Isaiah 25-27 A tale of two cities… In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:“We have a strong city;He sets up salvationas walls and bulwarks.Open the gates,that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.You keep him in perfect peacewhose mind is stayed on You,because he trusts in You.Trust …
Author Archives: John S.
June 25 / Isaiah 22:1-14; Isaiah 23-24
Isaiah 22:1-14; Isaiah 23-24 There is quite a bit in today’s reading that I do not fully understand, or, rather, that I just barely understand, or, rather still, that I do not understand at all. But one verse seems pretty clear to me: The LORD of hosts has purposed it,to defile the pompous pride of …
June 24 / II Kings 19:8-37; Isaiah 37:8-38; II Kings 20:20-21
II Kings 19:8-37; Isaiah 37:8-38; II Kings 20:20-21 Unlike his father, Ahaz, Hezekiah listens to the right voice. He listens to what the LORD says through Isaiah. In faith, he recognizes that all those so-called gods of the other nations that Assyria has defeated are no gods at all. And so Hezekiah prays: Truly, O …
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June 23 / II Kings 18:17-19:7; Isaiah 36:2-37:7
II Kings 18:17-19:7; Isaiah 36:2-37:7 Imagine yourself standing on the wall of Jerusalem, peering over the parapet, listening to the Rabshakeh of Assyria taunt Hezekiah’s officials and the people of Jerusalem (including yourself). You’ve heard reports of Assyrian brutality for years. You know that nations larger and stronger than Judah have fallen before the might …
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June 22 / II Kings 20:1-11; Isaiah 38; II Kings 20:12-19; Isaiah 39; Isaiah 36:1; II Kings 18:13-16
II Kings 20:1-11; Isaiah 38; II Kings 20:12-19; Isaiah 39; Isaiah 36:1; II Kings 18:13-16 Would you know the power of repentance? Would you understand the strong weapon of salvation and the might of confession? By confession Hezekiah routed 185,000 of the enemy. That was important, but it was little compared with what shall be …
June 21 / Isaiah 22:15-25; Isaiah 30-32
Isaiah 22:15-25; Isaiah 30-32 Let’s recall the historical situation into which Isaiah speaks. Isaiah is in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, where Hezekiah is king, a good king who follows the LORD. The Northern Kingdom of Israel is no more, having been destroyed by the exceedingly strong — and brutal — Assyrian empire. Now Assyria …
June 20 / Isaiah 18-20; 15-16
Isaiah 18-20; 15-16 The other day, I mentioned that in reading through Isaiah and the other prophets we should not miss the message of hope in Christ. Today we see that message clearly extended beyond Israel and Judah to foreign nations, specifically Cush, Egypt, Assyria, and Moab. (See Isaiah 18:7; 19:18-25; 16:3-5.) That is good …
June 19 / Proverbs 28-29
Proverbs 28-29 See:
June 18 / Proverbs 25-27
Proverbs 25-27 Having come to the reign of Hezekiah, our chronological readings take us back to the book of Proverbs because of Proverbs 25:1: These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied. (Of course, we might just as well have read these chapters when we were hanging out …
June 17 / II Kings 18:1-12; Isaiah 10:5-12:6
II Kings 18:1-12; Isaiah 10:5-12:6 Several themes run through Isaiah that we would do well to recognize, but which I cannot possibly cover with any adequacy. We see a few of these today (as we have already in prior readings): Of course, this is just a sampling. Isaiah has much more to say than what …
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