Mark 7:6

February 7, 2026 by Leave a Comment

“And he said to them, ‘Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me’” (Mark 7:6).

Yikes!!! I better be careful with this verse. The old saying is true. “When you point a finger at someone else, you have three pointing at yourself.”

I wish I could point at the Pharisees without pointing at myself. But I can’t. I have certainly been guilty of honoring the Lord with my lips while my heart and mind were far, far away!

Father, help me to set my heart and affections on you. Amen.

Filed Under: devotional thoughts, discipleship, Gospels, Isaiah, Mark

Micah 4:1-2

January 22, 2026 by Leave a Comment

“It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, and many nations shall 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 his ways and that we may walk in his paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Micah 4:1-2).

Once again, God provides a word of hope in the midst of rebuking the wicked. Today, there remains the hope of righteousness for Israel. I believe they have been brought back to their promised land, and I am praying daily for the spiritual renewal component of God’s promise. 

Going up to the house of the Lord is a fairly common theme in the Psalms, but also in the prophets. 

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!'” (Psalm‬ ‭122‬:‭1‬)

“And many peoples shall 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 his ways and that we may walk in his paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭2‬:‭3‬).

“The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going’” (Zechariah‬ ‭8‬:‭21‬).

All of these references are before the destruction of the temple. But fervor for the house of the Lord is still there upon their return from captivity in Babylon. 

Father, please bring about the spiritual restoration of Israel. Please give strength, courage, and clarity of message to the believers in Israel today. Amen.

Filed Under: devotional thoughts, Isaiah, Jerusalem, Micah, Old Testament, Prophecy, Psalms, Temple Mount, Zechariah

Hosea 13:4

December 31, 2025 by Leave a Comment

“But I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt; you know no God but me, and besides me there is no savior.” (Hosea 13:4)

On the heels of saying, “And now they sin more and more, and make for themselves metal images, idols skillfully made of their silver” (13‬:‭2‬), “Besides me, there is no savior!” is an important and exclusive statement. God is attacking their idolatry by pointing out that he is the only savior. No matter how much silver or how finely crafted, idols cannot save. God alone can save!

Isaiah echoes this same exclusive claim: “I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior.” (Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭11‬)

“… And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me.” (Isaiah‬ ‭45‬:‭21‬)

Jesus claimed to be the exclusive way to the Father: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭6‬)

Peter made the connection between Jesus and Isaiah 43:11, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬)

Paul made the connection even clearer in his letter to Titus, … “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” (Titus‬ ‭2‬:‭13‬)

There is one true and living God and salvation is found only in Him. If we look anywhere else, we will come up empty-handed. If we look to anyone else, we will come up empty-handed. 

Father, please help me recognize your glory in your son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Filed Under: Acts, Hosea, idolatry, Isaiah, John, Old Testament, Titus

Jeremiah 42:11

October 4, 2025 by Leave a Comment

“Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Do not fear him, declares the Lord, for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand.” (Jeremiah 42:11)

Babylon was the biggest and baddest dude in the neighborhood. But God told Israel, “Do not fear him.” How is that possible? The nation is under siege by Babylon! The next clause provides the answer: “for I am with you.” But, not just to “be with you” but “to save you and to deliver you.” The Lord has a purpose in His presence.

In a similar scenario, but a century earlier, when Assyria was the big boy, King Hezekiah said a similar thing to the great-grandparents of the people Jeremiah was talking to: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.” (2 Chronicles‬ ‭32‬:‭7‬-‭8‬) Once again, the Lord’s presence is purposeful: “to help us and to fight our battles.”

About 115 years apart, King Hezekiah had seen Assyria destroy the northern kingdom, and Jeremiah had witnessed the Babylonians destroy the southern kingdom. And both said, “The Lord is with you.”

Having witnessed what Hezekiah witnessed, Isaiah said the same thing: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭41‬:‭10‬) (And, once again, the Lord’s presence has purpose: to strengthen and to help.

If we look at the impossible circumstances of Hezekiah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, we can see that these were words of faith. To be clear, both Jeremiah and Isaiah were speaking the word of the Lord to their audiences. I wonder if Hezekiah hadn’t heard the same from Isaiah. Perhaps, he just knew the Lord so well that he rightly concluded that the Lord was with them.

To put a finer point on this thought, the reason that Judah should not be afraid was that the Lord was with them. Their courage should have come from the fact that the Lord was with them. And who is with me?

Father, please help me to remember that your Spirit dwells within me. Help me find courage in that truth and not fear what others may say or think if I’m completely obedient to you. Amen.

Filed Under: Assyria, Babylon, devotional thoughts, fear, Hezekiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Old Testament

Turning Back Time

March 5, 2009 by Leave a Comment

As I have surveyed the life of Hezekiah, I have drawn details from 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and Isaiah. To have the most complete understanding of Hezekiah’s life, using all three sources is necessary. Though at times, trying to get a handle on how the details are presented in the three sources can be confusing.

For example, when we look at Isaiah 38-39, it might be natural to assume that chronologically, chapters 38 and 39 occur after chapters 36 and 37. After all, that’s how it’s written, right? Well, there are a few indicators in those chapters, 38 and 39, that suggest that the correct chronology of Isaiah is 38, 39, 36, 37.

Here is the best one: 38:6 – “I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria.” This promise of protection and deliverance clearly occurred before the angel of the LORD defeated the Assyrian army and before Sennacherib broke camp and returned to Nineveh, both of which were already detailed in Isaiah chapter 37.

So, let’s “turn back time” and review Isaiah 38-39, which actually took place before the things we have already discussed. As you will see, these chapters actually give some explanation of why chapters 36 and 37 occurred.

All three records – 2 Kings 20, 2 Chronicles 32, and Isaiah 38 – say that Hezekiah was ill and at the point of death. And they all record Hezekiah’s prayer, which resulted in the LORD mercifully restoring Hezekiah’s health. In response to Hezekiah’s prayer the LORD said three things would occur:
1. Hezekiah would go up to the Temple three days later,
2. The LORD would add 15 years to Hezekiah’s life, and
3. The LORD would deliver Hezekiah and the city of Jerusalem from Assyria.

In contrast to his father’s rejection of a sign from the LORD (Isa. 7:11-12), upon hearing of his restoration and 15-year life extension, Hezekiah asked for a sign. Isaiah inquired as to which Hezekiah would prefer as a sign from the LORD, that the sun would move forward or backward.

Hezekiah realized that the shadow of the sun moving forward may not be a clear sign. After all, the sun naturally moves forward. So, he asked for the shadow of the sun to move backward. In other words, he asked for time to be turned back.

Here is the LORD‘s response: “I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.” It isn’t clear how this was done, but God, who put all things in motion, is able to reverse things and still keep all things in order. Don’t forget, during the days of Joshua the sun had already stood still over Gibeon (Joshua 10:13). It’s not something that happens every day, or even often, but God, as it pleases Him, does what appears to be impossible to us. “So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down (Isa. 38:8).”

Interestingly, the account of Hezekiah’s punitive illness in 2 Chronicles is abbreviated, apparently for the purpose of highlighting the reason for both his condition and the perilous situation of Jerusalem – his pride.

Once again, the chronology can be confusing. By the order of presentation in 2 Chronicles 32:24-25, one may get the impression that the LORD healed Hezekiah and still his heart was proud. However, like we did in sorting out chapters 36-38 of Isaiah, we need to examine the complete presentation. In doing this we will see that as a result of Hezekiah’s pride, the LORD‘s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem (2 Chr 32:26), which clearly occurred before the LORD restored Hezekiah. As was pointed out above, one of the elements of Hezekiah’s restoration was that the LORD would deliver Hezekiah and Jerusalem from Assyria.

It shouldn’t surprise the reader that Hezekiah struggled with pride. The elements were clearly in place for pride to be a potential problem: In addition to being the king, he had very great riches, built many buildings and villages, and acquired great numbers of flocks and herds. “He succeeded in everything he undertook (2 Chron 32:30).” Hezekiah started out well, restoring Passover and removing the high places, but his wealth and success created a proud heart in him.

Thankfully, the LORD knows how to bring about humility. And in Hezekiah’s case, a punitive illness and potential destruction of Jerusalem were the LORD‘s instruments of merciful correction in Hezekiah’s life.

That is the back story to the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem.

The order of events as I understand it is:
1. Hezekiah was proud
2. God sent Assyria and a punitive illness as a form of discipline
3. Hezekiah repented
4. God restored Hezekiah
5. God delivered Hezekiah and Jerusalem from the Assyrian threat.

Filed Under: 2 Chronicles, 2 Kings, Hezekiah, Isaiah, Prayer, Suffering
Next Page »