Today’s reading is Acts 28.
The prophecy from Isaiah quoted by Paul can be really confusing. After all, he quotes from a passage in which God told Isaiah to make the people’s eyes blind and ears heavy so they wouldn’t understand and repent. What is that about? And why is Paul quoting it? In Isaiah’s context, the point is that the Israelites have gone into idolatry (see Isaiah 2:8) and are becoming like their idols, blind and deaf (see Psalms 115:4-8; 135:15-18). Their blindness is so bad that even the proclamation of the truth doesn’t open their eyes but causes them to shut their eyes even harder. It will do so until God judges them. In Paul’s context, the Jews were repeating their past errors. This time, they weren’t idolizing statues. Rather, they were idolizing their own traditions, the temple, and Moses. Luke has been making this case all the way through the book of Acts. Now we are just seeing the conclusion. Because the Jews had made idols out of various aspects of God’s work with them, they misunderstood God’s work with them. Because they idolized and became fixated on Moses, the temple, and the Law, they missed what they were all pointing to. They missed Jesus Christ. But the significant point is if they don’t open their eyes and ears to the truth, judgment is coming again. And it did. In 70 A.D., God brought judgment on the Jews for rejecting Jesus and choosing their idolatry, destroying Jerusalem at the hand of the Romans. Of course, that was them, what about us? Our take away is we need to keep our eyes and ears open to the truth. Let us not make idols out of our methods, our traditions, our ideas, our favorite teachers, our buildings, our plans, or any other thing no matter how good it is or how God has used it. Let’s remember Jesus is God and let Him save us. Praise the Lord!
Tomorrow’s reading is Acts 28.
A Word for Our Kids
Hey kids, prophecies are tough. I know I have followed the path many Christians have. I spent too long ignoring those Old Testament prophets and jumping to parts of the Bible that were easier to understand. I’d like to give you some advice. Don’t do what I did. I’m busy playing catch up now and it ain’t easy. Start reading the prophets now. I don’t expect you to read Isaiah 6, the passage Paul quoted from in today’s reading, and completely understand it or even remotely understand it. Honestly, I expect you to be confused. But that’s okay. Read it anyway. Then read it again. In a few years, come back to it and read it again. In between, keep reading the rest of your Bible. Then come back and read it again. If you keep up a thorough habit of reading the whole Bible, even the parts you find confusing, you’ll be amazed in years to come how much clearer those confusing parts become. I can promise you this, however, if you don’t start reading them, they will always be confusing.
Read the Bible 