Isaiah
While many claim that the last 26
chapters of Isaiah are written from an exile point of view, they also claim
that it was written from the view of Judah’s captivity in Babylon. These chapters also reflect much of the
Gospel of Christ Jesus! And therefore
may be read with the understanding that Christians, while not living in exile
are living in a foreign land. Heaven is
where our citizenship is (Philippians 3:20), and we will never find complete
joy until the day of Christ’s return to claim us! I feel that these chapters
are Christian in nature and relate, in many ways, to Gentile Christians.
This chapter begins a section that
many Rabbis claim is “neo-Isaiah.” All
non-messianic Jews cannot see how the tenor of Isaiah’s writing could change so
much as to include what they know within themselves is an Israeli Prophet
speaking to Gentile Christians. The
reason may be that Isaiah seems to change at this point. However, it is not a
change that cannot be explained by looking into God’s plan for the ages!
Deut
30:1-2
1 And it shall come to pass,
when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I
have set before thee, and thou shalt call them
to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,
2 And
shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee
this day, thou and thy children, with all thine
heart, and with all thy soul;…
In 1948 Israel once again began to
live in the land which God gave to them.
The Muslims have long fought the rebuilding of what they refer to as the
3rd Temple in Jerusalem. At
the same time they fight the rebuilding of the Temple, they say that the Temple
never existed. How can they fight the rebuilding of a Temple they
claim never existed?
In saying that we should not pretend
that Israel has returned to the Lord!
Some love the Law while most others are atheists and agnostics. It is only when Christ returns that the full
impact of returning shall be realized!
In the meantime, Christians are to “comfort” Israel be telling them of
God’s love as expressed through the cross of Christ Jesus!
Chapter 40
Isaiah 40:1-2
1 Comfort
ye, comfort ye my people, saith
your God.
2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,
and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is
pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.
Verse one seems to be an order too all outside of Israel who
call upon the name of the LORD for help in time of need.
As you see on the masthead of this Web Site, we are to pray
for the peace of Israel.
Many teach that this was meant to comfort Israel while in
Babylonian captivity. That is incorrect!
These verses were meant as orders to all Christians, be they
Messianic Jews or Gentiles, in all eras.
We are to speak God’s blessings on His chosen people whether they
Israeli or Gentile Christians.
Non-Messianic Israelis, Messianic
Jews, and Gentile Christians face satanic attack in the form of temptation to
sin each and every day. The greatest sin
is the rejection of Christ! We are to
comfort Israel with blessings and other Christians with blessings.
Christ shall, at His second advent,
change the hearts of all non-Messianic Israelis, and bring them to their home
in Him! They shall be brought to true
repentance, which is where all Christians, be they Messianic Jews or Gentiles
already reside!
When he was asked to curse God’s
people, Balaam told Balak that he could not curse
what God had blessed!
Num
23:8 How shall I curse, whom God hath
not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD
hath not defied?
Balaam could not curse those whom
God blessed and neither can they be cursed above where they have already been
cursed by the rejection of Christ Jesus!
Israel’s “warfare” (Heb. ṣābā-צָבָא) is spiritual and against all those things within her that
have raised themselves up against the accepting of Christ Jesus!
2
Cor 10:4-5
4 (For the weapons of our
warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of
strong holds;)
5 Casting
down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought
to the obedience of Christ;
Their warfare and ours cannot be won
with guns. It can only be won by the
Spirit of God!
Many have spoken of “just” and
“unjust” wars! Evangelism is always a
just war against spiritual ignorance!
Soon, Israel’s warfare shall be
fully “accomplished” (Heb. Mālâ-מָלָה)! In that day, they
shall all be led by the Holy Spirit.
Romans
8:14 For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
They shall be fully restored as
children of God! Their prodigalism shall be reversed! Their “iniquity” shall be forgiven! “Shall
be”
Notice that “she hath received of
the LORD'S hand double for all her sins” is past tense. On the day of Christ’s appearing as King of
Kings and Lord of Lords, that past tense shall be fulfilled!
Isaiah
40:3-8
3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill
shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places
plain:
5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh
shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What
shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is
as the flower of the field:
7 The grass withereth,
the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
This section is taught as referring
to the preaching of John the Baptist!
However, it also applies to all who bring the Truth of God to a lost
world!
All who preach the Truth, Christ
Jesus, are preparing the way of the Lord!
Christ Jesus took upon Himself the sin of the world, Jew and Gentile!
Christ Jesus defeated death in His
resurrection!
Preaching the Gospel of Christ Jesus
is making every valley exalted, and every mountain and hill low!
Preaching Christ straightens the
crooked, and makes “rough places plain.” At the foot of the cross, the land is
level for all who come to Him!
Preaching, and teaching salvation in
Christ is our purpose for being! It is
our work in this life prior to His second appearing!
“The glory of the LORD shall be
revealed!” Christ Jesus is the
manifestation of the Glory of the Lord (Heb. Yhwh-יהוה)!
He is Emmanuel, God with us (Matt 1:23)!
At the moment of the Lord’s return,
non-Messianic Israel shall gain understanding of the rejection of God’s Messiah
by the very ones He came the first time to save, both Jew and Gentile.
Rev
1:7 Behold, he
cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which
pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail
because of him. Even so, Amen.
Upon His return, “all flesh (not
just Jews, and not just Gentiles) shall see it together!” None shall miss His coming! Those who pierced Him were Gentile Roman
Soldiers urged to do so by Israeli Priests!
That brought all mankind under the condemnation of executing the Son of
God!
Those who acknowledge Him in truth
shall rejoice with tears of joy at their redeeming! Those who have rejected Him shall be filled
with tears of sorrow at their folly!
The voice Isaiah heard cried out,
“What shall I cry?” We are to cry out the message of God’s love for all as
demonstrated by Christ Jesus!
Many have perverted that message!
They teach that if we love our
neighbor, we will feed him physical food and not bother him with the message of
Christ Jesus! Or, they claim that their
actions are witness enough. That is a
lie!
That is not love, indeed it is great
hatred for those we may feed physically without telling them about Christ
Jesus! There is no greater hatred in the
entire world! It is satanic to do such!
In verse 6, Isaiah compares the
lives of men to grass. All grasses grow
at differing rates. It grows according
to the soil in which it is planted. But, in the end, it withers and dies. All
men eventually wither in their old age and die.
True life is found only in Christ Jesus!
There is no other source of everlasting life! That is why Isaiah reminds
us that “surely the people is grass.”
Heb
9:27 And as it is appointed unto men
once to die, but after this the judgment:
Many now “live” under condemnation!
John
3:18-19
18 He
that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the
world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Just as many now live in
condemnation, many others live in the Light that is Christ Jesus!
That Light shall never grow
dim! “The word of our God shall stand for
ever.” It is my opinion that that truth should have been written, “The Word of our God shall stand for
ever.”
Isaiah 40:9-11
9 O
Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into
the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good
tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say
unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
10 Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand,
and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his
work before him.
11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather
the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall
gently lead those that are with young.
The message of grace to Gentiles was
given to only Paul! You may use other sources and bring a weak message of grace
in the other writings. But none of them
carry the message of grace to Gentiles with the same authority as was given to
Paul!
When first told of Christ’s love for
them, the Gentiles of that day found great joy.
Acts
13:46-48
46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed
bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God
should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge
yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
47 For
so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of
the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation
unto the ends of the earth.
48 And
when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the
Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
Those who preach the condemnation of
Christ are false teachers!
The message of the Kingdom was to be
carried by all the other original Apostles!
They were given the opportunity to bring good tidings to Zion, to
Jerusalem. By contrast, Paul spoke of
grace for Gentiles and Jews!
The words, “Fear not” are found
multiple times within the entire Bible! However, today those who are supposed
to be part of the Church of Jesus Christ live in great fear of the ACLU and its
satanically diabolical henchmen.
We are called to bring the strong
message of Christ Jesus!
We are not to fear those with no
knowledge, no intimacy of Christ Jesus! We are to boldly tell all about Christ
saying, “Behold your God!”
You may be thinking that such a message
was only meant for Israel, but look around!
All the major cities of the world contain Jews (those from Israel).
Therefore, it is a common message to all nations and all cities. Christ Jesus is God the Son! So, behold your
God!
Christ Jesus is coming with a strong
hand! He shall rule His kingdom with a “rod of iron” (Rev 2:27, 12:5, and
19:5)!
That does not indicate any
cruelty! It speaks of firmness!
As He comes, His reward will be with
Him!
Rev
22:12 And,
behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man
according as his work shall be.
The phrase, “his work” speaks of
only one thing. Did you or did you not
acknowledge Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior?
When He comes, He shall feed His
flock in the same manner as a gentle Shepherd!
He shall gather His lambs in His strong arms and carry them, showing the
tender love He has for those who are His!
And, for those who are mentoring the
young and weak in Christ, He shall cause them to guide their efforts into
fruition.
Isaiah 40:12-17
12 Who
hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with
the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the
mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
13 Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being
his counsellor hath taught him?
14 With whom took he counsel, and who
instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him
knowledge, and shewed to him the way of
understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and
are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh
up the isles as a very little thing.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All nations before him are as nothing; and they are
counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.
God has three attributes that all Christians accept, and few
non-Christians understand!
God (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is omniscient! He knows all there is to know about all there
is!
God (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is omnipresent! He is in all places at all times. Many
Christians never come to grips with that truth!
And, God (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is
omnipotent! He is all powerful! There is no power that is comparable to His
power!
To describe His omnipotence God asked, “Who (which one of
you humans) has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out
heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and
weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?”
That answer is, “None of us has done such a thing!”
He also asked, “Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or
being His counselor has taught Him?”
None of us has taught God the Holy Spirit anything!
“With whom did the Spirit take counsel, and who instructed Him, and
taught Him in the path of judgment, and taught Him knowledge, and showed to Him
the way of understanding?”
None of us has added one thing to God’s knowledge!
God uses the prophecy of Isaiah to proclaim, “Behold, the
nations (the Goyim or Gentiles) are as a drop of a bucket (The Hebrew
actually means a drop), and are counted as the small dust of the balance:
behold, He takes up (Heb nāṭal-נָטַל),
lifts up the isles as a very little thing.”
To God what is a small chore seems very complicated to men.
He tells us that “Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.”
However, the grace of Christ Jesus is fully sufficient for us (2 Cor 12:9)!
“All nations (Heb. Goyim-Gentiles) before him are as
nothing!” No matter how wonderful you
may think you are God is greater! He has
not created anything of equal power or beauty!
Gentiles are “counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.” We must look to God for all that is good!
Isaiah 40:18-31
18 To whom then will ye liken God? or
what likeness will ye compare unto him?
19 The workman melteth a graven
image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold,
and casteth silver chains.
20 He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation
chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.
21 Have ye not known? have ye not
heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he that sitteth
upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as
grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a
curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell
in:
23 That bringeth the princes to
nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
24 Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be
sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow
upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as
stubble.
25 To whom then will ye liken me,
or shall I be equal? saith
the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created
these things, that bringeth out their host by
number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness
of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my
judgment is passed over from my God?
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou
not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends
of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
29 He giveth power to the faint;
and to them that have no might he increaseth
strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young
men shall utterly fall:
31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their
strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be
weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Because we are so weak, God seeks to
comfort us with his loving kindness.
Many have tried to compare the love
of God or the power of God to physical things.
The comparisons are false!
Humans
have made things and called them gods. But, they were just insignificant trinkets
made by people. Oh, some of those things
are valued by men, but none is valued by God.
As an example, there are more diamonds in the world than there are one
dollar bills, and yet we place high value on diamonds. Why?
We
have been told what God considers valuable, and yet we do not hold His Truth to
be of ultimate value!
God
the Father may have sympathy for us, but Christ was sent to gain empathy for
us! That is why He is our shepherd!
Those
who do not follow Christ are spiritually “impoverished!” They are so very impoverished that they have
no offering (oblation) to bring, and so the impoverished one chooses to worship
humanly made idols.
God
has told us from the beginning how all will end! And yet many do not believe. They choose to worship at the altar of global
warming or some other contrivance which will prove false.
From
the beginning God has told us the end, but the impoverished ones have been
without understanding for as long as man has existed.
From
his vantage point on the “circle of the earth” men appear to be as small as
grasshoppers! We are indeed small when
compared to God!
God
raises up leaders and replaces them at His appointed
times! In verse 25, God asks, “To whom then will you all liken Me, or to whom shall I be equal?” The answer is none of you!
God
(Father, Son, Holy Spirit) has brought all into
existence that is or ever shall be! While we may fail, His power to achieve His
purposes will never fail, never fall short!
Why
do we think that we can hide any of our actions or thoughts from God? Children sometime think that if they close
their eyes others cannot see them. Many
times, adults act in the same manner!
The psalmist told us the God neither sleeps nor slumbers (Psalm 121:4). He does not grow weary, nor does He lack
understanding in any area.
God
told Israel how he would deal with them, but they did not understand the
process.
Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the Lord, "Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as
wool. (NKJV)
Instead of growing weary, God gives power to those who have become physically
and mentally drained in the work He has given them to do.
Verse
31 tells us that God renews the strength of those who “wait upon” (Heb qāwâ-קָוָה)
the Lord! That Hebrew word also speaks of those who “wait for” the Lord.
Christians
now wait FOR the return of
our Lord Christ Jesus!