It is About HIM and Not US! Isaiah 51-55

 Isaiah 53:7-12 (ESV)

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

yet he opened not his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

so he opened not his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away;

and as for his generation, who considered

that he was cut off out of the land of the living,

stricken for the transgression of my people?

And they made his grave with the wicked

and with a rich man in his death,

although he had done no violence,

and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;

he has put him to grief;

when his soul makes an offering for guilt,

he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;

the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

make many to be accounted righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,

because he poured out his soul to death

and was numbered with the transgressors;

yet he bore the sin of many,

and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Short point to make:  It is all about HIM and not US!

Friends Should See the Pain of Friends - Job 20-21

Job 21:4-5 (ESV)

As for me, is my complaint against man?

Why should I not be impatient?

Look at me and be appalled,

and lay your hand over your mouth.

Job has just heard the final argument about his disaster from Zophar, one of his three friends.   Zophar, like the other two friends, has given a brief, but condemning reason for Job’s plight:  He is wicked.   Zophar uses his own observation to make the claim that only the wicked suffer the way Job is suffering.   Since the wicked suffer like this and Job is suffering like them, Job must be wicked.  This is Zophar’s philosophy of life.   In chapter 21, Job is about to counter Zophar’s argument with his own philosophy, based upon his own observations.  To Job the wicked actually enjoy life and live with impunity throughout their days.   Both men live in this world, but they observe two different experiences.   Both are right.   Zophar is correct, the wicked do receive punishment for their wickedness.  Albeit not always on this earth and now always quickly in their time frame.  Job is correct, also, that the wicked in this world seem to live at ease and have no fear of God.  They seem to not need Him in their lives.  But they do, eventually, suffer deeply for ignoring God.   The case here in this argument is not who is right but rather how should they handle Job’s case.  Job’s friends have no place in their thinking for Job’s innocent suffering.   He tells them that he is not there to argue with them.  His complaint is not against men, he states.  His complaint is against God.   He is suffering and wants God to explain it to him.   While he awaits God’s answer, he demands that these men, who came to comfort him, look at him.   At this point, these three have become so ingrained in their arguments against Job, they have ceased to see Job.  Remember when they first saw him, when they traveled from afar and laid their eyes on Job’s condition? 

Job 2:11-13 (ESV)

Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

Job remembers that day.  He remembers them looking on him in pity.  They now look at him piety.  He now tells them to lay your hand over your mouth as they see him, again.   That is exactly what they did the first time.   Twenty chapters later, however, they are no longer appalled about Job’s condition they are now arguing about Job’s philosophical position.  How quickly we as a people can turn from empathy and sympathy to judgment and sarcasm.   These friends have turned from sitting in silence to standing in judgment.  Job wants them to just look at him.   He needs someone to see him as he is.   Instead of showing Job compassion, these men are no longer seeing Job’s condition and are not trying to comfort him.  They are looking away from Job’s physical and psychological and spiritual pain and are instead justifying their own philosophical positions.   This is so true of our world today.  We do not see the pain, we only want to justify our thought about its cause.  Jesus came to the woman at the well and saw her pain.   Jesus came to the death of Lazarus and wept because he saw the pain of the people.   We do not have the mind of Christ because we are too busy exalting our own mindset.  We would do well to be friends who really look at those in pain.   

God’s Protection in Trouble - Psalms 27-29

Psalms 27:5 (ESV)

For he will hide me in his shelter

in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

he will lift me high upon a rock.

The above lines are from a song of King David.  As we read them we might do well to also read these lines from another song of David’s:

Psalms 91:1-4 (ESV)

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.”

For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler

and from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with his pinions,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

The thought that God protects those who seek shelter under his care is a predominant theme throughout the Psalms, as well as Scripture as a whole.   The Hebrew word for shelter in the above passage is only used four times in the Old Testament, three of them in the Psalms.   In the other uses it is translated to English as thicket, abode and lair.   In two of them it refers to God’s shelter as in the above and in the other two it is used in a negative manner.   For those who trust in God we have this positive picture of a place we run to when trouble comes.   When we see a storm on the horizon we run for cover.  Depending on our spiritual disposition we either run for cover we have built and trust in, or we run for cover God provides.  God’s is better.   In the second line of the above verse we read that the shelter in the first line is compared to as the cover of his tent, in the second AND to being lifted upon a rock.   So the lines build in meaning for us.   Yes, God provides a shelter for us, but David explains that it is a cover over us and a rock below us.   We have a place where we are concealed from the storm, danger or dilemma.   God hides us in the shelter and conceals us under his tent.   When trouble comes to the believer in this life the believer is not removed from the trouble.   Instead God simply promises to tuck us away somewhere secure, in His faithfulness, until the trouble has passed.  Let us rejoice in the shelter He provides, as it is secure and sure.   The shelter we run to in this life tells us a lot about our spiritual condition.   David recognizes that the only true place to hide in trouble is in the shelter of God.  

God of the Second Change - Genesis 36-39

Genesis 38:12-19 (ESV)

In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua's daughter, died. When Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. And when Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” she took off her widow's garments and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage. When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. He turned to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” And she said, “If you give me a pledge, until you send it—” He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, “Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. Then she arose and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.

Sometimes God’s people do stupid and even wicked things.  Judah was, of course, one of the sons of Israel (Jacob).   He had three sons and the first was married to Tamar.  When that son died, Judah promised to give her in marriage to the second son (that was the tradition in Israel).   But that son died, as well.  Judah promised Tamar to give her the third son, when he became of age.  He failed to give her to his third son and that is the context of the above paragraph.   In the course of time, Judah went on a journey and apparently slept with, what he thought, was a common prostitute (a cult prostitute).   He was not only wicked in his sexual promiscuity, but also not afraid to mix with cultic worship.   As a result of this sad story Judah’s name is marred and  twins are born (see vss 27-30).    It is hard to understand these stories in the Bible about men of God who do things that today would make us cringe.  There is no rebuke in this story about Judah’s sexual and/or spiritual behavior.   The story seems to be told to give us the history behind the brith of the twins.  It gives us a third generation story of Judah which will be fundamental to the line of kings, later in Israel’s history.  It should be noted that this story is an interlude between the story of Joseph being sold into slavery and his journey in Egypt.   Judah was the one who thought it best to sell Joseph into slavery.    We have these two incidents in Judah’s life to show his lack of spiritual depth.   Notice what he, himself, says after discovering that Tamar tricked him into having her babies:

Genesis 38:26 (ESV)

Then Judah identified them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again.

Sometimes God gives us stories about great faith and great triumph by those who trust Him.  But God also gives us stories about failures and those who don’t have Him on their radar.  These stories serve a purpose in God’s plan, even though we might not see it.  It is important to note that when the nation of Israel splits into two kingdoms, after Solomon’s reign, one of the two is named Israel and the other one is named Judah, the more righteous of the two.  Even those who fail to follow God can be used by God to do great things.  God is truly the God of the second change (see Jonah 4:1).  

God’s Glory Revealed - 1 Corinthians 1-2

1 Corinthians 2:6-10 (ESV)

Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,

nor the heart of man imagined,

what God has prepared for those who love him”—

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.

Here is what John MacArthur’s New Testament Commentary reads on this section:

It is impossible for a lesser creature to understand a more advanced one. How can anything understand something more complex and advanced than itself? For a flea to understand a dog it would have to be at least as advanced as a dog. For a dog to understand a man it would have to be at least as advanced as a man. How much greater distance is there between Creator and creature. Men can imagine what God might be like, and people have plenty of ideas about Him. Almost everyone has an opinion as to what God is or is not like, or as to whether He even exists. But man’s opinions are irrelevant, because they can never be more than speculations. By his own resources the creature cannot possibly comprehend his Creator.

Suffice it to say we can’t know God unless we have the Spirit of God revel the mystery of Christ to us.   That is exactly what happened when Jesus came to this earth.  Note:

John 1:1-5 (ESV)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  

When Jesus came to the earth it was to revel God’s nature and glory to us:

John 1:14 (ESV)

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

It is ONLY because of the Son and the Spirit that we have knowledge of God’s glory.  Paul will eventually tell these believers at Corinth:

2 Corinthians 4:6 (ESV)

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

We know God’s glory because Jesus came to display it and make it available to us and the Spirit came to open our eyes to it.   

Walk With Jesus and Like Jesus - Matthew 23-25

Matthew 25:41-46 (ESV)

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

In chapters 23-25 of Matthew’s Gospel, we read about what it means to love Jesus, follow Jesus and be ready for Jesus’ return.  But we also read about what it looks like to be fake and not follow Jesus and not be ready for His return.  The above verses are a summary of all three chapters regarding what failing to walk with Jesus looks like and what are the consequences of such failings.   Jesus demands that our walk with Him be a walk that looks like Him.   During Jesus time on the earth we read and observe His sacrifice for others and His being a servant to others.  He was such a servant that He gave His life for all who would believe in Him.   He demands the same from us.  In the above passage we read what happens when we don’t walk with Him.  These verses follow the positive example of walking with and for Jesus and the positive consequences.   Jesus then tells His disciples of the negative consequences.  The key theme of this walk with Him and like Him is that we care for others.  This does not make our faith a faith based upon works. It rather makes our faith a faith expressed in works.  We still believe by faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.   That faith is then expressed by seeing those in need and meeting their needs.  This is why ignoring needs or shunning away from needs or the criticism of needs does not demonstrate a walk like Jesus.   For those who do not walk like Him, Jesus says, “Depart from me, I never knew you.”  We cannot understate our expression of love to those in need.  For to do so is to fail to walk with Him and like Him.  

God Blesses Faithful Obedience - Isaiah 45-50

Isaiah 48:17-19 (ESV)

Thus says the LORD,

your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

“I am the LORD your God,

who teaches you to profit,

who leads you in the way you should go.

Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!

Then your peace would have been like a river,

and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;

your offspring would have been like the sand,

and your descendants like its grains;

their name would never be cut off

or destroyed from before me.”

It is probably note wise to take a single paragraph out of an entire essay to draw a conclusion.  But if we did, the above paragraph would be a great one for this entire section of Isaiah’s prophecy (chapters 45-50).    In the above lines of Isaiah’s words we read the essence of his message.   God claims the following in these lines:

1. He is the Redeemer of Israel.  Isaiah book outlines the failures of Israel as a result of their disobedience.  The entire book outlines that God wants to redeem them from their sin.   We are about to move into some of the greatest words of this redemptive story in chapters 51 and following. 

2. God is the Lord who not only redeems them but also teaches them and guides them.   Throughout the book we read how the nation of Israel listened to and followed false gods.  Yahweh wants them to know, repeatedly in the book, that there is none beside Him.  He is their guide and He is their teacher.   

3. God wants them to know that they should have paid attention to His commandments.  This entire book stresses what happens when God’s people disobey.   God had brought in the Assyrians to correct the disobedience of Israel to the north.  God brought in the Babylonians to correct the disobedience of Judah to the south.   God will even bring in Persia to correct the arrogance and disobedience of the Babylonians.  God disciplines those who disobey Him. 

4. God rewards those who obey Him.  Yes, there is discipline for disobedience but there is peace like a river and righteousness like waves of the sea for those who, by faith, embrace God’s ways.   This might be the greatest theme of Isaiah’s work.   God is sending a redeemer to provide for them great peace and great righteousness.   

5.  God provides security, posterity, legacy and testimony for those who follow Him in obedience.   He tells them in the last lines of above paragraph that they will have offspring like the sands of the seas and dependents like the grain.  He tells them that their name will never be cut off and will always be before Him. 

These themes are the truths of Isaiah’s prophecy.   God wants us to follow Him in obedience and will bless us for that faithful walk.  But if we disobey and seek other gods and not Him, He will bring into our lives judgment and correction.    One paragraph conveys Isaiah’s entire theme.