Isaiah 33
Everlasting fire… hmm, what does that sound like? Hell, right? Isn’t that what you’ve always heard—that the righteous are going to live forever with God in heaven and the wicked are going to burn forever in hell? Interestingly enough, that’s pretty much the opposite of what Isaiah says in this chapter. Here, he says (as the title of a great sermon once put it) that heaven and hell have the same zip code.
Isaiah 32
I thought the ending of this chapter was absolutely beautiful: “The Lord’s justice will dwell in the desert, his righteousness live in the fertile field. The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest. Though hail flattens the forest and the city is leveled completely, how blessed you will be.” (vs 16-20)
Isaiah 30
In this chapter, God declares what will happen to those who don’t listen to Him: He will wound them. Sometimes He does that by simply turning us over to the sinful things we have chosen—as in the case of Israel choosing to trust in their “speedy horses” (vs 16) instead of trusting in God. And I believe that, sometimes, He also wounds us Himself. If we are taking a path that will ultimately lead us away from Him, He makes it very hard for us to continue on that path, in order to give us time to change our minds and turn around.
Isaiah 27
The title of today’s blog post seemed like a no-brainer. After all, how many Bible passages are (1) spoken directly by God, and (2) spoken so clearly? “On that day sing about a desirable vineyard: I, Yahweh, watch over it; I water it regularly. I guard it night and day so that no one disturbs it. I am not angry, but if it produces thorns and briers for Me, I will fight against it, trample it, and burn it to the ground. Or let it take hold of My strength; let it make peace with Me—make peace with Me.” (vs 2-5)
Isaiah 20
Do you want to serve the Lord?
Are you sure? Think carefully before you answer!
Make sure you noticed this from today’s chapter: “Then the Lord said, ‘Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush, so the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared—to Egypt’s shame.’” (vs 3-4)
Isaiah 14
In this chapter of Isaiah, we get a glimpse of Lucifer and the insane road he traveled which led him to total destruction: “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.” (vs 12-15)
Isaiah 12
The first verse of this chapter can take on different meanings, depending on which translation you read. I like this one: “At that time you will say, ‘I thank you, Lord! You were angry with me, but you stopped being angry and gave me comfort.’” (CEV) Many versions render the verse this way; the others add a word that isn’t in the original: though. In those translations, the worshiper says, God, I will praise you, because even though you were angry with me, you aren’t angry anymore.
Isaiah 11
Oh, we think we’re so smart. We think we’re so enlightened. We look back at what people did in other times and other places and other cultures, and we judge, judge, judge. We’ve come a long way, baby. We would never act so ignorant and unrefined. We are educated and enlightened and politically correct. We look at the world around us, and we know what’s going on. We’ve got the 411.
Isaiah 10
Just in case you didn’t pay special attention to the first part of this chapter, let’s review it right off the bat: “‘Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath! I send him against a godless nation, I dispatch him against a people who anger me, to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets. But this is not what he intends, this is not what he has in mind; his purpose is to destroy, to put an end to many nations.’ When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, ‘I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes. For he says: “By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding. I removed the boundaries of nations, I plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued their kings.”‘” (vs 5-7, 12-13)
Isaiah 8
In this chapter, Isaiah compares God to a rock: “‘Don’t think there is a plan against you just because the people say there is. Don’t be afraid of what they fear. Don’t let them frighten you!’ The LORD All-Powerful is the one you should fear. He is the one you should respect. He is the one who should frighten you. If you people would respect him, he would be a safe place for you. But you don’t respect him, so he is like a stone that you stumble over. He is a rock that makes both families of Israel fall.” (vs 12-14)
Isaiah 6
There is a short (but sweet) gem about God in this chapter. And even though it might seem like a little thing, to those of us who find ourselves in uncomfortable situations with God, it’s a huge thing: God alleviates anxiety. He is aware of our feelings and emotions. He knows when guilt or fear has overtaken us, and He acts to make us feel as comfortable as possible in His presence:
Ecclesiastes 10
Solomon begins this chapter with an interesting proverb: “As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.” (vs 1) He’s saying that it takes far more energy to create something beautiful than it does to muck it up. And unfortunately, in this world, there are people who would rather spend their time going around tearing things down than building things up.
Ecclesiastes 6
I think Solomon hit on something extremely important in this chapter. It would seem he’s been building up to it for six chapters, running through lists of nearly everything that can be experienced in this life and calling all of it meaningless—wealth, poverty, wisdom, folly, justice, injustice, toil, laziness, and so on.
Ecclesiastes 5
A few years ago, I went to see the musical Jersey Boys. It’s the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, and it’s a pretty wild story! But nothing floored me more than the revelation that Frankie Valli and songwriter Bob Gaudio (who was, for a time, also one of the group’s singers) have maintained for more than 40 years a personal partnership contract sealed with a handshake.
Proverbs 25
This chapter begins in a very intriguing way: “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter.” (vs 2) To conceal a matter… hmmmm, perhaps like the meaning of this proverb? Whatever could this mean? It has been my habit to praise God for His commitment to self-revelation. Why would Solomon say that God not only conceals things, but that it is His glory to do so?
Proverbs 18
When you grow up in the church, you realize (once you’re an adult) that you are familiar with many phrases from the Bible that you’ve never actually thought about before. That happened to me today as I read this chapter of Proverbs. Had you heard this verse before? “The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” (vs 10)
Psalm 130
One of the misunderstandings rampant in traditional Christianity is the idea that the obstacle to our salvation is forgiveness. We have, therefore, constructed an entire theology around the life and death (especially the death) of Jesus that advances the idea that before His death, God the Father wouldn’t forgive us, but after His death, God the Father acquiesced, and we can now be forgiven for our sins.
Psalm 125
I have been struck with the continuing imagery of mountains in these most recent psalms. A few chapters ago, the psalmist lifted up his eyes to the mountains but concluded that his strength was in the Lord who made those mountains. Now, just a few pages later, the psalmist takes his analogy a step further—not only does strength and help come from the Lord of the mountains, but He is like a mountain, and as we trust in Him, He makes mountains out of us.
