Read the Bible with Me!

Welcome to the Pauline Family's "Year of the Bible"! I'm reading the Bible clear through this year, and I invite you to read along with me. But first, let us pray: 

Everlasting Father,

All time belongs to you, and all the ages. In signs, in songs, in words of promise, you reassured your chosen ones, “I am with you; fear not.” You taught them through the prophets to trust that your saving deeds were not limited to the past.

When Jesus came, he fulfilled “all that was written in the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”

The Church has found him everywhere in these same holy books.

Help me to find Jesus in my reading today, to listen to him, and to follow him with all my heart.

Amen.

Today's chapters are Isaiah 7-9.

Today we get to one of the most famous of Isaiah's prophecies: "The Virgin shall conceive and bear a son...Emmanuel." The context is one we have come across before: The stubborn king Ahaz would rather trust diplomatic relations with pagan nations than in the Lord. Nevertheless, God insists on giving a sign that he is the Lord of history, and he himself will, in the end, overthrow powerful Assyria.

Chapters 7-12 of Isaiah are called the "Book of Emmanuel" for the several "signs" of God's presence in the form of promised sons. The third of these prophecies (in Chapter 9) is read (and sung!) at Christmas:

For unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given. And his Name shall be Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

Small wonder St Jerome spoke of Isaiah as a "fifth Evangelist."

For your listening pleasure (I just couldn't resist!):

Start reading here.

If you are looking for a solid but approachable companion to the Bible, I can wholeheartedly recommend A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament by John Bergsma and Brant Pitre. Although the authors are top-level Scripture scholars, they write for "real" readers. Notes include recent findings from archaeology and ancient manuscripts, and how each book of the Bible has been understood by the Church Fathers and used in Liturgy.