Isaiah 12 – 17
Once again we get prophecies that are mixed between different times. This becomes very difficult to track since it’s not given out clearly as x will happen, then y around this time, then finally z. Instead we get x, y and z presented as one possible event. The key is don’t let yourself spin too much on this, but just observe what we know to be true.
Verse 13:19 maps to the history of Babylon:
But afterward, the awesome and mighty city Babylon, pride of the Chaldeans,
will be razed to the ground like Sodom and Gomorrah, which God destroyed.
Interesting that when things like this are written, the non-believers (lump Christians/Jewish/Islamic religions here as believers) assume this was either written afterwards or forced into matching history.
Verse 16:5 does this again:
Then God will establish a royal throne, in loyal love—
the One who rules there will be utterly reliable,
With absolute integrity under the auspices of David.
With a passion for justice, He will be quick to decide and do what is right.
Christians immediately latch on to this and say it’s Jesus, while Jews and Muslims believe this one has not come yet. Again, this is where the interpretation is not clear and is biased on one’s belief on who Jesus really is to mankind. Is he the savior, a prophet or the example of God we must live to? We can only go on what we know from the Bible and our hearts.
I think back to when my mother was searching for “spiritual meaning” in the 70’s. We entered many churches and places like an Indian temple. All of which, without salvation of Jesus, seemed wrong. It wasn’t until landing at West Side Bible and Pastor Miller that the salvation thing became clear and felt right. That is when I knew in my heart that we had found truth. So do the same when reading these prophecies.
Verse 17:4 is I think the key to our own destruction:
Eternal One: Israel will be humbled then too;
our cousins, the children of Jacob, will lose their luster, their wealth and excess.
When we get too full of ourselves, suddenly we are humbled. Often in ways that are subtle and others that are grand. There was a period when I was going my own way and was way outside God’s plan. I was getting very fast on my motorcycle and full of myself. I was just out of an adulterous relationship and now involved with a roommate when I was humbled. In this case it was being all but naked in front of the audience in the Cow Palace. I never really recovered from that injury since I never was at my peak again and I seemed to fail at work. I think this is why I latch on to verses like this since I appear to always be humbled when I get full of myself.