Today, I am reading and commenting on Isaiah 43-47.

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The prophecy which begins this passage is on its face for the people of Israel, but in verse seven it says that it applies to “everyone who is called by name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”  This means that it applies to everyone whom God has adopted as His sons and daughters, everyone whom God has grafted onto His vine.  It reminds me of Jesus prayer in John 17, where He prays for His disciples.  He asks the Father for many things for His disciples as He sends them into the world.  Then in verse 20, Jesus says, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,”  In both passages, God starts out making promises to a specific group of people, then He says that these promises apply to anyone willing to put their faith in Him, in anyone willing to be called by His name.

Now I want to go back to what He promises here.  God tells us that He created us, He formed us.  He tells us not to fear because He has redeemed us.  Whatever holds us captive must release us because God Himself has offered up the price necessary to redeem us.  I want to take a minute to expand on that.  We don’t really think about what the people who first heard this would have understood when Isaiah said that God redeemed us.  When someone in that society talked about redeeming someone they were talking about buying someone out of slavery.  The closest I can come to explaining what I understand the prophet to be saying here is this: Imagine someone walking onto a slave plantation in the pre-Civil War South of the United States, or into the slave markets of the Barbary Coast of North Africa in the late 1700s, pointing to a slave, and saying, “How much to let him (or her) go?  I will pay that price. Let them go.”  Then pointing to another slave and then another, until all of the slaves are free.  That is what God has done for us.  Actually, Isaiah says He has done more than that.  He walked into the slave market and called out each of our names.  He called us by name.   Then as we walked out of there, not sure if we would be re-enslaved by the slavers all around who had enslaved us in the first place, God said to us, “Fear not, I am with you.”  He said, ” They will not take you back into slavery because I am right here.  I am the one who redeemed you, and I am here.”

And as God brings each slave out of the market, He says to us whom He had previously freed, “Explain to them what I have given them.  You are my witnesses.”  He tells us that there is no god, no being, no thing which can enslave us again if we walk by His side.  God says that there is none who can deliver from His hand.  That is two sided.  Those who choose to oppose God will find that none can remove His hand of justice from them.  They will suffer God’s judgement.  And for those whom God has redeemed, there is none who can take them away from God.

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.

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I loved reading this aloud for my video this morning.  As Christians, we are very familiar with Isaiah 40:3-5 because John the Baptist refers to it in John 1:23 when the religious leaders of the time asked him who he was.  We see these three verses as being fulfilled in John the Baptists as he introduces Jesus.  However, we typically stop reading at verse five and miss the way in which verse six through eight continue that theme.  Verse six says “A voice says, ‘Cry!’  harkening back to verse three which said “A voice cries:”  Verses three through five tell us that we should make a path for God in the wilderness of our hearts because all flesh will see the glory of the Lord.  Then verse five ends by saying “the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”  Verses six through eight tell us that flesh quickly fades, but that the word of God will stand forever.

Actually, now that I have seen the connection between verses six through eight with John the Baptist announcing Jesus’ coming I see how the rest of today’s passage is a continuation of the prophecy which John the Baptist quoted.  In fact I think John the Baptist intended for his listeners to remember the whole prophecy.  Especially verse nine which says, “Go on up to a high mountain,
    O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
    O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
    lift it up, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah,
    ‘Behold your God!’”
John was the herald of good news telling the people of Israel to behold their God, who was, and is, Jesus.  Jesus is our God who came with might and who tends His flock like a shepherd.  Isaiah goes on to show how God is different from the idols which people worship.  He shows how all too often we worship things we have made rather than worshiping God.  Then he reminds us that if we put our trust in Jesus we need not fear, nor need we be dismayed because God will be with us and will strengthen and help us.  God will uphold 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 36-38.

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Every time I read an account of the messages which Sennacherib sends to Hezekiah I am struck by how it starts by suggesting that God would not help Hezekiah defend Jerusalem because he had removed the high places to worship God, then escalates to saying that God is not powerful enough to protect Jerusalem.  Let’s look at this a little closer.  When Sennacherib’s representative was initially talking to Hezekiah’s envoys, he warned against relying on Egypt, then he went on to question whether God would choose to support Hezekiah.  He further suggests that God had sent Sennacherib to conquer and destroy Jerusalem.  But when Hezekiah’s envoys asked him to speak in Aramaic rather than the language the common people of Jerusalem could understand, he called out that Sennacherib was stronger than any god, even stronger than God.  Gone was any claim that God would not defend Jerusalem because Hezekiah had limited where He could be worshiped.  Gone was the claim that God had called Sennacherib to come against Jerusalem.  Now he claimed that Hezekiah was attempting to deceive the people into believing that God could defend Jerusalem from the Assyrians.  Then we come to the message which Sennacherib sent to Hezekiah when he was forced to withdraw his siege of Libnah in order to face the army of Cush.  Sennacherib claimed that nothing could prevent him from conquering and destroying Jerusalem.  God said that Sennacherib would never even place Jerusalem under attack or even siege.  Looking at the events leading up to what happened here, one would be justified in thinking that Sennacherib knew what he was talking about.  There was nothing on the face of the earth which could prevent Sennacherib from doing as he wished to Jerusalem.  Yet. history records that Sennacherib returned to his capital without ever attacking Jerusalem.

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.

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Today’s passage begins with Isaiah telling us that a king will come and reign in righteousness.  He tells us that when that day comes the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed and the ears of those who hear will give attention.  This refers back to Isaiah 6 where God told the him to tell the people that they hear without understanding and see without perceiving, which is why they do not turn to God for healing.  Jesus told His disciples that He taught in parables as a reference to both that passage from Isaiah 6 and today’s passage.  Because they accepted the King to whom Isaiah refers in today’s passage their eyes were not closed and they gave attention to what they heard.  In chapter 6 Isaiah said that the people’s hearts were dull and did not understand.  Here he says that hasty hearts will understand and know.  My suspicion is that the Hebrew word translated as “dull” in chapter 6 and the Hebrew word translated here as “hasty” would have been understood by the original readers of this as antonyms, as opposites.  I think there is more to the connection between today’s passage and Jesus’ reference to chapter 6 (which then indirectly references this passage).  Here Isaiah says that “the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak distinctly.”  Jesus’ disciples were not men trained in oratory.  Yet they became public speakers who brought many to the Lord.  So, also, if we open our eyes to see what God is doing, and listen with our ears so that we understand what He is saying, we will find God putting words into our mouths and making us speak so that people will listen and hear what God has to say.

At the end of today’s passage it refers back to this same set of ideas from a different perspective.  Isaiah says that they shall see the glory of the Lord and then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf shall hear.  At the beginning of today’s passage it talked about how the fool will no longer be called noble and the scoundrel no longer honored.  I want to note that the Hebrew word translated as “fool” carries strong connotations of someone with no morals.  When Isaiah speaks of those who will see the glory of God he says that they will walk on a way which the unclean will not be able to trod, but that those who walk on it shall not go astray, not even if they are fools.  So, even those who lack morals shall be able to walk a just and clean life if they choose to follow the Way which Jesus has shown 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.

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I see several different themes in today’s passage.  I cannot think of how to tie them together.  So, I shall just write about the themes which stand out the most to me today.  The passage begins with a warning to those who fight against God and attack His people.  God tells them that they will think they are winning, but that their victory is nothing more than a dream, something which disappears when they awaken.  This prophecy is directed not so much at those who openly oppose God.  It is more so directed towards those who claim to be speaking on behalf of God while attempting to tear down those who strive to serve Him.  The prophet warns against those who claim to speak on God’s behalf but preach that which He does not say.  They say that they are seeking God and claim that they wish to bring honor to Him, but instead of listening to what He says they speak their own desires.  They claim that the Scripture is complex and difficult to understand, that the clear meaning of the words are not clear.  They think that by their words they can guide people away from God.  Yet God will act and do wonderful things.  He will bypass those who think they can act as gatekeepers to define what righteousness is.  God will draw people to Him despite what those who attempt to define righteousness in their own terms do and say.

The first part of this addresses those who present themselves as spiritual leaders, but obfuscate what God says.  Then the prophet turns to warn those who do not wish to hear what God has to say.  The prophet warns that if we silence those who tell us what God has to say, society will suddenly collapse.  He tells us that if we refuse to hear the warnings which God gives to His prophets, we will not recognize the warning signs that things are failing.  If we turn to God, listen to His word, and put our trust in Him, we will have strength to stand.  However, if we refuse to listen to God’s word and run before the disaster, the disaster will overtake us as we flee.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Isaiah 26-28.

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Near the beginning of today’s passage the writer says, “O Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone we bring to remembrance. They are dead, they will not live;”  Is the writer here referring to other gods?  Or, is he just referring to human rulers who have ruled over us?  In either case, let us remember that whoever may rule over us, whoever ruled over us in the past, of them all, only God will not die.  If we have served other gods in the past, let us remember that God has wiped out all remembrance of them if we serve Christ.  Do not revive them in your mind.

There is a lot more in this passage, but near the end the writer says something which I didn’t get when I read it in the past.  Perhaps what I am seeing today is not the point, but I will say how I take it today.  The writer mentions the different ways that a farmer sows different crops: dill is scattered, wheat is put in rows, barley is put in its place, and emmer is used as a border around it.  Then he speaks about how the different crops are treated after they are harvested.  One does not treat dill the same way one treats wheat, and cumin is treated in yet another way.  The writer thus tells us that God does not treat everyone the same because we are all different.  One person faces harsh circumstances as God tries to draw them to Him.  Another person God deals with gently so that they might turn to Him.  Just as each crop is dealt with differently by the farmer when he harvests it, so each person is dealt with differently by God when He draws them to Himself.  And we, as His servants, must deal with each person as an individual.  There is no one size fits all in ministering to the lost whom God desires us to bring 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 22-25.

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Isaiah spoke of all of the preparations the people of Jerusalem made to defend against the siege they saw coming.  Then he condemns them for having the foresight to make these preparations but not once turning to God.  He tells them that God had called them to weep and mourn, but instead of doing so they had chosen to feast and party.  I take this to heart to some degree.  I am facing a serious problem that will take God’s intervention.  Have I failed to sufficiently mourn my circumstances?  Have I failed to follow God’s desire that I weep for my state?  I have prayed to God about my circumstances, but should I have done more?  I will strive to turn further towards God and reduce the time I spend on distractions.

In today’s passage, Isaiah prophesies that Tyre will be laid ruin for seventy years.  I am not sure why I never noticed it before, but I noticed that there are multiple prophecies which speak of something going on for seventy years.  I know that in the Book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah prophesied that the Babylonian Exile would last for seventy years.  Throughout the Bible the number seventy is used to indicate that something is complete.  So, Isaiah’s prophecy here that Tyre would remain desolate for seventy years was not meant as a literal seventy years but rather as an indication that it would remain desolate until its time of desolation was complete.  I am not going to do more to interpret this prophecy, because I am not sure that is the point we should take from them.  Instead I just want to bring up the point that when the number seventy appears in the Bible the indication of completeness or fullness carries more significance than the actual number.  A couple of examples of this: In Genesis we are told that the number of Jacob’s family who settled in Egypt was seventy.  This does not mean that the count was seventy (although it may have been), rather it indicates that it was an entire, a complete, people who settled in Egypt for a time.  When Jesus sent out seventy disciples it represented the complete number of the nations of the earth.  In this case, I do believe it was actually seventy whom Jesus sent out, but I think He chose that number for its symbolism.

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

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

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Isaiah continues his prophecies concerning the downfall of nations of the world.  I was really struggling with what to write about this when I noticed that in the first of the prophecies in today’s passage he prophesies the fall of both Syria and Israel (the Northern Kingdom) together.  It reads as if they are a single nation.  Interestingly, he says that Jacob will be brought low, but a small number will remain.  In this prophecy he seems to use “Jacob” to refer to just the Northern Kingdom.  He speaks about how the remnant will look to God and not to the idols they had been worshiping.  We see that fulfilled during both King Hezekiah’s and King Josiah’s reign when they restored worship of God throughout all of the land which had been controlled by the Israelites.

I want to address an idea of which many Christians speak.  Christians often refer to the “Ten Lost Tribes of Israel”.  When they do so, they are referring to the ten tribes which we perceive as rebelling against Rehoboam.  People think that they disappeared from history when Assyria conquered the Northern Kingdom and took many of its people into captivity.  However, the biblical record indicates that many them had migrated from the Northern Kingdom to the Kingdom of Judah when Jeroboam implemented his religious practices.  Additionally, many of them responded to King Hezekiah’s religious reforms and many more responded to King Josiah’s religious reforms a few generations later.  So, we see that a significant number of the northern tribes were part of the Kingdom of Judah when Nebuchadnezzar took them into Exile.  The Ten Tribes were never lost.  Isaiah’s prophecy here speaks of this fact.

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.

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I’m not sure if I have a spiritual lesson from today’s passage, but I have some thoughts about the history that relates to it.  So, for a long time I wondered why the writer wrote about the fall of the Babylonian Empire and then about the fall of the Assyrian Empire which preceded the Babylonian Empire.  Or so I thought.  Over the last few years I have learned that the Babylonian Empire which is spoken about in biblical prophecy was a continuation of the Assyrian Empire where the capital of the Empire moved from Nineveh to Babylon.  A simple overview is that a member of the royal house of Assyria had been appointed governor of Babylon under the authority of the king of Assyria.  After the death of one of the kings of Assyria, the throne of Assyria became disputed, weakening the power of eventual successor.  The Assyrian governor of Babylon rebelled against the king, defeated him and began to rule over the Assyrian Empire from Babylon.  For various reasons the King of Babylon had to reconquer many of the subordinate lands, leading to the Bible generally presenting this as a new Empire.  Nevertheless this Babylonian Empire was really a continuation of the Assyrian Empire in much the same way that the Byzantine Empire was a continuation of the Roman Empire.  Which brings me back to today’s passage.  When Isaiah speaks of God breaking Assyria after he speaks of the fall of Babylon, he is doing so because Assyria did not completely fall until Babylon fell.

Now I come to the second interesting historical fact contained in today’s passage.  In his prophecy concerning Philistia, Isaiah tells them not to rejoice at the fall of Assyria because “from the serpent’s root will come forth an adder…”   This seems to me to be a reference to what I mentioned in the previous paragraph: Babylon was a successor state of, or continuation of, Assyria.  Babylon destroyed Philistia, and removed Philistia from history a few years before sacking Jerusalem and taking the people of Judah into Exile.  After its conquest, Philistia and the Philistines disappeared from history, but, just as Isaiah prophesied here, Israel and the Israelites remained and was rebuilt.

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.

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When I read in the beginning of today’s passage that the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light I imagine a place which is dark like a cave* and suddenly a bright light springs forth from a man (I admit I am influenced in forming that image by the Christian interpretation applying this passage to Jesus) illuminating a large area where many people had been stumbling around.  *By the way, if you have never been in a cave with no lights, it is an amazing experience.  I imagine those whose only experience of light was of candlelight, torchlight, or firelight suddenly seeing the sun.  I think that is a great metaphor for when one first experiences a relationship with Jesus.

I realized as I move forward to my next thought on today’s passage that my thoughts about it are somewhat scattered.  Isaiah goes on to speak of those who plan to rebuild better after their neglect has led to the collapse of what those before them had built without ever once turning to God.  They do not even recognize that the buildings collapsed through their neglect of God’s commands.  They do not ask God for guidance on how to rebuild.  Instead, they fight one another for power, as the land falls apart around them.  They take advantage of those too weak to protect themselves and deny justice to those who cannot give them advantage.  If they do not turn to the Lord, the wealth and power they thought would protect them will be completely lost to them.  Once God has struck them down, He will raise up the One who will judge with righteousness, who will lead the predator to give up predation and live at peace with the prey.  All shall have knowledge of the Lord and serve Him.

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