A Suffering Servant
Read: Isaiah 52:13‑53:12 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief . . . (53:3) This vivid and elegant Servant Song stirs us to recognize anew that it is through the suffering and death of Jesus that our sins are forgiven. The song opens by announcing the ultimate […]
A Servant of the Lord
Read: Isaiah 42:1-13 Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare. (v. 9) This beautiful poem is the first of several “Servant Songs” by Isaiah. This Servant is never identified, but described in vivid terms that echo earlier themes of redemption in Isaiah. The Servant is commissioned and empowered as […]
God’s Comfort Follows His Rebuke
Read: Isaiah 40:1-11, 28-31 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. (v. 1) Scholars hold various views on the authorship of the next section of Isaiah. As recorded in Isaiah 39, envoys from Babylon visited Hezekiah about 712 BC. Chapters 36-37 record Sennacherib’s departure from Jerusalem (about 701 BC), when Isaiah was around 70 years […]
The Danger of Being Flattered
Read: Isaiah 39:1-8 Nothing shall be left, says the LORD. (v. 6) Isaiah records Judah’s first interaction with Babylon, a nation that later played a major role in Judah’s collapse. Babylon was a rising power but, like Judah, was no match for Assyria. So it was quite reasonable for Hezekiah to receive the envoys of […]
How to React When Overwhelmed
Read: Isaiah 37:1-26; 33-38 Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard . . . (v. 6) When news of this overwhelming threat reached Hezekiah, he did three things. He tore his clothes and wore sackcloth, thereby acknowledging this desperate situation; he went into the temple to meet God; he informed […]
Faith in Community
I have a confession: when people say that they hear a calling from God, I have no idea what they are talking about. I am not naturally a jealous person, but when I hear people speak about having this kind of relationship with God, I feel a little envy. I want to be so attuned […]
On Whom Are You Depending?
Read: Isaiah 36:1-22 But they were silent and answered him not a word . . . (v. 21) Isaiah 36-39 is an account of key events during the reign of Hezekiah. These chapters form a bridge between the two major sections of Isaiah. The perceptive question in the title above was posed by the field […]
Joy Comes Through God’s Renewal
Read: Isaiah 35:1-10 [E]verlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (v. 10) Joy! This wonderful gift is the major theme of this chapter. This is God’s true desire for us. The prophet describes, in beautiful symbolism, three sources of joy: Creation is renewed. […]
Can We Ignore God’s Judgment?
Read: Isaiah 34:1-12 Night and day it shall not be quenched; its smoke shall go up forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it forever and ever. (v. 10) Before undertaking this study, I was familiar with Isaiah 35, a wonderful picture of the joy of God’s redeemed people, but […]