God always seems to sustain a righteous, believing remnant among His people. Even as the nation around them falls away from God, there are some who still seek Him and who still try to live according to His ways. The context in Isaiah is similar. The nation has fallen away from God. There is war. There is a believing remnant.
What is fascinating is that in verse 14 we see that God can at once be a sanctuary for His remnant and also a stone to strike or stumble over for the rest of the nation. There is reason to be encouraged and hopeful for the remnant. God will come. Wait for the LORD and eagerly seek Him.
Do not be drawn astray by the rest of the lost in your nation, even those who claim to follow the LORD. Seek the LORD and wait for Him. Hold fast to His instructions. Seek God and God alone for sanctuary.
A Believing Remnant
9“Be broken, O peoples, and be shattered;
And give ear, all remote places of the earth.
Gird yourselves, yet be shattered;
Gird yourselves, yet be shattered.
10“Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted;
State a proposal, but it will not stand,
For God is with us.”
11For thus the LORD spoke to me with mighty power and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,
12“You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’
In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy,
And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.
13“It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy.
And He shall be your fear,
And He shall be your dread.
14“Then He shall become a sanctuary;
But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over,
And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15“Many will stumble over them,
Then they will fall and be broken;
They will even be snared and caught.”
16Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. 17And I will wait for the LORD who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; I will even look eagerly for Him. 18Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
19When they say to you, “Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,” should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. 21They will pass through the land hard-pressed and famished, and it will turn out that when they are hungry, they will be enraged and curse their king and their God as they face upward. 22Then they will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness.
I continue to be struck by how closely the book of Isaiah applies to our nation even today. Most of what was a godly nation are lost. Many claim God in name only. Those of us who find ourselves the seemingly small but faithful remnant, should not lose heart. Be encouraged. Seek the LORD earnestly and eagerly. Trust in His instructions while we wait and do not listen to the ways of the nation around us.
I invite you to pray with me:
Father, thank You for hope and encouragement for Your faithful remnant. We eagerly seek You. Please turn the people’s hearts to You, many for the first time. Raise up the righteous to lead and have positions of authority throughout our nation in government, business, healthcare, education, and absolutely in Your church. Enlighten the minds of the people to understand and apply Your word and Your truth in our lives. In the name of Yeshua, our Messiah, we pray. Amen
Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ
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