Isaiah 58:1-8 What is the “fast” referred to in Isaiah 58:3? This must be the fast of the Day of Atonement, the only fast commanded by God (Lev: 16:29, Leviticus 16:31; Lev: 23:27-32). This is confirmed in Isaiah 58:3 by the parallel expression “humble ourselves” (NRSV), which follows the terminology of Leviticus. Humbling/afflicting oneself referred to various forms of self-denial, including fasting (compare Ps: 35:13; … Continue reading –>
Isaiah 55:6-13 Why does God say His thoughts and ways are higher than ours, “as the heavens are higher than the earth” ( Isaiah 55.8-9, NRSV)? What do you think that means? There’s no question that the God who created a universe in which even some of the simplest things contain mysteries that our minds cannot begin … Continue reading –>
Isa: 55:1-7 Read this text: “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat!” (Isa: 55:1, NRSV). What contradiction do you see there? Suppose you took food and stood on the street in a big city and announced to the hungry and homeless there: “Yo, you who have … Continue reading –>
Sabbath Afternoon Read for This Week’s Study: Isa: 55:1-7; Isa: 55:6-13; Isa: 58:1-12; Isaiah 58.13-14. Memory Text: “If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday” (Isaiah 58:10). A Jewish cantor (worship leader) and his wife who lived in Lincoln, … Continue reading –>
Vodka for Easter By Andrew Mcchesney, Adventist Mission Sergei Sokol, chief engineer at a beverage company in northern Kazakhstan, was pleased when a coworker declared during lunch break that people should celebrate Easter with a shot of vodka, painted eggs, and kulich, a traditional Easter bread in the Orthodox Christian faith. Many people in Kazakhstan … Continue reading –>
Further Study: “Christ bore our sins in His own body on the tree. … What must sin be, if no finite being could make atonement? What must its curse be if Deity alone could exhaust it? The cross of Christ testifies to every man that the penalty of sin is death. … Oh, must there … Continue reading –>
Isa: 53:10-12 What does it mean that the Servant’s life is “an offering for sin” (Isa: 53:10, NRSV)? The Hebrew word refers to a “guilt/reparation offering” (Lev: 5:14-6:7, Lev: 7:1-7), which could atone for deliberate wrongs against other people ( Leviticus 6:2-3). Such sins were singled out by Isaiah ( Isaiah 1:1-3:26; Isaiah 10.1-2; Isaiah 58:1-14). Also, the sinner must restore … Continue reading –>
Isa: 53:3-9 Like a vulnerable plant, apparently of no special value, and despised ( Isaiah 53.2-3)—that’s the depiction we are given here of the Suffering Servant. Isaiah has quickly brought us through innocent youth to the brink of the abyss. Even with the background provided earlier, we are not prepared in the sense that we are … Continue reading –>
Isaiah 52:13-53:12 In Isaiah 52:13 God’s Servant is highly exalted, but without warning, the next verse describes His appearance as so disfigured He cannot be recognized as one of the “sons of men.” The New Testament describes the factors that marred Jesus’ appearance, including scourging, a crown of thorns, crucifixion, but, above all, bearing the sins of … Continue reading –>
Isaiah 52:13-53:12, known as the “Suffering Servant Poem,” confirms Isaiah’s reputation as “the gospel prophet.” In harmony with the excellence of the gospel, the poem towers above other literature. Though breathtakingly short, every phrase is packed with profound meaning that reveals the core of God’s unthinkable quest to save a race steeped and lost in … Continue reading –>
