Please, I beg you, don’t read anything that Owen wrote. No, I’m serious.
One of my favorite authors is a seventeenth century Puritan theologian, John Owen. I could spin out platitudes about the greatness of Owen’s work until you’d be tired of reading them: his handling of the Scripture is masterful; his knowledge and insight into the human character is astounding; surprisingly, he is adept at applying theology to everyday life; he is well experienced in the troubles of this world, and the Savior’s response; he is thought-provoking, convicting, and challenging.
And yet, I beg you, don’t read anything he wrote.
(Well, except for “The Mortification of Sin.” Definitely, read that).
I warn you off of Owen for two reasons: (1) he is an incredibly intricate writer, nesting one clause within another, so intricate that he often borders on unreadable. Yes, what he says is amazing, but by the time you figure it out, sometimes the awe is lost. (2) His scholarship is such that he freely switches from English, to Latin, to Hebrew, to Aramaic, and back again without any contextual clues. Without a vast linguistic background, you have to read really, really slowly. As great as he is, I’m not always sure he is worth it.
Now, Isaiah on the other hand… Isaiah is ALWAYS worth it! Of course! God’s Word and all that entails. Our exposure to the message in Isaiah is crucial.
But that doesn’t mean it will be easy.
The prophecies of Isaiah are daunting—grounded in a historical context few of us understand, Isaiah gives precious little background for us to follow. Most of Isaiah’s writings are poetic, and reading in verse is a challenge (at least to me!). The prophet approaches his topic from various angles, often giving the impression of overkill. And, if you are not careful, you can read Isaiah’s work and forget that God is speaking, not just to Isaiah’s contemporaries, but to us as well, to you as well.
Yes, reading the book of Isaiah is a challenge, but it is one that I strongly encourage you to take up. The work will be worth it, God will be speaking to you, and the Spirit will transform you more and more into the image of our Savior!
For worship this Sunday, please read Isaiah 42, and ask…
- Who is speaking throughout this section? In these verses, who is the “I”, the “him,” and the “you”?
- In verse 3, what is being communicated when the author says of the Messiah, “a bruised reed He will not break?” What does that mean for you?
- In verse 6, God Himself speaks. How would you summarize what He intends to communicate to His Servant? Why is this helpful to know as a believer?
- I love verse 8. Why do you think I love it? Do you love it too?
- Just for fun, read the next section, verses 10-17. There were probably independent prophecies by Isaiah, yet putting them together makes some sense. What might the connection be?
by Henry Knapp