Today, I am reading and commenting on Isaiah 17-21.
Today’s passage begins with a prophecy against both Damascus and Israel (the Northern Kingdom), but which focuses mostly on Israel. To a large degree this prophecy can be applied to many times in history. Isaiah prophesies that the land will be devastated and only a few people will remain. Only then will those who remain recognize their sin and turn to God. Then they will give up their idol worship and seek to follow God’s commands. To me this is especially relevant to this year. People ask, “Why is 2020 so bad?” and the answer Isaiah gives here certainly applies. The answer is because we have turned from God who can save us, we have forgotten the Rock who can hide us. Things seemed to be going so well and then disaster struck. That is what happens when people turn from God. The scary part to me is that people do not yet seem to be turning to God. They appear to still be relying on their idols (in this case, the government) to save them.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Isaiah 13-16.
Isaiah prophesied about the fall of Babylon at a time when Babylon was not yet the major world power, Assyria was still the dominant world power. Yet, in today’s passage the prophecy regarding the fall of Assyria is secondary. This suggests to me that the prophesy against Babylon was intended as a more general prophecy against the powerful than most other Old Testament prophecies. I see this prophecy as a warning against those who believe that because they have the power to do whatever they wish, whatever they wish to do is the right thing to do; a warning to those who believe that the fact that they are mighty indicates that they are righteous. When the wealthy and powerful begin to believe that everything they desire to do is righteous, God will not wait long before He brings judgement upon them. The prophesies against Philistia and Moab remind us that people need not be among the wealthiest and most powerful in order to fall to the idea that getting what you want justifies mistreating others. God will, in His time, hold accountable those whom no one else will.
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.
Today’s passage contains three separate sections: the beginning is a conclusion to the Isaiah’s introductory vision, then the vision of Isaiah’s calling, finally Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the plot of Israel and Aram against Judah. There are significant differences in the messages contained in each, yet I perceived an ongoing theme as I read them today. I hope that I will be able to communicate that theme clearly in what I write next.
In the first part I see a judgement on much of Western Civilization. God blessed the nations of Western Civilization and in return He asked that they deliver a crop of justice, that they live righteously in the world. Instead the wealthy use that wealth to accumulate more wealth and to leave the poor in even worse straights than when they began. God gave us blessings in order to help those less fortunate than ourselves. If we instead spend those blessings purely on our own pleasure, God will judge us.
Isaiah speaks of those who mock God, say that evil is good, and that good is evil. He warns us about those who will listen to what we say, but not understand what we mean and will watch what we do, but not learn anything from that either. If they had not hardened their hearts, plugged their ears, and covered their eyes, they might understand with their hearts and turn to God. Let us continue to speak God’s words to those who refuse to hear and pray to God that His Spirit come upon them so that they may turn to Him and be healed.
Those around us may see conspiracies in everything which happens and be frightened by the idea that powerful people are conspiring to take away their freedom and oppress them. Let us not follow their example and be frightened by such things. Instead, we should fear only God and rest assured that He will keep us safe. I will focus on God’s instructions and strive to follow them, putting my trust in Him and knowing that those who strive to conspire to control the world are doomed to failure.
I love reading the writings of the prophet Isaiah. In chapter 2, he conveys a promise from God the fulfillment of should be everyone’s desire. In the last days, people from every nation will seek God’s teaching and will desire to walk according to His way. God will mediate between nations and peoples. When that day truly arrives nation will no longer fight against nation. They will not even train for war. Those of us who seek to follow God’s will for our lives should seek to live as if that day has come, but need to recognize that it has not yet come for those around us. In today’s world, I want to point out that to the original readers this would have meant both nations as we understand them today and ethnic groups as well. This prophecy tells us that all people are welcome to become part of God’s people.
After making the promise that the day will come when nations will no longer make war on each other, Isaiah condemns the people of Judah. While they are rich and powerful, they have chosen to fill their land with idols and sin. Instead of following God’s commands and living according to God’s directions, they have chosen to follow the practices of the pagans around them. He tells them that they may now be powerful, rich, and proud, but soon God will humble them. They will crawl into caves to hide from God’s judgement. At the peak of their power and wealth, they abandoned God’s instructions and instead adopted the cultural norms of those who rejected God. Instead of trusting God, they put their trust in human power, they put their trust in their government. Rather than seek justice for all, they oppressed their neighbors and ridiculed their elders, they sneered at those who lived, or had lived, honorable lives. Sound familiar?
They had brought destruction upon themselves and would pay the price for their sins. In the middle of this warning of the destruction to come. Isaiah tells us that the godly will still be rewarded. Destruction and suffering were coming for the people of Judah, but God would still protect those who remained faithful. Destruction and suffering is coming to the people around us today, but God will still protect those who remain faithful.
I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I am going to be on vacation through August 10th. I have prepared my daily Bible Studies for each day throughout that time in advance since I will have limited access to the Internet during this time. The timing on when I publish these blogs may be erratic during this time.
When I read today’s passage I was struck by comparisons to society today. We are all sinners who continually sin (I want to note that there is an important distinction between “continually” and “continuously”). We try to cover our sins with righteous actions which do less to cover our sins than a dirty loincloth. Yet we spend our time calling out others for their sins. As a result, we suffer and our land heads toward desolation. For all of that, we rarely call out to God and plead for His mercy. Why not? Because we know what He will demand of us and we are unwilling to do it.
For all of that, God will save a small number, a remnant who will be called by His name. God will create a new heaven and a new earth where His servants will live in peace. Isaiah even tells us how to know who will be saved. Only those with a humble and contrite heart will be saved. Not long ago I came across a quote from Augustine of Hippo which carries much the same message.
“Let us never assume that if we live good lives we will be without sin; our lives should be praised only when we continue to beg for pardon. But men are hopeless creatures, and the less they concentrate on their own sins, the more interested they become in the sins of others. They seek to criticize, not to correct. Unable to excuse themselves, they are ready to accuse others.”
We need to focus on correcting the sin in our own lives more than the sins committed by others. Of course, one needs to remember that Isaiah tells us this as part of his prophecy calling people out for their sins. So it does not mean that we never confront others about the sins which they commit. It just means that we must do so while humbly admitting that we also are sinners.
I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I am going to be on vacation through August 10th. I have prepared my daily Bible Studies for each day throughout that time in advance since I will have limited access to the Internet during this time. The timing on when I publish these blogs may be erratic during this time. As I feared might happen, I was unable to get this published as soon as I would have liked. My apologies to anyone whose Bible study schedule was disrupted.
When I was growing up, from time to time my Dad would say that many of the Old Testament prophecies referred to more than one future event. That has always stuck with me and influenced my understanding of these prophecies because I believe that he was correct. For example the description in today’s passage about the ways in which the people of Israel will return to Jerusalem reminds me of modern Israel. The way in which Isaiah describes the Jewish people returning from all over the world, followed by his description of the economic success of the restored nation, strikes me as being fulfilled by the establishment of the modern state of Israel. But then Isaiah goes on to speak of them living in the land in peace and the parallels fall apart.
Then I get to the end of today’s passage where Isaiah refers to God bemoaning how the people of Israel betrayed Him time and again. This made me think of something one of my brothers says about Israel: since they returned from the Babylonian Exile the descendants of Jacob have never been sovereign over the Land of Israel for more than 100 consecutive years at a time. This leads me to believe that these prophecies of their return have been fulfilled more than once. Each time, the final fulfillment has been delayed because they have, like every other people, turned away from God to sin. However, the day will come when God’s people will not turn away from Him and He will finally bring them peace.
Today’s passage also contains the passage which Jesus used to announce the beginning of His ministry. Jesus declared that the Spirit of God was on Him to declare good news that the time of the Lord’s favor had come. Jesus stopped reading there, but the passage continued one more key line: the time of God’s favor was also the time of His vengeance. The Good News which Jesus gave us includes both God’s favor on the faithful and His vengeance against the wicked.
And speaking of God’s vengeance, Isaiah 63 verses 3 and following inspired the song “Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory”. That writer of that song saw fulfillment of God trampling His foes in the horrors of the Civil War. I believe that there use of those themes was more apt than the writer realized. Certainly, the Civil war can be aptly viewed as God trampling His foes and avenging the oppressed. The writer in my view inaccurately believed the Union Army to be doing the trampling for God, when in fact the Union Army was as much the subject of God’s trampling as the Confederate Army. The blood, death, and suffering of the Civil War was God’s punishment upon the people of the Untied States for allowing the injustice and oppression of the institution of slavery to go on as long as it did. This passage and that song remind us that while there is great joy when God takes His vengeance, it is also a time of great suffering. Let us pray that the day of God’s vengeance is delayed and that those whose actions bring it ever closer will repent and turn to God before that day arrives.
I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I am going to be on vacation through August 10th. I have prepared my daily Bible Studies for each day throughout that time in advance since I will have limited access to the Internet during this time. The timing on when I publish these blogs may be erratic during this time.
The prophet tells us, almost as an aside, that when the good die before what we would consider “their time”, God is protecting them from coming evil. Those of us who survive them should be more concerned about what God is leaving us to face than about grieving over those who will face no more suffering.
The rest of the passage contains messages about our sin and what true worship of God looks like. Attending Church every Sunday, singing the good songs, listening to sermons about the Bible do not compose true worship of God. No, true worship involves feeding the hungry, freeing the oppressed, and providing shelter for the homeless. There is nothing wrong with that first set of actions, but they will not bring us into a relationship with God unless we are doing the second set. Our sins cut us off from God.
OK, changing direction here a bit. Isaiah was explaining to the people of Jerusalem why bad things were happening to them, even during King Hezekiah’s reign. When people are more concerned with what is in it for them than in what is fair and honest, bad things will happen. As I read Isaiah’s condemnation of the people to whom I speaks, I see parallels to our society today. They worship idols, constantly seeking out new and different idols to satisfy their cravings. They sacrifice their children and demand the right to call on others to sacrifice theirs. They redefine “good” and call those who call people to righteous behavior evil. People pay lip service to God while refusing to listen to His commands. Yet, for all of our sin and rejection of God, He still offers us healing and salvation.
I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I am going to be on vacation through August 10th. I have prepared my daily Bible Studies for each day throughout that time in advance since I will have limited access to the Internet during this time. The timing on when I publish these blogs may be erratic during this time.
I have always seen the portion of this passage about the messenger who brings good news (chapter 52 verses 7-12) separated from the portion about the suffering servant (starting with verse 13 and continuing through the next chapter). However, as I read today I saw that the suffering servant was also the messenger who brings good news (chapter 53, verse 1). His suffering made it possible for us to be healed. He bore our sins so that we could be counted as righteous.
I love reading this whole passage. It is incredibly powerful. We separate it into parts because the prophet includes so much that we cannot possibly cover it all at once. Chapter 54 tells us the results of the actions of God’s suffering servant, the Messiah. Then chapter 55 explains the message which God’s servant brought and why He brought it. Jesus has invited all to come and drink of the Water of Life. God’s thoughts are not like our thoughts. Stop trying to put Him in a box. Stop trying to take God’s words and use them for our ends. Isaiah tells us that God’s words accomplish God’s purpose, every time, all of the time. I just wrote that we should stop trying to use God’s words for our selfish ends. I meant that, but for our own sake, not for the sake of those who hear us. We are the ones who suffer for misusing God’s words. When we speak God’s words ,even if we have distorted them, they accomplish God’s purpose.
Isaiah tells us to be accepting of everyone who commits themselves to God, because God has already done so. God calls us to be just and fair to everyone, to always do what is right and good. If we reject any one who has committed themselves to God, we reject God. There was so much more I wanted to say about this passage, but it just is not coming out. Well, I wrote of how God’s words accomplish His purpose. So, read the words He gave the prophet Isaiah and see the power they possess.
I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I am going to be on vacation through August 10th. I have prepared my daily Bible Studies for each day throughout that time in advance since I will have limited access to the Internet during this time. The timing on when I publish these blogs may be erratic during this time.
Usually I am skeptical that God provides prophecies like that recorded here, where Isaiah calls out by name as the conqueror of Babylon a man who was not yet born when Isaiah died. However, this passage explicitly states that God is making a prophecy so that those who heard it could not doubt His power. No image or other god could have done what God did through Isaiah. God does not usually make such prophecies, but He is not bound to not do so. God does not usually give such specific information about the future, but that does not mean that He is unable to do so. Nor does it mean that He did not do so this time.
Chapter 49 contains another portion of Isaiah’s Messianic prophecy, but in some ways that portion applies to everyone who serves God. God called Jesus while He was still in the womb, but He has also called each and every one of us. First let us look at how more of this applies to Jesus. As an adult, He never traveled more than 100 miles from where He grew up. The movers and shakers of the world never heard of Him before His death. At the time He was crucified, it would seem as if His life amounted to nothing. Yet, His ministry brought God’s salvation to the ends of the Earth. Our work may seem useless. but God sees it differently.
