Today, I am reading and commenting on  Isaiah 52-56.

Isaiah prophesies God’s salvation for His people.  It is time for God’s people to awake and give glory to God.  He foretold what is to come and all people will see His power.  God gave Isaiah a prophecy about the fall of Babylon before Babylon had even risen to be a world power.  What Isaiah did would be comparable to someone today predicting that China would be overthrown as the world power by India.  But more important than Isaiah’s prophecy concerning Babylon is his prophecy concerning God’s Chosen One, concerning the Gospel of Christ.  Isaiah prophesied that He would be cut off from life, yet after He had suffered He would see the light of life.  Further, Isaiah writes that by knowledge of Him (the translation note for Isaiah 53:11 offers this as an alternate translation…I think they chose to translate it the way they did because it is better poetry) many will be justified.  Jesus poured out His life unto death, but after He suffered He was raised from the dead to see the light of life once more.  Isaiah promises us that no weapon forged against God’s people will prevail, and those who listen to the words of God will refute every one that accuses them.  Isaiah tells us that God is calling to those who hunger and thirst to come to Him and listen to His words.  If they listen and act upon what they hear, their hunger and thirst will be satisfied.  Certainly, we are to understand that to refer to spiritual food and drink for those who hunger and thirst for what is right, but I believe that God is also offering food and drink for those with physical hunger and thirst.  If they will but listen to God, they will be filled.  God will provide for our needs.

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.

There is a lot in today’s passage, but the thing which came together was God’s demand that those who take oaths in His name and claim to honor Him listen to what He has to say.  Specifically, He is calling out those who use the appearance of righteousness for their own ends rather than seeking righteousness for its own sake.  God warns that He has delayed His wrath for the sake of His name, not because they are not doing wrong.  He seeks to refine us and cause us to recognize our hypocrisy.  He teaches us what is best for us.  While He delays His wrath for His own sake, His commands are for ours.  If we would only pay attention to His words and His laws we would have peace.  God’s commands are not arbitrary.  He created this world and He created us.  Therefore He knows how we can best live our lives.  Listen to Him for our own sakes.

I use 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 continues Isaiah’s prophecy that God’s ability to reveal what will happen in the future offers proof that He alone is worthy of our worship.  Not because He reveals the future, but because no other “god” can.  God’s ability to tell us about the future reveals that He alone has power over what will happen, and what has happened.  And, because God has powers, we need not fear for He is with us.  He calls to Him everyone willing to be called by His name.  He has foretold what will happen and stands by those who will be His witnesses that He is God.  As the psalmist wrote in Psalm 107 verse 2, “Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story.”  Let us remember that we are witnesses to God’s power and glory and our job is to tell others about it.  God has forgiven our sins and will heal us of the damage we did to ourselves by sinning.  He does this because it reveals His power even more than everything else He has done.  God’s goal is that from where the sun rises to where it sets, people will know that there is no other god, no thing which can stand against Him.  Isaiah goes on to warn those who choose to oppose God, doing so is like clay arguing against the potter.  They trust in their wickedness, rather than placing their trust in God’s righteousness.  They set themselves up as the arbiters of what is right and good, putting their trust in themselves, their knowledge and their wisdom.  They fail to recognize that they are leading themselves to disaster.  In time, every knee will bow to God, and every tongue will acknowledge His power.  Whether we do so when there is time to follow His guidance to avoid disaster, or after we have suffered complete destruction of all we hold dear is the only choice we have in the matter.

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.

Today’s passage starts with the account of envoys from Babylon visiting King Hezekiah and the prophecy Isaiah made concerning them.  I have never quite understood Isaiah’s response to Hezekiah showing all of his treasures to the Babylonian envoys.  It reads a little bit like a reprimand, but does not make clear what Isaiah was saying Hezekiah had done wrong.  Perhaps it is merely here as a reminder that God had revealed the rise of Babylon long before Babylon was more than just a vassal state of Assyria.  It may serve as an introduction to Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the uselessness of idols, which are made by human hands.  God has foretold what will happen and no other god has done so.  God is unique among gods, among the things which mankind worships.  So, this passage starts with Isaiah prophesying the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon when Babylon was just a vassal state of Assyria, then he prophesies about how only God can tell us about what has not yet happened.  But that is not the only way in which God tells us about what has not yet happened.  God goes on and gives Isaiah a prophesy concerning the coming of His Chosen One, Jesus.  Isaiah talks about how God will give sight to those who are blind who turn to Him, and cause those who turn instead to idols to be unable to see the way even though they are not blind.  It seems to me that through Isaiah, God is telling us that those who think they do not God will fail to recognize how they should behave, while those who recognize their inability to know what is right without God will be shown how to act.

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.

I love the various accounts of Sennacherib’s aborted invasion of the Kingdom of Judah.  Today I want to look at how Sennacherib’s field commander pretended at first to have some respect for God, while demonstrating a complete lack of understanding about what God commanded His people.  Often today the enemies of those who serve God use similar tactics.  First, he refers to the Pharaoh of Egypt “splintered reed of a staff,” echoing the warnings prophets repeatedly gave against relying on Egypt.  Then he questions Hezekiah’s claim that God would defend Jerusalem based on the fact that Hezekiah had dismantled the shrines throughout the land in order to insist that people worship God in Jerusalem.  This shows that the field commander is not aware of God’s command to the Israelites that they worship Him at a central location.  However, when Hezekiah’s advisors asked him to speak in Aramaic rather than Hebrew, he reacts by calling to the people on the wall that no other god was able to save their people, therefore God will be unable to save His people.  By doing this, the field commander reveals that his original argument questioning Hezekiah’s faith was disingenuous.  He did not believe that God would hold Hezekiah’s actions against Hezekiah because he did not believe God had any power.  In the same way, many people today make arguments against how Christians practice their faith based on a misunderstanding of what Christians believe, and then reveal they don’t actually think the argument matters anyway because they do not believe that God exists.  Sennacherib followed up his field commander’s blasphemy with a letter supporting it.  God responded to the arrogance of the Assyrians by reminding His people that He had planned, and had His prophets declare, their actions long before they had arisen as a power.

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.

In Chapter 6 Isaiah prophesied that the people would “be ever hearing but never understanding, be ever seeing but never perceiving.”  In today’s passage he prophesies that a king will reign in righteousness then the eyes of the people will be opened and they will listen with their ears.  When that king reigns the fearful will gain confidence, fools (remember, the word translated as fools implies that they are morally deficient) will no longer be called noble, and scoundrels will not be respected.   Look at the world around us and tell me you do not look forward to the reign of the King.  We need to ask ourselves if we can dwell with the consuming fire which this King brings?  Can we walk righteously and speak what is right?  I know the answer for me is a resounding “No”.  Yet, God is coming and when He comes the blind will see, the deaf will hear, and the lame will not just walk, but leap.  I just preached a sermon yesterday* on Matthew 19 and as I read this I am reminded of what Jesus told His disciples about entering the Kingdom of Heaven: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  I put my hope in that, with God all things are possible.

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.

Isaiah prophesies against those who speak of their love for God and desire for righteousness, but do not do the things which God asks of us.  Instead they use human made rules to create loopholes in what God asks of us.  They hide what they do, thinking that no one will know.  If they believe in God, they think He doesn’t care.  They use their wisdom to make confuse others, and their intelligence to make things obscure.  But God will uplift the humble so that those who are deaf to the words of the “wise” will hear His words, and those who are blind to the “knowledge” of those who claim to be experts will see His will.  Isaiah warns those who make plans which are not God’s plans, while telling those who listen to God to be quiet about His will.  He warns that people will insist on being told pleasant lies rather than God’s hard truths.  Isaiah warns against trusting in the political powers of this world.  They will fail us time and again.  We will not build a righteous society by making more laws.  We will not solve our problems with rules and regulations.  God longs to be gracious to people and He will show compassion.  He will teach those who think they do not want to learn.  If we listen to His words, turn our hearts to Him, and seek His help, He will answer.  Let us do as God has asked of us and love our neighbors, doing good to those who have wronged 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 26-28.

Isaiah calls on us to trust in the Lord forever, because He is the Rock and He is eternal.  His judgements, as severe as they may be, teach people about righteousness.  Peace comes when God establishes it and He does so when people, when we, turn to Him.  He is the one who accomplishes the things for which we strive.  Those who die serving the Lord will live again, not just in a spiritual sense, but they will be raised in physical bodies.  They will wake up with joy.  The day will come when the enemies of God, and the enemies of Israel, will turn to God and worship Him together with God’s people.  Towards the end of today’s passage, Isaiah warns us against those who see God’s commands as “do this, do that, a rule for this, and a rule for that.”  That is not what God intends.  His commands are designed to give us rest.  Yet, all too many people think that they can make a deal with death, that they can use lies to keep themselves from facing death.  They think that the lies they tell themselves will prevent God from holding them accountable.

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.

Isaiah begins today’s passage by talking about how when Jerusalem was threatened with attack the people put a lot of effort into building up its defenses, but they did not take time to turn to God and ask for His aid in their defense.  In the face of trouble brought about by their sin, they did not mourn and seek the Lord.  Instead, they partied.  In a way what’s going on in the world around us is similar.  Too many people are reacting to the judgement they see coming by saying “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”  When they should be crying out to God for forgiveness and help.  Instead of facing the fact that God is trying to get them (and maybe us) to change their ways (our ways?), they spend their time having fun.  Do we mourn for the suffering?  Do we mourn for those who do not know the Lord?

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