7-29-2023 Deliverance or Destruction
Destruction or Deliverance
Isaiah 42:1-25
I’m becoming
more and more amazed as to how the Old Testament reflects the conditions of the
world today and how much Father has been longsuffering with us. I’m reminded of Jesus’ words “Woe unto you, Chorazin
and Bethsaida, for had they seen the works done in you and Tyre and Sidon, they
would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes (Matt. 11:21). Where does this put us today? How do we compare with the Israel of 2000
years ago? Now, I’m anxious to read the
next twenty-four chapters because Father keeps showing how much Jesus is also spoken
of in Isaiah.
In Isaiah
chapter forty-two, verses one through seven, it sure looks like to me that
Isaiah is describing the ministry placed upon Jesus: Father speaks of one in whom His Spirit
resides, He will bring a new covenant to the people and a light to the
Gentiles, as well as heal the sick and free the captives (from sin), etc.
Compare this
passage with Jesus’ statement that his blood is the new covenant which is shed
for many (Mark 14:24). Jesus quotes from
Isaiah when He says that Father his put His spirit into Him and He shall show
judgment to the Gentiles in Mathew 12:18.
In his opening comments, Paul in his letter to the Colossians cites that
since he heard of their faith in Christ Jesus he has prayed for them (Col. 3: 3
& 9) because they had been delivered from the power of darkness (prison of
sin) through the blood of Jesus (Col. 1:1-14). What about us?
In our
passage from Isaiah, Father then makes a statement “I will not give my glory to
another nor my praise to a graven image (v8)”! God is a jealous God (Exod. 20:4-6).
How can we
praise God/Jesus as Lord and Savior and then turn around and pray to some idol
made with man’s hands which has eyes that don’t see and ears that don’t hear
(Matt. 13:14). Jesus declares that the
people of His time have become just like those idols (Matt. 13:15). But the eyes and ears of those who were
following Jesus were opened (Matt. 13:16).
Isn’t it a good thing that the world has learned from those early
followers of Jesus? Or has it? Father always has our best interests at heart
(Prov. 3:11) so whatever He tells is for our edification and we should do as He
directs (1 Thess. 5:13-23, read the whole passage).
Note, in our
chapter, verse nine “Behold, the former things shall pass away and I declare
new things. And, I’m telling you about
them before they come to pass. Father
tells us that there are no other gods besides Him (Isa. 44:6, Rom. 12:1-2) He accents this by telling us that He
directed even the paths of Cyrus (a pagan), the king of Persia by opening doors
for Cyrus’ conquests and in so doing Father declares (again) that there are no
others gods other than Himself (Isa 45:1-7). So why would Father then accept us
giving our devotion to anything but Himself?
We are to
sing a new song and sing His praises all over the earth (v10-12). Even as the angels and those in heaven do in
God’s presence (Rev. 7:9-12).
The Lord
shall go forth and stir up jealousy like a man of war, He will cry and roar and
prevail against His enemies (v13). Father
reminds us that vengeance is His (Rom. 12:19) and His wrath can be expressed
here in this world (Gen. 19:23-28) or assuredly in eternity for those cast into
the lake of fire (Rev. 13-15, 20:10).
Father says
that He has held back for a long time, but He also says that He will cry out as
a woman giving birth (a very loud shriek) and suddenly come upon His enemies
(v13-14 - in a time in the future). Don’t be in error, God did destroy some of
His enemies as He did in the Old Testament, but in the end, all His enemies
will be ‘finalized’ in the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15).
I will lay
waste to the mountains and dry up the herbs, I will turn rivers into dry land
and dry up the pools of water. I will
lead the blind by means which they have not known and I will make the darkness
become a light before them. I will do
all this and not forsake them (v 15-16).
Look at the miracles Father cites!
Those who
have trusted in graven images and called those statues gods shall turn back
(v17 – turn away from false gods and come back to God).
You who are
deaf, listen to what I am saying and you who are blind look and see (v18). Who is blind, but my servant and who is deaf
as my messengers whom I sent (v19)? They
see things but they really don’t observe what they see and they listen, but
they don’t really hear (v20). Sounds, to
me, like the scribes and Pharisees whom Jesus called whited sepulchers because
they showed themselves to be religious when they were full of hypocrisy (Matt.
23:27-28). Sound a bit like anything you
have seen or heard?
The Lord is
well pleased for His righteousness’ sake and He will magnify the law, making it
honorable (v21). God will honor that
(those) who abide in Him (abide in His love, John 15:9-12).
Yet His
people have robbed and spoiled and they are all trapped in what they have
done. They all are trapped in holes and
in prisons. They are prey which no one
shall deliver and they are spoiled and no one shall say ‘restore’ (v22).
Listen to
what Isaiah says to the people of His time about what they do. They have stolen from some and set traps for
others and in so doing they don’t even realize that they are imprisoned by the
evil which prompts them to do so! They
dig a pit and fall into it themselves (Psalm 7:15). Sound familiar to anyone?
Who of you
will hear this? And who will understand,
for the time is yet to come (v23).
Isaiah has
been speaking of things (attitudes) yet to happen down the road – even until today! Look around and see for yourselves!
Who let
Jacob become a spoil and Israel to be robbed?
Wasn’t it the Lord, against whom these people have sinned? Why?
Because they would not walk in His ways nor obey His law (v24).
Who “let”
Jacob become a spoil? The earth is the
Lord’s and all that’s in it. The world
is His and all that lives in it. He has
founded it upon the seas and established it upon the floods. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord. Who shall stand in His Holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart. He who has not lifted his soul up to vanity
nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive
blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation (Psalm
24:1-5).
Satan could not come against Job without
God’s permission (Job 1:6-12, Job 2:1-6).
And those who are in the Lord’s sheepfold (saved) enjoy the same
protection, yet we know that Father does chastise those whom He loves (Heb.
12:6-8) and, as long as we abide in God’s love, whatever comes upon us is to
shape us and mold us into a better person.
We are the clay and the Lord is the potter (Isa. 45:9-11, Jer. 18:1-4).
Therefore
God has poured out upon them (who defy Him) the fury of His anger and the
strength of battle and set a fire all around.
Yet he did not recognize what was happening and did not set all this
into his heart (v25).
So, when man
turns away from God is when God releases His fury. Read the Old Testament. Every time Israel turned from God, they were
conquered by a foreign power and removed from the promised land. Then, like the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32),
each time they repented and came back to God, God blessed them again as many
returned to Jerusalem. Lesson, even when
we ‘mess up’ and we truly repent that of
which we have been guilty, Father will forgive us and set those sins behind His
back (Isa. 38:17), so they can slide into the sea of forgetfulness (Micah 7:19).
In this one
chapter from the book of Isaiah, we see why Father wreaks havoc upon His
people. A little more reading of the
bible helps us t understand that, as children of the living God, He will take
the necessary measures to get His people
back on the right track and start loving Him again. He loves us.
God is love (1 John 4:16)! Jesus
desires that we abide in His love as He abides in the Father (John 15:9) so
Father, Son and we (us) might all be one (John17:20-23).
As a whole,
the bible shows us how God deals with us – reprimand or blessing. We stray, God calls us ) with whatever it
takes to get our attention). We return
and Father blesses us. In the end, which
do we choose? Destruction? Or deliverance?
Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment