Today, I am reading and commenting on Isaiah 64-66.

Isaiah calls on God to d wondrous things once more.  He tells us that in all of history no one has perceived any other god like God, who acts on behalf of those who remember His ways and gladly do right.  However, instead of doing so, Isaiah says that we sinned against God’s ways and made Him angry.  Despite this, He is the potter molding our clay, making us into vessels which serve His purpose.  Then Isaiah switches to speaking from God’s perspective.  God declares that He revealed Himself to those who did not seek Him.  He called out to those who refused to listen because they thought they were too good to associate with those He had chosen.  Isaiah speaks of the blatantly obvious sins committed by those who hold themselves too righteous to associate with others, but I think most of the sins he mentions are metaphors for sins which we all too easily dismiss as not a big deal.  Yet, for all of our sins, God is going to call some of us to be His servants.  He will call those whom the self-righteous think are too unholy to associate with.  God will call them from all nations.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Isaiah 60-63.

When I read passages such as the first part of today’s I understand why some people believe that Christ’s millennial reign has already begun and that eventually everyone will come to Him.  As I read chapter 60, Isaiah prophesies that as God’s people reflect His light they will draw all nations to Him.  My first thought is to interpret this as a prophecy concerning the people of Israel, but I can imagine it applying to the Church.  If it applies to the people of Israel, then we are still waiting for the day when they all turn to Christ.  It it applies to the Church, then we should be inspired to live so as to draw people to Him.  Of course, even if it does not apply to the Church, we should strive to live so as to draw people to Him.

Chapter 61 is the passage which Jesus read from in the synagogue.  He read verse one and the first line of verse two.  So, He stopped after reading, “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor”.  He did not read the next phrase, “and the day of vengeance of our God”.  I believe He stopped where He did in order to proclaim good things for those who choose to accept His witness.  However, those who reject Him will see the version expressed in chapter 63.  Those who refuse to embrace justice, who refuse to accept God’s gift, will be trod in the winepress of His wrath.  They will be trampled in His wrath.  He will save those who turn to Him, but those who choose to use others for their own ends will suffer His judgement.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Isaiah 57-59.

Isaiah speaks with God’s voice in condemning those who have worshiped idols.  He lists out their various offenses.  Those who have mocked God, and mocked those who believe in Him.  Those who “burn with lust” every place they can find to do so.  Those who have put pagan symbols behind their doors and their doorposts.  I think the prophet this refers to those who put up the symbols of godly worship for the world to see, but hide their unrighteous practices behind those symbolic acts of righteousness.  As part of the Passover, the Israelites marked their doors and doorposts with the blood of the sacrificial lamb, I think this reference to putting pagan symbols behind the door and door posts is a reference to people following the public Passover behavior, but behind it doing ungodly things.  The thing is that the prophet tells us that God has seen our terrible sins, our hypocritical unfaithfulness, but He will heal us anyway.

Isaiah then turns his attention to those who think they are faithfully serving God, but are not.  He speaks of those who wonder why God does not answer their prayers.  He explains that while we may go to Church on Sunday, sing of how much we love God, pray for others, put money in the offering plate, and follow all of the other forms of worship, we go home after service and do as we please.  He accuses us of exploiting our workers and ending the day of worship in quarrelling and strife.  Perhaps you think, “I am a worker.  I don’t have any workers to exploit.”  But, do you buy meat that you know was packed at a meatpacking plant which exploits illegal immigrant labor?  Do you buy goods which you know were produced in countries which essentially enslave the people who work in the factories?  It’s not as simple as saying that we won’t buy goods made in China (or whatever other country known for poor working conditions we might name).  And there is no good way to know which companies exploit illegal immigrants.  Fortunately, God gives us some pointers in positive actions we can take. “Do away with the pointing finger and malicious talk.”  “Spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed.”

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

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.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Isaiah 48-51.

This passage begins with God calling on those who dishonestly invoke His name to listen.  God points out that He had told them what He was going to do before He did it so that they could not give credit to things which had been created.  Then He gets to telling them the things to which He called them to listen.  The first of those is the prediction He gave Isaiah that the Persians would overthrow Babylon.  He goes on to tell them that He has delayed His wrath for His own sake so that He might not destroy mankind completely.  God continues by telling us why we should listen to Him and do as He instructs, because He teaches us what is best for us and directs in the path which will bring us the best life.

At this point the prophet, Isaiah, switches to the voice of God’s servant.  As I read this it feels like it has so many layers.  First, overall it is a prophecy concerning the Messiah, God’s Chosen One.  I understand that to be Jesus of Nazareth.  Second, parts of it refer to others who have been chosen of God at certain times (just a few chapters earlier Isaiah referred to Cyrus of Persia as God’s chosen one).  Finally (well, finally for what I am going to write about), parts of it refer to us who have been chosen by God to follow Jesus.  Actually, I am going to spend some time writing about things which were written about Jesus, but which I think God intended for us as well.  The Servant felt like He had labored in vain, but recognizes that God determines if that is the case, not us, nor any other human being.  If we have striven to do God’s will, and allowed Him to correct us when we misunderstand, He will reward us, and we will not have labored in vain.  A little further on the prophet refers to the one who formed him in the womb (or, perhaps he is still speaking in the voice of God’s Servant) in order to gather His people to Him.  Each and every one of us, even those who never get the opportunity to do anything in this life, were formed in their mother’s womb in order to accomplish God’s purpose of drawing people to Him.  Finally, the prophet speaks once more with God’s voice to tell us that God offers us comfort, who are we to fear human beings such that we forget Him who made us?  Let us put our faith in Christ and depend on Him and fear nothing that this world can bring 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 43-47.

I was reminded of the first episode of “The Chosen” when I read this part of the first verse of today’s passage:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
In that episode Mary Magdalene holds on to that verse in the face of her troubles and demon possession.  The high light of that episode comes when Mary is at the end of her rope and wants to die, Jesus calls to her by name.  I cannot convey just how powerful this verse affects me if you have not seen that episode.  God has redeemed us, and He calls us by name.  We just need to answer His call and turn to Him.  He will bring us from far away, even from the ends of the earth and blot out our sins.  He does this not because of anything we have done, not because we deserve it.  God will blot out our sins because it pleases Him to do so.  All of this God does for those who are called by His Name.  It does not matter how we identify ourselves as His, merely that we do so.  The prophet writes:
“Some will say, ‘I belong to the Lord’;
    others will call themselves by the name of Jacob;
still others will write on their hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
    and will take the name Israel.”
What matters is that we are His.  

The prophet also warns us against thinking ourselves to be the arbiter of what is right and true.  Whatever else we may think to worship, whatever else we might think to be the source of goodness is but a created thing.  Isaiah spells that out by giving the example of a carpenter who takes a tree, makes part of it an idol and burns the rest to cook his food.  He goes on to condemn Babylon for thinking that it was “the one” and that there were none beside it.  Only God can accurately say:
“I am the Lord, and there is no other;
    apart from me there is no God.”
If we are more than discarded potsherds on the floor of the potter’s workshop it is because God has made us into a vessel for which He has use.  If we refuse His purpose, we are worthless.  But, if you think you are worthless, remember that He has called you by name and you are His.

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.

There are several parts of today’s passage which I thought about basing what I write on, but then I came to the end of the passage.  There Isaiah writes,
“Hear, you deaf;
    look, you blind, and see!
 Who is blind but my servant,
    and deaf like the messenger I send?
Who is blind like the one in covenant with me,
    blind like the servant of the Lord?
 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;
    your ears are open, but you do not listen.”
I can think of several different ways in which that could be understood, but I think Isaiah was referring to the people of Israel when he wrote this.  Further, I think we should see it as directed at those of us who say we follow Christ.  God is calling us out, is calling me out.  We look at what has gone wrong in our society and turn to the government to fix it.  We claim to seek to serve God, yet we do not turn to Him.  God says through the prophet,
“I am the Lord; that is my name!
    I will not yield my glory to another
    or my praise to idols.”
So, let us stop thinking that the answer to what is wrong is for the government to fix it.  The answer to what is wrong is to turn to God and call on His name, to proclaim the One who came as a Covenant for the people and a Light for the Gentiles.  Let us pray to God and ask Him to transform our hearts, and through the transformation of hearts transform our society.

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 have never quite known how to word this thought, but I have long found it interesting that when the Assyrian field commander first tried suggested that Hezekiah and the leaders of Jerusalem should not rely on God to save Jerusalem from the Assyrians he mentioned that Hezekiah had destroyed all of the high places and altars where the people worshiped God (and idols, but he overlooked that) while demanding that the people only sacrifice to God at the temple in Jerusalem.  It was only after Hezekiah’s emissaries asked him to speak in Aramaic rather than Hebrew (Aramaic being the language the Assyrians spoke and Hebrew being the language which the people of Judah spoke) that the field commander said that the gods of no other country was able to save them from Assyria and that God would be no different.  The reason I have not written about this before is because I could not put into words why I thought it mattered.  Today I realized that when the field commander said that God would not be able to protect Jerusalem because the gods of no other people had been able to stop the Assyrians he did not say that was because the Assyrian gods were more powerful than those gods.  And when Sennacherib sent the letter to Hezekiah threatening Jerusalem, he also did not appeal to the might of the Assyrian gods.  Both Sennacherib and his field commander took credit for their successes against other nations and over the gods of those nations for themselves.  When I realized that I realized that they sound a lot like people today who argue against certain doctrines of Christian faith.  They often start out talking as if they have just a problem with that particular doctrine,  but they soon reveal that their real problem is with accepting that God has the power and authority to limit their behavior in any way.  Sennacherib and his field commander began by suggesting that they thought that God would not protect Jerusalem because Hezekiah had diminished His worship, but they quickly revealed that they rejected the idea that there was any power to which they needed to answer.  Do we truly acknowledge that we answer to God’s power?

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.

In today’s passage Isaiah begins by saying that a day will come when a king will reign in righteousness.  On that day, the eyes of those willing to see will be opened and the ears of those willing to listen will be unplugged.  I believe that this is a direct counter to Isaiah 6:9-10.  Those to whom Isaiah is referring to will begin to understand, turn to God, and be healed.  No longer will fools and scoundrels be honored and held up as examples to be emulated.  Instead those who noble deeds will be considered noble.  That day had not yet come when Isaiah prophesied.  In the meantime he told the people that the harvest would fail and the cities be abandoned.  This would go on and get worse until God’s Spirit was poured upon us, and then God’s justice would inhabit the land.  While in the simple form this was fulfilled with Jesus’ coming and the Spirit descending on Jesus’ disciples at Pentecost, there is an element of this prophecy which repeats.  Today, we see fools and scoundrels being honored and those who are able are leaving our cities.  This will continue until we open our eyes and clear our ears and turn to God.  Then He will pour out His Spirit upon us and heal us.  Let us pray to God for Him to pour out His Spirit all around 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 29-31.

The thing that came to me to think about was when the prophet writes:
“These people come near to me with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.”
We often read this and the passage in Mark where Jesus quotes and think that they apply to others.  But we really need to examine our own lives to think about where maybe this applies to us.  Is my heart really close to God?  Or are my words of faith just words that are not reflected in my actions?  Is our worship based on human rules, or do we truly base it on God’s rules?  All too often we treat God as if we were the potter and He the clay, rather than as things really are.  God is our Creator.  He formed us just as a potter forms clay into whatever type of vessel he chooses.   He made us just the way He intended us to be.  If we wish to experience the joy which He also intends for us, we must learn to accept what He made us, and the tasks for which He made us.  We do not get to choose what God looks like, or what He commands.    All too often we are like obstinate children, making our plans without consulting God.   Instead of creating plans to deal with our struggles, let us call out to God for help.  Then He will come to us and be a voice in our ears telling us, “This is the way; walk in it.”  Let us reject the idols we have made and instead worship the One who made us.

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