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

Today’s passage goes back and forth between prophecies about God’s Chosen and God’s judgement against the wicked.  This passage begins with a passage which the Church has seen as a prophecy of Jesus’ starting His ministry in Galilee.  Isaiah says that in the future God will honor Galilee, that people walking darkness have seen a great light.  He goes on to write that a light has dawned on those living in a land of deep darkness.  He goes on to describe how the Messiah, Jesus Christ, will enlarge the nation, the people of God, and shatter the yoke which burdens them.  Today, I feel this is talking about how, through Jesus, God has called many people, including Gentiles, to Him and removed the burden of sin from them.  Isaiah then tells us that this salvation will be accomplished by the zeal of the Lord.  I want to emphasize that.  We often think of someone who has zeal for the Lord, but we rarely think about God having zeal.  God loves people with zeal, and accomplishes His purposes with that zeal.  All too often, whether we knowingly serve our own purposes, or think we are serving God’s, we tell ourselves that we have accomplished something by our strength and understanding.  We proudly say that we will rebuild that which God has destroyed.  Let us humbly remember to rely on the Lord.  Only if we put our trust in Him, and in His zeal, will we not be afraid.

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.

Where to begin today? Well at the beginning I guess. Isaiah begins by telling the lands of northern Israel that the time will come when they will see a great light.  After this message of hope (which I will come back to in a moment), he prophesied that God will soon bring about the complete destruction of Israel (in this case Isaiah appears to be referring exclusively to the Northern Kingdom).  I have never done a detailed analysis of the fall of the Kingdoms of Israel, but I have a vague feeling that perhaps, for all intents and purposes, the area referred to at the beginning of this passage had already fallen, even though a king still ruled in Samaria.  In any case, I think this prophecy really has a lot to say to everyone in every time.  It contains a message of hope.  While we may be walking in a time of darkness, God’s light will break through.  In fact, it has broken through, if we but look for it.  And where should we look for it?  Isaiah answers that question as well. “For to us a child is born,…” Now, as we look at that, first we must recognize that Jesus’ birth fulfilled it.  But, even Jesus’ birth reveals something we do not often look at.  He was not born as a man of power in a palace.  He was born as a baby in a manger. And Jesus did not gain His victory by winning a great battle.  He gained victory by dying on the cross.  So, where do we look for God’s light in this world?  Not to great and mighty deeds as human perception usually understands them.  No, we need to look to the weak and the powerless.  We must look to the homeless man who gives the $10 he managed to gather through begging and other endeavors over the course of a day to the rich man who was just pickpocketed so he can catch a cab to see his sick mother in the hospital (I am not sure this has ever happened, but I do remember story somewhat similar that I cannot find at the moment).  Let us not look to the great and mighty for salvation.  Instead, let us channel God’s love as the weak and powerless.

Then we come to Isaiah’s prophecy about the fall of Israel, the Northern Kingdom.  He begins that prophecy by condemning those who acknowledge the troubles they have faced by saying that they will build back better, they will replace the fallen bricks with dressed stone, the fruit trees with cedars.  All of this without addressing the reason the brick buildings fell or the fruit trees were cut down.  The bad things had happened because those who were appointed to guide the people misled them, and the people followed them even though they knew they were being misled.  Then the Isaiah says something which is a foundational point about what God repeatedly tries to tell us: wickedness burns like a fire.  The destruction we experience does not result from God’s judgement of our wicked actions.  It results directly from our wicked actions.  Yes, God punishes us for our sins, but that is to turn us from our sins.  When God punishes us for our sins it is like a father who spanks his young son to stop him from doing something which might result in his death.  If the child continued and died, the death would not be punishment from his father, it would result from the child’s action.  The same is true of us when we do wicked things.  God may discipline us, but if we ignore His discipline and continue to sin we will experience a much greater hardship as a result of our actions.

There was more from this passage which I felt I should write about, but I am going to stop there.

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.

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.

There are three messages for distributed throughout today’s passage.  One of them a warning of judgement against a sinful people who think that they are serving God and righteousness.  One of them a promise that God will send a Messiah, a Savior.  And one a warning against those whom God uses to punish the wicked.

Isaiah warns those leaders who lead the people to destruction through hypocrisy.  They are assisted in their task by religious leaders who lie and misuse God’s word.  These are the leaders who are busy working people up over a splinter while ignoring a gaping wound.  Closely related to that is God’s warning to Assyria, and other powers throughout history, whom He used to punish His people for their sin.  The Assyrians came to believe that their power was due to some innate superiority which they possessed, rather than a result of God seeking a tool to discipline His people.  Throughout history, nations and individuals have come to believe that they have more power than God.  They see the success they have had and believe they can do what they please to the weak and the powerless.  They believe they will never be held accountable.  Isaiah reminds us that they are mistaken.

Finally, and in a way related to the previous two points, Isaiah promises that a light will shine in the darkness.  Through Isaiah, God promised to raise up a leader who would show the way for people to worship Him.  A leader who will transform the world so that predators will prey on the weak no longer.  In chapter 9 verses 2 through 7, and then again in chapter 11, we see what God’s Messiah will be like.  We get an idea of what the followers of Jesus should act like.  Let us call all people from every nation to rally to the banner which Jesus holds up.  Let us unite in calling all people to abandon behaviors which harm both themselves and others while admitting that we ourselves have been guilty of such behaviors in the past.