Today, I am reading and commenting on  Isaiah 5-8.

Usually when I read this passage I am struck by God’s call to Isaiah, and Isaiah’s response.  I feel called and I feel the need to encourage others to feel called.  However, today the message which God gave Isaiah to deliver had more impact on me.  When Isaiah accepted God’s call to deliver God’s message, God gave him this message to deliver:

“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
    be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’

While this was worded as a command being given, it is really more of a prophecy.  The targets of this message are those about whom Isaiah said this in the previous chapter:

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.

I am not sure that it ever struck me before, but three of the four kings under whom Isaiah prophesied are considered among the good kings of Judah, among the kings who “did right in the eyes of God.”  Nevertheless, Isaiah prophesied that God found their sacrifices meaningless and their worship assemblies worthless.  It seems to me when I read today’s passage that Isaiah was talking to the people during the reigns of those good kings with what he was saying here.  The message here is that the people of Judah did not do evil because they had evil kings.  They had evil kings because they did evil.

As I read this and think about how it applies today, I am struck by how many people use this passage to attack others rather than doing what it says.  When Isaiah says “Defend the oppressed,” he is not referring to some anonymous group of people.  He didn’t mean stand up for “sex workers”, he meant defend that prostitute whose pimp beats her when she doesn’t bring back enough money.  When he said, “take up the cause of the fatherless”, he meant, be a role model for the boy down the street whose father is not around, for whatever reason.  Of course, and this is the part that is hard for me and strikes me, in all of this he also meant, don’t buy the least expensive brand, if that brand was made by slave labor in some foreign country.

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 64-66.

Isaiah tells us that God welcomes those who gladly do good, but that we are not godly.  We are constant sinners, every one of us.  We call to God for help, but not really.  God stands ready to respond, but no one actually asks for His help.  Instead of asking God to transform us into godly people whom He can bless, we ask Him to accept our sinfulness as righteous.  We do things which God has declared as detestable, then tell others not to get too close to us because they might defile us.

This passage reminded me of the news around us.  There are people who will beat someone up for not wearing a mask in public, and others who will beat someone up for asking them to wear a mask.  Both think they are more righteous than the other.  But Isaiah tells us that those whom God will bless are those with a humble and contrite heart.  If you think that you are holier, more righteous, better than others, you just haven’t been listening when God speaks.  There is more in this passage I would like to write about, but doing so would dilute that message.  I will come before God with a humble and contrite heart.  I am not better than you, or anyone else.  I am but a sinner whose only redeeming features come from the grace of God.

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 60-63.

There are three thoughts I want to emphasize in today’s passage.  I am hoping I can write about them in a way which shows how they are connected in my mind.  So, I will begin with the beginning of chapter 61, which Jesus quoted and said that He fulfilled.  Jesus certainly fulfilled that prophecy, but there is a way in which each of us should also be a fulfillment of this prophecy.  The Spirit of the Lord, the Sovereign Lord, should be upon us.  For God has certainly anointed those who choose to imitate Christ to bring good news to the poor.  The captives will be freed if they choose to accept the salvation which God offers.

But there is more to this passage than just good news.  The time of the Lord’s favor for those who worship Him will also be the day of His anger against His enemies.  We get to choose which group we wish to be in.  Chapter 63 verse 3 says the following:

I have been treading the winepress alone;
no one was there to help me.
In my anger I have trampled my enemies
as if they were grapes.
In my fury I have trampled my foes.
Their blood has stained my clothes.

This reminds me of the first verse of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”.  The writer of that song saw the horrors of the American Civil War as a fulfillment of chapter 63, and I would not disagree with them.  There are some who think she was implying that the Union Army was acting as God’s agent in bringing judgement against the Confederacy.  My take on the lyrics, and on this passage, is that both sides in that conflict were suffering God’s judgement in that horrible war.  Let us pray that we do not live to be on the receiving end of God’s judgement in a similar manner.  God rose up to avenge those who had been oppressed.  He will do so again, and when He does the suffering will be immense.

Which brings me to the third point I wanted to discuss.  In between the two passages I have discussed so far, Isaiah writes that he cannot stop praying for Zion, Jerusalem, because he loves her so much.   He writes that he cannot remain silent and will not stop praying.  But what does he pray for?  He prays that Zion’s righteousness will shine like the dawn.  We should do likewise for the land in which we live.  Let us pray that the people we live among will turn to God and accept His salvation. That they will allow His Spirit to come upon them and shine through them.  However, before that can happen we must allow the righteousness which comes from God’s Spirit to shine through us.  Let us choose to pray that God’s Spirit will come upon us and shine through us.  And then let us pray that God’s Spirit will transform us, and those around us, so that He does not need to come down in His wrath upon our neighbors and ourselves.

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 57-59.

Isaiah condemns those who mock both God and those who worship Him while worshiping their idols with great passion.  I see a connection with those in today’s society who have made a sacrament out of abortion while laughing at those who follow the traditional practices of Christianity.  Isaiah refers to how they keep seeking after new and different idols, yet refuse to consider God when their idols fail them.  And yet I also see a warning to those who have continued to worship God when Isaiah tells us to clear the road for their return.  We must seek out what obstacles we have placed in the way of those who may turn back to God.  Each of us must examine our lives to see if there is something we have done, or are doing, which presents an obstacle to others turning back to God.  If we find such a thing in our lives, we must immediately remove it, we must humbly seek God and change so that He can call the sinners back to Himself.

We must examine ourselves to see if we are the ones to whom Isaiah is referring when he talks of those who act pious, but are not.  When we follow the traditional practices of Christians, are we doing so in order to serve God?  Or, are we merely putting on a show for those around us?  Do we do the things which God commands in order to demonstrate God’s love? Or, are we seeking to be honored by others?  Rather than seeking honor for our piety, let us be humble and contrite about our sins.  Then, and only then, God will forgive us, welcome us, and bless us.

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 52-56.

I love today’s passage.  It contains many elements which are preached and written about often, but usually as individual themes.  For me we start with verses which declare praise to God, and to God’s messenger.  How lovely are those who bring the news that God reigns!  That transitions right into what is often called the “Suffering Servant” prophecy, a prophecy which is an amazingly close portrayal of Jesus’ trial, execution, and burial.  Isaiah describes how He was unjustly condemned by everyone, including us.  Isaiah described how His guilt was assumed by those who were truly guilty of the sins of which He was accused should serve as an object lesson for us.  Isaiah is describing a phenomena known as projection, wherein someone sees someone else as being guilty of the wrongs which they themselves have committed.

I am not quite sure how the verses between Isaiah’s description of the Suffering Servant and his description of God’s bounty in Chapter 55 connects to those two sections, but its placement means that it is connected.  We start today’s passage with the messenger and then in Chapter 55 we have the message: “Come and drink, even if you have no money!”  God invites everyone to come and enjoy His bounty.  And this is where it gets complicated.  God’s thoughts are not like our thoughts, so we should not be surprised that we do not understand what He is doing.  However, we can be sure that God’s words will accomplish what He intends.  It will not fail to produce the fruit which God sent it forth to produce.  Share God’s love with those around you, even when you don’t understand why you should.  Share the words God gives you, even when you do not understand what they mean.  One of the things Isaiah says here is both a message we should heed and a message we should share: Seek the Lord while He can be found.  The time is coming when we will no longer have that opportunity.

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 48-51.

Today’s passage contains a Messianic prophecy, much of it can be seen as applying to Jesus.  However, elements of it may apply to Cyrus the Persian and other elements could apply to Isaiah himself.  And in some ways this prophecy contains directions for those who choose to follow the Messiah.  The place I want to start at in this is chapter 49 verse 4:

But my work seems so useless!
I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.
Yet I leave it all in the Lord’s hand;
I will trust God for my reward.

My first thought on that is that it seems so accurately to sum up Jesus’ ministry on earth.  He spent three years teaching, never traveled more than 100 miles from where He grew up, and left behind a few hundred followers, at most.  Yet, 100 years later His name was spoken and His teachings followed as far away as India, Ethiopia, and Spain by large numbers of people.  In a similar way, we should not view our success or failure by how rich or influential we become in our lifetime.  Let us do as God teaches us and follow the paths to which He leads us, then leave the results to God.

Later, Isaiah tells us that God’s Law will be proclaimed and His Justice will become a light to all nations.  If we have allowed God to teach us right from wrong we need not fear the scorn of others.  If we determine to do His will we will not be disgraced.

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 43-47.

In yesterday’s passage, Isaiah declared that God, and God alone, was able to tell us what would happen in the distant future.  In today’s passage Isaiah predicts the return of the descendants of Jacob to Jerusalem and the surrounding lands.  They would be brought back to the land which God promised their ancestors from the ends of the earth.  Certainly, this prophecy was fulfilled when the Exiles returned under Cyrus and his successors.  Yet, my impression is that only a small percentage of the Jews living throughout the world returned during that time.  The Book of Esther recounts large communities living in many cities throughout the Persian Empire.  But today we see what appears to be a different story.  There are only a few nations outside of modern Israel with large Jewish populations.  Who would have predicted that 200 years ago on any basis other than a belief that this prophecy would come true once again?

Isaiah tells us that Cyrus was God’s chosen one even though Cyrus did not know who God was. God used Cyrus despite the fact that Cyrus did not worship Him, or even acknowledge His existence.  God used Cyrus for His own purposes.  Isaiah tells us that God acted despite the failure of the people of Israel to ask for His help.  Further Isaiah tells us that God will bring this same salvation to all of the people of the world.  God will do all of these things so that we may know that He is God, and there is none other like Him.  God declared these things before the entire world for all to see.  God does not issue His commands and prophecies in secret to a select few.  He declares them for all to see and know.  The Lord wants everyone to know that He is God and there is none other like Him.

I want to add on that this passage can be hard to read, but it is worth the effort.  There are many other points made here than I can cover in this short blog.

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 39-42.

The verse where Isaiah refers to a voice crying to make a straight path through the wilderness for the Lord is a prophecy which John the Baptist applied to himself.  However, it is part of a command for us.  We too should be shouting for all the world to hear that God is coming, both as Savior and as Judge.  He will provide water to the needy in a parched land.  He will also confuse and humiliate those who oppose and oppress His people.  Let us not be afraid to tell people that God is coming, both as an invitation and as a warning: a warning to the wicked, an invitation to the weak and lonely.  And remember that for most people our announcement should be both a warning and an invitation.

Further, our announcement should server to show people that God is different from the gods made by humans.  God is not just an idea which people created to ease their fear of the dark and unknown.  God revealed long ago many things which have since happened, and has revealed things which are still to come.  He shows His power so that we can know that He is real.

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 36-38.

This is the third account of the Assyrian invasion of Judah which we read in the Bible.  All three accounts contain the same elements. I love reading this story again despite having written about it twice already this year.  Ultimately, the story boils down to the Assyrians telling the people of Jerusalem that nothing can save them from the Assyrians; King Hezekiah could not even find enough men to mount the King of Assyria’s spare warhorses.  As for God saving them, don’t be ridiculous, had any other nation’s gods been able to save them?  There was nothing the people of Jerusalem and Judah could do, they might as well surrender!

How often have we found ourselves in such a situation?  There is nothing within our power that can get us out of a terrible situation and no one to whom we can turn.  But that is exactly the situation in which God shows His power.  There existed no power on earth which could stop the King of Assyria from conquering Jerusalem.  Yet, Isaiah told King Hezekiah that not only would the King of Assyria not conquer Jerusalem, he would not even lay siege to it.  So, what happened?  Something went through the Assyrian camp and killed a large part of the Assyrian army in a single night and the King of Assyria marched home without laying siege to Jerusalem.  King Hezekiah turned to God in his time of trouble, when he had no earthly hope of avoiding defeat.  When you know that you cannot do it on your own, turn to God and He will rescue you.