Welcome back, thanks for joining us for the second Podcast for Narrative Lectionary. This week we are looking at Isaiah 40:1-11 (we also read Isaiah 39:4-8).
This week I am trying for a hybrid, there is the podcast as well as some of the blog elements. Thank you for your interaction as I am exploring what I can do for this resource. Your feedback is most appreciated (and yes, I know it would be nice to get these resources with more time before Sunday, I am trying).
Sorry about the mismatched audio, still working on the levels.
Last Time on Tales of Faith
It is a time of Exile. The people of Israel have been living in BABYLON for almost seventy years. Jerusalem and the temple have been destroyed. They have had to depend on their faith, each other, and the GOD who has accompanied them.
However, their is a new Empire on the horizon, the PERSIAN EMPIRE, and their Emperor CYRUS THE GREAT, who is a threat even to Babylon. Could this new Emperor be God’s instrument of peace?…
Text
Overview of Isaiah
Bible Project- Isaiah (Read the Bible Series)
Ch 1-12: Isaiah’s Vision of Judgement and Hope for Jerusalem
Ch 13-27: Judgment and Hope for the Nations
13-23 Fall of Babylon & Israel’s neighbors
24-27 A Tale of Two Cities
Ch 28-39: the Rise and Fall of Jerusalem
28-35 Accusation against Jerusalem’s Leaders
36-38 Hezekiah’s Rise
39 Hezekiah’s Fall, Exile
EXILE
Ch 40-66: Hope
40-48 Announcement of Hope
40:1-31 God’s people are comforted
41:1-29 God’s Help for Israel
42:1-9 The Servant™ is introduced
42:10-20 A Hymn of Praise
42:21-25 Israel’s past disobedience and their consequences
43:1-44:8 God’s promise of blessing
44:9-20 A quick TED Talk on the futility of idol worship
44:21-28 Israel is not forgotten
45:1-19 Cyrus, God-Emperor of Persia, God’s instrument of God’s peace
45:20-46:13 Idols will be unable to save Babylon
47:1-15 Babylon will be humiliated
48:1-22 God is the creator and redeemer
49-55 The Servant™ fulfills YHWH’s mission
56-66 The Servant™ inherits YHWH’s kingdom
Notes:
The Babylonian Exile officially lasted from 597-538 BCE, so 59 years.
Links:
Bible Project- Isaiah (Read the Bible Series)
Bible Worm Podcast Episode 514- (2023), Episode 114: (2019)
Pop Culture Connections:
The vision of the future presented by Star Trek
Soilent Green- feed the people with the people
Lord of the Rings, Galadriel does not take the ring
Homebrewed Christianity: “Have Yourself a Lord of the Rings Christmas Movie Marathon”
Boring Stuff:
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
Music: “Flying” by Track Tribe, edited by Revochart, YouTube Audio Library License
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