Daily Devotions
Isaiah
"In that day a man will look to his Maker"
Text: Isaiah 17:7
TURNING TO THE LORD
Isaiah spoke of a time when people would turn to the LORD, seeking Him in prayer. But would that be “too little, too late”?
“In that day a man will look to his Maker,
And his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel.
He will not look to the altars,
The work of his hands;
He will not respect what his fingers have made,
Nor the wooden images nor the incense altars.
In that day his strong cities will be as a forsaken bough
And an uppermost branch,
Which they left because of the children of Israel;
And there will be desolation.”
Isaiah 17:7-9
1. “In that day”
a) A figure of speech that speaks of the future.
b) This is a description of how the LORD ought to be sought?
i) The LORD is indeed the Maker (The Creator).
ii) There must be due respect (regard) for the Holy One of Israel.
c) But the current status of Israel in the days of Isaiah was spiritually dismal.
i) There was scant respect for God.
ii) Few turned to the LORD.
2. The current religious state of Israel.
a) They looked at the altars they had set up for themselves.
b) They erected for themselves wooden idols.
i) They worshipped the work of their own hands.
ii) Incense altars were made for the worship of foreign idols.
3. The cities of Israel.
a) They would fare no better than the cities of Moab and Syria.
b) The strong cities were compared to:
i) A forsaken bough.
ii) An uppermost branch that was out of reach.
c) The cities of Israel would become desolate.
4. Turning to the LORD after the desolation of the cities.
a) The cities had already suffered destruction.
b) They would not be restored immediately.
c) Their prayers would be feeble and weak.