Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / November 16 - Isaiah 48

Transcript

November 16 - Isaiah 48 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello, friends. I'm Sean.
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  And you're Susan. And if you are actually Susan,
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  I'm sorry, that may have freaked you out, but what I mean is you
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  are you. You are in.
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  You are Tim. You are Helen.
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  You are Susan. Indeed, you are, my friend.
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  And you have clicked on play. And you and I are going to read
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  another chapter of God's Word today.
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  Hello. I hope you are going well.
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  Oh, me. Thanks for asking.
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  I'm. I'm going swimmingly.
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  And I am enjoying Isaiah. Do you know I have dreaded
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  Isaiah in the past? And I thought, oh, dear, it's
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  going to be hard work slogging away through that book.
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  And we get there in the podcast. But I've really enjoyed it and
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  well, I am really enjoying it. And I hope you are too.
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  And today it continues to be fascinating, because today, yes,
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  God's people are still stuck in exile in Babylon.
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  They didn't listen to God. And the consequence of that was
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  they lost their promised land and they were dragged off into
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  exile, far away with the Babylonians.
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  And God doesn't want them to think that he has forsaken them
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  and left them alone. And today he tells his people,
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  yeah, you lot have been stubborn, but I want you to
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  trust in me now because I will save you.
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  And at the end of this, there, the last two verses of this is
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  lovely. It is a little hymn that calls
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  God's people to flee from the Babylonian ways and rejoice,
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  because God will indeed redeem them.
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  So without any further ado, let us let us God's stubborn people,
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  Read this chapter together. Isaiah, chapter 48.
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  Listen to me, O family of Jacob, you who are called by the name
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  of Israel and born into the family of Judah.
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  Listen, you who take oaths in the name of the Lord and call on
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  the God of Israel, you don't keep your promises, even though
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  you call yourself the Holy city and talk about depending on the
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  God of Israel whose name is the Lord of Heaven's armies.
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  Long ago I told you what was going to happen.
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  Then suddenly I took action and all my predictions came true.
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  For I know how stubborn and obstinate you are.
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  Your necks are as unbending as iron, Your heads are as hard as
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  bronze. That is why I told you what
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  would happen. I told you beforehand what I was
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  going to do. Then you could never say my
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  idols did it. My wooden image and metal God
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  commanded it to happen. You have heard my predictions
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  and seen them fulfilled, but you refuse to admit it.
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  Now I will tell you new things, secrets you have not yet heard.
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  They are brand new, not things from the past, so you cannot say
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  we knew that all the time. Yes, I will tell you of things
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  that are entirely new, things you never heard of before, for I
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  know so well what traitors you are.
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  You have been rebels from birth. Yet for my own sake and for the
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  honor of my name, I will hold back my anger and not wipe you
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  out. I have refined you, but not as
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  silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in
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  the furnace of suffering. I will rescue you.
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  For my sake, yes, for my own sake.
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  I will not let my reputation be tarnished, and I will not share
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  my glory with idols. Listen to me, O family of Jacob
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  Israel, my chosen one. I alone am God the 1st and the
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  last. It was my hand that laid the
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  foundations of the earth, my right hand that spread out the
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  heavens above. When I call out the stars, they
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  all appear in order. Have any of your idols ever told
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  you this? Come all of you, and listen.
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  The Lord has chosen Cyrus as his ally.
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  He will use him to put an end to the Empire of Babylon and to
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  destroy the Babylonian armies. I have said it.
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  I am calling Cyrus. I will send him on this errand
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  and will help him succeed. Come closer and listen to this
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  from the beginning. I've told you plainly what would
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  happen. And now the sovereign Lord and
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  his spirit have sent me with this message.
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  This is what the Lord says. You're a demon, the holy One of
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  Israel. I am the Lord your God, who
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  teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths
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  you should follow. Oh, that you had listened to my
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  commands. Then you would have peace
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  flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you
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  like waves in the sea. Your descendants would have been
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  like sands along the seashore, too many to count.
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  There would have been no need for your destruction or for
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  cutting off your family name. Yet even now, be free from
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  captivity. Leave Babylon and the
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  Babylonians sing out this message.
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  Shout it to the ends of the earth.
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  The Lord has redeemed his servants, the people of Israel.
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  They were not thirsty when he led them through the desert.
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  He divided the rock and water gushed out for them to drink.
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  But there is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord.
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  You are a big God, our Father, with big plans and a big heart.
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  Thank you for your sovereignty. We acknowledge you as our God.
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  We praise you and we worship you.
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  Today, no matter what it is that we face, we face it knowing that
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  we are servants and children of the Most High.
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  May this be our founding identity.
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  May this be what we see when we look in the mirror, because we
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  are yours and you are our God, and that is the greatest news
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  ever. And you have not left us to our
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  own devices to be lost and stubbornly disobey you.
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  That you have drawn us back by giving us Jesus and through his
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  death saving us, so that we, blessed by your forgiveness and
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  your grace, can come back to you and so come back to you.
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  We do. I love you, and it's in Jesus
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  name that we pray this. Amen.