Isaiah – Be Still…

Isaiah 7:10-16 – God With Us

Immanuel means “God with us.” One of my favorite Advent hymns is “O Come O Come Emmanuel.” If spelled with an “I”, it’s in Hebrew, and with an “E” is the Greek translation. We recognize it as a very fitting name for Jesus. In just a few short days, we’ll be celebrating the birth of Jesus, our Immanuel. Because of Jesus, we have God with us. Do you believe that?

This prophecy from God through Isaiah may have a double fulfillment. We are most familiar with Matthew’s quoting the portion that refers to Jesus’ mother. “The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).” From our perspective, Jesus fulfills this without question. Continue reading “Isaiah 7:10-16 – God With Us”

Isaiah 9:2-7 – A Child is Born

Read Isaiah 9:2-7

Here’s the Advent reading you’ve been waiting for. If you love Handel’s Messiah as I do, then some of these words immediately transform into a melody in your head. You can sing along with the song, For Unto Us A Child Is Born, here, just follow the notes for your part!

The opening line has quite a message, too. “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.” Who is Isaiah talking about? Plenty of people walk in darkness every day. Some things never change. Since Jesus is the light of the world, this simple sentence packs a lot of hope. We can only pray that those lost in darkness will not only see the light, but that the light will expose and cleanse their hearts. Continue reading “Isaiah 9:2-7 – A Child is Born”

Isaiah 11:1-10 – Who Jesus Is

Read Isaiah 11:1-10

Advent is the perfect time to reflect on who Jesus is, and what the prophets said about him is so powerful. Isaiah could only imagine who God was describing. For us, we can see Jesus. And yet, there are so many parts of this prophecy that remain to be realized. We can learn so much about Jesus from this prophecy alone.

We learn about Jesus’ lineage, and we hear about how the Holy Spirit is moving. We see Jesus as a justice seeker, but whose powerful words can destroy the wicked. It’s comforting to know we have such a fierce warrior king fighting our battles. And yet, “He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment.” He is right with God because he is God. Continue reading “Isaiah 11:1-10 – Who Jesus Is”

Isaiah 61:1-11 – Joy

Read Isaiah 61:1-11

Our Advent journey continues, and we’ll be encountering more prophecies this week. Did you recognize the first few verses of Isaiah’s prophecy? When Jesus preached in his hometown of Nazareth, he was given the scroll of Isaiah, and the text he read was the first two verses of our reading (see Luke 4:16-21).

How profound it must have been for Jesus to read those words, speaking about himself. This prophecy is another example of a refreshing message speaking about both Jesus’ first coming and his return. In other words, it speaks of restoration, both spiritual and physical. The physical has yet to happen completely, but the spiritual was our awakening or transformation into followers of Jesus. Continue reading “Isaiah 61:1-11 – Joy”

Isaiah 35:1-10 – Ultimate Hope

Read Isaiah 35:1-10

Isaiah delivers a powerful yet beautiful prophecy. His message of hope for restoration came just in time. In the preceding 34 chapters, Isaiah had delivered a message of judgment on both Israel and Judah for rejecting God. These positive words would have been more than welcome.

We can’t help but get lost for a moment in the flowers’ blossoming display this time of year. In many locales, like where I’m from in the States, there is snow, snow, and more snow for as far as the eye can see. I even wore my snowflake shirt in their honor. I don’t miss a cold Christmas. I thought I would. Continue reading “Isaiah 35:1-10 – Ultimate Hope”