Isaiah 9: 1-4 Isaiah acknowledges dark times in the past for God’s people, when the areas occupied by the tribes of Zebulum and Naphtali were lost to enemies.  But, he also recalls a past victory at Median to arouse expectations … Continue reading →

Isaiah 49: 1-7 “My cause is with the Lord, and my reward with my God… the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, has chosen you.”  Who are the identities of these pronouns– “my” and “you?”  Are they … Continue reading →

Isaiah 42: 1-9 The Lord announces how the Lord’s restoration of the “covenant people” and, through them, all nations, will be accomplished.  The Lord will use “my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights….”  The Lord … Continue reading →

Isaiah 60:1-6 The canonical Book of Isaiah is composed as a crescendo of recurring themes; each time a theme is revisited, the language is a little more extravagant.  In this passage, despite “thick darkness,” which had engulfed the nations, not … Continue reading →

Jeremiah 31:7-14 Jeremiah, with Ezekiel and Isaiah, dared to speak public words of hope in a desperate time of exile with an announcement: “…says the Lord,” “See I am going to bring… gather them [God’s people in diaspora] from the … Continue reading →

Numbers 6: 22-27 The Lord instructs Moses to relay to Aaron and his descendants the authority and the precise language for blessing God’s people: to bless and keep, show the Lord’s face and countenance and “give you peace.”  With this … Continue reading →

Isaiah 61:10-62:3 The canonical Book of Isaiah is a compendium of interpretations.  Chapters 1-39 are generally attributed to the historical prophet, but even within that original text, chapter 28 is regarded as a reinterpretation by Isaiah himself of the rest … Continue reading →

Christmas I Isaiah 9:1-7 Our comments throughout Advent described the  paradoxical perspective of a new, unexpected, liberating  action by God in the midst of human confusion, doubt and despair.  In the history of patriarchal and matriarchal Israel, that hope in … Continue reading →

Isaiah 7: 10-16 Walter Brueggemann makes a sharp difference between the two distinctive ways God acts: one is through normal human experiences and processes; the other is something “utterly new.”  He regards Isaiah 7:14 as an example of “the sovereign … Continue reading →

Isaiah 35: 1-10 This chapter is a hinge chapter; either it belongs to the previous thirty-four chapters or it is a bridge to a later addition of the final Book of Isaiah.  It retains the intensity found throughout the Book … Continue reading →