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