Today, I am reading and commenting on  Isaiah 1-4.

The prophet Isaiah prophesied against the wickedness of the people of Jerusalem and Judah and we tend to think of that wickedness resulting from their wicked kings.  Yet three of the four kings the Book of Isaiah lists as reigning during Isaiah’s ministry are described as doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord.  Which tells us that the wickedness Isaiah prophesied against came from the people, not from their rulers.  When Judah had wicked kings it was because the people had chosen evil rather than righteousness and God gave them the rulers they deserved.  Isaiah warned the people of his day, and his warnings apply to us.  Before we bring sacrifices to God and before we make offerings to Him, we must learn to do right.  We must seek justice and defend the oppressed.

The day will come when people of all nations will seek God so that He will teach them His ways.  In many ways that day has come and gone, but it will come again.  That day comes when we recognize that God alone should be exalted, when we stop seeking glory for ourselves and seek to see all glory given to God.  Christ has come and brought the day of the Lord for those who will accept 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 1-4.

For the last few years when I come to this passage I note that, of the four kings who reigned while Isaiah prophesied, three were described as doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord.  Nevertheless, Isaiah prophesied God’s coming judgement upon the people of Judah for their sins.  Isaiah told them that God was tired of their sacrifices and holy assemblies because they did not do what was right.  Yes, Isaiah does condemn their rulers, but only after first saying that they themselves were wicked and did not do what was right.  Isaiah speaks to a people who live in a land filled with wealth and power, that is also filled with idolatry.  All too often, we blame the problems around us on those in government, and think that the solution to them is to get the right people to run things.  Isaiah tells us that we need to work on fixing the problems we see, and if we do, God will put the right people in charge.  Of course, if we do that we risk God making us the people in charge.  And most of us know that being the right person in charge is a lot of work, because the right person knows that godly leadership means seeking what is best for those you are leading, at your own expense.  So, let us defend the oppressed, take up the cause of the fatherless, and plead the case of the widow!  However, do not make the mistake of doing this generically.  Find an oppressed person and defend them, or take up the cause of a fatherless person, or plead the case of a widow.  Doing what is right is hard work, but God will bless us if we do it.

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.

Last year when I wrote about this passage I noted that three of the four kings under whom Isaiah prophesied are recorded as “doing what was right in the eyes of God.”  Nevertheless, Isaiah prophesied woe against a sinful nation.  In particular, Isaiah prophesies against people who were making offerings to the Lord, people who claimed to be doing as God commanded.  Isaiah condemned their offerings and their righteous assemblies, even though they followed the letter of God’s law in doing these things.  Often when I read the prophecies of the Old Testament prophets I see them condemning a society which sacrifices its children, practices sexual promiscuity, and rejects God.  In today’s passage, Isaiah was condemning those who thought they were serving God.  He warns that we have brought disaster upon ourselves by parading our sins for all to see.  Isaiah tells us to seek justice, defend the oppressed, take up the cause of the fatherless, and plead the case of the widow.  First, I want to point out that many of those protesting in the streets today fail to fulfill what Isaiah commands because they put themselves in the place of those for whom Isaiah says we should advocate (this isn’t about advocating for yourself).  Second, when Isaiah says to defend the oppressed, he is not referring to some anonymous group.  No, he means defend specific people who are oppressed, people who you know by name.  You cannot address any of these issues in general, you must find specific cases and do what is in your power to make them right.  That means giving food to a hungry person, paying the heating bill for someone who might otherwise be cold.   Or, to put this another way: if you don’t feel called out by this passage, you are one of the people Isaiah is condemning (if you DO feel called out by this passage, you may be one of the people whom Isaiah is condemning but you are on track to receive the forgiveness he promises that God has for those who turn 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 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 1-4.

I love reading the writings of the prophet Isaiah.  In chapter 2, he conveys a promise from God the fulfillment of should be everyone’s desire.  In the last days, people from every nation will seek God’s teaching and will desire to walk according to His way.  God will mediate between nations and peoples.  When that day truly arrives nation will no longer fight against nation.  They will not even train for war.  Those of us who seek to follow God’s will for our lives should seek to live as if that day has come, but need to recognize that it has not yet come for those around us.  In today’s world, I want to point out that to the original readers this would have meant both nations as we understand them today and ethnic groups as well.  This prophecy tells us that all people are welcome to become part of God’s people.

After making the promise that the day will come when nations will no longer make war on each other, Isaiah condemns the people of Judah.  While they are rich and powerful, they have chosen to fill their land with idols and sin.  Instead of following God’s commands and living according to God’s directions, they have chosen to follow the practices of the pagans around them.  He tells them that they may now be powerful, rich, and proud, but soon God will humble them.  They will crawl into caves to hide from God’s judgement.  At the peak of their power and wealth, they abandoned God’s instructions and instead adopted the cultural norms of those who rejected God.  Instead of trusting God, they put their trust in human power, they put their trust in their government.  Rather than seek justice for all, they oppressed their neighbors and ridiculed their elders, they sneered at those who lived, or had lived, honorable lives.  Sound familiar?

They had brought destruction upon themselves and would pay the price for their sins.  In the middle of this warning of the destruction to come. Isaiah tells us that the godly will still be rewarded.  Destruction and suffering were coming for the people of Judah, but God would still protect those who remained faithful.  Destruction and suffering is coming to the people around us today, but God will still protect those who remain faithful.