Isaiah 1:1-31
1 The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!
For the Lord has spoken:
“I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows its master,
the donkey its owner’s manger,
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand.”
4 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.
5 Why should you be beaten anymore?
Why do you persist in rebellion?
Your whole head is injured,
your whole heart afflicted.
6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head
there is no soundness—
only wounds and welts
and open sores,
not cleansed or bandaged
or soothed with olive oil.
7 Your country is desolate,
your cities burned with fire;
your fields are being stripped by foreigners
right before you,
laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.
8 Daughter Zion is left
like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a hut in a cucumber field,
like a city under siege.
9 Unless the Lord Almighty
had left us some survivors,
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah.
10 Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the instruction of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.
Your hands are full of blood!
16 Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.
18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the good things of the land;
20 but if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
21 See how the faithful city
has become a prostitute!
She once was full of justice;
righteousness used to dwell in her—
but now murderers!
22 Your silver has become dross,
your choice wine is diluted with water.
23 Your rulers are rebels,
partners with thieves;
they all love bribes
and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
the widow’s case does not come before them.
24 Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
the Mighty One of Israel, declares:
“Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes
and avenge myself on my enemies.
25 I will turn my hand against you;
I will thoroughly purge away your dross
and remove all your impurities.
26 I will restore your leaders as in days of old,
your rulers as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called
the City of Righteousness,
the Faithful City.”
27 Zion will be delivered with justice,
her penitent ones with righteousness.
28 But rebels and sinners will both be broken,
and those who forsake the Lord will perish.
29 “You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks
in which you have delighted;
you will be disgraced because of the gardens
that you have chosen.
30 You will be like an oak with fading leaves,
like a garden without water.
31 The mighty man will become tinder
and his work a spark;
both will burn together,
with no one to quench the fire.”
Psalm 27:1-14
of David
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked advance against me
to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then I will be confident.
4 One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
and set me high upon a rock.
6 Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the Lord.
7 Hear my voice when I call, Lord;
be merciful to me and answer me.
8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
Your face, Lord, I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
God my Savior.
10 Though my father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will receive me.
11 Teach me your way, Lord;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.
12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
spouting malicious accusations.
13 I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.
The Great Prophet Isaiah starts out his book telling us he wrote his book during the reign of the kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah...These were all kings of Judah, during Isaiah's long ministry of being a prophet...Isaiah gives us a picture of a sinning and rebellious nation...He begins his book with a condemnation of those that have forsake the Holy One of Israel, and ends his book with that same condemnation...The people have turned their backs on Him...They do not trust Him...Isaiah tells us that the LORD has had plenty of sacrifices and burnt offerings, but wants His people to morally righteous...The offerings to Him have become meaningless, because the people have become unfaithful to Him...Holy cities are not sacred if God is not in those cities...And men who do not follow the LORD and are unfaithful to Him will become immoral and unjust...And when we continue to rebel, sometimes, God hides His eyes...
The Assyrians were threatening to overtake Israel and Judah during Isaiah's time...War was a threat, but Isaiah writes both of war and peace...The Book of Isaiah has many writings about how the people of Israel turned away from God...Isaiah also has how the nations against Israel would be punished...And later, the Prophet writes, about a Suffering Servant who would come to their aid and our aid...And this Servant would give us and bring us hope...
There were long periods in the Old Testament when God seemed to hide for years and even centuries...On those days when I think He has left me, the Old Testament gives me hope...Time passes, centuries may elapse and the LORD may still be hiding His eyes...God sometimes works slowly and meticulously...We must endure like Job...We need to be faithful and persevere as David did..When months and years go by and we feel alone, let us think of those times of the Old Testament, as we take heart as King David did...And although David knew God was near him, he wrote many Psalms and prayed often when he felt that God had left His side...
Nothing sometimes seems to be happening from our faithful and spiritual side for periods of times...Let us learn from the writings of the Old Testament from Isaiah, Job, and David...
David believed that He could find and see the goodness of the Lord in this land, the land of the living!...So he waited for the Lord; and was strong...He waited and took courage; as he waited for the Lord!...When the Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?...When the Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?...When there is evil all around who try to harm me, it is they who will stumble and fall...Though there may be a number of adversaries against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be the one confident...One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in His temple...For God will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble; and He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will lift me high to His place of peace and safety...