Reading – Isaiah 59
Need for a Savior
Today as I read through Isaiah, I can see how much God needed to send Jesus into the world so that we could be saved. At the beginning of this passage God is recalling how badly His people had strayed from Him. As we saw in our reading yesterday in Jeremiah, God was so upset with his people that he was cutting them off. They had become separated from God because of their iniquities and their sinful ways.
This is who all of us were before we came to know Jesus. We too were separated at one point and now know how much better things are with Him in our lives. Still many today are walking in sinful ways as verse 7 indicates, “’Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths.” Is this not the times we are living in?
Sadly, there are so many today that do not know Jesus. In fact some have laughed in the face of Him; the only one that can save them from their own destruction. It is unfortunate to think about, but this is nothing new to God. He has seen this happen time and time again. I’m grateful that God remains the same yesterday, today and forever. Thankfully He sent His son, Jesus, who is prophecied about in this reading.
Here we see the promise to come that we have today: ‘He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak.’ Vs.16-17. God sent his own arm, His son, to bring salvation.
Honestly when I read this verse today, I was blown away because it reminded me so much of the armor that we have today that is spoken of in Ephesians. I cannot recall reading this verse before today. However the breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation which was what Jesus did is still for us today as seen in Ephesians.
Armor From God
‘Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints’
Ephesians 6:14-18
In Isaiah it speaks prophetically of Jesus and what He will do for us. Now however, he has done all that He came to accomplish. The weight of the words spoken in Ephesians are on us. We now must gird ourselves with truth that is the word of God. His truth does not change and it does not waiver. He is faithful to His spoken truth.
Also because of our faith in Jesus we have put on the breastplate of righteousness. Think about that. We have to put on righteousness before we can put on the helmet and take up the sword. If we do not put on righteousness it is an insult to what Jesus came to give us. Next we are to shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel. We are to go into the nations sharing the gospel. Yet we are not to walk without shoes of peace that prepare us for the sharing of the good news.
In addition is the shield of faith. Faith is a shield to block the fiery darts of fear, doubt and condemnation that the enemy wants us to believe. Our faith in who Jesus is and the finished work of the cross will take down any of the enemy’s tactics. Our head must be covered with the helmet of our salvation, because Jesus is the head of the church, our cornerstone. He sits at the right hand of our father in Heaven.
Finally we need our only weapon, for everything else is used to defend our bodies, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Now as I think about this it tells me how important the Holy Spirit is to have in our life and how much we need to know the word. The Spirit will quicken the word to us and help us to have understanding and revelation. We can receive salvation through faith in Jesus, however we must ask for the Holy Spirit to come into our lives for us to attach the enemy head on.
We must ask for the Holy Spirit however and it WILL be given to us. ‘If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”’ Luke 11:13. Once we ask for the Holy Spirit it will be given. We will have power to walk as Jesus did. ‘But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”’ Acts 1:8 There is so much here that I would love to unpack, but I will save it for another day. However know that God wants you to have the Holy Spirit to effectively fight the enemy. So ask and it will be given. ~Amen