Tag Archives: God’s faithfulness

Isaiah 40: one prophecy with three fulfillments

Grace and Judgment Posted on by

Isaiah 40:1-11 may be one of the best-known passages among all the Old Testament prophets. As anyone who knows Handel’s Messiah will immediately recognize, the text for several movements in the first part come from the first eleven verses:

  • Isaiah 40:1-4, the first tenor recitative and aria, “Comfort ye my people” and “Every valley shall be exalted”
  • Isaiah 40:5, the first chorus, “And the glory of the Lord”
  • Isaiah 40:9, part of the first alto aria (with chorus), “O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion”
  • Isaiah 40:11, the second alto aria, “He shall feed his flock”

We associate these verses with the Christmas story because John the Baptist claimed to be the “voice of him that crieth in the wilderness,” words quoted in the tenor recitative.… Read the rest

Predestination and the Jews in Romans 9

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Romans 9 may be the most troublesome chapter in the New Testament. Misunderstandings of this chapter have led to a caricature of the doctrine of predestination that teaches that God in his sovereignty has already decided who will and will not be saved and, as a result, nothing mere humans do will.

They have also led to centuries of Christian teaching that God rejected the Jews.

Popular commentator William Barclay even declared that Paul got the whole thing wrong!

… Read the rest

Isaiah 40: one prophecy, three fulfillments

Grace and Judgment Posted on by

Isaiah 40:11 stained glass windowIsaiah 40 may be one of the best-known passage among all the Old Testament prophets. Anyone who knows Handel’s Messiah will immediately recognize the text for some of the familiar pieces. “Comfort ye my people” and “Every valley shall be exalted” (the first tenor recitative and aria), “And the glory of the Lord,” (the first chorus), “O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion” (the first alto aria, (with chorus), and “He shall feed his flock” (the second alto aria) all come from first eleven verses of the chapter:

We associate these verses with the Christmas story at least because John the Baptist claimed to be the “voice of him that crieth in the wilderness,” words quoted in the tenor recitative.… Read the rest

Wickedness: our questions and God’s answers

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Today, fanatical Muslims blow themselves up in crowded market places in the name of their god. They didn’t invent terrorism and are not alone in dishonoring their own religion by their actions.  Christians, too, have been guilty. What else can serial murders of abortionists be called?

Many historians describe the tactics of radical abolitionist John Brown an injection of terrorism into American politics, and he though he was acting for God. The religious policies of Spanish King Philip II and Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II amount to state-sponsored terrorism in the name of God.

Not all wickedness is violent. Those who devise Internet scams, those who choose profits over human lives in board rooms, and any others who steal at long distance do not sin violently.… Read the rest

God’s presence in the storms of life

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Clouds get so thick they obscure the sun. The air becomes heavy with humidity. The wind picks up. Rumbles of thunder come closer and closer. Soon it’s raining hard. Forget your plans and run for safety, as lightning flashes and all manner of debris flies through the air.

Does that sound like a description of what the weather outside can be like? Or does it sometime sound like a metaphor for our lives? The loss of a job, the breakup of an important relationship, the death of a loved one, health issues–don’t these things often seem like a storm, with the ensuing flooding or loss of power or damage from falling trees?… Read the rest