Read Isa. 60:19-61:3, Chapter by Chapter, Isaiah 57-61 (6)

·       57:14-21: The preceding warnings against turning after idols (because you are impatient as you wait upon the LORD) leads to the LORD affirmation about faith: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit. God will not always be angry with Israel, even though it is His right.  He will do His spiritual work, bringing peace to the one who is far off as well as the one who is near.  But as always, there will be no peace for the wicked.

·       58:1-14: Some apparently had complained that they had been involved in fasting but that God had not responded (v1-3).  This is a typical response for Israel (and many others).  They trusted in their religious activity.  But God’s response was that their fasting was not true fasting because their hearts were not right.

·       59:1-8: Again, God tells Israel that their way is not hidden from Him.  It is not that God is incapable (which the enemies of Israel in Isaiah’s day made this claim, and likely many in Israel were saying the same thing).  The problem is not God’s inability but Israel’s sin that separates them from God.

·       59:9-15a: These are the words of confession, from a righteous Israelite, perhaps from the prophet Isaiah himself.

·       59:15b-21: The LORD’s response is to assure them, that since there is no one else who can do it, He will provide salvation for Israel.  The Redeemer will come out of Zion (v20). This was quoted by Paul in the same context of God’s promise to keep His word to Israel, in Rom. 11:26.  In other words, while the atonement was provided for Israel in Paul’s day, they still had not come as a nation to faith in the Messiah.

·       60:1-22: Yes!  The light will shine.  The Gentiles will come to the light of Israel when they finally have trusted the Messiah.  The wealth of the Gentiles (v4-7) /the coastlands (v8-9) will be brought to Israel because the LORD will have glorified her.  Those nations who don’t come will be ruined (v10-12).  Lebanon and the sons of those who afflicted Israel will bow to Israel (v13-16), bringing great wealth (v17-18).  God will be the glory and the light of Israel!

·       61:1-3: Part of this passage was quoted by Jesus at the synagogue of Nazareth (Lk. 4:18-19).  They help us see that even after Jesus provided atonement for sins, yet Israel is still waiting.  The three verses are Messiah’s total ministry.  In Luke Jesus quoted through the first line of v2.  The rest speaks of the day of vengeance when Israel will finally be submitted to Messiah.  Jesus did not quote the part that would be fulfilled in His second coming.

·       61:4-11: Israel will then be restored to glory and will be praise to God.

Ideas for memorization: 57:15,21; 59:1-2,8,20; 60:19-20.

Read Isa. 55, Chapter by Chapter, Isaiah 54-57 (5)

·       54:11-17: When God’s eternal kindness rests on Israel, then there will no weapon against Israel that will prosper.  We, today, in the Body of Christ, sometimes sing the song based on this passage.  It does say: This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me.  What God is promising Israel is a very “earthly” blessing; they will stand up against all enemies.  What Christians understand is that even death cannot keep them from the blessing of the Lord.  King David had the hope of eternal life (Ps. 23:6); but he also had an expectation that he would be “saved” from his earthly enemies.

·       55:1-13: How can Israel enter into this covenant of peace?  How can Israel experience the redemption God is offering?  The clear gospel (52:13-53:12) assumes and demands a call to faith.  We have this “call” in this chapter.  It is extended to “everyone” to “come” to the waters.  This coming is clearly a call to faith, and not to your own works.  You do not have enough money to buy what you are desiring.  If you just “come” to the LORD the promised blessings (v3, “the sure mercies of David,” God’s covenant promise with David of the Messiah) will be yours (Paul offered this to the people at the synagogue in Antioch in Ac. 13:34; the offer was mostly rejected by the Jews but then the Gentiles asked that the offer be made to them, which Paul did.) 

o   What does it mean to “come?”  It is to “seek the LORD” (v6).  It is to trust His word, even though His words are mysterious (v8-9).  His word can be trusted to do the thing He promised to Israel (v12-13).  Paul said the same thing about Abraham’s faith: He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform (Rom. 4:20-21).  And remember: saving faith is “waiting” on the LORD (40:31).

·       56:1-8: Thus Israel is to be just and righteous as they “wait” for the salvation that will soon be revealed.  And it is not just Israel.  This is also the call to the “sons of the foreigner” (v6-8).  As God promised Abraham, the nations would be blessed through what God was doing in and for Israel (Gen. 12:1-3).  Jesus preached this message (v7) in Matt. 21:13.

·       56:9-12: Israel, in Isaiah’s day, is warned not to follow ignorant and dumb leaders.

·       57:1-13: The warning continues.  The LORD asks why Israel seeks idols and not Him?  The answer is that He held His peace in old times and they mistakenly think it is because He has forgotten them.  So, they turn to idols.  They need to remember that those idols will be of no help.

Ideas for memorization: 55:1-3,6-7,8-9,10-11 (or the entire chapter)

Isa. 54:1-10, Chapter by Chapter, Isaiah 52-54 (4)

·       52:1-6: The time will come when Israel is redeemed and will know the Lord.

·       52:7-10: This is such a grand thought that the prophet exclaims, “How beautiful are the feet of the one with good news” (this thought was first expressed in 40:9-11, reminding us that the theme(s) begun in Isa. 40 continue to the end of Isaiah.

·       52:11-12: Since the LORD will have redeemed Israel, they will go out from the place of captivity.

·       52:13-53:12: Servant Song #4.  This familiar and Christ-glorifying passage, in its context, describes how the redemption will take place.  Remember: Israel wants to enter into the kingdom of the Messiah where there will be peace, prosperity and righteousness.  But Israel must bow before the King in order to experience His Kingdom.  This was what Jesus told Nicodemus (John 3): you can’t enter nor see the kingdom of God unless you are born again!  Remember the beginning of Isa. 40: Israel’s warfare is ended (deliverance from her enemies through Messiah) and her iniquity is pardoned (redemption through Messiah).

o   The Messiah is “My Servant” (52:13), “the Man of Sorrows” (53:3), and “My righteous Servant” (53:11).  He is barely recognizable in His humanity because He does not look like what the average human views a “god.”  This description is important, so Israel will recognize Him when He comes.

o   The “redemption” is provided by the Messiah/Servant “vicariously.”  He suffers in the place of the sinner.  Israel’s iniquity is atone for because the Servant “shall bear their iniquities” (53:11).  His death is clearly revealed: “He was cut off from the land of the living” (53:8); “they made His grave with the wicked – but with the rich in His death” (53:9; remember Joseph of Arimathea).  Yet, He also is alive after death: “He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death” (53:12).  The idea of two Messiahs (held by many in Judaism today) is totally foreign to this Song.  The One who died is the One who is rewarded.

·       54:1-10: Verse 1 is quoted by the great Jewish scholar, who actually spoke with the risen Christ, that scholar being the Apostle Paul, quoted in Gal. 4:27.  Paul wrote a “song” or “allegory” based on this, which fits the message of this passage.  There is hope for Israel.  God, for a moment, hid His face from Israel.  But with everlasting kindness He will have be merciful to Israel, “Says the LORD, your Redeemer” (in other words, God’s eternal goodness to Israel rests on the work of the “Man of Sorrows.”  As He made an eternal covenant with Noah, after the judgment of the flood, so God will have a New Covenant, a Covenant of Peace with Israel after she has paid double for her sins.

Ideas for memorization: Isa. 53; 54:8,10.

Psalm 26

Here is an important Psalm that is concerned with one’s walk of faith day by day.  David is trusting the Lord to keep him on the right path (v1-5).  This confidence in the Lord gives David both joy in his relationship with God (v6-9) and the absence of fear with respect to eternity (v9-10).  The joy and absence of fear allow David to continue on (v11-12).

Our daily walk can be filled with doubt when we hear accusations from others, from our own minds, and from Satan, the accuser of our brethren.  We may be unsure of ourselves and the decisions we make when tempted.  We may confuse the desires of our hearts with lust.  This kind of uncertainty leaves us in a very difficult situation if we long to walk uprightly before God.  What are we to do?

Here is what David does.  He prays, “Vindicate me, O LORD!”  He prays this in the context of a life of “integrity.”  Integrity refers to fullness, such as the fullness of harvest or of one’s bank account.  David believes he is right in his walk; he has no thought that he has strayed.  An illustration of this came in the rebellion of Absalom when he invited 200 men to a banquet where he put his coup in motion.  The 200 men went in the “integrity” of their hearts, not having any idea of Absalom’s intentions.  So David has no thought that he is wrong in his walk.  The twin oft related perfections of God are at the center of his life: God’s lovingkindness (checed) is before his eyes; God’s truth (emeth) is the path he walks (v3).  He has separated himself from idolaters, hypocrites and the wicked (v4-5). 

So what does it mean when he prays for the Lord to vindicate him?  It means that he wants to be judged by God and not by anyone else.  God must be the One who examines, proves and tries him (v2).  David is not arrogant when he says he has integrity.  He is saying he knows of nothing wrong in his actions or motives.  But he is trusting the Lord to let him know when he is in fact wrong.  It is interesting that the Hebrew word for integrity (tom) has a plural Thummim.  This was the mysterious provision (the Urim and Thummim) made for the priest so that he might discern God’s will.  In a way David is saying that to the best of his knowledge he is in sync with what God thinks. 

But that is not the end of the prayer.  He wants nothing more than to be truly walking uprightly.  So he prays that God will let him know of any inconsistency.    Consider the terms used in v2:

·         Examine: This is the term used often of the test that tells the true value of something such as gold or silver (Ps. 66:10; Zech. 13:9).  Solomon declared that as the refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, so the Lord tries the hearts (Prov. 17:3).  Job said, “When He tries me I will come forth as gold” (Job 23:20).  There is an interesting illustration of this in the story of Joseph and his brothers in Egypt.  Joseph tested the words of his brothers (Gen. 42:15-16).  They claimed to care about their father and younger brother but for their own good they needed to be examined that this was truly the case.  So David is asking God to examine him, to see if there be any wicked way in him (Ps. 139:23-24).

·         Prove: This word is used in parallel with the previous and has to do with determining the nature of something by smell.  We may open the jar that has been in the refrigerator for a long time and sniff it to see if it is still edible.  Thus God “proved” Israel at the bitter waters of Marah (Ex. 15:25) and with the manna that turned sour overnight (Ex. 16:4).  This is what God did with Abraham, testing him in the command to offer up Isaac (Gen. 22:1).  God should smell a sweetness from our sacrifices!

·         Try: This word is also related to metal but takes the revealing of the dross further to the purging of the dross.  In Judges 7:4 God didn’t just reveal the unpreparedness of most of Gideon’s army; He purged the army, reducing it from 10,000 to 300 men.  In Psalm 26:2 this purging is applied to the mind (Heb. kidneys, seat of the emotions and desires) and heart (Heb. inner part).  As Heb. 4:11-13 tells us, the word of God is the cleansing tool that can reach to the deepest parts of the inner man; nothing is hidden from God!

What we are seeing and saying is that David does not just merrily go on his way with no thought as to his lifestyle.  He is dependent on God to reveal any impurity and then to burn it away.  So let us be wise in this.  We trust God to remove the dross from our hearts and thus we are not subject to the accusations of people.  But that is not the same as ignoring the rebukes of people.  God in fact uses these “rebukes” as a mild form of removing the dross.  To reject these is to invite God to use a hotter fire.

In the end David and Paul agree.  Hear the words of Paul when accused by others, from 1 Cor. 4:3-5:

3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court.  In fact, I do not even judge myself.  4 For I know of nothing against myself; yet I am not justified by this, but He who judges me is the Lord. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts.  Then each one’s praise will come from God.

In your daily walk, are you open to the searchlight of God's word and Spirit?  The word pierces into the very dividing of soul and spirit.  The Spirit uses that word to reprove us.  With this we are able to walk in confidence, confidence that God is working in us to lead us in the way everlasting.