READING FOR JANUARY 22, 2026: ISAIAH 13, JOHN 15, PSALM 146 ISAIAH 13 We could accurately summarize this chapter by merely saying Babylon will be destroyed in the future by the Medes. So, why does Isaiah convey that information with such a generous use of such graphic similes as “like a woman writhing in labor” or “like a hunted gazelle”? It would be much more direct and quicker to read if he stuck with the bare facts. This writer doesn’t know why for certain. But don’t these elaborate figures of speech cause us to meditate more on the human pain and dramatic scope of these then future events? These are not facts to be memorized for a test or a trivia game but are the then-future works of an almighty and all-knowing God who is to be loved, feared, and obeyed.
When Isaiah spoke these prophesies, Assyria, not Babylon, was still the dominant world pow- er, and Judah had not yet gone into its Babylonian exile. The conquest of Cyrus over Babylon was still a hundred years away. This kind of detail upsets the skeptics of the Bible and forces them to place Isaiah in a much later time period than when text says he lived. Their worldview does not allow for the possibility that such an accurate prophecy about the future was made.
Another feature of this chapter is its likely double fulfillment, an Isaiah specialty. For example, consider verse 10: “For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash their light; the sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shed its light.” Compare that with Jesus’s prophecy of His second coming in Luke 24:29-30: “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky...and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky.” Also notice how the literal fall of Babylon is used to represent God’s still coming final defeat over all His enemies: “He cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit” (Rev. 18:2). Do we feel more confidence about God’s ability to fulfill His prophecies about our future when we know how accurately He fulfilled His prophecies about what is now past? Seems logical.
JOHN 15 I read that, if left alone, a grape vine will get straggly and tangly and grow in on itself, getting in the way of its own light along the way. The neglected vine produces a lot of superfluous growth and ends up pro- ducing many poor grapes rather than fewer luscious ones. Grape vines need help to grow in the right direction and to be productive. They need vinedressers to cut out the parts of the plant growing inward and getting tan- gled up and to encourage the shoots that are growing outward toward the light. They need the care of a gar- dener if they are to become as they were intended: filled with lovely, mature, delicious, nourishing grapes.
Aren’t we like that? If left to our own ideas and instincts, won’t we also get straggly and tangly and grow in on ourselves? Won’t we get in the way of the light that seeks to help us grow? Won’t our own efforts leave us producing only poor fruit? That’s what had happened to the nation of Israel. In Jewish tradition Israel was often pictured as a vine (Ps 80; Isaiah 5) – a vine that had been planted by God himself but which had refused to yield to the gardener’s care and as a result had gone wild and been ravaged until it produced only wild grapes instead of properly cultivated ones.
READING FOR JANUARY 22, 2026 CONTINUED: JOHN 15, PSALM 146 And now Jesus identified himself as the true vine, meaning that he is the true Israel. He is the one in whom God’s eternal purposes were now resting. And his followers would be members along with him of God’s true people if they would simply remain in him. What an opportunity! The best invitation we will ever receive!
Branches that decide to go it alone (if a branch could so decide. . .), that try living on their own, separated from the life-giving vine, soon wither and die – good for nothing but the fire. But branches that remain in the vine and submit to the gardener’s pruning live and bear fruit, fulfilling the purpose for which they were created. The branch does not need to concentrate on bearing fruit – it only needs to remain attached to the vine receiving its life flow – and fruit emerges. So, Jesus told his disciples to remain in me. (Other translations use the term abide in me, remain joined to me, live in me, continue in me) What does this really mean practically for our everyday lives? To remain in him we must cultivate a life of connectedness with Jesus:
“This connectedness is crucial to the life of a Christian. The Bible uses metaphors to help us see the reality of our relationship to the Lord: We are like trees that flourish because they are growing by the side of a stream, drinking up the life-giving water (Psalm 1; John 1:1-3). We are like the branches of a grape vine, heavy with fruit (John 15:1-5). We depend on the Spirit of God to produce good things in us, as we walk with Him (Galatians 5:16-17, 22-25).. . . This is why Jesus said, "Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). A branch cannot bear fruit by itself—it needs the vine (John 15:4). To abide in Christ means to depend on Him for that power, not only for the salvation of others but for one's own salvation and spiritual growth. Like branches that do not bear fruit without the vine, without Him we can do nothing (John 15:4).” (https://www.compellingtruth.org/abide-in-Christ.html)
How do we remain in him? By setting our minds on him. By arranging our days with to turn our attention back to God and his goodness, learning (with God’s help) to become increasingly aware of God’s presence with us. (Practices like these readings, memorizing Scripture, setting alarms on our phones to remind us to pause and pray, fasting, gathering with fellow Jesus-followers are helpful). Like David, “set the Lord always before me.” (Ps 16:8) All of this sets the tone for our days and leads us to loving action, for whatever occupies our mind forms our character
What “fruit” will we bear? Lives marked by the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22), by “all goodness, righteousness, and truth” (Eph 5:9), that bring glory to God (15:8) and are filled with joy (15:11), and that help the world believe (17:21)
PSALM 146 Here is yet another Psalm highlighting praise to God. Since this is such a recurrent topic in the Psalms, perhaps it suggests we don’t give adequate time and attention to doing it. The Psalmist states praising God is an essential activity that we can still do no matter how old we are. Since the end is coming soon for this earthly life, we should get busy doing it. Much of this Psalm expresses the truth that only the God of creation, Israel, and the Bible is worth our ultimate praise and allegiance. Politicians, writers, entertainers and even spiritual leaders might be good folks but can become false idols who let us down if we place our ultimate hope in them. “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God” (vs. 5).
