It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain. – Isaiah 4:6

Today's Scripture Reading (April 24, 2026): Isaiah 4

The American rock band "The Killers" released their hit song "Human" in 2008, though they admit it was written while they were recording their second album, "Sawdust." "Sawdust" was released in 2007, but it was recorded over a long period, starting in 2002, which gives us a rough estimate of when the song was written. The band admits they could have released the song on "Sawdust," but purposely held it back for their third studio album, "Day and Age." "Human" was the first single released from the album.

"Human" has received a bit of controversy over one key lyric in the chorus. In 2014, the song was voted as having the "weirdest lyric of all time." The problem is grammatical: the first and last lines of the chorus, which are identical, don't quite make sense.

            Are we human or are we dancer?

            My sign is vital, my hands are cold

            I'm on my knees, looking for the answer

            Are we human or are we dancer (B. Flowers, D. Keuning, M. Stoermer, R. Vannucci Jr.)?

Shouldn't the line be either "dancers" or maybe "denser," but not "dancer"? The band has been frustrated by the controversy. Brandon Flowers says the song was a response to a negative comment by gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, who argued that the United States was "raising a generation of dancers, afraid to take one step out of line."

I think Isaiah would have understood the lyric. He and many of the Prophets of Israel almost always found themselves on the outside when it came to the people's religious beliefs. His message is that if you are willing to follow God, you often won't please the nation's religious elite. Professing God's ideals will often set you against culture, even religious culture.

Moses was not always accepted by the people of Israel that he led, even though he followed God. Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh, rejecting God's path in favor of a cultural route. Elijah was called a troublemaker by the king because he followed God. Jesus was crucified, and most of his students were persecuted and killed, all because they were following a God who demanded something different from them. He didn't want them to dance to the beat of the cultural drums. But Isaiah knew that even in these times, God would give shelter from the storms and the rain to those who followed him and dared to step out of line.

Luckily, he still provides that shelter, and those who preach a radical love and acceptance of God often need it. As do those who teach about the church's responsibility to "the least of these" in our struggle against the mainline culture, which seems to desire to demonize the poor and persecute the outsider, neither of which is approved by the Jesus of the Christian Church.   

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 5