David Bahn – Reflections

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Today’s readings: Isaiah 57-59, Psalm 49.

Isaiah 57:14-19

And it shall be said,
“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
    remove every obstruction from my people’s way.”
¹⁵ For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
    who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
    and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
    and to revive the heart of the contrite.
¹⁶ For I will not contend forever,
    nor will I always be angry;
for the spirit would grow faint before me,
    and the breath of life that I made.
¹⁷ Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry,
    I struck him; I hid my face and was angry,
    but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.
¹⁸ I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
    I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners,
¹⁹     creating the fruit of the lips.
Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the LORD,
    “and I will heal him.

Years ago, Deion Sanders and Jerry Jones appeared together in a pizza commercial shortly after Deion had signed a $35 million contract with the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry asked, “What’ll it be, Deion—15 million or 20 million?” Deion grinned and replied, “Why not both?” Of course, he had already signed for the full $35 million. The point of the commercial was simple: for one price, you didn’t have to choose one pizza or the other—you could have both.

When it comes to the Christian faith, we also need to remember a “both/and.” It is by faith alone that we are saved, justified before God, forgiven of all our sins, and given every eternal blessing in Christ. But faith is never alone. As Luther wrote, “Oh, it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith. It is impossible for it not to be doing good works incessantly.”

Isaiah confronts people who wanted the blessings of religion without lives transformed by faith. They fasted, worshiped, and observed the outward forms of devotion, yet at the same time exploited others and ignored those in need.

“Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?”
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,
and oppress all your workers.
Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to hit with a wicked fist.
(Isaiah 58:3–4)

God’s answer was not to abolish worship but to restore its purpose. Genuine faith bears genuine fruit.

“Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?”
(Isaiah 58:6–7)

Jesus lived these words perfectly. He worshiped his Father with a whole heart while welcoming sinners, healing the broken, feeding the hungry, and showing mercy to those whom others overlooked. Through his death and resurrection he forgives our failures, restores us, and gives us his Spirit.

Now he calls us to a both/and faith. Believe his promises. Worship him faithfully. Confess him boldly. Feed the hungry. Welcome the stranger. Care for the hurting. Defend the oppressed. Visit the lonely. Love the neighbor God has placed in front of you.

You won’t do it perfectly. Neither will I. Jesus knows that. He forgives us. And then he says again, “Love your neighbor.” His forgiveness never weakens his commands; it frees us to live them. So we must rise each day, forgiven and renewed, to live the faith we confess. For as Isaiah promises, “your light shall break forth like the dawn… and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.”

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

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Today’s readings: Isaiah 54-56, Psalm 48.

The verses from these chapters that I will use are in the text of this post.

JJust when you think you’ve reached the mountaintop, you discover another five peaks—each stunningly beautiful in its own right. That’s what happens after Isaiah 53 (yesterday’s post, The Gospel According to Isaiah). Chapters 54–56 continue the breathtaking view.

Notice the progression:

• The LORD loves his people (54)
• The LORD invites the thirsty (55)
• The LORD gathers the nations (56)

Let’s pause at five jewels along the way.

Isaiah 54:1, 5

“Sing, O barren one, who did not bear…

For your Maker is your husband,
the LORD of hosts is his name;
and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer…”

Israel would face difficult days and feel abandoned and barren. Yet the Lord promises that she will not remain desolate. He himself will give her children by his grace.

St. Paul cites this passage in Galatians 4:26–27 and points to the spiritual children of Abraham—all who believe, from every family of the earth. God casts a wonderfully wide net.

Isaiah 54:7–8

“For a brief moment I deserted you,
but with great compassion I will gather you…

…with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
says the LORD, your Redeemer.

These verses remind me of Psalm 30:5:

“His anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime.”

And of Romans 5:20:

“Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.”

For his children, God’s last word is always grace.

Isaiah 55:1–3

“Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters…

Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live.”

Jesus himself echoes this invitation when he speaks with the woman at the well (John 4) and again on the last and greatest day of the Feast (John 7:37).

Then, at the close of Scripture, Revelation 22:17 broadens the invitation still further:

“The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”

Those who receive the invitation immediately are urged to begin inviting others.

Isaiah 55:10–11

“So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose.”

This promise points in two complementary directions.

First, it tells us how God’s Word works. God speaks—and things happen. My favorite example? “Let there be light.” And there was light. (Good light, by the way.)

Second, Jesus is the incarnate Word. He faithfully accomplished the Father’s saving purpose through his incarnation, teaching, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension. And one day he will complete that work when he returns to gather his people into everlasting glory.

Isaiah 56:6–8

“My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

“I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.”

I’ve visited five continents (four of them on various mission trips). I’ve never met someone for whom Jesus did not die. From the cold outskirts of Moscow in 1993, to a tiny Chinese village in 2003, to the African Serengeti in 2020, to Mexico, Guatemala, and the neighbor across the street, God desires all people to be saved.

He is still gathering people to himself. He still delights to hear and answer their prayers.

These five jewels sparkle with the beauty of the Gospel itself. The more we linger over them, the more they reveal the heart of God—a Redeemer who loves his people, invites the thirsty, and gathers the nations.

What a journey we’re on as we Follow the Word!

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

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Today’s readings: Isaiah 51-53, Psalm 47.

Isaiah 53:5-7

Who has believed what he has heard from us?
        And to whom has  the arm of the  LORD been revealed?
²  For he grew up before him like a young plant,
        and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
        and no beauty that we should desire him.
³  He was despised and rejected by men,
        a man of sorrows  and acquainted with  grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
        he was despised, and  we esteemed him not.

⁴  Surely he has borne our griefs
        and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵  But he was pierced for our transgressions;
        he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
        and with his wounds we are healed.
⁶  All we like sheep have gone astray;
        we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the  LORD  has laid on him
        the iniquity of us all.

When we use the term Gospel, it most properly refers to the Good News of Jesus Christ: his life, ministry, teaching, healing, preaching, suffering, death, and resurrection. It is the Good News that, for Jesus’ sake, our sins are forgiven, we have been redeemed and saved, and we have been brought into fellowship with God. Gospel is also used to refer to the first four books of the New Testament, each of which tells the story of Jesus. Some people even use it as an adjective: “gospel truth”—a truth they consider absolutely certain. But we seldom use the word to describe an Old Testament book.

Yet a reading of Isaiah 53, with even the slightest familiarity with the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus, convinces us that the term certainly applies here. Isaiah’s description of the Suffering Servant is filled with references that point unmistakably to Christ—even though these words were written some 750 years before his birth.

Isaiah describes the Suffering Servant as one whom no one would consider attractive. He wasn’t a handsome hero. His life was not one people would envy. Humanly speaking, it ended in tragedy and humiliating defeat.

Consider the scene at Jesus’ crucifixion. Many concluded that he was a terrible sinner. Surely God had singled him out for judgment. He was crucified between two criminals. As people passed by his cross, they either turned away in grief, unable to look any longer, or they mocked him as one stricken by God.

We who confess Jesus as Lord, however, know another truth. He was not suffering for his own sin. He bore our sins on the cross. He carried our griefs. We were the ones who had gone astray. God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21). And all this was for our forgiveness, life, and salvation.

I have reflected many times on Jesus’ suffering. There is a limit to the pain of others that I can carry in my own heart. I can only bear so much before I become overwhelmed. But Jesus had no such limit. He took upon himself the sin, grief, and sorrow of the whole world. And it killed him.

But that is not the end of the story.

Isaiah goes on to proclaim that, though the Suffering Servant died with the wicked and was buried with the rich, “he shall see his offspring” and “divide the spoil with the strong.” The Servant who suffered and died would also live again. Isaiah is pointing not only to the cross but also to the empty tomb and Jesus’ resurrection.

Jesus fulfills every part of that prophecy. He prayed for those who put him to death. He intercedes for us even now, and God has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He is the living Savior—the Suffering Servant who laid down his life for us, took it up again, and has redeemed so that we may be his own and live under him in his kingdom and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

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Today’s readings: 2 Kings 19, Isaiah 49-50, Psalm 46.

Isaiah 49:5-7

And now the  LORD&nb sp;says,
        he  who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him;
        and that Israel might be gathered to him—
for  I am honored in the eyes of the  LORD,
        and my God has become my strength—
⁶  he says:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
        to raise up the tribes of Jacob
        and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
I will make you  as a light for the nations,
        that  my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

⁷  Thus says the  LORD,
        the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,
        the servant of rulers:
“Kings shall see and arise;
&nbs    p;   princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;
because of the  LORD, who is faithful,
        the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

I got a lesson on leadership and vision during my vicarage at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cheyenne, Wyoming. (A Lutheran vicar is much like an intern during seminary.) When my supervising pastor learned of a telephone issue in the church, he didn’t simply fix the phone. He worked with the church leaders to install an entirely new phone system. It not only solved the immediate problem but opened new possibilities for communication between the church, school, and offices.

Ever since, I’ve tried to cultivate a “lift up your eyes” approach to leadership. It’s a way of looking beyond immediate problems to larger opportunities and God’s greater possibilities.

You might say that God is the author of that attitude, for he speaks through Isaiah:

“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
I will make you as a light for the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
(Isaiah 49:6)

In other words, God says, “Restoring my own people is not enough.” He is revealing a far greater vision. His Servant will not only restore the tribes of Jacob but become “a light for the nations,” bringing God’s salvation to the ends of the earth.

The same is true for us. God delights to see his churches flourish. He is pleased when ministries succeed, churches grow, and people find a home among his gathered people. But churches do not exist for their own benefit. In fact, the Church uniquely exists for the sake of those who are not yet part of her fellowship. When that purpose is forgotten, churches eventually die. It is when they give themselves away that they discover true life.

Think of it this way. If, the moment someone came to faith in Christ, God immediately took that person to heaven, it might seem like a wonderful arrangement. No more temptation. No more pain. No more sin. But then who would tell your neighbor about Jesus? How would the nations hear the Gospel? God didn’t save us only for our own sake. According to Jesus, we are the light of the world. Our calling is to let that light shine so others may come to know the Savior.

My supervising pastor could have fixed a phone. Instead, he saw an opportunity to strengthen the ministry. God’s vision is always bigger. He didn’t simply restore his own people. Through Israel’s Messiah – our Lord Jesus Christ – he set out to rescue the world. And today he sends his Church into that same world to be the light of Christ.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Isaiah 46-48, Psalm 45.

Isaiah 48:9-13

“For my name’s sake I defer my anger;
    for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,
    that I may not cut you off.
¹⁰ Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;
    I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.
¹¹ For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
    for how should my name be profaned?
    My glory I will not give to another.

¹² “Listen to me, O Jacob,
    and Israel, whom I called!
I am he; I am the first,
    and I am the last.
¹³ My hand laid the foundation of the earth,
    and my right hand spread out the heavens;
when I call to them,
    they stand forth together.

My leadership mantra is, “I want the first word.” I seldom want the last word. Sometimes I must have the last word. When I’m the one responsible for making the decision, I have the last word, and I’ll take ownership of it—and responsibility for the outcome. But my last word is seldom the ultimate last word. And my first word is never really the first word. After all, “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

I want the first word as a leader because, by speaking first, I frame the question. And the one who frames the question charts the course to the future—as much as anyone can actually shape the future. I want to suggest a pathway forward while allowing those who have heard the first word to shape the decisions and work together toward the goals that first word has framed.

But God is different.

He has both the first word and the last word. Only God can claim to be the First and the Last. No one was before him. No one will second-guess him. His word is final. I think of that whenever I read, “I am the first and I am the last.” His first word was, “Let there be light.” And there was light. And the light was good. The Bible’s last word is grace. Jesus says:

“Surely I am coming soon.”
“Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”
“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” (Revelation 22:20–21)

There are a whole lot of words between God’s first and last words. Some of them are hard. From, “I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid,” to, “What is this you have done?” And, of course, there are the hard words of judgment Isaiah speaks to God’s people and to the nations.

But God’s last word is grace. The Law may be his necessary word, but in Christ his final word is always forgiveness, life, and salvation.

Full disclosure, though: I do get the last word every Sunday when I lead worship. The last word is a blessing I never tire of pronouncing:

The LORD bless you and keep you.
The LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
The LORD look upon you with favor and give you peace.

That’s a last word I will always be glad to speak.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Isaiah 37-39, Psalm 42.

Isaiah 37:1-4, 14-20

As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the LORD. ² And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. ³ They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. ⁴ It may be that the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the LORD your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’”

¹⁴ Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers [filled with fresh threats against Judah], and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. ¹⁵ And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: ¹⁶ “O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made the heavens and the earth. ¹⁷ Incline your ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. ¹⁸ Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, ¹⁹ and have cast their gods into the fire. For they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. ²⁰ So now, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the LORD.”

When you receive a difficult medical diagnosis, a foreclosure notice, divorce papers, an overdue bill, a letter from the IRS, or an email that upsets all your carefully laid family plans? Do you turn to medical advice on the Internet? A rich uncle? A lawyer? A debt-consolidation company? A tax advisor? Your best friend? A bottle of gin?

When Hezekiah faced the threats of Assyria, his first move was to turn to God. What strikes me is that he first came in distress and lament. His first response was not strategy but humility. Only afterward did he turn in supplication, seeking the LORD’s help in the face of the terrible threats confronting him and Judah. That makes his example all the more remarkable.

We rightly regard turning first to prayer in the face of adversity as exemplary. It is right to seek the Lord’s help when we face trouble of any kind (note, again, the list above!). It is also right to approach him with humble and repentant hearts. Tearing your clothes and putting on sackcloth may seem extreme, but remember the first of Jesus’ Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

But God delights not only in our repentance—essential as it is to our relationship with him—he also welcomes our petitions and supplications. Isaiah tells us that Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD and spread the threatening letter before the LORD.

We don’t have to tear our clothes or wear sackcloth. We can’t physically spread our burdens before the ark of the covenant, but we can do the spiritual equivalent. We can come with humble and repentant hearts and lay every burden before the Lord in prayer.

Hezekiah didn’t begin by making a battle plan. He began by lamenting the challenges he was facing and then spread those worries before the LORD. That is still where God’s people begin. God promises that he will not despise a broken and contrite heart, and he invites us to cast all our anxieties on him because he cares for us. In Jesus’ name, we too may spread our burdens before the Lord. For the One who welcomed Hezekiah’s prayer now invites us to come boldly to the throne of grace, where we receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Isaiah 34-36, Psalm 41.

Isaiah 35

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
    the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;
² it shall blossom abundantly
    and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
    the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
    the majesty of our God.

³ Strengthen the weak hands,
    and make firm the feeble knees.
⁴ Say to those who have an anxious heart,
    “Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
    will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
    He will come and save you.”

⁵ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
    and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
⁶ then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
    and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
For waters break forth in the wilderness,
    and streams in the desert;
⁷ the burning sand shall become a pool,
    and the thirsty ground springs of water;
in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,
    the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

⁸ And a highway shall be there,
    and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;
the unclean shall not pass over it.
    It shall belong to those who walk on the way;
    even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.
⁹ No lion shall be there,
    nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
    but the redeemed shall walk there.
¹⁰ And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
    and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
    they shall obtain gladness and joy,
    and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

How would you describe the most peaceful and beautiful place on earth? For some, it would be a mountain meadow with wildflowers, pine trees, streams, and a lake reflecting the blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds. Others might describe a tropical island with white sand beaches, turquoise waters, and palm trees silhouetted against a sunset. Or perhaps yours is a farm meadow in East Texas, the Ozarks in the springtime, or New England in autumn.

Isaiah describes a scene that to Israel—and perhaps to us as well—would have sounded idyllic. He refers to Lebanon, Carmel, and Sharon, regions known for their towering forests, fertile fields, and natural beauty. To the people of Isaiah’s day, who faced the prospect of judgment and exile, these names would have stirred memories of God’s abundant blessing and the hope that he would one day restore his people.

This language isn’t just about beauty; it’s about restoration and transformation. Isaiah borrows these familiar images to describe the astonishing renewal God will bring. Where there was once barrenness, there will be abundance; where there was desolation, there will be life. Deserts will bloom. Barren lands will become oases. Blind men will see. Lame people will leap for joy.

God is promising a new thing—a revival of epic proportions. With that promise comes the exhortation: Strengthen weak hands! Make firm the feeble knees! Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not!” (Isaiah 35:3–4).

This is decidedly a message for us today as well. When John the Baptist was in prison, filled with doubt and facing death, he sent his disciples to Jesus, asking if he was the promised Messiah. Jesus did more than simply answer, “Yes.” Instead, he replied:

“Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.” (Matthew 11:4–6)

Jesus pointed John to Isaiah’s promises and, in effect, said, “Look around you. They are being fulfilled.”

As always, Jesus stands as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecies. He healed the lame, gave sight to the blind, cleansed lepers, and proclaimed the good news of God’s kingdom. His is a reign of grace and truth. These words are a source of comfort and hope for all who need them. And if you don’t feel that need today, you surely know someone who does. Point them to Jesus—and remember that these promises and blessings are for you as well.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Isaiah 31-33, Psalm 40.

Isaiah 31:1-5

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help
    and rely on horses,
who trust in chariots because they are many
    and in horsemen because they are very strong,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel
    or consult the LORD!
² And yet he is wise and brings disaster;
    he does not call back his words,
but will arise against the house of the evildoers
    and against the helpers of those who work iniquity.
³ The Egyptians are man, and not God,
    and their horses are flesh, and not spirit.
When the LORD stretches out his hand,
    the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall,
    and they will all perish together.

⁴ For thus the LORD said to me,
“As a lion or a young lion growls over his prey,
    and when a band of shepherds is called out against him
he is not terrified by their shouting
    or daunted at their noise,
so the LORD of hosts will come down
    to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill.
⁵ Like birds hovering, so the LORD of hosts
    will protect Jerusalem;
he will protect and deliver it;
    he will spare and rescue it.”

There are certain places we associate with particular things. For fine watches, we think of Switzerland. For leather goods, Italy. For camera lenses, Germany once held the highest reputation, though today Japan may be the world’s leading center of photographic optics. Barbecue? Texas. Financial advice? Wall Street – or perhaps Omaha. Country music? Nashville.

For horses and chariots in Isaiah’s day, the place to go was Egypt. Egypt had the reputation, the resources, and the military strength. The problem was not that Egypt had excellent horses. The problem was that Judah looked to Egypt instead of looking to the Holy One of Israel.

It’s easy to understand why. Assyria was the great military superpower of Isaiah’s day. It conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and destroyed Samaria in 722 BC. Later, under King Sennacherib, it invaded Judah, captured many fortified cities, and threatened Jerusalem itself.

That is the immediate background to Isaiah 31. With the Assyrian army seemingly unstoppable, Judah was tempted to trust Egypt’s horses and chariots instead of the LORD.

I don’t want to draw a straight line between Judah and us today. Nor am I willing to equate Israel with the United States. But I will make this connection: the Church is under constant attack. Changing moral standards, a worldview that excludes God, and the misuse of science or philosophy to deny the Creator have drawn many away from the fellowship of believers. Add to that the Church’s own self-inflicted wounds – clergy abuse, infighting, disunity, judgmentalism, complacency, and the temptation to measure success by worldly standards – and it becomes easy to trust human ingenuity more than the Lord himself.

And what about you and me? Do we reach beyond God’s commands for the sake of convenience? In moments of fear or desperation, do we give in to temptation? Do we choose what is easy instead of what is faithful? Where do we instinctively turn when life seems to be closing in around us?

God did not choose the easy path. He did not set aside justice, nor did he abandon love. In Jesus Christ, he satisfied both. The Son of God bore our sin, died our death, and rose again in victory over sin, death, and the devil. Then the Lord entrusted the mission of carrying this Gospel to the ends of the earth to a band of ordinary disciples – a motley crew who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, turned the world upside down.

That mission continues today. We still face the temptation to trust the “horses and chariots” of our own age. Yet our strength is found where it has always been found – not in Egypt, not in human wisdom or power, but in the Lord, who is faithful to save. As Isaiah says:

“The Egyptians are man, and not God, and their horses are flesh, and not spirit.” (Isaiah 31:3)

In Jesus Christ we have everything Egypt could never provide – life, forgiveness and salvation. He is our Savior, and he will not fail those who trust in him.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Isaiah 28-30, Psalm 39.

Isaiah 28:14-18

Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers,
    who rule this people in Jerusalem!
¹⁵ Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
    and with Sheol we have an agreement,
when the overwhelming whip passes through
    it will not come to us,
for we have made lies our refuge,
    and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;
¹⁶ therefore thus says the LORD God,
“Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion,
    a stone, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:
    ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
¹⁷ And I will make justice the line,
    and righteousness the plumb line;
and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
    and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”
¹⁸ Then your covenant with death will be annulled,
    and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
when the overwhelming scourge passes through,
    you will be beaten down by it.

God speaks to the people of Israel who mocked his word through Isaiah. In the previous verses it is clear that they had little use for God’s word. They didn’t just ignore it. They mocked the word itself. They said:

For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little. – Isaiah 28:10

The Hebrew of that verse is “sav lasav sav lasav / kav lakav kav lakav.” This is possibly meaningless sounds, mimicking the prophet’s words. So God responds, in essence, “OK. Let it be precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.” God will not be mocked and he will stand by his prophet – whether his word is received or not.

Then comes what to us who are being saved a word of great comfort. God will lay a cornerstone upon which true life can be built. It is solid. It is polished. It is straight and true. It will not be moved. Just as God’s word is all these things, One is coming who will be that for all people. This finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus – no surprise here!

I love Martin Luther’s quote about this stone: Christ is a tested stone, that is, distressed and afflicted, or He is a testing stone, that is, a stone by whose shape all other stones are tested, so that we may be conformed to the image of the Son of God (Rom. 8;29). …Christ was polished, hewn, and squared by the promise, by death and the cross. (As quoted in the Lutheran Study Bible, CPH, © 2009)

There is warning and comfort here. The warning comes from Jesus himself, “Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” (Luke 20:18). Jesus is the stone that the builders (the church leaders of his day) rejected. But he is the chief cornerstone, shown by his resurrection from the grave.

This is why we must take heed, lest we become the ones of whom Isaiah speaks in 29:13:

And the LORD said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men.”

Jesus also quotes this passage in Matthew 13. This is all about Jesus. The comfort is that when we build our lives on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ we will know what is true, dependable, right, and immovable. Whatever other wisdom, knowledge, insight, or understanding we may gain from the world must take a back seat to the truth of God’s Word – a precious cornerstone of grace and truth centered in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Isaiah 28-30, Psalm 39.

Isaiah 28:14-18

Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers,
    who rule this people in Jerusalem!
¹⁵ Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
    and with Sheol we have an agreement,
when the overwhelming whip passes through
    it will not come to us,
for we have made lies our refuge,
    and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;
¹⁶ therefore thus says the LORD God,
“Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion,
    a stone, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:
    ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
¹⁷ And I will make justice the line,
    and righteousness the plumb line;
and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
    and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”
¹⁸ Then your covenant with death will be annulled,
    and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
when the overwhelming scourge passes through,
    you will be beaten down by it.

God speaks to the people of Israel who mocked his word through Isaiah. In the previous verses it is clear that they had little use for God’s word. They didn’t just ignore it. They mocked the word itself. They said:

For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little. – Isaiah 28:10

The Hebrew of that verse is “sav lasav sav lasav / kav lakav kav lakav.” This is possibly meaningless sounds, mimicking the prophet’s words. So God responds, in essence, “OK. Let it be precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.” God will not be mocked and he will stand by his prophet – whether his word is received or not.

Then comes what to us who are being saved a word of great comfort. God will lay a cornerstone upon which true life can be built. It is solid. It is polished. It is straight and true. It will not be moved. Just as God’s word is all these things, One is coming who will be that for all people. This finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus – no surprise here!

I love Martin Luther’s quote about this stone: Christ is a tested stone, that is, distressed and afflicted, or He is a testing stone, that is, a cstone by whose shape all other stones are tested, so that we may be conformed to the image of the Son of God (Rom. 8;29). …Christ was polished, hewn, and squared by the promise, by death and the cross. Confidence is to be placed in Christ’s intercession because this alone has God’s promise. (As quoted in the Lutheran Study Bible, CPH, © 2009)

There is warning and comfort here. The warning comes from Jesus himself, “Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” (Luke 20:18)

This is why we must take heed, lest we become the ones of whom Isaiah speaks in 29:13:

And the LORD said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men.”