“But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together,

And those who forsake the Lord will come to an end.

Surely you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired,

And you will be embarrassed at the gardens which you have chosen.

For you will be like an oak whose leaf fades away

Or as a garden that has no water.

The strong man will become tinder,

His work also a spark.

Thus they shall both burn together

And there will be none to quench them.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭1‬:‭28‬-‭31‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

The last passage in Isaiah 1 once again warns the people of Judah that transgressors and sinners will be crushed together. Those who forsake the Lord will come to an end. Transgressors is translated from the Hebrew (פָּשַׁע pâshaʻ, paw-shahto) to also mean those in revolt or rebels.

Next there is a strange passage about being ashamed of the oaks that they desired and embarrassed at the gardens that were chosen. According to many commentaries I read, this is in reference to the fact that pagan idols and offerings were often placed beneath oak or terebinth (turpentine) trees, and gardens were put in place to appease these false gods. The idolatry in these groves and gardens led to many other sins. I’ve decided to bring commentary from Bible Hub into the mix because of the more limited commentary from my usual sources. Here is what Pulpit Commentary has to say as cited on Bible Hub:

Verse 29. - The oaks which ye have desired are, primarily, the "green trees" under which images were set up (2 Kings 17:10), but perhaps represent also any worldly attractions which draw the soul away from God - as wealth, or power, or honors. In the day of suffering, sinners are ashamed of having been led away by such poor temptations as those to which they have yielded (comp. Romans 6:21, "What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed?"). The gardens. Kay suggests "idolatrous pleasure-gardens as those at Daphne, near Antioch, "which is a reasonable exegesis. Such were probably to be found wherever Astarte, or the "Dea Syra," was worshipped. Isaiah 1:29

David Guzik has this to say about the shame and embarrassment of sin and idol worship, as noted in Enduring Word:

e. They shall be ashamed of the terebinth trees which you have desired: These terebinth trees were sites of pagan worship which idol-loving Judah kept among them. When Zion is redeemed with justice, they would be ashamed of their former idolatries.

• i. It is good to be ashamed and embarrassed over sin. There is something wrong with us when we are shameless or beyond embarrassment. God promised He would give Judah the gift of shame and embarrassment over sin again.

• ii. “Sacred trees played an important part in the Canaanite fertility cult…for deciduous trees like the oak or terebinth may well have symbolized the death and rebirth of the god. The ‘gardens’ may be groves of these trees, or, alternatively, places of sacred springs or wells.” (Grogan)

f. As a terebinth tree whose leaf fades…as a garden that has no water…. The strong shall be as tinder…both will burn together: The LORD spoke here of the spiritual dryness of Judah. Though they continued their religious ritual and ceremony, they were still spiritually dry. And as dry trees, dry gardens, and dry tinder are ready to burn, so was an unrepentant Judah ready to feel the fires of God’s refining judgment.

The AI image at the top shows a dry oak tree outside of Jerusalem that represents spiritual dryness. By the way, I love God’s creation, but a modern-day idolatry occurs when creation is worshipped and served above or instead of any consideration given to the Creator or to other human beings.

Precept Austin has a good quote from Alexander MacLaren on what sin does to humans:

Sin withers. We see the picture of a blasted tree in the woods, while all around are in full leaf, with tiny leaves half developed and all brown at the edges. The prophet draws another picture, that of a garden not irrigated, and therefore, in the burning East, given over to barrenness. Sin makes men fruitless and withered. It involves separation from God, the source of all fruitfulness (Ps. 1).

Think of how many pure desires and innocent susceptibilities die out of a sinful soul. Think of how many capacities for good disappear. Think of how dry and seared the heart becomes.

Think of how conscience is stifled. All sin, any sin, does this.

Not only gross, open transgressions, but any piece of godless living will do it.

Whatever a man does against his conscience—neglect of duty, habitual unveracity, idleness—in a word, his besetting sin withers him up.

And all the while the evil thing that is drawing his life-blood is growing like a poisonous, blotched fungus in a wine-cask. (Read full sermon - Isaiah 1:30, 31 What Sin Does to Men)

Precept Austin takes the admonitions in these verses in Isaiah a step further with a section in their commentary that points to a similar passage in Romans 1:

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬-‭32‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Charles Spurgeon agreed with Paul in Romans 1, but he had this to say about the passage (as noted in Enduring Word):

“This first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans is a dreadful portion of the Word of God. I should hardly like to read it all through aloud; it is not intended to be so used. Read it at home, and be startled at the awful vices of the Gentile world.” (Spurgeon).

Well, I think Romans 1 SHOULD be read aloud from the pulpit. Too many people are willing to throw out Paul’s epistles or avoid them because Paul refused to endorse their sins but rather he called those sins out in blazing and cringe-worthy honesty, just like Isaiah speaking for the Lord. The people had not improved by the time of Paul, but were doing their best to emulate the worst biblical examples of Sodom and Gomorrah or the pagan idolatry of the people of Judah and Israel. And now, in 2026, several mainstream denominations are embracing the very depravities that Paul warned against. That is not “loving” behavior but a serious risk to the souls of those who still attend those churches. They are exchanging the truth of God for a lie.

At our service this last Sunday at church, the sermon was a continuation of the series on the Biblical characters of Isaac, Jacob, Laban, Esau, Rachel, Rebekah, Leah and their various relations and woes and foibles and enemies. The sermon focused on Genesis 34. The pastor asked that parents might consider removing their children from the sanctuary as this passage talks about Dinah, one of Jacob’s daughters and what happened to her and how she was avenged. It was not a pretty picture. What I appreciate more and more about the Bible is how it contrasts the worst in humanity against the best that can be found looking at a pure, holy and righteous God. The stories and examples are not hidden or whitewashed but there for all to see that sin is indeed real and the enemy has not retreated. “Strong men” who reject the word of God are like the most flammable material you can imagine in a dry, desecrated world full of rebellion.

Well, now we will move on to Isaiah 2. My next devotional examines Isaiah 2:1-4, In the Last Days the Mountain of the House of the Lord is Established.

Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:

Dear Lord - Thank you for the insights into the first chapter of Isaiah. I have a long ways to go but the journey is exhilarating! Amen

Citations and Credits:

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org.

Precept Austin was accessed on 07/27/2026 to review commentary for Isaiah 1:28-31.

Bible Hub was accessed on 07/27/2026 to review commentary for Isaiah 1:28-31.

Commentary from Enduring Word is used with written permission and without any alteration. ©1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com. At the link referenced, the bibliography used by David Guzik can be accessed.

Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) using the DALL·E model. “A first-century household servant has kept a lamp burning through the night and is now opening the heavy wooden door as his master approaches in the early morning. The home is orderly, the servant’s work is complete, and he greets the returning master with a warm, confident expression. This illustrates being prepared, faithful, and unashamed when the Lord returns.”

God is continuing to point me to John’s first epistle this month; this is the third time He has chosen verses from this letter for me to study.

I must admit that I was a bit confused about what this verse — and the following verse — were all about. Fortunately, Enduring Word cleared up the confusion with one glance at the headline for this section: “What it means to live in Jesus”.

Abide is not a word that we hear a lot in our day and age, which is probably why the New International Version translation of the Bible that I prefer uses the term “continue in him”. The NASB95, ESV, and NKJV translations use “abide in him,” while NASB2020 has “remain in him.” The original Koine Greek word used here is μένω (menō), which has the definitions “to remain, abide”, “to continue to be present”, and (interestingly) “to wait for, await one”. Who are Christians supposed to abide in? Jesus Christ!

John prefaces this command to “continue in him” with a nice fatherly touch — “And now, dear children.” That’s a trait of John’s writing, this affectionate tone towards the believers who will read his letters. Using that term demonstrates a very close and personal relationship, as if he was their father instructing them in their spiritual growth. John used this term throughout his first letter, showing just how close he was to the early Christians.

Next, John gives his readers reasons why they should “continue in him” — “so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.” Enduring Word provides a detailed explanation:

American Baptist pastor W.A. Criswell, cited on Precept Austin, contrasted the two reactions that one might have to Christ’s return:

That’s exactly what John is getting at in this verse. If we abide in Jesus Christ, we will be confident when He returns. If we choose to live “in the world” instead, our behavior and lack of faith will make us ashamed before Him. Here’s a question to ponder as I conclude this devotional: If Jesus were to return tomorrow, would you show confidence or shame? If shame at the way you are living your life is what you’d feel, remember that there is still time to change!

Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:

Lord, help me each day to abide in You, so that I may stand with confidence before You when You return, without shame and filled with Your love. Guide me to trust in Your Word, and to live in a way that is pleasing to You. May my life in You deepen as I strive to follow Your commandments and be a reflection of Your righteousness. AMEN.

Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Commentary quotations from Enduring Word are used with the written permission of the author and reproduced here in their original format. © 1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com

BibleHub was accessed on July 25, 2026 for commentary on 1 John 2:28

“1 John 2 (NIV) - And now, dear children, continue.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 25 Jul, 2026.

“Therefore the Lord God of hosts,

The Mighty One of Israel, declares,

“Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries

And avenge Myself on My foes.

I will also turn My hand against you,

And will smelt away your dross as with lye

And will remove all your alloy.

Then I will restore your judges as at the first,

And your counselors as at the beginning;

After that you will be called the city of righteousness,

A faithful city.”

Zion will be redeemed with justice

And her repentant ones with righteousness.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭1‬:‭24‬-‭27‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

The AI image at the top shows a silversmith removing the dross from the silver in his smelter. ChatGPT explained this as restoration through purification.

So, we arrive at what will be God’s solution to the problems of Jerusalem and the people of Judah. Note that this passage is full of will statements. These strongly imply that this is a prophecy, that these actions will take place in the future. Here is what Precept Austin says about these future actions:

The question is when will God avenge Himself on His foes? And while we know that the wrath of God has been and is even now being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (Ro 1:18-note), this verse certainly could apply to the pouring out of His righteous wrath in the events of the book of the Revelation as described in more detail in the following notes [see full text in Precept Austin at the link]. As an aside, some scholars have identified more than 500 references from the Old Testament in the book of the Revelation. For example Arnold Fruchtenbaum writes…

• there are over five hundred references to the Old Testament in the Book of Revelation. The following is a list of such references (Precept Austin: refer to his book for this list), but it makes no claim to being exhaustive or complete. Some of these references back to the Old Testament do speak of the very same thing as the Revelation. However, in others, the Revelation merely borrows a phrase or motif for the purpose of developing a new area. This distinction should be kept in mind in the study of those Old Testament references. (Fruchtenbaum, A. G. The Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events. Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries)

My point is that the book of the Revelation deals significantly with Israel even as God dispenses wrath to His foes (some of which will be ethnic Jews, cp Zech 13:8, 9). In fact Fruchtenbaum lists over 70 references from Isaiah (some with multiple verses) as references in the Revelation. It follows that a proper understanding of the eschatology of Isaiah rests on a good grasp of the eschatology of the Revelation and of Daniel, for Daniel’s prophecies in chapter 2, 7, 9-12, are closely linked with and form a firm foundation for the book of the Revelation.

Well, there it is - we are now sneaking into the eschatology of Isaiah. There will be much more to come, I assure you. For the Zion reference, here’s a quote from John Hartley on Precept Austin about Zion:

…is possibly related to Arabic sâna from root s-w-n, meaning protect, defend; hence sıyôn may have meant place of defence, fortress. Others suggest derivation from root sāhâ “be bald”; cf. Syriac spelling sehyôn for this name.

Zion is the fortified mound between the Kidron and the Tyropean valleys that David captured from the Jebusites (2Sa 5:7). Subsequently, it became known as the city of David. With the building of the temple to the north, that hill later became known as Mount Zion. Zion may even refer specifically to the temple vicinity or more generally to Jerusalem itself; sometimes it includes the entire nation, the covenant community itself (Is 1:27; Ps 97:8). “Zion” appears frequently in Ps and Lam. It seldom refers to the political capital of Judah, but much more often stands for the city of God in the new age.

From the time Solomon built the temple, Zion became the center of Yahweh’s activity. Yahweh identified himself as “the One who dwells on Mount Zion” (Isa 8:18). Here he initiates his work of salvation and here he begins his judgment against sin (Amos 1:2). (Harris, R L, Archer, G L & Waltke, B K Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Moody Press)

Let’s see what Jesus had to say about these future events (the story continues in the book of Revelation, of course):

“As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

“Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance. So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭24‬:‭3‬-‭31‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

I tiptoed into the mystery of the abomination of desolation in my study of the book of Daniel (see this Heaven on Wheels link for a summary of the second part of the book of Daniel). I’m convinced that I will have many more opportunities to link these things together as we proceed through Isaiah, so I will not go down giant eschatology wilderness trails quite yet.

In the meantime, here is a similar prophecy in the book of Jeremiah to this passage in Isaiah:

““Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭31‬:‭31‬-‭33‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Just to set a constraint on my philosophy for your edification, I am definitely not an advocate of replacement or supercessionist theology (the idea that the Christian church completely replaced the people and nation of Israel). God does not renege on His promises. This Gotquestions.org article explains replacement theology quite adequately, in my opinion; I’m probably more of a quasi-dispensationalist. So going forward, the prophecies of Isaiah will be viewed as having applicability to the remnant of Israel where appropriate. This prophecy in Ezekiel also describes how God will bring together that remnant into the bond of the covenant:

““As I live,” declares the Lord God, “surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be king over you. I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out; and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” declares the Lord God. “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; and I will purge from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am the Lord.”

‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭20‬:‭33‬-‭38‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Well, that was a hot mess (my devotional, not Scripture)!! I guess I left out Zechariah and Revelation, among others. I have to admit that linking these things together never really crossed my mind back in the days of the Bible in One Year Plan, because I didn’t read much commentary or try to deep dive into one book at a time. Thank You, Lord, for guiding me this way!

My next devotional examines Isaiah 1:28-31 - An oak whose leaf fades away.

Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:

Dear Lord - I began in Isaiah 1 to study the book of Isaiah. Well, now it appears that I will also be studying Jeremiah, Zechariah, Ezekiel, Revelation, Daniel (again) and a host of other scripture. Only You, Lord… Amen.

Citations and Credits:

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org.

Precept Austin was accessed on 07/25/2026 to review commentary for Isaiah 1:24-27.

Commentary from Enduring Word is used with written permission and without any alteration. ©1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com. At the link referenced, the bibliography used by David Guzik can be accessed. This commentary was not used for this particular devotional.

Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) using the DALL·E model.

Our devotional today studies a single verse from the Book of Job. I’ve written a handful of devotionals on this Old Testament book, but if you’re not familiar with it from your Bible studies, it helps to understand the structure of the book and a little background into this Job character…

Job is a righteous man, and quite wealthy, with a large and happy family. God discusses Job’s pious lifestyle with a character called “the adversary”, also known as שָׂטָן (śāṭān) — yes, the character we know as satan, although the Hebrew pronunciation is closer to “saw-tawn”. What was God doing chatting with Satan? Well, in Job 1:6-7 we find that:

Now, God knows this fallen angel, and He can’t help but point out to Satan that there is at one man on Earth — Job — who is righteous and pious, definitely beyond reproach in God’s estimation, and who “fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:8) Satan, being the embodiment of evil that he is, can’t help but see Job as a challenge:

Things go very badly for Job after this point in this prologue chapter, which tells us of his character and the source of his suffering. All of his livestock (about 1,100 head in all) die in horrible ways, his sheep and his servants are burned to death in a fire, and a house filled with his many sons and daughters collapsed, killing them all. Job’s suffering begins in earnest at this point, and Satan afflicts him with “painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.” (Job 2:7)

After the prologue providing the back, the Book is filled with poetic dialogues (actually debates) between Job and three friends (Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite) who have come to comfort him, chapters with Job lamenting his suffering, and speeches by God. Spoiler alert! In the last chapter (42), Job’s fortunes are restored by God as he has — despite much complaining and questioning about why God has seemingly forsaken him — remained faithful.

In today’s verse, the person delivering the monologue is Eliphaz. Despite having known Job very well and presumably for many years, he assumes that Job has done something to offend God and is receiving his just punishment for that offense. In other words, Eliphaz believes he knows more about Job than God does!

Eliphaz is correct in saying “Blessed is the one whom God corrects,” but he’s totally wrong about Job’s misfortune coming about as a result of God’s judgment on his misdeeds. There’s a lesson in here for us — we can believe Scripture, but misapply its teachings because of our misunderstanding of what it says! By assuming that Job obviously sinned badly and repeatedly, Eliphaz is improperly applying Biblical truth and speaking wrongly about God.

Had Eliphaz been around in New Testament times, he might have been able to avoid this mistake. Here are a couple of verses that explain what Eliphaz should have done, which is to renew his mind and align it with God’s perspective rather than continuing to conform with the perspectives held by the world:

Commentary from The Bible Says explains the very human trap that Eliphaz has fallen into:

We can all learn from the mistake that Eliphaz makes in this verse. To him, it made sense that Job’s suffering was the result of sinning and that Job was being punished by God. He was wrong — Job is the perfect example of how the totally innocent can sometimes suffer. God can use suffering to strength the lives of believers and change the lives of others for His glory.

Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:

Father in Heaven, this verse from the Book of Job contains the truth of Scripture, but also serves as a reminder to us to never assume that when someone is suffering, it is because of something they did. May You continue to transform my mind so I may properly discern Your will rather than apply the false perspectives of the world to all I see. AMEN.

Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.

Commentary from The Bible Says © 2026 The Bible Says, All Rights Reserved (https://thebiblesays.com)

“Job 5 (NIV) - Blessed is the one whom.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 24 Jul, 2026.

“How the faithful city has become a harlot,

She who was full of justice!

Righteousness once lodged in her,

But now murderers.

Your silver has become dross,

Your drink diluted with water.

Your rulers are rebels

And companions of thieves;

Everyone loves a bribe

And chases after rewards.

They do not defend the orphan,

Nor does the widow’s plea come before them.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭1‬:‭21‬-‭23‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

This passage notes the dismal condition of the city of Jerusalem and the leaders of Judah. What was once a faithful city with justice and righteousness is now compared to a harlot, an unfaithful adulteress. The city is full of murderers and purveyors of fraud (with the reference to silver that has become dross or worthless, and to wine diluted with water). Its rulers are rebels and the companions of thieves. People love bribes and chasing after rewards. The widow and orphan are not defended or heard. I will not do any word studies for this passage, because I believe the words are pretty self-explanatory and could be “ripped from the headlines” in 2026.

Let’s look at the commentary from Enduring Word:

a. The faithful city has become a harlot: The faithful city was Jerusalem, the city once known for its faithfulness to the LORD. Now, Jerusalem has become a harlot – spiritually speaking, they have forsaken their “marriage” to the LORD and are committing spiritual adultery with their idolatry.

b. It was full of justice: The days of justice and righteousness were long past in Jerusalem. Now the city was filled with murderers, political corruption (Your princes are rebellious), thieves, fraud (Your silver has become dross, your wine mixed with water), bribes, and favoritism against the weak (They do not defend the fatherless, nor does the cause of the widow come before them).

• i. The LORD’s accusation against Jerusalem shows, by contrast, what God values among political and civil leaders. God expects them to keep the peace (against murderers), have integrity (instead of being rebellious and the companion of thieves), and to defend the weak (the fatherless and widows).

• ii. Your wine mixed with water: “The Lord Jesus made water into wine; sinners make wine into water.” (Bultema)

• iii. The spiritual adultery of Judah showed itself in this kind of sin. In a sense, the corruption among the leaders of Judah was a symptom of an even deeper spiritual problem.

Yikes! Sounds a bit familiar, doesn’t it? I could go off on a long and tedious bunny trail with examples of all of these things from our current political climate, but I won’t. As believers, we must advocate for leaders who demonstrate faithfulness, justice for the weak (that includes the unborn, folks), honesty, integrity, humility and a desire to keep the peace instead of letting murderers and thieves and fraudsters walk free. We must also pursue those virtues within ourselves and our churches and communities. We must be refined in His Word like pure silver and not be diluted or corrupted by the world’s influence.

The prophet Jeremiah said something similar to Isaiah:

“All of them are stubbornly rebellious,

Going about as a talebearer.

They are bronze and iron;

They, all of them, are corrupt.

The bellows blow fiercely,

The lead is consumed by the fire;

In vain the refining goes on,

But the wicked are not separated.

They call them rejected silver,

Because the Lord has rejected them.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭6‬:‭28‬-‭30‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

The prophet Zechariah also had this to say:

“Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah saying, “Thus has the Lord of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’ But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing. They made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from the Lord of hosts. And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen,” says the Lord of hosts; “but I scattered them with a storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land is desolated behind them so that no one went back and forth, for they made the pleasant land desolate.””

‭‭Zechariah‬ ‭7‬:‭8‬-‭14‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

They made the pleasant land desolate - there’s something to contemplate. And should we become self-righteous, lose our humility and think we are doing the right things, recall this parable that Jesus told in Luke:

“And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭18‬:‭9‬-‭14‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

My next devotional examines Isaiah 1:24-27 - Zion will be redeemed with justice.

Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:

Dear Lord - I pray that we can restore integrity, honesty and proper justice in our culture through humility and a focus on Your precepts. Amen.

Citations and Credits:

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org.

Precept Austin was accessed on 07/24/2026 to review commentary for Isaiah 1:21-23.

Commentary from Enduring Word is used with written permission and without any alteration. ©1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com. At the link referenced, the bibliography used by David Guzik can be accessed.

Following the one true path and forsaking the others. Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) using the DALL·E model.

It’s always fascinating and a bit humbling to see where God directs me to go with these devotionals. After a recent string of New Testament verses from various gospels and epistles, He has pointed me back to the Old Testament and a verse from Deuteronomy.

A little bit of back story is necessary to begin our study of this verse: At the beginning of Deuteronomy 13, Moses is giving the Israelites some rules they need to follow in order to enforce the second commandment. If your Sunday school memory of the commandments is failing you, this is “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image” (from the Jewish Talmud). Moses has just finished telling the Israelites to avoid following or listening to any prophets who might cause them to drift from their faith; now he lays out six rules for them to obey.

1 - “It is the Lord your God you must follow.”

Young’s Literal Translation of the original Hebrew is “after Jehovah your God you walk”, or in more modern English “walk after the Lord your God.” Following or walking are actions, so this is the Old Testament equivalent of part of my last devotional on Philippians 4:9 in which Paul instructs the church at Philippi to put their faith into action.

From The Bible Says:

2 - “and him you must revere”

Revere means to fear, to be afraid of. When Moses commanded the Israelites to fear Yahweh, he wanted them to be consciously aware of their behavior and the potential consequences so that it would change their behavior for the better. Think of the present time — most people would fear crossing a street when a truck was bearing down on them because of the consequences. You could be struck and killed by that truck.

In the context of Moses’ command to the Israelites, he’s telling them to care about what God thinks and says, and to consider the consequences of His disapproval of their behavior.

Sadly, most humans tend to fear the lack of approval of other people more than God’s disapproval! Fearing God above all other things can free us from other, less important concerns. We can never please other people fully, but we can do our best to fear God. Doing so frees us from the consequences of poor choices and from the loss of His blessing upon us.

3 - “Keep his commands”

Keeping God’s commandments means to obey Him and do what He requires of us. Doing so secures His blessing, and avoids the negative consequences of going out own way. God, through Moses, told the Israelites what to do to receive His blessings, and that is true even today. Once again from The Bible Says:

4 - “obey him”

The NASB95 translation of the Bible for this phrase is “listen to His voice,” which I think is much more appropriate and closer to the original meaning than the NIV. The Israelites had the unique honor of being the recipients of God’s communication to humans. With this command, they were being told to listen to the voice of God (via Moses) which was teaching them His directions and precepts.

God wasn’t just coming up with random commands; He was giving them instructions on how to live by His commands and thereby prosper. As we see throughout the Old Testament, the consequences of disobedience are disastrous.

5 - “serve him”

This command (and in general, the second commandment) was necessary to try to turn the Israelites away from serving the gods of the Canaanites and towards serving Yahweh alone. In the Old Testament covenant, the Israelites were to make offerings to Yahweh only in order to reap the benefits of following His ways.

6 - “hold fast to him”

What does the author of Deuteronomy mean when he says “hold fast to him”? Time for a short word study. The ancient Hebrew word used here is דָּבַק (dāḇaq), which means (among other definitions) “to cling, stick, stay close, cleave, keep close, stick to, stick with”. Precept Austin had a fun take on this word, with a subheading that said “Stick like glue to Yahweh!”

In six short requirements rolled up into one verse, we have a description of what was required to obey God’s covenantal laws completely. Although as Christians we are no longer under Mosaic Law, obedience to God’s commands is outlined in the New Covenant as spoken by Jesus in Matthew 22:37-40:

‭‭

Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:

Father in Heaven, help me to serve only You, to fear You alone, and to keep Your commandments. May I listen to Your voice and cling to You in all aspects of my life. Forgive me for the times I have allowed distractions to pull me away from You. Strengthen my commitment to follow Your ways and trust in Your plans for me. AMEN.

Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org.

“Deuteronomy 13 (NIV) - It is the LORD your.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 23 Jul, 2026.

Commentary from The Bible Says © 2026 The Bible Says, All Rights Reserved (https://thebiblesays.com)

Precept Austin was accessed on July 23, 2026 for commentary on Deuteronomy 13:4

““Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;

Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight.

Cease to do evil,

Learn to do good;

Seek justice,

Reprove the ruthless,

Defend the orphan,

Plead for the widow.

“Come now, and let us reason together,”

Says the Lord,

“Though your sins are as scarlet,

They will be as white as snow;

Though they are red like crimson,

They will be like wool.

If you consent and obey,

You will eat the best of the land;

But if you refuse and rebel,

You will be devoured by the sword.”

Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭1‬:‭16‬-‭20‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

The Lord through Isaiah tells the people of Judah what they have to do to overcome what they have done to offend the Lord in the first part of this passage. I’m going to try something a little different with this for word studies: Each phrase will have the Hebrew source (Strong’s definition) from the Blue Letter Bible to show how this was heard by the people of that time (I confess to being very intrigued by the Hebrew language, which is so different than classic Greek):

1. Wash yourselves.

   1. רָחַץ râchats, raw-khats’; a primitive root; to lave (the whole or a part of a thing):—bathe (self), wash (self).

2. Make yourselves clean.

   1. זָכָה zâkâh, zaw-kaw'; a primitive root (compare H2141); to be translucent; figuratively, to be innocent:—be (make) clean, cleanse, be clear, count pure.

3. Remove the evil of your deeds from His sight.

   1. סוּר çûwr, soor; or שׂוּר sûwr; (Hosea 9:12), a primitive root; to turn off (literally or figuratively):—be(-head), bring, call back, decline, depart, eschew, get (you), go (aside), × grievous, lay away (by), leave undone, be past, pluck away, put (away, down), rebel, remove (to and fro), revolt, × be sour, take (away, off), turn (aside, away, in), withdraw, be without.

   2. רֹעַ rôaʻ, ro'-ah; from H7489; badness (as marring), physically or morally:—× be so bad, badness, (× be so) evil, naughtiness, sadness, sorrow, wickedness.

   3. מַעֲלָל maʻălâl, mah-al-awl'; from H5953; an act (good or bad):—doing, endeavour, invention, work.

   4. עַיִן ʻayin, ah'-yin; probably a primitive word; an eye (literally or figuratively); by analogy, a fountain (as the eye of the landscape):—affliction, outward appearance, before, think best, colour, conceit, be content, countenance, displease, eye((-brow), (-d), -sight), face, favour, fountain, furrow (from the margin), × him, humble, knowledge, look, (+ well), × me, open(-ly), + (not) please, presence, regard, resemblance, sight, × thee, × them, + think, × us, well, × you(-rselves).

4. Cease to do evil.

   1. חָדַל châdal, khaw-dal’; a primitive root; properly, to be flabby, i.e. (by implication) desist; (figuratively) be lacking or idle:—cease, end, fall, forbear, forsake, leave (off), let alone, rest, be unoccupied, want.

5. Learn to do good.

   1. לָמַד lâmad, law-mad'; a primitive root; properly, to goad, i.e. (by implication) to teach (the rod being an Oriental incentive):—(un-) accustomed, × diligently, expert, instruct, learn, skillful, teach(-er, -ing).

   2. יָטַב yâṭab, yaw-tab'; a primitive root; to be (causative) make well, literally (sound, beautiful) or figuratively (happy, successful, right):—be accepted, amend, use aright, benefit, be (make) better, seem best, make cheerful, be comely, be content, diligent(-ly), dress, earnestly, find favour, give, be glad, do (be, make) good(-ness), be (make) merry, please ( well), shew more (kindness), skilfully, × very small, surely, make sweet, thoroughly, tire, trim, very, be (can, deal, entreat, go, have) well (said, seen).

6. Seek justice.

   1. דָּרַשׁ dârash, daw-rash'; a primitive root; properly, to tread or frequent; usually to follow (for pursuit or search); by implication, to seek or ask; specifically to worship:—ask, × at all, care for, × diligently, inquire, make inquisition, question, require, search, seek (for, out), × surely.

   2. מִשְׁפָּט mishpâṭ, mish-pawt'; from H8199; properly, a verdict (favorable or unfavorable) pronounced judicially, especially a sentence or formal decree (human or (participant's) divine law, individual or collective), including the act, the place, the suit, the crime, and the penalty; abstractly, justice, including a participant's right or privilege (statutory or customary), or even a style:— adversary, ceremony, charge, ×crime, custom, desert, determination, discretion, disposing, due, fashion, form, to be judged, judgment, just(-ice, -ly), (manner of) law(-ful), manner, measure, (due) order, ordinance, right, sentence, usest, ×worthy, wrong.

7. Reprove the ruthless.

   1. אָשַׁר ʼâshar, aw-shar'; or אָשֵׁר ʼâshêr; a primitive root; to be straight (used in the widest sense, especially to be level, right, happy); figuratively, to go forward, be honest, prosper:—(call, be) bless(-ed, happy), go, guide, lead, relieve.

   2. חָמוֹץ châmôwts, khaw-motse'; from H2556; properly, violent; by implication, a robber:—oppressed.

8. Defend the orphan.

   1. שָׁפַט shâphaṭ, shaw-fat'; a primitive root; to judge, i.e. pronounce sentence (for or against); by implication, to vindicate or punish; by extenssion, to govern; passively, to litigate (literally or figuratively):— avenge, × that condemn, contend, defend, execute (judgment), (be a) judge(-ment), × needs, plead, reason, rule.

   2. יָתוֹם yâthôwm, yaw-thome’; from an unused root meaning to be lonely; a bereaved person:—fatherless (child), orphan.

9. Plead for the widow.

   1. רִיב rîyb, reeb; or רוּב rûwb; a primitive root; properly, to toss, i.e. grapple; mostly figuratively, to wrangle, i.e. hold a controversy; (by implication) to defend:—adversary, chide, complain, contend, debate, × ever, × lay wait, plead, rebuke, strive, × thoroughly.

   2. אַלְמָנָה ʼalmânâh, al-maw-naw'; feminine of H488; a widow; also a desolate place:—desolate house (palace), widow.

We are to clean ourselves back to a pure and innocent state, depart from all evil works that are seen or are done in the presence of the Lord (that would all of them), be taught those things that are in His favor, search for justice and what is right, be honest and rebuke those who are oppressors, avenge and govern those who are orphans, and strive with those who are widowed. The AI image shows a woman cleaning her hands, a man working with a child who is likely an orphan, and another woman consoling an older woman who is likely a widow.

Precept Austin has a good, succinct summary of the actions that we can take:

Sinners are lost and in grave need to hear God’s holy word that they might walk in His holy way and will and this section of Isaiah (Isa 1:16, 17, 18, 19, 20) is God’s “GPS” (”Global Positioning Signal”) “turned on” to guide all those who are spiritual wayward and lost onto the ancient path (Jer 6:16, 18:15), the highway of holiness (Isa 35:8, 30:21, 1Pe 1:15-note) on which the redeemed (Isa 1:27, 35:9) are privileged to walk in this life and eternally in that to come.

REPENT - “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes;”

REFRAIN - “cease to do evil;”

REEVALUATE - “Learn to do well; seek judgment,”

RELIEVE - “relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.”

A similar passage can be found in Micah:

“He has told you, O man, what is good;

And what does the Lord require of you

But to do justice, to love kindness,

And to walk humbly with your God?”

‭‭Micah‬ ‭6‬:‭8‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Siding with the oppressed and caring for those who are in desperate situations reminds me of the wise words from John Piper that he gave to answer a question on Desiring God on whether believers should give money to every panhandler and homeless person:

So I encourage all of us to do a little bit of research, a little bit of homework of what would be really most helpful to people on the street, all things considered. It’s not an easy question. And since we’re so prone towards selfishness, I think we should err on the side of being taken advantage of rather than erring on the side of shrewdly protecting our wallet and our ego.

At the last judgment — I’ve thought about this many times — I think Jesus will be much more prone to commend lavish generosity to the undeserving than he will be to commend how shrewd we were in keeping for ourselves our few dollars rather than giving them away. I just can’t imagine Jesus saying, “Wow, you were especially good at being shrewd at not being taken advantage of.” I don’t hear anything like that in Jesus’s teachings.

So, let’s know our own hearts, let’s confess the sin of selfishness, let’s pray for the compassion of Jesus and the far-seeing wisdom of Jesus, and let’s do our homework, a little bit of research to find out how our lives as a whole can bring blessing into people’s lives, especially eternal blessing.

The second part of this passage is so compelling! God invites us to come together with Him and reason together. Our sins, which are crimson/scarlet in color, will become like snow (see the pure snow in the image above) or wool through His forgiveness (a hint at the coming Jesus). We will eat the best of the land if we obey; if we rebel, we will be devoured by the sword.

Let’s do a word study on let us reason together:

This comes from the Hebrew verb (Strong’s definition) and has the following Biblical usages:

• יָכַח yâkach, yaw-kahh'; a primitive root; to be right (i.e. correct); reciprocal, to argue; causatively, to decide, justify or convict:—appoint, argue, chasten, convince, correct(-ion), daysman, dispute, judge, maintain, plead, reason (together), rebuke, reprove(-r), surely, in any wise. [H3198].

• to prove, decide, judge, rebuke, reprove, correct, be right

  1. (Hiphil)

     1. to decide, judge

     2. to adjudge, appoint

     3. to show to be right, prove

     4. to convince, convict

     5. to reprove, chide

     6. to correct, rebuke

  2. (Hophal) to be chastened

  3. (Niphal) to reason, reason together

  4. (Hithp) to argue

Christianity (and belief in God in general) is regarded by atheists as unreasonable because faith in an unseen Supreme Being is outside an empirical or scientific solution. I recall seeing many articles to that effect from secular humanist organizations when I was wandering in the wilderness. Here is a definition of reason from a philosophical standpoint from Wikipedia:

Reason is the capacity to consciously apply logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking truth.^[1] It is associated with activities considered characteristic of humans, including philosophy, religion, science, language, and mathematics, and is generally considered a distinguishing ability possessed by humans.^[2][3] The term "reason" is sometimes used to refer to rationality,^[4] although the latter is more about its application.

Interestingly, using reason was a major part of the development of early Christianity, according to the same article in Wikipedia. Now that I have come to real faith, for me the only reasonable conclusion is that there is a Creator God and He is the God of the Bible and our redeemer. It is THE truth, not my special truth.

I like this commentary from Enduring Word on this passage (there are some wonderful Charles Spurgeon comments that David Guzik found):

b. “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD: The Lord GOD invites His people to come reason with Him. What He offers us isn’t just offered because He is greater than us and has the right to dictate whatever terms please Him. God’s direction for us is reasonable. It is smart. It is the best way to live.

• i. It is madness to reject and resist a God of infinite wisdom, infinite love, infinite grace, and infinite power. True reason will drive any honest man to the humblest adoration and submission towards God.

• ii. The angels surrounding the throne of God are covered with eyes, which speaks of their great ability to perceive and know (Revelation 4:6-8). These are perhaps the most intelligent, rational beings God ever created, and they spend every moment of their existence lost in total praise, total adoration, and total surrender to God. This is where the highest reason will drive us.

• iii. It is just plain reasonable to follow God. Have you ever once heard of an old Christian, on their deathbed, gathering their children and friends around, and saying: “Now friends, watch out for that Christianity! I’ve followed Jesus my whole life and I’m so sorry I did! What a waste that was!” What nonsense! Quite the contrary, we find that Christians on their deathbed are trusting and loving God more than ever. It’s just plain reasonable.

c. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool: The LORD offered a repentant, humbled Judah true and complete cleansing from sin. Their condition of sin could be transformed from deeply stained to become completely white.

• i. In this passage, Isaiah says nothing about how this cleansing comes. But we know that it comes because Jesus took upon Himself our stain of sin, and God judged sin perfectly and completely in Jesus, so we can be accounted white as snow and as white as wool.

• ii. There is tremendous hope in God’s forgiveness! We really can be clean from the stain of sin. Our good works can’t clean the stain. Our best intentions or promises can’t clean the stain. Our suffering or pain can’t clean the stain. Time can’t clean the stain. Death can’t clean the stain. Only the work of Jesus can make us white as snow! We really can have a break with the past, and a new beginning in Jesus Christ. The power of sin, the shame of sin, the guilt of sin, the domination of sin, the terror of sin, and the pain of sin can all be taken away in Jesus.

• iii. “The Lord does not deny the truth of what the sinner has confessed, but he says to him, ‘Though your sins be as scarlet, I meet you on that ground. You need not try to diminish the extent of your sin, or seek to make it appear to be less than it really is. No; whatever you say it is, it is all that, and probably far more. Your deepest sense of your sinfulness does not come up to the truth concerning your real condition; certainly, you do not exaggerate in the least. Your sins are scarlet, and crimson; it seems as though you have put on the imperial robe of sin, and made yourself a monarch of the realm of evil.’ That is how a man’s guilt appears before the searching eye of God.” (Spurgeon)

• iv. Spurgeon described people deeply stained by sin: “A wicked old wretch who has taken his degrees in Satan’s college, has become a Master of Belial, a prince and chief of sinners – a Goliath amongst the Philistines – yet, to such a man, is this word sent today. Your hands are bloody with the souls of the young, you have kept a hellhouse; you have grit up public entertainments which have debauched and depraved the young; you have gold in your pocket to-day, which you have earned by the blood of souls; you have the fool’s pence, and the drunkard’s shillings, which have really come into your hands from the hearts of poor women, you have heard the cries of the starving children, and you have tempted their husbands to take the drink, and ruined their bodies and their souls. You have kept a place where the entertainment was so low, so grovelling, that you awoke the slumbering passions of evil in the minds of either young or old, and so you shall sink to hell with the blood of others on your head, as well as your own damnation, not with one millstone about your neck, but with many.” All this may be true of you; yet God can forgive your sins and you can be made white as snow.

d. Come now: When we consider the greatness of God’s cleansing and pardon, it is all the more reason for us to come now. God wants the separation between you and He to be gone now. He doesn’t want you to continue in your destructive path another moment. He wants the best for us now.

• i. “Come now, no season can be better. If ye tardy till you’re better, ye will never come at all. Come now; you may never have another warning; the heart may never be so tender as it is to-day. Come now; no other eyes may ever weep over you; no other heart may ever agonise for your salvation. Come now, now, now, for tomorrow you may never know in this world. Death may have sealed your fate, and the once filthy may remain filthy still. Come now; for to-morrow thy heart may become harder than stone, and God may give thee up. Come now; it is God’s time; to-morrow is the devil’s time. ‘To-day if ye will hear his voice harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, when your fathers tempted me and proved me in the wilderness and saw my works.’ Come now. Why delay to be happy? Would you put off your wedding-day? Will you postpone the hour when you are pardoned and delivered? Come now: the bowels of Jehovah yearn for you. The eye of your father sees you afar off, and he runs to meet you. Come now; the church is praying for you; these are revival times; ministers are more in earnest.” (Spurgeon)

e. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword: Here God offered Judah a choice. They could find hope in the midst of their chastisement, relief from empty religious ritual, and cleansing from their sin. But they had to surrender their heart before God, and not refuse and rebel. Instead, they had to be willing and obedient.

• i. No one perfectly matches either phrase, but which phrase better describes your life? Is it willing and obedient or refuse and rebel? There is a consequence for either course: eat of the good of the land or be devoured by the sword. No wonder the LORD said, “Come now, let us reason together!”

A few takeaways:

1. It IS truly madness to reject a sovereign God. During my stint in the wilderness, I had a still, small voice in my head ALL THE TIME telling me that I was wrong. Let me assure you, that voice will lead to either madness or repentance.

2. We could be the worst sinner in the world (I love the Spurgeon example, like something out of Charles Dickens), yet we can be made as pure as driven snow or bright wool through His grace and mercy.

3. There is an urgency to the Lord telling us to come and reason with Him. He wants us to come NOW, not tomorrow, not on our deathbed. As Spurgeon puts it, tomorrow is the devil’s time.

4. Are we willing and obedient? Or are we refusing His invitation and are we rebels?

Wow - a lot to unpack and we’re still in the first chapter of Isaiah. My next devotional examines Isaiah 1:21-23 - The unjust leaders of Judah.

Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:

Dear Lord - Thank You for making me see that my empirical, scientific approach to life was unreasonable. The only thing that makes sense in our lives is to look to You for the answers. Amen.

Citations and Credits:

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org.

The Blue Letter Bible lexicon was accessed on 7/23/2026 to do many word studies for this passage in Isaiah.

“Isaiah 1 (NASB95) - The vision of Isaiah the.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 23 Jul, 2026. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/nasb95/isa/1/1/s_680018>.

Precept Austin was accessed on 07/23/2026 to review commentary for Isaiah 1:16-20.

John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary. For more than thirty years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis. He is author of more than fifty books, and his sermons, articles, books, and more are available free of charge at desiringGod.org. By John Piper. © Desiring God Foundation. Source: desiringGod.org

Commentary from Enduring Word is used with written permission and without any alteration. ©1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com. At the link referenced, the bibliography used by David Guzik can be accessed.

A member of the church of Philippi following in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul, figuratively and literally. Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) using the DALL·E model.

I have often wondered what it must have been like to be one of the early Christians receiving letters of teaching and encouragement from the Apostle Paul. These beautifully written and powerful epistles reach to us over 2,000 years later and are still instructive in developing understanding of the Gospel.

This verse comes from the last chapter of Paul’s epistle to the church at Philippi, shortly after a closing appeal for the church to be steadfast in faith and united in love, followed by a final list of exhortations to the members to focus their minds on things that build up their faith:

Paul’s words in today’s verse are fairly straightforward — he’s telling them to change their thinking to those things that are good.

The Bible Says had this wonderful explanation of the content of verse 9:

Paul had been in Philippi in AD 49 or 50 on his third missionary trip, founding the church (which, by the way, was the first European church) and providing training and support to the church leaders and members. They had “learned and received and heard from” Paul, and “seen” with their own eyes how he lived his life in Christ. Here he’s asking them to follow in his footsteps to live a Christian life.

Paul asks them to not only follow his example, but to “put it into practice”. In other words, “don’t just read or listen to what I’m saying, but do the things I’ve encouraged you to do and that I do myself”.

Think about today’s churches: How many people spend their time in church on Sunday, perhaps listening intently to the pastor’s sermon and maybe even taking notes (many of the flock at our church are note-takers), but then spend the rest of the week “in the world” and not living what they’ve supposedly learned. Putting what we’ve learned from sermons, Bible studies, devotionals, podcasts and classes into practice is what many of us neglect to do!

How do you put “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy” into practice? It’s work… but putting in that work will have tangible results.

The first step would be to create a habit to pause before reacting to whatever comes into your mind. Perhaps it’s an opinion, a fear, a temptation, or an impulse to take revenge. STOP, and ask yourself if that thought or feeling is true (are you guessing or exaggerating?), noble (is it dignified?), right or morally “clean”, pure in motive and desire, lovely and gracious (would verbalizing this thought characterize the love of Jesus?), or admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy (does this thought build others up or tear them down?).

Going through a mental checklist like this probably isn’t going to work (who can remember all of these things?)… but perhaps just pausing before acting on that thought will keep a sin from happening.

Another way is to capture that thought and think of a better thought. If you’re not sure something is true, think about what evidence you may actually have or how others might interpret it. Is it right? Ask yourself how love and honesty would shape your actions. If your thoughts aren’t pure, replace them with a boundary that keeps you from trespassing. And if you’re thinking of something that would anger others (not very admirable, replace that thought with a response that others would respect.

For those of us who live in this media-oriented age, making decisions about what our brains “feed” on is a relatively easy way to change our thinking to a way Jesus and Paul would approve of. Don’t randomly click or tap on apps or links — think about whether or not that video, comment stream, or app will produce thoughts that are “true, pure, lovely and admirable”. If it doesn’t, unsubscribe, hide, unfollow, or mute, and replace that content with something that trains your brain to think of more “praiseworthy” things. (Personal note: I have deleted apps that were causing me spiritual heartburn, and I’m unsubscribing much more frequently from online groups or discussions that anger me. So I am learning…)

When you get a thought that reflects one of Paul’s list of virtues from Philippians 4:8, put it into action, and soon! That’s the transformational power of Christ at work. Our verse today is all about believers emulating Jesus as Paul did, and there are a few good ways to train your mind to do this.

First, become so familiar with Scripture that it “reprograms” your thinking. The fact that you’re reading these devotionals is a good start.

Next, when you’re faced with something and the Holy Spirit is creating conflict in you, pray. It doesn’t need to be something ornate or lengthy, maybe just a “Lord, direct my heart and mind to do what is right”.

Finally, if you get into one of those anxious or angry spirals of worry or hate, stop and replace it with prayer or thoughts of Paul’s list of virtues. Your mind learns to follow patterns you set by praise and obedience. Surround yourself with others who are living examples of Christ in action, as you may very well find yourself emulating them.

I loved this paragraph from Precept Austin:

The end result of this practice? “The peace of God will be with you.” This devotional is longer than I expected it to be… and I’ll end it with words from my favorite preacher, Charles H. Spurgeon:

Amen!

Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I thank You for the teachings of Paul and ask for Your assistance in applying what I have learned from him to my daily life. Guide my thoughts and actions so I may always reflect Your love and wisdom, and may Your peace be with me as I strive to live according to Your will. I pray this in Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.

Commentary from The Bible Says © 2026 The Bible Says, All Rights Reserved (https://thebiblesays.com)

Precept Austin was accessed on July 22, 2026 for commentary on Philippians 4:9

Charles H. Spurgeon quote from his devotional “To Others, An Example”, found on March 16 of his 365 devotionals titled “Faith’s Checkbook”.

“Hear the word of the Lord,

You rulers of Sodom;

Give ear to the instruction of our God,

You people of Gomorrah.

“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?”

Says the Lord.

“I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams

And the fat of fed cattle;

And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.

When you come to appear before Me,

Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?

Bring your worthless offerings no longer,

Incense is an abomination to Me.

New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies—

I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.

I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts,

They have become a burden to Me;

I am weary of bearing them.

So when you spread out your hands in prayer,

I will hide My eyes from you;

Yes, even though you multiply prayers,

I will not listen.

Your hands are covered with blood.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭1‬:‭10‬-‭15‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

These next verses in Isaiah 1 are so eye-opening and heart-wrenching. The Lord is done with the sacrifices and offerings from a people that do not mean it. He has had enough. Let’s do a quick word study to begin an understanding of these passages in Hebrew from the Blue Letter Bible:

Has had enough comes from the Hebrew verb שָׂבַע sâbaʻ, saw-bah'; or שָׂבֵעַ sâbêa (Strong’s H7646), with the following Biblical usages:

1. to be satisfied, be sated, be fulfilled, be surfeited

   1. (Qal)

      1. to be sated (with food)

      2. to be sated, be satisfied with, be fulfilled, be filled, have one’s fill of (have desire satisfied)

      3. to have in excess, be surfeited, be surfeited with

         1. to be weary of (fig)

   2. (Piel) to satisfy

   3. (Hiphil)

      1. to satisfy

      2. to enrich

      3. to sate, glut (with the undesired)

According to Biblical Hebrew:

The Qal stem is the grammatical backbone of Biblical Hebrew. It expresses unmarked, active meaning and serves as the entry point for verb parsing, lexicon usage, and morphological analysis. Mastery of Qal is essential for interpreting biblical narrative, poetry, and prophecy. From the creation of the world to the speech of prophets, the Qal stem carries the simple but profound weight of action in Israel’s sacred texts.

God is weary of the show that the people of Judah put on, pretending to sacrifice to Him and perform their rituals and solemn assemblies without any understanding, repentance or showing any fruit as alleged believers. The AI image is quite appropriate - a poor widow with her small children watches and begs as many well-dressed residents and rulers of Jerusalem (called “Sodom and Gomorrah” by God) bring their fatted sacrifices to the temple, completely ignoring her plight.

Apparently, the people didn’t listen very well back in the time of Isaiah, as Jesus says this to the religious leaders observing their hypocrisy:

““But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. [Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’ You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭23‬:‭13‬-‭33‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

People don’t want to hear the unvarnished truth, especially from the Creator of the Universe. Obviously, not long after Jesus said these stinging words, the actions were in place to eliminate Him. The people reacted in a similar way in the time of Isaiah to silence the prophets, through murder or exile. God wants us to be in a relationship with Him all the time and in obedience. He doesn’t want us to sit in a pew at church for an hour on Sunday pretending to “commune” with Him through rote prayers and liturgies, throw a few bucks in the offering plate, and then live like the Devil himself is writing the script for our actions the rest of the week. As noted in Precept Austin, unrepentant sin stops our prayers.

Let’s look at a couple of commentaries. First, this is from Enduring Word:

a. You rulers of Sodom…you people of Gomorrah: God was obviously trying to get the attention of the leaders and people of Judah. He did this by associating them with two cities synonymous with sin and judgment.

b. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me? Even in the midst of their rebellion, Judah continued its religious ceremony and ritual. They continued the sacrifices, they continued the burnt offerings, they continued offering the fat of fed cattle, they continued burning incense, they continued their assemblies and their sacred meetings – and God was sick of them all.

• i. See how the LORD describes His reaction to these religious rituals: I have had enough…. bring no more futile sacrifices…an abomination to Me…. I cannot endure…My soul hates…they are a trouble to Me…I am weary of bearing them.

• ii. This is a sobering thought. We can offer God all kinds of religious rituals and ceremonies, all kinds of religious service, and He may hate it and consider it an abomination! Perhaps, in the midst of all their calamity (described in Isaiah 1:5-9), Judah thought the answer was in religious ceremonies, in their ancient version of “church attendance” and a few dollars in the offering. But if their heart wasn’t changed, and humbled, and surrendered to the LORD it made no difference. Without the right heart, God hated their religious ceremony and service.

• iii. “When sinners are under the judgments of God they will more easily be brought to fly to their devotions than to forsake their sins and reform their lives.” (Matthew Henry)

c. When you spread out your hands: This was the posture of prayer in that ancient culture. Instead of praying with heads bowed and hands folded, they would pray with the face turned towards heaven and the hands spread out to heaven. So, when they prayed, the LORD says, “I will hide my eyes from you…I will not hear.”

• i. We may be certain, that in the midst of all this religious ceremony, there were many fine prayers offered. Many eloquent, stirring, and emotional prayers were said. But they were empty, hollow, useless prayers, because God looked at Judah and said, “Your hands are full of blood.”

Warren Wiersbe has some excellent observations about the modern church as quoted in Precept Austin:

Warren Wiersbe draws out a pithy application from this section writing that… “before passing judgment on worshipers in a bygone era, perhaps we should confess the sins of the “worshiping church” today. According to researcher George Barna, 93 percent of the households in the United States contain a Bible and more than 60 percent of the people surveyed claim to be religious; but we would never know this from the way people act (cp Mt 7:23, Ezek 33:31). One Protestant church exists for every 550 adults in America, but does all this “religion” make much of a difference in our sinful society? Organized religion hasn’t affected the nation’s crime rate, the divorce rate, or the kind of “entertainment” seen in movies and on TV. The average church allocates about 5 percent of its budget for reaching others with the Gospel, but 30 percent for buildings and maintenance. At a time (Ed: Wiersbe wrote this about 1992) when the poor and the aged are pleading for help, churches in America are spending approximately 3 billion dollars a year on new construction. Where churches have life and growth, such construction may be needed; but too often the building becomes “a millstone instead of a milestone,” to quote Vance Havner. At least 62 percent of the people Barna surveyed said that the church was not relevant to today’s world and is losing its influence on society. It may be that, like the worshipers in the ancient Jewish temple, we are only going through the motions.” (See The Frog in the Kettle- George Barna) (Wiersbe, W. W. Be Comforted. An Old Testament Study. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books)

This was written in 1992. I think this woeful state is even more pronounced 34 years later, now that we have the many mainstream “Christian” denominations who have tossed in the towel and declared blatant sin to be acceptable, the word of God to be “troublesome and full of errors” and the church to be relevant only as a tool of narrowly-defined political social justice; it’s interesting that the unborn (created in God’s image) - as an example - never receive any of that justice but are cheerfully eliminated as inconveniences, creating many bloody hands of hypocritical apostates.

Well, I think I get Isaiah’s point as he tries to give an unvarnished message of sobering truth to the people of Judah. So what does he say next? He relays a message from God on how to make things right, by bringing reason into the picture and telling the people what they can do. My next devotional examines Isaiah 1:16-20 - Remove the evil of your deeds.

Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:

Dear Lord - Thank you, through the many commentaries I read, for revealing the similarities between this passage in Isaiah and the “woe” statements from Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. Our relationship with You is not tethered to one hour in a building that calls itself a church. Amen.

Citations and Credits:

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org.

“H7646 - śāḇaʿ - Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon (NASB95).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 21 Jul, 2026. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h7646/nasb95/wlc/0-1/>.

Precept Austin was accessed on 07/21/2026 to review commentary for Isaiah 1:10-15.

Commentary from Enduring Word is used with written permission and without any alteration. ©1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com. At the link referenced, the bibliography used by David Guzik can be accessed.

Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) using the DALL·E model.

These words of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke highlight the power of Christianity to transform people who choose to follow Him.

Just before He spoke these words, Jesus had confronted the Pharisees and Scribes who accused him of consorting with tax collectors and other notorious sinners. He didn’t correct their accusation, but instead said that “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” (Luke 5:31) Charles H. Spurgeon, in his Verse Expositions on the Gospel of Luke, pointed out that the criticism of the Pharisees and Scribes was quite useful:

And it is a wonderful mission! Jesus didn’t come to hang out with those who thought they were righteous. He wasn’t working to improve His social status among the religious elite. What He was doing was showing compassion and offering assistance to sinners who needed healing, including the Pharisees who were too spiritually blind to see that they also needed that healing.

Jesus wanted (and still wants) to call “sinners to repentance”. Repentance requires a change in the heart, a change in thinking, a change in living. The Greek word used here is μετάνοια (metanoia). This is actually a compound word: μετά “meta”, which means “change” and νοια “noia” meaning “mind” or “perspective”.

Repentance is a conscious decision where a person admits to him or herself that their old way of living was not good and that they need to change the path they’re on (sometimes drastically, other times subtly). Jesus is calling sinners, who know that they have done wrong in the past or are still embracing sin, to change their minds and behaviors by following Him.

Sadly, the Pharisees and religious scribes believed they were righteous, and most probably never realized that they were the ones who were in the most need of repentance! There are parallels of this verse in Matthew 5:3 in the Beatitudes, where Jesus said “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The poor in spirit are those who are aware of their spiritual shortcomings and realize their sinful ways.

Repentance is a rather hard concept to understand. It’s not just recognition of your sin, feeling sorrow at that knowledge of your shortcomings in the eyes of God, and turning away from evil. Almost anyone who does a little soul-searching can say “Yeah, I’ve sinned, I feel bad about it, and I’ll try not to do it again in the future.” To truly repent, one must then make a conscious and lifelong commitment to turn to God in faith and obedience.

Precept Austin offers this commentary on Luke 5:32 and the topic of repentance:

Repentance is a core concept of Christianity, yet it seems that most modern preachers shy away from teaching this concept to their congregations! That’s not just a recent development; even Charles Spurgeon saw this as a shortcoming of those behind the lectern in an 1876 sermon titled “The Plumbline”:

Jesus still calls sinners to repentance. Do we have strong enough faith and belief that we can act on that call?

Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:

Father in Heaven, thank You for sending Your Son to teach us to turn from lives of sin and to trust in Him for salvation. I am filled with gratitude for Your grace, allowing believers to seek forgiveness and redemption. I know I still sin, and I ask for Your help to recognize my need for repentance and to embrace the transformation that comes through faith in Jesus. AMEN.

Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.

Precept Austin was accessed on July 20, 2026 for commentary on Luke 5:32

“Where will you be stricken again,

As you continue in your rebellion?

The whole head is sick

And the whole heart is faint.

From the sole of the foot even to the head

There is nothing sound in it,

Only bruises, welts and raw wounds,

Not pressed out or bandaged,

Nor softened with oil.

Your land is desolate,

Your cities are burned with fire,

Your fields—strangers are devouring them in your presence;

It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers.

The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard,

Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.

Unless the Lord of hosts

Had left us a few survivors,

We would be like Sodom,

We would be like Gomorrah.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬-‭9‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

The desperate state of Judah and its people is described in this next passage in Isaiah 1. They are stricken, over and over again, and are sick and wounded from head to toe. Their lands are desolate, their cities are burned with fire, and strangers are devouring their fields. Yet they refuse to give up their sin and stubbornly choose to live in this wretched state. The AI image at the top is described by ChatGPT in this way:

A sweeping photorealistic landscape of ancient Judah after invasion, viewed across rugged limestone hills and a broad agricultural valley. Scorched fields, abandoned vineyards, and a partially ruined ancient walled city appear in the distance, with faint smoke rising beneath a somber storm-filled sky. In the foreground stands a small, weathered vineyard watchman’s shelter, isolated and fragile like a hut left in an empty field. Near it, one small cluster of living green vines catches a narrow shaft of warm dawn light, symbolizing the remnant preserved by God. Historically authentic ancient Near Eastern setting, solemn and contemplative rather than cinematic or violent, no people, no modern objects, natural colors, highly detailed photorealism, landscape orientation, 16:9 composition, generous quiet space on the left for devotional text.

First, let’s look at commentary from Enduring Word on these verses:

a. Why should you be stricken again? Despite their sin, God did not wish evil upon Judah. Instead, He longed for them to repent and to make it easy on themselves. God had chastised Judah, and they did not respond. They would continue to be stricken as long as they rebelled.

b. Sick…the whole heart faints…. no soundness…wounds and bruises and putrefying sores: Because of their rebellion against God, Judah was in a bad place. This is where their disobedience and lack of submission brought them.

c. Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; strangers devour your land in your presence: During the reign of Ahaz, the kingdom of Judah was attacked and pillaged by Israel, Syria, Edom, the Philistines, and Assyria (2 Chronicles 28). It was written of this period, For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had encouraged moral decline in Judah and had been continually unfaithful to the LORD (2 Chronicles 28:19).

• i. For all this, Judah would not repent. Their sin brought them great trouble, but they still preferred their sin, with all of its trouble, than submitting to the LORD God. In fact, 2 Chronicles 28:22 says, Now in the time of his distress King Ahaz became increasingly unfaithful to the LORD.

d. Unless the LORD of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been made like Gomorrah: As bad as Judah’s state was because of their sin, it could have been worse. It was only by the mercy of God that they survived at all. Sodom and Gomorrah were both totally destroyed, with not even a very small remnant to carry on. Even in the midst of judgment, God showed His mercy to Judah.

God’s mercy is never-ending. He loves the people of Judah, even while they are under judgment.

Let’s look more at the story of King Ahaz from 2 Chronicles, one of the many kings of Judah that did not walk with the Lord:

“For the Lord humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had brought about a lack of restraint in Judah and was very unfaithful to the Lord. So Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. Although Ahaz took a portion out of the house of the Lord and out of the palace of the king and of the princes, and gave it to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.

Now in the time of his distress this same King Ahaz became yet more unfaithful to the Lord. For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him, and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Aram helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But they became the downfall of him and all Israel. Moreover, when Ahaz gathered together the utensils of the house of God, he cut the utensils of the house of God in pieces; and he closed the doors of the house of the Lord and made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem. In every city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked the Lord, the God of his fathers, to anger. Now the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.”

‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭28‬:‭19‬-‭26‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

I don’t know about you, but I certainly have had difficulty keeping track of all of the kings of Judah and Israel that are documented in 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles after the reigns of Saul, David and Solomon over the unified kingdom. I confess - when reading those books in previous Bible in One Year plans, my eyes would glaze over. It is truly a sign from the Lord that I will now be forced to pay attention to this remarkable history as I wade through Isaiah.

Most of these kings were bad (especially those in Israel) and it is a constant battle of attrition for the people who just love doing “what was right in their eyes”, not realizing that their woes are due to their rebellion against God. We will run into Ahaz again later in the book of Isaiah; Ahaz reigned from 732–716 B.C., according to Wikipedia. Ahaz was succeeded by one of the most righteous kings of Judah, Hezekiah (there’s much more to come about him, too).

So what does the phrase “daughter of Zion” mean? Here’s a good answer from Gotquestions.org:

The “daughter of Zion” is mentioned several times in the Old Testament, usually in prophecy and once in poetry. “Zion” meant Jerusalem and, later, Israel as the people of God. “Daughter of Zion,” then, does not refer to a specific person. It’s a metaphor for Israel and the loving, caring, patient relationship God has with His chosen people.

As a representation of the people of Israel, the daughter of Zion is described in several different situations:

2 Kings 19:21: A people confident in the deliverance of their God. When Assyria threatened Jerusalem, King Hezekiah went to the Lord. In response, God sent Isaiah to reassure Hezekiah that Jerusalem would not fall to Assyria, and God considered the threatening insult to “the virgin daughter of Zion” as a personal affront to Himself.

Isaiah 1:8: A hut, abandoned after judgment came to an evil family. Here, Isaiah compares the rebellion of Judah to a sick body in a devastated land. The daughter of Zion is left as a lone remnant—a shelter hidden in the vineyard or a hut in a cucumber field that barely escaped destruction.

Jeremiah 4:31: A woman in labor, helpless before attackers. The steadfastness of Hezekiah was rare in Judah—most kings encouraged rebellion against God instead of loyalty to God. Jeremiah warns that if the nation does not turn away from evil, God will punish them severely. And the people will be helpless against it—as helpless as a woman in labor.

Isaiah 62:11: A people awaiting salvation. After the punishment of exile, God promises restoration to Israel. He will rejoice over His chosen people again. And in verse 11, He promises the daughter of Zion, “Lo, your salvation comes; behold His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.”

Micah 4:13: A bull that threshes his enemies. In verse 10, God warns that the daughter of Zion will suffer as much as a woman in labor. But in verse 13, He promises vengeance. The weak, powerless woman will become a bull with horns of iron and hoofs of bronze that will crush its enemies.

Zechariah 9:9: A land awaiting its king. This prophecy promises Israel’s enemies will be destroyed, but also speaks about a more permanent solution to the problem of sin. “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Should in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; he is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Despite the consistent rebellion of the daughter of Zion against her Father, He promises to restore her and present her with a Deliverer-King in the form of Jesus.

It all ties together, doesn’t it? There will be much more about the remnant of the chosen people of Israel/Judah and the promised Messiah.

I’ll end this with some brilliant commentary by R.C. Sproul, as quoted in Precept Austin, on how important it is to take counsel in the full word of God:

What if a preacher today talked like this in a congregation of Christians? “Hellfire and brimstone” preaching has just about disappeared. Yet Isaiah was one of the most educated men of his time. He was a member of the nobility, traveling in the highest circles of Israel. There is some evidence that he was of the royal house, though this inference is contested by some scholars. When Isaiah spoke his fiery words he was not a crazy preacher standing on a street corner with a sign. His words carried weight. We can learn from Isaiah that there is indeed a time and a place for wise, educated preachers to talk straight to their congregations about sin.

Isaiah called them “Sodom and Gomorrah (Isa 1:10).” He told them that God was sick and tired of their religious activities, their sacrifices and festivals, because they were ignoring true social justice (Isa 1:11, 12, 13, 14, 15). He advised them to start defending the good, seeking justice, reproving the ruthless, defending the orphan, and pleading for the widow. He did not tell them to take the easy way, to set up a political bureaucracy to do these things. Rather, he told them that each of them needed to stand up publicly and be counted on the side of justice for the oppressed.

God’s invitation is issued in Isa 1:18, “Come now, let us reason together.” God told the people who had been indicted that, if they would repent, their sins would be washed away, and they would eat the best of the land. He also told them that, if they continued to rebel, it was they who would be eaten—by the sword. With such options, what was clearly reasonable was heartfelt repentance.

What Isaiah delivered was part of the “whole counsel of God,” the rest of the story we often prefer not to hear. There are times when pastors must speak the whole counsel. Does your church stifle or intimidate your pastor, perhaps unintentionally, so that some subjects about sin are off-limits from the pulpit? Give him the freedom to speak all of God’s Word to you. (Sproul, R. Vol. 3: Before the face of God: Book three: Ligonier Ministries)

In my next devotional, Isaiah 1:10-15, we learn that the Lord has had enough of worthless offerings and sacrifices.

Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:

Dear Lord - I can see now that a study of Isaiah will force this miserable sinner (me) to deep dive into the whole counsel and word of God. Nothing is a coincidence. Amen.

Citations and Credits:

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org.

Precept Austin was accessed on 07/19/2026 to review commentary for Isaiah 1:5-9.

Gotquestions.org was accessed on 07/19/2026 to answer the question, What does the Bible mean when it refers to a “Daughter of Zion”? © COPYRIGHT 2002-2026 GOT QUESTIONS MINISTRIES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Commentary from Enduring Word is used with written permission and without any alteration. ©1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com.

The open door symbolizes the gift already given—not something earned, but something received. The light represents the life found in Christ without becoming overly symbolic or sentimental. Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) using the DALL·E model.

The Lord is definitely trying to teach me something, as He has pointed me to six somewhat similar verses in the New Testament — mainly from epistles written by the apostles — in the past two weeks. Today we are looking at the first epistle of John, chapter 5 (the last chapter of this epistle) again, and this short summary verse that is packed with meaning.

In the verses leading up to verse 11, John is telling his readers about the benefits of their faith in Jesus, and like a lawyer giving a summation in court, he’s laying out the testimony of the witnesses to the incarnation — the union of divinity with humanity in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This list of witnesses in verse 8 varies by scriptural translation, with the 4th century Vulgate translation of Jerome stating it as “The Father, the Word, and The Holy Spirit” and modern translations listing it as “the Spirit, the water, and the blood”.

That’s quite a contrast, so what is the difference, and what does it mean? From Enduring Word:

In both situations we have the Spirit, interpreted to be the Holy Spirit. We have the Father — God. We have the Word — the Word of God. And we have the Son, who came by water (baptism) and laid down his life (crucifixion, “came by blood”). In other words, we have the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit — God — as the witness. God is providing the testimony that “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”

In biblical times, testimony was a very solemn declaration of truth. God’s testimony provides the authority of the truth and the reliability of the message John is delivering.

In the New Testament, eternal life is at the center of many writings, particularly those of John. Eternal life doesn’t just mean that we exist forever in some sort of holding pattern, it is a quality of life that begins when a person declares their faith in Jesus Christ and continues as a relationship with God forever. How do we know that we have eternal life now? The answer is in the words “has given” — God has already bestowed eternal life on believers.

The final words — “this life is in his Son” — state that Jesus alone is the source of eternal life, underscoring Christian belief that we find salvation and eternal life only through Jesus Christ. Jesus explains this in John 14:6 —

‭John uses the phrase “in his Son” in today’s verse to illustrate abiding in Christ, which is both a spiritual and real union with Jesus that can be realized through a relationship with Jesus.

There are many amazing commentaries on 1 John 5:11 and the verses that surround it. For illumination, here are a few found on Precept Austin:

John Stott (The Letters of John : an introduction and commentary, 1988, Leicester, England : Inter-Varsity Press ; Grand Rapids, Mich. : Eerdmans):

J. Hampton Keathley, III writes on eternal life:

Robert J. Morgan focuses on 1 John 5:11 (from 100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know By Heart, 2010, Nashville, TN, B&H Publishing Group):

And what better Bible commentator to end this devotional with than Charles H. Spurgeon:

Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:

Father in Heaven, I thank You for the gift of eternal life that you have given us through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank You also for the grace that gives us trust in His sacrifice, and for the assurance that nothing can separate us from Your love. In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN.

Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.

BibleHub was accessed on July 18, 2026 for commentary on 1 John 5:11

Precept Austin was accessed on July 18, 2026 for commentary on 1 John 5:11

Commentary quotations from Enduring Word are used with the written permission of the author and reproduced here in their original format. © 1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com

“Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth;

For the Lord speaks,

“Sons I have reared and brought up,

But they have revolted against Me.

An ox knows its owner,

And a donkey its master’s manger,

But Israel does not know,

My people do not understand.”

Alas, sinful nation,

People weighed down with iniquity,

Offspring of evildoers,

Sons who act corruptly!

They have abandoned the Lord,

They have despised the Holy One of Israel,

They have turned away from Him.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Right off the bat in Isaiah 1, Isaiah tells the people of Israel and Judah that they are in trouble with the Lord. They have revolted against God, they do not understand, they are a sinful nation weighted down with iniquity. They are the offspring of evildoers and act corruptly. They have abandoned the Lord and despised the Holy One of Israel. They have turned away from Him. Animals know better; they obey and know who their masters are, but people do not.

Enduring Word has some good commentary on this passage:

a. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: God called heaven and earth as witnesses against Judah. The leaders and people of Judah had resisted His will, and God now stated His case against them. We might think of heaven and earth as a “jury” that God presented the case before.

• i. Romans 8:22 says, For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Creation is waiting for the deliverance that will come when the Messiah rules directly over all creation. When God’s people disobey, we might say there is a sense in which they “delay” that resolution of all things. So, heaven and earth have an interest in our obedience.

b. I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me: The leaders and people of Judah were like rebellious children, who never appreciated all that their parents did for them.

• i. As parents, we can appreciate how frustrating and galling it is for our children to disregard and disobey us. It fills us with righteous indignation, and we think, “After all I have done for them, they treat me like this?” But we have treated God even worse than any child has treated their parents.

c. The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel does not know: The leaders and people of Judah were not like dumb animals, such as the ox or the donkey. They were dumber than dumb animals. The ox at least knows its owner, but Judah didn’t know who owned them. The donkey knows who takes care of him, but Judah didn’t know who took care of them.

• i. No animal has ever offended or resisted or rejected or disobeyed God the way every human being has. Any animal is a more faithful servant of God than the best human.

d. Alas, sinful nation: God clearly and strongly exposed their sin. They were laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, and they had provoked the LORD to anger.

The animals know better than us about God and His care for His creation and how He created them to act. We are truly dumber than the dumbest servant animals (and more stubborn than donkeys). According to commentary in Precept Austin Isaiah is using a grammatical tool called Parallelism. The Pocket Dictionary of Biblical Studies is quoted in that same Precept Austin section with this definition of parallelism:

Parallelism has the effect of saying the “same in the other” (C. S. Lewis) as a thought or an image in the initial line is taken up in the subsequent line(s). In the eighteenth century Robert Lowth identified three forms of parallelism: synonymous, where the second line reproduces the first; antithetical, where the second line is in contrast to the first; and synthetic, where the second line carries the thought of the first forward. Hebrew poetry is deceptively simple to translate because of this parallelistic feature, yet the various ways of balancing one line with another can work on the level of sound, form and even grammatical structures.

Recent studies have focused more on the subtlety of balancing that takes place between the lines and the necessity of taking into consideration all the linguistic features, not just the thought that is paralleled. For example, Job 5:14 reads:

They meet with darkness in the daytime,

And grope at noonday as in the night.

“Daytime” and “night” are a common contrasting word pair, and here they occupy the same position in the Hebrew (first, not last, as in the translation above). However, the other word pairs—”daytime” and “noonday,” “darkness” and “night”—occupy opposite positions in the lines but are similar in meaning (the verbs actually occupy the middle position in each line, and each line is comprised of only three Hebrew words). The poem begins with “daytime” and ends with “noonday” but in between lie “darkness” and “night.” Thus the poem is very tightly and artfully constructed around similar and contrasting images that parallel one another. (Patzia, A. G., & Petrotta, A. J. Pocket dictionary of biblical studies. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press)

Here’s the parallelism repeated from this passage:

An ox knows its owner,

And a donkey its master’s manger,

But Israel does not know,

My people do not understand.”

The prophet Jeremiah used a similar parallelism and invoked the animals as being superior to humans for their knowledge of their Creator that guides their instincts:

“Even the stork in the sky

Knows her seasons;

And the turtledove and the swift and the thrush

Observe the time of their migration;

But My people do not know

The ordinance of the Lord.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭8‬:‭7‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

The second part of this passage in Isaiah 1 should be looked at again because of its hard-hitting message:

Alas, sinful nation,

People weighed down with iniquity,

Offspring of evildoers,

Sons who act corruptly!

They have abandoned the Lord,

They have despised the Holy One of Israel,

They have turned away from Him.”

The people have abandoned the Lord and are weighed down with iniquity. They are sinful and the offspring of evildoers. They have despised the Holy One of Israel and have turned away from Him. It’s like the picture above showing what used to be a lovely country church that has been abandoned to the trash and graffiti and weeds. It is apostasy, pure and simple.

According to Precept Austin, this is the first usage of “the Holy One of Israel” in Isaiah and it is used 25 times total in that book of prophecy, always pointing towards the Messiah. Jeremiah also uses this phrase:

“For neither Israel nor Judah has been forsaken

By his God, the Lord of hosts,

Although their land is full of guilt

Before the Holy One of Israel.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭51‬:‭5‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Precept Austin also has a short table showing where the people are now in the two kingdoms, in a fallen state, versus where they could be:

Obviously, the nation that has abandoned the Lord has abandoned their potential in Him. Paul a few centuries later had this to say about those who turn away from the Lord:

“For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Next we will hear from Isaiah about the desperate condition of Judah in my next devotional examining Isaiah 1:5-9.

Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:

Dear Lord - Thank you for the inspirational and poetic words that Isaiah uses right away at the beginning of this lengthy book of prophecy. The “parallelisms” are a marvelous communications tool and reinforce the beauty of Your words through scripture. Amen.

Citations and Credits:

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org.

Precept Austin was accessed on 07/17/2026 to review commentary for Isaiah 1:2-4.

Commentary from Enduring Word is used with written permission and without any alteration. ©1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com.

Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) using the DALL·E model. For an explanation of what the image represents, see the bottom of this devotional.

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross was foretold in prophecy. Barb is starting a new series on the Book of Isaiah that will take about a year to complete, and that book has very detailed prophecies about the birth, ministry, persecution, death, and resurrection of Christ.

Isaiah 53:10-12 has perhaps the best description of what was to come for Jesus:

‭‭Psalm 110:4-7 also offers a foretaste of the coming Kingdom:

‭‭Today’s verse and the three that precede it remind us of the animal sacrifices that the Jewish high priests made over and over again, yet they were not able to take away sin. Christ, on the other hand, atoned for the sins of believers forever in one ultimate sacrifice. He took His place at the right hand of God, finished with His work of atonement.

Let’s dissect this short verse for more insight into what the author of Hebrews was saying…

For by one sacrifice:

The sacrifice made by Christ was final and sufficient, once and for all time. The Old Testament’s sacrificial system required a constant series of offerings for sin. Want to see the gory details? Open up your Bible to Leviticus 16. And yes, the details are rather gory…

Jesus made his one offering on the cross. That singular offering fulfilled and surpassed the system of animal sacrifices as explained in Hebrews 9:12 and fulfilled the prophecy in Isaiah referenced earlier. This one-time sacrifice was a revolutionary concept, especially for Jews who converted to Christianity.

He has made perfect:

Christ’s sacrifice was complete and totally achieved what Mosaic Law could not. In the ancient Greek in which Hebrews was written, the word used is τελειόω (teleioō), defined as:

1. to make perfect, complete

   1. to carry through completely, to accomplish, finish, bring to an end

2. to complete (perfect)

   1. add what is yet wanting in order to render a thing full

   2. to be found perfect

3. to bring to the end (goal) proposed

4. to accomplish

   1. bring to a close or fulfilment by event

      1. of the prophecies of the scriptures

So does being made perfect mean that we are morally flawless? No, far from it. It just means that as believers, we become fully equipped and complete in standing before God. The Law made nothing perfect. Through Christ, a better hope was bestowed upon the faithful.

Forever:

The effect of the animal sacrifices required by God as part of the law handed down to Moses was temporary. The sacrifice of Jesus has eternal effects. We have assurance of this, as Jesus Himself told us in John 10:28:

‭‭Those who are being made holy:

What does it mean to be “made holy”? That’s the process of sanctification at work, being set apart for God’s purposes. It’s a continuous, constantly progressing process in the life of a believer, a work of the Holy Spirit. We were sanctified by Christ’s sacrifice and we’re also called to work out our salvation as God works in us.

Paul, in his Epistle to the church of Philippi, explained this well (Philippians 2:12-13)

‭‭Throughout our lives as believers, we are “being made holy” through the transformative journey of being Christian.

Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:

Today’s prayer comes from Knowing Jesus:

Heavenly Father, how I praise and thank You for Your glorious plan of salvation, once for all on the Cross. Thank You for the remission of sins and that You remember our sins no more. By Christ’s one offering of Himself, I have been made perfect in Your eyes for all time and into eternity. Help me to live a life that is honouring to Your name. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.

“Hebrews 10 (NIV) - For by one sacrifice he.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 15 Jul, 2026.

Commentary from The Bible Says © 2026 The Bible Says, All Rights Reserved (https://thebiblesays.com)

BibleHub was accessed on July 15, 2026 for commentary on Hebrews 10:14

ChatGPT description of the image at the top of this devotional:

A master sculptor stands in a sunlit workshop.

On a pedestal sits a marble statue that is already obviously complete and beautiful. Yet the sculptor gently brushes away the last traces of marble dust and polishes its surface.

The statue isn’t becoming a different sculpture—it already is the finished work. The polishing simply reveals what the sculptor has already accomplished.

This wonderfully illustrates Christ’s finished sacrifice while the Holy Spirit continues refining believers.

“The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

After a wonderful journey through the Epistle of Ephesians, I have decided to turn my attention to the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament. This will be the third book of prophecy in my amateur Bible studies, the other two being Daniel and Jonah. Daniel was extremely challenging with its strange visions; I expect Isaiah to be even more challenging, due to its intricate prophecies and the length of the book. My approach will rely on conservative, literal interpretation and commentary as much as possible.

So, the obvious first question would be who was Isaiah? I like this commentary from Enduring Word that gives us some good background on this major prophet:

a. The vision of Isaiah: This book contains the prophecies of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, who ministered from about 740 to 680 B.C. For about 20 years, he spoke to both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. After Israel’s fall to the Assyrians in 722 B.C., Isaiah continued to prophesy to Judah.

• i. This period of Israel’s history is told in 2 Kings 15-21 and 2 Chronicles 26-33. Isaiah was a contemporary of the prophets Hosea and Micah. By the time of Isaiah, the prophets Elijah, Elisha, Obadiah, Joel, Jonah, and Amos had already completed their ministry.

• ii. By this time, Israel had been in the Promised Land for almost 700 years. For their first 400 years in Canaan, judges ruled Israel. These were spiritual, military, and political leaders whom God raised up as the occasion demanded. Then, for about 120 years, three kings reigned over all Israel: Saul, David, and Solomon. But in 917 B.C. Israel had a civil war and remained divided into two nations, Israel (to the north) and Judah (to the south) up until the time of Isaiah.

• iii. Up until the time of Isaiah, the kingdom of Israel – the northern ten tribes – had some 18 kings, all of them bad and rebellious against the LORD. The kingdom of Judah – the two southern tribes – had some 11 kings before Isaiah’s ministry, some good and some bad.

• iv. In the time of Isaiah, Israel was a little nation often caught in the middle of the wars between three superpowers: Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon.

• v. As Isaiah’s ministry began, there was a national crisis in the northern kingdom of Israel. The superpower of Assyria was about to overwhelm the kingdom of Israel. During the span of Isaiah’s ministry as a prophet, the southern kingdom of Judah was faced with repeated threats from the larger surrounding nations.

• vi. Many modern scholars think that there was more than one author to the book of Isaiah. They use terms like “Deutero-Isaiah” and “Trito-Isaiah” or the “Isaianic School.” Sometimes more than one author is supposed for the book of Isaiah because of changes of style and tone, and sometimes as a denial of Isaiah as predictive prophecy.

• vii. However, the New Testament indicates that there was only one author of Isaiah. In John 12:37-41, John quotes from both the “first” part of Isaiah and the “second” part of Isaiah – the parts supposedly written by two or more different Isaiahs – and John specifically tells us it was the same Isaiah. The New Testament quotes Isaiah by name more than all the other prophetic authors combined.

• viii. The book of Isaiah is filled with many wonderful prophecies of the Messiah, telling us about the person and work of Jesus Christ some seven hundred years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. For this reason, sometimes Isaiah is called “The Fifth Gospel.”

b. Isaiah, son of Amoz: The name Isaiah means Salvation is of the LORD. There are at least seven men by the name of Isaiah in the Bible, but only one is Isaiah, the son of Amoz.

• i. Some have thought that Amoz and the prophet Amos were the same person, but this seems unlikely. Some ancient Jewish traditions say that Amoz was a brother of king Amaziah, but there is no biblical way to prove this.

• ii. We know more about Isaiah than we do about many other of the prophets. Isaiah was married and was the father of at least two sons (Isaiah 7:3 and 8:3). He lived in Jerusalem (Isaiah 7:3, 22:1, 37:2, 38:5, and 39:3).

• iii. There is “a strong Judeo-Christian tradition that holds that Isaiah also outlived Hezekiah and was sawn asunder by his successor Manasseh with a wooden saw after the prophet had hidden himself in a hollow tree from the angry king.” (Bultema) Many think Hebrews 11:37 (they were sawn in two) is a reference to the martyrdom of Isaiah.

• iv. Most of all, Isaiah was a great man of God. Isaiah “has the courage of a Daniel, the sensitivity of a Jeremiah, the pathos of a Hosea, and the raging anger of an Amos; and moreover he leaves all of them far behind in the unique art of holy mockery. His courage is of such a nature that he never, not even for a moment, shows himself to be weak or timid.” (Bultema)

c. In the days of: The prophecy of this chapter probably took place in the time of Ahaz, king of Judah (2 Kings 16 and 2 Chronicles 28). Ahaz was an evil king, and in his reign Judah was invaded many times by surrounding nations.

A few key takeaways:

1. Isaiah was a contemporary of Hosea and Micah and was a great man of God.

2. Isaiah ministered from about 740 to 680 B.C.

3. Elijah, Elisha, Obadiah, Jonah, Joel and Amos had completed their ministries prior to the life of Isaiah.

4. Isaiah was married and had at least two sons and lived in Jerusalem.

5. He ministers to both the northern kingdom (Israel) and the southern kingdom (Judah); his ministry started after the civil war that split the 12 tribes into 10 northern tribes and 2 southern tribes. He continued to prophesy to Judah after Israel was taken by the kingdom of Assyria.

6. Modern scholars think there was more than one author of Isaiah. This conjecture is likely used to downplay the prophecies that point to Jesus, just like how the prophecies of Daniel were dismissed by trying to force the writing into a later timeline.

7. The New Testament affirms that there was one author of Isaiah and both parts of Isaiah are quoted in the Gospels and other books in the NT.

8. Isaiah is filled with wonderful prophecies of the Messiah and it is sometimes called the “Fifth Gospel”.

This is the painting of Isaiah that was done by Michelangelo on the Sistine Chapel ceiling between 1508 and 1512:

The map above was found in Precept Austin showing the lands of the Middle East during the years of Isaiah, followed by Jeremiah and then the subsequent years when Israelite exiles were in Assyria and Judah exiles were in Babylon.

This table, also found in Precept Austin, is a handy graphic on the timelines for these prophets:

Ray Stedman has a lovely introduction to Isaiah, as quoted in Precept Austin:

Any time we approach a new book, we always want to look for a key. I am afraid, however, that this is sometimes a rather weak approach. Sometimes these Bible books seem like locked houses, barred and shuttered, so that you can’t get anything out of them unless you find the key. And some people feel that the only duly-licensed real estate agents are the Bible teachers, who alone have the keys to the Scripture’s “real estate.”

But scriptural books are not like that. They are more like national parks. They are open to everyone to roam in, and are a delight to explore all by yourself. But each park has a characteristic peculiar to itself that distinguishes it from the others; and you appreciate a park better if you know what that characteristic is. I have learned to appreciate some of the distinct characteristics of the great national parks in the West. For instance, if you want to see nature’s various moods, go to Yellowstone Park. There she pulls all the tricks out of her bag and throws everything together. If you want to see mountain grandeur and cool lakes, Glacier Park in Montana is the place to go. If you want to be awed and humbled and stirred, then go to the Grand Canyon. If you are looking for a quiet valley in which to rest and reflect, Yosemite fills the bill -- that is, any time other than midsummer, when some twenty thousand people are in the valley with you.

Sometimes I think of these books of the Bible like this. The book of Revelation is to me very much like Yellowstone National Park. It is full of spouting geysers and all kinds of weird symbolism and a variety of formations. The Gospel of John is more like Yosemite; quiet and deep and reverent. But there is no question that the book of Isaiah is the Grand Canyon of scripture. Geologists tell us that the Grand Canyon is a miniature history of the earth -- a condensed history, a pocket volume of the past -- just so, the book of Isaiah has long been recognized as a miniature Bible…

Visitors to the Grand Canyon are always astonished by one thing when they go there. They stand at the rim and look out over the vast. jumbled, silent canyon -- down to the Colorado River, which seems but a silver thread more than a mile below them -- and sooner or later some tourist cries in amazement, “I don’t understand how a tiny thing like that river could have carved a canyon like this!” They are amazed by that concept.

Now if you read the book of Isaiah thoughtfully and carefully, you sense immediately the grandeur and the power of God. You hear the powerful, rolling cadences of this book’s language. You sense the insignificance of man when compared with the might and the wisdom and majesty of God. And if you ask yourself, “How could Isaiah, just a human being like myself, write a book like this?” to answer seems impossible…

Now if any key is needed to this book, this is it. Isaiah was a man who was searching for something. Peter says he was searching after the salvation that was to come from God. And the interesting thing is that the name “Isaiah” means “The salvation of Jehovah.”

I love the comparison of books of the Bible to the wonders found in our beautiful National Parks. We as believers are invited to enter these books and behold their wonders, just like the beautiful creation that God bestowed on this Earth. The comparison of Isaiah to the Grand Canyon is so apt:

Let’s go exploring the shadows, the depths and the layers of the book of Isaiah together! My next devotional examines Isaiah 1:2-4 - The Lord’s indictment of Judah and Jerusalem.

Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:

Dear Lord - Please guide my studies and approach to Isaiah to honor You above all things, as You are the inspiration for men like Isaiah. Amen.

Citations and Credits:

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org.

Precept Austin was accessed on 07/13/2026 to review commentary for Isaiah 1:1. The full sermon by Ray Stedman can be found at this link.

Commentary from Enduring Word is used with written permission and without any alteration. ©1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com. Within the Enduring Word commentary:

Bultema, Harry Commentary on Isaiah (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications, 1981)

The trail represents God’s commands, the climb represents the Christian life, the sunrise represents Christ’s victory, and the traveler walks with confidence rather than strain, showing that obedience born from love is not a burden. Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) using the DALL·E model.

On Monday we looked at the first epistle of Peter, written to the church in Asia Minor; today’s verses are from the first epistle of John. This epistle was not written to a specific church; it was instead written as a general (or catholic) letter to all Christians. It is a short epistle — only five chapters — and each of the chapters is less than 30 verses long.

Bible Hub offers this short description of the overarching theme of this epistle:

Looking at today’s verses, they are focused on the message of obedience: “to keep His commands”. That is what love for God entails. It is not claiming to be a follower of Christ, yet continuing in the same bad behaviors you exhibited before “finding Jesus”. It is not a first love experience that sets your heart pounding. It’s not telling all of your social media followers that you love God.

20th-century American theologian James Montgomery Boice, cited on Enduring Word, elaborated on this: “Christians frequently attempt to turn love for God into a mushy emotional experience, but John does not allow this in his epistle.”1

Showing love for God is simple: You live your life by His rules, His commandments.

John knew this first-hand from his time as an apostle of Jesus. He had heard Jesus speak this truth at the Last Supper, and wrote it down in his Gospel in John 14:15:

‭‭and in John 14:‬‬21:

For most of us sinners, keeping God’s commands is difficult and to live as Jesus would want us to live seems impossible. Yet in this verse, John tells us “And his commands are not burdensome” David Guzik of Enduring Word provided this commentary on 1 John 5:3, which explains why God’s commandments should not be considered a burden to Christians:

John goes on in the next verse to elaborate on why God’s commandments are not burdensome, saying “for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.”

I’ve noted before that one key word to describe Christianity is transformation, and in verse 4, John tells us that all who have been born again in Christ will overcome the world. Once again from David Guzik:

Through faith and obedience, we can overcome the world.

Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:

Father in Heaven, I thank You that through my belief in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus I am born of You and have become Your beloved child. Thank You for setting out Your commands and wisdom in the Bible, so I may understand that Your instructions are not a burden, but rather the way for me to live a full and fruitful life. I thank You for Jesus and His sacrifice on the Cross that allows me to overcome the world through my faith. AMEN.

Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.

Commentary quotations from Enduring Word are used with the written permission of the author and reproduced here in their original format. © 1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com

BibleHub was accessed on July 13, 2026 for commentary on 1 John 5:3-4

My devotional series on the epistle of Ephesians is complete! This is one of the beloved Paulian epistles in the New Testament (credited to the Apostle Paul) and it is directed at the believers in Ephesus, Asia Minor (now Türkiye).

This was the tenth full book of the Bible that I have examined (not counting three Psalms); the other books I’ve explored in Heaven on Wheels include:

• Daniel

• Jonah

• Acts

• Galatians

• Philippians

• James

• 1 John

• 1 Peter

• Hebrews

Three Psalms:

• Psalm 22

• Psalm 23

• Psalm 34

Before I started doing full books, I did devotionals on various topics (not all are included):

• The armor of God from Ephesians 6 (repeated in this full exploration of Ephesians)

• Miracles of Jesus (all Gospels)

• Parables of Jesus (all Gospels)

• Sermon on the Mount (Matthew)

• Romans 8

• Christmas and Holy Week scripture

• 1 Corinthians 13

• The “I AM” statements of Jesus from the Gospel of John

As I noted in my last devotional, I started this deep dive into Ephesians on March 14, 2026, with a devotional every other day until the last regular devotional on July 12, 2026, a total of 61 devotionals if I counted correctly (excluding this summary). According to this chart from Reasonable Theology, you can supposedly read Ephesians in 20 minutes if you want to devote a little more time to what you read (rather than skimming it):

This summary includes a good overview table of Ephesians from Precept Austin that shows the differentiation of the message in Ephesians 1-3 versus Ephesians 4-6. The overviews have a key verse and each devotional title, the scripture references in that devotional and the salient idea or ideas that I use at the top of each devotional to summarize the text. A few of the ChatGPT images that were created for the series are included.

Here’s the table that was included for almost every verse of Ephesians in Precept Austin:

Here are the key verse(s) for each chapter, my heading for each devotional, the relevant scripture, and the key takeaway.

Ephesians 1

KEY VERSES: “He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Greetings from Paul, an Apostle

Ephesians 1:1-2 - Every verse in the Bible, even simple greetings, has a lesson for believers.

Blessings to God

Ephesians 1:3-4; Acts 1:7-8 - We are chosen, but we also need faith.

Adopted as Children of God

Ephesians 1:5-6 - What a glorious intention of His will, that we are more beloved than Adam!

Redemption and Forgiveness

Ephesians 1:7-9 - He has lavished the riches of grace upon us.

All Things in Christ

Ephesians 1:10-12 - A plan that sums all things up and an inheritance after the counsel of His will.

Seal of the Holy Spirit of Promise

Ephesians 1:13-14 - The Gospel of Salvation is a pledge of our inheritance.

The Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation

Ephesians 1:15-17 - We have an abundance of blessings if only we knew where to look and how to ask. We also have a template for how we pray for other saints.

The Hope of His Calling

Ephesians 1:18-19 - May the eyes of your heart be enlightened!

He Rose and is at God’s Right Hand

Ephesians 1:20-23 - We are joined to Him as the Church Body, while He rules over the Angels.

Ephesians 2

KEY VERSES: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Dead in Our Sins & Trespasses

Ephesians 2:1-2 - Most humans are unaware of the spiritual battles going on around them.

Alive Together in Christ

Ephesians 2:3-7 - Children of wrath become raised up with Him. It is a fact!

Grace, not Works, Saves Us

Ephesians 2:8-10 - What saves my soul will also change my life.

Brought Near by the Blood of Christ

Ephesians 2:11-13 - As we draw near to Christ, we draw near to each other.

He is our Peace

Ephesians 2:14-16 - The walls of enmity are torn down.

Peace to Those Near and Far

Ephesians 2:17-18 - God’s peace comes through access to the Trinity.

You Are of God’s Household

Ephesians 2:19-22 - The Holy Temple is being built with Christ as the cornerstone.

Ephesians 3

KEY VERSES: ““This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Paul’s Stewardship of Grace

Ephesians 3:1-3 - Paul starts a prayer, then decides to deviate to explain the mystery of the revelation to him.

Gentiles are Fellow Heirs

Ephesians 3:4-7, Acts 10:9-23; Acts 1:7-8; Matthew 28:18-20 - All humans have the gift of Grace and eternal life with God if they repent and believe on Jesus.

To the Least of Saints, Grace was Given

Ephesians 3:8-10 - The riches of Christ are the Glory of God, the Truth of God, the Wisdom of God, the Life of God and the Love of God.

Eternal Boldness and Confident Access

Ephesians 3:11-13 - We should not lose heart at tribulations that may occur.

A Prayer for Christ to Dwell in Hearts

Ephesians 3:14-19 - God’s love is wide enough to include every person, long enough to last through eternity, deep enough to reach the worst sinner, high enough to take us to heaven!

A Doxology to End Ephesians 3

Ephesians 3:20-21- Abundance for generations to come to glorify God!

Ephesians 4

Key Verses: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Preserve the Unity of the Spirit

Ephesians 4:1-3 - Walking in a manner worthy of our calling means humility, gentleness, patience, tolerance for one another in love, and being diligent to preserve unity of the Spirit.

One Body and One Spirit

Ephesians 4:4-6 -God is over all, through all and in all.

Grace was Given

Ephesians 4:7-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Psalm 68:18 - He gave gifts to men.

Equipping of the Saints

Ephesians 4:9-13; 1 Peter 3 - Scripture is challenging and also enlightening for how to set up a foundation of faith.

We Are No Longer Children

Ephesians 4:14-16 - ““Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.” Matthew‬ ‭10‬:‭16‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

The Christian’s Walk

Ephesians 4:17-19 - Do not fill your mind with things that lead to nothingness.

Put on the Likeness of God

Ephesians 4:20-24 - Knowing Jesus should transform our lives, not be an addition to a “life as usual”.

Tell the Truth

Ephesians 4:25, Deuteronomy 5:20 - Be forewarned, reader. You will see yourself in the examples in this devotional.

Managing Anger

Ephesians 4:26-27; Psalm 4:4; Matthew 5:20-24 - “Don’t fly into a rage unless you are prepared for a rough landing.”

Do Not Steal!

Ephesians 4:28; Deuteronomy 5:19 - Our modern society is teeming with theft and fraud and the sin of envy.

Let No Unwholesome Word Proceed From Your Mouth

Ephesians 4:29 - THINK about how you can edify and extend grace to others.

Do Not Grieve the Holy Spirit

Ephesians 4:30 - Believers: Do not grieve, deceive, quench, resist or insult the Spirit of God.

Things to Put Away (Far Away)

Ephesians 4:31 - Remove these evil things from your life and replace them with the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Forgive as You Have Been Forgiven

Ephesians 4:32 - Think of the ways God has forgiven you through Christ and be tender-hearted and kind, while forgiving others.

Ephesians 5

Key Verses: ““Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Be Imitators of God

Ephesians 5:1-2; 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 - Be a fragrance to God of life to life, because of the sacrifice of Jesus.

More Sins the Saints Must Purge

Ephesians 5:3-4; Deuteronomy 5:21 - Be kingdom-minded and give thanks and keep these sins from your mind.

What We Know with Certainty

Ephesians 5:5 - The Kingdom has been here, is here, and will be here!

Walk as Children of Light

Ephesians 5:6-10; Genesis 3:1-5; 1 Peter 2:9-10 - Are you living to please the Lord?

Be Filled with the Spirit

Ephesians 5:17-21; Acts 16:22-34 - Look in every direction for things to be thankful for!

Wives, Be Subject to Your Husbands

Ephesians 5:22-24; Galatians 3:26-29 - We have a mission to submit to the Lord and to obey what He has ordained.

Husbands, Love Your Wives

Ephesians 5:25-30 - The love of husbands is a sacrificial and serving love.

Two Shall Become One

Ephesians 5:31-33; Genesis 2:24 - Let’s bring God back into the joining of men and women together in marriage.

Ephesians 6

Key Verses: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Children, Honor Your Father and Mother

Ephesians 6:1-3, Deuteronomy 5:16 - The family is the starting point for a lifetime of honor and obedience and respect.

Fathers, Do Not Provoke Your Children to Anger

Ephesians 6:4 - No parent is perfect, but with God’s guidance children can be raised to be good Christians.

Slaves, Be Obedient to Your Masters

Ephesians 6:5-6 - Work hard, because the Lord is watching, even if no one else is paying attention.

With Good Will Render Service

Ephesians 6:7-9, Matthew 25:14-30 - We have responsibilities and a God-established hierarchy in our lives.

Be Strong in the Lord and Put on the Full Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10-11 - We must go through basic training in God’s precepts to be strong in His might, but keep in mind the war is raging RIGHT NOW.

Our Struggle Against the Forces of Darkness

Ephesians 6:12; Revelation 22:10-13 - Although the battle will end someday, we are fully engaged with deceptive and devious spiritual enemies right now.

Take Up the Full Armor of God

Ephesians 6:13 - The full armor must be in all directions to be victorious against the evil of this world

Truth and Righteousness

Ephesians 6:14 - We chart our course to His Truth and rely on His protection through His righteousness.

The Gospel of Peace

Ephesians 6:15; Isaiah 52:7 - We can stand firm through the peace that He brings us in our salvation.

The Shield of Faith

Ephesians 6:16 - We are in a war zone with a battle for our minds.

The Helmet of Salvation, the Sword of the Spirit

Ephesians 6:17 - We shall know His word exactly when we need it!

Pray at All Times in the Spirit

Ephesians 6:18-20; Multiple other verses - I love the Lord because He has heard my supplication!

Paul Sends Tychicus

Paul recognizes that he can’t do it all by himself, but he needs beloved friends and other believers to help him.

A Final Benediction

Ephesians 6:23-24 - Peace, faith, grace and incorruptible love!

My next devotional will be an introduction to the Old Testament Book of Isaiah (one of the major prophets). I expect this devotional series to be lengthy, so I hope that readers will stick with me to learn as much as possible about Isaiah and what he wrote.

Blessings!

Citations and Credits:

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org.

Precept Austin was accessed throughout this devotional series to review commentary for Ephesians.

Commentary from Enduring Word is used with written permission and without any alteration. ©1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com.

Early Christians showing steadfast faith in Jesus in the face of persecution. Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) using the DALL·E model.

Peter’s first epistle was written to believers in “Babylon,” thought by Biblical scholars to be a reference to the early churches in Asia Minor, the area now called Turkey (Türkiye). The letter has one overriding theme: Persecution of the early Christians by both the Romans and by their pagan neighbors.

1 Peter 3:13 begins with a rhetorical question to the recipients of the letter. The early Christians were facing both official and social persecution, so Peter points out that God will ultimately protect them when they commit to living a righteous life.

Psalm 118:6 is very similar in both content and tone: “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Peter )s reaffirming that the spiritual security found in Christ overpowers any worldly peril. By asking this rhetorical question, Peter is focusing the thoughts of his readers on the answer — that their belief in Jesus Christ and their focus on sharing the love of Christ with everyone will ultimately result in blessings.

Other translations of this epistle (NASB, ASV) substitute the word “zealous” for “eager”, which is a much more powerful word. The New Testament explores this zeal for good in many of the gospels and epistles, encouraging believers to earnestly and passionately pursue righteousness. That zeal isn’t just an emotion — although it can be manifested in new believers as a more emotional than spiritual response to their salvation — but more of an actualized lifestyle of serving the Lord.

In the early church, a fierce dedication to good works was seen as a public display of the teachings of Jesus that set Christians apart from their pagan neighbors. This fervor and commitment is outlined in Romans 12:11-12:

‭”To do good” is a call to live the teachings of Jesus, to be light in a dark world, to reflect the goodness of God through their interactions with others. God has always wanted this — in the Old Testament, the prophet Micah summed up what God requires of His people in Micah 6:8, “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

‭‭In the next verse, Peter recognizes the reality of the times when he says “But even if you should suffer for what it right…” He saw and personally experienced the persecution early Christians often faced for their faith, but knew that the suffering it produced had a purpose. It served as a confirmation of personal faith and commitment to God’s will.

Knowing that suffering is a very real possibility, Peter balances that with “you are blessed.” That was — and still is — counter to what the world as a whole thinks of suffering! The blessing most likely won’t be material in nature, but spiritual — knowing for sure that God is with you and that even in death, there is an eternal reward. This is echoed in James 1:12 —

‭‭Things may be horrible in the finite here and now, but they will be balanced in the eternal and infinite life in the Kingdom of God.

Peter ends the second verse here by paraphrasing Isaiah 8:12 —

“… do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.”

‭‭In both cases (Isaiah and Peter’s epistle), this is calling believers to show faith and courage. Peter is encouraging the readers to remain steadfast in their faith despite threats and external pressures. What should keep Christians from fear? Assurance that God is all-powerful and always protects His people.

Remaining calm in the face of persecution shows a trust in God’s promises and in salvation, testifying to the transformative power of the Gospel.

The Bible Says provides a succinct summary of these verses:

Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:

Father, thank You for the eternal truths found in Peter’s epistle. If ever I face harm or suffering for doing what is right and good in Your eyes, give me the courage to move past fear through Your blessings and grant me the strength to trust in You alone. AMEN.

Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org.

“1 Peter 3 (NIV) - Who is going to harm.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 12 Jul, 2026.

“Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Paul ends this letter to Ephesians with two beautiful benedictions. First, he proclaims peace to the brethren and love with faith, which comes from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Second, grace is with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love. That last word love is emphasized because it was likely added later to emphasize the sincerity or incorruptibility of agape love.

I started the study of Ephesians in March, 2026, writing devotionals about it every other day until this last regular devotional published on July 12. I believe this was a total of 61 devotionals for an epistle that would take the average person about 20-30 minutes to read. My next devotional will be a summary of what we learned in this Epistle.

Precept Austin has excerpts from a sermon by Steven Cole that has some of the lessons we can learn from Ephesians:

By way of summary and review, here are four main practical lessons from Ephesians:

(1) The gospel is a life-transforming message.

Whether you are from a religious background, as the Jews in Ephesus were, or from a pagan background, as the Gentiles were, believing in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord drastically changed your life. As we saw, many of the people in Ephesus were heavily involved in the occult (Acts 19:18, 19). Many had engaged in immorality with the temple prostitutes at the famous Temple of Artemis or Diana in Ephesus. But when they came to Christ, they burned their occult books and they abandoned their immorality (Eph 5:3-12-note). God created them anew in righteousness and holiness of the truth (Eph 4:24-note).

Granted, this transformation works itself out gradually, as we lay aside the old life, are renewed in the spirit of our minds, and put on the new life (Eph 4:22, 23, 24-note). But those who have been saved by grace embark on this new life of transformation in holiness.

(2) What you believe is extremely important.

Paul would not have spent the first three chapters of Ephesians laying the doctrinal foundation if doctrine were not crucial for your Christian life! What you believe determines how you live. If you claim to believe the gospel but live as the world lives, it proves that you really do not believe the gospel. We live in a day when professing evangelical Christians have belittled doctrine as irrelevant or even as divisive. While truth necessarily divides, we should hold to the truth in love (Ep 4:15-note). The doctrine of election, which Paul emphasizes in chapter 1, is divisive. But it’s also vital for your understanding of the gospel and your growth in the Christian life. If it were not, Paul wouldn’t have put it there.

(3) The church is extremely important to God.

Ephesians emphasizes the vital importance of the church. As Paul said Eph 1:23), the church is Christ’s body, “the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” If Christ loved the church and gave Himself for the church as His bride (Eph 5:25, 26, 27-note), then we must love the church and give ourselves for her. True, she is not yet glorified, without spot or blemish. Yes, you will get wounded in the church. But, yes, you must commit yourself to that to which Christ is committed.

You can’t say, “I love Jesus, but I hate His bride.” Or, “I love the Head, but His body stinks!” I recommend that you read Josh Harris’ little book, Stop Dating the Church [Multnomah Press].

(4) Relationships in the church are extremely important to God.

This is the main thrust of Ephesians 2:11-22, Ep 3:4-11, and Ep 4:1-6:9. It’s not a minor theme! Remember, in that culture, Jews and Gentiles were completely alienated from one another. But the church was to demonstrate the saving grace of God, who reconciled these two humanly incompatible groups into one new man. It is vital that we work through relational differences and show the world the love of Jesus Christ through our reconciled relationships. Don’t miss the fact that all of these truths are for those who are brethren (Ep 6:21-note, Ep 6:23-note). You become a brother or sister through the new birth, when God’s Spirit quickens you from spiritual death to spiritual life. So I close our studies in Ephesians by quoting again Ep 2:8, 9-note,

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Above all, make sure you have been saved!

I thank the Lord Jesus every day for that planned encounter with the zealous Pharisee Saul on the road to Damascus, as documented in Acts 9. Because of that encounter, Christians benefit tremendously from the God-inspired words of the Apostle Paul! He defines our faith so well in the epistles that he wrote and, God willing, I will come back to more of those epistles in the future for deep dives.

My next devotional is the summary of Ephesians, then I will have an introduction to the book of Isaiah. I can only imagine I will be diving into Isaiah for a considerable length of time, but in hopes of glimpsing the future after Isaiah, my long-term plan is to do the complete Gospel of John. I’ve done bits and pieces of all four Gospels in devotionals, but it will be time after the prophecies of Isaiah to do at least one of them all the way through. Thanks for sticking with this amateur Bible enthusiast!

Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:

Dear Lord - I thank You for Your guidance as I studied the Epistle of Ephesians. I eagerly await that same guidance as I begin a study of Isaiah (after summarizing Ephesians). Amen.

Citations and Credits:

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.Lockman.org.

Precept Austin was accessed on 07/11.2026 to review commentary for Ephesians 6:23-24.

Commentary from Enduring Word is used with written permission and without any alteration. ©1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com. Commentary from Enduring Word was not used for this devotional.

King David confesses his faith to God, his protector and provider. Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) using the DALL·E model.

Study More Psalms

Psalms chapter 16 is titled “A מִכְתָּם (miḵtām) of David”. The meaning of miḵtām is lost to antiquity, but some translators believe it means “poem,” some think it means “cover”, while others assign the meaning “a golden or most precious poem.” David Guzik, writing in Enduring Word, said:

How do we know that David was “in a time of crisis”? In the first verse, he asks God to “Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge” (Psalm 16:1). Like David, we often ask God for His protection from both spiritual and physical evil when our enemies are threatening. In other psalms, David refers to those situations where he is under attack. Psalm 16 is different in that he isn’t pleading for God’s help or deliverance from a specific situation, making it more of an explanation of who God is as David considers the source of his confidence.

David begins this verse with an emphatic statement: “I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord”. It sounds redundant, but as past Bible study has taught us, redundancy in Scripture provides emphasis to a truth that David knows deep in his soul. How do we remember things that are true (and sometimes untrue)? We repeat them over and over to ourselves. Confessing our faith often — at least once a day — helps us maintain our relationship with God.

The Bible Says included this wonderful comparison of today’s psalm with the words of Peter and Jesus in Matthew 16:13-20.

David, and later the apostle Peter, both made their verbal confessions of their faith. For these two pillars of our faith, the verbal confession was more than simply words; they chose to live out that confession in lives that fulfilled God’s purpose. Ephesians 2:10 clarifies this mission:

‭‭David ends this verse by proclaiming “apart from you I have no good thing.” Once again quoting from The Bible Says:

Elsewhere in Scripture we find enlightenment on what David meant. In Psalm 73:25, the Psalmist repeats the tone of today’s verse:

The apostle Paul, in his epistle to the church at Philippi, echoed the meaning of David’s words:

Jesus provides the Truth that everything that is good comes from God. In John 15:5, we hear His words (emphasis is mine):

‭‭And again from The Bible Says:

The takeaway from David’s miḵtām is this — we should give thanks to the Lord our God constantly, for He is the source of all good things.

Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:

Dear Lord in Heaven, I know in my soul that You are my Lord, and that apart from You, I have no good thing. You are the source of all that is good, and in You I lack nothing. Even when Your plans seem confusing to me, help me to trust You completely and seek Your will in all things. Thank You for Your faithfulness, Your provision, and Your protection. AMEN.

Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.

Commentary from The Bible Says © 2026 The Bible Says, All Rights Reserved (https://thebiblesays.com)

Commentary quotations from Enduring Word are used with the written permission of the author and reproduced here in their original format. © 1996-present The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – enduringword.com