Thursday
Evening Bible Study
February
13, 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 we 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 realize it
may be 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”.
We are now in a section that has been flipping around the timeline of the latter
days.
65:1-7 Reasons for Judgment
:1 “I was sought by those
who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek
Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ To a nation that was not called by
My name.
:2 I have stretched out
My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is
not good, According to their own thoughts;
I was sought – The Hebrew is, “I have granted access unto Me
to them”. God is talking about the Gentiles finding Him.
:1 sought by those who did not ask for Me
God is talking about the Gentiles.
The Gentiles did not have the same covenant relationship with God that the
Jews did.
Yet there would be a day when the Gentiles would be seeking God while the
Jews were not.
It is still in the future even though God is talking as if it is in the
past. God is outside of time. Past, present, and future are all the same to
Him.
:2 I have stretched
out My hands
rebellious – carar – to
rebel, be stubborn, be rebellious
This is an invitation, not a punishment. God is stretching out His hands in
a welcoming invitation to the Jews, but they reject Him.
Paul will use these two verses in Romans 10 when he writes about our
obligation to share the gospel to both Jew and Gentile.
(Romans 10:11–21
NLT) —11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be
disgraced.” 12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this
respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 But how can
they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they
believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about
him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them
without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet
of messengers who bring good news!”
If people will trust in Jesus, they will be saved.
Yet they need to hear about Jesus in order to trust in Him.
We are the people that God wants to send to share the good news that God
forgives sin through what Jesus did in dying for us.
We have beautiful feet when we share Christ (a quote from Isaiah 52:7)
(Isaiah 52:7 NKJV) 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!”
(Romans 10:16–21
NLT) —16 But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet
said, “Lord, who has believed our
message?”
17 So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about
Christ. 18 But I ask, have the people of Israel actually heard the message?
Yes, they have: “The message has gone throughout the earth, and the words to
all the world.”
19 But I ask, did the people of Israel really understand? Yes, they
did, for even in the time of Moses, God said, “I will rouse your jealousy
through people who are not even a nation. I will provoke your anger through the
foolish Gentiles.”
Paul is quotes Isaiah 53:1; Psalm 19:4; and Deuteronomy 32:21
(Isaiah 53:1 NKJV) Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord
been revealed?
(Psalm 19:4 NKJV) Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their
words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun,
(Deuteronomy
32:21 NKJV) They have provoked Me to jealousy by what
is not God; They have
moved Me to anger by their foolish idols. But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a
nation; I will move
them to anger by a foolish nation.
20 And later Isaiah spoke boldly for God, saying, “I was found by
people who were not looking for me. I showed myself to those who were not
asking for me.”
Paul is quoting our passage, Isaiah 65:1
(Isaiah 65:1 NKJV) “I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found
by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ To a nation that was not
called by My name.
21 But regarding Israel, God said, “All
day long I opened my arms to them, but they were disobedient and rebellious.”
And then again quoting Isaiah 65:2
(Isaiah 65:2 NKJV) I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in
a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts;
Even though the Jewish nation has a place in God’s eyes as His chosen
people, a Jewish person still needs to call upon the Lord to save him, just
like a Gentile does.
Paul quotes Isaiah and calls Isaiah’s writing “bold” (Rom. 10:20) because
he was confronting the nation of Israel with the fact that some of them have
been rebellious and disobedient to the Lord.
But don’t worry about the Jews, Paul goes on in the book of Romans to
clarify that God isn’t finished with the nation of Israel.
:2 According to their own thoughts
Lesson
Getting off track
This is how they have gotten away from God.
They made up their own ideas about how God wants them to live their lives.
(Proverbs 14:12 NKJV) There is a way that seems
right to a man, But its end is
the way of death.
In our modern culture, a very common theme we see on TV and movies is to “follow
your heart”.
Video: LOTR – What does your heart
tell you?
The problem with trusting your heart is …
(Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV) “The heart is deceitful above
all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
I often make the mistake of assuming I know everything my wife thinks, what
she wants, what her preferences are.
Even after 41 years, I still make the mistake of assuming.
It’s better if we actually talk to the person.
With God,
We do that in prayer.
We do that by staying in the Bible where we learn God’s
thoughts and ways.
It’s probably also a good idea to sometimes talk to other
mature believers and get their counsel as well.
:3 A people who provoke
Me to anger continually to My face; Who sacrifice in gardens, And burn incense
on altars of brick;
:3 Who sacrifice in gardens
The worship of idols sometimes happened in “gardens”.
This was mentioned back in chapter 1:
(Isaiah 1:29 NKJV) For they shall be ashamed of the terebinth trees Which you
have desired; And you
shall be embarrassed because of the gardens Which you have chosen.
:3 burn incense on altars of brick
God didn’t want Israel to make “fancy” altars for their sacrifices.
He wanted the altars to be made of plain “uncut” stone (Ex. 20:25)
(Exodus
20:25 NKJV) And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall
not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned
it.
:4 Who sit among the
graves, And spend the night in the tombs; Who eat swine’s flesh, And the broth
of abominable things is in their vessels;
:4 sit among the graves
This is a reference to “necromancy”, consulting the dead while sitting at
their graves.
Isaiah has already mentioned this:
(Isaiah 8:19 NKJV) And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards,
who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they
seek the dead on behalf of the living?
It’s ironic that we often see this in TV and movies, where a character goes
to the grave of someone and “talks” to them…
:4 Who eat swine’s flesh
As you probably know, pork was on the Jews’ list of forbidden foods (Lev.
11:7)
(Leviticus
11:7 NKJV) and the swine, though it divides the hoof,
having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you.
:5 Who say, ‘Keep to
yourself, Do not come near me, For I am holier than you!’ These are
smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day.
:5 For I am holier than you!
In the old King James, the phrase is translated “I am holier than thou”.
That phrase has come into our normal vernacular as a person who thinks they
are better than everyone else.
This is disgusting to God.
Lesson
Holier than thou
As we grow in the Lord, and get older in the Lord, it’s a natural thing
that more and more of our friends are Christians.
And in a sense, it’s good that with non-Christians we have fewer and fewer
relationships where they will be a negative influence on us when we have the
kinds of strong friendships that can influence us.
But we need to guard ourselves from thinking that we can’t associate with
certain people because they are “beneath” us.
One way this manifests itself is the way we treat people we think are a
problem.
There has never been a person as “holy” as Jesus. Yet He had no problem
getting close to “sinners”.
(Luke 5:27–32 NKJV)
—27 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi,
sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” 28 So he left all, rose up, and followed Him. 29 Then Levi
gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax
collectors and others who sat down with them. 30 And their
scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, “Why do You
eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 Jesus answered and said to them,
“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to
repentance.”
Jesus didn’t get close to “sinners” because He needed
friends or wanted others to like Him. He got close to “sinners” because they
needed Him. They needed Jesus. He came to show them the way back home to
God.
But look also at Levi (also known as Matthew). As soon as
he took up Jesus’ invitation to be a disciple, he threw a party for all his old
buddies to introduce them to Jesus. And Jesus didn’t turn down the invitation
to be there.
Illustration
His name is Bill. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans
and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college.
He is brilliant. Kind of esoteric and very, very bright. He became a Christian
while attending college. Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed,
very conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to the students, but
are not sure how to go about it. One day Bill decides to go there. He walks in
with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair. The service has already
started and so Bill starts down the aisle looking for a seat. The church is
completely packed and he can’t find a seat. By now people are looking a bit
uncomfortable, but no one says anything. Bill gets closer and closer and closer
to the pulpit and when he realizes there are no seats, he just squats down
right on the carpet. (Although perfectly acceptable behavior at a college
fellowship, trust me, this had never happened in this church before!) By now
the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick. About this
time, the pastor realizes that from way at the back of the church, a deacon is
slowly making his way toward Bill. Now the deacon is in his eighties, has
silver-gray hair, a three-piece suit, and a pocket watch. A godly man, very
elegant, very dignified, very courtly. He walks with a cane and as he starts
walking toward this boy, everyone is saying to themselves, “You can’t blame him
for what he’s going to do. How can you expect a man of his age and of his
background to understand some college kid on the floor?” It takes a long time
for the man to reach the boy. The church is utterly silent except for the
clicking of the man’s cane. All eyes are focused on him. You can’t even hear
anyone breathing. The people are thinking, “The pastor can’t even preach the
sermon until the deacon does what he has to do.” And now they see this elderly
man drop his cane on the floor. With great difficulty he lowers himself and
sits down next to Bill and worships with him so he won’t be alone. Everyone
chokes up with emotion. When the pastor gains control he says, “What I’m about
to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never
forget.”
- Author unknown
Are there people God has put in your life that you need to be spending time
with? Not because you need a friend or because you want to be liked by them. But
because they need to know the Jesus you know.
:6 “Behold, it is
written before Me: I will not keep silence, but will repay— Even repay into
their bosom—
:7 Your iniquities and
the iniquities of your fathers together,” Says the Lord, “Who have burned incense on the mountains And blasphemed
Me on the hills; Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”
:6 it is written before Me … will repay…
Perhaps God is referring to…
(Deuteronomy
32:35 NKJV) Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot
shall slip in due time; For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the
things to come hasten upon them.’
God promises to repay those who rebel against Him.
:7 burned incense on the mountains
Many idolatrous things happened on the “high places”. The hills and
mountains were thought to be closer to the “gods”.
65:8-10 For the Righteous
:8 Thus says the Lord: “As the new wine is found in the
cluster, And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, For a blessing is in
it,’ So will I do for My servants’ sake, That I may not destroy them all.
:8 new wine is found in the cluster
(Isaiah 65:8 NLT) “But I will not destroy them all,” says the Lord. “For just as good grapes are found among a cluster of
bad ones (and someone will say, ‘Don’t throw them all away— some of those
grapes are good!’), so I will not destroy all Israel. For I still have true
servants there.
Grapes grow in clusters, and if you’re expecting to harvest clusters that
only contain large, ripe, luscious grapes, you’ll be disappointed.
If there are some good grapes in a cluster, just cut off the bad grapes.
God is saying that He knows that there are going to be a few “good grapes”
in Israel. He won’t destroy the whole nation, but will spare the “good grapes”,
the “remnant”.
:9 I will bring forth
descendants from Jacob, And from Judah an heir of My mountains; My elect shall
inherit it, And My servants shall dwell there.
These “good grapes” that God preserves will inherit the land of Israel.
:10 Sharon shall be a
fold of flocks, And the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, For My
people who have sought Me.
:10 Sharon … Achor…
These places, sometimes known for their desolation, would become fruitful
places.
Sharon is the coastal plain located south of Mount Carmel, tucked between
the Mediterranean Sea and the Samaria hills.
Earlier Isaiah had said it would become a “wilderness” (Is. 33:9).
(Isaiah 33:9 NKJV) The earth mourns and languishes, Lebanon is
shamed and shriveled; Sharon is like a wilderness, And Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.
In this future time it will be restored to a fruitful land (like it is
now).
The Valley of Achor was the place where Achan was stoned to death
for his disobedience (Josh 7:26).
It’s just north of Jericho along the Jordan river, north of the Dead Sea.
It too will become a fruitful land (now it’s like a desert).
It will become a “door of hope” (Hosea 2:15).
65:11-12 For the Rebellious
:11 “But you are
those who forsake the Lord, Who
forget My holy mountain, Who prepare a table for Gad, And who furnish a drink
offering for Meni.
:11 forget My holy mountain
They don’t worship in Jerusalem at the Temple as God had commanded them.
:11 Who prepare a table for Gad
This is not the tribe named “Gad”, this is the name of the Babylonian god
“Fortune”
:11 who furnish a drink offering for Meni
This is the goddess of fortune (“lady luck”)
:12 Therefore I will
number you for the sword, And you shall all bow down to the slaughter; Because,
when I called, you did not answer; When I spoke, you did not hear, But did evil
before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight.”
:12 when I called, you did not answer
Lesson
Don’t say “no” to God
Most of us have “caller ID” on our phones. That’s pretty helpful when it
comes to deciding whether or not you want to answer the phone.
Suppose you were sitting at your desk and as the phone begins to ring, the
Caller I.D. flashes “God’s Throne”? Would you pick up the phone right away?
Sometimes we pick up the phone, but we don’t really respond well to the
things God might be saying…
The video clip I’m going to play is a phone call between Churchill and
Roosevelt, taking place prior to America entering World War II. Things were
desperate for the British. All of Europe had fallen and only Britain stood in
the way of Hitler.
Now this was just an illustration. I don’t mean to give
you the impression that God is “needy” and that He won’t survive unless you
respond.
But the need in this world is great for God’s people to
respond to God’s call.
65:13-16 God’s Servants
:13 Therefore thus says
the Lord God: “Behold, My
servants shall eat, But you shall be hungry; Behold, My servants shall drink,
But you shall be thirsty; Behold, My servants shall rejoice, But you shall be
ashamed;
:14 Behold, My servants
shall sing for joy of heart, But you shall cry for sorrow of heart, And wail
for grief of spirit.
:13 My servants shall eat, But you shall be hungry
servants – ‘ebed – slave,
servant. A servant is one who does what his master asks.
Lesson
Serve or be served?
The contrast in the next four verses are between God’s “servants” and the
rebellious people, those who want to “be served”. God takes care of His
servants.
Servants eat, drink, and rejoice.
It doesn’t mean servants don’t have troubles, but even in their troubles
they can rejoice.
When you decide to follow the Lord as a willing “servant”, you’re going to
find fulfillment. You’re going to find joy.
Illustration:
Years ago, Dr. Karl Menninger of the Menninger Psychiatric Clinic was asked,
“If someone felt a nervous breakdown coming on, what would you suggest that he
do?”
“If you feel a nervous breakdown coming on, I would urge you to find
somebody else with a problem—a serious one—and get involved with that
individual, helping him solve his problem.”
Helping another person solve his problem, affects your problem. You’re no longer thinking internally. You’re no longer letting things gnaw at your
stomach. You’re no longer getting
disturbed about yourself because you’re not thinking about yourself. You’re
thinking about others.”
It’s not that you ignore your problems, but sometimes you need to get your
mind off your problems for a bit.
Illustration
“Idle Christians are often unhappy Christians I have met with many a
spiritual dyspeptic always full of doubts and fears. Is there a young man here
full of doubts and fears who has lost the light he once possessed, and the joy
he once had? Dear brother, get to work. In cold weather the best way to be warm
is not to get before a fire, but to work. Exercise gives a healthy glow, even
amidst the frost. ‘I am doing something,’ says one. Yes, with one hand; use the
other hand. ‘Perhaps I should have too many irons in the fire,’ says one. You
cannot have too many. Put them all in, and blow the fire with all the bellows
you can get. I do not believe any Christian man works too hard, and, as a rule,
if those who kill themselves in Christ’s service were buried in a cemetery by
themselves, it would be a long while before it would get filled. Work hard for
Christ. It makes happy those who are in heaven to serve God day and night, and
it will make you happy on earth. Do all you can.”
• Charles
Spurgeon, The Bliss of the Glorified
:15 You shall leave your
name as a curse to My chosen; For the Lord God
will slay you, And call His servants by another name;
(Isaiah
65:15 NLT) Your name will be a curse word among my people,
for the Sovereign Lord will
destroy you and will call his true servants by another name.
Perhaps that “other name” is “Christian”.
:16 So that he who
blesses himself in the earth Shall bless himself in the God of truth; And he
who swears in the earth Shall swear by the God of truth; Because the former
troubles are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My eyes.
(Isaiah
65:16 NLT) All who invoke a blessing or take an oath will
do so by the God of truth. For I will put aside my anger and forget the evil of
earlier days.
God is speaking of a time when we will see all our troubles behind us. They
will be “forgotten”.
65:17-25 The New Start
:17 “For behold, I create
new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to
mind.
:17 I create new heavens and a new earth
What follows in verses 20-25 is not a description technically of what we
call the “new heavens and new earth” but will be a description of the Millennial
Kingdom of Jesus.
Why? Because we’ll see in verse 20 it will talk about people dying, but no
one will die when we see the “New Heavens and New Earth”.
In the book of Revelation, John describes the actual “new heaven and new
earth”, and there will be no more death.
(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.”
:17 the former shall not be remembered
Lesson
Heavenly memories
With verses like this, I often get the question, “Will we remember anything
when we get to heaven?”
Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus in a glorified form, yet they were
still recognizable to Peter, James, and John (Mat. 17).
There will be things in the New Jerusalem that are carried over from the
old. The gates of the city are named after the twelve tribes of Israel (Rev.
21:12), the foundation stones have the names of the twelve apostles (Rev.
21:14).
(Revelation 21:12 NKJV) Also she had a great and high wall
with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them,
which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
(Revelation 21:14 NKJV) Now the wall of the city had twelve
foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
We’ll remember when we’re in heaven, it’s just that memories will no longer
cause us pain. (Rev. 21:4)
(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.”
When we’re in heaven, we’ll understand things perfectly, it will all make
sense, difficult things will no longer cause pain.
(1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT) Now we see
things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see
everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete,
but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me
completely.
:18 But be glad and
rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a
rejoicing, And her people a joy.
:19 I will rejoice in
Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard
in her, Nor the voice of crying.
:19 And joy in My people
I will rejoice – giyl – to
rejoice, exult, be glad
joy – suws – to exult,
rejoice; to exult, display joy
These are very “happy” words. Do you picture in your mind God being “happy”
or “somber”?
When you make it into heaven, God will “joy” over you.
(Zephaniah
3:17 AV) The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is
mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his
love, he will joy over thee with singing.
How do you think God will be greeting you when you arrive in heaven? Will
He say, “Oh, it’s you …”, or will He say, “Alright!!!! You’re here!!!”
Heaven will be a wonderful place.
Illustration
:20 “No more shall an
infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not
fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the
sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.
:20 the child shall die one hundred years old
When Jesus returns and sets up His kingdom on earth, there will be two
types of people who will enter into the age of the Millennial Kingdom.
First, there will be those of us who have returned with Jesus, in our
glorified bodies. We will never again
experience death. We will rule and reign
with Jesus for a thousand years and into eternity.
The second type of person is the one who came to know Jesus as their Savior
during the Tribulation period, and who were able somehow to survive without
being martyred.
These people will enter the Kingdom in their old bodies, and they will have
children and grandchildren and repopulate the earth.
It is these people that are being described here. During the Millennial Kingdom, conditions on
earth become similar to those before the flood of Noah, when people lived very
long lives.
:21 They shall build
houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
:22 They shall not build
and another inhabit; They shall not plant and another eat; For as the days of a
tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My elect shall long enjoy
the work of their hands.
:22 They shall not build and another inhabit
Instead of somebody else coming and taking your property away from you, you
will enjoy the benefit of your labor. I
think this might mean that there are no taxes!
Ha!
:22 as the days of a tree
People will live as long as trees. The
General Sherman Tree in California’s Sequoia National Park is said to be
between 3,000 and 4,000 years old.
:23 They shall not labor
in vain, Nor bring forth children for trouble; For they shall be the
descendants of the blessed of the Lord,
And their offspring with them.
:24 “It shall come to
pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I
will hear.
:24 before they call, I will answer
Illustration
A five-year-old said grace at family dinner one night. “Dear God, thank you
for these pancakes...” When he concluded, his parents asked him why he thanked
God for pancakes when they were having chicken. He smiled and said, “I thought
I’d see if He was paying attention tonight.”
Illustration
Johnny had been misbehaving and was sent to his room. After a while he
emerged and informed his mother that he had thought it over and then said a
prayer. “Fine,” said the pleased mother. “If you ask God to help you not
misbehave, He will help you.” “Oh, I didn’t ask Him to help me not misbehave,”
said Johnny. “I asked Him to help you put up with me.”
:25 The wolf and the lamb
shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be
the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,”
Says the Lord.
:25 The lion shall eat straw like the ox
No more carnivores. Animals will be
herbivorous.