Latest / Faith by annm2705 / 749. Bible Study: Isaiah 64 and 65 (Trusting in God, Responding to Him, Obedience/Righteousness and Rewards, Our Choice/Free Will)

Transcript

749. Bible Study: Isaiah 64 and 65 (Trusting in God, Responding to Him, Obedience/Righteousness and Rewards, Our Choice/Free Will) · Faith by annm2705

0:00
Chapter 64 from the book of Isaiah.
0:04
First, let's pray. Dear Lord, please let your Holy
0:07
Spirit open our eyes and ears to hear the words that you've
0:11
shared with Isaiah and to apply it to our own lives and our own
0:17
futures. We ask this in Jesus name.
0:21
Chapter 64. Oh, that you would rend the
0:25
heavens and come down, That the mountains would tremble before
0:31
you, as when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil.
0:36
Come down to make your name known to your enemies, and cause
0:41
the nations to quake before you. For when you did awesome things
0:47
that we did not expect, you came down and the mountains trembled
0:51
before you. So I think this is something
0:55
that stands out that we did not expect.
0:58
A lot of times God will surprise people with His awesomeness,
1:02
with what He does. People won't necessarily be
1:06
expecting things, but when they happen, they will know it's from
1:10
God and He surprises us often. Going back to Scripture, since
1:15
ancient times, no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has
1:20
seen any God besides you who acts on behalf of those who wait
1:26
for him. I think that's really important
1:28
for us to be surrendered in that way where we wait for God, that
1:35
we wait for God to guide us. We don't just do things on our
1:39
own without consulting God. And it says no, I have seen any
1:45
God besides you who acts on behalf of those who wait for
1:48
Him. When we put our trust and faith
1:51
in God, He will act on our behalf.
1:56
So going back to Scripture, you come to the help of those who
2:00
gladly do right, who remember your ways.
2:05
There is a reward in everyday living for righteousness.
2:10
Of course, there will also be persecution from the enemy for
2:14
righteousness, but there is a reward from God for righteous
2:20
ways of living. And when we gladly do it right,
2:24
when we gladly are doing what is right, not begrudgingly doing
2:30
it, there is a reward. It says you come to help, to the
2:35
help of those who gladly do, right?
2:39
So there's where our reward is, where God will help us.
2:42
If we are choosing to do righteous things, God will help
2:46
us gladly. He's there to help us.
2:50
But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry.
2:56
So when we continue to sin, it makes God angry with us and
3:02
changes things. How then can we be saved?
3:07
All of us have become like the one who is unclean, and all our
3:11
righteous acts are like filthy rags.
3:14
We all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our swint, our
3:20
sins sweep us away. No one calls on your name or
3:26
strives to lay hold of you, for you have hidden your face from
3:30
us and have given us over to our sins.
3:35
So there are like 3 things that I noticed in verses 6 and seven.
3:40
First of all, all sin, it says all of us have become like
3:45
filthy rags and the wind our sins, our sins sweep us away.
3:52
So that's about all of us. It affects all of us, but it
3:55
says here in in verse 7, no one calls on your name like there is
4:00
deliverance from God. If we call on his name like he
4:03
can help us, we don't have to be go through all of that.
4:08
We can call on the name of Jesus, and for you have hidden
4:12
your face from us and have given us over to our sins.
4:16
So this is what I've noticed in the Bible eventually happens
4:20
when we keep rejecting God and refusing to be obedient to the
4:24
ways he gave us. He will let us have what we ask
4:28
for, what we what we want, he will let us have.
4:32
And that's the condition that many people can get themselves
4:36
into by rejecting God's righteous ways and choosing our
4:40
sinful ways. In doing so, at a certain point,
4:43
God turns us over. Another verse is something like
4:49
that. God turned him over to a
4:50
depraved mind that it's like when we keep choosing sin and
4:56
not choosing God, that's anytime we choose sin, that's rebellion
5:01
to God. That is a rejection of God.
5:04
Every sin that we choose is a rejection of God, whether we
5:08
want to admit it or not, It is. And so if we keep on doing that,
5:14
it it tells us in the Bible that he will give us over to that.
5:19
He will give us what we want. But ultimately we're not really
5:22
going to want that when we see that because it will be, it'll
5:26
be torture. It'll be kind of like a hell for
5:29
us. Like eventually it's going to
5:31
turn into something we don't desire.
5:33
And God tries to warn us like you really don't want that.
5:36
You think you want that, but you really don't want that.
5:40
But if you want that, I'll let you have it.
5:42
But it's not going to be peaceful for you.
5:45
There's there's going to be a consequence to that.
5:47
And then we kind of learn our lesson or we keep repeating the
5:51
same thing because we don't listen to God, because we don't
5:54
take God's guidance, but he warns us.
5:56
But eventually when we keep saying, no God, no, I don't want
6:00
it, I don't want it, he turns us over.
6:02
That's what it says here. For you have hidden your face
6:05
from us and have given us over to our sins.
6:10
Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, You are the
6:14
Potter. We are all the work of your
6:17
hand. Do not be angry beyond measure,
6:20
Lord, Do not remember our sins forever.
6:23
Oh, look on us, we pray, for we are all your people.
6:28
Your sacred cities have become a wasteland.
6:32
Even Zion is a wasteland, Jerusalem a desolation.
6:38
So I think I want to read what the study Bible says about these
6:42
verses before because I, it does sound like Jerusalem does have
6:48
something happen to it. And I know it's happened several
6:52
times. I mean, it was conquered by the
6:53
Babylonians and conquered by the Assyrians.
6:56
And the question is, is it a third time?
7:00
I know that for 42 months it is trampled on by Gentiles.
7:04
So maybe that is the the what happens to Jerusalem in the
7:09
future. And again, the timing right now
7:13
is very interesting to pay attention to what happens
7:15
because there's the United Nations meeting on September
7:18
22nd. And is this is a time where A2
7:22
state solution goes into play. If so, this is not what God
7:26
wants. This is what God speaks against,
7:28
like turning over the land to those who God did not give it
7:32
to. Like it is God who said Israel
7:35
will have certain geographical boundaries which they don't have
7:40
today. And and so we we have to
7:45
recognize that we are the clay and he is the Potter.
7:47
God is the is the creator. And if we are going against his
7:53
will, all we can expect is wrath for that.
7:57
So if if people agree to this September 22nd two states
8:02
dilution, we just better be prepared for the wrath of God to
8:07
come because that is not that is a outright against God's will.
8:12
But prophecy says it will happen at some point in the future.
8:15
So is it now? Is it 2025 or will it be delayed
8:20
once again? Just I mean, this month is going
8:24
to be really critical in terms of biblical prophecy.
8:28
So let's read what the Study Bible says about this chapter.
8:31
What happens when God comes down to earth?
8:34
Who can say? With God, there's no limit as to
8:37
what can happen. Isaiah wanted God to demonstrate
8:39
His great power and reveal His glory to all nations, not just
8:43
his own people. He wanted God to both judge the
8:47
evil nations and to bless his people.
8:49
When God comes in power to do awesome things that we do not
8:53
expect, the wicked and the righteous both tremble before
8:57
him. That's probably what they call
8:59
the fear of God. When you recognize that God has
9:03
this power to do great things and to also bring about wrath.
9:08
I mean, there is, there's the fear of God in that.
9:12
What does it mean to wait for God?
9:14
To wait for God means to trust Him, be faithful to Him, and
9:19
commit ourselves to Him. Waiting for God means trusting
9:23
Him even when things go badly, when God has not yet delivered
9:30
us from our troubles. God does not always intervene
9:34
immediately when we call on Him for help.
9:38
He has a purpose. He knows things we don't know,
9:41
and we just have to trust Him while we are going through
9:43
things and trust that He works all things out for the good of
9:48
those who trust and obey Him. So how can righteous acts become
9:54
dirty? The best and most righteous
9:57
things we do are distorted and overwhelmed by our sinful
10:01
nature. Good deeds alone cannot
10:04
counteract wickedness any more than dry leaves can resist the
10:09
wind. The Bible presents 2 contrasting
10:12
views of humanity. Though we are made in the image
10:16
of God, we are also vile sinners.
10:20
How is God our Father? The word Father depicts the
10:23
special relationship believers have with God.
10:26
God gives us life, loves us, protects us, and provides for
10:31
us. If the Potter shapes the clay,
10:33
how is the clay responsible? This verse isn't about the
10:37
techniques of pottery making of pottery making, but it is an
10:42
analogy of how the Potter God creates the clay his people
10:48
according to his plan. That plan includes giving us
10:52
free will so that we can truly love God and obey Him
10:58
voluntarily, as opposed to woodenly going through the
11:05
motions of obedience. Because we are programmed to do
11:09
nothing else by reason of the freedom God has given us to obey
11:15
or disobey, we are fully responsible for our actions and
11:21
will be judged accordingly. Does this prophecy predict the
11:27
destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple?
11:30
Yes, Isaiah's vivid language has prompted some who doubt that
11:36
prophecy can be so specific to think parts of this book were
11:40
added later after the fact. Isaiah's use of the past tense
11:45
here is an example of the prophetic perfect tense, in
11:50
which the future is so certain that it is described as if it is
11:55
already happened. And that's the end of the
12:03
questions and answers for this. I OK, I think I had AI didn't
12:09
read verse 11 and 12. I'll read those now.
12:12
Our holy and glorious temple where our ancestors praised you
12:17
has been burned with fire, and all that we treasured lies in
12:22
ruins. After all this, Lord, will you
12:25
hold yourself back? Will you keep silent and punish
12:28
us beyond measure? So that ends Chapter 64.
12:34
We'll go on to Chapter 65. I revealed myself to those who
12:38
did not ask for me. I was found by those who did not
12:43
seek me to a nation that did not call on my name.
12:47
I said here am I. Here am I all long, all day long
12:54
I have held out my hands to an obstinate people who walk in
12:59
ways not good pursuing their own imaginations.
13:04
When I read that, I think about like who walk in ways not good
13:08
pursuing their own imaginations. I think about self indulgence
13:13
like everything that we selfishly seek is what we are
13:20
pursuing. And I also think about AI and
13:23
how that's being used and transhumanism where we'll be
13:26
like, you know, the desire of some their own imaginations to
13:30
make people greater by implanting people with man made
13:36
materials to enhance our condition.
13:41
That's, you know, pursuing our own imaginations.
13:44
Did God desire that or is this something that we are as mankind
13:49
are coming up with? And I think it's, you know,
13:51
obvious that we as mankind are coming up with this.
13:54
God didn't say we need to improve on what he's created,
13:59
but we believe that and we're seeking things in that way.
14:02
And then that brings about judgement on us.
14:05
A people who continually provoke me to my very face, offering
14:09
sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on altars of
14:13
brick. I think that was about the
14:16
idolatry at that time. Who sit among the graves and
14:19
spend their nights keeping secret vigil.
14:22
This is probably a lot of the occultish things who eat the
14:26
flesh of pigs and whose pots hold broth of impure meat.
14:31
Who say keep away, don't come near me, for I am too sacred for
14:36
you. Such people are smoke in my
14:39
nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day.
14:43
I think these are like those false spiritual religious
14:47
people, probably the occult, because a lot of this sounds
14:51
like occultish type practices. And then at the same time, they
14:56
think they're very religious and they're like, just don't come
15:00
near me because, you know, it's this prideful thing continuing
15:05
on in scripture. See, it stands written before
15:07
me. I will not keep silent, but will
15:10
pay back in full. I will pay back.
15:13
Pay it back into their laps, both your sins and the sins of
15:18
your ancestors, says the Lord. Because they burned sacrifices
15:23
on the mountains and defied me on the hills.
15:27
This is certainly like idolatry and false gods worshipping false
15:31
gods. I will measure onto their laps
15:34
the full payments for their former deeds.
15:37
This is what the Lord says. As when juice is still found in
15:41
a cluster of grapes and people say don't destroy it, there is
15:46
still a blessing in it. So I will do in behalf of my
15:50
servants. I will not destroy them all.
15:54
So this made me think about the remnant, the 144,000, and also
15:58
how God is patient and long-suffering.
16:01
Like He keeps giving people chances to turn to him.
16:06
Like this cluster of grapes that's not completely dried up
16:10
yet. He's giving us more
16:12
opportunities, more time. The longer He delays His return,
16:16
the return of Jesus, the more time He has given us to repent
16:21
and turn to Him, to trust in Him.
16:24
But yet there are many who have not done this yet.
16:28
But this is what God ultimately desires and puts in prophecy.
16:32
That's what He's seeking. And He's going to let some
16:36
survive out of His mercy and His compassion.
16:39
And it's stated in the Book of Revelation, there's 144,012
16:44
thousand people from each tribe. It's a small number, it's a
16:47
remnant, but that is what God has identified.
16:52
I will bring forth descendants from Jacob and from Judah, those
16:56
who possess my mountains, My chosen people will inherit them
17:01
and and there will my servants live.
17:05
Sharon will become a pasture for flocks and the valley of Acor, a
17:10
resting place for herds for my people who seek me.
17:15
So that's important there who seek me.
17:18
Like there's going to be a pasture, a resting place for
17:21
people who seek him. If people are not seeking him,
17:27
it this isn't necessarily open. So we need to seek him.
17:32
But As for you who forsake the Lord and forget my holy
17:36
mountain, who spread a table for fortune and fill bowls of mixed
17:41
wine for destiny. So this is like idolatry.
17:44
I'm going to read what the study Bible says.
17:46
What do fortune and destiny refer to?
17:48
Fortune and destiny. The Hebrew words are gad and
17:52
many were gods that were worshipped by Israel's
17:56
neighbors. The fact that many Israelites in
18:00
Isaiah's day brought these gods food offerings is here pictured
18:04
by people spreading a table and filling bowls of wine for the
18:08
gods. This idolatry was something the
18:11
Israelites should never have been involved with and it is
18:15
therefore cited as evidence of forsaking the Lord in due
18:20
course. However, those who worship the
18:22
God destiny would encounter their well deserved destiny and
18:28
that's in verse 12. It talks about I will destine
18:32
you for the sword, and all of you will fall in the slaughter.
18:37
For I called you, but you did not answer.
18:41
I spoke but you did not listen. You did evil in my sight and
18:46
chose what displeases me. So we have to remember, those
18:51
who go into this slaughter refused God's calling #1 and it
18:57
was an individual choice. They weren't forced into it.
19:02
God isn't punishing people just for the sake of punishing.
19:07
God is punishing the people who rejected him.
19:10
We have to remember that God is just.
19:13
He doesn't do this to innocent people.
19:17
Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says.
19:20
My servants will eat, but you will go hungry.
19:24
My servants will drink, but you will go thirsty.
19:27
My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame.
19:31
My servants will sing out of the joy of their hearts, but you
19:35
will cry from the anguish of the heart and wail in brokenness of
19:41
spirit. These people don't have the Holy
19:44
Spirit, the ones who are in anguish.
19:47
You will leave Your name for my chosen ones to use in their
19:52
curses. The Sovereign Lord will put you
19:56
to death, but to His servants He will give another name.
20:01
This is that new name concept again that we talked about in
20:04
prior chapters. Whoever invokes a blessing in
20:08
the land will do so by the one true God.
20:11
Whoever takes an oath in the land will swear by the one true
20:16
God, for the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my
20:22
eyes. So when we turn to God, our sins
20:26
are forgiven and they are forgotten.
20:29
When we become a new creation and we receive the Holy Spirit,
20:33
the Holy Spirit, God's Spirit changes us and makes us into
20:40
more righteous people. We become we, we start changing.
20:44
We start having the desires that God has.
20:47
Are we start aligning more with God as opposed to with our
20:51
sinful side? Going back to what Isaiah says,
20:55
see I will create new heavens and a new earth.
20:59
Now this is mentioned in Revelation chapter 21.
21:03
The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come
21:07
to mind. I think this is important for
21:10
anyone who's been through trauma.
21:12
The former things, they're not going to be remembered anymore
21:15
and they won't be even coming to mind.
21:17
There's going to be something so beautiful and majestic that God
21:20
is doing that. Anything that brings up pain
21:24
from the past, it won't be remembered.
21:26
And that's what it says like in this new Heavens and new earth,
21:29
which is identified in the Book of Revelation chapter 21.
21:34
But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, For I
21:39
will create Jerusalem to be a delight, and its people a joy.
21:44
I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people.
21:48
The sound of weeping and crying will be heard in it no more.
21:54
So again, this supports the chapters of 20 and 21 from the
21:59
Book of Revelation that talk about you're not, there's not
22:03
going to be any more, no more tears in that time frame when
22:07
the new heavens and the new earth are created by God.
22:12
Never again will there be in it an infant who lives.
22:16
This is talking about the Millennium period, the 1000
22:20
years of Christ when he reigns on earth.
22:22
Because there's still, notice this, there's still death.
22:26
So we are not in eternity yet, but there's this thousand year
22:31
period where Jesus reigns on earth, the Messiah reigns on
22:36
earth as king. This is what the Jewish people
22:39
have been waiting for for all these years.
22:41
And they thought that was what was going to happen at the
22:44
Messiah, the first time he was here when he died on the cross.
22:47
And they were disappointed when he died on the cross because
22:50
they thought he was going to be this king to reign.
22:53
But that's coming in the future. And that's what we're all still
22:56
waiting for. And there is going to be this
22:59
time that is described here and also in the last chapters of
23:04
Revelation. So it says.
23:06
Never again will there be an infant who lives but a few days,
23:10
or an old man who does not live out his years.
23:14
The one who dies at 100 will be thought of as a mere child.
23:21
So this sounds like we're going to be going back to the ages
23:25
listed in Genesis where people live to be 609 hundred years
23:31
old. I mean, is that what this is
23:32
indicating? It's saying that if you're 100
23:35
years old, you're just a child. I mean, long lifespans.
23:39
When Jesus returns, there's going to be some other changes
23:42
too, which are talked about coming up.
23:45
The one who fails to reach 100 will be considered a cursed.
23:50
So again, we're not in a perfect world yet, but it's in a
23:54
restoration. And here's another thing, like
23:58
people wonder, what are we going to be doing in these thousand
24:01
years? Well, the next sentence gives us
24:03
that information. Verse 21.
24:06
They will build houses and dwell in them.
24:09
They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
24:12
No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or
24:17
plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so
24:21
will the days of my people. So will be the days of My
24:25
people. My chosen ones will long enjoy
24:29
the work of their hands. They will not labor in vain, nor
24:34
will they bear children doomed to misfortune.
24:38
This is another thing that's really a blessing.
24:41
You know there's no longer to be children that are born that are
24:44
doomed to misfortune. Wonderful blessing, for they
24:50
will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants
24:55
with them. Before they call, I will answer
24:59
while they are still speaking. I will hear the wolf and the
25:03
lamb will feed together. This sounds like there's no
25:06
predatory nature in the animals like there's a restoration
25:10
between the animals too. And the lion will eat straw like
25:14
the ox. So there's going to be something
25:17
completely different. And the dust will be the
25:21
serpent's food. They will neither harm nor
25:25
destroy. On all my holy mountain.
25:30
Now, doesn't that picture of holiness sound good?
25:33
Where there's, you know, people are living long lives.
25:36
Nobody has misfortune. The the lamb, the wolf and the
25:42
lamb light it got down together. The lion eats straw.
25:45
I mean the beautiful majestic lion that has this tremendous
25:49
roar is not going to be something that anybody.
25:52
If it's eating straw, that means that people can go up to it and
25:56
interact with it and not be fearful of it.
25:58
I mean, that's going to be this incredible time that is coming
26:03
when Jesus returns. I will read through what the
26:07
study Bible says for this chapter, the parts that I didn't
26:11
read yet. So why did God reveal?
26:14
Why did God reveal himself to those who didn't care?
26:19
God came to them not because of, but in spite of the fact that
26:23
they didn't care. Left to ourselves, none of us
26:26
would seek God. But God initiates a relationship
26:30
despite our inability to see our own need.
26:34
In fact, the human heart cannot respond to God until God has
26:39
somehow touched it. How did the people provoke the
26:43
Lord other than worshipping idols?
26:45
It's not entirely clear what the people did.
26:48
Some suggest they were worshipping nature through
26:51
cultic practices and trying to communicate with dead spirits.
26:55
Necromancy. They did these things in
26:58
violation of the laws established by God.
27:01
According to Deuteronomy Chapter 11 and chapter 18, God had also
27:07
commanded that any altar for him be made of uncut stone, not
27:12
brick, and they had been commanded to eat clean rather
27:18
than unclean meat. In Leviticus Chapter 11 it talks
27:22
about that. So why would these people think
27:25
they were too sacred for others? Because of their idolatry, those
27:29
who practice Pagan rituals often believed that they were holier
27:34
than others. They probably warned others to
27:37
keep away less they should come too close and either be harmed
27:40
or contract or contract the holiness with the resulting
27:45
inconvenience of needing to change their clothes and wash
27:48
their bodies. What did it mean to pay it back
27:51
into their laps? This pictures someone wearing a
27:54
loose outer garment with a fold over the belt that could be used
27:58
as a large pocket to hold a measure of wheat.
28:01
It symbolizes the judgment of God would pour out on those who
28:05
had committed these terrible idolatries.
28:08
What were the What were Sharon and the valley of Acor?
28:12
Sharon was a plain along the Mediterranean coast north of
28:17
Joppa and South of Mount Carmel. It was known for its beautiful
28:22
foliage and its superb grazing land.
28:25
The valley of Acor near Jericho was dry and barren, but God's
28:30
salvation would allow it to to become productive pasture.
28:35
And since Sharon and Acor were on the western and eastern edges
28:40
of the land respectively, they probably represent the whole
28:44
country. So then why?
28:48
What are these new heavens and new earth?
28:50
It's possible Isaiah was thinking of the end of this
28:55
present heaven and earth. If so, he was describing a time
28:59
when God will establish a new heaven and a new earth.
29:03
Revelation 21 verses one through Revelation 22 verse 5.
29:08
Some think Isaiah was using the word create to mean transform.
29:13
If so, he was saying that when God brings salvation to his
29:17
people, everything will be completely transformed.
29:20
Why? Consider 100 year old man as a
29:23
mere child? This is an example of the fact
29:26
that the former things will not be remembered in the new heavens
29:29
and the new earth. No one will die in infancy and
29:33
100 year old people will be considered young.
29:36
Since this picture promises greatly extended but not
29:41
infinite life. Some see this as a reference to
29:45
the millennial reign of Christ on the earth preliminary
29:49
preliminary to the eventual new heaven and new earth.
29:53
Others see this simply as a way of illustrating that all things
29:57
that cause sorrow will not exist in the new heavens and new
30:02
earth. Why will God answer?
30:06
Why will God answer before someone calls?
30:09
This illustrates the changes that are coming in this present
30:12
fallen word world. It sometimes seems that God's
30:16
answers don't come or are delayed.
30:19
The psalmist praised. Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
30:23
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble in Psalms verse
30:27
10 or Psalms chapter 10 verse one?
30:31
But when God creates the new heavens and the new earth,
30:35
things will be different. Then God will answer even before
30:39
His people finish praying to Him.
30:41
That just brought to mind Jesus what He sold, told his
30:45
disciples. He said there will be a time
30:48
when you don't ask me for anything, but you just ask God
30:51
directly. So that just came to mind when I
30:54
was reading this explanation. And indeed this reality already
30:58
exists to some extent. Now for those who are members of
31:02
God's Kingdom. Through faith in the servant
31:05
slash Messiah, the wolf and the lamb, life as we know it,
31:11
including the natural world, will be transformed in the age
31:15
to come. Creation itself will be
31:18
redeemed, but dust will be the serpent's food.
31:24
And that's referencing in Genesis.
31:26
That's what God said in Genesis chapter 3 verse 14 is the origin
31:30
of this curse on the serpent who will now become harmless and eat
31:35
dust. So we are, we have 1 chapter
31:40
left. So I don't know if I should wait
31:42
on this one. I, I think I'll wait.
31:43
We're only 31 and there's, there's quite a bit to talk
31:47
about and it's such a good judgement and hope is the next
31:50
chapter. So hopefully you'll come back
31:52
for that one. That'll be our next and last
31:55
chapter from the Book of Isaiah.