Week 137, Day 2: The Taunting
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 36:1-22
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
Isaiah now shifts back to recording an immediate danger to Judah. Assyria now comes to the doorstep of Jerusalem. And as is the norm, the king of Assyria has sent a messenger to taunt and intimidate the people before his assault. The king, Sennacherib, gives them a chance to give up but in the message he also tries to discourage them from fighting against him. He says that Egypt cannot save them, they can not save themselves and the worst part is that the king says that Jehovah cannot save them from his hand. What Sennacherib missed was that there was indeed a true God in this land. Yes he had defeated the other lands and their so called gods. But a long time before Assyria showed up on the seen, God had demonstrated to all the nations that He was the true God by the mighty deliverances that He gave to Israel. Unfortunately Israel had disobeyed God so often that now God was allowing them to be punished. Because of his arrogant pronouncement, the king of Assyria incites the anger of Jehovah against himself and his army.
Popularity: 4% [?]
Week 136, Day 4: Who can stand?
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 33:1-24
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
There are several things in this chapter that are difficult to understand. But I want to focus on one section of the text. In talking about God’s judgment to punish the wicked, He says that those who are far away will hear about His actions and acknowledge His might (vs. 13-15). After talking about His judgment being seen and His might acknowledged by those who witness its fierceness, He mentions how trembling has seized the godless. Who can live among such a consuming fire and continual burning? When you think about judgment coming upon any nation for their wickedness, this is a question that will be asked over and over. Who can stand when the judgment of God comes? The one who walks righteously, who speaks with sincerity, who rejects unjust gain or bribes and who turns his eyes away from evil. Such a person will be able to stand and survive when the day of judgment comes. God remembers the deeds of the righteous and will look after them. They may still suffer loss of physical possessions but their souls shall be cared for and protected by the Lord.
Popularity: 4% [?]
Week 136, Day 1: Alliance of Shame
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 30:1-33
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
We are told in this chapter how Judah had sought to have aid from Egypt. From a physical standpoint this makes good sense. Assyria & then Babylon had been increasing threats to the land of Judah. What was Judah to do? The sensible thing from a earthly standpoint is to seek to make allies. So Judah sought to ally itself to the other superpower of the day in hopes that Egypt could keep them safe from the threat of the armies of Assyria & Babylon. But there is only one problem. Judah was not just any nation. They were God’s people. As such they should have sought help from God FIRST. I think that this kind of action is unfortunately common among Christians today. When we are faced by hardship or some threat, we try to fix things ourselves. We figure out what we think will work best and plung right ahead. But that is not the first step that we ought to take. Our strength and salvation comes from above. We ought to seek out guidance from God’s written word and we ought to pray for help. Seeking God first in all things will help us stay on the right path and work to do what God would want us to do during those times of hardship.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Week 135, Day 5: Honors Me with lip Service
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 29:1-24
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
In talking about the condition of Jerusalem and Judah, God says that they drew near to Him with their words and honored Him with their lips but yet something was missing. Reverence and substance to their worship. They didn’t have their hearts in it. They showed reverence for God only so far as to complete their traditions. I believe that these verses hold a stark warning for all of God’s children today. If we honor God and show reverence to Him only by saying something we’ve learned from a tradition or that comes without even thinking much about what we are saying then there could be serious problems. Many Christians serve God today because that is what they were raised doing or just because that is what they have always done. Religion is just something they do or are expected to do. But their heart is not in it. God is not egotistical and needs our verbal praise. He is not looking for us to just cheer about His works and goodness an hour or two a week and then live without regard for Him the rest of our time. Our life will reflect the level of reverence we have for Him and our desire to serve Him will reflect our love for Him. Be careful that you are not doing things simply because it is what is expected of you. God will see through such service and judge us based on the condition of our heart.
Popularity: 5% [?]
Week 134, Day 1: Barefoot & Naked
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 20:1-6
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
Chapter 20 gives a glimpse into a side of prophecy that has always baffled me at times. Isaiah was told to go barefoot and naked for three years as a part of the message being delivered to Egypt and Cush and those who relied upon them for their deliverance. Can you imagine being called upon to do something like that and for three years? We would think that someone had lost their mind if they did something like that and yet God commanded for Isaiah to do so. That is so impressive to me.
Another aspect to consider regarding this is how God was not concerned about the social acceptance of His messenger. God commanded this to convey the message that needed to be given, not to ensure that everyone liked and accepted Isaiah. I think too many religious people today are worried about what men or our society think about them. We should be more concerned about the message that we’ve been given to deliver.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Week 133, Day 4: Destruction Part 3
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 18:1-7
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
I do not understand all of what Isaiah is speaking of here in chapter 18. He does mention this powerful and oppressive nation, whose land the rivers divide and how the Lord would remove and cut away the spreading branches (vs. 5). This chapter seems to continue with the picture of impending destruction and doom that is coming. Nations would be cut off and removed. As I read this passage I thought about what it would be like to be around when a nation that has been standing for hundreds or thousands of years falls. Not just falling in that the leadership was replaced but that the people were wiped out or led off to some distant, foreign land to be slaves. I can imagine the shock that would have. The Philistines, Moab, Ammon, Israel, and Edom were nations that were gonig to be punished and not rise again. Also these were nations that had been there for hundreds of years. Isaiah is describing a major upheaval in this area brought because of the judgment of God upon wicked people.
Popularity: 3% [?]
Week 133, Day 2: Moab degraded
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 16:1-13
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
Continuing the message of Moab’s destruction, Isaiah speaks about another part of Moab that will be wiped out, the vineyards. Most of us have never been around much agriculture. The description here makes me think of the vast fields of corn in the midwest or the orange groves in Florida or California. If you have ever been in one of these areas you are in the midst of miles and miles of fertile, productive land. The crops from these areas supply great quantities of produce. When God speaks of wiping out the vineyards or Moab and it causing bitter weeping, I think it is good for us to picture the “before” and “after” in our mind. These places of thriving produce and areas that produced needed commodities were going to be completely gone. Even more, God tells the people that this will happen within 3 years time (vs. 14). This is a very specific timing that they could look for.
Popularity: unranked [?]
Week 133, Day 1: Total Destruction
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 15:1-9
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
We have described for us here the utter destruction of Moab. I think these passages are easy to gloss over because the places mentioned are not familiar to us. But imagine that every place that you ever knew growing up: your home town, the school, the town courthouse, the neighboring towns were all wiped out. They were left in utter ruin. If you can just picture getting a message where you are told that each major city that you are familiar with and that you take some stock in is going to be wiped out. Nothing will be left of them and that the waters of the river are going to be full of blood because so many people will have been killed. That is an impressive message to think about and that is what we are reading about in chapter 15. Moab will be destroyed and they are being told now how severe the judgment will be against them.
Another thing to consider is that a far worse fate awaits those who are outside of Christ. But we are blessed to be able to be rescued from torment and agony by the salvation given through Jesus.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Week 125, Day 4: Slavery
Today’s Reading: Proverbs 29:1-27
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
Because of the abuses during this nation’s time with slavery I think many view slavery as morally wrong. I think that when you read scriptures you find that slavery is not spoken of as inheritantly evil. Masters were told under the NT to remember that the Lord is their master and they will be accountable for how they treat their servants. There have always been stories that have floated around of people who treated their slaves well enough that after the end of slavery, the slaves chose to stay on to help work the farm. Verse 21 speaks of a person who pampers his slave will find him to be a son. Close relationships were certainly possible between the slave and master situations. But what I want to also point out is what verse 19 says. Instruction alone will not provide sufficient motivation for all slaves to be good workers. Correction and discipline would have to be hanging out there as a threat. Most people do not perform well in a job if they feel that there are no consequences to bad performance. Likewise, a slave would need every now and then to be punished some way for wrong doing or neglect of duties. Certainly with the past slavery practice in America we saw abuses of human beings. People were regarded as less than human and beaten severely. I think these kind of images taint or impression of the practice of slavery. Kidnapping and forcing someone to be a slave would be equally wrong. What I think could be acceptable is a situation where instead of bankrupcy or welfare, you have people endenturing themselves to another person in order to pay their debts. What would be wrong with such an arrangement?
Popularity: 2% [?]
Week 124, Day 5: With Moderation
Today’s Reading: Proverbs 25:1-28
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
Verse 16 talks about finding a good thing, honey. But it warns you not to eat more than you NEED. Anything, anything can be abused. Whenever we find good things in life we need to remember not to let those things consume us. I think for myself that hobbies are especially dangerous. They can be good things and yet consuming too much of them, i.e. spending too much time with them can be a detriment to us. Too much of a good thing is bad. That is sometimes mocked among the worldly. But it is an age old truth. So the next time you ponder what good and enjoyable things you have, think about whether you are consuming only what you need. Or are you consuming so much that it is going to cause you injury and pain?
Popularity: 2% [?]