Only The Lord's People Shall Remain

Continuing into chapter 7 from the book of Isaiah, we find two competing forces at work against the Lord's People in Jerusalem.  This would be the king of Israel--a puppet king, as it states later in the chapter--and the king of Syria.

When the Lord spoke with Isaiah, He told him not to worry, for the two kings were like two burned out embers.  The Lord said that the invasion will never happen, for both kingdoms will be destroyed as they were not stronger than His people.

Verses 10 through 16 are particularly interesting because God asked the king to ask for a sign of confirmation from God.  But the king refused, saying that he would never test God in such a way.  Here I want to quote verse 13 as Isaiah said, ". . . Isn't it enough to exhaust human patience?  Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well?"  Powerful words.

Then, starting in verse 14 it predicts the birth of Jesus, by saying that a son will be born of a virgin, and they will give him the name Immanuel.

Worthy Enough To See The Lord

In the sixth chapter from the book of Isaiah, it starts with the death of a king and the speaker (Isaiah?) saw the Lord, sitting majestically on a throne with angels all around.

The speaker cries out that he is not worthy to see the Lord.  They are unclean.  However, one of the angels (called seraphim in the book) takes a piece of burning coals, handling it with a pair of tongs, and places the hot coal on his lips.  Then, it is declared that their sin has been atoned for and their guilt has been taken away.

Before the Lord can use us, He needs to cleanse us.  Although we may seem unworthy for gifts from the Lord, we are.  We need to pray and ask for them.  Now, answers and gifts may not come as instantaneous as we'd like--although there have been many times in my life the answers I get while praying come so fast I'm awestruck.

Another thing that this chapter teaches is to be humble when you go to the Lord.  He knows if you are humble about your request.