Book of Isaiah Isaiah 48
In verse 1, the Lord
identifies who he is talking to, and it is not the ten northern
tribes, but those “who call themselves by the name of
Isaiah 48:1-22, “Listen to this, O house of Jacob, you
who are called by the name of Israel and come from the line of
Judah, you who take oaths in the name of the Lord and invoke the
God of Israel—but not in truth or righteousness—you
who call yourselves citizens of the holy city and rely on the God
of Israel—the Lord Almighty is his name: I foretold the former
things long ago, my mouth announced them and I made them known;
then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass. For
I knew how stubborn you were; the sinews of your neck were iron,
your forehead was bronze. Therefore I told you these things long
ago; before they happened I announced them to you so that you could
not say, ‘My idols did them; my wooden image and metal god
ordained them.’ You have heard these things; look at them
all. Will you not admit
them? From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things
unknown to you. They are created now, and not
long ago; you have not heard of them before today. So you cannot say, ‘Yes, I knew
of them.’ You
have neither heard nor understood; from of old your ear has not
been open. Well do I know how treacherous you are;
you were called a rebel from birth. For
my own name’s sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise
I hold back from you, [play on words. My
praise = my “
Verses 12-22, in
context with 20, appear to be for the future, and may include all
of
Verses 12-22, “Listen to me, O
‘Come
together, all of you, and listen: Which of the idols has foretold
those things? The Lord’s
chosen ally will carry out his purpose against
Come
near to me and listen to this: ‘From the first announcement
I have not spoken in secret; at the time it happens, I am there.’ And
now the Sovereign Lord has sent me, with his Spirit. This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer,
the Holy One of
Leave
Isaiah 49
Verses 1-7, Who is he talking about? vs. 3,
Isaiah 49:1-7, “Listen to me, you islands; hear this,
you distant nations: Before I was born the Lord called me; from
my birth he has made mention of my name. He
made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand
he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in
his quiver. He said to me, ‘You are my servant,
And
now the Lord says—he who formed me in the womb to be his
servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself,
for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my
strength—he says: ‘It is too small a thing for you
to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back
those of Israel I have kept. [this
has to be talking about the 10 “lost” tribes of Israel,
which must then be talking about the end-time regathering (cf.
Ezekiel 36), with Judah included as well] I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.’…” The
body of Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit has brought the gospel
of salvation to the ends of the earth, but not to the fullest extent. This servant must be Jesus Christ himself
Isaiah is talking about, and at his 2nd coming, truly,
salvation will be brought to the Gentiles and the ends of the earth,
as well as him regathering the tribes of
“This
is what the Lord says—the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—to
him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant
of rulers: ‘Kings will see you and rise up, princes will
see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy
One of Israel, who has chosen you.’” That
must be Jesus Christ being talked about, referring to his 1st coming,
and then how rulers would act toward him after his 2nd coming
(after the battle of Armageddon), when the world is at peace.
Verses 9-26, Restoration
of
Verses 9-26, “This is what the Lord says: ‘In
the time of my favor I will answer you, and in a [NIV
has “the”, but the KJV follows the original Hebrew
which is “a”] day of salvation I will help you; I will
keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to
restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances, to
say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be
free!’ They will
feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill. They
will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the
sun beat upon them. He
who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside
springs of water. I will turn my mountains into roads, and
my highways will be raised up. See,
they will come from afar—some from the north, some from the
west, some from the region of
Shout
for joy, O heavens; rejoice O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord comforts his people and will
have compassion on his afflicted ones.
But
Though
you were ruined and made desolate and your land laid waste, now
you will be too small for your people [talking about the
Can
plunder be taken from warriors, or captives rescued from the fierce? But this is what the Lord says: ‘Yes,
captives will be taken from warriors and plunder retrieved from
the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and
your children I will save. I
will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk
on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the
Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.’”
Isaiah 50
Verses 1-3, God’s
divorce to
Isaiah 50:1-3, “Where is your mother’s certificate
of divorce with which I sent her away? Or
to which of my creditors did I sell you? Because
of your sins you were sold; because of your transgressions your
mother was sent away. When
I came, why was there no one? When
I called, why was there no one to answer? Was
my arm too short to ransom you? Do
I lack the strength to rescue you? By
a mere rebuke I dry up the sea, I turn rivers into a desert; their
fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst. I
clothe the sky with darkness and make sackcloth its covering.’” God sent
Verses 4-11, Messianic
1st coming passages. These
passages are prophecies about Yeshua haMeshiach, Jesus Christ. Verse
6 is directly fulfilled in the New Testament (Matthew 26:67;
27:26)
Verses 4-11, “The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed
tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens
my ear to listen like one being taught. The
Sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious;
I have not drawn back. (vs.
6) I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those
who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking
and spitting. Because
the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore I have set my face like flint,
and I will not be put to shame. He
who vindicates me is near. Who
then will bring charges against me? Let
us face each other! Who
is my accuser? Let him confront me! It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me. Who is he that will condemn me? They will wear out like a garment; the
moths will eat them up.” Vs. 9,
Isaiah 51
Verses 1-2, God talking
to, addressing the righteous, by context of verse 2, living in
Isaiah 51:1-2, “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness
and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut
and to the quarry from which you were hewn; look to Abraham, your
father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When
I called him he was but one, and I blessed
him and made him many.”
Verses 3-16, describing
the Lord bringing the
Verses 3-16, “The Lord will surely comfort
Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation:
The law will go out from me; my justice will become a light to
the nations. [cf. Isaiah
2:2-4; Micah 4:1-4] My
righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way,
and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The
islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm. Lift up
your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens
will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment
and its inhabitants die like flies. [cf.
Revelation Rev. 6:12-14] But
my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.
Hear me [verses 7-8], you who know what is
right, you people who have my law in your hearts: Do not fear the
reproach of men or be terrified by their insults. For
the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour
them like wool. But
my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all generations.” This
appears to be advice for believers, those who have God’s
law written in their hearts and minds (Hebrews 8:6-10; Jeremiah
31:31-33), advising them to hang tough when reproach and insults
come from unbelievers, whose ultimate end will be physical death
by all appearances. “Awake, awake! Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of
the Lord; awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old. Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces,
who pierced that monster through? [KJV “cut
Rahab and wounded the dragon”] Was
it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep,
who made a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed might
cross over? The ransomed
of the Lord will return. They
will enter
‘I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men,
the sons of men, who are but grass, that you forget the Lord your
Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of
the earth, that you might live in constant terror every day because
of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction? For
where is the oppressor? The cowering prisoners will soon be set
free; they will not die in their dungeon, nor will they lack bread. For I am the Lord your God, who churns
up the sea so that its waves roar—the Lord Almighty is his
name. I have put my words
in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand—I
who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth,
and who say to
Verses 17-23, The
Cup of the Lord’s Wrath
Verses 17-23, “Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk
from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, you who have drained
to its dregs the goblet that makes men stagger. Of
all the sons she bore there was none to guide her; of all the sons
she reared there was none to take her by the hand. These
double calamities have come upon you—who can comfort you?—ruin
and destruction, famine and sword—how can I console you? Your sons have fainted; they lie at the
head of every street, like antelope caught in a net. They
are filled with the wrath of the Lord and rebuke of your God.
Therefore
hear this, you afflicted one, made drunk, but not with wine. This is what your Sovereign Lord says, your God, who defends his people: ‘See, I have taken
the cup that made you stagger; from that cup and goblet of my wrath,
you will never drink again. I
will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you, ‘Fall
prostate that we may walk over you.’ And
you made your back like the ground, like a street to be walked
over.’”
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