By His stripes we are healed!

Isaiah 53:1-12 (NKJV)
1 Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
3 He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.

Thoughts on Isaiah 61:1-4

This morning I read Isaiah 61, which contains the famous verses (1-2a) which Christ quotes in Luke 4:18-19. I’ve seen both passages (well, the one passage) quoted quite a bit recently, but I haven’t looked at the larger context in some time, so it was great to do that this morning:

Thoughts on Isaiah 44:21-23

To comfort His people during their captivity in Babylon, God says to them in Isaiah 44:

21 “Remember these, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me!
22 I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
23 Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and glorified Himself in Israel. (NKJV)

While it may seem that God is absent during the severest trial, He has not forgotten us! Indeed, though our sins are like a thick cloud (!), He has blotted them out! Return to Him, if you are a believer who is in sin – He has redeemed you. And when you have done so… praise Him!

Thoughts on Isaiah 29:9-24

I came across these incredible verses last week while doing my quiet time:

9 Astonish yourselves [2] and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind! Be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not with strong drink!
10 For the Lord has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes (the prophets), and covered your heads (the seers).

Initial thoughts on Isaiah 19:22

I woke up late today and didn’t do my quiet time, so I ended up re-reading Isaiah 19 by “accident” over a Chipotle burrito (yum!) today at lunch when I should have been in chapter 21. Part of the reason I didn’t realize I had already read 19 was because I recently started using Pocket e-Sword on my iPAQ, with which I’m trying out the ESV. Plus, I don’t usually use my iPAQ when I do my quiet time. Anyway, between the new translation and the new tool (which I very much like so far!), I managed to land on the wrong chapter.

I’m glad I did! I somehow glossed over this verse the other day:

Is. 19:22 The LORD will strike Egypt, striking but healing; so they will return to the LORD, and He will respond to them and will heal them. (NAS)

a footnote for which lead to:

Isaiah 5, continued

I thought I finished with Isaiah 5 yesterday, but as I was scanning it in order to get into chapter 6 this morning, I discovered there was a lot more to be learned from chapter 5!

18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with^(AA) cords of falsehood,
who draw sin as with cart ropes,
19 who say:^(AB) “Let him be quick,
let him speed his work
that we may see it;
let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near,
and let it come, that we may know it!”
20 Woe to^(AC) those who call evil good
and good evil,
^(AD) who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe to those who are^(AE) wise in their own eyes,
and shrewd in their own sight!
22 Woe to those who are^(AF) heroes at drinking wine,
and valiant men in mixing strong drink,
23 who^(AG) acquit the guilty for a bribe,
and deprive the innocent of his right! (ESV)

Materialism, pursuing pleasure, and a holy God

[Update, September 6th, 2008: I’ve seen an interesting trend of late – this post is getting translated into Arabic!  For any future visitors reading this post in Arabic: السلام عليكم – and welcome!]

I started reading through Isaiah a few days ago. I read chapter 5 this morning, and these verses jumped out at me:

Is 5:8 Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field, until there is no more room, so that you have to live alone in the midst of the land!
9 In my ears the LORD of hosts has sworn, “Surely, many houses shall become desolate, even great and fine ones, without occupants.
10 “For ten acres of vineyard will yield only one bath of wine, and a homer of seed will yield but an ephah of grain.”
11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink, who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them!
12 Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine; but they do not pay attention to the deeds of the LORD, nor do they consider the work of His hands.
13 Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude is parched with thirst.
14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure; and Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry and the jubilant within her, descend into it.
15 So the common man will be humbled and the man of importance abased, the eyes of the proud also will be abased.
16 But the LORD of hosts will be exalted in judgment, and the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness. (NAS)