Big yellow buses parade though my neighborhood as schools reopen their doors. Most kids seem excited to get back and see friends they’ve missed over the summer (and most parents are super excited to send their angels out the door). But in nine months, those same kids will eagerly anticipate summer break.

A school term is only one situation with an anticipated end day. I counted the days down to the finish of a semester, all the way through college. Later I looked forward to the end date of jobs, and I knew exactly when to pick up my paychecks.

Isaiah recorded a prophecy against the neighboring kingdom of Moab with such specifics: But now the Lord says; Within three years, as a servant is bound by contract would count them, Moab’s splendor and all her many people will be despised, and her survivors will be very few and feeble.

Not many biblical prophecies carried such an exact timeline, and within three years the invasions of Moab started. No mention of any Moabites taking Isaiah’s words to heart, but I’m sure folks paid more attention to Isaiah. He nailed it.

Or rather, the Lord nailed it. We can count on the words of the Lord, good or ill. When the Lord speaks, take notice. Of course, the issue becomes—how do we know what the Lord is saying?

We don’t run into prophets like Isaiah roaming about, but we do hold in our hands the writings of all the prophets, as well as Jesus and his disciples. If you want to know what the Lord says, that’s the place to start.

Just as Isaiah spoke to his people, the Lord speaks to us through his word. And like the Moabites tragically understood, we can count on the fulfillment of his promises.

Isaiah 16 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya