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.

    Today’s passage starts with a comforting command from God, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name, you are MINE.” (emphasis added) We belong to God. He has called each one of us by name. When we go through troubles, God will be with us. He does not promise that we will not face troubles, but when we do we can be sure that He will be at our side. We have been made for His glory and He claims us. This promise applies to all who claim Him as their God. Those who claim God as their God know that He alone is God. We have been chosen to know God, to believe in Him, and to know that He alone is God. He has chosen us and will blot out our sins. He has blotted out our sins. Let each of us proudly proclaim, “I belong to the Lord.”

    God alone is God. There is no other God. There is none like Him. Those who worship something, anything, other than God are fools. Isaiah gives us the example of those who worship objects which have been created. Whether the object is carved from wood or forged from metal, it has no more power than the wood we burn for fuel or the metal we shape to shovel our trash. However, the logic which Isaiah uses here can be applied to other things which people worship as well. Some people worship an organization, thinking that some organization can save them. Perhaps they think that it is the government, or maybe even a Church group. They recognize the failings of humankind, but somehow think that this or that organization made up of humans can redeem them from their lot. I will use those who worship the government as an example. They say that we need the government to save us because the people who run corporations are greedy and evil. They never see that the government is also composed of people. Why would I think that the people who run corporations are greedy and evil, but the people who run the government are not? Whenever we put our trust into something other than God, we run into the same issue. The government cannot save us. The Church cannot save us. Only God can save 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 39-42.

    The first thought came to me about what to write came when I read Isaiah 40:6-8. Here Isaiah reminds us that people are here for just a short period of time. They flourish and bloom, but soon wither and fade. But God’s words stand forever. This made me think about how our society wants to throw away the guidelines God gave us in favor of human guidelines. God’s rules and guidelines last forever. Those of mankind are just temporary. We hear people talk about “social justice”, “injustice”, and “inequity”. They claim that we need these new rules in order to address these things. However, you cannot have justice if the rules keep changing. Only by following the unchanging guidelines given to us by God can we attain justice and equality.
    Part of me thinks that the above is reading into the passage something which, while true, goes beyond what the prophet intended with what he wrote. Another part of me sees how that connects to the verses just before that which speak of a voice calling us to “Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!” The call for straightening the curves and smoothing out the rough places is a call to trim away the human distortions of God’s guidelines. Every generation adds addendum and clarifications to God’s guidelines to help others see how they apply. Over time we mistake those aids for the guidelines. When that happens we need to strip the human additions away and go back to what God actually told us. However, all too often people mistake the guidelines God has given us for the add-ons which humans created and try to live without those as well.

    Isaiah goes on to inform us that there is no one and nothing which can be compared to God. As a matter of fact, he is reminding us that by comparing God to people or things we often lose track of the directions He has given us. As I read this I was reminded of how images representing Jesus as a blue-eyed blonde has led some people to mistake European cultural norms for God’s directions and others to mistake God’s directions as merely European cultural norms. When we begin to think that God is more like us than He is like other people we have lost the story. While we should constantly strive to be more like God today than we were yesterday, we should never think that He will favor us over others. The fact of the matter is that the more we become like God, the more we want Him to favor others over 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 36-38.

    This is the third time I have read the account of the Assyrian invasion of Judah this year. There is an account in Kings, an account in Chronicles, and now this account in Isaiah. In each account when the envoy from the king of Assyria first talks to the officials sent from King Hezekiah to parlay with them he suggests that King Hezekiah cannot rely on God because Hezekiah had torn down the various shrines and forced everyone to worship God in Jerusalem. This initial message focused on the military weakness of Hezekiah’s army, the unreliability of Egypt as an ally, and suggested that the Assyrians had been called by God to invade and conquer Jerusalem. This strikes me as a reasonable position. One which misunderstood God’s commands for the Jewish people, but nonetheless respectful of God.

    However, when the officials requested that the Assyrians conduct the negotiations in secret, the Assyrian delegation’s arrogance took over. They revealed that their initial position claiming to be serving God was not one that they believed. Rather they believed that God was unable to stop them from doing as they pleased. They bragged about the fact that the gods of other nations had failed to stop them. From that they predicted that God would be unable to do so as well. The Assyrian delegation was called back to the King of Assyria and from there the King of Assyria needed to go face an Ethiopian army which had marched to challenge him. Before setting out, the King of Assyria sent Hezekiah a letter doubling down on the arrogance of his envoys. The King of Assyria proclaimed that he had the power to do whatever he pleased, no matter what God might do.

    King Hezekiah’s response to the Assyrian boasts was to turn to God through the prophet Isaiah (and directly by prayer). Hezekiah acknowledged Assyria’s power, but declared his faith that the God of Israel was different from the gods of other nations. Through Isaiah God sent word that the Assyrians would never again threaten Jerusalem. Isaiah prophesied that the King of Assyria would return home from his current battle with no more conquests and die without ever marching forth from his capital again. The Assyrians were confident that no army on earth at that time could defeat them and that no defensive fortifications could stop them. They were probably right, but their mistake was in thinking that God would need to raise an army to defeat them. This mistake has been repeated throughout history. Time and again people believe that evil must be stopped by human agency and become depressed because no human agency seems capable of doing so. In this account we learn that God is not dependent upon human action to bring about His will. The Assyrians were correct, no power on earth could stand against their army. But God is not a “power on earth” and He showed that He had the ability to prevent them from executing their plans.

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 32-35.

    I was struck at the beginning of this by a couple of things. Isaiah says that the time is coming when everyone with eyes will be able to see the truth and those with ears will be able to hear it. At first I thought, “Well, he didn’t day they would see or hear. Only that they would be able to do so.” However, he immediately followed that by saying that even the hotheaded would be full of sense and understanding. The thing which really struck me was when he said that in that day ungodly fools will not be considered heroes and scoundrels will not be respected. When I read this last bit it occurred to me that maybe this was as much a condemnation of current society as it was a prediction of some future time.
    A righteous King HAS come and those who wish are able to see and hear the truth. But there are still those in our society who respect scoundrels and hold up ungodly fools as heroes. Isaiah reminds us why we should not respect scoundrels or hold ungodly fools as heroes. Scoundrels lie to convict the poor, even when the poor are innocent. Isaiah is telling us something important there. When caught lying, scoundrels will try to convince us that they did so in the cause of justice, but Isaiah reminds us that those who will lie to convict the guilty will have no qualms about lying to convict the innocent. Once you start lying to accomplish your goals, your goals no longer include discovering and revealing the truth. As for ungodly fools, they make evil plans.

    Later, Isaiah prophesies of a time of economic turmoil. A time when the godless will cry out that no one can keep a business going or even make a living. Isaiah tells us that those who are honest and fair will not find this time troubling. Only those who attempt to profit from fraud and deceit will suffer. The key here is that those latter will be so few that there will indeed be a great economic calamity. This prophecy gives us a guideline to avoid economic turmoil and to survive it when it comes. Those who try to game the system to get rich, who seek to manipulate others to their own advantage, and the disadvantage of those others, hasten the day of economic turmoil. When that day comes, those who took part in the deceit will suffer the most. Those who dealt honestly and fairly will pass through it practically unharmed.

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 29-31.

    Isaiah tells us that his vision is like a sealed book to the people of this world. What he says here applies to the Bible as a whole. The people who reject God fall into two categories. Those who read the Bible a little bit, but say that they cannot understand it because it is confusing and contradictory. And those who do not read it at all because they have been told that they will not be able to understand it. Some of the people who say these things claim to obey God. They have made up their own rules, or adopted those made up by others, rather than following those given to us by God. Time and again, God surprises such people by the things He does. The “wise” tell us that such things will not happen. The intelligent and knowledgeable tell us that such things cannot happen. Then, when these things do happen, they tell us that they do not mean that God caused them to happen.

    These same people plan evil things in secret, thinking that no one will ever know and that they can continue to portray themselves as righteous. Despite their failure to understand what God said was coming, they think that they are smarter and wiser than those who understood God’s words. They think that by planning in secret they can bring about results contrary to God’s intentions. Rather than seek to discover what God desires, they make their plans on their own. When they are told that what they are doing is not right, they respond, “Shut up!” They tell those who talk about the will of God that they are stupid and foolish. Instead of trusting in God and His will, they trust in their ability to shut up those who reveal their corruption.

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 26-28.

    God does what is right. He eases the path for those who are righteous and put their trust in Him. Isaiah tells us that those who trust in the Lord will follow His commands. The wicked do not learn to do right, not from the kindness of God, the example of others, not even from the threat of God’s judgment. Eventually God’s patience will run out and He will no longer protect the wicked from the consequences of their actions. I do not think what I just wrote is completely coherent. I was hoping that as I wrote it would come together, but it did not. In particular I was hoping I would find a way to connect the previous thoughts on the passage to the next.
    There is a connection. The prophet Isaiah managed to transition between them. Those who strive to serve the Lord will endure agony as they witness the pain of those oppressed by evil. As we seek the Lord, we suffer and squirm but seem to accomplish nothing. We cannot bring salvation to the earth, but if we die in the Lord we will rise again. As I wrote this I remembered a column I read awhile back about a woman who served in the Peace Corps and later worked with the Missionaries of Charity (the Catholic Order founded by Mother Teresa). She said that the Peace Corps compared poorly to the Missionaries of Charity. The former was composed of idealistic young people determined to save the world, who nevertheless embodied some of the most venal aspects of human nature. The latter, she said, was composed of wonderful, kind people. They had no interest in saving the world because they knew that Someone else had already done that. In many ways that is what Isaiah is talking about. Our call to do good in the world is not a call to save the world. God has taken care of that Himself. Our call is to trust in Him and follow His commands.

    In Chapter 28, Isaiah speaks about wealthy and powerful people who think that they can use their power and wealth to avoid the coming destruction. Isaiah tells them that God has set His own standard for withstanding the coming destruction. The deal of these movers and shakers was based on deception, so it will not stand against the coming flood. As I read this I was reminded of several articles I have read recently which talked about how the technology elites of the world are seeking to figure out how they can avoid the disaster they see coming. They foresee the breakdown of our current civilization from one or more of several causes and they are seeking an exit hatch to escape the misery which most people will experience. The answer to them is the one which Isaiah gave the elites of Jerusalem. Those who believe on the Foundation Stone which God has laid in Jerusalem will not be shaken by the coming flood. But those who think that they can make a private deal with death will be overwhelmed and trampled. These elites are correct about the coming disaster, but trust in God, and the obedience which goes with it, is the only place of safety.

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 22-25.

    In today’s passage Isaiah writes “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” This is often used by people to justify a party lifestyle by people who don’t actually know the Bible. As you can see from this passage, Isaiah is actually doing exactly the opposite of encouraging a party lifestyle. He is condemning it. He puts these words in the mouth of people who, rather than mourn and turn to God, chose to party it up in the face of disaster.

    One could easily read this passage as a condemnation of preparing for disaster. In condemning the people of Jerusalem, Isaiah cites the preparations they made for a coming siege, I am not sure if this is a description of something which actually happened, or if Isaiah was speaking figuratively. In either case, Isaiah’s condemnation is not for those preparations. Isaiah condemned them for making those preparations but not spending any time seeking God. Even his condemnation of their attitude of “eat, drink, and be merry” is more about what they did not do than what they did do. God had sent troubles their way to call them back to Himself, but He never crossed their minds, not even in the face of death. This passage should be considered in light of what I wrote about yesterday. When we face apparent doom, if we turn from our sins and call on God, He may make that doom disappear overnight.

    The city of Tyre was confident that they could withstand invaders because of their geographic location. Tyre was situated on an island and the city took up all of the island. In addition, they had a powerful fleet of ships and a good harbor, which made it hard for other nations to blockade them. Isaiah prophesied that despite their geographical security they would fall when God chose for that to happen. Indeed Tyre fell to Alexander the Great some years later. Both nations and individuals should heed this lesson. No matter what natural advantages we may have, God is the ruler of history and can destroy us when He chooses.

    Chapter 24 describes devastation which falls on the entire earth as a result of man’s sinfulness. As I read it, I imagined an ecological disaster, which is certainly consistent with what I have seen of societies where evil dominates. This passage does not call those who serve God to be “concerned for the environment”, not that caring for the environment is a bad thing in and of itself. However, my observation is that, in general, those who have no concern for doing God’s will have little understanding of the impact of their actions on others or on the world around them. Often times, they do not even understand the impact of their actions on themselves. When I started this I intended to write more about the connection between evil and environmental destruction, but I realized that my thoughts on this require their own entry. The last point I want to make is to point out that the philosophy of “eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die” leads one towards actions which are environmentally destructive.

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 17-21.

    In today’s passage Isaiah prophesies that many nations will face disaster and defeat in order for them to be drawn to God. In particular, he focuses on Israel’s fall from its days of glory. People will continue to worship idols and things which they have made until they face total destruction. Only then will they turn to God. The land will become desolate because of the sins of the people. Yet, before going on to prophesy about how other nations will be brought low before they turn to God, Isaiah includes an interesting prophecy. One which applies more often than we realize.

    In Isaiah 17:14, the prophet writes something we should pay close attention to when life is at its darkest. In the prophecy, Isaiah tells us that in the evening when they go to bed the people of Israel will be terrified by what it appears that the next day will bring, but when dawn arrives their problems will be gone. God will often work the same way for us. Our problems may seem overwhelming one day and be completely gone the next. It may seem to us that our problems cannot be solved, that come the morrow we will drown in them, but if we put our trust in God, He will surely rescue us. How that rescue will come about none of us can know in advance. Perhaps all of those who threatened us will die, as in this prophecy. Perhaps the problems will be solved in other ways. Or, perhaps we will wake up in the morning and realize that what frightened us the night before is not a threat after all. Instead of worrying about our problems we will be better served by trusting God and praising Him for what He has done for us, even when we don’t yet know what that is.

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 13-16.

    I was reading Isaiah’s prophecy about the fall of Babylon, a kingdom which had not yet risen to power when Isaiah prophesied, when it struck me that this prophecy resembles World War II and its outcomes. In declaring the fall of Babylon, Isaiah states that God will punish the world for its evil, not just Babylon. Then later, in Chapter 14, Isaiah declares that the nations of the world will help Israel return to its land. During World War II all of the nations of the world suffered the ravages of war to one degree or another. Then after the war, the nations of the world joined together to create the modern nation of Israel.

    I do not mean to say, exactly, that Isaiah was prophesying about World War II. Rather, I am pointing out that Isaiah’s prophecy about Babylon contains warnings beyond just that event. When any nation rises up and its people believe that their power will allow them to defy God, God will bring judgment against them. Why did the entire world suffer with the fall of Babylon? Because, in some ways, the leaders of the rest of the world were complicit in Babylon’s sins. I do not know the details regarding Babylon, but let us look at World War II. The leaders of most of the world knew what the Nazis were doing in Germany, perhaps not the death chambers, but certainly the ostracizing of the Jews and other groups which led to them. Those leaders approved and admired Germany for this. It was not just the leaders either. Many of the people of the nations also admired and approved of what Germany was doing (again, not the death chambers, just the actions which were precursors to them). When the people of the world begin to approve of the dehumanization of certain groups, it is only a matter of time until God pours out His judgment on the earth, and it will not be long.

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.

    Much of today’s passage is a proclamation of hope in the coming Messiah. When Isaiah speaks of the people who walk in darkness seeing a great light he is referring not just to when Jesus walked the earth. He is referring to the times throughout history when society has forgotten God. This prophecy gives me hope for our society today. So many people today are walking in darkness, but God will reveal Himself once more and they will see His light. Perhaps I am being called to facilitate that revelation, perhaps you are.

    However, the revelation of that light will come with the pouring out of God’s judgment. He will cut off the head and the tail of society. He will do so because wickedness and hypocrisy has spread to all parts of society. The political and religious leaders have become wicked and hypocritical. The common members of society have joined in the wickedness. Even the poor and oppressed seek to take advantage of their fellows. Isaiah makes it clear that while God will bring judgment against such people, their wicked behavior will start the fire which consumes them.

    God will use the wicked to bring judgment upon the wicked. But then the arrogance and pride of those God used will turn against them. They will believe their rise is a result of their own power and their pride will consume them. In that day, those who are faithful to the Lord, who put their trust in God rather than man, will rejoice. Christ will rule in the land and the people will express His love everywhere.