Isaiah 9:18-21

Rachel Workman: ¹⁸ This wickedness is like a brushfire.
    It burns not only briers and thorns
but also sets the forests ablaze.
    Its burning sends up clouds of smoke.
¹⁹ The land will be blackened
    by the fury of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
The people will be fuel for the fire,
    and no one will spare even his own brother.
²⁰ They will attack their neighbor on the right
    but will still be hungry.
They will devour their neighbor on the left
    but will not be satisfied.
In the end they will even eat their own children.^[g]
21 Manasseh will feed on Ephraim,
    Ephraim will feed on Manasseh,
    and both will devour Judah.
But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied.
    His fist is still poised to strike.

Ephraim’s own wickedness was destroying the nation the way a fire destroys. But the sinners would become fuel for the fire God could kindle! In their greed, the people of the northern kingdom were devouring one another and battling one another, but they would soon be devoured and defeated by Assyria. As I read this chapter more and more I see us in this same place. Our sins and disregard for anything holy fueling the fire that God will destroy us with.

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John Burnett:  ¹⁸ For wickedness burns like a fire;
    it consumes briers and thorns;
it kindles the thickets of the forest,
    and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
¹⁹ Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts
    the land is scorched,
and the people are like fuel for the fire;
    no one spares another.
²⁰ They slice meat on the right, but are still hungry,
    and they devour on the left, but are not satisfied;
each devours the flesh of his own arm,
²¹ Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim devours Manasseh;
    together they are against Judah.
For all this his anger has not turned away,
    and his hand is stretched out still.  Israel loved their sin and wickedness and did not repent thus the Wrath of God scorched the land. Wickedness will destroy wickedness and no one spares another.  This world is close to turning this way.  When evil is called good and good is called evil, you begin to see how evil wins out and there is no more good.  God turns evil people over to a depraved mind and they destroy themselves because they love their sin and will not repent.  The wrath of God described here is nothing compared to the Wrath that will be poured out during the tribulation.  With all of the evil in the world today, we cannot be far off.  God is patient, He is waiting for the last born again Christian to be born again, and then He will take His Bride the church to be with him at the Rapture.  He then will pour out His wrath on the earth just as He described in Revelation.  Repent and believe before it is too late. 

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Tomorrow’s reading for Isaiah 10:1-4.

10 What sorrow awaits the unjust judges
    and those who issue unfair laws.
² They deprive the poor of justice
    and deny the rights of the needy among my people.
They prey on widows
    and take advantage of orphans.
³ What will you do when I punish you,
    when I send disaster upon you from a distant land?
To whom will you turn for help?
    Where will your treasures be safe?
⁴ You will stumble along as prisoners
    or lie among the dead.
But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied.
    His fist is still poised to strike.

Isaiah 9:13-17

Rachel Workman: ¹³ For after all this punishment, the people will still not repent.
    They will not seek the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
¹⁴ Therefore, in a single day the Lord will destroy both the head and the tail,
    the noble palm branch and the lowly reed.
¹⁵ The leaders of Israel are the head,
    and the lying prophets are the tail.
¹⁶ For the leaders of the people have misled them.
    They have led them down the path of destruction.
¹⁷ That is why the Lord takes no pleasure in the young men
    and shows no mercy even to the widows and orphans.
For they are all wicked hypocrites,
    and they all speak foolishness.
But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied.
    His fist is still poised to strike.

The key statement is “For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still".  This is the outstretched hand of God’s judgment, not His mercy. God judged them for their pride in thinking that their present difficulties were temporary and the nation could rebuild itself better than before. He also judged them for their hardness of heart in their refusal to repent and return to the Lord. God’s loving purpose in chastening is that we yield to Him, but if we harden our hearts, then chastening becomes judgment. Israel was being led astray by false prophets and foolish leaders; the nation would not listen to God’s Word.

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John Burnett:  ¹³ The people did not turn to him who struck them,
    nor inquire of the Lord of hosts.
¹⁴ So the Lord cut off from Israel head and tail,
    palm branch and reed in one day—
¹⁵ the elder and honored man is the head,
    and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail;
¹⁶ for those who guide this people have been leading them astray,
    and those who are guided by them are swallowed up.
¹⁷ Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men,
    and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows;
for everyone is godless and an evildoer,
    and every mouth speaks folly.^[a]
For all this his anger has not turned away,
    and his hand is stretched out still.  This passage is talking about Israel and the consequences for their sin but it could just as easily be applied to today’s world.  There is a great falling away in the church when it comes to the truth of the Word.  Women Pastors, LGBTQ in the church and even in the pulpit, social justice, and the turning away from sound doctrine are just a few of the worldly influences that have effected today’s church.  There are many who are leading people astray and some are easy to notice.  Others are very subtle and speak enough truth to sound good but they have just enough lies mixed in to condemn those who adhere to these teachings.  Verse 17 shows not only the condition of Israel at the time but also the condition of the world at this time.  Unless God has opened your eyes to show you the sinfulness of your sin, His anger has not turned away from you.  If He opens your eyes, His hand is still out stretched and He will save you if you repent and believe.

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Tomorrow’s reading for Isaiah 9:18-21

¹⁸ This wickedness is like a brushfire.
    It burns not only briers and thorns
but also sets the forests ablaze.
    Its burning sends up clouds of smoke.
¹⁹ The land will be blackened
    by the fury of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
The people will be fuel for the fire,
    and no one will spare even his own brother.
²⁰ They will attack their neighbor on the right
    but will still be hungry.
They will devour their neighbor on the left
    but will not be satisfied.
In the end they will even eat their own children.^[g]
21 Manasseh will feed on Ephraim,
    Ephraim will feed on Manasseh,
    and both will devour Judah.
But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied.
    His fist is still poised to strike.

Isaiah 9:8-12

Rachel Workman: ⁸ The Lord has spoken out against Jacob;
    his judgment has fallen upon Israel.
⁹ And the people of Israel^[e] and Samaria,
    who spoke with such pride and arrogance,
    will soon know it.
¹⁰ They said, “We will replace the broken bricks of our ruins with finished stone,
    and replant the felled sycamore-fig trees with cedars.”
¹¹ But the Lord will bring Rezin’s enemies against Israel
    and stir up all their foes.
¹² The Syrians^[f] from the east and the Philistines from the west
    will bare their fangs and devour Israel.
But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied.
    His fist is still poised to strike.

This long section describes what will happen to the northern kingdom when the Assyrians invade.
While Isaiah’s ministry was primarily to the people of Judah, he used Israel as an object lesson to warn the southern kingdom that God does not take sin lightly. Judah had sinned greatly, but God in His mercy spared them for David’s sake. However, God’s long suffering would one day end.

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John Burnett:  ⁸ The Lord has sent a word against Jacob,
    and it will fall on Israel;
⁹ and all the people will know,
    Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,
    who say in pride and in arrogance of heart:
¹⁰ “The bricks have fallen,
    but we will build with dressed stones;
the sycamores have been cut down,
    but we will put cedars in their place.”
¹¹ But the Lord raises the adversaries of Rezin against him,
    and stirs up his enemies.
¹² The Syrians on the east and the Philistines on the west
    devour Israel with open mouth.
For all this his anger has not turned away,
    and his hand is stretched out still.  God is bringing judgement against Israel for their arrogance.  God is in complete control and He stirs the enemies of those who He will judge and allows them to have victory over Israel.  He has a righteous anger but He is also willing to save those who will repent.  His hand is stretched out to those will repent and turn away from their pride and arrogance.

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Tomorrow’s reading for Isaiah 9:13-17

¹³ For after all this punishment, the people will still not repent.
    They will not seek the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
¹⁴ Therefore, in a single day the Lord will destroy both the head and the tail,
    the noble palm branch and the lowly reed.
¹⁵ The leaders of Israel are the head,
    and the lying prophets are the tail.
¹⁶ For the leaders of the people have misled them.
    They have led them down the path of destruction.
¹⁷ That is why the Lord takes no pleasure in the young men
    and shows no mercy even to the widows and orphans.
For they are all wicked hypocrites,
    and they all speak foolishness.
But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied.
    His fist is still poised to strike.