Ep. 159. Isaiah 27-28 | Crown Of Glory

EPISODE 159

CROWN OF GLORY: ISAIAH 27-28

Pay special attention to the phrase "In that day" scattered throughout today's reading. (and the rest of the prophets, for that matter) Here are three small things for you today. First, several prophesies show that Egypt and Assyria will ultimately turn to God. This would have been not easy to swallow for the Jewish people. They had lived in Egypt for 430 years, many of those as slaves. The Assyrians had brutally oppressed them. To think that these two nations could turn to the Lord would have been difficult to imagine if not utterly offensive to the hearers. But there is another side to this prophesy. In Jeremiah, we will see that the people of Judah turn to Egypt and Assyria for help rather than to the Lord. By Jeremiah, the people of Judah will be steeped in idolatry and will have rejected God as their King. (again) So, no matter how you slice it, the fact that the people of Egypt and Assyria will turn to God is a shame for the people of Israel. Either because they were wicked oppressors to the Hebrews or because the Hebrews sought them for strength rather than seeking God, and now these pagan nations have turned to God first.

Second, Paul quotes "For by people of strange lips and with a foreign tongue the Lord will speak to this people" in 1 Corinthians as it relates to instructions and intent on the gift of tongues. This means that the only way for us to understand the gift of tongues rightly is to understand what God means by it here through the prophet Isaiah. I admit that I only have thoughts on the matter and nothing completely concrete in my mind.

Third, Isaiah 28:16 gives us a beautiful quote used by Paul in the New Testament again. "I have laid a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone: 'Whoever believes will not be in haste (or put to shame).'" Jesus was the stone of stumbling and the rock of offense to the Jews. Rather than believe in him, they were offended by him. But all who put their confidence in Christ need not be fearful of shame. He is the "sure foundation."

ADDITIONAL READING: Isaiah 11:11; 1 Corinthians 14:21; Romans 9:33; Isaiah 19: 19-24