9 June (Isaiah 51-52)

Isaiah 51

(v.1) The Rock...we are to look to our LORD for guidance, comfort and peace.

(v.6) This earth will burn and a new heaven and earth will be created. Rev 21:1

(v.7) I am trying to stress this to my kids...peer pressure is so powerful, and if our kids can learn to think for themselves and discern right and wrong, they will do well. Prov 22:6

(v.16) I remind my kids that the people of Israel witnessed God working in their lives, and yet they still walked away from Him! How much more likely can we do the same? The answer is our devotion. If we truly love God and want to serve Him, we will rely on Him to not only be our Savior, but the LORD of our life!

(v.23) It is wise to read Gen 12 to our kids here...Abraham is the Father of the Faithful, and all who bless Israel will be blessed, as those who curse Israel will be cursed. That promise by God is unconditional...that means it doesn't matter how much Israel messes up...God has chosen Israel to be His Holy Land, and His people. We need to pray for Israel and support them...warts and all.

Isaiah 52

(v.4) Scholars take notice that instead of saying Assyria, the text says the Assyrian. It is personalized and singular. This is a hint at the devil and his servant, the eventual Antichrist. As we see throughout the Word, God uses pattern to make His points. All the dramatic events that will happen in the last days are shown to us throughout the Bible in a smaller scale.

(v.13) This is a verse describing Jesus on the cross. If we read Num 21:8 and John 3:14 then our kids will understand that God had planned the cross from the very beginning.

(v.14) We have no full understanding of what Jesus went through on our behalf. We see here that He was so beaten and torn up, that He hardly looked human. The miracle is that He stayed alive long enough to be crucified and to fulfill scores of prophecies!

(v.15) When Jesus died on the cross and the guard pierced His heart with a spear, blood and water came showering out. At that moment, Jesus was creating His Church, for shortly thereafter, Pentecost ignited the Church.