Digging Deeper
AS YOU READ CHAPTER 16
Journal your answers to these questions as you read through the chapter this week. You may wish to read one day and journal the next, or spread the questions over the whole week.
1. The reigns of kings Hoshea and Hezekiah overlapped for about six years. Which king trusted God to be provider and protector for him and his people? Which king was stuck in the ways of this world? How do you know? What was the result?
2. The Assyrians tried to convince the people of Judah not to trust God. Whose “voice” is most likely to cause you to doubt God? To whom do you listen when you feel surrounded by stress or fear?
3. Isaiah lists several analogies that show God’s love for his people (p. 227-228). Which ones are most reassuring to you?
4. Consider Isaiah’s vision of the Lord in the temple. What made Isaiah so aware of his own sinful condition?
5. Isaiah thinks he is unworthy to be God’s messenger because he is a sinner, but that doesn’t stop God from using him. When has God broken through your feelings of unworthiness to use you to show love?
6. God used Isaiah to warn Judah of an imminent judgment. God also provided the promise of restoration through Isaiah. What specific promises (p. 227-228) might bring you comfort when you need it?
Prayer
God,
Sometimes I can feel so far lost that there is no hope for me, that I’m way beyond Your reach and don’t deserve your grace even though You promise it fully. Even when things are dark, help me know in the depth of my soul that You want more than anything to rescue me, even from my own messes. Help me know that Your love alone is the wellspring of life. Amen.
Journal your answers to these questions as you read through the chapter this week. You may wish to read one day and journal the next, or spread the questions over the whole week.
1. The reigns of kings Hoshea and Hezekiah overlapped for about six years. Which king trusted God to be provider and protector for him and his people? Which king was stuck in the ways of this world? How do you know? What was the result?
2. The Assyrians tried to convince the people of Judah not to trust God. Whose “voice” is most likely to cause you to doubt God? To whom do you listen when you feel surrounded by stress or fear?
3. Isaiah lists several analogies that show God’s love for his people (p. 227-228). Which ones are most reassuring to you?
4. Consider Isaiah’s vision of the Lord in the temple. What made Isaiah so aware of his own sinful condition?
5. Isaiah thinks he is unworthy to be God’s messenger because he is a sinner, but that doesn’t stop God from using him. When has God broken through your feelings of unworthiness to use you to show love?
6. God used Isaiah to warn Judah of an imminent judgment. God also provided the promise of restoration through Isaiah. What specific promises (p. 227-228) might bring you comfort when you need it?
Prayer
God,
Sometimes I can feel so far lost that there is no hope for me, that I’m way beyond Your reach and don’t deserve your grace even though You promise it fully. Even when things are dark, help me know in the depth of my soul that You want more than anything to rescue me, even from my own messes. Help me know that Your love alone is the wellspring of life. Amen.