Reading the Bible Together

Passage for the Day

18 ”And I, because of what they have planned and done, am about to come and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory.

    19 ”I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. 20 And they will bring all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the LORD—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the LORD. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the LORD in ceremonially clean vessels. 21 And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says the LORD.

    22 ”As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the LORD, “so will your name and descendants endure. 23 From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all people will come and bow down before me,” says the LORD. 24 ”And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to the whole human race.”

Points of interest:

·         ‘gather the people of all nations and languages‘—once again, God starts out on a mission to find and rescue the Israelite exiles, but ends up vastly expanding his mission.  People from every nation are gathered to Jerusalem.  We have almost the opposite of the Tower of Babel here.  At Babel, the people gathered together to resist God and make a name for themselves, but God scattered them.  Here, God gathers all of the people to Jerusalem, where they worship God together. 

·         ‘I will send some of those who survive to the nations’—so far in Isaiah, we’ve heard a lot about God gathering exiles from every nation to Jerusalem.  Here, he’s not just gathering, but he’s also sending some of those gathered ones back out.  They’re joining in the gathering mission, going out to places that haven’t yet heard the news.  As God said at the end of yesterday’s passage, ‘I will gather still others.’

·         ‘Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians‘—this is yet another list of far-flung countries that God wants to draw into his people.

·         ‘famous as archers’—God is very attentive to his fame in this passage, and rightly so: he wants everyone to hear of the good life he will give to people in relationship with him.  I like the fact that, while advertising his own greatness, God can also recognize the accomplishments of others.  He can’t help but throw in, ‘Have you seen the way those Lydians shoot their bows?’

·          ‘on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels‘—they will use every available mode of transportation.

·         ‘I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites‘—among the Israelites, the priesthood was hereditary.  Only the Levites, one of the twelve tribes of Israel, could serve in the temple; and among them, only the family of Aaron could serve as priests.  What was restricted to a single tribe within Israel is now being thrown open, not just to any tribe within Israel, but to the people of any nation.

·         ‘From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another’—that is, from month to month, from week to week.  The number of people streaming in is constantly increasing.

·         ‘they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me‘—these are the people who tried to stop the exiles from being gathered.  This reminds me of the end of a horror movie, when the survivors keeping checking to see that the monster is really dead.  The enemy is truly and permanently vanquished here.  The new heaven and earth being formed are entirely safe.  I have to say, though, that I think it’s a bit of a bummer to end on such a down note (this is the last verse of the book of Isaiah).  Couldn’t Isaiah have just swapped those last two paragraphs?

Taking it home:

·         For you: How do you feel about being ‘sent out’ to people different from you? Are there specific people or places to which you think God might be sending you? Take a moment to reflect on any inklings you have that God might be sending you—either now or in the future—to different people or places. 

·         For your six: Pray that Jesus would be attractive to your six. Just like today’s passage describes people coming from everywhere because they sense that there is something good for them on that ‘holy mountain’, pray that your six would sense that Jesus has something good for them.

·         For America: We are a country on the move.  Think of all the different ways that people move about each day—foot, bike, car, bus, subway, plane, boat.  All of the time, we are moving, moving, moving. We get a similar sense of constant movement in this passage: people were making their way to Jerusalem in whatever way they could—on horses, chariots, wagons, and more.  Let’s pray today for the way our nation moves.  First of all, let’s simply pray for safety and patience for people as they travel.  Let’s also pray that God would be speaking to us as we literally move about their days.  And finally, let’s pray that we would be on the move spiritually just as much as physically, that more people in our nation would be moving steadily toward the good things God has on offer.

Jesus Goes to the Festival of Tabernacles

¹ After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. ² But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, ³ Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. ⁴ No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” ⁵ For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

⁶ Therefore Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. ⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. ⁸ You go to the Festival. I am not going up to this Festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” ⁹ Having said this, he stayed in Galilee.

¹⁰ However, after his brothers had left for the Festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. ¹¹ Now at the Festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus and asking, “Where is he?”

¹² Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”

Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” ¹³ But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders.

¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³ Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

Slaves to Righteousness

¹⁵ What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! ¹⁶ Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷ But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. ¹⁸ You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

¹⁹ I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. ²⁰ When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. ²¹ What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! ²² But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

A Linen Belt

¹ This is what the LORD said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” ² So I bought a belt, as the LORD directed, and put it around my waist.

³ Then the word of the LORD came to me a second time: ⁴ “Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” ⁵ So I went and hid it at Perath, as the LORD told me.

⁶ Many days later the LORD said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” ⁷ So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.

⁸ Then the word of the LORD came to me: ⁹ “This is what the LORD says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt—completely useless! ¹¹ For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to me,’ declares the LORD, ‘to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. But they have not listened.’

For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David.

¹ Save me, O God,
for the waters have come up to my neck.

² I sink in the miry depths,
where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
the floods engulf me.

³ I am worn out calling for help;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
looking for my God.

⁴ Those who hate me without reason
outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,
those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore
what I did not steal.

⁵ You, God, know my folly;
my guilt is not hidden from you.

⁶ Lord, the LORD Almighty,
may those who hope in you
not be disgraced because of me;
God of Israel,
may those who seek you
not be put to shame because of me.

⁷ For I endure scorn for your sake,
and shame covers my face.

⁸ I am a foreigner to my own family,
a stranger to my own mother’s children;

⁹ for zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.

¹⁰ When I weep and fast,
I must endure scorn;

¹¹ when I put on sackcloth,
people make sport of me.

¹² Those who sit at the gate mock me,
and I am the song of the drunkards.

¹³ But I pray to you, LORD,
in the time of your favor;
in your great love, O God,
answer me with your sure salvation.

¹⁴ Rescue me from the mire,
do not let me sink;
deliver me from those who hate me,
from the deep waters.

¹⁵ Do not let the floodwaters engulf me
or the depths swallow me up
or the pit close its mouth over me.

¹⁶ Answer me, LORD, out of the goodness of your love;
in your great mercy turn to me.

¹⁷ Do not hide your face from your servant;
answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.

¹⁸ Come near and rescue me;
redeem me because of my foes.

¹⁹ You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed;
all my enemies are before you.

²⁰ Scorn has broken my heart
and has left me helpless;
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
for comforters, but I found none.

²¹ They put gall in my food
and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

²² May the table set before them become a snare;
may it become retribution and a trap.

²³ May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever.

²⁴ Pour out your wrath on them;
let your fierce anger overtake them.

²⁵ May their place be deserted;
let there be no one to dwell in their tents.

²⁶ For they persecute those you wound
and talk about the pain of those you hurt.

²⁷ Charge them with crime upon crime;
do not let them share in your salvation.

²⁸ May they be blotted out of the book of life
and not be listed with the righteous.

²⁹ But as for me, afflicted and in pain—
may your salvation, God, protect me.

³⁰ I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.

³¹ This will please the LORD more than an ox,
more than a bull with its horns and hooves.

³² The poor will see and be glad—
you who seek God, may your hearts live!

³³ The LORD hears the needy
and does not despise his captive people.

³⁴ Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and all that move in them,

³⁵ for God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will settle there and possess it;

³⁶ the children of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his name will dwell there.