Thy Strong Word From Kfuo Radio

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.

Rev. Warren Woerth, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Arnold, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 28. The language is harsh: God says that the current priests and prophets of Jerusalem are no better than retching and reeling drunks. And Ephraim, the city on a hill, is ripe for the picking—it will be devoured whole! For too long, the proud and powerful have mocked God’s prophets and spurned His Word. Now they will have to hear the word of the Assyrians, along with their volleys of arrows that rain like hail. Yet God uses the tools of destruction for the sake of the faithful remnant. Like a farmer with various tools for different tasks and crops, God works wisely to save His people from their “covenant with death” and their “agreement with Sheol.” He literally rescued Judah from an ensnaring alliance with Egypt; He spiritually saves us from sin, death, and the devil through Christ’s covenant-annulling death and covenant-creating resurrection.

Rev. Ken Wagener, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 26. They hurled false accusations against him, but David was innocent. He was well acquainted with his own sinfulness, but he was innocent of these charges being brought forward. Psalm 26 is David’s appeal to a higher court, the heavenly court of God. He asks for God to exonerate him because he knows that God sees all and knows all, even when it seems like the rest of the world is against him. “O LORD, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells.” This isn’t mere sentimentality. David is affirming his allegiance to the ways of God, at the same time rejecting the secret dealings of hypocrisy. This is the right understanding of “hate,” as we see with our Lord Jesus. He showed compassion for the lost without the slightest hint of compromising God’s truth, and it is because of His integrity that we all may stand on the level ground of the resurrection.

Rev. Bernard Ross, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Alma, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 27. “He will slay the dragon that is in the sea.” Isaiah chapter 27 begins with this act of God’s judgment, concluding the previous chapter. Angels are often described in serpentine terms in the Old Testament. Here God promises to punish a fallen angel, the coiling sea dragon named “Leviathan,” as He destroys the nations and evil forces that have oppressed Israel. And where there are serpents, there is often fruit. The next verse goes back to the vineyard metaphor of chapter 5. God calls His people to repentance, to bear good fruit by destroying their idols. King Hezekiah led the people of Judah in this temporal atonement, but he represents Jesus Christ, the good king who gives us spiritual atonement, not only through His suffering and death, but also through His resurrection and works of love.

Rev. John Lukomski, retired pastor in Northfield, Minnesota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 26. “Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!” This bold resurrection language in Isaiah 26 only comes after extensive lamentation and somber reflection. It still builds on the death-of-death idea, but it’s very different from the hymn of praise in the previous chapter. On one hand, death is the ultimate enemy, but on the other, it is necessary for resurrection. God doesn’t bring death frivolously. He only does so to protect His people from being ruled by idols. He takes evil rulers like Babylon down to the shades to cut off the remembrance of idolatry and ruthlessness (Isaiah 14). Yet by His mercy, the earth will give up the shades as it gives birth to a new creation, just as Jesus Christ is the firstborn from the dead. On that day, the poor and needy will no longer be trampled and oppressed, although the faithful often suffer in this life, buried

Rev. Nathan Meador, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Plymouth, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 27. From the abundance of God’s diverse creation arises a diversity of perspectives and poetic metaphors. All these images are held together in the beauty of Christ: He is both a fortress and a weapon, a stronghold and a guiding light, an ornate temple and a mobile tabernacle. The language of Psalm 27 shows that God is with us wherever we go, but this is precisely because He is with us in a special way in certain places through Word and Sacrament. David’s confidence in the face of warfare didn’t come from his bravery but from God’s faithfulness. He asks for God’s help on behalf of the whole people of Israel, and He is strong on behalf of the whole people of Israel. Ultimately Jesus the Messiah represents us all in His death, resurrection, and ascension, creating our faith because of His faithfulness.

Rev. Peter Bender, pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Sussex, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 25. “He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces.” These beloved words, quoted both in 1 Corinthians and Revelation, are often read on Easter Sunday. They’ve inspired countless hymns as they powerfully proclaim the resurrection. In Isaiah’s context, many people worshiped the fertility god Baal. According to pagan belief, as mighty as Baal was, he was swallowed up by death every year at the start of the dry season. Isaiah testifies to Yahweh, an even greater God who would end the cycle of death forever. Our true God did so by letting death swallow His son for a short time, never to happen again. Thus Jesus atones for our sins and rescues the church from her shame, bringing mighty Babylon down to the level of defeated Moab.

Rev. Steven Theiss, retired pastor in Frohna, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 24. Chapter 24 is the most Revelation-like and apocalyptic oracle in Isaiah thus far. It amplifies familiar themes to a cosmic scale that we haven’t seen since chapter 13. It doesn’t matter how much money or power you have; the judgment will be truly universal, because humanity has broken God’s universal covenant. The “everlasting covenant” that God made with the world at the creation, the covenant that was renewed after Noah’s flood, meant for us to fill the earth, to exercise dominion, and to represent God. Because we have instead rallied together to dominate the weak and make gods of ourselves, as we did at the Tower of Babel, God comes to judge heaven and earth. Our first reaction should be to mourn with the rest of the earth and repent for our part in it all, trusting in the mercy of “the Righteous One” who is our sun & moon and king of kings.

Rev. Mark Preus, pastor of St. Andrew Lutheran Church & Campus Center in Laramie, Wyoming, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 23. We take international commerce for granted today, but in BC times only certain coastal cities enjoyed the wealth and status that comes from doing business around the world. Tyre was the “bestower of crowns” as it facilitated the exchange of power and treasure between virtually every nation on earth, even as far off as Tarshish—possibly located in what is modern-day Spain! Despite all the wealth of Tyre and Sidon, God would use the Assyrians to humble them in subjugation. Their freedom would return somewhat when the Assyrian Empire began to disintegrate in civil war, but God would use them to care for His people. This pattern would repeat itself later with the Babylonians and again under the Romans. Their example is instructive for us, as health and wealth are idolized in America today. The two go hand in hand, commanding fear and trust even when we don’t realize it. Only

Rev. Robert Paul, pastor of Memorial Church & School in Houston, Texas, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 22. Throughout this first part of Isaiah, the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem has been described as a moment of God’s grace: He preserved a remnant, He smote the Assyrians by the Angel of the LORD, and He worked a second Passover. In chapter 22 however, Isaiah uses this event to speak a word of law against the proud and unrepentant. Men like Shebna trusted in Egypt rather than God, and in their despair they thought only of feasting before being buried in ornate tombs. God meant the destruction to bring Jerusalem to repentance and hope in Him, that Judah’s valley of judgment would be for them a “valley of vision” to restore them from spiritual blindness. For those who return to God, like Eliakim, they will experience the power of God’s authoritative and forgiving Word. We experience God’s power and authority in the church through the servants of Christ, and so did the saints of the “Old Testament c

Rev. Zelwyn Heide, pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Grassy Butte and St. Peter Lutheran Church in Belfield, North Dakota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 21. Isaiah 21 contains three oracles that seem to be related somehow, but they sound so strange and alien to us! The first oracle has to do with the fall of Babylon, and the second two oracles have to do with refugees being rescued from the Kedarites. When did all of these things happen though? Babylon was at the center of conflict for centuries, captured and recaptured time and again. One possibility is that Isaiah is talking about the downfall of the centuries-long Assyrian Empire and their allies the Kedarites. Babylon fell and was taken from the Assyrians—by the Babylonians! Perhaps Isaiah and Habakkuk were talking about the same thing. As God finally banished the Assyrian shadow, we long for the morning of the resurrection to dawn. “What time of the night? Watchman, what time of the night?” Though the darkness is deep, God is in cont

Rev. Ryan Fehrmann, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Wausau, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 20. “Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast!” Isaiah 20 begins a new section of the book, switching back to the story of Isaiah the prophet. God speaks to Him and tells him to do something dramatic: as a sign of judgment, God tells him to go around naked in public for the next three years! In this way, our chapter pulls together ideas from the preceding Philistia, Cush, and Egypt oracles and puts them into context. As Judah waffles about whether to join the Egyptians or to submit to the Assyrians, God condemns human pride for its lack of repentance. Just as He did then, God gives us a sign of nakedness: His Son on a cross. God enters into our shame so that we would realize that He is our only escape and our only hope in the face of sin, death, and evil.

Rev. Thomas Eckstein, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Jamestown, North Dakota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 19. The list of nations that began with Babylon in chapter 13 ends with Egypt here in Isaiah 19—the two big bad guys of the Old Testament. This Egypt oracle proceeds as expected, announcing judgment against the false gods of Egypt. God will smite the Nile again as He did at the Exodus, and the wise men will once more be rendered helpless. God will work a second Passover for Jerusalem amidst the Assyrian siege, the Egyptians will cower in fear when they hear of Judah’s victory. But then Egypt will turn to Yahweh! They will speak Hebrew, read the Scriptures, build altars, and offer sacrifices! God will send them a savior to heal them, and God will say, “Blessed be Egypt my people.” If Egypt can be turned, then we can’t give up on anybody. Today we are inspired by the faith of the Coptic Church in Egypt, because even amidst persecution, Christ’s church is the world’s greatest superp

Rev. John Shank, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Edwardsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 18. What’s down “beyond the rivers of Cush” anyway? The ancient kingdom of Nubia! Today we associate this region with Sudan and Ethiopia. Even though the Nubians were even further south than Egypt, even they were afraid of the unstoppable Assyrian onslaught, and they busily sent out envoys to make alliances for the coming struggle. When Jerusalem miraculously survives the Assyrian siege with the help of the Messenger of Yahweh (“the angel of the LORD”), the people of Cush/Nubia are moved to offer tribute and praise. Against all odds, Yahweh leaves the Assyrian forces strewn about like lopped-off branches on the Judean mountains. Similarly, the Christian church has beat the odds and survived persecution time and again. It continues to do so because Christ Himself overcame the odds: though besieged by death and the grave, the Messenger of Yahweh brought life and resurrection to light. And

Rev. John Lukomski, retired pastor in Northfield, Minnesota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 17. Isaiah 17 continues the oracles against the nations, but this isn’t really an oracle against Damascus. It’s more of a Damascus oracle against Israel! Since the northern kingdom decided to make an alliance with Damascus rather than trust in Yahweh, the fates of Samaria and Damascus have been joined. They will share in glory—fading glory. Yet for all the devastating language of being reduced to a tiny remnant, the truth remains that God will spare a remnant, even from Damascus! God is the God of all peoples, even if they have forgotten their Maker. Though they obsess over what they themselves have made, it pains Him to punish and discipline. This is especially so because He has joined Himself to our suffering through our Lord’s cross. He was forgotten that we would be remembered. And He was remembered that we would remember our Maker—in the end, a Damascus oracle for Israel and for us.

Rev. Kevin Parviz, pastor of Congregation Chai v’Shalom in St. Louis, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 25. “Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.” This acrostic psalm points to how vast God’s work is. Even though David was king over Israel, he was always humble to learn, and he doesn’t ask God to look at his works and accomplishments. He asks God to forget about the things he’s done and instead only to remember His gracious love for him. In the midst of trials and treachery, possibly at the hands of his own son Absolom, David meditates on his standing before God, not men. His confidence that God will rescue him is rooted in God Himself, because God will forgive him for the sake of Israel. And God redeems Israel for the sake of His own name. God redeems us because we are baptized in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When you boil it all down, that’s who we really are.

Rev. Ken Wagener, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 16. In the wake of the devastation, the Moabites flee south to Edom. From there they offer tribute and pleas for mercy that they might be granted asylum north in Judah. Isaiah 16 continues this poetic oracle from the previous chapter, offering once again sympathy in the midst of total devastation. This time however, Isaiah gives us his vision of a sad, languished vineyard, accompanied by Moab’s plea in their own words. The haughty have been humbled, and Moab recognizes that there is something unique about God’s people of Judah; only they can shelter from the blistering Assyrian onslaught. Their desire to sojourn under the shelter of “the tent of David” mirrors David’s own story, when his ancestors sojourned in Moab. This points ahead to how Jesus Christ, the true heir of David, sojourned with us when He was born of a virgin, that one day we would dwell with Him in the heavenly Jerusalem.