Isaiah

Isaiah can be a difficult book to understand. Full of depth and symbolism it takes true patience and long suffering to understand this book. Knowing the background of Isaiah can help you understand his point of view the context of which he is talking about. Isaiah lived in a different time then us with different symbolism and foreign definitions to words and a geographical landscape that is unfamiliar from today. Here are 3 tips to better understand Isaiah.

A. Understand the manner of prophesying of the Jews. By understanding that they used the Law of Moses and how it impacted their life little pieces of Isaiah start to make sense. Like the Savior Isaiah used many images and parables to portray his point, not everything is to be taken literal. There are certain terms that have different definition than they did in Isaiah’s time. Because Isaiah talks in such depth we have to understand their type of prophesying to interpret it.


B. Become familiar with the geography of the Holy Land and regions surrounding it. Isaiah many times refers to the land and neighboring cities. By understanding the geography we can understand the challenges faced in their time. Isaiah also used towns symbolically such as Babylon was a symbol of wickedness, by understanding this as a symbol and not a city this changes the entire meaning and context of that section.


C. Understand the historical setting of Isaiah’s writings. To understand Isaiah it is important to understand the background of the people who he is teaching. Where they came from, what they have been through if they believed or have turned away all set how Isaiah will teach. Isaiah often talks about the conditions at that time, without knowing them these things might not make sense to us.


Knowing the background and history of Isaiah and his preaching sets the fundamental path to understanding him. You can’t build a tower mid air without support and you can’t fully understand Isaiah without knowing what his life was like and without knowing the vital background to set the story.

As you read the book of Isaiah here are some prevalent themes to watch for, to pick out that help be useful pieces of information to understanding Isaiah. These are things that we are used to hearing today that Isaiah also spoke of that might be easier for us to understand. Good luck with your reading!
1. Restoration of the Jews( House of Israel)
2. Believe in the Lord your Redeemer
3. Liken the scriptures unto us
4. God speaks truth
5. Christ is coming
6. The gospel brings happiness
7. Plan of Salvation
8. Prophecies of last days.
9. The Lord is salvation
10. God requires righteousness

Ecclesiastes

Introduction 

The book of Eeart be cclesiastes consists of reflections on some of the deepest problems of life. The author describes himself as "Son of David, King in Jerusalem". Ecclesiastes is written from the view point of the world, and should not be construed as theological pronouncements. 

Sought Happiness but Couldn't Find it 

The king that is speaking in the first 2 chapters was seeking happiness but couldn't find it. 

-Sought for Wisdom

- Wealth

-Had houses and vineyards and orchards 2:4-5

-Bought servants and maids 2:7

-Gathered treasure 2:8

He could have anything he wanted but nothing made him happy. He realized it isn't the temporal things that matter, it is the spiritual part of our life that will help us to be happy.

Principles Learned 

Here are two main principles that I learned from chapter 5

Verse 1: When we go to the temple go prepared to listen to the spirit. We don't need to focus on all the other things we could be doing and what a sacrifice it was to come. Instead leave the world behind and be happy to be in Gods house.

Verse 2: Think before you talk. In the verse it says "Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart by hasty". This is a principle that I need to practice, sometimes the grumpy natural man comes out and I say things that I didn't mean, or hurt peoples feelings. If I take a second or two to think through what I am going to say it gives me a bit to calm down and reprocess something else to say. Or a better way to say it. 

Man's Purpose 

12:13-14 "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."

12:7 "Then shall the durst return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it" 

Respecting God and keeping His commandments is the whole duty of man when man dies our body returns to the ground and our spirit goes to Heaven. This is a good description of mans duty because God knows all of our secrets and all our acts. When judgement day comes we will be accountable for our works, so it is better to keep the commandments then to disobey them. 

Esther

      The story of Esther is one of the few books that is focused on a woman's work rather than a man's.  We can learn several principles as we read this story of faith, sacrifice, and standing for what's right. The story starts with King Ahasuerus having a royal feast for all his princes and servants. Meanwhile Queen Vashti also held a gathering for the royal women(1:9). At the end of the week the king commanded Vashti to come see him and the other princes to show them her beauty. She however felt that it was better to serve the royal women and refused to come see the king, know the consequences that would come(1:12). The king was upset and Queen Vashti was no longer queen. She stood up for what she was right even though the sacrifice was losing her crown.
      The king was now in search of a new queen, in his searching he found Esther(2:17). The king did not know that Esther was a jew. Her uncle Mordecai knew of a plot to kill the king, Mordecia told Esther and she reported it and the king lived(2:21-23). Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman believing it wasn't right and worshiped God how he felt proper. Haman did not like this(3:5). Esther asked her people to fast for 3 days then she would go talk to the king(4:16). This was very dangerous because you were only supposed to see the king if he called you, you just didn't walk into him room(4:11). Esther knew that this was her chance to save her people and was willing to stand up and sacrifice her life for them. The king accepts her and she requests to have a royal banquet where she reveal Haman's plan to destroy the Jews to the king and Haman is hung(7:10). 
This story of Esther shows her love for her people and that she would give up her life willing to save them. God helps us in mysterious ways, there is a reason the king picked her to be queen. We can’t always see the plan when we are caught up in the middle but through faith and trusting in the Lord He will help us accomplish great things. Esther is very inspiring for me to do what is right no matter what the costs are. She humbly served her people and didn’t ignore them when they needed her the most. Mordecai also stood up for what he believed even though it almost cost the lives of all his people. He is not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Queen Vashti started it all when she sacrificed her crown for the service of her people. These are attributes of a great leader that I want to implement into my life.