i'm reading Isaiah

[BigBunny]

and i'm having some trouble understanding some of the verses :thinking when i was reading Kings i could understand what was going on but with Isaiah everynow and then i'm like :scratch is this normal? i know i'm reading the words of a Prophet so maybe i shouldn't worry too much...I started off ok but got bogged down when the chapters got longer i'm now on chapter 31.

if you've read Isaiah and know a bit about it please post and let me know how i can read it better...i'm not a strong reader :doh

[Paidfor]

I think Isaiah is the second most difficult book to read. Ezekiel is the first.

Listen to Chuck Missler's verse by verse first, and that will give you a good understanding. Then you can continue your own study from there and go a little deeper if you like.

http://www.khouse.org/6640_cat/biblestudy/isaiah/

The good news is that from chapter 40 on it gets easier to read and a lot more upbeat. The first 39 chapters are pretty dark, full of woe and judgment. It is a very rewarding study!:)

[BigBunny]

thanx Paidfor :)

yeah - alot of woe going on. Jerusalem & Obstinate people...i get a bit lost in the words and i want to understand what i'm reading, not just quickly read through it

[lmenningen]

...and i'm having some trouble understanding some of the verses ...My advice is to read it through, front to back, 7-10 times. This is not an idle suggestion, it really works. What happens is that when you read it for the first time, it is normal to pick up only a few fragments scattered throughout. But then the second time through you will come across something up front that you now remember relates to the middle/end. When you read it for the third time you remember more things about the middle/end, again shedding more light on the part you are now reading. So each time through you understand more about the parts, all because you have a recent memory about the whole.

If you can read 10 pages a day you'll read it through once a week. So after reading only Isaiah for 2-3 months you will have a great understanding of it.

[lmenningen]

I think Isaiah is the second most difficult book to read. Ezekiel is the first...I'm surprised at this assessment since I consider them both easy reads, especially compared to Song of Solomon, or Hebrews.

No matter, but I learned years ago that the best way to read the Bible is to skip through-the-Bible-in-a-year plans and instead read the Bible straight through, cover to cover, in order (in my Bible @10 pgs/day that is 131 days each time through). If we do that we are getting the same balance of information-content in the same proportion that God intended.

JMO

[Paidfor]

I'm surprised at this assessment since I consider them both easy reads, especially compared to Song of Solomon, or Hebrews.

No matter, but I learned years ago that the best way to read the Bible is to skip through-the-Bible-in-a-year plans and instead read the Bible straight through, cover to cover, in order (in my Bible @10 pgs/day that is 131 days each time through). If we do that we are getting the same balance of information-content in the same proportion that God intended.

JMO

Well that is strange. Hebrews is hard for the NT, but it is still much easier than a lot of the OT prophets IMHO. Ezekiel has hard parts. The visions of God with the wheel and the angels. And I just recently read through the third temple stuff again. It's not hard to read, I just don't understand the purpose of all the details and the sacrifices. I know people have theories on why there are third temple sacrifices, but I haven't really found one that satisfies. Most of the theories ask you to accept that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross did not complete the whole of the law (my assessment). Isaiah is just very poetic in the way he writes. It is very beautiful, but hard to understand. JMO:hat

[hilhill]

With more difficult to understand books like Isaiah, I like to use a Bible commentary to help fill in the details. I recommend John MacArthur's Whole Bible Commentary... It's awesome!

[Paidfor]

One of the things that helps when reading any part of the Law and Prophets is to relate it to Jesus. One of my favorite psalms is Isaiah12. It is very beautiful.

Isa 12:1 Then you will say on that day, "I will give thanks to You, O LORD; For although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, And You comfort me.
Isa 12:2 "Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the LORD GOD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation."
Isa 12:3 Therefore you will joyously draw water From the springs of salvation.
Isa 12:4 And in that day you will say, "Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; Make them remember that His name is exalted."
Isa 12:5 Praise the LORD in song, for He has done excellent things; Let this be known throughout the earth.
Isa 12:6 Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

When you read it there is something that you should know about it. On the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles the High Priest would draw water out of the stream of Siloah that runs beneath the Temple Mount. He would then pour it on the altar in the Temple as this psalm was being sung. It was on this day that Jesus stood and cried out "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'" John 7:37-38

[mary]

Ihave enjoyed reading your comments of your personal study of the Book of Isaiah.

In my personal studies I have used commentaries and have enjoyed studying the Bible with a commentary.