Isaiah 6:1-7:25 + 2 Corinthians 11:16-33 + Psalm 54:1-7 + Proverbs 23:1-3
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Old Testament – Wonderful readings today in Isaiah chapter 6 as Isaiah is commissioned as a prophet by the Lord! Great stuff!
The seraphim mentioned in this chapter are not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible by name, though they do seem similar to the “living creatures” described in Revelation 4:6-9. It is intriguing to note that even the seraphim with two of their wings “covered their faces” (verse 2) before God. No wonder Isaiah got very scared in verse 5 because he saw the Lord with his own eyes in this vision! It is thought by some commentaries that this vision of Isaiah’s may have taken place in the Temple in Jerusalem. Below are two pieces of artwork depicting the seraphim and verse 3: “In a great chorus they sang, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty! The whole earth is filled with his glory!”” Amen…
In Isaiah chapter 7 today we read about the sign of Immanuel in verses 14 through 16! “All right then, the Lord himself will choose the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel–`God is with us.’ By the time this child is old enough to eat curds and honey, he will know enough to choose what is right and reject what is wrong. But before he knows right from wrong, the two kings you fear so much–the kings of Israel and Aram–will both be dead.” I don’t know about you, but when I read this today I immediately thought of the virgin Mary and Jesus. With good reason, as we’ll recall from the gospel of Matthew chapter 1 verse 23: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” Commentaries suggest that yes, indeed, these passages in Isaiah are ultimately wholly fulfilled in Jesus, who truly is “God with us.” But, commentaries also suggest that this prophecy in Isaiah had a double fulfillment – first in a young woman from the house of Ahaz who was not married, but would marry and then have a son – and by the time the son was the age 2, the two invading kings would be destroyed. Then, the second fulfillment of this prophecy was indeed in the One we now celebrate as the true Immanuel, Jesus Christ, God with us!
New Testament – Amazing words from Paul today in Second Corinthians chapter 11 verse 30! “If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am.” Why would Paul say he would rather boast about things that show how weak he is? Why would Paul want to be weak in any way? Why would you or I want to be weak in any way? If you must boast, what are you boasting about these days?
Bible.org’s commentary on today’s readings in Second Corinthians titled “The Reluctant ‘Fool'” is at this link and “Boasting in our Weakness” is at this link.
Psalms – I like Psalm 54 verse 4 a lot – “But God is my helper. The Lord is the one who keeps me alive!” Is this true in your life? Is God the one who keeps you alive? Or are you trying to lean on other things as your source of life? I believe it is such a blessing to surrender more and more to God until we get to the point where truly this true for us – God is the one – and only – who keeps us alive. I am not saying I am there yet – but I’m trying to get there. I’m trying to surrender more and more each day to God and to Jesus – all that I am – all that I am living for. I pray that in your life and in mine God will be the one who keeps us alive!
Proverbs – Proverbs 23 verses 1 through 3 today teach us: “When dining with a ruler, pay attention to what is put before you. If you are a big eater, put a knife to your throat, and don’t desire all the delicacies–deception may be involved.” This is a fascinating Proverb. I think the key to remember here is that if you are dining with a ruler that you really need to be very well prayed-up! Seriously. Rulers don’t just mean presidents or politicians. I think of rulers as perhaps our bosses or key people in our community who are well known, but whom perhaps we don’t know that well. If one of these people invites you to dinner, very simply put – beware. Why? Because… deception may be involved. It may not be involved – it may be a very innocent invite to dinner – but you should be cautious. If you are a woman and a well-known man invites you to a one-on-one dinner, and it seems out of context or strange in some way, my first inclination would be to not go. We all obviously know the risk in a situation like this. But men being invited to dinner by men, or men being invited to dinner by women, or women being invited to dinner by women all need to be careful too. One-on-one dinners with someone other than your spouse, someone you are courting, or a good friend could be risky business. I’ll briefly share with you that I got put into a crazy bad situation once being invited to a dinner by a “ruler” in my community. I didn’t see at all what was coming. (I’ll spare you the details…) By the grace of God it all turned out fine in the end – in fact, in some ways I have never felt the Spirit of God rushing through me as powerfully as when I was in that horrible situation over dinner. But, it was a lesson learned! When dining with a ruler – pay attention to what is before you! Not only the food & drink… but the psychological game of deception that may very be before you as well…
Worship Video: Today’s video was a slam-dunk with Isaiah 6:8 in today’s readings: “Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.”” Here’s Mercy Me’s great song “Here I Am” based on this verse:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfU5ys2O7gA
Are you in a relationship with God such that you could reply like Isaiah did, “Here I Am, Send Me?” Click here and get sent!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah 6:8 NIV
Prayer Point: Pray that you will go wherever God calls you to go. Pray that you will serve wherever Jesus asks you to serve. Pray that you will be sent wherever the Holy Spirit sends you!
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today’s readings? Please post up in the “Comments” below!
God bless,
Mike
p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Bible readings at this link.
p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
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BLOG READERS HISTORICAL COMMUNITY COMMENTS:
(our Group Bible Study is below! : )
======= Ramona:
Isaiah 6:1-7:25
In chapter sixth, God sends Isaiah out to give a message to His people after the death of Uzziah the king. It is hear that we get a glimpse of how Isaiah was called and his acceptance to The Ministry he was called too,
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. (Isaiah 6:5-8 KJV)
Here we see that not only did Isaiah receive a call from God, he had to accept what God had for Him. “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14 KJV)
God is calling; are we ready to accept? Will we say, “Here I am; send me”?
O.K. this is the first time in reading through this book that I realized Ahaz was a corrupt king. Reading his name today in Isaiah just triggered my memory of what was written about him in II Kings 16 and II Chronicles 28. For an ungodly man to use the excuse “I don’t want to ask; I don’t want to put the Lord to a test.” (Isaiah 7:12 NET.), as if he followed after the True God puts God’s prophetic response in a new perspective in my understanding. This also says to me that many times I will read something and not understand and think God is being unfair. God is never unfair or unmerciful and if I think He is then I am lacking not only information but also understanding.
May I not be like Ahaz who was given a Word of comfort and assurance then turned and trampled on that Word and threw it out.
II Corinthians 11:16-33
2 Corinthians 11:16-20 MSG Let me come back to where I started–and don’t hold it against me if I continue to sound a little foolish. Or if you’d rather, just accept that I am a fool and let me rant on a little. (17) I didn’t learn this kind of talk from Christ. (18) Oh, no, it’s a bad habit I picked up from the three-ring preachers that are so popular these days. (19) Since you sit there in the judgment seat observing all these shenanigans, you can afford to humor an occasional fool who happens along. (20) You have such admirable tolerance for impostors who rob your freedom, rip you off, steal you blind, put you down–even slap your face!
Let me see, this church had been taught the Truth of the Gospel by Paul and his companions and now they had begun to accept every kind of pseudo-teaching and false gospel from every kind of “three-ring preacher” who then turned around and abused them. This was done by choice.
Geeze today people run from meeting to meeting, convention to convention trying to “Get a Word from God,” allowing themselves to be spiritually abused. What happened then happens today. Thank you Mike that you took your desire and love for God’s Word to a level where you encourage people to read what the Word of God says. We may still allow ourselves to be charmed by the “three-ring preachers” but we cannot say we didn’t have the True Word to compare what those preachers say is “Thus sayeth the Lord”.
2 Timothy 2:15 KJV Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Psalm 54:1-7
It has just occurred to me that these past two three days we have found ourselves reading Psalms written after David was either pursued by treacherous man out to have him killed or just musing about the wickedness of men who say that God doesn’t exist. Whatever the case God protected David even when it appeared that David was a goner. What something appears to be and what it actually is, is something we need to ponder and understand.
When we have our back against the wall and it “appears” that we will never get out, remember appearance and truth are not mutually synonymous even in the lions’ den.
Proverbs 23:1-3
If you ever need to see the truth of this Proverb just watch foks at the company picnic, Christmas Party or get together where Alcohol is flowing freely: Boy, o boy, o boy!
Grace and peace,
Ramona
======= Pat:
Just a thought on Proverbs 23:1-3: We read this proverb to be literally a ruler who is a politician, boss, person in power. However, we have to remember that a ruler can be anyone who wishes to have power over us – anyone who wishes to have power over or rule over us in some manner or to use us to fulfill something they want to achieve personally. They are ones who ask us to lower our standards in some way by offering us something they think would delight us in exchange for the lowering of our standards. This ruler can be our child bartering with us for unwise privileges, or our spouse, or a long time friend, or a neighbor, or anyone who wishes to gain our approval for the justification of their action.
We have to be very cautious of this, especially in today’s society of free-living-loose standards because it’s so easy to see or do something and think it right because society approves of it instead of seeing it as something wrong because God disapproves of it. It is acceptable and even advantageous to make compromises daily with family, friends, co-workers, and etc. on simple things in life but we must never make compromises when it comes to God and following His rules. The Lord Jesus Christ is THE true ruler and the only ruler by which we must set our standards!
God Bless!
Pat
======= Steve:
Amen, Pat. I think the key is to set our minds beforehand. To decide in advance how we will respond – where we will stand. “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15
I love what Adrian Rogers once said while addressing the Southern Baptist Convention – “We don’t have to come together, the Southern Baptist Convention doesn’t have to survive, I don’t have to be Pastor of Bellvue, I don’t even have to live! But, I will not compromise the Word of God.”
Have a GREAT day in the LORD!
Steve ><>
======= Jan:
Another take on dining “alone” with someone. The places I would go to dine with someone that I don’t know or would like to get to know would definitely not be “alone.” What I’m getting at here is this: In a mentoring situation where two people are put together it is suggested that the first time you meet should be in a public place & not “alone.” I would prefer to meet in a restaurant (family oriented) where there are lots of people around, although you may consider that you are dining “alone” with that person. What happened to me was that I suggested to dine in a very busy/full restaurant & the mentor that I had never met personally or alone suggested to meet “him” at his office after hours & I was uncomfortable with that setting but compromised to his requests. Nothing happened but it was not appropriate according the the mentoring program rules/standards (I later learned that upon reading the regs) & I certainly felt a check in my spirit & should have insisted on the restaurant meeting for sure. I learned my lesson though & the checks in the spirit turned out to be correct later on down the road. So, in this instance I think the meeting in public/dining together (alone) though with many people in a restaurant would have been appropriate for my male mentor & I or even if it had been a female mentor – there is safety in numbers (altough that may have been considered dining alone).
BTW, Mike – the picture of Mary & Jesus is one of my very favorites.
Jan
====== Ramona:
Isaiah 6:1-7:25
Of the four kings that Isaiah’s ministry covered all but one were “good” kings thought each had some kind of misstep with God dealing with the people they were leading. The real issue then is not so much who was ruling Judah but who or what was ruling the hearts of the people they ruled over.
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. (Isaiah 6:1 KJV)
What king has to die in our lives for us to see the Lord sitting in His temple high and lifted up. When we are under good earthly leadership, man’s tendency is to look toward that leader to get our needs met. We jockey for favor and power even if we figuratively cut the throat of our competition, and some folks leave the figurative part behind and do it literarily. The great thing about God, He can attend to everyone at the same time, we don’t have to yell, scream and cut our bodies like the 400 prophets of Baal.
.
God hears us, but do we hear God? God told Isaiah,
Isa 6:9 He said, “Go and tell these people:
‘Listen continually, but don’t understand!
Look continually, but don’t perceive!’
Isa 6:10 Make the hearts of these people calloused;
make their ears deaf and their eyes blind!
Otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
their hearts might understand and they might repent and be healed.”
Isa 6:11 I replied, “How long, sovereign master?” He said,
“Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated,
and houses are uninhabited,
and the land is ruined and devastated,
Isaiah was told by God that the people would not listen to the Words of God, yet He still had to tell them. I know that I have shut down speaking the Truth to people because I said why bother they are not going to listen anyway. I am convicted by the willingness of Isaiah to speak out despite knowing that what he was asked to deliver would not be received. God gives us gifts to richly enjoy even when He knows we won’t receive the gift.
Grace and peace,
Ramona
P.S. Pat thanks for that explanation regarding our leaders. Our leaders, in reality are those we submit our wills too. I had forgotten that. And here is something else to add, We take on the character of those who we are submitted too. My pastor has said that a lot of times. Be very careful of who you are submitted too.
======= Sue:
Okay, Mike, you asked “Why would Paul want to be weak in any way? Why would you or I want to be weak in any way? If you must boast, what are you boasting about these days?”
Clearly, I believe Paul would want to be weak because “when I am weak, He is strong!” and if we boast it is apparent our only boast can be that God has chosen us to reveal His truths to others and witness of His greatness!!
Verses that struck me, and I am always delighted with how harmonious the One-Year-Bible presents the Hebrew Scripture with the New Testament as revealing one truth and underscoring it with the other; today it was the Isaiah passage, and then I was reminded of how while Jesus was praying in John 17 He said:
Joh 17:6 I did manifest
Thy name
to the men whom Thou hast given to me out of the world; Thine they were, and to me Thou hast given them, and Thy word they have kept;
Compared with Psalm 54
O God, by
Thy name
save me, and by Thy might judge me.
Psa 54:6 With a free will-offering I sacrifice to Thee,
I thank Thy name, O Jehovah, for it is good,
Sometimes I have to remind myself of the power of that NAME!
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Thank you God, for JESUS!
Sue
======== Debby:
re: Mother Teresa.
A humble woman helping people, showing God’s love in action. But, like Job, saying to herself, “I can’t see you God, where are you?” Yet continuing on in ?faith?….
Remember, people like Martin Luther and others have left the church they were in because they ‘couldn’t find God’, but kept grasping the biblical promises.
Hearing of Mother Teresa’s darkness, I have even more courage for the times of my ‘distance’ from God, the times when I have moved away, not God.
Debby
======== Debi:
Thank God for Pat….I was swimming on this one, as I frequently am. Came late to the Lord’s table, and this is my first year in the Bible. It is such a big blessing to always have someone to clarify what I don’t “get” right away!
Debi
======= Todd:
Ramona, thank you for That commentary on today’s psalm as it spoke to me.
” When we have our back against the wall and it “appears” that we will never get out, remember appearance and truth are not mutually synonymous even in the lions’ den.”
Amen. Lord Help us to see in the supernatural, not Just the natural, like you helped Elisha’s servant.
Todd
======= Mitch:
This Proverb is great advice. My boss was in the habit of taking me to lunch and always picked up the tab, I thought I was practicing this proverb until one day I ordered a soft drink and he must have been in a particularly bad mood that day, because when the bill came and he saw they charged what he thought was an excessive amount for the soft drink, he blew up at me. From then on when we went out I simply ordered a glass of water. Lesson learned.
Mitch
====== Dee:
The story of Isaiah ch 6 and 7 today reminded me of a song that we used to sing in church about those very words of, “who shall I send, who will go?”..I’ll go ..send me..I love that invite and that zeal King Uzziah had.
2nd Corinthians..teachings of Paul and how convicting it was that he played the fool and was put through the ringer many times but came on the other side. He said he would rather boast inbhis weaknesses. I understand now..because when we can say we are weak..It is Cbrist who makes us strong
Psalm 54..a short small Psalm ..I love how God always protected David in his misery just as he will protect us
Proverbs 23..be careful of bribery and “rulers” who take you out to dinner and have an angle amd try to lure you..listen and be careful of everything you ingest
Dee
======= Julie:
Yesterday, I read Matthew 13. Here is a portion of what I read:
13This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
” ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.'[h] 16But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.
Today, I stumbled across this site and reading plan for the first time. I was amazed to find this as part of today’s daily reading from Isaiah:
9 He said, “Go and tell this people:
” ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes. [a]
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
I don’t think this was a coincidence, but I still don’t know why God is calling my attention to these verses. This morning as I was praying I thought a lot about really listening to the people around me (coworkers, friends, family, etc.) I pray that He’ll reveal whatever it is that I need to learn from all this.
Thank you for this site.
Julie
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