+DEV+ By Grace: Hope for Sinners [1 of 27]

Date: March 7, 2013 12:34 AM
Topic: cc

By Grace: Hope for Sinners [1 of 27]

"Unless the LORD Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom,  we would have been like Gomorrah." (Isaiah 1:9)
Scripture Focus: Isaiah 1:1-9

The book of Isaiah is a story of God's grace in the midst of the sinful lives of His people - the nation of Israel. Isaiah's prophetic ministry ranged from approximately 760 to 698 B.C. During that time, in 721 B.C., Samaria was besieged by the Assyrians, and Israel's ten northern tribes were enslaved. They had become like Sodom and Gomorrah, never to be heard from again. But God will always rescue a remnant saved by grace. In 721, the remnant was the two southern tribes - Judah and Benjamin. Isaiah's central message to them is one of warning, but also of comfort.

As Isaiah begins, Israel's problem is exposed. In verse 4 we read, "Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the LORD; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him." "Only the Daughter of Zion is left," (vs. 8) - the tribes centered in Jerusalem. They, too, will be enslaved in 586 B.C. But by God's grace, a remnant will again return to Zion.

Insight: If we fail to understand the depths of our depravity and sin, we will never truly understand the extravagant grace of our heavenly Father.




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