Day 226: Isaiah 55, 56 and 57

Foreigners who have joined the Lord should not say, "The Lord will not accept me." (NCV, Isaiah 56:3)

When Jesus cleared the temple of the money changers and Grade-A lamb salesmen, he was thinking of today's expanded passage. Is it not written: "My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations"? But you have made it "a den of robbers." (Mark 11:17) The Bazaar of Annas was in the Temple area set aside for foreigners. The Sadducees' entrepreneurial scheming erected a barrier between God and the people coming to worship him. It made Jesus angry for the alien and the poor to be exploited in the name of God.

Isaiah made it clear that the blessing of Abraham was not reserved for the Hebrews, but was for people of all nations. Here, he lets the foreign-born know that whether one is born a Jew or a Gentile has no bearing on being accepted by God; all are accepted the same. Foreigners are accepted the same as nationals. Outsiders are accepted the same as insiders. Damaged are accepted the same as whole.

We may be tempted to think there is some reason God would not accept us, but that is absolutely false. Neither do people have to be just like us in order to be accepted. As Bill Hybels says: You've never locked eyes with anyone who doesn't matter to the Father. [1]

Do you accept others as Christ has accepted you?

[1] In Mark Mittelberg. Building a Contagious Church (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 37.

Day 225: Isaiah 52, 53 and 54

He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. (Isaiah 53:7)

Did Isaiah prophesy that Jesus was the Suffering Servant? Some readers will say, Absolutely! How could anyone not see it? And others, No, that doesn't fit with the general nature of prophecy; there must be another explanation!

The reason some scholars question the assumption that Isaiah had Jesus in mind is that most predictive prophecy regards the near future, not a future many generations removed from the original audience. We find what God is speaking to us by first determining what God was speaking to the original audience. Isaiah's audience was concerned with one thing and one thing only: returning to Jerusalem. Where did Christ's ministry and death enter into that story?

Yet let's acknowledge: He was led like a lamb to the slaughter sure sounds like Jesus. As does, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Psalm 22:1) The answer might be found in Matthew's temptation narrative (4:1-11). Regarding his first temptation, Jesus' answer is straight from Deuteronomy 8:3. His final two responses are from 6:7 and 6:13. In his actions and words, Jesus is showing that whereas Israel was God's unfaithful son, he is the faithful Son.

Jesus identified with these Old Testament pictures. In the case of the Suffering Servant, Israel was the servant, albeit imperfect. Jesus took that role upon himself, becoming not only the perfect Son, but also the perfect Servant.

How do the Suffering Servant songs minister to you? [1]

[1] Isaiah 42:1-9; 49:1-6; 50:4-9 and 52:13-53:12.

Day 224: Isaiah 49, 50 and 51

I will not forget you. See, I have [carved] you on the palms of my hands. (Isaiah 49:15,16)

In their Babylonian captivity, no doubt many Jews wondered if God had given up on them. Maybe some of them, in their despair, gave up on God. We read in Isaiah 49:14, Zion said, "The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me."

But God makes it clear such is not the case. Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget [as unlikely as that is], I will not forget you. See, I have [carved] you on the palms of my hands (49:15,16).

But God is forgetful about one thing.

I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more (Jeremiah 31:34).

God forgets your confessed sin, but he'll never forget you!

Have you ever felt forgotten by God?

Day 223: Isaiah 46, 47 and 48

If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea. (Isaiah 48:18)

In these chapters the writer, speaking for Yahweh, makes it clear that Babylon was his tool, employed to discipline Judah, not to destroy it (47:6). Her harshness toward Judah will result in her own punishment. The virgin daughter of Babylon will live as a princess no longer (47:1).

Then God explains to those who will listen: I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you (48:17). He says that if Judah had listened in the first place, the discipline enacted upon it would not have been necessary. How many times have we said that to our kids? How many times have we heard that ourselves?

The fruit of discipline is obedience. The fruit of obedience is peace. Therefore, when God disciplines us, he really is doing it for our own good.

It seems to be our nature to challenge the limits. As long as we think we can get away with it, we'll try. But just like we can't play with fire very long without getting burned, we cannot go on living in disobedience without paying the consequences.

Better to live according to God's plan and know peace than to struggle against what we perceive as restraints, but are really boundaries for our protection.

Have you ever had to admit that God really does know best?

Day 222: Isaiah 43, 44 and 45

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing. (Isaiah 43:18,19)

We've detailed Judah's defeat by Nebuchadnezzar. Over 60 years has passed since the first exiles were marched from Jerusalem to Babylon, and over 40 years since the city was overrun - its walls and temple razed.

A generation has been born with no memory of Zion. Parents try to tell their children that being a displaced people is not normal.

There are whispers of a new military power, rumors that Babylon's place in the world might be temporary. And then the prophet breathes words of hope: I am doing a new thing. The new thing, according to Old Testament scholar Brevard Childs, is restoration which takes the place of the old thing - destruction and exile. [1]

After the passage of time, things and events that bulldozed through our existence can stake out their own claim in our lives as normal. Perhaps this is a God-given defense mechanism, designed to keep us from being tyrannized by the past. But placing those things on the back burner doesn't mean they don't still negatively affect us.

God doesn't want us dominated by the hurts of the past. At the same time, He doesn't want us to label them as normal. He wants to do a completely new thing, and take us into the freedom of his restoration.

From what chains that you've learned to live with does God want to set you free?

Walter Brueggemann. An Introduction to the Old Testament (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2003), 167.

Day 221: Isaiah 40, 41 and 42

Proclaim to [Jerusalem] that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for. (Isaiah 40:2)

The wild ride from chapter 36 to 40 is enough to give the most hardened biblical scholar whiplash. In chapter 36 the biggest threat the people of Judah can imagine is their inevitable defeat at the hands of the Assyrians. Chapter 37 tells of Assyria's withdrawal and Judah's deliverance. In chapter 38, Hezekiah gets deathly ill. Although Isaiah warns him the end is near, the king won't take death for an answer. He prays for healing and is given fifteen more years. Chapter 39 brings a harbinger of things to come. An envoy from Babylon arrives in Jerusalem ostensibly to wish the king continued health. The chapter ends with Isaiah scolding Hezekiah for his naivete regarding Babylon's intention.

Between the end of chapter 39 and the beginning of chapter 40 lies an extended silence. Hezekiah is long dead with seven kings after him. Jerusalem has been destroyed and its people exiled to Babylon.

After 150 years, a new voice writing in the name of Isaiah begins his message: Comfort, comfort my people, says your God . . . her hard service has been completed, . . . her sin has been paid for (40:1,2).

Whiplash.

As Walter Brueggemann puts Isaiah's message: inescapable judgment reliably followed by generous restoration. [1] Defeat isn't final. Even when things look hopeless, we can still hope.

And what are you hoping for?

Walter Brueggemann. An Introduction to the Old Testament (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2003), 170.

Day 220: Isaiah 37, 38 and 39

Hezekiah received [the field commander's] letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple . . . and spread it out before the Lord. (Isaiah 37:14)

Chapters 36-38 contain three communications from the Assyrian field commander meant to demoralize and destabilize the people of Jerusalem. The Assyrian military certainly has the track record to back up his taunts, but he has never before encountered Yahweh. We could say he doesn't know who he's up against.

On what are you basing this confidence of yours? (36:4) Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? (36:18) Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? (37:11)

And how did Hezekiah respond to these threats? He went up to the temple . . . and he spread it out before the Lord.

We also have an enemy set on destroying us. He will use any means available to capsize our faith and replace it with fear. He wants to demoralize us and destabilize our defenses even though he's still on the other side of the brick wall huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf.

Let's take a lesson from Hezekiah. Now is not the time to panic. Now is the time to spread it out before the Lord.

Why raise a white flag when our God is coming to the rescue?