Book of Isaiah Isaiah 57
Isaiah 57:1-13
can apply to Isaiah’s time as
well as to now just before Yeshua’s 2nd coming. Verse
1-2 applies to saints laid safely in their graves, awaiting their
resurrection to immortal glory (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:49-56). Verses 14-15 is 2nd coming,
Verses 1-14, “The righteous perish, and no one ponders
it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away to be spared the evil. Those
who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie
in death.
But
you—come here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of
adulterers and prostitutes! Whom
are you mocking? At whom do you sneer and stick out your
tongue? Are you not
a brood of rebels, the offspring of liars? You
burn with lust among the oaks and under every spreading tree; you
sacrifice your children in the ravines and under the overhanging
crags. The idols, among
the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion; they, they are
your lot. Yes, to them
you have poured out drink offerings and offered grain offerings. In the light of these things, should I
relent?
You have made your bed on a high and lofty
hill; there you went up to offer your sacrifices. Behind your doors and your doorposts you
have put your pagan symbols. Forsaking
me, you uncovered your bed, you climbed into it and opened it wide;
you made a pact with those whose beds you love, and you looked
on their nakedness. You went to Molech with olive oil and
increased your perfumes. You
sent your ambassadors [idols] far away; you descended to the grave
itself! You were wearied by all your ways but
you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’ You
found renewal of your strength, and so you did not faint. Whom have you dreaded and feared that
you have been false to me, and have neither remembered me nor pondered
this in your hearts? Is
it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear me? I
will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not
benefit you. When you
cry out for help, let your collection of idols save you! The
wind will carry all of them off, a mere
breath will blow them away. But the man who makes me his refuge will inherit the land
and possess my holy mountain.
Verses 14-21, “And it will be said: ‘Build up,
build up, prepare the road! Remove
the obstacles out of the way of my people.’ For this is what the high and lofty One says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I
live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite
and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive
the heart of the contrite. I
will not accuse forever, nor will I always be angry, for then the spirit
of man would grow faint before me—the breath of man that
I have created. I was enraged by his sinful greed; I punished
him, and hid my face in anger, yet he kept on his willful ways. I have seen his ways, but I will heal
him, creating praise on the lips of mourners in
Isaiah 58
The Jews had a habit of ritual fasting, but Isaiah and God
saw through it—false, fake worship. They
weren’t fasting to attempt to tap into God’s strength
to change themselves or their lifestyles of greed and oppression.
Verses 1-14, “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and
to the house of Jacob their sins. For
day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken
the commands of its God. They
ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. ‘Why
have we fasted,’ they say, and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you
have not noticed?’ ‘Yet
on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all
your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists. You
cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on
high. Is this the kind
of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is
it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on
sackcloth and ashes? Is
that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?
Isaiah 59
A picture of our
day and age, today—an evil age, marked by verse 15, “whoever
shuns evil becomes a prey.” This
is also a picture of man’s evil age, from Adam to present. In
verse 16 is a vision of Jesus at his 1st coming. The
Lord’s reaction to all this—2nd coming,
verses 17-21!
Verses 1-16, “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too
short to save, nor his ear too dull hear. But your iniquities have separated you
from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that
he will not hear. For
your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your
lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things. 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. 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. 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. Their
feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their
thoughts are evil thoughts; ruin and destruction mark their ways. 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. 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. 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 dead. We all
growl like bears; we moan mournfully like doves. We
look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far
away. 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. So
justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance;
truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth
is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
The
Lord looked and was displeased 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.” This verse points to the sacrifice of Yeshua, Jesus.
Verse 17-21, “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 a cloak. 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. 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. The Redeemer will come to
‘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.” Can you imagine God promising that to you, your kids and their descendants? According to this promise, wherever the descendants of Isaiah are (we know he had at least two boys), they will be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Isaiah 60
Verses 1-2, Beginning of the
Verses 1-22, “Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See,
darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings
to the brightness of your dawn. 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. Then you will look and be radiant, your
heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth of the seas
will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. Herds of camels will cover your land,
your camels of Midian and Ephah. And
all from
Who
are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests?” [Could
this be a reference to us, the saints, who as immortal beings will
be able to fly, like the Lord himself? Sounds
like it.] “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.
Foreigners
will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Though in anger I struck you, in favor
I will show you compassion. 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. For the nation or kingdom that will not
serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined. The
glory of
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. 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. 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. 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. 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.” Another
reference to how Jesus will shine, day and night, like the very
sun in its strength. “You 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. 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. 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.”
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