Understanding Isaiah: Isaiah 9 – 41

You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

In the middle of all the prophecies of doom and promises of hope in Isaiah, there are four chapters of history. Chapters 36-39 not only tell the story of King Hezekiah, but they also provide a key to understanding the structure of the entire book. For the first part of Hezekiah’s story details his struggle with the Assyrians, and the first part of Isaiah through chapter 38 can be considered the Age of Assyria. The last part of Hezekiah’s story introduces the Babylonians, to whom the overly proud king revealed all his country’s wealth, and the final chapters of Isaiah from 40 on can be called the Age of Babylon.

Assyrians were the dominant power in the time of Isaiah, who lived and prophesied from about 740-680 BC. Their threatened invasion hung over every decision that kings made in those days. The northern kingdom of Israel and their neighbor Syria (capital: Damascus) sought Judah’s help in defense against Assyria (chief city: Ninevah). Judah went its own way, but instead of seeking God’s help it turned to Assyria itself or Egypt. Only in the days of Hezekiah did Judah trust in God alone.  Assyria conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC, but was itself defeated by Babylon by 609 BC.

With that context, Isaiah preaches to corrupt and idolatrous Judah, urging repentance. He exalts the Holy One of Israel, his favorite name for God. He details the coming Messiah, contrasting the eternal king with the sinfulness of the current kings. He highlights the wickedness of the old Jerusalem and the worldly lofty city in comparison with the New Jerusalem.  He condemns and then comforts.

Chapters 1-12. Judgment and hope for Jerusalem.

Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him. Isaiah 1:4

Chapters 13-27. Judgment on the nations. Includes Chapters 24-27, the Day of the Lord or Isaiah’s Apocalypse.

In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below. They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon;
they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days. The moon will be dismayed, the sun ashamed; for the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders—with great glory. Isaiah 24:21-23

Chapters 28-35. Judgment and blessing. Woes on the unfaithful and on Assyria. Coming restoration of Zion.

In a very short time, will not Lebanon be turned into a fertile field and the fertile field seem like a forest? In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. Once more the humble will rejoice in the Lord; the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 29:17-19

Chapters 36-39. History of Hezekiah.

Then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. Isaiah 37:36-37

 

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Isaiah 9-41. Next week I will write about Isaiah 42 – Jeremiah 3. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Isaiah 9-41.

Boasting when humility is needed: Isaiah 9

The day of the LORD: Isaiah 13

Who holds the key? Isaiah 22

Tale of Two Cities: Isaiah 24-26

Betting on the wrong horse: Isaiah 30

The holy highway: Isaiah 35

Finding comfort: Isaiah 40

Painting by Marc Chagall

Head and Heart: Proverbs 30 – Isaiah 8

One day we will learn that the heart can never be totally right if the head is totally wrong. Only through the bringing together of head and heart – intelligence and goodness – shall man rise to a fulfillment of his true nature. – Martin Luther King, Jr.

You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

Head and heart. Thinking and feeling. Brains and emotions. You need both to live abundantly, and you need them in balance. This week’s readings in Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon give us some of that balance. Ecclesiastes explores the need for wisdom in a world threatened by futility. Song of Solomon shows snapshots of romantic love in action, with all its passion and devotion, a love that mirrors God’s devotion to his people and Christ’s devotion to the church.

The key wisdom of Ecclesiastes rests in proper perspective. Instead of looking around at one’s place in space and time in a secular and humanistic way, we must look up to heaven and see our work in the world from a spiritual and eternal viewpoint. Chuck Swindoll in Living on the Ragged Edge called it horizontal and vertical living. With only a horizontal perspective (under the sun) it is easy to be overwhelmed by the brevity of life and effort. With both a horizontal and vertical perspective we enter into the kingdom of heaven and find grace from God that gives power to live with difficulties and purpose for the days of our life. Knowledge, pleasure, work, and possessions will fail us. Amusements and achievements will not satisfy us. But God’s wisdom reveals the truth and gives eternal insight along with the strength to overcome our problems.

Song of Solomon has been frequently classified as allegory, denying its description of romantic love in favor of a representation of divine love. Instead we should embrace the picture of romance without throwing away the comparison with God’s love. We can learn much about both in the Song of Songs, including:

• the unmatched passion of love
• the exclusivity of love
• the adoration of the beloved
• the complete surrender of self in love

The melding of heart and mind is one of the most important tasks for maturing persons. In this time, especially, we can see every day the mistakes of those who are all passion and no thought, as well as the danger of people who make heartless decisions in a calculating mind devoid of compassion.

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Proverbs 30 – Isaiah 8. Next week I will write about Isaiah 9 – 41. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Proverbs 30 – Isaiah 8.

The Super-woman syndrome: Proverbs 31

Finding meaning “under the sun” – Ecclesiastes 1-3

Happy at work: Ecclesiastes 5

How to make the most of life: Ecclesiastes 9

Love as strong as death: Song of Solomon

Judgment and Mercy: Isaiah 1

Hearing but not listening: Isaiah 6

Wise or foolish? Proverbs 10-29

You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom. – Charles Spurgeon

Proverbs aims to impart wisdom to those who lack it, and from the start Proverbs stresses that wisdom begins with the fear of God. How do you interpret this claim?

• Would you say that all wisdom comes from God?
• Must one be in a right relationship with God to be wise?

First of all, the wisdom that Proverbs promotes is wisdom that leads to righteousness in a very practical sense. The understanding and discernment it teaches lead to actions that bring about right living. It isn’t about theory but actual choices between right and wrong. With that in mind, it is clear that a right relationship with God founded on correct choices begins with a sure confidence in the existence of God and in his judgment upon those who reject his way.

Personified concepts are very important in the opening of the book. The two main characters are Wisdom and Folly, both portrayed as women, both taking up prominent positions in the center of the community, and both making a claim for the hearts of the readers. Lady Wisdom offers three invaluable assets to those who follow her: intellect, morality, and power. Yet many rashly choose Folly even though she only offers the lure of illicit pleasure.

The idea of foolishness is just as important in Proverbs as the quality of wisdom. There are three kinds of fools we read about. There is the simple one, young and uneducated about the tenets of wisdom, naive and gullible, but still having the ability to learn and change. There is the fool, old enough to know better but carrying on with dull, stupid, and silly ways. The third fool is the mocker, who has not only rejected wisdom but now boasts of his scorn and actively opposes understanding. Do you see the downward spiral?

Beginning in chapter 10, the book uses short sayings that use three methods to drive home their point. The first method is contrast using the keyword “but”. “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.” The second method is comparison with the words “is” or “is like”. “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.” The third method is completion using “and”. “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives.”

The wisdom of Proverbs is not theoretical but practical. It means nothing if it isn’t practiced. God’s word hits the nitty-gritty of our wishes and wham! Choices must be made.

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Proverbs 10-29. Next week I will write about Proverbs 30-Isaiah 8. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Proverbs 10-29.

Giving and Getting: Proverbs 11-12

Healing your heart: Proverbs 13-15

Man’s will and God’s rule: Proverbs 16

Unhappy in marriage: Proverbs 19

Rich man, poor man: Proverbs 22-23

A field guide to fools: Proverbs 26

Economics 101: Proverbs 27

Songs for Pilgrims: Psalm 120 – Proverbs 9

You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

Psalms 120-134 are called Songs of Ascent. Perhaps they were written for those ascending the hills up to Jerusalem for the yearly feasts. Perhaps they were used by priests ascending the steps of the temple as they prepared to worship. They are more likely intended for those on a spiritual pilgrimage, however, and may have been compiled by the exiles in Babylon who longed to return to their spiritual home. There is a clue to that effect in the first Song of Ascent.

Psalm 120. The psalmist laments his sojourn in Meshech and Kedar, vassal states of Babylon. The pilgrim expresses his pain at the culture from which he is coming out, a people who do not desire shalom but only war.

Psalm 121. Pilgrims on the road need protection, and they find it in the one who is creator, guardian of Israel, guardian at all times, and guardian eternally.

Psalm 122. Pilgrims rejoice as they see, either in person or with spiritual eyes, their beloved Jerusalem which is as real as a person to them.

Psalm 123. Pilgrims are moving away from the world’s contempt to the mercy, grace, and favor of their master.

Psalm 124. Pilgrims give thanks for their deliverer.

Psalm 125. Pilgrims find in Jerusalem a metaphor for the refuge they find in God.

Psalm 126. Pilgrims find their fortunes restored, like a dream fulfilled, like a desert stream renewed by rain, or like a bountiful harvest at the end of a long growing season.

Psalm 127. Pilgrims depend on God. The fruitfulness of their work depends on him and the fruitfulness of their family depends on him.

Psalm 128. Pilgrims will be blessed by God. Their work will be blessed and their family will be blessed. The blessing will come to those who fear the Lord.

Psalm 129. Pilgrims have a painful past but are preserved in the present and can pray for the future that God will rightly judge the world.

Psalm 130. Pilgrims find forgiveness as they cry out to God in brokenness, confess their sin, wait for God, and hope in him because of his steadfast love.

Psalm 131. Pilgrims can be content in their circumstances and confident in their hope, just as a maturing child trusts in its mother.

Psalm 132. Pilgrims will find the place God has made for them, just as David and Zion were bound together. Because of God’s promise to David, Zion was blessed. Because of God’s desire for Zion, David was blessed. Pilgrims will find a similar blessing in seeking and finding God’s kingdom.

Psalm 133. Pilgrims find a community of unity that is like the blessing of family.

Psalm 134. Pilgrims go on pilgrimage both to bless God and to be blessed by him.

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Psalm 120 – Proverbs 9. Next week I will write about Proverbs 10 – 29. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Psalm 120 – Proverbs 9.

How to build a house: Psalm 127

The God who is there: Psalm 139

The power of praise: Psalm 145

Summing up the Psalms: Psalm 146

Don’t be a fool! Proverbs 1

About adultery: Proverbs 5-6

Lady Wisdom: Proverbs 8-9