Daily Devotions
Isaiah
"Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts"
Text: Isaiah 3:1
WHAT THE LORD WOULD DO
The LORD gave a word to Isaiah to deliver to the nation of Judah. God will take away the leading people in the nation.
“For behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts,
Takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah
The stock and the store,
The whole supply of bread and the whole supply of water;
The mighty man and the man of war,
The judge and the prophet,
And the diviner and the elder;
The captain of fifty and the honourable man,
The counselor and the skilful artisan,
And the expert enchanter.”
Isaiah 3:1-3
1. The use of the present tense in prophecy.
a) The present tense was used to show that this prophecy would be fulfilled.
b) The future tense may be misunderstood:
i) As something that may happen but way in the future.
ii) The future tense may seem to be irrelevant
to the people who hear this message.
2. The Person who will perform this prophetic word
a) It is the Lord.
He has the divine right and authority to bring this prophetic word to pass.
b) “The LORD of hosts”
He has the might and power to fulfil this word.
3. The nation identified.
a) Jerusalem would be affected.
b) The nation of Judah is identified.
4. A list of things God would remove.
a) “The stock and the store”
i) This is a reference to the reserves of the nation.
ii) The provisions set aside would be taken away.
b) Bread and water.
This is a more specific reference to what God would remove.
c) The people who played a leading role in the nation:
i) The mighty man
ii) The man of war
iii) The judge
iv) The prophet
v) The diviner (the seer)
vi) The elder
vii) The captain of fifty
viii) The honourable man
ix) The counselor
x) The skilful artisan (the builder/ the craftsman)
xi) The expert enchanter (the entertainer)
God would remove all these leaders by allowing powerful enemies to overcome Judah
(The Babylonians).