Today’s reading: Isaiah 39:1-42:17
My selection: Isaiah 42:8
I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.
My reflections: Hezekiah, a king who had previously done many good things, foolishly sought to impress the visitors who came to him from Babylon (Isaiah 39). In so doing, he brought the judgment of God on his family and on Judah. The wealth and weaponry that he had shown off would be taken to Babylon along with his sons who would become the neutered servants of a foreign king. Hezekiah showed that his main concern was his own peace and security not the legacy he was leaving to his family and kingdom.
The world needs a better king than Hezekiah, one who will bring justice and be concerned, not with his own glory but, with the glory of God. Isaiah tells us that the true Servant King has been chosen and will establish real justice in the earth. We now know Him, the Lord Jesus Christ.
In His first coming He perfectly kept God’s law and was sacrificed for the sin of all who would believe in Him. He will come again to fulfill God’s covenant with Abraham that in him all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 12:3).
My challenge: The end of all things is the glory of God. Do not be a Hezekiah seeking your own glory. Lift up Jesus Christ and give God the glory for His sovereign rule over the earth, for His goodness today, and for His coming perfect justice.
Tomorrow’s reading: Isaiah 42:18-45:25
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