Isaiah 7:9 NRSV If you do not stand firm in faith, you shall not stand at all.
Ahaz, king of Judah, chooses military alliances over the Word of God.
It doesn’t go well for him.
Isaiah 7-8: Faith Over Success
Isaiah 6: Seraphims
Isaiah 6:2-7 KJV — Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
The header image comes from this informative article: The Seraphim Mosaic in Hagia Sophia.
These Byzantine representations of the seraphim will influence my next tattoo.
This is the only place that the seraphims are mentioned in Scripture. However, the Hebrew word, “śārāp̄” is translated as “fiery serpent” in several other Old Testament books.
Many sources refer to the seraphims as the “burning ones.” Their inoculation against the live coal, Isaiah’s initial fear, and their ability to cleanse sin all point toward carrying out a similar function as the serpents of Scripture.
A messenger’s importance is in direct relationship to the danger it poses.
Isaiah 5: The Vineyard
Romans 11:25 NKJV — For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
God’s people are repeatedly referred to as a vineyard in Scripture. Isaiah 5 laments over how we have wasted our spiritual gifts and grown wild with undesirable fruits.
Isaiah 3-4: Burning Instead of Beauty
Hell is the inversion of proper order.
Isaiah 3:24 KJV — And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.
Out of the chaos of disobedience, the Lord brings forth order and peace.
Isaiah 4:2 KJV — In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.
Isaiah 4:6 KJV — And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.
I accept Jesus Christ as my tabernacle and refuge. Wrapping around the madness of the material world, He is order and beauty.
Isaiah 2: Walk in the Light of the LORD
Isaiah 2:5 KJV — O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.
Although this chapter is a prophecy of the latter days, the call to action is present. Today we can walk in the light of the Lord.
No matter the future, today is for living.
Isaiah 1
Chapter 1 focuses on the spiritual death and dryness of Judah and Jerusalem.
God declares that this “dross” must be burned away and that the people will be returned to faithfulness.
To renew, we must clear completely the habits that separate us from God. This is a difficult process that demands the sacrifice of our worldly attachments.
Starting Isaiah
Since I started carrying a permanent image of a dreaming Jacob, he’s been showing up more often.
Isaiah 41:13-14 KJV — For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
This Scripture appeared in my devotional reading and it struck me that I have read very little of the book of Isaiah. My Student Bible contains a plan to read it in 63 days. I’m looking forward to my first independent study of one of the books of the Old Testament.
The Law SHALL NOT Depart Out of Thy Mouth
Joshua 1:8 KJV — This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
I’ve spotted a problem in a couple other translations.
The New Living Translation omits the prescription against speaking the Law.
The New International Version and the Bible in Basic English give the opposite direction.
I’m open about my faith and constantly sharing it. I’m more careful about the prescriptions. I use Jesus as my guiding light because He came to fulfill the Law and directed His followers thusly:
Mark 12:29-31 KJV — And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
The weight of these commandments is why we must spend more time meditating than speaking. Love is easy to feel, it is harder to enact.
That’s why I try to start each day here.
I breathe deeply, exhale, and hold as I gaze at the rising sun. I thank God for all the things in my life and ask for guidance. I do so with a loving heart and pray for the wisdom to love my neighbor as I love myself.
Surely the Lord is in this Place
Blessed to have the Lord with me in June.
Jesus Goes For The Throat
This is what an Immaculate Flying Armbar looks like.
Last night I floundered. I let fatigue get to me. I let my insecurities run wild. I let my temper out on my children and caused a lot of wreckage. I busted my grandmother’s rosary…again. I froze. I asked Jesus for help, but I didn’t mean it. Or, at least, I wasn’t listening for the answer.
This devotional and these verses were waiting for me this morning.
Proverbs 19:21 KJV — There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
Colossians 4:2 KJV — Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
Philippians 3:7-8 KJV — But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
I’m looking for the opportunity here. I’m looking for deeper healing. Maybe if I had been keeping up with my devotional readings I would have read this before blowing up.
