Meditate on it

Day One: Read Isaiah 28   1. What is the condition of Ephraim (vv 1-13) and Judah (vv 14-15)?  They are full of drunkards, prideful, and condescending of the prophets and God's plan.  2. What descriptions are given of the stone laid in Zion (v 16)?  A firm and tested stone. The force of the figure in this verse is much enhanced by the statements of modern travellers in relation to the immense stones still remaining at the foundation of ancient walls. -J. A. Alexander.  3. Who is this cornerstone? Christ. The BKC suggests that it's not entirely clear that Isaiah is suggesting its a direct reference to the Messiah.  Zech 10:4 is. ************************ Isa 28:17  And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter.” From the Grace Church Memphis Bible Study Guide notes: "On this sure foundation, God will set a measuring line. (v 17) It will measure horizontally

 2. How is the vineyard of verses 2-6 different from the one in 5:1-6?  In Isaiah 27:2-6, The vineyard is pictured as one that the Lord waters continually, "every moment I water it" (v. 3).   He watches over it night and day.  He has no wrath and urges them to make peace with him (v 4-5).   Jacob will take root and Israel will blossom. Isaiah 5:1-6 emphasizes all that the Lord did to create this vineyard (dug it, cleared rocks, planted it with choice vines) but that it bore wild grapes.  He challenges Israel to think "what more could I have done for it?"  In v.5-6 the Lord says he will remove his hedge and it will be devoured, trampled down. The similarity in the passages is that the Lord cares for it in each case.  The difference is that in Isaiah 5, the task is a thankless one that produces poor grapes.  In the second one, the fruit will take root and bloom.  There is peace between the vineyard and its keeper. 3.  He punished Israel by exiling her, to &q

1.  What does verse 1 tell us? It tells us that the Lord will cut up Leviathan with a sword. This verse, referring to the culmination of God’s judgment on the world, ties in with the judgment mentioned in Isa_26:21. With a sword the Lord will cut up a great serpent called Leviathan. This gliding… coiling serpent is the many-headed sea dragon mentioned in Psa_74:13-14. In Ugaritic literature (of Ugarit, a city-state in North Syria) reference is made to a similar seven-headed creature. Isaiah, though not believing this ancient Semitic myth, simply referred to Leviathan to convey his point (cf. Job_3:8). Leviathan, the twisting monster of the sea, was viewed in Ugaritic literature as an enemy of order in Creation. But the Lord can stop this chaotic state and establish order on the earth and in people’s hearts. When God’s judgment comes in that day, when He slays the wicked at the end of the Tribulation, it will be like His slaying the chaotic dragon Leviathan. -BKC Job 3:8  Let those

Day 4   Read Isaiah 25 "Every believing man who is in Christ is as a man sitting down at a perpetual feast. Everyday is, in this sense, a feast day to him. Every day is a day upon which he is to be feeding upon Christ, and to be nourishing his soul with the rich and costly blessings of salvation. Better to have the feeblest faith than to be an unbeliever." -Andrew MacLaren  1. For what does Isaiah praise God? For doing "wonderful things"(v1), thy counsels of old are "faithful and true" (v1).  2. What will the Lord do for "all peoples" and where?  Remove the veil. There will be None of the other panaceas for the world’s evils even attempt to deal with that “shadow feared of man” that sits at the end of all our paths. Jesus Christ has dealt with it. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)  Needy man and his moral provision I. HUMANITY IS MORALLY FAMISHING—CHRISTIANITY HAS PROVISIONS. “A feast of fat things,” etc. The feverish restlessness and the earne

Day One There is a shift in this section nicely summarized by BKC: "God’s judgment on the nations through the Assyrian invasions (chaps. 13-23) forms a backdrop for the Lord’s eventual judgment on the whole world (Isa_24:1, Isa_24:4). Known as “Isaiah’s apocalypse,” chapters 24-27 describe the earth’s devastation and people’s intense suffering during the coming Tribulation and the blessings to follow in the millennial kingdom." 1. The coming judgement will affect what and whom--the earth and all its inhabitants why--judgement for sin how-profoundly, all will be devastated and stripped Isa 24:1  Behold, the LORD will empty the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants. It speaks of  a curse which "devours the earth" and its inhabitants, regardless of wealth or rank.The earth will wither (dry up) and become desolate.  Few men will remain. "The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants."  v5 What de

Day Four: Read Isaiah 19:1-20:6   1. From Isaiah 19:1-17, what is the Lord going to do to Egypt? Why? (Give the verse) He will cause civil war (v 2). They will lose heart, and He will confuse their plans (v 3). He will hand them over to a cruel master (v. 4). He will dry up their river and cause a famine. He will make them "as weak as women." v He will strike Egypt but also heal Egypt 19:22.   Egypt will turn to the Lord. Why? Because they are a land of idols and spiritualists.  2. "In that day" what does God call Egypt---my people (v 25) Assyria---the land I have made, the work of my hands (v25) Israel--my special possession, my inheritance (v25) The three shall be united with a highway between Assyria and Egypt. 3. How does Isaiah 19:16-23 affect your attitude toward current events? I wonder how such a contentious area will be unified.  Egypt's role and conversion to worshiping Jehovah is interesting.  4. Who did the "coastland" d

Day 2 Read Isaiah 14:24-16:14  1. In the oracle about Assyria what do you learn in: 14:24  That what the Lord has planned regarding Assyria will unfold. Period. 14:25  That He will break the Assyrians on Israel's land, will trample them on His mountain, and His people will no longer be slaves. 14:26 The Lord has a plan for all the earth and all nations. 14:27 Once He has spoken, it will be--who can change it? 2. What will happen to Philistia? A snake (future threat) will emerge from the rod that has been broken. They will be wiped out with famine (v30)  A powerful army will come from the north (v31)  3. Whom did Isaiah tell Moab to look to for salvation and how will they respond? (See also Jeremiah 48) Moab should look to the Lord: Isa 16:5  then God will establish one of David's descendants as king. He will rule with mercy and truth. He will always do what is just and be eager to do what is right. Jeremiah mentions in 48:47 that Moab's fortunes wi

Wikipedia, Map of the Neo Assyrian Empire and its expansions A note on the shift between Chapter 12 and 13 from BKC: A major break occurs between Isa_12:1-6 and Isa_13:1-22, but not as major as some interpreters have suggested. Even in chapters 13-23 Isaiah reiterated some of the same themes he voiced earlier: God uses various means to punish sin, and will judge those nations who are arrogant against His covenant people. These messages against nine sinful Gentile nations or cities around Judah were probably not written for them to read. The messages were probably to be read by God’s covenant people to show that God actually will judge Israel’s enemies. This would reassure Judah that God will establish His kingdom.  -Bible Knowledge Commentary 1. Who will be the Lord's "consecrated ones," and His "instruments of indignation"(13:5) against Babylon? Give the verse. God's army (v 3)  This has an immediate and future fulfillment.  Armies were drawn fro

Read Isaiah 11:1-12:6  1. Has the prophecy of 11:1-5 been fulfilled? What is the evidence? (See also 1 Samuel 17:12; Isaiah 42:1; Matthew 3:16; John 1:32; John 7:24; 1 Corinthians 1:30) Yes, through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. 1 Samuel 17:12  David was the son of Jesse, "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse" (Isaiah 11:1) Isaiah 42:1"I have put my spirit on him.  He will bring forth justice." Matthew 3:16  When Jesus was baptized, the Spirit of God descended upon him and rested upon him. John 1:32  John bore witness to the Spirit descending and resting upon him. John 7:24  "Judge with right judgement." 1 Corinthians 30: "And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption."   2. Has the prophecy of 11:6-16 been fulfilled? What is the evidence? (See also Matthew 24:31; Romans 8:18-22) No, I don't believe it has be

Read Isaiah 10:5-34  1. a. What was the Lord's intent in sending Assyria against Israel?  Assyria is "the rod of my anger," (v 5) "to take spoil, seize, and plunder," (v 6), "shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols what I have done to Samaria and her images?" (v 11) "God often uses unlikely instruments to accomplish His purposes in the world." -BKC  b. What was Assyria's intent? They were nationalistic---looking to expand their territory and wealth.  2. Count the first-person pronouns in verses 13-14. What does this tell you about the king of Assyria? He's arrogant and believes that he is the source of their success. "By the strength of my hand I have done it" (13).  3. What will happen to Assyria because of its arrogance? v 16 God will send "wasting sickness" against their warriors.  The light of Israel will become a fire that devours (v 17). 4. a. Who in Israel will survive the destruction?

Day Three Read Isaiah 9:1-7 (with John 1:4, 8:12; Ephesians 5:8; Matthew 4:12-23; Isaiah 42:6-7) John 1: 4---In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. John 8:12--"I am the light of  the world.  He that follows me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life." Ephesians 5:8--For you were sometimes darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, so walk as children of the light." Matthew 4:12-23 For those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light sprang up (v 16) Isaiah 42:6-7 "to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out the prisoners from the prison."  1. What three descriptive nouns in Isaiah 8:22 are repeated in Isaiah 9:1-2? darkness, dimness, anguish/vexation (tightness, distress)  2. According to Isaiah 9:2-3, what will God's people enjoy?  They will enjoy light (v.2-3) and joy (v.3). BKC:“Joy” is another emphasis of Isaiah’s, mentioned more than two dozen times in the book.  3. According to verses 4-7, how ca

Day 1 Chapters 7-12 of Isaiah have been called "The Book of Immanuel" because of the strong prophecy of Christ's coming.-BB Backdrop: 734 BC When Ahaz was King of Judah: King Rezin of Syria/Aram--was last king King Pekah of Israel--was 2nd to last king-Israel became weaker after King Jeroboam II died. Aram/Israel alliance against Judah They planned to replace Ahaz with a puppet king--"son of Tabeel" (v 6). Ahaz was terrified *they reference "Ephraim" as the nation of Israel as representative of the entire nation. Ephraim was the largest tribe. God tells him (v3) to send his son to meet King Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct. Tell him to stop worrying and fearing those nations.  The Lord says the invasion will never take place (v 7) because Syria is no stronger than its capital of Damascus and Israel will fall within 65 years.  But your faith must be firm. (v 8) His son's name was Shear-jashub which means "a remnant will return&q

1. He will be called before His birth to be God’s servant (Isa_49:1). 2. He will be born of a virgin (Isa_7:14). 3. He will be a Descendant of Jesse and thus in the Davidic line (Isa_11:1, Isa_11:10). 4. He will be empowered by the Holy Spirit (Isa_11:2; Isa_42:1). 5. He will be gentle toward the weak (Isa_42:3). 6. He will be obedient to the Lord in His mission (Isa_50:4-9). 7. He will voluntarily submit to suffering (Isa_50:6; Isa_53:7-8). 8. He will be rejected by Israel (Isa_49:7; Isa_53:1, Isa_53:3). 9. He will take on Himself the sins of the world (Isa_53:4-6, Isa_53:10-12). 10. He will triumph over death (Isa_53:10). 11. He will be exalted (Isa_52:13; Isa_53:12). 12. He will come to comfort Israel and to bring vengeance on the wicked (Isa_61:1-3). 13. He will manifest God’s glory (Isa_49:3). 14. He will restore Israel spiritually to God (Isa_49:5) and physically to the land (Isa_49:8). 15. He will reign on David’s throne (Isa_9:7). 16. He will bring joy to Israel

1a. After he cleaned Isaiah's lips, what commission did the Lord give Isaiah?  Bizarrely, the Lord tells him to go to the people and tell them to listen, even though they will not hear, "make the heart of this people fat and their ears heavy" (v10)  This way they will not repent and be healed. "Significantly, he was not called to service until he was cleansed." BKC "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed." -Isaiah 6:8-10 "Isaiah responds by eagerly offering to be God's messenger.  But God forewarns him. His is a gloomy assignment from the start.

Question 1 Continued: 1. What was the location of the scene described by Isaiah and who did he see?  Other references: Exodus 33:20--people cannot see His face and live John 1:18, John 6:46--no one has ever seen God except his Son. John 12: 37-41  "He who sees me sees the One who sent me." v 45. Colossians 1:15  "The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." 1 Timothy 6:15-16  "who dwells in unapproachable light, who no man has seen or can see." I like this interpretation of Isaiah seeing God which takes it out of the OT and prophets and places it into a conversion experience--any man's discovery and encounter with God. "It is really just the transition from the religion of tradition to the religion of experience. Religion comes to us all first as a tradition. It is the tradition of our home, the tradition of our Church, the tradition of our country, and so on; but as long as it is merely that, it i

"The Vision of Isaiah" by Luke Allsbrook , oil on canvas, 2006 1.  Isaiah saw the Lord on His throne and his train filled the temple. The idea of the Lord's train intrigues me. I don't think of Israeli kings as having crowns or trains---certainly not in the European sense, so I've been trying to come to the bottom of the etymology. There's not much to go on, but I found this commentary helpful: His train filled the temple.—The word for “temple” is that which expresses its character as the palace of the great King. (Comp. Psalm 11:4 ; Psalm 29:9 ; Habakkuk 2:20 .) The “train” answers to the skirts of the glory of the Lord, who clothes Himself with light as with a garment ( Exodus 33:22-23 ). It is noticeable (1) that the versions (LXX., Targum, Vulg.) suppress the train, apparently as being too anthropomorphic, and (2) that to the mind of St. John this was a vision of the glory of the Christ ( John 12:41 ). -Ellicot's Commentary for English R

Day 3-Isaiah 5:24-25 1. The first word is "therefore," and it anticipates a consequence.  Verse 24 explains that "So their root will be as rottenness...." 2.  The root is "because they have rejected the law of the Lord." 3. John 8:28-29, This compares to Jesus as "I do nothing of myself but as the Father has taught me...for I always do the things that please Him." John 14:30-31, "but that the world would know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so do I." Hebrews 10:5-10  First Paul notes that in sacrifices and offerings for sin, the Lord had no pleasure.  But the Son's mission was different, "I come to do thy will, O God." In comparison, by default, I do thing that please and benefit me.  I have to push myself toward the higher goal of pleasing Him.  It's not my default. If I'm honest, sometimes I succeed, but often I fail. I am impressed by how clear sighted Christ

The futility of those who choose to go their own way is described in Isaiah 5: "Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope" (v. 18, KJ). "What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them with ropes made of lies, who drag wickedness behind them like a cart! (v. 18 NLT) From this Isaiah Bible study commentary: "They sinned and dared God to punish them. When punishment didn't come immediately, they chose to continue doing evil.  Raymond C. Ortlund asks us to  "Picture people, not horses, harnessed to a heavy wagon, pulling it along, straining with all their might"  Isaiah understands the burden that sin is.  But we do it to ourselves. Why?  Because sin is deceitful (Hebrews 3:12).  This is what is meant by cords of falsehood (v. 18)"  -Grace Church Memphis, Isaiah study "That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israe

The vineyard metaphor continues from the perspective of the vineyard owner who has done all he can to care for it, "What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?" Isaiah 5:4 1. The vineyard represents Israel: "For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting." Isaiah 5:7. Psalm 80:8-9: "Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land." Jeremiah 2:21: "Yet I planted you a choice vine, wholly of pure seed. How then have you turned degenerate and become a wild vine?" There is this overarching sense that God was faithful to his side of things and Israel was not. 2. What had the Lord done for his vineyard?  Everything He could---he br