June 30 – Isaiah 66 And just like that. We finished. Oh, I have enjoyed this study. I’ve learned a lot. How about you? I’ve enjoyed Isaiah’s imagery and marveled with him at the wonders of our God. He helped me see God’s vastness in powerful ways. I am always struck by the prophecies, too. It’s amazing what Isaiah saw in advance, and his words have convinced so many people of the truth of the gospel. Christ took our well-deserved punishment on Himself, and by His stripes we were healed. We’ve also had some beautiful glimpses of the sure hope of Heaven. Knowing the truth of the prophecies that were fulfilled in Christ makes it so much easier to believe the truth that there will […] Read more »

June 29 – Isaiah 64 In this chapter, we get to hear Isaiah’s voice. Not his prophecy, where he is echoing God’s words to Israel … his own voice as he talks to God himself. He’s praying. He’s pleading. Come down, O Lord, and do these great things now! How long must we wait for your appearing? Can you imagine the angst? He knows what God can do and will do, and he would like it right now, please. I get it. I feel that way some days, too. This is a rich, rich prayer. It’s honest and real. It incorporates confession of sin and wonder and praise to God. It acknowledges Who is the potter and who is the clay, and rightfully gives God […] Read more »

June 28 – Isaiah 61 What a beautiful chapter. It’s rich with imagery that helps us “see” better! … crowns of beauty … great oaks planted for His glory … dressed with the clothing of salvation … robes of righteousness … a bride with her jewels … righteousness springing up like a garden Each image is an attempt by our Isaiah to describe the beauty that is to come when God makes the world anew for us, binding up the broken-hearted and setting the captives free. No wonder Isaiah declares in verse 10, “I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God!” Isaiah saw the mess his people had made. He saw the mess all peoples make, walking away from the good and choosing […] Read more »

June 27 – Isaiah 60 I have been enjoying sunlight lately. We had some gloomy days in March and April and even into the beginning of the month of May. As I write this commentary, the sun is shining brightly and everything looks new and fresh and green outside my window. After enduring another long, and often cloudy New Hampshire winter and spring, summer is arriving with all its warmth and light! I love late May and early June, when it’s still not too hot, but one can sit outside, close one’s eyes, and turn one’s face to the sun and drink in the Vitamin D. It’s delightful. Each season has its charms, in my opinion. I’m delighting in late spring at the moment but […] Read more »

June 26 – Isaiah 57 What a contrast of readings we find in this chapter! We start with some philosophy about life and death, with Isaiah reminding us that when a good person is taken home to Heaven early, it’s actually rather nice for them. They get to skip a lot of sorrows here below. I love how closely verse 2 mirrors our theme, “Walk This Way.” Here’s how it reads in the New Living Translation: “For those who follow godly paths will rest in peace when they die.” Oh, the wisdom in following the godly paths! May we remember this. Contrast that with the last two verses in this chapter: “But those who still reject me are like the restless sea, which is never still but continually […] Read more »

Week Five Introduction to Week Five How is it nearly the end of June, already? Have you stuck with this study this far? Well done. We’ve studied some rich passages and we are not done, yet. Despite the prophecies of the capture of Israel and the pronouncement of woes on those who disobey God, I find Isaiah to be a book of rich hope. Even in the punishments that are mentioned we have found hints of God’s grace and longing to draw His people near. It’s so encouraging to be loved by a God who forgives and makes a way for us to be near Him, isn’t it? As you approach this last week, savor each reading and continue to whisper to Him, “Teach me.” […] Read more »

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June 24 – Isaiah 53 I can’t even read this chapter without tears in my eyes. It’s the most incredible description of our suffering Savior I’ve ever read anywhere. Nothing else comes close in my mind. This time, I was struck by the way the NLT translated verse 4: “Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down …” My sorrows weighed Jesus down. We do not have some plastic, non-emotive God. We have a God who feels. Who hurts when we hurt. Who willingly chose to enter human flesh and feel the pain we feel. And He did not have to. That’s how much He loves us. Isaiah tells us how necessary this sacrifice was in verse 6. […] Read more »

June 23 – Isaiah 52 Our reading for the next two days really feels like one piece. In fact, in my Bible, the words The LORD’s Suffering Servant are placed before Isaiah 52:13 and that passage continues into Isaiah 53. We are now hitting the heart of the gospel message told to us by an Old Testament prophet hundreds of years before Jesus came. This portion of Isaiah has brought many a Jewish person into the kingdom. It did in the early days of the church, as well, I am sure. Paul and the other apostles “argued from the scriptures” in the synagogues. The description of Jesus’ death is SO clear in these verses it’s stunning. But let’s go back to our current chapter. Isaiah […] Read more »