Day 37 · Isaiah 1; 6; 11–12
Old Testament · Phase 5 · The Babylonian Crisis & Fall of Jerusalem
Isaiah’s call, vision of the throne, and the Branch from Jesse
Isaiah 1
Section titled “Isaiah 1”Judah’s Rebellion
1This is the vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth,
for the LORD has spoken:
“I have raised children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against Me.
3The ox knows its owner,
and the donkey its master’s manger,
but Israel does not know;
My people do not understand.”
4Alas, O sinful nation,
a people laden with iniquity,
a brood of evildoers,
children who act corruptly!
They have forsaken the LORD;
they have despised the Holy One of Israel
and turned their backs on Him.
5Why do you want more beatings?
Why do you keep rebelling?
Your head has a massive wound,
and your whole heart is afflicted.
6From the sole of your foot to the top of your head,
there is no soundness—
only wounds and welts and festering sores
neither cleansed nor bandaged nor soothed with oil.
7Your land is desolate;
your cities are burned with fire.
Foreigners devour your fields before you —
a desolation demolished by strangers.
8And the Daughter of Zion is abandoned
like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a shack in a cucumber field,
like a city besieged.
9Unless the LORD of Hosts
had left us a few survivors,
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have resembled Gomorrah.
Meaningless Offerings
10Hear the word of the LORD,
you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the instruction of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
11“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?”
says the LORD.
“I am full from the burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed cattle;
I take no delight in the blood of bulls
and lambs and goats.
12When you come to appear before Me,
who has required this of you—
this trampling of My courts?
13Bring your worthless offerings no more;
your incense is detestable to Me.
New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations—
I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly.
14I hate your New Moons
and your appointed feasts.
They have become a burden to Me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide My eyes from you;
even though you multiply your prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are covered with blood.
16Wash and cleanse yourselves.
Remove your evil deeds from My sight.
Stop doing evil!
17Learn to do right;
seek justice and correct the oppressor.
Defend the fatherless
and plead the case of the widow.”
18“Come now, let us reason together,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they will be as white as snow;
though they are as red as crimson,
they will become like wool.
19If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the best of the land.
20But if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
The Corruption of Zion
21See how the faithful city has become a harlot!
She once was full of justice;
righteousness resided within her,
but now only murderers!
22Your silver has become dross;
your fine wine is diluted with water.
23Your rulers are rebels,
friends of thieves.
They all love bribes
and chasing after rewards.
They do not defend the fatherless,
and the plea of the widow never comes before them.
24Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts,
the Mighty One of Israel, declares:
“Ah, I will be relieved of My foes
and avenge Myself on My enemies.
25I will turn My hand against you;
I will thoroughly purge your dross;
I will remove all your impurities.
26I will restore your judges as at first,
and your counselors as at the beginning.
After that you will be called the City of Righteousness,
the Faithful City.”
27Zion will be redeemed with justice,
her repentant ones with righteousness.
28But rebels and sinners will together be shattered,
and those who forsake the LORD will perish.
29Surely you will be ashamed of the sacred oaks
in which you have delighted;
you will be embarrassed by the gardens
that you have chosen.
30For you will become like an oak whose leaves are withered,
like a garden without water.
31The strong man will become tinder
and his work will be a spark;
both will burn together,
with no one to quench the flames.
Isaiah 6
Section titled “Isaiah 6”Isaiah’s Commission
1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2Above Him stood seraphim, each having six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3And they were calling out to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts;
all the earth is full of His glory.”
4At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke.
5Then I said:
“Woe is me,
for I am ruined,
because I am a man of unclean lips
dwelling among a people of unclean lips;
for my eyes have seen the King,
the LORD of Hosts.”
6Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7And with it he touched my mouth and said:
“Now that this has touched your lips,
your iniquity is removed
and your sin is atoned for.”
8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying:
“Whom shall I send?
Who will go for Us?”
And I said:
“Here am I. Send me!”
9And He replied:
“Go and tell this people,
‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
10Make the hearts of this people calloused;
deafen their ears and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
11Then I asked:
“How long, O Lord?”
And He replied:
“Until the cities lie ruined
and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left unoccupied
and the land is desolate and ravaged,
12until the LORD has driven men far away
and the land is utterly forsaken.
13And though a tenth remains in the land,
it will be burned again.
As the terebinth and oak leave stumps when felled,
so the holy seed will be a stump in the land.”
Isaiah 11–12
Section titled “Isaiah 11–12”The Root of Jesse
1Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse,
and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
2The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and strength,
the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.
3And He will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what His eyes see,
and He will not decide by what His ears hear,
4but with righteousness He will judge the poor,
and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth
and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips.
5Righteousness will be the belt around His hips,
and faithfulness the sash around His waist.
6The wolf will live with the lamb,
and the leopard will lie down with the goat;
the calf and young lion and fatling will be together,
and a little child will lead them.
7The cow will graze with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8The infant will play by the cobra’s den,
and the toddler will reach into the viper’s nest.
9They will neither harm nor destroy
on all My holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the sea is full of water.
10On that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His place of rest will be glorious. 11On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
12He will raise a banner for the nations
and gather the exiles of Israel;
He will collect the scattered of Judah
from the four corners of the earth.
13Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart,
and the adversaries of Judah will be cut off.
Ephraim will no longer envy Judah,
nor will Judah harass Ephraim.
14They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines to the west;
together they will plunder the sons of the east.
They will lay their hands on Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites will be subject to them.
15The LORD will devote to destruction
the gulf of the Sea of Egypt;
with a scorching wind He will sweep His hand
over the Euphrates.
He will split it into seven streams
for men to cross with dry sandals.
16There will be a highway for the remnant of His people
who remain from Assyria,
as there was for Israel
when they came up from the land of Egypt.
Joyful Thanksgiving
1In that day you will say:
“O LORD, I will praise You.
Although You were angry with me,
Your anger has turned away,
and You have comforted me.
2Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song,
and He also has become my salvation.”
3With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation, 4and on that day you will say:
“Give praise to the LORD;
proclaim His name!
Make His works known among the peoples;
declare that His name is exalted.
5Sing to the LORD, for He has done glorious things.
Let this be known in all the earth.
6Cry out and sing, O citizen of Zion,
for great among you is the Holy One of Israel.”