Key Verses: Isaiah 65:24
It shall come to pass
That before they call, I will answer;
And while they are still speaking, I will hear.
God says, “Here I am, Here I am!” (Isaiah 65:1b). God has not left His human family. He has not isolated Himself from us. Isaiah 65 is God’s answer to the prayer of Isaiah we read in yesterday’s reading. God says through His prophet, “I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people.” The Apostle Paul quotes Isaiah’s words in Romans 10:20-21. We may want to read all of Romans 10 as a commentary on God’s dealings with both Jews and non Jews.
In his final chapter 66, Isaiah repeats twice more words he has written over and over, “Thus says the Lord!” Back in Isaiah 55:6-11 we considered how to get God’s Word, (His thoughts and ways) into our lives and world. Soak in the Word each day! Let God’s Word permeate our hearts and minds. In four more days we’ll have 600 blogs here on 100words.ca and there will be 130 more to complete the entire two year journey through the entire Bible! God says, “Where is the house you will build four Me?” The answer is that the Temple in Jerusalem will be destroyed and the entire sacrificial system will be abolished once the final sacrifice is completed by the One John the Baptist called, “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
Tomorrow, the New Testament book of James!
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, as I think back on the past month of readings in Isaiah, I do tremble at Your Word (66:2b). By Your grace I’ve trusted fully in the One of Whom Isaiah said was yet to come. I’ve noted dozens of personal pronouns and meditated on the Person whose Name alone could replace those pronouns, the Child who was born, the Son Who was given! Isaiah 9:6 goes on to state the fact that “His Name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” I pray that every reader of this blog, including myself, will know Him in a deeper and more intimate way than ever as a result of daily absorbing Your thoughts and ways. In His Name! Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I’ve read the Jewish tradition that says that Isaiah died by being sawn in half by the last wicked King of Judah to reign during Isaiah’s time. It’s really hard for me to get my mind around the fact that such a powerful and persuasive prophet would have been rejected by the corrupt political masters and a segment of the people that agreed with them. The political masters of Jesus’ time were appointed by an exceedingly corrupt and evil Roman Emperor. The High Priest and his family members became very, very rich through their absolute control of the income from the 4,000,000 or so pilgrims who would visit Jerusalem each year for the mandatory feasts. Jesus said that the Temple had become a “Den of thieves.” The first Gospels tell of the cleansing of the Temple just before Jesus’ death and resurrection. As Bill O’Reilly points out in his book, “Killing Jesus,” it happened twice, once at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry (John 2:11-21), then later (Matthew 21:12 & 13). I found a clip from the “Gospel of John” movie that I’ve just watched. Isaiah depicts judgement as well as mercy (click here for a clip from that movie). I’m well aware that the average Jewish person (Jesus and all His disciples are Jewish) were not implicated in any way in either the execution of Isaiah and Jesus. The crowd in the courtyard who yelled “Crucify Him!” were all paid lackeys of the High Priest.
Yours in recognition of the One Who said, “Here I am,” with prayer that all would turn to Him without delay asking for mercy and grace,
David
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Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
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