Day 213, August 1: Bible reading & prayer
Isaiah 64-66 (chronological); Psalms 65-67, Romans 2 (OT/NT)
We are in the era of the kings of Judah and the kings of Israel, as recounted in 1 & 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. Today, we finish Isaiah. Congratulations on persevering through a book that requires discipline but bears much fruit in the reading of every word. You might find what I learned about the book of Isaiah helpful. The book of Isaiah teaches that God has a plan over the very long-term, over generations and millenia and into eternity. He will justly punish, but He will be merciful to all who repent. He will keep His promises. He will maintain His covenants. There will be justice and vindication and redemption. He promised.
Reminder of historical background: as a consequence for Solomon’s disobedience, ten tribes were torn from the Kingdom of Judah, under Solomon’s son Rehoboam, and given to Jeroboam, to form the Kingdom of Israel. Judah’s kings, influenced by the legacy of faithful David, vary between good and evil. Israel’s kings, influenced by the legacy of rebellious Jeroboam, go from bad to worse, and, during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah, the kingdom of Israel was exiled to Assyria as a consequence for their idolatrous sin under the reign of their last King Hoshea. The books of the Kings cover both kingdoms, while the Chronicles tend to focus on the kingdom of Judah. I’ve attempted to summarize relevant details in the kings of Judah and the kings of Israel.
An overview of our yearly Bible reading plan, with all summaries so far, can be found here. My appeal for the resolution to read your Bibles is here.
August 1 chronological reading: Isaiah 64-66
Isaiah 64
v1-7 “Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down,
That the mountains might quake at Your presence—
As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil—
To make Your name known to Your adversaries,
That the nations may tremble at Your presence!
When You did awesome things which we did not expect,
You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence.
For from days of old they have not heard or perceived by ear,
Nor has the eye seen a God besides You,
Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.
You meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness,
Who remembers You in Your ways.
Behold, You were angry, for we sinned,
We continued in them a long time;
And shall we be saved?
For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us wither like a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
There is no one who calls on Your name,
Who arouses himself to take hold of You;
For You have hidden Your face from us
And have delivered us into the power of our iniquities.
v8-12 “But now, O LORD, You are our Father,
We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all of us are the work of Your hand.
Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD,
Nor remember iniquity forever;
Behold, look now, all of us are Your people.
Your holy cities have become a wilderness,
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
Our holy and beautiful house,
Where our fathers praised You,
Has been burned by fire;
And all our precious things have become a ruin.
Will You restrain Yourself at these things, O LORD?
Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?”
Isaiah 65
v1-7 “‘I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, “Here am I, here am I,”
To a nation which did not call on My name.
I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,
Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts,
A people who continually provoke Me to My face,
Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks;
Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places;
Who eat swine’s flesh,
And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.
Who say, “Keep to yourself, do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!”
These are smoke in My nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
Behold, it is written before Me,
I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will even repay into their bosom,
Both their own iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,’ says the LORD.
‘Because they have burned incense on the mountains
And scorned Me on the hills,
Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.’
v8-12 “Thus says the LORD,
‘As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, “Do not destroy it, for there is benefit in it,”
So I will act on behalf of My servants
In order not to destroy all of them.
I will bring forth offspring from Jacob,
And an heir of My mountains from Judah;
Even My chosen ones shall inherit it,
And My servants will dwell there.
Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks,
And the valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
For My people who seek Me.
But you who forsake the LORD,
Who forget My holy mountain,
Who set a table for Fortune,
And who fill cups with mixed wine for Destiny,
I will destine you for the sword,
And all of you will bow down to the slaughter.
Because I called, but you did not answer;
I spoke, but you did not hear.
And you did evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.’
v13-16 “Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD,
‘Behold, My servants will eat, but you will be hungry.
Behold, My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty.
Behold, My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame.
Behold, My servants will shout joyfully with a glad heart,
But you will cry out with a heavy heart,
And you will wail with a broken spirit.
You will leave your name for a curse to My chosen ones,
And the Lord GOD will slay you.
But My servants will be called by another name.
Because he who is blessed in the earth
Will be blessed by the God of truth;
And he who swears in the earth
Will swear by the God of truth;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My sight!
v17-23 ‘For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing
And her people for gladness.
I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;
And there will no longer be heard in her
The voice of weeping and the sound of crying.
No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days,
Or an old man who does not live out his days;
For the youth will die at the age of one hundred
And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred
Will be thought accursed.
They will build houses and inhabit them;
They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They will not build and another inhabit,
They will not plant and another eat;
For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,
And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands.
They will not labor in vain,
Or bear children for calamity;
For they are the offspring of those blessed by the LORD,
And their descendants with them.
v24-25 ‘It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,’ says the LORD.”
Isaiah 66
v1-2 “Thus says the LORD,
‘Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.
Where then is a house you could build for Me?
And where is a place that I may rest?
For My hand made all these things,
Thus all these things came into being,’ declares the LORD.
v3-4 'But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.
But he who kills an ox is like one who slays a man;
He who sacrifices a lamb is like the one who breaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering is like one who offers swine’s blood;
He who burns incense is like the one who blesses an idol.
As they have chosen their own ways,
And their soul delights in their abominations,
So I will choose their punishments
And will bring on them what they dread.
Because I called, but no one answered;
I spoke, but they did not listen.
And they did evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.’
v5-6 “Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble at His word:
‘Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for My name’s sake,
Have said, “Let the LORD be glorified, that we may see your joy.”
But they will be put to shame.
‘A voice of uproar from the city, a voice from the temple,
The voice of the LORD who is rendering recompense to His enemies.
v7-9 ‘Before she travailed, she brought forth;
Before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy.
Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?
Can a land be born in one day?
Can a nation be brought forth all at once?
As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.
Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery?’ says the LORD.
‘Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?’ says your God.
v10-16 ‘Be joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who love her;
Be exceedingly glad with her, all you who mourn over her,
That you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts,
That you may suck and be delighted with her bountiful bosom.’
For thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I extend peace to her like a river,
And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
And you will be nursed, you will be carried on the hip and fondled on the knees.
As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you;
And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.’
Then you will see this, and your heart will be glad,
And your bones will flourish like the new grass;
And the hand of the LORD will be made known to His servants,
But He will be indignant toward His enemies.
For behold, the LORD will come in fire
And His chariots like the whirlwind,
To render His anger with fury,
And His rebuke with flames of fire.
For the LORD will execute judgment by fire
And by His sword on all flesh,
And those slain by the LORD will be many.
v17 ‘Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens,
Following one in the center,
Who eat swine’s flesh, detestable things and mice,
Will come to an end altogether,’ declares the LORD.
v18-21 'For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory. I will set a sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Tubal and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations. Then they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the LORD, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,’ says the LORD, ‘just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD. I will also take some of them for priests and for Levites,’ says the LORD.
v22-24 'For just as the new heavens and the new earth
Which I make will endure before Me,’ declares the LORD,
‘So your offspring and your name will endure.
And it shall be from new moon to new moon
And from sabbath to sabbath,
All mankind will come to bow down before Me,’ says the LORD.
‘Then they will go forth and look
On the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their worm will not die
And their fire will not be quenched;
And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.’”
August 1 OT/NT readings: Psalms 65-67, Romans 2
We are reading Psalms in the Old Testament reading plan. In this document, I list the Psalms in order of appearance, followed by author (if known), context of the Psalm’s writing (description of context that appear in the Biblical text before some Psalms are quoted), and the Old Testament reading it appears after. Here is that information for today’s Psalms:
Psalm 65, appears as 79th/150 Psalms, authored by David, after his defeat of the Arameans and the Ammonites (2 Samuel 10, 1 Chronicles 19), Day 132
Psalm 66, appears as 80th/150 Psalms, author unknown, after David defeated the Arameans and the Ammonites (2 Samuel 10, 1 Chronicles 19), Day 132
Psalm 67, appears as 99th/150 Psalms, author unknown, after David defeated the Arameans and the Ammonites (2 Samuel 10, 1 Chronicles 19), Day 132
Yesterday, we started Paul’s letter to the Romans, which he wrote at the end of his third missionary journey, before his arrest in Jerusalem. He opened this letter communicating that he longed to see the Roman believers (and, having just finished reading Acts, we know he got to do that, but not as he hoped to do on his way to Spain to present the gospel but as a prisoner in chains), and preach the gospel to them, declaring he was not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation for all who believe.
This letter to the Romans is rich in deep theological teaching, which I attempt to summarize here. Paul taught in Romans 1 that creation gives evidence for God so that those who don’t believe have no excuse. Since these unbelievers fail to acknowledge, honor, or give thanks to God, who has made Himself evident, God gives them over to their lusts, which leaves them vulnerable to His wrath: “just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper…and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”
Romans 2
v1-11 “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.
v12-16 “For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.
v17-24 “But if you bear the name ‘Jew’ and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For ‘THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,’ just as it is written.
v25-29 “For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. So if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”
Dear Lord,
“the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory. I will set a sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nation…to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations. Then they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the LORD”
May we continue to declare You and Your truth to the lost so that they may be redeemed and be brought as a grain offering to You.
he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.
We love the letter of the Law. We love to stand in judgment of others. May we be humble and repent. Transform our hearts that we would not desire to please men but to please You and You alone.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
"May we continue to declare You and Your truth to the lost so that they may be redeemed and be brought as a grain offering to You." & "We love the letter of the Law. We love to stand in judgment of others. May we be humble and repent. Transform our hearts that we would not desire to please men but to please You and You alone." Amen, Amen. Thank you Dr. Milhoan. Peace.