I’m just going to be honest here. Most people who blog through the Bible get stuck in the Psalms. But I kept pushing through the Psalms as I wanted to get to Isaiah. I knew I didn’t really understand Isaiah and needed to. And now that I’m through Isaiah, I think I have heaps and mountains more to learn.

So much so that when I’m finished going through the whole Bible, this is a book I will need to revisit. There’s so much important things here to know, and so much I don’t understand. Especially in chps 1-39.

Having taking a looong time to get through this book, here are some things we learn.

1. God has extraordinary patience, but that patience does not overlook his loving enough to discipline. If a people or nation persist in their sin, he will call to them many times and if they don’t repent, he will bring judgment and righteous justice. Not just for Israel but for any nation.
   
2. He often uses one nation to bring God’s justice against another nation.
   
3. God calls again and again for people to repent. His heart is NOT judgment but mercy. But if people do not turn from their wickedness, he must act. Sin always harms people and if he didn’t act, that harm would be perpetuated.
   
4. Isaiah has many a prophetic word in Isaiah. The New Testament writers relied heavily upon Isaiah (here’s a list). Many of these are about Jesus.
   
5. If we removed Isaiah from the cannon, then the whole of history and Scripture would be missing out on a lot. There’s so much here about Jesus.
   
6. One of the more difficult things about Isaiah is his clear and unapologetic justice. He will destroy those who persist in evil and do not repent. So often the nations and Israel would reject God and follow God as they wanted him to be, not as he is. It doesn’t cut it. And God’s justice will be enacted. It isn’t pretty.
   
7. There is a promise to the righteous, to those who seek Him. He isn’t looking for temples and sacrifices as much as he is the man or woman who pursues his heart and walk in His ways.

When I think of the things I’ve learned in Isaiah, I can see encouragement and a fearful trembling for modern times. Just this week the California was passed that a baby’s death up to 28 days will not require an investigation. Someone can kill their baby and not be held responsible. So very evil and we will pay a price for that.

I think of the Scriptures where people just followed their own thoughts and ways (v. 2) but we’re sinning against God. When each man does what is right in their own eyes, it creates a form of hell on earth. And that’s what we have now. We say “love is love,” or “live your best life, and “do what makes you happy.” There is a preaching of tolerance except there is no tolerance for those who stand on morality.

These phrases and things seem good, but when they are not aligned with God’s Word, it is rebellion against God. It’s not our thoughts that are such the issue as our actions and acting out on any desire we have. And when I read how God feels about these things in Isaiah, we are in trouble.

And even in this trouble there is hope. If a nation will corporately repent of its evil, God is eager to show mercy.

There is hope in that there’s a Messiah who makes righteous those who trust Him.

And there’s hope of a new heaven and a new earth where one day death will be no more and evil will be destroyed.

I think the world around knows that we are in dire times. In the past historically shifts have happened but they have been primarily geographical. Now when the shift is happening, it is doing so on a global scale. The whole world will be affected. The next couple of years are going to get ugly. Really ugly. So how do we respond?

1. Intercession. We are to stand in the gap and plead God’s mercy.
   
2. Repentance. We must come before a holy God, confessing our sins to him and each other, and repent from our wicked ways. This requires knowing His righteousness and not our own. Turning to him. This is something that the Lord has been speaking to me that I need to do on a personal level. I have stalled, resisted, and dug in. I need to change that.
   
3. Practice righteous love. Righteous love isn’t love as the world defines it. We must have a Biblical love. It’s different than most people think. Worldly love would not have landed Jesus on a cross. Also love will be tested. “The love of most will grow cold” (Mt 24:12) it says in Scripture and we are seeing that clearly.
   
4. Nurture hope and joy. Yes. Hope and joy. I once was eavesdropping on one of the top global leaders in the world. Her teaching was on the ability to make a difference and lead was deeply rooted in cultivating hope and joy. It rattled me in deep places. It’s true, we need hope and joy to sustain the difficult days both now and ahead. It will be what separates us as the days get darker.