Devotions

Bring All Your Countrymen From All the Nations

by  • 

There are many reasons people give for their success. It might be their education or their natural intelligence or ability or fortune or destiny as these in Isaiah 65:11 “who forsake Yahweh”. And for these “who set a table for fortune”, there awaits the fire of God. Real wisdom and success though, comes to those that seek the Lord, to those that keep the Sabbath, to those that follow after righteousness. For these, the Lord says, “before they call, I myself will answer”. For these the Lord says in Isaiah 65:19 “I will shout in exultation over Jerusalem, I will rejoice over my people”. 

You Who Set a Table for Fortune

Isaiah 65:9–16
It is the Lord that controls the fortunes and destiny of man and He, in his time, will bring his servants to his mountain as it says in Isaiah 65:9-10 “I will bring descendants out … my chosen ones … my servants … my people who have sought me”. Then the Lord sets a different future for those in

Isaiah 65:11 “But you who forsake Yahweh, forgetting my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune, and who pour out a jug of mixed wine for Destiny”

This reference is to those that follow after their own way. They celebrate “The god of fortune in both Syrian and Phoenician language and worship whose name was also used to express good fortune or good luck (Isa 65:11) … The worship of both Gad and Meni took the form of a ritualistic meal that included food and drink placed on a table”.1

The Lord says of them in Isaiah 65:12 “I will remit you to the sword … I called, but you did not answer; I spoke, but you did not listen”. Then we find the future of these two groups, “those who have sought me” and those he called “but you did not answer” in

Isaiah 65:13 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Look! My servants shall eat but you, you shall be hungry. Look! My servants shall drink but you, you shall be thirsty. Look! My servants shall rejoice but you, you shall be ashamed.

But note the goodness of God, he didn’t just leave those that weren’t seeking him, he reached out to them to try to bring them in and still they would not answer, they would not listen. 

Before They Call, I Myself Will Answer

Isaiah 65:17–25
In the former times, there were those that sought the Lord and those that did evil. Those that did evil have been consumed in the fire of Gods judgement and for those that remain there is first, a new heaven and earth in

Isaiah 65:17 “For look! I am about to create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered, and they shall not come to mind”.

But he also said, the former things would not be remembered. You might say, they will not be memorialized. There won’t be anything to remind us of those things. But it isn’t just that we won’t be reminded, it is that people will live in the blessing that God had always wanted for us. The Lord says in Isaiah 65:19 “I will shout in exultation over Jerusalem, I will rejoice over my people”. The Lord goes on in Isaiah 65:19-23 saying no more tears, no premature death, no birth defects, no slavery or oppression through labor. Then the Lord adds one more thing in

Isaiah 65:24 “And this will happen: before they call, I myself will answer; while still they are speaking, I myself will hear”.

The Lord will be there, not for us to seek to see if we can find him, but actively anticipating, “before they call, I myself will answer”.

Your Brothers Who Hate You Shall be Ashamed

Isaiah 66:1–6

Rejoice With Jerusalem

Isaiah 66:7–13 

Bring All Your Countrymen From All the Nations

Isaiah 66:14–24
On the day of judgement, in Isaiah 66:15 the Lord “will come in fire” and in Isaiah 66:16 “enters into judgment on all flesh with fire and his sword”. But then, the Lord says in Isaiah 66:19 “I will send survivors from them to the nations … the faraway coastlands that have not heard of my fame, and have not seen my glory”.

Isaiah 66:19b–21 “And they shall declare my glory among the nations, 20 and bring all your countrymen from all the nations as an offering to Yahweh … to my holy mountain, Jerusalem,” says Yahweh, “just as the sons of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel to the house of Yahweh. 21 And indeed, I will take some of them as priests and the Levites,” says Yahweh”.

And from this time on, salvation has come to all, not just to Jerusalem in Isaiah 66:23 “From new moon to new moon and from Sabbath to Sabbath all flesh shall come to bow in worship before me,” says Yahweh”.

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Isaiah 65:9-25
  • Isaiah 66:1-24

References

  • 1. Costanzo, E. P. (2016). Gad, God of the Canaanites. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
Devotions

Look, Your Salvation is Coming!

by  • 

The Lord has declared salvation for Zion, for Jerusalem and he will change their name from “Forsaken” and from “Desolate” and “his reward is with him”. There is though, in his path, the “day of vengeance”, the year of “blood-vengeance”, the winepress of the wrath of God against all those that rebel and refuse righteousness. But for those that remember him, those that call on him he says in Isaiah 64:5 “You meet with the one who rejoices, one who does righteousness”. And this is not only for the children of Israel, but also for all that call on the name of Jesus Christ as it says in Acts 2:21 And it will be that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.’

I am Yahweh Your Savior, and Your Redeemer

Isaiah 60:12–22

Proclaim the Year of Yahweh’s Favor

Isaiah 61:1–11 

Look, Your Salvation is Coming!

Isaiah 62:1–12
The Lord has declared Jerusalem as his. He has the throne of David forever and now he says in

Isaiah 62:1 For the sake of Zion I will not be silent, and for the sake of Jerusalem I will not maintain a quiet attitude, until her righteousness goes out like the bright light, and her salvation burns like a torch.

The reputation will change and in Isaiah 62:4 “No longer … Forsaken … no longer … Desolation!” but this land will be “Married”. But not just married, “married—to Jehovah as its Lord and Husband: implying not only ownership, but protection on the part of the Owner”.1

“The emptied city and the wasted land become the objects of delight (4ce), devotion (4df) and joy (5). The new names Hephzibah (‘My delight is in her’, NIV MG.) and Beulah (‘Married’, NIV MG.) are explained in the two halves of verse 5: respectively the wedding and the honeymoon”.2

This marriage will not be in secret, this salvation will be shouted out for all to see in

Isaiah 62:11 Look! Yahweh has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to daughter Zion, “Look, your salvation is coming! Look, his reward is with him, and his reward before him.

 

It is I, Speaking in Justice

Isaiah 63:1–6
There is always this separation, the people of God’s favor, and those who have rebelled and made themselves enemies of God. And they, the enemies of God, see one coming from Edom who says in Isaiah 63:1 “It is I, speaking in justice, mighty to save!”. But he is blood red stained from the judgement against them. They are Edom and “Edom is the ceaseless foe (Amos 1:11), typical of David’s victories (2 Sam. 8:13–14), the final, eschatological enemy (34:5; Ezek. 35). Just as the Servant is David (55:3), so the Anointed One comes now like David as the Victor over Edom”.3

This “day of vengeance”, this “year of blood-vengeance” spoken of in Isaiah 63:4 is much like the final harvest taken in

Revelation 14:19 “And the angel swung his sickle into the earth and harvested the vine of the earth, and threw the grapes* into the great winepress of the wrath of God”.

but this only happens after Jesus reaps the harvest of the earth. These are the people of God’s favor, those who heard and accepted the gift of life, the blood of Christ given for our sin in

Revelation 14:16 “And the one seated on the cloud swung his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped”.

 

Our Redeemer From of Old is Your Name

Isaiah 63:7–19
We sometimes have a religious mind about God and how he operates. He is all powerful, He is eternal, and then there are places like this where He had an expectation of good that was not fulfilled. Look at

Isaiah 63:8 And he said, “Surely my people are children; they will not break faith.” And he became a Savior to them.

The Lord did set before them blessing and cursing. He did give them instruction in the way of life. And He did lead them by a column of smoke during the day and a pillar of fire by night “And he said, surely … they will not break faith”. Think about this now, Did the Lord send Moses to deliver the people from Egypt so they could wander in the wilderness for forty years? No, He led them out to take them into their promised land. So what happened? It happened then and it can happen even to us in our day, in

Isaiah 63:10 But they were the ones who rebelled, and they grieved his Holy Spirit, so he became an enemy to them; he himself fought against them.

But this was not the end, in Isaiah 63:10 “Then his people remembered …” the people began to ask, “where is the one …”. And He was there to be found by them. He was there ready to restore. Ask Him now, Lord, forgive us, set us back on the path of righteousness. Lead us again in Jesus name.

Make Your Name Known

Isaiah 64:1–12
The Lord is always there. The Lord is always ready. After the resurrection of Jesus Christ it says in

Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore also he is able to save completely those who draw near to God through him, because he always lives in order to intercede on their behalf”.

However, we must first come to him as it says in

Hebrews 11:6 Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and is a rewarder of those who seek him.

And as we come to Him, He responds in

Isaiah 64:5 “You meet with the one who rejoices, one who does righteousness”.

I Spread Out My Hands All Day

Isaiah 65:1–8

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Isaiah 60:12-22
  • Isaiah 61:1-11
  • Isaiah 62:1-12
  • Isaiah 63:1-19
  • Isaiah 64:1-12
  • Isaiah 65:1-5

References

  • 1. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 500). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
  • 2. Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, p. 431). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
  • 3. Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, p. 434). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Devotions

Clear the Way!

by  • 

It is, and always has been our behavior, our sin that has separated us from God. The Lord says, “Call!”, say “Here is your God!”, “Lift up your voice like a trumpet”, “I will heal him; and I will lead him”. The Lord asks one thing, “turn away from transgression”. There is a God kind of life. There is a way for us to find peace and it begins as we “remove from among you the yoke, the finger-pointing and evil speech … offer your soul to the hungry”. He says to “Clear the way!” 

Clear the Way!

Isaiah 57:14–21
This message from Isaiah 57:14 “Build up, build up! Clear the way! Remove the obstacles from the way of my people!” “echoes Isa 40:3”1 which then goes on to say in Isaiah 40:6 “A voice is saying, “Call!” And he said, “What shall I call?” with an answer in Isaiah 40:9-10 “Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” 10 Look! The Lord Yahweh comes with strength, and his arm rules for him. Look! His reward is with him, and his recompense in his presence”.

This is fulfilled in John the Baptist as recorded in each of the gospels. It says in

John 1:23 He said, “I am ‘the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’ just as Isaiah the prophet said.”

It is not the Lord’s heart though, to bring condemnation, his desire is in

Isaiah 57:18–19 I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; and I will lead him and give him and his mourners comfort as a recompense, 19 creating fruit of lips. Peace, peace to the far and near,” says Yahweh, “and I will heal him.

But there are those, the wicked, and of them in

Isaiah 57:21 There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

 

Lift Up Your Voice Like a Trumpet

Isaiah 58:1–14
There is a truth that fasting quiets the voice of our flesh and helps us become more in tune with God’s spirit. Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness in Matthew 4:1-2 after being baptised with the Holy Spirit and before he began his ministry. Jesus also taught people in

Matthew 6:17–18 But when you are fasting, put olive oil on your head and wash your face 18 so that you will not be seen by people as fasting, but to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

And in the early church, we know they gathered to pray and fast as in

Acts 13:2 And while they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart now for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

But here in Isaiah, the Lord is speaking to those that claim His name and claim to live for the Lord, and don’t in

Isaiah 58:2 Yet they seek me day by day, and they desire the knowledge of my ways like a nation that practiced righteousness, and had not forsaken the judgment of its God; they ask me for righteous judgments, they desire the closeness of God.

These people are fasting to get God to do what they want, to make their voice heard so their will is done. As it says in

Isaiah 58:4 Look! You fast to quarrel and strife, and to strike with a wicked fist. You shall not fast as you do today, to make your voice heard on the height.

There is a different purpose for fasting, it is not for self abuse and “humiliation” instead it is in Isaiah 58:6-7 “to release the bonds of injustice, to untie the ropes of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and tear every yoke to pieces … break your bread for the hungry … bring home the poor … cover (the naked)”. Also in Isaiah 58:9-10 “remove from among you the yoke, the finger-pointing and evil speech, 10 if you offer your soul to the hungry”. This fast is not anything about what you need or want from the Lord, this is about expressing righteousness and justice or as Jesus said in

Mark 12:30–31 And you shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart and from your whole soul and from your whole mind and from your whole strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

There is no Justice

Isaiah 59:1–11
It isn’t that the Lord cannot save in Isaiah 59:1, it is that in Isaiah 59:2 “your iniquities have been barriers between you and your God”. This is the bleak and simple truth in Isaiah 59:3 “your hands are defiled with blood” and in Isaiah 59:4 “There is nobody who pleads with justice”. Or as it says in

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

Which leaves us separated from God in

Isaiah 59:9 “Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We wait for light, but look! there is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in darkness”.

 

A Redeemer Will Come to Zion

Isaiah 59:12–21
The world is lost because “truth is missing” but even worse than that, anyone that would stand for the truth (“turn aside from evil”) is attacked (“plundered”) in

Isaiah 59:14–15 “And justice is pushed back, and righteousness stands afar; for truth stumbles in the public square, and straightforwardness is unable to enter, 15 and truth is missing, and he who turns aside from evil is plundered. And Yahweh saw, and it was displeasing in his eyes that there was no justice”.

But in Isaiah 59:16 “so his arm came to assist him” and in Isaiah 59:20 “And a redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn away from transgression,” declares Yahweh.

The Lord makes a promise to those that will “turn away from transgression” even though they know they will be “plundered”. Some versions say they make themselves “a prey”, “They (people of the world) have distanced themselves so far from the truth that they openly combat those who turn away from perversity and choose the good”.2

But here is God’s promise, the beginning of life with God’s blessing that grows and progresses through Isaiah 60-61 in

Isaiah 59:21 “And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says Yahweh: my spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have placed in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of your children’s children,” says Yahweh, “from now on and forever.”

The Glory of Yahweh (the Lord) Has Risen on You

Isaiah 60:1–11

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Isaiah 57:14-21
  • Isaiah 58:1-14
  • Isaiah 59:1-21
  • Isaiah 60:1-11

References

  • 1. Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Is 57:14). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
  • 2. Elliott, M. W. (Ed.). (2007). Isaiah 40–66 (p. 223). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Devotions

In Righteousness You Shall be Established

by  • 

Isaiah moves from judgement to grace and gods promises of salvation. But not just the “sing for joy” that Isaiah 54:1 begins with. This is a flourishing, established, enduring kind of life that causes Isaiah to say ““Enlarge the site of your tent … You must not spare; make your tent cords long and strengthen your pegs” because prosperity is coming, growth in your family is coming. And this is not just for the chosen few, this is for the barren. the eunuch, and the foreigner, all who in Isaiah 56:1 “Observe justice and do righteousness”. This is so that in Isaiah 56:7 “I will make them merry in my house of prayer”. 

Enlarge the Site of Your Tent

Isaiah 54:1–11
The Lord begins restating His promises in Isaiah 50 and His holy arm in Isaiah 52 and the final sacrifice of Jesus Christ the Messiah in Isaiah 53 “the one who bore the sin of many” so that in Isaiah 54 he says “sing for joy”!

There are many that have suffered in this fallen world. Women that could not have children in Isaiah 54:1. “Desolate towns” in Isaiah 54:3. Those in “the disgrace of your widowhood” in Isaiah 54:4.

Now, the Lord promises in Isaiah 54:5 “your husband is your maker” and in Isaiah 54:10 “my faithfulness shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not sway,” says Yahweh, who has compassion on you”. So we can understand Isaiah 54:1 “Sing for joy … Burst forth into rejoicing and rejoice”. But it goes much farther than a moment of rejoicing and becomes a flourishing life prospering in every area with our children’s children, our descendants as the Lord says in

Isaiah 54:2–3 “Enlarge the site of your tent, and let them stretch out the tent curtains of your dwelling place. You must not spare; make your tent cords long and strengthen your pegs, 3 for you will spread out to the right and to the left. And your descendants will be heir to the nations, and they will inhabit desolate towns.

In Righteousness You Shall be Established

Isaiah 54:12–17
In Isaiah 54:11-12 is the beginning of a beautiful building “set in mortar”. This is the Rock, the cornerstone, Jesus Christ in

Ephesians 2:20–22 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are built up together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

And both Isaiah and Ephesians present a picture of life in the presence of God where in Isaiah 54:13 “the peace of your children shall be great” and in Isaiah 54:14 “In righteousness you shall be established”.

Have you invoked your legal right? Do you know the inheritance you have in Christ? Here is what the Lord says of his in

Isaiah 54:17 Every weapon formed against you shall not succeed, and you shall declare guilty every tongue that rises against you for judgment. This is the inheritance of the servants of Yahweh, and their legal right from me,” declares Yahweh.

I Will Make an Everlasting Covenant With You

Isaiah 55:1–13 

I Will Make Them Merry in My House of Prayer

Isaiah 56:1–8
This is what the Lord asks in Isaiah 56:1 “Observe justice and do righteousness”. Then he simply notes in Isaiah 56:2 “happy is the man … who keeps the Sabbath so as not to profane it, and who keeps his hand from doing any evil.” But these words are not just for the children of Israel who have a covenant by the blood line of Abraham. He speaks also to the foreigner who has no rights in the land in Isaiah 56:3 and also to the eunuch who has no future family, no descendants, “a dry tree!” and these who are least in the eyes of the world, the Lord says in Isaiah 56:5 “I will give them a monument and a name in my house”.

This everlasting covenant is also for those that have no claim but come to him by choice. Even these will be included as he gathers “all peoples” in

Isaiah 56:7–8 I will bring them to my holy mountain; I will make them merry 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 peoples,” 8 declares the Lord Yahweh, who gathers the scattered ones of Israel (still I will gather to him, to his gathered ones).

His Watchmen Are Blind

Isaiah 56:9–12

The Wind Will Carry All of Them Away

Isaiah 57:1–13

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Isaiah 54:1-17
  • Isaiah 55:1-13
  • Isaiah 56:1-12
  • Isaiah 57:1-13
Devotions

He Will Bear Their Iniquities

by  • 

People are often looking for God to move and they don’t understand that he already has. It is sin that separates us, just as an offense separates you from friends or family. You can carry on your life without them thinking we could be reconciled if they would just … These few chapters are a little like that. We could be reconciled to God if he would in Isaiah 50:8 “contend with me” and he does, it is the Lord that has made the first move. Still, we cry out as in Isaiah 51:9 “Awake! Awake; put on strength, O arm of Yahweh!” as if it is all up to him. But he says for us to “Awake!” in Isaiah 52:1-2. His arm has been revealed, and in Isaiah 53:3 “He was despised and rejected by men” even though in Isaiah 53:11 “he is the one who will bear their iniquities”. It is for us to accept his salvation and in Isaiah 52:1-2 to “shake yourself free from the dust” and “free ourselves from the bonds”.

Because of Your Transgressions

Isaiah 50:1–3
People have often said that God is far off, that he is not involved in any longer in the world as if he started the earth spinning and walked away. But there is a covenant between the Lord and Abraham. There is a covenant between the Lord and the children of Israel and in Isaiah 50:1 the Lord asks “Where is this divorce document?. The separation is not because of God, but it is “because of your sin”. 

He Who Obtains Rights for Me is Near

Isaiah 50:4–11
It is the Lord that gives us in Isaiah 50:4 “the tongue of a pupil, to know how to help the weary with a word”. Though this is talking about Jesus Christ, the Messiah, as described in Isaiah 61:1 and quoted by Jesus in Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because of which he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor”, it is also for us who are sealed by the Holy Spirit of God. It is this same Spirit that Jesus said would come and that he called counselor and the spirit of truth and it is the same prophetic gift spoken of in

1 Corinthians 14:3 “But the one who prophesies speaks to people edification and encouragement and consolation”.

But even more than having a word of encouragement “to help the weary”, it says in Isaiah 50:8 “he who obtains rights for me is near. Who will contend with me?” and the answer is in Isaiah 50:9 “Look! The Lord Yahweh helps me. Though in Isaiah 50:11 people may come with their “flaming arrows”, they will come to nothing because the Lord is our defender and in Isaiah 50:10 “Who is the one who will declare me guilty?” There is no one that can.

Look to the Rock

Isaiah 51:1–11
Remember where you are from, in Isaiah 51:1 “Look to the rock from which you were hewn” and in Isaiah 51:2 “Look to Abraham your father” because the Lord is faithful to his promises. Though we may think things are going wrong, and though there are times when we suffer injustice, the Lord says in

Isaiah 51:4 “Listen attentively to me, my people, and my nation, listen to me! For a teaching will go out from me, and I will cause my justice to rest for a light to the peoples”.

So no matter what our momentary experience, there is a sure word from the Lord in Isaiah 51:6 “my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will not be broken to pieces”. Then the Lord goes on and says it again this way in Isaiah 51:8 “my righteousness will be forever, and my salvation for generation after generation”. And now comes our prayer to the Lord in Isaiah 51:9 “Awake! Awake; put on strength, O arm of Yahweh!” because it is time to deliver your people. And when he does deliver, it will be, in

Isaiah 51:11 “So the redeemed ones of Yahweh shall return, and they shall come to Zion with singing, and everlasting joy shall be on their heads. Joy and gladness shall appear; sorrow and sighing shall flee away!

Rouse Yourself!

Isaiah 51:12–23
Now the admonition comes to Zion, to Jerusalem, to those called by His name and he says in

Isaiah 51:16 And I have put my words in your mouth, and I have covered you in the shadow of my hand, to plant the heavens and to found the earth, saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’ ”

and now it is time for us to do our part. We must get up, have faith in God, and take our rightful place as it says in in Isaiah 51:17 “Rouse yourself! Rouse yourself! Stand up, Jerusalem” and in Isaiah 51:22 “Look! I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering” and in Isaiah 51:23 “I will put it in the hand of your tormenters”. The Lord is saying, there was a time when the world ran right over you, but no more will they make, in Isaiah 51:23 “your back like the ground, and like the street for those who pass over you”. 

Awake! Awake; Put On Your Strength, Zion!

Isaiah 52:1–15
The prayer was for the Lord to awake in Isaiah 51:9 but this has always been a two way relationship. God is all powerful, but he put choice and dominion in our hands. It is time to “Awake!” in Isaiah 52:1-2 he says:

  • “put on your strength”
  • “put on the garments of your beauty”
  • “shake yourself free from the dust”
  • “rise up; sit”
  • “free yourselves from the bonds of your neck”

The Lord heard the prayer in Isaiah 51:9 and has answered in

Isaiah 52:10 “Yahweh has bared his holy arm to the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God”.

Now he says in Isaiah 52:11 “Depart, depart, go” and in Isaiah 52:12 “Yahweh is going before you, and your rear guard is the God of Israel”. 

He is the One Who Will Bear Their Iniquities

Isaiah 53:1–12
The last few chapters were about the “arm of the Lord” to bring salvation. The question here is in Isaiah 53:1 “to whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed?” Well, the answer is to everyone on earth, in the heavens, and under the earth. It wasn’t that “the arm of the Lord” was hidden, it was “who has believed our message”. Jesus Christ wasn’t what the world expected. He didn’t come and validate the world system or the ways of the world because sin had entered. What was important to man, power, wealth, position, … these things didn’t matter to Jesus so in

Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering, and acquainted with sickness, and like one from whom others hide their faces, he was despised, and we did not hold him in high regard.

Jesus was the very one that took sin for us and the Lord said of him in Isaiah 53:11 “my servant, shall declare many righteous, and he is the one who will bear their iniquities”. Jesus Christ is the one in

Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his wounds we were healed.

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Isaiah 50:1-11
  • Isaiah 51:1-23
  • Isaiah 52:1-15
  • Isaiah 53:1-12
Devotions

A Light to the Nations

by  • 

God used the Babylonian Empire to bring judgement on Israel, but not for Israel’s destruction, it was for correction. But the Babylonians abused them and what we read here coincides with Daniel 5:26 “This is the explanation of the matter: ‘Mene’—God has numbered your kingdom and brought an end to it”. This isn’t the end though, it is just the beginning. There is one coming, “a light to the nations”, that will restore and lead and set free so that we and all creation will in Isaiah 49:13 Sing for joy, heavens, and rejoice, earth! 

Your Wisdom and Your Knowledge Led You Astray

Isaiah 47:1–15
Babylon was a strong kingdom and God used them to carry out his judgement on Israel but it was not that Babylon was so great and it certainly was not so they could abuse and oppress the people of Israel. in

Isaiah 47:6 I was angry with my people; I profaned my inheritance, and I gave them into your hand. You did not give them mercy; on the aged you made your yoke very heavy.

Instead, the people of Babylon said in Isaiah 47:7 “I shall be an eternal mistress forever!” and in Isaiah 47:8 “I am, and besides me there is no one. I shall not sit as a widow, and I shall not know the loss of children”. They used and depended on in Isaiah 47:9 “many sorceries … the power of your great enchantments” and in Isaiah 47:13 “those who see the stars, divide the celestial sphere, who inform by new moons—from those things that are coming upon you” and also in Isaiah 47:15 “those with whom you have labored, your traders from your youth”.

Babylon was so sure of themselves, they didn’t need to concern themselves with those lowly people they had taken captive, they had the power, the astrologers (future tellers), the wisdom, the knowledge, the experience to rule the world. As the Lord said in

Isaiah 47:10 And you felt secure in your wickedness; you said, “No one sees me.” Your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, “I am, and besides me there is no one.”

So the Lords judgement on Babylon is pronounced in Isaiah 47:9 “And these two shall come to you in a moment, in one day: the loss of children and widowhood shall come on you completely”. And the Lord goes on to say in Isaiah 47:11 “And evil shall come upon you … And disaster shall fall upon you … And ruin shall come on you suddenly”.

They Lean on the God of Israel

Isaiah 48:1–11
There are those in Isaiah 48:1 this “house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel and came out from the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of Yahweh, and invoke the God of Israel, but not in truth and not in righteousness.

Yet God has called them so for his own name has brought them through what Isaiah 48:10 calls “the furnace of misery”. They were no different than many through the ages who claimed the name of the Lord to justify whatever they wanted to do.

I Have Not Spoken in Secrecy

Isaiah 48:12–22
From the beginning, the Lord met with man in the garden. Who he, the Lord, is can be clearly seen in the things that are made (Romans 1) and the Lord reminds them here saying in

Isaiah 48:16–17 16 Draw near to me; hear this! I have not spoken in secrecy from the beginning; from the time it came to be, there I have been; And now the Lord Yahweh has sent me and his Spirit.” 17 Thus says Yahweh, your redeemer, the holy one of Israel: “I am Yahweh your God, who teaches you to profit, leads you in the way you should go.

And then there is the Lords lament in Isaiah 48:18 “O that you had listened attentively to my commandments!” 

I Will Give You as a Light to the Nations

Isaiah 49:1–7
Still, the Lord is lifting Israel and will bring salvation to them, and even more He will bring salvation to the nations through them. But look at what he says in Isaiah 49:6a “It is trivial for you to be a servant for me, to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel”. Raising up the “tribes of Jacob” and bringing back “the preserved of Israel” doesn’t seem like a small task. With the fragmentation and dispersion, how could you? But he calls this a trivial task.

There is a much greater task ahead in Isaiah 49:6b “I will give you as a light to the nations, to be my salvation to the end of the earth.” and for much of what we read through Isaiah, the Lord is talking to the nation of covenant, the children of Israel, but now, he is talking about the one, Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Here, a little deeper understanding is needed for this cryptic translation so in the “Hebrew, “the despised of soul,” that is, by every soul, by all men (Is 52:14, 15; 53:3; 50:6–9; Ps 22:6) … literally, “who is an abomination to the nation” (Lu 23:18–23) … Ro 9:25), to take “nation” here collectively for the Gentile world, which also spurned Him (Ps 2:1–3; Ac 4:25–27).1 

Sing for Joy, Heavens, and Rejoice, Earth!

Isaiah 49:8–13
We have passed the judgement, the Lord is bringing his people back to their rightful place and he says in Isaiah 49:8 “Thus says Yahweh: “I have answered you … and helped you … and watched over you … and given you …”. This deliverance is for a purpose, it is “to raise up the land, to give the desolate hereditary property as an inheritance”. No longer hungry, thirsty, hot, oppressed or abused because in Isaiah 49:10 “he who takes pity on them will lead them, and he will guide them to springs of water”. And the result will be in

Isaiah 49:13 Sing for joy, heavens, and rejoice, earth! Mountains must break forth in rejoicing! For Yahweh has comforted his people, and he will take pity on his afflicted ones.

This will be the end of the groaning of creation as described in

Romans 8:19–22 For the eagerly expecting creation awaits eagerly the revelation of the sons of God. 20 For the creation has been subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its servility to decay, into the glorious freedom of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans together and suffers agony together until now.

Kings Shall be Your Guardians

Isaiah 49:14–26

Study Verses

Today’s Reading

  • Isaiah 47:1-15
  • Isaiah 48:1-22
  • Isaiah 49:1-26

References

  • 1. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 486). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.