Nathan Whitley's Blog, page 4

Daily Readings in the Bible Isaiah 28-30

The drunkards of Ephraim mocked the Lord’s message. It was as if they believed His commands to be too simple, and only for small children. They said, “Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little” (Isa. 28:9-10).

Though the men of Ephraim’s ridicule was wrong, their message was pa...

Daily Readings in the Bible Isaiah 23-27

God’s judgment of the whole earth is coming sooner rather than later. Isaiah used the phrase “in that day” four times in reference to God’s imminent condemnation of a sinful world (Isa. 26:1; 27:1-2,12). Likewise, in that day there will also be salvation and peace: “And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation” (Isa. 25:9). Those who have been in covenant ...

Daily Readings in the Bible Isaiah 18-22

In the twenty second chapter of Isaiah we find an interesting encounter between the prophet Isaiah and a man named Shebna. Shebna was a palace governor of King Hezekiah, involved in the negotiations with Sennacherib when he besieged Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:18, 26, 37; 19:2; Isa. 36:3, 11, 22; 37:2). Some Bible commentators believe that Shebna’s role was likened to a prime minister.Shebna carried great responsibility for the well-being of Israel, both spiritually and politically.

Isaiah met Shebna ...

Daily Readings in the Bible Isaiah 13-17

Imagine there’s no such thing as a devil. Then imagine you’re dwelling in a heavenly place in the presence of God. Now imagine getting kicked out of heaven. This is what Isaiah saw in this event describing the fall of the king of Babylon.

Jesus used Isaiah’s message concerning the king of Babylon to depict Satan’s fall from heaven (Lk. 10:18). The prophet Ezekiel used a similar account to describe Satan’s expulsion from glory (Ezk. 28:12-19).

The issue remains, how does one get banished from hea...

Daily Readings in the Bible Isaiah 9-12

Part of Isaiah’s prophetic message to Judah included the hope of light in a time of darkness (Isa. 9:1-2). Another portion of the hopeful prophecy was the anticipation of a child who would be God manifest in the flesh: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6).

Isaiah’s book includes many wonderful prophecies of the...

Daily Readings in the Bible Isaiah 5-8

Uzziah had a promising beginning as Judah’s king. He would become Judah’s longest tenured king. As the years went on, however, his heart was lifted up with pride and he attempted to do what only the priests were qualified to do. The Lord struck him with leprosy. He eventually died, isolated and alone as a leper (2 Chr. 26:16-23).


 


The prophet Isaiah was most likely a relative to King Uzziah. In the year that Uzziah died, Isaiah had a vision of the Lord. God’s presence began to fill the Te...

Daily Readings in the Bible Isaiah 1-4

The book of Isaiah is a mountain of a book. It is sixty-six chapters spanning the ministry of the prophet Isaiah during the reign of four Judean kings (Isa. 1:1). Isaiah prophesied during the Northern Kingdom’s fall and desolation and the steady decline of the Southern Kingdom. What happened in Israel was destined to happen in Judah if they failed to keep in covenant with Jehovah. They had rebelled; spurned God’s commands; and rejected His correction (1:2-8). Their failure was going to bring abo...

Daily Readings in the Bible Song of Solomon 1-8

The Song of Solomon is a beautiful and passionate poem conveying romantic love between a young shepherd (1:7), and a young Shulammite girl (1:8).

While the book of Revelation has its many interpretations, due to its complexity and use of metaphors, Song of Solomon may not be too far behind. There are many schools of thought concerning how to interpret this poetic book. Some scholars try to read the book through a strict literal interpretation. Others try to read it through a loose allegorical in...

Christ All in All: An Exposition of Colossians

The letter to the Colossians is only four chapters in length. The two great truths which the Colossians were meant to learn are: (1) all the fullness of God is in Jesus (Col. 1-2); (2) all the fullness of Jesus is for us (Col. 3-4).

Greeting (1:1-2)

The letter begins like other customary letters of New Testament times. The apostle Paul identifies himself and Timothy as the writers of the letter. This letter was written to the saints and faithful brothers in the city of Colossae. Colossae was a s...

Daily Readings in the Bible Ecclesiastes 9-12

The Preacher sought meaning in wisdom and came up empty handed (Ecc. 1:12-18). He looked for significance in pleasure and found it severely lacking (Ecc. 2:1-11). Next, he looked for importance in work and realized there wasn’t anything to be gained from all of his hard work (Ecc. 2:17-26). Whether it was wisdom, work, wealth, or pleasure, it was all considered to be meaningless.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, what is the end of it all? It is to fear God and keep his commandments (Ecc.12:13-14...