Dear RTB’ers,

Today we have God turning His judgment away from the “nations” and toward Ephraim/Israel (the first thirteen verses) and Judah (the next nine verses). God’s word to Ephraim is the harsher of the two; today’s “that day” (v. 5) seems to be the very near current times – they will be taken captive (Isaiah 28:13). Judah is only being warned.

Isaiah rails against drunkards in Israel, even the priest and the prophet (v. 7), and scoffers in Judah (Isaiah 28:14,22) who have made a “covenant with death/Sheol”. Is this covenant truly an expectation of their death, or is Isaiah referring to Judah’s attempts to raise neighboring allies against the Assyrian invasion? It’s interesting that, in spite of the peoples’ wrongdoings, God is still in the midst of both nations (Isaiah 28:5-6, 16-18). And that’s as true today as it was back then. I am troubled by sin and wickedness in the world today, especially in our own USA (and in my own heart!), but I know that our God is a loving, forgiving, merciful God. And as I’ve mentioned a number of times in the past few days, He will do what He will do.

Blessings!

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See also: June 16 (2023) / Isaiah 28-29; II Kings 17:5-41.

Isaiah 26-27

Dear RTB’ers,

More “in that day” references today – Isaiah 27:1; 26:1,2,12,13. To me the reference continues to be End Times; I don’t see that Isaiah’s prophecies have been fulfilled any time in Israel’s history to date. There have been periodic enemy defeats and exiles and returns, but nothing like all of Israel’s enemies being defeated. The closest these prophesies come to fulfillment (to me) is when the Israeli state was created in 1948 and many Jews returned to Palestine. But that was also the beginning of Arab uprisings against Israel.

Most of the content in today’s readings is uplifting for Israel – a lot of praise and thanksgiving. One verse in particular is often quoted (whole or just the first half): You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. (v. 26:3) Isaiah closes these four End Times chapters (24-27) with a solid prediction of what will happen “in that day”: And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem. (v. 27:13) As the Lord wills, it will be done.

Blessings!

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See also: June 26 (2023) / Isaiah 25-27.

Isaiah 24-25

Dear RTB’ers,

The STS introduction tells us that in today’s and tomorrow’s readings we are looking at End Times prophecies by Isaiah. And what we read is scary in chapter 24, judgment on the whole earth (as the ESV header tells us), so scary that I don’t want to be around, even if I am one of those “redeemed” people who offers praise in Isaiah 24:14-16a and in Isaiah 25.

God will do what He will do: The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered; for the LORD has spoken this word. The earth is utterly broken, the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken.…The wasted city is broken down; every house is shut up so that none can enter. …for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. (vv. 24:3, 19, 10, 5b) Yes, “judgment on the whole Earth.”

But chapter 25 offers a major shift – praise replaces the judgments of the preceding chapter. O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt You; I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. (v. 25:1) Isaiah gives a glorious picture of those End Times days: On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast… He will swallow up death forever; and the LORD God will wipe away tears from all faces… It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, that He might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for Him; let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” (vv. 25:6a, 8a, 9)

So, I don’t want to be around for chapter 24, but I would love to be part of chapter 25! Thankfully, it’s not my call. God will do what He will do! Glory!!

Isaiah 22:15-23:18

Dear RTB’ers,

Footnotes and a commentary helped me to understand a bit more about the second half of chapter 22. The first half of the chapter was about Jerusalem and its people; the second half is about two leaders, Shebna and Eliakim. Surprisingly, we have met these two before, when Assyria was bent on taking Jerusalem: And the king of Assyria sent … the Rabshakeh with a great army … to Jerusalem. … And … there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder. (II Kings 18:17-18) Footnotes tell me that Shebna is a foreigner, not a Jew, but that he has a high position under King Hezekiah. In spite of him being a foreigner, he is planning for his own tomb on some hillside near Jerusalem. But the Lord has other plans for him; he will be cast aside, not even buried, and Eliakim will take his place. I am reminded of a proverb, “Man proposes, but God disposes.” This is actually the New Living Translation of Proverbs 19:21. Here is the ESV: Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand. So Eliakim replaces Shebna and brings some measure of security to Jerusalem (Isaiah 22:20-23). Sadly, however, even that security will be undone (Isaiah 22:25). Man proposes, but God disposes.

More of the same in the next chapter, but in this case, Tyre proposes and God disposes. A better alternative for us: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)

Blessings!

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See also: June 25 (2023) / Isaiah 22:1-14; Isaiah 23-24.

Isaiah 20:1-22:14

Dear RTB’ers,

Today’s chapter 20 is a follow-up, the climax to yesterday’s oracles against Egypt and Cush (Ethiopia) as they go off as captives, naked and shorn, to Assyria. Then in chapter 21 Isaiah speaks against Babylon, Edom, and Arabia before finishing with Jerusalem in chapter 22.

One verse stands out in chapter 21, the watchman speaking: Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the carved images of her gods he has shattered to the ground. (v. 21:9b) Although defeated for a time, Babylon will rise again as the instrument the Lord uses against Israel when they go into exile.

Finally, Isaiah focuses on Jerusalem and its people, chastising them for their futility in trying to defend themselves instead of relying on the Lord: In that day you looked to the weapons … You collected the waters … and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. You made a reservoir … But you did not look to Him who did it, or see Him who planned it long ago. (Isaiah 22:8b-11) Yet with all that, with defeat all but certain, the Jerusalem citizens partied instead of mourning their destruction: Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. (v. 22:13b) Does this verse sound familiar? It should. The apostle Paul quoted it, If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” (I Corinthians 15:32b) If there is no afterlife, just enjoy the present life, live it up, folks!! … choose this day whom you will serve … But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24:15)

Blessings!

Isaiah 17-19

Dear RTB’ers,

Today, oracles against Damascus (Aram/Syria), Cush (Ethiopia), and Egypt. There’s a lot of history involved here, mainly aggression by Assyria that helps to explain the judgments against these nations. If you’ve been reading the “See also…” links from 2023, you see that The Chronological Bible has much of Isaiah interspersed with readings (and links) from history (especially II Kings) and from other prophets (especially Jeremiah, but also Ezekiel, Daniel, Amos, and Micah).

Another six “in that day” references in chapter 19, this one a day when Egypt, Israel, and Assyria all come together: In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth… (vv. 19:23-24a) Has that day come or are we still waiting for the End Times? I recall the Camp David Accords in 1978 when Jimmy Carter brought Egypt and Israel to the peace table, a treaty that still holds today in spite of the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts. But the rest of the Arab world still seems to be united against Israel. So, still to come…?

One other verse struck me: And the LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the LORD, and He will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them. (v. 19:22) I think it is often the case that the Lord tests us and then “heals” us so that we can return more faithfully to Him. He is a good God and we often simply don’t know what we don’t know.

Blessings!

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See also: June 20 (2023) / Isaiah 18-20; 15-16.

Isaiah 14:24-16:14

Dear RTB’ers,

Today, judgments on Assyria, the aggressor from the north/northeast and on Israel’s western neighbor, Philistia and its eastern neighbor, Moab. Only a few verses each for the first two, but two full chapters for Moab. While Isaiah has nothing but harsh words for Assyria and Philistia, he seems to have a soft heart for Moab: My heart cries out for Moab; her fugitives flee… let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you; be a shelter to them from the destroyer. … Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer… (v. 15:5a; 16:4, 9a) Or maybe it is the Lord speaking through Isaiah, loving people even as He is bringing devastation upon them.

One other thought today – the Lord will do what He chooses, His plans will not be undone. Four times in a few verses the ESV uses the word “purpose”: As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand… This is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations. For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? (v. 14:24b, 26-27a) I wonder what is His purpose for our nation for the next few years…? It will be done, whatever it is!

Blessings!

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See also: June 13 (2023) / Isaiah 14:24-32; II Kings 16:10-20; Micah 1-3.

Isaiah 13:1-14:23

Dear RTB’ers,

Today’s reading is 100% about Babylon, and it’s not good for them – for the country, for the city, for the king, or for its people! First we have God’s personal proclamations (through Isaiah) in chapter 13, then Israel’s own triumphs and taunts in chapter 14. Chapter 13 gets confusing when Isaiah goes from God speaking in the first person (I, My, in Isaiah 13:3,11-13,17), then in the third person of God’s judgment in the rest of the chapter.

Israel’s chapter 14 taunt is interesting beginning in Isaiah 14:9 where the dead rise up to meet the defeated Babylonian king, suggesting that he would not even get a proper burial (Isaiah 14:18-20). Many commentators see Isaiah 14:12-14 (and following?) as referring to Satan, the devil, the “fallen angel”. An AI link reports that the term “Day Star” was translated as “Lucifer” in the Latin Vulgate; it’s where we come to give Satan the name Lucifer.

Finally, we close today’s reading with more first-person judgments from the Lord in Isaiah 14:22-23. And it all came to pass as Isaiah had predicted.

Blessings!

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See also: August 17 (2023) / Isaiah 13:1-14:23; 21; 33-35; Daniel 5.

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!