Thy Strong Word from KFUO Radio

Rev. Scott Adle, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Collinsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 36. After 35 chapters of predictions, the Assyrians have finally come. Chapters 36 to 39 seem to quote from 2 Kings, proving that Isaiah wasn’t just speaking fanciful words of theology in poetic flourishes; theology is God’s real-life plan for human history. In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib of Assyria came and destroyed the whole country of Judah, except for the capital of Jerusalem. Walled up with no allies, not enough men, and not enough food, with their own God angry at them for their sin, the situation seemed totally hopeless. It was the Red Sea all over again—no way out. Yet, nothing is impossible for the Creator of heaven and earth. Who will you trust in?

Rev. Curtis Deterding, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Fort Myers, Florida, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 35. “Waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.” In chapter 35, Isaiah summarizes all his oracles of good news. In the wake of the Assyrian devastation, there will be relief and restoration for Judah. When Isaiah speaks of “wilderness” and “desert,” he does not refer to a sandy faraway place, but rather to Judah itself. The words in Hebrew should be understood to refer to “wasteland,” a place that has become uninhabited and uncultivated, as we saw in chapter 34. The power of God’s Word through baptism gives life not just for the individual, but for the places we live and work.

Rev. Warren Woerth, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Arnold, Missouri, joins guest host Rev. Dr. Steve Schave, Director of Urban and Inner City Mission and Church Planting with the LCMS Office of National Mission, to study Isaiah 34. Leading into chapter 34 of Isaiah we see that God is leading His people to repentance, through the punishment of their sins, as the nations have conquered them. And yet these nations who are hostile to God and His Word, and who have been destroyers, will face judgment and pay the penalty for what they have done to the people of Zion. The people of God have waited in faith for these promises to be fulfilled as they will be restored. Isaiah 34 is difficult for many because we may not like this picture of God, we may only wish to think of God as being loving and not just, but you cannot have one without the others. And so we are called to pay attention to this very sobering picture of Judgment Day. That if we want the opposite of holiness, and righteousness, and justice… this is what it looks like. It is bloody and gory and complete desolation as no one can escape justice and the wages of sin. And yet we see also in this chapter that there is recompense, the Lamb is slain, and the blood soaks the ground as an offering… all pointing us to Christ. So while it is a challenging chapter to look at, it is also a sobering reality of judgment day, and gives us our own sense urgency to proclaim a message of repentance and forgiveness to those who need to hear.

Rev. Rolf Preus, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Sidney & St. John Lutheran Church in Fairview, Montana, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 33. In chapter 32, Isaiah predicts that Assyria would reduce Judah’s cities and fields to ruins and wilderness, but that there in the wilderness there would be justice and the fear of Yahweh. Chapter 33 offers a multifaceted reply with oracles of woe and judgment, a psalm, a proverb, and an oracle of salvation. The theme is appearances. Don’t trust in princes, heroes, envoys, or covenants; they merely appear strong for a short time before they are devoured by hungry caterpillars and locusts. Resist evil illusions and keep temptation far from your hands, ears, and eyes. Instead look on the king in His beauty, Christ who offers forgiveness and heavenly treasure.

Rev. Kevin Parviz, pastor of Congregation Chai v’Shalom in St. Louis, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 28. Psalm 28 uses the themes of sound and work to offer supplication and praise to God. In the Old Testament, sound is connected to movement, activity, and life. Silence is connected to motionlessness, cessation, and death. We only have life, breath, and song because God first speaks His creative Word of life to create us and save us. When God works judgment and destruction, He is simply turning evil back on itself, letting it be “hoist on its own petard.” The work of faith is to tune out the loud distractions and listen to the voice of our shepherd. Our rock and fortress gives us a quiet place to sing our songs of praise in peace, with the whole body of Christ—even with those who have gone before us.

Rev. Wally Vinovskis, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Macungie, Pennsylvania, and President of the SELC District of the LCMS, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 32. “Behold, a king will reign in righteousness. […] The fool will no more be called noble.” After speaking harsh words of law for several chapters, Isaiah gives us some gospel again in chapter 32. Although God will punish Judah for its idolatrous trust in Egypt, King Hezekiah will lead a remnant back to the true God. In that day, scoundrels like Shebna who lined his own pockets while advocating for an alliance with Egypt will fall from power. The corruption under kings like Jotham and Ahaz would finally be over. Overall, Judah would be better off, but so much depends on perspective. With the right priorities, they could see that even amidst the devastation, true peace was more valuable than material wealth. Even in our own day, God will not fail to act, and one day He will finally end corruption once and for all. On that day, it will be clear to all that no riches are worth comparing to the grace of Jesus the Messiah.

Rev. Dr. Alfonso O. Espinosa, pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Irvine, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 31. “The Egyptians are man, and not God, and their horses are flesh, and not spirit.” Isaiah 31 continues God’s condemnation of Judah for their alliance with Egypt against Assyria, offering a spiritual perspective on the matter. When we compromise our faith in the name of being practical or wise, we sell ourselves into spiritual slavery. God is wise, and He will bring disaster to save us. It seems like foolishness to us, but it is our salvation—just like the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. At the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem, God sent the Angel of Death to pass over His people a second time, and He struck the Assyrians with the spiritual sword of plague and disaster. King Hezekiah repented of his sinful mistrust and led God’s people back to the Word, as Moses had done earlier at the first Passover and as Luther would do later in the Reformation.

Rev. David Fleming, pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 30. Instead of trusting in God and the word of Isaiah His messenger, Judah put their faith in the military strength of Egypt. It seemed prudent in the face of Assyrian aggression, but it revealed Judah’s shameful idolatry of the heart. For all its ferocity, Egypt would prove to be a do-nothing dragon, a tamed beast in a timeout. The sinful human heart still prefers “illusions” and “smooth things” rather than the truth and hard facts. As Luther said, even though the works of God seem unattractive and even evil at times, they are for our salvation. God pours out tempest and flood, fire and hail, to give us our exodus from slavery. He empties His fury against His own Son to save us like a signal on a hill and a serpent raised in the wilderness.

Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 31. “Into your hand I commit my spirit.” Our Lord Jesus quoted these words from Psalm 31 while He was on the Cross, but the rest of the psalm isn’t as familiar to us. At times the psalmist seems to be begging God for mercy, and at times he seems to be thanking God that he has already received help—back and forth, again and again. What is the psalm really getting at? The answer lies with David, the first person to pray this psalm. David, on the run for his life, has taken refuge in a mountain city. Enemy forces have followed him and have put the city under siege, trying to starve out the inhabitants and drain their resources until they’re forced to surrender. Just like David, our Lord Jesus prayed this psalm when He was surrounded by enemies. Just like David, our Lord invites us to share in His confidence even when things look bleak.

Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 29. “The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.” With these words, the Lord Jesus quotes, summarizes, and expands chapter 29 of Isaiah. These metaphors originally described “Ariel,” the besieged city of Jerusalem that was like prey before the Assyrian army. Yet God worked “wonder upon wonder” to humble mankind on both sides of the city walls. God graciously formed humanity from the dust of the ground, like a potter shapes clay. He humbles us that He might reshape us into the form of the Son of David. He brings our loud bragging down to the ground “like the voice of a ghost” that we would shout with joy together on the day of the resurrection.