Isaiah 17 by Pastor David Groendyk At first glance, it’s hard to understand what’s going on in this chapter. The first verse calls it an oracle concerning Damascus (the capital city of Syria), but it sounds a lot like Isaiah is speaking to Israel in a number of verses. A little historical context helps. Remember back in Isaiah 7:1 and 8:4, the prophet described an alliance made between the king of Israel and the king…

Isaiah 16 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson As Isaiah judges the nations, he begins with Babylon, then Assyria 14:24ff, then Philistia 14:28ff and in chapters 15 and 16, Moab.  Moab and the nation of Israel (meaning both Israel and Judah) have a long and somewhat close, albeit ambiguous relationship.   Isaiah seems to genuinely feel remorse over Moab’s fate.  This may reflect the relationship Israel and Judah have with Moab as well as Isaiah is reflecting…

Isaiah 15 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence             This is the first of two chapters detailing God’s judgment against Moab in the larger section of God’s judgment against the nations (13-23).  Like Isaiah, the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel also prophesied judgment against Moab (Jeremiah 48; Ezek. 25:8-11) showing that they were a common enemy of God’s people at that time.  If you remember, Moab was actually related to Israel.  He was one of the sons of…

Isaiah 14 by Pastor David Groendyk We’re at the beginning of the next section in Isaiah (chapters 13–27) where God gives a word of both judgment and hope primarily for the nations of the world besides Israel. Chapter 14 continues the thought from the previous chapter where God condemns Babylon, and he goes on also to condemn two other great enemies of Israel—Assyria and Philistia. This is a rich poetic chapter, but rather than take…

Isaiah 13 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson We are now in a new section of the book of Isaiah.  You will easily notice a new section beginning in chapter 13.  The Bible project, which Kathy includes in the email for these devotions, divides 13-27 from 28-39.  One of the commentaries I use brackets chapters 13-35.  Another author uses 1-33 with minor divisions within this larger section.  Still another commentator separates his commentaries into 1-18, 19-39,…

Isaiah 12 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence             With this chapter, the Book of Immanuel (chs. 6-12) comes to a fitting end with a song of praise.  The entire section has provided a mixture of hope with the coming of the messiah after numerous predictions of judgment culminating in chs. 9-10 with: “For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.”  In chapter eleven we read one of the…

Isaiah 11 by Pastor David Groendyk In case you haven’t noticed yet, in the daily devotional emails just above the devotional itself, there’s a link to a video summarizing the book of Isaiah. I highly encourage you to take a look at that video. As we near the close of this first section in Isaiah (chapters 1–12), let’s remember the big picture of what Isaiah is teaching: judgment and hope for the nation of Israel.…

Isaiah 10 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson             Chapter 10 is a continuation of Isaiah 9.  The phrase in v. 4b is repeated in 9:12, 17, and 21.  What we are witnessing is evil permeating the entire society.  Verse 1 refers to religious leaders who are legislating wicked laws and who prey on the vulnerable.  How we treat the poor, the widows, the fatherless is important to God and He watches if you have any…

Isaiah 9 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Bowlin          In the last two chapters, Isaiah has pronounced woe and destruction upon the northern nation of Israel by the foreign Assyrian army, and chapter eight ended on a very dark note with God’s people begin thrust into thick darkness and anguish.  But in chapter nine, Isaiah delivered a message of hope for the future.  Although the northern tribal areas of Zebulun and Naphtali had been attacked by…

Isaiah 7 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson             At this point in Israel’s history, we need to differentiate Israel from Judah.  As you read Isaiah, this is ar the divided kingdom.  After Solomon, the ten tribes in the north broke away from Judah (and Benjamin).  So earlier in the chronology of the Bible, you could refer to all the 12 tribes as Israel.  After the divided kingdom, Israel only refers to the northern tribes.  One…

Isaiah 6 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence             Certainly one of the better known passages in the Old Testament, chapter six is a foundational text in the book of Isaiah and in all of Scripture.  Isaiah’s vision in these verses, along with the corresponding passage in Revelation 4:8-11, served as the inspiration for the classic hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy.”  This prophetical vision occurred in the year that King Uzziah died, which was in 740 BC.  We…

Isaiah 4 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson             These are pretty bleak times if Is 4:1 is happening.  In normal times, a man courts a woman.   The idea of a man getting on his knees means he is pleading with this woman to marry him.  In v. 1, the woman is one of seven who are saying, “I will eat my own food and buy my own clothes, just marry me!”  One can hardly imagine…

Isaiah 3 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence This chapter describes God’s judgment upon the corrupt leadership of men in Jerusalem in the first half and upon the luxurious sinful living among the women in the latter half.  First, he contends with the men, the elder and princes of His people, for Isaiah says in v.14, “It is you who have devoured the vineyard (see Isaiah 5), the spoil of the poor is in your houses.  What…

Isaiah 1 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson             We begin studying the massively weighty, deep, delightful vision of Isaiah.  You are going to just love his descriptive language, exalted view of God, his true-to-life view of man’s pride, and his insightful view of the coming Messiah.  Better to quote from Oswald’s commentary on Isaiah, “Of all the books of the OT, Isaiah is perhaps the richest.  Its literary grandeur is unequaled.  Its scope is unparalleled. …

Psalm 89 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence              This psalm, the last in Book III of the Psalter, is a little harder to characterize than the others.  Although it is still primarily a psalm of lament, it is much brighter in perspective than the previous psalm, which is the darkest prayer in all the psalter.  In addition to the complaint/lament mentioned in the latter part of the psalm, Psalm 89 offers some praise to God throughout…

Psalms 87 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson  The outline is easily discerned by noticing the ‘Selah’ after verse 3 and verse 6.  The careful reader will see the natural breaks.  Kidner refers to the “enigmatic, staccato phrases” of this Psalm.  For those of love the hymns of John Newton, you will notice the title of his well known hymn at the beginning of verse 3.  Robert Godfrey writes, “Psalm 87 may well be the greatest…

Psalm 86 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence            This is the only psalm of David in Book III of the Psalter, and it too is a psalm of lament.  These psalms of lamentation or complaint were some of Martin Luther’s favorites.  Of them he said, “What is the greatest thing in the Psalter but this earnest speaking amid the storm winds of every kind? . . . Where do you find deeper, more sorrowful, more pitiful…

Psalms 84 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson  John R. W. Stott lays out an easy-to-follow outline of this Psalm in his small book Favorite Psalms.  Verses 1-7 is the blessedness of others and 8-12 is A personal prayer.  Derek Kidner in the Tyndale Series has 1-4 Distant home; 5-8 Eager journey; 9-12 Radiant Presence.  Sometimes, outlines can be divided by different markers in the text.  One sees a repeated word that begins a section.  Other…

Psalm 83 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence             In this psalm of complaint against Israel’s persecutors who have joined together in a confederated league of many nations, Asaph is pleading with God to defend His people and His holy name.  In the first verse, the psalmist sets the tone of the psalm by pleading with the Lord to listen, to act and to speak a word of judgment against their enemies.  Then, in vv.2-5 he lays…

Psalm 82 by Pastor David Groendyk This is something of a bizarre psalm. As the ESV Study Bible explains, this psalm is something of a mix between a lament that is sung by God’s people and a prophecy against the wicked. In a section of the psalms that is dominated by the oppression and suffering of God’s people, this one stands out as unique. The primary audience here seems to be wicked and oppressive rulers,…

Psalm 81 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson             Robert Godfrey in Learning to Love the Psalms writes, “In a sense, it (Psalm 81) is the central psalm in the book of Psalms.  Of course, it does not stand at the numerical center of 150 Psalms.  But it is the central psalm in the central book of the Psalter.  And at the center of Psalm 81 are these words: “O Israel, if you would but listen…