Isaiah Chapters 59-60– John Karmelich
1.
Before I begin, if you've been with me throughout this book, realize
we're almost to the end. As I look back
at all I've written on Isaiah I've been realizing what a roller coaster of a
ride Isaiah is, as we've covered what seems like every major theme the bible
discusses in one book. We're close to
the end of the book. What's left is
Isaiah's discussion of our eternal future.
Let's be honest, Isaiah is a "mini-bible", due to its big
size, and since it gets into most of the important bible topics in this one
book. I'd like to express my gratitude
for all of you who've gone through this book with me. I'm hoping it's been as
much as a blessing to you as it has been to me. I wanted to start this lesson
with that little speech because effectively God is "standing back to give
us the big picture" here in these two chapters as we transition to the
final chapters of the book.
a)
A shorter version of what I'm saying is "it's all worth
it". It's worth all the time and
effort to live out our lives for God.
It's worth whatever suffering we go through in this life, as it is
relativly nothing compared to all of eternity. The best use we can make of the
time God has given us is to use it for His glory and make a difference for Him.
b)
I know I'm preaching to the choir to use one of my favorite clichés as of
late. However it's very easy for each of
us to get our focus off that goal as we can easily get distracted by all the
things we would like to accomplish in life that aren't eternal, but are still
necessary for us to live out our lives.
c)
The reason I've started this lesson this way, is not just to get
reflective on what I've said so far, but also to realize that's what this
lesson is all about. In these chapters
God effectively tells us what a waste of a life it is to try to please Him
based on our efforts. My point is all we
are called to do as Christians as accept the fact that God loves us just
because He does, and He wants us to use our lives to make a difference for Him,
not to earn His love, but as a form of gratitude for what He's done for
us. That's the Gospel message in one
sentence.
d)
OK John, assume we know all of that, why should we study these two
chapters? Because they remind us of what
a waste of a life it is to live for things other than God. We should constantly remind ourselves of that
fact, as it's too easy to get our focus off of Him. After that we transition into the final
section of Isaiah where He describes the great future we'll experience as
believers when Jesus rules over this world.
e)
In summary, the life we get now is "temporary" at best. The life we'll live in His presence is
eternal. It's about keeping our eye on
the prize of eternity with God as that's what will matter for all of eternity,
so we might as well prepare for it now.
That's why I'd like you to read through these two chapters with me, as
they encourage us by reminding us what a waste of life this one can be if we
don't use it properly and what glories we will receive if we do use this life
for His glory. In short, "it's all
worth it" which if you haven't figured it out by now, is my lesson title.
2.
With that speech out of my system, let me discuss where we left off and
why it transitions well to these two chapters. We left of with Isaiah giving us
practical examples of how the Israelites could use their lives to make a
difference for God. That leads to the
question of "why bother?" If
we're to live a life, as God desires we live why bother? That's why it's necessary for Isaiah to
remind us of the reality of this present life and the reality of the eternal
life we'll all be a part of one day. All
I'm saying is if one desires that one's life has meaning then one should use it
for His glory. Again I'm aware I'm
"preaching to the choir" again, but all of us need the reminder that
it's all worth the effort as we easily get distracted and we easily get turned
away from how God desires we live as a living witness for Him.
a)
Suppose we're already doing something to make a difference for God. I'm not here to say you're wrong or not doing
enough. I'm just trying to remind us that it's worth the effort as the short
time we get to live is effectively nothing compared to eternity.
b)
Think of this lesson as an encouragement.
It's an encouragement that we've almost made it to the end of the
book. It's an encouragement that
whatever effort we've made for God is worth the time and trouble. It's also a
vivid reminder of what a waste of a life it is to use it for anything other
than God's glory. Finally it's an encouragement
to realize what'll be the blessings we get for using our lives for His glory.
c)
Think of the lesson this way. A
good portion of what we've studied so far in this book is a lot of predictions
about the future. If Isaiah's been
perfectly accurate in all his predictions about history to date, why shouldn't
we trust him in giving us predictions over what will occur in the future of
Jesus' returning? The reason we can
trust this will occur is because we can see how accurate Isaiah's been "to
date", and he's trustable to describe our future.
3.
Finally before I begin, let me say a few words to those of you who feel
like you have wasted your life to date.
I want to address those of you who feel like you either have done
nothing for God or feel like you haven't done enough. The first obvious thing to say is we can't
change our past, just learn from it and make better decisions for the
future. One of the great hobbies to
develop is just to ask God, "OK, what is it you want me to do right now,
or say for the next 30 minutes?" If
we're developing good biblical habits like seeking Him regularly and reading
His word, the answers to that type of prayer will amaze you. The other recommendation is to do what one
enjoys doing as a way to make a difference for God. For example, I recently met a person who
likes to hike. He'll take people with him and get a chance to talk to God about
them on such long hikes. Whatever it is
we enjoy, it doesn't have to be anything fancy.
A classic Christian expression is that God is not looking for ability,
God's looking for availability. My point
is if one allocates time to be available for God, He'll find a way to use it
for His glory. To combine that
availability with something we already enjoy or something we're good at is a
great way to making a difference for Him.
a)
As I said, what one discovers if we make that difference it's all worth
it, as the title of my lesson states for this week. With that stated, let's study in more detail
"what is worth it" as we go through the text of Isaiah Chapters 59
and 60.
4.
Verse 1: Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.
a)
One of the prime rules of studying the bible is never to read it out of
context. The last few lesson talked
about practical ways of seeking God. The
final few verses of Chapter 58 say that if we keep the Sabbath, (pick one day
out of seven to rest in Him as opposed to trying to make more money every day
or work every single day toward some other goal), at that point, you will find
joy in God. The idea of joy is to
appreciate life and all the good things in life no matter what the situation. I
define happiness as based on one's circumstances. If we just got good news we would be
happy. Joy is deeper. Joy is realizing we are blessed no matter the
situation. Joy is about our attitude
through whatever we're dealing with at any given moment.
b)
Believe it or not, that little encouragement speech leads to Verse 1 of
Chapter 59. The text is reminding us
that God wants to be the source of that joy.
To state the obvious since He is everywhere, He can be prayed to at any
place at any time. This verse is the
reminder of the fact that not only can we pray to God at any given time, but
He's "big enough" that He will help us through whatever situation
we're in. The best way that I've heard
of how He helps us is, "God is not a genie in a bottle to grant our every
wish. He is however, willing to provide
the rope to pull us out of a our pit and guide us in the direction He wants us
to go in life." One of the great
truth's of life is God wants to guide our life for His glory. We are to seek Him to guide our life. That's effectively what this verse is saying.
c)
I've actually met people who've made statements like, "I'm afraid to
set foot in a church as the walls might come down. I've lived my life to a
point where God would never want me to be one of His." As I said earlier, God's not looking for
ability, He desires availability. If you
read this verse again, it's a reminder that no one is beyond God's help. That's why we are called to reach out to all
people as we never know who will respond to the message of the Gospel and when
they will respond in a positive way.
d)
For us Christians reading this verse, realize it's a good starting point
to talk to strangers of how one can have a relationship with God. It's the simple reminder that anyone can pray
to Him at anytime and anyplace and He's more than willing to listen to us if
we're willing to approach Him on His terms and His way. That surprisingly leads me right to Verse 2.
5.
Verse 2: But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
a)
If you think the
Gospel message is only stated in the New Testament, you obviously have never read
Isaiah. Here in Verse 2 one can show
someone from the Old Testament why is it that God hasn't helped someone to
date. Think of the classic response we
can get as to why someone doesn't seek God:
He's never done anything for me to date.
If God is that powerful why did He allow that person I care about to die
so horribly? As to the question of why
God allows tragedies, the answer is this world is cursed by sin, and because
we're allowed free choice, the consequences of sin are played out in this world
every day. I have had a few close relatives die from cancer who were strong
believers. During the pain they had to
endure their faith grew stronger and that faith gave them the strength to face
all of that horror till the end.
b)
OK enough of
"why does God allow the innocent to suffer" (to give them a chance to
give Him the glory through that suffering), the other issue is why doesn't God
help us more as we are? The answer is
Verse 2. God has a zero tolerance policy
for sin. In my last lesson, I discussed
the fact that if God is perfect, that means He's perfectly angry at all sin all
the time as well as perfectly loving to those who seek Him. From our perspective it can seem like God is
say angry or happy at any moment based on the circumstances, but we need to
realize He's "bigger than that" and among His perfect aspects, He
perfectly hates all sin all of the time.
My point is if one is talking to a nonbeliever about why they can't draw
close to God, they need to be told that their sins have separated them from
God.
i)
That's why we got
the Gospel preached to us back in Chapter 53.
It's the reminder that since God Himself has paid the full price for our
sins, we are now free to come to Him by accepting that free payment. That's the point of these two verses: We're free to seek God at any time, but we
have to accept His complete sin payment as to approach Him in the first place.
c)
There is one more
way to study Verse 2 and it's worth bringing up here for a moment. At the time Jesus was on the cross, He felt forsaken
by God the Father. It was the only time in history when they were
"separated" by not having a close connection to each other. What I am saying is because Jesus was paying
the price for our sins, God had to "turn His back" on Jesus at that
moment as God cannot tolerate any sin whatsoever as this verse states. I just want you to see Verse 2 as a reason
why God the Father had to separate Himself from the Son at that key moment in
history. OK, with that heavy point made,
time for Verse 3.
6.
Verse 3: For your hands are stained with blood, your
fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked
things. 4 No one
calls for justice; no one pleads his case with integrity. They rely on empty
arguments and speak lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
a)
From Verses 3
through Verse 8, Isaiah gives examples of sins we can be committing before
God. I've actually heard people say,
I've never confessed any sins before God because I've got nothing to confess. The idea is not so much to make us feel
guilty about our sins, but to realize how bad we've separated ourselves from
God in the first place based on how we have lived our lives. Let me explain that with an illustration.
b)
Suppose we say that we've never killed anyone, which is what Verse 3
implies. To give an example, if we're aware of abortion, but never made an
effort to help stop that practice we too can be considered guilty of having
blood on our fingers. Another example is
if we go see a bloody movie based on some real life horror, and we are
entertained by that fact, we can be considered "guilty of blood" as
we benefit from that horror.
c)
All I'm saying is I want us to think "outside the box" to
realize how imperfect all of us are before God and we could spend eternity realizing
how sinful we are.
d)
Of all things, these verses remind me of the classic story of Martin
Luther and what he did before He trusted in Jesus. He would go to church so often to confess
whatever sin he did think of, the priest finally said to him, "Go away and
don't come back until you have a sin worth confessing." Then the priest told him of Habakkuk 2:4b,
which says, "The just shall live by faith". In other words, we don't have to go through
life trying to confess every sin we could think of, but have faith that Jesus
has paid the complete price for our sins so we don't have to work ourselves to
death trying to please God to earn His love.
i)
I should add some balance to this.
If we are aware of a sin, we do need to confess it so we stop worrying
about it. I'm positive God forgives us
the moment we do realize it was wrong and God's way is right. God may still allow us to suffer the
consequences of that sin as to realize that "sin hurts". Still, the issue is to realize we are
forgiven once we confess that sin, which is my point here.
e)
OK, I've only warmed up describing ways we've sinned against God. What else is listed in these verses is a
little more obvious, so I can go through it quickly: God loves justice in all situations as these
verses implies. He can't stand lies as
we use them to harm others.
f)
Even the idea of evil begins with thoughts that are wrong and then
carried out. For us to be a lover of God
is also to be a hater of all that's evil.
God not only wants us to love what He loves, which is to draw close to
Him, but He wants us to hate what He hates, all acts of sin and acts of evil,
which is sin carried out to hurt others.
I'm aware I'm preaching to the choir again, but it never hurts to remind
us exactly what it is that God loves and He hates, which is evil acts.
i)
Remember why we modify our behavior in the first place. It's not to earn His love but because it's
the best way to live out our lives. God
calls us to live as a witness for Him.
We do that not only by seeking Him, but by living differently enough for
us to stand out as a witness for Him.
People should learn we are Christians not by the way we dress, but by
our actions. That's why the sins listed here
are things to be avoided at all costs.
Speaking of sins, we have a few more verses to go.
7.
Verse 5: They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a spider's web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die, and when one is broken, an adder is
hatched. 6 Their
cobwebs are useless for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they
make. Their deeds are evil deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands. 7 Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed
innocent blood. Their thoughts are evil thoughts; ruin and destruction mark
their ways. 8 The way
of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned
them into crooked roads; no one who walks in them will know peace.
a)
Now that I've given you a flavor of the tone of these verses about sin,
we can go through the rest of them fairly quickly. To understand these verses, realize that
Isaiah likes to use colorful "metaphor's" to make his point. That just means he likes to exaggerate his
point to emphasize what he's trying to say.
As I explain it, it should be more obvious:
i)
In Verse 5, Isaiah compares sin to a bunch of eggs hatched by poisonous
snakes. It is not meant as literal, but
is a colorful way of saying, "Those that want to do harm to others, plan
their attacks and they take delight in hurting others."
ii)
Verse 6 compares cobwebs to clothing.
The point is one can see right through any cobweb, and it's obvious to
God what they are doing. The underlying point is God is very aware of their
actions. One may or may not suffer in
this lifetime for doing harm to others.
One of the reasons I believe in God, is life would be very unfair to all
of us if He never existed. I can sleep
at night knowing that there's a God who'll
judge all people who refuse to trust in Him.
iii)
Does all this mean that we can live a horrid life, confess it as sin at
the last moment and be saved? Yes, but
what kind of life is that as a witness for God?
iv)
I could go on to describe the rest of the verses and how they describe
acts of evil against other people and against God as He cares for people. However, it's pretty obvious as one reads
these verses that the key point is God's aware of all sin. That means we don't get away with
anything. I spoke in my introduction
about people who've messed up their lives to date and feel like God would never
accept them as they feel like they are beyond help. This chapter is a reminder to all people that
as long as we're breathing, it's never too late to turn to Him and begin to use
the time we have left to live to make a difference for Him.
b)
Do these verses make you feel guilty about something you did, or something
you failed to speak out about? That's
part of the idea. The other part is God doesn't want us to hang on to that
guilt, but just to confess it and accept that God's way is the best way to live
out our life and what we did or ignored doing that was in opposition to that
will was wrong. This is why confession
of sin is so important, not to right the wrong but to let go of any guilt in
our lives so we are free to experience the joy of a relationship with God as the
price for the sin we confess is covered.
To be aware of our sin and giving that guilt to God helps us to draw
closer to Him as we can now let go of that guilt. By the way, often it takes time and a lot of
prayer to let go of guilt or our anger over something. That's why prayer is such an important part
of our relationship with God. I know
most of us know this, but it won't for me to remind all of us of that obvious
point to keep it fresh in our minds.
i)
I said when I started this lesson how the book of Isaiah covers most
issues we can think about in our relationship with God and dealing with sin is
a prime example.
8.
Verse 9: So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not
reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk
in deep shadows. 10 Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our
way like men without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among
the strong, we are like the dead.
a)
One has to
remember that Isaiah's describing people who refuse to trust in God. Verse 1 stated with the point that one can
turn to God at any time. Verse 2 stated
that one's sins are separating us from God.
Verses 3 to 8 are examples of what are sins. Verses 9 and 10 describe in colorful ways
what it's like to live without God.
b)
I remember
reading about a very devout bible scholar who every now and then likes to go
remind himself what it's like to live without God. He'll get just enough of a flavor of what
it's like to live that way to remind himself why we choose to live for
God. I was reminded of that person as
these verses describe what it's mentally like to live for things other than God
as the center of our lives. For example,
such people have no interest in seeing justice done. Those who have been wrongly hurt and then
take justice into their own hands is an example of those not interested in
doing the right thing. As I stated
earlier, all of us must live with the idea that a just God will eternally deal
with the injustices of this life and it is not our job to fix all bad
situations. Of course we should all do
what we can as to stop evil from occurring.
I'm talking about taking the law into our own hands to attempt to fix
the wrongs of this world.
c)
The reason I'm
getting all "hot and heavy" here, is we're reading about those who
have no interest in doing what's right but only doing what they can to maximize
the enjoyment of their own life even at the expense of others. Verse 10 compares such people to those who
act as if they are walking in the darkness in mid-day or living as if the are
blind. The idea is that such people have
no idea about doing the right thing, only living for what can be of benefit to
them.
d)
I remember an old
movie line where a criminal was asked, why did you steal that
"thing"? He responded,
"Because I wanted the money".
While we may laugh at that line, the point is people are willing to do
whatever feels right to them without considering the cost to the person or
group they are harming. The underlying
point is sin hurts the innocent even if we don't realize how we are hurting other
people.
9.
Verse 11: We all growl like bears; we moan mournfully
like doves. We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far
away.
a)
Again remember that Isaiah's describing those people "stumbling
around" as they refuse to acknowledge God for the forgiveness of
sins. This section ends here in Verse
11. Such people look for help, but find
none. The idea of growling like a bear
or quietly making a small sound like a dove are both expressions if "I’m
trying to find satisfaction, but I'm not getting any." For those of us who trust in Jesus, we
realize there is a satisfaction to fulfill by worshipping Him that one can't
get completely fulfilled by any works based religion.
i)
Let me explain this two ways: If
any of you ever work with someone who's rich or famous, there is an unhappiness
to it as one realizes there is never enough.
As Bob Dylan wrote many years ago, "It's either fortune or fame,
but neither of them are to be what they claim." Working in Southern California all my life,
I've had to deal in a few situations with those who don't have God as the
center of their lives, but are in the "rich and famous"
category. I can tell you from first hand
experience, that it is a feeling of "it's never enough". Let me add that God gives some that gift to
be a famous person or financially successful in life. The world needs entrepreneurs so as to
provide jobs for others. I'm not
condemning success. All I'm saying and
all this verse is saying is that "success" doesn't satisfy our
spiritual need by itself.
ii)
That's why you'll often see celebrities take up political causes, as
there is a lack of satisfaction to what they've already achieved.
iii)
Let me also address this concept "biblically". Jesus once spoke to a Gentile woman about the
issue of spiritual satisfaction. He told
her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink,
you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." (John
4:10). My point and Jesus point is that
He is the one who provides a spiritual satisfaction that one doesn't get from
the world.
b)
Next, let me address "justice"
quickly. As I've already beaten the
point to death in the last few pages, God is a God of justice and often people
don't get justice in this world. To put this second sentence in context of the
first one, I suspect Isaiah's saying in light of the fact one can't get a sense
of satisfaction from whatever the world has to offer, one feels like we never
get a sense of "justice" of getting what we desire from whatever this
world offers us.
c)
With all that said, we end this little
section with Verse 12, which takes us "full circle":
10.
Verse 12: For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins
testify against us. Our offenses are
ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities: rebellion and treachery against the LORD,
turning our backs on our God, fomenting oppression and revolt, uttering lies
our hearts have conceived. 14 So
justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has
stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. 15 Truth is
nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
a)
Remember that Verse 2 stated that our sins have separated us from
God. Here in Verse 12 it effectively
says the same thing: That because we are
sinful creatures by nature God has to effectively turn His back on us. This comes back to the idea that God is
perfect and one who is perfect cannot tolerate any "imperfections"
whatsoever. Let me put it this way, for
us to be with a perfect God forever, we must be perfectly forgiven which is why
He had to pay for our sins by Himself.
That's how He reconciles being perfect in justice with perfect in
forgiveness. Yes I know that's the
basics, but that idea is being preached here.
b)
For us to be forgiven of our sins, first we have to realize we need to be
forgiven in the first place. That's the
idea of this section of the text. Yes,
I'm aware I'm preaching to the choir again, but since a few chapters back we
covered the Gospel message in Isaiah, he is taking it one step further to
remind us why we need forgiving in the first place.
c)
Then from the second part of Verse 12 through Verse 15 we get a few more
examples here of just how "imperfect" we are in God's eyes. They discuss rebellion against God, stating
lies to others and then we complain, "Hey how come we don't get justice in
our lives?"
d)
Of course God is very aware we're imperfect creatures. God doesn't expect perfection. At the same time, God doesn't expect us to
give up and say, since I'll never be perfect, I won't try to be a better
person." There has to be an effort
on our part to live as He desires, not to earn His love, but out of gratitude
for what He's done for us, we should live as He desires we live as well as the
fact living as He desires makes us a good witness for Him.
e)
That little speech leads us back to Verses 12-15. They list ways sin can separate us from a
healthy relationship with God. He wants
us to live as He desires to be that witness. When we fail to live that way, we
can be separated from God by the fact it grieves Him when we are not living as
He desires. It grieves God because He
wants us to be the type of witness that He desires we be. That's why the bible goes to a lot of trouble
to list all behavior that is not pleasing to Him. Examples of bad behavior are here in these
verses. They include any and all effort
of treachery against God. That's the
idea of turning to other things for help other than to God Himself. Then of course, we get ashamed of what we do
is wrong so we lie to cover up our sins even more.
f)
Then the text says there is a "lack of justice" due to those
sins. Ever stop to wonder why it is we
may be suffering at the moment? I'm not
talking about a sickness or a disease, but a lack of justice in a
situation. Yes there is a connection
between sin in our lives and things that may be going wrong. I've learned a long time ago when I'm dealing
with a problem, the first thing I do is take inventory of my relationship with
God. If I'm doing something that is not
pleasing to God, I confess it as sin and turn away from it. I realize that sin may be the root cause of a
problem and I want to eliminate that possibility. That never means life will suddenly get better
if we do that. However, it'll always
improve our relationship with God when we turn from sin to live, as He desires.
g)
The whole point here is that there is a connection between sin in our
lives and things that may be happening in our life at the moment. That's why it's essential to take inventory
of ourselves in tough situations to see if there is something we must confess
to Him prior to taking other actions to deal with our problems.
h)
OK, enough guilt for these verses, time to move on.
11.
Verse 15b: The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no
justice. 16 He saw
that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so
his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him.
a)
The good news is this chapter is not all one big guilt lesson on the fact
we'll never be good enough to please God based on our efforts. Here we get the reminder that since nobody is
capable of pleasing God based on efforts, God intervened on our behalf. Of course that is the Gospel message that
"God saved us from our sins all by ourselves and there is nothing we can
do to add to that salvation work".
That's Verse 16 in a nutshell.
b)
This verse also gets us back to the idea that God provides us with the
power to live, as He desires. That's the
role of the Spirit of God. My favorite
illustration on this principal is of a man trying to push a car up a hill. Then
the man remembered the car has an engine.
He got in the car and drove it up that hill." The point of that story is God provides the
engine so we can be obedient to Him.
That's what we call the Holy Spirit living within us. What that means is if we pray for His will to
be done and ask Him to guide us, He'll lead us on a path that He desires we
go. It doesn't mean we'll be perfect,
but I've found that when I rely upon His will I do a lot better in life than
when I try to fix problems without Him.
c)
Believe it or not the next few verses help to illustrate how God works in
our lives. Before I touch those verses,
I need to remind us of the "armor of God". That's a list of items we're told to wear as
we go make a difference for God. Those
items we're to wear are found in Ephesians Chapter 6. It's not a prayer we need to pray daily, but
an occasional reminder of the fact that in order to make a difference for God,
we are to rely upon His power and the weapons He's given us in order to make
that difference for Him. To explain it
better, let me move on to the next verse:
12.
Verse 17: He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the
helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped
himself in zeal as in a cloak.
a)
The reason I gave
that introduction to this verse before this verse, is I wanted you to see the
similarity between the "Armor of God" (Ephesians Chapter 6, which
speaks of how we are to "dress" in preparation for living the
Christian life) and this verse. In both
Ephesians and this verse, we are told to put on "righteousness" (the
right way to live) as if we are to put on a breastplate (think bullet proof
vest today) before a battle. We're to
remember we are saved not based on our behavior but strictly based on what
Jesus has already done for us. That's
the "helmet of salvation" as taught here and again in Ephesians
6. Then the text says the "garments
of vengeance" and "zeal" as a cloak. Let me take on those last two:
b)
To state the
obvious, God doesn't expect us to take revenge on those who've hurt us. That is His job to defeat the spiritual
enemies that fight us. The similarity
between parts of the "Armor of God" items of Ephesians Chapter 6 and
the first sentence here remind us of the fact that God wants us to prepare the
same way Jesus will defeat the spiritual enemies we have to fight. The second sentence reminds us that He will
do what we can't do.
c)
What I'm getting
at is the reminder that the "real war" we fight as Christians is
against the world of demonic forces we can't see. The only way we can defeat such "dark
forces" is to remember the Ephesians 6 "armor of God" and trust
that the God we trust in is far greater in power than any and all spiritual
resistance we may face.
d)
Let me explain
this one more way, and then I'll move on.
Jesus said, "This type of demon can only go away by fasting and
prayer". My paraphrase of Matthew
17:21 or Mark 9:29. My point is I'd be
thinking, what do you mean this kind?
You mean more than one kind of demon exists? What Jesus meant is demons have
"ranks" like an army has soldiers and leaders over that solders and
some demons are higher in rank and have more power. Still the power of God is greater than
whatever rank is out there. By trusting
in His power we can defeat any spiritual resistance we face because His power
is greater than all of them.
13.
Verse 18: According to what they have done, so will he
repay wrath to his enemies and retribution to his foes; he will repay the islands
their due.
a)
Verse 18 is the
"outcome" of that battle. It's
essentially saying that when we trust God will give us victory over whatever
dark forces we battle, we can have assurance He will win in that battle, so we
can trust that by preparing to live a life as a witness for Him (again that's
putting on the "Armor of God" as taught in Ephesians 6) we rely upon
Him to defeat what we must battle in this world we can have assurance that He
will win in the long run.
b)
OK John, I've
never seen a demon and I suspect neither have you. How do you know they exist
and don't say because the bible says so!
The best way I can describe them is to make an effort to tell others
about Jesus and notice how things just happen that cause resistance to that
effort. Use one's life to make a
difference for Jesus and notice how problems start to occur to resist that
effort. That's my proof that such dark
forces exist and are real.
c)
Before I move on,
let me explain the word translated "islands". It is translated lots of ways in different
versions. I believe the point is simply
that even the most far away places from where Israel is located God will defeat
the forces that prevent us from being His witness.
14.
Verse 19: From the west, men will fear the name of the
LORD, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory. For he will
come like a pent-up flood that the breath of the LORD drives along.
a)
Let's start by remembering the sun rises in the east. Therefore my rough translation of the first
sentence is simply, people will come from all directions to revere God. This sentence is a prediction of all the
non-Jewish people who will worship the Israelite God. Realize all the multitudes who've become
Christians over the ages. That verse has
literally come true as we non-Jewish people worship the God of the Israelites.
b)
Notice the "he" of the second sentence. I'm convinced it refers
to the Holy Spirit who leads us to realize that Jesus is God and want to
worship the God of the bible.
c)
I say that because "He" is like a big flood that's "pent
up" behind a dam and then comes to overflow an area. One has to admit that
after Jesus rose from the dead, within a short time the growth of Christianity
did come like a flood. Since this verse
is referring to foreigners who are seeking the God of Israel, one can see how
this verse literally came true centuries after it was written.
15.
Verse 20: "The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in
Jacob who repent of their sins," declares the LORD. 21 "As for me, this is my covenant with them,"
says the LORD. "My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in
your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your
children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and
forever," says the LORD.
a)
One has to admit,
this final part of Chapter 59 reads a lot exactly how the early Christian did
grow. That leads to the other key moment
that has yet to occur in history. I'm
taking about Jesus return to rule over the world and lead those of us who've
turned from sin so as to let Jesus rule over lives. That's what Verse 20 is describing.
b)
By the way if you
think I was way out in left field comparing the previous set of verses to the
Holy Spirit guiding over the lives of believers, notice the Spirit is mentioned
by name in Verse 20. This is an Old
Testament reminder that once we have the gift of the Spirit of God within us
(what we call the Holy Spirit), that gift is permanent.
c)
OK, time for a
quick lesson on the Holy Spirit since I'm in the neighborhood. The purpose of the Spirit is to draw us
closer to God. We don't pray directly to
the Holy Spirit because His function is to lead us to God the Father. However, He's the one who guides us how to pray
and to help us discern God's will for our lives. I'm convinced we can grieve
the Spirit if we ignore God, but that gift is always part of the believer and
guides us if and when we do turn back to Him.
Obviously there's a lot more to the Spirit, but that's the basics.
d)
I give this
little lecture here as the text reminds us that His spirit will be a part of
the life of the believer from the time He first comes into all believers until
the time Jesus returns. He will also
remain a part of our "being" forever as part of our eternal existence.
16.
Chapter 60, Verse
1. "Arise, shine, for your light
has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is
over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over
you. 3 Nations will come to your
light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
a)
I admit I was
debating between just covering Chapter 59 in this lesson or trying to quickly
sneak in Chapter 60. I decided with the
latter, as this chapter continues the same theme of realizing how God is
working in the life of believers.
Besides we are quickly approaching the end of this book, and I'm trying
to make a run for the finish line of this marathon!
b)
Verse 1 addresses believers. It's
essentially saying, since we realize that we're now to use our lives as a
witness for God, and now that we realize we have God's power working in us
(Holy Spirit), don't just sit there, but use our lives as a witness for
Him. That's what is being said in Verse
1 when it says, "Arise….your light as come…glory of the LORD rises upon
you…LORD rises…his glory is upon you."
Of course this verse speaks of Jesus, as He'll rule over this
world. I also see it as applying to
believers as well.
c)
Let me explain this principal another way. When we look at the moon, we don't see it as
a source of light, but we realize it's reflecting the sun's light upon the
moon. That's how we are to see
Jesus. Think of Him as the source of the
light and think of believers as reflecting that light unto the world. That's how these verses describe what Jesus
does with the Spirit of God upon Him and that's what we do as believers
"reflecting" that light on the world.
d)
Let's face it, we are the nations "coming to that light" and
even kings and leaders through all of history will one day be forced to
acknowledge that Jesus rules over the world even if they don't want to let Him
be in charge of their lives! That's why
Paul says that there will be a day when all people will either acknowledge
Jesus by free will or by force. Paul
said this in Romans 14:11 and Philippians 2:10 to give some examples.
17.
Verse 4: "Lift up your eyes and look about you: All
assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are
carried on the arm.
a)
It's best to read
this line as if Jesus is standing in Jerusalem as a victor over the world. At that future day in history, masses of
people will come to see Him. As my
regulars know, I am convinced that when we're resurrected, we'll exist in more
than three dimensions. We will all be
able to get close to Jesus because we'll exist that way. Traveling and travel cost will not be an issue
as those who trust in Jesus will be able to approach Him in that day.
b)
That's what this
verse is saying. The reason that's here
is to remind us that despite what we may have to deal with at the moment, it
helps to keep the big picture in mind, that He will win in the end and He will
lead us to overcome whatever we're dealing with now.
18.
Verse 5: Then you will look and be radiant, your heart
will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you,
to you the riches of the nations will come.
6 Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of
Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and
proclaiming the praise of the LORD.
a)
Let's start with
the word "you". Yes of course
I believe it refers to Jesus when His Second Coming occurs. I admit I'm fascinated by "your heart
will throb and swell with joy".
Will Jesus have a physical heart when He returns? Will our eternal bodies have real hearts to
pump blood? Don't know. I just know that Jesus will always be human
as well as being fully God forever and we'll be like Him. Whether that line is a metaphor or literal,
either way it's saying Jesus will be filled with joy as He will have the
privilege of spending all of eternity with those of us who trust in Him and
want to draw close to Him.
b)
That leads me to the rest of Verse 5 and all of Verse 6. The point is that people will bring expensive
gifts to the Messiah when He returns. My
question here is, "If God is God, and He has no need of anything, why do
we have verses describing people bringing all sorts of gifts to Him in these
verses? One can say it's from "our
perspective" so that we realize we are honoring Him as God and bringing
valuable things to Him. I also suspect
it's here so that the Israelites will realize their land will be the center of
lots of gifts being brought there to honor the Messiah when He returns. I don't think it's so Jesus can then sit
there and say, "Look how rich I am from these gifts!" It's so those of us who are trusting in Him
can look forward to this eternal relationship and realize we'll never have need
of anything as where Jesus will be located will be a place of riches.
c)
So in our modern world of cars and airplanes, will camels literally bring
gold and incense to Jesus? Don't
know. Since cars didn't exist in those
days, camels were a word people do understand as a form of transportation of
items. I could give you some history
about the history of Midian, Ephah and
Sheba, but let's just say they are ancient names for land that are associated
with having lots of stuff. (Google those words/places if interested in them.)
d)
So why single out gold and incense?
Why not a fancy car or even clothes?
Realize that in the bible the word "gold" is associated with
royalty as it's something precious. It's
always had significant value throughout history. Incense is associated with priests. It's used as a way to communicate closeness
with God. It's the idea of the smell of
incense rising up to the sky, symbolically speaking of rising up to
heaven. The point is gold is associated
with the "royalty" of God and incense is associated with
"priesthood". That's why the
wise men brought baby Jesus, gold, incense and myrrh. We don't read of myrrh here, as that was an
embalming substance associated with death.
Since Jesus rose again, we don't need that in the Second Coming.
e)
The final aspect of things brought to Jesus at His Second Coming is
praise. Yes of course, we should be
grateful when this "utopia" of a leader will rule over the
world. I'd like you to consider for a
moment, why do we praise God? Is it to
boost His ego? Of course that is not
it. Is it to whoop and holler and be
heard by those around us? No. The issue isn't just that there will be a lot
of noise when this occurs, it's all of us who're saved expressing our gratitude
that God will bring His justice over a world that's corrupted by sin.
19.
Verse 7: All Kedar's flocks will be gathered to you, the rams
of Nebaioth will serve you; they will be accepted as offerings on my altar, and
I will adorn my glorious temple.
a)
Yes I can explain
to you where Kedar and Nebaioth are located.
What's important is these are places where animal flocks were commonly
kept in Isaiah's day. It'd be like saying,
all of us know where those animals are kept.
Sheep and rams will be taken from those places to be sacrificed.
b)
John that's
confusing. If all of the animal
sacrifices in the Old Testament pointed to Jesus, why will there be sacrifices
when Jesus returns? The last few
chapters of Ezekiel also get into that issue.
The short version is it'll be done as a remembrance of what Jesus
did. It is a way to show our gratitude
for what He did, and as usual, not a way to earn His love.
20.
Verse 8: "Who are these that fly along like
clouds, like doves to their nests?
a)
Remember that
Isaiah's trying to paint a word picture of the events that will occur at what
we Christians call Jesus Second Coming.
Now he's trying to describe "things" that appear to be flying
in the sky? Some think this refers to
angels. Others believe it refers to those of us who are saved. This is one place where people argue we have
wings one day. I lean to the angel
theory, but it's all speculation. The important point is that one way we can know
of Jesus return is that the event will be filled with things that have never
happened before in history.
21.
Verse 9: Surely the islands look to me; in the lead
are the ships of Tarshish, bringing your sons from afar, with their silver and
gold, to the honor of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has
endowed you with splendor.
a)
When I see the
word translated "islands" (King James uses "coastlands") I
tend to think of a "far away land" from Israel's perspective. It's a way of saying people will come from
all over the place to welcome the Messiah when he arrives.
b)
If you look up
Tarshish on "Wiki", there are all sorts of theories as to where it
was. What we do know is the exact
location has been debated for millenniums.
Realize it is another "far away place" as to show that people
will come from all over when Jesus returns.
c)
Notice how the
Messiah will be honored, as represented the God of the bible. There will be no doubt as to whom He is and
whom He represents.
d)
Again, we get
references to valuable gifts given when Jesus return. Again, realize he does not need them, they
are given as signs of gratitude. It also
shows how wealthy Israel will be as a nation when all of this occurs.
22.
Verse 10: "Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and
their kings will serve you. Though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show
you compassion.
a)
The "Jesus
Praise Fest" ends in the middle of Verse 10. That first sentence here shows us other ways
foreigners will honor Him when he comes.
b)
That leads to the
second sentence. To expand that idea,
"Even though I (God) allowed all sorts of horrible things to occur to the
Jewish nation (including twice being kicked out of that land, and the Holocaust
as obvious examples), I (God) still am going to bless them as a nation not because
they're better people than others, but only because I promised to give this
land to them and Jesus will rule the world from that land.
c)
As I love to
state, why do you think the world hates Israel so much? I'm positive demonic forces are behind that hatred
because if the nation of Israel doesn't exist, the Messiah can't reign from
there when He returns.
23.
Verse 11: Your gates will always stand open, they will
never be shut, day or night, so that men may bring you the wealth of the
nations-- their kings led in triumphal procession.
a)
The final verse
of this book (I read ahead) also states that from one Sabbath to the next, all
mankind will come bow before Him. We get
a similar statement to that final verse here as we're being told how the old city
gates of Jerusalem will never be shut. It's a way to tell us that when all of
this occurs, we will never have to worry about a foreign army attacking.
b)
It's the idea
that when the Messiah returns, being attacked will no longer be a real fear!
24.
Verse 12: For the nation or kingdom that will not serve
you will perish; it will be utterly ruined.
a)
Speaking of no
fear of being attacked by a foreign army, verse 12 tells us what'll happen to
tries to attack say Israel after Jesus returns.
To state the obvious many people do not want Jesus to rule over their
lives. Here we learn what happens to
groups that attempt to overthrow Him after He returns. Short version, "Don't mess with God,
you'll lose!"
25.
Verse 13: "The glory of Lebanon will come to you,
the pine, the fir and the cypress together, to adorn the place of my sanctuary;
and I will glorify the place of my feet.
a)
To the Israelites
of Isaiah's day, "Lebanon" was the closest typography of
"forests". It had a lot of
trees. Going back to the days of
Solomon, a few hundred years before Isaiah, logs were cut from Lebanon to make
Solomon's palace. Little did I realize
that those trees used to make his home were a model of the materials used to
build Jesus home to worship Him when He returns. Remember that Jesus in His eternal state will
always be man as well as being God. All
I'm saying is when He returns to set up that eternal kingdom, He'll need a
place to "hang his hat" and in the mind of the Israelites living back
then, the best wood to make such a palace came from Lebanon.
b)
Of all things,
remember my lesson title: "It's worth it". We're reading examples of why it's worth the
trouble of being one of Jesus' followers as all these verses in Chapter 60 give
us previews of what life will be like when He returns. Previous verses discuss how safe we'll be as
part of that kingdom and the riches that will flow there. Here we learn that the best materials are
used to make this sanctuary to glorify Him.
26.
Verse 14: The sons of your oppressors will come bowing
before you; all who despise you will bow down at your feet and will call you
the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
a)
Speaking of
living "safely", this verse tells us that those who despite the idea
that Jesus is God and don't want Him to rule over their lives will bow before
Him. They'll be forced to honor Jesus as
God whether they like it or not. Here's
where probably where Paul got the idea that every knee will bow to Jesus
whether they realize it or not. The
important point is "we're betting on the winning horse, so we might as
well appreciate it now!"
27.
Verse 15: "Although you have been forsaken and
hated, with no one traveling through, I will make you the everlasting pride and
the joy of all generations.
a)
The big question
here is the "who". Most likely
it refers to Jesus Himself. Even though
He was rejected by His own people and most Israelites don't consider Him to be
the Messiah, He will still be the "pride and joy" of all generations
that seek Him eternally.
b)
Again, it's an
example of us "Betting on the winning horse" and the benefits of it.
28.
Verse 16: You will drink the milk of nations and be
nursed at royal breasts. Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior,
your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
a)
Verse 16 has an
illustration that we don't use today.
Just as a baby is nursed with milk as to grow up, so we will drink the
milk (material blessings) of nations by our trust that He's the Messiah who
will rule over the world.
b)
Let me ask the
"is it worth it" question a different way? How do we know all of this will be true? How do we know Isaiah didn't eat some spicy
food and then have weird dreams of this future?
The answer is his accuracy of history to date. He predicted the Babylonian rise and fall
centuries before they were a player. A
few chapters back he described details of Jesus death and resurrection
centuries before it occurred. My point
is if he's accurately described history to date, we can trust Isaiah to be a
true prophet of God with the future.
c)
Meanwhile we
still have six more verses to go to prove to us "It's all worth it"
and we are betting on the winning horse to use two of my favorite clichés in
this lesson.
29.
Verse 17: Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and
silver in place of iron. Instead of wood I will bring you bronze, and iron in
place of stones. I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler.
a)
This verse simply
tells us that Jesus will have the best materials we can think of to make a
place for Him and us. He will rule the
world with peace and righteousness.
b)
Most people know
that Jesus said there are many mansions in "eternity". Since He'll have the best materials available
I suspect building those mansions aren't an issue. (John 14:2 is that reference.) Again, the big picture idea is that we should
take comfort in the fact that a trust in Jesus has eternal blessings and
security beyond anything we can imagine.
30.
Verse 18: No longer will violence be heard in your
land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls
Salvation and your gates Praise.
a)
By this time, I'm
running out of adjectives to describe this.
The key point throughout this section is simply that we won't have to
worry about anything anymore, when we become a part of this glorious future. A good question to ponder is, if we no longer
have to worry about anything, what's the challenge? What'll we do all day? One thing I'm sure of is that eternity won't
be boring. This text's reassuring us
we'll never have to worry on any issue, as such things as enemies are taken care
of and supplies are taken care. We will
be free to enjoy a relationship with Jesus without worries. So besides singing praises all of the time,
what do we do there? Don't know all the
details but I suspect it involves service and we'll have joy in our hearts as
we're part of that service. I suspect we
will never get tired of that service or have need of rest. It'll be an eternity full of joy. That's the
big picture idea of the last dozen verses or so. OK, almost there.
31.
Verse 19: The sun will no more be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your
everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. 20 Your sun will never set again, and your moon will
wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow
will end.
a)
One of the things
we haven't discussed in this eternal future is a source of light. Isaiah is telling us that won't be an
issue. God Himself will be that physical
light. Back when the world was first
created, "Day 1" mentioned light shining upon it. The sun itself wasn't a part of that creation
until Day 4 if my memory is correct. All
I'm saying is "God's light" is a part of creation and will be our
eternal light for us.
b)
The last part of
Verse 20 is also a great reminder to us, "our days of sorrow will
end". I've no idea what causes you
to be sorrowful, but this eternity will end all sorrow as we won't have to
worry about anything anymore.
32.
Verse 21: Then will all your people be righteous and they will
possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my
hands, for the display of my splendor. 22 The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest
a mighty nation. I am the LORD; in its time I will do this swiftly."
a)
I realize I've
gone through much of this chapter pretty quickly. I wanted all of you to see the big picture of
how all of this is "worth it", and the benefits of trusting Jesus
will be for all of eternity. Notice the
word "forever" at the end of the first sentence. The way God is using our lives now for His
glory will benefit us for us forever.
Even the "least of us" will be a "mighty
nation". Back in my introduction I
talked about people who worry they have wasted their lives do date and haven't
done much for God? This section ends by telling us that even the
"least" of us will be a mighty nation. Again, I'm not sure what He'll have us doing
for all of eternity, but I'm pretty positive we'll never be bored or without
joy.
b)
Finally, let me
talk about "swiftly". Let's be
honest, Isaiah wrote this over 2,700 years ago.
Where is the "swiftness"?
Remember God lives in a world outside of time. No mater how long we get to live, this life
is very short. Before we know it, it'll
be over quickly and next we will be a part of this eternal life. OK, that's enough "It's all worth
it" for one lesson!
33.
Heavenly Father,
We thank You that You've picked us to be a part of this eternal plan. We don't know why You choose us, but we show
our gratitude to You now and for all of eternity as we do commit our lives to
make a difference for You. Help us to
realize that no matter what we have to deal with in this life, it is
"nothing" compared to the glorious future we have by trusting in You
to guide our lives for Your glory. Help
us to trust in Your power as we use our lives for Your glory. We ask this in
Jesus name, Amen.