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 all glory,
to dishonor all the honored of the earth.

Isaiah 23:9

Although the context would suggest that this verse originally may have been aimed at Tyre specifically, the last phrase — all the honored of the earth — gives it obvious global applicability, right on down to us today.

Pride. What sin does not have pride lurking at its core? We may not recognize it, but it is there, for in every sin we are exalting ourselves over the living God. Our sin declares that we think we know better than God. Rather than submitting to Him as our rightful King, we declare our independence. And in our pride we flaunt our sin. But beware:

The LORD of hosts has purposed it,
to defile the pompous pride of all glory,
to dishonor all the honored of the earth.

Wait… What month is this again?

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 LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. So now, O LORD our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You, O LORD, are God alone.

II Kings 19:17-19 (cf. Isaiah 37:18-20)

Note that Hezekiah does not pray just for his own safety and that of Jerusalem. He prays that God would be honored, that all would know that the LORD alone is God. That is what is really on the line here.

The LORD answers accordingly: I will defend this city to save it, for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David. (II Kings 19:34; Isaiah 37:35)

In our own prayers, what do we seek? Are we just looking out for our own interests, our own health and prosperity, or perhaps for that of our loved ones? Or are we seeking God’s glory? Just something to think about…

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 of Assyria. You’ve watched refugees from all over Judah stream into Jerusalem, looking for protection within its walls. You’ve heard their tales of destruction — their homes, their possessions, their crops set ablaze, their daughters raped, their sons killed. You’ve watched the Assyrian army advance towards Jerusalem, and now they are about to lay siege.

As the Rabshakeh speaks, his words seem so reasonable. He questions foreign aid from Egypt. (And indeed, looking across the field, all you see are Assyrian forces, no Egyptian chariots in sight.) He questions whether you have good reason to trust in the LORD after Hezekiah has torn down the high places. (Hasn’t Judah worshipped at those high places for generations?) He claims that the LORD sent him against Judah. (Haven’t the prophets said the same?) He says Hezekiah is misleading you by saying the LORD will deliver Jerusalem. (You ask yourself: Is there any indication at all of such deliverance?) He promises to resettle you to another land where you will prosper. (That sounds so much better than starving in Jerusalem under siege!) He claims the gods of the other nations could not withstand Assyria? (Isn’t that obviously so?)

But King Hezekiah has said to be silent. You look to your right and to your left. Your neighbors are obeying the king’s command, but they look just as scared as you know yourself to be. You hear rumors that Isaiah is assuring the king that the LORD will rescue Jerusalem. But you wonder how. To whom do you listen, to the Rabshakeh or to the king and his eccentric prophet?

We know the right answer here, because we can review the story with 20/20 hindsight. We can peek at tomorrow’s reading and learn the rest of the story. The more challenging question for us is this: To whom do we listen today?

Do we listen to scientists, whose brilliant insights have led to marvelous technological improvements in life but who insist that we are just the result of a long series of random events? Do we listen to politicians with their claims of compassion for the poor, but whose welfare policies (perhaps unintentionally, but predictably) lead to fatherlessness, the primary root cause of poverty and crime? Do we listen to the wealthy, those who are clearly successful in business? Do we listen to the mainstream media (which is called “mainstream” because most people tune in) with its claims of truth? Do we listen to our “friends” on social media with their alternate claims of truth? Do we listen to “experts” with their steady stream of facts and figures? Do we listen to celebrities?

Do we listen to the world? Or do we listen to the Word of God? Do we listen to a smooth-talking devil? Or do we listen to Christ? Do we listen to our own pride? Or do we listen to the Holy Spirit?

To whom do we listen?

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 told. The same King’s repentance won the repeal of the sentence God had passed on him, “Give charge concerning your house for you shall die and not live.” What expectation was left? What hope for recovery was there, when the prophet said, “For you shall die?” But Hezekiah did not cease from penitence for he remembered what was written: “In the hour that you turn and lament, you shall be saved.” He turned his face to the wall, and from his bed of pain his mind soared up to heaven—for no wall is so thick as to stifle reverent prayer—“Lord,” he said, “remember me. You are not subject to circumstance, but are yourself the legislator of life. For not on birth and conjunction of stars, as some vainly say, does our life depend. No, you are the arbiter according to your will, of life and the duration of life.” He whom the prophet’s sentence had forbidden to hope was granted fifteen further years of life, the sun turning back its course in witness thereof. Now while the sun retraced its course for Hezekiah, for Christ it was eclipsed, the distinction marking the difference between the two. I mean Hezekiah and Jesus. Now if Hezekiah could revoke God’s decree, shall not Jesus grant the remission of sins? Turn and lament, shut your door, and beg for pardon, that God may remove [you] from scorching flames. For confession has the power to quench fire; it can tame even lions.

Cyril of Jerusalem on II Kings 20:1-11, from Catechetical Lectures, 2.15

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One more thing…

Some of you may be wondering where I get these occasional quotes from the Church Fathers. I’d love to claim some tremendous breadth of knowledge and a keen insight as to the applicability of each saint’s writings to our particular Scriptures. But that thought is, frankly, laughable. In truth, I am indebted to my college roommate for finding these quotes, and his source, in turn, is the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. All of that goes to say that none of us stands alone. We are all members of the Body of Christ, building one another up, right here, right now in RTB and in our respective congregations — and reaching back through history to those great saints who have gone before us and to whom we owe so much.

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 (to whom Hezekiah’s father, wicked King Ahaz, had foolishly and faithlessly appealed for help against Israel and Syria) is knocking on Judah’s door. Some within Judah (possibly led by Shebna the Secretary?) look to the next greatest military power in the area, Egypt, as a refuge. But they forget the LORD.

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help
and rely on horses,
who trust in chariots because they are many
and in horsemen because they are very strong,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel
or consult the LORD!

Isaiah 31:1

My question for each of us is this: Who (or what) is your Egypt?

When everything is going well, when we are prosperous and healthy, it’s easy to convince ourselves that we trust in God. But how about when things are not going so well? To whom (or what) do we look for shelter and security when disaster looms, in a pandemic, or a war, or a financial crisis? Do we look to government benefits to supply all our needs? Do we trust in the U.S.A.’s mighty military arsenal, our most capable fifth-generation fighter aircraft, our nukes? Do we look to political parties or individual politicians as our savior? Or how about Wall Street and our own bank accounts? The list goes on…and on…endlessly, in fact, because we continually manufacture new alternatives — anything but the LORD.

But let’s heed what Isaiah says:

For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel,
“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”
But you were unwilling, and you said,
“No! We will flee upon horses”;
therefore you shall flee away;
and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”;
therefore your pursuers shall be swift.
A thousand shall flee at the threat of one;
at the threat of five you shall flee,
till you are left
like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain,
like a signal on a hill.
Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.

Isaiah 30:15-18

Security apart from the LORD? It’s all bound to fail. It is in the LORD Himself alone that we have hope.

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One more thing…

The divine protection, then, is always inseparably present to us, and so great is the love of the creator for his creature that his Providence not only stands by it but even goes constantly before it. The prophet, who has experienced this, confesses it very clearly when he says, “My God will go before me with his mercy.” When he notices goodwill making an appearance in us at once he enlightens and encourages it and spurs it on to salvation, giving increase to what he himself planted and saw arise from our own efforts. For he says, “Before they cry I will hear them. I will hear them when they are still speaking.” And again: “As soon as he hears the voice of your cry, he will respond to you.” Not only does he graciously inspire holy desires, but also he arranges favorable moments in one’s life and the possibility of good results, and he shows the way of salvation to those who are straying.

John Cassian on Isaiah 30:19, from Conferences 13.8.3-4

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 news for us today, for if the LORD has a message of redemption for these nations — even calling Egypt “My people” and Assyria “the work of My hands“, right along with Israel “My inheritance” (Isa. 19:25) — then there is hope for us, too. But let’s be clear: The message of grace and redemption comes very much in the midst of a declaration of judgment upon these same nations. The judgment is on sin and rebellion against the LORD. The grace is for those willing to receive it.

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.

Isaiah 19:22

Proverbs 28-29

See:

• September 13 (2022) / Proverbs 28:1-14
• September 14 (2022) / Proverbs 28:15-28
• September 15 (2022) / Proverbs 29:1-14
• September 16 (2022) / Proverbs 29:15-27

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 with Solomon…)

See:

• September 7 (2022) / Proverbs 25:1-14
• September 8 (2022) / Proverbs 25:15-28
• September 9 (2022) / Proverbs 26:1-12
• September 10 (2022) / Proverbs 26:13-28
• September 11 (2022) / Proverbs 27:1-14
• September 12 (2022) / Proverbs 27:15-27

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):

• The LORD’s sovereignty
  • Assyria is the LORD’s instrument of judgment, fully under His control. Yet at the same time, the king of Assyria, exercising his own free will, is doing everything arrogantly and with evil intent, so the LORD holds him accountable for his sin. (Isaiah 10:5-27)
  • We’ll see the same principle at play in the Crucifixion, where God is fully in control of Christ’s going to the Cross, yet all the actors (Judas, Pilate, those who cry, “Crucify!”) are responsible for their evil actions.
  • In prior readings, see Isaiah 14:24-27.
• The promise of a saved remnant of Israel (i.e., wider Israel, including Judah)
  • The LORD promises that there will always be a surviving remnant — but only a remnant — of Israel, and that one day that remnant will rightly honor and praise the LORD. (Isaiah 10:20-23) In the short term, we get a picture of this in that Jerusalem is protected from the Assyrian onslaught that otherwise devastates the land of Judah. (Isaiah 10:24-27) In the longer term, consider that the Jews still exist at all, despite millennia of persecution. Ultimately, we can anticipate that one day the LORD will draw the remnant of Israel together into proper worship. (Isaiah 11:11-12:6)
  • In prior readings, see Isaiah 1:9,26-27; 4:2-6; 17:7-9; 28:5-6; 29:22-24.
• The promise of a coming Messiah/Christ
  • The LORD promises that He will raise up a new Ruler that will reign in righteousness and justice, a Ruler on Whom the LORD’s Spirit will rest, and Who is, in fact, the LORD Himself. (Isaiah 11:1-5)
  • In prior readings, see Isaiah 7:14; 8:1-7; 28:16-17.
• The promise of a peaceful world under the Messiah’s rule
  • The LORD declares that under the coming Messiah, the world will be transformed. Even dangerous animals will become docile. (Isaiah 11:6-9)
  • In prior readings, see Isaiah 2:2-4; 4:4-6.

Of course, this is just a sampling. Isaiah has much more to say than what is captured here, but in each of these themes there is hope — hope that is centered in Christ. Sometimes that hope is subtle, hidden in the midst of words of woe, but the hope is there nonetheless. So let’s look for these themes as we move forward through Isaiah and the other prophets. Let’s hear this message of hope in Christ.

Isaiah 28-29; II Kings 17:5-41

Exile for the Northern Kingdom of Israel!

Having walked through Israel’s sordid history, surely we could see this coming! After two centuries of persistent idolatry, despite warnings from numerous prophets, Israel must face the music. II Kings 17 provides all the explanation, so I need not repeat it here. The Northern Kingdom of Israel is crushed by Assyria and deported into exile, never to be heard from again as a distinct people; hence, the “Ten Lost Tribes of Israel”.

Southern Kingdom of Judah: Be warned!

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One more thing…

As II Kings 17 explains, Assyria ships many of the people of Israel out while bringing in other conquered people from foreign lands. The result is a tremendous amount of syncretism, mixing Israel’s already-corrupted version of the worship of the LORD with yet more pagan practices. By New Testament times, the people of Judah (the Jews) want nothing to do with these adulterated Samaritans. Lest we think that is all ancient history, the Samaritans survive to this day.

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And another thing…

If in reading the Scripture you stumble on a good thought that is a “stumbling stone and a rock of offense,” blame yourself. For do not despair that this “stumbling stone and rock of offense” have meanings so as to fulfill the saying “And the one who believes will not be put to shame.” Believe first, and you will discover much holy aid beneath the supposed offense.

Origen on Isaiah 28:16 (See also I Peter 2:6.)