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

Then the LORD said, "Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush, so the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared—to Egypt's shame. – Isaiah 20:3-4

Today's Scripture Reading (May 14, 2026): Isaiah 19 & 20

Coming out of World War I, the Western Powers decided that soldiers who were taken prisoner during a conflict should retain their fundamental human rights. Those rights included protection from torture, access to health care, fair treatment, communication with family, eventual release, and not to be discriminated against, despite the inherent limitations of being a prisoner. Some might argue that these are universal rights, not just something dreamed up by Western Powers. But that is not quite true.

For instance, we know that in World War II, Prisoners of War detained by the Japanese were not provided with these rights. Actually, a lot of prisoners were killed outright. The death rate in Japanese prison camps was 27 percent. Or, seeing it from the reverse, if the Japanese took you prisoner, you had a 73 percent chance of surviving the experience. If the Allied forces took you prisoner, you had a 96 percent chance of living through the experience. And that is a significant difference.

We know that prisoners were tortured by the Japanese, both physically and mentally, and sometimes worked to death. But there was a reason for this difference. In Japanese thinking, being taken prisoner was considered dishonorable. And the dishonored had no rights, so they could be treated any way that their captors wanted to treat them. Allied prisoners had no rights, nor were any protections expected for Japanese prisoners taken by Allied forces.

In ancient times, this was true as well. What we miss about the story of Sodom and Gomorrah was that, at that time, homosexual sex was simply one way of dishonoring a captive. Another method of dishonoring an enemy was to make them march without clothes.

God instructs Isaiah to go without clothes, not just for a day or a month, but for three years. It is amazing that we don't remember Isaiah as the naked prophet. He walked on stony ground with no protection for his feet and under the hot sun with no protection for his body. And this nudity, regardless of how much Isaiah had actually taken off, was to send a message that the Assyrians would take the inhabitants of Egypt and Cush prisoner. When they did, they would be marched out of the country in humiliation with no clothes.

There might have been another message. Judah would leave their nation the same way, although it wouldn't be the Assyrians that would take them captive, but the Babylonians. Regardless of who their captives would be, the people would be marched out of their nation in disgrace because they refused to follow their God.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 21

All you people of the world, you who live on the earth, when a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it, and when a trumpet sounds, you will hear it. – Isaiah 18:3

Today's Scripture Reading (May 13, 2026): Isaiah 18

Between 1715 and 1789, the population of France increased by about 27%, from 22 million to 28 million. That population increase in France caused a few problems, but the most serious was a food shortage. The population had increased by 6 million, but Frances's ability to feed them hadn't improved, at least not as much as it needed to. France's food shortage set the stage for the French Revolution, but it didn't act alone.

The poorer people began to believe a conspiracy theory that overlooked the population-growth problem. The people began to believe there was enough food because there had always been enough. The people began to believe that the elites were intentionally withholding food to reduce the population. It was a time of great fear in France. And it was at this time, with this fear, that the Queen, Marie Antoinette, supposedly told the hungry people to "let them eat cake." (If this phrase was uttered at all, which seems doubtful, the wording was more likely "let them eat brioche," a rich bread made with eggs and butter.) All of this produced a revolution that might have killed more than 1 million people, and a time when the executioners sometimes quickly became the executed. In the Reign of Terror alone (September 1793 and July 1794), about 17,000 people were officially executed, and another 10,000 died in prison without the benefit of a trial.

Conspiracy theories are like that. If we believe them, they can change our lives, and usually not for the better. Often, conspiracy theories arise from fear. And they still plague us; I still see them circulating on social media, intended to scare us into taking action that benefits someone, but that someone is not us.

God is speaking through Isaiah and is prophesying about the nation of Cush. Cush was a usually landlocked nation west of the Red Sea and south of Egypt, though at times its borders extended to the Red Sea and into the southern portions of present-day Egypt. But in the midst of this prophecy, God says that when He comes, we won't miss that event. It is something the Bible says elsewhere as well. When God acts, all the people will see his movement. His banner will be raised on a high hill, and the sounds of trumpets will roar out so that all will hear it. On that day, there won't be any doubt about whether God really exists; we will all know, because we will see him with our eyes and hear him with our ears. It won't be a conspiracy theory; it will be something that we all know.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 19 & 20

Yet some gleanings will remain, as when an olive tree is beaten, leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches, four or five on the fruitful boughs," declares the LORD, the God of Israel. – Isaiah 17:6

Today's Scripture Reading (May 12, 2026): Isaiah 17

There is an apple tree growing in my backyard. Every year, the tree produces more apples than we could possibly use. And so, we share bags of apples with the people around us. There is a bit of ritual. One day, usually in early September, my family gathers to pick apples. Everyone gets involved in the process, with my son and son-in-law often climbing the tree to reach the apples on the highest branches.

Days after the apples have been removed, it is amazing that as I sit by the tree, I inevitably find apples that were missed; apples that, for some reason, we were blind to on the day of the picking. We might take boxes of apples off the tree, but over more than two decades of picking the apples off the tree in my backyard, we have yet to get them all. What is even more amazing, at least to me, is that my neighbor has an apple tree as well. The tree has the same kind of apple, and every year they pick their apples. After they finish picking, I usually spot apples that have been left on their tree as well. We never get them all.

Isaiah speaks of an olive tree and notes that even after the olives have been removed, some remain on the tree. Some of the high ones are left, or olives that are hiding among the leaves. Olives that were still clinging to the tree hard enough that even when the tree is shaken, they do not fall. These olives serve as an important reminder for the prophet. Even when a nation is destroyed, there is always a remnant that is left behind. A remnant that can rebuild and begin the process over again, hopefully in a healthier way.

This idea of the remnant was an encouraging phenomenon for the prophet, and it should be for us as well. I admit that I sometimes worry about the health of the Christian Church. Sometimes I find that hate wins out over love. I worry that we have begun to tolerate our neighbor rather than love them. And maybe even a church that has decided to remake God in our image, rather than the other way around. As a church, it is a transformation that has brought pain in its wings. But Isaiah spoke of a remnant during his time, and I hope that same remnant exists today. I pray for a remnant that will begin to love again as Jesus loved. That we will care for our neighbors and sell out in an attempt to love God with everything that we are. That is the remnant that our church needs today. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 18

The waters of Nimrim are dried up and the grass is withered; the vegetation is gone and nothing green is left. – Isaiah 15:6

Today's Scripture Reading (May 11, 2026): Isaiah 15 & 16

Have you ever heard of the Sepik River? What about the Brahmaputra or Guadalquivir Rivers? Maybe the Indus River? I have to admit that I had never heard of the first three Rivers. However, I am familiar with the Indus River, maybe just because I listen to Anita Anand and William Dalrymple's "Empire" podcast. The Indus River flows through China and India, running the entire length of Pakistan, and empties into the Arabian Sea. The Indus is so important that it lends its name to one of the largest countries in the world: India. As for the Brahmaputra, it flows through Tibet, China, India, and Bangladesh, while the Guadalquivir River flows entirely within the boundaries of Spain. The Sepik River is located in Papua New Guinea. Every one of these rivers is essential to life in its area. Like so many rivers in the world, it was along the banks of these rivers that the cities of the area began to grow. Rivers bring life. And while we may not have heard of these rivers, that doesn't mean they are unimportant. Every city I have lived in has had a river running through it, and that is no accident.

We don't know what "the waters of Nimrim" might refer to. It might be a river, a lake, or even a city. What we know is that "the waters of Nimrim" were important for life. The word "Nimrim" refers to "pure" or "wholesome water." It can also indicate "basins of clear water." Nimrim itself was associated with the Kingdom of Moab: here in Isaiah, and again in the prophecy of Jeremiah after the fall of Jerusalem. Jeremiah is also speaking about Moab, and he writes;

"The sound of their cry rises
    from Heshbon to Elealeh and Jahaz,
from Zoar as far as Horonaim and Eglath Shelishiyah,
    for even the waters of Nimrim are dried up (Jeremiah 48:34).

From the context, we know that these waters were necessary for life and that they had disappeared. Without the water, life disappeared as well. It is hard to imagine how life could continue in the places where we live if the rivers or water sources that meander through our towns suddenly disappeared.

It is the subject of a conversation that Jesus had with an unnamed woman at a water source, in this case, a well. And every day, this woman had to come to the well to get the water that kept her alive. Jesus reminds the woman that while physical water gives us life, to truly live we need spiritual water as well.

Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:13-14).

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 17

The LORD has broken the rod of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers. – Isaiah 14:5

Today's Scripture Reading (May 10, 2026): Isaiah 14

Legacy is a strange thing. And experiences can shape how we view our leaders, even generations after their leadership ends. One example I have spent some time thinking about is the reign of King Leopold II of Belgium, who reigned for 44 years, from 1865 to 1909. The legacy of Leopold II might depend on where you experienced him. Some see him as a great leader of his time. Statues are built to him in Belgium. In a world that seems to have gone overboard with cancel culture, apparently, Leopold II has not been canceled.

Some of us see a good reason to "cancel" Leopold. Maybe the reason he hasn't been is that his sin occurred in Africa. Leopold believed that a nation's greatness depended on its overseas possessions, especially in Africa, which it could control. So, Leopold took over Congo in the heart of Africa. The problem is that Congo didn't become Belgian property; it essentially became Leopold's personal property. And Leopold might have been a good king in Belgium, but in what he called the Congo Free State, he was about as bad a tyrant as anyone can imagine. I need to make it clear that I have close friends who are Congolese, and I have heard some of the historical stories passed down from that proud nation's history.

The list of Leopold's sins is long. The atrocities ordered by Leopold in the Congo Free State include enslaving a people, torture, murder, kidnapping, and even the amputation of the hands and feet of people, including children, when the quota of rubber was not met. Leopold's practices in the Congo have been described by George Washington Williams, a pastor, naval officer, and politician, as a crime against humanity. The Congo continues to suffer today; it is divided and at war with itself, and one has to wonder how different life in central Africa might have been if it had never come under Leopold II's control. I know that over a century after the King's death, my friends still talk of his terrible reign in their country.

Isaiah argues that God breaks the power of the wicked and the scepter of wicked kings. I think that is sometimes true, but often I wonder if God couldn't do things just a little faster. Leopold II died peacefully in his bed from an embolism. Maybe, in Leopold's case, part of breaking the King's power was that his nephew, Albert I, succeeded him as King.

Or maybe the breaking of Leopold's power is the way some have remembered the King after his death. I have to admit that I feel the emotion and pain in the work of poets like Vachel Lindsay (1879-1931), who wrote of Leopold II,

Listen to the yell of Leopold's ghost.
Burning in Hell for his hand-maimed host.
Hear how the demons chuckle and yell.
Cutting his hands off, down in Hell (Vachel Lindsay, 1914).

Or maybe it is just the knowledge that even if we escape from this life with our power intact, we will still have to deal with God for our great sin at the end of the age.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 15 & 16

Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. – Isaiah 12:2

Today's Scripture Reading (May 9, 2026): Isaiah 12 & 13

When I was a youth pastor, the church had a rule that only Christian music could be played on church equipment. Unfortunately, determining which groups were Christian was not always easy. If we define Christian music as recordings sold in a Christian bookstore (this was before streaming), that is not always a perfect definition. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Larry Norman was too secular for Christian Bookstores. He was also too Christian for secular stores. 

The Progressive Rock band "Kansas" has produced songs that foreshadow evangelical Christianity. And several other bands have as well, including "The Fray." Take a listen to their lullaby, "Be Still."

            Be still and know that I'm with you

            Be still and know that I am here

Be still and know that I'm with you

            Be still, be still, and know.

            When darkness comes upon you

            And covers you with fear and shame

            Be still and know that I'm with you

            And I will say Your Name.

One teen decided that the definition of Christian was simply that they were American or Canadian. I mean, deep down, aren't we all Christian?

How do we know if someone is a Christian? It is a complex question, and one that I think we have muddied over the past few generations. In the world that existed a generation ago, when most people seemed to confess to being a Christian, Christians started adding rules. You were Christian if you went to church consistently. Or maybe if you attended mid-week services. Growing up, we spent a lot of time at the church, attending Sunday School, Morning, and Evening Services on Sundays, midweek services on Wednesday, Friday night activities for children and youth, with a Choir practice thrown in somewhere for good measure. But did any of that make us Christians?

There isn't a simple answer, but there are some clues that have nothing to do with church attendance, and Isaiah highlights one of them in this passage. Who has saved you? Or maybe more simply, do you even need to be saved? Have you asked God for forgiveness for the things that you have actively done wrong during your life? It isn't as easy a question as it might seem. Admitting that I have done wrong, or that I needed saving, is hard for most people. But as Christians, we have come to terms with this aspect of our lives. People who are still on the outside looking in often deny that they need a Savior, or that they have committed any sins large enough to need to ask forgiveness.

As Christians, we understand the depth of our sin. In fact, I admit that as I grow as a Christian, I am becoming more aware of my sin, and frequently need to ask forgiveness for things, like my attitude, that I would never have thought were wrong a decade ago. The closer I get to God's plan and his love for people, the more I realize how much I lack.

Isaiah says, "Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation." As Christians, we not only hear these words but also feel them and know their truth. I am forgiven, not because there wasn't anything significant to forgive, but because God has forgiven me, and he can forgive anything. I am saved not because I didn't need saving, but because God is my salvation. And he has rescued me!

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 14

 

He will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears. – Isaiah 11:3

Today's Scripture Reading (May 8, 2026): Isaiah 11

We do so much by appearances. We always have.

I love history, so let me spin a tale of ancient France for you. This story comes from long before the famous tale of D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers. The date is early June 1316, and Louis X is sitting on the throne of France. If you are a tennis fan, then Louis X is important to you. He holds the distinction of being the first tennis player whom we can actually name. Louis loved to play tennis. In fact, he loved it so much that he grew tired of tennis matches being ruled by something as unpredictable as the weather. And so, Louis X had the first indoor tennis court built so he could play whenever he felt like it. 

On this day in June 1316, Louis X is doing what he loved: playing tennis. Louis plays hard, exhausting himself. And then he settles down and cools off, enjoying vast quantities of cooled wine. A short time later, Louis X died. The official cause of death was pneumonia, supposedly because he drank too much cooled wine after an exhausting tennis match. (I am not sure that makes any sense.) Louis X was 26 years old when he died.

For Louis X, the mystery of the story was not quite over. Part of the problem was that, at the time of his death, Louis had a four-year-old daughter, but the nobles in France were unsure whether they wanted a Queen to rule over them. Luckily, Louis's wife was pregnant, so there was at least the possibility of a son to rule over the nation. So, France waited somewhat patiently for the baby's birth.

John was born on November 15, 1316. And he is one of the few who can say that he was the King from his very first breath. But the story of this baby boy also highlights the dangers of having an infant King. John I of France was King of France for five days. On November 20, 1316, John I, the King of France, died. Now, the reality is that infant mortality in the 14^th century was high. It is possible that a baby, even one as affluent and well cared for as John, could have died of natural causes. But for some, there is too much of a coincidence here. A 26-year-old athlete dies of pneumonia after a hard day of playing tennis, and then his son dies five days after being born. Within days of John's death, there were accusations that these deaths couldn't be blamed on natural causes. Some began to believe that the kings were both poisoned.

The most obvious beneficiary of the deaths of these Kings was Philip the Tall, John's uncle, who engineered a hasty coronation as soon as his nephew was dead, becoming Philip V. But who really knew? At the time, Palace intrigue was normal, even when it involved children. Philip would die at the age of 29, after suffering from many mysterious illnesses, and he left no male heir. Philip was succeeded as King by Charles IV of France, his younger brother, who died at 33. Charles IV also died without a male heir, and France, ever since Louis's death, had been unwilling to allow a daughter to sit on the throne. It was not that Charles had no children. He had five at the time of his death, and his wife, like Louis's, was pregnant. However, all of Charles' children died young, including his two sons: Philip, who died at 8, and Louis, who did not make it to one year. Charles's wife gave birth to a daughter, whom she named Blanche, after his death, and, as a woman, she was not eligible to ascend the French throne. That might have been the best thing to happen to Blanche. Blanche, disqualified from the throne by law, died at the age of 65, beating all of her relatives in recent memory.

The Messiah would come from humble beginnings and judge by righteousness, not by wealth or power. In his reign, ideas like right and wrong were not based on who you were. It wouldn't be based on political alignment or even religious alignment. Right would be right and wrong would be wrong. It is a world where children, even the children of kings, could be protected.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 12 & 13

Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees. – Isaiah 10:1

Today's Scripture Reading (May 7, 2026): Isaiah 10

In November 2025, six American politicians, Senators Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin, alongside Representatives Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander, Jason Crow, and Chrissy Houlahan, released a video that clearly stated that members of the American military must not follow illegal orders. It is an important concept that has become even more important in the wake of the Second World War. The defense of many of the Nazi officers and soldiers in the aftermath of the war was that the war crimes committed, especially in the concentration camps, were a result of following orders. The action might be illegal, but what is a soldier supposed to do when an order is received through the legitimate chain of command? The trials that followed World War II made it clear that "I was just following orders" was not a defense when someone is accused of war crimes, although the further up you might be in the "chain of command," the greater the punishment you might incur.

It didn't take long for people to misunderstand the message of these six politicians. One person wrote on X (formerly Twitter),

Several members of Congress suggested the military refuse legal orders. This is seditious and traitorous behavior. These same politicians are now hiding behind their military record. Let me remind you that before Major General Benedict Arnold's treason, he was a decorated hero.

The post also featured a picture of America's infamous traitor. But that was not the message that Senator Kelly and his friends sent. The six politicians argued that illegal orders cannot be obeyed.

Isaiah would agree. Any order that is illegal or creates oppression should not be followed, even if it benefits some in society. These illegal orders are not an issue of a particular political party. Throughout the history of politics, I think that every political party has had "stupid moments." Every party has probably issued illegal orders or immoral laws. No one has a corner on that. But maybe we need to realize that the wealthy and the powerful do not need laws. Laws and orders in our societies are always for the benefit of the weak and the poor, ensuring that everyone has a chance to live the dream. Societies work when they care for "the least of these." They are dysfunctional when they don't. Isaiah makes it clear that God stands with the oppressed and with the laws and orders enacted to defend them. And woe to those from any political party that makes life harder for the needy living among us.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 10

Personal Note: Happy Birthday to my son, Craig.