Anglican Daily Fountain Devotional for Today February 11, 2025

TOPIC: GOD’S JUDGEMENT ON ISRAEL

TEXT: Isaiah 9:8-21(NKJV)

• 9:8. The LORD sent a word against Jacob, And it has fallen on Israel.
• 9:9. All the people will know — Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria — Who say in pride and arrogance of heart:
• 9:10. “The bricks have fallen down, But we will rebuild with hewn stones; The sycamores are cut down, But we will replace [them] with cedars.”
• 9:11. Therefore the LORD shall set up The adversaries of Rezin against him, And spur his enemies on,
• 9:12. The Syrians before and the Philistines behind; And they shall devour Israel with an open mouth. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand [is] stretched out still.
• 9:13. For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them, Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts.
• 9:14. Therefore the LORD will cut off head and tail from Israel, Palm branch and bulrush in one day.
• 9:15. The elder and honorable, he [is] the head; The prophet who teaches lies, he [is] the tail.
• 9:16. For the leaders of this people cause [them] to err, And [those who are] led by them are destroyed.
• 9:17. Therefore the LORD will have no joy in their young men, Nor have mercy on their fatherless and widows; For everyone [is] a hypocrite and an evildoer, And every mouth speaks folly. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand [is] stretched out still.
• 9:18. For wickedness burns as the fire; It shall devour the briers and thorns, And kindle in the thickets of the forest; They shall mount up [like] rising smoke.
• 9:19. Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts The land is burned up, And the people shall be as fuel for the fire; No man shall spare his brother.
• 9:20. And he shall snatch on the right hand And be hungry; He shall devour on the left hand And not be satisfied; Every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm.
• 9:21. Manasseh [shall devour] Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; Together they [shall be] against Judah. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand [is] stretched out still.

STUDY:

In this passage, Israel in her rebellion, disobedience and arrogance, failed to turn to God for help and mercy. Hence, God would allow the peoples of enemy nations such as the Syrians and Philistines to attack, devour and conquer them (vv. 11-12). Despite all these, the people would still not be moved and would continue in their rebellious lifestyle.

The patience of God would be stretched to the point that He would not withhold His judgement upon the people.

What we read in this text is playing out in various nations today. Nations carry on their businesses today as if God does not exist.

They repeatedly choose not to listen to God’s warning through his people. Our wickedness and that of our leaders have provoked the Almighty to anger and as such, He has released his judgement on us (vv. 14-21) as though He is no longer merciful. But usually, He gives us enough time to repent so we won’t accuse him when He decides to judge. Sometimes, He may use adversaries to seek to turn our attention to him.

Nahum 1:3 says that He is slow to anger but He will not leave the guilty unpunished. Our God is a righteous and merciful Judge and the good news is that his anger is but for a moment (Psa. 30:5).

His aim is to bring us to a point of brokenness, yieldedness, obedience and repentance because his mercies are new every morning(Lam.3:22-23).

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, please show me thy mercy in the face of judgement, Amen!

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