September is Isaiah month

I use the One Year Bible for my daily devotions. From 1993-2005 I used the NIV. Our church uses the ESV, so in 2005 I got that version. No matter the version, the set-up is the same and Isaiah is read during the month of September.

Reading a whole book in a short time helps me to see themes much more easily, and helps me to follow the ideas of the book. A couple of themes stand out to me. One is that God is indeed the Creator of the world. I haven't counted, but over and over and over God says,

"Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out , who
spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on
it and spirit to those who walk in it:" (42:5)

and again

"I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who
spread out the earth by myself," (44:24)

and over and over. That is a single most important issue to understand, that He made ALL THINGS. To deny that, is to deny Him.

A second theme is God's sovereign control over all of history. See 45:1ff

"Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus whose right hand I have
grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of king, to open
doors before him that gates may not be closed; I will go before you and level
the exalted places,...that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of
Israel, who call you by your name."

And by the way, Cyrus didn't come on the scene until about 100 years after the book of Isaiah was written, emphasizing God's point in that last phrase. 46:9-10

"declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet
done, saying, "My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my
purpose." v. 11, " I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it."

Lest we think this is only a theme in Isaiah, see Ephesians 1: 11

"In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the
counsel of his will"

and again in 3:11 (the reason that the gospel is being made know to the world, the mystery now revealed

"so that through the church, the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known
to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ
Jesus our Lord"

Not only does God use the leader of the Medes and Persians as his instrument, but also Assyria and Babylon. If you know your world history, you know that world empires began with Sumer (Abraham's Ur), then Egypt, then Assyria, Babylon, Medes/Persians, Greece, Rome. So to read the book of Isaiah and see God raising up each one of these empires is AMAZING.

In speaking of Assyria and its leader, Sennecherib God says in 37:26

"Have you not heard that I determined it long ago? I
planned from days of old what now I bring to pass,
that you (Sennecherib) should make fortified cities crash into heaps of
ruins, while their inhabitants, shorn of strength, are dismayed and
confounded, and have become like plants of the field....."

Yet God says,

"Because you have raged against me...I will put my hook in your nose...and I
will turn you back on the way by which you came."

A third theme is the love and care for His people. He judges, but He also draws near. He opens blind eyes and deaf ears, even ones that He said He closed!

29:10 "For the LORD has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and closed
your eyes..."

but then,

v. 18 "In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their
gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.."49:16 (end of 15) "yet
I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands."
and 54:10 " For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my
steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be
removed, says the LORD who has compassion on you."

(I love that verse!)

In conclusion, these themes give me assurance that God is STILL in control of the world and all its inhabitants. We could substitute the words "Hitler" or "Saddam Hussein" or "George Bush" "John McCain" "Barak Obama" for the world leaders in those passages. God is no different, nor has his plan for history altered. He planned it from long ago what we see happening now. What peace flows from knowing that!

43:1-3 but now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who
formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by
name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and
through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you
shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you, For I am the LORD your
God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour."