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January 29, Sunday————————ACCOUNTABILITY TIME!
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Two Comings — John the Baptist identified himself as the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 40:3 (“A voice is calling…”), quoting the verse on two different occasions (Matt. 3:3; John 1:23). He was the announcer of the Messiah’s coming, saying, “Prepare the way for Yahweh…” (Isa. 40:3). Jesus was being identified as Yahweh, God the Son. About 300 years after Isaiah’s prophecy, Malachi essentially repeated the promise, and 300 years after that, John proclaimed its fulfillment—a 600-year wait. (And we get upset because God didn’t answer yesterday’s prayer!) It is interesting that Malachi’s prophecy also reaches ahead, way beyond the fulfillment during John’s life. One day still in the future, “the Lord … will suddenly come to His temple … He is coming…” (Mal. 3:1b). As the next two verses indicate, His next coming will include judgment. That is the coming of Christ that we are waiting for, because it is also a time of reward for those who know Jesus. It has been over 2,300 years since it was promised through Malachi, but it will come. Jesus is coming again!
ACCOUNTABILITY TIME! If you are up to date in your reading as of today, please click here to leave your email address or let me know today at accbibleread@gmail.com.
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January 30, Monday———————-ACCOUNTABILITY REMINDER
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Perfect Justice — This is the first of four Servant Songs in Isaiah that point to the coming Messiah, Jesus. He is announced in the context of the Trinity: “I have put My Spirit upon Him” (v. 1). The speaker in this statement is God the Father, “My Spirit” is the Holy Spirit, and “Him” is God the Son. Several attributes and actions of the Messiah are presented here. His great accomplishment will be to “bring forth justice to the nations” (v. 1b). He will be the supreme example of a humble leader, who “will not cry out or raise His voice” (v. 2). That is so unlike human leaders today, whose power often is accompanied with brashness. When Christ came to earth, His character was shown by this declaration: “I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matt. 11:29). It was also demonstrated when He rode into Jerusalem at the Triumphal Entry: “Behold your king is coming to you, lowly, and mounted on a donkey…” (Matt. 21:5). In His justice, He will also show tender care for disadvantaged people: “A crushed reed He will not break and a faintly burning wick He will not extinguish” (Isa. 42:3). In addition, He will “bring forth justice in truth” (v. 3b), a justice that is not based on personal advantage or favoritism, but on what is right—truth. In His first coming, the Messiah brought justice, peace, and truth individually to people who acknowledged and surrendered to Him as God and King. After His Second Coming, the ultimate fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy will be seen globally, when Jesus will rule during the period of the Millennium. That will be when “He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law” (v. 4).
ACCOUNTABILITY REMINDER! If you are up to date in your reading as of today, but did not report yesterday, please click here to leave your email address or let me know today at accbibleread@gmail.com.
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January 31, Tuesday———————ACCOUNTABILITY FINAL DAY
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Two Shepherds — Earlier in Isaiah, God twice named King Cyrus—the leader of the Medo-Persian Empire that conquered Babylon—and called him, “My shepherd” (44:28) and “His anointed” (45:1). Here, in chapter 48, Cyrus is referred to more indirectly: “Yahweh loves him” (48:14) and “I have called him” (v. 15). Cyrus was certainly elevated in God’s sight, but there is One who is set even higher. God is the speaker in verse 15 (“I have spoken … I have called him … I have brought him”), but abruptly changes to “He will make his ways successful.” God, the speaker, suddenly refers to Himself in the third person singular as “He.” As it becomes clearer in the next verse, this “He” seems to be referring to God the Son, the Messiah, Jesus. (The Legacy Standard Bible makes it clearer by capitalizing the first letter of pronouns that refer to God.) Verse 16 ends with this: “So now Lord Yahweh has sent Me, and His Spirit.” This appears to be another reference to the Trinity. The divine speaker (“Lord Yahweh”) sent the Son (“Me”) and the Holy Spirit (“His Spirit”). King Cyrus was “My shepherd,” but Jesus called Himself, “the good shepherd” (John 10:11, 14), and Hebrews called Him, “the great shepherd of the sheep” (Heb. 13:20). One human shepherd and one divine Shepherd.
Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us – YouTube
ACCOUNTABILITY FINAL DAY! If you have not yet reported for this month,
please let me know your reading status today at accbibleread@gmail.com.
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February 1, Wednesday
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Light to the Nations — This is the second of four Servant Songs in Isaiah, and it focuses on the worldwide scope of the Messiah’s ministry. He is called “My Servant, Israel” (v. 3), but He is distinct from the nation of Israel because He was the Father’s “Servant … so that Israel might be gathered to Him” (v. 5). God had called His nation Israel to be a light to the Gentiles. He said that in Abraham “all the nations of the earth will be blessed” (Gen. 18:18). The people of Israel have not done well at being an effective light for God to other nations, so God would send the Messiah “as a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isa. 49:6). Most of the people in Jesus’ lifetime on earth rejected Him as that light, so He was sacrificed in order that we, His servants, might bring that light to the nations. How are you doing in that task? Do you pray regularly for missionaries you know who are sharing the gospel to people who have never heard? Are you supporting Christian organizations that are primarily targeting areas of unreached people? Check out and support ministries like The Timothy Initiative (ttionline.org) and Ethnos 360 (Ethnos360.org)! Be a light to the nations!
Jesus, Light of the World – YouTube
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February 2, Thursday
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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The Servant’s Strengths — This is the third of four Servant Songs in Isaiah. This one emphasizes the Messiah’s rejection by people and His suffering for the sins of others. I see five characteristics of the Messiah in this passage that were displayed in Jesus’ life. First, He was an encourager; He could “sustain the weary one with a word” (v. 4). Jesus said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). Secondly, He was obedient: “as a disciple … I did not rebel nor did I turn back” (Isa. 50:4b-5). Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that … I always do the things that are pleasing to Him” (John 8:28). Thirdly, He was submissive, not only to the Father, but also to undeserved suffering: “I did not hide My face from dishonor” (Isa. 50:6). The fourth characteristic of the Servant was His determination: “I have set My face like flint” (v. 7). That determination was in Jesus: “Now it happened that when the days for Him to be taken up were soon to be fulfilled, He set His face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). He knew He would die there, but He willingly accepted that fate. Finally, the Servant was righteous. He challenged anyone to accuse Him of wrongdoing: “Who will contend with Me? … Who has a judgment against Me? … Who is he who condemns Me?” (Isa. 50:8-9). Jesus was the innocent, suffering Servant of Isaiah.
O Sacred Head, Now Wounded – YouTube
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February 3, Friday
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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Admired and Appalled — The last of four Servant Songs begins here, but extends through chapter 53. Because of its great importance, we will consider separately each of its five paragraphs. Our reading for today presents the Father’s Servant in two polar extremes. The first is positive: He “will prosper; He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted” (v. 13). This is because of who He is. Speaking of Jesus, Paul wrote that “God also highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name” (Phil. 2:9). After He was resurrected, He was “exalted to the right hand of God” (Acts 2:33). The Servant was also to be exalted as a result of His humility. Jesus said that “whoever humbles himself shall be exalted” (Matt. 23:12). Eventually, even “Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him” because of what they see and understand about Him (Isa. 52:15). We, too, will be admired in the eyes of others because of our willingness to be humble and because of the light of the exalted Christ that shines from within us. The polar opposite of this exaltation would be how appalled people would be in observing that the Servant’s “appearance was marred more than any man” (Isa. 52:14). Only God would choose to present a marred hero—it is so unexpected. Most of our modern heroes don’t even get scratched! Jesus ended His life on earth by enduring the suffering of being horribly beaten on His back, crowned with thorns, and then hung on a cross. God’s ways are not our ways. He gave his marred Servant to be admired by those who trust in Him.
Hail Thou Once-Despised Jesus – YouTube
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February 4, Saturday
An audio recording of the following reading is available below.
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God’s Common Choice — God intentionally chooses to use what is unimpressive in the eyes of mankind. His Servant would be common, having “no stately form or majesty” and an undesirable appearance (v. 2). Jesus was born homeless, in a stable for animals, and His bed was a feeding trough for cattle. Some start for a King! He was as common as a person could be. He grew up in Nazareth of Galilee, a place so unimpressive that Nathaniel asked Philip, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). Why does God do that?! It is because “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). Jesus was not physically attractive, but many people still were attracted to Him. Why? It was because of His love, grace, and godliness—His internal qualities, which were beautiful. Even most Christian artists who paint pictures of Jesus today, make Him outwardly attractive. His external appearance, however, was not only unattractive, but “He was despised and forsaken of men” (Isa. 53:3). Are you physically unattractive? Look up! So was Jesus. God can probably use you better because you are less likely to depend on your own attractiveness. We need to let the internal beauty of Jesus shine through us!
Let the Beauty of Jesus – YouTube
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What a great musical prayer to go along with this portion of the Servant Song. I’ve never heard it before. Some day you’ll have to share with us how you find the music to accompany each reading. Thanks, Ben.
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