Isaiah

I love reading the Bible 1-2-1 with people. I don't think i'll ever feel i'm any good at it, but i like that feeling. It drives me on in prayer and keeps me humble. One of my favourite passages to read i Isaiah 6-12, which i've just started indiviudally with three guys from Reading Family Church, Tim, Nick and Laurence. I studied this passage last year with a couple fo guys from Surrey as well. I remember thinking that at least the work i'd done on chapter 6 was ok, then hearing a sermon by R.C Sproul on it, and wondering if we even had the same Bible! Me and Tim looked at chapter seven this week, which i'm still not sure i get. Maybe i should ask RC!

I like Isaiah because it makes us think about Biblical Theology. It's easy to look, for example, at the Immanuel sign in chapter seven, and go straigh to Jesus. But first we need to engage with the time, we need to ask what it originally meant for Ahaz to recieve that sign. Who the 'God with us' was in that time.

I like it because it hangs on peoples names. Isaiah 'YHWH will save' Shear-Jashub 'a remnant will return'. I just think things like that a re pretty cool. I like it because it has so much history in it. Ahaz is told not to fear the northern alliance that threatens to wipe out his kingdom, but rather trust in the Lord. Later Judah is told no to ally with Egypt. I like that the Bible proves that these things happened in history.

I like it because it's the Old Testament, and even though it's a major prophet, it is rarely preached on or taught in my experience. So it's great to introduce people to the old testament.

Lastly, but definately not least, i like it because it's the Gospel, 800 years before the incarnation. The message is: have faith in God or be destroyed, live by faith or fall, stand firm by faith, or you won't stand firm at all. We've heard that somewhere before...