All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you. – Isaiah 47:13

Today's Scripture Reading (October 26, 2026): Isaiah 47

I don't like horoscopes. I know quite a few people who never leave the house without checking their stars, but it has never made much sense to me. I am also not big on fortune tellers, or fortune cookies, for that matter. My problem with all of this is that it feels like I am waiting for life to happen to me. Either I have a tall, dark, and handsome stranger in my future or not (being a guy, I am not sure what I would do with one of those, but maybe you ladies can tell me why you are all meeting the same guy), but either way I am just not convinced that any of it is written in the stars. I want to pursue life and chase it down, not passively wait for life to happen to me.

The real message of Isaiah seems to be that Babylon had become complacent. There seems to have been a change in the way that the Empire was being run following the days of the proactive Nebuchadnezzar. The current method of defending the Empire seemed to rely on the nation's magicians: enlisting stargazers to read the stars and predict the enemy's moves, then using their magic to stop the attack, all without expending any physical energy in their own defense.

Isaiah reminds Israel that the strategy wouldn't work. Babylon's reliance on its stargazers to predict the future and their magical defense of the Empire was about to fail. All their chasing after astrologers and stargazers, and all their readings of the monthly reports from their fortune tellers, would accomplish nothing except make them tired. In the end, Babylon would still fall.

All of this might help explain the strange night Babylon fell. That night, Belshazzar, the prince left in charge of the city, was enjoying himself at a drunken feast with his friends while the city's gates were left undefended. The city's lack of preparedness might simply be because the prince trusted his magicians and astrologers more than his advisors. Although we know Belshazzar received numerous reports about the advancing Persian army, he chose to ignore them, trusting the stars instead of his military.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 48

 

From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do. – Isaiah 46:11

Today's Scripture Reading (October 25, 2026): Isaiah 46

The Shahbaz was a fabled bird said to live in Iran's mountain ranges. The Shahbaz has been described as being a bird much like the American Bald Eagle. Like the Bald Eagle, the Shahbaz was regal in nature; in fact, the name "Shahbaz" means "Royal Bird." However, the Shahbaz was more than just a bird. For the ancient Persians, the Shahbaz was a god. People believed the Shahbaz guided the Persian Empire. Circling high above the sacred Persian land, the bird's eyes saw everything that happened within the empire, and it protected the people and their king.

What is maybe significant for Bible scholars is that archaeologists have found flags and military standards from the time of Cyrus the Great decorated with this mythical bird of prey. It is thought that, beginning with the reign of Cyrus the Great and continuing through his immediate descendants, the Shahbaz became the symbol of Persia and was celebrated on the standard that flew above the empire's conquering military. Some have suggested that the Shahbaz was an appropriate symbol for Cyrus, whose armies struck swiftly and often without much warning.

So once again we have a very specific prophecy given to the Judean exiles living in Babylon, reminding them that God is already at work in sending them relief. Isaiah speaks of God summoning a bird of prey from the East. The allusion seems to be to the Shahbaz, represented by Cyrus and the Persians. According to Isaiah, God summons Shahbaz to fly to Babylon and send his people home, and Isaiah makes it clear that this foreign king serves the purposes of Israel's God.

Cyrus the Great became known as the great liberator for sending the slaves and exiles of the nations he conquered back home. This practice of freeing exiles earned Cyrus the Great something very few conquerors could claim: the respect of the people he ruled.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 47

This is what the LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut – Isaiah 45:1

Today's Scripture Reading (October 24, 2026): Isaiah 45

I have had friends and relatives who love to talk about Biblical prophecy and the end of the world. One of these friends was searching for specifics about the end, but as much as some might argue differently, the Bible never gives us specifics about future events. When the Bible speaks of the future, the words are veiled and often become clear only after the events have already become reality. An example of this might be the famous prophecy of Isaiah that "the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son" (Isaiah 7:14). Critics of the passage are quick to point out that the church has misinterpreted the prophecy; that the passage should be read as "a young woman will be with child," which is not all that amazing. We do know, however, that the Christian Testament writers did not interpret it that way. For them, Mary the virgin (and a young woman) giving birth to a child (Jesus) fulfilled the Isaiah prophecy. We understand the prophecy more fully after Jesus' birth than we did before. However, it is also significant that Isaiah did not say the Virgin Mary would conceive and give birth to a son; the prophecy is simply not that specific.

Specificity is one of this passage's problems. If we regard the whole Book of Isaiah as being written in the late eighth or early seventh century B.C.E. by a single Isaiah, Cyrus being named in this passage is significant because Cyrus would not even be born for another century and a half. It is not what prophecy does. Instead, this prophecy is specific, naming Cyrus as if the words were written during the days of Cyrus the Great and the expansion of his empire throughout the known world. Could it be that the purpose of the passage is not to give prophecy of the rise of an unknown king, but rather the writer of the prophecy is giving an explanation about the rise and reign of this very specific king, because the prophet is one of those who are watching Cyrus rise?

Cyrus, like Nebuchadnezzar, was God's anointed; he was part of God's plan. If this passage was written from the perspective of the Babylonian exile, then the prophet needs the people to understand that everything is going according to God's plan. Nebuchadnezzar, the foreign king responsible for their presence in Babylon, was God's anointed king. Nebuchadnezzar was raised by God according to his plan to fulfill God's specific purpose. Now Isaiah reminds the exiles that Cyrus the Great is also God's anointed. God raised Cyrus to lead the empire for exactly this moment. The gates of the city would be left open so that Cyrus would not be kept out.

Isaiah might even be speaking specifically of the City of Babylon, because that almost precisely describes the events of October 7, 540 B.C.E. On that night, Cyrus entered the city of Babylon unopposed. God had raised Cyrus as the other bookend of the exile. Cyrus would return Judah to the home of their ancestors, and Judah would once more realize they had never been out of God's hands.    

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 46

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. – Isaiah 44:3

Today's Scripture Reading (October 23, 2026): Isaiah 44

Lucy Jane Rider Meyer had planned to work as a medical missionary in a foreign country. The man she planned to marry was also preparing to become a doctor, and he was bound to work alongside his bride in the same foreign country that needed their specialized talents. But in 1875, life dealt the young couple a blow. Lucy was 26 when her fiancé passed away, and with him, all the dreams she had for the future. However, unforeseen circumstances could not tear Lucy away from her purpose. She had a heart for the poor and oppressed. Instead of finding fulfillment of that purpose in a foreign land, she found a way to fulfill her dream at home. Her heart's desire led her into a life dedicated to social work and to serving those experiencing poverty in the midst of the city, the ones most of us have become used to not seeing.

Lucy saw them, and their presence drove her to seek a solution. Ultimately, she understood that the only real solution would have to come from God. One day in 1884, she read these words in Isaiah 44. God promised he would come to those who needed him, and the people she worked with desperately needed him. These urban poor were the dry ground that desperately needed a flood.

And so Lucy Meyer, a social worker in Chicago working with people experiencing poverty, penned these words:

I will pour water on him that is thirsty,
I will pour floods upon the dry ground;
Open your hearts for the gifts I am bringing;
While ye are seeking Me, I will be found.

Meyer claimed these words for the people with whom she worked. Originally, the words were intended for another group of people who were oppressed against their will. Israel thought they knew God, but that was before the exile, before the temple had been torn from its foundation. Now they were seeking him, hoping almost against hope to one day find the God of their youth, the One their ancestors worshipped.

God then responded that all who were willing to seek him would find him. On that day, his Spirit would be poured out on the ones most in need. The thirsty would drink, and the desert would receive so much water that it would overflow. The captives would be released. Meyer recognized that the original promise for Israel was now a promise to anyone who recognized they needed God, even the unseen ones who had captured her heart.

Maybe one side effect of our overconfident civilization is that we have become the ones who don't need God. We think we are self-sufficient and can handle life all by ourselves. All that really means is that we are the ones God will not pour himself out over, because we believe we don't need Him.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 45

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. – Isaiah 43:25

Today's Scripture Reading (October 22, 2026): Isaiah 43

Forgiveness is one of the most misunderstood concepts of our time. We often think forgiveness means letting someone else "off the hook" for what they did. Forgiveness means not holding them responsible, maybe not even making them feel bad for the actions they took that hurt us. When we say we will never forgive, we think we mean we will never let them rest from the bad feeling deep inside them that comes from knowing they hurt us in some way. They will always carry the guilt because they are unforgiven. However, reality is somewhat different. For the most part, the people we hold grudges against seldom know that we are holding a grudge, only that we are acting like idiots. Even if they realize we hold a grudge, they often don't know exactly why. Nor are they staying up at night worrying about it. We who hold the grudge are the only ones doing that. The real stupidity in our unwillingness to forgive is that we pay the double penalty; we pay for the act committed against us, and we keep that act fresh in our lives, paying the price over and over again in our memory, because we will not forgive and we will never forget.

Forgiveness is simply letting ourselves off the hook for what others have done to us. A few years ago, I had numerous conversations with a woman who felt she had been wronged. She could recount every action taken against her, and not only could she do this, but she also practiced remembering it daily. Every day, she recounted the crimes committed against her, reliving the pain of her enemies' actions. As a result, her sleep, health, and even her ability to do her regular chores suffered. She constantly relived the terrible moments, vowing never to forgive. In this case, I was also in contact with those who had taken action against her. Unsurprisingly, they seldom gave this woman a second thought. They believed their actions were necessary, that she was irrational, and that nothing in their lives had changed because of her. The woman paid a double penalty while those she held a grudge against got off free, even though they were unforgiven.

Isaiah's words in this passage remind us of God's forgiveness of us. Often, we read these words through our theological glasses. We believe this passage speaks of his love for us, his love for the lost that is so great that even the most heinous of sinners can find forgiveness at the cross; the debt that needed to be paid for sins has been paid. God paid it himself, and to welcome us into his family, God no longer even remembers the sins for which Jesus paid.

What God has paid for, he has truly forgotten. Even God refuses to be hurt by our repeated sins against Him and His holiness. What we do with the sins he paid for and removed from his presence, and the life we choose to live, is entirely up to us because God no longer remembers them.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 44

Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them. – Isaiah 42:10

Today's Scripture Reading (October 21, 2026): Isaiah 42

The church seems to be stuck in its ways. I am not speaking of certain doctrines that we have seemed to allow to creep into the church that are more traditional than biblical; admittedly, we do have some sacred cows inside the Christian Church that are crying out to be made into Holy Hamburgers. Even in our non-biblical traditions, we are in a rut. I remember attending an Advent Chapel at an educational institution and left with the firm idea that they thought the traditional Christmas Carols, most of which were written within the last 500 years, were way too contemporary. So they searched and found carols that were even older, or newer and written in a style that made them seem like they were straight out of the 12^th Century.

Maybe we need to remember that new music has never had an easy time in the church. Isaac Watts, who wrote "Joy to the World" and many other hymns in our current hymnbooks, was criticized throughout his life for his songs, which were seen as too secular and as spending too much time and effort on a "pretty tune" rather than "theological lyrical content." May I humbly suggest that we might need both the old and the new in our lives.

Maybe we need to be reminded that in 1952 a mainline Christian denomination took steps to ban a song that they considered to be both "artistically and morally bankrupt." The song was starting to be sung in denominational churches, and leadership decided to nip the practice in the bud by publicly banning it, thereby protecting the people sitting in the pews from being influenced by this ungodly song. The song in question was "How Great Thou Art," which had been released to English congregations in 1949. Today, most of us are glad the protectors of the music lost the battle and that "How Great Thou Art" won and is still sung in churches, including the one I lead today.

Part of the problem is that the new and the old seem to approach God differently. I often hear about the good theology of the hymns versus the non-existent theology in today's Contemporary Christian music. However, the argument is wrong. First, not all old hymns are examples of great theology. Often, we're drawn to them for familiarity, not great theological content. For example, "The First Noel" has the shepherds following the Bethlehem star to Jesus. Second, it's not true that contemporary music lacks good theology (though I readily admit that some contemporary songs sung in our churches have really bad theology); it is just that contemporary music attacks theology in a different way. What made sense and was part of the experience three hundred years ago (or even forty years ago for my Gaither fans) is not how the writers view their experience today. These songs are written out of the writers' personal experience with God, and that is what makes any song of praise worthy of God. They intend to express what God has done in me and my life.

That is the point Isaiah (as well as many of the Psalms) is trying to make. How can you experience the living God and not let it shape what you sing? For some, that means writing a new song from the heart, an expression of how you are experiencing God in your life. For others, it means finding the song that most clearly expresses your experience with God, and when you find it, it shouldn't matter whether the song is old or new.   

Isaiah issues this imperative: find the song. If God is impacting your life, sing the song with every fiber that God has placed inside of you. It has never been about the tune; the song you sing is your expression of the life God has placed inside you, and that will always be what truly makes the song special. So, go ahead: sing that song!

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 43

Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. – Isaiah 41:12

Today's Scripture Reading (October 20, 2026): Isaiah 41

Potential often has an elusive quality. When we are young, we hope we possess potential. Potential speaks to our future, but only of a possible future. Potential must, at some point, be realized to mean anything, but it is not always fulfilled. Potential may lie inside us, but we still need the strength of character to make it a reality.

The Babylonian Empire had a long history, but in many ways it is a story of what might have been. Babylon seems marked by great potential, but it never really achieved it. The Empire rose and fell over time, but too often Babylon fell just short of what it could have been. When Isaiah wrote these words, Babylon was rising again. Judah became a victim of the Neo-Babylonian Empire (New Babylonian Empire) under Nebuchadnezzar II. But the Neo-Babylonian Empire reached its zenith only during Nebuchadnezzar's reign, then fell again, its full potential left unrealized.

Isaiah's words seem to point to the end of the Babylonian Captivity. No nation had ever returned from captivity, but Isaiah's encouraging words suggest this would not be Judah's fate. One day, Judah would wake up still in forced captivity, but their enemy, the nation responsible for their presence in Babylon in the first place, would have disappeared. The reality was that Nebuchadnezzar II had the character to realize Babylon's potential, but the kings who followed him lacked it. As a result, Babylon's strength would one day vanish, along with all its potential.

Then Judah would return home. Isaiah needed to show Judah that God still saw potential in them, and that they would receive a second chance to follow it. But to realize that potential, they needed the strength of character to follow God. (Interestingly, Isaiah might have missed that Nebuchadnezzar displayed that kind of strength as he pursued his own potential.)

Our potential still lies in our strength of character and our willingness to follow God. And it is never too late to realize that potential.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 42