Daily Devotions
Isaiah
"Listen to Me"
Text: Isaiah 51:1
A NEEDED WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT
The LORD spoke to all who sought to follow after righteousness. There were some who decided to forsake wickedness for they saw the true nature of Evil. However, they needed to do more than just follow righteousness. They need to learn how to relate to the LORD. Only in Him would there be true righteousness found.
“Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness,
You who seek the LORD:
Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug.”
Isaiah 51:1
1. Mistaken righteousness.
a) There were some who believed they should pursue a life of righteousness.
b) But there was the danger of “mistaken righteousness”.
i) Formal righteousness may be mistaken.
ii) Religious righteousness may also be mistaken.
iii) Righteousness is not about following a set of religious laws.
2. Listening to the LORD.
a) This must be learned.
b) It involves learning how to relate to the LORD.
c) It begins with listening to the LORD.
i) He speaks through the Scriptures.
ii) He speaks through His servants, the prophets.
iii) He speaks most of all, through His Messiah.
iv) Listening to the LORD was a particular trait of the Messiah.
2. Learning to look to the LORD.
a) There was much inspiration to be found.
b) Two sources of inspiration were highlighted.
3. Hewn from the Rock
a) The LORD was always their rock .
b) Many Psalms make reference to God as the Rock.
c) To remember that we are hewn from the Rock is inspiring.
4. Dug from the hole of the pit.
a) Israel was in the pits on many occasions:
i) In the years when they were in Egypt.
ii) In the years of the Judges.
b) God dug Israel out of the holes into which they had fallen.
i) This was done repeatedly.
ii) Inspiration may be found when the lessons of history are recalled.