But now listen, Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen. – Isaiah 44:1

Today's Scripture Reading (September 7, 2023): Isaiah 44

I have spent most of my life cheering for the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions in the National Football League. I am old enough to remember when the Seahawks and the Lions played in different conferences. So, the idea of cheering for the Seahawks and Lions meant I had a team playing in each football conference. But since 2002, both Seattle and Detroit have played in the same conference. I no longer have a team that I cheer for in the American Football Conference, although I still have teams that I don't like in the AFC. One of them is the Denver Broncos, a dislike that is a carryover from the days when Seattle played in that conference.

Cheering for Seattle has brought some high and low points over the last few years. Despite having some excellent players throughout my life, Detroit has struggled with their play. Just a note: I have never lived in either city, so selecting these two teams is really just a choice on my part. And so, occasionally, and especially when my teams aren't doing well, someone suggests that I make a different choice. But that has never appealed to me. Sometimes, I think the victories mean so much more when you cheer for a team that has to work hard for every win, and maybe they don't win very often. I like Patrick Mahomes but don't expect me to be cheering for the Kansas City Chiefs anytime soon. (Of course, they will be my team of choice whenever they play against the Broncos.) I am happy with Detroit and Seattle, and I am willing to stick with them on good and bad days. And this year, I have high hopes for both teams.

Hebrew writing often contains dualism or restating the same concept twice. And that dualism is present in this passage. Jacob and Israel point to the same person. Jacob's name was changed to Israel, and the nation received the changed name to indicate the whole country. But the nation is now at one of the lowest points in its history, maybe even lower than when they were enslaved people in Egypt. In Egypt, they didn't know any other way of life. But as they live out their lives in Babylon, they know well what life was like when they were free people in Canaan.

But the prophet wants to remind the people that God chose them. And just because times were rough didn't mean that they weren't still chosen. God was still choosing them, even though the nation had let him down in the past.

The same is true today. God has chosen you and still chooses you, whether you are going through good times or bad. He still wants the best for you, so hold on tight and keep following close to God as you move through the journey. Because as long as God is choosing us, then there is still hope for the future.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 45