The Book Of Isaiah. Day 151, Judgment Against Wicked Religious Leaders

The remainder of Chapter 56 is an indictment against those who should be leading the people in a godly manner but who are too wicked to guide anyone.

The Lord calls to the animal kingdom to devour the soon-to-be slain sinful leaders. "Come, all you beasts of the field, come and devour, all you beasts of the forest!" (Isaiah 56:9) I believe this has to do with the invasion of the northern and southern kingdoms by Assyria and Babylon in the Old Testament. Many of those nations' nobles and priests and other high officials perished. But a similar event happens in the end times in Revelation 19:17 when one of the Lord's angels calls to the birds of the air to come and feast on the bodies of the slain who had rebelled against the Lord and who did not want His kingdom to come.

Why is the Lord inviting animals to feast on the fallen leaders? Because the leaders had a responsibility to remain faithful to Him and to be a godly example to their subjects. He explains that in this next portion. "Israel's watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep." (Isaiah 56:10)

In the analogies above, the Lord is comparing the nations' leaders to watchmen and to guard dogs. In ancient times there were watchmen posted on the city walls so they could alert the occupants of the city if they saw an enemy army approaching. But the leaders are so spiritually and morally bankrupt that they are about as useful as blind watchmen. They are also compared to a mute and lazy guard dog. A dog like that wouldn't be able to give a warning to the occupants of the house. In this same way the wicked leaders are useless in warning people that the Lord's judgment is coming if they do not repent.

The remaining verses compare the reprobate leaders to dogs who think only of satisfying their hunger, to shepherds who don't watch over the flock, and to people who live only for today. "They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, they seek their own gain. 'Come,' each one cries, 'let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better.'" (Isaiah 56:11-12)

The verses above paint the picture of people whose minds are focused on carnal pleasures rather than on the kingdom of God. They are materialistic. They are excessive in everything they do. They are living by the motto, "You only live once!" They don't believe the Lord's judgment is coming but instead believe that everything will keep going on just as it is today. They are complacent, not worried about ever having to answer for their idolatry and immorality. 

But judgment did come and things did not continue going on as they always had. The same will be true in the end times, according to the Lord Jesus Christ, who said that many would be like the people in the days of Noah. While Noah was building the ark, people thought he was crazy. They thought everything would continue to go on as it always had. They didn't believe that the Lord was going to judge them. They were "partying hearty", as the saying goes, "until the flood came and took them all away". (Matthew 24:39)

Let us not be like the people of Noah's day or of Isaiah's day. Today is the day for anyone who doesn't already know the Lord Jesus Christ to accept Him as their Savior. We don't know what may happen tomorrow. We live in a fallen, ever-changing world where things will not always go on just as they have been. The time is now.

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 150, Salvation For Those Outside Of Israel

We begin Chapter 56 today. This first segment deals with people who would normally be excluded from the temple but to whom the Lord plans to offer salvation. I apologize for no Bible study posts on Monday and Tuesday. I had to leave home early both days to take care of some things at my mother-in-law's new house before work.

"This is what the Lord says: 'Maintain justice and do what is right, for My salvation is close at hand and My righteousness will soon be revealed.'" (Isaiah 56:1) The Lord has made promises to the people regarding their captivity in foreign lands: they will be restored to their own land in time. But they aren't to wait until then to begin praising the Lord and doing what is right in His eyes. You may be familiar with the expression, "Until the Lord opens a door, praise Him in the hallway." What He is saying here seems to be something similar. They aren't to say, "Until the Lord punishes our enemies and restores us to our land, we cannot properly serve Him." Instead they are to say, "I will serve Him every day of my life." 

The prophecy regarding their captors being punished and the people being set free is not too far off in the future in Old Testament times. This will come true just as the Lord said it would. Another prophecy is going to come true in the more far off future when His righteousness (His faithfulness, His trustworthiness, His promise-keeping power) is revealed by the advent of the Messiah. I believe both of these promises are in view in verse 1. He will keep His word to restore the people and He will keep His word to provide the Redeemer.

Keeping in mind that the Lord is faithful, the people are to be faithful to Him. "Blessed is the one who does this---the person who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps their hands from doing any evil." (Isaiah 56:2) They are to honor the Lord with the way they live their lives. They cannot live perfect lives but, whenever they become aware that they have made a mistake, they are to sincerely repent of it, trusting that the Lord will absolve them of it.

The Lord will absolve not only the citizens of Israel, but foreigners who place their faith in Him. He will turn no one away. "Let no foreigner who is bound to the Lord say, 'The Lord will surely exclude me from His people.'" (Isaiah 56:3a) Those who were not descended from Abraham may have thought that the Lord's promises didn't include them. But the Lord imputed righteousness to Abraham based on Abraham's faith (Genesis 15:6) and that is the way the Lord imputes righteousness to anyone---by faith. He doesn't consider the faith of the Gentile less important than the faith of the Jew.

In Biblical times there were rules about who could enter certain areas of the temple complex. Gentile believers had to remain in the outer court. But when Christ gave His life for all, the veil in the temple was torn in two by the hands of God, and everyone has access to Him now. Also in Biblical times there were rules (Deuteronomy 23:1) about persons who were maimed, such as eunuchs (men who had been castrated), and this next portion deals with them.

"And let no eunuch complain, 'I am only a dry tree.' For this is what the Lord says: 'To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, who choose what pleases Me and hold fast to My covenant---to them I will give within My temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever.'" (Isaiah 56:3b-5) Some of the men who were taken captive were castrated by their oppressors. Some men became eunuchs due to illnesses or injuries. Some were born with deformations in their sexual organs. Some may even have caused the injury to themselves on purpose. Some were not physically castrated but had chosen a life of celibacy. Jesus said none of that mattered (Matthew 19:12) when it came to the kingdom of God. A person did not have to have offspring and generations of descendants to be valuable to the Lord. They could be remembered by their faith and by their good works rather than for having raised children in the faith.

Foreigners also, who once were treated as "less than" by the people of Israel, will be as accepted by God for their faith as anyone who is of Israel. "And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to minister to Him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be His servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to My covenant---these I will bring to My holy mountain and give them joy in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. The Sovereign Lord declares---He who gathers the exiles of Israel: I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered." (Isaiah 56:6-8)

The references to the Sabbath, the covenant, and the offerings and sacrifices have to do with Old Testament times and Old Testament laws. He is speaking of those foreigners who became believers in Him before the advent of Christ. But when Christ comes He makes a new covenant with mankind and His offer of redemption will appeal to people of many nations: the Lord will "gather still others to them". These "others" are people from all over the world. 

No matter who you are, where you come from, or what you've done, the Lord calls to you just as much as He calls to anyone else. You are not "less than" anyone. Christ died for you just as much as He died for anyone and He loves you just as much as He loves anyone and He wants to save you just as much as He wants to save anyone. He is an equal opportunity Savior who says, "Whoever comes to Me I will never drive away". (John 6:37)

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 149, His Word Accomplishes His Will

We conclude Chapter 55 today with the Lord reminding Isaiah's people that His word can be trusted and that His word changes hearts and lives. 

"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:10-11) 

The Lord is speaking to an agricultural society. They understand the cycle of planting, growing, and reaping. They know that the ground must be watered to feed all the plant life. Water falling from the heavens is a blessing not only for plant life but for all life on earth, for nothing can live without water. Just as the Lord sends water on the earth for a purpose, He sends His word to mankind for a purpose. And just as water causes things to bear fruit, God's word causes mankind to bear fruit.

In Deuteronomy 8 and in Matthew 4 the Lord said that man wasn't intended to live on bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Our souls should thirst for the word of God the same way our bodies thirst for water. We should yearn for and be changed for the better by the word of God, just as our bodies yearn for water and are helped by it. The Lord's word is never unfruitful. Although some people reject it, they do so willingly, not because there is any fault on the Lord's part. There are always people in every generation who take His word to heart and allow it to minister to their souls. Then, having been changed by His word, they teach His word to others and many of those others are changed by His word too.

The Lord continues to use an agricultural example to get His point across. "You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers myrtle will grow. This will be for the Lord's renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever." (Isaiah 55:12-13) 

When people allow God's word to minister to them, their hearts are changed from a parched landscape of barren unfruitfulness into a vibrant and blooming field. They begin to prosper in the spirit. They begin to relate to their fellow man differently. They begin wanting to talk about the changes the Lord has made in them, thus helping others to come to the Lord. Just as rain causes seeds to sprout and grow, the Lord's word causes people to grow in faith and to lead others to faith.

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 148, His Ways Are Higher

We will begin looking at the second half of Chapter 55 today. Yesterday's passage ended with the Lord urging everyone to come to Him for mercy and for pardon from their sins. This next segment is related to that.

He says: "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,' declares the Lord." (Isaiah 55:8) When we ended yesterday's study He said for everyone to turn to Him and forsake their wicked ways. We don't always realize that our ways are wicked. Our brains work 24/7 and many of our thoughts don't line up with who we are in the Lord, but we are so busy and our thoughts are so many that we are often unaware of just how many times in the day we think something in a wrong attitude. What man considers righteousness is far below what the Lord considers righteousness. As King Solomon famously said, "There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death." (Proverbs 14:12) When we compare ourselves to our fellow man, we may come off looking fairly good if we are living a basically moral life. But when we compare ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ, we can see just how far we fall short. Because we cannot live a perfectly righteous life---in word or in thought or in deed---we need to receive His righteousness in order to have our sins pardoned.

The Lord continues in the same theme. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:9) The Lord created us with enough intelligence to communicate with Him and to have fellowship with Him, but we do not possess an intelligence like His. I am going to use a simple little example to describe the way I picture what the Lord is saying. Any of you who know much about me know that I love dogs and have always had dogs. Dogs are intelligent enough to communicate with me and to have fellowship with me, but dogs do not possess as much intelligence as I do. My current dog, Beau, can't understand everything I say and do. My thoughts are not his thoughts, my ways are not his ways, and my level of intelligence is higher than his level of intelligence. He sometimes has a difference in opinion than I do in regard to the best way to handle situations. My dog doesn't always want to do what I tell him to do. He can't really understand why I do things that I do, such as giving him haircuts and baths or taking him to the vet for his vaccines. In a similar way, we don't always understand why the Lord does what He does. We don't always want to do what He tells us to do. 

Continuing with this example, how are we to handle things we don't understand? Well, my dog knows I love him. Although he doesn't always understand why I do the things I do, he knows I love him and he senses that whatever I do is for his benefit. He trusts me to take care of him even when that means he doesn't always enjoy some of the things I have to do to take care of him. He trusts that when I tell him he can't do this or that, it's for his safety. In this same way we know that the Lord loves us. We may not know why He does the things He does and we may not enjoy every situation He puts us in, but we can trust that He is taking care of us. When He doesn't allow a particular thing, it is for our safety. When He puts us in situations we don't especially like, it is for our betterment. Everything He says to us and everything He does for us is coming from a loving heart. 

The Lord has taught me a lot of things through my pets. I've often thought that my dogs do a better job of obeying their master than I do in obeying my Master. I believe the Lord uses all sorts of things to teach us how to follow Him, especially things He knows we enjoy and love. He knows I enjoy and love my dogs and He has used them as examples for how to trust and obey. If we keep in mind that the Lord always relates to us in love and that He always wants the best for us, we can begin to view everything in life as a way to grow in our faith and as a way to continually develop a closer relationship with Him. 

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 147, Seek The Lord While There Is Time

Chapter 55 is an invitation for people to come to the Lord before it is too late.

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost." (Isaiah 55:1) Salvation is the free gift of God. (Romans 6:23) To obtain salvation and a relationship that satisfies the deepest needs of our souls costs us nothing; it cost the Lord everything. He has done the work for us and all we have to do is trust in what Christ did for us on the cross. The Lord isn't speaking of physical hunger in verse 1 but in spiritual hunger, for the Lord Jesus said: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."

Idolatry has profited Isaiah's people nothing. They have spent time and effort serving false gods. They have called out to false gods in vain. Therefore the Lord says: "Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to Me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare." (Isaiah 55:2) The Lord does promise to provide the necessities of those who are His (Philippians 4:19) but here He is speaking of the necessities of the soul. He's talking about soul-hunger and soul-thirst. Nothing except a relationship with Him can satisfy our souls. We were created for a relationship with Him and there is an empty space within us that cannot be filled by anything or anyone except Him.

"Give ear and come to Me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, My faithful love promised to David." (Isaiah 55:3) Verse 3 is a specific promise to the tribes of Israel in that the Lord promised never to cut off the royal line of David. The Lord's covenant with David (and with all the tribes of Israel) is everlasting. But verse 3 is also a promise to everyone who believes on a particular descendant of the royal line of David: the Lord Jesus Christ. In Him the Lord fulfilled the promise to David that he would "never fail to have a descendant sitting on the throne of the house of Israel". (Jeremiah 33:17) The Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal King, will sit on the throne of the house of Israel forever when He comes to reign eternally. Not only will He reign over the house of Israel, but He will reign over the entire earth, and all of us who have placed our faith in Him will live under His loving and faithful kingship forever.

"See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples. Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations you do not know will come running to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for He has endowed you with splendor." (Isaiah 55:4-5) I could not decide whether to capitalize the words "him" and "you" in these two verses, for I believe the Lord is speaking both of King David and of King Jesus. The Lord did indeed make David a witness, a ruler and a commander. David said in Psalm 18 that because of what the Lord had done for him, people he did not previously know now served him, that foreigners bowed before him and obeyed him. But Jesus also witnessed to the people and will someday be a ruler and commander of people from all nations. People who were not of Israel will hear of Him and serve Him; they will bow to Him and obey Him. 

Because the Lord has paid a heavy price in order to make us the free offer of salvation, we must not turn Him away. There is no better day than today to make Christ the Lord of our lives if we haven't already done so. We aren't promised tomorrow. We don't know how much longer this old world will continue as usual. I don't know when the end times will commence, but we are closer to that era than we've ever been before. We are closer to the day of judgment when the Lord will judge all who have rejected Him. "Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on them, and to our God, for He will freely pardon." (Isaiah 55:6-7)

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 146, The Future Glory Of The Nation, Part Three

The Lord has been promising Isaiah's people that although they will be conquered and taken captive to foreign lands, they will return. He has been likening His relationship with the nation to the relationship between a faithful husband and an unfaithful wife. The people have been unfaithful to Him by worshiping other gods and He will be "separated" from them in a sense by allowing them to be separated from their land. This discipline will cause the people to repent and turn back to Him. In return He will forgive them and take them back like a loving husband reconciling with a wife who recommits her heart to him.

Today's passage begins with the Lord comparing His promise to never destroy these people to His promise to never flood the earth again. "To Me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn never to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again. Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor My covenant of peace be removed,' says the Lord, who has compassion on you." (Isaiah 54:9-10)

The Lord made a promise---a covenant---in Genesis 9 never to flood the earth again. He has kept that covenant and will continue to keep it. The Lord also made a covenant with Abraham in the book of Genesis, promising to make a great nation of his descendants, vowing that his family line would never be cut off. He has kept that covenant and will continue to keep it. In today's passage He is assuring the people that His covenant with Abraham is just as binding upon Him as the covenant with Noah. His word can always be trusted. 

Now He speaks to the city and the people of Jerusalem, the capitol city, and by extension He is speaking to the whole nation and to all of the descendants of Abraham. "Afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with lapis lazuli. I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones. All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be their peace. In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you. If anyone does attack you, it will not be My doing; whoever attacks you will surrender to you." (Isaiah 54:11-15) 

The splendor of the nation and the bounty poured out on it are both metaphorical and literal. Metaphorically speaking, the precious gems mentioned above stand for the national prosperity that will be the blessing for spiritual prosperity. Literally speaking, in the eternal kingdom we find the "new Jerusalem" of Revelation actually built with precious gems. This glorious capitol city of the earth is described (as well as the Apostle John could describe it in human words) in Revelation 21:9-27)

Until the time of the eternal kingdom, Israel will have some earthly enemies who hate her, but it won't be because the Lord told people to hate them. It won't be because the Lord has turned His back on Israel, has disowned Israel, has taken His protective hand off of Israel, or is going to break His promise to Israel. In verse 15 above He clearly states that no enemy will ever be able to destroy that nation. Israel will never be wiped from the earth. The family line of Abraham will never come to an end. There always have been and still are people who would love to see every descendant of Abraham destroyed. They long to have the name of Israel wiped from the map. But this will never happen because the Lord won't allow it to happen.

The Lord is always in control. There are times when this world looks like it's out of control. There are times when the descendants of Abraham feel as if they are hated on every side. But no one can lift a finger against them unless the Lord allows it. And anytime the Lord allows a finger to be lifted against one of His children, it is for a divine purpose, not to destroy them. Just as the Assyrian captivity and the Babylonian captivity were intended to correct the people's waywardness, the Lord can use any hardship to prosper them spiritually. "See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to wreak havoc; no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from Me,' declares the Lord." (Isaiah 54:16-17)

Weapons are forged by mere human beings. They can't do anything the Lord doesn't allow them to do. Many times the Lord has turned weapons away from us, more times than we realize. Other times He has allowed hardship to come into our lives but not for the purpose of destroying us. We have an enemy in Satan and we sometimes have enemies in our fellow man, but none of them can lift a finger against us unless the Lord allows it. If a weapon strikes us, it will not prosper in the manner in which our enemy intended. Instead it has another purpose, perhaps for correction or to draw us closer to the Lord or to strengthen us for a future battle or to prepare us for a great blessing. When a weapon comes our way, as long as we submit ourselves to the Lord, the weapon doesn't prosper---we do. 

The Book Of Isaiah. Day 145, The Future Glory Of The Nation, Part Two

Yesterday we began Chapter 53 in which the Lord reveals to Isaiah that there is a glorious future for his people. In today's text the Lord says: "Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities." (Isaiah 54:2-3) 

Yesterday we talked about how the people had become spiritually unfruitful, which is why the Lord allowed Assyria and Babylon to conquer them and take them captive. The majority had fallen into idolatrous practices and into immoral living. But their defeat and captivity was intended to correct their behavior, not to destroy them as a nation. Following their defeat and captivity and eventual return to the land, we don't find them bowing to idols anymore. They will be physically fruitful (will bear many descendants) and they will be spiritually fruitful (due to worshiping only the Lord). This is why the Lord uses the analogy above of setting up enormous tents and stretching them far and wide. 

In the Old Testament we often find the Lord referring to Himself as the "husband" of the descendants of Jacob. He refers to the nation as His "wife"---usually His unfaithful wife. Just as a human husband has the right to separate from an unfaithful wife or to divorce her, the Lord had the right to do the same. In that sense He and His wife were separated during the era of captivity. But the captivity will make them repent of their unfaithfulness and He will forgive them and take them back, just as many a human husband has forgiven a sincerely repentant wife and has taken her back. This is the situation the Lord speaks of next. "Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood." (Isaiah 54:4) 

An unfaithful wife could be shamed publicly, with the wronged husband announcing her sins and declaring himself separated from or divorced from her. Under Old Testament law, the husband could even have her stoned to death along with the man who committed adultery with her if the two of them had been caught in the act by two or three witnesses. I assume that rarely happened since adulterers take great care not to get caught, but because the Lord Himself witnesses everything that humans do, He would have been within His rights to destroy the nation for unfaithfulness because as the Holy Trinity there are always three witnesses who see everything done on the earth. But He did not want to destroy them. So He says a time is coming when His wife will not feel disgraced and shamed for her sins. He is going to forgive and forget. He will never bring the subject up again, which is how a human who has truly forgiven their spouse will behave. True forgiveness means not bringing up the person's wrongdoing to them again. It means leaving the subject behind and moving forward.

The Lord makes it very clear in this next passage that He will extend true forgiveness to the nation. He will put the people's past mistakes in the past, as though the mistakes never happened, and He will move forward toward a better future. He promises: "For your Maker is your husband---the Lord Almighty is His name---the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth. The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit---a wife who married young only to be rejected,' says your God. 'For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,' says the Lord your Redeemer.'" (Isaiah 54:5-8)

Why does He call her back? Because He loves her! Because He loves her with an everlasting love! (Jeremiah 31:3) He doesn't separate from her forever. He doesn't divorce her. He doesn't destroy her. He loves her so much that He doesn't want to be without her. This is also how He feels about you and me! He wants us to be with Him forever, so He made a way of redemption for us.