When I began my study of Isaiah several months ago, I quickly became uncomfortable. This reaction surprised me because previously I've found this book to be comforting and encouraging. But this time it seemed all judgment and punishment. So I began to investigate how to process difficult passages of God’s judgment.
Judgment
Righteousness and Justice in Isaiah
A major theme in Isaiah's message is righteousness and justice. These concepts bear studying because they mean different things to Isaiah than they do to us in the western, modern world. Furthermore, our Christian subculture associates righteousness with personal morality and justice with social political action. This is not how the Bible portrays them.
Isaiah Offers Hope in the Hard
In the middle of the “weighty messages from God” (oracles) that Isaiah delivers to the nations surrounding Israel (Is 13–24), he continues to give us glimpses of hope—God’s compassion, peace, justice, righteousness, deliverance, salvation—on his people, his handiwork, his inheritance.
Jesus is Coming to Judge the Ungodly
“This is your trunk. These are your gowns. Lady Catherine will never know,” Elizabeth Bennet said to Maria Lucas in the 1995 film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Upon hearing the great lady’s “directions as to the best method of packing,” Maria began a frantic redo of her trunk. Elizabeth sought to convince her that how she folded her gowns was her own private affair. Elizabeth Bennet’s words ring in my ear, tempting me to abandon my study of Jude’s letter and the writing of this post. "This is your study. These are your thoughts. No one need ever know!"
Pondered Treasures 