Isa: 36:2-20 The rulers of Assyria were not only brutal, they were intelligent. Their goal was wealth and power, not simply destruction (compare Isaiah 10.13-14). Why use resources to take a city by force if you can persuade its inhabitants to surrender? So, while he was engaged in the siege of Lachish, Sennacherib sent his rabshakeh, a kind … Continue reading –>
Isa: 36:1 What happened to Judah? 2 Kings 18:13, 2 Chron: 32:1, Isa: 36:1. When faithless Ahaz died and his faithful son Hezekiah succeeded him, Hezekiah inherited a kingdom that had lost full independence. Having purchased Assyrian aid against the alliance of Syria and northern Israel, Judah was forced to continue paying “protection money” in the form of tribute … Continue reading –>
Sabbath Afternoon Read for This Week’s Study: Isa: 36:1; Isa: 36:2-20; Isa: 36:21-37:20; Isa: 37:21-38; Isa: 38:1-22, Isa: 39:1-8. Memory Text: “O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth” (Isaiah 37:16). A gaunt man walks barefoot with … Continue reading –>
Missing Commandment By Andrew Mcchesney, Adventist Mission Valentina Shlee was astounded when her older sister, Galina, announced that they were not keeping all Ten Commandments in their hometown in northern Kazakhstan. Valentina opened her Bible and read through the commandments. When she reached the fourth, she stopped. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” … Continue reading –>
Further Study: “Is it by conditions that we receive salvation?—Never by conditions that we come to Christ. And if we come to Christ, then what is the condition? The condition is that by living faith we lay hold wholly and entirely upon the merits of the blood of a crucified and risen Saviour. When we … Continue reading –>
Isa: 24:1-27:13 Following oracles against individual nations in Isaiah 13-23, Isaiah 24-27 describes on a worldwide scale the climactic defeat of God’s enemies and the deliverance of His people. Why does Isaiah’s description of the desolation of the earth (Isaiah 24) look like John’s description of events connected with 1,000 years that follow Christ’s second coming … Continue reading –>
Isa: 13:1-14:32 In Isaiah 14 a taunt against Satan, the fallen “Day Star (in KJV, ‘Lucifer’), son of Dawn” (Isa: 14:12, NRSV) is blended into a taunt against the king of Babylon. Why? Compare Revelation 12:1-9, where a dragon identified as Satan (Rev: 12:9) tries to destroy a child as soon as it is born. In Revelation 12:5 the child clearly is … Continue reading –>
Isa: 14:1-32 In response to the fall of Babylon (Isaiah 13), which frees God’s people (Isa: 14:1-3), Isaiah 14:4-23 utters a figurative taunt (see also Mic: 2:4, Hab: 2:6) against the king of Babylon. It is poetic, not meant to be literal, obviously, as it portrays dead kings greeting their new colleague in the realm of death ( Isaiah 14.9-10), where maggots and … Continue reading –>
Isa: 13:2-22 In 626 B.C. the Chaldean Nabopolassar restored Babylonian glory by making himself king in Babylon, beginning the Neo-Babylonian dynasty, and participating (with Media) in the defeat of Assyria. His son, Nebuchadnezzar II, was the king who conquered and exiled Judah. How did the city of Babylon finally end? See Daniel 5:1-31. In 539 B.C., … Continue reading –>
Isaiah 13.1-22 Isaiah 13.1 has a heading that names Isaiah as the author (compare Isa: 1:1, Isa: 2:1); it seems, also, to begin a new section of his book. Chapters 13-23 contain oracles of judgment against various nations. Let’s take a look. Why do the prophecies against the nations begin with Babylon? Isaiah 10:5-34 had already announced judgment against Assyria, … Continue reading –>
