Isaiah 64:6.

Verse of the Day Devotion.  Isaiah 64:6

“For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” – Isaiah 64:6     

At the end of chapter 63, Gods people lament for it appears that He is absent or inactive regarding His people. “Why, O LORD, dost Thou cause us to stray from Thy ways, And harden our heart from fearing Thee? Return for the sake of Thy servants, the tribes of Thy heritage. Thy holy people possessed Thy sanctuary for a little while, Our adversaries have trodden it down. We have become like those over whom Thou hast never ruled, Like those who were not called by Thy name.” Isaiah 63:17-19. Isaiah wishes that God had left his heavenly home long ago, had split open the solid curtain in the sky that hides him from human view, had come down to earth in his full glory, and had caused all of nature to quake. The idea of ‘quaking’ because of the Lord is also mentioned in the Book of Judges. “LORD, when Thou didst go out from Seir, when Thou didst march from the field of Edom, The earth quaked, the heavens also dripped, Even the clouds dripped water. The mountains quaked at the presence of the LORD, this Sinai, at the presence of the LORD, the God of Israel.” Judges 5:4-5.

Then in chapter 64 we read, “Oh, that Thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down, That the mountains might quake at Thy presence, As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil, to make Thy name known to Thine adversaries, That the nations may tremble at Thy presence! When Thou didst awesome things which we did not expect, Thou didst come down, the mountains quaked at Thy presence. For from of old they have not heard nor perceived by ear, Neither has the eye seen a God besides Thee, Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.” Isaiah 64:1-4. Isaiah, the one who was praying, wanted God to intervene on behalf of Israel. He remembered God’s great work for Israel in the days of the Exodus. Here, He also remembers how the LORD shook Mount Sinai when Israel camped there on their way from Egypt to the Promised Land. And those who wait on God’s work will see Him act on their behalf.

Then Isaiah changes his focus. “Thou dost meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness, Who remembers Thee in Thy ways. Behold, Thou was angry, for we sinned, We continued in them a long time; And shall we be saved?” Isaiah 64:5. Isaiah here answers the question, what kind of man does the LORD answer in prayer?” In essence He meets with those who ‘rejoices in doing righteousness’. Those who remember God in all His ways. And then Isaiah said they have not followed His ways.  ‘Behold, Thou was angry, for we sinned, We continued in them a long time.’ He made it clear that God’s people had sinned, and he asked the question, ‘Shall we be saved?’ And then Isaiah continues in our focus verse. “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” Isaiah 64:6. Isaiah declares their righteous deeds can be compared to filthy rags. The term “filthy rags” is quite strong. The word filthy is a translation of the Hebrew word ‘iddah’, which literally means the bodily fluids from a woman’s menstrual cycle. And the word rags is a translation of ‘begged’, meaning a rag or garment. Therefore, these ‘righteous acts’ are considered by God as repugnant as a soiled feminine hygiene product.

Then Isaiah takes it a little deeper. “And there is no one who calls on Thy name, Who arouses himself to take hold of Thee; For Thou hast hidden Thy face from us, And hast delivered us into the power of our iniquities.” Isaiah 64:7. The idea here, connected to their sin being as filthy rages, is that they have become so corrupt, they did not call on God or worship Him in sincerity. Their iniquities have essentially overcome their desire to worship God in the way they should.

And then Isaiah calls on God for His mercy. “But now, O LORD, Thou art our Father, We are the clay, and Thou our potter; And all of us are the work of Thy hand. Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD, Neither remember iniquity forever; Behold, look now, all of us are Thy people. Thy holy cities have become a wilderness, Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and beautiful house, Where our fathers praised Thee, Has been burned by fire; And all our precious things have become a ruin. Wilt Thou restrain Thyself at these things, O LORD? Wilt Thou keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?” Isaiah 64:8-12. Isaiah is in a desperate place; he needs the mercy of God because the justice of God condemns him. In his appeal for mercy, he first reminds God that He is their Father and then pleads for mercy for himself and God’s people. Isaiah declares that God is the potter, and we are the clay. It is like saying, LORD we are like clay in Your hands. Deal gently with us, and mold us according to Your mercy.

Let us all, as Isaiah did, not just call out to God regarding ourselves and our needs but let us call out to God for what our brothers and sisters in Christ need as well. Let us pray that we all desire a greater relationship with our Father God, and we acknowledge our sins, ask for forgiveness, and move forward in the life He has called us to live. And let us pray that our righteousness will no longer be as filthy rags, but will be a light to many in the hope of bringing some into the fold.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Isaiah 53:5

Verse of the Day Devotion Isaiah 53:5 

“But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.” –  Isaiah 53:5 

Up to Christmas day, I will be looking at the different prophesies which foresee the coming of the promised Messiah, Jesus the Christ.  He came here in order to offer the means of salvation for all.  An important idea to remember is that God knows everything and forgets nothing.  “Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,” Isaiah 46:9-10.

In Isaiah 53, we see one of the most powerful and famous prophecies found in the entire Old Testament.  I want to start in the last three verses of the previous chapter to introduce this idea and also help us understand who the prophet was speaking of.  “Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up, and greatly exalted. Just as many were astonished at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men. Thus He will sprinkle many nations, Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; For what had not been told them they will see, And what they had not heard they will understand.” Isaiah 52:13-15. Note the words, “marred more than any man.”

Now, as we continue now in chapter 53, we read “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?” Isaiah 53:1.  I believe this essentially refers to God, asking the question “who listens to the message and who exhibits the power of God”.  Then the message is presented as we move forward.  “For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.” Isaiah 53:2-4.  This speaks that the Messiah will grow up with a humble attitude, one of  lowly state, a servant as of no account.  He would not come across with any form of majesty. The Jews believed that when the Messiah came He would come in splendor and power.  But Jesus came to us in quite a contrary way.  And because He did come as a man, He experienced the same griefs men did.  And He was despised by men for what He ultimately revealed about Himself.  There were some who believed, but the vast majority did not.

Then, including our focus verse, we see the ultimate purpose of His coming. “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.” Isaiah 53:4-5. The Messiah came and bore our griefs, yet they saw Him as someone punished by God and afflicted with all manner of distress.  Yes, He was afflicted, however it was not because of what He did, but what we did.  He paid the penalty for our sins, not His own, because He had never sinned. “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” 1 Peter 2:22-23.  And  this is why He could pay our penalty, for if He had sinned, His death would only pay His own, not ours.  “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” 1 Peter 2:24-25.   

And this is Christmas.  It is the event of God becoming a human being, in the person of Jesus Christ, because God loved us and wanted to provide the means of salvation.  And Christmas celebrates the birth of this Savior born to provide this salvation.  And because of this, we see the true meaning of Christmas being expressed in one word, love.  And we are free from condemnation when we accept this free gift.  What an amazing gift, an amazing God, and amazing love.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Psalm 32:5

Verse of the Day Devotion: Psalm 32:5  

“I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.” – Psalm 32:5      

This verse can be an incredible comfort to us whenever we sin.  In earlier verses, we see how blessed the person is who God has forgiven.  “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven; Whose sin is covered!”  Psalm 32:1.  We who are Christians and have truly repented and committed our lives completely to Christ have been forgiven.  We could not do anything on our behalf, all we could do was accept the work He did on the cross.  And David next goes further in that our sin is not even charged against us.  “How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit!” Psalm 32:2 He has pardoned us completely, we are no longer charged as guilty.

David then speaks about what it was like to attempt to keep silent.  “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.” Psalm 32:3-4.  There was no peace in his life when he kept it all in him.  He speaks of God’s work in bringing him to the place where He finally brings it all out.  Note the wording, “my body wasted away tthrough my groaning all day long.” And also, “For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me,”  We do not know the specific circumstances that brought him to this point, however, it is easy to see that it was heavy on him. 

However, he finally chooses to bring it to God and not try to hide it anymore.  We see this in our focus verse.  “I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.” Psalm 32:5.  He admitted to himself that he could no longer keep silent about this, so he confessed it to God.  And what did God do? He forgave him.  And you can tell from the verses that follow David was at peace with God again. 

I have found that in my life, if I slip up and fall into sin, it is so much better to admit to having done it, confessing it to God, and then working with Him to not fail Him again.  Unfortunately, I am still not perfect, I will not lie.  However, I know my heart yearns for His ways and immensely desires to please Him in all I do.  I have learned that it is better to acknowledge my failure to Him and ask for His abounding forgiveness.  He knows everything anyway, so it is impossible for me to hide it from Him, so I might as well confess it.  Sometimes I simply confess it with all honesty, and sometimes I weep in the process.  But after I call on Him, a peace comes upon me, and I then move on, for I know He has, in the words of David, He forgave the guilt of my sin.

I want to encourage everyone that when you recognize you have sinned, just bring it before God.  Do not try to keep it a secret, for God already knows.  And the fact He knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10), He knew you would do it and He will forgive. So, come clean, confess the transgression to God.  And He will forgive you and remove the guilt from you.  Believe me, it will bring much peace into your life. 

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.