First Baptist Church, Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Devotional: Isaiah 3

Today’s passage: Isaiah 3

Helpful thoughts:

  • Because of their sin and it’s just consequences, no one worthy of leadership would even want to rule over Judah if they were chosen during this time.
  • In the absence of godly leadership, it is hard not to see in this passage that the women of Judah are pushed into the role…but they take on the sinful activities of men as they walk with “outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet.”
    • These descriptions depict:
      • An outstretched neck would also result in a nose up in the air… being stuck up and proud…  Power!
      • Lustful gazes toward others, a sexual promiscuity…women being seducers.
      • The wealthy women would wear jewelry around their ankles.  When they walked about, they would do so in a way to ensure everyone heard all the money invested in their beauty.
  • This societal structure turns out very badly!

Questions to consider:

  1. Is it ever OK for men to act like these women were acting in Judah?  Would it be right to “Change things back” to men being proud and stuck up, seducing and flaunting their wealth?  Is that a right representation of manliness?  What does the fact that the women in Judah turned to very similar sins in their role of prominence teach us about the human heart?
  2. How does a passage like this remind the Christian that our role is a counter-cultural one?  If a society is headed these directions, what are the righteous (By God’s grace through the shed blood of Jesus) to do?  What does verse 10 say?
  3. How sad would it be if the Church only sought cultural reform and abandoned the ministry of the Gospel?  What is the mission of the Church?  To whose kingdom does it belong?  What is the ONLY effective way to bring sincere righteousness to ANY nation?

Devotional: Isaiah 2

Today’s passage: Isaiah 2

Helpful thoughts:

  • Everything will one day be made right…but not before judgment.
  • When God is on the throne, there won’t even be a reason to learn about war.  God will judge perfectly and justice will be had all over the earth.
  • The major contrast of this chapter is the exaltation of the Lord versus the lofty pride of man.

Questions to consider:

  1. Why would worshiping false idols be considered lofty pride?  Who made the idols?  Why do people worship them instead of the true God?
  2. What can we learn about the time of Christ’s return through verses 2-5?  In what ways will things be different?  In what ways might things be similar to the way life is now?
  3. How does the exultation of the Lord in our lives change how we live now?

Devotional: Isaiah 1:21-31

Today’s passage: Isaiah 1:21-31

Helpful thoughts:

  • The faithful city of Jerusalem had become unfaithful.  The impurities/contamination of sin had made their silver into dross and watered down their fine wine.
  • Not only did the leaders not help the helpless (The fatherless and the widows), they even took bribes or gifts to allow others to continue taking advantage of them.
  • Lye is a chemical that can expose pure metal.

Questions to consider:

  1. Who will be able to enjoy the restored Jerusalem?  Who will not?
  2. What would be the end result of the pagan worship that occurred with the oaks and the gardens?  How would the people feel about their participation in idolatry?
  3. How does a desire to care for the fatherless and the widow show a repentant and loving heart?  Why should we seek to care for them?

Devotional: Isaiah 1:1-20

Today’s passage: Isaiah 1:1-20

Helpful thoughts:

  • Isaiah prophesied during the decline of Israel and also to the kingdom of Judah.  His ministry took place leading up to and quite possible after 700 B.C., through the reigns of four kings in Judah.
  • Forsaking and despising the Lord are held as parallel acts.  To forsake the Lord is to despise Him.
    • As we also saw in Hosea, the people of Judah have NOT stopped their sacrifices and religious practices to the Lord, but their heart was not in it.  They were abusing what God had given them for their own inferior/counterfeit personal gain.
  • Judah has sunk from the heights of the days of David and Solomon’s reigns to appearing like a temporary tent in a field.

Questions to consider:

  1. Why were there still people in Judah who were following after the Lord? (Verse 9)
  2. Why is God not satisfied with people simply going through the motions?  Why shouldn’t we be satisfied with going through the motions?  What are we robbing ourselves of if we are only doing good things in order to check off a list and move on to something else?
  3. What did God promise repentance would result in?  Would the people of Judah had actually been clean?  Would all of their old sin have simply disappeared?  What would God need to do to wash them clean?  How should we compare verses 16-20 with a passage like Ephesians 2:8-10?

Devotional: Hosea 14

Today’s passage: Hosea 14

Helpful thoughts:

  • The final chapter of Hosea is used to call on Israel to repent.
  • Israel will one day repent!
  • The “Ways of the Lord” are a blessing to the upright and a hindrance to transgressors.  We are never right to change it or to conceal the commands of the Lord in order to “draw” people…  If we did so, we would withhold blessing from the upright and remove from transgressors any way of knowing they have need of redemption in Christ!

Questions to consider:

  1. What preceded the call for Israel to sacrifice bulls to the Lord?  What did they need to do first?
  2. What has Hosea told Israel their repentance would consist of?  What all would they stop doing?  What would they return to doing?
  3. What is going to make Israel blossom?  Who will Israel (And all who have eternal life) have to thank for their victory?

Devotional: Hosea 13

Today’s passage: Hosea 13

Helpful thoughts:

  • Ephraim went from a people who made others tremble, to being compared with morning dew, chaff, and smoke.  This was the fruit of their idolatry.
  • Believing in something does not make it real.  Being real is what makes something real.  There is only one God.
  • In the midst of these questions and assertions concerning the judgment of Ephraim/Israel, the reader is reminded that God holds power over even death and the grave.  (1 Corinthians 15:50-56)

Questions to consider:

  1. What starts to happen when we forget who God is (Perhaps thinking less of Him) and what He has done for us?  How does a lower view of God affect our view of ourselves?
  2. Why is Christianity the only correct view in this world?  Why is it right to hold to our faith exclusively?
  3. In what way is verse 14 used differently in Hosea 13 and in 1 Corinthians 15?  Which one looks like it is used to reinforce reason for judgment?  Which one looks like it is used to reinforce reason for hope and victory?  What truth is consistent in both uses?

Devotional: Hosea 12:2-14

Today’s passage: Hosea 12:2-14

Helpful thoughts:

  • God compares the life of the nation with the life of Jacob. (Genesis 25:24-26, Genesis 28:10-22, Genesis 29:1-30, Genesis 32:22-30)
  • A contrast is given though in how Jacob “prevailed” in his wrestling, and yet asked for God’s favor/blessing, and then how Ephraim (Israel the Northern Kingdom) has “prevailed” through deceit (False balances) and believes it has blessed itself and gotten away with it.
  • Sin makes everything messy and confusing (Like this chapter?).  When God is held in His rightful place in our hearts, life makes sense.

Questions to consider:

  1. Why did Jacob “prevail” in that wrestling match?  Who was behind Jacob’s blessing, in spite of Jacob’s supplanting tactics?
  2. What was the difference between Jacob’s “success” and Ephraim’s “success”?  What was behind Ephraim’s “success” and what were the consequences?
  3. In what way has God said to Israel in this chapter, “Who do you think you are?” and “Who do you think I am?”  How should we define “success” and how should we view our lives in light of who God is and what He has done?

Devotional: Hosea 11:1-12:1

Today’s passage: Hosea 11:1-12:1

Helpful thoughts:

  • Verse 1 is cited in Matthew 2:15.  Jesus Christ made the same journey out of Egypt.
  • Again, it is possible to call out to the Lord for assistance while turning away from Him. (Matthew 7:21-23)
  • This is an incredibly important distinction, “I am God and not a man.”

Questions to consider:

  1. How would a mere man respond to Israel as they continually rejected him?  Why should we be so thankful that God is who He says He is?
  2. Why would it be wrong to view Him as only a little better/stronger/wiser than a human?  Is God just a super human or something much more?
  3. How is it possible for God not to pour out His wrath against my sin on me?

Devotional: Hosea 10

Today’s passage: Hosea 10

Helpful thoughts:

  • Israel did not do well with blessing.  The more they flourished, the more they strayed from the Lord.
  • Israel’s idolatrous calf was to be carried away by their conquering nation, the Assyrians.  When the Assyrians rejoiced about their gods being stronger than the “god” of Israel (The calf), it would be a bitter reminder to Israel that they had abandoned the Lord.
  • We reap what we sow.  There are consequences in this life for what we do.  But, when we turn to the Lord, He rains righteousness on us (Romans 4:3)

Questions to consider:

  1. Why are people prone to abandon the Lord when they are doing well financially, physically, etc.?  If God only comes to the forefront of our minds when we sense we are in desperate need, how are we viewing God?
  2. If I had a “calf” that would be carried away and called by observers, “My god”, what would it be?  What might I be prone to trust in first before I go to God?
  3. What does it look like when a sinner repents?  His salvation and justification are gifts of God’s grace!  Then, what does his life look like?  How does it change?

Devotional: Hosea 9

Today’s passage: Hosea 9

Helpful thoughts:

  • This chapter begins with the opposite of what you would hope for in a blessing (Joel 2:23-24).
  • Israel thought the fertility cult practices would bring prosperity, instead they brought barrenness.
  • Israel was not without warning.  The prophets were treated as fools and driven “mad” by the nation’s refusal to repent.

Questions to consider:

  1. What do we learn about God from this passage?  How does He view sin?
  2. How would a passage like this help us to better understand why Jesus said He was greatly troubled before going to the cross for our sin?
  3. Why can it be so hard to confront sin in the lives of others?  Why is it so important that the confrontation be motivated by love?  How can you respond to others in a way that would allow them to feel welcomed to love you in this way?