PROVERBS OF STEEL FOR APRIL 26, 2024

 

April 26 – Continued Tragedy - Isaiah 24:16-20

 April 26 – Continued Tragedy - Isaiah 24:16-20

 

     Isaiah then says that from the ends of the earth he and his audience will hear singing.  The subject of that singing will be the glory, honor and praise given to the righteous one.  To the one who has no fault.  The one who is pure, holy, and true. 

     To the one who betrays their fate is one of snare and terror.  It will feel like they have been caught in a pit.  Even when they try to escape, they will be drawn back in.  The floodgates of heaven and the bowels of the earth will open.  Earthquakes, wind, and climate activity unlike anything that has happened before.  The reason for all this is rebellion.  Rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft.  Pride brings about not only personal failure but devastation to all and everything it touches. 

proverbs of steel for April 25, 2024

 

April 25 – Call to Worship - Isaiah 24:13-15

 April 25 – Call to Worship - Isaiah 24:13-15

 

     In the middle of this chapter Isaiah then exhort his audience and readers to raise their voices and shout for joy.  From the west they will acclaim the Lord’s majesty.  Majesty in the Bible means, “Majesty is a word that describes the greatness or dignity of God and his works.  Majesty is often used to praise God's sovereignty and glory.  

     Isaiah calls on the east to give glory to God.  To exalt the name of the God of Israel.  From the islands of the seas to ends of the earth to give glory.  To exalt, praise and worship the righteous and holy one.  It is a call to worship and praise amid a prophecy of the destruction of the earth.  The reasons are clear, precise, and concise. 

Thoughts for the day

 

Prayer time for April 23, 2024

PROVERBS OF STEEL FOR APRIL 24, 2024

 

April 24 – Earth Suffers - Isaiah 24:7-14

 April 24 – Earth Suffers - Isaiah 24:7-14

 

     The prophet continues with his prophecy of the future.  The party is over.  The sound of musical instruments has ceased.  The wine and food have ceased.  Cities are desolate and homes are barred or closed.  The joy is turned to gloom.  All joyful sound has vanished from the earth.  Cities are left in ruins.  Entry point into communities have been battered to pieces.  The earth has been ruined.  Trees bear no fruit, and the harvest has ceased.  All the elements that would feed, clothe, and shelter society have ended and so all suffer along with nature itself.  Not a rosy time.

PROVERBS OF STEEL FOR APRIL 23, 2024

 

April 23 – Earth Judged - Isaiah 24 -1:6

 April 23 – Earth Judged - Isaiah 24 -1:6

 

     The prophet now sees the earth being judged and devastated by the Lord.  He is going to lay waste to it and scatter its inhabitants.  This will happen in tribulation times.  It will not matter status, title, wealth, position, popularity, or power.  All will suffer the same fate.   Water will evaporate, the heavens and earth will languish together. 

     The people of the earth are the cause for this judgment.  They have disobeyed the laws of God.  They have broken faith with God.  The curse God spoke is going to consume the earth and the people must bear for responsibility for their guilt.   Ultraviolet rays will burn people.  The atmosphere will be affected, and many will die to the point where very few will be left.  We see in the 21 judgments of God outlined that the populated of the earth will be decimated.  Not a rosy future.

PROVERBS OF STEEL FOR APRIL 22, 2024

 

April 22 – Wealth Held in Trust - Isaiah 23:15-18

 April 22 – Wealth Held in Trust - Isaiah 23:15-18

 

     It seems that the same decree by Cyrus which Isaiah sees in the future will apply to Tyre and Sidon.  After seventy years they will be allowed to return.  They will go back to their same ways.  Isaiah calls it the way of prostitution.  They will ply their trade with all the nations of the world.  The difference is that their profits and earning will be set apart for the Lord.  They will not be stored up or hoarded by the people.  Instead, their earning will provide for the people who live for the Lord an abundance of good, clothing, shelter, and transportation.  This is a prophecy for the near future of the audience, for present and for the future.  These cities will not enjoy the fruit of their labor, but it will give to the righteous as a reward for serving the Lord.  In other places in scripture, we see a similar promises.   The wealth of the wicked is held in trust for the righteous. 

Cornerstone community church service for April 21, 2024

April 19 – Eliakim - Isaiah 22:20-25

 April 19 – Eliakim - Isaiah 22:20-25

 

     Shebna will be replaced by Eliakim a man who is the servant of the Lord.  He has a servant heart and

Will become a servant leader.  He will be clothed with robes of authority and power.  The power that

Shebna had will be given to Eliakim.  He will be a father figure to the city and people of Jerusalem.  He

Will be given the key to the house of David.  He will have the responsibility of being the manager of the

Affairs of state.  He will have absolutely power.  He will be established, and Isaiah uses the illustration,

Of a peg being driven in a firm place.  A sign of stability.  Eliakim will be given a place of honor.  He will

Be a generational leader and his family will be a family of influence both now and in the future.  He would be a man of legacy. 

     Isaiah then tells Shebna that his legacy will be one of a peg that had been sheared off and everything

That he has relied on to pass onto his family had been taken away.  In this passage we learn the reality

And consequences of elevating ourselves at the expense of others.  We also learn that you can be a

Person of legacy or a destroyer of legacy all by the choices we make.   

PROVERBS OF STEEL FOR APRIL 19, 2024

 

proverbs of steel for April 16, 2024

 

April 16 – Foolish Reliance - Isaiah 5:11

 April 16 – Foolish Reliance - Isaiah 5:11

 

     The prophet sees a day where the city of Jerusalem will face, tumult, trampling and terror.  The

people who relied both on the heritage and the walls are about to see it all fail.  Jerusalem is a city

in those days built on three hills and three valleys.  Isaiah sees the walls being breached by battering

rams.  He sees the arrows, chariots, horsemen at the gates and armies breaching the walls.  He sees

the defenses being broken down and all the weapons of Judah depleted. 

     He sees the special water sources built during the times of Hezekiah being depleted all because the

King and the people did not look to the Lord.  They relied on other empires, their own cleverness, and

resources which failed them completely.  They had no regard for the sovereignty of the Lord who had

warned them numerous times over the centuries what would happen.  As Jonathon Edwards wrote, “it

is terrible to fall into the hands of an angry God.”

PROVERBS OF STEEL FOR APRIL 15, 2024

 

April 15 – Jerusalem - Isaiah 22:1-4

 April 15 – Jerusalem - Isaiah 22:1-4

 

     Isaiah now sees what is going to happen in the future.  He sees the people going to their housetops to

get a better view of what is about to happen.  The city is full of noise, tumult, and drunkenness.  Most

of those who face the Babylonians were not killed by died by starvation or became refugees.  The

leaders tried to flee like Zedekiah, but they were caught.  They were then transported to Babylon or

different places within the empire.

     Isaiah and the Lord are having a moment.  Isaiah because he saw what was going to happen and the

Lord because over and over through the prophets and the words they gave the people were warned and

Now the full wrath of God was about to be unleased.  God is not mocked whatever we sow we will reap. 

This is a powerful warning for the people of today.  Get your house in order because the wrath of God

Is release it will not stop until it has done all the Lord wants it to do. 

Cornerstone community church service for April 14, 2024

PROVERBS OF STEEL FOR APRIL 12, 2024