Tide: The Story of Watchman Nee by Angus I. Kinnear (p. 152-153), describes circumstances in his primary ministry home, the “Little Flock” meeting at Assembly Hall on Hardoon Road, Shanghai, around 1940.

Bible teaching was seriously constricted by the inadequate premises. Many wooden pillars of the three-property space (later extended to five properties) compelled various adaptations of the ground floor area for tight packed meetings. The hall had no heating and the floor squeaked atrociously when walked on. On Sunday morning crowds gather quietly at 9:30 to hear the preaching of the Word. On backless benches all must sit as close as possible to make the maximum use of the space, for outside the building on three sides more people sit at the windows and the big double doors or listen to the loudspeakers, and there is even an overflow upstairs. As well as the poor the educated and rich are here: doctors mingle with labourers, lawyers and teachers with rickshaw men and cooks. … Children run about, dogs wander in, hawkers enter the lane, cars honk in the road outside, and the P.A. system is erratic. But each Sunday the word of the Cross is faithfully preached. Sin and salvation, the new life in Christ and the eternal purpose of God, service and spiritual warfare – all are expounded and nothing is held back. They are given the strongest food and the straightest challenge.

Watchman held their attention with his gentle manner, his simple but thorough reasoning and his apt analogies. No one ever saw him use any notes for he remembered and could reproduce anything he read. To illustrate a thing visually he would drat a swift imaginary sketch in the air (which a young worker might reproduce on poster paper afterwards) and if to illumine some point he told a personal anecdote it was nearly always a story against himself. His keen sense of humor sent frequent ripples of laughter round the hall and ‘you never got sleepy in his meetings.’ But from start to finish he never strayed from his subject. ‘What matters’ he used to say, ‘is the effectiveness of the word proclaimed,’ and unfailingly at the end he had left a clear and deep impression on the minds and hearts of his hearers.

Breakfast Club Devotion #26 - Isaiah 61: Bible Time Machine

Have you ever considered if you had the opportunity to go back in time and witness any single event in history, what event would you choose? Of the many times and places in history that I would like to be a “fly on the wall,” the one I would choose is Jesus first public ministry in his childhood home of Nazareth. As Jesus the young rabbi stood up to read in the synagogue, the book of Isaiah was handed to him. “And he opened the book and found the place where it was written : ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.’” (Luke 4:18-19) Jesus quoted from Isaiah 61:1-2a. Then he closed the book and sat down, and everyone in the synagogue looked at him. He further explained, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” In other words, for those in attendance, Jesus had just read the prophet’s words about the future messiah, and announced to the people that he was the fulfillment of those words. While his announcement was remarkable, equally remarkable was the content. Jesus essentially stated that a primary focus of his ministry is to bring good news to the poor, the captives, the blind, and downtrodden, and to proclaim a time of God’s favor, a phrase that many interpreters take to be a reference to the Levitical Year of Jubilee. Clearly these statements have multiple layers of literal and spiritual meaning, for multiple stages of historical fulfillment. But at the very least we can conclude that Jesus is concerned about the groups mentioned, and the literal and figurative, spiritual, emotional, social, or other forms of poverty, blindness, captivity and down-trodden-ness. Many times it is not clear to us what God would have us do with our time on this earth. But this passage - similar to Matthew 5:3-11 or Matthew 25:35-36 or Matthew 28:19-20 or John 15:12-13 or others - is a case in which the directive is clear and unavoidable – take God’s good news to those who are downtrodden.

BC Devotion #25 Isaiah 60: Your Light Has Come

In ministry to the downtrodden, there is a tendency to notice biblical passages which speak of a glorious future, a time of relief from present troubles, hope for a better day. Isaiah 60 conveys such a hope .. “Arise shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” Later in the chapter we find a collection of phrases that portray a contrast between a painful past and a joyous future. “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated … I will make you an everlasting pride, a joy from generation to generation. Instead of bronze, I will bring gold, instead of iron I will bring silver… Your sun will set no more, neither will your moon wane; for you will have the Lord for an everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will be finished.”

In the middle of this chapter is a hidden gem, like many other treasures I have found in this study of Isaiah. “I will make peace your administrators, and righteousness your overseers. Violence will not be heard again in your land, nor devastation or destruction within your borders; but you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise.” From my perspective, living out a vocation under God’s calling as a jail administrator, these words are particularly inspiring, as I walk among gates and walls working to foster peace and righteousness in a subculture often characterized by violence and devastation.

I have found that a message of hope and promise is comforting, inspiring, and motivating. The Lord desires to speak into the life of every person, and the words of Isaiah give people hope that their time will come. The chapter closes … “I, the Lord will hasten it in its time.”

BC Devotion #24 - Have You Discovered Isaiah 58?

Isaiah 58 is one of the most inspiring chapters in the Bible, but for much of my life I don’t recall being aware of it at all. Around 1996, Janet and I were pursuing special needs adoption. We had done everything to be eligible, and were considering several special needs children. Seeking God for direction, Janet “discovered” Isaiah 58 in her personal devotional time, and the passage helped us gain confidence to aggressively pursue the adoption of a particular little boy. In the end, God did not open that door for us; another family that was probably better suited to his needs became his family. But soon thereafter, Janet and I became immersed in children’s ministry at Timothy Baptist Church, and it seemed like we had dozens of new children. Over the years, we have encountered a steady stream of special ministry opportunities with special people that we met at Timothy, then later at the Bread of Life Church, ChristWalk Ministries and Jubilee House for men, and more recently at The Sparrow’s Nest Mission Church. (Over the years and through these adventures, our "home base" has been Watkinsville FBC.) If you are not familiar with this special chapter, take some time to consider its message. “…and the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a well watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail …”

BC Devotion #23 Isaiah 59: There Was No One to Intercede

My favorite Old Testament word occurs five times in Isaiah 59, but the report is not good. “They do not know the way of peace, and there is no justice in their tracks (8) ... Justice is far from us (9) … We hope for justice, but there is none (11) … Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; For truth has stumbled in the street, and uprightness cannot enter. (14)” Individual and corporate sin, dishonesty, schemes of mischief and iniquity, turning away from God, oppression and revolt, lead to confusion, violence, and destruction. “We grope along the wall like blind men … we growl like bears and moan sadly like doves.” Connected to this sentiment is a theme which is expressed several times in Isaiah - God’s disappointment in a lack of human leadership ... “Now 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.” Isaiah 59:15-16 Is it the case that men and women never step up to the challenge? Scripture and history indicates that there are many examples to the contrary. We could even say that one of the main purposes of life on earth is to give us the opportunity to answer God’s call in the face of ungodly and unjust circumstances. For many that will become a leadership opportunity. The lack of human leadership often noted by the prophet stands in contrast to cases in which a man or woman is used by God for divine purposes. Consider how God used Cyrus .. “Whom I have taken by the right hand, to subdue nations before him, to loose the loins of kings; to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut.” Further, God indicates “I have aroused him in righteousness, and I will make all his ways smooth; He will build My city and will let My exiles go free.” (Isaiah 45:1,2,13) If we are available like Cyrus, Perhaps God will take us by the hand and use us as an agent of deliverance. If, however, there is no man or woman to be that leader in the circumstance of oppression, God promises “I will answer them myself.” (see 41:17). God’s consistent response to human failure is to intervene himself. Here in chapter 59, the prophet expresses ..“Then his own arm brought salvation to Him. And he but on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head.” May we exhibit in our own life and ministry God’s zeal for justice, righteousness, and truth.

Breakfast Club Devotion #20 - Isaiah 51: The Law of the Lord

“Pay attention to Me, My people .. for a law will go forth from Me, and I will set My justice for a light of the peoples.” (Isaiah 51:4) The Hebrew word for “law” is “Torah,” which we usually take to mean the laws of God beginning with the law of Moses in the first five books of the Bible. Though the law of Moses had been given hundreds of years earlier, the Lord indicates through the prophet that “a law will go forth from me.” This “law” is a part of God’s promises to the people, along with “justice” that will be a light for the people, “righteousness” that draws near, “salvation” which will also go forth.

51:5 “My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth. And My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait for Me, And for My arm they will wait expectantly.”

While the law of God includes God’s commands, precepts, and statutes, the prophet’s words indicate that the law of God represents something bigger than the system of rules that became the highly refined system of 613 specific commands that was a central part of religious devotion by the time of Jesus.

As referenced in BC #19, the arm of God represents the activity of God in the world. Likewise, the law of God represents the ways of God in our life and in our community that create God’s justice, righteousness, and salvation. Ultimately, this way of life, this light of the people, is Jesus Christ, our example, our teacher, and our savior.

Isaiah 42:2 “He will faithfully bring forth justice, He will not be disheartened or crushed until He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.” Jesus showed us that the law of God is not fundamentally a set of rules that we fear to break, or that we aspire to as a means to piety. Rather, the law of God is a way of life in which we place our hope; the kingdom influence in our communities for which, in faith, we work and wait expectantly; a way of life that embodies God’s justice and righteousness in all of its fullness. This law is in the heart of God’s people. (51:7)

Of the law, Jesus said ..
“However you want people to treat you, so treat them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (7:12)

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment.’ The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (22:37-40)

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17)