Reading the Bible- why choose Isaiah?

My friend Charlie preached today about the importance of reading the bible, and made the point that the first step is just to open your bible and get on with it...

good advice, which needs saying not because we don't know it, but because we don't do it.

So, I started to think....where to start reading? The obvious, and appealing choice, is one of the gospels. Why? Because they are narratives, and stories are easy to read, they have a natural flow and momentum, we want to know what happens next. Also, for Christians, the gospels have the huge appeal of Jesus. Of the Trinity, he is the one we find it easiest to understand....which was the point, I suppose.

Second best must be a tie between Psalms, which come in handy bite-size portions, and can usually be relied upon to say something inspiring and easily applicable to whatever situation we find ourselves in- or one of the epistles, which funnily enough have the same characteristics to recommend them.

So why not try something different? Something like...Isaiah?

Some of the reasons for not choosing Isaiah might be:

  • it's too long- 66 chapters, so if you read one a week as a small group, it would take over a year to read the whole book. Even one chapter a day means more than 2 months- most of us baulk at that type of commitment.
  • it's prophecy, which we suspect is a bit hard to understand, because we have to think hard about whether if Isaiah says that God says something, does that mean it was just for his hearers, or could it be for us as well? 
  • who was Isaiah anyway? And weren't there actually two of him? 
  • it's mired in the particularity of one nation, at one time in their history, and raises uncomfortable questions about how God dealt/deals with those who are not His chosen ones
But, it is in the Bible, which is a good enough reason to try it, and it does contain the bits about the suffering servant, which we all agree are poignant, important, and a good source of song lyrics.

So for my next 66 posts, I'd like to try reading Isaiah, with 2 Tim:3:16, 17 in mind

All scripture is inspired by God, and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

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