Isaiah 10:5-12:6; Proverbs 25-29; Isaiah 18-19

Ethiopia, Egypt and Assyria would each pay a price for rebellion against God and for afflicting the people of God. If we glean anything at all from this section of scripture is that all people will stand before the throne of God in judgment. Israel and Judah would account for themselves. divine judgment is righteous and just. Lest we think too highly of ourselves, we do not stand on the outside of this drama looking in. We stand on the inside looking out. Or, maybe I should say, on the inside looking up.

In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. For the Lord GOD of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth.

Isaiah 10:20-23

Yes there were multitudes of the guilty. Even the innocent would share in the destruction. But, just as this judgment would be righteous it would likewise be just. The faithful would return to God. Sadly, not the whole bolt of cloth – a remnant. Come what may, I simply desire to be a thread in Yahweh’s remnant.

For the remnant there is a noteworthy shift in dependence. Formerly, circumstances required the vassal state of Israel to depend upon Assyria for provision and protection (they should have relied upon Yahweh, but did not). The shift comes in a return to the ways things ought to be – dependence upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel (Messiah) … in truth. In parallel, the remnant today is the church. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Dependent upon Satan, ruler of this world, we were going along with the world. Returning to God in truth, our dependence shifts back to where it should have been all along. Sadly it’s not everyone. A remnant.

Later, Isaiah turns back to the coming Holy One of Israel…

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Isaiah 11:1-12

Messiah would come from the line of King David, becoming the King of Kings. His majesty would sprout from seeming insignificance. Divine truth, wisdom, counsel and fear of God will typify His reign. Peace will characterize His kingdom and enemies of the past will dwell in harmony. The kingdom will be populated by a remnant coming from every nation.

Earlier we read another of Isaiah’s prophecies concerning Messiah (ISAIAH 9:6-7), and it is worth revisiting…

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 9:6-7

A king in the line of David will be born. He will be man, the Son of Man. His peaceful kingdom will be never ending. He will be King, the King of kings. He is called “Wonderful”. He is called “Counselor”. Here is the part we must not miss. His name is “Mighty God, Everlasting Father”. Pause and take note. The Prince of Peace is God, the Son of God.

Because of this truth, I want nothing more than to be in His remnant gathered out of the world by the zeal of the LORD.

Consider His nature.  Consider His ways.  Strive to love Him more!