Isaiah 10:15 (NLT) 15 But can the ax boast greater power than the person who uses it? Is the saw greater than the person who saws? Can a rod strike unless a hand moves it? Can a wooden cane walk by itself?

Welcome. Let us dive right back in!

In yesterday’s devotional we established the fact that God will use evil people to accomplish His purposes.

He used the Assyrian kings and their military to chasten Israel for their disobedience and unfaithfulness.

But we must note that God also punished those same evil people when He was done using them.

His punishing them was not necessarily because they were evil and did not call Him their God. In the example of the Assyrians, He punished them for their pride and arrogance.

The verse at the opening of this devotional shows God’s words to Assyria, letting them know (through the prophet Isaiah) that justice was coming, and it would not be in their favor.

Despite using them to chasten Israel, God warned them that they would also suffer His wrath.

In Isaiah 10:15, above, God used various hand tools as examples, showing the Assyrians that what they had accomplished was not by their own might, but because God had chosen them as His tools.

He emphasized that an ax cannot swing itself, therefore rendering it useless unless it is in the hands of a strong man.

Likewise, the Assyrian kings and military would not have been able to overcome Israel had God not ordained it to be so. And in the end, Assyria was overthrown.

Isaiah 10:12 (NKJV) 12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.”

So, what can we glean from all this?

In summary, God is loving, kind, merciful, compassionate.

But He is also just. He asks for our faithfulness.

He does not expect perfection. He offers mercy, gives grace, and He is faithful to forgive when we genuinely repent and seek Him.

But He is also a consuming fire. And He chastens (disciplines) those whom He loves (Hebrews 12:6).

And He is willing to use even those whose hearts are evil to carry out that chastening, if necessary.

Does this always make sense to our finite, human minds? No, it does not.

But He is God, and His ways are higher than our ways.

And He is sovereign in all things. Let us recognize this and give Him the honor He is due.

We hope this series has been informative, enjoyable, and eye-opening, helping you see God more fully and understand Him better than ever before.

We love you all.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

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Isaiah 10:5 (NKJV) 5 “Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation.

Welcome back!

We hope this series is increasing your knowledge and understanding about the ways of God, and who He is, based on what His word teaches us.

Over the last two days, we have built a firm foundation showing that God is loving, merciful, compassionate, and kind, but He also chastens those whom He loves.

Job’s situation was just one example of His chastening. That one example showed us that God gave Satan permission to act as His agent of discipline.

In other cases, God may use people whose hearts are evil.

To be clear, God does not make people to be evil. They choose to be evil and to carry out evil plans.

God allows them the free will to choose whom they will serve.

But their rejection of God does not mean that He will not use them for His purposes.

On the contrary, He will use them like a tool; a weapon in His arsenal.

Isaiah 10: 5, above, clearly demonstrates this. He refers to Assyria as ” the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation.”

So, he used the Assyrians to punish those with whom He was angry and disgusted. This was namely Israel, as they had repeatedly disobeyed God and worshiped false gods.

You see, there is no darkness or evil in God. He is pure and holy.

But His word says He is a jealous God; a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24).

So, it is critically important to recognize this and acknowledge it, and not just push it off because it fails to fit our own interpretation or image of God.

His word speaks truth. And we cannot simply ignore things that may make us uncomfortable or that we fail to fully understand.

God is complete and lacking nothing. He is perfect in all His ways.

He sees all and knows all.

Please join us tomorrow as we complete this series.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

If you know someone who will enjoy this or be encouraged by it, please feel free to share it with them!

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please Click Here and then enter your email address in the box near the upper left corner of the page. 

Job 1:12 (NKJV) 12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.”

Greetings!

Yesterday we established the fact that we may sometimes be uncomfortable with certain aspects of God, or the way God does things, because it is uncomfortable for us see or acknowledge.

We also touched on the fact that our discomfort is because our minds are finite, and God is not. Our understanding is limited. But His is immeasurable.

In the verse above, God gave Satan permission to touch Job’s life in a harmful way. That is, after all, what the enemy does; damage & destroy lives.

As a result of this, Job lost all but a few of his servants, all his livestock, and all his children.

These events happened consecutively, within a matter of a few hours. Job became destitute and childless in one day.

It is important to note that this was done because God allowed it to happen.

But the situation gets more difficult for Job.

When Job failed to abandon his faith in God after losing everything he had, Satan requested permission (from God) to attack Job’s health. And permission was granted.

Job 2:6 (NKJV) 6 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.”

And Job developed a horrendous case of boils over his entire body.

Did Satan sneak behind God’s back and do this? No. He was given permission to do this within parameters that God stated explicitly; you must “spare his life.”

As we can see here, these events are markedly different from the verses that teach us about God’s love, mercy, compassion, and patience.

Yet, it is still the same God, moving differently, to accomplish His purpose in the earth.

Now that we have established a larger foundation than we had built yesterday, we will look more closely at this tomorrow.

We hope you will join us.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

If you know someone who will enjoy this or be encouraged by it, please feel free to share it with them!

To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please Click Here and then enter your email address in the box near the upper left corner of the page.