Daily Devotions
Isaiah
"Zion is a wilderness"
Text: Isaiah 64:10
PLEADING FOR ZION
Isaiah knew how much the LORD loved Zion. It was He who chose to bless Jerusalem and the temple (2 Chronicles 7). The state of Zion was deplorable.
“Your holy cities are a wilderness,
Zion is a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
Our holy and beautiful temple,
Where our fathers praised You,
Is burned up with fire;
And all our pleasant things are laid waste.
Will You restrain Yourself because of these things, O LORD?
Will You hold Your peace, and afflict us very severely?”
Isaiah 64:10-12
1. A wilderness
a) The holy cities were but a wilderness.
b) The heart of them was Zion, that had also become a wilderness.
c) Jerusalem was but a desolation.
2. The Temple
a) It was once holy and beautiful.
b) Their forefathers had often praised God for the gift of the Temple.
c) But it was now burned to the ground.
d) All the pleasant things that had enhanced the beauty of the Temple were no more.
3. God’s restraints
a) He had restrained from blessing.
b) He had restrained from protecting.
c) Would God continue with His restraints?
4. Afflictions
a) Israel had suffered.
b) Zion had also suffered.
c) Would God continue to hold His peace?
d) Would God continue with the severe afflictions?