IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Daily Bread

Return to the Lord

Date: Dec. 13, 2017

Passage

Isaiah 30:27-31:9  (ESV)

27   Behold, the name of the LORD comes from afar,
    burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke;
  his lips are full of fury,
    and his tongue is like a devouring fire;
28   his breath is like an overflowing stream
    that reaches up to the neck;
  to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction,
    and to place on the jaws of the peoples a bridle that leads astray.

29 You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept, and gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel. 30 And the LORD will cause his majestic voice to be heard and the descending blow of his arm to be seen, in furious anger and a flame of devouring fire, with a cloudburst and storm and hailstones. 31 The Assyrians will be terror-stricken at the voice of the LORD, when he strikes with his rod. 32 And every stroke of the appointed staff that the LORD lays on them will be to the sound of tambourines and lyres. Battling with brandished arm, he will fight with them. 33 For a burning place has long been prepared; indeed, for the king it is made ready, its pyre made deep and wide, with fire and wood in abundance; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it.

  Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help
    and rely on horses,
  who trust in chariots because they are many
    and in horsemen because they are very strong,
  but do not look to the Holy One of Israel
    or consult the LORD!
  And yet he is wise and brings disaster;
    he does not call back his words,
  but will arise against the house of the evildoers
    and against the helpers of those who work iniquity.
  The Egyptians are man, and not God,
    and their horses are flesh, and not spirit.
  When the LORD stretches out his hand,
    the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall,
    and they will all perish together.
  For thus the LORD said to me,
  “As a lion or a young lion growls over his prey,
    and when a band of shepherds is called out against him
  he is not terrified by their shouting
    or daunted at their noise,
  so the LORD of hosts will come down
    to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill.
  Like birds hovering, so the LORD of hosts
    will protect Jerusalem;
  he will protect and deliver it;
    he will spare and rescue it.”

Turn to him from whom people have deeply revolted, O children of Israel. For in that day everyone shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you.

  “And the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of man;
    and a sword, not of man, shall devour him;
  and he shall flee from the sword,
    and his young men shall be put to forced labor.
  His rock shall pass away in terror,
    and his officers desert the standard in panic,”
  declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion,
    and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

Daily Bread

Key Verse: 31:6

1. The Lord, not Egypt, will defeat Assyria (30:27-31:3)

To defend his people, the Name of the LORD will come, full of wrath. His people will rejoice and celebrate, seeing his coming. His voice will shatter Assyria, striking them down, and all the people will see it as a heavy storm of judgment. Woe to those who instead want to get help from Egypt, who trust in horses and armies rather than looking to the Holy One of Israel. He is wise, and keeps his words, while Egypt are mere mortals. Those who put their trust in man will all perish.

1. Return to the one you rejected (31:4-9)

As mighty lion is unafraid of many shepherds, the Lord will come down and battle for Mount Zion. He will shield Jerusalem, pass over it and rescue it. This happened exactly as he said (Isa 36-37). Now is the time to return to the one you have so greatly revolted against. The evidence of return is to reject all the idols of silver and gold. As the LORD dealt with Assyria, he will deal with all our enemies.

Prayer: Father, you are mighty to save and strong to deliver. I return to you, casting away all my idols.

One Word: look to the Holy One of Israel

Daily Bread

Plagues of Frogs and Gnats

Exodus 8:1-19

Key Verse: 8:19

Read More

Intro Daily

Today's Question

What are we specifically taught in the first commandment by the words before me?

See answer and references