Isaiah 56-59
Invitation
to Blessing
0 MIN READ
Psalm 80:1-19 Shine and Save
Hear Us, Shepherd of Israel
1Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth. 2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
stir up your might
and come to save us!
3 Restore us, O God;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
4 O LORD God of hosts,
how long will you be angry with your people's prayers? 5 You have fed them with the bread of tears
and given them tears to drink in full measure. 6 You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,
and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
8 You brought a vine out of Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it. 9 You cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches. 11 It sent out its branches to the sea
and its shoots to the River. 12 Why then have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? 13 The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.
14 Turn again, O God of hosts!
Look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine, 15 the stock that your right hand planted,
and for the son whom you made strong for yourself. 16 They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down;
may they perish at the rebuke of your face! 17 But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself! 18 Then we shall not turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call upon your name!
19 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts!
Let your face shine, that we may be saved!
Application
God raises up and strengthens leaders to restore loyal obedience to His revelation, so He can shine on His people and save them.
Prayer
God, may I always live in the shining light of Your presence, regardless of whatever storm clouds are around me; and may others be attracted to Your light by my life. Amen.
Proverbs 20:10-12 God Knows What You're Doing
10 Unequal weights and unequal measures
are both alike an abomination to the LORD. 11 Even a child makes himself known by his acts,
by whether his conduct is pure and upright. 12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
the LORD has made them both.
are both alike an abomination to the LORD. 11 Even a child makes himself known by his acts,
by whether his conduct is pure and upright. 12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
the LORD has made them both.
Application
Conduct all your affairs with an awareness that the God who judges is watching everything you do. He's got a good memory too.
Prayer
God of justice and truth, may my actions and dealings with others reflect Your character as well as mine. Amen.
Isaiah 56-59 Invitation to Blessing
In these chapters God invites all people to experience the salvation and blessings of life He offers those rightly related to Him. He spells out what's necessary to get blessed, and what disqualifies from His eternal delights.
Isaiah 56 You're Invited
Salvation for Foreigners
1 Thus says the LORD:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my righteousness be revealed. 2 Blessed is the man who does this,
and the son of man who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,
and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3 Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say,
“The LORD will surely separate me from his people”;
and let not the eunuch say,
“Behold, I am a dry tree.”
4 For thus says the LORD:
“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant, 5 I will give in my house and within my walls
a monument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.
6 “And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,
and to be his servants,
everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
and holds fast my covenant— 7 these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.”
8 The Lord GOD,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,
“I will gather yet others to him
besides those already gathered.”
Israel’s Sinful Leaders
9 All you beasts of the field, come to devour—
all you beasts in the forest. 10 His watchmen are blind;
they are all without knowledge;
they are all silent dogs;
they cannot bark,
dreaming, lying down,
loving to slumber. 11 The dogs have a mighty appetite;
they never have enough.
But they are shepherds who have no understanding;
they have all turned to their own way,
each to his own gain, one and all. 12 “Come,”
they say, “let me get wine;
let us fill ourselves with strong drink;
and tomorrow will be like this day,
great beyond measure.”
Application
Righteousness, justice, and being loyal to covenant obligations aren't just for God, they're required of His redeemed people if they're going to be blessed.
Prayer
God, thanks that You graciously invite everyone to enjoy a relationship with You forever; count me in. Amen.
Isaiah 57 Where God Lives
The Blessed Death of the Righteous
1 The righteous man perishes,
and no one lays it to heart;
devout men are taken away,
while no one understands.
For the righteous man is taken away from calamity; 2 he enters into peace;
they rest in their beds
who walk in their uprightness.
God Condemns Idolatry
3 But you, draw near,sons of the sorceress,
offspring of the adulterer and the loose woman. 4 Whom are you mocking?
Against whom do you open your mouth wide
and stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
the offspring of deceit, 5 you who burn with lust among the oaks,
under every green tree,
who slaughter your children in the valleys,
under the clefts of the rocks? 6 Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion;
they, they, are your lot;
to them you have poured out a drink offering,
you have brought a grain offering.
Shall I relent for these things? 7 On a high and lofty mountain
you have set your bed,
and there you went up to offer sacrifice. 8 Behind the door and the doorpost
you have set up your memorial;
for, deserting me, you have uncovered your bed,
you have gone up to it,
you have made it wide;
and you have made a covenant for yourself with them,
you have loved their bed,
you have looked on nakedness. 9 You journeyed to the king with oil
and multiplied your perfumes;
you sent your envoys far off,
and sent down even to Sheol. 10 You were wearied with the length of your way,
but you did not say, “It is hopeless”;
you found new life for your strength,
and so you were not faint.
11 Whom did you dread and fear,
so that you lied,
and did not remember me,
did not lay it to heart?
Have I not held my peace, even for a long time,
and you do not fear me? 12 I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,
but they will not profit you. 13 When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!
The wind will carry them all off,
a breath will take them away.
But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land
and shall inherit my holy mountain.
Healing for the Repentant
14 And it shall be said,
“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
remove every obstruction from my people's way.”
15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite. 16 For I will not contend forever,
nor will I always be angry;
for the spirit would grow faint before me,
and the breath of life that I made. 17 Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry,
I struck him; I hid my face and was angry,
but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart. 18 I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, 19 creating the fruit of the lips.
Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the LORD,
“and I will heal him. 20 But the wicked are like the tossing sea;
for it cannot be quiet,
and its waters toss up mire and dirt. 21 There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
Application
Humbly living with God, experiencing Him, His healing and His peace is infinitely superior to scrounging around for debasing and destructive self-gratification.
Prayer
God, make Yourself at home in my humble heart; feel free to fix it up anyway You like; I know You'll do a better job than I would ever be capable of doing. Thanks. Amen.
Isaiah 58 Hypocrisy and Soul Stretching
True Fasts and Sabbaths
1 “Cry aloud; do not hold back;
lift up your voice like a trumpet;
declare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek me daily
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
they delight to draw near to God. 3 ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,
and oppress all your workers. 4 Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
will not make your voice to be heard on high. 5 Is such the fast that I choose,
a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the LORD?
6 “Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday. 11 And the LORD will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail. 12 And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to dwell in.
13 “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
from doing your pleasure on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the LORD honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; 14 then you shall take delight in the LORD,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Application
If we make God's delight, our delight, He will delight us beyond our dreams (for our desires will change).
Prayer
God, I'm thankful that I can trust You to meet my needs as I seek to meet the needs of others according to Your will (which is my delight to do). Amen.
Isaiah 59 Separation and Salvation
Sin Separates Us from God
1 Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear. 3 For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies;
your tongue mutters wickedness. 4 No one enters suit justly;
no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,
they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity. 5 They hatch adders' eggs;
they weave the spider's web;
he who eats their eggs dies,
and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched. 6 Their webs will not serve as clothing;
men will not cover themselves with what they make.
Their works are works of iniquity,
and deeds of violence are in their hands. 7 Their feet run to evil,
and they are swift to shed innocent blood;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
desolation and destruction are in their highways. 8 The way of peace they do not know,
and there is no justice in their paths;
they have made their roads crooked;
no one who treads on them knows peace.
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not overtake us;
we hope for light, and behold, darkness,
and for brightness, but we walk in gloom. 10 We grope for the wall like the blind;
we grope like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
among those in full vigor we are like dead men. 11 We all growl like bears;
we moan and moan like doves;
we hope for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us. 12 For our transgressions are multiplied before you,
and our sins testify against us;
for our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities: 13 transgressing, and denying the LORD,
and turning back from following our God,
speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.
14 Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far away;
for truth has stumbled in the public squares,
and uprightness cannot enter. 15 Truth is lacking,
and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.
The LORD saw it, and it displeased him
that there was no justice. 16 He saw that there was no man,
and wondered that there was no one to intercede;
then his own arm brought him salvation,
and his righteousness upheld him. 17 He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.
The Covenant of the Redeemer
18 According to their deeds, so will he repay,wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies;
to the coastlands he will render repayment. 19 So they shall fear the name of the LORD from the west,
and his glory from the rising of the sun;
for he will come like a rushing stream,
which the wind of the LORD drives.
20 “And a Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,”
declares the LORD. 21 “And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring,” says the LORD, “from this time forth and forevermore.”
Application
Separation is caused by going astray. Salvation is experienced by returning to God. See The Bridge to Life on Truthbase.net
Prayer
My Savior, thank You for reaching down to meet my need to be reconciled to You; may I daily respond to Your grace. Amen.
Digging Deeper
God in a nutshell: The God who inhabits eternity, also dwells with people rightly related to Him, who have responded to His salvation with faith and obedience. God is serious about His people living in righteousness and justice, and will discipline them if they don't. He graciously offers the benefits of His salvation to anyone who will accept and fulfill His terms, not just Israel. He will one day give His Spirit and glory to His people, and put His word in their hearts, and cause them to experience His full blessing.
Us in a nutshell: Our sins cause a separation between us and God, so that we don't experience Him, nor His benefits. Humbling ourselves, repenting, and then seeking and doing His will in righteousness and justice, will result in eternal delights. Because of our lack of trust in God's promises, we seek our own will rather than His and reap disaster instead of delights.
Us in a nutshell: Our sins cause a separation between us and God, so that we don't experience Him, nor His benefits. Humbling ourselves, repenting, and then seeking and doing His will in righteousness and justice, will result in eternal delights. Because of our lack of trust in God's promises, we seek our own will rather than His and reap disaster instead of delights.
Where to go for more
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