AWAKE, ARISE, AND TRIUMPH
Wednesday – February 15, 2023, Sh’vat 24, 5783
PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD
Greetings dear and precious friends and partners and welcome back to our Bible Study of the Book of Isaiah. What a wonderful Book with an unmistakable message of warning and unrivaled hope. The warning has to do with the grave consequences of sin. The hope is the coming Messiah who has come, paid the ransom, and is now seated at the Right Hand of our Heavenly Father. Jesus, the Messiah, is forever our intercessor, advocate, and our High Priest. As we move forward, please take a moment and share this teaching as widely as possible by every means available to you. Thank you so much for sharing. The featured picture today is representative of the Prophet Isaiah. Now, let’s turn our attention to our primary Bible text in the wonderful Book of Isaiah continuing to read out loud.
Isaiah 40:1-4 (AMP)
1 COMFORT, COMFORT My people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry to her that her time of service and her warfare are ended, that [her punishment is accepted and] her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received [punishment] from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
3 A voice of one who cries: Prepare in the wilderness the way of the Lord [clear away the obstacles]; make straight and smooth in the desert a highway for our God!
4 Every valley shall be lifted and filled up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked and uneven shall be made straight and level, and the rough places a plain.
As we pick up from yesterday, we find the first two verses looking back. Repentance and forgiveness have come for the people of God. As we go into verse three and following, we enter Messianic territory and I am sure the words of verse three are most familiar. We must realize that the Lord is speaking about the spiritual terrain and not the natural terrain. It seems that we commonly think that once we acknowledge the sin, repent, and receive forgiveness we are done. No, we are far from done. We must make changes to avoid going down the same road yet again. King Hezekiah did not do that and we must learn from his example and the myriad of examples our good, good God provides in Scripture.
A good friend of mine recently pointed out that someone he respected said that all sin has its root in pride. I have been giving that some thought and conclude there is much wisdom in that thought. I have not forgotten about our text. We have just come from a discussion of King Hezekiah and the devastating effect his pride had on himself and the whole kingdom. What about my pride, your pride? As we entered chapter 40 of our text, we see that the sin is forgiven and the consequences are lifted. That brought us to the text of making straight the way of the Lord. What about the first sin of Lucifer and the angels that followed him?
Ezekiel 28:17 (KJV)
17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
Lucifer was one of the Archangels with great power (delegated of God) and great responsibility, and with that I suppose extraordinary benefits. He got his eyes off his Kingdom mission and off His Maker and on the attributes the Maker gave him entering into pride. God hates pride!
Proverbs 6:14-19 (KJV)
14 Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.
15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Listen to how pride talks.
Isaiah 14:13-15 (KJV)
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
When we start to hear “I” in the conversation to much or in our own conversation, it is time to hit the carpet in humility, search ourselves, and repent. Intercede for others.
What about the fall of mankind?
By: Dr. David R. Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
2 Chronicles 20:20 b (KJV)
20 … Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
Receive the blessing in Jesus’ name!
Numbers 6:24-26 (MSG)
24 GOD bless you and keep you,
25 GOD smile on you and gift you,
26 GOD look you full in the face and make you prosper.
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