TODAY’S BIBLE READING CHALLENGE:
Isaiah 28:14-30:11
Galatians 3:23-4:31
Psalm 62:1-12
Proverbs 23:19-21
Isaiah 28:15-16 — Note the contrast. Even though we’re in the prophetic books, it’s really poetry. The imagery of a human boast as a “covenant with death” and an “agreement with hell” versus “a sure foundation” is striking. There are only two sides; it’s time to choose which one you want to be on!
Isaiah 28:18 — Remember yesterday (Isaiah 25:28) where death for the believer is swallowed up in victory? Today, the covenant with death for the unbeliever is disannulled. Those who thought they had a non-interference pact with death have lost.
Isaiah 28:22 — A warning similar to that from Proverbs but with added caution – those who mock will be punished worse than those who just ignore.
Isaiah 29:13 — This chapter (and most of Isaiah) is not easy to read. But this is the material that our LORD drew from when arguing with the Pharisees (Mark 7:13).
Isaiah 29:16 — This is the start of God’s argument across the Bible, comparing man to pottery. He’ll have Isaiah reiterate this point in Isaiah 45:9-11 and Isaiah 64:8. He’ll send Jeremiah to the potter’s house (Jeremiah 18), and He’ll use this as the key point of Paul’s argument for God’s sovereignty in Romans 9:19-21.
Isaiah 29:18 — The deaf shall hear, the blind shall see, and the poor will rejoice! Isaiah is teasing a prophecy that will be very significant (Isaiah 35).
Isaiah 30:1 — Great poetry (not that it rhymes, but that it expresses a unique thought in a few words)! Woe to them “that take counsel, but not of me.” They “add sin to sin.”
Isaiah 30:11 — Good thing we’re not like those Israelites who wanted the Holy One of Israel to depart. Right? But how much better are we when we spend just 2.4 minutes per day on religious activity?
Galatians 3:24 — The Law is our schoolmaster. From Ray Comfort:
God’s Law acts as a schoolmaster to bring us to Jesus Christ that we might be justified through faith in His blood. The Law doesn’t help us; it just leaves us helpless. It doesn’t justify us; it just leaves us guilty before the judgment bar of a holy God.
And the tragedy of modern evangelism is that, around the turn of the century when it forsook the Law in its capacity to convert the soul, to drive sinners to Christ, modern evangelism had to therefore find another reason for sinners to respond to the gospel. And the issue that modern evangelism chose to attract sinners was the issue of life enhancement. The gospel degenerated into “Jesus Christ will give you peace, joy, love, fulfillment, and lasting happiness.”
https://www.livingwaters.com/hells-best-kept-secret/
Galatians 4:7 — We who were servants are now sons, heirs of God. GotQuestions.org says:
Think of all that means. Everything that God owns belongs to us as well because we belong to Him. Our eternal inheritance as co-heirs with Christ is the result of the amazing grace of God.
https://www.gotquestions.org/co-heirs-with-Christ.html
Galatians 3:9 — The heirs of God – which is far better than being heirs of Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos – want to return to chains! Paul argues so vehemently that he’s afraid he’s become their enemy (Galatians 3:16).
Galatians 3:23 — Those who wanted to leave salvation by faith for salvation by Moses prided themselves on being an Israelite (the recipients of the blessings of Abraham). To those who claimed works, Paul says you’re related to Abraham, but not how you think! You’re the son of Hagar, not the son of Sarah! Those who are under salvation by grace are the children of promise, i.e. Isaac (Galatians 3:28)!
Psalm 62:1 — Salvation is a theme of the Bible. Count how many times the psalmist uses the word. (vv. 1, 2, 6, 7). Like Paul just told us, trust only in the LORD, not in your ability to be spiritual on your own. May He alone be your rock (Psalm 62:2, Psalm 62:6)!
Psalm 62:12 — A portrait painter was told by an old woman, “Do me justice!” The painter replied, “What you need is mercy!” Thank God we get mercy in addition to what we get for our work!
Proverbs 23:20-21 — What does the Bible say about drinking?
- “Be not among the winebibbers.”
- “The drunkard shall come to poverty.”
The US National Institutes of Health’s statistics tell us that 1 out of every 3 people who have ever sipped a glass of alcohol was drunk in the last 30 days. Be careful; if you let someone think that it’s okay to drink, they have a 1 in 3 chance of ending up drunk. Unfortunately, the statistic doesn’t refer to just once in their lifetime, but to once this month! Romans 14:21 – don’t let your brother stumble!
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