Good morning! In today’s reading (Isaiah 33-35), we encounter one vision of “end times” after another. There is breathtaking promise in these texts, but also terror for those who are not redeemed or “saved”. The question I bring to this passage is whether it is possible to envision an ultimate future that doesn’t involve some losers as well as the winners.
Category: Daily Bible
Isaiah 29-32
Good morning! Have you heard the phrase, “suffer fools gladly”? I’ve heard it in the context of someone who doesn’t suffer fools gladly, and so is harsh on those who act thoughtlessly. Today in Isaiah 29-32, God does not “suffer fools gladly”, and the prophet speaks out on God’s behalf. Even though the near-term message of Isaiah is hard to handle, its ultimate goal is to deliver fools and wise alike into a day of promised peace.
Isaiah 25-28
Good morning! The prophet Isaiah writes today in chapters 25-28 of the coming re-ordering that God will bring to pass among the Hebrew people. While Isaiah shows some preference for the inhabitants of Israel and Judah because they are Jews, he also has no patience for Jewish leaders who misuse their authority and privilege. Isaiah is first and foremost on God’s side, and has no doubt that God will make all things right once again.
Isaiah 22-24
Good morning! Prophets have a reputation for being messengers of “doom and gloom”, largely because of passages like today’s Isaiah 22-24. In this section the prophet continues to warn of God’s judgment, this time on Jerusalem, Tyre and the entire earth.
Isaiah 17-21
Good morning! In today’s passage (Isaiah 17-21), we come to appreciate our cosmopolitan, well-traveled protagonist. Isaiah is an international man of prophecy! Most of these chapters deal with oracles about what’s going on in other nations and cities around Israel. A good study Bible or commentary will help to place some of the significant images and metaphors from Isaiah’s prophecies. What I’m struck by today is that Isaiah did not have to maintain his awareness of regional, international dynamics. Plenty of Hebrew leaders had focused exclusively on the “chosen people”, ignoring all else. Yet Isaiah’s prophecies here reveal the extent to which he was involved in regional conversations and aware of the dynamics at play when the superpower Assyria started throwing its weight around the entire Middle East.
Isaiah 13-16
Good morning! In today’s passage from Isaiah (chapters 13-16), we read a series of oracles regarding God’s judgment against the other nations that surround Judah. Chapter 13 lays out a fierce prophecy against Babylon. The writer goes into detail about the “day of the Lord”, when everything is put to right but only after a fight that illustrates how sinful human communities and societies have become. In the oracle against Babylon, we read that God will bring enemies against Babylon to unexpectedly destroy them.
Isaiah 9-12
Good morning! Today’s reading from Isaiah 9-12 combines both hope and dread in subsequent chapters. The prophet anticipates in transcendent, memorable verses the near-term arrival of a national savior who brings peace beyond imagining, but then also describes the even more imminent judgment of God for Israel’s unrighteousness. The Hebrew people will suffer for their wrongdoings before they are delivered by an unprecedented ruler.
Isaiah 5-8
Good morning! Welcome to the handful of folks who decided yesterday to join this community and read through the prophets with us! I hope you had a chance to read the first four chapters of Isaiah. Today in Isaiah 5-8, we read a famous allegory, Isaiah’s call story, and a situation in Hebrew history where Isaiah demonstrates his commitment to being God’s mouthpiece.
Isaiah 1-4
Good morning! If you look at our progress through the Bible in a physical book, you’ll see that we’re definitely closer to the end than the beginning now. Well done! Thanks for sticking with this community and this project thus far. Today with Isaiah 1-4 we start reading the ancient Hebrew prophets, the final section of the Old Testament.
Song of Songs
Good morning! Today we read all eight chapters of the book variously called the “Song of Songs” or the “Song of Solomon”. Supposedly attributed to Solomon (but with scant textual evidence to support that), this book is curious on multiple fronts. It celebrates the sensual love between an unmarried woman and her male “beloved” with an explicit sexiness that may cause one to blush. The unnamed woman has a strong speaking role, at least matching that of the male voice. A chorus of friends interjects occasionally, encouraging the breathless adoration of the couple. Finally and perhaps most curiously, this is the only book of the Bible where God is not mentioned even once.
Pastor Oby Ballinger 