Reading for May 8th

Read Isaiah 17.1-11. In 17.1-11: Pophecies concerning Israel and Damascus. In verses 1-6:The background is that of the alliance of Syria (Damascus) and Ephraim (Israel) against Judah, which is also present in chs. 7-8. The message is that expressed in the name of Isaiah's son Shera-jashub ("a remenant returns," Isa 7.3). Instead of the defeated remnant of an army, this time the image is that of gleanings after a harvest. In verses 7-9: The orginal threat gives only a geneal reason for the coming disaster (vv. 10-11); this added warning against trust in the power of idols intensifies the threat (see 2.8). In verses 10-11: Reference to the hyperbolic growth of plants reflects a form of fertility ritual with religious (and propbably also sexual) significance. Comments or Questions..

Reading for May 7th

Read Isaiah 16.1-13. In verses 1-11: The appeal to Jerusalem to offer refuge to fugitives from this disaster is a sign of hope that Moab would renew allegiance to a Davidic King. This prophecy may allude to the reign of Josiah, a link with the promise of 32.1-8. In verses 6-11 rebuke the pride of Moab. In verses 12-13: Subsequent to the disaster of 586 BCE, the relations between Judah and Moab worsened. Comments or Questions..

Reading for May 6th

Read Isaiah 15.1-9. In 15.1-16: Propecies concerning the downfall of Moab. In 15.1-9: Moab was one of the smaller kingdoms neighboring Judah in the south and to the east of the River Jordan. It covered much of the territory now occupied by Jordan. Moab, though once part of David's kingdom (2 Sam 8.2), had broken waya and suffered Assyrian and Babylonian exploitation. In the course of one or another campaign, this fearful killing took place. Comments or Questions..

Reading for May 5th

Read Isaiah 14.28-32. No Comments

Reading for May 4th

Read isaiah 14.24-27. Assyria will suffer divine judgment (see 10.5-34), and, although out of chronological sequence this is a warning to all nations who threaten God's people (vv. 26-27; see 8.9-10; 17.12-14). In the literary and historical structure of Isa 13-27, the historical rise and fall of the great imperial powers was a preparation for God's rule. Comments or Questions..

Reading for May 3rd

Read Isaiah 14.1-23. In 14.1-23: A mocking lament for the death of the king of Babylon. In verses 1-2: The Babylonian threat occupies most of chs. 40-55, so this great world power take on symbolic role as the supreme example of oppression. This editorial note provides a summary of the message of hope (chs. 56-66, see also 11.12-16). In verses 3-11: A brillant, mockingh lament for the death of the king of Babylon ironically contrasts the kings power in life and powerlessness in death and celebrates the passing of Babylon as a world power. No ruler is named, and, apart from the introductory heading in v. 4, direct identification with Babylon is lacking. The orginal sunject may be some earlier ruler's death, possibly the Assyrian Shalmaneser V (whose death in 705 occurred during Isiah's ministry and had major repercussions for Judah's political stance). Butthis passge celebrates the downfall of tyranny rather than the death of a specific individual. Sheol (vv. 11, 15) is the mysterius underworld to which spirits descended after death. The spirits of other dead persons rise up in amazement that a figure once so proud and supreme could be brought so low (vv. 16-20). In verses 12-15: The day Star, son of Dawn is the Morning Star (Venus). In verses 16-21: In extensive royal households others sons were usually a threat to a crown prince (see 37-38). Comments or Questions..

Reading for May 2nd

Read Isaiah 13.1-22. In 13.1-22: The overthrow of Babylon. In verses 1-22: It is a surprise that Babylon, rather than Assyria, is the great oppressing power to be punished for its excessesses and cruelites. The reason, lies in the importance of Babylon for the structure of the book: Chs. 40-55 reflect the period of Babylonian imperial control over the nations dealt with in chs. 13-23. Reference to the attacking Medes (v. 17) points to this fierce prophecy as a fore-warning of the defeat of Babylon in 538 BCE, later anticipated so eagerly in chs 46-47. Judah's bitter sufferings at the hands of Babylon explain the vengeful spirit in vv. 14-16 and the longing that such a great kingdom should become a pertpetual ruin (vv. 20-22). Comments or Questions..

Reading for May 1st

Read Isaiah 12.1-6. In 12.1-6: A psalm of thanksgiving. Isaiah has been constructed to form a series of "books within books." A psalm of thanksgiving for the salvation of God which will surely come to Jerusalem concludes that section that began in 5.1. These are shorter collections display a broad editorial structure where hope and promise follow threats and warnings. Even the punitive fires of jugment are placed within this larger context of the saving purpose of God. Comments or Questions.

Reading for April 30th

Read Isaiah 11.1-16, In 11.1-16: The renewal of God's promise. In verses 1-5: The shoot from the stump of Jesse refers to the situation after the Babylonians had removed the last of the Davidic rulers, Zedekiah (2 Kings 25.1-7). His predecessor and nephew, Jehiochin, had been taken and held prisoner in Babylon (2 Kings 24.10-12), and this prophecy reflects the hope that either he, or one of his desendants, would return to rule (see 55.2-5; 1 Chr 3.16-24). This hope was not fulfilled, and the promises of Davidic kingship became a messianic hope. In verses 6-9: An addition that conveys a wider message than one of goverment and justice: a time or world peace extending throughout the natural order, witnessing the end of violence, not simply betwen nations (see Isa 2.4) but beween wild and domestic animals. The violence and disorder that had confounded God's purpose since the begining would be transformed by the fashioning of a new heaven and a new earth (66.2-3). As a pominent, and unique, hope in Isaiah, the message is repeated in 65.22. In verses 10-16: Chapter 5-12 form a connected series of prophecies, from the devastation foretold in 6.11-13 until the return of surviors to repopulate it and to rebuild Jerusalem. This promise of return forms a significant feature of the book's overall message. Detailed promises of this return begin in chs. 40-55. Prophecies fulfilling that hope are included in chs. 56-66. As God's judgment had been hearaled by a signal to a "nation far away (5.26), so the ending of the period of judgment and its dawning of the age of peace would begin with a further signal to all nations (11.10-12). Commenst or Questions..

Reading for April 29th

Read Isaiah 10.20-34. In verses 20-27a:"Shear-jashub" of 7.3, "a remnant returns," could be understood in more than one way, as the three interpretations of vv. 21-23 show. There would be a future nation, but shaped by suffering and loss. Only some of the nation would survive. Similarly, the interpretations in vv. 24-27a of "rod of their oppressor" (9.4) show that God would free Judah from foreign domination. In verses 27b-32: This short passge probably refers to the march on Jerusalem by Sennacherib in 701 BCE, the background for isaiah's later prophecies (see chs. 28-30 and 36-37). It is out of chronological sequence with the events of chs. 7-9 (the reign of King Ahaz). However, its abrupt ending with the oppressor threatening, but not attacking, Jerusalem (v. 32) fits the Assyrian punitive campaign into Judah during the reign of Hezekiah, whose accession is foretold in 9.2-7. In verses 33-34: The outcome of Sennacherib's compaign is presented as the cutting down of the forest foretold in vv. 18-19. The failure to complete the punitive attack upon Jerusalem in 701 was a judgment of God upon Assyria's blasphemous boasts. The events in chs. 36-37 are understood to fulfill the punishment on Assyria in 10.15-19. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 28th

Read Isaiah 10.5-19. In 10.5-34: Assyria will not escape the judgment of God. In verses 5-19: Assyria was the agent of God, but its ministers were arrogant and blasphemous (see 36.13-20). When God judged that the time was ripe (v. 2) Assyria would suffer a severe punishment from God (vv. 15-19), set out in a series of word-pictures related to other sayings. In verses 17-19: The tree imagery is related to the language of "briers and thorns" in 5.6 (see 7.23-25; 9.18; possibly also relates to the wooden rod of 9.4 and 10.5. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 27th

Read Isaiah 9.8-10.4. In 9.8-10.4: No respite for the Land of Ephraim. In 9.8-21: The Assyrian intervention proved ruinous. Judah fared less badly than Ephraim; 2 Kings 17.5-23 tells how Ephraim was destroyed (see also Isa 7.8). The prophet warns against pride and complacency (vv. 9-10) intrusting that ruin would be overcome. During the following half-century, persistent external interference and internal conflicts ruined the region of Ephraim-Samaria. Not till the reign of Josiah more than a century later were serious attempts made to reunite parts of the land with Judah. In 10.1-4: Verses 1-3 belong to the condemnation of the leaders of Jerusalem in 5.8-24 (note also the rfrain from 9.8-21 in 5.25), while 10.4 clearly belongs to the warning against Ephraim (9.8-21). Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 26th

Read Isaiah 9.1-7. In 9.1-7: Light in the darkness. A brief editorial note looks ahead to the time when the darkness of Assyrian destruction will end and a new era of peace and hope will dawn. The difficult text anticpates the celebrated prophecy of the new king that follows. In verses 2-7:The coming of a new king. A coronation hymn celebrates the coming of a new king who would restore the honor, fame, and authority of David's royal house (see Ps 2 for a similar royal coronation hymn.) The new ruler would reverse the harm wrought by Ahaz. The new king is probably Hezekiah, Ahaz's successor (2 Kings 16.20). His accession year is uncertain (perhaps 725 or 715 BCE.). His ascent to the throne marked the beginning of new royal policy, which was expected to bring a change in the nation's fortunes. Since Hezekiah was not successful in ending Assyria's rule (Isa 36-39), it may be Josiah (639-609 BCE) whose reforming reign is foretold. Under Josiah, Assyrian control over Judah finally ended. The arrival of the new king is described as a royal birth, which involves divine assurance for the royal dynasty. The "birth" probably refers to the king's coronation, a moment of spirtual rebirth (Ps 2.7). Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 25th

Read Isaiah 8,5-22. In 8.5-22: The rejection of the prophet's message. In verses 5-8: The message of the names is refused. Isaiah becomes the bearer of a new message: Ahaz will indeed seek military help from Assyria (see 2 Kings 16.7-9), but it would open the floodgates to a torrent that would overwhelmn the entire land, immersing Judah as well as the sister kingdom in the north. In verses 9-10: The prophet proclaims: God will establish justice upon earth (the book's overall message; compare 14.24-27; 17.12-14; and see introduction to chas. 13-27). In verses 11-22: The prophet retires from public activity until the truth of his warning is eastablished. Verses 16 refers to the testiomony of the name inscribed on the tablet in 8.1, so the disciples are witnesses of 8.2. The pprophet's written "memoir" would orginally have ended at v. 18, reemphasizing the message of his children's names, the message the king had rejected. In verses 12-15: Isaiah, isolated and spurned, is accussed of conspiracy, although it was the king who had ommitted conspiracy against God. In verses 19-22: Short prophecies warn of the folly of rejecting the true word of God. When, in despair, the people turn to seek assurance and knowledge of the future from the forbidden pratice of consulting sorcerers and the spirits of the dead, they will simple plunge themselves into deeper darkness. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 24th

Read Isaiah 8.1-4. In 8.1-4: The sign-name of maher-shalal-hash-baz. This is the third message attached to the name of a child, which had not yet been conceived when the name was given. The name, "The spoil speeds, the prey hastens," points to the defeat of the forces threatening Judah. The witnessess would confirm that the name was given before the child had been conceived. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 23rd

Read Isaiah 7.18-25. In 7.18-25: Further interpretation of the prophet's words. A series of short statements spells out the message of the prophet. In verses 18-19: The fly and the bee symbolize the threat from Egypt and Assyria: Israel and Judah were sandwiched between two major world powers. In verse 20: The hired razor is Assyria, which would ravage and destroy Israel's entire land. In verse 21-22: A further interpretation is given of the sign in v. 15. In verses 23-25: Three fresh interpretations are provided of the briers and thorns from the parable of the vineyard in 5.1-7. In verse 24: The briers and thorns are soldiers with bows and arrows. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 22nd

Read Isaiah 7.10-17. In 7.10-17: The king rejects a sign, showing that he had not abandoned his plan to seek help from Assyria. In verse 11: The sign indicated that the prophetic word would, in due course, be fulfilled. Sheol was the place to which the spirits of the dead descended and is here used for poetic emphasis. In verse 14: In spite of the traditional translation of the young woman as "virgin," the Hebrew noun implies no more than a woman of marriageable age. The prophet's right to confer the child's name indicates that she was probably his wife. In the context of concern about the future of the Davidic line, however, the child may be a royal heir, possibly Hezekiah, who succeeded Ahaz on the throne of Judah. The Later 'messianic" interprettation of prophecies relating to the Davidic kingship belongs to the period after this royal dynasty ceased to rule in Jerusalem (9.2-7; 11.1-5; 55.3-5). Immanuel, "God with us," is an exclamation used in worship to affirm God's presence and protection (see Ps 46.11). Ahaz had no need to seek help from assyria whenGod was his true helper. In verses 15-17 eating curds and honey and refusing the evil and choosing the good came at the time (1-2 years of age) when the child would begin to take solid food and respond to parental discipline. Within less than two years Judah's present enemies would have been forced to flee home. The day that Ephraim departed refers to the time when the united kingdom of Israel over which David and Solomon had reigned, split over allegiance to the Davidic dynasty (see 1 Kings 12.1-19). Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 21st

Read Isaiah 7.1-9. In 7.1-8.4: The message of the names of three children. In verses 1-3: For the poltical context, see 2 Kings 16.5-9. The threat to depose Ahaz was an attempt to force Judah into joining the anit-Assyrian coalition. The king countered by seeking assistance from Assyria (2 Kings 16.7-9) trying to secure his throne and gain an advantage over Ephraim in a territorial quarrel (see 2 Kings 14.25). Ahaz's overture to Assyria was diastrous. Isaiah coveys a message through children's names: Shear-jashub, Immanuel, and Maher-Shalal-hashbz. The first is already the prophet's infant son, whereas the third had not even been conceived when his name was given and inscribed on a tablet (8.1-2). At the child's brith, witnesses would unveil the prescribed name (8.2). The name of the second child, Immanuel (7.14), may indicate a royal figure, an heir to the throne who would assure the future of the dynasty to the troubled Ahaz. It is more probable, however, that, like the other two the child is the prophet's and the unnamed young woman of 7.14 is the prophet's wife. In verse 3: Shear-jashub, "a remnant returns," implies the defeat of the armies threatening Jerusalem and their return home in greatly reduced numbers. It could later be interpreted in other ways (see 10.20-23). In verse 6: The son of Tabeel is not otherwise identified and it is is not even clear that he was from a Judahite family. The prophet's emphatic form of address to the king (v. 13) implies that the future of the royal dynasty was threatened. In verse 8: The note on the dissolution of Ephraim (Israel) reflects an editor's awareness that the veiled threat was fulfilled. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 20th

Read Isaiah 6.1-13. In 6.1-13: The prophet's call and commission. In verses 1-8: The year in which King Uzziah died is not precisely known, but his death occurred sometime btween 742 and 736 BCE. The king (also called Azariah, 2 Kings 15.1-7) had been stricken with serve illness (2 Kings 15.50), which meant that his son Jotham served for a time aas co-regent with him before succeeding to the throne (2 kings 15.7). This co-regency period must be included in the sixteen years ascribed to Jotham's reign (2 Kings 15.33). It was in this time that a major conflict arose between an alliance of Syria-Israel (Ephraim) and Judah (2 Kings 15.37). The central issue was resistance against Assyrian expansion in the region. (see 2 Kings 15.17-20). Judah's neighbors intended to remove Ahaz from his throne and to replace him with anotherwise unknown figure called Tabeel (7.6). Isaiah's call therefore came at a time when Assyrian interference was beginnng to cause severe political upheaveal in the region. In verses 9-10: The sharp irony of the commission given to Isaiah implies awareness of the popular hostility to his message and the people's refusal to accept it (see 8.11-15). In verse 11: One of Isaiah's central warnings is that the entire land of Israel will be ruined because of the rejection of God's message. The continuing relevance of these porphecies led to their preservation in this book. In verses 12-13: The cruel Assyrian policy of exiling whole popualtions (see 36.17) is reflected in this warning. The further threat that, even after severe devastation, the land will be burned again reflects later awareness of depredations by both Assyrains and Babylonian's armies. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 19th

Read Isaiah 5.26-30. In 5.26-30: This key prophetic declaration shows clearly how the judgment will fall upon the land of Israel and Judah and that, although a forgeign nation will bring about devastation, the voice of God has summoned it. The image of God acting against Israel by raising a signal for a nation far away becomes a repeated theme showing how God acts to control human destiny (see 11.10-12; 49.22). Although in human destiny (see 11.10-12; 49.22). Although in this pronouncement the identity of the distant nation is not revealed, one quickly discovers that it is Ayssyria (see 7.17; 8.4). Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 18th

Read Isaiah 5.8-25. The conduct of the ruling classes in Jerusalem involved greed, manipulation of justice, violence, and dishonesty. Divine judgment is therefore necessary. The concluding part of this indictment may occur in 10.1-3, with 5.25 correespondingly misplaced from 9.8-21. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 17th

Read Isaiah 5.1-7. In 5.1-30: The song of the vineyard. In verses 1-7: The parable of an unfruitful vineyard is an apparently unremarkable story whose full meaning only becomes clear when the storyteller reveals that he is describing Israel and Judah. The verdict of v. 6 is valid also for this larger meaning: The land must soon suffer utter devastation and ruin. This is the theme-message which underlies all the prophecies of chs. 5-12 (see especially 6.11-13). The parable is more complex by the opening address in which the speaker declares: Let me sing for my beloved my love song. As a "friend" of the injured vineyard owner, the speaker is an interested onlooker or perhaps the owner's supporter at a feast. In this case, the claim to preent a love-song suggests that the story will be about a disappointed lover (see the use of the vineyard imagery for courtship in Song 8.11-12). In verses 7: The vineyard represents both Israel and Judah. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 16th

Read Isaiah 4.2-6. In 4.2-6: The glory of the new Jerusalem. In verses 5-6: Judgment is the necessary path to the renewal of hope and to the dawning of a time of justice and world peace. Hence, the opening chapters conclude with a vision of a chastened and glorified Jerusalem in which the presence of God will be evident everywhere (vv. 5-6). The visionary presentation is filled with symbolic word pictures which the title the branch of the Lord (v. 2) refers to the new Davidic king (compare 11.5). As God had led the ancestors of the nation through the desert (see Ex 13.21-22), sonow the same presence would indicate the protection and blessing of the favored city. The pitcture of shade and shelter (v. 6) counter the warnings of the sufferings and trials in 3.1-4.1. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 15th

Read Isaiah 3.13-4.1. 3.13-4.1: The Lord's case against the people. The reasons for Judah's misfortune are detailed in a lawsuit which God is bringing against the people. In verses 15-16: Oppression of the poor and women who indulge in absurd luxury are outward signs of a spiritual sickness. Accordingly, God's punishment will fit the offense (v. 24): the horrors of warfare will reduce many of the women who had so pampered thmselves to a state of destitution (3.25-4.1). Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 14th

Read Isaiah 3.1-12 In 3.1-4.1: Confusion in Judah and Jerusalem. In verses 1-8: The city and the land will suffer famine and the loss of their natural resoursces, bringing confusion and panic. There will be no capable judges and elders (vv. 1-5), bringing economic ruin and social chaos (v. 6) with the breakdown of law and order. The broader context indicates that this is the consequence of appresive foreign invasions and interference (see chs. 5-12). In verses 9-12: The readers of that time would know, only too well, the ruined state of Judah and its chief city. Disobedience and indifference to the Lord God had brought such misfortune upon them. Comments or Questions.

Reading for April 13th

Read Isaiah 2.5-22 In verses 5-11: Jerusalem, seeking commerical prosperity and success, neglected it spiritual foundations. On that day(v.11) points to an indefinite time of God's judgement and comes to refer to the great judgment and renewal for Judah and all nations (see Isa 25.9). In verses 12-22: The prophet depicts God's punishment of human pride through the image of bringing down natural features such as tall trees and high mountains (vv. 12-15). Arrogance is the root of idolatry (vv. 19-20), the belief that human beings can control the divine realm. The Day of the Lord (v. 11) now points to God's judgment against human violence and disregard of the divine laws. The ships of Tarhish (v. 16) were the famed trading ships of the maritime nations of the Mediterranean. In Gen 10.4 Tarshish is a great-grandson of Noah. but the several biblical references to it as a place point to its fame as a source of trade, especially trade is precious metals. It is often located in southwestern Spain, but more probably more than one site where mining and metal-refining took place bore such a name. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 12th

Read isaiah 2.1-4/ In 2.1-22: Jerusalem: Its destiny and wrongdoing. In verses 1-4: From the time of David's adoption of the city as his capital, Jerusalem had been celebrated as the place to which many nations paid homage and brought tribute (see Ps 2.2-11). This memorable prophecy reinterprets this theme, giving divine assurance that the city will become a center from which God's law will be administered among the nations(the city's name is related to the Hebrew word for peace, "shalom."). Peace, God's purpose for all nations (v. 4) can only come when there is justice. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 11th

Read Isaiah 1.21-31. In 1 21-31: As a royal city, Jerusalem was a center for the administration of justice over which the king presided. The failure to uphold such justice allowed the most serious crimes to go unpunished. God would therefore have to take actin, not only against the criminal wrongdoers, but also against those whose indifference encouraged evil deed. In verse 29: The oaks were simple rustic shrines, devoted to fertility and the gods and goddess who were believd to guarrantee life-givig power. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 10th

Read Isaiah 1.10-20. In verses 10-20: Criticism of the Temple rituals and prayers show that without justice and compassion they are meaningless to God, who ignores them. Comments and Questions..

Reading for April 9th

Read Isaiah 1.1-9. In 1.1-20: The ruin and desolation of Jerusalem and the land of Judah. In verses 1-9: The portrayal of the desolation of the land and the isolated situation of Jerusalem probably refers to the events of 701 BCE in which the Assyrian king, Sennacherib, laid siege to the city (see 36.1-37. 38). Such attacks were repeated in later times and hence provided a context for the whole book. The prophet's rebuke shows how the people's own wrong-doing had brought about their misfortunes. In verse 8: The booth and shelter in vineyard and field were watchmen's huts set up to protect the vines and crops. Comments or Questions..