Isaiah 36-37 gives a description of the destruction of Judah averted. This section has two scenes and some key players. The key players are Isaiah the prophet; Hezekiah, Judah’s king; Sennacherib, Assyria’s king; and Rabshakeh, Assyria’s field general (2nd in command), and of course God. In scene one, God is challenged by Assyria. Ch.36 begins…
Aliens and Exiles
1 Peter 1:1 (1984 NIV) Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Asia, and Bithynia. The apostle Peter, inspired by God, wrote this letter to encourage Christians to live godly lives in an ungodly world. The Christians during Peter’s time were going through intense persecution…
Be strong, do not fear
Isaiah 35:3-4 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; 4 say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” God, through Isaiah, told the people of Judah to not fear. God would come, He would rescue…
Reasons to be Thankful
Psalm 100 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. 2Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts…
Isaiah 32
Isaiah 32 begins with a prophecy of the Messiah (Isaiah 32:1-8). In verse 9 the tone shifts to a sharp rebuke of the people for their complacency. Verses 15-20 move back to God’s grace and mercy as Isaiah again looks forward to the coming kingdom of God. This Wednesday’s study from Isaiah focuses on chapter…
Lessons from the Prophets
Who were the prophets of the Old Testament? What was their mission? What was their message? What kind of men were these prophets? There were women prophets in the Old Testament as well. The label prophetess is attributed to four women in the Old Testament: Miriam (Exodus 15:20), Deborah (Judges 4:4), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14;…
Isaiah 31
Isaiah 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel,or seek help from the Lord.Isaiah 31 continues with the woe to those who depend…
The Call of Isaiah
Isaiah 6 begins with “In the year that King Uzziah died” To say in the year King Uzziah died is to say a lot. It is to say, “In the year a great and wise king died.” But it is also to say, “In the year a great and wise king who had a tragic…
The heart of the wise…
With Election Day coming up this Tuesday I’m reminded of one of my favorite verses, Ecclesiastes 10:2: The heart of the wise inclines to the right,but the heart of the fool to the left. When Solomon, inspired by God, wrote of a wise man’s heart, he knew what he was talking about. 1 Kings 4…
Isaiah 28-33
Isaiah delivered the messages of chapters 28-33 at the peak of his ministry, under Hezekiah. He unleashed a series of “woes”, or warnings; first, to the drunken, scoffing politicians of Israel and Judah. Isaiah 28:1 Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards,to the fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of…