Day 244...(2 Chronicles 3,4; Isaiah 6)..."Holy, Holy, Holy and Here I am Lord"

In the midst of all the woe of early Isaiah comes some beautiful passages. Are these not the inspiration behind two great hymns? "Holy, Holy, Holy" and "Here I am Lord." I hear those tunes as I read these passages...

"And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

Day 243...(2 Chronicles 1,2; Isaiah 5)..."What Would You Ask For?"

Solomon could have asked for anything. He asked for wisdom. God blessed him for asking for wisdom to lead the great people of Israel. Is this the prayer that led to splendor? At the very least the splendor comes after the prayer.

In Isaiah there is a warning for those who call evil good and good evil, and light darkness and darkness light, the bitter sweet and the sweet bitter. Is this not the way of sin to make everything evil look good and good evil? This is a basic course in following God. The more we follow the better good looks. The less we follow evil begins to take hold. Our appetites follow one way or another for good or evil. Israel was about to taste the bitterness of the exile.

Day 242...(1 Chronicles 28,29; Isaiah 4)..."A Seamless Transition"

We read in the Old Testament of the orderly transition of kings. Perhaps the most orderly of all was David to Solomon. David paved the way for Solomon. This is a great model for pastoral transitions today. Here is a recap of how seamless the transition.

"The LORD highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever had before. "David son of Jesse was king over all Israel. He ruled over Israel forty years—seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him as king."

Day 241...(I Chronicles 26,27; Isaiah 3)..."Making the Bed"

There are sayings of today that communicate in the Bible. Here is the Message translation of today's Isaiah reading...

"Jerusalem's on its last legs. Judah is soon down for the count. Everything people say and do is at cross- purposes with God. A slap in my face. Brazen in their depravity, they flaunt their sins like degenerate Sodom. Doom to their eternal souls! They've made their bed; now they'll sleep in it." Of course "the bed" is going to be exile.

I see four sayings.

"on last legs"
"down for the count"
"slap in the face"
"making their bed"

Day 240...(1 Chronicles 24,25; Isaiah 2)..."The Problem in the Garden Again"

The human condition (as Disciple Bible Study calls it) has themes that repeat. In the Garden of Eden, pride got in the way. In the Book of Isaiah we see that pride again a problem. Is being proud one of the most dominant themes in the Bible? God lift up the humble but brings low the proud. Here is the passage...

"The eyes of the arrogant man will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. The LORD Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty,for all that is exalted" (and they will be humbled)

The human condition is us human beings making the same mistakes over and over again. "God gives grace to the humble but resists the proud" (James 4:6) is the way Book of James will describe this theme.

Day 239...(1 Chronicles 23,24; Isaiah 1)..."Transitions and One of My Favorite Books"

In reading the historical books of the Bible, I notice the care of detail in transitions. As David's kingdom ends and Solomon's begins, we get a snapshot of Israel's history. The Book of Chronicles lives up to its name as everything is seemingly chronicled.

We begin today one of my favorite Books Isaiah. Isaiah is long and tells three stories. First, Israel being disobedient. Second, Israel suffering in exile. Third, Israel seeing hope again. There is a basic theme of trusting the Lord to finding strength. We will read this message in different ways throughout the next sixty-six chapters.

One of our communion passages is found in the text today..."Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;though they are red as crimson,they shall be like wool." We also read of two important themes of defending the fatherless and the widow.

Day 238...(1 Chronicles 21,22; Song of Songs 8)..."David Calls for a Census"

David calls for a census. This sound okay on the surface but this was evil in the sight of the Lord.
Why? David wanted to know his strength as a nation in military numbers. The great theme in the Bible is the Lord makes you strong. As a result, Israel was punished and David was given a choice of method.

David would not have the same favor after this action. We can read the anticipation of Solomon's kingdom growing and David diminishing. Obviously, David was deeply sorry for emphasizing earthly numbers over God's power.