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I am using readings from the 49 Week Bible Challenge as the basis for these devotions. I encourage you to join me in this discipline. Today’s readings are Matthew 20; 1 Kings 12; Isaiah 51; Jeremiah 49.
Isaiah 51:1-6
“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the Lord:look to the rock from which you were hewn,
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah who bore you;
for he was but one when I called him,
that I might bless him and multiply him.
3 For the Lord comforts Zion;
he comforts all her waste places
and makes her wilderness like Eden,
her desert like the garden of the Lord;
joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the voice of song.4 “Give attention to me, my people,
and give ear to me, my nation;
for a law will go out from me,
and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.
5 My righteousness draws near,
my salvation has gone out,
and my arms will judge the peoples;
the coastlands hope for me,
and for my arm they wait.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;
but my salvation will be forever,
and my righteousness will never be dismayed.
Isaiah 51 is a chapter of comfort and encouragement to God’s people, especially those weary from suffering and exile. It speaks to those who long for God’s salvation and are seeking reassurance of his faithfulness and power. The tone shifts from judgment (earlier in Isaiah) to hope, restoration, and the certainty of God’s deliverance.
Compare that to Jeremiah 49, which is a series of oracles in which God, through the prophet Jeremiah, pronounces judgment on foreign nations surrounding Israel. In this chapter, the focus is on several specific nations that had interacted – often adversarially – with Israel and Judah.
Thus says the Lord:
“Has Israel no sons?
Has he no heir?
Why then has Milcom dispossessed Gad,
and his people settled in its cities?
2 Therefore, behold, the days are coming,
declares the Lord,
when I will cause the battle cry to be heard
against Rabbah of the Ammonites;
it shall become a desolate mound,
and its villages shall be burned with fire;
then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,
says the Lord. – Jeremiah 49:1-2
Milcom is the chief god of the Ammonites. Rabbah is the capital city of the Ammonites. These will surely face extreme justice and judgment. It will not be pleasant for them. They will be removed from their place of power and privilege. They remind me of someone who has stayed in a nice hotel for many days, and upon leaving think that they should take the furniture, TV, linens, pillows, and bathrobe. Sorry. Those are not yours. The Ammonites will have to learn this lesson.
Israel will be returning to their home with all the joy and relief they so desired for so long. Sadly, however, that won’t last. Soon they will wonder how it is that the newcomers are getting the same benefits that the Jews had for many, many years.
Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ – Matthew 10:10-12
Perhaps even the disciples would wonder how late-coming people (like Paul) would also receive such grace after his severe persecution of the Christians before his conversion.
The answer is grace. And that grace is for all who will repent and believe the Gospel, thank God. Yes, thank God for his amazing and abundant grace!
David Bahn - Reflections 
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