3/22/2007

Countdown

Isaiah 21:16-17 - This is what the Lord says to me: "Within one year, as a servant bound by contract would count it, all the pomp of Kedar will come to an end. The survivors of the bowmen, the warriors of Kedar, will be few." The LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.

How does "a servant bound by contract" count differently from anyone else? Or does he mean the attitude with which he counts -- eagerly awaiting the end of the contract? Then again, what if the servant had a good contract? Would he be full of despair or worry or trepidation that the contract was going to end and he might not get another as good -- if he got one at all?

3/20/2007

Buck nekked

Isaiah 20 - In the year that the supreme commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it - at that time the LORD spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz. He said to him, "Take off the sackcloth from your body and the sandals from your feet." And he did so, going around stripped and barefoot.

Then the LORD said, "Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush, so the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared—to Egypt's shame. Those who trusted in Cush and boasted in Egypt will be afraid and put to shame. In that day the people who live on this coast will say, 'See what has happened to those we relied on, those we fled to for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?' "

I wonder what people thought of Isaiah during and after this "stunt." Did they consider it a stunt? Did they think he was insane? Apparently no one tried to "put him away." Did they think he was crazy but mostly harmless?

I wonder if Isaiah was totally naked 24 hours a day for all 3 years. Did he have a family of his own -- wife and children -- at this time? What did his other relatives think of him? Did anyone try to make him get dressed?

I find it interesting that such a striking display was used "as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush." It wasn't even Israel that he was warning! He went through all this for 3 years for a bunch of foreigners -- Gentiles!

3/12/2007

Isaiah and the prophetess

Isaiah 8:3-4 - Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the LORD said to me, "Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. Before the boy knows how to say 'My father' or 'My mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria."

I wonder if God told Isaiah to go to the prophetess in order to have a son. I have the feeling that he did because of the name he was told to give the boy and because of the symbol that the boy was to be.

I wonder if God had told the prophetess about his plan for her and Isaiah. I wonder if she would have been surprised if she hadn't been forewarned.

I wonder if Isaiah and the prophetess were considered husband and wife from this point on.

3/11/2007

Bic or Parker

Isaiah 8:1 - The LORD said to me, "Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz."

So apparently they had different styles or qualities of writing instruments in Isaiah's day. I wonder what the "ordinary" Bic type looked like. And what did the fancy Parker type look like?

Why was Isaiah supposed to specifically use the ordinary type? Was it to be symbolic of something or did God just mean to say, "Quick grab whatever pen is handy. Don't go looking for something special to write with even though you know it's going to be word for word something coming directly from me."?

3/06/2007

Byline

Isaiah 1:1 - The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

I wonder if Isaiah didn't write any of this down until Hezekiah's reign. Or did he write all throughout these king's reigns and then this introduction was inserted later? Or did he write it before anything that follows knowing who the next kings would be and that he would write during their reigns? Hey, he was a prophet!

3/04/2007

The duty of man

Ecclesiastes 12:13 - Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.

Six little words: Fear God and keep his commandments. So simple, yet so deep. I sometimes wonder why some people add more to this and make it harder and more complex than it really is.

Just a few sentences before this, Solomon said, "The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one Shepherd. Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them." Don't add your own ideas to what God has simply said. Do try to understand what he says though. And to understand it, you have to know it. And to know it, you have to read (or listen to) it. And most of that you can and should do on your own.

You'll never study the entire Bible only by hearing a sermon once a week. You won't even cover the whole book in a Bible class, unless it's a very special one. So just sit down and start reading (or listening to a recording) by yourself. It can be done. It'll probably take a year or more, depending on how much time you give it daily. Start at the very beginning. When you finish, start over. You will be blessed for doing so. Promise.

3/02/2007

A little bird

Ecclesiastes 10:20 - Do not revile the king even in your thoughts,
or curse the rich in your bedroom,
because a bird of the air may carry your words,
and a bird on the wing may report what you say.

I wonder if this is the origin of the phrase I've used often enough: "A little bird told me."