Archive for category: GAMEtime Sharing

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 42:10-43:7.  Let’s go!

Isaiah 42:10-25 (NIV)
10  Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them.
11  Let the desert and its towns raise their voices; let the settlements where Kedar lives rejoice. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them shout from the mountaintops.
12  Let them give glory to the LORD and proclaim his praise in the islands.
13  The LORD will march out like a mighty man, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies.

On 42:10 to 43:7:  God’s people had persistently turned a deaf ear and a blind eye (42:18-19) to God’s great and glorious laws (42:21).  As a result they were captured and taken away like loot (42:22-25).  Now they were exiles in Babylon.  So the LORD says to the Jewish exiles in Babylon that He is coming to the rescue.  Despite all the ways that His people have been stubborn and rebellious toward Him, God is committed to rescuing them (43:1-7).

43:1-7 shows us that God treasures His people and loves them, so much so that He is willing to exchange someone else for them (“I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life” v4).  He wants to have a personal relationship with them.  Because of this, the only fitting response from His people is to “sing to the LORD a new song, His praise to the ends of the earth” (42:10).

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 41:1-20.  Let’s go!

Isaiah 41:1-4 (NIV)
1  “Be silent before me, you islands! Let the nations renew their strength! Let them come forward and speak; let us meet together at the place of judgment.
2  “Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow.
3  He pursues them and moves on unscathed, by a path his feet have not traveled before.
4  Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD–with the first of them and with the last–I am he.”

On verses 1-4:  Many scholars believe that this “one from the east” is a reference to Cyrus, King of Persia, whose kingdom would be located east of Judah and east of Babylon.  Cyrus would rise up to become the most formidable force in the ancient Near East conquering many other nations.  In 539 B.C. would conquer Babylon and allow the Jewish exiles in Babylon to return to their homeland of Judah.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 40:1-14.  Let’s go!

Here in chapter 40 we come to one of the most beloved chapters in all of Isaiah.  Some early church fathers (like Eusebius of Caesarea, Ephrem of Syria and Cyril of Alexandria) seem to have interpreted Isaiah 40 as an immediate response to Isaiah 39 where Hezekiah unwittingly reveals his nation’s top secrets to the Babylonians.  This would have happened before 701 B.C. However, in the more recent centuries, Christian commentators have interpreted Isaiah 40-55 to be Isaiah talking about a much later event in the future, namely, the time from about 580 to 540 B.C. when the Jewish people were exiles in Babylon and how one day God was going to bring them back to their homeland of Judah.  I will approach Isaiah 40 with this Babylonian exile in mind as the historical background for these verses.  With this approach, I think you’ll find that, like a flower blooming, Isaiah 40 opens up in some beautiful and powerful ways.

Hi GAMErs!

There are so many powerful lessons we can learn from today’s passage in Isaiah 38.  Let’s go!

Isaiah 38:1-2 (NIV)
1  In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”
2  Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,
 
On verses 1-2:  After receiving some grim news that he will soon die, Hezekiah turns his face to the wall and prays to the LORD.  You may be facing a wall right now as well, but you can pray to the LORD who is greater than that wall you are facing.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Isaiah 36:1-37:7.  Let’s go!  Isaiah 36-39 is a small but dramatic section of history sandwiched between large sections of prophecy from Isaiah 1-35 and Isaiah 40-66.  Isaiah would have had first hand knowledge of the events that he writes about in Isaiah 36-39, since he figures as an important character in all these events.  Isaiah’s writings of these events would also make it into the royal annals of Israel, as shown in 2 Kings 18-20.  In addition to describing some important history, Isaiah 36-39 teach us many valuable lessons for us today. 

Isaiah 36:1-3 (NIV)
1  In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.
2  Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander with a large army from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. When the commander stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman’s Field,
3  Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to him.