Daily Devotion by Ray Stedman

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for February 5th​

A Place of Cleansing​

Read the Scripture: Isaiah 7:1-14

Then the Lord said to Isaiah, Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer's Field. Say to him, Be careful, keep calm and don't be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood — because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.

Isaiah 7:3-4

We are told the precise spot on which God directed the prophet to stand when he made this announcement to the king. You probably read this thinking that it was nothing more than a casual direction God gave to him. But it is very significant. Isaiah was told to go to the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool on the road to the Launderer's Field; to stand at that very spot and give this announcement to King Ahaz. What is the meaning of that? There at that spot, and only there, the prophet was to inform King Ahaz that he had nothing to fear from these two armies that were threatening the city of Jerusalem. They were only smoldering stubs and were no real threat at all. The account declares that within sixty-five years this deliverance would happen. All this came true, as predicted.

In looking at this passage we must remember the peculiar nature of Isaiah's commission. In Chapter 6 he was sent to this people with a very strange message. God said to him, Go and speak to this people, but speak in a way that they will hear what you say but they will not hear it, and they will see what you are talking about but they will not perceive it. Here we are given a clue that Isaiah is to prophesy in rather cryptic, double-meaning language.

This word about the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool on the road to the Launderer's Field is a good example of this. The word pool in Hebrew also means blessing. It is obvious why a pool of water would be called a blessing. In a dry and thirsty land any pool of water would clearly prove to be a blessing. So the word has both meanings. The word upper (the upper pool) means more than a pool located on a higher level. It also means the most high. So what we have as a second meaning is the phrase The blessing of the Most High. This pool is a spring of water, located on the hillside west of the old City of David which flowed down an aqueduct to the city. At the end of it, where it emptied into a small pool, was the spot where the prophet was told to take his stand.

At the same time, that was also the road by which he came there: the road to the Launderer's Field. A road or highway in Scripture is always an ascent. It is called in Isaiah 35 the highway of holiness, so it has to do with righteousness and moral cleansing. This is also strengthened by the fact that it led to the Launderer's Field. The field would be at the place of washing. Thus we can see why a pool which was the end of a aqueduct of water, coming down from an upper spring, would also be the place where people washed their clothes. That is where Isaiah was told to stand.

When these meanings are considered, we see why the prophet was sent to where these two places met—it was where the upward way of cleansing and of washing met the downward flow of the channel of the blessings of the Most High. What would that symbolize? From the New Testament, we know it could only describe the Lord Jesus himself. He is the end of the aqueduct, the channel of the blessing of the Most High. He is also the way of cleansing, the upward ascent that brought the prophet to this place. It is all a beautiful poetic description of Jesus himself.

Thank you, Father, for the cleansing that is available in Jesus.

Life Application​

'When the woes of life overtake us', the Scriptures from start to finish offer the Lord Jesus Christ as the one through whom all blessing flows. Do we trust Him as our number one Source of blessing?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for February 6th​

The Great Light​

Read the Scripture: Isaiah 9:1-7

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulders, and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

What a remarkable picture! It hardly needs any exposition. Suddenly, after a great time of trouble, the nation will realize that this glorious King, their Messiah, once came as a little child: to us a child is born. He who was for eternity the Son of God was given to them as a little baby in Bethlehem. They recognize at last, after centuries of rejection, that this One rightly deserves divine titles. This is Immanuel, God with us.

The four titles Isaiah lists represent that: Wonderful Counselor. Did anyone ever fulfill that more fully than Jesus? He unveils to us secrets about ourselves, counsels us how to avoid the heartaches and problems that otherwise would beset us, showing the way of deliverance from the taint and pollution of sin.

Mighty God. That unquestionably divine title can only describe God. He is the Mighty One, and in 10:21 the same term is used of God unmistakably.

The next title is more than simply Everlasting Father. It is actually Father of Eternity. This is surely a reference to the fact that Jesus alone can give eternal life; he is its father for it originates with him. As many as believe in him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. (John 1:12)

No one contests the last title, Prince of Peace. He stated himself, My peace I give unto you. (John 14:27). Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end. This phrase captures the universal character of the Messiah's reign and its extension at last to the whole created cosmos.

The key, of course, is in these words, to us a child is born, to us a son is given. Even though these events, both in Isaiah and in the gospels, took place thousands of years ago, when a nation (or an individual) first comes into personal contact with the Lord of Glory it seems as though he is the recipient for the first time of this wonderful gift. That is why we describe that we found the Lord, and how he came to us, because it is so real in our own experience. It is to us that he came, to us he is born. He is God with us, to strengthen and guide us, to meet our needs, to solve our problems.

A woman told me of her struggle with a sense of being abandoned, left without guidance, needing his presence. And thankfully I could point her back to these marvelous promises. The Lord IS with us.

Father, thank you for not just sending but giving your son to us. He is the most wonderful gift of all!

Life Application​

Are we experiencing the life-changing reality of God With Us in the presence of his Son? Do we seek first his counsel, his peace, and his power as our Everlasting Father?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for February 7th​

The One Coming​

Read the Scripture: Isaiah 11:1-5

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord — and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

Isaiah 11:1-2

It is not difficult for us to see that this is a clear prediction of the Lord Jesus. Here in these opening verses is a hint that the Messiah will appear in history in a very obscure way. That is suggested by this word, A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse. Like a great tree that has been cut down, the ancestry of Jesus represented in David and his father Jesse has been reduced to obscurity and insignificance. But out of that lowly stump will arise a shoot, a single sprout, a man who will, as the prophet goes on to say, be filled with the Spirit of God and who will do a great work in the land. When our Lord is referred to as the son of David in the gospels, it is always in terms of royal glory, but when he is called the stump of Jesse, it is a reference to his humble beginnings.

The prophet not only sees the ancestry of Jesus, but he sees him in his Spirit-filled ministry. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, he says. That Spirit consists of three pairs of characteristics. As you observe these pairs more closely, you can see that they describe Jesus of Nazareth. The first pair, the spirit of wisdom and of knowledge, speak of his amazing insight into human affairs. Wisdom is the knowledge of the nature of things, while understanding is the awareness of the differences between them. How clearly Jesus reflected these in his ministry! One of the symbols of our age is the therapist's couch. Therapists have their patients lie on a couch and ask them questions in an effort to understand their problems. But our Lord never used a couch for he never had to ask questions. John's gospel tells us that Jesus didn't need for any man to tell him what was in man because he knew man.

The second pair, the spirit of counsel and of might, speak of authority. Counsel is the ability to give good and right advice, while might is the ability to help carry it out. This is described even more fully in the words in verse three, He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear... What a wonderful description of Jesus as he met with people. He spoke of truth that you can never find out by human powers. He described how the angels live, what happens after death, how prayer works, how the devil works. These he described with full authority. He did not have to study reference books, but rather spoke so that men hearing him said, No man ever spake like this man. (John 7:46)

The third pair, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, speak of our Lord's intimate relationship to the Father. Out of that flows the marvelous serenity of his life. He is never taken by surprise. He always seems to be master of the occasion. This grows out of his full awareness of the mind of God. He said on one occasion, You do not know Him, but I know Him, (John 8:55). He came to reveal to us the mind of the Father, the graciousness, compassion, truthfulness and faithfulness of God. All grew out of his knowledge of the Lord and his fear of the Lord.

Gracious Father, I thank you for these amazing words from this ancient book. How accurately they picture One who has come to mean more than all else to me. I thank you for the confirmation of the Spirit to my own heart that these words can be fulfilled in me as well.

Life Application​

In profoundly awesome humility Jesus came as one of us in order to make us one with him. Are we learning that his power is perfected in our weakness?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for February 8th​

A Picture of Hope​

Read the Scripture: Isaiah 11:6-9

The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.

Isaiah 11:6

What a beautiful picture! Here is the time when the dreams of men will be fulfilled, when all the longings that reflect themselves in peace demonstrations and cries for disarmament will find their fulfillment. There is a deep hunger in mankind for this kind of a world, although we do not know how to achieve it. But there is coming One who does know how. Then, even the animals will lose their ferocity and lie down one with another. How would you mothers feel if you found your child playing with a cobra? But there is coming a time when it shall happen, when the animals shall lose their ferocity against one another, when the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

Some people ask, Is this literal or is it only symbolic? Is this all metaphor? Some commentators say this is a picture of the work of Christ in human hearts today. I believe that. I believe this is metaphor, picturing spiritual peace.

I think of our church elders in those terms. One of them is like a lion; he roars every time you cross him. Another one is like a great bear; he swallows you up as you come into contact with him. Another is like a leopard—sneaky. And here was I, a meek lamb in the midst of them! Our elders' meetings sometimes give that impression, but when we would look to the Lord he comes among us as a great lion tamer. Then the lion lies down with the lamb, the wolf and the leopard dwell together and everything works out. This is what our Lord has power to do in human hearts today. He can heal controversy and bring peace among men.

But I also believe this is literal. There is coming a day when the curse will be removed from the earth. Paul sings about a day when creation shall be released from its bondage (Romans 8:19). Then the curse will be removed and the whole earth will break into a verdant blooming, the likes of which we have never seen; when the desert shall blossom like the rose, as Isaiah describes it in Chapter 35. The animals lose their ferocity and even the carnivores return to eating grass, as in creation before the Fall.

Father, I look forward to the fulfillment of these gracious words, when even the animals shall lose their enmity one with another and lie down together, and a little child shall lead them. Grant that I may discover the reality of these words in my own life.

Life Application​

Both peacemaking and peacemakers are God's business. As we anticipate its final fulfillment, are we seeking to be authentic messengers of His peace day-by-day?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for February 9th​

The Origin and Nature of Sin​

Read the Scripture: Isaiah 14:3-23

How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of Dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven, I will raise my throne on high above the stars of God... But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.

Isaiah 14:12, 13a, 14

These verses describe a supernatural figure who, in the invisible world of the spirit, is behind the earthly kingdom of Babylon. We are here looking at what has been called the fall of Satan. Lucifer, the brightest and most beautiful of the angels of God, the nearest to his throne, became so entranced with his own beauty that he rebelled against the government of God and thus became the adversary, Satan. Here he is seen as brought, at last, to the bottomless pit.

We are clearly looking beyond the events of earth to that spiritual world which governs those events. Paul told us that we do not wrestle with flesh and blood, but with wicked spirits in high places. (Ephesians 6:12) The great king of evil is behind all human wrong. This is why the nations rage, why we cannot achieve peace among men at the level of human counsel. We must reckon with these supernatural beings who are behind the mistaken deeds of men.

In this passage we learn the origin and the nature of sin. The root of sin is self-occupation. This is behind the narcissism of the day in which we live. The media constantly pushes people to look out for themselves, to speak of My rights, my desires, my plans. What's in it for me. This is the philosophy that, like a ferment, keeps troubling the pot of international relationships, boiling over again and again in wars and conflicts.

The nature of sin is to play God in our own little world. It does not matter whether you are a believer or an unbeliever, what constitutes sin is to feel you are in control of your own destiny, that you have all it takes to handle life. 1 John 3:8 says that sin is of the devil, for the devil sinned from the beginning. Playing God is the nature of sin. It is an extremely pleasurable experience. We love it.

A Christian businessman wrote of his own experience: It's my pride that makes me independent of God. It's appealing to feel I am the master of my fate. I run my own life, I call my own shots, I go it alone. But that feeling is my basic dishonesty. I can't go it alone. I have to get help from other people. I can't ultimately rely on myself. I'm dependent on God for my very next breath. It's dishonest of me to pretend that I'm anything but a man; small, weak and limited. Living independent of God is self-delusion. It's not just a matter of pride being an unfortunate little trait and humility being an attractive little virtue. It's my inner psychological integrity that's at stake. When I am conceited I'm lying to myself about what I am. I am pretending to be God and not man. My pride is the idolatrous worship of myself; and that is the national religion of hell.

Forgive me, Father, for those areas in my life where pride still rules.

Life Application​

When we are knowingly complicit with Satan's philosophy, 'What's in it for me', are we considering the personal and relational consequences? What is the ferment in the pot of international relationship?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for February 10th​

Why Do the Nations Rage?​

Read the Scripture: Isaiah 23:1-18

Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are renowned in the earth? The Lord Almighty planned it, to bring down her pride in all her splendor and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.

Isaiah 23:8-9

Why do the nations rage? That question is answered many times in the Scriptures, but notably in this section of Isaiah, beginning with chapter 13 and ending in chapter 23. In these chapters the prophet is given a vision concerning the great world powers that surrounded Israel in that day. The prophecy begins with a word concerning Babylon; then focuses on Assyria, Moab, Egypt, Edom and other nations; and ends in Chapter 23 with the burden of the city-nation of Tyre.

These messages were wholly predictive when they were uttered. They point out things that are going to happen from Isaiah's time onward. As we look back on history we can see that much of this prophecy has already been fulfilled. These nations are not only historic but are symbols of forces at work in every age and every generation. What makes this passage so real and valuable to us is that through the experience of these nations we begin to understand our own personal struggles.

These judgments depict things that are true of us. Babylon, Tyre, Assyria and Egypt appear all through the Scriptures, and they always picture the same thing: the world in its varied attack upon us. Egypt is ever the picture of the corruption and defilement of the world. Babylon pictures the deceitfulness of the world and the great Deceiver behind it, using false religion to lead astray.

The final burden in this section calls upon the colony of Tyre to behold the desolation of the Lord upon this city. The prophet inquires why this is coming to pass. It is because God despises the love of luxury, the lust for creature comforts, and the pursuit of material gain which Tyre stands for in the Scriptures. Jesus once said the things which men highly esteem are an abomination in the sight of God (Luke 16:15). Tyre's sin was crass materialism, storing up wealth and treasure for this life only, with little concern for that which is to come. For seventy years it was judged, following its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar the Great.

God has a solution to the world, the flesh, and the devil. As we live in relationship to him he provides the power and strength to overcome the world, the flesh, and behind them, the devil. In these passages Isaiah describes in a marvelous way how we too can rely on the presence of the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in our midst, and can daily triumph over these enemies of our faith.

Father, these words speak of the world as it really is, stripping it bare before my eyes. I have felt the attractiveness of the world and the flesh. Thank you for showing me how destructive they are to me; how I cannot entertain these, but by the power committed to me by the Lord Jesus and his presence in my heart I have strength to say no to these and to walk in faithfulness before you.

Life Application​

We experience daily media exposure to conflict and corruption everywhere. Are we choosing to participate in God's solutions, rather than perpetuate the problems?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for February 11th​

Line Upon Line​

Read the Scripture: Isaiah 28:1-15

Whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast? For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.

Isaiah 28:9-10 RSV

That is a beautiful description of how the Bible is written. Unlike theological books, there is not a chapter on sin, another on heaven, another on angels, etc. The Bible mixes it all together, interspersing one truth with another, so that a balanced approach to life is given, precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little.

This verse sets forth the way to avoid being trapped by the seductive lure of the good life, characterized by Ephraim in verses 1-3. Study your Bible! Read what God says. Look at life as he sees it. See through the allurement of the television commercials! Do you sometimes catch yourself wanting more of the luxuries of life, thinking constantly of a new car, a new house, of climbing the corporate ladder? We are constantly besieged by appeals to accumulate the good things of life. This is the spirit of our age. There is great danger in it. Remember how Paul said in Romans 12 that we should not be conformed to this world, but rather be transformed by the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:2). Let your thinking be changed! Let the word of truth transform your view of life so that you see life as it really is. That is the way of deliverance.

Our Lord Jesus put it very beautifully in one verse in the Sermon on the Mount: Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and [then] all these things will be added unto you, (Matthew 6:33). Many Christians have reversed that, giving themselves continually to efforts to get ahead, forgetting that they are to put first the things of God. But we are to forget about status symbols and an accumulation of wealth, and to seek godliness first—concern ourselves with being righteous men and women right where we are. The promise is that then God can trust us with the things of wealth. All these things that the Gentiles seek after, Jesus said, can then be added safely to you, (Matthew 6:32).

Thank you, Father, for your Word. Help me to become obedient to your truth, to be a searcher after the revelation that you have given that I may be effective and powerful in my witness in this world.

Life Application​

Is our earthly pilgrimage being transformed by metabolizing God's Word of Truth day-by-day, step-by-step? Are we finding growing contentment in God's 'good things'?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for February 12th​

Mechanical Religion​

Read the Scripture: Isaiah 29:1-22

The Lord says: These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.

Isaiah 29:13

Israel's problem was what we would call mechanical religion, meaningless, external conformity to a performance of religious things. This is a grave danger. When you feel yourself becoming spiritually dull, it is a warning sign that says, Watch out! You are headed for trouble. This happens to all of us on occasion. It is healthy to ask yourself at times, Have I lost my zest for God? Do I sing the hymns mechanically? Do the truths of Scripture appear to me dull and common place? Have I lost the sense of joy in my Christian experience? That is a danger sign. That is what this woe is referring to. God's provision for this is found in the latter part of verse 5 and in verse 6:

Suddenly, in an instant, the Lord Almighty will come with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with windstorm and tempest and flames of a devouring fire. (Isaiah 29:5b-6)

Suddenly God will send into your life some experience—a disaster, perhaps—something that will get your immediate and undivided attention. That is God's action to wake you up to the danger of drifting away from the vitality of a spiritual walk.

I have always appreciated the story of the two students at Duke University who went to a costume party dressed as blue devils, the mascots of Duke. They started out to the party, but by mistake they stumbled into a prayer meeting, setting off a great exodus through the doors and windows. One lady became wedged in a pew and began to scream in terror. Forgetting that they were causing her agony, the two young men rushed forward to help her. As she saw them advancing she raised her hand and said, Stop! Don't you come any further. I want you to know that I have been a member of this church for 25 years—but I've been on your side all the time! That is what we call a moment of truth. It is a very valuable experience.

At times God will send something that wakes you up suddenly to the drift in your life. This is why he has spoken so helpfully through the prophets and the apostles, warning us of the danger of spiritual drift and the danger of living mechanically as a Christian.

Thank you, Lord, for your relentless pursuit of me when I fall into mechanical religion. Open my heart to the great riches that are waiting for me through living in vital fellowship with my living, loving Lord.

Life Application​

God's love for us does not tolerate pretense and external worship. Do we gratefully acknowledge His wake-up calls as His loving pursuit?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for February 13th​

The Cure to Fear​

Read the Scripture: Isaiah 36:1-37:20

Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria. Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered?

Isaiah 37:10-11

This communication came in the form of a letter to Hezekiah. Clearly, it was intended to keep his heart fearful and anxious. It was a threat for the future, saying that although the king of Assyria was leaving for the moment, he would return again to wreak a terrible vengeance on Judah. Had Hezekiah taken the Assyrian message in that way, he would have lived in constant fear.

It is very important for Christians to understand that God does not want his people to live in fear. Fear is one of the great perils of our day. Anxieties beset us on every hand. We need to hear again the words of Jesus that we should not be anxious about tomorrow. Again and again our Lord told his disciples, Fear not. Paul told us that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and a sound mind. It is not within our power to remove these threats to us, but we can meet them with faith. This is what Hezekiah does. Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.

Have you ever gone into your bedroom, knelt beside your bed, and spread your problem before the Lord? That is the only proper response to a threat to your person or faith. Here is the king's wonderful prayer.

Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God. It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are the only God. (Isaiah 37:15-20)

Notice how accurate this prayer is. Hezekiah acknowledges the facts as they are. Assyria is a powerful force that had already swept other kingdoms away before it, but these nations were depending on idols to protect them, while Hezekiah's and Judah's dependence is on the Lord of heaven and earth. To him Hezekiah prays, simply and plainly, for help.

Lord, I come to you now and spread before you all the troubles that I face. I confess that without you I am completely helpless, but you are the God who had made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord and see.

Life Application​

Fear is a normal response as we walk day-by-day in this earth's shadowland--so are we developing a new 'norm' to spread our fears before our Sovereign King who is 'ruler of everything'?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for February 14th​

The Perils of Prosperity​

Read the Scripture: Isaiah 39

Hezekiah received the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his storehouses — the silver, the gold, the spices, the fine olive oil — his entire armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

Isaiah 39:2

Taken in by the flattery of Babylon, the king trusted these ambassadors despite the fact that Isaiah had spoken very clearly of the threat from that quarter: what Babylon represented in spiritual terms, and what Babylon's ultimate fate would be. But the king ignored Isaiah's words, as many today ignore the clear warnings of Scripture.

So Isaiah pays another visit to Hezekiah. The old prophet says to the king, I see you have had visitors. Who were these men? Oh, replies Hezekiah, they are ambassadors from Babylon, the great power to the east. This superpower has recognized our tiny kingdom, and that makes me feel proud and honored. Doubtless he had shown the letter to his wife, exclaiming, Look, dear, the king of Babylon has now taken note of us. Asked by Isaiah what he had shown these ambassadors, Hezekiah replied, I showed them everything we've got—all our treasures, all our defenses, everything.

Isaiah goes on to give a prediction of what will result from the king's foolishness: Hear the word of the Lord Almighty: The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. (Isaiah 39:5b-7)

What this is meant to teach us is that prosperity is a greater threat than adversity. When we are challenged, attacked and insulted, we naturally run to the Lord as our defender. Ah, but when we are offered a new position, with a higher salary, and to take it we must remove ourselves and our families from the influences that have shaped us morally and spiritually; or when our work is of such a nature that we are taken away from time we should spend seeking first God's kingdom, it is then we are being exposed to the subtle trap of Babylon. We have all known people who have fallen into this trap, losing spiritual vitality sometimes for years because they failed to heed warnings concerning the allurements of the world.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn tells of once having a very close friend while he was imprisoned in the Gulag. They saw eye to eye on everything. They enjoyed the same things, they liked to discuss the same subjects. Solzhenitsyn thought their friendship would last a lifetime. To his astonishment, however, when his friend was offered a privileged position in the prison system he accepted it. That was the first step in a change in his friend that ultimately saw him end up as a torturer who devised horrible and cruel torments against Soviet prisoners. Solzhenitsyn described the fear in his own heart when he realized that simple decisions, made in a moment, in the face of an offer of prosperity, could wreck a life, where personal attack and insult had been unable to shake one's faith.

The great test of faith comes not when we receive news that offends us, insults us, or seems to threaten our lives. Rather, we ought to take offers of prosperity and blessing and spread these before the Lord, and listen to his wise words in evaluating what we are being offered.

Thank you, Father, for the clear glimpse of the wisdom of your word regarding the true threats to my life. Help me to remember that I have an enemy who can blatantly attack my faith; or he can come with allurements in what seems an offer of greater prosperity, better conditions, or more honor. Grant me the wisdom to evaluate such threats.

Life Application​

Do we measure our worth by worldly gain? What if we were to gain the whole world and lose our own souls? Do we need a radical reassessment of our identity?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for February 15th​

True Comfort​

Read the Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-2

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.

Isaiah 40:1-2

If you are familiar with Handel's Messiah, you will surely hear the music of that great oratorio going through your head as you read the verses of the fortieth chapter of Isaiah. Handel chose the first verses of this chapter for the opening chorus of Messiah.

In a musical overture, the themes of the entire piece which is to follow are first all presented in brief form. That is what we have in these first eleven verses of Chapter 40, by which Isaiah introduces the chapters to follow. It is noteworthy that his first emphasis is this wonderful word of forgiveness to Israel. The prophet seems to be carried forward in time to the occasion of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. He is told to announce to the disobedient nation that the basis for their forgiveness has already been accomplished. He is to speak to the heart of Jerusalem (that is what the word tenderly means), that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for.

That last phrase, double for all her sins, does not mean that God has punished the nation twice what their sins required. This is a reference to an Eastern custom. If a man owed a debt he could not pay, his creditor would write the amount of the debt on a paper and nail it to the front door of the man's house so that everyone passing would see that here was a man who had not paid his debts. But if someone paid the debt for him, then the creditor would double the paper over and nail it to the door as a testimony that the debt had been fully paid. This beautiful picture therefore is the announcement to Israel as a nation that in the death and resurrection of her Messiah her debt has been fully paid.

Today, too, Jew and Gentile alike are given the same wonderful announcement concerning our sins. In Paul's great declaration in 2nd Corinthians, he says, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the ministry of reconciliation, (2 Corinthians 5:19 RSV). That is the gospel—the good news. You may feel burdened about the mistakes, the wrong things you have done, or the hurt you have caused. To you this wondrous word of forgiveness and reconciliation is directed. All that is needed is to confess your sinfulness and believe that God himself has borne your sins: Your iniquity is pardoned, you have received from the Lord the doubling for all your sins.

Thank you, Father for the comfort of your forgiveness that is offered to me through your Son, Jesus Christ.

Life Application​

When godly grief leads us to repentance, the gospel of God's amazing forgiveness brings the deepest comfort. Are we then proclaiming this Good News by word and deed?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for February 17th​

Who is Like Our God?​

Read the Scripture: Isaiah 40:12-20

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?

Isaiah 40:12

This section has some of the most majestic and superb language about God found in Scripture. God himself is asking man, Can you do what I do? Can you hold the waters of earth in the hollow of your hand? I stood on the beach at San Diego. It was a gorgeous day. I watched the great combers coming in from the Pacific. As I watched those great billows crashing on the sand I thought of the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, extending thousands upon thousands of miles to the West. These words came to my mind, Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand? God himself in majesty and greatness controls all the forces of earth.

Verses 13 and 14 speak of God's incredible wisdom: Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as his counselor has instructed him? (Isaiah 40:13 RSV) Who could do that? Many attempt to. I confess there have been times when I have been confronted with a difficult problem which I analyzed and thought I had solved. Then I have come to God and told him step by step what he could do to work out the problem—only to find, to my utter astonishment, that he completely ignored my approach and did nothing about it. I have become irritated over this. I have said to him, Lord, even I can see how to work this out. Surely you ought to be able to understand. But as the problem remained, and a whole new situation came to light, I realized that God saw far more than I could see, that he knew of obstacles I had no knowledge of, complexities that touched the lives of hundreds of people. He was working out purposes that would go on not only for the moment, but on and on into one generation after another; that his solution ultimately was the best one. I had to say, as the Apostle Paul says in Romans 11, O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! (Romans 11:33 RSV).

In Verses 15 to 17, God compares himself with the proud nations of earth: Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the isles like fine dust. (Isaiah 40:15 RSV). How feeble seem the boasts of men, the leaders of the nations, with their claims to glory and might and power, when compared with the greatness, the majesty and the strength of God himself. They are nothing, God says, absolutely nothing.

Almighty and Eternal God, I humble myself before you as the Creator and Sustainer of all things. Who am I, that I should question your ways? I gladly submit my will to yours and trust that you will work out even the most difficult of circumstances.

Life Application​

Are we considering the absurdity of questioning or propositioning Almighty and Sovereign God? Do we pray with Jesus, 'Thy will be done,' or the futile folly of 'my will be done'?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for February 20th​

Turn To Me and Be Saved​

Read the Scripture: Isaiah 45:9-25

Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, What are you making? Does your work say, The potter has no hands?

Isaiah 45:9

It would be ridiculous if clay were to say to the potter, I don't like the way you're doing this. This design does not appeal to me at all. Listen to the irony of this passage: Woe to him who says to a father, What are you begetting? or to a woman, With what are you in travail? (Isaiah 45:10 RSV). This is the God with whom we have to deal. How incredibly arrogant of man to criticize the workings of a God like that! This passage is designed to humble man in his proud confidence and to show him how dependent he is upon the God whom he dares to criticize. C.S. Lewis once argued that to contend with God is to contend with the very One who makes it possible for us to contend in the first place, and how foolish we are to attempt that!

From this passage we learn that human folly takes many forms: either self-sufficiency—man imagining that he is God and that he can run the world—or idolatry, where man trusts something else as god other than the true God. Either one, according to this account and as confirmed by history, results in slavery and tragedy. This is what is behind the rise of totalitarianism in our day.

God's answer is found in verse 22: Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:22 RSV). How hopeless it is for man to find his own way out of the morass which he has made for himself! The Spirit of God used this verse to speak to the heart of a fifteen-year-old boy in England in the last century. That boy, Charles Hadden Spurgeon, took shelter in a little Methodist chapel on a cold and snowy day in 1850. As there was no preacher, the deacon read the text, Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, and seeing a lonely boy sitting in the back, the deacon (who could not speak very well) addressed Spurgeon, directly telling him to look unto God and he would be saved. Spurgeon later said that he then looked, and he was saved. He went on to become one of the great preachers of the English church.

But this is the out which God offers to mankind: Look to me. Do not look to science, or to technology. These are fine in themselves, they give certain creature comforts, but they cannot deliver you. They cannot satisfy you or meet your need. If you pursue them they will turn to ashes. God is the only Deliverer from human hurt and failure.

Thank you, Father, for this precious promise. How beautifully it has been fulfilled in so many lives, and through all the ages of time. May I recognize how foolish it is to trust in anything else but your presence in my life.

Life Application​

When we as Christians claim Jesus is Lord, do we then surrender willingly to the process of becoming Christlike? Are we being transformed by the renewing of our minds?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for February 21st​

Word for the Discouraged​

Read the Scripture: Isaiah 49:8-26

Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.

Isaiah 49:15-16

Here Jehovah reminds Israel, Though you may feel neglected and forgotten, I cannot cast you off. I will never forget you, Can a mother forget the baby at her breast? Proverbially, of course, a mother's love is the strongest love of all. Many mothers continue to love their children no matter what they do. But it is unfortunately true that mothers can forget their children. Mothers can forget their children, but God cannot: See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. We are reminded of that scene in the gospels when Jesus, after his resurrection, appeared to his frightened disciples, huddled together in the upper room, and said to them, Behold, my hands and my feet and see that it is I (Luke 24:39). Those wounds in his hands were marks of love and their very names were engraved in his hands.

Though this passage is addressed to Israel as a nation, we Christians have a right to claim these promises for ourselves. This entire section is a great word for discouraged hearts. Do you ever feel like God has forgotten you, that he has turned his back on you? Perhaps you have made mistakes and you think that God is going to punish you all the rest of your life. Many people feel that God has totally forgotten them.

I was speaking to a group of pastors and was encouraged to hear one of them say that he had learned that he was preaching to the wrong crowd of people. He thought he was preaching to the average family, a man and his wife, their two-and-a-half children, driving a nice car, living in a beautiful home on an acre of ground, etc. But he discovered that he was really speaking mostly to another group who live in high-rise apartments, drive a sports car, have been divorced, and their family consists of his, hers and their children. They are living empty lives, climbing the corporate ladder, feeling the rush and restlessness of life, troubled by many inner problems and distresses. But God has a ministry to the discouraged and defeated ones. He will restore and do a work that will leave them amazed and baffled at the wonders that he produces.

Thank you, Lord, that you love to reach the discouraged and defeated ones. Thank you that you reached out to me and that my name is engraved in your hands.

Life Application​

Because we know that Jesus is God and that He took our sins in His own body on the cross, we can know He is Immanuel, God-with-us in deepest compassion and love. How do we respond to such infinite love?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for February 22nd​

God's Servant​

Read the Scripture: Isaiah 50

The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears; I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away. I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.

Isaiah 50:4-6

Two remarkable things are described here by the servant. He says, first, that morning by morning God has taught him truth because he listened to his Father. Remember the many times Jesus said in his ministry, The things that I say unto you I have heard from my Father. Again and again he made that claim. He had the ear of a learner. He pored over the Scriptures. He saw himself in them. He understood what his work would be. There came dawning into his heart the revelation that he was to endure anguish, pain and rejection. But, as he says, I was not rebellious. I was willing to go ahead. I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard. I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

It is well for us to remember frequently the sufferings of Jesus, the sheer physical agony that he went through. Think of the Last Supper when he said his soul was exceeding sorrowful unto death (Mark 14:34 KJV); the shadows of Gethsemane among the olive trees; his loneliness, his prayers, his disappointment with his disciples; his bloody sweat, the traitor's kiss, the binding, the blow in the face; the spitting, the scourging, the buffeting, the mocking, the crown of thorns, the smiting; the sorrowful way and the burdensome cross he had to bear. Think of his exhaustion, his collapse, the stripping of his garments, the impaling on the cross, the jeers of his foes and the flight of his friends; the hours on the cross, the darkness, his being forsaken of God, the terrible cry of anguish, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34 KJV). And then the end at last, It is finished (John 19:30). This is all seen in anticipation by the prophet and was all fulfilled in Jesus.

It is well to remember what the book of Hebrews says, We have not a high priest who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, (Hebrews 4:15a KJV). He has been through it all. He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin, (Hebrews 4:15b KJV).

Lord Jesus, thank you for being obedient to your Father. Thank you for enduring so much so that I might be set free.

Life Application​

The Lord Jesus Christ voluntarily suffered far greater dimensions of suffering than we will ever experience. Are we worshiping our High Priest who continues to bear our burdens and to intercede for us?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for February 23rd​

Where to Look?​

Read the Scripture: Isaiah 51:1-16

Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was only one man, and I blessed him and made him many.

Isaiah 51:1-2

Chapters 51 and 52 give specific steps which believers can take when they feel discouraged and forsaken of God. This marvelous section is gathered around the phrase, Listen to me which is repeated several times. These chapters give great insight into God's program for the discouraged.

Notice he says that if you are discouraged, look back and see from where you have come! Israel was to look back to Abraham, back to the time before he left Ur of the Chaldees. He had nothing. He was but a rock in a hard place! God called him and gave him everything. Look at Sarah. She was 90 years old before she underwent the labor of childbearing. Yet God multiplied her offspring to become the nation of Israel.

When you are discouraged, look back. You may not be what you want to be, or even what you ought to be, but thank God you are not what you were! Remember Paul's words to the Corinthian believers, . . . neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God, (1 Corinthians 6:9b-10 RSV). But the apostle continues, And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God, (1 Corinthians 6:11 RSV). Look back. Has God changed you? Has he altered your inner life and changed your heart?

Then also look ahead, God says, My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm. (Isaiah 51:5). Look ahead! A new day is coming! God is at work. We are not headed for darkness and despair, we are headed for peace and light and glory; for power and ministry such as we could never dream. In 2 Corinthians 4 the apostle says, This light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us an exceeding weight of glory, (2 Corinthians 4:17 RSV). That is what lies ahead. We must go through darkness here for a while, but it will not last forever. Once in a meeting where people were sharing their favorite Bible verses, I heard a man say, My favorite are those verses that begin, And it came to pass. . . When I face discouragement, I say to myself, It didn't come to stay, it came to pass. That is what God is saying. It will not last forever. We are headed for light, for peace, and for glory.

Thank you, Father, you who know me so well, that you can encourage me in the midst of my distress. I am not forsaken, I am not neglected. You have inscribed me in the palms of your hands, and you will not forget your promises to me.

Life Application​

God's plans for His people are to give us a future and a hope, and He will sovereignly complete those plans. Are we confidently trusting Him to fulfill His certain promises?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for February 24th​

Our God Reigns​

Read the Scripture: Isaiah 52:1-12

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, Your God reigns!

Isaiah 52:7

A few years ago I was in England, preaching in some churches in the London area. I spoke one night in a crowded Methodist chapel, where many were singing the chorus, Our God Reigns. I was amused to see in the song sheet from which the congregation was singing that the typist had made an error in the title of the hymn, and it read, Our God Resigns! Many Christians act as if God has resigned. But he has not. Our God reigns! This is what we must declare. We must show it on our faces, and let it be heard in our voices. God will come and the terrible times will end. We (and Israel) will one day hear the welcome summons: Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the articles of the Lord's house. (Isaiah 52:11)

That is what is required of Christians today. We are not to go along with all the mistaken ways of the world, chasing illusions, and seeking things that will not satisfy. Rather, we should cleanse ourselves, for the promise is, But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard. (Isaiah 52:12)

We are so often like the Israelites at the Red Sea: the water before us, Pharaoh's army hard on our heels. We do not know where to turn or what to do. But then the word of the Lord comes, Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. (Exodus 14:13). That is the way out. Trust in your Lord. He will open a way through the sea.

Thank you, Father, that I have nowhere to turn but to you, and you are faithful. I trust that you will go before me and be my rear guard.

Life Application​

Does our life message confidently proclaim that "our God reigns", despite the difficulties we may be facing?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for February 25th​

An Astonishing Impact​

Read the Scripture: Isaiah 52:13-15

Behold, my servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. As many were astonished at him — his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the sons of men — so shall he startle many nations...

Isaiah 52:13-15a RSV

This section, which describes the remarkable impact that the Messiah would make upon mankind, opens with a declaration that he would be successful in all that he did: Behold, my servant shall prosper. That success would be accomplished in three specific stages, described here: He shall be exalted; he shall be lifted up; he shall be very high.

First, in the words, He shall be exalted, there is a reference to the resurrection. Jesus was brought back from the dead, stepping into a condition of life that no man had ever entered before. Lazarus had been resurrected, in a sense, but he merely returned to this earthly life. Jesus, however, became the firstborn from the dead, (Colossians 1:18). He was thus exalted to a higher dimension of existence.

Then, he shall be lifted up. After his resurrection, Jesus took his disciples to the Mount of Olives, and while he was speaking to them he ascended into the heavens until a cloud received him out of sight. So he was physically and literally lifted up.

Thirdly, the passage says, He shall be very high. The Hebrew puts it rather graphically: He shall be high, very. We cannot but recall the words of the Apostle Paul in the letter to the Philippians: Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11). Thus by his resurrection, his ascension, and his kingly exaltation, the Messiah has made tremendous impact upon humanity.

Further, it is said of him here that many were astonished at him. This happened in two different ways. First, as Verse 14 implies, many were astonished at his death: His appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the sons of men. This is descriptive of the face of Jesus after he had endured the terrible Roman scourging, the beatings, the blows to his face with the rod, which the soldiers mockingly called a king's scepter, and the crushing of the crown of thorns upon his head. This is what the prophet sees: our Lord's appearance was so marred that those who passed by were astonished at his visage.

But verse 15 describes another form of astonishment: so shall he startle many nations. This refers to the tremendous accomplishments he achieved, not only during his ministry, but through the intervening centuries since. Many have commented on the remarkable achievements of Jesus. G.K. Chesterton, that remarkable English Christian novelist and literary critic, once told of a man he'd read of who dwelt in the East centuries ago, and how he could not from then on look at a sheep or a sparrow, a lily or a cornfield, a raven or a sunset, a vineyard or a mountain without thinking of that man. Chesterton wondered that if this was not divine, what then was it? Truly, our Lord has made an astonishing impact upon our world. He is the Man who cannot be forgotten.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for all you have done for me. I praise you and worship you that you are One who continues to astonish me with your impact upon my own life and many others throughout the world.

Life Application​

The Man Jesus has made an incomparable impact on world history. What are three specific and startling fulfillments of scripture describing details of His unique appearance? How do we respond to this, the greatest story ever told?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for February 26th​

The Heart of the Gospel​

Read the Scripture: Isaiah 53:1-6

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:6

This, of course, is the very heart of the gospel, the good news. Jesus took our place. As Peter puts it, He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, (1 Peter 2:24a). He took our sins and paid the price for them. He had no sins of his own and Scripture is very careful to record the sinlessness of Jesus himself. He was not suffering for his own transgressions, but for the sins of others. One writer has put it rather well:

It was for me that Jesus died, For me and a world of men. Just as sinful and just as slow to give back His love again. And He did not wait until I came to Him. He loved me at my worst. He needn't ever have died for me If I could have loved Him first.

That is the problem, isn't it? Why do not we love him first? Why is it that we can only learn to love our Lord once we have beheld his suffering — his excruciating agony on our behalf? It is because of our transgressions, as this passage declares. They have cut us off from recognizing the divine gift of love that ought to be in every human heart.

Sin is a disease that has afflicted our entire race. We cannot understand the depth of human depravity until we see the awful agony through which our Lord passed, behold the hours of darkness and hear the terrible orphaned cry, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46). All this spells out for us what we really are like. Most think of ourselves as decent people, good people. We have not done, perhaps, some of the terrible things that others have done. But when we see the cross of Jesus, we realize the depth of evil in our hearts and understand that sin is a disease that has infiltrated our whole lives. Man, who was created in the image of God and once wore the glory of his manhood, has become bruised and marred, sick and broken, his conscience ruined, his understanding faulty, his will enfeebled. Genuine integrity and the resolve to do right has been completely undermined in all of us. We know this to be true. No wonder, then, this verse comes as the best of news: He was wounded for our transgressions. The bruising that he felt was the chastisement that we deserved, but it was laid upon him.

There is no way to read this and fail to see that our Lord is the great divine Substitute for the evil of the human heart. We can lay hold of this personally by the honest admission stated in verse 6: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way. How true that is of each of us! Who can claim anything else? I grew up in Montana, and I know something about sheep. Sheep are very foolish and willful creatures. They can find a hole in the fence and get out, but they cannot find it to get back in. Someone must go and get them every time. How true are the words, We have turned every one to his own way.

Frank Sinatra made a song popular a few years ago, I Did It My Way. When you hear that it sounds like something admirable, something everybody ought to emulate. How proud we feel that we did it our way. But when you turn to the record of the Scripture, you find that that is the problem, not the solution. Everyone is doing things their way, so we have a race that is in constant conflict, forever striving with one another, unable to work anything out, because we all did it our way.

The way to lay hold of the redemption of Jesus is to admit that All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one to his own way; and then to believe the next line, But the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He bore our punishment and took our place.

Thank you, Lord, for taking my own punishment upon yourself. Forgive me for those times that I still seek to do things my way rather than yours.

Life Application​

The problem of sin puts us all in equal need of redemption. Jesus died for us all, so that we could be free to live no longer for ourselves but out of worship and gratitude for his atoning death. Do our lives disparage this amazing grace?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries.

 

[Obadiah]

A daily devotion for February 27th​

Silent Witness​

Read the Scripture: Isaiah 53:7-9

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

Isaiah 53:7

Scripture preserves carefully the sinlessness of Jesus himself. He was without sin, but he bore the sins of others. That is why he did it in silence. He had no interest in defending himself, so he never spoke in his own defense. It is a striking thing that in the gospel accounts of the trials of Jesus he never spoke up on his own behalf or tried to escape the penalty. This amazed both Pilate and Caiaphas. When our Lord stood before the High Priest, he was silent until the High Priest put him on oath to tell them who he was. When he stood before Pilate, he was silent until to remain silent was to deny his very Kingship. Then he spoke briefly, acknowledging who he was. When he was with the soldiers, they smote him and spat him and put the crown of thorns on his head, yet he said not a word. Peter says, When they hurled insults at him, he did not retaliate. (1 Peter 2:23a). When he went before contemptuous, sneering Herod, he stood absolutely silent. He would not say one word to him. He was returned at last to Pilate because Herod could find nothing wrong with him.

It is very apparent to anyone reading the gospel accounts that the trials that Jesus went through were a farce. The Jewish trial before the High Priest was illegal. It was held at night, which was contrary to the law. Pilate several times admitted that he could find no wrong in him, and yet he pronounced upon him the sentence of death. How true are these words in v. 8, by oppression and judgment he was taken away. Remember that as the crowd was crying out, Crucify him, crucify him, they added these significant words, Let his blood be upon us and upon our children. Thereby they acknowledged that he was indeed stricken for the transgressions of my people.

But when at last the deed was done and he cried with a loud voice, It is finished (John 19:30), his friends came to take him down from the cross. No enemy hands touched his body after his death, only those who loved him. As they removed his bloody body, the dear lips were silent, the wondrous voice was stilled, the light had gone from his eyes, and the great heart beat no more. But instead of throwing him on a rubbish heap, as the authorities intended, they made his grave with the rich, just as Isaiah had predicted years before the event. Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man, offered to put the body of Jesus in his new tomb that had never been used. Someone has put that rather remarkably, He who came from a virgin womb, must be laid in a virgin tomb.

It is with awe and wonder, Lord, that I reflect upon all that you went through to secure the salvation of your people. Thank you, Lord.

Life Application​

Jesus was silent before all his accusers, since he had no sin to confess. He bore unimaginable punishment for our sin. How can we do less than confess our sins and worship the One who paid for our forgiveness?

Daily Devotion © 2014, 2025 by Ray Stedman Ministries. F