Isaiah 10-14
1 “Woe to those who write evil things, for when they write such things, 2 they turn aside judgment from the poor, and rob judgment from the needy of My people, that the widow may be their prey and the orphan a spoil. 3 What will they do in the day of visitation? For affliction will come to you from afar, and to whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your glory, 4 so as not to fall into captivity?” For all this, His anger is not turned away, but His hand is still uplifted.
5 “Woe to the Assyrians! The rod of My anger and wrath are in their hands. 6 I will send My wrath against a lawless nation; and I will order My people to seize spoils and plunder, to trample down their cities, and turn them into dust. 7 However, he does not think in the same way, nor does he consider the same thing in his soul; but his heart will change, so as to utterly destroy many nations. 8 If they should say to him, ‘You alone are ruler,’ 9 then he shall say, ‘Have not I taken the country above Babylon and Chalanne, where the tower was built, and taken Arabia, Damascus, and Samaria? 10 As I took these with my hand, so also shall I take all the kingdoms. Wail, O carved images in Jerusalem and Samaria! 11 For as I did to Samaria and the things made by human hands, so shall I do also to Jerusalem and her idols.’ ” 12 But it shall come to pass, when the Lord has completed all He will do on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, He will go against the arrogant heart of the king of the Assyrians and the glory of his haughty looks. 13 For he said, “I shall act in my strength and by the wisdom of my understanding. I also shall remove the boundaries of the nations and plunder their strength. I shall shake their inhabited cities. 14 I shall overtake with my hand all the inhabited world as a nest, and take them as eggs that have been left. There is no one who can escape or oppose me.”
15 Shall the ax glorify itself without him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself without him who saws with it? It is likewise if one should lift a rod or a piece of wood. 16 But it shall not be so, for the Lord of hosts will send dishonor against your honor; and He will kindle a burning fire against your glory. 17 So the Light of Israel will be as a fire, and He will sanctify him with burning fire; and it will devour the wood like grass on that day. 18 The mountains, the hills, and the forests will be consumed, and devour both soul and body, and he who flees will be like one fleeing from a burning flame. 19 Then the remnant will be few in number, and a child shall write them.
20 It shall come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel and those of Jacob who were saved will never again obey those who wronged them; but they will trust in God, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 The remnant of Jacob shall trust in the Mighty God. 22 For though the people of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of them shall be saved; for He shall accomplish the word and cut it short in righteousness. 23 For God will accomplish the word and cut it short in all the world.
24 Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: “O My people who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian, because he shall strike you with a rod; for I am bringing a stroke upon you, that you may see the way of Egypt. 25 Yet in a very short while, the wrath will cease, but My anger shall be against their counsel.” 26 For God will stir up enemies against them, as it was in the stroke against Midian in that place of affliction; and His anger shall be by way of the sea, in the way that leads to Egypt. 27 Thus it shall come to pass in that day, his fear will be taken from you and his yoke from your shoulder, for the yoke shall be destroyed from off your shoulders. 28 For he shall come to the city of Aiath and pass on to Migron and place his property at Michmash. 29 He will pass along the valley and arrive at Aiath. Fear will seize Ramah, the city of Saul; the daughter of Gallim will flee, 30 Laish will hear; Anathoth will hear; 31 Madmenah was astounded, so too the inhabitants of Gebim. 32 Urge them today to remain in the way. Comfort with your hand the mountain, the daughter of Zion, and the hills in Jerusalem. 33 For behold, the Master, the Lord of hosts, will trouble the glorious ones with power, and the haughty in pride shall be crushed. The lofty will be humbled, 34 and the high and mighty shall fall by the sword, and Lebanon, with its high and mighty ones.
1 There shall come forth a rod from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall grow out of his root. 2 The Spirit of God shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and godliness. 3 The Spirit of the fear of God shall fill Him. He shall not judge by reputation nor convict by common talk. 4 But He will judge the cause of the humble, and reprove the humble of the earth. He shall strike the earth with the word of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the ungodly. 5 He shall gird His loins with righteousness and cover his sides with truth.
6 “The wolf shall feed with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf, the bull, and the lion shall feed together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze together, and their young ones shall lie down together. The lion and the ox shall eat straw together. 8 The nursing child shall play by the hole of asps, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the den of asps. 9 They shall not hurt nor be able to destroy anyone on My holy mountain, for the whole world shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as much water covers the seas.
10 “It shall come to pass in that day that there shall be a Root of Jesse who shall arise to rule nations. The Gentiles shall hope in Him, and His resting place shall be honorable.” 11 It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord will show His hand again to be zealous for the remnant left of His people: left by the Assyrians and by Egypt, Babylon and Ethiopia, and by the Elamites, and from the rising of the sun, and out of Arabia. 12 He shall set up a sign for the Gentiles and will assemble the lost ones of Israel. He shall gather together the dispersed of Judah, from the four corners of the earth. 13 Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart, and the enemies of Judah shall be destroyed. Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not afflict Ephraim. 14 But they shall spread sails on the ships of foreigners, and together they shall plunder the sea and the people of the East and Edom. They shall lay their hands first on Moab, but the sons of Ammon shall obey them first. 15 The Lord shall make desolate the Sea of Egypt, and He will lay His hand on the river with a violent wind, and will strike the seven channels, that men might pass across it in sandals. 16 “There shall be a highway for the remnant of My people in Egypt, and it will be for Israel as in the day he came out of the land of Egypt.”
1 And in that day, you will say, “I will bless You, O Lord. Although You were angry with me, You turned away Your anger and had mercy on me. 2 Behold, God is my Savior and Lord. I will trust in Him and be saved by Him. I will not be afraid, for the Lord is my glory and my praise. He has become my salvation.” 3 You will draw water with gladness from the wells of salvation. 4 In that day, you will say, “Praise the Lord; call upon His name. Declare His glorious things among the Gentiles and make mention that His name is exalted. 5 Sing to the name of the Lord, for He has done great things. Declare this in all the earth. 6 Exult and be glad, O inhabitants of Zion, for the Holy One of Israel is exalted in her midst.”
1 The vision against Babylon seen by Isaiah the son of Amoz:
2 “Lift up a sign on the mountain of the plain and raise your voice to them. Do not fear; comfort with your hand; open the gates, O you rulers. 3 I command and I lead them. They are sanctified, and I lead them. My mighty ones come to fulfill My anger—rejoicing and insulting at the same time.” 4 The sound of many nations upon the mountains, like that of many nations, the voice of kings and nations gathered together—the Lord of hosts commanded a warring nation 5 to come from a far country, from the end of heaven, the Lord and His weapons, to destroy all the inhabited world. 6 Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand, and destruction will come from God. 7 Therefore every hand will grow weary, and every man’s soul will be fearful. 8 The elders will be troubled. Pangs will take hold of them, like a woman in childbirth, and they will wail at one another and be amazed; and their countenance shall change like a flame. 9 Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, a day that cannot be averted, a day of anger and wrath, to make all the inhabited world a desert, and to destroy the sinners from it. 10 For the stars of heaven and Orion and all the ornament of heaven will not give their light. It will be dark when the sun goes forth, and the moon will not give its light. 11 “I will command evils for all the inhabited world and the ungodly because of their sins, and I will destroy the insolence of the lawless and humble the haughtiness of the arrogant. 12 Those left behind will be more valuable than fine gold tried in the fire, and a man more precious than the stone of Ophir. 13 For heaven will be angry, and the earth will be shaken from its foundations because of the fierce anger of the Lord of hosts, in the day His anger comes. 14 Those who are left shall be as the fleeing gazelle and as a wandering sheep, and there shall be no one to gather them, that a man may return to his own people and a man may seek his own country. 15 For whoever is taken will be overcome, and those who are gathered together will fall by the sword. 16 Their children also will be dashed before their eyes. They shall plunder their houses and possess their wives. 17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against you, who will not regard silver, neither do they have need of gold. 18 They will break in pieces the bows of the young, and show your children no mercy; nor will their eyes spare your children. 19 It shall be that Babylon, called glorious by the king of the Chaldeans, will be as when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. 20 It shall never be inhabited, nor will any enter it for many generations. Neither shall the Arabians pass through it, nor will shepherds take their rest in it. 21 But wild animals of the desert will rest there, and their houses will be filled with noise. Sirens will rest there, and demons will dance there. 22 Donkey-centaurs will dwell there, and hedgehogs will make dens in their homes. It will come quickly and not delay.”
1 For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob and will yet choose Israel to take rest in their land. The sojourner will be added to them, and they will be added to the house of Jacob. 2 Then the Gentiles will take them and bring them to their place. They will inherit them, and they will multiply in God’s land as male and female servants. Those who captured them shall be captives to them, and those who ruled over them shall be ruled by them. 3 Then it shall come to pass in that day that God will give you rest from your sorrow and anger and your hard slavery in which you served them.
4 You shall take up this lamentation against the king of Babylon, and will say in that day, “How the exacter has ceased, and the compeller ceased! 5 God broke the yoke of sinners in pieces, the yoke of the rulers, and 6 in His anger He struck a nation with an incurable wound; and striking a nation with a plague of anger, which did not spare them, 7 He rested in confidence. All the earth cries aloud with gladness. 8 Indeed, the trees of Lebanon rejoice against you and the cedar of Lebanon, saying, ‘From the time you fell asleep, no one has come up to cut us down.’ 9 Hades from below was embittered to meet you. All the mighty who ruled over the earth rose up to meet you. Those who raised from their thrones all the kings of the nations, 10 all shall answer and say to you, ‘You also were conquered, even as we, and are numbered among us. 11 Your glory and great gladness have come down to Hades. They will spread decay under you, and the worm will be your covering.’ 12 How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, who rose up in the morning! He who sends for all the nations is crushed to the earth. 13 For you said in your mind, ‘I will ascend into heaven; I will place my throne above the stars of heaven. I will sit on a lofty mountain, on the lofty mountains toward the north. 14 I will ascend above the clouds; I will be like the Most High.’ 15 But now you shall descend to Hades, to the foundations of the earth. 16 Those who see you will marvel at you, and they will say, ‘This is the man who greatly upset the earth, who shook kingdoms, 17 and who made all the inhabited world a desert. He destroyed its cities, and did not set free those in captivity.’ 18 All the kings of the nations sleep in honor, every man in his house. 19 But you shall be cast forth on the mountains like a loathsome dead person, with many dead pierced with swords who go down into Hades; and as a garment defiled in blood, you will not be clean. 20 So you will not be clean, because you destroyed My land and killed My people. You, an evil seed, will not endure forever. 21 Prepare your children for slaughter for the sins of their father, that they may not arise and inherit the earth, and fill it with wars.”
22 “For I will rise up against them,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I will destroy their name, their remnant and their seed”—so says the Lord— 23 “and I will make Babylon a desert, that hedgehogs may dwell there; and it shall come to nothing; and I will make it a pit of clay for destruction.” 24 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “As I said, so it shall come to pass. As I purposed, so it shall remain— 25 to destroy the Assyrians in My land and on My mountains. They shall be for trampling underfoot, and their yoke shall be taken away; and their renown shall be removed from their shoulders.” 26 This is the purpose the Lord purposed upon all the inhabited world. His hand is lifted up over all the nations of the inhabited earth. 27 For who will reject what the holy God purposed? Who will turn away His uplifted hand?
28 In the year King Ahaz died, this word came: 29 “Do not be glad, all you foreigners, for the yoke of him who struck you is broken to pieces. For from the seed of serpents shall come forth the young asps, and their offspring shall be flying serpents. 30 The poor will be fed by him, and poor men will rest in peace, but he shall destroy your seed with hunger, and he will destroy your remnant. 31 Wail, gates of the cities, cry out, troubled cities, even all the foreigners, for smoke is coming from the north, and you will be no more!” 32 What will the kings of the nations answer? For the Lord founded Zion, and the humble of His people shall be saved.
Psalm 102:13–22
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him,
14 For He knows how He formed us;
He remembers we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass,
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes;
16 For the wind passes through it, and it shall not remain;
And it shall no longer know its place.
17 But the mercy of the Lord is from age to age upon those who fear Him,
And His righteousness upon children’s children,
18 To such as keep His covenant
And remember His commandments, to do them.
19 The Lord prepared His throne in heaven,
And His Kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord, all you His angels,
Mighty in strength, who do His word,
So as to hear the voice of His words.
21 Bless the Lord, all you His hosts,
His ministers who do His will;
22 Bless the Lord, all His works,
In all places of His dominion;
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Proverbs 22:1–5
1 A good name is to be chosen more than much wealth,
And good grace more than silver and gold.
2 The rich man and the poor man meet with one another,
But the Lord made both.
3 An astute man, seeing an evil man severely punished, is himself instructed,
But those passing by without discernment suffer loss.
4 The fear of the Lord and riches and glory and life
Are the offspring of wisdom.
5 Thorns and snares are in the ways of the crooked,
But he who guards his own soul will keep away from them.
2 Timothy 4
1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:
2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Paul’s Valedictory
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
The Abandoned Apostle
9 Be diligent to come to me quickly;
10 for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica—Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia.
11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry.
12 And Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.
13 Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come—and the books, especially the parchments.
14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works.
15 You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words.
16 At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them.
The Lord Is Faithful
17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
18 And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!
Come Before Winter
19 Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.
20 Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick.
21 Do your utmost to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, as well as Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brethren.
Farewell
22 The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.
Thank you Father for your sobering and encouraging message. It brings to mind the teaching of the Desert Fathers to think about our death daily. Today our country celebrates a “holiday” that denies the reality of death. The celebration looks like fun and is hard to resist (Lord knows that I didn’t fight the cultural tide when I had children under my roof), but is one of many “pulls” into the world against which the Apostle warns today. Lord have mercy.