Reading for March 12th

 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 the section that began in 5.1. These shorter collections display a broad editorial structure where hope and promise follow threats and warnings. Even the punitive fires of judgment are placed within this larger context of the saving purpose of God. Comments or Questions..

Reading for March 11th

 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 Babylonians had removed the last of the Davidic rulers, Zedekiah (2 Kings 25.1-7). His predecessor and nephew, Jehoiachin, had been taken and held in prison in Babylon (2 Kings 24.10-12), and this prophecy reflects the hope that either he, or one of his descendants, would return to rule (see 55.1-5; 1 Chr 3.16-24). This hope was not fulfilled, and the promises of Davidic kingship became messianic hope. In verses 6-9: An addition that conveys a wider message than one of government and justice: a time of world peace extending throughout the natural order, witnessing the end of violence, not simply between nations (see Isa 2.4) but between wild and domestic animals. The violence and disorder that had confounded God's purpose since the beginning would be transformed by the fashioning of anew heaven and a new earth (66.2-3). As a prominent, and unique, hope in Isaiah, the message is repeated in 65.25. In verses 10-16: Chapters 5-12 form a connected series of prophecies, from the devastation foretold in 6.11-13 until the return of survivors to repopulate it and 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 fulfill in that hope are included in chs. 56-66. as God's judgment had been heralded by a signal to a "nation far away" (5.26), so the ending of the period of judgment and dawning of the age of peace would begin with a further signal to all nations (11.10-12). Comments or Questions..

Reading for March 10th

 Read Isaiah 10.20-34. "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 "the rod of their oppressor" (9.4) show that God would free Judah from foreign domination. In 27b-32 short passage probably refers to the march on Jerusalem by Sennacherib in 701 BCE, the background for Isaiah's later prophecies (see ch. 28-30 and 36-37). It is out of chronological sequence with the events in chs. 7-9 (the reign of King Ahaz). However, its abrupt ending 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 out come of Sennacherib's campaign 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 declared in 10.15-19. Comments or Questions.

Reading for March 9th

 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. 24) Assyria would suffer a severe punishment from God (vv. 15-19), set out is 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 7.23-23; 9.18; possibly also relates to the wooden rod of 9.4 and 10.5). Comments or Questions..

Reading for March 8th

 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) in trusting 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 this land with Judah. In 10.1-4: Verses belong to the condemnation of the leaders of Jerusalem in 5.8-24 (note also the use of the refrain 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 March 7th

 Read Isiah 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 anticipates 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 will restore the honor, fame, and authority of David's royal house (see Ps 2 for a similar 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 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 spiritual rebirth (Ps 2.7). Comments or Questions..

Reading for March 6th

 Read Isaiah 8.5-22. In 8.5-22: 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 flood gates to a torrent that would overwhelm 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 chs. 13-27). In verses 11-22: The prophet retires from public activity  until the truth of his warning is established. Verse 16 refers to the testimony of the name inscribed on the tablet in 8.1, so the disciples are witnesses of 8.2. The prophet's written "memoir" would originally have ended at v. 18, reemphasizing the message of his children's names, the message the king rejected. In verses 12-15: Isiah, isolated and spurned, is accused of conspiracy, although it was the king who had committed 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 forbidden practice of consulting sorcerers and spirits of the dead, they simply plunge themselves into deeper darkness. Comments or Questions..