Week #31 | "It's (Still) All About Jesus"

 LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read Isaiah 58-66, 2 Kings 21-23, 2 Chronicles 33-34, Zephaniah 1-3, Psalms 102 and 105, Proverbs 25-31

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Jesus is the Anointed (Isaiah 56-66). In this last section of Isaiah, Jesus is revealed as "the Anointed." Isaiah 56-66 has a very unique kind of structure called a chiasm, where instead of working up to a conclusion at the end, the conclusion is actually in the middle with Isaiah working up to that conclusion from both sides. Here's what that looks like, below:

A. The Nations are Welcomed In (56:3-8)

     B. The Peoples Inability to Do Righteousness (56:9-59:15a)

          C. God Works Salvation With His Own Arm (59:15b-21)

               D. A Light Will Dawn in Zion (60:1-22)

                    E. Anointed Servant Song: "The Spirit of the LORD God is upon me..." (60:1-22)

               D. A Light Will Dawn in Zion (61:4-62:12)

          C. God Works Salvation With His Own Arm (63:1-6)

     B. The Peoples Inability to Do Righteousness (63:7-65:16)

A. The Nations are Welcomed In (65:17-66:24)

So we see the plan of God and the way that he carries it out. His desire is to bless all nations through Israel (A), but Israel is unable to be the servant that can carry out this work (B). Therefore, God announces that he will work salvation with his own arm, intervening personally (C). He will bring the light of salvation to, and through, Zion (D), through his Anointed Servant who announces "The Spirit of the LORD God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor" (E). This is how Jesus announces his own mission in Luke 4:16-22, by saying that this is who he is.

The Kings Manasseh, Amon, and Josiah (2 Kings 21-23, 2 Chronicles 33-34). After Hezekiah, we see two very bad kings followed by a very good king. Josiah becomes a sort of picture of Jesus, who prophets like Micah and Isaiah have already been pointing to: a child who will be born and will rule on the throne of David as King in righteousness. Ultimately Josiah is not the one, but he gives a glimpse of the one who will truly fulfill these hopes.

Jesus in the Book of Zephaniah (Zephaniah 1-3). Unlike many of the other prophets, the Book of Zephaniah does not have any direct predictive prophesy about the future Messiah; however the Messiah is still central to its core message. How is that possible? The book is a straightforward denunciation and proclamation of judgment (Zephaniah 1:1-3:8), but it ends with a picture of God drawing his people from all nations to be blessed through Israel, in a place where there is no strife, and no one is an outcast, and the lame (infirm) will be "saved" -healed from their condition?- and it will be said "The LORD your God is among you, a warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will be quiet in his love. He will delight in you with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17). The big question is how all of this can be accomplished, and how the problem of sin will at last be resolved so that this can happen: and the answer is, through Jesus. Zephaniah and Isaiah's visions of what God wants to do in human history are one and the same; the only difference is that Isaiah explains the how, and Zephaniah only hints towards the answer--but it's there also.

DO | HOW DO WE RESPOND?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? I won't lay out exact responses in this space because the possibilities are often endless. But it is worth it to think about application in the categories of worship, attitude, and actions. Does this reading direct me to God in worship and thanksgiving and praise, or does it direct me towards a change that I need to make here and now? If it's about a change that I need to make, is this something inward in my attitude, or outward in my actions? This helps to rescue application from just being a series of how-to tips, or one-size-fits-all instructions that go beyond what the Bible actually states. Sometimes, the most helpful application we can make is to get a different perspective on what's the most important thing, or about how we should respond inwardly to the things going on around us.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US TO GOD?

Whether in response to anything pointed out here, or to something else in your Bible reading time, take a few moments before you close up your Bible to pray in response to God. If you need a format for prayer, both the ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication), CALL (Confess, Ask, Love, Listen), and PRAY (Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield) methods are helpful ways to stay consistent.

-Sean