September 17th One Year Bible Readings

Isaiah 25:1-28:13 ~ Galatians 3:10-22 ~ Psalm 61:1-8 ~ Proverbs 23:17-18
~ Click here to read today's Scripture on BibleGateway.com ~
~ Listen to today's Scripture on DailyAudioBible.com (podcast) or OneYearAudioBible.org ~

Old Testament - 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."

New Testament - Today in Galatians chapter 3 verses 10 and 11 we read: “All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith.””  What is Paul saying here?  Why would those who rely on observing the law be under a curse?  Do you rely on the law?  And, no, I'm not asking about this type of law below... :)

Bible.org's fantastic commentary on today's readings in Galatians titled "What the Law Cannot Do" is at this link.  Below is a powerful image for Galatians 3:13 from today's readings -

Psalms - Today we read Psalm 61, which has some powerful verses for us to meditate upon when the storms of life come crashing down upon us. This Psalm reminds us of who is indeed our true Rock – our true Refuge. Verses 1 through 5 are so powerful to meditate upon when you are going through a storm in your life –

“Hear my cry, O God;
  listen to my prayer.
From the ends of the earth I call to you,
    I call as my heart grows faint;
    lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For you have been my refuge,
    a strong tower against the foe.
I long to dwell in your tent forever
    and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
For you have heard my vows, O God;
    you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.”

Do you cry out to God in prayer during the storms in your life? When your heart grows faint, do you call on God’s holy name, and allow him to lead you to his Rock? Do you believe that God can be your refuge? Your strong tower against the foe? Do you long to dwell in God’s house forever? Do you long to take refuge in the shelter of God’s wings?

Proverbs - Proverbs 23 verses 17 & 18 are so applicable to our modern day: "Don't envy sinners, but always continue to fear the LORD. For surely you have a future ahead of you; your hope will not be disappointed."  Do you ever find yourself envying sinners?  I have on occasion.  And what a mistake that is.  When we envy sinners, we take our eyes and heart off of God.  We are no longer fearing the Lord.  I do think we'd do well here also to realize that we ourselves are sinners.  And we can likely even envy ourselves - or envy our old ways - or envy our "glory days" in the past that may have been full of sin.  Let's not go down this path at all!  For surely you have a future ahead of you with God.  And your hope will not be disappointed!

Worship God:  Psalm 61 today 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 are 2 videos related to this song.  The first short video is a brief "story behind the song."  And the second video is the band performing the song live in a tiny little room!  I'd loved to have been in that room worshiping along!

Are you weathering the storms of life apart from God?  Click here for your only true shelter in the storm!

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

Comments

[Pat]

Mike, the Psalm 61 passage reminds me of another Psalm read recently--Psalm 57, which also talks of taking shelter under the refuge of God's 'wings.' I once wrote an article about this idea and would like to offer just a portion of it here, as it so relates to this Isaiah passage:

"Psalm 57 is referred to as a “miktam” of David. According to The Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, a miktam of David means a “secret” of David. A closer look at the Psalm will reveal some of the secrets concerning prayer during those times when life seems like one big question mark. When nothing David perceived made sense, what gave him assurance and peace concerning God’s control over all the events of his life? What was the secret of his stability and confidence in the face of daunting circumstances?
God is a sovereign refuge. “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in You my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of Your wings until the disaster has passed” (Psalm 57:10). In the face of danger and uncertainty, David fled to the refuge of his God. Even as he hid in the innermost recesses of a cave, he sheltered his soul deep in the shadow of his Father’s wings. But where is this place, and how can we find it?
In the phrase, “shadow of your wings,” the word for “wings” is the word that in the original language also meant “skirt,” or “corner of a garment.” These words referred to the Hebrew man’s four-cornered prayer shawl or “tallit.” Fastened to the corners were highly symbolic tassels denoting authority and power.
The act of praying under the prayer shawl symbolized a desire to come into the presence of God. To enter into His presence was to enter into His rest; there one could find peace even when navigating the stormiest of life’s seas. David’s place of refuge was, therefore, both the protective, sovereign authority and presence of his God."

It is such a privilege to come to God in prayer during the storms. I am sitting here with my One Year Bible hearing the crashing thunder outside right now, thinking how thankful I am for the shelter of a home. But what a 'home' we also have under His wings! What a privilege to be so close to Him, and to find refuge under the prayer shawl during soul storms. That an awesome and powerful God could also be so tender and personal never ceases to amaze me.

[R]

Isaiah 25:1-28:13

As I read today’s Old Testament passage, I am brought to the Proverb that states,

The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as a high wall in his own conceit.
(Proverbs 18:10-11 KJVR)

In today’s reading I am focused on the difference between two means of protection, the use of the world’s natural resources used as a defense to guard households, communities, cities and nations as opposed to those who the name of the Lord, their relationship with God to be their strong tower as stated in the above Proverb.

We take what the creator of the universe, God Himself, has made, claim it as our own, and then use them to both defend and attack others who are using the same resources, as if each groups of people own what belongs to God. Those who have mastered the use of what God has created win the contest, we think. It is only when we are in Christ, under the shelter of God’s wings, in the tower of the name of the Lord where we find safety and protection.

In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD forever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength: (Isaiah 26:1-4 KJV)

A comment: off-topic, at least today’s topic.

I realize that each one of us have differences in how we were parented and how we parent. Many have great parenting skills because great parents have passed down their skills, techniques and wisdom to the children they have parented. There is also a group of us who have had dreadful parents thus we never attained the skills to parent correctly because we had bad examples of what it means to be a parent. Then there are those in the middle, parented by bad parents but managed to go outside the home to get the tools needed to parent successfully. And there are those who had great parents, but never took the time to observe the lessons taught because they fell asleep at their desk of learning.

Yet no matter if we have experienced the worst and been the worst type of parent; or are on the other end, great parents because we have modeled the great parenting skills of those who raised us, we can never be as good of a parent as God the Father. Unfortunately, we bring our ideas of what it means to be a parent, and thus what it means to be a child of that parent to our understanding of God. Whatever the end of the measuring rod we come from, God is not and cannot be measured and perceived by our flawed image of what it means to be a parent.

My prayer for all those who come to OYB site is that in our reading of the Word, the image of God as Father, the understanding of what it means to father and/or our learning of and about God as the perfect Father will change the way we parent. May we not bring the images of flawed parenting skills in our defining of God; but may we learn not only what it means to be a parent and how to parent from our knowledge of God learned through His scriptures. To be a good parent one must know how to be a good son or daughter to a great parent, and that parent is God.

[Sue]

Isaiah 26

17 As a woman with child and about to give birth
writhes and cries out in her pain,
so were we in your presence, O LORD.

18 We were with child, we writhed in pain,
but we gave birth to wind.
We have not brought salvation to the earth;
we have not given birth to people of the world.

19 But your dead will live;
their bodies will rise.
You who dwell in the dust,
wake up and shout for joy.
Your dew is like the dew of the morning;
the earth will give birth to her dead.

COMMENT: That is very comforting to me, to know with no uncertainty that we will live again; the knowledge that Jesus' resurrection promises all believers.

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Galatians 3:16
The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed,"[e] meaning one person, who is Christ. 17What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
19What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one.

COMMENT:
I do not believe I really ever saw this before; I have read it many times, but it is one of those "jump off the page" parts of the text that I had not recognized! The "scripture does not say and to seeds"...

It is like the promise to Eve when they were banished from the Garden: The woman's seed (a miracle in itself, as how many women do you know who have seeds?)!

That same seed.

Isn't God good?--all the time? :)

[Aidan]

Can someone tell me what Bible translation Mike uses for this blog? I searched 16 different Bible translations for his version of Proverbs 23:17-18 and couldn't find it in any of them. Thanks.

[Mike]

Great catch Aidan! It's from the New Living Translation (NLT) 1996 version. They updated the NLT in 2004 with it's "second edition", so Bible Gateway is now using that 2nd edition of the NLT. I think when I first posted up this Proverb 2 years ago, Bible Gateway still only had on the 1st edition of the NLT. I'm going to have to watch / go through verses now to see if I'm still operating off the 1st edition of the NLT - which I am sure I am to a large degree! Thanks for catching this.

Mike

[Mary]

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3

I was in a rush today as I needed to get into school to take an assembly. I thought I would leave out the Isaiah reading and just read the shorter ones.
The Lord prompted me to read into the Isaiah reading and one of my favourite scriptures was there. It was just what I needed to hear from God, as taking assemblies always makes me fearful. How does He do that? How does He know exactly what we will read, on what day, and know it's exactly what He wants to say to us that day? Isn't He just great??

[John]

Galatians 3:10-22

Verse 10b: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."

Cursed in the Greek means "exposed to divine vengeance". No one can live up to God's high standard, so the followers of the law would be exposed to divine vengence. Because no one could live up to the law a system of sacrifices were set up that showed how to approach God, attain God's forgiveness, provide restoration to God and to whom transgressed. This had to be done on a constant basis BECAUSE no obne could live up to the Law.

The Law also pointed out the need for Christ - a better - permanent solution to sin. Christ came to fulfill the Law having never sinned and providing the final ultimate sacrifice. After that, as Paul states over and over - there is no need for the Law.

Verse 11b: "The righteous will live by faith." Paul quotes Hab 2:4 here and actually uses the OT verse three times in NT (Romans 1:17, Hebrews 10:38, and here.) Each time a different word is emphasized in the context, and in Galatians it is "righteous (just)". Those that are judicially saved by accepting and receiving (believing in Christ) do not live now by observing a set of rules, but live by faith and the power of the Holy Spirit.
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Why does the Law not supercede the promise to Abraham?

New Christians were struggling with this concept. The Law came after the Promise so why does it not trump the Promise?

Because the promise was Unilateral. It came from God and it was His Word. his Word does not change and cannot be broken - or He would not be God.

The Law apparently according to God was mediated. It involved two parties. Perhaps Moses came to God or vice versa, and said these people must be reigned in - they need standards to go by until Christ comes. Ancient tradition (and Paul agrees with this) says angels brought the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The Law was a temporary bridge until Christ. But when Christ came and died on the cross - the Law was no longer needed. There was no need for temporary atonement. Forgiveness of sins came through faith (know, believe and trust) in Christ. We would walk the path of life in righteousness imputed by our belief in Christ, and live by faith through the Holy Spirit.

The Law never gave life. the Law never absolved sin, but atoned for it through sacrifices. But our sins are forgiven in Christ, and through Christ we have "eternal life" NOW.

Example: As parents we can make promises to our children that will be kept no matter what (you should not make promise to a child and then not fulfill it). But over time deals can be made also - Get A's and I will give you a car, etc. The promise and the deal are not in the same scope, and the deal does not trump the promise.
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Gal 3:22
"But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe."

I have written this before, but the Greek word for Believe is pisteuo. In English we can have various kinds of belief, but in the Greek this word contains the elements of knowing, believing, and trusting in Christ. All three elements are present in the Greek. So one cannot flippantly say - Oh yeah, I believe that Christ died for our sins - it is much fuller belief than just "head knowledge".

[John]

Isaiah

Right now I do not have time to really sit down and dig into Isaiah for the prophetical aspects.

However, a good exercise would be to go through Isaiah and see what verses foreshadow salvation.

Example:
Is 25:9
In that day they will say,
"Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the LORD, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation."

Isaiah may very well be talking about actual physical saving here on earth from a situation against adversaries, but the promise holds true for salvation.

The thread runs constant as God does not change - we must rely on, depend on, trust in God for everything - including salvation.

It is about God - It is not about us.