Listen again this morning to another rendition of O Come, O Come Emmanuel. 

Reflect on all the characteristics you saw in the chapters from this week.  

Sit quietly this morning. Try to just sit with the Lord without thought or agenda for several minutes- just enjoy His presence and know that He is enjoying you. 

Ask the Holy Spirit to prepare you to hear from His word and His messenger this morning. 

Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a soft and teachable heart. 

Read Isaiah 28:1-19 and Isaiah 29:13-16 

Again today we are going to look at the continued sin and rebellion of the Israelites, and hopefully relate it to our own lives. 

On a separate piece of paper:

• List out the verse references for words and phrases that convey God’s feelings for His people.

• List out the verse references for why they are being judged.

• List out the verse references for a promised hope.

Stop, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show you ways that: 

• You resent God’s guidelines seeing them as pointless rules? 

• You honor Him only with your lips but not with your life? 

Read Isaiah 27.

Today we are going to return to the vineyard. In chapter 5, we saw a beautiful vineyard that God had tended and sung over. 

Remember, the Lord has loved, warned, sent the prophets to warn, and offered promises of hope. 

On a separate piece of paper:

• List out the verse references for words and phrases that convey God’s feelings for His people.

• List out the verse references for why they are being judged.

• List out the verse references for a promised hope.

Read Isaiah 11.

Tradition says that two verses from our hymn spring from this chapter, verses 1-3 and verse 10:

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free 

Thine own from Satan’s tyranny 

From depths of hell Thy people save 

And give them victory o’er the grave 

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high 

And order all things, far and nigh 

To us the path of knowledge show 

And cause us in her ways to go 

Rejoice! Rejoice!  

Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel. 

All over scripture, God tells us to ask for wisdom. In 11:2, we see that Jesus, the promised Messiah, will have the Spirit of Wisdom. 

• Where do you lack wisdom? Where do you need wisdom? 

• Who are the people or places you go to find wisdom? 

Spend some time praying right now. Pray on your knees if you are able. I find that posture matters a lot in my mindset as I pray. When I get down on my knees, I know immediately that I am in the humble, asking position. I need wisdom. I need guidance. I need help. And I’m seeking it from the Father, from the Spirit. 

Cry out your need. 

Read Isaiah 11.

Today we are going to return to the Know, Be, Do practice. Though it may be heavily focused on the “know”, I love this study tool. 

KNOW (What does the text say about God?) 

BE (What does the text say about us?) 

DO (What is the text calling me/us to do?) 

On a separate piece of paper, take time today to think through those questions from this passage. 

• In your ‘know’ section, that is encouraging to you? 

Read Isaiah 9:2 and Revelation 22:16 

One of the verses in our hymn O Come, O Come, Emmanuel finds its inspiration in Isaiah 9:2 and Revelation 22:16. It goes like this: 

O come, O bright and morning star, 

and bring us comfort from afar! 

(some versions say: O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer 

Our spirits by Thine advent here) 

Dispel the shadows of night 

And turn our darkness into light. 

Rejoice! Rejoice!  

Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel. 

In Isaiah 9:7, we read that His kingdom will establish righteousness and justice. Justice. Great light. 

• Today, write out on a separate piece of paper all the areas of injustice you see around you. 
• Write also injustice in your own life, ways that you have been wronged. 
• Write out a prayer to the Lord of how you would like to see Him move in these areas and bring justice and righteousness. Really spend some time seeking Him, leaning into His presence. He sees the injustice, He sees you. 

Read Isaiah 9:1-7 

Violence surrounds us in the world. Violence gives birth to more violence. And how, in the midst of that, God gave birth to peace. God offers us peace with the threat of violence all around us. To us a child was given. 

This week as we continue our journey through Isaiah, we will again see the promise given to the Israelites in the midst of incredible hardship, violence, and pain.  We will see God offering us as well as them a promise. 

Imagine Isaiah speaking these verses to a broken people. We are a broken people. Allow these words to wash over you. 

Where do you see the contrast in these verses between light/dark; joy/sadness; now/not yet? 

Are there places in your life right now where you feel burdened and held captive that you want to see the Lord remove that yoke (see verse 4)? 

Of the four descriptors of God in verse 6, which one stands out to you in this season of life?  

 Spend some time praying and reflecting on these character qualities of God.