“I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.” God moves in complex and incomprehensible ways. He is fully capable of altering the physical world to achieve his ends, but he is equally capable of moving in the lives of people, individually and collectively. He is … Continue reading Isaiah 45-48 Psalm 119:33-64
Category: Through the Bible
A ‘through the Bible in a year’ plan done in two: read one day, reflect the next.
Isaiah 42-44 Psalm 119:1-32
“I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.” There’s a passage here about the absurdity of idols. Men gather practice their skill, gather materials, use some of them for mundane tasks and out of the rest make idols to worship. With their … Continue reading Isaiah 42-44 Psalm 119:1-32
Isaiah 39-41 Psalm 118
I apologize for my absence: I have a bad run of migraines and fatigue. I appreciate your understanding. I will return to my schedule of double posting weekends until I catch up with my original timeline... Isaiah 39 is a trip. First you have Hezekiah giving a guided tour and showing everything he has to … Continue reading Isaiah 39-41 Psalm 118
Isaiah 36-38 Psalm 117
Psalm 117 is very short. Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord! It is succinct. It is beautiful. I don’t want to add anything to it. I don’t want to comment on it. I … Continue reading Isaiah 36-38 Psalm 117
Isaiah 31-35 Psalm 116
The result of righteousness will be quietness and trust for ever. That sounds so nice. Especially now. Quietness and trust. Peace. No strife. No yelling back and forth. No violence. But it’s more than that. It’s more than just peace. It’s trust. We will have trust forever. It’s that addition that I’m not familiar with. … Continue reading Isaiah 31-35 Psalm 116
Isaiah 28-30 Psalm 115
So Isaiah lays into the priests and prophets, the spiritual leaders of Israel who are severely failing the people, and he accuses them of being drunks on top of everything else. These people were responsible for the spiritual education and welfare of the nation and they were degenerates. Isaiah asks, who then will God teach? … Continue reading Isaiah 28-30 Psalm 115
Isaiah 23-27 Psalm 114
God is a stronghold to the poor. All the laws protecting the poor. All the injunctions to help the poor. It’s almost as God views poverty as a ‘neighborhood’ problem. In the midst of dramatic victory, defeating death, glorious imagery, there’s this line about the poor! God is mercy. God attends to the least of … Continue reading Isaiah 23-27 Psalm 114
Isaiah 18-22 Psalm 113
Three years naked? Isaiah spent three years naked to make a point? Really? That seems really extreme, doesn’t it? That God would make his loyal servant suffer that level of indignity? Would you be able to follow those instructions? I’m serious. If God demanded something that extreme, that public, that humiliating, would you be able … Continue reading Isaiah 18-22 Psalm 113
Isaiah 13-17 Psalm 112
Sometimes I wonder what life was like for Isaiah. Were his prophecies all received within a few years of ministry? If so, what filled the rest of his life? “Ordinary” service? I could look this up. I’m sure there are scholars that have at least addressed these questions, but I’m more curious what it was … Continue reading Isaiah 13-17 Psalm 112
Isaiah 9-12 Psalm 111
So this passage has some of the most beautiful prophecies concerning Christ, both his advent and I’m pretty sure his second coming as well. After all, the curse wasn’t lifted from the predators of the Earth during Christ’s ministry. I can’t say I’m an expert by any stretch of the imagination. The language in these … Continue reading Isaiah 9-12 Psalm 111
Pieces of the Mosaic 