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The Bible Breakdown
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The Bible Breakdown
Isaiah 24: A Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On
What if the path to true freedom lies in embracing discipline over fleeting happiness? Join us as we unravel the profound messages of Isaiah 24, where the vivid imagery of a world transformed into a wasteland serves as a powerful reminder of the consequences of disobedience. This episode challenges us to view God's judgment not as punishment, but as a liberating force aimed at freeing us from the shackles of sin. By drawing parallels with a parent’s caring yet stern guidance, we underscore the necessity of holiness and the paramount importance of heeding divine counsel to avoid the dire repercussions of straying from the righteous path.
Our discussion takes a thoughtful turn as we examine how living righteously impacts not just our own lives but those around us. Using relatable analogies like the importance of obeying traffic laws, we explore the ripple effects of our choices on our loved ones. From navigating the pitfalls of personal sin to making decisions that align with love and purity, we emphasize the transformative power of repentance and responsibility. Ending on a hopeful note, we offer a prayer for mercy and strength, inspired by Isaiah 12:2, and express gratitude for God's unwavering love and forgiveness, encouraging each of us to be a beacon of positive influence in the world.
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The More You Dig. The More You Find.
Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon. Today, isaiah, chapter 24, and today's title is A Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On. Alright, a Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On. This chapter is known by a lot of people to be the apocalypse of Isaiah, because God has just had enough and so he's just calling destruction and judgment on everybody. So a lot of shaking going on for everybody and we're going to read about this and see if the Lord may be speaking to us about this in our own lives in just a moment. But, as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like, share and subscribe to YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you're leaving us a five-star review. Every single time we say this, we have people who will hear it for the very first time. So we always want to say make sure you're leaving us reviews and things. Not only is it encouraging to our team, but it also helps in the search engines to let them know that people are consuming this content. Also, make sure you're going to the Bible Breakdown Discussion on Facebook. They're doing an amazing job over there. There's a team of people that are writing devotions to supplement our daily podcast and they're doing wonderful things over there. So make sure you're going there and you are looking it up. On Facebook Bible Breakdown Discussion. Also, you can text RLCBIBLE to 94000, and we will send you this information every single day. That way, you don't have to worry about downloading it on a podcast app or going to YouTube. It will go ahead and send you straight to that. Okay, all right.
Speaker 1:Well, if you have your Bible, want to open up with me to Isaiah 24. Remember, the overall idea of the book of Isaiah is that God is our salvation, and we don't need salvation if we're doing well. You know we need salvation when we're doing not so well. And so that's kind of the idea behind what's going on in the nation of Israel at the time is there's just political turmoil, there's social turmoil, there's every kind of turmoil you can imagine, and the nation of Israel keeps turning to everything but God. And finally God's like well, listen, I'm going to do what's necessary to get your attention, just like a parent, I'm going to keep on, and I'm going to keep on, but I'm going to continue to ratchet up the discipline until you finally realize what's going on, for your own benefit. And so that's what's going on in the nation of Israel and it reminds me of back when I was in school.
Speaker 1:We would, you know, a lot of times when you're in a classroom you really have to just understand that you are a little bit of a quote unquote victim to everybody else in the room, because one person can get everybody in trouble. And can I tell you how many times I might have been that person. But something changed in me when I got to be about 10th, 11th grade. I quit caring as much about being the class clown and all of that and I just wanted to get out of school, right? I had senior-itis in 10th grade, so I was just always thinking about those next steps. And so I would be in class and the teacher would say something like hey, if everyone is good and takes good notes, makes good grades, we're going to do this good thing. And there's always that one student that would ruin it for everybody else. And I had grace for that student because that was me earlier in life. But now that it wasn't me, I'd be like dude, you're ruining it for the rest of us.
Speaker 1:And I kind of think about that when I think about this chapter. Like God is just, he is saying listen, you are ruining this good life that I want for you of relationship between me and you, and so I'm going to do what's necessary to get your attention. But God, all these other things are going well, and it's like are you really going to bring judgment because of this one area in my life? And God's answer is yes, because that area happens to be the sin that's breaking your life. It is bondage for you, and so I am going to go to war with those broken places. I'm not interested in your happiness. Primarily, I'm interested in your holiness, and so I want you to find holiness, freedom. Another word for holiness would be freedom from the bondages of sin. And so God's like I'm going to find what it's going to take the carrot or the stick to bring freedom in your life. And so that's what he's going to say today, and it's a sobering message to all of us. And so let's read it together Isaiah, chapter 24, and let's see what God's word will challenge us with on the backside of it. You ready.
Speaker 1:Isaiah, chapter 24, verse 1, says this Look, the Lord is about to destroy the earth and make it a vast wasteland. I mean, it's already starting off right. He devastates the surface of the earth and scatters the people. Priests and laypeople, servants and masters, maids and mistresses, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, bankers and debtors None will be spared. The earth will be completely emptied and looted. The Lord has spoken. The earth mourns and dries up. The land wastes away and withers. Even the greatest people on earth waste away. The earth suffers from the sins of its people and they have twisted God's instructions, violated his laws and broken his everlasting covenant. Therefore, the curse consumes, a curse consumes the earth. Its people must pay the price for their sins. They are destroyed by fire and only a few are left alive. The grapevines waste away and there is no new wine.
Speaker 1:All the merrymakers sigh and mournn and the cheerful sound of tambourines is still paused. There's no such thing as a cheerful sound of a tambourine. All tambourines sound terrible. It's proof. There's proof of that. Okay, moving on. The happy cries of celebration are heard no more. You know why? Because they were playing tambourines. Anyway, let's move on. Let's move on. The melodious chords of the harp are silent because of tambourines.
Speaker 1:Anyway, verse nine gone are the joys of wine and song. Alcoholic drink turns bitter in the mouth. The city rides in chaos. Every home is locked to keep out intruders. Mobs gather in the streets crying out for wine. Joy has turned to gloom. Gladness has been banished from the land. The city is left in ruins, its gates battered down.
Speaker 1:Throughout the earth the story is the same. Only a remnant is left, like the stray olives left on the tree or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest. But all who are left shout and sing for joy. Those in the West praise the Lord's majesty. In Eastern lands they give glory to the Lord. In the lands beyond the sea praise the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. We hear songs of praise from the ends of the earth, songs that give glory to the righteous one. But my heart is heavy with grief, weep for me, for I wither away. Deceit still prevails and treachery is everywhere. Terror and traps and snares will be your lot, you, people of the earth, for those who flee in terror will fall into a trap and those who escape the trap will be caught in a snare. Destruction falls like rain from the heavens and foundations of the earth shake.
Speaker 1:Verse 2. In that day the Lord will punish the gods of the heavens and the proud rulers of the nations on earth. They will be rounded up and put in prison, and they will be shut up in prison and finally be punished. Then the glory of the moon will wane and the brightness of the sun will fade, for the Lord of heaven's armies will rule on Mount Zion and he will rule in great glory in Jerusalem and in the sight of all the leaders of his people. Wow, like I said, there's a whole lot of shaking going on. The Lord is judging everybody and if we were to look at this overall idea, it would be to consider how our choices impact not only ourselves but the world around us. The reason why God is saying that he is judging everybody is because, as a nation, the nation of Israel is continually turning their back on him.
Speaker 1:Now there's a lot of things happening in this chapter and I would encourage you to study this further if you're interested in what some scholars would think is this is God describing. Remember we talked about how, in prophecy, you have the already like the near events that are happening, but then the not yet the far future events happening. Well, the near future events is God is saying I'm going to destroy everything around you and we know, eventually the Assyrians come and take over Israel and then the Babylonians come and take over Judah and they just destroy and decimate the place. But then there's also this idea this might be what it looks like at the end of time when God destroys the heaven and earth because he says he's going to make a new heaven and a new earth at the end of the book of Revelation. So if you want to study that further, you can look at that and see how this could be a description of how God is going to go about doing it right. But in a very practical term for us, when we read this, we go you know what? My actions don't just have consequences for me, but it also has consequences for those around me. And so, just like I was saying at the very beginning, you kind of have this situation where one bad student can ruin it for the whole class.
Speaker 1:Many times when we think about life, we think well, I'm just going to do me, I'm going to do me, you do you, you do you, boo-boo that thing, and I'm going to do me and everything's going to be fine. Well, that's not the way life works. If you think about it. When you drive down the road, you don't do whatever you want to do. You have to abide by the laws of the land, because that's how we are able to be in cooperation with each other. And I'm driving one direction, you're driving in another, and I am thinking about you as I'm driving. That's why I'm obeying the laws, is because I want to be safe and I want you to be safe. Well, it's the same thing in other areas of life. I'm not going to cheat you because I need to be thinking about you, because I also don't want you to cheat me. I'm not going to steal from you, I'm not going to lie to you, because there are consequences that go both ways. Well, it's the same thing when it comes to sin.
Speaker 1:Many times, when we sin, when we turn our backs on God, when we go through difficult seasons, it doesn't just affect us, it also affects people around us. If you don't know what I'm talking about, think about someone that you truly love who has been through something terrible. Now, they didn't do it intentionally, but that terrible thing it affected you because you hurt for them, you struggled for them and you worked with them. Well, that was something they couldn't help. What about something that they could? I've talked to people who have talked about how their life was just ruined because their spouse did something terrible and then had to go to jail. Well, their bad decision not only affected their life, but affected everybody else's life.
Speaker 1:So what's the answer Is do the hard work of coming back to God, repenting of our sin and walking the road of righteousness, not just for ourselves, but for all those around us. If you think about it, you don't have to worry about committing adultery if you decide to stay in love. I'm going to love my wife, I'm going to honor her, so I don't have to worry about sinning over here. I'm so busy focusing on staying committed to her. I don't have to worry about falling to the sin of pornography because I am so focused on walking in purity, because it's not just about me, it's about everybody else around me. And when we think about life in that way and we realize that we have the wonderful blessing of being able to have an impact on the lives of others, it also comes with the responsibility of making sure that impact is a good one.
Speaker 1:Let's pray together today. God, thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, that your mercy goes further than we can imagine. And God for many of us listening or watching this today. We would have to admit that we sometimes struggle with making the right decisions and going in the right direction. But I'm so thankful that you are still more merciful. You've got more mercy than we have sin. So I pray, god, as we come running to you, I pray that once again, as you always do, you'll wash away our sin and set us back on the right road. I'm so thankful, god, you care more about how many times we get up than how many times we fall down. Thank you, god, for loving us the way you do. In Jesus' name, we pray Amen, amen. Well, god's word says in Isaiah 12, verse 2, god has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord, god, is my strength and my song. He has given me the victory. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Isaiah, chapter 25.
