1st February
Read Psalm 146
If you don’t have a bible at home you can find the readings on a website such as www.biblegateway.com or an app such as YouVersion
What a wonderful start this Psalm has, “Praise the Lord, my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life.” He speaks of the Lord as Maker of heaven and earth and everything in them and that he is on the side of the oppressed, of the hungry, of prisoners, of the blind, and of those bowed down. This is the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ whom we worship and praise every Sunday we meet, well may we close as the Psalmist does with, “Praise the Lord”.
As you read the Bible Stop; Read; Ponder; and Pray.
Monday Isaiah 48:12-22
God wants his people Israel to listen to him and tell him which of the idols of the nations have foretold what he is now telling them which is that Cyrus, the King of the coming Persian Empire, who God is choosing as an ally is going to punish the Babylonians and is going to succeed in overthrowing them. God wants his people to respond by saying that other gods have foretold this which of course they wouldn’t be able to do because it is He along who foretells and accomplishes these things (v15).
God tells them that he is their redeemer and the one “who teaches what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go” (v17). He says if they had paid attention to his commands things would have been utterly different (v18-19) but now he tells them to leave Babylon. It appears that some Jews decided to stay where they were and not return to Judea, they preferred their settled lives after 70 years and were reluctant to return and start the, admittedly hard work, to rebuilding and resettling. It is a warning to all who have settled down into a present worldly way of life. To be God’s people is to hear and respond to his call to leave this life for his kingdom.
Tuesday Isaiah 49: 1-7
As we move forward in the prophecy of Isaiah it is as though we are moving into a mist, seeing things faintly and only in part but feeling that a much bigger picture is going to appear as we move into the mist. We have been listening to God speaking about the remnant of the children of Israel in captivity in Babylon but with a promise of an end to that time coming. We hear of an alien King, the Emperor Cyrus, who will appear and the people will be released and there will be a return to Jerusalem, the history of which will we seen in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah but that is not yet.
The chapter starts of with a picture of an unborn child but whose existence and destiny God has planned before ever it was born. This figure is called ‘my servant’ and then the name of this servant is given – Israel. The voice changes to that of Israel who feels unfulfilled yet believes that his reward is in the Lord’s hand (v3,4).
By verse 5 however the servant appears to be a restorer of Israel, one to bring them back. This is where we arre pushing through the mist and wondering if this is Cyrus taking hold of Israel (Jacob) and restoring him? (v6). But hold on, this Restorer must be greater than Cyrus, are we flicking back to the picture of Jacob (Israel) because we now hear that this restoration will not only be for Israel but also for “the ends of the earth” to which Light will be brought. As New Testament believers we find ourselves staring through the mist at none other than Jesus who, though despised by the nation, will become a Lord over Kings (v7).
Wednesday Isaiah 49:8-26
The continuation of this prophecy tells of a restoration for the people and the Servant spoken of earlier he tells ill be made a covenant for the people (v8) which speaks strongly as a Messianic passage referring to Jesus. Some of the verses speak of the land however and so may have reference to the return from exile after Cyrus releases the people from Babylon. Once again we are looking through a mist towards the future and there could be a number of things we might be seeing, first the release of the Jews from Babylon, second the arrival of Jesus as Messiah, third the gathering of Jews at the close of time together with the Gentile Church before or at the second coming of Jesus.
If I am wary of giving a definitive answer it is because I don’t feel confident to fix one interpretation over the others however the last verse most definitely must refer to the end of time – “Then all mankind will know that I, the Lord, am your Saviour, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob
Thursday Isaiah 50:1-11
We all know that the Bible sets up marriage as the created plan for man. It would be true to say that the building block of humanity is not the individual but the couple, male and female, husband an wife, for they form the foundation stones of family which is the building block of all societies. We know also that God commanded there to be no divorce but in the new testament Jesus is challenged with why then did Moses give bills of divorcement when men wanted to separate from their wives. Jesus said it was because of “the hardness of your hearts” (Matt 19:8,9). It was given as a means of protection as it was given to a wife who was not abandoned because of her adultery but was put out of her home because of the hardness of her husband’s heart who probably wanted another partner.
When God asks his people “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away” he is challenging them over their departure from him. They want to imply that all their troubles were God’s fault and that there was nothing wrong with them or their ancestors. God tells them that they were not sent away for any reason other than that they were sold because of their sins and transgressions.
From v5 we hear the experience of God’s prophet, Isaiah, who was ill treated at the hands of the people who did not want to hear God’s condemnations through his mouth.
Friday Isaiah 51:1-16
Chapter 51 is a call to his faithful people to listen to him for he will bring a salvation and restoration to them. He invites them to look to the Rock from which they were hewn, speaking of their forebear Abraham encouraging them to think of this solitary man and the nation that grew from him. It is always a good thing to look back at our Christian forebears and how they lived and grew in faith. My father was a regular reader of Christian biography often quoting things from the stories he had read, here God is encouraging the people to go back and read of Abraham and Sarah and their story and find their pattern of faith there.
God tells the people that his salvation was on its way for them (v5) and that he would bring justice to the nations. The prophecy is looking into the far distant future for it speaks of the heavens and the earth wearing out but his salvation lasting forever very reminiscent of 2 Peter 3:10. He tells the people not to fear those around them for He is the God who laid the foundations of the Earth.
Saturday Isaiah 51:17-52:10
And from v17 he gives a cry to awake, he tells them that they have suffered under the hand of the Lord and who can console them, but that the Lord is sovereign and he will defend his people in Ch 52:1 he calls again for them to awake from this nightmare because they will be saved, they are to shake off the dust of their misery for the Lord will redeem them (52:3). He recounts their history in Egypt and then under the oppression of the Assyrians but he notes that their oppressors mocked Him, their God and Lord and this will be attended to by Him.
In verse 7 we come across a well known verse which points forwards to the future and to Jesus “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news”. When the Lord returns to Zion they will burst into songs of joy (v8,9) because they will know of their redemption and that all the nations will be subdued under God’s hand.