Isaiah 2:1-5 The Mountain of the Lord

by Larry Ferrell | December 2, 2017
The heading in 2:1 is an abbreviated version if the book’s title in 1:1. Together these two headings alert us again to the comprehensive nature of the version which the book contains. This opening unit of chapter 2 completes a movement which anticipates the movement of the book as a whole, from the Zion that is to the Zion that will be, via purifying judgment.

Mountains played an important part in the religions of Israel’s neighbors. They were points where heaven and earth were thought to meet and were therefore highly favored as sites for alters and temples. The Canaanites worshiped their gods at the high places, and these became a snare to the Israelites, even when such high places were removed, the surrounding nations continued to worship their gods on their holy mountains. Isaiah here foresees the day when one holy mountain will stand supreme, reducing all others to utter insignificance. In this sense Isaiah’s vision is exclusive. It is also inclusive, however, because it envisions all nations and many peoples coming to Zion to share with Israel in the blessings of the Lord’s rule. Finally, it is a vision of universal peace, described in terms which have reverberated down through the centuries (v.4). But Isaiah sees that this peace will become a reality only when the nations are willing to submit to the word that goes forth from Zion where the one true God revealed Himself. Peace on any other terms is a cruel delusion, a truth we need to bear in mind constantly as we seek to be faithful to God’s Word in our own, modern world of religious pluralism.

The mountain of the Lord, then, is a symbol of the coming kingdom of God, in which a purified and restored Zion is destined to play a crucial role. An Isaiah summons his contemporaries to live now in the light of that glorious prospect (v. 5). Isaiah was not blind to present realities. He spoke out against injustice, faithless politics and hypocritical religion with a passion that few could match today. But it was this vision of the future which inspired him. Religion for him was never an escape from reality, but the source from which he drew the strength he needed to face it squarely. It is how we must live too.

Isaiah 2:1-5 Reflection Questions:
How does Isaiah 2:3 have an effect on us as Christians today (see Luke 24:47)?
Is your faith an escape from reality, or is it a source of strength for you as you go through your day?

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Philippians 1:9-11 The Secret of Spiritual Fruit

by Larry Ferrell | December 2, 2017
One of the reasons why God has saved us is that we might be fruitful Christians. He has not saved us merely that we might be free from judgment and go to heaven when we die, but that the character of Jesus Christ might be reproduced in us while here on earth. We are to live in the flesh but not of the flesh. We are to do good works that Christ might be glorified and that many might be brought to faith in him. God is somewhat like a father who is raising a large family. He is pleased to have the family, and he is delighted you are a member of it. But he is not satisfied only with that. He also wants you to grow us to be a good citizen spiritually speaking. He wants productive children. He wants your life to be fruitful with good works. This is the message of Philippians 1:9-11.

In praying for the Christians at Philippi, Paul asks for three things. The first thing that Paul says the Christian needs is abounding love (vv. 9-10). The Christian must be filled with Christ’s love. This must be a love according to knowledge. The word used here is a special word (epignosis) that refers to advance spiritual knowledge. It is a knowledge that comes to the Christian through a study of God’s Word. The Word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, so the Holy Spirit enables us to discern how love should operate. The love with which the Christian should be filled must be discriminating. We are to discern what is best. The Christian life must be motivated and informed by love. Without love we are only clanging symbols. But this was never intended to be a wishy-washy, undefined, sentimental love. It is the love of Christ. Hence, it must be a love governed by biblical principles and exercised with judgment.

The second prerequisite of a fruitful life is that the life must be pure or free of obstructions. The word Paul uses means “oven tested.” This doesn’t mean we must be perfect, for none of us is. But it does mean that our lives must be open before God and before others. There must be no hypocrisy. Our lives are not perfect. In this life we will always have flaws, but we must not disguise them artificially. We must be sincere. God’s love will not flow through a Christian whose life is a sham. Hypocrisy will stop the flow. Fortunately, however, we may also say that God’s love will flow through an honest Christian, no matter how marred the vessel.

This leads to the fact that we must be fruitful Christians (v. 11). This does not refer to internal righteousness: love, joy, peace, and so on; these are the fruits of the Spirit. It refers to what is seen externally. The fruit of righteousness is the fruit that righteousness produces. This is to be seen in the innumerable acts of kindness and service to which every believer in Jesus Christ is called. We need to note also that the Christians are not only called to bear fruit, they are called to be fruitful. That is, to bring forth much good fruit. How is this to be done? It must be done by depending on Christ. This will involve a more faithful study of the Bible, for it is through the Bible that we know Jesus. The first psalm contrasts the way of the ungodly man with the way of the man whose life is fruitful (Ps. 1:3). Why is he like this? The answer is in verse 2: “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” What a difference there could be in many lives if Christians would learn to let Christ flow through them as they seek him in Scripture.

Christ’s parable about the vine and the Gardner makes one more point about fruit-bearing. You not only need to be joined to Christ in order to be fruitful, you also need to be pruned. This is actually the way that Jesus’ parable begins (John 15:2). Have you felt God doing this with you? He wants to, for your life has many things in it that are not bearing spiritual fruit. They may be hobbies, habits, relationships, aspects of your occupation. They may even be things that you consider so precious that you think you would die if they were removed. Yet they should be, and God will work to do it. It’s true of course, that not all hobbies, habits, or relationships require pruning. God may be using them now in marvelous ways. They are not sinful; they may be what God wants you do. Nevertheless, each of us holds to things that God will remove that we might serve him better (v.6). The cutting may hurt. You may think that God is killing you. But the result will be good for you, for it will result in good works, done by Jesus Christ in you, to the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:9-11 Reflection Questions:
It what ways do you feel God is doing some pruning in your life? Are you fighting it?
How is your study of the Bible doing? What will you do to enhance it?
Is your sincerity showing daily or is hypocrisy hiding it?

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Isaiah 1:21-31 The Social Situation

by Larry Ferrell. | November 25, 2017
The lament by Isaiah in verses 21-23 clearly implies that there has been no change of heart among the people. The way of forgiveness has been rejected, and judgment is now announced by the Lord in verses 24-26. But there is a surprise here. The judgment is described in terms which imply purification rather than annihilation. Even in judgment, the Lord remembers mercy.

The central image is of crude ore being passed through a furnace and emerging as refined metal (v. 25). The city which was once faithful (v. 21) will be faithful again (v. 26), but only after it has passed through the fires of God’s judgment. The same basic image underlies verses 27-28: the pure metal which emerges from the furnace is a remnant of those who repent while the rest are destroyed. But now a different way of viewing the whole process is triggered by the rich word redeemed: Zion will be redeemed with justice, her penitent ones with righteousness. The full treatment of the redemption theme will come in chapters 40-66, but already we are alerted here to a vital element of it. It will not involve any bypassing of justice and righteousness. God will rescue His people in a way which is in complete accord with His holiness. That is how He always acts, and how He acted supremely in the cross of Christ. Redemption and judgment are inseparable; the one can come only through the other.

A cluster of secondary images in verses 29-31 throws further light on the corrupt state of the once faithful city. It became polluted with pagan worship, involving sacred trees and gardens where fertility rites were practiced. But those who were guilty of these practices would become like drought-stricken plants themselves, tinder-dry and ready to burn. There is a particular emphasis in this passage on the accountability of the present leaders (vv. 23, 31) and on the promise of good leadership in the purified and restored city of the future.

Isaiah 1:21-31 Reflection Questions:
What are the similarities between Isaiah 1:31 and Matthew 3:12?
Can you recall a time in when you experienced the judgment of God?
What are some things today that God would consider to be idolatrous?

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Philippians 1:6-8 Fellowship That Transforms

by Larry Ferrell | November 25, 2017
There was nothing exclusive about the apostle Paul or his Christian greetings. Four times in the opening verses of Philippians Paul reveals that he includes all the believers in his thinking. He prays for them all (v. 4). He is confident of them all (vv. 6-7). He speaks well of them all, being certain that they are all recipients of God’s grace (v. 7). And he longs for them all (v. 8). Paul’s remarks include all Christians, for he knew that all had been brought by God into a great and indissoluble fellowship. This is Christian brotherhood, and Paul’s greeting is an example of it. It was a new thing in Paul’s day.

To look at these verses more closely is also to see how we can attain Christian fellowship today. First of all, Paul writes that he prays for the Christians at Philippi, “In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy” (v. 4). This is as it should be. Christians should pray for other Christians. Prayer is talking to God. It grows out of fellowship with God, and it is something we are told to do constantly. Paul’s statements do not mean that we are to retreat from life. They simply mean that we are to cherish a constant and growing fellowship between ourselves and our heavenly Father in which we bring all the details of our lives before him. Paul not only prayed for the Christians at Philippi, he was also confident for them all. He knew that God was at work in them and would certainly accomplish His purposes in their lives.

Paul says: “All of you share in God’s grace with me” (v.7). The Greek literally says, “All of you being participants in the grace of God. It’s not Paul’s grace is shared with them; it’s rather that all alike, from the great apostle to the most humble believer, are participants in the grace of God. No truth will more quickly overcome divisions among Christians than the truth that we are all equally sinners and all equally recipients of grace. Are there Christians whom you cannot stand and with whom you think you will never have anything in common? Is there a Christian from another ethnic background who does things differently than you and who thinks you are prejudiced against him or her? Is there a Christian from another denomination who seems obstinate in some doctrine and always seems to be getting at you over it? If this is true of you, it’s a fault that requires changing. God must change you. He wants to change you. He will do it as you begin to pray, and through prayer see that person as a participant together with you in God’s grace.

The last thing Paul says about all the Christians is that he longs for them greatly (v.8). It’s not enough to tolerate other Christians. You must enjoy their company. You must learn from them. Furthermore, this fellowship must be one that is constantly expanding to include other Christians, even those whom you have never met but with whom you are forever united in the Lord.

Philippians 1:6-8 Reflection Questions:
Are there Christians that you just tolerate verses enjoying their company?
Have you seen yourself prejudice against other Christians (ethnic, doing things differently, or denominational)?
How do you pray for other Christians? What about praying for yourself?

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Isaiah 1:10-20 The Religious Situation

by Larry Ferrell | November 17, 2017
The summons to hear in verse 10 marks the beginning of a new unit, linked to the previous one by the repetition of Sodom and Gomorrah. The rulers and people of Jerusalem were involved together in something every bit as offensive to the Lord as what had gone on in those two notorious cities of old.

The rebellion referred to generally in verse 2 is now specified: worship had been divorced from justice, and the fatherless and the widow had become the chief victims (v. 17). Such disregard for justice was a fundamental violation of the Sinai covenant for which no amount of cultic observance could compensate. The exodus itself had flowed out of God’s concern for the oppressed, and from the very beginning He had demanded that His people should have a special concern for the poor and defenseless among them. Isaiah is together with other eighth-century prophets in insisting that ceremonial worship and even prayer are worthless if they are not accompanied by active concern for justice. But in the long and prosperous reign of Uzziah such concern had dried up. The rich grew richer while the rights and needs of the poor were disregarded, so that when Isaiah was called to his prophetic ministry at the end of Uzziah’s reign, the nation was already ripe for judgment.

Verses 18-20 are deservedly one of the most famous expressions of the grace of God in the Bible. The theme of rebellion has been progressively developed through verses 2-17. The guilt of the accused has been amply established, and they are reminded of it here in vivid language: their sins are scarlet, red as crimson, the color of blood. We have reached a point of crisis.

But at the very point when judgment is expected, grace intervenes. The divine judge reasons with the accused, and makes an offer which is truly amazing in its generosity: nothing less than total pardon (v.18)! What they had wrongly tried to achieve by cultic manipulation is now offered to them freely, on the one condition that they cease their rebellion (vv. 19-20). The alternative is certain destruction: they can eat the good from the land or be eaten by the sword. The choice is theirs. The Lord is gracious, but He is not to be trifled with.

The just basis for the forgiveness freely offered here will be unfolded later in the book. But it did not require the suffering of the exile to make it possible. It was always possible if only the people would repent. But grace is always hard for rebels to understand; their view of God is too small.

Isaiah 1:10-20 Reflection Questions:
Why do think it is so important to God that we have special concern for the poor and defenseless?
Where in the New Testament did Jesus talk about the poor and defenseless?
How does this study about God’s grace make you feel?

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