Feb 6: How God looks for those who rely on Him
FEBRUARY 2, 2022 BY IAN GREIG
Welcome to the Living Word Bible Study for for Sunday, February 6 (TL05C)
Theme: ‘Unworthy’ people may be the best candidates
- See also this week’s article How God Calls the Imperfect to Achieve the Impossible drawing out the story from these readings as a whole
- And this week’s video With God Conscience Trumps Confidence
Isaiah 6:1–13 — Isaiah sees a terrifying vision of God’s holiness
Luke 5:1–11 — Jesus reveals who He is to Peter at work in his boat
1 Corinthians 15:1–11 — How former persecutor Paul received grace
And also read: Psalm 138
Isaiah 6:1–13 — Isaiah sees a terrifying vision of God’s holiness
He receives a heavenly message of both grace and judgment that not all will hear
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of His robe filled the temple.
“King Uzziah” — also called Amaziah, died after a peaceful reign of nearly 50 years in 740 BC, the year when Assyrian king, Tiglath-Pileser III, rose to power and threatened Israel.
2–3 Above Him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.”
“Seraphim” — the word is suggestive of flames. Even as part of the heavenly host, they could not look at God directly.
“Holy, holy, holy” — meaning God is absolutely, fearsomely holy.
“The whole earth…glory” — despite humanity’s sinful independence from God and wicked regimes, God’s kingdom purpose is to fill the whole earth with His presence and glory. Initially in the incarnation of the Son, John 12:41; 2 Cor 3:18; 4:4–7, then to come fully in His end time reign.
• For further study: how the cloud in the wilderness moved into the tabernacle, Exodus 16:7; Exodus 40:34–35 and then the temple, 1 Kings 8:11, Psalm 26:8, 63:2. Several passages anticipate the earth filled with the Lord’s glory, Num. 14:21; Ps. 72:19; Hab. 2:14; cf. Isa. 11:9.
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
“Thresholds shook” — as the sound of heavenly praise shook the temple, the glory cloud appeared. Isaiah’s call came in the temple, which became the throne room of heaven in his vision.
• For further study: Moses, Jeremiah and Ezekiel received their call in similar encounters, Exodus 3; Jeremiah 1:4–10; Ezekiel 1:4–3:27.
5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”
“Woe to me” — expression of the shock experienced by Isaiah becoming aware of God and His holiness, a comparison he thought would kill him, Genesis 16:13; Gen. 32:30; Exodus 33:20.
6–7 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
“Touched my mouth” — Isaiah knew he was unfit to speak the pure word of God. He was symbolically prepared for this task by purifying fire, taken from the place of atonement for sin, touching his lips.
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
“Here am I” — overcome by God’s grace, Isaiah (unlike Moses and Jeremiah) committed himself there and then to a life of unpopular ministry, Exodus 4:1–17, Jer. 1:6.
9–10 He said, “Go and tell this people:
“ ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
“Make the heart of people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
“Make their ears dull” — meaning that Isaiah would show up how hard their hearts are (Isaiah 1–5) and closed to what God was showing and telling them. Goes with the prophetic call, then and now.
• For further study: this text is quoted in the NT to explain why some people reject the good news of the gospel, and why Jesus taught in parables, John 12:39–40; Acts 28:25–27; Matt. 13:14–15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10.
11–13 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?” And He answered: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”
“The holy seed” — like regrowth after a forest fire. Isaiah’s message from God would offer salvation but also spell out out the consequences of refusal. The believing ones that remained would be set apart for God, receiving the same grace that Isaiah experienced.
REFLECTION
SUMMARY Isaiah was keenly aware that he identified with people who didn’t take God at His word, who were living lives of independence from His covenant. And so God was able to call him to speak His words. God calls ordinary people for extraordinary assignments and knowing we are spiritually ill-equipped and unworthy becomes a qualification. It has to be that way, in order for God to be seen to be doing the work or speaking the message, with no glory going to any individual.
APPLICATION When we think we have earned some rights and achieved some attainments, we disqualify ourselves. But when we recognise that before God, in ourselves, we fail — we are open to be shown His perspective. It is that our eligibility changes as we acknowledge our sin, submit to Jesus as our Lord, whereupon our old lives are hidden in Him.
QUESTION Why are some people’s hearts hard and spiritual hearing dull? What strategy is given to us, to overcome this?
///////
Luke 5:1–11 — Jesus reveals who He is to Peter at work in his boat
A miraculous catch of fish is a picture of reaching others for God’s salvation
1–3 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then He sat down and taught the people from the boat.
“The fishermen” — the four fishermen brothers, Simon and Andrew, James and John, already have a sense of call from an earlier event, Matt. 4:18–22, Mark 1:16–20. This story focuses on Jesus’ choice of Simon and his boat.
“Put out… from shore” — in one of many coves with good acoustics around Capernaum. “Gennesaret” is a local name for the Sea of Galilee.
4 When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
“Put out… and let down the nets of a catch” — Simon answers respectfully, “Master…” but why would an inland former carpenter/rabbi know anything about fishing? They had caught nothing in the dark, daylight drove the fish deep, and the two-man drag nets were for shallow fishing. “Because You say so” — nevertheless, against all his experience, Simon obeys Jesus in faith.
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signalled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
“Partners” — the four (together with Zebedee) operated a fishing business together.
“Filled…so full” — this astounding miracle showed Peter how God was working through Jesus. It would take more time and the Resurrection for them to fully understand, Luke 24:28–29.
8–10 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.”
“Go away from me” — ‘I am too much of a sinner to be around you’. At the same time, Jesus points to the catch and tells Peter his ‘fishing’ for people to be saved will see results like that, Acts 2:41.
11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed Him.
“Left everything” — most Galileans lived a peasant existence, but fishermen in an organised enterprise were better off. Letting go of their business was sacrificial.
“Followed Him” — their association with Jesus, John 1:40–42, 2:1–2, now becomes the close fellowship of following the Master.
REFLECTION
SUMMARY Peter knew that he was just an ordinary person with failings and misgivings, just a regular fisherman, no one special. And then he finds himself part of a miraculous demonstration of who Jesus really is, and how following Him will transform him from Galilee fisherman to a leading and translocal ‘fisher of men’.
APPLICATION As followers of Jesus, our mission is simply to gather others to know and follow Him.
QUESTION Those first disciples “left everything” to go wherever Jesus went. What is He asking you to let go of, to be more available for Him?
///////
1 Corinthians 15:1–11 — How former persecutor Paul received grace
His encounter with Jesus gave Him a passion for Him and the truth about Him
1–2 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
“Remind you of the gospel” — Paul’s letter begins by emphasising that the Cross and Christ crucified are primary essentials of the Good News and assumes the Resurrection. He now develops this as another essential truth.
3–5 For what I received, I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.
“What I received I passed on” — the words mean handing on, intact, information received from others, e.g. Luke 1:2, Mark 7:13. Paul is probably thinking of the substitutionary death of God’s servant and then vindication, in Isaiah 53:3–12.
“Third day” — for Jews, part days count as days, e.g. late Friday, Saturday, and early Sunday make three days.
“Cephas” — Aramaic form of Peter. Eyewitnesses still living could give first-hand testimony to the truth of the Resurrection.
6–8 After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all He appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
“Appeared to James” — brother of the Lord, who led the church in Jerusalem, Gal.1:19, Acts 12:17, Gal. 2:9.
9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
“I persecuted the church” — or in Jesus’ view, he persecuted Him, Acts 9:4. Paul was in no doubt about the extraordinary grace which was shown to him as the one who former rounded up followers of the Way.
10–11 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
The grace of God” — Paul is keenly aware that God’s grace met him on the road to Damascus, gave Him a vivid vision of Jesus, and led him to respond. And so the greatest persecutor of the church became the greatest church planter.
REFLECTION
SUMMARY Paul, formerly known as Saul, was the chief prosecutor of those who were followers of ‘The Way’. And then, on a journey to serve arrest warrants, he was blinded by heaven’s glory appearing to him and heard Jesus speaking personally to him. The reality of Jesus — the reality of the Resurrection — hit him with full force and it comes out in his letter.
APPLICATION Jesus is alive and we can ask Him into our hearts and know Him personally. Then everything changes… and whoever we are, rich or poor, influential or not, we find we are on a mission with Him. We glimpse His kingdom — and we also begin to realise that we, too, have a call to make Him known.
QUESTION The Pharisee-trained Saul was zealous for his religion and then encountered Jesus — a turnaround transformation. What has your journey been?
PRAYER Lord, who am I and what can I do?
But I place myself in Your hands.
Show me how I am to serve — and help me in my human inability. Amen.
////////
The Living Word for February 6, 2022, is a non-denominational Bible study which relies on the Bible explaining the Bible, uninfluenced by any church’s traditions or preferences, and following the Bible’s sequence of progressive revelation. Read the whole passage first and let the Holy Spirit begin speaking to you through it, then go deeper with the verse by verse commentary and reflections. The week’s readings are as set by the Revised Common Lectionary, an inter-denominational resource shared by many different churches and chapels. The Bible version, widely used in contemporary churches, is the NIV © Biblica. Ref. TLW05C
PRINT EDITION You can download the print edition PDF from the link below — it comes as a Bible-size four-page folder and permission is given to copy it for your own use, for your Bible study or home group, or for discipleship use within the church
Join Medium and help support me and other quality writers!
