Archive for month: April, 2023

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 57:14-21.  Let’s go!

Isaiah 57:14-19 (NIV)
14  And it will be said: “Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.”
15  For this is what the high and lofty One says– he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.
16  I will not accuse forever, nor will I always be angry, for then the spirit of man would grow faint before me– the breath of man that I have created.
17  I was enraged by his sinful greed; I punished him, and hid my face in anger, yet he kept on in his willful ways.
18  I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him,
19  creating praise on the lips of the mourners in Israel. Peace, peace, to those far and near,” says the LORD. “And I will heal them.”

On verses 14-19:  Here we see the incredible mercy and compassion of God.  For after expressing His dismay at the idolatry and corruption of His people (57:1-13) and their leaders (56:9-12), God says that He will not accuse forever or always be angry, lest the spirit of man grow faint before Him (v16).

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 56:9-57:13.  Let’s go!
 
Isaiah 56:9-12 (NIV)
9  Come, all you beasts of the field, come and devour, all you beasts of the forest!
10  Israel’s watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep.
11  They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, each seeks his own gain.
12  “Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better.”
 
On 56:9-12:  Isaiah has just finished explaining how those who were once thought to be excluded from God’s people – eunuchs and Gentiles – can actually have a place in God’s house and God’s family if they keep His covenant (Isaiah 56:1-8).  Now Isaiah turns his attention to those whose place in God’s kingdom no one would usually question, but Isaiah is going to question it.   Starting in verse 10, Isaiah speaks about the leaders of Israel, “Israel’s watchmen”. 

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 56:1-8.  Let’s go!

Isaiah 56:1-2 (NIV)
1  This is what the LORD says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.
2  Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
 
On verses 1-2:  In Isaiah 55, Isaiah has just announced God’s open invitation to everyone to come and freely receive the forgiveness, mercy and freedom that He makes possible.  You would think that this would be a fitting way to end the book of Isaiah.  Yet the book of Isaiah continues on for 10 more chapters dealing with various topics, two of the biggest being what God expects of His people now and what God will do at the very end of time. 

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 55.  Let’s go!

Isaiah 55:1-7 (NIV)
1  “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
2  Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
3  Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.
4  See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander of the peoples.
5  Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations that do not know you will hasten to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.”
6  Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.
7  Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
 
On verses 1-7:  In the book of Isaiah, Isaiah has shown himself capable of empathizing with different perspectives.  In Isaiah 54, Isaiah is writing with a woman’s needs in mind, likening God’s people to a woman who longs for security and protection.  In contrast, Isaiah 55 is written from a man’s perspective, speaking to the concerns of a man who desperately wants God’s forgiveness.  Yet the messages of Isaiah 54 and 55 are one and the same: if we want the security, the protection and the forgiveness that we long for so much, we will not be able to get it ourselves.  We need God’s help.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 54.  Let’s go!
 
Isaiah 54:1-8 (NIV)
1  “Sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,” says the LORD.
2  “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.

On verses 1-8:  Back in Isaiah’s time there were three situations that were specifically difficult and shame-inducing for Jewish women: being barren, being a widow and being a divorcee.  Isaiah compares God’s people to a barren woman in verses 1-3, a widow in verses 4-5 and a divorcee in verses 6-8.  But in each case His point is that the LORD is going to take away His people’s shame and restore them to a place of glory, joy and blessing.  From a barren woman, God is going to supernaturally bless His people with far more descendants than she could ever have had naturally (v1).  She will have so many children that she will need to find a bigger tent and her territory will expand into other nations (v2-3).  We see much of this prophecy fulfilled already in our day.