BOM-BITES Episode #642- Isaiah 30 – powered by Happy Scribe
Hey, guys, what’s good? Derek here from Bomb Socks with another day of bomb bites, where we feast upon the words of Christ one bite at a time. So we are going to camp today in chapter 30 of Isaiah. There’s some great things in here that I think will help us in our efforts to listen into the words of a living prophet and to have faith and patience and trust in what he shares with us. So you go to the chapter heading of chapter 30. It says, Israel is scattered for rejecting the Seers and the prophets. Now you go all the way down to verse number eight. Now, this is the Lord speaking to Isaiah. It says, now go write it, meaning write what is about to happen here. Write it before them in a table, note it in a book that it may be for the time to come forever and ever. So the message here is for you and I, so versus 910 and eleven. Rather than have just me read them to you, I’m going to let someone with a lot more credibility than I share this message with you. Just this little part right here.
Elder Jeffrey Rholland gave a talk back in 2014, and it’s called The Cost and Blessings of Discipleship. It is amazing, but he describes these verses so well. So go ahead and watch this.
Hate is an ugly word. Yet there are those today who would say with the corrupt, ahab, I hate the prophet Micaiah, for he never prophesied good unto me, but always prophesied evil. That kind of hate for a prophet, honesty cost a benedict his life. As he said to King Noah, because I’ve told you the truth, you are angry with me because I’ve spoken the word of God. You have judged me that I am mad. Or we might add, provincial, patriarchal, bigoted, unkind, narrow, outmoded, and elderly. It is as the Lord himself lamented to the prophet Isaiah, these children will not hear the law of the Lord. They say to the seers see not. And to the prophets, prophesy not unto us. Right things, speak unto us, smooth things, prophesied deceits, get you out of the way, turn aside, out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. Sadly enough, my young friends, it is a characteristic of our age that if people want any gods at all, they want them to be gods who do not demand much comfortable gods, smooth gods who not only don’t rock the boat, but don’t even row it.
Gods who pat us on the head, make us giggle, then tell us to run along and pick merrigolds. Talk about man creating God in his own image sometimes, and this seems the greatest irony of all these folks, invoke the name of Jesus, as one who was this kind of comfortable god really, he who said not only should we not break commandments, but we should not even think about breaking them. And if we do think about breaking them, we’ve already broken them in our heart. Does that sound like comfortable doctrine? Easy on the ear and popular down at the village. Love inn.
I love the way he said that. I think there’s a lot of times where we want people to say smooth things to us. Tell me how awesome I am. Right. And the reality of it is, if you were to go to the Lord right now, would you ask Jesus Christ, tell me how awesome I am? I don’t know if he’s going to do that. I don’t want to discount the fact that Jesus Christ is going to make you feel awesome. He will. But I think there are times also where we need to go to Him probably more often than not, and say, what lack I get? Or where are there things I need to do differently? Watch the general conference in a few weeks and don’t watch it with tell me how awesome I am, say smooth things to me. It’s probably more of a I want to know where I can do better. Oftentimes you go to general conference and you watch it with a question in mind. If it’s anything like my experience, you get answers to questions that you didn’t ask, right? And so it becomes that opportunity to grow. And growth hurts at times.
It’s not always smooth. Don’t just tell me what I want to hear, tell me what I need to hear now. What will often happen with that if we keep in that mindset of just tell me what I want to hear. You go back to chapter 30, verse twelve, wherefore let’s say it’s the Holy One of Israel. Because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perverseness and stay thereon, therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. And it’s interesting, there are times, honestly, if we are not prepared, some of these trials and difficulties can break us. That phrase, whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I don’t buy that for a second. Sometimes these trials can devastate someone. But if your mindset is proper and if you’re looking for ways to grow and you’re seeking that, I think it can be something that becomes more of a growing experience for you. Verse 14. He shall break it as the breaking of a potter’s vessel that is broken in pieces he shall not spare, so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it.
Assured. There’s a fun word for you. Assured, by the way, is a broken piece of ceramic pottery. So there shall not be even assured to take fire from the hearth or to take water with all out of the pit. It’s like sometimes these trials are going to break us hard, for thus saith the Lord God. This is verse 15. And I love this the Holy One of Israel, in returning and rest shall ye be saved. That repentance that we need to do in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength. I love that. But it says, and ye would not. I think all of us want that quietness and that confidence. Those are two things in our world right now. How awesome would that be? Quietness and confidence, those two qualities mixed together are very Christ like attributes. Well, speaking of Christ, again, we look for Jesus Christ in these chapters, verse 18. Therefore will the Lord wait that he, Mary, be gracious unto you. There are times where it’s important to have faith in God, but you also have faith in his timing. Therefore will he be exalted that he may have mercy on you.
And the Lord is a God of judgment. Blessed are all they that wait for him. Now, with regards to waiting for him and having patience with Him and in Him in the Doctrine Covenants, it talks about whether by my own voice or the voice of my servants, it is the same. And oftentimes when the prophets speak to us, like I said, it’s not always going to be that smooth of a message. And there are sometimes that we do need to have that patience. You go to Doctor and Covenant, section 21, one of my favorite ways to help us understand the role of a prophet. Section 21, verse four, wherefore, meaning the Church, thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments, speaking of the prophet which he shall give unto you as he received them, walking in all holiness before me. For his word ye shall receive as if from my own mouth, and all patience and faith. Now this promise. For by doing these things, having faith in his promises and waiting with patience and faith waiting, like it said there back in Isaiah, for by doing these things, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you and cause the heavens to shake for your good and his name’s glory.
In fact, you want to take that promise back to Isaiah, verse 19. For the people shall dwell in Zion, Jerusalem, thou shalt weep no more. That’s a cool promise. It reminds me of the Book of Revelation, where the Lord will wipe away all tears from our eyes. He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry. When he shall hear it, he will answer thee. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, there’s a fun meal, right? Bread of adversity, waters of affliction. Yet shalt not thy teachers be removed into a corner anymore, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers. You click on the footnote b of that right there. Thy teachers. It says the Hebrew is thy teacher, meaning the Lord. Now in verse 21, I love how it says, this is the way, walk ye in it. Now, I’ve connected that back to Isaiah, chapter 25, which is also in this block here, verses eight and nine. He will swallow up death in victory, again referring to Jesus Christ. And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all of the faces there’s that promise again.
And the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth. For Lord God has spoken it, and it shall be said in that day, lo, this is our God. We have waited for Him and he will save us. This is the Lord, we have waited for him, and we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. So I love hearing that. So when a prophet gives you that message, whether by my own voice, the voice of my servants, it is the same patience and faith, you wait on the Lord, this is the way. And as you do that, those tears will be wiped away and you’ll be able to have that quietness and confidence. And I love that message, and I know it’s true. Thanks for watching, thanks for subscribing, and thanks so much for sharing these messages. We’re so grateful that you’ve done that. You stayed with us this week. With love, Isaiah. So thanks for being with us for that. Please go check out our amazingly comfortable gospel themed socks if you haven’t already@bombsox.com. Godspeed. And we’ll see you for more Isaiah next week. God speed. Bye.
Guest Author
dyejo
