Isaiah 40:1

Verse of the Day Devotion.  Isaiah 40:1

“Comfort, O comfort My people, says your God.” – Isaiah 40:1

Chapters 1-39 of Isaiah certainly had passages of comfort and hope, but they also have a strong tone of judgment and warning throughout them. Now, beginning with Isaiah 40, the tone shifts to being predominantly full of comfort and blessing, full of the glory of God. Isaiah 39 ended, announcing the conquest of Jerusalem and the exile of the nation. “Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of hosts, Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the LORD. And some of your sons who shall issue from you, whom you shall beget, shall be taken away; and they shall become officials in the palace of the king of Babylon.” Isaiah 39:5-7. The announcement that the Babylonians would someday capture Jerusalem and take the people into exile was a bitter blow. How could Judah celebrate the downfall of Assyria when everyone knew that a more powerful invader was on the way?

Our focus verse is the general subject of this and the following chapters. The commencement is abrupt, as often happens in Isaiah and the other prophets. The place where this vision is laid is in Babylon, the time near the close of Judah’s captivity. “Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, That her iniquity has been removed, That she has received of the LORD’s hand Double for all her sins.” Isaiah 40:2. The main subject of the consolation is stated in the above verse, that their captivity and warfare was about to end, and that brighter and happier days were to succeed their trials and their exile. The exhortation to ‘comfort’ the people, seen in our focus verse, is understood as a command of God to those in Babylon whose office or duty it would be to address them, that is to the ministers of religion and the prophets. Jerusalem needed to be comforted because of all they had experienced in Babylon.

Then in the next three verses we find, “A voice is calling,  Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley; Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, And all flesh will see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah 40:3-5. Here, Isaiah speaks for the LORD’s messenger, who cries out to the barren places. The idea is that the LORD is coming to His people as a triumphant King, who has the road prepared before Him so He can travel in glory and ease. Every obstacle in the way must be removed. Whatever was wrong in the road must be corrected. The problems were not the same everywhere. Sometimes, the road in the valley needed to be lifted up; other times a road had to be cut through a passage in the mountains. The idea of preparing the way of the LORD is a word picture because the real preparation must take place in our hearts. Building a road is very much like the preparation God must do in our hearts. They are both expensive, they both must deal with many different problems and environments, and they both take an expert engineer. And God’s glory is revealed in the prepared hearts described above. And it is revealed without regard to nationality; all flesh shall see it together. This glory of the LORD is not revealed only to Jerusalem or Judah, but to every prepared heart. The certainty of this word is assured because the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

God desires the best for His people, and sometimes that means difficult trials in order for us to turn back to Him. This may be hard to see it as best for us, but He knows all things and does what He needs to do. But in the end, if we look to Him, He will as our focus verse states, “Comfort, O comfort My people, says your God.” And Isaiah closes out chapter 40 with the following. “Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, My way is hidden from the LORD, And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly,”  Isaiah 40:27-30. God will strengthen us in these times, and He does not grow tired in giving us what we need. And because of this, we read in the last verse in chapter 40. “Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.” Isaiah 40:31.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Isaiah 31:6

Verse of the Day Devotion.  Isaiah 31:6

“Return to Him from whom you have deeply defected, O sons of Israel.” – Isaiah 31:6  

Isaiah is prophesying about Judah coming under attack by Sennacherib and the Assyrian empire. And what he was telling them was that there was a faction that was seeking help from Egypt rather than seeking Jehovah their God. “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD!” Isaiah 31:1. In doing this, Isaiah confronted Judah with two sins: the sin of trusting in Egypt and their military might, and the sin of not looking to the Holy One of Israel. Judah felt they had a reason to trust in chariots because they are many. And they felt they had a reason to trust in horsemen because they are very strong. But they couldn’t seem to find a reason to trust in the LORD. But next he declares God is able. “Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, and does not retract His words, But will arise against the house of evildoers, And against the help of the workers of iniquity. Now the Egyptians are men, and not God, And their horses are flesh and not spirit; so the LORD will stretch out His hand, and he who helps will stumble and he who is helped will fall, and all of them will come to an end together.” Isaiah 31:2-3. He states here two things. First, that God is wise and can bring disaster on His foes, and that the Egyptians are men and not God, and their horses are merely creatures of flesh and not spiritual, and they will not be victorious if they rely on them.

Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “For thus says the LORD to me, as the lion or the young lion growls over his prey, against which a band of shepherds is called out, Will not be terrified at their voice, nor disturbed at their noise, so will the LORD of hosts come down to wage war on Mount Zion and on its hill. Like flying birds so the LORD of hosts will protect Jerusalem. He will protect and deliver it; He will pass over and rescue it.” Isaiah 31:4-5. Judah’s trust in Egypt to protect them against the Assyrian invasion was both foolish and unnecessary. God would protect them, as a lion growls over its prey when a shepherd comes to it, whether Judah trusts Him or not. And of a mother bird protecting her young. So, God will defend Jerusalem with the ferocity of a lion, and also with the tender care of a bird. The combination of the two images is powerful.

And because of the message God gave to Isaiah, we read in our focus verse this message to Judah, “Return to Him from whom you have deeply defected, O sons of Israel.” Isaiah 31:6. God is calling them to return to Him, to trust in Him rather than in Egypt or anything else. Because of how great God is and because of how terrible the alternatives to serving Him are, they should feel compelled to return to Him. They should repent of their idolatry, destroy their idols, repent, and give themselves to God.

And the reason is seen in the last three verses of chapter thirty-one. “For in that day every man will cast away his silver idols and his gold idols, which your hands have made as a sin. And the Assyrian will fall by a sword not of man, And a sword not of man will devour him. So, he will not escape the sword, And his young men will become forced laborers. And his rock will pass away because of panic, And his princes will be terrified at the standard, declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.” Isaiah 31:7-9. Then Assyria will fall. And this was fulfilled exactly as prophesied. The Assyrian army devastated almost the entire land of Judah, and camped on the outskirts of Jerusalem, waiting to conquer the nation by defeating the capital city. And in 2 Kings we read of this battle. “Then it happened that night that the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh. And it came about as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.” 2 Kings 19:35-37.  

Going through hard times is difficult. Sometimes we wonder just how we will make it through. But it is important to remember that God is the one we should go to for our help and support. Granted, friends and family will be there also, but we must rely on Him predominantly to bring us through. And many times He will use friends and family in our support and solution. But we must remember He is our primary helper. And who knows who and what He will use to provide us with victory.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Isaiah 26:4

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Verse of the Day Devotion.  Isaiah 26:4

“Trust in the LORD forever, For in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock.” – Isaiah 26:4  

This verse, along with the one prior to it speak of focusing our minds on God regarding all things. In verse one we see this is a song that was sung in Judah upon the return of the people from Babylon to Judah. “In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; He sets up walls and ramparts for security.” Isaiah 26:1. The idea that they have a strong city does not refer to the fortification that was around the city, for this was essentially brought down when they were overtaken by their enemies. The idea here is that God will be that wall of protection. He will himself be the defender of his people in the place of walls. Then in verse two, “Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter, The one that remains faithful.” Isaiah 26:2, This is a cry to open the gates to allow Israel, the people who remained true to God throughout their time in Babylon, that they may enter into the land given to them by God.

Then in verse three we find this very true and powerful verse, “The steadfast of mind Thou wilt keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in Thee.” This confidently states that certain people will have perfect peace. This indicates that some have a frame of mind and perspective that is steadfast, which implies an undeviating commitment to a purpose, conviction, or person. The root meaning of the translation steadfast is to support, but the Hebrew passive participle carries the idea of “leaning on, depending on, resting on” something. In this case, it refers to leaning on, depending on, and resting on God.

Now to our focus verse. “Trust in the LORD forever, For in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock.” Isaiah 26:4. The author first states in the previous verse that those who trust in the Lord will have perfect peace. Now He takes it a step further by telling them ‘to’ trust in the Lord ‘forever’. Not simply to trust Him in some things, or to only trust Him at times when they struggle trusting themselves or something or someone else, But to trust Him forever. Now let’s look at something else in this verse which is also intriguing. ‘Trust in the LORD forever, for in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock’. The word translated ‘Lord’ in both instances is the Hebrew word “yehôvâh” which means self-Existent or eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God: – Jehovah, the Lord. Now, the word translated ‘God’ is the Hebrew word ‘yâhh’ which is a contracted form of yehôvâh meaning essentially the same thing. Now, I say this to say that the threefold use of Jehovah denotes exactly which God they should rely on, for the name “yehôvâh” is used three times in the sentence and not just a generic term for any god.

It is so important that we do not rely on people, things, organizations, or anything else to provide the peace we so need in the place of Jehovah, the true God. We are facing trials on every corner; hatred from many who deny Jehovah even exists, and persecution from those who want to destroy the idea of Christianity altogether. It does not matter what they do or say for the true God, stated here as “yehôvâh” can be trusted no matter what. If this is so, the exhortation to trust God makes sense, for God is like a solid rock that is eternally stable and unmovable. If we want to find peace that will truly last forever, Yahweh, the God of Israel, is a stable and reliable source to depend on. Remember what the writer of Hebrews said. “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we can confidently say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6. If He will never leave of forsake us, we can absolutely place our complete trust in Him.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Isaiah 25:1

Verse of the Day Devotion.  Isaiah 25:1

“O lord, Thou art my God; I will exalt Thee, I will give thanks to Thy name; For Thou hast worked wonders, Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.” – Isaiah 25:1  

This verse speaks regarding a direct address to the Mighty God. This confession expresses the personal choice to identify with the God of all things; the one who created all there is.  Claiming that the Lord is ‘my God’ is also a statement of commitment to a personal relationship with God. The relationship is one in which the singers exalt and thank God, openly expressing appreciation for his grace and faithfulness. These statements represent a faith relationship of worshipers who humbly proclaim the glory of the one they exalt.

As a preface, at the end of chapter 24 we read, “The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard, and it totters like a shack, For its transgression is heavy upon it, and it will fall, never to rise again. So it will happen in that day, that the LORD will punish the host of heaven, on high, and the kings of the earth, on earth. And they will be gathered together Like prisoners in the dungeon and will be confined in prison; And after many days they will be punished. Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed, For the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and His glory will be before His elders.” Isaiah 24:20-23. The final punishment of the earth (not the attack on Jerusalem) will involve a major disruption of the normal patterns of nature. Enormous floods will occur once again as the windows of heaven are opened. Extremely strong earthquakes will shake the land plates from their moorings. It will seem like the earth is collapsing, falling apart, and splitting in two. There will be no stable, safe place to hide, for the earth will convulse like an unstable drunk that cannot walk, or like a small hut struck by a major windstorm. The sinful rebellion of the people on the earth will be so great that nothing can preserve them. The earth will collapse; this old world will never rise again. The prophet is saying that the world as we know it today will come to a final end.

Now, because of this, we see Isaiah’s thanksgiving for the overthrow of the Godless factions that are present on the earth and ruling over mankind, and the setting up of Jehovah’s rule for all eternity. He provides a reason for their praise and a consequence for what happens. The reason regards God’s faithfulness in accomplishing marvelous deeds, a term usually reserved for miraculous divine acts of salvation. These are clear manifestations of God’s wondrous power on behalf of his people, and as stated in verse one, “Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.” Isaiah 25:1b. These plans were made long before man was created. “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure.” Isaiah 46:9-10. When all these things described above happen, the people will look back at God’s revelation of his plans and realize that God planned these eschatological events many years earlier. The worshipers will thank God because God faithfully followed the plan he made long ago. His faithfulness speaks of his sovereign power and his dedication to do what he plans.

The consequence is that their enemies will be destroyed, and a new world will be made, one in which strong people, those from ruthless nations, will praise and glorify God. They will fear God, glorifying Him because of the great and mighty works He has done. These people will either convert to Christianity or will, at the least, be forced to tremble in fear before Him. However, the people of God will give God all praise for what they see. What they will see are people from evil and ruthless nations coming to God to worship and praise to Him. These would be people who, after hearing and seeing the truth, come to God and give Him the praise and glory as well.

Do we see these events coming as laid out in the scriptures? Do we believe that God will bring about everything He prophesied would happen? Do we trust God to bring about a great and glorious eternal life to those who have accepted Christ’s work of salvation on the cross? If so for all the above, we should also be praising God “For Thou hast been a defense for the helpless, A defense for the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; For the breath of the ruthless Is like a rainstorm against a wall.” Isaiah 25:4.  We must fully understand that everything God has promised will come to pass. Let us therefore trust God in the hard times and thank God in the good times. What God has declared will come to pass and we must focus on His promise of a glorious eternal life with Him. Understand that there will be difficult times but focus on the glorious future ahead for us. And give Him all the praise and glory due His name.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Isaiah 12:1

Verse of the Day Devotion.  Isaiah 12:1

“Then you will say on that day, I will give thanks to Thee, O LORD; For although Thou was angry with me, thine anger is turned away, And Thou dost comfort me.” – Isaiah 12:1 

This prophecy has a two-fold meaning. First it speaks of God sending Israel into exile because of their sins. “And the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God from that day onward. And the nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their iniquity because they acted treacherously against Me, and I hid My face from them; so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and all of them fell by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I dealt with them, and I hid My face from them.” Ezekiel 39:22-24. Because of their wrongdoing, God put them under the rule of the Assyrians for a time. However, this would not be forever. “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, O My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear the Assyrian who strikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you, the way Egypt did. For in a very little while My indignation against you will be spent, and My anger will be directed to their destruction. And the LORD of hosts will arouse a scourge against him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; and His staff will be over the sea, and He will lift it up the way He did in Egypt. So it will be in that day, that his burden will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be broken because of fatness.” Isaiah 10:24-27.  God would in a short time bring about the return of the remnant of Israel.

The other meaning is regarding the future coming of the root of Jesse, otherwise known as the promised Messiah. “Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; But with righteousness He will judge the poor and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.” Isaiah 11:1-5. And also in the near future, the promised Messiah would come and bring salvation to all the faithful people of God on this earth.

What Isaiah was communicating to God’s people was that first, there will be a time when their people were freed from the Assyrians and allowed to return to Israel. “And the LORD will utterly destroy the tongue of the sea of Egypt; and He will wave His hand over the river with His scorching wind; and He will strike it into seven streams, and make men walk over dry-shod. And there will be a highway from Assyria for the remnant of His people who will be left, just as there was for Israel In the day that they came up out of the land of Egypt.” Isaiah 11:15-16.  But there would be another time when the people of God will be freed from this world and will spend all eternity with Him, in peace and joy.  And in both instances, we will be thankful to the one who provided these freedoms to us, that being God. 

Just as when God provided the way to salvation to those who were captured and oppressed by the Assyrians, so God through the work of Christ has provided the way of salvation to all people through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ on the Cross. We should want to, as Isaiah 12 tells us, give Him all our praise to Him. “Then you will say on that day, I will give thanks to Thee, O LORD; For although Thou was angry with me, Thine anger is turned away, And Thou dost comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the LORD GOD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.  Therefore you will joyously draw water From the springs of salvation. And in that day you will say, “Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; Make them remember that His name is exalted.” Praise the LORD in song, for He has done excellent things; Let this be known throughout the earth. Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 12:1-6. He is worthy of far more praise and worship than we could ever give Him. Take time to worship Him with everything you have. You will find it a beautiful time of fellowship with Him who provides salvation to all who truly desires it.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Isaiah 2:6

Verse of the Day Devotion.  Isaiah 2:6

“For Thou hast abandoned Thy people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled with influences from the east, and they are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they strike bargains with the children of foreigners.” – Isaiah 2:6 

In the verse just before our focus verse, the prophet urged God’s people to walk in the light; in the way God has called them to live. “Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.” Isaiah 2:5. He told them of the ‘last days’ and encouraged them to remember it and what this meant because they did not know when that time would come. Unfortunately, Israel was not obeying God, which was why he was pleading with them to ‘walk in the light’.

The first word in our focus verse is ‘For’, which tells us why they are going through difficulties and why he encouraged them to walk in the light, because they currently were not. And next he tells them what they were doing wrong. “For Thou, hast abandoned Thy people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled with influences from the east, And they are soothsayers like the Philistines, And they strike bargains with the children of foreigners. Their land has also been filled with silver and gold, And there is no end to their treasures; Their land has also been filled with horses, And there is no end to their chariots. Their land has also been filled with idols; They worship the work of their hands, That which their fingers have made.” Isaiah 2:6b-8. They had become so comfortable they took on the ways of people around them rather than the ways of God.

Judah had allowed the false gods of foreigners to capture their attention. This was not an anti-immigrant statement. God is not against the cultures and customs of other peoples, except where those customs and cultures honor and worship false gods. Perhaps in the name of ‘diversity,’ the leaders and people of Judah were allowing the worship of false gods. Judah had allowed the false gods of wealth and materialism to captivate their attention. Because Judah was in a time of economic prosperity they were far more prone to economic idolatry. There was plenty of worship in Judah, and plenty of people humbling themselves. They were simply worshipping the wrong things and humbling themselves before the wrong things!

Just when Isaiah had his audience remembering all the good things God would do at the end of time (See Isaiah 2:2–5), he surprised them in this new paragraph with the terrible news that God would humble them. No doubt his audience listened approvingly to the great things to come at the end of time, thinking that they would be in Zion enjoying God’s presence when the nations finally would submit to his rule. But God had a different plan for Isaiah’s audience because the “house of Jacob” was not walking in God’s ways, hence His plea to walk in the light.

What Isaiah was telling his audience was God withdrew His protection and had given them over to the calamities and judgements which had come upon them. God had abandoned them in the sense of not paying any attention to them or leaving them alone to depend on their own resources. This implies a removal of God’s direction and protection because of their sinfulness. God said as recorded in 2 Kings. “And I will abandon the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become as plunder and spoil to all their enemies; because they have done evil in My sight, and have been provoking Me to anger, since the day their fathers came from Egypt, even to this day.” 2 Kings 21:14-15.

And I hate to say this, but we are seeing much of this happening today. Many times, things become more important than worshipping and honoring God. And going to Church becomes more important than what is done in the Church. Having the title of ‘Christian’ without actually being one is becoming a norm, just as being an Israelite was more important than doing all things that God has commanded. As long as they were of the house of Jacob, God would take care of them. And today, many believe that as long as they take the title of Christian, God will be OK with that.

The core teaching of every false religion is the same: you must obey certain commands to be made right with God. Some emphasize Old Testament commands; some emphasize New Testament commands; some emphasize church commands; some emphasize the humanitarian principles of kindness and general morality. Regardless of the specifics, obedience to be right with God is a false gospel. It is not through obedience but by grace through faith that we are saved. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10. And in true faith, we have a real and pleasing relationship with God.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Isaiah 2:5

Verse of the Day Devotion.  Isaiah 2:5

“Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.” – Isaiah 2:5  

Verses one through five here is a vision from God. Starting with verse 1 we read, “The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.” Isaiah 2:1. This was not a voice he heard, but a word he saw, confirming this was a vision. Isaiah has seen many visions from God, which at various times were ignored by the Israelite leaders.

So, let us look at what Isaiah saw. “Now it will come about that In the last days, The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains and will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways, And that we may walk in His paths. For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations and will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.” Isaiah 2:2-4. First, he saw that this was to occur in the ‘last days’. This phrase, the last days, refers to a time in the future, most notably the time of the Messiah, when the anointed of the Lord, The Christ’ will reign over the earth. This also speaks of many people going to the mountain of the Lord to learn the ways of the Lord so they could walk according to God’s ways.

Now, referring to the mountains, let us look at something that explains the meaning. Many of the ancient religions saw their gods as dwelling on a high mountain; mount Olympus by the Greeks or mount Cassius for the Phoenicians. Isaiah said that ‘the House of the Lord will be raised above the hills’ intonates that the God of Israel will be raised above all other gods, showing the great importance of the dwelling place of God. God reveals this same picture to Ezekiel as well. “In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was taken, on that same day the hand of the LORD was upon me and He brought me there. the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain; and on it to the south there was a structure like a city. So He brought me there; and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze, with a line of flax and a measuring rod in his hand; and he was standing in the gateway. And the man said to me, “Son of man, see with your eyes, hear with your ears, and give attention to all that I am going to show you; for you have been brought here in order to show it to you. Declare to the house of Israel all that you see.” Ezekiel 40:1-4. It is understood by various theologians that ‘this man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze’ was a picture of the Messiah. And this will be a time of peace, And all the weapons will be destroyed and the metal used for peaceful purposes.

And this leads to our focus verse.  “Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.” Isaiah 2:5. Isaiah ends this brief look at the ideal Zion of the future with a call for the current Israel to transform their thinking, to reorient their worldview, and to change their behavior based on their knowledge of what God will do in the future. Judah and its leaders can either continue to be self-absorbed and follow their own ways, or they can choose to glorify God and follow his instructions.

And as Christians, we are the people of God and He is calling us to do the same. Do we continue to live as we want, or live the way God wants us to? We are to walk in the light of the Lord. This is best explained by Jesus in John’s gospel. “Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12. We are to walk in the light of the Lord Jesus, in his ways and as He desires us to. It is important that we choose, in every avenue of our lives, to walk in His light. For in doing so,  we shall see the truth and will not be blinded in the darkness of this world. “And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John  1:5-7.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Esther 3:3

Verse of the Day Devotion.  Esther 3:3

“Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why are you transgressing the king’s command?” – Esther 3:3

After Esther was chosen as queen of Persia by King Xerxes 1, a man named Haman was also elevated to a high position in Persia. He was over all the princes of Persia which also gave him the first place and seat, which was next to the seat of the king. Now Haman thought very highly of himself. “And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman; for so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage.” Esther 3:2. Now, the kings servants went to Mordecai and asked him, “Why are you transgressing the king’s command?” Esther 3:3b.

Now, after they had spoken to Mordecai daily regarding his not bowing before him, they went to Hamon to ask him if this was acceptable. “Now it was when they had spoken daily to him and he would not listen to them, that they told Haman to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew.” Esther 3:4. Well, this was not acceptable to Haman. In fact, he was enraged. People sometimes want to be revered as gods. Haman is pictured as a proud person who constantly desired human praise. In short, he was hungry for power. When he had convinced himself regarding the conduct of Mordecai, he did not deem it sufficient to punish him alone; for the people to whom Mordecai belonged, the Jews, should be punished as well. He had been told that Mordecai belonged to the despised people of the Jews. So instead of killing just Mordecai, he rather strove to destroy all the Jews in the whole realm of Xerxes as being of the same mind with Mordecai.

Now, Haman then goes to the king regarding this issue. “Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of all other people, and they do not observe the king’s laws, so it is not in the king’s interest to let them remain. If it is pleasing to the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who carry on the king’s business, to put into the king’s treasuries.” Esther 3:8-9. Haman hated them so much, he was willing to do anything to get rid of the Jews in Xerxes kingdom. So he went before the king. “Then the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. And the king said to Haman, The silver is yours, and the people also, to do with them as you please.” Esther 3:10-11. Now, with the king’s approval, Haman sent word out to all the provinces under Xerxes rule to “destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to seize their possessions as plunder.” Esther 3:13.

Haman was an evil man, and because of this Mordecai would not give him the honor of bowing before him. We see this in verse four. “Now it was when they had spoken daily to him and he would not listen to them, that they told Haman to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew.” We see in the next verse that he desired more then just respect. “When Haman saw that Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage to him, Haman was filled with rage.” Esther 3:5. He was not going to bow down before Haman because he was not going to bow before anyone but God. There is a difference between showing respect and giving undue homage. He saw himself as above all men except the king and wanted all others to bow before him and do the same. We must be like Mordecai and recognize that we can show respect for people, but we must not go beyond that. And this must be done no matter what the outcome could be. Do we want to please God or man? Paul put it this way. “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10. Lets work to please God with everything we are. Pleasing men in a way that is not pleasing to God is not acceptable in any way.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Esther 1:12

Verse of the Day Devotion.  Esther 1:12

“But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command delivered by the eunuchs. At this the king became enraged, and his anger burned within him.” – Esther 1:12  

At the beginning of the Book of Esther we see that the king Ahasuerus, also known as Xerxes, hosted a huge party. “In the third year of his reign he gave a feast for all his officials and servants. The army of Persia and Media and the nobles and governors of the provinces were before him, while he showed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor and pomp of his greatness for many days, 180 days.” Esther 1:3-4. At that time, rulers used banquets to display their power and greatness, as well as to help maintain the faithfulness and loyalty of their subjects. It has been said that as many as 15,000 guests may have been present, however, the number at this feast is unknown. For 180 days, he showed off to his guests the greatness of his kingdom, including the splendor of his belongings. Wanting to show what one possesses is natural but prideful. We see this in the second Book of Kings. “And Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.” 2 Kings 20:13.

Next, we see that Queen Vashti gave a separate feast for the women in the palace. This was a common custom of the Persians to hold a separate feast for the men and the women. After seven days, both the king and his guests appear to be somewhat drunk. “On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha and Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown, in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at.” Esther 1:10-11. There are many who believe this order included her with only her crown on, with no clothes on at all. However, there is nothing here that expresses this thought. It is likely they were to bring the queen in the regal crown, high pointed turban, thus in her entire royal apparel in order to show her beauty to the prince, as well as to all the people. Xerxes was desirous of glory, not only because of his riches, but also because of his beautiful wife, where she would become the gazing-stock of a drunken company, that, so to speak, she should make a show of herself to the lascivious eyes of so many.

And because of this, she refused to go to Xerxes feast. “But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command delivered by the eunuchs. At this the king became enraged, and his anger burned within him.” Esther 1:12. It appears she did not desire to be an object to be used to please those men who were drunk on the king’s wine. For as she walked about them, who knows what their thoughts and desires would be, and this she would be humiliated. And I believe this is why she refused. Now this angered the king greatly. So He calls the wise men to him to help with this issue, asking them what should be done to Vashti. First, they say something must be done in order to keep this from spreading. “For the queen’s behavior will be made known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt, since they will say, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come. This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s behavior will say the same to all the king’s officials, and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty.” Esther 1:17-18. After this, they recommended and he agreed, that she was not to go before the king again. “If it please the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she.” Esther 1:19. In other words, they advised him to replace her. And he agreed.

What can we see from this? This may not be the major idea here, but Vashti was not going to do what she knew would humiliate herself, and/or do that which would tempt the men to think wrong thoughts. We must have the same mindset that she did. We must make sure that we are not being used by the enemy to tempt others to do wrong. It is so easy to do, and thus we need to ensure that what we do does not tempt others to sin. We should do all we can to live Godly lives both before our brothers and sisters, as well as the unsaved. Let us be a light in this world, showing the love of God to all and exhibiting before them the way He wants everyone to live.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Judges 21:25

Verse of the Day Devotion.  Judges 21:25  

“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” – Judges 21:25  

After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, Joshua led them into the promised land conquering as much as ninety percent of the land given to them by God, dividing it among the tribes and disbanding the great army he had assembled. Each person went back to his own tribe. The center point of Jewish life began to dissipate. Instead of one Jewish people there were twelve tribes who had a loose allegiance to each other. And when Joshua and his generation died, so did the Israelites’ knowledge of God. “And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel.” Judges 2:10. They began worshipping other gods, the gods of the neighboring nations. “And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger.” Judges 2:11-12.

So the Lord handed them over to their enemies, “I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not.  So the LORD left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.” Judges 2:21-23. God did not destroy the nations around them but used them in order that they may see their own response. And every time one of the judges died, Israel went astray, returning to their sinful practices and idolatry. It was a constant cycle of sin and deliverance. Israel rebels. God disciplines them. Israel repents. God delivers them.

Now, during this time, there was no king to rule over all of Israel, there were the Judges which lead the people. Yet the people would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. Unlike their fathers, they quickly turned from the way in which their fathers had walked, the way of obedience to the LORD’s commands. Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the LORD had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them. But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.

Throughout the Book of Judges, we see a repeated pattern. Using chapter three as an example, “And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. But when the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.” Judges 3:7-9. Essentially, the people of Israel sinned in the sight of God, God sent a nation against them to serve them, then the people cried out to God to help them, and then the Lord raises a deliverer to save them from their enemy. “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart. To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.” Proverbs 21:2-3.

We need to be careful that we do not fall into the same pattern as the Israelites; when we are doing good we fall into sin, then when we cry out to God and He delivers us, then we do it all again. We must not have times where we do what we consider right in our own eyes but are sin in His. “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart. To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.” Proverbs 21:2-3. We must set our eyes on what God deems right, not necessarily what we deem right, for His view is far more important and accurate than ours. As the writer of Proverbs wrote, “Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.” Proverbs 3:7. 

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.