Today, I am reading and commenting on  Isaiah 43-47.

Since I am going to be on vacation from July 31-August 9 I have already written my blog posts for these days and scheduled them to be posted.  However, I may not be able to post a link to them on FaceBook, Gab.com, or MeWe.com during every day (or any day) during this time period.  So, please continue to visit my site to read my daily devotional.

Initially I intended to write about how Isaiah’s prophecy in chapter 43 looks so much like what happened with the modern state of Israel:

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
    I will bring your children from the east
    and gather you from the west.
 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
    and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
    and my daughters from the ends of the earth—”

Those of Jewish descent have come to the modern state of Israel from the ends of the earth, wherever they were found.  In some cases, great effort was made to extract them from places which were hostile to them and where attempts were made to prevent them from leaving.  Then a little later in what appears to me to be the same prophecy, Isaiah wrote this:

“Yet you have not called on me, Jacob,
    you have not wearied yourselves for me, Israel.”

This also reminds me of the modern state of Israel, with its explicitly secular nature.

However, when I read the end of the passage I was struck by the connection between what Isaiah said at the end of today’s passage.

“those stargazers who make predictions month by month,
    let them save you from what is coming upon you.”

This reminds me of those today who tell us that this or that disaster is coming if we do not repent of sins which are not among those sins mentioned in the Bible (some of those “sins” to which I am referring are telling people about the sins which ARE mentioned in the Bible).  Isaiah warned them:

“Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you
    when you say to yourself,
    ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
Disaster will come upon you,
    and you will not know how to conjure it away.
A calamity will fall upon you
    that you cannot ward off with a ransom;
a catastrophe you cannot foresee
    will suddenly come upon you.”

These prognosticators think that they are gods, but God tells us through Isaiah:

“I am the Lord,
    and there is no other.
I have not spoken in secret,
    from somewhere in a land of darkness;”

That last part is important.  There is no “secret” knowledge.  God has made His will known for all who care to listen.  I don’t need to be taught by someone to whom secret knowledge has been passed to know God’s will.  Nor do I need a degree from a properly accredited institution.  God has provided each of us a mind which is capable of analyzing the evidence for ourselves.  If the experts claim that you must take their word for it because you are incapable of understanding it for yourself, they are not speaking of something which comports with God’s will.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Isaiah 39-42.

Since I am going to be on vacation from July 31-August 9 I have already written my blog posts for these days and scheduled them to be posted.  However, I may not be able to post a link to them on FaceBook, Gab.com, or MeWe.com during every day (or any day) during this time period.  So, please continue to visit my site to read my daily devotional.

There are multiple things in today’s passage which are worth giving thought, but I want to write about God’s call on the idols of this world to tell us what is going to happen, and then His claim to be the first to reveal things to man.  For whatever reason, reading this made me think of all of the things which Christianity supposedly borrowed from other religions.  For example, Zoroastrianism contains many similarities to Christianity and is older than Christianity.  However, none of the pre-Christian documents concerning Zoroastrianism contain the elements which Christianity supposedly borrowed from Zoroastrianism.  All of the documents which contain those elements first appear long after the New Testament was written.  If one examines the similar claims from other religions, one discovers the same sort of thing, all of the documentation which is older than Christianity does not really look like the ideas in the New Testament.  Only after the New Testament was widely known do writings connected with these other religions contain elements which look like the elements of Christianity which were supposedly borrowed from those religions.

I know the above is a bit of a stretch from what is said in the passage (although I do believe it to be consistent with the point Isaiah is making here).  However, it is something which stirs me, because I used to believe those who claimed Christianity was derivative.  Perhaps someday soon I will do a separate blog on the topic of things which people claim Christianity borrowed.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Isaiah 36-38.
I want to note for any of you who come to this from the links that I post on social media sites (FaceBook, Gab.com, and MeWe. com) that I will be going on vacation from July 31-August 9 and may not be able to post my links to those sites during that time.  I will, however have written the blogs for those dates and scheduled them to be posted.  So, please continue to visit my site to read my daily devotional.

When the Assyrian field commander spoke to King Hezekiah’s representatives outside Jerusalem (but within earshot of the city wall), initially he claimed that Sennacherib was acting at the command of the Lord.  He made the argument that God was actually on the side of the Assyrians.  However, after Hezekiah’s representatives asked him to not speak so that the people of the city on the walls could understand him, he revealed his true beliefs.  This reminded me of something we often come across today; those who use the Bible, or Christian  ideas to promote their non-Christian goals.  We should be careful to not be fooled by their appeal to Biblical authority into believing that they actually care about acting in a way consistent with the Bible.  Here the Assyrians tried to use religious language to sway the people of Jerusalem into surrendering.  In the same way many anti-religious people will attempt to use religious language to convince Believers to surrender.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Isaiah 32-35. I want to note for any of you who come to this from the links that I post on social media sites (FaceBook, Gab.com, and MeWe. com) that I will be going on vacation from July 31-August 9 and may not be able to post my links to those sites during that time.  I will, however have written the blogs for those dates and scheduled them to be posted.  So, please continue to visit my site to read my daily devotional.

Today Isaiah writes of the time when a righteous king will rule.  That righteous king will lift the curse from Isaiah’s commissioning.  At that time, God told Isaiah to tell people that they would be:

“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
    be ever seeing, but never perceiving.”

However, now God tells Isaiah that when the righteous king rules:

“Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,
    and the ears of those who hear will listen.”

In those days the fool and the scoundrel will no longer be held in high esteem.  But before that day arrives, God will arise like a consuming fire to bring destruction upon the earth.  The prophet asks, “Who will be able to stand in the face of that fire?” and he answers the question by telling us that it will be those who walk righteously and speak what is right.  The day of God’s vengeance is coming, but those who put their faith in Him have nothing to fear.  God will build a highway for those He has made righteous and those He has redeemed will walk upon it and rejoice.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Isaiah 29-31. I want to note for any of you who come to this from the links that I post on social media sites (FaceBook, Gab.com, and MeWe. com) that I will be going on vacation from July 31-August 9 and may not be able to post my links to those sites during that time.  I will, however have written the blogs for those dates and scheduled them to be posted.  So, please continue to visit my site to read my daily devotional.

Early in today’s passage Isaiah says the following:

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.

This is a continuation of the theme I talked about yesterday.  Isaiah goes on to say that they think they can hide their plans and thoughts from God.  They wish the benefits of appearing righteous without having to treat others with dignity and respect.  I say that as if all of those who do it realize what they are doing.  We must be careful not to fall into this trap.  Isaiah goes on to tell us that those who do the above will tell the prophets to stop telling them God’s word.  They will seek to silence those who tell the truth and seek salvation by earthly power.

Isaiah further tells us that the social structures they build will collapse suddenly similar to that condo collapse in Miami a few weeks ago.  Those who looked saw warning signs of imminent disaster, but for most it seemed strong and sound.  In the same way, those who create human rules of righteousness will build a society which seems to them strong and sound, but it will collapse upon them suddenly.  However, God will be waiting for those willing to return to Him.  Isaiah has a message for those who do so:

Your own ears will hear him.
    Right behind you a voice will say,
“This is the way you should go,”
    whether to the right or to the left.

I took the above from the New Living Translation because I think their wording conveys the sense of this verse most clearly.  Those who hear that Voice will throw away the idols they have made for themselves and be glad to be rid of them.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Isaiah 26-28.  I want to note for any of you who come to this from the links that I post on social media sites (FaceBook, Gab.com, and MeWe. com) that I will be going on vacation from July 31-August 9 and may not be able to post my links to those sites during that time.  I will, however have written the blogs for those dates and scheduled them to be posted.  So, please continue to visit my site to read my daily devotional.

Once again as I begin to write I am not sure how the things I want to write about will tie together.  Isaiah begins today’s passage by telling us that God will provide a safe place for those who steadfastly put their trust in Him.  He will keep them in perfect peace.  However, all too often we rest in that peace He gives us and fail to bring God’s salvation to others on this earth.  It is important that we bring God’s message of salvation to the people we love who have not heard it because God is going to punish the people of the earth for their sins.

Which brings me to what Isaiah wrote in chapter 28.  When people do not truly listen to God’s commands, those commands become “Do this, don’t do that.”  People begin to see them as a bunch of rules to be followed instead of being about loving God and others.  Some people even think they have found loopholes which allow them to mistreat others because the “rules” do not specify that what they are doing is wrong.  Then they come to the point where they believe that they can protect themselves with lies and falsehood.  We have come to that point in our society.  Many powerful people (and many not-so-powerful people) have decided that truth can be whatever they say it is and if they can prevent people from hearing anything different, it will become the truth.  Isaiah has a warning for them.  God has established the truth.  Those who think that they can replace God’s truth with their own will discover it swept aside when the scourge of God’s judgement sweeps through.  They have built their mansions and fortresses on sand and when the storm of God’s judgement arrive they will be swept away.  Perhaps a better analogy would be the hillsides of Southern California. God has laid a solid stone of truth for us to build upon and given us justice and righteousness to use as the tools to build upon it.

Which brings us back to the first part of this blog: put your trust in God’s truth, measure your life with justice,  and line it up with righteousness .  This is going longer than I usually want, but I think this is important.  A lot of people today speak about the importance of justice, but they do not see the other two parts that must be present.  You must start with truth.  You cannot build a just society on a lie.  However, justice built on truth is not enough.  A stable society (even one of a group which associate together voluntarily) must be lined up with righteousness.  I do not feel like I have worded this quite right, but I trust that if you read the passage the Holy Spirit will show you what I am trying to say (or, perhaps, what I should be trying to say).

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Isaiah 22-25.

There are two separate sections of today’s passage I want to focus on.  I do not see them as connected, but we will see how it comes out as I write my thoughts.  In chapter 24 Isaiah describes how the people of Jerusalem prepared to defend against invasion by strengthening the walls of the city and securing their water supply.  Yet they did not call out to God.  Further, instead of mourning for the sins they had committed which led them into this position, they partied; taking the attitude that they should take what pleasure they could today because their death was coming.  I see the attitude which Isaiah condemns in this passage taken by many in our society, to the point where they approvingly quote, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”  It has been a long time since I have heard anyone quote that phrase who understood that the attitude it represents was being condemned.  There is a time and place for having a good time, but let us be sure we only do so after we have turned to God and made ourselves right with Him, that we are not having a good time at the expense of those in need.

Then in chapter 25, after having discussed the coming devastation upon the whole earth which will come from God’s judgement, Isaiah tells us that the time will come when God will do away with death.  He will completely get rid of death and suffering.  He will do away with our sorrows and the things which cause them.  We will rejoice in His power and praise His name.  No matter what suffering you face in this life, God offers joy to those who put their faith in Him and allow Him to transform them.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Isaiah 17-21.

Part of me would like to spend some time writing about Isaiah’s prophecy of doom on Egypt and Cush (more or less modern day Ethiopia), but I cannot quite get my head around what to write.  So, instead I want to look at what Isaiah says at the end of his prophecies against both countries.  He tells us that, after a devastating defeat, the remaining people in both lands will come to worship the Lord.  In fact, the Egyptians will partner with Assyria and Israel in an alliance which worships the Lord.  In addition to these prophecies against Egypt and Cush, there is a prophecy against Israel.  That prophecy also ends with God’s promise that the people will finally abandon their idols and turn to God.

I want to put some special attention to verse 14 in chapter 17:

In the evening, sudden terror!
    Before the morning, they are gone!

I think the New Catholic Bible translation makes this clearer:

In the evening terror has spread,
    but by the morning it has disappeared.

We should learn from this not to give in to terror.  God is in control.  No matter how bad things may seem, God will make things better for those who put their trust in Him.  I still remember a time a few years ago when I came across this passage just as my wife and I were facing a terrible financial crisis.  We had debts and bills that there seemed no way we would be able to meet.  The day I had published my blog on this passage, it all came together to seem like we would be out on the streets in a matter of weeks.  There was no conceivable way that we could find a way out.  Yet, God had provided me this message of hope.  My wife was initially skeptical that even God could solve our problems, but before we went to bed she had peace that God would rescue us.  I do not remember how that incident was resolved, except that the next day we were no longer in danger of being homeless.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Isaiah 13-16.

Many scholars who study the Bible believe that Isaiah’s prophecy concerning Babylon is evidence that the Book of Isaiah was not written by Isaiah, was actually written after his death.  The last king who reigned while Isaiah was alive was Hezekiah.  Yet, when Hezekiah was king, Assyria was still the most dominant power on earth and Babylon was lesser.  In fact, at that time there was no reason to believe that Babylon would ever be a great power.  Yet, here Isaiah prophesies that Babylon will fall from being the greatest power on earth.  However, this prophecy is here to bring home to us what God says through Isaiah in Chapter 14 verse 24:

“Surely, as I have planned, so it will be,
    and as I have purposed, so it will happen.”

While Isaiah was alive no one knew of Babylon as a world power which would take the people of Judah into Exile, except for Isaiah.  He knew this because God had revealed it to him.  He also knew that the day would come when God would bring His people back from that Exile.  So, no matter what terrible experience we may be going through, God knew it was coming before it began, and planned for it to happen.  More importantly, He planned to bring about its end.  Let us trust the plans which God has for us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Isaiah 9-12.

Today’s passage contains many elements which point to the coming Messiah, prophecies which were fulfilled with the birth and life of Jesus.  However, I want to start with some aspects of this passage which I see speaking to our society today.  Isaiah speaks of Israel arrogantly planning to build back better what God had destroyed because of their sins.  Despite the suffering which their sins had caused them they did not return to God, nor seek Him at all.  Isaiah goes on to write about how those who guide the people mislead them, which reminds me of today.  Isaiah says that both the “elders and dignitaries” and the “prophets” tell lies to the people.  Despite this, the prophet does not excuse the people for allowing themselves to be led astray.  Everyone, he tells us, is ungodly and wicked.  Isaiah promises that a day of reckoning will come for those who create divisions among the people and stir up anger between groups.   Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would come and judge with righteousness, giving justice to the poor of the earth.  The Messiah would unite rather than divide.  He will cause the lion to lie down with the lamb.  Those who call for division do not serve God.  Let us seek to find unity in serving God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.