My House, My Rules (Isaiah 56:1-8)

“Are we there yet?”

Script writers know that they can elicit a response by having a character ask, but since it is so over-used, they must be creative about it.

One of the best exchanges ever is in Avengers: Infinity War. On the way to Nidavellir, Thor responds to “I am Groot” with “You’ll know when we’re close.”

The disciples of Jesus were constantly wondering, “Is it here yet?” 

They meant the Kingdom of God on Earth:

✍︎ “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who then is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?’ ” (Matthew 18:1).

✍︎ “Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest” (Luke 22:24).

✍︎ Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your Kingdom” (Matthew 20:20-21).

✍︎ When Jesus ascended into Heaven, “They asked Him, saying, ‘Lord, will You at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?’ ” (Acts 1:6).

Let’s be fair to the disciples. It was Jesus’ doing. In Acts 1:3 we read, “To whom [Jesus] also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.”

If I told you that Jesus used the word “Kingdom” 50 times in the Gospel of Matthew, would you believe it? If I told you He used it 75 times? 100 times?

The count in the NKJV is 158 times in 150 verses.

• In the Old Testament God promised the nation of Israel that a King from the line of David would rule over a future Kingdom from Jerusalem.
• John the Baptist came preaching “the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” 
• Jesus preached that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand.
• When Jesus sent out His disciples, He told them to preach that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand.

Jesus came offering the Kingdom to His own, to Israel. They violently refused Him as their King.

The apostle Paul told the leaders of Israel, in the last chapter of the Book of Acts, “No Kingdom for you!”

Not in the first century that is. There still must be a real, physical, on-the-Earth 1000 year Kingdom. It is coming, and Jesus is bringing it with Him.

Kingdom life is on display in our text. I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 Jesus Gives You His Blueprint For Waiting, and #2 Jesus Shows You His Blueprint For Working.

Let’s take a look at the blueprint for waiting in verses one & two.

Isa 56:1  Thus says the LORD: “Keep justice, and do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come, And My righteousness to be revealed.

This is a prophecy of an event over 200 years in Isaiah’s future. The Southern Kingdom of Judah is going to be attacked by Nebuchadnezzar. Three times. God uses Babylon as His instrument of discipline against His wayward children.

When Isaiah quotes the LORD saying, “My salvation is about to come,” he is referring to being delivered from Babylon after their captivity. When the LORD says “My righteousness,” He is referring to both the captivity and their release as the right way of dealing with their sin.

Of course we believe that God is righteous in all of His ways. On paper, that is. In our experiences it can seem otherwise.

Moses would serve God faithfully for a total of 120 years. At one point in his leading the children of Israel through the desert, God told him to speak to a rock. Moses was angry, and so he struck the rock. For that momentary lapse, God told him he could see the Promised Land, but he could not go in.

You are going to have moments like that in your life. You might even have a life like that in your life if you get my meaning. God is righteous in all His ways, and His ways are above our ways.

The Lord is talking about a “righteousness” that you “do.” Right behavior towards Him and towards one another. Know what is right and then do it.

When you don’t “do” righteousness, you are to be held accountable for your actions by “justice.”

Isa 56:2  Blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who lays hold on it; Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

“The man” and “the son of man” is like our saying “any man and every man.” “Lay hold on it” is to do it.

They were set free, forgiven, to “do” the Sabbath, and to eschew “evil.” Seems simple enough.

The Sabbath is prominent because it had a lot to do with their discipline.

The sixth century Jews went into captivity for defiling the Sabbath.

Yes, the Jews committed idolatry and practiced child sacrifice and ritual prostitution. But they also defiled the Sabbath and, in fact, that sin is what dictated the precise 70yr length of their captivity.

The Jews were told to farm their land for six years. On the seventh year were to let the land get a rest. The Jews were to trust God’s provision by not farming for an entire year.

For roughly 490 years, they disobeyed this Sabbath rest. Thus they ‘owed’ God 70 year-long Sabbaths!

If you’ve never seen it, you’ve got to watch a skit with comedian Bob Newhart about counseling. Search YouTube for Bob Newhart Stop It. He tells the client he can solve her issue in just five minutes. She reveals that she has a fear of being buried alive in a box. He diagnoses her as claustrophobic. He then says he has two words for her. He leans over the desk and yells, “Stop it!”

“Stop defiling the Sabbath!” God said. Period; problem solved.

Jesus used this approach with great success:

• When He dealt with the woman caught in adultery, Jesus told her He did not condemn her, and to “Go, and sin no more.” Five words.
• When Jesus wrote to the church in Ephesus, He told them to “repent and do the first works.” Six words.
• He used this approach in a modified way with the rich young ruler who asked what he must do to have eternal life. Jesus answered concisely, “Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor” (Mark 10:21).

Is there something you need to deal with? “Stop it!”There is no condemnation from Jesus. Repent… Return… “Go and sin no more… Get back to obedience.”

Maybe you feel like the man with the withered hand. Jesus told him to “stretch out your hand” (Matthew 12:13). He simultaneously could not and could stretch out his hand. God’s Word is His enabling. What He tells you to do He enables & empowers you to do.

Let’s take a look at the blueprint for working in verses three through eight.

In a classic line from The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy says, “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

While reading the Bible, especially prophecy, it’s not unusual for the writer to suddenly jump into the future.

In the remaining verses the LORD mentions eunuchs, foreigners, and outcasts.  He says of eunuchs, “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant, Even to them I will give in My house And within My walls a place and a name Better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name That shall not be cut off.”

You and I expect that kind of grace from God. A Jew who knew the Law of Moses would be stunned. In the Book of Deuteronomy Moses wrote, “He who is emasculated by crushing or mutilation [i.e., a eunuch] shall not enter the assembly of the LORD. One of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD. An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD forever” (23:1-3).

Eunuchs, foreigners, and outcasts who were excluded will be welcomed, even sought out. It seems to be a modification of the Law of God. That’s because Isaiah is describing the Law of God as it will be applied in the Millennium.

Isa 56:3  Do not let the son of the foreigner Who has joined himself to the LORD Speak, saying, “The LORD has utterly separated me from His people”; Nor let the eunuch say, “Here I am, a dry tree.”

Isa 56:4  For thus says the LORD: “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant,

Isa 56:5  Even to them I will give in My house And within My walls a place and a name Better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name That shall not be cut off.

Eunuchs could not produce children. The LORD said that He would do something “better” for them. If there is something, or someone, that’s is being withheld from you, don’t take matters into your own hands.   

Isa 56:6  “Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him, And to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants – Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant –

Isa 56:7  Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

Isa 56:8  The Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, “Yet I will gather to him Others besides those who are gathered to him.”

“Gathered” refers to dispersed Jews returning to Israel. They were dispersed in AD70. The gathering started happening when Israel became a nation in a day, May 14, 1948. It continues and will continue into the future Time of Jacob’s Trouble.

The Lord says “My Sabbaths… “My covenant”… “My house”… “My walls”… “My holy mountain”… “My house of prayer”… and “My altar.” It reads like He is giving us a tour of the Millennial Temple and some of its rituals.

Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the 1^st Temple, built by Solomon. When the Jews returned and built the 2^nd Temple, they did not call it “My house of prayer for all nations.” Neither did nations flock there. This is future, Millennial.

Super quick Temple facts: When Rome occupied Jerusalem, Herod the Great remodeled the Temple. It was still considered the 2^nd Temple. It was again destroyed around AD70. From then forward, the Jews have had no Temple.

Two more Temples are predicted:

1. A Temple will be built during the first half of the future time of great tribulation known to Jews as the Time of Jacob’s Trouble. It is the Temple that will be defiled by the antichrist.
2. The prophet Ezekiel describes the Millennial Temple, occupying chapters 40-48 of his book.

You obviously noted the mention of the Sabbath and burnt offerings.This is where it gets sticky. Those who come to the Lord in the Millennial Temple will, in fact, keep the Sabbaths and offer animal sacrifices.

Why? The Millennial Kingdom will initially be populated by mortal believers who survive the Great Tribulation. They will have children, and their children will be like them – human with a sin nature. Over time, there will be multiplied millions of people.

It seems very odd to us, but these mortals will still be under the Law of God. Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till Heaven and Earth pass away, one jot or one title will by no means pass from the Law till all is fulfilled” (Matthew 5:17-18). According to the Book of the Revelation, Heaven and Earth do not pass away until the Millennium ends.

Something really important: The Old Testament sacrifices did not save. They made it possible for sinful men to approach a holy God. They acknowledged sin & the need for a Savior.

The Millennium is going to be great; but it’s not going to be perfect. It can’t be – not as long as there are sinners in it. There will be law-breaking and law-enforcement:

• Zechariah 14 tells us that any nation that refuses to come annually to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles will have no rain. They instead shall receive a plague.
• In the Revelation we learn that a huge number of unbelievers alive at the end of the Millennium will rebel against the Lord. Fire comes down from God out of Heaven and devours them.

Three times the Revelation says Jesus will rule “with a rod of iron.” You don’t need a rod of iron to rule unless there is unruliness.

These Millennials are hardcore unbelievers. They see the risen Lord in His glory. They see us in His glory, having received our glorified bodies at the pre-Tribulation rapture. The OT saints & Tribulation martyrs are on Earth in their glorified bodies. The Earth is as good as it’s gonna get before the new creation. They rebel! They need more than an altar call to salvation. They need to shed the blood of substitutes.

If their unbelief seems unbelieveable, in one sense they will be no different from anyone today who rejects Jesus. He did tons of miracles proving He was King.

Should we expect to keep Sabbaths & offer sacrifices? That’s an emphatic, “NO!!”

Zane Hodges writes, “As believers who have been united with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection, [the Church has] passed out of the sphere to which the Law applies. Mark this well; removal from the Law’s sphere affects only those who have been baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ. Thereby they have been co-crucified with Christ and raised to live a resurrection life in Him. Just as soon as the Church is removed by the Rapture, the Law will again be in force for God’s people. First it will be in force for the believing Jews of the Tribulation period, as Jesus makes clear in Matthew 24. After His Kingdom is established, it will be in force for the whole world.”

Think of it this way: Do we not love the Sermon on the Mount? It is God’s code of conduct, His Law, for Kingdom living.

If the 1^st century Jews had received the King, He would have established the Kingdom.

Don’t even ask. All I can say is that everything would have worked out. For example: The Bible teaches that Elijah will come before the Day of the Lord (Malachi 4:5). Jesus told us, “And if you are willing to receive it, [John the Baptist] is Elijah who is to come” (Matthew 11:14).

It is not a cop-out to realize we cannot explain everything in the Bible.

Returning to Isaiah 56:3-8, think of it as potential ministry we might be involved with in the Kingdom:

• We will present a message of hope & healing, telling those who have previously been excluded that they are now included. We already do that, or want to. Our delivery and compassion will be elevated in the Millennium.
• Since the Millennial Temple is a House of Prayer, we will lead prayer meetings and teach unbelievers about prayer. We will need to adapt to, “Thy Kingdom came!”
• We will assure those who seek the Lord with their whole hearts that their sacrifices will be acceptable. Today we can assure unbelievers that Jesus’ sacrifice was acceptable. There is still time to be baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Church.

I feel like I’m always pointing out the dark underbelly of the Millennial Kingdom. It isn’t Heaven, and it is full of sinners. But Jesus will rule with His rod of iron, enforcing righteousness and implementing justice.

And we, the Church, co-rule: “For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. If we endure, We shall also reign with Him” (Second Timothy 2:11-12).

Sinner, Sinner, Come To Dinner (Isaiah 55:1-13)

Jesus accepted enough dinner invitations to be criticized as “a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners”^[1]

• He attended a wedding in Cana where He functioned as sommelier (suh-muhl-yay).
• He invited Himself to pop-in for a pop-up dinner with tax collector Zacchaeus.
• He catered wilderness lunches for thousands on two occasions.
• He cooked breakfast for His disciples after He rose from the dead.
• When He arrived in Emmaus, He accepted the dinner invitation of the two disciples He had been walking with.
• Jesus has made future reservations and sends out invitations for His marriage supper.

Why is Jesus such a foodie?

Robert Kelly reminds us, “In the various cultures underlying the New Testament, dining with someone indicated solidarity with that person. To eat with is to identify with. To take a meal with another was to offer that individual the right hand of fellowship in the deepest sense of the term. Meal fellowship – what an appropriate image for an incarnational Christianity.”

Jesus wrote, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20). I prefer the KJV, “I will come in to him, and sup with him.”

“Ho, everyone that thirsts,” come sup with Jesus

I’ll organize my comments around two questions: #1 If You Are Saved, Are You Supping With Jesus?, and #2 If You Are Supping With Jesus, Are You Spreading Joy?

#1 – If You Are Saved, Are You Supping With Jesus? (v1-5)

Without question, human beings are God’s master work.

We are His workmanship, made in His image, and will one day be presented holy and without blemish. We will be like Jesus.

Why did God create us? I like what Billy Graham said. “God created us for one reason: to know Him and love Him and have fellowship with Him.”

Adam & Eve had one job – obey God by not eating from one of the trees in the garden. One job.

C.S. Lewis wrote:

“God created things which had free will. That means creatures which can go wrong or right. If a thing is free to be good it’s also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible. Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. A world of automata – of creatures that worked like machines – would hardly be worth creating. The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water. And for that they’ve got to be free.”

Fellowship with God was broken, but not beyond repair. It would be repaired by God coming to Earth as a man. As both God and man He could remain just and be our justifier:

• The price & penalty for sin is death. By dying in our place, Jesus paid the price and satisfied the penalty. God therefore remains just in saving sinners.
• God justifies us has always been explained to me in the non-academic phrase, ‘just-as-if-I’d never’ sinned. Believe Jesus and you are described as being “in Him.” God can declare a believing sinner righteous, just as if they had never sinned. 

God became man by descending from a brand new nation. Abraham and Sarah birthed Isaac; Isaac and Rebekah birthed Jacob; Jacob and his wives, Leah and Rachel, had twelve sons who were the twelve tribes. Along the way, God changed Jacob’s name to Israel.

Israel’s history is rife with unfaithfulness. In Isaiah’s time, the northern 10 tribes had succumbed to Assyria. The southern 2 tribes would succumb to Babylon, then Rome, then be dispersed all over the planet for centuries. Nevertheless God promised them they would be saved.

Isa 55:1  “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price.

We cannot help but think of the first century Gentile church of the Laodiceans. Jesus wrote to them in the Revelation, saying, “You say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ – and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked – I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see (3:17-18).

Whether Jew or Gentile there is no currency that you can earn that is acceptable in the exchange of Heaven.

Jesus invites Himself to sup with you. The metaphorical “door” of our heart is constantly being knocked on. Creation… Conscience… Commandments. Those are three ways Jesus knocks throughout your life.

The door knocking – Is it for believers or unbelievers? There were both in Laodicea. It was for both. It is for both today.

Water, wine & milk can be comprehended as aspects of the Holy Spirit’s ministry:

• “Water” always brings to mind “the rivers of living water” that Jesus promised the Spirit would bring to our lives (John 7).
• Paul told us not to be drunk with “wine,” but instead be filled with the Holy Spirit.
• “Milk” we associate with “the milk of the Word.” Jesus said, “the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26).

Isa 55:2  Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.

If you are hungry & thirsty, the foods that religion, philosophy, politics, and psychology offer either do not nourish you, or they make you sick. In the end, they are fatal. They are filled with poisons.

Wanna be like Scientology’s poster boy, Tom Cruise? You’ll be paying $128,000 to reach Clear, another $33,000 to reach Operating Thetan III, and an additional $100,000 to $130,000 to reach Operating Thetan VIII, which is the highest level currently available.

There are worse costs than money. These false worldviews cost lives… marriages… families… careers.

Meanwhile Jesus offers to forgive your sin and remove your guilt. He invites you to cast all your cares upon Him, knowing He cares for you. His requirements and easy & light, illustrated by you & He being yoked together. He gives you the Gift of the permanent indwelling of God the Holy Spirit. He gives you gifts of the Holy Spirit. In Heaven you have a custom mansion waiting for you. In it, as it were, is a safe where no one can touch your spiritual treasures. You also have guaranteed employment as we will be ruling and reigning with Christ in the 1000 year kingdom on earth.

Isa 55:3  Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you – The sure mercies of David.

God made four covenants with Israel, given in this order: (1) The Abrahamic Covenant, (2) The Mosaic Covenant, (3) The Davidic Covenant and (4) The New Covenant. He specifically mentions David, so it seems logical that it and the New Covenant are what we ought to ponder.

In chapter seven of Second Samuel God promised a descendant of David will reign on the throne over the people of God. This covenant becomes the basis for hope of a Messiah and the earthly kingdom.

The New Covenant is explained in Ezekiel: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them” (36:26-27). Jews & Gentiles receive the permanent indwelling of God the Holy Spirit. The New Covenant was and still is intended for the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. On account of the nation of Israel rejecting Jesus and His offer of the Kingdom on Earth, the Church enjoys some of the spiritual promises of the New Covenant right now, e.g., the indwelling Spirit. Israel will in the future.

Isa 55:4  Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people, A leader and commander for the people.

Isa 55:5  Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, And nations who do not know you shall run to you, Because of the LORD your God, And the Holy One of Israel; For He has glorified you.”

Either David or his ancestor/offspring, Jesus, will rule the Earth from Jerusalem in the promised but postponed Kingdom of God on Earth.

In Israel right now: Are the nations hurrying to get to Jerusalem so they can “know” the Lord, the Holy One of Israel? Are nations looking at the Jews and saying, “Your God has glorified you?”

Comedian Dana Carvey had a short-lived television show. In one of the recurring skits he and a companion would go to a drive-through and order a ton of stuff. At the window, they’d pay. Then they would speed away laughing, without their change or their food.

Have you ever gotten to the window and the cashier told you that the car ahead of you paid for your meal? A Chic-Fil-A in Minnesota tried to break the record for the longest consecutive single-day pay-it-forward at a drive thru in a single day. They did, with 369 total.

Which car are you in? The one in which you waste all your resources and receive nothing? Or the one in which you get to the window and purchase, without currency, all spiritual blessings?

#2 – If You Are Supping With Jesus, Are You Spreading Joy? (v6-13)

Here is First Peter 1:8 in several translations:

✎︎ NKJV – Whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,

✎︎ ISV – Though you have not seen him, you love him. And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,

✎︎ AMP – Without having seen Him, you love Him; though you do not [even] now see Him, you believe in Him and exult and thrill with inexpressible and glorious (triumphant, heavenly) joy.

✎︎MSG You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don’t see him, yet you trust him – with laughter and singing.

It makes sense that if you know Jesus, and sup with Him, your joy will be indescribable and inexpressible. It will be glorious in the sense that it is a manifestation of the transformation supping with Jesus brings. There will be laughing and singing.

The language of the last two verses reminds us we are still looking forward to the Kingdom.

Isa 55:6  Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.

This assumes there comes a time the LORD cannot be found. It is appointed unto men once to die, after which comes judgment upon the unsaved.

We could translate it while He permits Himself to be found, indicating a divinely determined day of grace and salvation.

Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum discovered a unique Jewish understanding of this text. “In rabbinic theology, the time when this repentance is possible is the ten-day period between Rosh Hashanah (the Feast of Trumpets) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).”

This does not mean that individual Jews could only repent & be saved during those ten days. It suggests a time when the Lord would forgive & restore the nation.

Jesus fulfilled or brought about the fulfillment of the spring feasts on the Jewish calendar: Passover, unleavened Bread, First Fruits and Pentecost. He fulfilled them on the very day they were happening. Three fall feasts remain: Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles.

We evangelicals make a huge deal out of the fulfillment of the four feasts, but if you suggest His return has anything to do with the fall feasts, you’re labeled as a ‘date setting’ heretic.

Isa 55:7  Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.

The future kingdom will begin with a population of saved humans who survive the Great Tribulation. Their human offspring will be unsaved. They are the “wicked,” “unrighteous” people who are called upon to repent.

Isa 55:8  “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.

Isa 55:9  “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee said, “The Gospel is God’s way. It is not man-made. No man could ever have devised it.”

Examine yourself regularly to make sure you’re walk with the Lord is not something man-made.

Isa 55:10  “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater,

Isa 55:11  So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

✎︎ Water from the heavens has a transformative effect upon the Earth and its vegetation.

✎︎ God’s Word has a transformative effect on you.

As long as Israel was faithful to God, they were promised abundant rainfall. A righteous Jew had complete confidence in God to fulfill His promise of precipitation. They should – we should – have complete confidence He will keep His promises about the future kingdom.

Isa 55:12  “For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Isa 55:13  Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the LORD for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

This isn’t fanciful. It is factual. I’m not saying Treebeard will finally be united with his Entwife. But there are phenomena we can cite.

Do you realize that the Earth hums? It’s called (are you ready?) Earth Hum. Is it going too far to suggest it is a form of worship? Or maybe it is what the apostle Paul meant when he pointed out that the creation “groans” (Romans 8:22).

“Thorns” were a thing unknown until Adam & Eve sinned. They are part of the curse sin brought. They will be unknown in the future kingdom & beyond.

“You shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace.” Yes, that was written to Jews about the future kingdom. But we read about our joy unspeakable. It is for now.

Water, wine & milk can be comprehended as aspects of the Holy Spirit’s ministry:

• “Water” always brings to mind “the rivers of living water” that Jesus promised the Spirit would bring to our lives (John 7).
• Paul told us not to be drunk with “wine,” but instead be filled with the Holy Spirit.
• “Milk” we associate with “the milk of the Word.” Jesus said, “the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26).

Do you express The Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy down in your heart? Do others see that you’re so happy, so very happy? Or is your life more characterized by the song, I hear You knocking but You can’t come in?

I Now Announce Us Husband And Wife (Isaiah 54:1-17)

Christians who held a conviction that it was wrong for them to watch a Rated R movie were conflicted: How could they not join their brothers & sisters who rented-out theaters and invite unbelievers to watch The Passion of the Christ?

It was the top-grossing Rated R movie of all time. It has since slipped to #9. It has a chance to move up on the list if it does well in its theater re-release this year commemorating its 20^th anniversary.

Have you ever wondered why Christ’s suffering is called His passion? The Latin word passio means suffering. Its first recorded use is in early translations of the Bible that appeared in the 2nd century to describe the death of Jesus. Its meaning remained exclusively ‘Christological’ until the middle of the 11th century. Then its meaning & usage began to change:

• It started being used of His followers to describe their persecution & martyrdom.
• By the 13th century, passion was being used to refer to any strong drive or emotion in anyone.
• William Shakespeare is believed to be the first to use it to describe a strong romantic and sexual desire.

The LORD expressed a more Shakespearean passion in chapter fifty-four. “For your Maker is your husband.”

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 In His Passion The Lord Is Always Preserving You, and #2 In His Passion The Lord Is Always Providing You.

#1 – In His Passion The Lord Is Always Preserving You (v1-9)

I say, “Jesus preserves you,” and some would say, “Only if you persevere.”

The Doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints is our attempt to understand “whether or not a true believer who has experienced genuine regeneration can fall away from the faith and perish everlastingly.”

The Lord is portrayed as preserving His people. He says to them, “With great mercies I will gather you… With everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you.”

For their part, the Jews do everything they can to not persevere.

IMHO, Christians over-emphasize perseverance to the point it becomes works. It’s easy to fall into self-righteousness.

If you are going to over-emphasize something, then you under-emphasize something else. Christians under-emphasize the Lord’s passionate preserving of the saints. That is one reason we like to talk more about what Jesus has done & is doing for us than what we are expected to do for Him.

Chapter 54 is future prophecy touching upon the Great Tribulation, the Return of the King, the Kingdom of God on Earth, and eternity.

The Great Tribulation that lasts 7yrs has many names. We prefer to call it The Time of Jacob’s Trouble. It reminds us that its purpose is to save Israel. When we say Great Tribulation, we mean The Time of Jacob’s Trouble, and vice-versa.

One more clarification. Historically, the Northern Kingdom of Israel had already been destroyed & dispersed. Isaiah was thus addressing the Southern Kingdom of Judah. I’m going to use ‘Israel’ in the general sense of God’s future people, the “all Israel” that the apostle Paul says will be saved.

Isa 54:1  ‘Sing, O barren, You who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, You who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate Than the children of the married woman,’ says the LORD.

The LORD compared His nation to “barren” women “who have not borne,” who “have not” been in labor. It was a great shame to be barren. So much so that the LORD called Israel “desolate.”

In the OT Book of Deuteronomy the LORD lists blessings upon Israel for her obedience, and what He called “curses” upon them for disobedience. Barren wombs are on that list of curses.

Why should they “sing,” “break forth into singing, and cry aloud?” Because “desolate” Israel would be brought to salvation and fulfill all that God promised her – including having children too numerous to number.

Being temporarily “desolate” is better than being “the married woman.” These were Gentile nations that prospered while Israel languished.

Isa 54:2  “Enlarge the place of your tent, And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your stakes.

“You’re gonna need a bigger tent!” Israel has never possessed all of the land God promised her. In the future, not only will she possess all of it; she will need to annex more.

Isa 54:3  For you shall expand to the right and to the left, And your descendants will inherit the nations, And make the desolate cities inhabited.

Prophecy check: Has verse three happened? No.

Isa 54:4  “Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; For you will forget the shame of your youth, And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.

Israel could also be compared to an old widow in a ‘reproachable’ widowhood. “No worries,” said the LORD. A renewed Israel was coming and all such comparisons will be forgotten.

Isa 54:5  For your Maker is your husband, The LORD of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.

After the incident at the Tower of Babel, God was the “Maker” of a new nation through Abraham & Sarah. Their son, Isaac, would produce their grandson, Jacob, who would produce the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

Israel is suddenly presented as the wife of Jehovah.

Is the NT Church ever portrayed as fully married? As a wife?

No! We are always the betrothed, yet-unwed “bride” and Jesus our heavenly Bridegroom.

Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum explains, “Any clear understanding of the Scriptures requires that proper distinctions be maintained. One of these key biblical distinctions is the contrast between Israel and the Church.”

He is “The LORD of Hosts.” It means, the LORD of Armies. It may seem odd to say so, but even though God is omnipotent, He maintains a strong military!

Their Husband is their “Redeemer.” It suggests familial ties & obligations that only Jesus could fulfill.

This “Holy One” of Israel is simultaneously “the God of the whole Earth.” It’s Jesus.

Isa 54:6  For the LORD has called you Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, Like a youthful wife when you were refused,” Says your God.

Israel was guilty of repeated, unrepented of, spiritual adultery. She worshipped idols and participated in abominable pagan sex rituals. God would restore her!

The Babylonian captivity cured Israel of idolatry once-for-all. As a nation, however, they remain in unbelief of their Messiah. Once again Dr. Fruchtenbaum is helpful: “To this day, Israel is still in the period of punishment. The persecutions of the Jews around the world and the present worldwide dispersion prove this point.”

There is no antisemitism in saying this. We are pro-Israel. We support her statehood. The United States ought to reject any proposal to divide Israel into two states.

Isa 54:7  “For a mere moment I have forsaken you, But with great mercies I will gather you.

Isa 54:8  With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” Says the LORD, your Redeemer.

At any point Israel could have repented and they would find that God was right there. What, then, does “I have forsaken you” and “hid My face from you” mean?

It looks forward to their Time of Trouble.

The word “little” that modifies “wrath” can be translated “overflowing, “outburst,” or “surge of anger.” The LORD is anticipating the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, the culmination of His “wrath.” That whole period of seven years is known as the Day of His Wrath. The discipline will be so strong that Israel will conclude they are forsaken, and that God is hiding His face.

This isn’t at all talking about Jesus & His relationship with you, or His Church. He promised to never forsake you, or hide from you. It is on you to sort things out when you feel that way.

His “mercies” are “great.” “His “kindness” is “everlasting.” A lot of things in your Christian life eventually boil down to this: Am I going to believe what God said? Or am I going to believe how I feel?

Isa 54:9  “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; For as I have sworn That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, So have I sworn That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.”

The dialog is so casual, so intimate. God says, “You know, this kinda reminds Me of the flood.”

Outside, all around, was tumult & terror. Water from the sky, waters from the deep. Think of the most terrible storm, or flood, you have encountered. It was nothing compared to the flood.

Inside the ark – Noah & Co. were kept safe through it.

The flood story starts in chapter six of Genesis. In the closing verses of chapter five we read, “Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him” (v21-25).

Enoch was raptured. Note that it was before the flood. He was saved from out of the flood while Noah and his family were saved going through the flood. Enoch is a type of the Church. Jesus has promised us we will not be on the Earth during the Day of Wrath (Revelation 3:10).

How do we persevere? You discover these essentials: Abide in Christ, talk to God through prayer, engage with the Word, participate in Church life, and let others know about Jesus.

Do not forget passion. You are the Lord’s passion and He must be yours. The more you are humbled by seeing Jesus preserving you, the more you’ll be motivated by love to persevere. Otherwise your perseverance drifts into woks and becomes a destructive legalism.

#2 – In His Passion The Lord Is Always Providing You (v10-17)

He’ll feel the Earth move under His feet.

The prophet Zechariah says this about the Return of the King: “And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south” (4:14).

In verse ten of our text we read, “For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” Says the LORD, who has mercy on you.

Massive changes in the heavens and on Earth are in store for the future time of tribulation. Those enduring it will certainly think it is the end of humanity.

Isa 54:11  “O you afflicted one, Tossed with tempest, and not comforted…” Sounds like the last 3½ years of the Tribulation when Israel is being hunted down by the antichrist.

Isa 54:11  “… Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, And lay your foundations with sapphires.

Isa 54:12  I will make your pinnacles of rubies, Your gates of crystal, And all your walls of precious stones.

“Gates” & “walls” are physical components of a city. It is not the New Jerusalem. The description doesn’t match what we read in the Revelation.

Jerusalem on Earth will be destroyed by antichrist & his armies before the Lord returns. Could this be the rebuilt, earthly Jerusalem, during the Millennial Kingdom? Sure.

Isa 54:13  All your children shall be taught by the LORD, And great shall be the peace of your children.

This is a snapshot of the future Kingdom on Earth. It is a dispensation of peace on Earth during which Jesus will set time aside to teach children.

Maybe we should call the thousand years Story Time.

Isa 54:14  In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you.

Isa 54:15  Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.

Throughout its history, God ‘assembled’ nations to discipline Israel. In fact 150 years after Isaiah wrote, the Jews would be conquered by Babylon.

There will be unbelievers in the Millennium. At its end, Satan will be let out to “assemble” against the Lord & His people.

Isa 54:16  “Behold, I have created the blacksmith Who blows the coals in the fire, Who brings forth an instrument for his work; And I have created the spoiler to destroy.

The next “Destroyer” would be Babylon, who leveled the Jewish Temple. Then Rome, who leveled the Jewish Temple. These would be “created” instruments of God’s discipline.

The antichrist will defile and level the rebuilt Temple in the future.

A whole lot of suffering is still in Israel’s future.

Isa 54:17  No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD.

Notice the important word, “heritage.” This promise is inherited in the future. I don’t in any way want to discourage you, but this verse is only for Israel, and even they can’t claim it yet.

Apologist Greg Kokl writes, “Many promises in the Bible were made to other people and we cannot legitimately claims those. We can learn from them. They’re profitable for us. All Scripture is.”

Christian – do not claim promises that God never made to you.

Claim Second Corinthians 12:9-10, “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

We trip over the word, “sufficient.” Its synonyms are adequate, passable, OK, minimal, and ordinary.

Is that what Jesus meant? “My grace is passable…My grace is minimal… It’s OK in a pinch.”

To the apostle Paul it meant “strength.” It was the the strength to “boast in… [and] take pleasure in [his] infirmities.”

“Reproaches,” “needs,” “persecutions,” and “distresses” are no match for sufficient grace.

God provides you everything necessary for a godly life. Thomas Brooks wrote, “God hath in Himself all power to defend you, all wisdom to direct you, all mercy to pardon you, all grace to enrich you, all righteousness to clothe you, all goodness to supply you, and all happiness to crown you.”

Spoiler Alert (Isaiah 53:10-12)

“Mission Accomplished.”

On May 1, 2003, President George W. Bush gave a televised speech on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Bush, who had launched the US led invasion of Iraq six weeks earlier, mounted a podium before a White House-produced banner that said Mission Accomplished. He said, “Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.” Although Bush went on to say that “Our mission continues” and “We have difficult work to do in Iraq,” his words implied that the Iraq War was over and America had won. US troops fought in Iraq for eight more years. The vast majority of casualties, US and Iraqi, military and civilian, occurred after the speech.

“It is finished!”

In 32AD outside of Jerusalem on a hill called Calvary and Golgotha (the Place of the Skull), after 6 hours on the Cross, Jesus said with a loud voice, “It is finished!”

His mission was accomplished. But Jesus was clear that spiritual warfare was going to escalate:

✏ He had previously told His followers, “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” (John 15:20).

✏ The apostle Paul wrote a lot about spiritual warfare, including the famous passage in Ephesians about putting on, and keeping on, the whole armor of God.

✏ In the Revelation we read about future war in Heaven… The Battle of Armageddon… And a rebellion led by Satan at the end of the Millennial Kingdom.

Be advised that the Lord’s victory over Satan & his forces has escalated the warfare. 

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 Jesus’ Mission Objective Was To Save You, and #2 Jesus’ Missions Operation Is To Spoil You.

#1 – Jesus’ Mission Objective Was To Save You (v10-11)

Theologian Karl Barth was asked if he could summarize his whole life’s work in theology in a sentence. “Yes, I can,” he answered. “In the words of a song I learned at my mother’s knee: ‘Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’ ”

The Song of the Suffering Servant closes out with an anointed, Jesus saves! simplicity.

Isa 53:10  Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.

Isa 53:11  He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.

In verses ten & eleven we can pick-out phrasing that follows two intertwined themes:

1. We read “bruise,” “grief,” “an offering for sin,” “the labor of His soul,” and “bear their iniquities.” Jesus was bruised and grieved in His labor of being the offering for sin and bearing the iniquities of the human race.
2. We read “He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,” “prosper,” “satisfied,” “righteous,” and “justify many.” He died, but His days would be prolonged by resurrection and His sacrifice satisfied God’s justice so that Jesus will have multitudes of followers justified and declared righteous.

The word “justified” means pronounced or treated as righteous. For a Christian, justification is the act of God not only forgiving the believer’s sins but additionally imputing to him the righteousness of Christ. When you believe God He counts all your sin as His, and all His righteousness as yours. He can do that because on the Cross He demonstrated that He was both just and the justifier of all who believe. He alone has the authority to declare believing sinners righteous.

• In the OT, God called Abram (later renamed Abraham) to follow Him. He would be the father of a new nation, Israel, that would bless the other nations of the world. We read that “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness’ ” (Romans 4:1-3 CSB).
• In the NT, the Philippian jailer asked the apostle Paul “What he must do I to be saved.” “[He] said to him, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

Isa 53:10

Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him God was “pleased” with Jesus’ obedience despite the humiliation of it.

He has put Him to grief Jesus bore your sins, but He also carried your sorrows. If it hurts you, it affects Him. Jesus is described as a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. It is your grief He is acquainted with, your sorrows.

When You make His soul an offering for sin “Soul” isn’t being used in a technical sense. It means all of Him, His entire person.

He shall see His seed These are all who believe Him from Adam until the new heavens & Earth.

He shall prolong His day This could only be true by  His being resurrected from the dead.  

And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand The work of redeeming men, of saving them, was put into Jesus’ “hand.” He carried it out to the “pleasure” of His Father and God the Holy Spirit. The work has prospered through the centuries. God takes pleasure in His plan of salvation and in His Son Jesus Christ. “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him” (Colossians 1:19).

Isa 53:11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.

The work of Jesus on the Cross “satisfied” God’s holiness. As a result “many” can be justified.

“Many” is not meant to limit who can be saved. This isn’t a proof-text for a limited atonement of God’s elect. Without Jesus’ substitution, no one could be saved. Now, many will be. We would say “many” is compatible with “whosoever will.”

During the pandemic, certain establishments were closed. After the restrictions were lifted, anyone could once again go into those establishments, and many did. We would not say that those who did are a favored few.

Two questions for us to ponder:

1. “What’s in your wallet?” If you are not a believer, it isn’t righteousness.
2. “Who are you wearing?” If you are not a believer, it isn’t Jesus.

#2 – Jesus’ Missions Operation Is To Spoil You (v12)

Nellie Oleson was the ridiculously spoiled brat daughter of Nels & Harriet Oleson in the classic television series, Little House on the Prairie. She would blurt out “You hate me!” whenever she didn’t get her way.

There is ‘spoiling’ going on in verse twelve.

You don’t catch it at first because it seems as though Isaiah is talking about the spoils of vanquished enemies. That, however, is only the half of it.

Isa 53:12  Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great…

We don’t often think about the fact that in eternity there will be nations and kings:

• In Revelation 21 we learn about the new heavens & Earth. We are told, “And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it” (v24-26).
• In Revelation 22, “He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations” (22:1-2).

God the Father “will divide Him a portion with the great” means Jesus will rule over those kings. He will be King of kings. “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (Revelation 11:15).

Isa 53:12  And He shall divide the spoil with the strong… This is one of those phrases that Hebrew scholars say they have difficulty translating. Part of the concern is the identity of “the great” and “the strong.” Are they two groups? Or are they one group described two ways?

John Gill thinks they were one group – the Church. He wrote, “Some understand, by the ‘great’ and ‘strong,’ the apostles of Christ, to whom He divided the gifts He received when He led captivity captive; to some apostles, some prophets, etc.”

I prefer to think of “the great” as the kings we just mentioned. They are each given a “portion,” spoils. The “strong” is the Church whom the Lord spoils.

Because He poured out His soul unto death… The emphasis is on the Lord’s voluntarily substituting Himself. And He was numbered with the transgressors He hung out with sinners. As the Great Physician, He went to the sick. No criticism intended, but Jesus wasn’t a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills. And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors Jesus was crucified between two thieves. It illustrates Him bearing the sins of “many,” and of His interceding on their behalf. Both could be saved on account of His sacrifice. One was saved. Any one can be saved.

Think about how the Lord spoils us.

✏ When you believe the Lord for salvation, He gives you the Gift of the permanent indwelling of God the Holy Spirit. That gift wasn’t given until the Day of Pentecost at the birth of the Church. In the OT, the Spirit could fill you, or come upon you for a time. But when David prayed, “do not take Your Holy Spirit from me,” (Psalm 51:11) we learn it was possible for the Spirit to be taken away. The OT believers didn’t lose their salvation. They lacked the spiritual insight and supernatural strength to serve the LORD.

✏ God the Holy Spirit gives you more ‘gifts.’ Prophecy, teaching, encouraging, serving, giving, leadership, mercy, the word of knowledge, the word of wisdom, faith, healings, tongues, the interpretation of tongues, the discerning of spirits, and helps. That isn’t an exhaustive list. These are supernatural abilities, not natural talent.

✏ The Gift & gifts exist in a supernatural environment of grace. God’s grace is sufficient for you in every situation. We are told to “therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

You are John-John walking in to the Oval Office.

If you even for a moment consider these three gifts you will realize they are lavish. And you will be taken back by the fact these are lavished on you.

From the moment you believe and are declared righteous by God these are yours.

Wait a minute. A brand new, baby believer has the Gift, His gifts, and super-abundant grace? What father would be fool enough to think a baby could handle the power? Our Father, Who art in Heaven.

This might be a good time to briefly talk about what is called “the second blessing,” or “the baptism with the Holy Spirit.”

It is the teaching that you receive the Holy Spirit only in a limited sense at salvation and therefore need to afterward seek what is called the baptism with the Holy Spirit in order to move to a higher level of spiritual life. It is considered a second work of grace, distinct from and subsequent to regeneration and conversion. (A subset of this teaching is that your speaking in tongues is evidence you have had the experience).

This work of God the Holy Spirit is available to all Christians but not appropriated by all Christians subsequent to salvation.

Gordon Fee has helped me get a handle on this. He wrote, “If there is one thing that differentiates the early church from its twentieth century counterpart, it is in the level of awareness and experience of the presence and power of God the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the essential ingredient of Christian life.”

So, what happens? The thing that the apostle Paul warned us about happens. He wrote, “Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3). By “flesh” he means the energy of your own physical strength and mental  wisdom, without the leading of God the Holy Spirit.

(Example: Modern methods of Church planting vs. the prayer meeting in Antioch in Acts 13:1-3).

Fee concludes, “The result was the unfortunate omission of this valid, biblical dimension of Christian life from the life of most Christians in the subsequent history of the church.”

A.W. Tozer put it in a way that we can immediately relate to. “If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95% of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95% of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference.”

A Christian who attends a church that wouldn’t notice the withdrawal of the Holy Spirit begins to seek a 100% experience. At some point they have a genuine experience with God the Holy Spirit. For them, it is subsequent to salvation, there were two separate events.

If you had a subsequent experience with God, the Holy Spirit, that’s OK. If you are seeking it, that’s OK, too. Come forward today.

This story is told of American evangelist D.L. Moody.

In 1871 at one of Mr. Moodys meetings, he was stirred with a desire for spiritual power by two women who would attend the meetings. He could see that they were praying, and at the close of the service they would say to him, “We have been praying for you.”

“Why don’t you pray for the people?” Mr. Moody would ask. “Because you need the power of the Spirit,” they would say. Moody had the largest congregation in Chicago, but the two women kept praying for him. There came a great hunger into his soul as he visited New York.

“I was crying all the time that God would fill me with His Spirit. Well, one day, in the city of New York – oh, what a day! I cannot describe it, I seldom refer to it; it is almost too sacred an experience to name I can only say that God revealed Himself to me, and I had such an experience of His love that I had to ask Him to stay His hand. I went to preaching again. The sermons were no different; I did not present any new truths, and yet hundreds were converted. I would not now be placed back where I was before that blessed experience if you should give me all the world – it would be as the small dust of balance.”

Jesus means to spoil you with gifts & grace, but in a good way. He once said, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13). He wants to give you His best gifts.

We can receive His spoiling in the wrong way, or in the right way:

• The wrong way is to think of yourself more highly than you should. It is to flaunt your gifts, as if you earned or deserved them. It is to hoard them for yourself. It is to more-and-more prefer a natural Christianity to a supernatural one.   
• The right way is to realize that the gifts & the grace are in place so that you can pour yourself out for others as your Lord did for you.

If He’s Silent Like A Lamb And Slaughtered Like A Lamb, He’s The Lamb Of God Who Takes Away The Sin Of The World (Isaiah 53:7-9)

“Jabba, this is your last chance. Free us or die”

Luke Skywalker’s confidence was remarkable considering he didn’t have his light saber and was walking a precarious plank over the Great Pit of Carkoon and its hungry inhabitant, the Sarlaac.

No worries. He was in complete control. (I thought the strangulation death of Jabba was a little over-the-top).

Jesus was in complete control when the mob came to arrest Him in the Garden of Gethsemane.

• Jesus asked, “Whom are you seeking?” They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am.” Now when He said to them, “I am,” they drew back and fell to the ground (John 18:4-6).
• He said to them, “Do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53).

He felled His enemies by merely speaking to them, with 72,000 angels mustered & ready to engage. This must be the moment His disciples and followers were waiting for – when Jesus would “restore the Kingdom to Israel” (Acts 1:6).

As the night progressed and dawn gave way to day, things weren’t going well for establishing the Kingdom. In a short time its King would be dead.

What happened? Salvation happened!

Jesus died on the Cross as your substitute so that you could be saved. “He made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the Cross” (Philippians 2:7-8).

Dr. Michael Svigel reminds us, “Preaching the Gospel that Christ died for our sins without also proclaiming His resurrection from the dead is like baptizing by immersion without lifting from the water.”

The first century Jews were expecting the Lion of the Tribe of Judah to deliver them from Rome and inaugurate the Kingdom of God on Earth. They understood from the OT book of Malachi that Elijah would return just prior to the coming of the Messiah. He would announce that the Kingdom was at hand.

He wasn’t Elijah but a forerunner did come in the spirit & power of the mantled prophet. He baptized multitudes in the wilderness in preparation for the Kingdom. One day Jesus came to be baptized.

How did John the Baptist announce the Lord? Pick one:

✏❍ “Behold, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah who has come to rule the world!”

✏❍ “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!“ (John 1:29).

Second question. Which of the following best describes the current mood among believers:

✏❍ Christians must become more Lion-like in order to have an effect on the evil surrounding us.

✏❍ Christians must remain more Lamb-like in order to have an effect on the evil surrounding us.

I’ll organize my comments around two questions: #1 Are You Silent Like The Lamb?, and #2 Are You Slaughtered For The Lamb?

#1 – Are You Silent Like The Lamb? (v7)

The category is Historical Figures who had Animal Nicknames.

Who was called:

1. “Cunning as a fox.” Napoleon. (Not to be confused with the Desert Fox, General Rommel, or Herod, who Jesus called a fox).
2. “Sly as a serpent.” Cleopatra.
3. “Bulldog.” Winston Churchill.
4. “Wily as a coyote.” FDR.

Jesus is called the Lamb of God about 29 times, with 27 of them in the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

What is your guess as to how many times He is called the Lion of Judah? That particular wording only occurs one time, in Revelation 5:5.^[1]

Yes, it was prophesied that the future Messiah would descend from Judah and be lion-like. But obviously He is a lot more Lamb-like. At least that is what we ought to concentrate on.

Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12 is a song, the Song of the Suffering Servant. It is structured as five three verse stanzas. We have slowed down in our journey through Isaiah because this song, these verses, are considered by most believers to be the Mount Everest of the Scriptures.

Isa 53:7  He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.

Eight hundred years before He went to the Cross, Isaiah predicted that the Suffering Servant would go submissively to an undeserved death.

Isaiah says twice that the Lord “opened not His mouth” and added He would be “silent.” In fact, Jesus did speak a few words leading up to the Cross:

✎︎ Mat 26:62  And the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?”

Mat 26:63  But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!”

Mat 26:64  Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

✎︎ Luk 22:66  As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying,

Luk 22:67  “If You are the Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will by no means believe.

Luk 22:68  And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go.

Luk 22:69  Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.”

Luk 22:70  Then they all said, “Are You then the Son of God?” So He said to them, “You rightly say that I am.”

✎︎ Mat 27:11  Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.”

God the Holy Spirit didn’t contradict Himself when He had Isaiah write that the Savior “did not open His mouth.” Ken Lyons explains: “To prophesy that the Suffering Servant ‘opened not His mouth’ is to use a Hebrew idiom which means that Jesus refrained from giving an exhaustive legal defense on His own behalf.”

Isaiah further described the Suffering Servant, “And as a sheep before its shearers is silent…” In some translations “silent” is translated “dumb.” We say a person who cannot talk is dumb. Here it is being used to describe the Lord controlling the dialog. It’s a good thing.

It is a great discipline to communicate in as few words as are necessary. In doing so, you end up saying more than you would have. If you want to encourage me about a teaching, come up and say, “Pastor Gene, that was really dumb.”

I found this account by a sheep shearer: “We ended up shearing 5,321 sheep altogether. During the entire fortnight of shearing, there were only two sheep that made any noise as they were shorn.”

The Messiah would comport Himself as you would expect from the God-Man who was on mission to substitute Himself for the salvation of the human race.

If you ‘speak your mind,’ you say firmly and honestly what you think about a situation, even if this may offend or upset people.

We need to quit speaking our minds.

When the apostle Paul penned the passage we quoted earlier, about Jesus submitting to God, he said, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” A believer has the mind of Christ.

I should speak His mind, not mine.

Search-out the Lord’s mind on all things involving life & godliness. Do it in the Word, praying, with God the Holy Spirit teaching you, leading you into His truth. Focus especially on the character of God so that you don’t end up rigid and legalistic.

Do you realize how freeing it is to speak the Lord’s mind and not your own? It promotes boldness, and you can be authoritative. More than all that, in every conversation I will exalt the Lord and those listening to me will hear & see the joy and transformation of the Gospel received into the heart.

#2 – Are You Slaughtered For The Lamb? (v8-9)

Procedural cop shows have exposed us to the vocabulary of Law Enforcement.

My absolute favorite is petechial hemorrhaging. I still don’t know what it means, but I try to pepper my conversations with it.

Let’s say you are a Jew in the first century. You regularly hum or sing the Song of the Suffering Servant. You hear about what is being done to Jesus. It sounds a lot like the person in Isaiah.

Isaiah released a BOLO in v8-9. Be On the LookOut for the Lamb.

Isa 53:8  He was taken from prison and from judgment… This summarizes Jesus being arrested, tried, then brought to “judgment.”

The Lamb they are waiting for would be a condemned criminal.

Isa 53:8  … And who will declare His generation?… Some translate it, “Who will declare the length of His life?” There would be no end to His existence, implying that though He would be cut off, yet He would be raised again, and live forever. Is there someone who in the first century raised the dead and spoke of permanent resurrection?

Isa 53:8 …For He was cut off from the land of the living… The words suggest an extremely violent death. More than that, they suggest that you ‘turn to’ the book of Daniel 9:26. It is the famous Prophecy of the 70 Weeks in which Israel’s future is revealed.

He said, “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off… That’s exactly what Isaiah said! …but not for Himself… The Jews were all about substitution. Every lamb they brought to be sacrificed was a substitution. The lamb took their place. Jesus would die at the exact moment that the annual Passover lambs were being offered in the Temple. The clues are really piling up that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah.

Dan 9:26 …And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.”

That’s the antichrist, in the future Time of Jacob’s Trouble, persecuting the remnant of the Jews. In Revelation 12:15 we read, “So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.” No worries; God delivers them from the flood.

Isa 53:8 …For the transgressions of My people He was stricken… God’s “people” is the chosen nation of Israel. Jesus died in their stead, one man for the nation.

In the Gospel of John we read, “Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “It is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation” (11:49-51).

A discerning Jew could put this together. Caiaphas prophesied about the one man who would die. Could Isaiah’s Suffering Servant be the one man who died for the nation and for all nations?

Isa 53:9  And they made His grave with the wicked – But with the rich at His death… He went to the “grave” as if He were “wicked.” He was, however, entombed as if He were “rich.”

That’s a really hard prophecy to fulfill! The Gospels record Joseph of Arimathea asking for the Lord’s body. Instead of being buried with the wicked, He would occupy this rich man’s tomb. But not for long.

Isa 53:9 …Because He had done no violence… This would be admittedly confusing to a Jew in the first century. How do you establish a kingdom without violence? You come twice, and the second time you overcome your enemies by force.

Isa 53:9 …Nor was any deceit in His mouth. Of what other dweller on the earth can it be said that there was never deceit found in his mouth? Who else has lived who has always been perfectly free from deceit? His character would set Him apart from all other men.

Why did Jesus do it? The writer to the Hebrew believers gave one reason: “For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

You are the joy that set before Jesus

Charles Spurgeon said,

“The joy which Christ felt! It was the joy of feeding us with the Bread of Heaven – the joy of clothing poor, naked sinners in His own Righteousness – the joy of finding mansions in Heaven for homeless souls – of delivering us from the prison of Hell and giving us the eternal enjoyments of Heaven! But why should Christ look on us? Why should He choose to do this for us? Oh, my Friends, we never deserved anything at His hands!“

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE KILLED ALL DAY LONG; WE ARE ACCOUNTED AS SHEEP FOR THE SLAUGHTER.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:35-37).

Albert Barnes paraphrases this, “Simply for being Christians, we are subject to, or exposed to death. We endure sufferings equivalent to dying. There is no intermission to our danger, and to our exposure to death. Our enemies judge that we ought to die, and deem us the appropriate subjects of slaughter, with as little concern or remorse as the lives of sheep are taken.”

We could be talking about actual martyrdom, losing our lives for the Lord. If that were to occur, the Lord would give you superabundant grace to go to your death with joy unspeakable and full of glory. “An entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (Second Peter 1:11).

Our daily life on Earth in hostile territory is like a slaughterhouse. When you are reviled, maltreated, made to suffer, do you fall back on the fact that you are being slaughtered for Christ? Or do you defend yourself?

Ask yourself, “What kind of ‘dumb’ am I?”

ຓ Are you the dummy who fights his or her own battles in the energy of the flesh while convincing yourself it’s OK because you are in the right?

ຓ Or are you the kind of dumb that is willing to be slaughtered in order to show your persecutor(s) what it’s like to be crucified & resurrected with Jesus Christ?

Bruised Almighty (Isaiah 53:4-6)

It is arguably the most well known Aha! moment of all time.

An Aha! moment refers to “a sudden, enlightening realization or insight, often accompanied by a sense of clarity or understanding. It’s that moment when a solution to a problem or a new perspective becomes clear.”

The most well known? I’ll give a clue – It involves an apple. It is Isaac Newton’s Aha! moment when he observed an apple falling from a tree, leading to his formulation of the laws of gravity. BTW: It didn’t hit him on the head.

Our text records an incredible Aha! moment.

A future generation of Jews will look back and suddenly realize that Jesus Christ was & is their Messiah and the Savior of the whole world.

“They will look upon Him Who they pierced” and “all Israel will be saved.”

The Aha! is that Jesus endured their griefs, sorrows, transgressions, and iniquities. It was for them that He was stricken, smitten, afflicted, wounded, bruised, and chastised.

It wasn’t only for Israel. He did it for me… He did it for you… He did it for love.

I’ll organize my comments around two encouragements: #1 There Is A Moment When You Realize Jesus’ Death Was Vicarious, and #2 There Is An Eternity To Reflect That Jesus’ Death Is Victorious. 

#1 – Jesus’ Death Is Vicarious (v4)

What would you say to your younger self?

That has become a popular question to end an interview. I can almost hear Isaiah in verse four asking future Jews, “What would you say to your ancestors?”

The future Jews are those in the final months of the Time of Jacob’s Trouble. As the armies of antichrist seek to destroy them, they will suddenly realize that Jesus was and is their Messiah. They would, if only they could, explain to the first century Jews who rejected Him, “Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows… He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him.”

In other words, “Aha! Messiah did come! He came to be our Substitute, but we rejected Him.”

Substitution was not a new thought to the Israelites. Animals had been substituted for them from the very beginning. But now the future Jews see that this same principle is at work in the death of the Suffering Servant. Their peace with God, the healing of their broken relationship with Him, was secured by His death.

You might be wondering why I am referring to this person as Jesus when He isn’t identified. It seems obvious. But for proof we could cite passages in the New Testament that apply these verses to Jesus.

Crimes should have consequences. God told Adam & Eve that if they disobeyed His one, simple command, it would be punishable by spiritual & physical death. After that would come an eternal Second Death. It is a forever of conscious suffering in Hell. Death is sometimes referred to as “the wages of sin.” Death is what you get for sinning.

Now that is a world-class problem because “all have sinned.” God worked out the only solution: He would become human and take your place. He acted as your Substitute.

Jesus was stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God.

It was the wisdom of God from the beginning to substitute Himself for humans. Scholars call this vicarious, or the vicarious atonement. One commentator put it like this:

“God’s perfectly righteous character means that He can by no means look the other way when it comes to sin. If a just judge on an earthly level will hold people accountable for breaking the law, how much more will the holy Judge of all do so? For sinners, this is a terrifying prospect indeed. Thankfully, Scripture reveals to us that God is merciful as well as just. He has made it so that He can forgive us without compromising His justice by allowing a substitute to bear the punishment for sin in our place.”

Jesus was no criminal. Unlike all other men ever born of a woman, He was sinless, pure, perfect.

When you read some of the crowd comments at the Cross you see that they assumed Jesus was getting what He deserved. “Those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who destroy the Temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing (Matthew 37:39-44).

We can narrow down our focus. Jesus was crucified with two criminals. One of them “blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong” (Luke 23:39-41).

I doubt the penitent thief understood the scope of his comments. He & his fellow thief deserved to die. Jesus did not. It was a graphic picture of Jesus taking the place of sinners. Jesus was dying for them – for both of them – as their substitute. They could both go to Heaven. One believed Him; one did not.

Crimes should have consequences. God told Adam & Eve that if they disobeyed His one, simple command, it would be punishable by spiritual & physical death. After that would come an eternal Second Death. It is a forever of conscious suffering in Hell. Death is sometimes referred to as “the wages of sin.” Death is what you get for sinning.

Now that is a world-class problem because “all have sinned.” God worked out the only solution: He would become human and take your place. He acted as your Substitute.

J.C. Ryle wrote, “It is true that we are sinners – but Christ has suffered for us. It is true that we deserve death – but Christ has died for us. It is true that we are guilty debtors – but Christ has paid our debts with His own blood. This is the real Gospel! On this let us lean while we live. To this let us cling when we die. Christ has been ‘lifted up’ on the Cross, and has thrown open the gates of Heaven to all [who believe].”

An anonymous author wrote, “All who will not have Christ – who refuse or ignore His claim upon them – will be exposed to the full punishment due justly for their sins. For they have no sin-bearer; they have not come under the shelter of His atonement. But for the believer, here is the truth: He was forsaken for me!”

Timothy Cross writes, “According to Isaiah those sins which separate us from God and damn our souls can be transferred to another. They can be dealt with and put away by Christ. The Christian’s glad testimony is ‘He bore my sins on Calvary’s cross.’ ”

• Can you recall the moment that you realized you were a sinner but Jesus had taken your place in death so that you might live?
• Was there anyone else that could do it?

#2 – Jesus’ Death Is Victorious (v5-6)

What is the first use of the word “bruised” in the Bible?

Gen 3:14  So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life.

Gen 3:15  And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

Scholars see in this what they call the Proto-Evangelium. It is the first preaching of the Gospel. God promises to come into the world He created and Himself and resolve the problem of sin’s penalty.

The Bible is a progressive revelation of what this verse promises. Because we have the complete Word of God, we can identify the nation of Israel as the woman. Jesus coming in human flesh is her Seed. The serpent is Satan. The “enmity” between Satan & Jesus, the warfare, culminates in a bruising battle at the Cross on the hill outside Jerusalem called Golgotha, the Place of the Skull.

Jesus was “bruised,” and He died. Three days later He arose victorious over Satan, sin & death.

Satan was immortally wounded at the Cross but remains free to wreak havoc as a defeated foe until the Lord returns.

Isa 53:5  But He was wounded for [my] transgressions, He was bruised for [my] iniquities; The chastisement for [my] peace was upon Him, And by His stripes [I am] healed.

We’re used to saying that while Satan bruised Jesus’ heel, the Lord crushed his head. The Hebrew word in these passages is the same, so why the use of crushed? The apostle Paul explains, “And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20). Jesus was “bruised” while making “peace” for us with God, and He “bruised” Satan’s head and will eventually “crush” him.

Jesus endured the Cross and has thereby made “peace” possible between whosoever will believe and God. It is the spiritual peace given to those who believe.

The last six words of verse five are a battleground among Christians. “By His stripes we are healed.” Can we claim, even insist upon, physical healing because of the “stripes?”

The way to approach this is to remember that this stanza of the song is about a future remnant of the nation of Israel being preserved and saved through the future Time of Jacob’s Trouble. Jesus will return and inaugurate the Kingdom of God on Earth. In the one-thousand year Kingdom, sickness and disease will be eradicated. Jesus will heal everyone, as I understand it.

These healings, then, are in the Kingdom, after the Church Age & after the Great Tribulation.

Physical healing in the Church Age in which we live is not on the table in these words.

We absolutely believe in gifts of healings. God continues to heal people; there has been no cessation of that, or any of the other gifts of God the Holy Spirit.

Why so few healings? A common answer is that the Church is failing. Are we ready to say that the Church has been failing for over two thousand years?

It’s time we admit that there are fewer healings in the Church Age by design, not by defeat.

The Church Age is a time in which God’s strength is made known through our weakness. He tells us that divine healing is not necessary because His grace is enough.

There are gifts of healing. None of the gifts of God the Holy Spirit have ceased. There is no biblical justification for cessation of the gifts. Pray for divine healing; be grateful for medical healing.

Isa 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

If you are a cat owner, you’ve probably discovered the cartoon, Simon’s Cat. It amplifies all the ways cats behave – much to our disapproval. But, hey, you’re the one who wanted a cat and he or she can’t help it. It’s in their nature.

Sheep are known for wandering off, going “astray.” It is in their nature to do so.

You are not a sinner because you sin; you sin because you are a sinner.

You and every human conceived inherit a sin nature. It is as natural for you to go astray from God as it is for a sheep to wander off.

What happens to helpless animals when they go astray? They are easy prey for predators, like “roaring” mountain lions.

“Our sinful condition makes us akin to a lost, stray sheep. Sin separates us from the warmth of the fold and fellowship with the Shepherd.”

A.W. Tozer wrote, “The only safe place for a sheep is by the side of his shepherd, because the devil does not fear sheep; he just fears the Shepherd.”

This may be slightly off-topic, but I want to mention it. More-and-more Christians are disconnecting from live fellowship in a church. It’s wrong.

Most of the illustrations about the church on Earth demand us gathering together:

• Sheep need to be a flock and have shepherds. If you are a lone sheep, it won’t be long until you encounter the lone wolf.
• Individual believers are living stones in the building of the church. When you put something together, is it important to have all the parts? Seems like you are always missing the Johnson Rod.
• You are a member of the body of Jesus. You are not a dismembered appendage. You aren’t Thing in the Addams Family.
• The gift of speaking in other tongues aside, the gifts of God the Holy Spirit require you be among others in order to exercise them. For example, you can’t exercise the gift of hospitality on yourself.

If you received a personal invite to attend CalvaryHanford as the guest of Jesus, Who would be there, it would at the very least be rude to stay home – even if you watch it live streaming.

In His Revelation, Jesus depicted the church gathered on Earth as a “lampstand” and said He would be, “In the midst of the seven lampstands” (1:13).

The Bible features prose, poetry, prophecy, parables, proverbs & praise.

You will read law & letters; private letters & general epistles. The authors employ metaphors, analogies, types, figures & illustrations.

Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12 is a song consisting of five three-verse stanzas. Why a song rather than a sermon?

Let’s say you go to college and have an Art class in Impressionism. You also have a class in Astronomy. In one class, you marvel at Starry, Starry Night, while in the other you measure the stars at night.

I think you know where I’m going with this. You can’t study Impressionism the same way you study Astronomy. They ‘move’ you in different ways:

• When we in awestruck wonder consider the stars God has made, then sings our soul, “How great Thou art.”
• But when we understand the stars are a backdrop for things like His vicarious atonement of the human race, you’re moved in a much different way.

He did it for me…He did it for you…He did it for love.

He Reports, You Decide (Isaiah 53:1-3)

In 1964 the Warren Commission Report concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating President John F. Kennedy.

My dad said it was the CIA. Of course, he also maintained that all homeless people are millionaires and that seat belts kill more people than they save.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr is a reliable source. He is on record saying, “There is overwhelming evidence that the CIA was involved in [my uncle’s] murder.”

You don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to be suspicious of official government reports.

In the 8^th century BC God released a report.

His report can be trusted 100%. God is not a man that He should lie; For all the promises of God in [Jesus] are Yes, and in Him Amen.

Isaiah 52:13 through chapter 53:12 is a song with three verses in each of five stanzas. Bible commentators use every superlative in the English language to underscore its prominence. We are looking at each of the five stanzas separately. I’ll organize my comments about this stanza around two questions: #1 Do You Accept God’s Report?, and #2 Are You Ashamed Of God’s Report?

#1 – Do You Accept God’s Report? (v1&2)

In 1964 the Surgeon General published Smoking and Health.

It concluded that cigarette smoking was responsible for a 70% increase in the mortality rate of smokers over non-smokers. It estimated that average smokers had a nine-to-ten-fold risk of developing lung cancer compared to non-smokers.

My dad believed the Surgeon General’s report. He quit smoking that day, cold turkey.

There are a plethora of reports circulating that suggest how you ought to live:

• How many religions are there? Experts say that there are 12 major religions and 4000+ ‘faith groups.’ Each one can be seen as a report about who or what is worshipped as god, and why.
• It is anyone’s guess how many philosophies there are. They, too, report on the human condition.
• Then there are the psychologies. Lots of them.

They can’t all be right. In fact, none of them are.

God’s inspired, authoritative Word, the Bible, is a report of the human condition. It is the only accurate report. Makes sense since God is the Creator of the universe, and you are made in His image.

Is God’s report reliable? How do we know, for example, that we are reading Isaiah?

Three words: Dead Sea Scrolls.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of ancient Jewish manuscripts. They were discovered over a span of 10 years, between 1946 and 1956, at the Qumran Caves on the northern shore of the Dead Sea. They date from the 3^rd century BC to the 1^st century AD. They include the oldest surviving manuscripts of entire books included in the Bible, along with extra-biblical manuscripts.

The Great Isaiah Scroll is one of the seven Dead Sea Scrolls that were first to be discovered. It is the entire Book of Isaiah from beginning to end (apart from a few small damaged portions). It is 1000 years older than the oldest Hebrew manuscripts known before the scrolls’ discovery. It is almost identical to the most recent manuscript version from the 900s AD. (Scholars discovered a handful of spelling and tense-oriented scribal errors, but nothing of significance).

One commentator wrote, “The Old Testament that we read today is the same one that existed in 100BC to 200BC. This means that the over 300 Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah pre-existed the birth of Jesus Christ.”

God’s “report” is not just the Book of Isaiah, or the Hebrew Scriptures. It is His complete revelation in the Bible. The Bible is one report given progressively. There were around 40 ‘reporters,’ but the Bible and tradition only mentions 35 by name. It was written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek over a span of over 1500  years on three continents.

Reports can usually be summarized in a few words. My summary would be Sin, the Savior & Salvation.

Sin: “In the beginning,” just two chapters in, we read about Adam & Eve disobeying God’s one, simple, keepable command. In an essay, Richard Phillips writes, “Original Sin is a term that defines the nature of mankind’s sinful condition because of Adam’s fall. It teaches that all people are corrupted by Adam’s sin through natural generation, by which – together with Adam’s imputed condemnation – we all enter the world guilty before God. Original Sin shows that we sin because we are sinners, entering this world with a corrupt nature and without hope apart from the saving grace of God in the Gospel.”

The Savior: While Adam, Eve & the serpent were still in the Garden of Eden, God preached the first Gospel message. He said the Seed of the woman would come and defeat the devil. As the Bible progresses, we come to understand that the Seed of the woman would be God in human flesh. This God-man would act as our substitute. He would dive in our place taking upon Himself the punishment that was due Adam & Eve and all of their offspring.

Salvation: Jesus died, but rose from the dead. All humans who have no capacity to believe, and all who can & do believe, are counted as righteous and receive eternal life. All humans who have the capacity to believe but do not are consigned to eternal conscious torment in the Lake of Fire.

Isa 53:1  Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

The “arm of the LORD” is synonymous with salvation. Isaiah 59:1 NIV, “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save…”

To whom was salvation revealed? It was revealed to the nation of Israel. God chose Abraham to start a new nation. He had a son, Isaac, who had a son, Jacob, who had twelve sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.

The apostle Paul explains what was “revealed” to them: “[To the Israelites] pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God” (Romans 9:4-5).

God asks Israel, “Who has believed our report?” The prophets and John the Baptist and Jesus Himself reported God’s plan, but were rejected mostly by being killed.

The nation of Israel was tasked with presenting the Savior to the world as the solve for sin. He would set-up the Kingdom of God, with Jerusalem as its capital. All the nations of the earth would come to pay Him homage. They would hear the Gospel and multitudes would be saved.

John the Baptist preceded Jesus. They preached the same message: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” The disciples were constantly asking about the Kingdom – right up to the Lord’s ascension to Heaven.

The Savior came through Israel, miraculously. He came to His own… His own did not receive Him.

Why? One significant reason was that Jesus wasn’t the Savior they expected or wanted.

Isa 53:2  For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.

This is the collective voice and testimony of Jews in the future Time of Jacob’s Trouble that we more commonly call the Great Tribulation. They understand that their ancestors did not recognize Jesus… But they will!

I’m going to read verse two again and a few verses from the Revelation.

Isa 53:2  For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.

Rev 19:11  Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.

Rev 19:12  His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.

Rev 19:13  He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

Rev 19:14  And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.

Rev 19:15  Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

Rev 19:16  And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Are Isaiah & the apostle John talking about the same Person? Yes, they are. It’s Jesus. The 1^st century Jews were anticipating the Savior described by John. They wanted ‘2^nd Coming Jesus.’

“For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground.” The “tender plant” is describing a sucker shoot that you might easily snap off. The “root out of dry ground” is an anomaly. Normally it doesn’t last.

I might be missing something deeper, an analogy perhaps, but this seems to be a simple illustration of Jesus’ humiliation. By that we mean the Doctrine of Humiliation that consists of the rejection and suffering that Jesus received and accepted, including incarnation, suffering, death, and burial. God coming in human flesh – that is humiliation.

Notwithstanding God the Father’s sovereignty, Jesus was always in danger. Early on the family had to flee to Egypt because Herod was seeking to murder Him. Jesus didn’t use His deity to protect Himself. He wasn’t like Grogu, using telekinesis to direct objects or people with His mind. He was a vulnerable infant.

From the Garden of Eden forward, God’s report was always featured a genuine fragility. Episode after episode is a cliffhanger.

“He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.”

It isn’t portraying Jesus as homely or undesirable. It’s saying that Jesus was not the guy you’d pick at graduation as Most Likely to be the Savior of the World.

Do you think of Jesus as charismatic? I mean in the nonbiblical use of the term. It’s OK to think of Him that way as long as we realize that it was because His Father in Heaven and the Holy Spirit were why He spoke like no one ever had, and why children approached Him without fear, and why sinners found in Him a refuge.

Think of it this way. If someone is naturally charismatic, and God is using them, we tend to think it is because of their personality. Obviously, God can, and does, use charismatic individuals, but it isn’t a prerequisite. A case can be made that God gets more of the glory He deserves if we are without form, comeliness, or beauty.

If you haven’t “received” God’s report – the Gospel – what are you living by? It cannot save you.

#2 – Are You Ashamed Of God’s Report? (v3)

Who is the poster boy for Scientology?

‘Poster boy’ is a colloquial term used to describe a person who epitomizes or represents a particular quality, cause, or image, often in a positive or idealized way. It is commonly used in a figurative sense to refer to someone who becomes a symbol or spokesperson for a specific idea, movement, or brand.

Tom Cruise is a pretty great poster boy. Handsome, charismatic, talented, successful, and he does his own stunts.

Who is the poster boy for Christianity?

I nominate the apostle Paul:

• The missionary giant is estimated to have traveled 10,000 miles on foot preaching the Gospel.
• He probably planted close to 20 churches, with many more born out of those by his apprentice leaders.
• Of the 27 books in the New Testament, 13 or 14 are traditionally attributed to Paul.

That’s great… But it took quite a toll on his body.

2Co 11:23  [in] labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.

2Co 11:24  From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.

2Co 11:25  Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;

2Co 11:26  in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

2Co 11:27  in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness…

• He had a terrible eye condition that was difficult to look at.
• He described some kind of “thorn in his flesh” that contributed to constant physical pain and weakness.

That’s what a poster boy for Christianity should look like.

Isa 53:3  He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

First, a grammar lesson. The prophetic perfect tense is a literary technique that describes future events that are so certain to happen that they are referred to in the past tense as if they had already happened.

Who hid their faces, despised Jesus, and did not esteem Him? The leaders of the nation of Israel at the Lord’s first coming. These Jews are looking back at that 1^st century error. More importantly, they recognize the Lord as having to suffer first.

We keep referencing a future generation of Jews. They are the Jews in the future Time of Jacob’s Trouble.

The twelfth chapter of the OT Book of Zechariah describes the future time when all the world will gather their armies to destroy Israel. Then this will happen: “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn” (12:10).

The apostle Paul puts it like this: “And so all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26).

One thing I said we would note in chapter 53 is that each stanza can be paired with one of the 5 offerings in the Temple. The Meal Offering was (obviously) bloodless, an offering involving pure flour. If you get into it, you find that it typifies the pure, and therefore perfect, humanity of Jesus – the perfect  humanness we see in this stanza.

Why would a believer be ashamed? Even the Church doesn’t get it right in terms of who & what we put forward on posters.

Let’s face it: We are grateful beyond our ability to express it for the Lord’s decision to be humiliated in in order to save us. We, however, don’t like humiliation when it is asked of us.

When Pastor Chuck Smith was getting to the end, he was in the pulpit with an oxygen tank and tubes. Critics – and there were many – thought he should get out of the way and turn the church over to a younger, healthy pastor.

“Thank you, Pastor Chuck, for that final lesson in humiliation.”

Come & Sing A Suffering Servant’s Song Of Sprinkling (Isaiah 52:13-15)

✅ Charles Spurgeon described it as “A Bible in miniature, the Gospel in its essence.”

✅ Kyle Yates called it, “The Mount Everest of Old Testament prophecy.”

✅ Frantz Delitzsch said it is “The most central, the deepest, and the loftiest thing that Old Testament prophecy has ever achieved. It is as if it had been written beneath the Cross upon Golgotha.”

✅ John Calvin said, “This chapter may be truly called the key to unlock the door of the whole Bible.”

✅ Ivan Engnell said, “Without any exaggeration, [it is] the most important text of the Old Testament.”

✅ Martin Luther: “This is truly the chief place in the Old Testament.”

✅ D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: “This chapter is the Grand Canyon of the Old Testament, displaying the depths and heights of God’s redemptive purposes.”

✅ J.I. Packer: “Here we find the beating heart of the Gospel, a chapter that encapsulates the essence of Jesus Christ’s redemptive work.”

✅ Oswald Chambers: “The entire Bible converges on the message of Isaiah 53.”

In terms of structure, the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah is a song. It contains five stanzas, each consisting of three verses. Because of its structure we are confident that the last three verses of chapter 52 belong as the first three verses of chapter 53. Remember, there were no chapter & verse divisions until around the 1200s.

We will listen to each stanza by itself. Today will be Part One of Five. Because each stanza contains three verses, I must adjust and organize my comments around three words: Servant, Suffer, and Sprinkle.

#1 – “Behold, My Servant” (v13)

➡ The Book of Isaiah is the most quoted book in the New Testament. The estimate is that there are over 60 direct quotations and numerous indirect references. (The Psalms are quoted more than Isaiah, but we consider them individual songs, not a single book.)

➡ Isaiah 53 is the most quoted chapter from the most quoted book.

There is no doubt that Jesus is the servant. There are, however, at least three other suggestions:

1. The nation of Israel.
2. King Darius of Persia.
3. The prophet Isaiah. 

None of them make any biblical sense.

More importantly, the New Testament eliminates any confusion:

• The Gospel of Luke records Jesus Christ stating: “For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined… For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in Me, ‘And He was reckoned with transgressors;’ for what is written about Me has its fulfillment.” The Scripture quoted was from Isaiah 53.
• In Acts 9:35 we read how “Philip [the evangelist] opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him [the Ethiopian treasurer] the good news of Jesus.” Again, the Scripture was Isaiah 53.

Jesus is the servant who fulfills Isaiah 53. One commentator writes, “It is the unanimous testimony of the New Testament that the subject and theme of Isaiah 53 in the Old Testament is the Christ of Calvary.”

What if you did not have the unanimous testimony of the NT? It would be harder to come to a conclusion. It would be harder still if you were expecting a Military Messiah who would conquer your enemies on the field of battle.

The Ethiopian treasurer could not sort out Isaiah 53 until Philip provided the NT identification as Jesus.

We appreciate unlikely heroes. Strider the Ranger is the unlikely true King of Gondor in The Lord of the Rings.

Jesus was the unlikely King of kings who came to His own in order to bring them the kingdom. They did not receive Him.

Isa 52:13  Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently…

Christianity is unique in many ways. One of them is that our God humbled Himself and came as the servant of all. We’ve been singing a song for a while now that has a lyric, name another God like this. You can’t.

Jesus isn’t your personal servant, available to do your will. There’s a thing going around among Christians. It’s called “Demand Praying.” They emphasize a particular definition of the word “ask.” They say, “There is no doubt that this word describes someone who prays authoritatively, in a sense demanding something from God. This person knows what he needs and is so filled with faith that he isn’t afraid to boldly come into God’s Presence to ask and expect to receive what he has requested.”

Jesus served you by dying on the Cross and taking upon Himself your sin.

It follows that we serve by dying to ourselves daily. We don’t demand; we wait for the Lord to command.

You dads and moms – Are you teaching your kids to demand everything & anything that they want? Is that even a relationship? The person who does that in the NT is the Prodigal Son.

Did Jesus make demands upon His Father in Heaven? Did Jesus tell His Father what to do for Him? Just the opposite. “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise” (John 5:19).

“Prudently” doesn’t capture the power of what is being said. The ISV translates it as prospering.

The effort to redeem lost humanity will prosper; it will succeed. It is the perfect plan executed by the perfect Person.

Isa 52:13  … He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.

“Extolled” isn’t a word we use much. It has a bunch of possible definitions, e.g., “standard” (like a banner on a high pole), “lifted-up,” and “refuge.”

The Messiah would be a standard lifted up on a high pole for those who sought refuge.

If you are familiar with the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt, you will remember the episode in which poisonous serpents were in the Israelite camp biting and killing them. Moses put a bronze serpent on a pole. It was a standard. Any Israelite who was bitten could simply look at the pole lifted-up and it would be refuge to them in that they would not die.

Jesus told us that it was a picture of the salvation refuge He would accomplish by being “lifted-up” on the Cross. He said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life” (3:14-15).

You may have seen a ‘B’ movie in which someone ends up in the snake pit. Multiple snakes bite and hang-on accompanied by lots of screaming. That is how unbelievers look from Heaven. Take refuge at the Cross. Look to Jesus for your help. The Cross upon which the Lord died is the only remedy for defeating “that Serpent of old, the devil and Satan” (Revelation 12:9).

“Exalted” also involves being lifted-up, but in context, Isaiah was no longer talking about the Cross. This is Jesus lifted-up to Heaven. In the Book of Acts the apostle Peter preached, “This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it” (Acts 2:23-24).

The Jews were awaiting the Messiah. Isaiah described Him. He would be a servant to all by dying in a manner illustrated by the serpent on the pole so that anyone who looked to Him for salvation would be saved. We can see this would be a hard sell for those with hardened hearts.

Lifted up was He to die
‘It is finished’ was His cry
Now in Heaven exalted high
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

#2- “Behold, My Suffering Servant” (v14)

After 20+ movies, in the final battle, CaptainAmerica finally said it: “Avengers, assemble.” 

The way he said it, subdued, was an interesting choice.

Ecce Homo.

Those are the Latin words used by Pontius Pilate in the Vulgate translation of the Gospel of John. He presents a scourged Jesus, bound and crowned with thorns, to a hostile crowd. In English he said “Behold, the man.”

How did Pilate say it, I wonder? Was it matter-of-fact? Was it emotional? Was he loud or soft?

Three English words, two Latin words; the very brevity catches your breath. It was a live event. A man’s life was at stake. A nation was at stake. The world was at stake. Jesus must move forward, to the Cross.

Isaiah ecce homo’s in verse fourteen.

Isa 52:14  Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men;

There are a few ways of hearing this. One would be Pilate’s appraisal that Jesus was just a man. He was no threat to Israel or to Rome. Of course, Pilate was wrong.

Was it sympathy with which he spoke? Was Pilate saying, “Look at him. He’s barely recognizable as a man.”

Here is another, probably not what Pilate meant, but certainly appropriate. “Behold, Man,” as in Mankind.

Jesus was representing Mankind. His many biblical names include “The Last Adam” & “The Second Man” (First Corinthians 15:45, 47).

The first man, Adam, had failed. The Second Man, Jesus, had succeeded and was going to finish it by dying in our place.

God told Adam & Eve that if they disobeyed Him, they would die. They ate the forbidden fruit (probably a fig) and they died:

• They immediately died spiritually.
• They began to die physically.
• They would die eternally – meaning they would die then live forever separated from God and in constant, conscious torment.

Thanks to our original parents, we inherit a sin nature. Sin is imputed to us. We commit individual sins.

Our only hope is that a Second Adam would be born, without a sin nature. He would have to resist the tempting of the devil. He would need to live a sinless life, and then be willing to die in our place.

Survey history. Could anyone else do this? Buddha? Mohammed? Vishnu? What would Confucius say?

The tempest’s awful voice was heard
O Christ, it broke on Thee!
Thine open bosom was my ward
It braved the storm for me
Thy form was scarred, Thy visage marred
Now cloudless peace for me.

#3 – “Behold, My Suffering Servant Sprinkles” (v15)

We need a cleansing which makes us fit for God’s holy presence. An outward sprinkling of water symbolized the inward cleansing of our souls.

Isa 52:15  So shall He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; For what had not been told them they shall see, And what they had not heard they shall consider.

If you are a king but you keep your mouth shut before another king, that king is King of kings!

This is Jesus after His return. He establishes a Kingdom of God on Earth that will last one-thousand years. Israel, and Jerusalem especially, will be the capital of the world. Humans in mortal bodies will be on the Earth. They will need salvation, here depicted as “sprinkling.”

I again appeal to the remarkable conversion of the Ethiopian treasurer. Think of him in terms of verse fifteen. “For what had not been told [him he saw], And what [he] had not heard [he considered]. Philip told him the Good News of salvation; he saw it; his wanting to be baptized by Philip means he considered and received the Lord.

There will be a whole lot of sprinkling going on in the Kingdom.

There is something subtle happening in this song that we will get more into later (Lord willing).

It seems that the 5 stanzas match the 5 Levitical offerings in the OT.

1. We see the Burnt offering – 52:13-15
2. We see the Meal offering – 53:1-3
3. We see the Peace offering – 53:4-6
4. We see the Sin offering – 53:7-9
5. We see the Trespass (guilt) offering – 53:10-12

The Hebrew word for “burnt offering” means to ascend, literally to go up in smoke. The smoke from the sacrifice ascends to God, “a soothing aroma to the LORD” (Leviticus 1:9). The entire animal would be consumed (except for the hide).

It prefigures Jesus on the Cross in several ways:

1. His physical life was completely consumed. He genuinely died.
2. He ascended to God.
3. His covering (that is, His garment) was distributed to those who officiated over His sacrifice (Matthew 27:35).
4. He gives to those who believe in Him a robe of righteousness.

The Jews understandably had a hard time seeing the Messiah as a suffering servant. They do not see Him yet. Built into the Temple sacrifices was a symbolism that would help. All of the sacrifices, the rituals, the feasts… They all prefigured the coming Messiah, the Savior, Jesus.

Lord, through the blood of the Lamb that was slain
Cleansing for me, cleansing for me!
From all the guilt of my sin now I claim
Cleansing from Thee, cleansing from Thee

Sinful and black though the past may have been
Many the crushing defeats I have seen
Yet on Thy promise, O Lord, now I lean:
Cleansing for me, cleansing for me!

From all the sins over which I have wept
Cleansing for me, cleansing for me!
Far, far away, by the blood-current swept
Cleansing for me, cleansing for me!

Jesus Thy promise I dare to believe
And as I come Thou dost now me receive
That over sin I may never more grieve
Cleansing for me, cleansing for me!

Jesus Wants To Keep You Barefoot & Preaching (Isaiah 52:1-12)

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

January 2, 1956, was the day that 29-year-old Jim Elliot had planned and prayed for. He and four other missionaries would be setting up camp in the territory of a dangerous and uncivilized Ecuadorian Indian tribe known then as the Aucas.

The Aucas killed strangers.

Nevertheless Jim Elliot had no doubt God wanted him to tell the Aucas about Jesus.

With Jim Elliot were Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, Pete Fleming, and pilot Nate Saint. They were flown in and dropped off on an Auca beach. Nate Saint then flew over the Auca village and called on loud speaker to come to the beach. After four days, an Auca man and two women appeared. They shared a meal with them and urged them to return with others.

January 8, 1956. Two Auca women walked out of the jungle. Elliot and Fleming waded toward them. As they got closer they heard a terrifying cry behind them. They turned and saw a group of Auca warriors, spears raised, poised to throw.

Elliot had a firearm, but the missionaries had vowed they would not kill an Auca who did not know Jesus to save himself from being killed. Within seconds, the missionaries were dead.

I came across a detail that was new to me. Two others had initially signed-on to accompany Elliot to Ecuador. They bailed on him. Wedding plans got in the way.

Did they dodge a spear? Or miss the honor of being martyred? That is for them to take before the Lord.

What we can glean is that it is possible for a believer to prioritize living in the material world over spiritual things.

In the eighth century BC, the prophet Isaiah saw 150yrs into the future of God’s chosen nation. He predicted the fall of Jerusalem to the armies of King Nebuchadnezzar. He saw the Jews led away as captives to Babylon. Isaiah also saw they would be freed by Cyrus of Persia to go home. Most of them, the majority, did not go home.

They prioritized living in the material world over spiritual things.

Since we live in a spiritual Babylon, we can ask, “Am I prioritizing living in the material world?

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 Get Up & Put On Your Beautiful Garments, and #2 Go Out & Show Off Your Beautiful Feet.

#1 – Get Up & Put On Your Beautiful Garments (v1-6)

The Bible reveals all human beings are sinners. To illustrate, we are told that our clothing is like filthy rags. Dressed in filthy rags, we cannot be admitted into Heaven. We need a white robe, called the “robe of righteousness.” Jesus is the only ‘distributor’ who has this robe. He gives it when you believe what He did for you on the Cross. You believe God and Jesus exchanges clothes with you:

• The Lord takes away your filthy garments.
• The Lord gives you His robe of righteousness.

It is a one-size-fits-all grace garment given to whosoever in the human race believes God.

Our chapter begins with “beautiful garments.”

Isa 52:1  Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For the uncircumcised and the unclean Shall no longer come to you.

It is crucial that we first read these verses, and all of Isaiah, and all the OT, as it pertains to its original audience. It is written to Jews of the southern kingdom of Judah. These verses… This chapter… Invites them to come home from Babylon.

The Lord depicts the city of Jerusalem as a woman who puts-on her Sabbath Day best.

We encounter this kind of illustration a few times in the Bible. The most prominent is at the end of the Revelation. We read, “One of the seven angels [said to the apostle John] “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” Sacrificing lambs anticipated the coming of a Savior who would be the final sacrifice required to forgive sin  And [the angel] carried [John] away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed [him] the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God” (21:9-10).

The “bride” is the resurrected & rewarded Church. She is so identified with the city that it’s not wrong to call it the “bride.”

This trope is used humorously in the MCU when Captain America calls Spider-Man “Queens,” a Burroughs in New York.

The “uncircumcised” and the “unclean” refer to unbelieving Jews and unbelieving Gentiles, respectively. Are there in 2024 unbelievers in Jerusalem? Yes. That means Isaiah was talking about the far future, the Kingdom of God on Earth.

Isa 52:2  Shake yourself from the dust, arise; Sit down, O Jerusalem! Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion!

“Arise; Sit down.” They were to “arise” in Babylon and leave, then “sit down” in Jerusalem. There is no doubt all of the Jews ought to have left.

“Bonds of your neck” are those shackles that you see on ancient prisoners. That was how they were led in, but no how they would be let out.

Isa 52:3  For thus says the LORD: “You have sold yourselves for nothing, And you shall be redeemed without money.”

Slaves were bought & sold. The Jews were conquered and not sold. They could leave once King Cyrus of Persia gave them their freedom. There was no price to pay.

In the NT, the apostle Paul describes certain people as “having been taken captive by [the devil] to do his will” (Second Timothy 2:26). There are Bible commentators who say he is talking about believers, not unbelievers. I use it a lot to describe the irrational behavior of unbelievers. For example, some of the things going on in our country are not political issues. They are matters of common sense that every rational person ought to agree with. They are so irrational, so illogical, it leaves you scratching your head. Every time I see a biological man compete in a sporting event against biological women, that’s insane. It isn’t even debatable. Some principality or power thought it up and folks taken captive by Satan impose it.

Isa 52:4  For thus says the Lord GOD: ‘ “My people went down at first Into Egypt to dwell there; Then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

This is a 24 word summary of two thousand years of Jewish history, from the Exodus to the Assyrian invasion and ruin of the northern kingdom. It highlights the historic persecution and antisemitism against God’s beloved nation.

Isa 52:5  Now therefore, what have I here,” says the LORD, “That My people are taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them Make them wail,” says the LORD, “And My name is blasphemed continually every day.

Isa 52:6  Therefore My people shall know My name; Therefore they shall know in that day That I am He who speaks: ‘Behold, it is I.’ ”

When you read the Bible, it seems as though the Jews are in a constant state of rebellion and failure. God is over and over again forced to discipline them. The other nations of the world look upon this. They take advantage of the Jews, and they blaspheme the Lord. All that is going to end.

The last book of the Bible, in its closing chapters, describes a farther future. Babylon will be a city again. God will destroy her again and save His people.

James Bond walks out of the ocean. He removes his SCUBA gear and is perfectly clothed in a tuxedo, complete with lapel flower.

Believers in Jesus have additional wardrobe they put on over their robe. One is the armor of God. We are told to put it on because we are in a war against malevolent creatures.

In World War II, Allied forces invaded Normandy, France, to establish a beachhead.

We must not allow Satan to have the beachhead.

There are three lifestyles believers adopt on their journey:

1. You can think of your time on Earth with Jesus as if you are living on a luxury liner with the Church. You never get close to the beach because your life is about comfort.
2. You can disembark and get into a landing craft. You’ll take heavy fire. The Higgins Boat amphibious landing craft was typically constructed from plywood. It could ferry a roughly platoon-sized complement of 36 men to shore at 9 knots. Can you say “sitting duck?”
3. You can storm the beach. Wearied, wounded, wondering… We press on that [we] may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of [us]” (Philippians 3:12).

#2 – Go Out & Show Off Your Beautiful Feet (v7-12)

“In 2015 an exhibition of ancient clay tablets discovered in modern-day Iraq shed light on the daily life of Jews exiled to Babylon. The exhibition featured more than 100 cuneiform tablets, each no bigger than your palm, that detail transactions and contracts between Judeans driven from Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar around 600BC.”

The Jews traded, ran businesses, and helped the administration of Babylon. One archaeologist said, “They were free to go about their lives, they weren’t slaves. Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t a brutal ruler in that respect. He knew he needed the Judeans to help revive the struggling Babylonian economy.”

Let’s say in Babylon you are a successful businessman with a comfortable life. Your kids are happy – your son plays football for the Babylon Bees, your daughter spends summers interning at the hanging gardens.  All of a sudden you could go “home.” But… You are home. Only a handful of Jews who had seen the Temple would survive.

You’d be going ‘home’ to ruins, to a city with no walls and no Temple. There were no incentives. Materially speaking, it was foolish. You’d have to be stupid… or spiritual.

You might face a huge, life-changing spiritual decision. You will face many less drastic but just as important spiritual decisions. When you do, it is more than OK to be a faithful fool for Jesus. Choose the option that represents storming the beaches.

The last three verses of this chapter belong with chapter fifty-three. They are the LORD’s excited, enthusiastic anticipation of the return of the Jews to Jerusalem once Cyrus tells them they are free to go.

Isa 52:7  How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

The “watchmen” of verse eight suddenly see heralds running in the mountains spreading Good News as they go. The “Good News” is the return of the Jews.

The apostle Paul borrows this verse to describe believers heralding the Gospel in the Church Age (Romans 10:15). The Gospel message includes the understanding that Jesus has made peace between us and God.

For a run like that, unless you have Hobbit-feet you’d better be wearing Kicks. Why go barefoot?

Some fit Swede I found in my research wrote on his blog, “In the last twelve months, I have worn nothing but barefoot shoes or no shoes at all. Before that, I spent another twelve months in mostly barefoot shoes when working out, running, or going on walks. I’m not exaggerating when I say it changed my life.”

Research it for yourself. For health & fitness we ought to go barefoot.

I think I’m right in saying that the Jewish priests ministered in the Temple barefoot. We are not told that; we assume it because there is no description of footwear.

My speculation on the Barefoot Messenger Service is that it communicated a return to Temple worship. The barefoot priests had not been able to perform their tasks in the Temple for more than 70yrs. When they returned to Jerusalem, they built the Temple before the walls. Stupid – unless you understand that worship is warfare.

Why am I not preaching barefoot? Even more so, why does the worship team have shoes on? Answer two questions:

1. As a believer, is your body permanently indwelt by God the Holy Spirit?
2. As a believer, is worship an event or is it your lifestyle?

Since you are the Temple of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and your life is worship, shouldn’t you go barefoot at all times?

Isa 52:8  Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, With their voices they shall sing together; For they shall see eye to eye When the LORD brings back Zion.

Isa 52:9  Break forth into joy, sing together, You waste places of Jerusalem! For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem.

The only commentary here is to note God’s joy. You & I can bring joy to God!! We are always quick to point out the truth that God does not need us. But that doesn’t cancel out His enjoying us. We are not just another something that God has created out of boredom. We are made in His image. We are meant to be His greatest, and therefore most beloved, creation.

Isa 52:10  The LORD has made bare His holy arm In the eyes of all the nations; And all the ends of the earth shall see The salvation of our God.

Maybe you’ve seen The Ghost & the Darkness. It is the terrifying but true story of two lions in Kenya, Africa, the Tsavo Man-eaters. In one scene a native, Mahina, thinks he has killed it. He looks at Val Kilmer and raises up his bloody arms in a victory pose. Yeah, they eat him later.

Isa 52:11  Depart! Depart! Go out from there, Touch no unclean thing; Go out from the midst of her, Be clean, You who bear the vessels of the LORD.

Isa 52:12  For you shall not go out with haste, Nor go by flight; For the LORD will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

Get up! Get out! You won’t need anything, so don’t be like your ancestors in the Exodus from Egypt and take spoil. March properly with the implements from the Temple that were stolen by Nebuchadnezzar. Don’t hurry in fear but enjoy the walk. God will guide & protect, and He has your ‘6’.

I used to think it was probably OK for some or even the majority of the Jews to remain in Babylon. But that’s just wrong. God told them to depart and get to Jerusalem.

The figure historians have arrived at is 80%. That is, 80% of the Jews in Babylon remained behind. You can read all about it in the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.

Without Jerusalem and the Temple, many prophecies about the coming of Messiah could not have been fulfilled by Jesus some 400yrs later.

We are set-up to examine ourselves, “Am I luxury crusin?” “Am I motoring to join the fight?” “Am I on the beach, sometimes running, sometimes crawling, but advancing?”

Were the missionaries of Operation Ecuador fools? Absolutely!

We aren’t in Ecuador but the mission is the same. We come together as the Church to be built-up in our faith in order to go out and do the work of the ministry. The work is the Great Commission, to go into the whole world with the Good News of salvation in Jesus.

We should be willing to be fools in Operation Hanford, or Lemoore, or NASLemoore, Corcoran, Armona, Grangeville, Avenal, Stratford, and, yes, Riverdale; in Operation My Home, My Workplace, My School.

Elizabeth Elliot wrote, “I have one desire now – to live a life of reckless abandon for the Lord, putting all my energy and strength into it.”

Don’t He Make You Wanna Go Home (Isaiah 51:1-23)

“Oh, the burden on my back grows heavier with every step, but my heart longs for the Celestial City. I press on, for there awaits a home not built by human hands, a place where my soul shall find true rest and eternal joy. The journey is arduous, yet my eagerness to reach the heavenly abode propels me forward, enduring all trials on the path homeward.”

Called Pilgrim’s Progress for short, the full title of John Bunyon’s 1678 masterpiece is The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come. It is an allegory of our walk with the Lord from Earth to Heaven.

The main character is Christian, who is a Christian. He is every Christian. He is, in his own words, “eager to reach the heavenly abode.”

Our passage in Isaiah describes an eagerness to reach the heavenly abode.

It’s in verse eleven: “So the ransomed of the LORD shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

Christian was eager to go home…Christians ought to be eager to go home.

• The apostle Paul was eager: “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (Philippians 1:23).
• The apostle Peter was eager. He urges us to “hasten” the Lord’s coming (Second Peter 3:12).

What about us? How eager are we to go home? I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 Let’s Be Eager To Go Home, and #2 Let’s Be Loathe To Stay Here.

#1 – Let’s Be Eager To Go Home (v1-11)

Isaiah’s immediate audience was the nation of Judah. His topics revolve around them and their promised land and earthly kingdom. We can see ourselves, the Church, in relation to the events discussed. For example, when Isaiah looks into the far future and sees the return of the Lord to establish the Kingdom of God on Earth that was promised to Israel, we come with Him from Heaven to Earth.

The LORD told the Jews that in approximately 150 years they would be disciplined by God for their idolatry and spiritual adultery. King Nebuchadnezzar would burn the Temple, raze Jerusalem, tear down its walls. The Jews would be captives in Babylon.

King Cyrus of Persia would give the Jews their freedom to return to Jerusalem and rebuild. We like to point out every chance we get that in a stunning prophecy, Cyrus is named by Isaiah before he was born. Take that, Nostradamus.

Isaiah is a little like Sam Becket. He’s the scientist leaping through time in the SyFy classic series,  Quantum Leap. We need to pay close attention to Isaiah’s ‘leaps’ to know where he has taken us.

• Sometimes he describes the Jews returning to Jerusalem from Babylon.
• Sometimes he describes the Jews in the future Great Tribulation.
• Sometimes he describes the 1000yr Kingdom on Earth Jesus will establish at His return to Earth.
• Sometimes he describes eternity.

In verses one through eight Isaiah is jumpy.

Isa 51:1  “Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, You who seek the LORD… [There was always a remnant of believing Jews. They were declared “righteous” by believing God. They sought God, following His precepts]. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug [The idiom we would use is, “You’re a chip off the old block.” Abraham was the block].

Isa 51:2  Look to Abraham your father, And to Sarah who bore you; For I called him alone, And blessed him and increased him.”

When descendants of Abraham look at his storied life they see the whole plan of God to redeem Jews & Gentiles. One man becomes as numerous as the sand along the seashore, and as the stars in the sky (Genesis 22:17). We would say, “He who has begun a good work will perform it.” The Jews might be in captivity. They might suffer terrifically throughout history. But God will prove faithful to Abraham.

For his part Abraham stumbled at first, but as he continued with the Lord, he found his spiritual rhythm. So much so that at one point he would have sacrificed his only son without asking a question.

Like father Abraham, like his sons. Judah could have that same faith. So can we as spiritual sons & daughters.

Isa 51:3  For the LORD will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.

Isa 51:4  “Listen to Me, My people; And give ear to Me, O My nation: For law will proceed from Me, And I will make My justice rest As a light of the peoples.

Isa 51:5  My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, And My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait upon Me, And on My arm they will trust. [“Peoples” & “the coastlands” refers to Gentile nations].

This sounds very Kingdom-of-God-on-Earth-ish. The Bible tells us Jesus will return to establish a Kingdom on Earth that will last for 1000yrs. His return is at the end of 7yrs of Great Tribulation.

• Jesus will transform “waste places” and the “wilderness” to be like Eden.
• His rule will be in righteousness, dispensing justice.
• Jesus will save all who call upon Him.

Isa 51:6  Lift up your eyes to the heavens, And look on the earth beneath. For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, The earth will grow old like a garment, And those who dwell in it will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness will not be abolished.

This is a leap farther forward. After the 1000yr Kingdom the Lord will create new heavens & a new Earth that will exist eternally.

Isa 51:7  “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, You people in whose heart is My law: Do not fear the reproach of men, Nor be afraid of their insults.

Isa 51:8  For the moth will eat them up like a garment, And the worm will eat them like wool; But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation from generation to generation.”

Back from the future… The remnant can encourage themselves by remembering their destiny as opposed to that of unbelievers.

Those who follow the Lord will be reproached and insulted on Earth. That can hurt, but it doesn’t need to. Would you rather unbelieving men praise you, or the Lord? He bore their reproaches for you; now it is your turn to do bear them for Him. As Maxwell Smart would say, “And loving it!”

Isa 51:9  Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD! Awake as in the ancient days, In the generations of old. Are You not the arm that cut Rahab apart, And wounded the serpent?

Isa 51:10  Are You not the One who dried up the sea, The waters of the great deep; That made the depths of the sea a road For the redeemed to cross over?

Commentators see these three verses as a prayer from Isaiah’s coal-burned lips. Is it, though??

God’s words were a sermon about the Jews in Bible prophecy. Isaiah gets excited. I can’t really blame him for going full Pentecostal. Instead of saying, “Can I get an Amen!”, Isaiah said, “Can I get an A-wake!”

“Awake… Awake… Awake.” Who does Isaiah think he is to order the LORD who never slumbers or sleeps to awaken? That isn’t what Isaiah was doing. There are exhortations in the Bible for sleepy, lazy believers to wake up & serve. This isn’t that. He was asking the LORD to “wake up” the way our kids might come to us on Christmas morning and say “Get up! It’s time to open presents!!”

Nemo was super excited; it was the first day of school! Marlin was asleep. “Get up! Get up! Time for school! Time for school! First day of school!”

Isaiah was excited to go home “to Jerusalem and beyond.”

“Are You not the arm that cut Rahab apart, And wounded the serpent?” Rahab, in the Bible, is another name for Egypt. The “serpent” or monster (in some versions) is Pharaoh. The LORD recalls the drying-up of the Red Sea that provided the redeemed Hebrews a clear, dry path across. When the Egyptians followed, the water was released, drowning the army.

Isa 51:11  So the ransomed of the LORD shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Do we have that eagerness? Sure we do… Or we did & can once again. As the Bible ends,“The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And …him who hears say[s], “Come!” (v17).

#2 – Let’s Be Loathe To Stay Here (v12-23)

If you have been with us before, you’ve heard me talk about Jesus coming to resurrect the dead believers of the Church Age and transform living believers. We call this event the Rapture of the Church. It can occur anytime and it will occur prior to the Great Tribulation. It is a pre-Tribulation event.

We don’t hold this position because we want to avoid persecution; We hold it  because it is what the Bible teaches.

Opponents of the pre-Tribulation rapture are multiplying and getting more antagonistic. They will try to convince you, for example, that no one in the early church ever believed in such nonsense. That’s not true. Here’s a quote from Irenaeus. He was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the apostle John. Irenaeus declared, ““When in the end that church will suddenly be caught up from this, then it is said, ‘There will be tribulation such as not been since the beginning, nor will be.’ ” (AD130-202, Against Heresies, 5.29).

With the Church removed, God focuses on the Jews. That is why the prophet Jeremiah called the Great Tribulation, The Time of Jacob’s Trouble. The remainder of the chapter seems mostly set in that troubled time.

Isa 51:12  “I, even I, am He who comforts you…

The LORD’s comfort is not a food, or a favorite bankie, or a hug with tapping. Those are fine in their own way. No, by “comfort” He means preserving His often undeserving people. It isn’t antisemitic to point out Israel’s epic failures. Takes one to know one.

Isa 51:12  “… Who are you that you should be afraid Of a man who will die, And of the son of a man who will be made like grass?

Isa 51:13  And you forget the LORD your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of the earth; You have feared continually every day Because of the fury of the oppressor, When he has prepared to destroy. And where is the fury of the oppressor?

“Fury” is a terrifying description of Satan’s efforts against Israel in the Time of Jacob’s Trouble:

• He is depicted as a great red dragon wanting to devour Jesus in His first coming.
• He is depicted as a flood in his efforts to kill every last Jew to thwart the return of the Lord.

Fear of any man, or fear of anything at all besides God, is irrational for a believer in Jesus. What is the worse thing that we face? Death.  For a believer, “to die is gain.”

Yes, you will suffer. In some cases your suffering will be extreme. I’ve been thinking about what the apostle Paul said, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). “This present time” isn’t merely a season. It is all of human history from the fig to now. Paul immediately brings up creation in the next two verses in Romans 8. We get overwhelmed by pain, but it is nothing when you consider the Heaven you are journeying to.

Isa 51:14  The captive exile hastens, that he may be loosed, That he should not die in the pit, And that his bread should not fail.

The Jews would be “captive exiles” in Babylon. This describes their fear that they were headed toward extinction. They were ignoring the LORD’s prophecies and promises that the nation could never become extinct. The destiny of the entire human race depended upon God working through them.

Isa 51:15  But I am the LORD your God, Who divided the sea whose waves roared – The LORD of hosts is His name. [“Hosts” is armies].

Isa 51:16  And I have put My words in your mouth; I have covered you with the shadow of My hand, That I may plant the heavens, Lay the foundations of the earth, And say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’ ”

Like Fievel Moskowitz, God “Had a plan.” It was to have a special, set-apart nation to share His “words” with Gentile nations. He protected them with His “hosts.” He shaded them when necessary.

Planting “the heavens” and laying “the foundations of the Earth” was a preliminary, and temporary, project. The LORD required a workshop to work on His people.

Isa 51:17  Awake, awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem…

Now who is excited? The LORD pictures Himself waking-up a slumbering child so they don’t miss the celebration.

Isa 51:17  … You who have drunk at the hand of the LORD The cup of His fury; You have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling, And drained it out.

Has any people group suffered for practically their entire existence more than the nation of Israel? In the future 7yrs God is pours out wrath upon their oppressors.

I tend to forget that Jerusalem will be attacked by the antichrist just prior to the Lord’s return to Earth. A description can be found in the fourteenth chapter of the OT Book of Zechariah. It’s ugly.

Jesus returns & once again saves His people.

Isa 51:18  There is no one to guide her Among all the sons she has brought forth; Nor is there any who takes her by the hand Among all the sons she has brought up.

Isa 51:19  These two things have come to you; Who will be sorry for you? – Desolation and destruction, famine and sword – By whom will I comfort you?

Isa 51:20  Your sons have fainted, They lie at the head of all the streets, Like an antelope in a net; They are full of the fury of the LORD, The rebuke of your God.

The Jews suffer terribly during the Time of Jacob’s Trouble. Only ⅓ of the Jews on Earth will survive.

Isa 51:21  Therefore please hear this, you afflicted, And drunk but not with wine. [Makes me think of Hannah weeping in the Temple. Eli thought she was drunk with wine, but it was an intoxication from sorrow over being barren]

Isa 51:22  Thus says your Lord, The LORD and your God, Who pleads the cause of His people: “See, I have taken out of your hand The cup of trembling, The dregs of the cup of My fury; You shall no longer drink it.

Isa 51:23  But I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you, Who have said to you, ‘Lie down, that we may walk over you.’  And you have laid your body like the ground, And as the street, for those who walk over.” [So much death that their bodies are the street their enemies walked on]

Isaiah’s earlier shout-out lasted about 30 seconds. It occupies three verses. The LORD’s encouragement occupies twenty. Maybe we should listen more.

You must have noticed that the LORD tells the Jews to “listen” three times (v1, 4&7).

A.W. Tozer had plenty to say about listening. He prefaced it by saying, “The Bible will never be a living Book to us until we are convinced that God is articulate in His universe. [Did] a silent God suddenly began to speak in a book and when the book was finished lapsed back into silence again forever?”

With regard to listening Tozer said:

It is important that we get still to wait on God. And it is best that we get alone, preferably with our Bible outspread before us. Then if we will we may draw near to God and begin to hear Him speak to us in our hearts.

I had the privilege of meeting Alan Redpath. He has a story about Tozer. When they both served in Chicago, Tozer – who was there before Redpath – invited Redpath to pray with him mornings. Redpath said he went, but not often. He felt he was interrupting something deep going on between Tozer & his Lord.

Wait, wait, wait on the Lord

I must wait, wait, wait on the Lord

Learn my lessons well

In His timing He will tell you

What to do, where to go, what to say