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

I am not quite sure how this fits together as the prophet wrote it, but I am going to write about it as it struck me today,  While prophesying the fall of Damascus, Isaiah also prophesies that the people of Israel will become relatively few in number.  He uses the metaphor of the few olives which the harvesters leave on the tree as too much work to retrieve.  Isaiah writes that this will happen because the people have forgotten their savior, God.  He tells us that as a result of forgetting God we will plant the finest plants and care for them until they start to bear fruit, but, in the end, we will harvest nothing.  This is where I start to wonder if I am following the prophet’s thinking or not.  He goes on to write that nations will rage, and people will roar against God, and those faithful to God. Those raging and roaring will strike terror in the hearts of many, but suddenly they will be gone.  As I read this, those who remain faithful will be as the gleanings after the harvest.  The wicked will terrorize them for a short moment as night falls, but then, with the dawning of a new day, those who terrorized them will be gone as if they had never been.  The result will be that people from many lands, people who had no knowledge of God, or, perhaps were His enemies, will come to worship and serve Him.

You have forgotten God your Savior;

I use 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 starts with a prophecy against Babylon, a nation which was just rising to some level of power while Isaiah prophesied.  Early in this prophecy Isaiah tells his reader to wail because the day of the Lord is near.  As Christians we often want to rejoice that the day of the Lord will soon come, but Isaiah tells us to dread that day because there will be so much suffering.  Interestingly, Isaiah says that, on that day, God will make people scarcer than pure gold (NOTE: I do not believe that Isaiah is speaking a single 24 hour period, but rather an unspecified period of time which could be months or years long).  I find that interesting because I have recently been reading articles about things said by members of the World Economic Forum, a group of wealthy elites from around the world, where they spoke of changing the world to have less than a billion people (currently there are over 7 billion people in the world).  Isaiah’s prophecy here could be taken as predicting that such a population will result from “the day of the Lord”.  Isaiah writes that no one will enjoy the process of getting to that state.  In fact, he wrote earlier in this Book that we should dread that day.  Here, as he discusses the arrival of the day of the Lord, he writes that God will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their sins.  So, those seeking to bring about the day when “people are scarcer than pure gold,’ should worry about the suffering they themselves may suffer getting there.  I want to make the point that those in positions of power who seek to create a utopian world either fail to recognize the suffering necessary to create the world they envision, or they think they will be exempt from that suffering.  In either case they are fools, but in the latter case they are badly mistaken.  Further, as Isaiah tells us, the world they desire will not be the utopia they imagine.  Isaiah, and all of the Old Testament prophets who speak on the issue, tells us that the only way to utopia is for mankind to follow God’s commands.

I want to make one final point.  What I have written above is depressing because it says that we will all suffer in the coming day of the Lord.  However, in this passage Isaiah writes that God will have compassion on Jacob (the people of Israel) and those who unite with them.  Elsewhere, Isaiah offers comfort to those who seek to honor and obey God.   So, on the one hand, God has promised deliverance to the faithful on His Day, but we should still dread that day because of the suffering which many will suffer.  We should examine our lives to see that we live righteously so as to be eligible for God’s offered relief, and dread the suffering which those we care about may experience because they have failed to do likewise (and the suffering we may experience if we fail to do so).

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 5-8.

I want to start off today by repeating that three of the four kings who reigned while Isaiah prophesied were listed elsewhere as kings who did what was right in the eyes of God.  In today’s passage Isaiah condemns those who buy up property so as to live remote from their neighbors.  That seems to be a condemnation aimed at others, but he goes on from there to write that those of high rank will die of hunger and the common people will be parched with thirst.  That suggests that his “woe” applies to more than just the people with three or more mansions, perhaps it even applies to me, who has a house in the suburbs.  Then we come to the one we should all be worried about: woe to those who are anxious for God’s day of judgement to arrive.  Isaiah transitions from that to condemning those who call evil good and good evil, as if he is linking them together.  He goes on to warn against thinking that we are wise, or clever.  Let us seek justice for the innocent.  Let us strive to recognize our sins and repent of them.

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

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

Last year when I wrote about this passage I noted that three of the four kings under whom Isaiah prophesied are recorded as “doing what was right in the eyes of God.”  Nevertheless, Isaiah prophesied woe against a sinful nation.  In particular, Isaiah prophesies against people who were making offerings to the Lord, people who claimed to be doing as God commanded.  Isaiah condemned their offerings and their righteous assemblies, even though they followed the letter of God’s law in doing these things.  Often when I read the prophecies of the Old Testament prophets I see them condemning a society which sacrifices its children, practices sexual promiscuity, and rejects God.  In today’s passage, Isaiah was condemning those who thought they were serving God.  He warns that we have brought disaster upon ourselves by parading our sins for all to see.  Isaiah tells us to seek justice, defend the oppressed, take up the cause of the fatherless, and plead the case of the widow.  First, I want to point out that many of those protesting in the streets today fail to fulfill what Isaiah commands because they put themselves in the place of those for whom Isaiah says we should advocate (this isn’t about advocating for yourself).  Second, when Isaiah says to defend the oppressed, he is not referring to some anonymous group.  No, he means defend specific people who are oppressed, people who you know by name.  You cannot address any of these issues in general, you must find specific cases and do what is in your power to make them right.  That means giving food to a hungry person, paying the heating bill for someone who might otherwise be cold.   Or, to put this another way: if you don’t feel called out by this passage, you are one of the people Isaiah is condemning (if you DO feel called out by this passage, you may be one of the people whom Isaiah is condemning but you are on track to receive the forgiveness he promises that God has for those who turn to Him).

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

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

Since I am going to be on vacation from July 31-August 9 I have already written my blog posts for these days and scheduled them to be posted.  However, I may not be able to post a link to them on FaceBook, Gab.com, or MeWe.com during every day (or any day) during this time period.  So, please continue to visit my site to read my daily devotional.

Yet another day where I am not quite sure what I am going to write.  So, I will just start writing the thoughts which I have and see where that leads me.  Isaiah asks how can we be saved when all of us are unclean and our righteous acts are filthy rags.   God answers Isaiah’s question by telling us that He revealed Himself to those who did not ask for Him and was found by those who did not seek Him.  But God also condemns those who hold themselves better than others while wallowing in sin.  Of those he says:

“I called but you did not answer,
    I spoke but you did not listen.
You did evil in my sight
    and chose what displeases me.”

Instead let us humbly throw ourselves upon God’s mercy, for He tells us:

“These are the ones I look on with favor:
    those who are humble and contrite in spirit,
    and who tremble at my word.”

I recognize that I am not worthy of God’s forgiveness, but He extends it to me anyway.  And, if He is willing to forgive me, surely He will forgive you.  Please understand, we should all take that attitude.  All anyone must do is recognize their own sinfulness and turn to God, asking Him to transform them into His likeness.

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.

Since I am going to be on vacation from July 31-August 9 I have already written my blog posts for these days and scheduled them to be posted.  However, I may not be able to post a link to them on FaceBook, Gab.com, or MeWe.com during every day (or any day) during this time period.  So, please continue to visit my site to read my daily devotional.

According to the Gospel of Luke when Jesus began His ministry in Nazareth, He read from Isaiah 61 and said that it was fulfilled in their hearing.  He stopped with the phrase, “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  However, rabbinic tradition was (and I believe still is) that to quote the beginning of a prophecy is to call out the entire passage.  Which is interesting because the sentence Jesus ended with concludes with “and the day of vengeance of our God.”  Now most of chapter 61 continues speaking about things related to the “year of the Lord’s favor”, and I believe that Jesus’ ministry was (and is) about God’s love and forgiveness.  However, I also believe that God’s vengeance against those who will not turn from evil, as described in chapter 63, goes along with His renewed offer of forgiveness.  Whenever I read this I am reminded of the song, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” (also known as “Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory”).  While some have said that the song glorifies the war making of the Union Army during the Civil War, I have always thought of the death and suffering experienced on both sides as examples of God “trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.”  The terrible suffering of the Civil War came about because of the grave sin of the way slavery was practiced in this country (I believe that many other countries are still suffering from the ways in which they practiced slavery).  I fear that a new day of such suffering will come upon this country when God pours out His wrath over the innocent blood which is shed in our abortion mills.  Let us fast and pray that God transform our society before that day comes.
I want to note that the passage tells us that it is but a day of God’s wrath with a year of His favor.

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.

Since I am going to be on vacation from July 31-August 9 I have already written my blog posts for these days and scheduled them to be posted.  However, I may not be able to post a link to them on FaceBook, Gab.com, or MeWe.com during every day (or any day) during this time period.  So, please continue to visit my site to read my daily devotional.

I wrote yesterday how I saw Isaiah’s writings as applying to our society today.  I see more of that in today’s passage.  The following passage seems to me to describe our society:

You burn with lust among the oaks
    and under every spreading tree;
you sacrifice your children in the ravines
    and under the overhanging crags.

I think the first part needs no further exposition.  In the past, I saw the way our society deals with abortion as being related to passage like the second part.  However, today I realized that there is much more to our society’s sacrifice of children then just abortion.  There is the way we encourage them to see themselves as sexual beings before they reach puberty.  There is the way in which we permanently alter their bodies on the basis of childhood fantasies. In seeing the ways in which our society fulfills this, let us not lose sight of the important part of this: all of this happens because we choose not to obey God.  Which leads me to one of the most hopeful passages in the Bible:

“I have seen their ways, but I will heal them;”

God will bring healing to those willing to repent of their sin.  Despite our knowing embrace of sin, God will pour out His Spirit upon us, inspiring us to turn from that sin to Him.  Let us call on God to do so for our society today.

Many people use what Isaiah says in Chapter 58 to argue their case.  There he writes of people who call on God while mistreating their fellow man, people who practice religious rituals but exploit their workers. Isaiah goes on to tell us that the religious practices which God truly desires is for us to share our food with the hungry and to provide shelter to the poor wanderers. However, many of those who appeal to this passage forget where he also tells us to do away with the pointing finger and the malicious talk.  More importantly, they do not follow what Isaiah tells us is the biggest problem in our society, “no one pleads a case with integrity.”  Too many, on every side of every issue, are willing to make their case by presenting misleading information.  We cannot have justice and righteousness unless we plead each case with integrity.

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.

Since I am going to be on vacation from July 31-August 9 I have already written my blog posts for these days and scheduled them to be posted.  However, I may not be able to post a link to them on FaceBook, Gab.com, or MeWe.com during every day (or any day) during this time period.  So, please continue to visit my site to read my daily devotional.

There is so much in this passage which I want to write about that it would go beyond the length I wish to keep these entries.  I will start at the beginning and see how far I get.  The beginning of this passage makes me think of some of what is going on today.  In Isaiah 52:5-6 the following is written:

“Why are my people enslaved again? Those who rule them shout in exultation. My name is blasphemed all day long.  But I will reveal my name to my people, and they will come to know its power. Then at last they will recognize that I am the one who speaks to them.”

I don’t want to go into too much detail, but it sure looks like the line “Mu name is blasphemed all day long” applies in our society today.   Yet God promises that He will reveal Himself and those who turn to Him will know His power.  To the point where people will see what they had not been told, and understand what they had not heard about.  We live in a society where the haves are getting more, while the have-nots are finding it harder to make ends meet.  And don’t mistake, many of those talking about this are the haves getting more at the expense of those who have little.  They talk a good game, but use it to exploit those over whom they have power.  Yet God’s faithful love will remain, even when the mountains move and the hills disappear.  God’s thoughts are not like our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways. Let us seek the Lord while we can find him and call on him now while he is near.  Do not be afraid to speak God’s word because it will accomplish all that He want it to.  Things may seem bad, and they may get worse, but God will bring His people home to Him.  Some of those He brings to Him will be those we consider foreign to Him.

Please read the passage.  When I read what I wrote above it does not convey what I tried to pull from the pasasge.

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.

Since I am going to be on vacation from July 31-August 9 I have already written my blog posts for these days and scheduled them to be posted.  However, I may not be able to post a link to them on FaceBook, Gab.com, or MeWe.com during every day (or any day) during this time period.  So, please continue to visit my site to read my daily devotional.

Once again, I am not sure how the points I want to make from this passage fit together. So, I will start writing about them and see where the Spirit leads me (and if it makes no sense whatsoever I suspect that means I did not truly listen to the Spirit of God as I wrote).

An important theme which appears throughout the Book of Isaiah (and the entire Bible, for that matter) is that God does not speak in secret. So, if someone claims to have secret knowledge of God, or of His will, they are lying.  God has not communicated secret messages to anyone (the only exceptions are the visions which a few prophets have seen and been told not to describe to anyone).  God speaks openly with mankind because He seeks to teach us what is best for us.  God is not like those who lie to us in order to get us to do what they believe is in our best interest.  God does not attempt to deceive us in to doing what He knows in our best interests, which gives us a hint as to whether those claiming to act in our best interests are actually doing so: those who are genuinely acting in our best interests have no reason to deceive us.

Isaiah’s prophecies concerning God speaking openly lead up to him prophesying about the coming Messiah.   God told Isaiah that He did this so that no one could claim that the Messiah was predicted by man made gods (although, as I pointed out the other day, they try to do anyway).  In his prophecy of the coming Messiah Isaiah “quotes” Him as saying, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all. Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,  and my reward is with my God.”  And if we look at Jesus’ life from a human perspective and only look at what He accomplished in His lifetime, it certainly looks like He had not accomplished much.  At the time of His death, Jesus had, at most, a few hundred followers in a backwater province of the Roman Empire.  And yet, what Isaiah wrote a few verses later is true of Him, “Kings will see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down,…”  Look at the history of the world since Jesus’ death and you will see how true that is of Him.

Before I was born the Lord called me;
    from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.

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