The Berean Pursuit
Now in the days that Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, Rezin king of Aram marched up to wage war against Jerusalem. He was accompanied by Pekah son of Remaliah the king of Israel, but he could not overpower the city.
When it was reported to the house of David that Aram was in league with Ephraim, the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled like trees in the forest shaken by the wind.
Then the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct that feeds the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer's Field, and say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Do not be afraid or disheartened over these two smoldering stubs of firewood-over the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted your ruin, saying: 'Let us invade Judah, terrorize it, and divide it among ourselves. Then we can install the son of Tabeal over it as king.' But this is what the Lord GOD says:
'It will not arise;
it will not happen.
For the head of Aram is Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is Rezin.
Within sixty-five years
Ephraim will be shattered as a people.
The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.
If you do not stand firm in your faith,
then you will not stand at all.'?"
Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying, "Ask for a sign from the LORD your God, whether from the depths of Sheol or the heights of heaven."
But Ahaz replied, "I will not ask; I will not test the LORD."
Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, O house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God as well? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel. By the time He knows enough to reject evil and choose good, He will be eating curds and honey. For before the boy knows enough to reject evil and choose good, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.
The LORD will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since the day Ephraim separated from Judah-He will bring the king of Assyria."
On that day the LORD will whistle to the flies at the farthest streams of the Nile and to the bees in the land of Assyria.
And they will all come and settle
in the steep ravines and clefts of the rocks,
in all the thornbushes and watering holes.
On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates-the king of Assyria-to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to remove your beard as well. On that day a man will raise a young cow and two sheep, and from the abundance of milk they give, he will eat curds; for all who remain in the land will eat curds and honey.
And on that day, in every place that had a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver, only briers and thorns will be found. Men will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers and thorns. For fear of the briers and thorns, you will no longer traverse the hills once tilled by the hoe; they will become places for oxen to graze and sheep to trample.
Then the LORD said to me, "Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary stylus: Maher-shalal-hash-baz. And I will appoint for Myself trustworthy witnesses-Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah."
And I had relations with the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. The LORD said to me, "Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz. For before the boy knows how to cry 'Father' or 'Mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria."
And the LORD spoke to me further:
"Because this people has rejected
the gently flowing waters of Shiloah
and rejoiced in Rezin
and the son of Remaliah,
the Lord will surely bring against them
the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates-
the king of Assyria and all his pomp.
It will overflow its channels
and overrun its banks.
It will pour into Judah,
swirling and sweeping over it,
reaching up to the neck;
its spreading streams will cover
your entire land, O Immanuel!
Huddle together, O peoples, and be shattered;
pay attention, all you distant lands;
prepare for battle, and be shattered;
prepare for battle, and be shattered!
Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted;
state a proposal, but it will not happen.
For God is with us."
For this is what the LORD has spoken to me with a strong hand, instructing me not to walk in the way of this people:
"Do not call conspiracy
everything these people regard as conspiracy.
Do not fear what they fear;
do not live in dread.
The LORD of Hosts is the One
you shall regard as holy.
Only He should be feared;
only He should be dreaded.
And He will be a sanctuary-
but to both houses of Israel
a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense,
to the dwellers of Jerusalem
a trap and a snare.
Many will stumble over these;
they will fall and be broken;
they will be ensnared and captured."
Bind up the testimony
and seal the law among my disciples.
I will wait for the LORD,
who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob.
I will put my trust in Him.
Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me as signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD of Hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
When men tell you to consult the spirits of the dead and the spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn't a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.
They will roam the land, dejected and hungry. When they are famished, they will become enraged; and looking upward, they will curse their king and their God. Then they will look to the earth and see only distress and darkness and the gloom of anguish. And they will be driven into utter darkness.
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those in distress. In the past He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future He will honor the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations:
The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death,
a light has dawned.
You have enlarged the nation
and increased its joy.
The people rejoice before You
as they rejoice at harvest time,
as men rejoice in dividing the plunder.
For as in the day of Midian
You have shattered the yoke of their burden,
the bar across their shoulders,
and the rod of their oppressor.
For every trampling boot of battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given,
and the government will be upon His shoulders.
And He will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on the throne of David
and over his kingdom,
to establish and sustain it
with justice and righteousness
from that time and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.
The Lord has sent a message against Jacob,
and it has fallen upon Israel.
All the people will know it-
Ephraim and the dwellers of Samaria.
With pride and arrogance of heart
they will say:
"The bricks have fallen,
but we will rebuild with finished stone;
the sycamores have been felled,
but we will replace them with cedars."
The LORD has raised up the foes of Rezin against him
and joined his enemies together.
Aram from the east and Philistia from the west
have devoured Israel with open mouths.
Despite all this, His anger is not turned away;
His hand is still upraised.
But the people did not return to Him who struck them;
they did not seek the LORD of Hosts.
So the LORD will cut off Israel's head and tail,
both palm branch and reed in a single day.
The head is the elder and honorable man,
and the tail is the prophet who teaches lies.
For those who guide this people mislead them,
and those they mislead are swallowed up.
Therefore the Lord takes no pleasure in their young men;
He has no compassion on their fatherless and widows.
For every one of them is godless and wicked,
and every mouth speaks folly.
Despite all this, His anger is not turned away;
His hand is still upraised.
For wickedness burns like a fire
that consumes the thorns and briers
and kindles the forest thickets
which roll upward in billows of smoke.
By the wrath of the LORD of Hosts
the land is scorched,
and the people are fuel for the fire.
No man even spares his brother.
They carve out what is on the right,
but they are still hungry;
they eat what is on the left,
but they are still not satisfied.
Each one devours the flesh of his own offspring.
Manasseh devours Ephraim,
and Ephraim Manasseh;
together they turn against Judah.
Despite all this, His anger is not turned away;
His hand is still upraised.
Woe to those who enact unjust statutes
and issue oppressive decrees,
to deprive the poor of fair treatment
and withhold justice from the oppressed of My people,
to make widows their prey
and orphans their plunder.
What will you do on the day of reckoning
when devastation comes from afar?
To whom will you flee for help?
Where will you leave your wealth?
Nothing will remain but to crouch among the captives
or fall among the slain.
Despite all this, His anger is not turned away;
His hand is still upraised.
Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger;
the staff in their hands is My wrath.
I will send him against a godless nation;
I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage,
to take spoils and seize plunder,
and to trample them down like clay in the streets.
But this is not his intention;
this is not his plan.
For it is in his heart to destroy
and cut off many nations.
"Are not all my commanders kings?" he says.
"Is not Calno like Carchemish?
Is not Hamath like Arpad?
Is not Samaria like Damascus?
As my hand seized the idolatrous kingdoms
whose images surpassed those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
and as I have done to Samaria and its idols,
will I not also do to Jerusalem and her idols?"
So when the Lord has completed all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, "I will punish the king of Assyria for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the proud look in his eyes. For he says:
'By the strength of my hand I have done this,
and by my wisdom, for I am clever.
I have removed the boundaries of nations
and plundered their treasures;
like a mighty one I subdued their rulers.
My hand reached as into a nest
to seize the wealth of the nations.
Like one gathering abandoned eggs,
I gathered all the earth.
No wing fluttered,
no beak opened or chirped.'?"
Does an axe raise itself above the one who swings it?
Does a saw boast over him who saws with it?
It would be like a rod waving the one who lifts it,
or a staff lifting him who is not wood!
Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts will send a wasting disease
among Assyria's stout warriors,
and under his pomp will be kindled
a fire like a burning flame.
And the Light of Israel will become a fire,
and its Holy One a flame.
In a single day it will burn and devour
Assyria's thorns and thistles.
The splendor of its forests and orchards,
both soul and body,
it will completely destroy,
as a sickness consumes a man.
The remaining trees of its forests will be so few
that a child could count them.
On that day the remnant of Israel
and the survivors of the house of Jacob
will no longer depend
on him who struck them,
but they will truly rely on the LORD,
the Holy One of Israel.
A remnant will return -a remnant of Jacob-
to the Mighty God.
Though your people, O Israel, be like the sand of the sea,
only a remnant will return.
Destruction has been decreed,
overflowing with righteousness.
For the Lord GOD of Hosts will carry out
the destruction decreed upon the whole land.
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD of Hosts says:
"O My people who dwell in Zion,
do not fear Assyria,
who strikes you with a rod
and lifts his staff against you
as the Egyptians did.
For in just a little while
My fury against you will subside,
and My anger will turn to their destruction."
And the LORD of Hosts will brandish a whip against them,
as when He struck Midian at the rock of Oreb.
He will raise His staff over the sea,
as He did in Egypt.
On that day the burden will be lifted from your shoulders,
and the yoke from your neck.
The yoke will be broken
because your neck will be too large.
Assyria has entered Aiath
and passed through Migron,
storing their supplies at Michmash.
They have crossed at the ford:
"We will spend the night at Geba."
Ramah trembles;
Gibeah of Saul flees.
Cry aloud, O Daughter of Gallim!
Listen, O Laishah!
O wretched Anathoth!
Madmenah flees;
the people of Gebim take refuge.
Yet today they will halt at Nob,
shaking a fist at the mount of Daughter Zion,
at the hill of Jerusalem.
Behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts
will lop off the branches with terrifying power.
The tall trees will be cut down,
the lofty ones will be felled.
He will clear the forest thickets with an axe,
and Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.
For the choirmaster. To the tune of "The Doe of the Dawn." A Psalm of David.
My God, my God,
why have You forsaken me?
Why are You so far from saving me,
so far from my words of groaning?
I cry out by day, O my God,
but You do not answer,
and by night,
but I have no rest.
Yet You are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In You our fathers trusted;
they trusted and You delivered them.
They cried out to You and were set free;
they trusted in You and were not disappointed.
But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
they sneer and shake their heads:
"He trusts in the LORD,
let the LORD deliver him;
let the LORD rescue him,
since He delights in him."
Yet You brought me forth from the womb;
You made me secure at my mother's breast.
From birth I was cast upon You;
from my mother's womb You have been my God.
Be not far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
They open their jaws against me
like lions that roar and maul.
I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are disjointed.
My heart is like wax;
it melts away within me.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You lay me in the dust of death.
For dogs surround me;
a band of evil men encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet.
I can count all my bones;
they stare and gloat over me.
They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.
But You, O LORD, be not far off;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the power of wild dogs.
Save me from the mouth of the lion;
at the horns of the wild oxen You have answered me!
I will proclaim Your name to my brothers;
I will praise You in the assembly.
You who fear the LORD, praise Him!
All descendants of Jacob, honor Him!
All offspring of Israel, revere Him!
For He has not despised or detested
the torment of the afflicted.
He has not hidden His face from him,
but has attended to his cry for help.
My praise for You resounds in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my vows before those who fear You.
The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the LORD will praise Him.
May your hearts live forever!
All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD.
All the families of the nations
will bow down before Him.
For dominion belongs to the LORD
and He rules over the nations.
All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before Him-
even those unable to preserve their lives.
Posterity will serve Him;
they will declare the Lord to a new generation.
They will come and proclaim His righteousness
to a people yet unborn-
all that He has done.
When Jesus had finished saying all these things, He told His disciples, "You know that the Passover is two days away, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified."
At that time the chief priests and elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they conspired to arrest Jesus covertly and kill Him. "But not during the feast," they said, "or there may be a riot among the people."
While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, which she poured on His head as He reclined at the table.
When the disciples saw this, they were indignant and asked, "Why this waste? This perfume could have been sold at a high price, and the money given to the poor."
Aware of this, Jesus asked, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful deed to Me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me. By pouring this perfume on Me, she has prepared My body for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached in all the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her."
Then one of the Twelve, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?" And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver. So from then on Judas looked for an opportunity to betray Jesus.
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?"
He answered, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him that the Teacher says, 'My time is near. I will keep the Passover with My disciples at your house.'?" So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.
When evening came, Jesus was reclining with the twelve disciples. And while they were eating, He said to them, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray Me."
They were deeply grieved and began to ask Him one after another, "Surely not I, Lord?"
Jesus answered, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with Me will betray Me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed. It would be better for him if he had not been born."
Then Judas, who would betray Him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?"
Jesus answered, "You have said it yourself."
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is My body."
Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in My Father's kingdom."
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Then Jesus said to them, "This very night you will all fall away on account of Me. For it is written:
'I will strike the Shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'
But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."
Peter said to Him, "Even if all fall away on account of You, I never will."
"Truly I tell you," Jesus declared, "this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."
Peter replied, "Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You." And all the other disciples said the same thing.
At that time Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and He told them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."
He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, "My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me."
Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will."
Then Jesus returned to the disciples and found them sleeping. "Were you not able to keep watch with Me for one hour?" He asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
A second time He went away and prayed, "My Father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, may Your will be done." And again Jesus returned and found them sleeping-for their eyes were heavy.
So He left them and went away once more and prayed a third time, saying the same thing. Then He returned to the disciples and said, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go! See, My betrayer is approaching!"
While Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and elders of the people.
Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The One I kiss is the man; arrest Him." Going directly to Jesus, he said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.
"Friend," Jesus replied, "do what you came for."
Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus, and arrested Him. At this, one of Jesus' companions drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
"Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him. "For all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Are you not aware that I can call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?"
At that time Jesus said to the crowd, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would an outlaw? Every day I sat teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest Me. But this has all happened so that the writings of the prophets would be fulfilled."
Then all the disciples deserted Him and fled.
Those who had arrested Jesus led Him away to the house of Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and elders had gathered. But Peter followed Him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. And he went in and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.
Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus in order to put Him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.
Finally two came forward and declared, "This man said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.'?"
So the high priest stood up and asked Him, "Have You no answer? What are these men testifying against You?"
But Jesus remained silent.
Then the high priest said to Him, "I charge You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God."
"You have said it yourself," Jesus answered. "But I say to all of you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven."
At this, the high priest tore his clothes and declared, "He has blasphemed! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?"
"He deserves to die," they answered.
Then they spit in His face and struck Him. Others slapped Him and said, "Prophesy to us, Christ! Who hit You?"
Meanwhile, Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came up to him. "You also were with Jesus the Galilean," she said.
But he denied it before them all: "I do not know what you are talking about."
When Peter had gone out to the gateway, another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth."
And again he denied it with an oath: "I do not know the man!"
After a little while, those standing nearby came up to Peter. "Surely you are one of them," they said, "for your accent gives you away."
At that he began to curse and swear to them, "I do not know the man!"
And immediately a rooster crowed.
Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.