Final Week! (13 of 13). Isaiah 63-66. The End of the Beginning.

Welcome to the Final Week of Isaiah readings! 

You did it!  Or You're doing it!  Or You're going to do it!  In any case, we are nearly to the end of this 66-chapter masterpiece of God's inspired word.

Be sure to read Dr. Bo Lim's final commentary on Isaiah www.spu.edu/lectio.  In it he takes on what most of us would sooner avoid - the first 6 verses of chapter 63, with it's portrayal of God as a vengeful warrior.

Don't miss out on reading the "communal psalm of lament" starting in 63:7 and continuing through the end of chapter 64.  It summarizes Israel's experience of exile in relational terms.  It can make a difference in our spiritual lives and our communal life as a church, by giving us words to express our unfaithfulness to the Lord, acknowledge him as our heavenly father, and plead for him to restore us to a right relationship.  Great verse - Isaiah 64:8 "Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand."

Have you noticed how much of Isaiah speaks of the Family Relationship between God and his people?  We see this again in Chapters 64-66. In chapter 64 we see the relationship rift from the human side, where guilty children cry out to a Father who seems distant and hidden.

• 64:1 "O that you would tear open the heavens and come down." 64:12 "After all this, will you restrain yousrelf, O Lord?  Will you keep silent, and punish us so severely?"

In chapter 65 we see how God the Father looks at the relationship.

• 65:1 "I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me.  I said 'Here I am, here I am,' to a nation that did not call on my name."  65:12 "When I called you did not answer, and when I spoke you did not listen."

In chapter 66 we read of a restored relationship, and encounter Jerusalem/Zion and God being described in images of family relationship that are shockingly maternal.

• 66:10 "Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her - that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious bosom."  66:13 "As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem."

One of my favorite mission passages in scripture appears in Isaiah 65:20-23.  I discovered it when I read a small book by Raymond Fung, who at the time headed up evangelism efforts with the World Council of Churches.  He believed that evangelism should be simple:

1. Pursue God's vision in Isaiah 65:20-23 with people in society,
2. Worship and invite people to worship with you as you pursue the Isaiah Vision in society
3. Live the life of discipleship and invite people into that life as you both worship & pursue the Isaiah Vision in society.

Reading Isaiah reminds us of the big picture of God, his people, and their relationship in real human history. Let's keep reading Isaiah...and get ready for the next Lectio focus on the Gospel of Luke, much more prepared to understand Jesus' life and ministry in light of God's overarching purpose and plan.

 

Joyfully in Christ,

Pastor Kurt

 

Merry Christmas!

 

Week 12 ... Isaiah 56-62 ... A Return to Righteousness and Justice

I took a week off from the blog last week...Many of you read chapters 53-55, and took a look at some of these great passages:

• 53:4-6 ... The suffering servant: powerful words that for Christians describe and define Jesus' suffering and death on the cross.
• 54:7-8 ... A compelling description of the break-up and reuniting of the relationship between the LORD and his people.
• 55:6-13 ... A call to seek the Lord and understand His sovereignty and the effectiveness of His word.

 

This week the reading is Isaiah 56-62
As you read, keep the eyes of your heart open and connect what you're reading to your God-given imagination.  You'll expand your vision of God's work of redemption in the world...

• Your vision of a Restored Jerusalem
• Your vision of God’s Kingdom
• Your vision of a Godly life
• Your vision of Mission & the transformation of the world

Key Passages

• Isaiah 58.  True worship, or what God really wants from us…
• Isaiah 60:1-5. Arise, shine, for your light has come!
• Isaiah 61. Good news for the poor & broken-hearted

Think of the four words associated with candles of the Advent wreath: Hope, Peace, Joy, Love.  Where do you see these in the readings?  Where do you see them in God's work in the world?  In your life?

Hey!  Join me at 11am at church this Sunday - we'll be studying how Handel set Isaiah 60:1-3 to music in his Messiah.  He really got the picture of the dramatic scene of the coming of God's light into the darkness that Isaiah proclaimed!

Pastor Kurt Helmcke

Isaiah Week 10 ... Isaiah 49 - 52:12 The Servant of the LORD

Make sure you read Bo Lim's commentary this week.  It answers a lot of questions about the "Servant Songs of Isaiah."  These songs are some of the more important features of the book of Isaiah, so the more you know...

As you read Isaiah this week, here are some suggestions for "Must Read" verses:

Isaiah 49:8-18
God will not forget you.  Spend some time thinking about verses 14-16: Do you ever feel like God has forgotten you?  If so, you have some idea of what God's people were feeling during the exile in Babylon.  Consider God's love for you and others as you read God's response in verse 15: "Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show not compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you."  If you come away from reading Isaiah knowing that God has not forgotten you even when you feel like He has, you will have learned one big-time life lesson.

Isaiah 49:1-6
Isaiah 50:4-11
The Servant of the Lord.  These are the 2nd and 3rd of the "Servant Songs" in Isaiah.  We'll get to the fourth next week.  These words have had a powerful impact on the church through the centuries, and they are important to understanding God's work of salvation.  One of the most obvious take-away messages is that God calls servants to play an important part in his work in the world.  Who do you recognize as God's servants?  What would it mean to consider yourself a servant of the Lord?

Pay particular attention to 50:5-7.  These verses talk about being persecuted for being God's servant.  How do these verses connect with Jesus' suffering on the way to the cross?  Have you ever been insulted or persecuted because of your Christian faith?  Say a prayer for those who are being persecuted as Christians even today.

Isaiah 52:7-10
The Beautiful Good News.  I can't read the words of verse 7 without singing along with Handel's Messiah: "How beautiful are the feet of them who preach the gospel of peace."  Take a few minutes to meditate on these electric words: messenger/preacher, gospel/good news (they mean the same thing), salvation, God reigns.  Amazing to consider the power of the promise that "all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God" (verse 10).  What does that have to say about God's work in the world and your part in it?

Peace!

ISAIAH week 9: Chapters 40-48 ... The Return of the King

Finally...some "Good News"

When he gets to the end of chapter 39, before moving on to Isaiah 40:1, Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann writes:

• "And then there is a pause -- a long pause.  The reader of the book of Isaiah must endure a very long pause before taking up chapter 40, for the space between 39:8 and 40:1 signifies the defining interruption in the life and faith of Israel as it is construed in the book of Isaiah.  Chapter 39 is ostensibly enacted some time after 700 BC, and chapter 40 is voiced about 540 BC.  The gap is 160 years, a long pause indeed."  (Westminster Bible Companion, 1998)

I think the most important thing to know as you start reading chapter 40 is that God's promised judgment/punishment of His people has now taken place.  The holy city of Jerusalem is in ruins and people have been deported to Babylon (see Psalm 137:1).  [Historical note: Babylon defeated Assyria, attacked Judah in 598, then destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 587]

The words of this prophecy are now heard by God's people in exile, dwelling in a foreign land.  All the prophecies of judgement and destruction have come true.  The punishment has been severe. God's people have been displaced and sent into exile.  God's temple - His dwelling place on earth - is now rubble.  Is this going to be the end of the story?

Start reading chapter 40 and you'll find out very quickly that the story of God and his people is NOT over.  Good news is announced that God will return his people to Zion!  One of the people God uses to do this is a foreign leader named Cyrus (of the Persian empire...modern-day Iran).  Cyrus defeats the Babylonian empire and is instrumental in returning exiled peoples to their homeland.  This pagan military leader is actually mentioned in the Bible in chapters 44-45 as God's anointed servant.  Be sure to read about it!

Try reading all 8 chapters this week...it will be worth it!  This is where the whole idea of "gospel" and "good news" comes from!  And be sure to mark up your Bible.  These chapters are full of words that God gives us to inspire our hope, words that remind us of God's comfort even in the most difficult times of our lives.

Here are some key verses - don't just read them...memorize them!

Isaiah 40
1-5 (popular Advent verses...also the starting point for Handel's Messiah)
8 (the word of God endures forever)
11 (he tends his flock like a shepherd)
27-31 (soar on wings like eagles!)

Isaiah 41
8-10 (do not fear, for God is with you!)

Isaiah 43
1-7 (do not fear, for I have redeemed you)
18-19 (God is doing a new thing)

Isaiah 44:28-45:8 -- Read about Cyrus

Isaiah 45
22-25 (turn to me and be saved)

Isaiah 48
17-21 (if only you had paid attention to my commands)

ISAIAH Week 8: Chapters 34-39 - Zion's Final Destiny

This week's chapters are the last in the first major section of Isaiah.  If you're like me, your energy for reading Isaiah might be getting a little low right about now.  I've got good news for you - things are going to change for the better next week!  That's because we get into Isaiah 40 and beyond, the part of Isaiah that is more familiar to most of us and more easy to read.  And let's face it, there's something special about Isaiah 40 (if you haven't read it yet, you'll just have to take my word for it this week). 

It would be easy to sit this one out.  But if we did that, we would miss one of the great Advent chapters of the Bible, Isaiah 35.  Do you like hope and joy?  This chapter will inspire you!  If you only read one chapter this week, make sure it's this one.

And we wouldn't want to miss out on the inspiring story of a praying man...who just happened to be a king named Hezekiah.  He prayed a couple of prayers with great faith, and his song of thanksgiving to God expresses his joy when God answered those prayers.  Reading chapters 37-39 is an opportunity to grow in prayer.

Breaking it down to four readings

1. Isaiah 34-35 *Must Read Isaiah 35 (And the ransomed of the Lord will return...with everlasting joy)
2. Isaiah 36
3. Isaiah 37 *Must Read Isaiah 37:14-20 (Hezekiah's prayer for salvation)
4. Isaiah 38-39 *Must Read Isaiah 38 (Hezekiah's prayer for healing from a deadly sickness, and his song of thanksgiving)

Bo Lim's Commentary
Be sure to read Bo's teaching on Chapters 34-35: "A Nightmare and a Dream"

Isaiah Week 7 - Chapters 28-33. HOPE for a Righteous King

I always love it when the Lectio reading connects with what the pastor preaches about on Sunday.  We don't coordinate this intentionally, but they've connected many times before.  This week it happened in a big way!  We read Isaiah 25:6  "On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear."  And then on Sunday Hallack preached from Jesus’ parable of the great banquet in Luke 14.  Remember what Bo Lim said about the connections between Isaiah and Jesus...well, this is one for the list!

Here's the "must read" section of this week's reading:

Isaiah 30:1-26

"O rebellious children, says the Lord, who carry out a plan, but not mine."

One of the big themes of Isaiah is God's judgment on his people and on their enemies.  With all the words of judgment, it's hard to keep track of who is being punished!  Sometimes God punishes his people, sometimes God punishes their enemies, and (to make things even more confusing) sometimes he uses the bullying of their enemies to teach his people a lesson.  How do we make sense of all this?

One way is to follow the lead of Isaiah 30 and think of God as a parent and God's people as his children.  Think of God as a parent who is really concerned that the kids in the neighborhood play fair with each other and are kind to one another.  You're the child of this parent.  If someone from the neighborhood bullies you, the parent will bring judgment upon the bully.  But heaven help you if it's you who's doing the bullying! The parent is going to be swift to punish you because the matter is so important to them.  That's a way of thinking about how God can judge Israel's enemies and judge Israel - both for disobedience.

But what about when we read that God is using the bullies as instruments of punishing his children?  No simple answer to this one, but one way to look at it is to think of God as the parent who is willing to allow his children to experience the consequences of their poor choices and sinful actions.  In a way, God is allowing the destruction brought by foreign military powers to be the natural consequence of Israel's faithlessness.  When parents allow consequences to hit us with full force, it's natural for children to wonder "Does my parent love me?"  Do you think God's people in Isaiah's day wondered if God still loved them?  What assurances does God give his people through the prophet Isaiah?

 

 

Extra Notes:

Party's Over.  Isaiah 28 describes drunkenness in a way that reminds me of the dark side of the "party scene."  What starts out as pretty picture of people "just having fun" eventually gives way to an ugly scene.  What is often left over after a wild party is what is described in verse 8 "all tables are covered with filthy vomit; no place is clean." (It's been known to happen)  One thing God does through prophets like Isaiah is to help us see the real story behind the pretty picture.  It's hard to stay in denial when someone like Isaiah is exposing the truth.

Political Elections and the Kingdom of God.  Hope for a Righteous King is an interesting topic for the week in which we elected a President and a Governor, don't you think?  A good reminder that the highest level of authority is God, and we look to His kingdom as our ultimate authority.  This provides some wisdom for political winners and losers, regardless of party platform.  When we win, recognizing God as the higher power leads us to humility, to look to God to guide us in the right use of human power, to remember that political office is a sacred trust.  When we lose, recognizing God as a higher power opens us to encouragement.  All is not lost - the Lord is still on the throne.  God doesn't stop caring about the world he loves just because of a particular election outcome.

Week 5: October 22-28

Isaiah 13-20
Yahweh as Lord of the Nations

Just thought I'd warn you: these chapters are tough reading!  It starts off with some horrific images:

• Infants dashed to pieces (13:16)
• young men slaughtered (13:18)
• goat-demons dancing (13:21)

It ends in chapter 20 with some shockingly graphic nudity.

In between are a number of "oracles" concerning the nations around Israel and Judah.  One of the most helpful things to do this week might be to familiarize yourself with the political geography of the Ancient Near East.  Read Dr. Bo Lim's commentary - it explains a lot!  For those of you who missed Dr. Bo Lim's lecture at NCPC yesterday, here's a graphic that helps to put Isaiah in its historical and political context.  "ANE" stands for "Ancient Near East." 

Do some research about Assyria, Babylon, and Persia.  Find out about the impact of their violent military campaigns.  That's what is being described by Isaiah in these chapters.  Sometimes God is working through the violence of these "big bullies" in order to bring judgment upon His people; at other times God is teaching these same bullies a lesson.

Give this reading your best shot, and hang in there!  If you're looking for some hope-filled words in these chapters, they'll be hard to find.  Here's my favorite phrase that I'm hanging on to: Isaiah 14:1 "But the Lord will have compassion."


Four Daily Readings

• Isaiah 13-14
• Isaiah 15-16
• Isaiah 17-18
• Isaiah 19-20

October 15-21 ... Isaiah 9-12

Immanuel Revisited
Isaiah 9-12
Four Daily Readings

Isaiah 9
Must Read Isaiah 9:1-7 > How do people (& you) walk in darkness?  What kind of light does God bring?  Isaiah 9: 8, 11, 14, 17 > Whoa! How do you make sense of God's actions?

Isaiah 10
Must Read Isaiah 10:1-4 > To quote verse 3, "what will you do on the day of punishment?" What gives you hope of being saved from punishment for your sins?  Isaiah 10:20-23 > What does "remnant" mean?

Isaiah 11
Must Read Isaiah 11:1-9 > How does this vision of peace provide a contrast to the world today?  Isaiah 11:12 > Ever felt like an outcast?  How would it feel to be welcomed back?

Isaiah 12
Must Read Isaiah 12:1-6 > Write down the prayer in verses 1-2 and pray it to God regularly for the next few months.

I will praise you, Lord.
Although you were angry with me,
your anger has turned away
and you have comforted me.

Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord God is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation.

Remember!
This Sunday, October 21
11am at NCPC
Dr. Bo Lim presents
How to Read Isaiah

Sign up today!

Follow this link: www.northcreekpres.org/bibleclass

Week 3, October 8-14 - Coach Notes

Isaiah 5-8: Fear Factor or Faith Factor?
Four Daily Readings: Full chapters (with "must read" verses and reflection questions)

Isaiah 5
Must Read > 5:18-24.  Do I recognize these sins in others? In myself? Do I ever reject the Lord’s instruction or despise his word? (v.24)

Isaiah 6
Must Read > 6:8.  Have you ever said yes to God’s call?  What might keep you from saying what Isaiah said? (“Here I am; send me”)

Isaiah 7
Must Read > 7:10-17.  Does verse 14 sound familiar?  What does this verse mean for a Christian today?  What did it mean for God’s people in Isaiah’s day?

Isaiah 8
Must Read > 8:11-17.  What do people fear?  Why might it be important to fear the Lord most of all? Have you ever had to put your hope in God even though it seemed like he was hiding his face from you?


Recap of Last Week: Isaiah 1-4
Uncomfortable Judgment, Hope for Salvation

It's hard to miss the theme of God's judgment, isn't it?  Not the most inspirational scripture reading, but it's an important part of the reality of our relationship with God.  It reflects who God is (well, God), who we are (loved, but also sinners), and why God had to send his Son Jesus to be our Savior.  So much of reading Isaiah is about getting in touch with the larger story of God and God's people, especially further back in the history of that relationship before Jesus appeared on the scene.  You and I (individually and together as the church) have a relationship with God, and it is defined by the same terms as we see it in Isaiah: love, rebellion, calling, sin, faithfulness, faithlessness, judgment, suffering, forgiveness, hope.

It's easy to miss some of the sins deserving God's judgment that are often overlooked by people reading Isaiah.   Keep a count of the number of times in Isaiah that the people of Israel are judged because of how they have treated the vulnerable, powerless people in their society:

• 1:17 "Learn to do good; seek justice, rescure the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow."
• 1:23 "Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not defend the orphan, and the widow's cause does not come before them."
• 3:13-15 "The Lord rises to argue his case; he stands to judge the peoples. The Lord enters into judgment with the elders andprinces of his people; It is you who have devoured the vineyard; the spoil of the poor (that which was stolen from them) is in your houses. What did you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor? says the Lord God of hosts."

Because of the overwhelming weight of judgment in the first four chapters, it's also easy to miss some of the more hopeful words in all the Bible that we just read last week:

• 1:16-20 "Come now, let us argue it out, says the Lord; though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow" (v. 18)
• 2:2-4 "Come, let us (the people of the world) go up to the mountain of the Lord...that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths" (v. 3)
• 4:2-6 "On that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious" (v. 2)

I say "Amen" to that, and with renewed hope I look forward to God's future.  May God continue to bless you in reading Isaiah!

Pastor Kurt Helmcke

Reading Notes - Week 2 - Autumn 2012

Week 2: October 1-7

Isaiah, chapters 1-4

Breaking it down...into four daily readings:

• Isaiah 1
• Isaiah 2
• Isaiah 3
• Isaiah 4

What to look for

Isaiah is about a city.

• "Besides God, who or what is the central focus of the book of Isaiah? Is it Isaiah the prophet? Is it the Messiah? Is it the Servant? Nope.... So who or what is the central character in the book of Isaiah? Jerusalem. Also known as Zion. The book of Isaiah is about a city." (Dr. Bo Lim)

Notice the contrast between corrupt Jerusalem and the future glory of Zion.  What sins of the people are corrupting Jerusalem?  How will this be different in God's future?

In Dr. Lim's commentary this week, be sure to read about the "Real Housewives of Zion."  Vivid illustration!

Personal conviction of sin - the call to repentence is so strong in these first few chapters.  Allow yourself to be called into some honest prayer.

Looking back

Isn't it amazing to think about how important Isaiah was to Jesus and the New Testament writers?  This gives me fresh motivation to read it.

Favorite line from Dr. Lim:

• A friend of mine once wrote the following comment on Facebook explaining why students ought to take his course on Romans: “It’s just the most important book in the Bible!” I commented in half-jest, “I didn’t know you were teaching a course on Isaiah!”

Suggestions

Add your comments to this blog post.  One person posted a comment to last week's post.  Read the comment by clicking "comments."  Let's at least quadruple that this week!

Listen to the podcast. If you've never listened to the podcast audio recording of the bible commentary, give it a try.
 
Announcement

Dr. Bo Lim will come to North Creek on Sunday, October 21!
More info here 
 

Reading Notes - Week 1 - Autumn 2012

Week 1 - September 24-30, 2012
Isaiah 1:1

Today marks the beginning of a three-month scripture reading plan in the Old Testament book of Isaiah.  Dr. Bo Lim of Seattle Pacific University, our scholar guide for this reading, has assigned Isaiah 1:1.  Some of you may want to read more scripture this week, so here are my suggestions.  They correspond to Dr. Lim's online commentary which focuses on the importance of Isaiah for Christians because it was so important for Jesus and the New Testament.

Try starting out your reading of Isaiah with these five readings that show the links between the New Testament and Isaiah:

• Matthew 1:23 & Isaiah 7:14
• Matthew 4:12-17 & Isaiah 9:1-2
• Luke 4:16-21 & Isaiah 61:1-2
• Acts 13:44-52 & Isaiah 49:6
• Romans 15:7-13 & Isaiah 11:1