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- [00:05]
A
Hey, this is a year in the Bible with daily grace. I'm Shelby and I'm here with Paul. Hey, Paul.
- [00:10]
B
Hey.
- [00:11]
A
And we're starting a new book of the Bible today. We finished up Song of Songs, and we're in Isaiah, which is a really great book to have someone guide you through.
- [00:24]
B
Indeed. Yes.
- [00:26]
A
It's long, a little intimidating. So really excited to go through this. Just want to remind people that we share our takeaways from going through these chapters in this episode, but we also want to hear from you, so leave a review, leave a comment. Let us know what you're learning as you walk through scripture this year. We love to hear that. Okay, Paul, as we're getting into Isaiah, can you just kind of give us the lay of the land? What do we need to keep in mind as we enter not only this book, but we're entering a prophetic book for the first time our read through Scripture this year.
- [00:59]
B
Yeah, that's right. So we're in a new section of Scripture, you might say, of prophecy. And you kind of mentioned it's.
- [01:05]
A
It's long.
- [01:06]
B
And I for a long time thought of Isaiah as just this big, long, scary book near the end of the Old Testament. And I kind of just avoided it, but now it's one of my favorites, so I'm excited to walk through it. So, yes, prophecy. So prophecy in the Bible, you might remember back in first and Second Kings, we met Elijah and Elisha, and they were prophets that spoke to Israel's kings and leaders. And something that we talked about there was that prophecy in the Bible is not just about foresight about the future. It's also about insight. And that's essentially looking at the current circumstance that they are in and indicating truth about God in that circumstance. And sometimes that has to do with the future to say, hey, you're living sinfully. And if you keep doing this, this is going to be the outcome in the future. And of course, there's lots of things about end times and things far off in the future, but they are prophesying to a specific context. And so Isaiah, I think it's almost hard to overstate how important this book is in the canon. It's the second most referenced book in the New Testament other than the Psalms. So reading this will definitely edify your read through the New Testament later this year. And so Isaiah is prophesying to primarily Judah, which is the southern kingdom. He also has lots to say about the northern kingdom and lots to say about the nations. So we have kind of, I would say, six main characters that are in this book. So we have God. We have Isaiah, which is God's mouthpiece. We have the southern kingdom, Judah, sometimes called Israel. Later in the book, we have the northern kingdom, which is called Israel, Ephraim or Samaria. We have Assyria, which is a foreign nation. And then we have Babylon, and then we have a bunch of other more minor nations. But those six characters are kind of the main ones. And the main message of this book that we're really, I think, going to get to is that God's sovereign over all people and all things, and even history and salvation and all that. So we'll get into it for sure.
- [03:06]
A
Yeah. I'm excited to walk through this book. I think that's just some helpful things for us to keep in mind the overarching picture as we jump in. Okay, so today we're reading Isaiah, chapters one through three. Can we start by walking specifically through these chapters?
- [03:20]
B
Yeah, for sure. So these get into prophecies against Judah, the southern kingdom. And the charge that God brings against Judah is one of judgment. And the charge is kind of simple. In verse four, it says, o sinful nation. People weighed down with iniquity. Brood of evildoers, depraved children. They have abandoned the Lord. They have despised the Holy One of Israel. They have turned their backs on Him. But even as they sin, as the Lord declares that they'll be judged, he also is still good, and his purposes are still going to be accomplished for redemption. And so in 125, he says, I will turn my hand against you and will burn away your dross completely. I will remove all your impurities. And so the image here is kind of molten metal. Dross is essentially like this outer layer of waste that's formed as it's being smelted. And so he's basically saying, hey, all of that, that sin, all that impurity, I'm going to get rid of it. And even as we look to the New Testament, we're going to see a lot of references to Jesus as our Redeemer that purifies us.
- [04:28]
A
Yeah, absolutely. Okay, that's great. That's super helpful. So what do we take away from this? Are there applications from Isaiah 1:3 for us as we go about just our normal lives today?
- [04:38]
B
Yeah, absolutely. These chapters have one of my favorite verses in the whole bible, and it's 1:17 where God says, learn to do what is good, pursue justice, correct the oppressor, defend the rights of the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. And this verse is echoing Psalm 68, 5, which says that God is a father of the fatherless and a champion of widows. And so God doesn't call us to do things that he doesn't himself do that don't reflect his character. And these verses really, or this verse? Both of these verses and this one here in Isaiah has kind of a personal connection for me because I grew up with my grandmother who was widowed even before I was born. She moved in with us when I was about one year old. And so my parents have always taken care of her as a widow. And then my brother and his wife as well as my brother in law and his wife are both foster parents. And so my brother has adopted their two boys and my wife's brother has had a few placements. And so just being close to the fatherless in my life, honestly watching them take care of a widow and the fatherless really inspires me in a lot of ways. And you know, I think it just challenges me to wonder how I am loving those that are the least in society. And so I think even for listeners today, just asking yourself, you know, where are the widows and the orphans and the marginalized around you? They're probably there and we might just not notice them in our churches, in our neighborhoods, at our place of work. And so often just getting to know them, spending time with them, you know, it's lonely being a widow, being without parents. And so there's lots of ways that we can live out this verse practically today because there's plenty of people in this country that need help.
- [06:42]
A
Yeah, there definitely are. I think that's a great reminder for us. I think there's also many avenues in which to help them. We live in a day and time when you can simply Google ways to get involved. So if you don't know where to get started, certainly start in your own community, in your own church and your own sphere of influence. But I'm sure your community has ways to get involved. You know, for your takeaway, you mentioned Isaiah 1:17. The verse that stuck out to me was Isaiah 1:18. And it says, come, let's settle this, says the Lord. Though your sins are scarlet, they will be as white as snow. Though they are crimson red, they will be like wool. And we're gonna see throughout Isaiah this like impending judgment for the sins of God's people. But here, right in the beginning, we also see this promise of Christ. And I even love how it words that like, let's settle this, says the Lord. But how is it settled? It's settled through Jesus, through his sacrifice. And that's what takes that scarlet and turns it white. And so as we go through, I just want our eyes to continually be pointed toward Christ as the One who is the righteousness, that the people in Isaiah, they failed to live to that righteous standard, as we all do. But Christ is that righteousness and we are in him. And so he has given that righteousness to us. Okay, well, we are officially a few chapters into Isaiah. Really excited to continue walking through this book, breaking it down chapter by chapter. Excited for you to guide us through this book, Paul. Excited for we'll be back with more tomorrow.
- [08:18]
C
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