I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Isaiah prophesied a time of judgment on Judah and Jerusalem. A time when all of the things that bind a nation together will be gone, when those who rise to positions of leadership will be those with no experience. The young will rise up against the old and the vulgar will sneer at the honorable. It will be a time of trouble because the people refused to follow God’s instructions and provoked Him to His face. However, Isaiah tells us that all will be well for the godly. It is the wicked who are doomed and will receive the punishment they deserve.
I read this and it strikes me that what Isaiah is describing resembles what I see around me in our society today. I see both the open contempt for God’s commands and the following of leaders who have shown no ability to lead. I, also, see the young insulting their elders and the vulgar sneering at those who cling to honor. All in all, when I look at society around me, I find it frightening. However, this passage gives me a window for hope, for it tells us that all will be well for those who genuinely strive to do God’s will. It tells me that all I need to do to avoid the doom I see coming is to more closely follow God, giving His Spirit control over my life.
Isaiah tells us that God is going to bring judgment on those who are unfaithful to Him. He is going to tear down and uproot His vineyard. Yet, He is going to plant a new vine there and tend and care for it. God is going to destroy those who have turned away from His word, but He is going to strengthen and cultivate those who serve Him.
Paul expresses serious concern for the Church in Corinth. He fears that they will be deceived by those preaching a different Jesus than the one Paul preaches and a different Spirit from the one they already received. Paul tells them that he is in no way inferior to these self-proclaimed “super-apostles”. Paul admits that he is not a terribly dynamic speaker, but he is knows what he is talking about.
I have come to believe that Paul was not being humble when he said here that he was not a good speaker. The more I have studied the New Testament (especially Paul’s writing and the Book of Acts) the more I have come to the conclusion that Paul was a passionate, but uninspiring preacher. I believe Paul’s success was not due to his skill as a preacher, rather it was due to his willingness to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and to give credit to the Spirit. As I read today’s passage it appears to me that some very skilled speakers had begun to preach to the Corinthian church and were gaining a following. These preachers were somewhat like certain TV preachers of today. They preached a very attractive message and convinced the Christians in Corinth to donate a large amount of money to their “ministry”, money which was spent more on a lavish lifestyle for the preachers than on doing the work of God. Paul points out that, despite their claims, their ministry was not just like his. Unlike these “super-apostles”, Paul refused to accept any money towards his ministry from the Corinthians. He flat out calls these men false apostles and says that they are servants of Satan.
This psalm starts with one of my favorite verses:
Only fools say in their hearts,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and their actions are evil;
not one of them does good!
The psalmist continues by telling us that God looks for those who have consistently sought Him, but we have all turned away, no one does good.
This psalm reminds me of how foolish those who insist that there is no God are, but it also reminds me that I am not really any better than they. I have failed to live as God expected of me. It is only through the grace of God that I have been redeemed and have come to know and believe that He is real. I, too, came close to being one of those fools who say that there is no God.
Do not think that you will get away with cheating people by changing standards that people assume are timeless. Those with wealth and power will be able to command the most talented workers for their projects.