21 November 2015

Scriptures:

• John 13
• Isaiah 9:8-10:34
• 2 Kings 20
• Psalm 112

Observations:

In the John passage, we see Jesus and his disciples at the last supper, Jesus washing the disciples' feet, Jesus telling of his betrayal and death, and Jesus giving a final command to love one another.

In Isaiah, we see the fall of Israel at the hand of the Assyrians predicted and we also see the Lord promising to destroy Assyria as Sennacherib turns his eye from Israel to Jerusalem. What's interesting is it correlates with the past few days' passages in 2 Kings.

In 2 Kings, we see Hezekiah, on his deathbed, praying to God and God granting him another fifteen years, confirming it by making the shadows move backwards on the steps of Ahaz. We also see Hezekiah receiving envoys from Babylon, sent in good faith by the king's son who'd heard he was ill. Hezekiah sowed them around, including all the riches that had been stocked up over the generations, about which  Isaiah then prophesied would be taken by Babylon in the near future.

The psalm today is praising God for how he is faithful to those who are faithful to him. 

Application:

In the John passage, what really stands out to me is the lesson given by Jesus in washing the disciples' feet. 

"You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you."
- John 13:13-15

In my own life right now, I am facing certain difficulties in my marriage and one of the reasons is, somewhere back when my wife and I were dating, I stopped doing this in my heart and kept doing it because that's just what one does. I then carried that mindset into my marriage and created a weak foundation of Love and Service, which spiralled and escalated into the problem I am now working to overcome. 

This passage, then, is of high importance to apply. Genuine service and humility based in love is easy to copy, but hard to do, the humility and love being the two most difficult aspects. To grow in those two areas is to invest myself in God and invest myself again in my wife - to treat her as I did when we were first dating.

Looking also at the psalm, it's almost like a promise of God's faithfulness for my wife and I as we endure. We have a long road ahead, but God has us where we are and he has plans for where we'll be. We only need to trust him.

Prayer:

(In private)

20 November 2015

Scriptures:

• John 12:20-50
• Isaiah 9:1-7
• 2 Kings 19
• Psalm 111

Observations:

In John, we have Jesus teaching in Jerusalem on Passover week, leading up to his death. We see him talking about some of the paradoxes of the Kingdom of God and about the cost of discipleship. He speaks about his purpose, praising God and God speaks down in response. As the people mutter among themselves, some doubting, some believing, but afraid of the Pharisees, Jesus continues to speak, encouraging them to cherish his presence while he is there, before continuing on to the nature of judgment.

In Isaiah, we have a very triumphant prophecy - the coming of the Messiah. This whole passage just build with energy as it climaxes at the announcement of the Messiah as the great culmination.

In 2 Kings, we see the passage I was alluding to yesterday. Hezekiah goes straight to God with the demands and mockeries given by Sennacherib. There, he resents the kings words and asks God what his action will be, to which God sends Isaiah to prophesy Sennacherib's downfall and God himself lays waste to 185 000 of the Assyrian forces.

The psalm is one of praise to God for his works, his righteousness, and faithfulness. He is praising God for his redemption and reign and is encouraging Israel to seek the Lord, to fear him, as the beginning of wisdom.

Application:

As I read the prophecy in Isaiah, I get chills down my spine. The imagery contained therein is beautiful. The light coming into the darkness? The joy of the harvest? The breaking of yokes of burden, of oppression and slavery? The end of war? 

"Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore." Isaiah 9:7a

I'm in a spot right now where I need a light into darkness and a breaking of slavery. This is why Jesus came, though, to free us from our slavery to sin and to lead us into the light, that is God.

19 November 2015

Scriptures:

• John 11:55-12:19
• Isaiah 7-8
• 2 Kings 18
• Psalm 110

Observations:

In the John passage, we see that the Pharisees have sent notice asking for for anyone with Jesus' whereabouts so they could arrest him. We also see Jesus preparing to return to Jerusalem over Passover, stopping first at Lazarus' house, where Mary anoints Jesus' feet with expensive perfume (worth ~ 1 year's wages) and Jesus rebukes Judas who'd balked at the waste of such expense.

After this, we see the triumphal entrance, as Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey.

In the Isaiah passage, we see God, in a very dramatic way, prophesying the downfall of Israel and Syria to the Assyrians and the provision of a miracle as evidence of the prophecy: that a virgin would conceive and bear a son. This is a dual-prophecy. We see an apparent, immediate fulfillment with the birth of Maher-shalal-hash-baz and a later, proper fulfillment with the birth of Christ.

In 2 Kings, we see Hezekiah, considered a godly king, being faced with invasion by Assyria immediately after they'd just overrun Israel (see the above prophecy). We see the Assyrians taunting Hezekiah and God, attempting to demoralise the Jews. In chapter 19, we will see Isaiah prophesying the downfall of Sennacherib by his own family because of his offense to God.

In the psalm, we see God as the final arbiter. We see him making an end to sin and the wicked.

Application:

 From the two middle passages, we can see aspects of internal consistency, seeing a prophecy given by Isaiah about Israel and Assyria's downfall to Ahaz and fulfilled during his son's reign. Also, in looking up "Nehushtan" I found out that a couple otherwise reputable historians made reference to flying serpents in the Arabian peninsula. That kinda makes me wonder about exactly when dinosaurs were around, especially the smaller ones whose fossils continue after the K/T (see, the flood?) extinction, as this would really lend huge credence to the young earth theory and force geologists ad evolutionists to revise their theorems. But, only time will tell on that count.

16 November 2015

Scriptures:

• John 10:1-18
• Isaiah 3-4
• 2 Kings 16
• Psalm 107

Observations:

In John, we see Jesus referring to himself as a shepherd. He uses the analogy that those who come by any way other than the gate are not the shepherds, but are thieves, coming to steal the flock, kill it, and destroy it. But he, being the shepherd, is the one whose voice his flock follows, for they know his voice. In this, he indicates those who are his true followers are the ones who follow only him. He then continues to make a discrepancy between the shepherd and hired help, in that the hired help will not lay his life down to defend the flock. This, of course, is a reference to the sacrifice he would make at the cross. Lastly, he says that there are other sheep which are his, but ate not of this fold and he must gather them. Already, we see indication that the Gospel is not just for the Jews, but for the Gentiles as well.

In the beginning of Isaiah 3, we see God making proclamations of withdrawn support for Judah, because of their sin, though the righteous shall thrive. The judgment given is one of pillaging and sacking. Gone will be all the finery. In its place will be rags and rot. The men will be decimated and the women fighting over what few are left. In contrast, (I'm beginning to think this last part, maybe even the whole thing, is an end times prophecy, but I'm not sure), the righteous shall dwell in Jerusalem, which has been cleansed and is indwelt by the spirit of God.

In 2 Kings, we see Ahaz, king of Judah making an allegiance with Assyria. More than that, though, we see him remaking the temple in Jerusalem after one in Damascus, while meeting the king of Assyria. He did not worship God, but worshipped the other, Canaanite gods, even sacrificing his own son, which God directly spoke against in Leviticus 18.

In the psalm, we see the psalmist praising God for his provision. We see them acknowledging God leading them from the desert into a city, a nation. We see references to God's liberation from the Egyptian slavery and to the crossing of the Red Sea. We also see praise for how God works in and blesses the earth, making it bring forth life.

Application:

Looking at the idea of a shepherd and his flock in John and then switching gears to the Isaiah passage, it's really easy to see how important it is to God that we follow him. I mean, yes, us simply following him makes things a little simpler in the long run, but I'm talking about how important it is to God. 

Let that sink in.

God wants us to worship him and follow him. Yes, it doesn't make him any less God if we disobey. God doesn't need our worship to survive, but he does want it. God loves us and made us to worship him freely. We were made to follow God. By choosing not to, we sin and face the punishment and , as we can see, God's not kidding around with the punishment. He's not simply going to make some excuse. He is perfectly just. Yes, we've been given mercy and grace through Christ, but God worked perfectly within the law to do that.

This is the God who freed Israel from slavery and parted the Red Sea, who led them through the wilderness to teach them and provided daily their every need.

Prayer:

<in private>

15 November 2015

Scriptures:

• John 9
• Isaiah 2
• 2 Kings 14:23-15:38
• Psalm 106

Observations:

In John, we see the healing of a blind man. A couple things about this passage, though:

1. Jesus addresses the prevailing misconception that a defect is punishment for sin, especially a congenital one
2. Jesus heals on the Sabbath
3. We see the pharisees struggling to make sense of this miracle, especially in context of point #2
1. A noteworthy point, though: part of the reason the pharisees are so enraged is that he is not one of them. That is, he is not part of the theocratic oligarchy , thereby having no official authority to speak and teach and has been making them look bad through his discussions and parables.
2. Additionally, as we will see in a couple of days, the pharisees decide, for the wellbeing of the nation, that permitting Jesus to continue and giving credence to his words might precipitate the actions of the Romans
3. From my understanding, The pharisees have also been presented with the following dilemma many times: Either acknowledge Jesus speaks the truth and face the vanity of their external religious actions, possibly losing face and/or power, or deny that he speaks the truth, clinging to their understandings and interpretations of scriptures - even where they seem to point to Jesus, keeping their power over the populace through their myriad of laws
4. We see the fear of the pharisees present in the everyday Jew
5. We see the dismissal of the once-blind man by the pharisees
1. It seems to be a rather angry and shallow dismissal, as though they would have preferred to not have to deal with it.

In Isaiah, we see a couple of things. First, we see a picture of a world at peace, united at Zion. Second, we see the description of Israel as being full of things not of God. Lastly, we see God speaking of a day in the future in which judgment will be dispensed, with the haughty being brought low and the whole world acknowledging him.

In 2 Kings, we see a blur of a sequence of kings, especially of Israel - they had a very unstable few years, all wicked, and a couple kings of Judah.

The psalm seems to pick up where yesterday's ended. The psalm is tracing Israel's journey from the red sea to the promised land