Author: Administrador

Jeremiah’s first-person poetic account of God’s calling him as a prophet echoes in brief, elliptical form the narrative of Moses’ commission to lead the Israelite slaves from Egypt in Exodus 3. 1 God’s providential rescue of Moses as an infant eighty years before (Exodus 2:1-10) preceded his commission. God likewise refers here to Jeremiah’s prenatal calling … Continue reading “Jeremiah 1:4-10 Commentary by Patricia Tull”

Since Jeremiah 1:4-10 functions to introduce and authorize the entire book of Jeremiah, it may be helpful to introduce the range of content in the book, from calls for repentance, to announcements of judgment, to personal laments, to pronouncements against the nations, and finally to stunning announcements of hope, renewal, and recreation. The call of … Continue reading “Jeremiah 1:4-10 Commentary by Richard W. Nysse”

Everything about this final chapter of Isaiah heralds God’s sovereignty. From the opening portrait of God as the cosmic king, who sits enthroned in heaven with feet propped on the earth (66:1; cf. 63:15), to the concluding announcement of a divinely-wrought “new heavens and new earth” in which all flesh will worship God (66:22-23), God … Continue reading “Isaiah 66:10-14 Commentary by Christine Roy Yoder”

You know what it’s like to be bone-tired. It is to be so exhausted, mentally, physically, and spiritually, that the weariness feels like it’s seeped into your very marrow and has become a part of you. It is to feel despairing and defeated. It is to feel as if your energy can never be restored, … Continue reading “Isaiah 66:10-14 Commentary by Elizabeth Webb”

This oracle addresses Persian period Jews in the form of pure promise. These promises are not abstract, disconnected doctrinal statements hurled into the ether. Rather, they are Seelsorge (“soul care”) for a city and its people, ravaged by war, pain, and terror. For the Bible, promise is linked to pain, and Isaiah 66 is no … Continue reading “Isaiah 66:10-14 Commentary by Michael J. Chan”

Isaiah invites us into a theological vision of what life can be for God’s faithful people. In the Isaiah traditions are interwoven memories of ancient truth and promises of a radiant future for Israel. In this lection come to magnificent expression three Isaianic motifs: the motif of former and latter things, the motif of the … Continue reading “Isaiah 65:17-25 Commentary by Carolyn J. Sharp”

On the surface, 1 Kings 17:8-16 tells a familiar story of a prophet who performs miracles. Two Sundays ago, the lectionary included a reading from Isaiah in which God condemns the temple worship of the elite. That passage (Isaiah 1:10-18) might have given the impression that the prophets represented Israel’s “true religion,” while the temple … Continue reading “Isaiah 65:17-25 Commentary by Corrine Carvalho”

If it seems to you that the passage from Isaiah has cropped up recently, you are correct. Besides this day, Isaiah 65:17-25 was an alternate lection for Easter Sunday last March. The chances are good that most preachers focused on the Gospel reading that day. While that is understandable, the reappearance of this text affords … Continue reading “Isaiah 65:17-25 Commentary by Walter C. Bouzard”

Isaiah 65 begins with images of a long-suffering, patient deity. The emphasis here (in verses 1-2) is on the disparity between God’s receptiveness and desire to be found and the people’s recalcitrance. If we accept that this text emerged during the post-exilic period of Israel’s history, then the context reflects a period of great uncertainty … Continue reading “Isaiah 65:1-9 Commentary by Amy Erickson”

As I write this, the mass shootings of the past year are fresh in my mind. That a person can shoot and kill large numbers of people, especially children, is something that we simply cannot understand. There must be a reason, we cry, for this incomprehensible violence. If such a reason cannot be found, we … Continue reading “Isaiah 65:1-9 Commentary by Elizabeth Webb”