Isaiah 29 and 30 continue to speak of God’s punishment toward the nations that rise against the people of God. God causes their seers to become confused so they will not be warned of His coming wrath. God will show mercy on His people and reestablish them to their land. They will respond by destroying the idols they had worshipped and will worship the Lord.

There are two lines that stand out in these chapters. The first is: “The Lord said: Because these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote;  ¹⁴ so I will again do amazing things with this people, shocking and amazing. The wisdom of their wise shall perish, and the discernment of the discerning shall be hidden.” Why do you come to church? Is it because your parents made you as a child? Is it because you want to see your friends? Is it just a habit? Or is it because you have a relationship with the Holy One, you want to be in His presence, you want to worship Him? God knows the motivations behind our actions. He knows if we truly acknowledge Him and will bless us accordingly.

The second line is: “Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.” Have you ever thought that God is waiting to show you mercy and love? We need only turn to His to receive it.

Hebrews 1 was written to the Jews to show them how Christ has fulfilled the law and the prophets. Since we have read through the history books and law books of the Old Testament we should gain great insight from this book. It begins by saying that just as God has spoken through the prophets (Moses who gave the law was considered to be the greatest of the prophets) so, also, has God spoken through his Son, Jesus.

The writer established that Jesus is God a reflection of God’s glory, the exact imprint of God’s very being. His word sustains all things. He is now seated with God.

Apparently there were those who believed that Jesus was just an angel sent by God. The writer refutes that belief using comparisons with Old Testament scripture.