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 52-56.

The beginning of this passage discusses God’s redemption of His people.  In context, the prophet was writing about the return of the Israelites from Exile.  The prophet writes about the joy and blessing of those who tell the people of God that their God reigns, that our God reigns.  From there the prophet predicts that the people will leave their lives of Exile with deliberate, measured pace, not in haste and with no fear of pursuit.  I believe the prophet is contrasting this with the Exodus, not putting a negative light on what happened in Exodus but saying that this will be different.  I find it interesting that the prophet goes right from that to his message about the Suffering Servant.  When we read this we tend to stop at verse 52:12, and then start fresh at 52:13, as if the writer had put a full stop there and was starting new at 52:13.  But that is not how it actually reads.  No, the Suffering Servant described following verse 52:13 and through chapter 53 seems to be the one whose feet were beautiful for declaring the good news that our God reigns.

The writer transitions from writing about the suffering servant to the metaphor of the barren woman given numerous offspring.  From there he goes on to the call to everyone to come to God.  Isaiah 55 is a call and an offer.  God calls us to Himself and offers to fulfill our needs out of His storehouses.  He calls us to seek Him and to forsake wicked thoughts and actions.  He reminds us that He does not think the way that we do.  Just as the Suffering Servant exhibited great power when all we humans could see was weakness, so God’s power, and what He wants from us, does not look like what we recognize as power.  God’s way is above any of our ways and His thoughts are above our thoughts.  God’s words will accomplish the purpose for which He spoke them, whether we understand them, or their purpose, or not.  If we speak God’s words and do His will, we will be successful.  We may not accomplish the purpose we thought God had for us, but, as long as we seek God and speak the words He gives us, we will accomplish His purpose, even when we do not understand what it is.

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

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

Since I am going to be on vacation from July 31-August 9 I have already written my blog posts for these days and scheduled them to be posted.  However, I may not be able to post a link to them on FaceBook, Gab.com, or MeWe.com during every day (or any day) during this time period.  So, please continue to visit my site to read my daily devotional.

There is so much in this passage which I want to write about that it would go beyond the length I wish to keep these entries.  I will start at the beginning and see how far I get.  The beginning of this passage makes me think of some of what is going on today.  In Isaiah 52:5-6 the following is written:

“Why are my people enslaved again? Those who rule them shout in exultation. My name is blasphemed all day long.  But I will reveal my name to my people, and they will come to know its power. Then at last they will recognize that I am the one who speaks to them.”

I don’t want to go into too much detail, but it sure looks like the line “Mu name is blasphemed all day long” applies in our society today.   Yet God promises that He will reveal Himself and those who turn to Him will know His power.  To the point where people will see what they had not been told, and understand what they had not heard about.  We live in a society where the haves are getting more, while the have-nots are finding it harder to make ends meet.  And don’t mistake, many of those talking about this are the haves getting more at the expense of those who have little.  They talk a good game, but use it to exploit those over whom they have power.  Yet God’s faithful love will remain, even when the mountains move and the hills disappear.  God’s thoughts are not like our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways. Let us seek the Lord while we can find him and call on him now while he is near.  Do not be afraid to speak God’s word because it will accomplish all that He want it to.  Things may seem bad, and they may get worse, but God will bring His people home to Him.  Some of those He brings to Him will be those we consider foreign to Him.

Please read the passage.  When I read what I wrote above it does not convey what I tried to pull from the pasasge.

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 52-56.

I love today’s passage.  It contains many elements which are preached and written about often, but usually as individual themes.  For me we start with verses which declare praise to God, and to God’s messenger.  How lovely are those who bring the news that God reigns!  That transitions right into what is often called the “Suffering Servant” prophecy, a prophecy which is an amazingly close portrayal of Jesus’ trial, execution, and burial.  Isaiah describes how He was unjustly condemned by everyone, including us.  Isaiah described how His guilt was assumed by those who were truly guilty of the sins of which He was accused should serve as an object lesson for us.  Isaiah is describing a phenomena known as projection, wherein someone sees someone else as being guilty of the wrongs which they themselves have committed.

I am not quite sure how the verses between Isaiah’s description of the Suffering Servant and his description of God’s bounty in Chapter 55 connects to those two sections, but its placement means that it is connected.  We start today’s passage with the messenger and then in Chapter 55 we have the message: “Come and drink, even if you have no money!”  God invites everyone to come and enjoy His bounty.  And this is where it gets complicated.  God’s thoughts are not like our thoughts, so we should not be surprised that we do not understand what He is doing.  However, we can be sure that God’s words will accomplish what He intends.  It will not fail to produce the fruit which God sent it forth to produce.  Share God’s love with those around you, even when you don’t understand why you should.  Share the words God gives you, even when you do not understand what they mean.  One of the things Isaiah says here is both a message we should heed and a message we should share: Seek the Lord while He can be found.  The time is coming when we will no longer have that opportunity.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.  I am going to be on vacation through August 10th.  I have prepared my daily Bible Studies for each day throughout that time in advance since I will have limited access to the Internet during this time.  The timing on when I publish these blogs may be erratic during this time.

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

I have always seen the portion of this passage about the messenger who brings good news (chapter 52 verses 7-12) separated from the portion about the suffering servant (starting with verse 13 and continuing through the next chapter).  However, as I read today I saw that the suffering servant was also the messenger who brings good news (chapter 53, verse 1).    His suffering made it possible for us to be healed.  He bore our sins so that we could be counted as righteous.

I love reading this whole passage.  It is incredibly powerful.  We separate it into parts because the prophet includes so much that we cannot possibly cover it all at once.  Chapter 54 tells us the results of the actions of God’s suffering servant, the Messiah.  Then chapter 55 explains the message which God’s servant brought and why He brought it.  Jesus has invited all to come and drink of the Water of Life.  God’s thoughts are not like our thoughts.  Stop trying to put Him in a box.  Stop trying to take God’s words and use them for our ends.  Isaiah tells us that God’s words accomplish God’s purpose, every time, all of the time.  I just wrote that we should stop trying to use God’s words for our selfish ends.  I meant that, but for our own sake, not for the sake of those who hear us.  We are the ones who suffer for misusing God’s words.  When we speak God’s words ,even if we have distorted them, they accomplish God’s purpose.

Isaiah tells us to be accepting of everyone who commits themselves to God, because God has already done so.  God calls us to be just and fair to everyone, to always do what is right and good.  If we reject any one who has committed themselves to God, we reject God.  There was so much more I wanted to say about this passage, but it just is not coming out.  Well, I wrote of how God’s words accomplish His purpose.  So, read the words He gave the prophet Isaiah and see the power they possess.