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READ ISAIAH 1SUNDAYJULY1See, my servant will act wisely; he willbe raised and lifted up and highly exalted.Isaiah 52:13Israel’s Restoration through the ServantIn 1884, William Le Baron Jenneydesigned the first skyscraper to bebuilt in Chicago. The Home InsuranceBuilding was completed a year laterand towered over the city—though itwas only ten stories and 138 feet tall!If Jenney could see Chicago today, hewould see a number of new skyscrapersbeing built. Tall cranes dot the skyline,and holes that are ten stories deep aredug out for foundations to support thenew buildings.This month we’ll examine the book ofIsaiah. The writers of the New Testamentquote from and allude to this prophetfrequently, especially pertaining toIsaiah’s glorious vision of Christ. Johnwrites, “Isaiah said this because hesaw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him”(John 12:41; see Isa. 6:10; 53:1). Similarly,when Christ emerged from His testingin the wilderness, Matthew writes, “Thepeople living in darkness have seen agreat light” (Matt. 4:16; Isa. 9:1–2). And6Paul writes, “And again, Isaiah says, ‘TheRoot of Jesse will spring up, one who willarise to rule over the nations; in him theGentiles will hope’” (Rom. 15:12; Isa. 11:10).Isaiah’s prophecy serves as theconstruction equipment that helpsus see the towering masterpiece ofthe glory of Christ. It is the messagethe world long awaits to hear. Isaiahexplains how to solve the problem ofIsrael’s sin: they must be washed whiteas snow in order to see God’s glory(1:18). Isaiah depicts the glorious Branchwho redeems Israel (11:1). The Servantin Isaiah suffers for the iniquities of all(53:6). And Isaiah’s comfort for Israelcomes through a Redeemer from Zion(44:24).Give praise to God for His glory invindicating us through Christ whenHe returns to judge the earth. Isaiah’sbeautiful truths show us that oursalvation draws near.APPLY THE WORDPRAY WITH USAs we begin to study this book, pray that the Lordwill reveal His glory to you though your study ofHis Word. It might be helpful to keep a notebookor journal to record new things you learn aboutGod and His promise of salvation, including themany images and references that Isaiah uses tofocus our attention on Jesus.We start our prayer journey withToday in the Word this monthwith upholding in prayer theministry of our board of trustees.May the Lord grant them wisdomand insight as they serve MoodyGlobal Ministries with dedicationand integrity.TODAY IN THE WORD

READ ISAIAH 2MONDAYCome, descendants of Jacob,let us walk in the light of the LORD.JULYIsaiah 2:52Avoiding the Nation’s TerrorDante’s classic Inferno describes idolworshipers inhabiting the sixth circleof hell, its capital. Their souls are eitherin fiery tombs or nailed to flaming,inverted crosses. The terror theseidolatrous souls have earned is great.As terrifying as is the judgmentexperienced by Dante’s figures,Isaiah’s word of judgment againstthose who have filled Israel’s landwith idols is even more severe (v. 6).So great will be the day of the Lord’sjudgment that they should hide inrocks to try to escape from the terror tocome (vv. 10, 12, 19). This day is the Dayof the Lord (13:6, 9; 58:13). This will bea day for crushing the pride of thosewho proudly placed their trust in theidols of people rather than in the Lord.The power of idols is so strong overGod’s people that it takes terror fromthe Lord to break it. As the idolsof this world hold us in sway withthe promises of prosperity, justice,pleasure, and peace, it is easy to forgetthat breaking the First and SecondCommandment will bring fiercejudgment! Yet, to regain the heartsof His children, the Lord will bringjudgment even on vegetation andcommerce (vv. 13–16).The Lord, however, offers His peoplethe hope of the mountain of the Lord’stemple (vv. 2–3). Orienting our focuson the temple of the Lord keeps thetemptations of the idols of this worldin proper perspective. At His temple,the Lord will teach us His ways. At Histemple, He will mete out justice andbring an end to all war.If we are to turn away from substitutesfor the Lord, we must “walk in the lightof the LORD” (v. 5). Paul calls believersin Ephesus to the same walk (Eph.5:8). We too must cease from fearingpeople and trust the one true God.APPLY THE WORDPRAY WITH USThe fear of the Lord receives scant attention today.We are encouraged to accept everyone and criticizeno one—even if that means ignoring the commandsof the Lord. Scripture reminds us that God’sholiness is not to be trifled with, and He will judgeidolaters. Submit to Him and align your priorities sothat His glory is your most important concern.Please support in prayer Moody’sleadership team headed by GregThornton, interim president andsenior VP of Media, asking theLord for unity, team spirit, andunwavering adherence to HisWord and His will, as we start thenew fiscal year.MOODY GLOBAL MINISTRIES7

READ ISAIAH 3:1–15 [ISAIAH 3–4]TUESDAYJULY3Tell the righteous it will be well with them,for they will enjoy the fruit of their deedsIsaiah 3:10Absent Leadership, Present SinA shareholder revolt in 2017 made itimpossible for Uber founder TravisKalanick to remain the leader of hiscompany. The loss of support fromthose leading the company wasfollowed by an investigation into thepractices of the ride-sharing business.Kalanick’s removal from leadershipallowed people to realize the extent ofthe problems within the operation andculture of the company.In the midst of Israel’s rampant idolatry,the Lord removed the resourcessupporting the leadership in Israel.Natural resources of food and water,military strength, government officials,and skilled labor all meet their demise(vv. 2–3). In a similar way to the shakeup at Uber, by removing the resourcesthat allowed the leadership to remainin power, the Lord left His peopleexposed. They now were vulnerableand in a position to hear from the Lord8about their sin. The kindness of Christand severity of Christ both work to bringabout repentance (see Rom. 2:4; 11:22).An organization without leadershipfor several years might loosen theirqualifications; and in this way, Israelpanics out of desperation. Any manwith a coat, or even a young child,becomes a candidate for leadership (vv.6–7, 12)! In the absence of support for acurrent course of actions, the Lord oftenreaches us when we panic without anyother places of help.Now the Lord could ask Israel, “What doyou mean by crushing my people andgrinding the faces of the poor?” (v. 15).When we are without our normal senseof strength and props, we are forcedinto introspection and able to hearfrom the Lord that we need completeobedience to Him.APPLY THE WORDPRAY WITH USIf you have felt abandoned by God, prayerfullyconsider whether God has removed the propsyou’ve used to justify sinful choices in order toforce you to repent and rely on Him. Read Isaiah4:2–6, and rejoice that the Lord washes away oursin and offers us refuge in Him. Our Savior desiresour full love and obedience.Jim Elliott, vice president ofStewardship, will be gratefulfor your prayers for his team inChicago, as well as Stewardshiprepresentatives across theUnited States. Praise Godfor establishing wonderfulrelationships with our donors!TODAY IN THE WORD

READ ISAIAH 5 [ISAIAH 5–6]WEDNESDAYWoe to those who are wise in theirown eyes and clever in their own sight.JULYIsaiah 5:214Woe to the Vineyard“Lift every voice and sing, / Till earthand heaven ring, / Ring with theharmonies of Liberty; / Facing therising sun of our new day begun, / Letus march on till victory is won.” Thelyrics of James Weldon Johnson’s “LiftEvery Voice and Sing” convey a hopefor justice. Former enslaved Americansand their descendants have sungthese words for decades to expresshope that God would heal the deeprifts in American society. The song asksour just God to act in accordance withHis own character.Isaiah 5 presents another song ofjustice, only this time the singer isthe Lord Himself. The lyrics sing ofHis failure to find the fruit for whichHe has labored in the fertile soil ofthe vineyard of His beloved. Fromthe opening allegory in which Godportrays Israel as a vine, it is evidentthat the fruit He seeks is justice andrighteousness rather than bloodshedof the weak.Israel’s disregard for the words of theHoly One of Israel brings woe. TheLord prepares a merciless nation todevour them into the darkness of exile.With great poetic justice, Israel willtaste the disregard it has had for themost fragile members of society.Justice is tied to the just and righteouscharacter of the Lord. Bloodshed andviolence against the poor came from adisregard for the word of the Holy One.In Isaiah’s vision, God’s people needrepentance that leads to obedienceto the word of the Lord. As Jamesreminds the church, “Has not Godchosen those who are poor in the eyesof the world to be rich in faith and toinherit the kingdom he promised thosewho love him?” (James 2:5).APPLY THE WORDPRAY WITH USThe people had failed to see the Lord’s holinessin Isaiah 5, but Isaiah sees His glory and holinessin Isaiah 6. The classic hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy” isinspired by verses from this chapter. Take sometime as part of your personal worship to sing orlisten to renditions of both “Lift Every Voice andSing” and “Holy, Holy, Holy.”On this Independence Day, let’sthank the Lord for our students,Christian leaders of tomorrow.Ask God to give them a refreshingand relaxing summer break anda year that will challenge, inspire,and equip our student body forkingdom work.MOODY GLOBAL MINISTRIES9

READ ISAIAH 7:1–17 [ISAIAH 7–8]THURSDAYJULY5The Lord himself will give you a sign:The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son,and will call him Immanuel.Isaiah 7:14The Sure Sign of the SonThe phrase “between a rock and ahard place” describes the desperationwe feel when caught between twobad options. When money is tight, dowe forego food or medicine? Whenthe boss asks us to be unethical atwork, do we refuse and lose our job orcompromise our principles? How do wehave hope when it appears there are noright answers?Facing an overwhelming coalition offorces from Syria and Ephraim, KingAhaz threw his lot in with Assyria,hoping the great superpower wouldprotect Judah. Then the Lord senthim a word from Isaiah the prophet, amessage appropriate for a child of Godfacing great human enemies.The name “Shear-jashub” means“The remnant shall return.” The Lordwould preserve a people for Himselfin keeping with the promises madein the Davidic covenant. A remnant—smoldering wicks that look like ragingfires—and future judgment when Ahazis too old to enjoy it might not seem likehope. But it is, because it was the Lord’sassurance to Ahaz that He has absolutecontrol of the situation. And the Lord’sassurances are always trustworthy.The promise of judgment did not mean,however, that Ahaz would see prosperity.It only meant that he would see the Lordact faithfully. God will provide Immanuel:He Himself will be with us.Our circumstances can be hard, butChrist did not promise easy decisions forthis life. He does not promise prosperity.He does promise that our inheritancein Him can never be corrupted ordestroyed. He does promise that we canmake the hard choice to remain faithfulto Him, and He will never let us go. Wemight not get the answer we want, butwe will have the strength we need.APPLY THE WORDPRAY WITH USAhaz faced real threats from Syria and Ephraim. Thechallenges we face in life are also real. God neverpretends that these difficulties don’t exist, and wedon’t have to sugarcoat our struggles. But we mustalso not forget that God’s promise is real, and Heis “God with us.” Jesus intercedes for us. The HolySpirit indwells us. We are His beloved children.We appreciate your prayersfor the upcoming academicyear. Bring to God in prayer theoperation, curriculum, concerns,and hopes of our undergraduateschool.10 TODAY IN THE WORD

READ ISAIAH 9:1–7 [ISAIAH 9–10]The people walking in darkness have seena great light; on those living in the landof deep darkness a light has dawned.FRIDAYJULYIsaiah 9:26From Darkness to JoyAnguish can come from being underoppression; perhaps creativity hasbeen stifled or guilt from past mistakesand failures will not let someone haverest. Others experience matters ofinjustice that continually drain mental,emotional, and financial resources.People with these experiences longfor relief that will give way to joy, thatwill remove weights and burdens ofthe heart.When Judah anguished under threatof judgment, Isaiah announced that thegloom would lift. The Lord promises agreat light where there is darkness andanguish. And we have confirmationthat this promise was kept: whenChrist began His public ministry inCapernaum, the Gospel of Matthewsaid that He fulfilled this prophecy(Matt. 4:13–14).The very presence of Christ is the lightof God to Naphtali and Zebulun. Hispreaching of repentance from sin andcall to His kingdom is the revelation ofthe way to God. In doing so, He cameas Abraham’s promised seed who willbe a blessing to Israel and all nations.Gentiles can repent and look to Himfor freedom from their spiritualdarkness, and His people can placetheir hope in Him to expel the anguishof oppressive rule.When life ahead of us seems so dark,as though we were sinking in theSlough of Despond of Bunyan’s ThePilgrim’s Progress, it is then that thechild born to Israel, Jesus Christ ourSavior, offers to rule our lives withcounsel that is beyond the wisdomof this world. He has divine power toreign in our lives. He is faithful andloving, offering us peace from anguish.APPLY THE WORDPRAY WITH USWhen fellow believers have prolonged periods ofanguish, they might feel like a burden. Caregivers,too, might feel the weight of sustained physical,financial, and emotional drain. Ask the Lord toshow you how you can help someone living withanguish for a long time. Pray for grace to walk withthe person until Christ provides tangible relief.Our Intercultural Studies facultycarries on Moody’s tradition ofequipping the next generation ofglobal ambassadors for Christ.Please pray for the ministry ofprofessors Timothy Sisk, MichaelRydelnik, and Mary Cloutier.MOODY GLOBAL MINISTRIES 11

READ ISAIAH 11–12SATURDAYJULY7With joy you will draw waterfrom the wells of salvation.Isaiah 12:3Wells of SalvationIn recent decades a number of groupshave focused efforts on digging andmaintaining wells for access to freshwater throughout the developing world.One group in Burkina Faso, in WestAfrica, says that a single well that is 50meters deep can provide clean waterfor 2,000 people. The ability to drink,wash, and cook with clean water is alife-saving and life-changing opportunityfor many.In a similar way, God’s people hada life-changing experience with theLord’s wells—the “wells of salvation.”Isaiah uses the metaphor to speak ofthe depths or greatness of the Lord’ssalvation toward His people. Theprophet considers the outpouring ofGod’s Spirit and the subsequent peaceon the earth and restoration of theremnant. He sees salvation as deepwells of water, representing manyaspects of salvation. Christ will gatherIsrael from the distant lands to whichthey have fled and plant them back inJerusalem, the holy mountain of theLord. The Lord will destroy the enemiesof God’s people.In the day of the Lord, the celebrationsof Israel will exalt the depths of theLord’s salvation. Isaiah foretells a daywhen the Lord’s people will rejoicein Him with thanksgiving, rememberHis mercy, ascribe strength to Him,sing songs of gladness, declare Hisdeeds to the earth, and exalt the HolyOne. In that day, the Lord will fulfillHis covenant promises to make thenations of the earth know His glory,and to dwell forever in the midst of Hispeople. As Paul writes, “And in him youtoo are being built together to becomea dwelling in which God lives by hisSpirit” (Eph. 2:22).APPLY THE WORDPRAY WITH USLook at your life prior to salvation, and sing to theLord a song of praise or thanksgiving for turningaway His anger from you by pouring out His wrathon Christ. Think of the many things the Lord haschanged for you since you became a Christian.Rejoice in these wells of God’s salvation!Would you continue to uplift inprayer the Intercultural Studiesfaculty, Stephen Clark, CliveCraigen, Samuel Naaman, andKyeong-Sook Park? May the Lordinspire and strengthen them asthey prepare students to serve indiverse world cultures.12 TODAY IN THE WORD

READ ISAIAH 13–14The Lord will have compassion on Jacob;once again he will choose Israel and willsettle them in their own land.SUNDAYJULYIsaiah 14:18The End of BabylonSome of the most famous war storiesmade for the big screen depictthe gruesomeness of humankind’sconflict. Images of gore, cruelties, anddestruction; the sound of bombs andscreams of pain; the reenactment ofmaimed bodies and loss of life—allnow made even more vivid by the useof CGI technology. But even worsethan the devastation in a war movie isseeing war and its aftermath, either onthe nightly news or in person, when thetragic consequences are even ghastlierthan a Hollywood production.Without any computer or visualtechnology to aid him, Isaiah goesinto great details to paint a stunninglyhorrid picture of the coming destructionof Babylon. The Lord’s raising of theMede army against Babylon signalsBabylon’s full destruction. There will bewailing a lament, the melting of hearts,and pains among the pains like thoseof being in labor.The Lord intends to make desolatethe great enemy of Israel, so that itwill be easier to find gold in the landthan people! The Lord will have theMedes hunt down the people ofBabylon, slaughtering even childrenand pregnant women. The Lord’sjudgment upon evil will be thoroughand complete. Likewise, Assyriaand Philistia will meet the terrorsof the Lord’s wrath against theirmistreatments of Israel.No foes of God and His people willescape the rod of His wrath. Every actof wickedness committed will meet anend worse than the ravages of war thatcame against ancient Babylon and thatwill come against future Babylon (seeRevelation 17). Without the mercy ofGod in Christ offered to us, God’s fierceanger would remain upon us (Rom. 5:9;Eph. 2:3).APPLY THE WORDPRAY WITH USThese chapters of Isaiah remind us of the truthsof God’s judgment and His mercy. Both truthsshould motivate us to share the gospel of Christwith others. Only by turning to Him and acceptingthe salvation He offers will anyone escape the justpunishment for sin. Ask God to open the door foryou to share the gospel with someone this week.Today, our prayers go to Godfor the Enrollment Servicesdepartment headed by vicepresident Anthony Turner. We aregrateful for their dedicated serviceas they process hundreds of newstudent applications every yearand provide counseling.MOODY GLOBAL MINISTRIES 13

READ ISAIAH 15–16MONDAYJULY9In love a throne will be established; in faithfulnessa man will sit on it . . . who in judging seeks justiceand speeds the cause of righteousness.Isaiah 16:5Weeping in MoabA local train service in Chicago wasdisrupted when a man left a suicidenote in a backpack on the stationplatform—and then jumped into thepath of an oncoming train. Even withoutwitnessing the accident or knowing thevictim, we feel pain and sorrow for thetragic choices made by such troubledsouls. If only they could have foundsomeone to talk to for an alternativeway to deal with pain.The account of the Lord’s comingjudgment of Moab is horrifying. Fortwo full chapters, we hear the weepingand wailing of the peoples of Moab asthe Lord severely crushes them. Withwords similar to those exclaimed by theprophet when he stood in the presenceof God—“I am ruined!” (6:5)—Isaiahdescribes the destruction of Moab (15:1).The terror of God’s judgment bringsfierce soldiers to tears as Moab is laidto waste (15:4). So incredible is thewreckage that Isaiah also weeps overthe devastations experienced by thisgreat enemy of Israel (15:5).It would be easy to imagine thatwitnessing the final destruction ofour most wicked enemy would be anexperience of vindication and joy only.As demonstrated by Isaiah, however,a heart that seeks after Christ weepseven

The book of Exodus records how Moses left the Israelite camp by himself and set up a tent in order to meet with the Lord. There God would speak directly to Moses “as one speaks to a friend” (33:11). Moses and God had an intriguing conversat