Saturday, October 10, 2009

sat 091010 pm Isa 31-33

Isaiah 31
31.1 do not look to ... do not consult the Lord! It is so easy to get my eyes off the Lord and begin to consult my own good opinion or the "world's" way of looking at things.
31.2 He is wise and brings disaster... In this context against evildoers, but something to think about anyway.


Isaiah 32
32.2 each [prince] will be like a hiding place ... a shelter from the storm... A noble calling for a leader.
32.4 The heart of the hasty... I guess that haste does make waste.
32.7 the poor... The lying is aggravated by its purpose against the poor.

Isaiah 33
33.6 abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge... The abundance of wisdom and knowledge makes sense, but what about salvation. It seems you are either saved or not. This is an interesting one to think on.
33.6 The fear of the Lord is a treasure.
33.15 What does the righteous despise, etc..? gain of opression, a bribe, hearing of bloodshed, looking on evil (which I suspect carries the implication of condoning it).


Sat 0906-0910 am Isa 23-30 1Th 4-5

Isaiah 23
23.9 to defile the pompous pride... The language of defiling pride has a intriguing imagery.
23.17 Her [Tyre] merchandise and her wages will be holy to the Lord... This is a very interesting and instructive use of the word "holy."

Isaiah 24
24.5 The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants... A couple interesting thoughts. First, this is phrased like the inhabitants belong to the earth rather than the other way around. I don't see a new doctrine to get started here, but it is an interesting thought. Also, the verse speaks of the transgression of laws and breaking the everlasting covenant and causing the earth itself to be defiled. It reminds me of the blood of Able crying up from the ground.
24.20 the transgression lies heavy upon it [the earth]... and cause the earth to stagger. This is an interesting description of something I have usually thought of as morally inert and neutral.
24.21 that day... So far I have noticed almost 20 references to "that day." It is a theme that would be expected in Isaiah, but I just haven't noticed it's prominence before.

Isaiah 25
25.4 a stronghold for the poor... another frequent theme in Psalms and the OT.
25.4 a shelter from the storm... This reminds me of an old, but great, hymn ("A Shelter in the Time of Storm) that did not make the cut for the newer hymnals.
25.8 and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces... Bring it on! Lots of people ready for this one.

Isaiah 26
26.3 Great verse and good reminder.
26.10 A solemn and sober warning along the lines of Romans 2.4-5
26.21 the earth will disclose the blood shed on it... when the Lord comes out from His place to punish. Again the intriguing imagery of the earth holding the blood of the slain for the right time. That will be better than DNA evidence. I am wondering what that will look like.

Isaiah 27
27.11 a people without discernment; therefore He who made them will not have compassion on them... Maybe discernment is underrated. It is like God has little patience for those who have no spiritual sense.

Isaiah 28
28.11 Refer to 1 Corinthians 14 for this one.
28.12-13 This is rest ... this is repose ... but they would not hear it so the Word will be a snare to them. Do the weary really even want rest? They won't take God's Word to heart. This is often the case with the weary.
28.23-29 A useful parable for young people from a using good sense angle and a loving reminder that God has and uses that same kind of good sense in dealing with His people.

Isaiah 29
29.13 There is a lot of this going around. And is it a good reminder for me not to leave off before the most important part.
29.16 Boy! We sure are mouthy pots sometimes.
29.23 they will sanctify the Holy One of Israel... "because they now hallow the name of the LORD, and respect the holiness of the LORD." --Guzik http://www.studylight.org/com/guz/view.cgi?book=isa&chapter=029
"The Lord would halt the downward course of the history of Jacob's family, and transform them. The Israelites would at last confess their God as holy and acknowledge His holiness as central in their lives. They would be fruitful rather than barren. 356The text gives no basis for interpreting the people in view as the spiritual seed of Jacob, the church, as Young, 2:332, did." --Dr. Constable's Expository (Bible Study) Notes http://www.soniclight.com/constable/notes/pdf/isaiah.pdf

Isaiah 30
30.7 Rahab who sits still... According to Unger's Commentary on the OT, "Rahab was the 'sea dragon,' which became a symbol for Egypt, threatening in appearance but laggard in action."

1 Thessalonians 4
4.2 your sanctification... Practical advise on what it means to be set apart for the Lord.
4.6 the Lord is an avenger... A raw fear of God's judgement invoked here.
4.9 brotherly love... alone would be an improvement for many.

1 Thessalonians 5
5.6&8 be sober... associated with the light and day.
5.14 admonish, encourage, help, be patient with all... Different responses for different problems and situations.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Mon 091004 pm Isa 20-22

Isaiah 20
20.3 walked barefooted and naked for three years... Okay, this is just a little extreme. I am thinking he would not be invited to speak in most churches when word of that god around. :o)

Isaiah 21
21.17 for the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken... Each day is a battle for that kind of faith in God's word.

Isaiah 22
22.
22.15 Shebna “treasurer” over the house in the reign of Hezekiah, i.e., comptroller or governor of the palace
On account of his pride he was ejected from his office, and Eliakim was promoted to it (Isa. 22:15-25). He appears to have been the leader of the party who favored an Alliance with Egypt against Assyria. It is conjectured that “Shebna the scribe,” who was one of those whom the king sent to confer with the Assyrian ambassador (2 Kings 18:18, 26, 37; 19:2; Isa. 36:3, 11, 22; 37:2), was a different person.
http://christiananswers.net/dictionary/shebna.html?zoom_highlight=shebna

Monday, October 5, 2009

Mon 091005 am Isa 18-19

Isaiah 18
18.2 & 7 repeated description of "Cush people."

Isaiah 19
19.11 Zoan (Old Egyptian: Sant= “stronghold,” the modern San). A city on the Tanitic branch of the Nile, called by the Greeks Tanis. It was built seven years after Hebron in Palestine (Num. 13:22). This great and important city was the capital of the Hyksos, or Shepherd kings, who ruled Egypt for more than 500 years. It was the frontier town of Goshen. Here Pharaoh was holding his court at the time of his various interviews with Moses and Aaron. "No trace of Zoan exists; Tanis was built over it, and city after city has been built over the ruins of that" (Harper, Bible and Modern Discovery). Extensive mounds of ruins, the wreck of the ancient city, now mark its site (Isa. 19:11, 13; 30:4; Ezek. 30:14). "The whole constitutes one of the grandest and oldest ruins in the world."
This city was also called “the Field of Zoan” (Ps. 78:12, 43) and “the Town of Rameses” (q.v.), because the oppressor rebuilt and embellished it, probably by the forced labor of the Hebrews, and made it his northern capital. http://christiananswers.net/dictionary/zoan.html?zoom_highlight=zoan
19.4, 12, 16, 17, 20, & 25 Lord of Hosts.
A name or title of God frequently used in the Old Testament, always translated "Yahweh of Hosts" (Yahweh tsebha'oth) in the American Standard Revised Version, since Yahweh, never 'Adhonay, is used in this phrase. Evidently the meaning of the title is that all created agencies and forces are under the leadership or dominion of Yahweh, who made and maintains them (Gen 2:1; Isa 45:12). It is used to express Yahweh's great power.
Bibliography Information Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. "Definition for 'LORD OF HOSTS'". "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia". bible-history.com - ISBE; 1915.
Joshua 5:14 will tell us that this man came as the “captain of the hosts of the Lord,” the commander of the Lord’s army. Joshua’s response in verse 14b and the statement of the captain in verse 15 show this was a theophany, or better, based on the truth of John 1:1-18, it was a Christophany. A Christophany is a manifestation of the preincarnate Christ, who, as the Logos, is the one who reveals God. If only a man or an angel, he would certainly have repelled Joshua’s worshipful response (vs. 14). Compare the response of Paul in Acts 14:8-20 to those who wanted to make them into gods and the response of the angel to John in Revelation 19:10.
Here then, the preincarnate Christ appears to Joshua to teach, guard, and reinforce certain vital truths for God’s people and especially for those in positions of leadership, which really includes all believers to some degree. J. Hampton Keathley III on Bible.org
19.16, 18, & 9 "that day"