Isaiah 6; Isaiah 1-2
Let’s see… What should we talk about today?
Maybe we should talk about Isaiah’s glorious vision of the LORD on His throne with seraphim crying, “Holy, holy, holy!” (Isa. 6:3) Or maybe we should “gin up” enthusiasm for missions, with an appeal to Isaiah’s words: “Here I am! Send me.” (Isa. 6:8) Or maybe we should note that 99% of the time that people reference Isaiah 6, they stop at verse 8; no one seems to want to hear Isaiah 6:9-13, which then confirms that we — even within the Church — are just as dull of hearing as Isaiah’s original audience. We don’t want to hear the entire Word of God, just the nice bits, thank you very much.
Maybe we should recognize how similar Isaiah’s message is to Hosea’s, though Isaiah is mainly addressing the Southern Kingdom of Judah, while Hosea preaches primarily to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Maybe we should also note the similarity of Isaiah 1:11-17 to Amos 5:21-24, that we read just the other day.
Maybe we should rejoice that the LORD in Isaiah 1:18 offers to wash our sins away! But maybe we should also peek at the following much less familiar verses, Isaiah 1:19-20, which speak of the need for repentance — and the consequences of refusal. (Just the nice bits, thank you very much!)
Maybe we should focus on Isaiah 2:2-4, with its portrayal of peace in the latter days — a vision that has yet to be fulfilled, looking forward to the reign of Christ. Maybe we should provide a teaser for our future reading of Micah, who contemporaneously says almost exactly the same thing in Micah 4:1-3.
Maybe we should mention the LORD’s coming day of judgment against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up. (Isaiah 2:12) (And what nation is now more lifted up than the U.S.A.?) Maybe we should see that those who now indicate no fear of the LORD, will one day cringe in utter terror of Him. (Isaiah 2:10,19,21)
Or maybe we should just highlight today’s final verse:
Stop regarding man
Isaiah 2:22
in whose nostrils is breath,
for of what account is he?
I don’t know. I just can’t seem to think of much to say today.
Ha, ha! Great post, John! (Fred said the same!) So much could be said…
You have portrayed the problem with reading so many verses every day. Often just a few verses can yield a day’s worth of reflection. Plowing through the Bible in a year has its own merits, but it is not easy to muse over the myriad possible messages that can be found in smaller “bites” like last year’s read through Palms and such.
For that reason, I appreciate your comments and exhortations on each day’s reading.
Thanks for the feedback. Knowing that you all are still engaged in the readings helps keep me engaged, too.