Isaiah 5:26-30

Rachel Workman: ²⁶ He will send a signal to distant nations far away
    and whistle to those at the ends of the earth.
    They will come racing toward Jerusalem.
²⁷ They will not get tired or stumble.
    They will not stop for rest or sleep.
Not a belt will be loose,
    not a sandal strap broken.
²⁸ Their arrows will be sharp
    and their bows ready for battle.
Sparks will fly from their horses’ hooves,
    and the wheels of their chariots will spin like a whirlwind.
²⁹ They will roar like lions,
    like the strongest of lions.
Growling, they will pounce on their victims and carry them off,
    and no one will be there to rescue them.
³⁰ They will roar over their victims on that day of destruction
    like the roaring of the sea.
If someone looks across the land,
    only darkness and distress will be seen;
    even the light will be darkened by clouds.

He would summon the Assyrian army from afar and use it to chasten His people. The northern kingdom of Israel would be destroyed, and Judah, the southern kingdom, would be devastated but eventually delivered, only to go in captivity to Babylon a century later. God was serious about the nation’s sins. If they would not repent and accept His offer of pardon (1:18), then all He could do was send judgment.

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John Burnett:  ²⁶ He will raise a signal for nations far away,
    and whistle for them from the ends of the earth;
and behold, quickly, speedily they come!
²⁷ None is weary, none stumbles,
    none slumbers or sleeps,
not a waistband is loose,
    not a sandal strap broken;
²⁸ their arrows are sharp,
    all their bows bent,
their horses' hoofs seem like flint,
    and their wheels like the whirlwind.
²⁹ Their roaring is like a lion,
    like young lions they roar;
they growl and seize their prey;
    they carry it off, and none can rescue.
³⁰ They will growl over it on that day,
    like the growling of the sea.
And if one looks to the land,
    behold, darkness and distress;
and the light is darkened by its clouds.  God is going to use foreign armies to come and punish Israel for their rebellion against Him.  These verses are a foreshadowing of Armageddon and the armies that will rise against Israel.  The difference between the two scenes are that in this description, the foreign armies will defeat and scatter Israel and at Armageddon, Jesus Christ will destroy the armies with the words from His mouth.  I look forward to watching that entire scene.

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Monday’s reading for Isaiah 6:1-7

6 It was in the year King Uzziah died^[a] that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. ² Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. ³ They were calling out to each other,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!
    The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

⁴ Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.

⁵ Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”
⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. ⁷ He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”

Isaiah 5:24-25

John Burnett:  ⁴ Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble,
    and as dry grass sinks down in the flame,
so their root will be as rottenness,
    and their blossom go up like dust;
for they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts,
    and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.  This is what all are guilty of and unless God opens their eyes and shows them their sin, God will judge them with fire as verse 24 describes the fate of those who reject God’s law.  Christ came to fulfill the law for us and when someone rejects the law and the Word, they reject Jesus Christ as well.  When you do this, you blaspheme the Holy Spirit, and this is the only unforgivable sin.
²⁵ Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
    and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them,
    and the mountains quaked;
and their corpses were as refuse
    in the midst of the streets.
For all this his anger has not turned away,
    and his hand is stretched out still.  God is so merciful and His hand is stretched out still to those whose eyes are opened, whose mind is regenerated, and those who are justified. 

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Tomorrow’s reading for Isaiah 5:26-30

²⁶ He will send a signal to distant nations far away
    and whistle to those at the ends of the earth.
    They will come racing toward Jerusalem.
²⁷ They will not get tired or stumble.
    They will not stop for rest or sleep.
Not a belt will be loose,
    not a sandal strap broken.
²⁸ Their arrows will be sharp
    and their bows ready for battle.
Sparks will fly from their horses’ hooves,
    and the wheels of their chariots will spin like a whirlwind.
²⁹ They will roar like lions,
    like the strongest of lions.
Growling, they will pounce on their victims and carry them off,
    and no one will be there to rescue them.
³⁰ They will roar over their victims on that day of destruction
    like the roaring of the sea.
If someone looks across the land,
    only darkness and distress will be seen;
    even the light will be darkened by clouds.

Isaiah 5:18-23

Rachel Workman: What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them
    with ropes made of lies,
    who drag wickedness behind them like a cart!
¹⁹ They even mock God and say,
    “Hurry up and do something!
    We want to see what you can do.
Let the Holy One of Israel carry out his plan,
    for we want to know what it is.”

²⁰ What sorrow for those who say
    that evil is good and good is evil,
that dark is light and light is dark,
    that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.
²¹ What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes
    and think themselves so clever.
²² What sorrow for those who are heroes at drinking wine
    and boast about all the alcohol they can hold.
²³ They take bribes to let the wicked go free,
    and they punish the innocent.

No wonder the world is crazy with mental disorders. There is so much sorrow. These verses pretty much describe the world as it is now. We're forced to believe that what is good is bad and what is bad is good. Our Father has laid a foundation. And us being so "wise" and "cleaver" are removing stones one by one. Our relationships, our children, the principals we've always lived by are broken. Because we are not building on His foundation. Our way seems better.

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John Burnett:  ¹⁸ Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood,
    who draw sin as with cart ropes,
¹⁹ who say: “Let him be quick,
    let him speed his work
    that we may see it;
let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near,
    and let it come, that we may know it!”
²⁰ Woe to those who call evil good
    and good evil,
who put darkness for light
    and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
    and sweet for bitter!  Verse 20 describes our world today like no other verse.  Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.  The LGBT movement use the Rainbow to mock God’s promise of no judgement by flooding.  Little do they know that their judgement will be by fire.  Putting darkness for light happens every Sunday in churches all over the world.  Teaching a false gospel and leading people straight to hell is as dark as you can get and these preachers do it for the money and fame.
²¹ Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
    and shrewd in their own sight!  Woe to those who think they are good people and who think they know it all.  Self-declared righteousness brings you woe and eternal torment.  Christ righteousness is what we need and is given to those whose eyes have been opened by the Holy Spirit so they know the sinfulness of their sin and how much they need Jesus as their Savior.  
²² Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine,
    and valiant men in mixing strong drink,
²³ who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
    and deprive the innocent of his right!

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Tomorrow’s reading for Isaiah 5:24-25

²⁴ Therefore, just as fire licks up stubble
    and dry grass shrivels in the flame,
so their roots will rot
    and their flowers wither.
For they have rejected the law of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies;
    they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
²⁵ That is why the Lord’s anger burns against his people,
    and why he has raised his fist to crush them.
The mountains tremble,
    and the corpses of his people litter the streets like garbage.
But even then the Lord’s anger is not satisfied.
    His fist is still poised to strike!