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 9-12.

Today’s passage contains a few Messianic prophecies.  The Messiah will be wonderful, a counselor, the Mighty God, our everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace.  These all apply to Jesus.  The day will come when the Messiah will rule.  He will not judge by appearances, nor make decisions based on hearsay.  The day will come when the earth will be filled with people who fear the Lord.  On that day the earth will live in peace.  I believe that day will come soon.  Isaiah tells us that the descendants of Jacob will be gathered from the nations to which they were scattered and specifically lists many of those nations.  Interestingly, if we look we will see that almost all of the Jews have left the lands which Isaiah specifically lists.  The day of the Lord’s return will soon come.

The passage also contains a warning for powerful nations and people.  God has given you power in order to serve His purposes.  You will not prevail over Him.  Yet we see here that those with power do not think that way.  They come to believe that their success is a result of their own ability, that they defeat every foe solely because of their own effort.  They believe that they will continue to defeat every foe, no matter what.  Through Isaiah God sends the reminder that the powerful have power because they are the tool which God chooses to use.  Each of us is a tool which God will use to serve His purposes.  If we come to believe that our successes, however limited they may be, belong to us and begin to defy God, He will bring us down in ways which we cannot even imagine.  Those who choose to see will see God’s hand.  Those who refuse to see will see just chance at work.