Return To Me
Opening Prayer
Praise God for sending Jesus to rescue us from our sin.
Read Isaiah 9:8–17
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
8 The Lord has sent a message against Jacob;
it will fall on Israel.
9 All the people will know it—
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria—
who say with pride
and arrogance of heart,
10 “The bricks have fallen down,
but we will rebuild with dressed stone;
the fig trees have been felled,
but we will replace them with cedars.”
11 But the Lord has strengthened Rezin’s foes against them
and has spurred their enemies on.
12 Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west
have devoured Israel with open mouth.
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.
13 But the people have not returned to him who struck them,
nor have they sought the Lord Almighty.
14 So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail,
both palm branch and reed in a single day;
15 the elders and dignitaries are the head,
the prophets who teach lies are the tail.
16 Those who guide this people mislead them,
and those who are guided are led astray.
17 Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men,
nor will he pity the fatherless and widows,
for everyone is ungodly and wicked,
every mouth speaks folly.
Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,
his hand is still upraised.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Is your life fully surrendered to God’s way? Are there still places he needs to rebuild?After yesterday’s song of hope, we are jolted back into the brutal present for the doomed northern tribes of Israel (“Ephraim,” “Samaria,” 9). They are being harassed by their neighbors (12) but worse is yet to come. Assyria besieged Samaria for three long years (2 Kings 17:5) before carting the people off into exile.
Israel tried to put a positive spin on it: “We’ll fix it, and make it even better” (10). Isaiah replies, “No, you won’t.” This is not because their enemies are too strong (11,12). It is because God is the architect of their destruction (11,14), inflicting covenant curses on the people who have turned against him. Israel continued to worship idols, sacrifice their children and dabble in the occult (2 Kings 17).
The specifics of their covenant violation and punishment do not apply to us today, but do any of these sound familiar: corrupt government, lying religious leaders (15,16), foolish speech, abuse of the vulnerable (17)? God holds out his hands to us in mercy but the day will come when he will no longer let people hurt others or disdain his majesty.
Amid the misery, there is a kernel of hope. Verse 13 hints that God’s purpose is not to destroy his people but to prompt them to return to
him.
Apply
How can you encourage someone today to return to God and accept the hope that he offers?
Closing prayer
Pray for those you know who are still outside of a loving relationship with God.
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