I am using 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 hear people complain about the corruption of government all of the time, but they never think about what sort of society is required in order to have an honest, just, and righteous government. In this passage Isaiah describes those conditions. We will continue to have a corrupt, and even evil, government as long as ungodly fools are held up as heroes and people have respect for scoundrels. As long as we hold up people who lie to convict the poor as people to be emulated we will have corrupt and evil government. Until the complacent among us begin to beat their breasts in sorrow over the evil being done around us, and not just by government officials, nothing will change.

    Later in the passage, the prophet reminds us that most people do not really want an honest and just government. The godless find such a society unbearable. Living in it is like being in a devouring, all-consuming fire for them. Only those who are honest and fair, who do not attempt to profit from fraud and deception will find a society with an honest, just, and righteous government to be a comfortable place to be. If you do not avoid all enticements to do wrong you are kidding yourself if you say that you want an honest government. All too often what people mean when they say they want a less corrupt government is that they want a government corrupt in their favor. However, the day is coming when God is going to bring about His rule upon all of mankind. In that day, only the honest and upright will thrive. Are we preparing ourselves for that day>

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Isaiah 29-31.

    This passage says some things that are often misused and misapplied. In chapter 29 verse 13 the prophet accuses people of following worship practices which are nothing more than man-made rules learned by rote. This passage has often been used to attack those who believe in a traditional interpretation of Christianity. There is something to this. All too often we get caught in the rut of doing things because we have always done them that way. There may have been good reasons for doing things the way we do them, but we have forgotten those reasons and do things that way because that was how we were taught to do them. When that happens we are in danger of following practices which result in the exact opposite of the purpose for which they were created. On the other hand, many times this passage is used to argue for throwing out practices and beliefs which still serve a useful purpose in favor of rules which themselves were created purely in human minds.

    In both cases, the key part of the verse comes before the part which is most often referenced. The prophet tells us that it is not enough to honor God with our lips. We may utter the most pious platitudes and sayings, we may give God credit for every good thing we perceive to have happened, but if our hearts are not aligned with Him, if doing God’s will is not our heart’s desire, then we are hypocrites. No matter how wise we are, no matter how smart we are, we are not wise enough and we are not smart enough to make better plans than God’s plans. If you do not understand why God gives the commands He gives, do not assume that you know better. Study the traditions you follow, make sure that they are truly God’s commands and not just man-made rules. Seek God and you will find Him and His will. Of course, if you instead seek justification for doing your own will, you will find that as well.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Isaiah 26-28.

    The key element of today’s passage comes to me in verses 7-9 in chapter 26. God smooths out the way ahead of those who are righteous. It may not always seem that way to us, but the prophet tells us how it works. Those who are righteous will trust in God because God not only is God righteous, but HE is the source of all righteousness. Those who trust in God keep His commandments, not because they are commandments but because they trust that God knows what He is doing. God gives us the commandments He does because He loves us. Those commandments are designed to lead us onto the path which God has smoothed out for us. In the long run, Life becomes difficult for us when we try to take the “easy way” of not following God’s commands. When we do that we are demonstrating that we do not trust God.

    I got to the end of that and realized that I had not properly set the stage for the observations in the previous paragraph. Part of what makes the path smooth for the righteous is that their heart’s desire, the thing they desire more than anything else, is for their actions to glorify God. They seek God and His will morning, noon, and night. They actively seek to bound with God and to do His will. Life becomes much easier if bringing glory to God is more important to us than gaining glory, or wealth, or pleasure for ourselves.

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

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

    I am not able to fully extract the message of this passage. However, part of that message is a warning to those who see the invaders coming and plan their defense without calling on God. I see it all around me, people who see how the degradation of our culture is leading to the collapse of our civilization, but fail to turn to God. Instead, they seek to implement their own defenses against the disaster they see coming. I, also, know people who see the oncoming collapse of our civilization and, rather than mourn the suffering which will follow, party while times are good.

    And this is where I am missing something. The prophet tells us that those who mourn the suffering that is coming for those who do not follow the Lord will rejoice when that judgment comes (or perhaps at some time after that). In chapter 24, verse 11 the prophet tells us that gladness will be banished from the land as a result of God’s curse. Yet in chapter 24, verse 14 he tells us that all who are left will shout and sing for joy while they praise the Lord’s majesty. The prophet tells us that God is going to be bringing a disaster upon the entire earth, suffering for all. And yet, He will, at the same time, provide refuge for the needy.
    Let us mourn now for the suffering those who reject God will experience. Perhaps by doing so we can convince others to turn to Him, so that when that disaster strikes, they too will be able to say:

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

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

    I am not sure that my title today quite captures what this passage says to me today. The prophet predicts the downfall of Damascus, the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Egypt, Cush (Ethiopia), Babylon, Edom and Kedar (Arabia). The writer describes how when the disaster he is predicting comes to pass, the people will turn to God. The disaster will come because people have forgotten God, they no longer honor or worship Him. As a result of this failure to honor God all of their efforts to obtain wealth are futile. While the prophet initially refers to the people of Israel coming back to God after disaster strikes, he later predicts that the people of other nations (Egypt and Cush in this passage) will come to God after disaster strikes their land.
    There are two points I want to focus on. Let us not forget God when times are good and thus bring disaster upon ourselves and those around us. And, let us remember that sometimes God allows disaster to strike in order to give us the opportunity to show Him to those who might never otherwise be receptive to His love.

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

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

    Today’s passage describes how the destruction of a powerful nation will bring tragedy and destruction beyond its borders. The prophet Isaiah prophesies the fall of Babylon before Babylon had risen to dominance. He warns against celebrating that fall, since it will have far reaching impact. The fall of Babylon (or perhaps the fall of Assyria) will lead to death and destruction in other nations as well. There are really two messages in this passage. One I have already mentioned: the destruction of a powerful nation will have disastrous consequences for other nations which might wish for that destruction. We should pray that the wicked turn from their sins before God’s judgment falls upon them because the results of God’s judgment will be unpleasant, at best, for everyone.

    The second message is that no matter how powerful a nation or person, when God casts judgment on it, or them, they will be brought down. In the long run, each and every one of us will face death and the grave. The rich and powerful will in the end face the same fate as the poor and destitute. All will be held accountable by God and the power you accumulate in this world will not protect you from His judgment.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Isaiah 1-4.

    I am hesitant to apply passages which were addressed to the ancient nation of Israel to any nation or people today. However, there are ways in which this applies to people throughout history. Modern western civilization is built upon principles of justice and truth. These principles derive from God’s word. I want to pause here and note that this idea has been misused time and again to violate those very principles. This very passage lays out what those principles are:

Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
Defend the cause of orphans.
Fight for the rights of widows.

Or to quote something which I consider to be another way of stating this:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

There is a third quote which I want to include which I believe is another way of expressing part of this basic truth:

Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.

The man responsible for that second quote fell well short of living up to that ideal. If we do not follow the path laid out in that first quote than all of our attempts at righteous living are meaningless and serve no purpose except to anger God (and our fellow man). At no point does this passage, or God Himself, tell us to demand that the government do these things. God expects each and every one of us to seek justice, to help the oppressed, to defend the cause of the orphan, and fight for the rights of the widow.

    If we allow our wealth to become our god, God will allow us to suffer the results of our folly. I believe in many ways we are seeing this in our society today. Our leaders behave like children and the common people strive to oppress their fellows. All too often we as a people strive to address this by seeking new leaders, but until we address the core issue the new leaders will be worse than those they replace. We must, each one of us for ourselves, obey God and seek His will. He has promised us that, despite the fact that our sins are red as crimson, He will make us pure if we seek to do His will. Our nation, our society will not be restored by having the right leaders. It will be restored by justice, and any of its people will be revived by righteousness if they repent of their sins. That means even you and me. We must genuinely regret our sins and stop committing them. Not just our sins of commission, but our sins of omission as well. Once more, I want to emphasize that we cannot place the blame for the ills of our society on our leaders, although they do indeed share in that blame. And we must not look to them, or their replacements to fix it. Each and every one of us must do, not just our part, but everything within our power to change things, not by changing the laws of the land, but by asking God to change our hearts and setting an example for others to follow.