Intimacy in marriage is all about unreserved enjoyment, unabashed expression, and unequivocal exclusiveness. In this kind of marital intimacy, lasting, mutual satisfaction is to be found. Without such intimacy, the experience of marriage can be more martial than marital.

November 21

TO READ: Isaiah 6:1-13

Admitting Weakness

Then I said, aMy destruction is sealed, for I am a sinful man and a member of a sinful race. Yet I have seen the King, the LORD Almighty!a Isaiah 6:5

Most men are aware of their weaknesses. They may not spend a lot of time beating their breast over them, but if confronted with obvious evidence that they have failed they will usually admit that they are not perfect and may even reluctantly concede that they have a problem in that area. Even a strong man, in his n.o.bler moments, will confess to an Achillesa heel.

Isaiah was different. He confessed he was deficient in what others probably regarded as his greatest strength, his speech. Isaiah was a reputed wordsmith, a skilled communicator, a man capable of sublime statement and exquisite poetic expression. From his lips and quill flowed truth and beauty. But Isaiah confessed he had a problem with his lips! aWoe is me! . . . because I am a man of unclean lipsa (6:5, KJV). Even his strength was flawed with weakness!

Apparently Isaiah was aware that his lips were capable of saying auncleana thingsa"unkind, untrue, unhelpful, and unacceptable things. There were at least two reasons for this sad state of affairs. First, by Isaiahas own admission, he was aa sinful mana (6:5)a"he had an inbuilt tendency to deviant behavior, a tendency that his lips expressed. Second, he lived in a society where sinful speech was accepted: aand I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lipsa (6:5, KJV)a"and he had acquiesced in the wrongdoing. As a result, Isaiahas guilt was not so much in his weaknesses as in his strength!

But this realization did not come to Isaiah as he compared himself with his contemporaries. It could not, for they were no better than he. He needed an external reference point, and he got it in his vision of the Lord (6:1-4). Seeing the Lord in his holiness helped Isaiah see his own fallenness.

Repentance comes in different shapes and sizes. Some arepentancea is nothing more than being sorry that I got caught. Some is a matter of being sorry that I am suffering because of what I did. Some is regret that I do bad things. But deep-down repentancea"real repentancea"goes beyond being chagrined about what Iave done to being distressed about what I am. This kind of repentance recognizes that I am a fallen man, shot through with deviancy. Deep-down repentance leads me to say not just, aIave done some bad things,a but to confess, aI am a sinful man.a It involves acknowledging that I am fallena"especially in my strengths.

November 22

TO READ: Isaiah 9:1-7

G.o.das No Politician

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal t.i.tles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty G.o.d, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His ever expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule forever with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David. The pa.s.sionate commitment of the LORD Almighty will guarantee this!

Isaiah 9:6-7

When politicians run for office, few but the most fervent partisans take their promises seriously. A great gulf often separates political promises from reliable guarantees.

We do not know whether the people in Isaiahas time had arrived at such a point of skepticism, but we do know that they had little reason for confidence. The glory days of David and Solomon were long gone; the a.s.syrian hordes were knocking on the door. The future looked gloomy. Then the Lord spoke through Isaiah.

G.o.d promised his people that their land would be overrun and that the formerly great nation of Israel would be left like aa stumpa in the land (6:13). But the term stump, while full of dire predictions, held a glimmer of hope: The people knew that a pruned stump would in time sprout, flourish, and bear fruit. aThe stump will be a holy seed that will grow againa (6:13).

Later, G.o.d promised that the dynasty of David would not disappeara"it would be overrun, but it would be resurrected and would spread across the world, bringing peace and prosperity, stretching into eternity (9:1-7). A universal, everlasting kingdom! The government of this new kingdom would arest ona the shoulders of a achild,a a most unusual child who would be aWonderful Counselor, Mighty G.o.d, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peacea (9:6).

The Israelites might have been tempted to think that Isaiah had lost touch with reality. They could expect not only survival but revival? This would happen through a child who would demonstrate divine qualities? Unbelievable. But Isaiah had not lost touch with realitya"he had been in touch with the author of reality! And the reality is that this childas aever expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule forever with fairness and justice. . . . The pa.s.sionate commitment of the Lord Almighty will guarantee this!a (9:7).

When G.o.d makes pa.s.sionate guarantees, sane people sit up and take note. G.o.d is not a politician running for officea"his p.r.o.nouncements warrant a better response than skepticism or dismissal. When he speaks, men should listen. History shows that G.o.d does what he says he will doa"when he guarantees something with apa.s.sionate commitment,a he comes through. Unlike any politician, G.o.d has the power to accomplish what he promises. In his guarantee we find the confidence to banish the darkness of despaira"we find hope in an otherwise hopeless world.

November 23

TO READ: Isaiah 35:1-10

The Postgame Show

Say to those who are afraid, aBe strong, and do not fear, for your G.o.d is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.a Isaiah 35:4

Sports fans set aside a major portion of their lives to follow the fortunes of the team of their choice. It is not enough for them just to watch the game. Fully involved fans must give careful attention to the apregame show,a in which they indulge themselves with speculation and antic.i.p.ation. Then follows the game itself, in which they involve themselves as if something of significance is taking place. And then, the final whistle is only the signal for the apostgame showa to begin. To this postmortem the fan gives himself with earnest devotion as he a.n.a.lyzes and criticizes the game. The game begins before it starts and continues after it has ended. The fans canat get enough of it!

Our salvation also began long before we were born, and it will continue far beyond our earthly end. Salvation has three tenses, and history has three phases. Salvation lets us contemplate the past, looking back over what G.o.d has done. We can also celebrate the present, savoring what G.o.d is doing. And on the basis of G.o.das promises we can antic.i.p.ate the future, looking forward to what he will yet do. The three tenses of our own salvation also tie into the three phases in the history of salvation. In the past the prophets predicted that Christ would come again; that we can contemplate. Now Christ has come; this we can celebrate. And in the future, Isaiah reminds us, Christ will come again; that we can antic.i.p.ate.

We contemplate the beginnings of our salvation because of what Christ did when he came, and we antic.i.p.ate the conclusion of our salvation, which he will accomplish on his return. When Christ returns in great glory he will consummate all that he has begun. Not a few blind eyes, lame legs, and deaf ears were healed when he came the first time, but these were simply foretastes of what he will do when he comes again (35:5-6). Then he will make all things new.

Armed with antic.i.p.ation, we should encourage each other. There are tired hands that need to be strengthened, weak knees that need to be encouraged. The fearful need to be told, aBe strong, and do not fear, for your G.o.d . . . is coming to save youa (35:4). However, unlike sports fans, we can enjoy our postgame show nowa"we know who wins, and we can savor his victory even while the agamea is still in progress.

November 24

TO READ: Isaiah 40:1-31

Fly High

He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; he offers strength to the weak. Even youths will become exhausted, and young men will give up. But those who wait on the LORD will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:29-31

Some men start well and finish badly. Others make a slow start and finish in grand style. Hezekiah was one of the former. Granted, he was confronting monumental problems. But he did have Isaiah at his side preaching no shortage of messages concerning what the Lord would do on Hezekiahas behalf. Yet after his miraculous healing, Hezekiah turned away from the Lord and lapsed into self-absorption, which reached its nadir when Isaiah predicted that all Hezekiahas possessions would eventually be carried off to Babylon (39:5-7). Hezekiah casually thought, aAt least there will be peace and security during my lifetimea (39:8).

Hezekiahas tragic about-face was probably stimulated by his inadequate knowledge of the Lord. This was certainly the case with many of Hezekiahas subjects. Isaiah asked them, aHow can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? How can you say G.o.d refuses to hear your case? Have you never heard or understood?a (40:27-28). They may have heard about G.o.d, but they apparently had not understood. Inadequate knowledge of the Lord led to an insufficient grasp of his purposes and an inferior experience of his love.

What was Israela"and Hezekiaha"missing? aDonat you know that the Lord is the everlasting G.o.d, the Creator of all the earth? He never grows faint or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understandinga (40:28). They needed to be reminded that the Lord is the Creator of all thingsa"including Israel! Wherever the people of Israel looked there was evidence of the majesty and glory of G.o.d the Creator. They should have remembered that the glorious Creator had crafted them, his people, as surely as he had created the sun, moon, and stars. This should have been sufficient for them to trust him implicitly and serve him gladly. But such was not the case, and calamity was about to follow their faithlessness.

The great Creator also wanted his people to understand, even as they went through the deep trials that were heading their way, that ahe gives power to those who are tired and worn out; he offers strength to the weak. But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not fainta (40:29, 31).

These are encouraging words for all who have eyes to see the wonders of the Creator in the creation, who have ears to hear that their Creator stands ready to bless and provide. Those who believe this afly high on wings like eagles.a Others wander as sheep without a shepherd.

November 25

TO READ: Isaiah 48:12-22

Peace and Order

The LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, says: I am the LORD your G.o.d, who teaches you what is good and leads you along the paths you should follow. Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling like waves.

Isaiah 48:17-18

Diplomats work toward a alasting peacea in the trouble spots of the world. Worried parents long for apeace of minda when their children are in trouble. And the harried businessman sailing his yacht wants nothing more than aa little peace.a There is nothing more attractive to the human race than peacea"and nothing more elusive.

G.o.d had problems with his chosen people. He could not always get them to listen to him, and when they did listen they were often incapable of understanding what he was saying. Even when they understood, they did not necessarily do what he said. So the result was chaos. Now, we know that G.o.d is not a G.o.d of confusion but a G.o.d of order (1 Cor. 14:33, 40). So the chaos is not by his desire or design.

G.o.d addressed the issue through his prophet Isaiah: aOh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling like wavesa (48:18). G.o.das promise of peace is directly related to observance of his principles. If the human race wants peace they can have it, but it comes at a price. The price is refusing to do things manas way and being willing to do things G.o.das way.

This message to G.o.das ancient people should be heeded today. We have engineered much chaos, and G.o.d calls us to ordera"to peace. We tend to question what G.o.d says is agooda and to doubt the path he chooses. So we go our own way and do our own thing, which results in varying degrees of chaos. We tend to regard G.o.das commands as onerous and his dictates as restrictive, if not destructive, of human happiness. People expend vast energy resisting G.o.das commandsa"arguing with them, breaking them, and enthusiastically engaging in activities and att.i.tudes that fly in the teeth of them. A brief review of the commandments will confirm this to be true! Yet when G.o.d gave the commandments to his people, Moses told them, aObey the Lordas commands and laws that I am giving you today for your own gooda (Deut. 10:13). G.o.das commands are for our good!

When things are done G.o.das way, thatas the right way, and things run as he intended, like a well-maintained machine. But disobedience throws a wrench into the works and puts sand in the gears. Profound disorder ensues! And disorder is the ant.i.thesis of peace. But where does order come from? From ordering our life according to the orders of the G.o.d of ordera"and thatas an order!

November 26

TO READ: Psalm 104