Digging Deeper Days
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!
Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out Only One Worthy!
The Questions
Isaiah 44:9-23
9 All who make idols are nothing,
and what they treasure benefits no one.
Their witnesses do not see or know anything,
so they will be put to shame.
10 Who makes a god or casts a metal image
that benefits no one?
11 Look, all its worshipers will be put to shame,
and the craftsmen are humans.
They all will assemble and stand;
they all will be startled and put to shame.
12 The ironworker labors over the coals,
shapes the idol with hammers,
and works it with his strong arm.
Also he grows hungry and his strength fails;
he doesn’t drink water and is faint.
13 The woodworker stretches out a measuring line,
he outlines it with a stylus;
he shapes it with chisels
and outlines it with a compass.
He makes it according to a human form,
like a beautiful person,
to dwell in a temple.
14 He cuts down cedars for his use,
or he takes a cypress or an oak.
He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest.
He plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow.
15 A person can use it for fuel.
He takes some of it and warms himself;
also he kindles a fire and bakes bread;
he even makes it into a god and worships it;
he makes an idol from it and bows down to it.
16 He burns half of it in a fire,
and he roasts meat on that half.
He eats the roast and is satisfied.
He warms himself and says, “Ah!
I am warm, I see the blaze.”
17 He makes a god or his idol with the rest of it.
He bows down to it and worships;
he prays to it, “Save me, for you are my god.”
18 Such people do not comprehend
and cannot understand,
for he has shut their eyes so they cannot see,
and their minds so they cannot understand.
19 No one comes to his senses;
no one has the perception or insight to say,
“I burned half of it in the fire,
I also baked bread on its coals,
I roasted meat and ate.
Should I make something detestable with the rest of it?
Should I bow down to a block of wood?”
20 He feeds on ashes.
His deceived mind has led him astray,
and he cannot rescue himself,
or say, “Isn’t there a lie in my right hand?”
21 Remember these things, Jacob,
and Israel, for you are my servant;
I formed you, you are my servant;
Israel, you will never be forgotten by me.
22 I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud,
and your sins like a mist.
Return to me,
for I have redeemed you.
23 Rejoice, heavens, for the Lord has acted;
shout, depths of the earth.
Break out into singing, mountains,
forest, and every tree in it.
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
and glorifies himself through Israel.
Original Intent
1) These verses contain a detailed description of making idols. Why?
After rescuing the Israelites from Egypt, God almost immediately provides Moses with His commands for His people. The first two command God’s children to have no god other than Himself and to make no idol (Exodus 20:1-6). Yet, before Moses even came back down the mountain with the commands, Israel had already made themselves an idol to worship (Exodus 32:1-6). Their choice to worship false gods did not stop there. Time and again in Scripture we see Israel choosing idols over the One True God. Isaiah eloquently shows Israel how ridiculous worshipping idols is through this description. Here they make idols from the material God Himself created, yet what have these idols ever created? Nothing. Isaiah is pointing Israel back, yet again, to why only Yahweh deserves their praise.
2) Why the call to return in verse 22?
Isaiah urges Israel to return to their first love, to return to the Lord. If they simply choose to return, they are promised redemption. In Genesis 12:3, God told Abram, “all the peoples on earth would be blessed through him.” As Isaiah writes, this promise remained unfulfilled. However, through their return, they would be redeemed. God had not forgotten them in their sin, neither did He forget the promise He had made to Abraham. He is their Redeemer and is calling them home. Matthew Henry says, “He has pardoned their sins, which were the cause of their calamity and the only obstruction to their deliverance. Therefore, He will break the yoke of captivity from off their necks, because he has blotted out, as a thick cloud, their transgressions.”
3) Verse 23 holds a description of the universe praising God. Why?
This verse is a beautiful picture of the rejoicing following redemption. It incorporates all of creation. Psalm 69:34 and Psalm 98:7-8 provide another picture of this praise. The God of the Universe, the Only One who could redeem, is deserving of worship. “The whole creation shall have cause for joy and rejoicing in the redemption of God’s people; to that it is owing that it subsists (that it is rescued from the curse which the sin of man brought upon the ground) and that it is again put into a capacity of answering the ends of its being, and is assured that though now it groans, being burdened, it shall at last be delivered from the bondage of corruption.” (Matthew Henry) The curse is broken and the universe rejoices. (stars actually sing! Check out this amazing video!)
Everyday Application
1) These verses contain a detailed description of making idols. Why?
Lest we get ahead of ourselves by thinking we are different than Israel, the sad truth is we, like Israel, choose idols over the One True God repeatedly. Our idols may not be made of wood, stone, and metal, but we have them. Many of us constantly choose to place money, success, power, and people, just to name a few, over God. We choose our desires over the Lord, by which we communicate, “I’ve got this, I’m in control” i.e. “I don’t need you God.” Just like that, we’ve elevated ourselves in the place God belongs. We, just as the Israelites did, need reminded that only Yahweh is deserving of our worship.
2) Why the call to return in verse 22?
We have the privilege of living on this side of the cross where Jesus paid the price of redemption in full as He died in our place, taking our punishment for our sin on Himself. The work of redemption is complete! Just as God called the Israelites to return to Him, He extends the same offer to us. However, it’s not forced upon us. The gift is given, the invitation to return is extended, but we must choose to return. When we do, we have the assurance that we are redeemed, our transgressions forever swept away. He is our Redeemer; Jesus has paid the price no idol ever could! The question is, will we accept it? Will we receive the freedom given when He paid the price on the cross? Will we return?
3) Verse 23 holds a description of the universe praising God. Why?
Creation sings the praises of our God. What an incredible picture! God has saved us! He has provided a way out from our sin, and there is rejoicing when we take it. When we experience the transformation only He can give, our response should be to praise Him! However, He does not force us into worship. While the crowds were praising Jesus, they were confronted by the Pharisees. Jesus told them if the crowds were silent in their praise, the rocks would cry out (Luke 19:37-40). Creation would do what man would not. The reality is everyday creation is singing the praises of our King. The question we must answer is, will we choose to add our voice to the chorus of praise?
What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with Only One Worthy!
Digging Deeper is for Everyone!
1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!
Digging Deeper Community
Share What You’ve Learned!
Pray Together!
Join us in the GT Facebook Community!
Our Current Study Theme!
This is Ten Week One!
Don’t miss out on the discussion!
Sign up to receive every GT Journey Study!
Why Dig Deeper?
Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.
In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!
Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.
Study Tools
We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.
Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!
Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))
Memorize It!
Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.
Digging Deeper Days
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!
Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out The Groom & His Bride!
The Questions
1) What is the “business” God has given for us to do?
2) How do we better understand God as a Groom through this passage?
3) How does God’s eternal character comfort His Bride, the Church, in verses 14-15?
Ecclesiastes 3:9-15
What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live;13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.
14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.
Original Intent
1) What is the “business” God has given for us to do?
The phrasing in verse 10, “I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with” refers to the scene from Genesis 3 when the curse is laid on Adam as a result of his sin in the Garden of Eden. (Genesis 3:17-19) The curse details how, even though Adam had previously been given work as a gift, now the work would carry a burden, it would be difficult, and produce only a fraction of what it would have before the effects of sin. The work God intended to bring us life and satisfaction in the doing of it, will now be twisted with sin and death. The Genesis passage also references life itself, which was a gift given to humankind, but now because of sin, all life will return to dust. If this were the end of the story, life itself is utterly meaningless. (Ecclesiastes 1:14)
2) How do we better understand God as a Groom through this passage?
Verse 11 immediately follows up the meaninglessness of verse 10 with hope, “He has made everything beautiful in its time”, which also references the finishing of Creation in Genesis 1:31 when God declared that everything He had made was very good. All of creation, in its original design, was very good, flawless without a hint of imperfection, but man chose sin, destroying the beauty. (Ecclesiastes 7:29, Genesis 3:6-7) Yet, the God who made everything beautiful at creation’s inception, is not impotent when it comes to sin and its decay. The same all-powerful God who formed atoms at the beginning of time and space, is the same all-powerful God who “has put eternity into man’s heart”. There is more beyond the “now”, there is eternity, and an eternal God who, in His own creation, shaped the heart of all people to long for eternity, to seek out the eternal God…to look for HOPE beyond themselves. This is the heart of a Groom who longs for His Bride. This is a picture of a pursuant God who intentionally designed His Beloved to hunger for Him, to ache to be made whole.
3) How does God’s eternal character comfort His Bride, the Church, in verses 14-15?
The teacher of Ecclesiastes notes that “whatever God does, endures forever” (verse 14) His purposes are sure and His plans cannot be thwarted, even in spite of our sin! The teacher further goes on to explain that this eternality of God and His immutability, is for our benefit. He set up creation that humanity would perceive the character of God (Romans 1:20) in order that we might fear Him (meaning to stand in absolute stunning awe of Him), come to know Him, and call Him Lord for ourselves. He is the pursuant Groom, and we are the ones He is seeking that He might call us His Bride! “God seeks what has been driven away.” (verse 15)
Everyday Application
1) What is the “business” God has given for us to do?
The “business” God has given is the gift of work. Whatever your work is, this is the gift of God. How do you spend your days? What fills them? What is your work and when was the last time you saw it as a gift? What makes our work a gift, even now living in a fallen world with the effects of the curse pervading every aspect of life, is Who we do the work for. Work is redeemed when we see it as a means to glorify God and love others. (Colossians 3:17) Verse 12 notes, “I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live.” Enjoy your work (Ecclesiastes 3:22), honor the giver of work, and love others well (Psalm 34:14, Psalm 37:3).
2) How do we better understand God as a Groom through this passage?
As you consider your everyday life, your work, your relationships, your joys, and your sorrows, where are you longing for Hope? What would begin to shift in your perspective and your heart when you consider that God intentionally designed for you to seek and know and be found by Him and He uses your everyday scenarios to draw you closer to Himself? What if you began to see your everyday, real life situations as invitations from the Almighty to come to Him, to seek Him, and be known by Him? Would you reach for Him more willingly? Would you call out for His help more frequently? Perhaps your heart would even become more quickly stirred to aching for His return when He will make all things new and beautiful once again. (Revelation 21:5)
3) How does God’s eternal character comfort His Bride, the Church, in verses 14-15?
I’m a mom of 7; nothing I do lasts for 5 minutes, let alone for eternity. Laundry, dishes, tidy beds, or a stocked pantry last only moments, but what God does never fades. God Himself is eternal, and because He loves His Bride, He has created a future for her to dwell with Him for eternity. His Church, the Beloved, made up of all those special and unique lives that have surrendered their all to Him, will finally find fullness and sweetness as it was designed to be from the beginning. We will inherit a life of purpose, a life of productivity, a life of intimacy with God, a life that will last for eternity! This kind of hope will never fail!
What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with The Groom &His Bride!
Digging Deeper is for Everyone!
1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!
Digging Deeper Community
Share What You’ve Learned!
Pray Together!
Join us in the GT Facebook Community!
Our Current Study Theme!
This is Bride Week Two!
Don’t miss out on the discussion!
Sign up to receive every GT Journey Study!
Why Dig Deeper?
Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.
In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!
Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.
Study Tools
We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.
Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!
Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))
Memorize It!
Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.