READING FOR JANUARY 7, 2026: ISAIAH 11, JOHN 4, PSALM 138 ISAIAH 11 This chapter may look ordinary, but it is the subject of endless debates among Christians. All believers agree about certain points: Jesus is the shoot from the “stump of Jesse” and there will be a future time of peace and righteousness under His reign. So, if we are trusting fully in Jesus, all will turn out well in the end. No debate there.
For those who have been reading the Old Testament with us, remember that Jesse was the fa- ther of David, and Jesus is consistently portrayed as David’s descendant: “Concerning His [God’s] Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh” (Rom. 1:3). Verse two’s prophecy that the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon Him was confirmed by Jesus, Himself: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me” (Luke 4: 18). The virtues mentioned of wisdom, understanding, knowledge and power reiterate Jesus’s divine attributes found in Isaiah 9:6-7. The text says He will not judge based upon outward appearance. He will be fair to both poor and rich. A wonderful statement is made about Jesus which should also describe us: "He willdelight in the fear of the Lord” (vs. 3).
Verses 6-9 are interpreted based on one’s view of the end times (see 12/11/25 about Isaiah 2). The amillennialist and postmillennialist likely would say these verses represent heaven; the pre- millennialists might say this describes the millennium (God’s 1,000 reign of peace on earth: Rev.20:3). Verse ten is loosely quoted by Paul, describing his ministry to the Gentiles: “There shall come the root of Jesse, and He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, in Him will the Gentiles hope.” (Rom 12:15). Certainly, If Paul applies this verse to evangelism in his time, we can do the same in ours.
One important belief of premillennialists is the view that Israel or at least the Jews will be significant in the end times. Verses 11-16 seem to suggest that Ephraim and Judah, the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel, will be gathered together by God from dispersed locations in a kind of second exodus (vs. 11). Premillennialists point to this as being reempha- sized by Paul: “A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written: The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob. This is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins’” (Rom. 11:25-17). Amillemnialists and postmillennialists read these references as symbolically referring to the church, whom they believe represents God’s people in the New Covenant. This writer humbly holds the histo- ric premillennial view due to Isaiah 11 and Rom 11 but is too old to fight anyone about it.
John 4 We read today another beloved Bible story, Jesus’s conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well. In their conversation (and with the disciples upon their return), like that of Jesus with Nicodemus, we see Jesus begin with very earthly ideas (birth, water, food, etc.) and moving into deeply spiritual truths. Jesus seemed fond of talking like this. It would take the conversation partner some effort to move from hearing with earthly ears to hearing with the ears of their hearts. At times it only happened later as the person pondered afterword what Jesus had really been saying. Scriptures are often like that for us today; each time we read and READING FOR JANUARY 7, 2026 CONTINUED: JOHN 4, PSALM 138 as we meditate on them over time and with others, they reveal deeper and deeper truths. The woman in this encounter experienced this. In the conversation that began with a request for a drink, she was first shocked that he seemed to indicate he was greater than their ancestor Jacob who dug the well (back in Genesis!), a- round which the Samaritans centered their life and identity. Then as we go along, we hear her begin to under-stand him as a prophet who might be the long-awaited Messiah: “Could this be the Messiah?”(vs 29). By the end of his visit with them, this woman and her community proclaimed Jesus “the Savior of the World” (vs 42).
Often the Samaritan woman is assumed to be immoral. What we do know is that she has been married five times and is now living with a man to whom she isn’t married, which isn’t God’s plan for sexual relations (Matt.19:4-5). And we know that she came to the well about noon, not in the cool of the morning as most women did. We can assume this is because she is seen as shameful or as an outcast by the people of her town. But again, we don’t know her full story. We know women could not initiate divorce in her day; so why so many marriages? Was she unfaithful to one man after another leaving them no choice but to divorce her? Was she widowed and then left destitute – or mistreated and put out by her first husband – and then, desperate and with no way to provide for herself, simply brought in by a string of opportunistic men who would use her until they too tired of her? We don’t know. But we know consensual sexual relations outside of marriage is sin.
But, although He raises this (as He might with all of us because we all are sinners), He also sees a person of value and a person who will stop and listen and respond to him, just as she is. Remembering that Jesus came to make God known to us, let us remember who Jesus was, God is. Let us remember that God does not deal with any of us on the basis of our moral or social standing. He is looking for people who will stop and listen and receive him in the reality of their everyday lives, however messy that reality is. Receiving Him as Savior and Lord means that we repent and thereafter obey Him. In this chapter John gives us the second sign he will provide to point to Jesus’ identity and power: the healing of the royal official’s son. And in this chapter, all of those who encountered Jesus and were faced with the decision of whether they would receive him and believe in his name, did believe (the Samaritan woman, her townspeople, and the royal official). We’ll see things begin to change as we move into tomorrow’s reading.
PSALM 138 David’s thanksgiving to God is wholehearted. Do we hold back to avoid looking strange? Even David’s wife foolishly thought he lacked restraint: “Michal the daughter of Saul looked down through the win- dow and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she was contemptuous of him in her heart” (2 Sam. 6:16). David then sings praises to God, even in the presence of those of other beliefs. We should be respectful of those who believe differently but never be afraid to say Jesus is the only truth. To do otherwise is not loving, given the eternal stakes involved. David, in fact, praises God precisely for these dual qualities of truth and love. In addition to His word, David finds God faithful to him through his own lived experience.
David optimistically predicts world’s leaders will also praise God once they hear God’s word. Guess whose responsibility it is to share that word? Yes, it’s ours. David even foresees a chorus of leaders (maybe in all fields) singing God’s praises. That will be a sight. Yet, whenever that happens, God won’t give them preference over the poorest believer. In fact, those who approach God with any pride, will not fool God. Finally, David then looks ahead to Jesus, the One currently seated at the Father’s right hand, who will, by God’s grace through our faith, enable us to experience everlasting life.
