It’s a long journey, reading through the 66 chapters of Isaiah. They are long, well-thought-out prophecies of what did happen to Israel historically and what will come to pass in the future. There’s a lot to make sense of in these chapters.

As of this morning, I’ve read through 52 chapters. It’s like the summit of the mountain is starting to come into view and I know the challenge is almost done. It’s a good feeling!

Second Time Through Isaiah

This is not my first time through the book of Isaiah, as mentioned before in Reading the Bible With God I looked for God’s direction in my Bible Study this year because of reading through the entire Bible in 2020-2021. I felt led by God to dig deeper into passages of God’s word that I don’t know as well. As I discussed in Matthew 27 & Isaiah 25 the book of Isaiah has application and significant references during Jesus’ ministry.

To understand the gospels and the bigger picture of what this story is pointing to. And for a deeper understanding of those hyperlinks back to Isaiah for a historical and cultural understanding of what Jesus is teaching, Isaiah is like one of the threads weaving the warp and weft together.

That being said, it is a long, tough to keep going reading journey through the book of Isaiah!

The pages overflow with imagery of the impending destruction of Israel and its enemies. This is not the parables of the Gospels or the instructional letters of the New Testament. It’s not even like the adventures in history that Old Testament books like Exodus, Ruth, or 1&2 Samuel contain. Isaiah is a book of action that has come and will come, where sometimes it is unclear where the distinction lies. Because it is a book of prophecy.

Prophecy Can Be Tricky

Some prophetic passages are quite clear in their message. Isaiah was a prophet directed by God to prophesy about the coming Messiah, Jesus. Each time the book of Isaiah mentions the Messiah or Son of Man it is easy to understand that this a prophecy we have record of coming to pass in the New Testament.

The prophecies about Israel’s capture and exile to the world powers of their day – Assyria and Babylon, we have a record of this happening in the Old Testament. Just go to 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Jeremiah, Esther, and Jeremiah.

There are also prophecies about Israel’s enemies and their impending destruction at the hands of other nations Edom, Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon to name a few. There is a historical record of this that we can reference. We see the aftermath of this in the Persian empire referenced in books such as Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel.

But some prophecies are less clear for their time and place. Particularly the passages discussing the city of Zion and the Earth passing away. It can be difficult to stay focused in reading chapter after chapter when the subject matter is so lofty.

What I mean by that is, we as humans have a limited understanding of our world. We explore, we study, but we do not know the time and place things are going to happen. And when things become abstract, I get bored. My mind either wanders away from the subject at hand or I started to develop my own conclusions. Neither is profitable for understanding the book of Isaiah because I don’t know the future.

Keep Going, Keep Reading

This is the stage where I put off my reading, like we do as humans. Around halfway through the Book of Isaiah, you’re 30 chapters in and the subject matter begins to drag. For myself, when I am starting a new book of the Bible, there is motivation to dive and to make progress. In studying Isaiah for the second time, there was a sense of accomplishment – I read the entire 66 chapters before, you can do it again. The first 20 or so chapters were read quickly, I made miles like a thru-hiker.

But then 30 and 40 hit, and my mind at least begin to question my progress. The remaining second half of the book looms in front of me like an impossible task. I began to procrastinate reading only one chapter. I would look for another book of the Bible to read, and I began wandering over to the poetry of the Psalms because it is easier to understand.

Or I just skipped my Bible Study entirely. Yep, I hit a slump and I gave into the easy way out. Neither of these was going to help my goal of familiarizing myself with Isaiah or growing closer to God in the way He was calling me to Him and His word. But as believers, I think we are too proud or too insecure to admit we struggle with reading the Bible consistently. But I think we should be more honest with our human struggles. It would certainly be more relatable than the perfect facade we chose to display. How dumb is that? We act like we are doing this all on our own like we did the saving.

We didn’t save ourselves, we can’t transform our hearts by our own will, so why are we so hesitant to go to the source and ask for encouragement? I’m guilty of this, we all our. I think if we had a safe space of being honest with our Bible Study struggles, instead of fearing rebuke or shame that we are not perfect it would be better. I think if we as a collective body of Christ would be honest it would foster a healthier community that could encourage us to keep going, even when it is hard and we don’t want to.

So don’t give up! I’m struggling too, forcing myself to keep reading and failing regularly. The important part is trying and doing, little by little. As God for His help and His motivation. I hope this encourages you today.