Isaiah 44:24-45:25 Dear RTB’ers, Cyrus. Isaiah mentions him by name, some two centuries before he frees the Jews from exile in Babylon: He is My shepherd, and he shall fulfill all My purpose; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’ Thus says the LORD to His …
Category Archives: RTB 2025 – Search the Scriptures, Part 2
December 18 / Isaiah 43:14-44:23
Isaiah 43:14-44:23 Dear RTB’ers, Three major items in today’s reading – the fall of Babylon, Israel’s sinfulness, and the folly of idol worship. It is worth noting, again, that Isaiah is predicting Babylon’s downfall some two centuries before it happens. In Isaiah’s time Babylon had not even become dominant. Hezekiah had shown Babylonian envoys all …
December 17 / Isaiah 42:1-43:13
Isaiah 42:1-43:13 Dear RTB’ers, For the remainder of our readings in Isaiah I recommend that you first read the STS introduction, then the text, then the introduction again and the text again, then my comments, then the 2023 posts. It’s not easy to follow Isaiah when you just read his words; it requires a bit …
December 16 / Isaiah 41
Isaiah 41 Dear RTB’ers, The STS intro refers to today’s reading as a “magnificent chapter” in which “the supremacy of the God of Israel is further demonstrated” – further demonstrated, in that yesterday’s Isaiah 40 had already established His greatness. I have suggested many times that you read through the links to prior posts that …
December 15 / Isaiah 40
Isaiah 40 Dear RTB’ers, We return to Isaiah and will be with him for the rest of this year and into 2026. In fact, we will not finish Isaiah until January 4, the date of our first RTB gathering of the new year. So, three weeks, get it on your calendars! [NOTE: Carol and I …
December 14 / II John & III John
II John 1-13 & III John 1-15 Dear RTB’ers, Two more (short) letters from the apostle John, one written to an “elect lady and her children” (possibly [even likely?] to a church and its members), the other to a person, Gaius. I see a common theme in these two letters – discernment. In the first …
December 13 / I John 5:4-21
I John 5:4-21 This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only, but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these …
December 12 / I John 4:7-5:3
I John 4:7-5:3 Dear RTB’ers, “Love.” Each day in I John one word jumps out. Today that word is “love”. I counted 33 occurrences of the word “love” or “loved” in today’s 18 verses. And in these few verses we have a number of “memory verses”, especially I John 4:10,11,16b,18a,19. Pick one and add it …
December 11 / I John 3:11-4:6
I John 3:11-4:6 Dear RTB’ers, “World”. That one word is mentioned eight times in today’s reading, six of those in the first six verses in chapter 4, three times in just one verse (I John 4:5). For the most part, John applies the “world” to this earthly realm that is not of God, that is …
December 10 / I John 2:28-3:10
I John 2:28-3:10 Dear RTB’ers, The devil. He is featured today in John’s letter, in unglowing terms (I John 3:8, 10)! We also saw him in yesterday’s reading, where he is mentioned as “the evil one” (I John 2:13-14) and we’ll see him again in I John 5:18-19, again mentioned as “the evil one”. As …