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Scripture Reading  : Isaiah 5

Theme                  : Woe to Israel, God’s Vineyard

Israel as Vineyard (1-7). Most likely this is God the father speaking to God the son about the Son’s vineyard. The Father has done all that is expected of a vinedresser, but the vineyard did not produce fruit. So God asks Israel what He should do to it. Naturally, they would all say, tear it down. So God agrees with them and reveals that the vineyard is Israel (cf. 2 Sam. 12:7). God has brought Israel to the promised land and cultivated it, but instead of producing righteousness, Israel produces outcries of injustice and bloodshed. So God will tear them down.

Woe to Israel (8-23). God pronounces woes/judgments on Israel with sadness (cf. Luke 19:41-44). The Jews were kiasu in regards to drinking alcohol, doing wickedness and stealing. They taunt God by saying where is His judgment so that they can see it and believe Him. They did the same to Jesus when He was on the cross (Matt. 27:42).

Judgment on Israel (24-30). This judgment on Israel is referring to God’s ultimate judgment in the end times when He will bring the nations to attack Israel for their sins. In the end times, God will unleash His full wrath on Israel and the world for their gross sins and then completely take away the sins of Israel and the world. In the meantime, before this ultimate judgment in the end times, God will punish Israel by exiling them to Babylon for their many sins. But the ultimate judgment and restoration are reserved for the end times. These smaller exiles/judgments serve as patterns of the ultimate exile/judgment in the end times (Zech. 14:2).

Praying the Scripture

1. God is angry and sorrowful over the sins of Israel and the world just as Jesus was both angry and sad toward the hard-hearted Pharisees (Mark 3:5). God is angry because He is righteous. He is sorrowful because He loves sinners. He does not want to punish them but He must punish them for their wickedness in order to satisfy His justice. When we see sins in the world, we also ought to be angry because of our love for God’s righteousness. But we also must be sad for the sinners because of our love for them. If you are always angry toward sinners, but never grieved by their sins then you are out of balance and need to grieve more and be angry less. You need to love and grieve over sinners because you do not want to see them be destroyed but to repent. But, if they do not repent, there will be a day of reckoning. You must warn people of this day. Pray that God will help you to love sinners by grieving over their sins.

Scripture Reading  : Isaiah 3-4

Theme                  : End Times Judgment and Restoration

Removal of Male Leadership (3:1-15). Here, God describes His judgment against Israel’s sins in the end times, which also reflects to some degree God’s looming judgment, through Assyria and Babylon, against the sins of Isaiah’s generation. God will remove key male leaders to the point where only immature, foolish, self-willed, children-like leaders will be available. The qualification for leadership will be so low that one just needs to have a cloak. The Jews are the one who will bring these punishments upon themselves (v.9). For they are oppressors of the defenseless, devouring the weak and crushing the poor. They force God to punishment righteously.

Removal of Proud Women (3:16-4:1). God will also punish the proud women of Israel. They are like the wicked Jezebel, who indulge in luxury, live for pleasure and external ornaments. God will take everything they love from them and give them the opposites: from perfume to rottenness, from nice hair to baldness, from beauty to branding (enslavement). Men will be so few as result of death, that women will fight over men for husbands to have children (unable to marry and have children were a reproach back then).

Establishment of God’s Glory (4:2-6). Again, Isaiah agrees with other prophets that in the end times, there will be a remnant in Israel whom God will save. These remnants, along with resurrected saints, will see God’s amazing glory just as Israel saw God’s glory during the first exodus. There will be complete peace and security because the Messiah will remove sin.

Praying the Scripture

1. God focuses so much on the end times in the major and minor prophets because it is in the end times that God will completely get rid of Israel’s sins (Dan. 9:24), also the sins of the world, and then commence everlasting righteousness on earth. It is also in the end times that God will fulfill His promise to crush Satan (Gen 3:15; Rev. 20:2) and give Israel permanent peace (2 Sam. 7:10). This is God’s big plan and He wants believers to understand it, hope for it, yearn for it and live for it. Pray that you will not be short-sighted, but realize you are a pilgrim on this earth. You ought to live for the everlasting righteous Messianic Kingdom by denying your sins thousands of times every day and be witnesses for Christ on this earth (2 Pet. 3:11-12). God wants us to understand and agree with Him that such glorious eternal kingdom is worth giving up temporary earthly comfort. Pray that your heart will align with God’s heart, your value with God’s value.

Scripture Reading  : Isaiah 2

Theme                  : Glory and Judgment

The Awe of God’s Glory (1-5). The Jews are more in awe of their idols and the fleeing pleasures of sin than in awe of God and His glorious Messianic Kingdom. This Kingdom will be absolutely amazing. Jerusalem will be the highest mountain on earth, signifying its highest authority and glory on earth because it will be the capital of the Messiah’s Kingdom on earth (Micah 4:1). All the nations will forsake idols and worship the Messiah. No more worship of Buddha, Allah, or animals. Your neighbours will all worship Jesus. This is what Paul was referring to when he said God will reconcile all things through Him (Col. 1:20). There will be world peace, no more wars or preparation for war. Unrepentant people will forfeit such glory and weep bitterly forever.

The Awfulness of God’s Judgment (10-31). Not only will unrepentant people miss out on God’s glorious Messianic Kingdom, which is a foretaste of heaven, but they will also be judged by God during the Day of the Lord (which is not one literal day but a period of time. 7 years to be exact). It is a day when God will humble all the pride of humans. God commands in v. 22, “stop regarding man…for of what account is he?” in order to exhort people to stop trusting themselves, to stop using themselves as the standard to judge everything as if they are God, and to stop seeking ultimate approval from people.

Praying the Scripture

1. Pride is the enemy of faith. Even the apostles of Jesus struggled with it (Luke 22:27). Humility is necessary to enter heaven (Matt. 18:3). It is so important that we should treasure it and not play with the fire of pride, in all its form. We should not have self-righteous pride and we should not pursue personal pride. We ought to pursue humble serve, for God Himself is humble and this is the standard of true greatness and beauty. Pray that God will open your heart to see the greatness of humility and the shamefulness and stupidity of pride. Pursue humility and forsake pride in all its forms.

2. One of the greatest obstacle to faith is the desire to seek ultimate worth from the approval of people instead of God. One of the main reasons why Israel rebelled against God is because they wanted the approval of people more than God’s approval. Such mindset will only lead to disappointment, frustration, exhaustion, sadness, excruciating burdens and death. This is why Jesus wants us to seek His approval, not the world’s. Matt. 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Liao Zhi is a well-known earthquake survivor in China for her inspiring new life as a dancer with prosthetics legs after losing both of her legs in an earthquake that killed 69,000. She publicly and regularly testifies about God’s amazing grace in saving her physically and spiritually. She says this about her new life in Jesus, “If I live with the freedom and joy like a bird, it’s because I no longer chase the world’s praise, but enjoy God’s sweetness in my soul.” Pray that God will open your heart to see that it is more profitable to seek God’s approval rather than people.

经文：以赛亚书2

主题：荣耀与审判

神荣耀的威严（1-5）。与神的威严和祂荣耀的弥赛亚国度相比，犹太人更敬畏他们的偶像，更喜欢罪所带来的短暂享受。实际上，弥赛亚的国度将是万分之奇妙的。耶路撒冷将是世上最高的一座山；这象征她在地上至高的权威和荣耀，因为她将是弥赛亚国度在世的首都（弥4:1）。万国都会离弃偶像敬拜弥赛亚。世人不会再拜佛像、阿拉或动物了。你的邻舍全都会拜耶稣。当保罗说神会使万物都与祂和好，他指的就是这事（西1:20）。世界将有和平，再也没有战争或为争战预备的状态。不愿悔改的人则不会领受这份荣耀，永远哀声哭泣。

神审判的可怕（10-31）。不愿悔改的人不但会错过神荣耀的弥赛亚国度（天堂的预示），还会在耶和华的日子受到神的审判（指的不是一天，而是七年之久）。到那日，神将使所有眼目高傲的人谦卑。神在22节中吩咐：“ 你们休要倚靠世人……他在一切事上可算什么呢？”神劝诫人要停止信靠自己，停止用自己的标准衡量万物，以为自己是神；人要停止讨他人的喜悦，犹如那是最大的悦纳。

用经文祷告

1. 骄傲是信心之敌；连耶稣的使徒也曾与此挣扎（路22:27）。人要谦卑才能踏入天国（太18:3）。我们勿要秉持谦卑的心，不要玩弄骄傲之火，各种形态的都不能。我们不当有自义的骄傲，也不当追求个人的骄傲。我们要追求谦卑的事奉，因为神自己是谦卑的，而这是真实的伟大与荣美的标准。祈求神会开启你的心眼，叫你看见谦卑的伟大与骄傲的羞耻和愚昧。我们要追求谦卑，舍弃各种样式的骄傲。

2. 信神最大的阻碍就是最终渴望得到人的赞许，不是神的。以色列悖逆神的主要原因是想得到人的赞许，远过于神的。这种观念只会让人走入失望、挫败、疲惫、忧伤、极度的压迫和死亡中。这就是耶稣为什么要我们寻求得到祂的悦纳，不是世界的。祂在马太福音11:28-30说：“凡劳苦担重担的人，可以到我这里来，我就使你们得安息。我心里柔和谦卑，你们当负我的轭，学我的样式，这样你们心里就必得享安息。因为我的轭是容易的，我的担子是轻省的。”廖智是一名地震生还者；她的名声遍布中国，因为她曾在一场死了六万九千人的地震中失去了双腿，却能在装上假肢后勇敢地继续跳舞，令人万分敬佩。她常常公开见证神拯救她身心灵的这份奇妙恩典。她用这段话形容自己在耶稣里的新生命：“我若能像小鸟一样自由、喜乐地生活，那是因为自己不再追寻世界的赞美，而是享受神在我灵里面的甜蜜。”祈求神能敞开你的心，看见寻求神的赞许比人的来得可贵。

Scripture Reading  : Isaiah 1

Theme                  : God’s Charge against His People

Isaiah was a prophet to Judah, the southern kingdom, from the time of Uzziah to Hezekiah (ca. 739-686 B.C.). During Uzziah’s rule, Judah became strong militarily and economically. But it was in a spiritual stupor. God sends Isaiah to rebuke the unbelievers and to encourage the believers. As a nation, it never recovered from its idolatry but continued to sin. Like most prophets, Isaiah’s message is about the sin of Israel and how God will put an end to sin once and for all through the Messiah. Isaiah’s contemporaries were Micah and Hosea. Based on tradition, Isaiah was killed by the evil king Manasseh,

God’s Charge (1-9). God charges Judah with rebellion and idolatry. It is compared to Sodom and Gomorrah, the proverbial wickedness of the day. Modern equivalent would be Geylang, but 100 times worse. As result, the whole nation is sick spiritually and physically. If it were not for the grace of God, the whole nation would be completely wiped out. By God’s grace, only a remnant will survive.

God’s Offer (10-31). God offers Judah, especially the leaders, to reconcile with Him by turning away from idols (practiced under oaks and in gardens, v. 29) and empty rituals, and start worshipping Him. When they worship Him, they ought also to turn away from evil: murder, apathy toward the defenseless, lust, jealous, stealing, bribery and etc. If they do not repent, then they are God’s enemies, not part of His covenantal community.

Praying the Scripture

1. God’s law makes it clear that we are all sinners. We have all lied, stolen, hated people, lusted, been jealous, and desired idols in our heart. All these sins requires punishment from a righteous God. Sin does not just bring about the righteous punishment of God, but it causes us to be estranged from the Creator of the universe who can answer our prayers and guide us in this chaotic world. It is indeed sad to forsake God and worship idols that cannot speak. May we be faithful to bring a message about both the righteous judgment of God and the grace of God to forgive sins and to guide them in this trouble world.

2. The leaders of a spiritual community are the gatekeepers of the community. When the leaders of the Israel became corrupt, the whole nation became corrupt. This is why God heavily emphasizes the spiritual qualification of church leaders in 1 Tim. 3:1-13 and Titus 1:5-9. Churches with spiritually corrupt leaders are doomed and will be judged by Christ. Jesus warned the seven churches in Revelation 2-3 of their sins. Let us pray that God will open the eyes of false religious leaders and followers, including prosperity gospel churches, so that they will forsake their false, evil teachings. Pray for God to vindicate His glorious name that is being slandered by these false teachers and Christians. There is a day of reckoning for the unrepentant.