Today, I am reading and commenting on Isaiah 52-56.

I am going to start by writing about my first thoughts on Chapter 52.  To a degree, it reads as if the prophet is prophesying after Jerusalem has been sacked and its residents taken into exile.  Yet, Isaiah’s life ended while Hezekiah was king, well before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians.  Now, when I looked a little closer I noticed that the prophet also refers to the current oppressors of the Israelites as the Assyrians, not as the Babylonians.  Considering the wording of this portion of the Book of Isaiah, I could accept that this was written by a later prophet and appended to the works of Isaiah, but I see no reason to not accept that Isaiah wrote it.  It seems to me that, while scholars argue for a different author for chapters 40-66 based on literary style, their primary reason for believing it was a different author is because they do not believe that a prophet could have known about future events so accurately (such as Cyrus’ name).  Since I have no problem believing that God could give a prophet such knowledge, I do not see the changes in literary style being so convincing.  Which brings me to the next section which is often referenced as speaking of the suffering servant.  From a Christian perspective, it clearly speaks of Jesus and His redemptive suffering.  For anyone who accepts Isaiah as Scripture it is clearly a prophecy concerning the Messiah, the One whom God will send to redeem Israel.  Once someone has filled the role spelled out in Isaiah’s prophecy of the Suffering Servant, there will be no room for another to supersede Him.

Finally, in chapter 56, Isaiah tells us that no foreigner who seeks to bind themselves to God should find themselves excluded, nor should eunuchs feel excluded.  As I read this, I am going to accept that this prophecy concerning eunuchs is intended to apply to those who are sexually attracted to those of the same sex, as many progressive Christians claim.  However, Isaiah tells us something important about those who fit that category whom God is calling:
“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
    who choose what pleases me
    and hold fast to my covenant—
to them I will give within my temple and its walls
    a memorial and a name
    better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
    that will endure forever.”
That is followed with similar language concerning the foreigner.  So, we as the Church, as followers of Christ, should welcome among us ALL who seek to follow and obey Christ.  We should discipline those who struggle with the temptation to have sex with those of the same sex in the same way that we struggle those who struggle with avoiding sex outside of marriage, or with remaining committed to their marriage, or those who struggle with other sins.  Whatever temptation someone faces, we, as followers of Christ should walk beside them and, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, seek ways to help them overcome it, just as we should ask our fellow Believers to walk beside us and help us overcome our temptations.

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