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A reading from the book of Isaiah. The word that Isaiah the son of Amoh saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established at the highest of the mountains and shall be lifted up above the hills, and all the nations shall flow to it. And many peoples shall come and say, come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem he shall judge between the nations and shall decide disputes for many peoples. And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. O house of Jacob. Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord. For you have rejected your people, the house of Jacob, because they are full of things from the east and of fortune tellers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with the children of foreigners. Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures. Their land is filled with horses, and there is no end to their chariots. Their land is filled with idols. They bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made. So man is humbled and each one is brought low. Do not forgive them. Enter into the rock and hide in the dust. From before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of his majesty, the haughty looks of man shall be brought low and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. For the Lord of Hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up, and it shall be brought low against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up, and against all the oaks of Bashan, against all the lofty mountains and against all the uplifted hills, against every high tower and against every fortified wall, against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft. And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled and the lofty pride of man shall be brought low. And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day, and the idols shall utterly pass away and people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground. From before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of his majesty when he rises to terrify the earth. In that day mankind will cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship to the moles and to the bats, to enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs. From before the terror of the Lord and from the splendor of his majesty when he rises to terrify the earth. Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he? For behold, the Lord God of hosts is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah support and supply all support of bread and all support of water. The mighty man and the soldier, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder, the captain of 50 and the man of rank, the counselor and the skillful magician and the expert in charms. And I will make boys their princes, and infants shall rule over them. And the people will oppress one another, every one his fellow and every one his neighbor. The youth will be insolent to the elder and the despised to the honorable. For a man will take hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying, you have a cloak. You shall be our leader, and this heap of ruin shall be under your rule. In that day he will speak out, saying, I will not be a healer. In my house there is neither bread nor cloak. You shall not make me leader of the people. For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen. Because their speech and their deeds are against the Lord, defying his glorious presence. For the look on their faces bears witness against them. They proclaim their sin. Like Sodom, they do not hide it. Woe to them. For they have brought evil on themselves. Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. Woe to the wicked. It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him. My people. Infants are their oppressors and and women rule over them. O my people, your guides mislead you, and they have swallowed up the course of your paths. The Lord has taken his place to contend. He stands to judge peoples. The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders and princes of his people. It is you who have devoured the vineyard. The spoil of the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing my people? By grinding the face of the poor, declares the Lord, God of hosts. The Lord said, because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantingly, with their eyes mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet. Therefore the Lord will strike with a scab the heads of the daughters of Zion and the Lord will lay bare their secret parts. In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands and the crescents, the pendants, the bracelets and the scarves, the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes and the amulets, the signet rings and nose rings, the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks and the handbags, the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans and the veils. Instead of perfume there will be rottenness, and instead of a belt, a rope, and instead of well set hair, baldness, and instead of a rich robe, a skirt of sackcloth and branding. Instead of beauty, your men shall fall by the sword, and your mighty men in battle and and her gates shall lament and mourn empty. She shall sit on the ground and seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, we will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes. Only let us be called by your name. Take away our reproach in that day. The branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. And he who is left in Zion and and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy. Everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem. When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleanse the blood stains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning, then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a canopy and there will be a booth for shade by day from the heat and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain. A reading from the Book of Psalms. A Psalm of Asaph. God has taken his place in the Divine Council. In the midst of the gods he holds judgment. How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah. Give justice to the weak and the fatherless, Maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute? Rescue the weak and the needy, deliver them from the hand of the wicked. They have neither knowledge nor understanding. They walk about in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken. I said you are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you. Nevertheless, like men you shall die and fall like any prince. Arise, O God, judge the earth, for you shall inherit all the nations. A reading from the Book of Acts. But A man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira sold a piece of property and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land while it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man, but to God. When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. After an interval of about three hours his wife came in not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, tell me whether you sold the land for so much? And she said, yes, for so much. But Peter said to her, how is it that you have agreed together to test the spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door and they will carry you out immediately. She fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things. Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's portico. None of the rest dared join them. But the people held them in high esteem. And more than ever believers were added to the Lord. Multitudes of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and and laid them on cots and mats that as Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits. And they were all healed. But the high priest rose up and all who were with him, that is the party of the Sadducees. And filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and, and said, go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life. And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest came and those who were with him they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison. So they returned and reported. We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors. But when we opened them, we found no one inside. Now, when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. And someone came and told them, look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people. Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, we strictly charged you not to teach in this name. Yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching. And you intend to bring this man's blood upon us. But Peter and the apostles answered, we must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things. And so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. And he said to them, men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. For before these days Theudas rose up claiming to be somebody. And a number of men, about 400, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing after him. Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone. For if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail. But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God. So they took his advice. And when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name and every day in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.
Episode: September 28 (Isaiah 2–4; Psalm 82; Acts 5)
Date: September 28, 2025
Host: Crossway
In this episode, listeners journey through readings from Isaiah 2–4, Psalm 82, and Acts 5. The central themes span prophecy and judgment in Isaiah, God’s justice in the Psalms, and the dramatic growth and opposition faced by the early church in Acts. The episode weaves together prophetic vision, urgent warning, and remarkable accounts of faith and divine intervention.
[00:01–07:20]
[11:05–12:38]
[12:39–End]
This episode richly explores the gravity of God’s justice and mercy—from Isaiah’s prophetic warning, through Psalm 82’s call to defend the weak, to the early church’s courage in proclaiming Christ amid opposition. Vivid stories and warnings are interlaced with hope for God’s glorious future and the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit.