The Book of Isaiah

Chapter 1 V.9 Part 1

I did want to clear up something that I wrote in an earlier post, I think it was when I was in verse 7. I said something to the effect that “whatever these people did, nothing stopped their downward slide, or turned them away from it and back to God.”

I realized that at the time I was writing that, there had been a gap in the time of my study of this book, and so I had momentarily forgotten that I had already discovered the sin they had committed when I was studying about the four kings mentioned in the very first verse. So for anyone who wants to review that, you will need to go back to the first few verses to see their sin, part of which involved the worship of other gods.

Isa 1:9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, [and] we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

Jehovah = “the existing One”

1) the proper name of the one true God

Host:

1) that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host

a) army, host

1) host (of organized army)

2) host (of angels)

3) of sun, moon, and stars

4) of whole creation

b) war, warfare, service, go out to war

c) service                                                     

Not that I don’t know what a host is, but while checking on these word meanings, something stood out to me. First of all, the Lord of Hosts, which could mean the sun, moon and stars; or could mean the entire creation. So in thinking of that, if the Lord of Hosts is against you, man! That’s some army that is coming against you. Everything in creation…the “universe” as some would say, is working against you. Then again, looking at it in this vein, if God is for us…who can be against us? That scripture is certainly supported.

The other thing I noted is the word service. The Lord of Hosts is a Lord of service. That’s pretty wild to imagine. I mean think about it. The same Lord of Hosts…of the sun, moon and stars, as well as all creation, is a Lord of service? Pretty mind-boggling if you ask me, but there it is.

The last thing in this definition that caught my attention is the words (host) “of organized army.” He’s the Lord of Hosts – of an “organized” army. Just the idea of that is cool. I so need organization in my life, so just knowing that God is the Lord of an “organized” Host; whether that be His army, the sun, moon, stars or all of creation, which, I must say, is highly organized and well put together; is such a great thing.

Had left:

1) to be left over, remain, remain over, leave

a) (Qal) remainder (participle)

b) (Niphal) to be left over, remain over, be left behind

c) (Hiphil)

1) to leave over, leave

2) to save over, preserve alive

3) to excel, show pre-eminence

4) to show excess, have more than enough, have an excess

What caught my attention in this definition is the words “show pre-eminence” and “to show excess,” and “have more than enough” and “have an excess.”

That means then, that the small remnant that was left was perhaps, the cream of the crop, and more than enough to address or continue the work that God wanted done by these people. On the flip side, it seems like those others who suffered and died weren’t necessary or important, yet every life has value because even in suffering for their sins it serves to teach us what not to do.

The main idea I caught here though, is that God doesn’t need much to accomplish His initiatives. He can dismiss the majority for a fraction and still produce the line of the King of Kings.

Remnant:

1) survivor, remnant, that which is left

a) survivor

It’s really good to know that God had a contingency plan. Just the fact that He planned for survivors as opposed to just allowing the people to totally be annihilated, means that He never completely gives up on us. Since love is destruction and destruction is love, (meaning each contains the other) one could say this is almost demonstrative of a principle or pattern that God moves in.

There are things in our lives that are destructive to us, and even to others. Some of those things we may be aware of and some we may not be. Some things occur in our lives that may surprise or even shock us depending on the nature of the event, and our perception of the event; but no matter which way we perceive the situation, the purpose of God is always to expose and destroy the sin in us, so that the love in us will grow.

We can get caught up in the perception of others and cause ourselves much unnecessary grief and shame, or…we can just take it to God, and give Him time to work it out in us and clean up the mess we inevitably make of virtually every situation we attempt to address on our own.

Some situations catch us off guard even if we are in the word, because God is proving us on some ground that we didn’t expect. Sometimes we don’t expect to get proven on ground we’ve already been tested on, and passed (on more than one occasion), so our guard is down in that area, and then before you know it, there’s the same test again within a different arena and with a different set of variables.

It’s a kick in the pants to be caught off guard like that, because then you can slip and feel like you’ve failed the test. But the reality is, the test is not about whether or not we slip, but what happens to our faith if we slip. God wants obedience, but He’s not really focused on our screw-ups because He created us then placed us in a (screwed up) sin-filled form – the clay from this earth that had been damaged, darkened, and basically thrown into chaos prior to God’s renewal of it. That darkness is then inherent in both the clay and us.

So if we are thrown into a situation that causes us chaos on some level or another, the key is to cling to God with your faith. Even if you are failing morally, physically, financially, or any other way including spiritually; as long as you don’t let go of God, He will not let go of you. If you communicate with Him (try to be consistent with it, even in the midst of your mess), He will (in time) pull you out of whatever the situation may be.

1Pe 5:10 (RSV) And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, and strengthen you. 

There will be destruction on some level, but…there will also be a remnant or something that survives, and that something is more than sufficient for God’s purposes. Your life can and will still have purpose. God is in the business of restoration, and also in taking what society deems as “throwaways,” and making a success of them through and for His purposes. Never give up. Cling to His hand and never give up.