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A Little Babylon In Every Empire

Links for today’s readings:

Jun 16  Read: Isaiah 13 Listen: (3:11) Read: Acts 2 Listen: (6:35)

Scripture Focus: Isaiah 13.1, 10-13

1 A prophecy against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw: 

10 The stars of heaven and their constellations 

will not show their light. 

The rising sun will be darkened 

and the moon will not give its light. 

11 I will punish the world for its evil, 

the wicked for their sins. 

I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty 

and will humble the pride of the ruthless. 

12 I will make people scarcer than pure gold, 

more rare than the gold of Ophir. 

13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; 

and the earth will shake from its place 

at the wrath of the Lord Almighty, 

in the day of his burning anger.

Reflection: A Little Babylon In Every Empire

By John Tillman

When Isaiah saw his vision of judgment against Babylon, it was not yet a mighty empire of evil. At that time, Babylon was an upstart city-state under Assyrian oppression, just like other nations. Isaiah’s prophecy against Babylon would be as if someone in France in the early 1700s wrote a prophecy against the imperialism of the United States, before the colonies had rebelled or even declared independence from the British Empire.

Eventually, Babylon rebelled against, and overthrew, Assyria. But the victors were not freedom fighters or liberators. They were just a new oppressive and brutal empire.

When Allied forces swept through Europe following the D-Day invasion, the Nazi empire was destroyed, but America and Britain didn’t enslave and oppress France or the other conquered countries. They set them free. The Soviets, however, harshly ruled Eastern Europe through puppet governments for decades. (Russia today seems to want to reestablish this control, beginning in Ukraine.) 

It’s easy to notice “Babylon-like” behavior in enemies. It’s uncomfortable to think about ourselves as Babylon. Americans, especially, like to pat ourselves on the back. “We liberated Europe! We won the Cold War! We are the good guys!” I feel that way. Yet, the Bible continually warns about Babylon. Why? Doesn’t God know where I live? Doesn’t he know my country is the greatest country of all time? Hmm…sounds a bit “Babylon-ish” when I put it that way, doesn’t it?

Peter sent greetings from the church, describing that church as “in Babylon” (1 Peter 5:8) even though Babylon fell centuries before. When we imagine Babylon as a specific nation at a specific time, we miss the point. When we imagine Babylon as a symbol for our enemies, we are in danger of blindness.

The Bible repeatedly cautions God’s people that there’s a little Babylon in every empire. Yes, even the one you live in. This is because there is a little Babylon in every heart, even yours and mine. And that bit of Babylon has imperialist intentions. It wants to grow. To conquer.

We live in Babylon and Babylon will be judged. That will be painful for many (Rev 18.9-10). Our connection to, or complicity with, Babylon will affect how that judgment touches us. Read the judgments against Babylon, remembering that Babylon wants you. It wants to influence you, recruit you, or conquer you.

Resist Babylon, starting in your own heart. Don’t be conquered or complicit. Be faithful.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. — Psalm 92.12

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: The Fall of a Superpower

When we read the oracles against other nations, it is easy to distance ourselves from them.

The Fall of a Superpower
Read more: Falling In Love With Babylon

Not everything in Babylon is bad…there is good to be seen and heard…But there is great evil there that overwhelms and stains every good.

Falling In Love With Babylon
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Be a Transformed Tree

Links for today’s readings:

Jun 15  Read: Isaiah 11-12 Listen: (4:39) Read: Acts 1 Listen: (3:58)

Scripture Focus: Isaiah 11.1-4, 10

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; 

from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 

2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— 

the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, 

the Spirit of counsel and of might, 

the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— 

3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. 

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, 

or decide by what he hears with his ears; 

4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, 

with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. 

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; 

with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.

Reflection: Be a Transformed Tree

By John Tillman

A tree in my yard died.

I didn’t and don’t know what killed it. I struggle to keep our yard mowed, much less be a competent landscaper, gardener, or arborist. I cut the tree down, leaving the stump at ground level. I added the wood to the firewood pile and thought that was the end.

The tree came back.

First, a tiny green sprout popped up. Then it kept growing. Today, it’s as tall as it was before. Birds shelter in it and sing to me, or yell at me (sometimes it’s hard to tell which), every day.

The bad news is that this tree isn’t a very desirable tree. It’s a Bradford Pear. Arborists and many other people hate it. But because it’s cheap, fast-growing, and has pretty flowers for part of the year, builders and real estate folks keep planting them everywhere. And apparently, at least under certain conditions, it can come back from the dead.

God compares his people to trees often. The difference is they are supposed to be valuable trees, like fig or olive trees, that provide good fruit of justice, righteousness, and wisdom for the nations. Instead, they are worthless, fruitless, and often smelly, like my Bradford Pear. So God lays the ax “at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3.9) 

I had no intention of resurrecting my tree and no power (or budget or green thumb) to change it to a better one. But God’s judgments are never without mercy, hope, and purpose. Isaiah prophesied that even though God cut down Jerusalem’s tree, ground the stump down, and burned it, he intended for it to live again. Not only that, God promised to transform his tree into the tree it was intended to be. He wants the same for us.

Something in you may need to die. To be cut down. Burned. But God is not done with you.

In Jesus, the root of Jesse, there is power to not just resurrect us but transform us. We will go from bad trees to good, from fruitless to bountiful, from worthless to invaluable. We will be like Jesus, the tree of life, providing shelter, sustenance, and healing to all nations and people.

May it be so. Cut us down, Lord. And spring up in us, Root of Jesse

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

My heart is firmly fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and make melody. — Psalm 57.7

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle..

Read more: Praise from a Stump

We, in Christ, can see ourselves in both the unworthy and shamed stump, and in the new supernatural growth of the remnant.

Praise from a Stump :: A Guided Prayer
Read more: A King Unlike Any Other

Growing out of death…a sprig of life. From a stump…a sprout of hope…this shoot would bear fruit and reverse the world order.

A King Unlike Any Other
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Watch Salvation Grow

Links for today’s readings:

Jun 12  Read: Isaiah 8-9.7 Listen: (7:02) Read: Psalm 104 Listen: (3:37)

Links for this weekend’s readings:

Jun 13  Read: Isaiah 9.8-10.4 Listen: (8:50) Read: Psalm  105 Listen: (4:02)
Jun 14  Read: Isaiah 10.5-34 Listen: (5:14) Read: Psalm 106 Listen: (4:52)

Scripture Focus: Isaiah 8.17-18

17 I will wait for the Lord, 

who is hiding his face from the descendants of Jacob. 

I will put my trust in him. 

18 Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.

Reflection: Watch Salvation Grow

By John Tillman

Two mysterious children appear in today’s Isaiah passage.

Isaiah and his wife, the prophetess, conceive a child named Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, which means “quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil.”

Then part of Isaiah’s poetic vision from God is addressed to Immanuel, which means “God with us.” Immanuel, previously introduced in chapter 7, was conceived by a young woman or virgin, but the parents are not named (Isaiah 7.14-16).

These births, and the children’s growth, are connected to promises regarding Assyria. God promised that before specific growth milestones, Assyria would wipe out Judah’s feared enemies. Before Immanuel knew right from wrong (Isaiah 7.15) and before Isaiah’s child knew how to say, “Dada” or “Mama,” (Isaiah 8.4) Judah would be saved.

Any teacher or parent can tell you how long and grinding days can seem when raising or teaching children. Each day is a slog. It feels impossible and never-ending. Those same people can tell you how fast children grow and how quickly their bodies, language, and abilities develop.

The children I taught in theater classes and in children’s ministry rooms are grown adults with children of their own. Many friends a few years younger than I am have children learning to drive this year. It seems an impossible milestone. How can that child be a grown human, behind the wheel of a car or holding their own baby?

The children Isaiah mentioned were born into a time of fear, division, struggle, economic crisis, and war. It was an awful time that seemed like it would never end. The children were signs that change was coming. Isaiah said he and his children were signs and symbols for Israel. The writer of Hebrews identified these words as the words of Jesus and identified us as God’s children (Hebrews 2.11-13).

In times of fear, division, struggle, economic crisis, and war, or times of sin, temptation, persecution, and doubts, our salvation is coming. Things we fear will not last as long as we think. In the time a child matures, mighty kings, dangerous enemies, and entire nations can fall and people be saved. When we mature spiritually, sinful patterns can be broken, traumas can heal, and bright hopes can grow.

Salvation is spiritual and physical—small at first, like a mustard seed or a child. But it grows. And when salvation is full-grown, it will only seem to have been a short time.

Have hope. Wait for the Lord. Watch salvation grow.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer

Come now and see the works of God, how wonderful he is in his doing toward all people. — Psalm 66.4

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Conspiracy Theology

The warnings in Isaiah are eerily relevant…to distinguish the work of his hand from purported conspiracy.

Conspiracy Theology
Read more: Recentering on Christ

The psalms are…practical for those who are seeking God in a world connected by technology.

Recentering on Christ

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Proof-Texting Prophets

Links for today’s readings:

Jun 11  Read: Isaiah 7 Listen: (3:51) Read: Psalm 103 Listen: (2:07)

Scripture Focus: Isaiah 7.10-13

10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also?

Reflection: Proof-Texting Prophets

By John Tillman

Trouble was brewing. Enemies were rising. The nation of Judah, Jerusalem, and David’s throne were under threat. While Ahaz was sending out feelers to earthly allies, Isaiah came to the wicked king with a word from the Lord. The first part was encouraging. “…don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart.” (Isaiah 7.4) The second part was a warning. “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” (Isaiah 7.9)

Even bad kings, like Ahaz, get a chance to turn to God.

The prophet asked the king to select a sign to prove his words true. Ahaz refused. To excuse himself, Ahaz used a “proof text,” quoting Deuteronomy 6.16, “I will not put God to the test.” Isaiah was not impressed with Ahaz’s “proof-texting.” He considered it insulting to him and to God.

Instead of “O King” or using Ahaz’s name, Isaiah calls him the “house of David,” prophesying that his political machinations would fail. A plague of flies would come from Egypt to Judah. (Isaiah 7.18) The plagues that humbled Pharaoh would humble Ahaz. Pharaoh refused to repent and the plagues escalated to destruction. Ahaz refused to repent, moving David’s house one step closer to exile.

God’s Word may be misquoted, taken out of context, or twisted. Many, like Ahaz, twist it to excuse themselves from doing as God commands. Proof-texting is a bad way to build a faith. It’s also a bad way to deconstruct one. It is still true for us today that if we do not stand firm in our faith, we will not stand at all. Understanding the Bible holistically, within the community of believers, can help us avoid most errors but we still need to be humble and teachable, receptive to human critique and the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

The Bible is true whether we believe it or not and whether we obey it or not. Human errors do not mean God’s Word is in error. Sin is still sin, regardless of whether we use scripture to justify it. God is God regardless of how prideful or arrogant we become.

We all have moments of grace and opportunities for repentance. So consider soberly…

Have you adopted Ahaz’s habits? Are you marshaling earthly resources for spiritual battles? Are you using scriptures as excuses for not obeying God’s clear commands? Are you proof-texting prophets? Are you trying the patience of humans or God? Or both?

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, Lord God of hosts; let not those who seek you be disgraced because of me. — Psalm 69.7

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: God Loves Mere Mortals

We are not made to earn God’s compassion. There is no standard to which we must attain before compassion is given to us. 

God Loves Mere Mortals
Read more: More Important Matters

The Pharisees had a kind of orthopraxy ADHD…they ignored the more important things by pursuing less important things with hyperfixation.

More Important Matters
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Letters for Tomorrow’s Folk

Links for today’s readings:

Jun 10  Read: Isaiah 6 Listen: (2:24) Read: Psalm 102 Listen: (2:45)

Scripture Focus: Psalm 102:4, 17-18

4 My heart is blighted and withered like grass;

    I forget to eat my food. …

17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;
    he will not despise their plea.


18 Let this be written for a future generation,
    that a people not yet created may praise the Lord

Reflection: Letters for Tomorrow’s Folk

By Erin Newton

I was sitting by the pool with a friend, our kids swimming nearby. I was enjoying the sunshine and sounds of laughter when my friend turned and said, “How are you doing since her death?” The question jolted me out of my blissful daydreaming. “Oh, fine. I’m doing ok.”

I went home and got the kids dried off. Looking around my house, it was clear I was not ok. My house had become a mess. Every inch was a pile of neglected chores. Dishes piled and overflowing the sink. Laundry baskets spilling out into the kitchen and hallway. Wrappers of

half-eaten granola bars littering my desk. 

My best friend died unexpectedly a month ago today. The anguish and grief in my heart were visibly evident in my house. I often forgot to eat. Just like the psalmist’s prayer, eating was a task and no longer enjoyable. 

Pain, suffering, grief, depression, anxiety, and a host of other emotional states often have physical signs. As much as I like to muster up the “I’m fine” statements, one step in the door and you’d know.

I’m relieved to see that such reactions were common thousands of years ago. We are not sure what has happened to the psalmist, but the author is in pain. Appetites are poor; hope is fading. 

The prayer here is not a plea for amnesia. He does not ask God to make his troubles a distant memory. He simply states reality: I am miserable, emotionally and physically. 

And then he turns to looking at God. Words of praise and admiration fill the next verses. There is the recognition of God’s power and sovereignty, his love for his people, and his promise to hear their cries. 

Then we get a lesson that still rings true today: This can be recorded for someone else’s benefit. Why record your misery? Why put on paper a time when life sucked? Why testify to your own frustrations? The answer, for others. 

The psalmist is suffering for an unknown reason. Perhaps it was deserved, or natural consequences, or completely unwarranted. We have no information to claim his suffering was for others—but his testimony is. 

Have you told someone a story of God working in your life? Take time to record your own story. We might think our lives are too simple for archiving, but testimonies are an act of remembrance and a light for the future.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence

O God of hosts, show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved. — Psalm 80.7

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Temple Confrontations

Uzziah angrily claimed purity and was made unclean. Isaiah fearfully confessed uncleanness and was made pure.

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When strangers ask, “How are you?” we’ll mumble, “Fine. How are you?” …How can we share deep hurt with those we do not trust deeply?

Baring Your Soul
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