Today's Scripture Reading (October 27, 2026): Isaiah 48
In the Star Trek: Voyager
episode "Infinite Regress," Seven of Nine is confronted with a Borg
version of multiple personality disorder. Voices begin to speak to Seven, and
at times the voices threaten to overwhelm her. She starts responding to stimuli
that aren't there. The result is confusing; Seven can't understand what's
happening to her. It might be the most terrifying condition a person can suffer
through: finding yourself in a place where you can no longer trust your own
senses, yet knowing you need to take some kind of action.
Earlier in this blog, we
discussed the theory that the chapters starting with Isaiah 40 were written
later than the book's first thirty-nine chapters. A few passages seem to have
been written later. Again, part of the issue is with verses like this one. This
command makes absolutely no sense if it was written to the pre-exilic Judean
community who had no idea that they were going to spend 70 years in exile in
Babylon. For those living in Judah during the lifetime of the original Isaiah,
Babylon wasn't even a threat to Judean independence. The passage in itself is a
reaction to a stimulus that just is not there, not yet. However, it was a badly
needed message for those who were taken to Babylon and a reminder that they
would one day be redeemed by God and returned home.
There would be another
problem. After 70 years in Babylon, Babylon had become the only home many exiled
Jews knew. So when the moment of release came, many seemed unwilling to return
to Jerusalem and Judea. It was like they had a personality disorder; in this
moment, they identified more with Babylon than they did with their homeland,
and more with the gods of Babylon than with the God who had promised to them
the very land into which they were being invited back.
So, Isaiah instructs the
people to scream the news from the rooftops. God has redeemed the descendants
of Jacob, and he is calling them home. This message needed to be repeated
continually, as far as the Babylonian empire extended, until the children of
Jacob heard it and returned to their land, their homes, and their inheritance.
Sometimes we miss the
obvious. Like a person who can no longer trust their own senses, we tend to
forget who we are and that our Father loves us. We forget He is still calling
us to make a difference. Sometimes we need someone willing to remind us of what
should be obvious, someone willing to shout the message from the rooftops in
the hope that we will hear it and understand. We are the loved and valued of
God, and God is calling us to a purpose, a purpose that can only be fulfilled
by us.
Tomorrow's
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 49
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