Isaiah Post 39 - Our Great Intercessor Who Will Conquer (Chapter 59)

I just went back and read my introductory post on this walk through Isaiah. It made me chuckle: I guessed that there would be a few weeks of posts! Last year, I had spent a half year teaching through Isaiah in our Sunday school class. I guess I underestimated the time it would take to turn the outlines of my notes into something readable.

Anyway, if you are here, thanks for sticking with me. Today we will look at Isaiah 59.

Verses 1-15 give us a very accurate description of the evil of mankind. I'm not going to post it here; you can read it on your own. The apostle Paul quoted verse 8 in his own outline of man's evil in Romans chapter 3. There is nobody who is righteous on their own!

The LORD was displeased by the lack of justice, verse 15 tells us.  But then, Isaiah drops this prophetic bombshell in verse 16:
He saw that there was no man,
And wondered that there was no intercessor;
Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.

Did you catch that?  HIS OWN ARM brought Salvation. Yeshua our Messiah, is not just at the right hand of God, He is the right hand of God. God is spirit. Jesus is the action arm of God – literally. God LOVES, Jesus DOES, through the POWER of the Holy Spirit.

Give me a moment for a tangent.  Here is a picture that we have from the Hebrew scriptures - the difference between Noah and Moses.

Noah was able to save himself and his family on the ark that he built, but the rest of the world was destroyed. Noah is not really a picture of an intercessor.

Moses, on the other hand, led his people to salvation through the Red Sea with outstretched arms,  Later, Moses pleaded with God not to destroy the Israelites, interceding for them in Exodus 32:10 when God’s anger burned against their unfaithfulness.  Moses was a true intercessor.  

The LORD then gives this promise in Deuteronomy 18:18:

I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.

Yeshua is that Prophet, likened to Moses who interceded for his sinful people.  Yeshua is our ultimate intercessor.  And like Moses did with the Israelites, Yeshua redeemed us with outstretched arms.

Cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree
Deuteronomy 21:23 and Galatians 3:13

The remainder of chapter 59 switches gears and foretells of His future redemption when He returns to Zion as a conquering King and redeems the remnant of Jacob. He will fully vanquish His enemies. It will be the ultimate spiritual warfare, and we know Who wins.

I want to talk about verse 17, which sets up the whole scenario:
For He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
And was clad with zeal as a cloak.

This will sound familiar to anyone who has studied Ephesians 6 and the armor of God.  I had to admit surprise when I discovered that the concept was rooted in Isaiah.

In Ephesians 6, we find six pieces of armor.  I was also surprised to learn that there are three pieces that we already have, and three more pieces that we are instructed to take up.

We already have:

• The girdle of truth around our waist
• The breastplate of righteousness 
• Our feet prepared with the gospel of peace

We are instructed then to take up:

• The shield of faith
• The helmet of salvation
• The sword of the Spirit - the Word of God

At the moment of our justification - the moment we receive Yeshua and His redemptive sacrifice to forgive our sins - He equips us with the first three pieces.  We accepted the truth of Him, He gave us righteousness, and prepared us to share it with others.

For the rest of our lives, as we walk with Him, we must then actively, and daily, take up the last three pieces -  working out our salvation.  This is our process of sanctification, and does not end until we take our last breath.  We take up the shield of faith when we resist the devil's schemes.  We put on the helmet of salvation every time we renew our minds and take every thought captive.  We wield a sword every time we pick up God's word and digest it.

If you have read my blog before, or understand the meaning of numbers in scripture, you might find it interesting that there are six pieces of armor mentioned in Ephesians 6.  Just one short of seven, which represents perfection, or completeness.

It is also interesting to note that Isaiah 59:17 features the LORD with one piece of armor from each category.  But the second half of that verse speaks of something else entirely - the garments of vengeance, also depicted as a cloak of zeal.  

This is the seventh and final Biblical piece of armor. This piece is not for us. It belongs to God alone. 

Verse 18 clearly shows this:

According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay,
Fury to His adversaries,
Recompense to His enemies;
The coastlands He will fully repay.

This will happen upon His return.  The wrath of God will be poured out on the earth at His return. Scripture says, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay."   The LORD says this in Deuteronomy 32:35, it is repeated in Romans 12:19, and it plays out in the book of Revelation, especially in chapters 8, 9, and 14.

And of course, this entire section ends with the promise of redemption for Jacob. Paul quotes the last two verses of Isaiah 59 in Romans 11:
And so all Israel will be saved,as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”

Can I get an amen here?  This is the grand event that is going to wrap up human history. The gospel which began at Jerusalem has nearly circled the world, and will be completed there very soon.

The next post is up.  Click here to read it.


If you'd like to read through my entire series on Isaiah, click here.

Isaiah Post 38 Mercy, Hypocrisy, and Sabbath Blessings (Chapter 58)

Chapter 58 opens with the admonition to "tell my people their transgression." Without the acknowledgement of sin, there is no gospel.  People must know that it is our sin that keeps us from a relationship with our Creator, and they must know that there is One who shed His innocent blood in order to pay our price for us.

Atonement requires blood

In verse 2, we are told that they think they DO seek God and that they DO delight in Him and His justice.  But then they pose the question, "Why haven't You seen our fasts or notice our afflictions?"

Verses 3-7 record a rebuke of their hypocrisy. They are doing evil to innocent people, but then pretend to do good by fasting and being religious.  But God wants justice and mercy before sacrifice.

Yeshua often confronted this attitude with the religious leaders. 

Mercy is better than sacrifice

Verses 8-11 outline the blessings that will come by treating people the way God has commanded, without the hypocrisy. In fact, the picture we are given of this promise is quite vivid:

Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

Verse 12 then addresses those among you –  the passage is speaking of future Jewish people who would raise up the foundations of Israel – old waste places, foundations of many generations. This building up of the land is a repeat of  Isaiah 44:26, and it is happening today in Israel.

I love the two titles that they are given:

• Repairers of the Breach
• Restorer of Streets to Dwell in

The next two verses wrap up this chapter, mentioning the Sabbath again, (which we spoke about in the previous post on Chapter 57). This appointed times of the LORD, including the Sabbath, will also be kept in the 1000 year kingdom, along with animal sacrifices. How do we know this? You can read Ezekiel chapters 44-46, which describe the coming Messianic kingdom.

There is blessing in this particular obedience:
“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the LORD honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD;
And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Experiencing the Sabbath in Israel is a beautiful thing.  Cell phones are turned off, cars stay put, and people simply enjoy resting in the LORD and having fellowship with one another.  It is harder to celebrate in our culture, because the world continues to swirl around us all weekend long.

It has been said that historically, it wasn't that the Jews kept the Sabbath, but that the Sabbath kept the Jews.  Wherever they have been in the world, the Sabbath was honored.  And now it has been brought home to the land of Israel.

Every Friday evening, Jewish people all over the world enjoy communion with one another and with God as they light candles and serve bread and wine at their Shabbat tables.  Bread and wine!  And not  only that, but they sprinkle their bread with salt. (Salt is a preservative). Can you imagine the aha moment, when they see Who has been symbolized in their celebrations all these years?

I can hardly wait to celebrate the Sabbath with King Messiah and all His people together!

The next post is available.  To read it, click here.


If you would like to start at the beginning of this series on Isaiah, click here.

Isaiah Post 37 - Know God, Know Peace (Chapters 56-57)

This will be a longer post today as I want to cover two chapters.

We now move to chapter 56. The chapter opens with a command to keep justice and righteousness. Why? Because Salvation (Yeshua) is about to come!

As a Gentile myself (well, ancestry.com tells me I am 6% Jewish), verses 3-8 really speak to me.

Do not let the son of the foreigner
Who has joined himself to the LORD
Speak, saying,
“The LORD has utterly separated me from His people”;
Nor let the eunuch say,
“Here I am, a dry tree.”
For thus says the LORD:
“To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And hold fast My covenant,
Even to them I will give in My house
And within My walls a place and a name
Better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
That shall not be cut off.

“Also the sons of the foreigner
Who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him,
And to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants—
Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And holds fast My covenant—
Even them 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 nations.”
The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says,
“Yet I will gather to him
Others besides those who are gathered to him.”

In these verses, the LORD declares a promise to the eunuchs, that they would have a place in His house. In the Moses covenant, eunuchs and other "defective" people could not approach God in the temple, per Leviticus 21:16-23. This had to be great news for those people, who previously must have felt marginalized by their own society.

Speaking of marginalized, I just saw the movie The Greatest Showman last night. I highly doubt that the movie accurately depicted PT Barnum's life and ideals. However, the Hollywood version portrayed various "defective" people - who had been hidden in shame by their families and demeaned by the world - as being elevated in society and becoming members of a loving circus family.

The various outcasts in The Greatest Showman

In the time of Isaiah, Gentiles were considered to be on the same level as the defective people outlined in Leviticus. Gentiles were even referred to as dogs. But as the Syro-Phonecian woman tells us in Matthew 15:27, even the dogs get the crumbs from the master’s table. Isaiah assures us that the invitation will be opened to all!

Verse 5 mentions the term a place and a name. In Hebrew, it is yad vashem. This is also the name of the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. The museum gives the victims a name and a place, and they SHALL be remembered - a everlasting name that shall not be cut off, as Isaiah says.

Hall of Names, Yad Vashem in Jerusalem

There are numerous references to the Sabbath in this section. The Sabbath was always the pinnacle of keeping the Torah. So it begs the question: is keeping the Sabbath still for today? Are the 10 commandments? It seems to me that the church is gung ho for nine of the commandments, but this one seems to get a pass. (But at least they make the effort to bring it back up to 10, adding "Thou Shalt Tithe").

A little history... In the 4th century, all biblical feasts including Sabbath observation were made illegal under Constantine and the Holy Roman Empire. The day of worship got moved to Sunday (Sunday was not called a day of rest until the Reformation). Constantine was a lifetime member of the cult of Mithra - a sun god worshipper, even though he professed Christianity as well.

What did the early believers do? Acts 20:7 is a very interesting verse. Every single translation I looked at starts out with on the first day of the week. But a quick look at the original language in my trusty Blue Letter Bible app shows the Greek term mia sabbaton, which means on a certain Sabbath.  The first day of the week was always a work day in Israel.  It still is.

The very word Sabbath (Hebrew shabbat) comes from the root word for seven – sheva. It is the day that God Himself rested after all His work of creation. It is the only biblical appointed time that pointedly acknowledges God as creator. Today, creation is under attack. Observing the Sabbath honors the work that God did, and flies in the face of evolution.

This chapter leaves little doubt in my mind that those outside who join themselves to the LORD now have a directive to keep the Sabbath. However, the way a person honors the Sabbath today needs to be spirit-led, as under the New Covenant law. But it helps knowing what the Sabbath actually is!

Please note: It is not wrong to worship God on ANY day of the week!

Moving on... verse 7 says, EVEN THEM I will bring to My holy mountain (where the soon-to-be-built temple will stand - in Jerusalem). Who is even them referring to? Isaiah says, the sons of the foreigner. Ephesians 2:12-13 tells us: Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— that at that time you were without Messiah, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Messiah Yeshua you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Messiah.

And of course the verse wraps up with the lovely prophecy that it WILL BE a house of prayer for all nations. This is a promise that is awaiting fulfillment.

Yeshua quoted this in Matthew 21 when He overturned the tables of the merchants. It was not wrong to buy and sell at the temple. People going up to Jersualem to visit the temple HAD to buy their sacrifices there. What was wrong was the fraudulent activity - cheating people. Verse 1 of this chapter emphasized justice and righteousness.

Defective animals would be sold to the worshippers at exorbitant prices, and then the priests would not accept them for their sacrifice. The defective lambs would be returned to the vendors and get sold over and over again.

Chapter 56 opened with a plea for justice and righteousness, but it closes with a description of the injustice that was going on among the watchmen and shepherds: in other words, the corrupt leadership of the temple.  

Moving on to Chapter 57, verses 1-2 could be summarized with a Billy Joel song title:  "Only the Good Die Young."  However, it also says that nobody considers that they are removed from evil.  I believe this is what happened to Enoch in Genesis. He walked with God, and then God removed him to spare him from evil.

The section that follows in verses 3-13 is an admonition against idol worship - a very common biblical theme.  It's probably why it is the first of the ten commandments.  No. Other. Gods.

Verse 8 speaks of the shame of being uncovered. Someone should tell this to society today. There is a lot of pride in being uncovered and exposing our private stuff. In the scriptures, nakedness is always linked to shame (except in the presence of your beloved).  

In Genesis 2, nakedness was the last thing spoken of before the fall. They were naked and unashamed. There was no sin yet, and no need for covering.

It is interesting to note then, that the first thing they notice after their sin is their nakedness. Deeply ashamed, Adam and Eve tried to sew fig leaves for themselves - a picture of us trying to atone for ourselves through our own works.  But no.  God demonstrated right there in Genesis 3 that blood was required for covering when He provided them with animal skins.  

Our own striving just doesn't cut it.

Even though this section of scripture warns against idolatry, it ends on a high note:
But he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land,
And shall inherit My holy mountain.”

The passage continues:  Heap it up! Heap it up! Prepare the way!  We see a foretaste of John the Baptist here.

Verse 15 continues:
For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

Our God lives in a high and lofty place, but He ALSO dwells with those who have a lowly, humble, and contrite spirit. He revives the spirits of the crushed and lowly ones.  This brings to mind the beatitudes of Matthew 5.  How blessed are those who are meek, humble, lowly, and so forth!

What follows in verses 16-19 is a promise by God that His anger will not be angry forever (but He definitely was angry). God has seen our ways, but He will heal, guide, and restore. He loves to forgive! He offers peace to those far off and peace to those who are near. Many wicked will turn to Him.  He has compassion toward backsliders and offers them grace and mercy.

But verses 20-21 tell us that not all will receive His message of reconciliation. The wicked are likened to waters that cast up mire and dirt, creating mud.  Alas, for them, there is no peace.

The next post is ready!  Click here to read it.

To start at the beginning of this walk through Isaiah, click here.

Isaiah Post 36 - All Creation Celebrates! (Chapter 55)

After all the rejoicing and promises in chapter 54, can it get any better? Why yes. Yes it can.

Chapter 55 opens up with an invitation:
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.

Everything previous is just so good! Come to the waters! Come and eat! It’s all free – paid for by our Messiah! Ho!

Verse 2 poses to us a very good question.

Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.

Really... why DO we strive so hard for stuff that does not satisfy?  We need to eat what is good:  The Word of God.  In Matthew 6, when Yeshua was teaching His disciples to pray, He said, "Give us this day our daily bread."  

Was He talking about food there? I believe not. If you skip ahead in Matthew 6 to verse 25, Yeshua asks this:
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

These can be hard words for me.  I'm a foodie.  I love food, I love cooking, and I love to eat.  In fact, "Eat!" was my very first word as a baby.

Thankfully, I have come to love the Word of God, and I am so grateful for that Daily Bread.

Our chapter continues in verses 3 and 4 with a plea and a promise. Incline your ear!  Come to Me!  Listen and live! What follows is a reference to David, who was given as a witness and to whom was given a covenant (2 Samuel 7 outlines the Davidic covenant, which is the promise of a coming King from the house of David, whose reign will never end).

In verses 5-7, Isaiah speaks about the nations outside of Israel who will seek Him.  He encourages the world to seek Him.  This includes us! The time to seek Him is NOW, today, while we are alive. We don’t know how long we have. Our birth certificates do not come with expiration dates. Today is the day of salvation.  If you hear His voice today, receive Him!  Do not harden your heart against Him.

Verse 7 includes a plea to the wicked:  forsake your ways! Return to the LORD, for He is merciful and will pardon!

The LORD is merciful and will pardon the wicked?  Yes, a thousand times yes!  How often do we hear the next two verses?

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.

How much higher are His ways? He is so much bigger, so much higher than we could ever be. The gospel isn’t “fair”! All other religions teach man’s works for their own salvation. I don't think our human minds can fully fathom how great is His plan of salvation!

Verses 10 and 11 go on to liken His word to the rain that waters the earth. The context is still speaking about seeking Him. His Word will not return to Him void (meaning vainly, or empty), but it WILL accomplish His will and His purpose.

The word of God is sharper than a double edged sword,
and it is under ferocious attack in these last days.

The chapter wraps up with an awesome picture of the joy and celebration in the coming Messianic kingdom. Even the mountains and trees will celebrate! No more will there be thorns and briers, but beautiful foliage!  (As a gardener, can I get an amen here??  And may I politely inquire of the Lord about the fate of  mosquitoes while I am at it?)

All of creation will celebrate the King!  I can hardly stand waiting sometimes.

Before I post this edition, I want to camp on the thorn bush for a moment.  (Not literally).

First, some thoughts: 

• The word for “bush” in both Hebrew and Greek is not simply bush, but thorn bush.
• Biblically, the thorn bush is very significant.
• Thorns represent sin and fallen creation. 
• Thorns cause bloodshed.
• God’s plan is to deal with sin.
• Farmers know that before the harvest, the thorns must be addressed.

When we read about Moses and the burning bush story, we can look at the original Hebrew and see that the bush was a thorn bush.  It was actually the thorns that were on fire, but they were not burning up.

• If thorns represent sinful man, the fire represents God
• The thorns were not being destroyed.  Moses was perplexed.

What we have here is a picture of God dwelling with man, and man is not consumed (although he should be because of sin). It is a promise that God will deal with our sin.

After Moses saw the flaming thorn bush, he was eventually given instructions on how to build the mishkahn – the tabernacle. The final piece of furniture in the tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, was built out of acacia wood – a thorny tree. (Hebrew shettim)

The Ark, representing the place where God dwells, is acacia wood (thorny wood, representing man) covered in gold (representing the deity of God).

The word shekinah comes from the same root word as mishkah – the manifest presence of God.  The creator of the universe dwelling with man!

Let's go further... Fire and blood were both present in the tabernacle. The tabernacle featured fire on the altar, on the golden menorah, and on the altar of incense.

Blood was on the altar every day.  And then once a year, blood had to be sprinkled onto the Ark of the Covenant by the high priest.

In Leviticus 16:11-14, we see one of many places where the fire and the blood appear together:
“And Aaron shall bring the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bull as the sin offering which is for himself. Then he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, with his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil.  And he shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the Testimony, lest he die.  He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

All of this is a shadow of the Messiah to come, whose blood saves us.  

Messiah had to die before there could be a harvest. On His head (the head is a picture of authority and kingship) was a crown of thorns, showing us yet another picture of how He conquered sin. 

Shortly after His return to heaven, tongues of fire appeared at Shavuot (Pentecost) when His Spirit began to dwell INSIDE man! (The apostles weren’t consumed by the tongues of fire).

(As I was writing this, two Jehovah's witnesses appeared at my door. I was able to share some of this with them before they scurried off).

So Isaiah 55 ends beautifully, with kingdom language - the world to come!  The thorns will be gone; dealt with; and all that remains is abundance and joy. We have a measure of that abundance and joy now as believers, but our joy will be complete in the soon-to-come Kingdom of Messiah when He returns and rules from Jerusalem!

The next post is ready!  To read, click here.

To start at the beginning of this series on Isaiah, click here.

Isaiah Post 35 - Future Glory (Chapter 54)

Ok, I'm back.  I planned to blog while in Israel but it just didn't happen.  Something about trying to write extensively on a cellphone just doesn't work well for me.

Anyway, here we are at chapter 54.

Isaiah is giving us a glimpse of the future glory because of the previous atonement that we saw in chapters 52 and 53.

Verse 1 jumps right into a joyful song:
“Sing, O barren,
You who have not borne!
Break forth into singing, and cry aloud,
You who have not labored with child!
For more are the children of the desolate
Than the children of the married woman,” says YHVH.

What is this talking about?  The barren woman here is unbelieving Israel.  Remember the question from chapter 53, "Who has believed our report?"  The nature of the question suggested that many would not believe.

But the good news is that this will change.  In the next few verses, Israel is then given wonderful promises:

“Enlarge the place of your tent,
And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
Do not spare;
Lengthen your cords,
And strengthen your stakes.
For you shall expand to the right and to the left,
And your descendants will inherit the nations,
And make the desolate cities inhabited.
“Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed;
Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame;
For you will forget the shame of your youth,
And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.

And if all that isn't enough, verse 5 gets even better!

For your Maker is your husband,
The LORD of hosts is His name;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;
He is called the God of the whole earth.

How lovely that our Redeemer is called the God of the whole earth!  This promise is to us along with Israel.  Together, we are His bride.  This is another place where we can see that the Messiah is God.

Verses 6-8 continue:
For the LORD has called you
Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Like a youthful wife when you were refused,”
Says your God.
“For a mere moment I have forsaken you,
But with great mercies I will gather you.
With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;
But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”
Says YHVH, your Redeemer.

We are living in the midst of this regathering right now, and the evil one is NOT happy.

The end of this section shows us a great contrast.   This happened (wrath), but then this (mercy).

This promise, made to Israel, was annulled by the gentile church upon the introduction of Replacement Theology in the second century.    Or at least they tried to annul it.  Today, with Israel back in her own land (according to so many promises of just that in the scriptures), many in the church are rejecting Replacement Theology - the crazy idea that the LORD was done with Israel as a nation and that all His blessings and promises were now transferred to (or fulfilled in) the church.

Verses 9 and 10 really drive home the fact that the LORD has not forgotten His chosen people:
“For this is like the waters of Noah to Me;
For as I have sworn
That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,
So have I sworn
That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.
For the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”
Says the LORD, who has mercy on you.

The strength of His promise to His people is reiterated here. It would be like the promise to Noah, when the LORD swore the earth would never again be destroyed by water.

Just a note on that covenant of peace... I have previously written about the seven covenants of the LORD that He made with mankind. This covenant of peace is the seventh and final covenant.  If you would like to review those covenants, you can click here.

In Numbers 25:12, Phineas was given an individual covenant of peace by God because of his zealousness for the LORD. But this seventh covenant of peace is collective; it includes the remnant of the nation of Israel and those grafted in – the residents of Messiah’s kingdom on earth.

Verses11-14 continue with the LORD's prromises to Israel, and then verses 15-17 feature warnings regarding Israel's enemies.

Verse 17 wraps up this section with this:
No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the LORD.

That opening phrase, No weapon formed against you shall prosper, is a popular verse in many churches, especially the charismatic ones. But the context here is Israel. It is a physical truth and a spiritual truth. We can apply this to ourselves as well, as long as it is not “instead of” Israel, but “along with” Israel.

Regarding the condemnation mentioned in this verse:  All the lies against Israel will soon be taken care of. No more will there be the BDS movement (the worldwide movement that promotes a boycott of Israel), UNESCO denying Jewish presence in the land of Israel, the world’s politicians, the lies of the Palestinian Authority/Hamas/Hezbollah/Fatah to blame Israel for their troubles, and even certain Christian denominations that condemn Israel at every turn.

God will put an end to all the condemnation.  His Word says so.  But in the meantime...

For the next post, click here.

And if you would like to start at the beginning of this series on Isaiah, click here.

Flying Into Hanukkah

We interrupt our walk through Isaiah to bring you a quick Hanukkah greeting.

We are literally flying right into Hanukkah.  Later today, we will board a plane bound for Tel Aviv.  Hanukkah will probably begin as we are standing in line waiting to get through customs.  Visions of candles will be swirling through my head.  Tea lights are nestled in my luggage, waiting to get lit when we arrive at our first apartment.  (Visions of sufganiyot will also be swirling.  The Israeli bakeries will be full of them!)

Sufganiyot, or Israeli Hanukkah donuts. 
Why do they have to make them so tempting??

I've written about Hanukkah before.  If you want to read any of its history or its current significance to followers of the Messiah today, you can click here to read any of my previous blogs that speak of Hanukkah.  It is a fascinating subject!

Hanukkah means dedication.  The only place Hanukkah shows up in scripture is John 10:22, when Yeshua was at the Temple during its observation.  It is here that the Judean leaders demanded to know if He was the Messiah.  (They didn't really want to know; they only wanted to trap Him.)

He went on to say that His sheep know His voice (hinting to these leaders that they didn't).  It was a tense moment.  They picked up rocks with which to stone Him, and He slipped away from them unharmed.

Hanukkah is beautiful. The lights remind me of Yeshua, Light in the darkness. I believe this was the time of year that He was conceived. Isaiah 9:2 alludes to the light that Messiah would bear to the world:

The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.

I will resume my walk through Isaiah with my next post.

Isaiah Post 34 - The Fifth Gospel, Part 3 (Chapter 53B)

Today I will wrap up Isaiah 53, the "Fifth Gospel" of the holy scriptures.

Let's begin with the explosive verse 7:
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.

My last post made the connection of us being His sheep, and needing a shepherd.  But now, Isaiah switches it around, depicting Him as a lamb.
This is a very detailed prophecy of Yeshua our Passover Lamb.  He was put on trial before Pilate, and before Herod - and yet, He did not defend Himself.   The day was Passover.  The night before (when Passover began at sunset), He had said to the Father, "Not my will but Yours."

Only love could have done this. Our Good Shepherd became a sheep Himself. He identified as one of us!

Hebrews 12:2 tells us that for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross.

Look at the words of John the Immerser (baptizer) in John 1:29:
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 

Where did John get this idea? Straight from Isaiah 53:7.

Verse 8 continues:
He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.

Yeshua was arrested, imprisoned, and forced to endure a trial that was illegal according to Jewish law.  The verse then asks who will declare His generation (meaning descendents).  This is rhetorical.  Just wait, and the passage will tell us shortly.

We then learn that He is cut off from the land of the living. This means killed. He was killed for the transgressions of others. Again, clearly this is speaking about a man - and not about the nation of Israel, as the sage Rashi taught and Rabbinic Judaism adopted.

Verse 9 goes on:
And they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

All criminals were assigned a grave with the wicked (so they wouldn’t defile the other graves), but the body of Yeshua was rescued and buried in a rich man’s grave (Joseph of Aramathea). He was not buried in the place originally assigned to Him. This is a very specific prophecy.

The burial was probably on the Mount of Olives, where every important person was buried since the time of the three prophets (and their disciples) who are buried there… Zechariah, Malachi, and Haggai. Numerous times, I have visited the cave that is the burial spot of these three prophets on the Mount of Olives.  It is a fascinating place!

Tomb of the Prophets, Mount of Olives

Today, there are over 100,000 graves on the Mount of Olives. You had to be SOMEBODY to be buried there, and it is still true today.

A small rabbit trail...  Jerusalem has two traditional places for the crucifixion and resurrection, one for the Catholic/Orthodox people (built over a temple of Venus) and one for the Protestants (in a garden just north of the Old City). I believe both are incorrect. I believe it all took place on the Mount of Olives, for many reasons.  A few of those reasons can be found here if you are in the mood for yet another rabbit trail.

The second part of verse 9 speaks of His innocence. Yeshua quotes part of this verse when He was speaking to Nathaniel in John 1:47:
Yeshua saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”

Why does it appear that the Messiah saying Nathaniel is the Messiah? I wrote a post on this subject several years ago. You can read it here if you wish. Sorry for all the rabbit trails today! But it makes much more sense when studied through the Jewish roots of the scriptures.

On to verse 10:
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.

Did it really PLEASE the LORD to bruise the Messiah?  A better translation of that Hebrew word chaphets would be desire, will, or favor.  This is what Yeshua was praying in the garden:  Not My will but Yours be done.

Ultimately the reason Yeshua dies is because it is the plan of YHVH, and the plan involves you. He doesn’t just say I love you, He shows I love you.  Most of us know John 3:16 by heart.

Hebrews 12:2 bears repeating: For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross.

The second half of verse 10 speaks of His seed - His offspring - and the prolonging of His days.  This speaks of the resurrection. Remember verse 8, when we are told that He was cut off from the land of the living, and asked, who will His descendants be?

If you know Him, it’s you. We are His descendants, His children.  We are heirs to His kingdom.

John 1:12 tells us,
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name

And 1 John 3:1 says,
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!

The first place the word love (ahava) is in the scriptures is in Genesis 22, to Abraham. Take your son, your only son whom you LOVE, and sacrifice him. LOVE is used in the context of sacrifice.

Abraham and his beloved Isaac

This amazing chapter wraps up with verses 11-12.  Let the words wash over you:

He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.

He bears our iniquities. How many times does this chapter say this? He does not die for His own sin. The servant cannot be Israel dying for its own sin, as the Middle Ages sage Rashi and now all modern orthodox Jews teach. But this is not allegory – He is referred to as a singular person throughout the whole passage.

The picture we see is a separation from God because of our sin. Sin requires death. We approach God, and the sword comes down. Our sinless Messiah steps in and takes it FOR us. He is our substitute. As soon as He dies, it is over. His suffering is done, and He is placed in a rich man’s grave until the resurrection.

The gospel in its simplest form contains two words:  sin and blood.

At Passover, Israel was required to apply blood to the lintel and doorposts of their homes.  Today, redemption is ours when we apply the blood of the Messiah to the "lintel and doorposts" of our hearts.  He will Pass Over our sins.

Here is a recap of this section of Isaiah, the “fifth gospel."  It is filled with prophetic promises of atonement by the Servant:

He will sprinkle many nations
He took up our infirmities
He was pierced for our transgressions
Crushed for our iniquities
Punishment was on Him
Laid on Him the iniquity of us all
For the transgression of My people He was stricken
His life was a guilt offering
My servant will justify many
He will bear their iniquities
He bore the sin of many
He made intercession for the transgressors

He is our Intercessor, our High Priest forever

Now that is good news!

For the next post, click here.

To start at the beginning of this series on Isaiah, click here.