Isaiah Ch.2

Praise be to God, for His mercy and love endures forever! Father, thank you for Your never ending love towards us. Today, I join my faith with every reader and we welcome Your presence in our hearts, homes and every space that we occupy as we meditate on Your Word in today's devotional in the name of Jesus. May our hearts, spirits, souls and bodies be fed and enlightened by Your Word because Your Word is bread and life to all who find it in the name of Jesus, Amen. Thank you LORD.

Isaiah chapter 2 portrays a contrast between a people that have chosen to walk in God's ways and people that have chosen to walk in their own ways. Usually when I give reference to God's people during my sharing, it is important to recognize that God does not have favorites as His salvation is now open for all who will receive it. God has created man with the purpose and intention for them to be His people unless they decide to not choose God's way.

The key word to note here is choice. God will always give you a choice because His love does not manipulate or compel. The LORD through Moses' mouth implored His people to choose life before they crossed over to the promised land. He said, "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to give them." (Deuteronomy 31:19-20)

Isaiah 2:2 narrates to us a mountain of the LORD's house where all nations shall flow to it. Isaiah 2:3 says, and the people shall come to it and say, "...Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk His paths." In Isaiah 1:4, we also see that, "...nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." One of God's currencies is peace and the nations abiding in God's ways will be blessed with the gift of His peace.

However, Isaiah 1:6 speaks of a people forsaken by the LORD. These people are soothsayers, their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasuries, their land is also filled with horses and countless chariots. Isn't it amazing that the people forsaken by God on the surface do not appear forsaken at all.

The above verses show us they have plenty of gold, silver and treasuries and chariots and horses which are symbolic of power. According to the standards of the world, they are clearly wealthy and powerful but spiritually they have been forsaken by God. In addition, Isaiah 1:8 NKJV tells us, "Their land is also full of idols; they worship the work of their hands, that which their own fingers have made." This verse reiterates the lure of wealth and power that has consumed the people to the point of deception that they choose to worship the works of their hands and every self effort as opposed to the living God and His will for their lives.

In today's world, where accolades and personal achievements are 'significantly applauded', it is easy to fall prey to worshipping the works of your hands or worshipping the works of other people's hands!

As a disclaimer, it is God's will for you to be prosperous. In fact in 3 John 2, God desires for His people to prosper in all things even as their health and soul prospers.

Nonetheless, if all of your life is built around your work, achievements and wealth which in turn places the works of your hands on a pedestal and the core of your identity, you may need to return to the drawing board and ask for God's wisdom and discernment to unveil in every area of your life

Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ is the power and wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24) making Him the best 'Ally' to ask for wisdom especially concerning your life and how to navigate the deception in today's world. It is also important to remember that God is the source of every blessing that we receive for a man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven (John 3:27).

Prayer: Father, we ask that You guard our hearts and minds from self-will, ambition, pride, envy, greed, covetousness and deception. May our hearts always be attuned to worshipping Your Majesty, Your holiness and Your will for our lives and not the treasures of the world, the works of our hands or the blessings that You have bestowed upon our lives in the name of Jesus, Amen.

As chapter 2 draws to a close, we see the prophet Isaiah warning us that the people who worship the work of their own hands and the nation filled with idols will not survive the wrath of God on the day of judgment where every person must give an account for their choices. Consequently, the poverty reflected in their spirits which is as a result of forsaking God's Word eventually manifests in the physical aspects of their lives.

In fact, Isaiah 2:20-21 NKJV says, "In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which they made, each for himself to worship, to the moles and bats, to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the crags of the rugged rocks, from the terror of the LORD and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily."

I'll end with this Word found in 1 Corinthians 2:27 (NKJV)

"27.But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;

28.and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,

29.that no flesh should glory in His presence."

AMEN, thank you LORD.

Invitation to salvation: If you would like to get to know this ever faithful God, who is an ever present help in times of need and to whom all power and wisdom belong, I invite you to make this confession that invites you to new covenant of love that is found in the precious blood of Jesus Christ where you get to become a part of a family of believers who have a personal relationship with God, the Father and with Jesus Christ, His One and Only Son as your Lord and Saviour.

Please speak the words below:

"I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that; Jesus Christ, the Son of God came in a human body to die for my sins so that I could have a new life where I am dead to sin and alive to God. I repent of my past sins and enter the Kingdom of light where I choose relationship with Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour and with God as my loving Father today and forever." AMEN.

Congratulations, by grace you are saved and are now a new creation in Christ Jesus. The old life has passed away and you have received the free gift of salvation into your life (2 Corinthians 5:17) where you get to freely access everything I've shared in this post. To the glory of the Almighty God. Amen.

Please feel free to reach out to us on info@bibleversionoflife.com. We would love to hear your story and send you a free Bible! God bless you.

PS: In case you have not already, I encourage you to read Isaiah chapter 2. It's truly a blessing!