Month: November 2023

“I am the Lord; there is no other God. I have equipped you for battle, though you don’t even know Me, so all the world from east to west will know there is not other God. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I create the light and make the darkness. I send good times and bad times. I, the Lord am the one who does these things.

Open up, O heavens, and pour out your righteousness. Let the earth open wide so salvation and righteousness can sprout up together. I the Lord created them.” (vv. 5-8, NLT)

“Pay attention, O Jacob, for you are My servant, O Israel. I, the Lord made you, and I will not forget you. I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to Me, for I have paid the price to set you free.

Sing, O heavens, for the Lord had done this wondrous thing. Shout for joy, O depths of the earth! Break into song, O mountains and forests and every tree! For the Lord has redeemed Jacob and is glorified in Israel.

This is what the Lord says – your Redeemer and Creator: ‘I am the Lord, who made all things. I alone stretched out the heavens. Who was with e when I made the earth? I expose the false prophets as liars and make fools of the fortune- tellers. I cause the wise to give bad advice, thus proving them to be fools. But I carry out the predictions of My prophets! By them I say to Jerusalem, ‘People will live here again, and to the towns of Judah, ‘You will be rebuilt; I will restore all your ruins! When I speak to the rivers an say,’Dry up!” they will be dry. When I say of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd,’ he will certainly do as I say. He will command, ;Rebuild Jerusalem’; he will say,’Restore the Temple.'” (vv. 21-28, NLT)

“But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the One who formed you says,’Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name, you are Mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, You will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.'” (vv. 1-3, NLT)

“‘Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will gather your children from east and west. I will say to the north and south, ‘Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel for the distant corners of the earth. Bring all who claim me as their god, fo rI have made them for My glory. It was I who created them.’ ‘ ” (vv. 5-7, NLT)

“‘I, yes I, am the Lord, and there is no other Savior. First I predicted your rescue, then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world. No foreign god has ever done this. You are witness that I am the only God,’ says the Lord.

‘From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can snatch you out of My hand. No one can undo what I have done.'” (vv. 11-13, NLT)

“I have called you back from the ends of the earth saying, ‘You are my servant.’ For I have chosen you and will not throw you away. Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” (vv. 9-10, NLT)

“Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by name. Because of His great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?

Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of His understanding.

He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” (vv. 26-31, NLT)

Hezekiah’s Poem of Praise

“I waited patiently all night, but I waa torn apart as though by lions. Suddenly, my life was over. Delirious, I chattered like a swallow or a crane, and then I moaned like a mourning dove. My eyes grew tired of looking to heaven for help. I am in trouble Lord. Help me!

But what could I say? For He Himself sent this sickness. No I will walk humbly throughout my years because of this anguish I have felt. Lord, Your discipline is good, for it leads to life and health. You restore my health and allow me to live! Yes, this anguish was good for me, for you have rescued me from death and forgiven all my sins. For the dead cannot praise you; they cannot raise their voices in praise. Those who go down to the grave can. no longer hope in Your faithfulness. Only the living can praise You as I do today. Each generation tells of Your faithfulness to the next. Think of it-the Lord is ready to heal me! I will singe His praises with instruments every day of my life in the Temple of the Lord.” (vv. 13-20, NLT)

“About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: ‘This is what the Lord says: set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from your illness.’

When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ‘Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing good and what pleases you.’ Then he broke down and wept bitterly.

Then this message came to Isaiah from the Lord: ‘Go back to Hezekiah and tell him, This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. Yes, I will defend this city.

And this is a the sign from the Lord to prove that He will do as promised. I will cause the sun’s shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial of Ahaz!’ So the shadow of the sundial moved backward ten steps.” (vv. 1-8, NLT)

“Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: ‘This what the Lord, the God of Israel says: Because you prayed about King Sennacherib of Assyria, the Lord has spoken this word against him: The virgin daughter of Zion despises you and laughs at you. The daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head in derision as you flee.'” (vv. 21-22, NLT)

“And this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: ‘His armies will not enter Jerusalem. They will not even shoot an arrow at it. They will not march outside with gates with their shields nor build banks of earth against its walls.'” (v. 33)

“That night the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. Then Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land. He went home to his capital of Nineveh and stayed there.

One day while he was worshipping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with their swords. They then escaped to the land of Aratat, and another son Esarhaddon, became the next king of Assyria.” (vv. 36-38, NLT)

“And a great road will go through that once deserted land.It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s way; fools will never walk there. Lions will not lurk along its course, nor any other ferocious beasts. There will be no other dangers. Only the redeemed will walk on it. Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return. They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness.” (vv. 8-10, NLT)

“Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses. Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers an singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plan of Sharon. There the Lord will display His glory, and the splendor of our God.

With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands and encourage those who have weak knees. Say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.’

And when He comes, He will open the eyes of the blind, and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland. The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. March grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.” (vv. 1-7, NLT)