COMMENTARY

Lesson 1: Isaiah 55:10-13
God's Word will effect its promise of bringing back the Exiles to Jerusalem. Deutero-Isaiah brings his book to a close with chapter 55. It is an appeal for God's people to come to Yahweh, to seek him and find forgiveness. Yahweh promises that his Word will not be void nor fruitless but will accomplish his purpose which is to bring his people out of bondage in Babylon and restore them with great joy to their homeland.

Lesson 1: Jeremiah 7:1-7 (8-15)
The futility of clinging to a ritual as a replacement for right living. The prophet warns the remnant in the Southern Kingdom, in the days before the collapse and exile, that they are deluding themselves, supposing that following traditional forms and liturgies will cover for the unacceptable behavior the…