Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

1) What is the context of Isaiah’s warning? (verse 12)
When we consider the whole of Ahaz’s timeline and heart motivations, we should be urged toward two main applications for our own everyday lives. One, God takes sin seriously. Yes, there is grace and forgiveness as evidenced by the centuries that passed before God finally ushered in His consequence, but He absolutely cannot, and will not, turn a blind eye to sin. This wasn’t true for Israel or Judah, and it’s certainly not true for us today. The gossip, the biting words, the harsh body language, the lusting second glances, the covetous heart that wants what is “hers”, the willingness to give in to anxiety and fear instead of surrender to the God of peace; Sisters, all of these are rebellious sins. Every sinful act earns us the just payment of eternal death, meaning separation from God and His loving mercy and kindness for the rest of eternity. (Romans 6:23) Either we can turn away from our sin and toward the God who loves us enough to sacrifice Himself and pay our sin-debt for us, or we can continue spurning the Almighty like Ahaz and Hoshea. Two, what the Lord has declared, we can most assuredly trust. (Isaiah 40:8) It was not time for Judah’s destruction; Ahaz had no reason to fear Assyria. Ahaz insisted on surveying his circumstances and choosing fear when he could have chosen to look at the God of Armies, surrender to Him in faith, and received perfect peace as a result. We don’t have prophets telling us God’s Word, we can read it ourselves and understand it through the aid of the Holy Spirit if He lives within us. Will we read His Word? Will we choose to trust the One who sees all and knows all and loves perfectly? Or will we live in fear?

2) What competes for worshipping the Lord God that Isaiah calls out the instruction of verse 13 to “regard only the Lord of Armies as holy”?
Everywhere Ahaz cast his eyes, there were more opportunities to give his worship to something utterly unworthy of his praise. How foolish Ahaz’ worship attempts look when tossed before “gods” that neither had any means of delivering what Ahaz pleaded for, nor were they even remotely worthy of the adoration he gave. How foolish we look when we do the same! Take a quick physical glance around your house or a metaphorical glance around your life, and take note of where your heart pulls. Do you look at the mirror and loathe the reflection staring back as you nitpick on your image? Idolatry is here as you are drawn to worshipping self over Creator God. Do you become angry at the piles of dishes or laundry? Or maybe the décor, or lack thereof, as you are tempted to compare yours to hers. Do your “eyes” land on your relationships? Where is jealousy lurking underneath the “longing for better and deeper”? Sister, you are not alone as you look around and take stock of the idols preying for your undying love. I’ve encountered mine on all sides today, and I know I will do the same tomorrow. Sin doesn’t happen because temptation exists, it’s how we respond to this seemingly sweet invitation to satiate ourselves. Eve wrestled with it just as surely as you and I. She gave in, as have I many times, but the Lord says we don’t need to live in the grasp of sin’s deadly allure. (1 Corinthians 10:13) James writes that, while giving into temptation eventually leads to death and destruction (James 1:15), humbling ourselves under God will have the opposite effect as He draws us ever closer to Him, raising us up to know Him better. (James 4:10)

3) How is it possible to stumble over the Lord of Armies? (verses 14-15)
We often don’t see past the enticing allure of sin to the pit of darkness behind its seemingly harmless lust. Satan dresses up our desires, making us feel like we are missing out if we don’t have what we want, when we want it, and then uses us against ourselves to shackle us to destruction. Like a pied piper, Satan’s deception tactics insist that the God we claim to follow is stingy while Satan wants to give us everything we could dream. Instead of waiting on the Lord, we begin thinking we should step in and take over. We become trapped into thinking we can arrive at our desired destination more effectively by sinning than by humbly obeying the Lord. A simple, but common for my heart, example is evidenced by my desire for my children to obey my voice. My sin? Arrogant anger when they don’t behave as I want or accomplish what I expect. Instead of choosing love, the enemy seizes an opportunity to destroy, and says I will accomplish my goal faster if I become angry. Don’t I deserve their obedience anyways? How quickly one deception leads to another! Jesus’ half-brother, James, picked up Isaiah’s prophecy about God as a stumbling stone and applied it to Jesus. (1 Peter 2:5-8) In the greatest act of humility, God coming to earth in the form of a human, living a perfect life of love, and surrendering Himself to death that we might have our sin-debt forgiven, He becomes a stumbling block to many. Either we reject this extravagant love and keep living for self, walking around in darkness like Ahaz, or we fall in adoring worship, rejoicing to accept His lavish forgiveness. Either Christ remains our stumbling block, and we continue choosing deadly rebellion, or we embrace Him as Cornerstone and build the rest of our lives upon Him, knowing our eternity is perfectly secure as it rests on Him.

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