ISAIAH 19:1 - 21:17
EGYPT, A TYPE OF "THE WORLD-SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST" - It is foolish to trust in something that God has judged and will overthrow, instead of in the sufficiency of Christ. It is foolish to trust in anything that is part of the world-spirit, world-system, anything that is worldly or "natural and temporal", because it is under a death sentence. The Lord has promised to judge all of the nations (spirits), and Egypt in particular would He "give over into the hand of a cruel Lord". Everything that we might look to to prop up our life is destined to collapse and become the ruin of us. All their "wisdom" "descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish" (Jam 3:15), has something of SELF in it, and can't be trusted. SHAKE IT: When God "shakes" nations, people, places, etc. it is our opportunity to rush in and reap souls. This is their opportunity to "come out of Egypt" and "speak the language of Canaan." (get born again). Even Assyrians can be saved! But watch it - - - not everyone will be saved.
NAKED IN THE STREETS! Yes! God told Isaiah to walk naked and barefoot, with his BUTT SHOWING for three years! He was a prophetic picture of what it is to become a captive to Assyria (fleshly lusts and affections) and led off in bondage, with no hope of escape. Ask any alcoholic, drug addict, porn addict, foodaholic - it is humiliating to be trapped like that.
A WHIRLWIND OF CONSEQUENCES: Babylon, Edom and Arabia will be judged too, as they represent the religious substitutes for God. Legalism flaunts the "goodness" of the flesh. As we look toward other "props" to support our flesh, we will have them pulled out from under us too. Isaiah asks Elam to crush Babylon, which they do, but eventually are, in turn, also crushed. One by one, other nations defeated Babylon, until it was finally destroyed in 689 BC. The vision of the destruction of Babylon was so terrible that Isaiah was incapacitated, had "labor pains", was horrified, and so bewildered he couldn't see or hear.
RESPONSE: Judah cast about looking for help against the Assyrians. When Egypt didn't work out, they tried Ethiopia, then Babylon, the Edomites, the Arabians, etc. etc. The flesh doesn't give up easily. We can come easy, or we can come hard. Each country represents "works of the flesh"(Gal 5:19) and are marked for destruction.
GALATIANS 2:1-16
THE "PILLARS": (Peter, James and John) Upheld Christianity to be a SEPARATE and NEW doctrine from Judaism. We do not have to keep Jewish traditions to be true Believers, as we are NOT "hybrid Jews"! The proof is that God's Presence and God's grace is with us. Paul's apostleship and his ministry were given official recognition.
PROPER CORRECTION: Peter was a hypocrite. He ate with Gentiles ("outsiders") as a rule; but when some Jewish believers came to town, Peter disassociated himself from his Gentile friends! (He was a Jew, living like a Gentile. Yet he expected Gentiles to live like Jews!) Paul was forced to "contend for the faith" (Jude 1:3). NOTE: This is important: Paul NEVER destroyed Peter, or the ministry that God called Peter to perform. Cutting off someone's ear is a wrong spirit (Luke 22:50; John 18:10-11).
"THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL": Salvation is not by race or nationality. Even if we don't consider ourselves "such bad sinners", we are still justified by faith in Jesus Christ. No one will ever be good enough at keeping the rules to save themselves. "Nice" people are saved the same way that "bad" people are! By pretending he wasn't like those "bad" people, Peter was implying that he was saved by being Jewish, or by keeping the law!
PSALM 59:1-17
SURROUNDED AND THREATENED: Saul's messengers surrounded David's house and uttered threats of annihilation. Isn't it interesting that Saul sent MESSENGERS, not soldiers, to kill David! This Psalm shows the hatred of the wicked toward the righteous. But whom God preserves, the enemy cannot destroy.
"They rise up against me." "They lie in wait for my soul." "They conspire against me." "They are ready to attack me." "They snarl like dogs." "They spew out swords from their lips." "They lie and curse."
WHAT DO I TELL MYSELF? It is important to instruct our hearts about the goodness and greatness of God during times like these: "You, O Lord, laugh at them; You scoff at all those nations." "O my Strength, I watch for You; You, O God, are my fortress, my loving God." "God will go before me and will let me gloat over those who slander me." "I will sing of Your strength, in the morning I will sing of Your love; for You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble." "O my Strength, I sing praise to You; You, O God, are my fortress, my loving God."
PROVERBS 23:13-14
"BEAT HIM WITH A ROD": The original language actually says, "beat him with a stick or rod". I don't believe God means for us to abuse our children and BEAT them, like we think. I think He is referring to an unpleasant event - one to be avoided. Anything short of real pain is just insulting and embarrassing to the child. By all means, make it count, but don't prolong it and don't overdo it. My children always told us that after the spanking, the ordeal was over, and they could get on with things without a guilty conscience. But, the best part is, we "save his soul from hell." The corollary is that when we DON'T spank, we guarantee their destruction.
RESPONSE: This Psalm implies that we aren't just avenged, but it happens in a way that the evildoers know why God is mad at them! Note too, these "messengers" are unhappy because they are discontented. They "prowl" and "wander up and down". And it is not "me-against-them". It is "my God-against-my-enemies". I just tell God on them. He takes care of the rest. The reason this is such a good idea is that sometimes I am wrong! [not often :-) ]
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