Week 34, Day 1 in the LEB

Aug 19, 2024

Podcast: Play in new window (Duration: 28:14 — 9.13MB)
The reading for today is Isaiah 7-10; Psalm 22; Matthew 26.

Scripture quotations are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.

Isaiah 7

This happened in the days of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah. Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem for warfare against it, but he was not able to fight against it. When it was reported to the house of David, saying "Aram stands by Ephraim," his heart and the heart of his people shook like the shaking of the trees of the forest because of the wind.

Then Yahweh said to Isaiah, "Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway of the washer’s field. And you must say to him, ‘Take heed and be quiet! You must not fear, and your heart must not be faint because of these two stumps of smoldering firebrands, because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah. Because Aram has plotted evil against you with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, saying, "Let us go up against Judah and let us tear her apart, and let us lay it open and so bring it unto ourselves, and let us install the son of Tabeel as king in her midst." Thus says the Lord Yahweh, "It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass. For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin, and in sixty-five years from now Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not believe then you will not endure."’"

And Yahweh continued to speak to Ahaz, saying, "Ask for a sign for yourself from Yahweh God; make it deep as Sheol or make it high as above." But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, and I will not put Yahweh to the test."

Then he said, "Hear, house of David! Is it too little for you to make men weary, that you should also make my God weary? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look! the virgin is with child and she is about to give birth to a son, and she shall call his name ‘God with us.’ He shall eat curds and honey until he knows to reject the evil and to choose the good. For before the boy knows to reject the evil and to choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be abandoned.

"Yahweh will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your ancestor days that have not come since the day Ephraim departed from Judah: the king of Assyria." And this shall happen: On that day, Yahweh will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the stream of Egypt and the bee that is in the land of Assyria. And all of them will come and settle in the rivers of the cliffs and in the clefts of the rocks and on all of the thornbushes and watering places. On that day, the Lord will shave the head and the hair of the feet with a razor of the one hired from beyond the river—with the king of Assyria—and it will even take off the beard. And this shall happen: on that day, a young man will keep a young cow of the herd and two sheep alive. And this shall happen: because of the abundance of milk production, he will eat curds, for every one that is left in the midst of the land will eat curds and honey. And this shall happen on that day: Every place where there are a thousand vines for a thousand silver pieces will become briers, and it will be thornbushes. One will go there with arrows and bow, for all of the land will be briers and thornbushes. And as for all of the hills that they hoed with the hoe, you will not go there, for fear of briers and thornbushes. And it will become like pastureland for cattle and overtrodden land for sheep.

Isaiah 8

Then Yahweh said to me, "Take yourself a large tablet and write on it with a common stylus pen: Maher-Halal-Hash-Baz. And I will require reliable witnesses as a witness for me: Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah." And I approached the prophetess, and she conceived, and she gave birth to a son. And Yahweh said to me, "Call his name Maher-Halal-Hash-Baz. For before the boy knows to call ‘my father’ and ‘my mother,’ one will carry away the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria in the presence of the king of Assyria."

And Yahweh continued to speak to me again, saying,

"Because this people has refused the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoices over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, therefore look! The Lord is bringing up the waters of the great and mighty river against them, the king of Assyria and all his glory.

And he will rise above all his channels,
    and he will flow over all his banks.
And he will sweep into Judah;
    he will overflow and he will flood up to the neck.
He will reach, and he will spread his wings out over your entire land, God with us."
Be broken, you peoples, and be dismayed.
    And listen, all distant parts of the earth;
gird yourselves and be dismayed;
    gird yourselves and be dismayed!
Make a plan, but it will be frustrated!
    Speak a word, but it will not stand,
        for God is with us!

For Yahweh said this to me while his hand weighed heavily on me,
    and he warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,
"You must not call conspiracy everything that this people calls conspiracy,
    and you must not share its fear, and you must not be in dread.
You shall regard Yahweh of hosts as holy,
    and he is your fear, and he is your dread.
And he will become like a sanctuary and a stumbling-stone,
    and like a stumbling-rock for the two houses of Israel,
    like a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And many shall stumble among them,
    and they shall fall and they shall be broken,
    and they shall be ensnared and they shall be caught."
Bind up the testimony;
    seal the teaching among my disciples.
And I will wait for Yahweh,
    who hides his face from the house of Jacob,
and I will await him.

Look! I and the children whom Yahweh has given to me are like signs and portents in Israel from Yahweh of hosts, the one who dwells on the mountain of Zion. Now if they tell you, "Consult the ghosts and the spirits, those who chirp and those who mutter. Should not a people consult its gods, the dead on behalf of the living, for teaching and for testimony?" surely they who speak like this have no dawn.

And it will pass through it distressed and hungry, and this shall happen: when it is hungry, it will be enraged, and it will curse its king and its gods, and it will face upwar or look to the earth. But look! Distress and darkness, the gloom of affliction! And it will be thrust into darkness!

Isaiah 9

But there will be no gloom for those who were in distress.

In former times he treated the land of Zebulun and Naphtali with contempt, but in the future he will honor the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
    light has shined on those who lived in a land of darkness.
You have made the nation numerous;
    you have not made the joy great.
They rejoice in your presence as with joy at the harvest,
    as they rejoice when they divide plunder.
For you have shattered the yoke of its burden
    and the stick of its shoulder,
    the rod of its oppressor, on the day of Midian.
For every boot that marches and shakes the earth
    and garment rolled in blood
will be for burning—fire fuel.
For a child has been born for us;
    a son has been given to us.
And the dominion will be on his shoulder,
    and his name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
        Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His dominion will grow continually,
    and to peace there will be no end
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
    to establish it and sustain it
with justice and righteousness
    now and forever.
The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will do this.

The Lord has sent out a word against Jacob,
    and it fell on Israel.
And all of the people knew it,
    Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria
in pride and arrogance of heart, saying,
"The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stone.
    The sycamore-fig trees were felled, but we will replace them with cedars."
So Yahweh strengthened the adversaries of Rezin against him,
    and he provoked his enemies—
Aram from the east
    and Philistines from the west—
and they devoured Israel with the whole mouth.
He has not turned away his anger in all of this,
    and his hand is still stretched out.
And the people did not turn to the one who struck it,
    and they did not seek Yahweh of hosts.
So Yahweh cut off head and tail from Israel,
    palm branch and reed in one day.
Elders and the respectable are the head,
    and prophets who teach lies are the tail.
And the leaders of this people were misleading them,
    and those who were led were confused.
Therefore the Lord did not rejoice over its young men,
    and he did not have compassion on its orphans and widows,
for everyone was godless and an evildoer,
    and every mouth was speaking folly.
In all of this his anger did not turn away,
    and still his hand is stretched out.
For wickedness burned like fire;
    it consumed brier and thorn.
And it kindled the thickets of the forest,
    and they swirled upward in a column of smoke.
The land was burned through the wrath of Yahweh of hosts,
    and the people became like fire fuel.
People had no compassion toward each other.
They devoured on the right but still were hungry
    and devoured on the left but they were not satisfied.
Each one devoured the flesh of his arm,
    Manasseh devoured Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh;
        together they were against Judah.
In all of this his anger has not turned away,
    and still his hand is stretched out.

Isaiah 10

Ah! Those who decree decrees of evil,
    and writers who have written harm,
to guide the needy away from legal claims,
    and to rob the justice from the poor of my people,
    to make widows their spoil;
and they plunder orphans.
And what will you do at the day of punishment,
    and at calamity? It comes from afar!
To whom will you flee for help,
    and where will you leave your wealth,
save that they bow down under the prisoners
    and fall under the slain?
In all of this his anger has not turned away,
    and still his hand is stretched out.

Ah! Assyria, the rod of my anger,
    and a staff is in their hand: my wrath!
I send him against a godless nation,
    and I command him against the people of my wrath,
to capture spoil
    and to carry off plunder,
and to make them a trampling place,
    like the clay of the streets.
But he does not think this,
    and his heart does not plan this.
For it is in his heart to destroy
    and to cut off not a few nations.
For he says, "Are not my commanders altogether kings?
    Is not Calno like Carchemish?
    Is not Hamath like Arpad?
    Is not Samaria like Damascus?
As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols
    —and their images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria—
shall I not do to Jerusalem and its idols
    what I have done to Samaria and her idols?"

And this shall happen: when the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, "I will punish the arrogance of the king of Assyria and his haughtiness."

For he says,

"I have done it by the strength of my hand
    and by my wisdom, for I have understanding,
and I have removed the boundaries of peoples,
    and I have plundered their stores,
    and like a bull I have brought down the inhabitants.
And my hand has found, like a nest, the wealth of the peoples,
    and like the gathering of forsaken eggs, I myself have gathered all the earth.
        And there was no fluttering wing or open mouth or chirp."
Does the ax boast against the one who cuts with it,
    or the saw magnify itself against the one who moves it to and fro?
As if a rod should move the one who lifts it!
    As if a staff should lift up that which is not wood!
Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, will send leanness among his sturdy warriors,
    and a burning like the burning of fire will burn under his glory.
And the light of Israel will become like a fire,
    and his holy one like a flame,
and it will burn and devour his thorns and briers in one day.
And he will destroy the glory of his forest and orchard completely,
    and it will be like the wasting away of one who is sick.
And the rest of the trees of his forest will be a small number,
    and a boy can write them down.

And this shall happen: on that day, the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will not continue to lean on the one who struck it
    but will lean on Yahweh, the holy one of Israel, in truth.
A remnant will return—
    the remnant of Jacob—to the mighty God.
For though your people Israel was like the sand of the sea,
    only a remnant of it will return.
Annihilation is determined,
    overflowing with righteousness.
For the Lord Yahweh of hosts is about to make a complete destruction
    and a determined end in the midst of all the earth.

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh of hosts:

"My people who live in Zion,
    you must not be afraid of Assyria.
It beats you with the rod,
    and it lifts up its staff against you as the Egyptians did.
My indignation will come to an end in just a very little while,
    and my anger will be directed to their destruction."
And Yahweh of hosts is going to swing a whip against him,
    as when Midian was defeated at the rock of Oreb;
and his staff will be over the sea,
    and he will lift him up as he did in Egypt.

And this shall happen: on that day,

he will remove his burden from your shoulder
    and his yoke from your neck,
    and a yoke will be destroyed because of fat.
He has come to Aiath,
    he has passed through Migron;
    at Micmash he deposited his baggage.
They crossed over the pass;
    Geba is a place of overnight lodging for us.
Ramah trembles;
    Gibeah of Saul has fled.
Daughter of Gallim, cry out with your voice;
    Laishah, listen!
    Anathoth is poor.
Madmenah flees!
    The inhabitants of Gebim bring themselves into safety!
This day taking a stand at Nob,
he will shake his fist at the mountain of the daughter of Zion,
    at the hill of Jerusalem.
Look! The Lord Yahweh of hosts is about to lop off the branches with great power,
    and the towering trees will be felled,
    and the tall trees will be brought low.
And he will cut down the thickets of the forest with the axe,
    and Lebanon will fall by the mighty one.

Psalm 22

For the music director; according to The Doe of the Dawn. A psalm of David.

My God, my God why have you forsaken me?
Why are you far from helping me, far from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I call by day and you do not answer,
and by night but I have no rest.
Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
Our ancestors trusted you;
they trusted and you delivered them.
They cried to you and were saved;
they trusted you and were not ashamed.
But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by humankind and despised by people.
All who see me mock me.
They open wide their lips;
they shake the head, saying:
"He trusts Yahweh. Let him rescue him.
Let him deliver him because he delights in him."
Yet you took me from the belly;
you made me trust while on my mother’s breasts.
On you I was cast from the womb.
From my mother’s belly you have been my God.
Do not be far from me
because trouble is near;
because there is no helper.
Many bulls have encircled me;
mighty bulls of Bashan have surrounded me.
They open their mouth against me
like a lion tearing and roaring.
I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax;
it is melted within me.
My strength is dry like a potsherd,
and my tongue is sticking to my jaws;
and you have placed me in the dust of death.
Because dogs have surrounded me;
a gang of evildoers has encircled me.
Like the lion they are at my hands and my feet.
I can count all my bones;
they gaze, they look at me.
They divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
But you, O Yahweh, do not remain distant.
O my help, hasten to help me.
Rescue my life from the sword,
my only life from the power of the dogs.
Save me from the mouth of the lion,
and from the horns of the wild oxen answer me.
I will tell your name to my brothers;
inside the assembly I will praise you.
You who revere Yahweh, praise him!
Glorify him, all you seed of Jacob,
and be in awe of him, all you seed of Israel,
because he has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted,
and has not hid his face from him;
but he listened to him when he cried for help.
From you is my praise.
In the great assembly,
I will pay my vows before those who revere him.
The afflicted will eat and will be satisfied.
Those who seek him will praise Yahweh.
May your heart live forever.
All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to Yahweh.
All the families of the nations
will worship before you.
Because the kingship belongs to Yahweh,
and he rules over the nations.
All the healthy ones of the earth will eat and worship.
Before him all of those descending into the dust will kneel,
even he who cannot keep his soul alive.
Descendants will serve him.
Regarding the Lord, it will be told to the next generation.
They will come and tell his saving deeds
to a people yet to be born, that he has done it.

Matthew 26

And it happened that when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, "You know that after two days the Passover takes place, and the Son of Man will be handed over in order to be crucified."

Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas, and plotted in order that they could arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. But they were saying, "Not during the feast, so that there will not be an uproar among the people."

Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him holding an alabaster flask of very expensive perfumed oil, and poured it out on his head while he was reclining at table. And when the disciples saw it they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor!" But Jesus, knowing this, said to them, "Why do you cause trouble for the woman? For she has done a good deed for me. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me. For when this woman poured this ointment on my body, she did it in order to prepare me for burial. Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her."

Then one of the twelve, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I in turn deliver him to you?" So they set out for him thirty silver coins. And from that time on, he began seeking a favorable opportunity in order that he could betray him.

Now on the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came up to Jesus, saying, "Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?" And he said, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says, "My time is near. I am celebrating the Passover with you with my disciples."’ And the disciples did as Jesus directed them, and they prepared the Passover. And when it was evening, he was reclining at table with the twelve disciples. And while they were eating he said, "Truly I say to you, that one of you will betray me." And greatly distressed, each one began to say to him, "Surely I am not he, am I, Lord?" And he answered and said, "The one who dips his hand in the bowl with me—this one will betray me. The Son of Man is going just as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for him if that man had not been born." And Judas, the one who was betraying him, answered and said, "Surely I am not he, am I, Rabbi?" He said to him, "You have said it."

Now while they were eating Jesus took bread and, after giving thanks, he broke it, and giving it to the disciples, he said, "Take, eat, this is my body." And after taking the cup and giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. But I tell you, from now on I will never drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in the kingdom of my Father." And after they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Then Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away because of me during this night, for it is written,

‘I will strike the shepherd
    and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

But after I am raised, I will go ahead of you into Galilee." But Peter answered and said to him, "If they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away!" Jesus said to him, "Truly I say to you that during this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times!" Peter said to him, "Even if it is necessary for me to die with you, I will never deny you!" And all the disciples said the same thing.

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." And taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be distressed and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me." And going forward a little he fell down on his face, praying and saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "So, were you not able to stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you will not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!" Again for the second time he went away and prayed, saying, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will must be done." And he came again and found them sleeping, for they could not keep their eyes open. And leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same thing again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us go! Behold, the one who is betraying me is approaching!"

And while he was still speaking, behold, Judas—one of the twelve—arrived, and with him a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now the one who was betraying him had given them a sign, saying, "The one whom I kiss—he is the one. Arrest him!" And he came up to Jesus immediately and said, "Greetings, Rabbi," and kissed him. And Jesus said to him, "Friend, do that for which you have come." Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.

And behold, one of those with Jesus extended his hand and drew his sword, and striking the slave of the high priest, cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place! For all who take up the sword will die by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot call upon my Father, and he would put at my disposal at once more than twelve legions of angels? How then would the scriptures be fulfilled that it must happen in this way?"

At that time Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out with swords and clubs, as against a robber, to arrest me? Every day in the temple courts I sat teaching, and you did not arrest me! But all this has happened in order that the scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled." Then the disciples all abandoned him and fled.

Now those who had arrested Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. But Peter was following him from a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest. And he went inside and was sitting with the officers to see the outcome. Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus in order that they could put him to death. And they did not find it, although many false witnesses came forward. And finally two came forward and said, "This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it within three days.’" And the high priest stood up and said to him, "Do you reply nothing? What are these people testifying against you?" But Jesus was silent. And the high priest said to him, "I put you under oath by the living God, that you tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God!" Jesus said to him, "You have said it. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his robes, saying, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have just now heard the blasphemy! What do you think?" And they answered and said, "He deserves death!" Then they spat in his face and struck him with their fists, and they slapped him, saying, "Prophesy for us, you Christ! Who is it who hit you?"

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a female slave came up to him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied it in the presence of them all, saying, "I do not know what you mean!" And when he went out to the gateway, another female slave saw him and said to those who were there, "This man was with Jesus the Nazarene." And again he denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man!" And after a little while those who were standing there came up and said to Peter, "You really are one of them also, because even your accent reveals who you are." Then he began to curse and to swear with an oath, "I do not know the man!" And immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the statement Jesus had said, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times," and he went outside and wept bitterly.