November 24 / Isaiah 11-12

Isaiah 11-12

Dear RTB’ers,

After many chapters of condemnation and judgment upon Judah and Israel (Ephraim) and nearby aggressor nations, we come to two chapters of relief and uplifting for all of Israel and for all of us. We read today’s first five verses as prophesies of the coming of the Messiah, whom we know as Jesus; then the rest of the chapter seems to refer to the End Times, after Jesus’ return. I was particularly taken by Isaiah 11:11-12: In that day the Lord will extend His hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of His people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

My Study Bible suggested that these prophetic verses may have been referring to the return of the exiles from Babylonian captivity or to a “regathering” (a second time) at Jesus’ return. Personally, having just read a book written by a woman who survived the Holocaust in Auschwitz and other locations, these verses brought to mind the talk of those prisoners wanting to go to Palestine after their release.

Finally, in chapter 12 Isaiah gives us two songs of praise and thanksgiving, well worth our second or third read!! Enjoy!

Blessings!

November 23 / Isaiah 10:5-34

Isaiah 10:5-34

Dear RTB’ers,

Almost all of what we read today is about Assyria and its attempt to conquer Jerusalem (and the Southern Kingdom, Judah). Isaiah writes of the boastful, arrogant Assyrian leaders believing in their overwhelming military strength, when in fact it is God who is in charge. Here is God’s plan to use Assyria against Judah: Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize plunder, and to tread them down… (v. 6), while the Assyrian leaders are thinking: …shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols as I have done to Samaria and her images? (v. 11) In the end Isaiah writes that God will have His way: When the Lord has finished all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes. (v. 12) With all this you may recall the story that we read back in II Kings 7:3-20 about the four lepers who sat outside the walls of Jerusalem asking themselves why they were just sitting there to die. They got up and went to the Assyrian camps and found them all dead. Isaiah’s prophecy fulfilled!

Today’s reading closes with more of God’s victory for His people: In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. (vv. 20-21) Here we see what John has guided us in his links to past readings – prophecies fulfilled both in the present and in the future. God delivers His people from the Assyrian invasion during the time of King Hezekiah (the paragraph above) and He will deliver His people from Babylon after their seventy year exile in the late 500s BC.

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: “O My people, who dwell in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrians… (v. 24a) Also, as I posted a few days ago, words for us, …be not afraid of … WHATEVER! Glory!

Blessings!

See also: June 17 (2023) / II Kings 18:1-12; Isaiah 10:5-12:6.

November 22 / Isaiah 8:16-10:4

Isaiah 8:16-10:4

Dear RTB’ers,

Our Bible today is divided into books, chapters, and verses. It wasn’t always that way. Ancient people had rolled papyrus scrolls, very likely with separations between books and even between particular sections. (For example, see Luke 4:17, And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written … ) Somehow, no doubt guided by the Holy Spirit, our early church fathers divided these writings, agreed what should be kept and what should be left out, and gave us the Bible that we read today. [NOTE: I recall that Martin Luther wanted the book of James eliminated, but that did not happen.] And so with our reading today. The STS authors give us parts of three chapters. I don’t know about the beginning of today’s reading, but the ending is clear: For all this His anger has not turned away, and His hand is stretched out still. (Isaiah 9:12,17,21; 10:4) Three times written in chapter 9 and once repeated in chapter 10. A small, but interesting item…

Of much more interest to us is the beginning of chapter 9, especially as we move into Advent and the Christmas season:

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light …

For to us a child is born,
to us a Son is given;
and the government shall be upon His shoulder,
and His name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over His kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 9:2a, 6-7

I have often suggested that you read the “See also…” links on these posts. Yesterday’s “See also…” talked about prophecy, about how a given message might apply to the prophet’s current readers and how it might be read by us. Today’s reading is one of those. Clearly we read the verses above as applied to Jesus. How did Isaiah’s readers see it? No doubt, as we read in the gospels, the Jewish people were looking forward to the coming of the Messiah, so to Isaiah’s current readers these are Messianic verses. But did they also see current events playing out? For me, these verses seem out of context for what we read before and after. But we will embrace them in the coming weeks!

Every day, please pay attention to the “See also…” links!

Blessings!

November 21 / Isaiah 7:1-8:15

Isaiah 7:1-8:15

Dear RTB’ers,

Hopefully everyone reading these posts and comments has a copy of our companion book, Search the Scriptures. The authors there provide a setting for today’s reading – Syria (Aram) and the Northern Kingdom (Israel, aka Ephraim) have conspired to invade and overtake the Southern Kingdom, Judah. So the Lord sends Isaiah to King Ahaz with a suggestion that God has everything taken care of. But Ahaz resists Isaiah’s counsel, even refusing to ask God for a sign when it has been offered! Then Isaiah delivers the bottom line from the Lord: The LORD will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house … the king of Assyria! (v. 7:17) Isaiah follows with four “In that day…” consequences of Ahaz’s refusal to trust God, Isaiah 7:18-25, and continuing into Isaiah 8.

God’s word to Isaiah to be delivered to King Ahaz: And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands…’ (v. 7:4a) Here we have a word of encouragement from God to the king of Judah, spoken in a four-set, Be careful, be quiet, do not fear… [nor] be faint. Now, suppose we terminate this sentence early and imagine it spoken to us: Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of … Because of WHATEVER!! The same four-set applied to us and to any situation that we may be facing. The apostle Paul said it best:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He Who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God Who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the One Who died—more than that, Who was raised—Who is at the right hand of God, Who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:31-35, 37-39

Be careful, be quiet, do not fear… [nor] be faint.

Blessings!

See also: June 12 (2023) / II Kings 16:5-9; Isaiah 7-10:4; Isaiah 17.

November 20 / Isaiah 6

Isaiah 6

Dear RTB’ers,

A couple of comments on the following verse: And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” (v. 8) First, I love this verse! I love Isaiah’s willingness to be used by the Lord. And every time I read this verse, I recall the song that we sing, “Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord…” And I always want to answer for myself, “I will go, Lord, if You lead me…” So yes, this verse touches me.

A second item on this verse comes from my Study Bible. Those authors mention that Isaiah was made privy to the Divine Council (“for Us”). Only two other prophets were also recorded as being blessed in that fashion – Micaiah in I Kings 22:19-20 and Jeremiah in Jeremiah 23:18, 22. Interesting!

Finally, if verses 9-10 seem familiar to you, it’s because Jesus cited Isaiah’s verses Himself, Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “you will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears amd understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them. (Matthew 13:14-15; see also Mark 4:12, Luke 8:10)

Blessings!

November 19 / Isaiah 5

Isaiah 5

Dear RTB’ers,

There has not been a lot of encouragement for Israel in these first five chapters. (Yes, we’ll get to some positives later.) Today we see a series of six “woes” spoken against various people and their activities. It’s easy for us to recall Jesus pronouncing woes against the Scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23 and against any one of His contemporaries (and us) in Luke 6. I could also see chastisement against any of us in a few of today’s woes. Strong drink, in particular is mentioned twice and I was personally challenged by Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes… (v. 21a) Pride and excessive self-confidence have long been problems for me.

The ESV does not capitalize deific pronouns, so some of you may have been confused by verse 19: “Let him be quick, let him speed his work that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!” The “him” pronouns refer to God – this entire sentence is sarcasm directed against God, spoken (as if) by men who embrace falsehood and revel in their sin. If you want capitalized deific pronouns, read the NASB or the NKJV.

We close today’s chapter with God’s judgment against those who …have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. (v. 24b) With a whistle (Isaia 5:26) the Lord will bring devastation on Israel.

Blessings!

See also: June 10 (2023) / Isaiah 3-5.

November 18 / Isaiah 2-4

Isaiah 2-4

Dear RTB’ers,

Occasional confusion in Isaiah. What does he mean by “in the latter days” (Isaiah 2:2), or “in that day” (Isaiah 2:11,17,20; 3:7,18; 4:1,2), or For the LORD of hosts has a day… (Is. 2:12a) What and when are the “latter days” or a day, or especially “that day”? I get the sense that most references to a “day” have to do with judgment by the Lord against wrongdoers and their wrongdoing, but is that against Israel’s leaders, or all the Israeli people? OR, is Isaiah predicting the End Times? The Lord’s DAY!! Jesus’ RETURN!! And, it seems to be the case that some of these references are more immediate and some are far off, possibly even “eternity off”. We don’t know for sure; we just know that the Lord chooses HIS day, whenever that is, and He does whatever He wishes on that day. Still, I wonder…

With all that uncertainty and judgment on those days, we are left in today’s reading with hope for Israel and mankind in the final day mentioned: In that day the branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. … Then the LORD will create … a cloud by day, and … a flaming fire by night… (v. 4:2, 5) Shades of Moses and the Israelites in the Wilderness…!! Truly, the Lord watches over His people!

Blessings!

See also: June 9 (2023) / Isaiah 6; Isaiah 1-2.

November 17 / Isaiah 1

Isaiah 1

Dear RTB’ers,

Today we begin three weeks of the prophet Isaiah. I admit to a bit of nervousness as we begin this book. The prophetic books are the most difficult for me to understand, mostly (I think) because I’m never sure of the current history in which the author is writing. That’s clearly the case with large portions of Isaiah, but fortunately we have been introduced to him during our reading of II Kings, especially in his relationship with King Hezekiah. My Study Bible noted that Isaiah was a contemporary with Amos, Hosea, and Micah – and we have already read those three prophetic books. So, with that background maybe Isaiah will not be so confusing to us.

One other Study Bible note that helped me is that during Isaiah’s life Judah was under attack by Aram (Syria), the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Edom, and Philistia; by Assyria (King Sennacherib); and by Babylon (King Nebuchadnezzar). We’ve already seen Isaiah’s activity in II Kings with those first two sets of foreign invaders.

Finally, as to content in this first chapter… I’m always taken by the prophets speaking God’s chastisement of Israel’s sacrifices, especially Isaiah 1:10-14 today. Here’s a sampling: I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts … incense is an abomination to Me … Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. God will not even listen to their prayers (Is. 1:15)! Again, we’ve read pronouncements like this in Amos and Hosea. God, however, is a loving God and a Redeemer; He wants Israel (and us) to turn from our wicked ways and seek Him, as in the following oft-cited verse: Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD; though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. (v. 18) Yes, He is a loving God.

So, let’s enjoy Isaiah together! As John commented yesterday, your comments and questions are more than welcome!!

Blessings!

November 16 / John 21:15-25

John 21:15-25

Dear RTB’ers,

Today we end John’s gospel. It will be early next year that we’ll read Matthew and be through with all four gospels. But today, John’s closing. And for many people, a bit of a confusing closing! So, first, Jesus asks Peter three times, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” (vv. 15, 16, 17) It’s easy for us to connect Jesus’ three times asking the same question with Peter’s three denials on Good Friday. But a question remains, why did Jesus change His follow-up response from Feed My Lambs to Tend My Sheep to Feed My Sheep? I don’t have an answer for that, even though I’ve heard numerous sermons and talks on that very question. One item of information is that Jesus uses the Greek word, agape (a deep, abiding love) the first two times He asks, then the word, phileo (more like “friendship”) the third time, so maybe Jesus is challenging Peter’s love – is Peter’s love for Jesus a really deep agape love? My guess is that there is something about increasing demands that Jesus is asking of Peter with each additional response. Maybe the rest of you have heard better explanations?

I could make more comments on this reading, but so could you! Let’s hear from you, comments or questions!

Blessings!

See also: