Reading the Bible Together

The Passage for the Day

 1 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

    2 In the last days 
       the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established 
       as the highest of the mountains; 
       it will be exalted above the hills, 
       and all nations will stream to it.

    3 Many peoples will come and say, 
       “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, 
       to the house of the God of Jacob. 
       He will teach us his ways, 
       so that we may walk in his paths.” 
       The law will go out from Zion, 
       the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

    4 He will judge between the nations 
       and will settle disputes for many peoples. 
       They will beat their swords into plowshares 
       and their spears into pruning hooks. 
       Nation will not take up sword against nation, 
       nor will they train for war anymore.

    5 Come, house of Jacob, 
       let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Points of interest:

·         ‘This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw’—today, we move out of the Psalms and begin a week of reading the prophets.  Old Testament prophets were like God’s special ambassadors to Israel and to other nations.  While they did often predict the future, their primary purpose was to interpret current events through God’s eyes.  Isaiah, the prophet we’ll spend the most time with, lived in Jerusalem a couple of hundred years after David.  Under David and Solomon, the nation of Israel had a brief period of peace, prosperity, and local dominance.  After Solomon’s reign, the Israelites fell to bickering among themselves, splitting into two feuding nations (Israel and Judah) which were embroiled in constant warfare, in ever shifting alliances with the smaller neighboring nations.  During Isaiah’s time, the political situation was further complicated by growing tensions among Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon, the major powers of the region.  Israel and Judah were right in the middle of these three great nations, which meant that control of Israel and Judah (and their other neighbors) is what was being fought about.  In fact, the battles between these giants often happened on Israelite or Judean territory.

·         ‘Many peoples will come and say, ”Come, let us go up”’—during the time of Solomon, the temple at Jerusalem was something to be seen: it was an architectural marvel itself, and it was the center of worship of a God who seemed to bring remarkable fortune to the kings who worshipped him.  During Isaiah’s time, both politically and artistically, Jerusalem wasn’t really anything special.  The big cities of Assyrian and Babylon were far more impressive.  But Isaiah is promising here that Jerusalem’s best days are actually still ahead.

·         ‘so that we may walk in his paths’—God is like a guide or a trailblazer.  He’s up ahead, scouting the way to a life worth living.

·          ‘They will beat their swords into plowshares’—peace is one of the things God is leading toward.  All of the energy that’s going into military technology and arms production will instead go toward more constructive pursuits.  God is leading the nations out of conflict and back to humanity’s original purpose: filling the earth with goodness, order, and abundance.

·         ‘Come, house of Jacob‘—while all the other nations are streaming toward Jerusalem, the Israelites are lagging behind.  Isaiah has to spur them on to keep up with everyone else.  They’re the keepers of the temple, but somehow they don’t understand the big prize that’s waiting there.

Taking it home:

·         For you: When the ‘many peoples’ from this passage are perplexed about where to go and what to do, they seek out God, and he gives them the guidance they need.  Think of one specific puzzle or problem you’re facing today.  It could be a big deal that’s been on your mind, or it could just be a small question about your day.  Take a moment to ask God if he has any advice for you; make sure you pause for a second to listen for an answer.

·         For your six: In this passage, the Israelites are the ostensible experts about God and his ways, but it’s the other nations that take the lead in pursuing him.  I bet, even if they’re not terribly religious, that your six have plenty of worthwhile thoughts about God and life.  Why not try asking at least one of your six if they have any spiritual insights they’d like to share with you?  Maybe the item you thought of from ‘For you’ would be a good place to start.

·         For America: America is often in the forefront of the world’s technological development, in both swords and plowshares, as it were.  Pray for God’s blessings on our innovation, particularly in peaceful and constructive pursuits.  Ask God to support the work of researchers in curing disease, using better forms of energy, and other new technologies that could be a big benefit to us, and to the rest of the world.

⁹ This is what the LORD Almighty says:
“Let them glean the remnant of Israel
as thoroughly as a vine;
pass your hand over the branches again,
like one gathering grapes.”

¹⁰ To whom can I speak and give warning?
Who will listen to me?
Their ears are closed
so they cannot hear.
The word of the LORD is offensive to them;
they find no pleasure in it.

¹¹ But I am full of the wrath of the LORD,
and I cannot hold it in.
“Pour it out on the children in the street
and on the youths gathered together;
both husband and wife will be caught in it,
and the old, those weighed down with years.

¹² Their houses will be turned over to others,
together with their fields and their wives,
when I stretch out my hand
against those who live in the land,”
declares the LORD.

¹³ “From the least to the greatest,
all are greedy for gain;
prophets and priests alike,
all practice deceit.

¹⁴ They dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
‘Peace, peace,’ they say,
when there is no peace.

¹⁵ Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
No, they have no shame at all;
they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
they will be brought down when I punish them,”
says the LORD.

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.

¹ You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.

² I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.

³ Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.

⁴ I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.

⁵ I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

⁶ On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.

⁷ Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.

⁸ I cling to you;
your right hand upholds me.

⁹ Those who seek my life will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.

¹⁰ They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.

¹¹ But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God will glory in him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.