Judges 5:1-31 Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying, 2 “That the leaders led in Israel, That the people volunteered, Bless the LORD! 3 “Hear, O kings; give ear, O rulers! I– to the LORD, I will sing, I will sing praise to the LORD, the God of Israel. 4 “LORD, when You went out from Seir, When You marched from the field of Edom, The earth quaked, the heavens also dripped, Even the clouds dripped water. 5 “The mountains quaked at the presence of the LORD, This Sinai, at the presence of the LORD, the God of Israel. 6 “In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, In the days of Jael, the highways were deserted, And travelers went by roundabout ways. 7 “The peasantry ceased, they ceased in Israel, Until I, Deborah, arose, Until I arose, a mother in Israel. 8 “New gods were chosen; Then war was in the gates. Not a shield or a spear was seen Among forty thousand in Israel. 9 “My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel, The volunteers among the people; Bless the LORD! 10 “You who ride on white donkeys, You who sit on rich carpets, And you who travel on the road– sing! 11 “At the sound of those who divide flocks among the watering places, There they shall recount the righteous deeds of the LORD, The righteous deeds for His peasantry in Israel. Then the people of the LORD went down to the gates. 12 “Awake, awake, Deborah; Awake, awake, sing a song! Arise, Barak, and take away your captives, O son of Abinoam. 13 “Then survivors came down to the nobles; The people of the LORD came down to me as warriors. 14 “From Ephraim those whose root is in Amalek came down, Following you, Benjamin, with your peoples; From Machir commanders came down, And from Zebulun those who wield the staff of office. 15 “And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; As was Issachar, so was Barak; Into the valley they rushed at his heels; Among the divisions of Reuben There were great resolves of heart. 16 “Why did you sit among the sheepfolds, To hear the piping for the flocks? Among the divisions of Reuben There were great searchings of heart. 17 “Gilead remained across the Jordan; And why did Dan stay in ships? Asher sat at the seashore, And remained by its landings. 18 “Zebulun was a people who despised their lives even to death, And Naphtali also, on the high places of the field. 19 “The kings came and fought; Then fought the kings of Canaan At Taanach near the waters of Megiddo; They took no plunder in silver. 20 “The stars fought from heaven, From their courses they fought against Sisera. 21 “The torrent of Kishon swept them away, The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. O my soul, march on with strength. 22 “Then the horses’ hoofs beat From the dashing, the dashing of his valiant steeds. 23 ‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the LORD, ‘Utterly curse its inhabitants; Because they did not come to the help of the LORD, To the help of the LORD against the warriors.’ 24 “Most blessed of women is Jael, The wife of Heber the Kenite; Most blessed is she of women in the tent. 25 “He asked for water and she gave him milk; In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds. 26 “She reached out her hand for the tent peg, And her right hand for the workmen’s hammer. Then she struck Sisera, she smashed his head; And she shattered and pierced his temple. 27 “Between her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay; Between her feet he bowed, he fell; Where he bowed, there he fell dead. 28 “Out of the window she looked and lamented, The mother of Sisera through the lattice, ‘Why does his chariot delay in coming? Why do the hoofbeats of his chariots tarry?’ 29 “Her wise princesses would answer her, Indeed she repeats her words to herself, 30 ‘Are they not finding, are they not dividing the spoil? A maiden, two maidens for every warrior; To Sisera a spoil of dyed work, A spoil of dyed work embroidered, Dyed work of double embroidery on the neck of the spoiler?’ 31 “Thus let all Your enemies perish, O LORD; But let those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.” And the land was undisturbed for forty years.

This song celebrating the death of an enemy troubles me.

Regardless whether you are a pacifist or an advocate of “just war” there are parts of the Bible that you will struggle with. “Just war” proponents have Jesus saying that we are turn the other check. Pacifists have Old Testament stories such as this. We can not just ignore them; but, I am not always sure what to do with stories like this. I hate to just brush it off as, “well, it was a different time, a different covenant, and a different people.”

How do you incorporate this story into your understanding of God? If you are a pacifist how does your theology interpret the celebratory nature of this song?

Isaiah 66:1-2 Thus says the LORD, “Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? 2 “For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being,” declares the LORD. “But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.

We cannot give God anything that did not already belong to God; yet we are called to give offerings to our God. We are called to be good stewards of all our possessions.

God is our Lord, our Master, and our King. We must honor our true King with humility. Everything we do, we must do for God. Anything we do not do for God is idolatry.

Praise God for blessing us with His magnificent creation. Praise God for loving us for eternity.

Isaiah 65:11-12 “But you who forsake the LORD, Who forget My holy mountain, Who set a table for Fortune, And who fill cups with mixed wine for Destiny, 12 I will destine you for the sword, And all of you will bow down to the slaughter. Because I called, but you did not answer; I spoke, but you did not hear. And you did evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight.”

When we undertake any activity, our first question must be, am I doing this for the glory of God? If the answer is no, then something must change.

Anything done in an effort to shape destiny or accumulate fortune, but without the blessing of God, will only bring destruction.

Protect your life, your family, and all that is valuable to you by first seeking the counsel of the Lord.

Isaiah 61:8-11 For I, the LORD, love justice, I hate robbery in the burnt offering; And I will faithfully give them their recompense And make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 Then their offspring will be known among the nations, And their descendants in the midst of the peoples. All who see them will recognize them Because they are the offspring whom the LORD has blessed. 10 I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, And as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up, So the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise To spring up before all the nations.

God is alive and active in this world. God has planted a crop of righteousness and praise which is ours to harvest.

How do you harvest righteousness?

How do you harvest praise?

What can you do today to harvest the righteousness and praise of God?

THE SABBATH REST by Samuel Hirszenberg (1866-1908)

Isaiah 58:13-14 “If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot From doing your own pleasure on My holy day, And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, And honor it, desisting from your own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And speaking your own word, 14 Then you will take delight in the LORD, And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

A Sabbath rest is about more than physical rest. It is about more than tending to relationships. It is about more than the worship of God.

A Sabbath rest is about seeking the ways of the Lord rather than my own ways. It is about purposefully taking a day to act in unnatural ways; the ways of the Lord.

For one day God asks us to cease doing what is natural to our own nature and instead do what is natural to a godly nature. This does not mean that we can be intentionally ungodly the rest of the week, but focusing on a godly nature for one day, will raise awareness of our ungodliness in the rest of our life.

Habits and attitudes do not change over night. They change over weeks and years; Sabbath by Sabbath.

Isaiah 57:3-4 come here, you sons of a sorceress, Offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute. 4 “Against whom do you jest? Against whom do you open wide your mouth And stick out your tongue? Are you not children of rebellion, Offspring of deceit,

v. 13 “When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you. But the wind will carry all of them up, And a breath will take them away.

vv. 20-21 the wicked are like the tossing sea, For it cannot be quiet, And its waters toss up refuse and mud. 21 “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

Have you ever stuck your tongue out at God? Think about that question for a moment. Have you ever rebelled against God and said, “I’m doing this my way”. We have all been “children of rebellion”, and sometimes we are our own idols.

The breath of God, the Holy Spirit, will crush your idols and carry them away. Do not be carried away with them. Instead, find peace.

There is no peace for the wicked. There is no peace for those who thumb their nose at God. There is no peace in self-salvation.

The only peace we will ever find, is the peace made available through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The only peace we will find is the peace found in recognizing that God is great, and I am not.

Peace is found in submission to Jesus as Lord and savior. Peace is found in being a servant to all, and not demanding that any bend to your will.

Peace is not found within; it is found in God.

Isaiah 56:6-9 “Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, To minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD, To be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath And holds fast My covenant; 7 Even those I will bring to My holy mountain And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.” 8 The Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares, “Yet others I will gather to them, to those already gathered.” 9 All you beasts of the field, All you beasts in the forest, Come to eat.

God has not limited his family to one people, nation, tribe, ethnic group, gender, or nationality. God is inclusive and wants to be reunited with all people. God’s house is a house of prayer for all the people. God is gathering people from all places, and all times, into his eternal kingdom.

To be a part of the kingdom all that is required is the admission that God is greater than I am, by receiving and believing in Jesus.

Isaiah 55:7-13 7 Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. 8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. 10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; 11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. 12 “For you will go out with joy And be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the field will clap their hands. 13 “Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up, And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up, And it will be a memorial to the LORD, For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off.”

God is compassionate. God wants to live in a restored relationship with every man and woman who has ever lived, and will ever live. God has a large family, and is calling all of his children home.

When we do wicked things we put a barrier between ourselves and God. When we listen to the words of God, we are drawn closer to God.

Take time this week to listen to the Holy Spirit, who is already speaking to your heart. Just listen.

Purify by Richard Hearns

Isaiah 52:9-13 Break forth, shout joyfully together, You waste places of Jerusalem; For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The LORD has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations, That all the ends of the earth may see The salvation of our God. 11 Depart, depart, go out from there, Touch nothing unclean; Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, You who carry the vessels of the LORD. 12 But you will not go out in haste, Nor will you go as fugitives; For the LORD will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard. 13 Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.

What does the phrase “The LORD has bared His holy arm” mean? Is it that the world can see God in this world? God has rolled up his sleeves and done a saving work? God is active and visible?

My other question: what is the difference between the Lord and the God of Israel in verse twelve? The Lord goes out before, but the God of Israel is the rear God. Is this a reference to the same being, thus suggesting that God is encompassing Israel? Is this a reference to two separate persons of God (two parts of the trinity)? Is this a reference to chronology; God working in the past and in the future?

I do not have the answers to these questions. This is a perfect time to go pull out some commentaries and look at how other Christians have responded to this passage.

Isaiah 51:6-8 “Lift up your eyes to the sky, Then look to the earth beneath; For the sky will vanish like smoke, And the earth will wear out like a garment And its inhabitants will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness will not wane. 7 “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, A people in whose heart is My law; Do not fear the reproach of man, Nor be dismayed at their revilings. 8 “For the moth will eat them like a garment, And the grub will eat them like wool. But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation to all generations.”

Isaiah 50:4-7 The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

7 For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.

May God grant you the tongue of a disciple, an opened ear, and daily help as you confront temptation.

Isaiah 49:5-6 And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am honored in the sight of the LORD, And My God is My strength), 6 He says, “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.”

God did not set out to save one person, or one family, or one nation; God set out to save all people from death and destruction.

The salvation which comes from God, Jesus, is available to all people at all times and in all places. It is an inclusive salvation, available to all who choose to be faithful to God.

To all who receive Jesus, to those who call on his name, God has given the right to become children of God.

God’s family is made up of all people from all places. We need to be sure we are taking care of our family.

Isaiah 48:17-19 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go. 18 “If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea. 19 “Your descendants would have been like the sand, And your offspring like its grains; Their name would never be cut off or destroyed from My presence.”

Israel was conquered by Assyria and by Babylon because they strayed away from the commands of God. God states, over and over in the Bible, that blessing is inextricably linked with faithfulness.

When we are faithful we are blessed.

That is not to say that we receive every desire when we are faithful to God; neither is it to say that no tribulations come when we are faithful to God. In every life hard times come, but eternal blessing is available only to those who are faithful to God.

Isaiah 48:22 “There is no peace for the wicked,” says the LORD.

The Ishtar Gate of Babylon

Isaiah 47:8-15 “Now, then, hear this, you sensual one, Who dwells securely, Who says in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me. I will not sit as a widow, Nor know loss of children.’ 9 “But these two things will come on you suddenly in one day: Loss of children and widowhood. They will come on you in full measure In spite of your many sorceries, In spite of the great power of your spells. 10 “You felt secure in your wickedness and said, ‘No one sees me,’ Your wisdom and your knowledge, they have deluded you; For you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’ 11 “But evil will come on you Which you will not know how to charm away; And disaster will fall on you For which you cannot atone; And destruction about which you do not know Will come on you suddenly. 12 “Stand fast now in your spells And in your many sorceries With which you have labored from your youth; Perhaps you will be able to profit, Perhaps you may cause trembling.

In this passage Babylon is represented by the character of a sorceress. The sorceress repeatedly says, “I am, and there is no one besides me”. This is an allusion to God being referred to as “I am” (Moses asked God who he should say sent him, and God said, “Say ‘I Am’ sent you.” Exodus 3:13-14). Essentially, the sorceress is claiming to be God or as great as God.

Babylon believes it has great power which can charm her enemies and prevent destruction. God prophesies that destruction will eventually come to Babylon, regardless of how great her citizens believe her to be.

When we set ourselves up as “little gods” then we are setting ourselves in opposition to God. No matter how great a person or nation, if set in conflict with God, God will win.

To claim to be a god is to invite destruction into our lives. To live under the authority of God, is to invite salvation into our lives.

Isaiah 46:9-13 “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; 11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it. 12 “Listen to Me, you stubborn-minded, Who are far from righteousness. 13 “I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off; And My salvation will not delay. And I will grant salvation in Zion, And My glory for Israel.

A list of truths found in this passage:
* There is no other God
* No one is like God
* God’s purposes will be established
* God will accomplish what pleases God
* God calls people from far countries
* God plans
* What God plans, God does
* People are stubborn
* People do not listen
* People are far from righteousness
* God brings righteousness
* God’s righteousness is near
* God’s salvation is imminent
* God gives away salvation
* God gives away glory

Isaiah 45:2-8 “I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars. 3 “I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places, So that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name. 4 “For the sake of Jacob My servant, And Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor Though you have not known Me. 5 “I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; 6 That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, 7 The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these. 8 “Drip down, O heavens, from above, And let the clouds pour down righteousness; Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit, And righteousness spring up with it. I, the LORD, have created it.

This is a promise made to a guy named Cyrus. It is not a promise that was made to you, or to me, or to anyone else (unless your name is Cyrus, then we can talk).

Christian’s often make the mistake of assuming that any promise God ever made applies to them. That’s not true. There are many promises that apply to you and me; this is not one of them.

We can read this passage and know the promise God made to one individual at one point in time. We can read this passage and learn the types of promises that God will sometimes make. We can not read this passage and assume it applies to us.

When you read a passage like this, take the time to learn something about God. God desires righteousness, God will strengthen those doing God’s work, God formed light and created darkness, God causes well-being and creates calamity.

We can learn a great deal from the promises God made to other people.

Isaiah 44:24-28 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, “I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth all alone, 25 Causing the omens of boasters to fail, Making fools out of diviners, Causing wise men to draw back And turning their knowledge into foolishness, 26 Confirming the word of His servant And performing the purpose of His messengers. It is I who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’ And of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built.’ And I will raise up her ruins again. 27 “It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Be dried up!’ And I will make your rivers dry. 28 “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,’ And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’”

God gets what God wants, and there is nothing you or I can do about it. We can get in God’s way. We can oppose God. But, ultimately, God wins. I don’t know that we always do a good job of thinking through the implications of God getting what God wants.

Savior by Michael Pfleghaar

Isaiah 43:1-11 “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! 2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. 3 “For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. 4 “Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life. 5 “Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, And gather you from the west. 6 “I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth, 7 Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.” 8 Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, And the deaf, even though they have ears. 9 All the nations have gathered together So that the peoples may be assembled. Who among them can declare this And proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses that they may be justified, Or let them hear and say, “It is true.” 10 “You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me. 11 “I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me.

Isaiah 42:1-4 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 “He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. 3 “A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. 4 “He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”

This section is the first of the “Servant Songs” (Isaiah 42:1-9; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12). This introduction to the Servant character of Isaiah is quoted in Matthew:

Matthew 12:17-21 his was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: 18 “BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN; MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES. 19 “HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT; NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS. 20 “A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF, AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT, UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY. 21 “AND IN HIS NAME THE GENTILES WILL HOPE.”

This passage focuses on the Servant as the one who brings forth God’s justice. And this justice is an earthly justice. If we assume that the Servant is Jesus (based upon the passage in Matthew), we need to ask the question: how has Jesus brought about earthly justice?

It is too easy, and far too common, to assume that the justice established by Jesus has to do with heaven and hell, and life after death. This verse seems to insist that part of Jesus role was to bring about justice on this earth in the here an now.

My belief is that Jesus established the Church for this reason: to reflect the light of Christ to the world for the rest of time, and to bring justice into a very broken world. As Christians we are all responsible to work toward bringing about the justice described in this passage. None of us can fix everything; but each of us can work on fixing something.

How have you been called to establish justice in your world?

Isaiah 41:10 ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

This was originally spoken only to the nation of Israel; but, I think it applies to Christians as well.