A Reminder from James (As We Study Isaiah)

Courtney Doctor writes:

James tells us that the law of God (or God’s Word) is like a mirror. It reveals our
flaws. And just like a bathroom mirror, the longer I spend peering, the more flaws
I see. If I just glance and quickly look away, I’ll miss the revelation of my sin. For
the Word of God to reveal the things in us that need to be fixed, we have to spend
time gazing into it: reading it, thinking about it, memorizing it, understanding it,
and then applying it – or as James says, doing it.

Isaiah and its 66 chapters can be daunting. Confusing. Defeating. There are glimpses of
hope (like the Messianic prophecies in chapters 7, 9, 11, and others). There are familiar
coffee-cup and verse of the day lines like Isaiah 6:8 (“Here Am I! Send Me!). But overall,
if we average Christians are being honest, it’s mostly a hard read.

Isaiah was written thousands of years ago, to and about a people whose language, life,
and culture were almost diametrically opposed to ours. It would be easy to, and many
people have, discount it and move on. Say it’s not relevant or not important for new-
covenant believers.

But, my beloved brothers and sisters, that’s just not true.

We know from 2 Timothy 3 that, “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for
teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” Remember when
Paul wrote this, the Scriptures Timothy would have had (written or oral) were the Old
Testament writings, including Isaiah.

So, what does Isaiah have to do with James?

One of the most challenging things about reading Isaiah is the frequency with which
Israel disobeys, dishonors, and simply forgets the Lord. We read it and think, “Do
better, Israel!”

And yet, as James reminds us, the Scriptures are like a mirror. It reveals our flaws.
So, if instead of ploughing through Isaiah, or listening to it on 2x speed, or “glancing and
quickly looking away,” if we were to spend time gazing at the words of Isaiah, reading
it, thinking about it, working to understand it, we might (read *will*) find that we sure
are a lot like those Israelites.

Disobedient. Dishonoring. Forgetful.

Those Messianic prophecies start to land differently.

Consider Isaiah 53 verses 4 through 6:

Surely, he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all

It was for the disobedient, dishonoring, and forgetful Israel, and the disobedient,
dishonoring, and forgetful you and I, we who try and fail to “do better!” that Jesus was
stricken, smitten, afflicted, pierced, and crushed.

As we study the book of Isaiah, let’s not glance and quickly look away.

God, help us see the revelation of our sin. Let your word reveal in us where we’ve
disobeyed you, dishonored you, and forgotten you. Let your Spirit convict us of sin, and
let it also give us confidence in the Suffering Servant- Jesus- who took our iniquity, and
poured out his soul to death. Thank you that he bore our sins and makes intercession for
transgressors like us.