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We are following a Old Testament in a year plan with 10-minute daily readings. Your options for joining us include: 1. Subscribe to our daily readings emails above. 2. Read online using our daily links to Bible Gateway. 3. Read from your own Bible using your preferred translation. You can print out a listing of our entire year's readings in PDF at this link. 4. Email me with any questions at [email protected]
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God bless! Mike
p.s. Keep scrolling down to see our latest daily readings blog post and email content below this welcome post. ⬇️
Today in Isaiah chapter 39 we read about Hezekiah receiving envoys from Babylon. Unfortunately, he is a bit too hospitable with these envoys! He believes showing off his wealth will prove that he has worldly power and that the Babylonians will respect him and Judah. Isaiah sees that Hezekiah is relying on worldly wealth and not God, and Isaiah delivers a word from God that Judah will be exiled to Babylon Indeed, this comes true in 115 years in the future from when Isaiah delivers this word in this chapter. We will read more about the Babylonian exile later in this year’s One Year Bible readings. How about us, in our lives today – do we try to impress people with our worldly wealth or toys or stuff, like Hezekiah was trying to impress the Babylonians? And further, do we actually try to rely on this worldly stuff rather than rely on God?
You'll notice that our readings in Isaiah today take on a new tone in chapter 40. Isaiah chapters 1 through 35 were prophesies against Judah and Jerusalem, chapters 36 through 39 were prophesies against Assyria and a foretelling of the rise of Babylon, and now in chapters 40 through 66 we will be reading about Judah and Jerusalem as if the Babylonian exile was nearly over. This week in Isaiah chapters 40 & 42 we will read some amazing prophecies about Jesus. (I get chills reading some of the verses in these chapters realizing they were written in the 8th century B.C. . .) Do you see a foretelling of John the Baptist today in chapter 40 verses 3 through 5: "Listen! I hear the voice of someone shouting, "Make a highway for the LORD through the wilderness. Make a straight, smooth road through the desert for our God. Fill the valleys and level the hills. Straighten out the curves and smooth off the rough spots. Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together."
Below is a great image for Isaiah 40:8 from today's readings!
Worship Video: Isaiah 40:28 today reminded me of the wonderful song "Everlasting God" by Brenton Brown:
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you from today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
Grace, love, peace, and joy! Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Great readings in Isaiah featuring King Hezekiah today! You'll recall from yesterday's readings that King Sennacherib of Assyria's representative threw down some serious trash-talking at the walls of Jerusalem. (see yesterday's blog entry below). Well today in chapter 37 we read about Hezekiah seeking the Lord's help. Hezekiah takes all of this to God in prayer. Good move! How often in our lives today, when challenges come our way, do we take the challenges everywhere else BUT to God? Wouldn't it be easier to take them directly to God? Why do we turn to alcohol or drugs or food or worrying or _______ (fill in your blank here) when we can simply take our challenges to the one true living God who can actually do something with them? Will you model what Hezekiah did when he received distressing news from the King of Assyria, in verses 14 through 17: "After Hezekiah received the letter and read it, he went up to the LORD's Temple and spread it out before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the LORD: "O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. Listen to me, O LORD, and hear! Open your eyes, O LORD, and see! Listen to Sennacherib's words of defiance against the living God."
Well, Hezekiah's prayer is clearly answered as we read in verse 36: "That night the angel of the LORD went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian troops. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere." Below is an engraving of this verse by Gutave Dore.
I love Hezekiah's poem of praise in chapter 38. Verse 16 stood out to me: "Lord, your discipline is good, for it leads to life and health." Would you agree with Hezekiah on this point? Is God's discipline good? Does God's discipline lead to life and health? Are you accepting God's discipline in your life today? I found this little reminder of some "good discipline" from a school website below. Not quite "the" Golden Rule below, but overall good stuff! :)
Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Isaiah chapter 38 titled "The Deliverance of Judah's King" is at this link.
Worship Video I realize I'm on a Casting Crowns kick these days, but, wow, they have some amazing worship songs! In our Isaiah readings today, King Hezekiah reminded me that when the world comes after us with taunts and lies like he was getting from the King of Assyria, well, we either have the option to believe those lies or instead we'll choose to listen to the voice of Truth! (as King Hezekiah did in prayer!) Here's Mark Hall from Casting Crowns singing "Voice of Truth" solo on the piano. This is such a beautiful song...
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Today we read Isaiah chapter 35, which is a wonderful glimpse of God's Kingdom Come! The preceding Chapter 34 is a message of judgment to the nations during the end times. And then Chapter 35 is a message of hope for those who love, believe in and are obedient to the Lord. I love verse 8 in chapter 35: "And a main road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-hearted people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God's ways; fools will never walk there." I like that concept! The Highway of Holiness! If you could take the Highway of Holiness right now, would you? Do you look forward to walking on the Highway of Holiness in the future? In the midst of our often chaotic and un-holy world, will you seek only the Highway of Holiness for your life today and forevermore?
As I mentioned above, Isaiah chapter 34 is a message of judgment. An interesting thing to note about the "the horned owl, the hawk, the screech owl, and the raven" listed in verse 11 and the owl and the vulture in verse 15 is that these are all unclean birds per Deuteronomy 14:11-18. In verse 8 today we read - "For it is the day of the LORD's vengeance, the year when Edom will be paid back for all it did to Israel."
In Isaiah chapter 36 today you probably noticed that we've read this story about Sennacherib threatening Jerusalem before. In fact, much of Isaiah chapters 36 through 39 are sometimes verbatim of Second Kings 18:13 through 20:19. The compiler of Second Kings may have utilized Isaiah chapters 36 through 39 as a source, or it is also thought that both may have drawn from another common source. Today in chapter 36 we are in the year 701 B.C., and we get some bold boasts before the walls of Jerusalem by King Sennacherib of Assyria's representatives... Verse 20 includes this boast, which didn't make God too happy: "What god of any nation has ever been able to save its people from my power? Name just one! So what makes you think that the LORD can rescue Jerusalem?"
Worship Video: Today's readings reminded me of the incredible Casting Crowns song "Praise You in This Storm." I don't know what it is about all these storm songs on the radio that are resonating with me lately - MercyMe's "Bring the Rain" being a favorite song - other than I know this: It's not a matter of "if" storms will come in our life. It's a matter of "when." Storms will come. And when they do, we have the option to try to weather the storms all on our own. Or we have the option to invite God into the storms with us. Well, I believe God's already there with us in the storms even if we don't realize it - so, I think we can simply open our hearts and praise God in the storms! He will never abandon us or leave us. Even in the midst of the worst storms this fallen world might bring, God is there with us. Will you praise God in the storms?
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Today in Isaiah chapter 30 we read about blessings for God's people! You'll notice in verses 12 and 15 the term "Holy One of Israel" is used for God. An interesting thing to note about this term "Holy One of Israel" is that it occurs a total of 26 times in the book of the prophet Isaiah - and only 6 times elsewhere in the rest of the Old Testament! (I think it is such a beautiful term - maybe in part because my church sings a wonderful song occasionally w/ these lyrics: "For I am the Lord your God. The Holy One of Israel. Your Savior. I am the Lord - do not fear - I am the Lord". Anyone else's church sing this song?) Some scholars over history have challenged whether the entire 66 chapters of the book of Isaiah were really all written by the same person, Isaiah. Well, the continuity of the use of the term "Holy One of Israel" throughout the book has been the strongest argument for the unity of the book of Isaiah.
Worship Video: Today's readings reminded me of the Big Daddy Weave song "Heaven Changes Everything":
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture this week:"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1 (NIV)
Prayer Point: Pray that you have been set free from the slavery of sin through a saving faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior! Pray that you know that you are truly free indeed, and that you will never go back to the yoke of slavery to sin. Pray that you will stand firm in your faith in Jesus!
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Today the Lord continues his messages of woe against Jerusalem and Judah through the prophet Isaiah!
Isaiah chapter 29 verses 15 and 16 I found to be so powerful to consider... "Destruction is certain for those who try to hide their plans from the LORD, who try to keep him in the dark concerning what they do! "The LORD can't see us," you say to yourselves. "He doesn't know what is going on!" How stupid can you be? He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you. You are only the jars he makes! Should the thing that was created say to the one who made it, "He didn't make us"? Does a jar ever say, "The potter who made me is stupid"?" How true are these words? Have you ever tried to hide your plans from God? Did it work out? How apropos the point in verse 16 is where some people said: "God didn't make us!" Ever hear words like this today from others? How sad is this? Will you pray for others in your life today who may feel that God didn't make them? Will you pray for those in your life today that do not believe in God? Will you pray for them to learn that indeed the potter who made them is not stupid? Will you pray that they learn that the Potter who made them is God who loves them so very dearly!
Worship Video: Rich Mullins' song "Creed" with the line of "I did not make it, though it is making me" is a great reminder of us being made by the Potter per our Isaiah readings:
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
We have great readings in Isaiah today about the judgment and restoration of Israel! Below is a great image for Isaiah 26:9 from today's readings -
I think Isaiah chapter 27 verses 11 through 13 capture the essence of today's readings: "The people are like the dead branches of a tree, broken off and used for kindling beneath the cooking pots. Israel is a foolish and stupid nation, for its people have turned away from God. Therefore, the one who made them will show them no pity or mercy. Yet the time will come when the LORD will gather them together one by one like handpicked grain. He will bring them to his great threshing floor--from the Euphrates River in the east to the brook of Egypt in the west. In that day the great trumpet will sound. Many who were dying in exile in Assyria and Egypt will return to Jerusalem to worship the LORD on his holy mountain."
Worship Video: Today's readings reminded me of the incredible song "Bring the Rain" by MercyMe! I have a hunch this song is blessing countless numbers of people these days! I know it has blessed me. I had a bit of a rough week last week, and one day in particular this song pretty much brought me to tears in a beautiful way. Yep, the storms of life can bring us closer to Jesus if we'll run to Him during those storms! It's called intimacy with God and it is a beautiful thing. So, below is a video of the band performing the song live in a tiny little room! I'd loved to have been in that room worshiping along!
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Today in Isaiah chapter 23 we read a message about Tyre. Ancient Tyre was a city on the seacoast of Phoenicia and is still a city today in modern day southern Lebanon. In the days of the prophet Isaiah, it was a major trading center, wealthy and full of corruption. Tyre was also rebuked by the prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Amos, and Zechariah - books that we'll read later this year in the One Year Bible. Below is a map of modern day Lebanon that shows the location of Tyre.
Isaiah chapter 24 today begins 4 chapters of judgment and blessing in the final days! The time of God's final victory over evil. There is some pretty "heavy" stuff to consider about the last days when reading this chapter, to say the least. But, I absolutely love the way the chapter ends - as God's story truly will end as we'll read about more in the book of Revelation later this year - with verses 21 through 24: "In that day the LORD will punish the fallen angels in the heavens and the proud rulers of the nations on earth. They will be rounded up and put in prison until they are tried and condemned. Then the LORD Almighty will mount his throne on Mount Zion. He will rule gloriously in Jerusalem, in the sight of all the leaders of his people. There will be such glory that the brightness of the sun and moon will seem to fade away." Are you looking forward to this moment of the Lord's final victory?
Worship Video: Today’s readings reminded me of the song “In Christ Alone” sung here by Celtic Worship:
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Today in Isaiah chapter 19 we read the message concerning Egypt! You can gain further context on this chapter today by reading Jeremiah chapter 46 and Ezekiel chapters 29-32. Both of these books we will be reading later this year, just after Isaiah. Below is an image of the Egyptians in dismay, seeking counsel from their idolatrous priests per verse 3: "The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will confuse their plans. They will plead with their idols for wisdom. They will call on spirits, mediums, and psychics to show them which way to turn."
There are some really interesting verses at the end of chapter 19, beginning in verse 18 and going through the end of the chapter. Verses 19 & 20 are awesome: "In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and there will be a monument to the LORD at its border. It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD Almighty in the land of Egypt. When the people cry to the LORD for help against those who oppress them, he will send them a savior who will rescue them." This reminds me of Joseph & Mary's flight to Egypt with Jesus as an infant to be safe from Herod's decree to kill all boys under the age of 2! (see Matthew 2:13-21) Our Savior was sent into Egypt for a brief period of His life!
Worship Video: Today's readings reminded me of Chris Tomlin's great song "Made to Worship!"
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
This week is Isaiah we will read many prophecies against cities and kingdoms. I realize these can be tough to read in some ways. As you read these prophecies, consider why these prophecies were written. Why were these prophecies proclaimed by Isaiah? Bible.org's excellent commentary on this section of the book of Isaiah titled "The Burdens Upon the Nations" is worth spending a few minutes reading at this link.
Today we read in Isaiah chapter 15 a message against Moab, or the Moabites! You will recall the Moabites from Numbers 22 through 25, where the Moabites were first fearful of Israel (Num. 22) because of their size, and they realized they could not defeat them in open warfare. So, they tried to get Balaam to curse the Israelites (Num 23 & 24), but Balaam wouldn't do it because God was giving him messages of blessings upon the Israelites! So, finally the Moabites decide to simply seduce the Israelites (Num 25) into worshiping their gods and this strategy worked! To the point where God ended up killing 24,000 Israelites with a plague (Num 25:9) because of their disobedience! A very bright map that shows where Moab is located in comparison to Judah and Israel is below:
Worship Video: Today's readings remind me of Steven Curtis Chapman's amazing song "Dive." What in your life is God calling you to dive into? Dive in!
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
Today Isaiah chapter 12 is a very short chapter. But it is a wonderful song of praise to God! Verse 2 reads: “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." How does this verse resonate with you? Do you frequently sing songs of praise to the Lord? Do you trust in God? Are you not afraid? Is God your strength and your song?
In Isaiah chapter 13 we are beginning a new section of the book. Chapters 1 through 12 were primarily chapters of judgment against the southern kingdom of Judah, as well as some mentions of the northern kingdom of Israel. Chapter 13 begins 11 chapters of judgment on other nations, beginning with Babylon. At this time in history (early 700's B.C.) Babylon was still part of the Assyrian empire. So this oracle from Isaiah was incredible in that it spoke of Babylon's destruction even before Babylon became a world power! Babylon brought about the downfall of Judah and Jerusalem later between the years of 605 and 586 B.C. But then Babylon would be conquered by Cyrus the Persian in 539 B.C. Below is a map of the Babylonian empire from the late 7th / early 6th centuries B.C. You'll note in this map below that the actual city of Babylon is located in modern day Iraq, about 90 kilometers south of Baghdad.
An interesting commentary I read on chapter 14 verses 12 through 15 is that some think Isaiah is giving a description of the fall of Satan from heaven in these verses. However, most commentaries seem to say contextually that these verses are about the king of Babylon. I do see how some could think that these 4 verses could apply to the fall of Satan - ""How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. For you said to yourself, `I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God's stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.' But instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths." Below is an engraving titled "Satan Falls" by the artist Gustave Dore:
Worship Video: Today's readings remind me of Matt Redman and Tasha Cobbs Leonard song "Gracefully Broken:"
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless, Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
