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