Thursday
Evening Bible Study
January
16, 2020
Introduction
The book of Isaiah is the first book in the section of the Old Testament
that we call the “prophets”.
It is the Old Testament book that has the clearest picture of the coming
Messiah.
The New Testament quotes from Isaiah more than from any other prophet.
John, the forerunner of Christ, began his ministry with a quote from Isaiah
(Mat. 3:3).
Jesus preached His first sermon in Nazareth from Isaiah (Luke 4:17-21).
Old Bible critics will say that the book of Isaiah is actually two books
written by different authors, with chapters 1-39 as the first book, and
chapters 40-66 as the second.
The two sections are indeed distinct, but they serve different purposes. The
first half is a book of judgment, the second half is one of comfort.
Better, recent scholarship, including the contribution of the Dead Sea
Scrolls affirms that it is a single book written by a single author.
This is not a book that was written all at once, in a single sitting. There
are various sections of the book, and it is the compiling of the writings of a
man over sixty years.
There will be times that the prophetic message is aimed close to Isaiah’s
time.
There will be times when the prophetic message is aimed far in the future.
There will be times when the message has a double effect with both a near and
far prophecy.
Isaiah has contemporaries.
His ministry overlaps the prophets Hosea and Micah.
His ministry lies roughly between 740-700 BC.
He prophesies during the reigns of the Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah –
all kings of the southern kingdom of Judah.
Keep in mind that in Isaiah’s lifetime, Israel has been split into two
different nations.
The northern ten tribes were called “Israel”, or “Ephraim”.
The southern two tribes were called “Judah”
Isaiah lived in the southern nation, and they are the main focus of his
prophecies.
Two concepts to keep in mind as we study prophecy:
We have seen that some prophecies have “double fulfillments” – they may be
fulfilled inside Isaiah’s day, and then again far in the future (like Is. 7:14
– the virgin). When you say “what does that mean?” you may need to think of
more than one thing.
We are also seeing that when it comes to prophecy, sometimes the prophecy
can skip hundreds or thousands of years between one phrase and the next. This
is called “prophetic telescoping”.
Last week in chapter 59 we saw how sin cuts us off from God. Because we are hopeless by ourselves, God
stepped in and sent a Redeemer, someone to take care of our sin.
The passage also flipped into the future and hinted at a time when God’s
people (Zion) would be in great danger, and the Redeemer would show up just in
time.
Chapter 60 picks it up with what Jerusalem will be like when Jesus sets up
His kingdom.
60:1-18 Millennial Jerusalem
read v.1-3
:2 the darkness shall cover the earth
The phrase reminds us of creation.
(Genesis 1:2 NKJV) The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on
the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the
waters.
God created light and the whole universe out of “darkness”.
Yet this is talking about how the world will be coming out of the darkness
of the Tribulation period. God’s light
will be pouring out of the nation of Israel into a dark world.
(Amos 5:18 NKJV) Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! For what good is the day of the Lord to you? It will be darkness, and not light.
read v.4-7
:5 the abundance of the sea
Old commentators suggested it might refer to sailors coming to the Lord
(Gill).
I wonder about this huge natural gas field (called Leviathan) that’s been
discovered off the coast of Israel.
:6 Midian … Sheba … Kedar
These are all Arab peoples, coming to the Lord.
Quite interesting.
read v.8-9
Jews from all over the world will return to Israel.
:9 the ships of Tarshish will come first
Tarshish was thought to be considered the “ends of the earth”. This is where Jonah was fleeing to.
It was also thought to be around the southern tip of Spain.
These were also the peoples who will complain at the Russia/Iranian
invasion of Eze. 38-39
(Ezekiel
38:13 NKJV) Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all
their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you
gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away
livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’ ” ’
Many have thought over the years that the U.S. might possibly be connected
to this if “Tarshish” might also be extended to Britain and we could be
considered the “young lions” (the British Empire).
read v.10-12
:10 The sons of foreigners shall build up your walls
There have been Gentiles from around the world that have been investing in
the nation of Israel.
In the Millennium it will be multiplied.
:11 your gates shall be open continually
Usually a city closes its gates in the evening to keep the city safe from
attack.
This is a picture of great peace and safety.
read v.13-14
:13 the place of My feet
David used the word “footstool” to describe the Ark of the Covenant Jerusalem.
(1
Chronicles 28:2 NKJV) Then King David rose to his feet and
said, “Hear me, my brethren and my people: I had it in my heart to build
a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God, and had made
preparations to build it.
(Psalm 132:7 NKJV) Let us go into His tabernacle; Let us worship at His footstool.
That may be what God means here, but…
We’ll see in a couple of weeks that God has much bigger feet.
(Isaiah 66:1 NKJV) Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is
My throne, And earth is
My footstool.
It’s funny how we think we have God all figured out. He’s actually much bigger than we think.
:14 the sons of those who afflicted you
An interesting promise from God towards the Jews.
God will one day make their enemies bow before them.
I don’t know of any other people group that has been consistently
persecuted as the Jews.
read v.15-18
:17 Instead of bronze I will bring gold
This is an example of how the ancients measured their prosperity.
These “upgrades” are similar to those of Solomon:
(1 Kings
10:27 NKJV) The king made silver as common in
Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which
are in the lowland.
In contrast, when Solomon’s son Rehoboam took over, he lost a battle with
the King of Egypt, and Rehoboam had to replace Solomon’s “shields of gold”,
with shields made of bronze (1Ki. 14:27)
(1 Kings 14:26–27
NKJV) —26 And he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s
house; he took away everything. He also took away all the gold shields which
Solomon had made. 27 Then King Rehoboam made bronze
shields in their place, and committed them to the hands of the captains
of the guard, who guarded the doorway of the king’s house.
:18 call your walls … gates…
Some thoughts …
If you are a city like Jerusalem,
Walls are the things that protect you from your enemies.
We are protected by our salvation. The enemy may accuse and condemn us, but
Jesus has saved us.
The city gates are the entrance.
You enter in by way of Praise.
The city gates are also where the rulers, the elders hang out.
Real leaders hang out where God is praised.
60:19-22 The New Jerusalem
Here’s one of those time-travel breaks (prophetic telescoping). We now jump 1,000 years into the future from
the Millennial Kingdom.
We now get a glimpse of the “New Jerusalem”, after the old earth and
heavens have passed away.
:19 The sun shall no longer be your light by day
After the old heaven and earth have passed away, we see the New Jerusalem
at the end of Revelation.
(Revelation 21:23 NKJV) The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for
the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.
:20 the days of your mourning shall be ended
John records:
(Revelation
21:4 NKJV) And God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no
more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
:22 I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time
When God decides that it is time for this to happen, it will happen
quickly.
But it won’t happen until He’s ready.
Are you ready?
Isaiah 61
We now begin a chapter that Jesus Himself claimed was about Him.
Luke 4 - Luke records that after Jesus’ temptation in the
wilderness, Jesus began His ministry in Nazareth, the town where He had grown
up.
(Luke 4:16–22 NKJV)
—16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His
custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to
read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had
opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
Nazareth was not a large city in Jesus’ day. The synagogue may have been small, like the
one that’s recently been dug up in Magdala.
It was common practice in a synagogue service to allow a guest of honor or
visiting rabbi to read part of the Scripture reading.
The typical synagogue service opened with a prayer for God’s blessing, and
the recitation of the Hebrew confession of faith (the Shema, Deut. 6:4-9).
This was followed by prayer and the prescribed readings from the Law and
the prophets.
It was a common practice to let a guest of honor read the final portion.
From where He read in Isaiah, according to the prescribed reading calendar,
we know what time of year it was.
This particular passage is read the fourth Sabbath before the Jewish New
Year, sometime around the first of September.
So Jesus begins to read from Isaiah 61:1-2
18 “The Spirit of the Lord
is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the
brokenhearted, To proclaim
liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at
liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of
the Lord.” 20 Then He
closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the
eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
Pay attention to the phrase where Jesus stops. We’ll look at it’s significance in a minute.
21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in
your hearing.” 22 So all bore witness to Him, and
marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said,
“Is this not Joseph’s son?”
read v.1-3
:1 To preach good tidings to the poor
Lesson
Good news
Sometimes we use the word “gospel” for “good tidings”. It’s all about “good news”.
Some people might not think that finding out they are
pregnant is good news.
All they might think of is the pain and trouble a baby
brings.
But believe me, it’s great news.
The gospel that we preach is about giving people good news.
It’s not pain free, just like being a parent.
There is some bad news too, like the fact that you have to
recognize you are a sinner and that God wants you to turn from your destructive
sinful habits.
But it’s mostly really, really good news.
God has made a way for you to be saved from the penalty of your sins.
He has made it possible for you to break free from the grip of sin.
He has made it possible for you to go to heaven.
God actually loves you.
Jesus didn’t come to preach the gospel to people who think they have all
the answers. He came to reach out to
those who are smart enough to realize they need God, they are “poor” without
God.
:1 to heal the brokenhearted
Lesson
Broken hearts
There are several things that can result in broken hearts.
Broken relationships
Someone you have valued has rejected you, and sometimes
very painfully.
It might be a parent that has rejected you.
It might be a friend who has rejected.
It might be a spouse who has rejected you.
Failed expectations
(Proverbs
13:12 NKJV) Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it
is a tree of life.
Sometimes it’s that job you hoped for, but didn’t come
through.
It might be that college you wanted to get into, but you
were not accepted.
Is your heart broken?
Jesus doesn’t want to leave you in your misery. He came to heal your heart.
:1 To proclaim liberty to the captives
Lesson
Forgiveness
There are more kinds of “oppression” than being under the rule of a cruel
dictator.
Bitterness and unforgiveness can be a cruel task master.
You might think you need to hold on to the bitterness you feel towards
someone because of the great crime they committed against you.
But bitterness can hold you captive.
Brene made the point that blame has an inverse relationship to accountability.
If someone does something that hurts you, you speak up and
say something like, “When you did such and such, it made me feel…”
But what she didn’t say was that at some point you need to
respond with letting it go, releasing it, forgiving.
If you hold people accountable, but never forgive them,
and you will still be trapped with bitterness inside of you.
We learn how to forgive by learning how God forgives us.
Jesus told a story about a man who was forgiven a debt of 10 million
dollars, only to turn around and send someone to prison who owed him 10 bucks.
(Mat. 18)
The story was meant to illustrate that since we’ve been
forgiven so much by God, we ought to forgive others.
Paul wrote,
(Ephesians
4:32 NKJV) And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,
even as God in Christ forgave you.
:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord
Isaiah is referring to the “year of Jubilee” (Lev. 25), when slaves were
freed, and debts were cancelled.
Every seventh year was supposed to be a “Sabbatical” year, when the land
would be rested and crops would not be planted.
Every seventh sabbatical year was a “year of Jubilee”.
The year of Jubilee was all about bringing balance into the economic
system.
Slaves were set free and returned to their families.
Property that had been sold reverted to the original
owners.
All debts were cancelled.
The land rested and the people rested.
Lesson
God is for me
The word translated “acceptable” in Isaiah’s text means “pleasure, delight,
favor”.
Jesus came to proclaim the year of God’s favor.
We are still in the time of God’s favor.
God is still showing grace and mercy to all who will turn to Him.
There will be a time when God will judge this world and
everyone will pay for their sin, but that time hasn’t come … yet.
This is the time to turn to God.
When you turn to God, you will find what Paul writes about:
(Romans 8:31–32
NKJV) —31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us,
who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,
how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
If you compare with the passage in Luke, you will discover that Jesus stopped
at this point. He didn’t read the next phrase.
:2 the day of vengeance of our God
When Jesus was reading in the synagogue, He stopped before He got to this
phrase.
He didn’t finish the chapter.
He didn’t even finish the verse.
He stopped.
Why?
Because here’s that “prophetic telescoping” thing.
There’s a 2,000 year gap between the previous phrase, and this phrase.
It’s not until Jesus comes back the second time that this world will see
the “day of vengeance” of our God.
For now, we live in the “acceptable year” of the Lord.
Take advantage of it.
:3 to console those who mourn
All these phrases are for those who are burdened and grieved over their own
sin.
For those who truly grieve over their sin, they will find God’s
consolation, beauty, oil of joy, garment of praise.
Jesus told the story about a son who ran off and wasted his inheritance.
While he was eating pig food in a distant land, he came to his senses and
decided to come back to his father and beg to just be one of his father’s
servants.
(Luke 15:20–24
NKJV) —20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great
way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck
and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I
have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be
called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and
put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his
feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat
and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is alive
again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.
Illustration
Ernest Hemingway wrote a story about a father and his teenage son. In the
story, the relationship had become somewhat strained, and the teenage son ran
away from home. His father began a journey in search of that rebellious son.
Finally, in Madrid, Spain, in a last desperate attempt to find the boy, the
father put an ad in the local newspaper. The ad read: “Dear Paco, Meet me in
front of the newspaper office at noon. All is forgiven. I love you. Your
father.” The next day, in front of the newspaper office, eight hundred Pacos
showed up. They were all seeking forgiveness. They were all seeking the love of
their father.
-- George Munzing, "Living a
Life of Integrity," Preaching Today, Tape No. 32.
It’s time to come home to the Father.
read v.4-7
:4 they shall rebuild the old ruins
The ultimate fulfillment of these verses are about God’s full restoration
of Israel before the whole world.
But it’s also a picture of what kinds of things that God does in our lives
as we learn to mourn over our sin and turn to Him.
read v.8-9
God loves it when we learn to do “justice”, when we learn to follow Him “in
truth”.
read v.10-11
It seems that Isaiah is now speaking for the remnant, those who have been
saved by the Messiah.
:10 He has clothed me with the garments of salvation
Lesson
Wardrobe
I wish we would pay more attention to our spiritual “wardrobe”.
In a sense, we are supposed to function as “priests”.
Priests, like Aaron, are supposed to have beautiful clothes.
(Exodus 28:2 NKJV) And you shall make holy garments for
Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.
When Jesus returns, this is how the church is going to be decked out:
(Revelation 19:8 NKJV) And to her it was granted to be
arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous
acts of the saints.
And yet, there are times when we walk contrary to what God has for us. It affects our “wardrobe”. It affects what people “see” when they see us.
The prophet Zechariah had a vision about Joshua, the high
priest in his day. He had been attacked
by Satan…
(Zechariah 3:3 NKJV) Now Joshua was clothed with filthy
garments, and was standing before the Angel.
Illustration
The Beggar’s Rags
A beggar lived near the king’s palace. One day he saw a proclamation posted
outside the palace gate. The king was giving a great dinner. Anyone dressed in
royal garments was invited to the party. The beggar went on his way. He looked
at the rags he was wearing and sighed. Surely only kings and their families
wore royal robes, he thought. Slowly an idea crept into his mind. The audacity
of it made him tremble. Would he dare? He made his way back to the palace. He
approached the guard at the gate. “Please, sire, I would like to speak to the
king.” “Wait here,” the guard replied. In a few minutes, he was back. “His
majesty will see you,” he said, and led the beggar in. “You wish to see me?”
asked the king. “Yes, your majesty. I want so much to attend the banquet, but I
have no royal robes to wear. Please, sir, if I may be so bold, may I have one
of your old garments so that I, too, may come to the banquet?” The beggar shook
so hard that he could not see the faint smile that was on the king’s face. “You
have been wise in coming to me,” the king said. He called to his son, the young
prince. “Take this man to your room and array him in some of your clothes.” The
prince did as he was told and soon the beggar was standing before a mirror, clothed
in garments that he had never dared hope for. “You are now eligible to attend
the king’s banquet tomorrow night,” said the prince. “But even more important,
you will never need any other clothes. These garments will last forever.” The
beggar dropped to his knees. “Oh, thank you,” he cried. But as he started to
leave, he looked back at his pile of dirty rags on the floor. He hesitated.
What if the prince was wrong? What if he would need his old clothes again?
Quickly he gathered them up. The banquet was far greater than he had ever
imagined, but he could not enjoy himself as he should. He had made a small
bundle of his old rags and it kept falling off his lap. The food was passed
quickly and the beggar missed some of the greatest delicacies. Time proved that
the prince was right. The clothes lasted forever. Still the poor beggar grew
fonder and fonder of his old rags. As time passed people seemed to forget the
royal robes he was wearing. They saw only the little bundle of filthy rags that
he clung to wherever he went. They even spoke of him as the old man with the
rags. One day as he lay dying, the king visited him. The beggar saw the sad
look on the king’s face when he looked at the small bundle of rags by the bed.
Suddenly the beggar remembered the prince’s words and he realized that his
bundle of rags had cost him a lifetime of true royalty. He wept bitterly at his
folly. And the king wept with him.
We have been invited into a royal family—the family of God. To feast at
God’s dinner table, all we have to do is shed our old rags and put on the “new
clothes” of faith which is provided by God’s Son, Jesus Christ. But we cannot
hold onto our old rags. When we put our faith in Christ, we must let go of the
sin in our life, and our old ways of living. Those things must be discarded if we
are to experience true royalty and abundant life in Christ. “Behold, the old is
passed away; the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Edited from More Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks by
Wayne Rice. Copyright 1995 by Youth Specialties, Inc.
Ultimately we want to follow Paul’s wardrobe suggestions:
(Romans
13:14 NKJV) But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no
provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.