For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. – Isaiah 37:32

Today's Scripture Reading (May 31, 2026): Isaiah 37

Tater Jones grew up in a country house. In front of his house, there was a long, straight dirt road. Tater went everywhere that he needed to go, and sometimes just went to places where he wanted to go, on his bicycle. But what he really wanted was a Moped. Have you ever seen a moped? It is not a scooter. It definitely is not a Harley, which is what most young kids want. A Moped actually has pedals and this little engine that sounds like an angry mosquito.

So, time goes by, and finally Mom says to Tater, "You have proven yourself. For your birthday, your Dad and I are going to buy you a Moped." Tater was on top of the world. He was getting a Moped. And on top of getting the Moped, the same year, the county decided to pave the long, straight dirt road that ran past the front of Tater's house. Tater got his Moped, put on his helmet, climbed aboard, and his mom warned him to be careful. Tater was off down that long, newly paved road on the back of his angry mosquito.

Tater rides down that long, straight road until he reaches the highway. His mother had taught him to look both ways before crossing the highway. So, Tater gets off his moped and steps out toward the highway, looks one way, then the other, and just to make sure, looks one way and then the other again. And while Tater is looking, a brand new, shiny red Maserati drives up beside him. Tater had never seen a Maserati before. Tater walks around the Maserati, touching the hood and fenders, feeling how smooth it is, not realizing you don't touch someone else's Maserati. Tater stuck his head inside the open window. Tater really didn't understand the concept of personal space and said a little too loudly. "Hey, Mister, how much does a car like this cost? This is a pretty nice car, Mister. Do you want to sell your car, Mister? If you ever want to sell your car, give me a call. My name is Tater Jones.

The driver looks at Tater and his brand-new moped, and you know he is thinking, "like this kid will ever be able to afford a car like this!"

Tater oohs and aahs and walks around the car a few more times, leaving his fingerprints everywhere he can, and then he gets on his moped and wheels it over beside the driver's side window and sticks his head in the window one more time. "Nice car, Mister, you remember my name, Tater Jones, if you ever want to sell your car."

But the car's driver has had enough. No sooner does Tater lean outside of the car than the driver steps on the gas. It is a straight road – a long straight road. And the Maserati knows how to go. In no time, the car is doing 100, then 110. The driver looks in the rearview mirror, and Tater keeps getting smaller and smaller. One hundred and forty, then 150, and the driver takes another glance in the rearview mirror. And he is amazed, Tater Jones is not getting smaller, he is getting larger. 160 – 170, and Tater Jones is catching up. Two hundred and Tater Jones on his moped passes the Maserati. And then, all of a sudden, it is Tater Jones who is getting smaller in the lead.

The driver of the Maserati is about to pull over and phone the dealership. You don't buy a Maserati to get beaten in a race by a Moped. Tater spins around and then passes the Maserati going the other way. And then he spins around again, and he begins to catch up. to the Maserati one more time. The driver looks down at his speedometer – 230, 240, 250. The Maserati is quickly reaching its top speed, and Tater and his moped are still gaining. Finally, the driver has had enough. He slams on the brakes and pulls over to phone the dealership. Tater, on the other hand, can't quite negotiate the stop, slams into the rear end of the Maserati, and ends up lying on the roof of the car. The driver gets out and sees Tater on the roof, looking absolutely exhausted.

"Tater, can I do anything for you?"

Tater looks at the driver, "Yeah, if you get a chance, could you unhook my suspenders from the rearview mirror?"

Isaiah knows that trouble is coming. But he also knows that God will do something with those left in the city. If Isaiah knew about Tater Jones, he might have offered this advice: when trouble comes, hook your suspenders to God's rearview mirror and hang on for the ride, because the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 38 & 39

 

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. – Isaiah 36:1

Today's Scripture Reading (May 30, 2026): Isaiah 36

In the Steven Spielberg movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark," the central premise was that the Hebrew Ark of the Covenant was a physical force capable of overcoming any opposing army. Indiana Jones actually states at one point that an army that carried the Ark with it couldn't be defeated. (Indiana probably should have read 1 Samuel, because the sons of the High Priest Eli thought the same thing, but they got routed and lost the Ark to the opposing Philistines.) But, according to the fictional Professor Jones, lightning would flash from the Ark destroying any force that opposed the army that possessed the Ark. It was because of this 'fiction' that the movie proposes a race that develops between the Nazi scientists of 1940's Germany and Indiana Jones to see who would be the first to find the Ark. If Hitler could find it first, well, maybe the Second World War would have turned out differently. (There is something of a mystery about the probability that Hitler would want to use a Jewish artifact to win the war and exterminate the Jews, but then again, "The Raiders of the Lost Ark" is only a fictional story.) The movie stretches the story of the Ark well beyond the truth.

But the story's central theme fits a central idea about God in our current culture. The idea is this: being a Christian or a God-fearer means that the evil things of the world (in this case, translate evil as anything that opposes your personal purposes) will never be able to touch you. When we carry God into the battle of our lives, things will always go our way. We may not overtly believe that truth, but even in circles that would traditionally look down on what we might call "prosperity theology," when things go wrong, we still wonder what we have done to anger God because we don't feel protected.

The story of Hezekiah illustrates one of the issues we seem to have with religion: sometimes bad things happen even when we are faithful. When bad things happen in life, the appropriate response is to trust God more, not less. Bad circumstances have never been promised not to touch us. The presence of negative circumstances in our lives doesn't mean that God has left the building. God still has a plan, and even during our worst moments, we, like Hezekiah, still have a part to play in his story.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 37

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. – Isaiah 35:5

Today's Scripture Reading (May 29, 2026): Isaiah 35

One of my many favorite Bible Stories is the Story of the Lost Son in Luke 15. The Lost Son is a story about two sons. We sometimes call it the Parable of the Prodigal Son, but the story isn't really about either a prodigal son or a lost son. Just like the Parable of the lost coin really isn't about the coin, but the persistence of the woman, and the Parable of the lost sheep isn't really about a lost lamb, but the persistence of the Shepherd. The Parable of the Lost Son is more about the persistence of Dad and the arrogance of the older brother.

The Parable spins a tale about a father with two sons. One day, the younger son comes to Dad and tells him to, "Give me my inheritance so that I can go and live my life the way that I want to live it." It was like saying to Dad, "I wish you were dead because I have to wait for my inheritance. You are worth nothing to me."

Surprisingly, Dad does as his youngest son asks and divides up his inheritance between his two sons. And the youngest son (the one we call the prodigal) goes and wastes everything his father has given him. (The word prodigal means wasteful.)

The youngest son loses everything and then has to go and get a job. The only job he can find is feeding the pigs, which is not much of a job for a Jewish boy to whom pigs were unclean. One day, he is out in the pigpen feeding the pigs, and he is so hungry that he wishes he could eat the food he is giving them. In that moment, he comes to this revelation; even hired workers in my dad's house have more than this. And so, he goes back to his father with the plan to ask his dad for a job, putting him on as a hired worker. This is an important point; the young son doesn't ask to be enslaved because an enslaved person, at that time, would have been considered part of the family, and the wasteful son had discarded every expectation of rejoining that community. A hired worker was a level below an enslaved person. Even in tough times, an enslaved person would have work and be fed, while a hired worker would be fired. An enslaved person would be in constant contact with the father, while a hired worker could go days or even weeks without even seeing the father. The father knew the enslaved person's name, but not always the hired worker's.

So, the son goes back to dad, and while he was still a long way off, dad sees his son and runs to him (older men did not normally run), he throws his arms around him, and puts his robe on him and rings on his fingers and bells on his toes, so he could make music wherever he goes (well, maybe not). But what he does is just as surprising; he restores this young son into the family.

However, the elder son isn't happy. He comes back from a hard day working in the field and hears the music of an ongoing party. He asks a family servant what is happening and is told that his younger brother has returned home and Dad is throwing him a party. The older brother refuses to go to the party and goes off into a corner and sulks, thus ending the story.

The whole story is really about how to get Dad's money, and each son has developed a plan to get it. For the younger son, the prescription is to be bad. If I am bad, then Dad will give me the money that I want to get me out of his hair. But the older son has also written a prescription. He wants the same thing, Dad's money, but he chooses a different path. For him, the prescription is to be good. If I am good, I can get Dad's money. I suspect Jesus tells the story because he knows most of his followers are really elder brothers trying to interact with a God who is concerned for the younger brother, and that is a problem. Elder brothers look at the world and say, if I am good, then I will be accepted. If I obey, then I will be part of the family. But inside the church, God turns that upside down and says, "God accepts you, and because you are accepted, I have accepted you as well, regardless of what you believe about yourself." The younger brother of the story never comes to obedience until he realizes beyond the shadow of a doubt that he is accepted.

In the end, the younger brother is restored while the older brother is lost. And maybe even more disturbing to us is that the older brother is damned not despite his good deeds but because of them.

Isaiah says that on the day of victory, the blind will see and the deaf will hear. It will be a day of celebration, but one that will benefit the younger brother. The elder brothers among us will not be saved, not because they don't need saving, but because they don't believe they need to be saved.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 36

 

Desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and wild goats will bleat to each other; there the night creatures will also lie down and find for themselves places of rest. – Isaiah 34:14

Today's Scripture Reading (May 28, 2026): Isaiah 34

Names. Sometimes I think we put too much thought into them, and sometimes maybe not enough. And as strange as our names can be, it might be surprising that there are illegal names, as in you are not allowed to name your baby with these words. In various parts of the United States, you are not allowed to name your child with a title, like King or Queen. While Jesus is permitted, the names Christ and Messiah are also forbidden. You are not allowed to name your child Santa Claus, which is probably a good thing; I can't imagine going to school with that name. You also cannot name your child Adolf Hitler, although I am not sure why I would want to name my child that. Not all of these names are illegal in all states. Adolf Hitler Campbell was born in New Jersey without anyone protesting the choice of name at birth, although there were negative reactions a little later. But no one had the authority to stop them from using that name.

But there are legal names that I also question. Some of them are beautiful, which is probably why our children bear the moniker. But I still wonder if we should have thought through these names a little more. One of those names is Neveah. Neveah is a beautiful name, and I apologize if it is your name or the name of someone close to you. Neveah is the word 'heaven' spelled backward. My question is: Does that mean it is the opposite of heaven? And if it contains that connotation, why would we want to place that name on our little girls?

Another pretty name is Lilith. We choose Lilith because we think the name is pretty. Maybe we choose the name in a spirit of rebellion, after all, the Mythical Lilith is the goddess of rebellion. According to some myths, Lilith was Adam's first wife, but she refused to submit to Adam, so she was cast out and replaced with Eve. For every woman who has struggled with ornery men, Lilith might be an appropriate name.

But Lilith is also the name of a night demon that haunts the desolate places in the dark, especially in the land of Edom. And it is that meaning that we find in Isaiah. The word Isaiah uses, which we have translated as "night creatures," is literally Lillith (or lee-leeth). Isaiah speaks of the land of Edom as empty and desolate. Edom will become a place that is empty of human presence, and is therefore filled with creatures of the night, both animals and demons; a place where Lillith is free to roam and to cause her own brand of mischief.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 35

Personal Note: Happy Birthday to my wife, Nelda.

He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure. – Isaiah 33:6

Today's Scripture Reading (May 27, 2026): Isaiah 33

We are probably about as close to the end of the Earth as we have ever been. The Doomsday Clock, a symbol of the likelihood of a human-made global disaster, is set to 85 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been to the midnight hour since its inception in 1947. Maybe the caveat here is that it is about a human-made disaster. The Doomsday Clock is not about the likelihood of a rogue comet hitting Earth, an event we have no control over. The Clock explores the danger the human race poses to the planet. War in the Middle East and in Europe, coupled with pollution and global warming, are represented in the evaluation that we are only 85 seconds away from a catastrophe. Maybe the biggest problem we have is that there aren't enough "stable geniuses" in charge of the nuclear powers. When we look at the people in charge of Russia, China, Israel, and even the United States, it isn't a huge leap to see one of them pushing the nuclear button in a bid to end an argument and feel like a winner, when the reality is that as soon as the button is pushed, the whole world is a loser. It is only within the last hundred years that we have had the ability to destroy the Earth. The farthest we have been from the midnight hour was seventeen minutes to midnight in 1991, in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union; a time when the future looked positive for a majority of the planet's nations.

Our ability to destroy the Earth might be relatively new, but nations have recognized their own fragility since the beginning of human history. Empires have risen and fallen, maybe something that we need to be reminded of, and nations have been trampled in the process of the rule of the nations. In those moments of defeat, it has felt like the Doomsday Clock, on a smaller scale, was approaching, and even hitting, the midnight hour. Maybe this is an obvious statement, but one that we need to hear. No earthly empire has ever lasted forever. Every military power has an expiration date, and there are things that we can do to hasten or delay that moment. It is a message that I believe especially those of us who live in North America need to hear.

Isaiah is writing in one of those times. For the nation of Judah, the national Doomsday Clock is approaching midnight. Their sister nation, Israel, has been defeated and carried into captivity. Assyria has entered Judah's territory and, one by one, has defeated the cities of the Kingdom. Now the army is gathering around Jerusalem, seeking to defeat Judah.

Isaiah's message? Stay the course; God is still on the throne, and he can be the foundation that the nation needs. Ultimately, he is in charge of the Doomsday clock. And that is true when the Clock is set at seventeen minutes to midnight, and when it is set at just 85 seconds before the time of catastrophe.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 34

See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice. – Isaiah 32:1

Today's Scripture Reading (May 26, 2026): Isaiah 32

In 2026, it is hard to listen to the news without worrying about the various conflicts on the world stage. As I write this post, one of the conflicts that worries me is in Iran. I don't think it is a good idea for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, although if I am brutally honest, I don't think it is healthy for anyone to possess a nuclear weapon. The possession of weapons that any unstable, or maybe even a stable, genius could use to destroy a civilization seems like a bad idea. But part of my struggle as the American-Iranian conflict continues is that one of its outcomes has been the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway on which several nations in the neighborhood depend. It seems that it was through this conflict that Iran discovered the power it has to close the Strait and the ways it can economically benefit from controlling the international waterway, something it wasn't sure of before the conflict began. That knowledge won't disappear after the war is over, and there is no telling how Iran might use its newfound knowledge. It is an unintended effect of the conflict that has changed the world in which we live.

Russia's war against Ukraine continues. Russia seems to want to act as a bully in the area, which is nothing new; history has had its share of bullies. And we still don't know how this conflict will end, except that we must not allow Russia to reunite the Soviet Union, especially by forcing smaller nations to follow a path they don't want to take.

We have mentioned several times that the bully on the world stage in this era of biblical writings remains Assyria. And there is no doubt that Isaiah is very aware of the danger presented by the Assyrians. But he also sees a future after Assyria. Part of that future involves the rise of a "Righteous King." Maybe it is too easy for us to see this passage as Messianic in nature, pointing to the coming of the righteous King Jesus and the justice that will emerge as a result of his rule. I would love to be able to assert that the church has fulfilled the prophecy of rulers who have come to spread justice, but the truth is that that hasn't happened, at least, not yet.

I do think that King Jesus is part of this prophecy, but there is a more immediate fulfillment: the reign of King Hezekiah. King Ahaz was not a good King, but his son, Hezekiah, would grow up to be one of the best Kings ever to rule the Kingdom of Judah. He would be a King worthy of the throne of his forefather, David. And Hezekiah would be the godly king that Judah would need to deal with Assyria, and the one who would show the nation a way back to God after the years of apostasy during the reign of his father, Ahaz.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 33

For in that day every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold your sinful hands have made. – Isaiah 31:7

Today's Scripture Reading (May 25, 2026): Isaiah 31

We believe what we believe. And often we twist the teachings of the Bible to suit our own desires and purposes. As countries continue to clash, I think every nation probably believes that God is with them and honors their actions. In the clash between the United States and Iran, it is not surprising that the United States believes that they are fighting in a just war. Others, including the Pope, aren't so sure. One professor I learned from during my seminary years declared that he didn't believe that there had ever been a "just war." It was an amazing statement, considering the wars fought in the last century, especially the one we call the "Second World War." If there was ever a "just war," that would have to be considered one of them. And yet, as the war was being fought, even Germany believed it was on the side of its God; this was what God wanted it to do.

The reason is that we often construct our gods in our own image, including in our Christian theology. We have divergent beliefs about the character of God because we have constructed him, or maybe her, to reflect the things we believe are important. It is this difference in the gods we have created that has resulted in the conflict between the Trump Government and the Catholic Church over the war in Iran. One side believes they are involved in a war of which God approves, and the other believes that God always stands on the side of peace.

Isaiah argues that the day will come when all of our descriptions of God will fall away, and we will be confronted by the real God. For Isaiah, those false gods were often constructed by talented people working with gold and silver, or even less precious materials. Today, we still have some of those gods around us, but we have also constructed false gods in our minds. We have even called those gods Yahweh or Jehovah, even though it is not the Yahweh of scripture but a god we have created out of the things we find important.

We might all be surprised on the day of our confrontation with God and find a God who is very different from the one we have built in our minds. But in the end, the god we have created with our hands or in our minds will fall away in the presence of the real God of the Universe. And we will reject the false gods we have created in the presence of the God who exists. And he, or she, will be all that matters in that moment.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 32

A prophecy concerning the animals of the Negev: Through a land of hardship and distress, of lions and lionesses, of adders and darting snakes, the envoys carry their riches on donkeys' backs, their treasures on the humps of camels, to that unprofitable nation, to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless. Therefore I call her Rahab the Do-Nothing. – Isaiah 30:6-7

Today's Scripture Reading (May 24, 2026): Isaiah 30

It is a story I have heard in several different versions over the years. The story tells of a businessman who is told he will die that very night. In response to this news, the man decides to leave his home in Philadelphia and travel to Toronto, Canada. While on his way to the airport, he runs straight into the arms of Death himself. Death seems surprised to run into the man, so the man decides to continue his plan to run and go to a place where Death won't find him. He makes it to the airport and onto the plane. The man relaxes a little as the plane taxis toward the runway, believing that his plan has worked because Death is nowhere to be seen. The man arrives in Toronto, checks into his hotel, and then decides to enjoy the beautiful Canadian summer evening by walking to dinner. On his way to dinner, he runs straight into the waiting arms of Death.

The man concedes that Death has beaten him, but he has a question that needs an answer. "When I saw you this morning in Philadelphia, you seemed surprised," the man commented.

Death smiled and replied. "I was. I knew I had an appointment with you tonight in Toronto, so I wasn't expecting to see you in Philadelphia."

I am not sure what the moral of the story is supposed to be. Maybe it is as simple as you can't outrun Death. However, it also seems like a common thriller plot. The protagonists are warned about the killer among them. And so, they decide to run someplace else, only to run into the killer or maybe someone else who is just as dangerous.

Isaiah is speaking about the animals of the Negev. Today, the Negev consists of the Southernmost portion of Israel. It is a dry place where not much lives, but, more importantly, it is an area that must be crossed to reach Egypt. So, Isaiah mourns the pack animals of Judah. They will be forced to carry the riches of the people from Judah, across the dangerous Negev, in an attempt to get close to the safety of Egypt, but it will all be in vain. Isaiah calls Egypt "Rahab the Do-Nothing." Rahab is a name, but it is also the Hebrew word for "Pride." Isaiah's point is that Egypt is filled with pride over its position in the world, but running to them isn't going to help because they won't lift a finger to defend Israel in a conflict with Assyria.

But maybe more importantly, the rich of Judah are running from a nation that they fear is a danger to them, and right into the arms of someone who has shown that they are a danger to the nations in the area. Assyria is a danger, but so is Egypt, and only God has the answer to the dilemma that Judah faces.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 31

Be stunned and amazed, blind yourselves and be sightless; be drunk, but not from wine, stagger, but not from beer. – Isaiah 29:9

Today's Scripture Reading (May 23, 2026): Isaiah 29

From February 1692 until May 1693, the citizens of the Province of Massachusetts Bay endured a frightening period in their history. In the coastal town in Essex County, four young girls accused a few women of the town of causing them harm. The method these women used to harm the girls was not physical, but spiritual; the women were accused of causing harm to others through witchcraft. This accusation was the beginning of the Salem Witch Trials. It was a time when dreams were evidence, and circumstances could often make people believe that others were in league with the devil. The Witch Trials began with four girls, but it didn't stop there. What happened next became an example of mass hysteria as the accusation began to spread. Conflicts that happened between neighbors quickly escalated to accusations of witchcraft. Childhood pranks became evidence of a spreading evil that had infected the area. Those accused were often outcasts or people who were in some way different from the rest of society.

There is no doubt that many believed that witches were real and that the accused were evidence of Satan's army moving among the people. There is also no doubt that the hysteria was self-inflicted. The more people were accused of witchcraft, the more belief in witches seemed to take hold of the people in the area. In the end, more than two hundred people were accused, thirty were found guilty of witchcraft, nineteen people were executed by hanging, one died as a direct result of torture, and at least five people died in disease-ridden jails without a trial.   

One of the stories that sticks out for me is the tale of Reverend George Burroughs. Burroughs was accused of witchcraft and conspiring with the devil, although the real crime was that Burroughs was believed to be a closeted Baptist. The problem was that Burroughs had not taken communion or the Lord's Supper every Sunday, and only one of his children had been baptized. Even though no witches' mark had been found on his body, and the fact that he had emotionally prayed the Lord's Prayer, something that it was believed that no witch could do, Burroughs was found guilty and hanged on August 19, 1692. There is nothing in George Burroughs' actions that many pastors would not be guilty of today.

As Isaiah looks at Judah, he sees a people who had chosen to be blind. They were drunk, but not with drink or with the Spirit. They stumbled as a direct effect of a kind of hysteria. A lie had convinced them, and there was nothing that anyone could do to help them. Sometimes, I feel like Isaiah. As I interact with the culture around me, I am surrounded by people who have chosen to be blind and drunk. It is the same kind of hysteria that swept through the Province of Massachusetts almost three hundred and fifty years ago, and I am still "stunned and amazed." 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 30

See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong. Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind, like a driving rain and a flooding downpour, he will throw it forcefully to the ground. – Isaiah 28:2

Today's Scripture Reading (May 22, 2026): Isaiah 28

Tornado season has arrived. I live in the colder northern part of the world, which means that for a significant part of the year, tornadoes just aren't a worry. Blizzards, snow, and cold temperatures are the things we worry about during the winter months, and those are conditions under which tornadoes don't develop. In my part of the world, the first tornado of the "tornado season" usually occurs between late March and May. Usually, these tornadoes aren't very strong and cause very little damage. Dangerous tornadoes occur when the mercury rises and the days get hot. One of the worst tornadoes to hit this area happened on July 31, 1987. The tornado was rated F4 and stayed on the ground for just over an hour. Twenty-seven people died in the tornado, and it caused 332.27 million dollars in damage (the adjusted value in today's dollars is 796 million). I had a close friend who lived through the tornado. He was in an area destroyed by it, and he still remembers what sounded like a freight train rumbling through his neighborhood. Thirty years later, my friend still goes into a panic whenever he hears a tornado warning during the summer months. I don't blame him. I can't imagine what it was like to be that close to such a dangerous tornado.

Nature can have a powerful effect on our lives. Tornadoes and hurricanes are just the tip of the dangers nature poses to those of us living on Earth. Isaiah has seen some of the worst that nature can throw at an area. He speaks of hailstorms, something else that I see a lot of during the summer months, and destructive winds. Isaiah knows the power of driving rain and flooding that accompany various kinds of storms, which still afflict the Earth. Many of the worst storms are caused by an interaction between the hot and cold air currents. But the cause doesn't ease the damage these storms inflict on the people of the Earth.

Isaiah is speaking to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which he calls Ephraim. And he seems to be surprised by the pride of what he calls "Ephraim's drunkards." Ephraim has benefited from many things that might be considered an accident of nature, yet they seem to miss that God put them there. Some dangers are threatening Ephraim, but God is strong enough to handle the threats that are coming, if only the nation would trust him. And if they need proof, all they need to do is look at the power of nature. If God can destroy with a hailstorm or with the wind, if these natural processes are at his command, what more does Ephraim need to know? He has the power to protect, if only the people would trust.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 29

In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit. – Isaiah 27:6

Today's Scripture Reading (May 21, 2026): Isaiah 27

Isaiah has already written a song about a Vineyard in Isaiah 5. But this vineyard was not a good one. The owner had done everything the vineyard owner needed to do. The vineyard was planted on a fertile hillside. The rocks were cleared, and the field was planted with only the best vines. (Personal Note: Did you know a field grows rocks? I didn't until I was hired to pick rocks as a teen. And the next year, I was hired to clear the same field of rocks. Who knew that fields grow rocks?) Yet, when it came to getting fruit from the vineyard, the only fruit the vineyard produced was rotten and worthless.

In that "Song of the Vineyard," Isaiah invites the listener to judge between the vineyard and its owner. What would you do if you were the owner of the vineyard? Isaiah concludes that the only option is to destroy the vineyard.

Now I will tell you
    what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
    and it will be destroyed;
I will break down its wall,
    and it will be trampled.
I will make it a wasteland,
    neither pruned nor cultivated,
    and briers and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds
    not to rain on it (Isaiah 5:5-6).

Here, Isaiah is speaking of a different vineyard. This time, the vineyard takes root, and the vines bud and blossom. And rather than being overwhelmed with briers and thorns, the vines fill the world with their fruit. Experts admit that Isaiah here is speaking of the day of the Messiah. It is this day we still wait for.

The Messiah has come, and the fruit of the vineyard has spread throughout the world. We aren't perfect. Sometimes, I think that we are moving in the wrong direction, but Isaiah's words are still in force. Briers and thorns still infest the church, but if we trust the Vineyard Owner, those can be dealt with. And the joy and love of God can infect all the Earth, and in that day, I believe this world will be a much better place.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 28

Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith. – Isaiah 26:2

Today's Scripture Reading (May 20, 2026): Isaiah 26

One of my favorite Psalms isn't the famous twenty-third, but the next Psalm in the Psalter, the twenty-fourth. Like the Shepherd's Psalm, it was written by David. But tradition tells us that Psalm twenty-four was written in anticipation of the arrival of the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem. The Ark had been in exile since it was lost to the Philistines during the reign of the High Priest Eli. Eli is probably best known as the Priest who raised Samuel, the last of Israel's Judges. One of Eli's main responsibilities, as High Priest, was to care for the Ark of the Covenant in Shiloh, where the Tabernacle had been set up. But for some reason, Eli must have been convinced, likely by his sons, to whom Eli had always struggled saying no, to allow the Ark to be carried into battle. By law, the Ark was never supposed to leave the Tabernacle, except when the Tabernacle itself was being moved.

The sons of Eli carried the Ark of the Covenant into battle, and there, they lost it. The Philistines tried to keep it, but it had caused them significant trouble, so they sent it back to Israel, and for a while the Ark spent time in Kiriath-Jearim, a town located 10 kilometers west of Jerusalem. However, David wanted the Ark brought to Jerusalem, rather than to the Tabernacle, where it should have been returned. The Ark was placed on a cart; by law, it should have been carried by the priests, and it started for Jerusalem.

About three kilometers down the road, disaster struck. The cart hit a rock, and as the Ark began to fall, a Levite named Uzzah reached out to steady it. Uzzah was not allowed to touch the Ark according to Mosaic Law, and Uzzah died on the spot. David decides that the Ark is too dangerous to bring into his city, so he leaves it at the threshing floor of Nacon.

Later, David decides to try to move the Ark to Jerusalem one more time, but this time he follows the instructions given in the Mosaic Law. Two poles were placed into the rings attached to the Ark, and the priests carried the Ark to Jerusalem. As the Ark approached the city, the priests called out to its inhabitants, and the people responded. This call-and-response is revealed to us in Psalm 24.

The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it,
    the world, and all who live in it;
for he founded it on the seas
    and established it on the waters.

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
    Who may stand in his holy place?
The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    who does not trust in an idol
    or swear by a false god.

They will receive blessing from the Lord
    and vindication from God their Savior.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
    who seek your face, God of Jacob.

Lift up your heads, you gates;
    be lifted up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord strong and mighty,
    the Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, you gates;
    lift them up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
Who is he, this King of glory?
    The Lord Almighty—
    he is the King of glory (Psalm 24).

I wonder if Psalm 24 is on Isaiah's mind as he writes these words of praise. Maybe we could rephrase David's words.

Lift up your heads, you gates;
    be lifted up, you ancient doors,
    that the righteous nation may come in.
Who is this righteous nation?
    The nation that keeps its faith,
    The nation who follows Israel's God.

Lift up your heads, you gates;
    be lifted up, you ancient doors,
    that the righteous nation may come in.
Who is this righteous nation?
    The nation that loves the Lord,
    Let that nation be us – the faithful followers of our God.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 27

You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin, the foreigners' stronghold a city no more; it will never be rebuilt. – Isaiah 25:2

Today's Scripture Reading (May 19, 2026): Isaiah 25

Mount Vesuvius. Just the name brings images of destruction to our minds. Vesuvius is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, partially because of the frequency with which it erupts, and partially because three million people live close enough to the mountain to be affected by an eruption, which includes the city of Naples, and more than 600,000 people living in the danger zone. Since the volcano's famous eruption in 79 C.E., Vesuvius has had 36 significant eruptions—the most recent major eruption took place in 1944.

Of course, the eruption for which we most remember Vesuvius is the one in 79 C.E., which destroyed the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis, and Stabiae. We remember Pompeii, but often forget that it wasn't the only city to die in that blast from Mount Vesuvius. Oplontis seemed to suffer the bluntest force from the 79 C.E. eruption. Herculaneum might have been the best-preserved of the cities destroyed in 79 C.E., and it was smaller and wealthier than the better-known Pompeii.

But these four cities were destroyed, and today visitors take tours of them and witness what life was like 2,000 years ago in Italy. They are not alone in history. Many great cities have disappeared in the years since Isaiah prophesied. It seems to be something that happens. Sometimes cities disappear because of a natural disaster; sometimes the prosperity of an area changes, forcing people to leave to find work. Nothing in this world is "set in stone," even if they look permanent to us.

Isaiah says that a city has been, or maybe will be, transformed into a pile of rubble, and what was once a stronghold is no longer even a city. And this city will never be rebuilt again. It is a description that fits many cities in history. The four cities destroyed by Vesuvius were destroyed, but not quite like Isaiah predicted, and they have never been rebuilt. The destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon in 586 B.C.E and Rome in 70 C.E. echoed the predicted level of destruction, but the city was rebuilt both times. Babylon was destroyed, and the city has not been rebuilt, although there have been plans over the centuries to resurrect it. The most recent plan to rebuild Babylon was developed by Iraq's autocratic leader, Saddam Hussein, who wanted to bring back Babylon, believing that he was a descendant of Nebuchadnezzar.

However, I don't think Isaiah is speaking of a specific city, but of any city, and maybe every city. There is no city, no nation, and no empire that is "safe forever." If that is what you want, a city can't do that for you. Every city is vulnerable to destruction and may never be rebuilt, including Jerusalem. As far as Isaiah is concerned, that kind of security comes only from God, and that is something he hopes his readers will remember.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 26

The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken this word. – Isaiah 24:3

Today's Scripture Reading (May 18, 2026): Isaiah 24

I have to admit that I have read a lot of dystopian fiction and watched many dystopian movies over the years. The theme of these stories is that something bad has happened, often a nuclear war or some kind of genetic accident, and it has left the earth depopulated. The government is either gone or under autocratic rule, and the fight to survive consumes the energy of a remnant who are left on the earth.

One of my favorite dystopian novels is Frank Herbert's, the author of the Dune series of novels, "The White Plague." Herbert spins a tale about a man whose family is killed by a terrorist while visiting the United Kingdom, and decides to get his revenge by constructing a plague that will claim the lives of most of the people living on the earth. Nations close their borders, reminiscent of the COVID-19 lockdown, but are unsuccessful at keeping the infection out. At the end of the novel, the man gets to walk the green hills of Ireland, examining his handiwork. Only a few still survive after the plague that has spread throughout the earth, and it is a bad place, the literal meaning of "dystopian," to live.

Dystopian tales like to examine how the world will end. We are probably inundated with more possible ways that this planet of ours could die than anyone else has had to deal with in the history of our Earth. For Isaiah, the only way the earth could die was if God did something. The Bible tells dystopian tales of fire raining down from the heavens or a flood that covered the earth. But the underlying agreement in these stories is that God has done this. Today, we realize that God doesn't need to do anything to destroy this world; we can do it all by ourselves. Nuclear war, accidents, genetic mistakes, out-of-control pollution, and the greenhouse effect are just some of the ways this might happen. Venus is an example of the latter. It is a planet that is very similar to the Earth, except that it is the hottest planet in our solar system, not because it is the closest to the sun; Mercury gets that award, but because it has a naturally occurring greenhouse effect that might foreshadow the artificial one we are creating on the Earth.

On the natural side, the eruption of a supervolcano, like the Yellowstone Caldera, would drastically change life on Earth, killing most of its inhabitants. Almost weekly, we are told about another comet that is going to make a close pass of Earth. If one of them actually hit the Earth, again, it would take most life on Earth with it. But we need to be careful. The potential risk to Earth from natural causes is not increasing; we are simply becoming more aware of the many ways Earth might die.

We know that the Earth will die. It will go out with either a bang or a whimper at some point in the next three billion years. Isaiah says that it will go out with a bang, and whether we kill the earth or it comes to a natural end, God will allow the Earth's destruction as a penalty for our sin.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 25

Be silent, you people of the island and you merchants of Sidon, whom the seafarers have enriched. – Isaiah 23:2

Today's Scripture Reading (May 17, 2026): Isaiah 23

On April 10, 1815, Indonesia's Mount Tambora reached a violent climax after a three-year eruption. The volcano had been active since 1812, but the 1815 eruption is now considered the most powerful volcanic eruption in human history. The volcano would continue to erupt until July 15, 1815, but nothing matched the intensity of the April 10 eruption. Tambora's temper tantrum killed 10,000 to 11,000 people from the direct effects of the eruption. But that was just the start.

The 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora had global effects. In Canada, a world away from Indonesia, 1816 was the year without summer. For over a century, we weren't sure why the temperatures plummeted worldwide in 1816, but now we know. Ash in the atmosphere lowered temperatures everywhere, including in Canada, on the other side of the world. Canada can experience harsh temperatures for much of the year, but 1816 saw snow fall in some areas every month of the year, and a hard frost in June destroyed many of the crops that had been planted. The result was a famine in Canada as well as in many other places in the world. All because of Mount Tambora's eruption.

Isaiah is prophesying against the City of Tyre. The city comprises two urban centers: the old city, on an island half a kilometer off the Phoenician coast, and Usha, the mainland component of the city, which provided the island city with fresh water. Together, they made up the trading dynamo that had become famous throughout the known world.

But Isaiah goes beyond just warning the people of Tyre and Usha. Isaiah includes the city of Sidon in his warning, a city up the coast from Tyre. In fact, anyone who relied on or benefited from trade with the island city received a warning because anything that hurt Tyre would also impact almost the entire ancient world.

Tyre had enriched many people. But that also meant the island city's economy was entwined with the world economy. Maybe it wasn't an eruption of a major volcano, but it would have had a similar effect on the world the port city served.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 24

The Lord, the LORD Almighty, has a day of tumult and trampling and terror in the Valley of Vision, a day of battering down walls and of crying out to the mountains. – Isaiah 22:5

Today's Scripture Reading (May 16, 2026): Isaiah 22

On January 3, 2026, the United States invaded, although there is some argument about whether that is the correct word to use, Venezuela, capturing that nation's President, Nicolas Maduro. Whether invaded is the correct word to use has arisen because the attack was so quick, and the United States basically broke into the nation, kidnapped Maduro and his wife, and then left. What is also at issue is that millions of dollars were bet on the event, which very few people saw coming, raising suspicions that someone or a group of people had inside information about the coming attack. It seems to be one of those situations where you're making a bet that you can't win, because either you are wrong or you cheated. It has also brought some focus on the predictive markets and betting present in our contemporary society.

Isaiah is writing his prophecy about Jerusalem (the Valley of Vision) at a vulnerable time for the City of David. The bully on the world stage is Assyria, which is actively attacking and absorbing the smaller kingdoms surrounding it. Thus, in 722 B.C.E., the Kingdom of Israel, the northern neighbor of Judah, fell and was carried into captivity, never to return, by the Assyrians. The obvious question that Isaiah, in his humanness, had to ask might have been, "Can Judah be far behind?"

As Isaiah writes about a day of tumult, trampling, and terror, and as he imagines the walls of the city falling, I wonder if his mind was focused on the Assyrians; that they would be the ones to bring tears to the "Valley of Vision." And in 701 B.C.E., that day of terror arrived as the Assyrians surrounded the city, intending to starve the people and take over the city and the nation.

Isaiah prophesied for a long period in Judah's history. We can date the earliest of his prophecies, Isaiah 1-6, to approximately 739 B.C.E., and the latest of his prophecies to the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem in 701 B.C.E. That means Isaiah was present for the story of Assyria and the tribes of Jacob. The last of his prophecies was directed at King Hezekiah, assuring him that Jerusalem would not fall to the Assyrians. I sometimes wonder whether, as Isaiah spoke to Hezekiah in 701 B.C.E., he remembered his prophecies, like this one, and wondered whether he might have been wrong.

Of course, we know he wasn't. We can date this prophecy to approximately 725 B.C.E., three years before the fall of Israel and over two decades before Assyria threatened Jerusalem. And while I am sure the Prophet was focused on Assyria, we know this prophecy is really about Babylon, an empire that was still over a hundred years away from threatening "The Valley of Vision." But the day would come when the valley would be trampled and terrorized, a day when her walls would be battered until they were gone, and the people would be carried into exile.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 23

A prophecy against the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the southland, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror. – Isaiah 21:1

Today's Scripture Reading (May 15, 2026): Isaiah 21

As a young child, I lived in an area that had several large lakes. These lakes were so large that you couldn't see the shoreline opposite where you were standing. It was like living in an area that had several oceans or seas. The reality was that until I was about eight, I had never seen a lake where you could see all four, or even three, shores. A lake was, in my childlike mind, an extremely large body of water. I would be almost twenty before I saw a real ocean, in this case, the Pacific. I have been close to the Atlantic Ocean, but I have never viewed that august body of water. But to this day, I love spending time on the shore of a lake or the ocean, though more recently, the bodies of water I look at are much smaller than the lakes of childhood.

The Iraqi desert is a significant feature of Western Iraq. The desert is a mix of various topographical features, including rocky plains, sandy stretches, and dry riverbeds (wadis). It is a hot, water-scarce area, so there is very little vegetation. But that doesn't mean that there is no water. The Euphrates River flows along the eastern edge of the Iraqi Desert, and the region is dotted with several lakes.

Iraq is largely landlocked. The only ports for the country are in the south-east corner of the nation, where a tiny sliver of land meets the Persian Gulf. And it is on this relatively small plot of land that the Iraqi government is trying to build its ambitious Grand Faw Port Project, slated for completion in 2045.

My intention in giving this geography lesson is to note that the Iraqi desert is one of the last places we might call the "Desert (or Wilderness) by the Sea," because there just isn't a sea, at least not as we would describe it. Yet this is the name given to Babylon, now Iraq. The reason for this nickname for Babylon is that the area is dotted with lakes and, of course, the great Euphrates River, and the Hebrew understanding of a Sea is not a large, single body of water like the Mediterranean or Baltic Seas, but rather any collection of waters. The lakes and rivers of Babylon constitute a sea, and Babylon has both a desert and a collection of waters; thus, it really is a Desert or Wilderness by the Sea.

One other note on this verse. Some translations of this verse begin with the words "A burden against the Desert by the Sea" instead of prophecy. The word "burden" is simply a reminder of the weight of seriousness the prophet felt in the words he was sharing. It was Isaiah's way of emphasizing that these words were serious, and he hoped someone would listen to what he had to say.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 22