In my years of working with computers, I've met several people who are afraid to do even simple tasks because they just know there's a hidden "self-destruct" button that they are bound to inadvertently hit. Smoke will start coming out the back, the keyboard will start melting, it will somehow take down anything connected to the computer, and then with it's dying breath send out a message of warning on the internet so everyone will know not to give them a computer again. I haven't done an extensive search, but I'm fairly confident there aren't any documented cases of this worst-case scenario actually happening. People are just naturally cautious about what they don't understand.
The same seems to hold true with Isaiah. When these lessons roll around during Old Testament or the Book of Mormon, I see the same look of trepidation in some of the class members, shear terror in others. I can almost see the eyes glaze over at the mention of Isaiah, especially when they realize there are four weeks of Isaiah lessons.
When I was younger, I thought Isaiah was boring and hard to understand, so I usually read those chapters a little faster. Now, while I don't claim to understand much of it, I do actually enjoy the Isaiah chapters. Sunday's lesson dealt with the first six chapters in Isaiah (yah, I know I'm late. Deal with it). There's no way I can cover all the cool parts in those chapters, so I'll just tackle a few of them and see how far I get.
The first one has to be one of my favorites:
"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18).
The invitation from the Lord here is as always: "Come". Even if your life seems permanently stained with sin, we can be made clean and pure through the atonement of Christ. He doesn't say "Come, after you've worked it out on your own," the invitation is for us to "Come now".
The next one is Isaiah 2:20:
"In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats"
So, the time will come when men's idols will be cast away to dark and hidden places. The part that never really stuck out to me before was the fact they had made their own idols on an individual basis. Maybe I don't like golden calves, maybe my idol is a silver Corvette stingray. It could also be the sound-proofed man-cave with projector & large-screen, 5.1 surround sound, equipped with the mini-fridge and microwave within arm's reach of the couch. So I had to stop and think (some might argue I haven't started up again), what is my idol? To what do I give the devotion which rightly belongs to God? Whatever it is, things don't look very bright for it or me if I haven't removed it on my own.
Number 3 is from chapter 4:5-6…
"And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory [of Zion*] shall be a defence.
"And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain." (*See 2 Nephi 14:5)
This was always a bit confusing for me until I taught the Exodus lesson a few years ago. While the Israelites were wandering around in the wilderness, the Lord blessed them with a cloud during the day and a pillar of fire by night. These not only provided protection, but were a sign to Israel that the Lord was with them. This protection is promised to “every dwelling place of mount Zion”, or every faithful home. This isn’t just a little bit of smoke coming out of the fireplace, this has reference to the presence of the Lord.
So, those are just a few of the thoughts which jumped out to me from this week. Once I get a chance to draw breath this week, I'll see if I can tackle next week's lesson.
The same seems to hold true with Isaiah. When these lessons roll around during Old Testament or the Book of Mormon, I see the same look of trepidation in some of the class members, shear terror in others. I can almost see the eyes glaze over at the mention of Isaiah, especially when they realize there are four weeks of Isaiah lessons.
When I was younger, I thought Isaiah was boring and hard to understand, so I usually read those chapters a little faster. Now, while I don't claim to understand much of it, I do actually enjoy the Isaiah chapters. Sunday's lesson dealt with the first six chapters in Isaiah (yah, I know I'm late. Deal with it). There's no way I can cover all the cool parts in those chapters, so I'll just tackle a few of them and see how far I get.
The first one has to be one of my favorites:
"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18).
The invitation from the Lord here is as always: "Come". Even if your life seems permanently stained with sin, we can be made clean and pure through the atonement of Christ. He doesn't say "Come, after you've worked it out on your own," the invitation is for us to "Come now".
The next one is Isaiah 2:20:
"In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats"
So, the time will come when men's idols will be cast away to dark and hidden places. The part that never really stuck out to me before was the fact they had made their own idols on an individual basis. Maybe I don't like golden calves, maybe my idol is a silver Corvette stingray. It could also be the sound-proofed man-cave with projector & large-screen, 5.1 surround sound, equipped with the mini-fridge and microwave within arm's reach of the couch. So I had to stop and think (some might argue I haven't started up again), what is my idol? To what do I give the devotion which rightly belongs to God? Whatever it is, things don't look very bright for it or me if I haven't removed it on my own.
Number 3 is from chapter 4:5-6…
"And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory [of Zion*] shall be a defence.
"And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain." (*See 2 Nephi 14:5)
This was always a bit confusing for me until I taught the Exodus lesson a few years ago. While the Israelites were wandering around in the wilderness, the Lord blessed them with a cloud during the day and a pillar of fire by night. These not only provided protection, but were a sign to Israel that the Lord was with them. This protection is promised to “every dwelling place of mount Zion”, or every faithful home. This isn’t just a little bit of smoke coming out of the fireplace, this has reference to the presence of the Lord.
So, those are just a few of the thoughts which jumped out to me from this week. Once I get a chance to draw breath this week, I'll see if I can tackle next week's lesson.
