Unit 1: God Delivers and Restores
Key Verse:
Isaiah 51:1 NLT
1
“Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance—
all who seek the Lord!
Consider the rock from which you were cut,
the quarry from which you were mined.
Beloved, God is calling us back to our beginnings. To remember the hope that we were so enraptured by when we first believed. Take a moment to savor the thought.
What you need to know
Isaiah 50:10 NLT
10
Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys his servant?
If you are walking in darkness,
without a ray of light,
trust in the Lord
and rely on your God.
As we close the first unit of this Summer Quarter, this survey of the Servant Songs in the Book of Isaiah, we find something of a paradigm shift. We will find that the people of God are once again on a journey to a place of promise. Rather than painting a picture of a nation occupied by God’s people, Isaiah paints a picture of people heeding the beckoning of the Lord to become His people. Isaiah will call God’s people home. But he also calls those who are not God’s people to come to Israel and make it their home, with God as their God. In this way, Isaiah’s writings become a beacon of salvation to future generations; to the Jews first, returning from Babylon, and then from the Isles, remote places that could only be reached by seafaring vessels. Thus, the Book of Isaiah gains its deserved repute as the ‘Fifth Gospel’: The foretelling of the salvation experience that every Christian now participates in as we journey toward Eternity.
The Lesson
1
“Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance—
all who seek the Lord!
Consider the rock from which you were cut,
the quarry from which you were mined.
1 Peter 2:5 NLT
5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests.[a] Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.
So then, we who have been given an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church are called to remember. We are called to remember the joy of our salvation. Called to remember where the Lord brought us from. What was our condition before Christ? How deep was the despair, or rather, the desperation from which we were cut? Then, we are reminded that when we were saved, we were born again, not of corruptible seed, but of that which is incorruptible; the Living Word of God. Beloved, Christ is the Rock of our salvation. As we travel this glorious path set before us, we are called to hold fast to the hope to which we have been called. God hewed us from a dark pit and has made us living stones in His house, with Christ as the Chief Cornerstone.
Isaiah 51:2 NLT
2
Yes, think about Abraham, your ancestor,
and Sarah, who gave birth to your nation.
Abraham was only one man when I called him.
But when I blessed him, he became a great nation.”
Genesis 12:1-4a NLT
1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed,...
Like Abraham, God called us to get up and leave. To leave behind a life that did not promise eternal life and go to the place that God would show us. Like Abraham, when God called, we responded, each one of us. And, as happened to father Abraham, that response of faith led to our justification. Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. Beloved, we too were justified the moment we believed and accepted God’s invitation into His family as His children. That Isaiah mentions Sarah in this verse reminds us that, like Issac, we are from the lineage of Promise, coming from the womb of Sarah, rather than Hagar. Thus, only those who claim the lineage of Abraham and Sarah, and the Promise therein (Christ), have a right to the inheritance, the blessing promised by God: Eternal Life.
Isaiah 51:3 NLT
3
The Lord will comfort Israel[a] again
and have pity on her ruins.
Her desert will blossom like Eden,
her barren wilderness like the garden of the Lord.
Joy and gladness will be found there.
Songs of thanksgiving will fill the air.
2 Chronicles 36:21 NLT
21 So the message of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The land finally enjoyed its Sabbath rest, lying desolate until the seventy years were fulfilled, just as the prophet had said.
As Isaiah describes the way home, he describes a place, once desolate and ruined, that has now been refreshed and restored. Beloved, God removed the people of Israel, and then Judah from the land of Israel and Judah so that the land could rest. In the law of Moses, God commanded the observance of Jubilee. The entire observance spanned a period of fifty years, with a one-year Sabbath rest, commanded every seven years, then a two-year rest commanded in the forty-ninth year extending through the fiftieth year. However, when you search the remainder of the Old Testament, you don’t find an actual time when Jubilee was actually observed. While there are several allusions to Jubilee, those allusions only occur when Israel is in exile, as is the case in Ezekiel, or when they are returning from exile, as in Nehemiah. Furthermore, Jeremiah informs us that the people of Israel were removed from the land so that the land could rest. Thus when that seventy-year period of rest was complete, God could return His people to a place that would yield plentifully, because it had been restored. God’s wisdom is unmatched. His love is for all of creation. He brought His people back to a land of plenty. All of this, a picture of the abundance that God will one day bring us into, an inheritance full of glory.
Isaiah 51:4 NLT
4
“Listen to me, my people.
Hear me, Israel,
for my law will be proclaimed,
and my justice will become a light to the nations.
Micah 6:8 NLT
8
No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.
God now calls us to attention a second time. He reminds us that when we enter into this life of faith, two things should take prominence in our lives. First, we should proclaim His Word to all we encounter. God is not a respecter of persons. He desires that His Word be preached to all nations. We are to make disciples, convincing others of the goodness of God and His enduring mercy. Second, we are called to be vessels of His justice. Beloved, just as we have been shown mercy, we must show mercy. By the love that we share with one another and with a world that does not know God, we become examples of God’s love to a desperate world. Each of us must become an oasis of hope in a vast desert of despair. We must remember that at one time, we were unsaved, but God had mercy on us. Let us then love mercy and walk humbly before the Lord, our God.
Isaiah 51:5 NLT
5
My mercy and justice are coming soon.
My salvation is on the way.
My strong arm will bring justice to the nations.
All distant lands will look to me
and wait in hope for my powerful arm.
Luke 2:30-32 NLT
30
I have seen your salvation,
31
which you have prepared for all people.
32
He is a light to reveal God to the nations,
and he is the glory of your people Israel!”
Isaiah reminds us that God will make the first move, that His salvation will be made manifest, and that when that happens, justice will prevail. Some seven hundred years after the time of Isaiah, Christ will come, fulfilling Isaiah’s many prophecies of a coming Messiah, literally “God’s powerful arm”, who would come to save all who would trust him, no matter their ethnicity, or nationality. To this day, we wait patiently for His return. Beloved, Israel’s sin was not just idolatry. It was how they treated the poor, those that were least among them. Justice is an important component of the Kingdom of God. We must not forget that we have a responsibility to respond to the needs of the poor in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 51:6 NLT
6
Look up to the skies above,
and gaze down on the earth below.
For the skies will disappear like smoke,
and the earth will wear out like a piece of clothing.
The people of the earth will die like flies,
but my salvation lasts forever.
My righteous rule will never end!
Luke 21:31-33 NLT
31 In the same way, when you see all these things taking place, you can know that the Kingdom of God is near. 32 I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things have taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
Hebrews 11:8-10 NLT
8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
Then finally, Isaiah foresees a day, the Day of the Lord, when time will be folded into eternity and the heavens and the earth will give way to a new heaven and a new earth. Old things will pass away and all things will become new, indicating that, like Abraham, we should not look here for a permanent abode, but that, for as long as we continue in these earthly bodies, we should look forward to a ‘Day’ when we all come to a heavenly mount Zion, where there are the souls of just men made perfect, of an innumerable company of angels, al standing in the Presence of our risen Savior, Christ at the very throne of God.
Isaiah 51:7 NLT
7
“Listen to me, you who know right from wrong,
you who cherish my law in your hearts.
Do not be afraid of people’s scorn,
nor fear their insults.
Hebrews 8:10-12 NLT
10
But this is the new covenant I will make
with the people of Israel on that day,[c] says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their minds,
and I will write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
11
And they will not need to teach their neighbors,
nor will they need to teach their relatives,[d]
saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’
For everyone, from the least to the greatest,
will know me already.
12
And I will forgive their wickedness,
and I will never again remember their sins.”[e]
For the third time, Isaiah calls his audience to listen. This is not a general call to all of mankind. This is a call to God’s people, a holy remnant making a long, hope-filled journey home. The same is true for us Beloved. Isaiah calls us into a place of courage and perseverance. We can take comfort in the assurance that God provides. His Name is great in all the nations. We are reminded that we need not fear what man can do to us. God will prevail. Like Paul, we are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for in it lies the very power of God to save. Fear not! Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.
Isaiah 51:8 NLT
8
For the moth will devour them as it devours clothing.
The worm will eat at them as it eats wool.
But my righteousness will last forever.
My salvation will continue from generation to generation.”
John 1:4-5 NLT
4
The Word gave life to everything that was created,[a]
and his life brought light to everyone.
5
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.[b]
To finish the thought, Isaiah tells us that all opposition to the Gospel will eventually fail and that God’s righteousness will persist. Beloved, when God spoke the Word, “Let there be light”, that event has not ever ceased. Scientists have been able to demonstrate that all of creation is continually expanding. His Word has never stopped creating. Ever. Truly, at some point in time, everything will be subject to the will of the Father through Christ. And so it shall remain for all eternity.
Isaiah 51:11 NLT
11
Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return.
They will enter Jerusalem[c] singing,
crowned with everlasting joy.
Sorrow and mourning will disappear,
and they will be filled with joy and gladness.
So as we close this brief survey of the prophecies of Isaiah, let us glean from the joy that the promises of his writings portend. May your joy be full to overflowing as you contemplate the majesty of God, who cares so greatly for you that centuries before your birth, He provided these and so many more precious promises of hope. Hope fulfilled in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, the Lord.
Selah,
wb
1 Peter 2:10 NLT
10
“Once you had no identity as a people;
now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy;
now you have received God’s mercy.”[h]
This was a Very good Lesson Wayne I really liked this one , Esp. the part when you write about Hebrews very good Read Wayne thank you Sir.
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