Tuesday – January 2, 2024, Tevet 21, 5784
Greetings to one and all especially to those of the household of faith. Welcome back our Bible Study of the Bible Book of Isaiah. Well, we are off and running with this new year. What a wonderful Book full of warnings and abundant hope. Please take a moment and share this teaching, all teachings, as widely as possible by every means available to you. Thank you so much for sharing. Please don’t forget that I have published several books which are available to help us be more like Him. These books are available on Amazon or our website, the links are listed below. There is always on open invitation for those the Lord calls to partner with us, our mission. As we enter this year let’s each one asks ourselves if we are in our place and are we occupying our assigned responsibility. A day of judgment is coming and it is coming soon when we must give an accounting.
Now, let’s turn our attention to our primary Bible text continuing to read out loud, yes, out loud, you know why.
Isaiah 49:1-5 (KJV)
1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.
2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;
3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God.
5 And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.
I don’t know about you but this is a rather difficult section of Scripture from the standpoint of who is speaking. Is it more than one person, who are they speaking too, and is that more than one person or group. Initially God is talking to us, the Gentiles, using the voice of Israel, telling us to pay attention. As we proceed there is appears to be Messianic language for example the sword in the mouth found in verse two. God is talking to us through Isaiah as if He were Israel. As I have pointed out before, the Word of God has come to us almost exclusively through the Jews, Israel. Even Jesus’ natural heritage was of the Jew, seemingly of the Tribe of Judah (King) and Levite (Priest). Joseph was of the tribe of Judah and Mary of the tribe of Levite. The Word is Jesus. The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. The Word (Jesus) has been hidden until the Cross. It is said that the Old Testament is Jesus concealed and the New Testament is Jesus revealed. Being hide in the shadow of his hand phrasing reminds me of when Moses asked to see the glory of God.
Exodus 33:22 (KJV)
22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
The “hand” is the Power of God, the Holy Spirit of God. The Lord goes on to say that Israel is going to show His glory. I think we could certainly agree that Jesus is the pinnacle of the glory, manifested goodness, of God. Through the Jews (Israel), through Jesus, a path of salvation came for all peoples showing the goodness, the glory, of God.
In verse four Israel seems to recognize that their pursuit of sin, of idols, has been a vain exercise producing naught. They are in bondage to a foreign nation, scattered over the known world, and having no self-governing homeland. Verse five makes reference to the fact that although Israel will not be gathered, until May 14, 1948, yet they remain the apple of Gods’ eye, glorious in His sight for bringing forth the Messiah, providing a redemption for all who will receive Him. The Lord speaking through Israel is making a plea to us all to listen, not make their mistakes.
Isaiah 48:18 (KJV)
18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea: (Bold added)
Lord willing, I will pick up right here tomorrow.
Authored by: Dr. David R. Wood, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
2 Chronicles 20:20 b (KJV)
20 … Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (KJV)
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
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