Today’s passage: Isaiah 49

Helpful thoughts:

• The body of the life inside a mother’s womb is a different body (Verse 1).  “My body, my choice” is a false assertion.  When Jesus was in Mary’s womb, Jesus was in Mary’s womb.  To abort is to take the life of another.
• The Messiah is speaking in the first person in verses 1-5 and He is the “you” in verses 6-8.
  • Even is verse 3, the Messiah is referred to as “Israel” being the nation’s representative as king.
  • Verse 4 depicts the apparent failure of Christ’s first coming (From the world’s perspective)…but His ultimate victory.
• The in-gathering of God’s people from among the nations will be too many for the land to handle in the millennial kingdom (Verses 19-21).
  • Instead of fighting against Israel for their land, the nations will assist and join Israel under the reign of Jesus Christ.

Questions to consider:

1. How far will God’s salvation reach (Verse 6)?  Why did the Gospel message concerning the Light of the world, reach you in this foreign land?  Who promised that and brought it about?
2. How do these promises from God compare to the old saying, “God helps those who help themselves?”  What condition will Israel be in and why will that glorify God?
3. No matter what your news feed says when you check it in a few minutes, who is going to rule and reign on this earth?  Who wins in the end?  Whose “side” should you be on today in light of that truth?

Today’s passage: Isaiah 48

Helpful thoughts:

• James 1:22-25 – Be a doer of the Word of God and not a hearer only.
  • Israel declared themselves God’s people, yet “faith without works is dead”…and “there is no peace for the wicked.”
• God will not give His glory to another.  No one else deserves it!
  • God must always defend His great name.
• The “new things” God announces to Israel speak of the Messiah (Verses 14-17) and of the “Babylon” of the book of Revelation.

Questions to consider:

1. Why might this rebuke have come as a surprise to the people?  Who did they think they were?  How did they see themselves?  Will a person who calls themselves a Christian ever assume they are not one?  How are you growing in being a doer of the Word?
2. Why is it so important for us that God guards His glory and honor?  Whose people are we?  What does our salvation rest in?  If God failed to be glorious, what would that make of our faith and our hope?
3. Why can you have peace in your heart in the midst of these days?  What has God done for us through Christ that took away our “wicked” standing?  What will Jesus do no matter what the world thinks it can accomplish?

Today’s passage: Isaiah 47

Helpful thoughts:

• The Babylonian Empire was defeated by the Persians.  Babylons change is depicted as going from high class princess to a servant girl in only one day.
• Babylon said of herself, “I am, and there is no one besides me.”  But God is the Lord of Hosts and the Redeemer of His people.  He has never and He will never be defeated.
  • Compare the statement, “There is no one besides me.” with what God says of Babylon in verse 15, “There is no one to save you.”
• Even when God was allowing His people to be disciplined for their sin, they were still His people and He defended them.

Questions to consider:

1. What would be the right conclusion concerning the use of horoscopes after reading verses 13-14?  Should we be looking to the stars to discern our future?  Who holds and secures our future?
2. Did the way Babylon felt about their significance and safety produce significance and safety?  Did feeling highly about themselves keep them out of trouble or did it get them into more trouble?  If the answers to our problems are inside of us, then what role is God supposed to play?  What is the biblical, God-honoring, true response to this kind of thinking?
3. The great empire of Babylon fell in a day (Daniel 5:24-31).  Who is your rock?  How can you know that your feet are firm on solid ground no matter what happens in the world around us?

Today’s passage: Isaiah 46

Helpful thoughts:

• Bel and Nebo are names of false gods from Babylon.
• It is perfectly logical to be amazed by and submit to God…
  • All other gods are fake.
  • God is holy, righteous and sovereign.  Even the birds go where He tells them (Verse 11).
• …and yet, righteousness and salvation have to come to His people against their stubbornness (Verse 12)!  There will only be salvation and righteousness given to people because God has decreed it so.
  • Romans 3:10-12

Questions to consider:

1. Why is it right to believe and obey God?  Why are you glad to be a Christian?
2. What are some of the “gods” of our culture?  Why does fearing God and following Christ make so much more sense than any other options that the world gives?
3. What would we be without God’s grace?  Who deserves the praise for our eternal life and sanctification?  How does the necessity of God’s grace for our repentance and salvation bring Him glory?

Today’s passage: Isaiah 45

Helpful thoughts:

• God is not just active/involved in the lives of those who know Him or believe in Him.  God is sovereign over everyone and every thing.
• God never commands His children to do anything in vain (Verse 19).
• John 14:6 is true all over the world.

Questions to consider:

1. Do you sometimes feel like your unsaved friends, family, co-workers, etc. are outside of God’s “jurisdiction”?  Is that true?  Why can you be totally confident and loving in sharing Christ with them?
2. How could this passage be an encouragement or correct our thinking when we are tempted to envy the world’s “success”?  What words are spoken to those who reject God in verse 9?
3. What would be an accurate response to the person who says, “I can’t/won’t believe in a God who does that?” (Verse 11)

Today’s passage: Isaiah 44

Helpful thoughts:

• Every “little ‘g’ god” in this world is the invention of man.  There is only one God who truly exists.
• False gods are invented in order to be a benefit to their inventors.  But they do not profit their inventors.
  • The only true “profit” for the idolater is the lie that they could successfully reject the true God…they’re blinded.
• Though we all would be liars and idolaters, the Lord has:
  • Opened our blind eyes.
  • Blotted out our transgressions.
  • Redeemed us.

Questions to consider:

1. What “profits” do we hope to receive through idolatry?  What are the things we tend to want more than what God gives?  What do these “profits” result in?
2. What parts does God play in our existence and life?  When anyone would think that false gods (Or no God at all) are acting, what error have we made?  Does it ever profit us to go elsewhere or to prefer a Godless moment?
3. Who is our Redeemer?  What did He redeem us from?

Today’s passage: Isaiah 43

Helpful thoughts:

• God made the people of Israel a nation and loves them by His choice.  They did not earn His favor, He made them and gave them His gracious love.
• The timing of these promises refer to the time at the end of the exile, when Israel would return to the promised land by way of a different wilderness.
• Egypt and Ethiopia (Cush and Seba) would become subject to the Persians, while Israel would be allowed to go free.
• No one ever has and no one ever will defeat God.

Questions to consider:

1. For whose sake is the Lord blotting out the transgressions (Forgiving the sins) of the people of Israel (Verse 25)?  Why would God’s name be on the line if Israel failed to exist?  Why will God’s name always prevail as consistent with who He has revealed Himself to be?
2. What would be the result of engaging in verse 26?  Do we have a case against God?  Why or why not?
3. How are the sins of God’s people simply blotted out?  How can God remain just and also no longer remember our sins against us? (Romans 3:21-26)

Today’s passage: Isaiah 42

Helpful thoughts:

• Matthew 12:9-21
• The Lord is worthy of praise and worship from all people, every single person who ever has or ever will live.  His holiness demands worship.  To refrain from worship is to be His foe.
• The Law proclaims the righteousness of God and magnifies the unrighteousness of man.
  • But God, in His mercy and grace turns darkness into light and rough places into level ground…these are the things He does.

Questions to consider:

1. As the world cries out for justice, when will it truly arrive?  When will there finally be justice in the world?  What will be the result of all the world’s attempts prior to that day?
2. Will our religiosity or perfect execution of righteousness bring about peace and justice in the world?  Could we ever accomplish such a thing on our own?  Even if we are “good” Christian people, who remains our only hope?
3. Why is it good for us to learn more of the righteousness of God and our failure to measure up?  If we think we’ve pretty much kept up with all of God’s commands and we’ve earned His favor, what are missing?  How does the Gospel produce humility and how does humility indicate growth?

Today’s passage: Isaiah 41

Helpful thoughts:

• The people of the nations who have rejected God are right to have a dreadful fear of Him.
• God’s created nation and chosen people are right to rest peacefully in His sovereign protection.
• There are no other gods.  Every other belief system in the world (Including secular humanism/atheism) is the imagination and invention of man, who are the invention and creation of God.
  • Other gods (Or worldviews that seek to eliminate God) are entirely false.  They are acts of rebellion against the Holy God.

Questions to consider:

1. Christian, what has God said He will do for you (Philippians 1:6, Romans 8:28-38)?
2. What are some of the greatest fears you have in this world?  Who/What do you tend to fear the most?
3. How do those things or those people compare to the power, glory, justice, and sovereignty of God?  Who is their fight truly against?  If God has us in His righteous right hand, who will be on the side of victory in eternity?

Today’s passage: Isaiah 40

Helpful thoughts:

• A voice cries in the wilderness.
  • John 1:19-23
• The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
  • Israel’s hope was never that it was going to succeed on it’s own.  God’s promises will be fulfilled because God is God.
• Whenever we try to make God look appealing, we fail to do Him justice.  In truth, He is far more powerful, righteous, loving, just, gracious and merciful than we can fathom.  We don’t need to make him attractive to people, we need to point people to who He really is.

Questions to consider:

1. How many attributes of God are mentioned and/or defined in this passage?  What do we learn about God?
2. How does studying/meditating on the greatness of God correct our perspective on world events and social interactions?  If we spend a majority of our efforts focusing on what’s wrong in the world or on “powerful” people who should fix it, what will we miss?  What will we miss out on?
3.  If we put all our hope in ourselves, or in possessions, or in other people, what will happen?  What will be true of those who wait (Hope) in the Lord?