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Archive for the ‘Isaiah’ Category

February 6th, 2009 by Joel

Isaiah 63.1-6 – A Few Thoughts on Interpretation

The speaker is a watchman (the Prophet Isaiah) on the walls of Jerusalem, and he sees an enemy coming from the Edom (perhaps the ‘World’), but instead it turns out that it is God Almighty who is leading the charge.

Who is this who comes from Edom,
From the city of Bozrah, with his clothing stained red?
This One who is glorious in His apparel,
Traveling in the greatness of His strength?–

“I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”

Why is Your apparel red,
And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress?

“I have trodden the winepress alone,
And of the nations no one was with Me.
For I have trodden them in My anger,
And trampled them in My fury;
Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments,
And I have stained all My robes.

For the day of vengeance is in My heart,
And the year of My redeemed has come.

I looked, but there was no one to help,
And I wondered
That there was no one to uphold;
Therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me;
And My own fury, it sustained Me.

I have trodden down the peoples in My anger,
Made them drunk in My fury,
And brought down their strength to the earth.”

My thoughts:

Calvin says that those commentators that have associated this passage with Christ has ‘violently distorted it’ preferring the passage to be attributed to God. Further, this passage is related to Isaiah 34.

“For My sword shall be bathed in heaven; indeed it shall come down on Edom, And on the people of My curse, for judgment. The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, It is made overflowing with fatness, With the blood of lambs and goats, With the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, And a great slaughter in the land of Edom. (Isaiah 34:5-6 NKJV)

Jerome seemed to think that this passage referred to Judah Maccabeus, citing,

But Judas made war on the sons of Esau in Idumea, at Akrabattene, because they kept lying in wait for Israel. He dealt them a heavy blow and humbled them and despoiled them. (1 Maccabees 5:3 RSVA)

Although the robe of blood is reminiscent of John’s vision of the Rider on the white horse,

He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. (Revelation 19:13 NKJV)

The winepress is a symbol of eschatological wrath,

So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs. (Revelation 14:19-20 NKJV)

The year is again seen in chapter 34,

For it is the day of the LORD’s vengeance, The year of recompense for the cause of Zion. (Isaiah 34:8 NKJV)

But, it is the year of the Lord to which our mind is called,

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, (Isaiah 61:2 NKJV)

Of course Christ utter these words,

“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; (Luke 4:18 NKJV)

Verse 5 is mimicked before in chapter 59,

He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him. (Isaiah 59:16 NKJV)

So, what do we have? It is an eschatological picture of the coming of the Lord? Or perhaps as Jerome, the Maccabean Revolt some 160 years before the birth of Christ. Or could it be, contrary to Calvin, that Christ here is represented as a warrior king, defeating the eternal enemy of all people, which is death and the grave? Is not death the thing that has chased us since the Fall, just as Esau had chased Jacob?

If we learn interpretation from the Church Fathers, then we must see this passage as referring to Christ. If we do, we see the loneliness of His mission – He was alone in His anointing. Yet, He alone led the charge against Edom, destroying the enemy of His people, the Church. It is the year (the Last Days) of the Redeemed (His Church), and he has trodded down the enemies, the tares in the world for His Church.

Tags: bible, eschatology, exegesis, God, religion
Posted in Isaiah, Old Testament | 4 Comments »

November 8th, 2008 by Joel

Thoughts on a Saturday Evening: Songs of the Redeemed

Isaiah is a book that has given us many prophecies concerning Christ, the Church, and the Gentiles that would join with the Jews in worship of the one true God. In chapter 12, we find a few simple stanza’s that form a song for the future, comparable to the songs of Moses, Deborah, and the Psalms of David. It speaks about a future time, in the Restoration of the peace between God and Humanity, in which we recognize God as the sole source of salvation and the sole receptacle of our praise.

Isaiah 12:1-6 in the New Kings James Version:

And in that day you will say:
“O LORD, I will praise You;
Though You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.

Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;

From Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book 3, Chapter 10

This, therefore, was the knowledge of salvation; but [it did not consist in] another God, nor another Father, nor Bythus, nor the Pleroma of thirty Æons, nor the Mother of the (lower) Ogdoad: but the knowledge of salvation was the knowledge of the Son of God, who is both called and actually is, salvation, and Saviour, and salutary. Salvation, indeed, as follows: I have waited for Your salvation, O Lord. And then again, Saviour: Behold my God, my Saviour, I will put my trust in Him. But as bringing salvation, thus: God has made known His salvation (salutare) in the sight of the heathen. For He is indeed Saviour, as being the Son and Word of God; but salutary, since [He is] Spirit; for he says: The Spirit of our countenance, Christ the Lord. But salvation, as being flesh: for the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. This knowledge of salvation, therefore, John did impart to those repenting, and believing in the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

It is interesting to note that ‘salvation’ is the Hebrew word ישׁוּעה (yeshû‛âh), which is etymologically kin to the Aramaic/Hebrew name of Jesus.

“For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation.”‘ Therefore with joy you will draw water
From the wells of salvation.
And in that day you will say:
“Praise the LORD, call upon His name;
Declare His deeds among the peoples,
Make mention that His name is exalted. Sing to the LORD,
For He has done excellent things;
This is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!”

Albert Barnes, in his commentary,

It should be read in view of the great and glorious deliverance which God has performed for us in the redemption of his Son; and with feelings of lofty gratitude that he has brought us from worse than Egyptian bondage – the bondage of sin. The song is far better applied to the times of the Messiah, than it could be to anything which occurred under the Jewish dispensation. The Jews themselves appear to have applied it to his time. On the last day of the feast of tabernacles, they brought water in a golden pitcher from the fountain of Siloam, and poured it, mingled with wine, on the sacrifice that was on the altar, with great rejoicing (see the notes at John 7:14, notes at John 7:37). This custom was not required by Moses, and probably arose from the command in Isaiah 12:3 of this chapter. Our Saviour applied it to himself, to the benefits of his gospel, and to the influences of the Spirit John 7; and the ancient Jews so applied it also. ‘Why is it called the house of drawing? Because from thence they draw the Holy Spirit; as it is written, “and ye shall draw water with joy from the fountains of salvation.”’

Tags: Christianity, faith, God, gospel, hebrew, hope, Jesus Christ, nkjv, random, religion, salvation, song of the redeemed, thoughts
Posted in Devotional, Isaiah | 2 Comments »

November 3rd, 2008 by Joel

You say you want a religious revival?

So, you say you want a religious revival?

That is the ‘prophesied’ event that so many hold to, but they wish to do so in an unbiblical manner. Instead of reading the bible, and finding the heart of God, they would trust an election to bring about revival. They would fill the hearts and minds of the unlearned with great promises and zeal while leading them away from what God requires of a national revival.

In biblical times, which is especially important to us who profess biblical Christianity, we read of many times when national Israel – which in those days, was the only Israel – would backslide and leave God, forsaking the covenant with Him. So many times, would God come back to Israel, and plead with her to return to Him. As He always did, He made conditions.

The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

Israel was still obeying the law in these areas, and yet, God has said that it didn’t matter. Religious observance does not bring one into a right path with God. Before these things would matter again, Israel had to do something, had to restore something:

Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

How clear then the picture that if Israel wanted a religious revival, they had to first cease from evil, learn the good, seek justice, relieve the burden of the oppressed, take up the cause of the orphans, and protect the rights of the widow. You say you want a religious revival in this country? Israel was given a promise if she would take heed:

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:1-18 KJVA)

And again, in Jeremiah, we read of the right way to a revival,

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Stand in the gate of the LORD’S house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.

Israel was faced with expulsion, yet God gave them a means of remaining:

Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these. For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:

Again, we return to a common theme among the prophets, to seek justice for those that are without – the poor, the orphans, the widows, the oppressed. Here, though, God tags His requirements with two other issues – do not trust in religious means as a path to revival. And if Israel would do these things, then:

Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever. (Jeremiah 7:1-7 KJVA)

And in Amos,

Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name: And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god. (Amos 2:6-8 KJVA)

From the LASB:

God condemned Israel for five specific sins: (1) selling the poor as slaves (see Deuternomy 15:7-11; Amos 8:6), (2) exploiting the poor (see Exodus 23:6; Deuteronomy 16:19), (3) engaging in perverse sexual sins (see Leveticus 20:11-12), (4) taking illegal collateral for loans (see Exodus 22:26-27; Deuteronomy 24:6, Deuteronomy 24:12-13), and (5) worshiping false gods (see Exodus 20:3-5).

And then, of true religion, we have the Apostle James,

If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. (James 1:26-27 KJVA)

If any of this country, or any country – they are all equal in the eyes of God – seeks a true religious revival, let him first start with the poor and the oppressed, and learn what Micah learn,

Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6:6-8 KJVA)

Tags: amos, bible, biblical justice, God, justice, micah, oppressed, politics, poor, poverty, prophetic mantle, prophets, religion, revival, sin, torah
Posted in Debate/Discussion, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Society and Religion | No Comments »

September 8th, 2008 by Joel

Taking the time to answer

First, read here and then here. This is my response, since I wanted to take some time to answer Andrea who has been a wonderful person to discuss this with. I realize that some of my readers may differ with me on things from time to time, but we do not need to shout each other down, but merely open up avenues of discussion where by we may lead or be led to the correct way.

The first we tackle is from Exodus 32.30-35.

Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! Yet now, if You will forgive their sin–but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.” And the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, My Angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin.” So the LORD plagued the people because of what they did with the calf which Aaron made. (Exo 32:30-35 NKJV)

The following question is asked,

I was wondering it perhaps everyone starts out with their name in the Book of Life and then God blots out those who are never saved. It’s one of those things we can’t know for sure.

I have to disagree.

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(Rom 3:21-23 NKJV)

We know that the Exodus is a picture of the things to come under Christ. Moses had led the people up from the land of Egypt (sin) and through the Red Sea (baptism) on the way to the promised land (the new life). Yet, these people had come so far and turned then from God. We are all born unto and in sin, but through Christ we can be freed from this sin, and having our names written in the Book of Life, we are His; however, if we sin against God – Hebrews 6, 10 – then we are blotted out.

Further, read Isaiah 4.3

And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy–everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem.

And Daniel 12.1

“At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book.

It makes a distinction even among Israel for those who endured unto the end and were saved, found about the living, written in the book of life.

Finally, we turn to John’s Apocalypse,

For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Rev 22:18-19 NKJV)

Although a reader my be certain that you can depart from God, and forsake Him without ever knowing Him, that certainty is proved false by

Thus says the LORD:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes flesh his strength,
Whose heart departs from the LORD. (Jer 17:5 NKJV)

And

O LORD, the hope of Israel,
All who forsake You shall be ashamed.
“Those who depart from Me
Shall be written in the earth,
Because they have forsaken the LORD,
The fountain of living waters.” (Jer 17:13 NKJV)

We have all forsaken the Lord in Adam. There exists a great wall between the Lord and us due to sin by which no man know God. In 1st Samuel 3.7, we find that Samuel did not know the Lord yet. In Isaiah 19.21, we read that in the Reign, even Egypt will come to know God. In Jeremiah 31.34, again looking to a future consummation, we read that we will not require teachers any longer to know the Lord. In Hosea 2.20, we read of the Church and Christ, who when we (the Church Individual) are betrothed to Christ, we know Him. Again in Hosea 6.3, we read that if we follow on, we will know the Lord. We also see that purity/holiness is something that is required to comprehend or see the Lord. (Hebrews 12.14)

Skipping the commentor’s selection of Hebrews (which I am currently posting on) let’s move to John 2.19

They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us, because if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But they went out from us to demonstrate that all of them do not belong to us. (1Jn 2:19 NET)

We know that John held firmly to the Body of Christ, seeking the Unity of that Body. Here, we find him speaking about those that had left the fellowship. Look what is actually said – they left without being sent to prove that they were not of the Apostles! This is a direct rebellion against God and His Church.

What about 1st Thessalonians 5.23-24?

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. (1Th 5:23-24 NKJV)

There is no issue that God wis faithful to His promises, but the question remains is do we have to be? Can we not be the unfaithful one? I believe that the answer is yes.

2nd Thessalonians 3.3 is along the same lines

But faithful is the Lord, who will establish you and will guard you from the evil one. (2Th 3:3 CTV-NT)

We are eternally protected against the evil one, but that does mean that of our own free will, we can be puffed up and fall away, opening ourselves up to the evil one by jumping ship.

The rest of the verses are again, along the same lines. No one is accusing Christ of being unfaithful if someone becomes an apostate. If a husband cheats on his wife, is it the wife’s promises that are broken?

To answer Jeremiah 32.40, the Lord did not make the convenant with the individual but the Church, just He did not make it with individual Israelites, but the entire Nation.