Isaiah 61

Read Isaiah 61

To have a firm belief in the message of the Lord, we need a true messenger to come to us. In former days, God spoke through prophets like Isaiah—men who were anointed not with oil as were the kings and priests, but with the Spirit of God Himself. Jesus quoted Isaiah 61 many years after it was written, claiming that He was the true spokesman of God. With the fullest endowment of God’s Spirit, He addressed the poor, the brokenhearted, and the captives, and announced to them good news. His message was an announcement of the greatest liberty, much like the Old Testament Year of Jubilee.

The garments of mourning could now be exchanged for the beautiful headdress of celebration to the praise of our great God. Something solid had been declared—something strong, like a mighty oak of righteousness. Ancient ruins would have a new life. Even strangers and foreigners would have their part to play in the drama of bountiful blessing. All the people of God would be priests and servants of the true and living God, and the wealth of nations would come to God's covenant people. Shame and dishonor would have to give way to the sounds of everlasting joy that could not be contained.

This day of rejoicing would not arrive through a mere excusing of wrong-doing. God would do it all with justice. The demands of God’s Law would be satisfied. The penalty for our disobedience required a just and holy atoning sacrifice. Christ, the Anointed One, would come and die for our sins. He would not only be the prophet that announced the coming good news, He would also take His place as the sacrifice that satisfied divine justice and reconciled us to God. Everything that was wrong and needed overturning would be overturned, and all that was right would be brought to the most glorious fulfillment.

What would the people of the Lord receive on that great day? They would be clothed with all the goodness that Christ would win for them. They would have eternal salvation as a garment. A bridegroom looks handsome on his great day, and his bride causes all to rise when she enters the sanctuary, but the church as the bride of Christ would be even more beautiful in holiness at the coming of her King. She would be fruitful beyond her wildest dreams for eternity to come. Only God Almighty could accomplish such a great promise.

When Jesus spoke the words of Isaiah 61 in the synagogue in Nazareth, the gathered worshipers were not ready to believe His message. He read the opening words of this chapter and declared the truth to all present on that Sabbath day—that this prophecy was now fulfilled in their hearing. The Messiah had arrived at long last. Perhaps they could not believe that something this good could come from Nazareth.

How will we react when our Lord returns with His glorious kingdom? Those who are watching and waiting with some awareness of what God has promised should greet that day with the greatest joy. Heaven will have come to earth in fullness, and we will be changed in the twinkling of an eye. Until then let us hear and proclaim the good news. Let us show our admiration for the work of the Lord by living in righteousness and loving true holiness with great appreciation for the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

O Spirit of the Living God who so filled our great Messiah, we ask that You would fill us, that we might follow this great Man of Blessing. You have fed us and healed us. You use us to rebuild what sin has destroyed. We are priests to You, O God, and we rejoice in You, for You are our portion. You hate injustice, and will keep it far from us on the day of our deliverance, for we are Your blessed offspring. We have been covered with the righteous robes of Your Son. We live and grow in You, O God.

Isaiah 60

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Where would we like to live? We may think of the places where we were born or the places where we grew up. Some people have a special place where they once spent vacations with all the good associations that come with having time off together with those they love. We read of attractive tourist areas and see pictures of homes or surroundings where we would love to live. God speaks of His city, Zion, in Isaiah 60. In the Old Testament era, the affections of the people of God were drawn to Jerusalem and to the place of the temple of the Lord, Mount Zion. The church is God’s city in the New Covenant era, and ultimately we are told that we are citizens of heaven.

Who will bring us to heaven? The world that we live in now is a place of darkness. If we are covered with thick darkness and we cannot find the way home, we are lost. This is the word that we sometimes use to describe those who do not know the blessings of God. They are lost. When the glory of God rises upon our hearts, then we can shine with the light that comes from God Himself. It is He who can bring us out of darkness.

In Old Testament times there was a sharp distinction between Jews and everyone else. The Jews alone were God’s special people. All of the other nations lived in shadows, without God and without hope. But in Isaiah 60 God promises that the nations shall be brought to Zion, and shall be children of God. Will they all become Jews? This was a difficult matter for the early church to consider. The special Old Testament position of the Jews was so firmly believed that it was hard to imagine that Gentiles could be in right relation with God without becoming circumcised Jews first. But the work of Christ did something not only for Jews. The dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile was torn down through Christ’s fulfillment of the Law. The grace of God could be embraced by those who were once strangers to Zion. They too could count God’s city as their home.

The language of the prophets makes it sound like all of these new worshipers and servants of God will be in Jerusalem and will do what the Old Covenant worshipers did. God’s fulfillment of His promises would show something more—something much bigger. Gentiles would be used by God to build up His holy Zion. All who are in Christ are included in the holy city. But even this blessing is only a small portion of the Lord’s good plan.

One day Zion will be brighter than the sun. The Lord will be our everlasting radiance, and the God who spoke light into being will be our glory. That brightness will never be covered by clouds, or extinguished by troubles, and we will all have the splendor of perfect holiness as the gift of God to the citizens of the resurrection world.

Only God could do this. He has accomplished it through Christ and the cross. There are many wonderful places on this earth, places that we would love to visit. There are other spots that we once knew well, and they have a special place in our hearts. But the one place where we want to be for eternity is the new Zion. There we shall see King Jesus, our Redeemer, and we shall be with every child of the Kingdom forever.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

O Glorious Light, come to Your children this day that we might come to You. Let us rejoice in the sight of Your face. We bring gifts from far off, things that you have given to us. We bring You our children and our lives. We will fear You above every King, and love You more than any other lover. You are God. You are building a glorious sanctuary out of the living stones that You have gathered in Zion. We will feed upon Your good gifts, and be strengthened by Your Son. You make us to be a temple that lasts forever. None can destroy Your good Work. You are the glory of Your people, O God. We shall possess the land forever. You will bring Your Day of victory at just the right time.

Isaiah 59

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Many people are able to acknowledge that sin is real, but very few would describe it the way that God does in the Bible. We tend to think about the worst people or about our worst moment. Few embrace the doctrine of original sin, and many seem reluctant to take responsibility for our own particular transgressions. A true assessment of our moral condition is important for us to gain an accurate appreciation of the cross.

When the Lord speaks about His beloved people, He does not ignore the depth and ugliness of their rebellion. He uses imagery of spiders, snakes, and bloody hands. He tells us of feet that “run to evil” and thoughts that are stuck on “iniquity.” The consequence of our transgressions is that there is a horrible breach in our peace with God.

This may have dire consequence for our lives. We want to live in the light of life, but we are mired in darkness. At noon we should be able to walk safely, but we stumble as if the sun were not out. We should have physical strength, but we find ourselves shockingly weak, and we don’t know why. The problem may be our individual and societal transgressions.

What can be done about our deplorable condition? The Lord knows that the answer is not in us. We are too weak to fix ourselves, but God’s “arm” brings salvation. We do not have the weapons necessary for the spiritual battle ahead of us, but the Lord has His own provisions to meet the challenge. He has a breastplate and a helmet that are fit for the task ahead of Him. He has the garments necessary for the battle.

He will wage warfare against His and our enemies. Like a rushing stream He comes against the powerful foe. In Ephesians 6 we are told to put on the Lord’s armor. It is not by the weapons of this world that God's kingdom will come in power, but by the spiritual warfare waged by our Redeemer.

The Messiah will come to His people, for all “those in Jacob who turn from transgression.” He will rescue weak people who will turn away from sin. Our deliverance comes through the life and death of Jesus. The Father and the Son have sent forth the Spirit to accomplish what no man can do. The resurrected Christ has won our redemption. The Holy Spirit who is sent forth from heaven applies that divine gift to people.

The facts of our sin are still ugly. Spiders and snakes still provide the right images. Bloody hands and swift feet running to evil tell the tale of our rebellion. But the Lord has redeemed His Zion through the Man of His choosing, and the Spirit has worked an amazing miracle in us. We have the down-payment of God's heavenly gift at the present time. We eagerly await the fullness of the promise, amazed that sinners would be loved by God and redeemed at such a staggering cost.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord of Strength, You hear us and You save us. Turn us now from all our filthy iniquity. We turn away from all lies and deceit. We come to You for our strength, for we are very weak. We will no longer run to evil, but will cry out to You in the day of temptation. Make a road for us that leads to Light. Shine upon Your pilgrim children who are weak and needy. So much sin! How can we live? We confess and come for mercy. Pretty words will not save us. The Truth that is alive and dwells in men will be our only hope. Come, Lord Jesus, in the full armor of battle and help us. We are Your beloved children, for whom You gave Your blood. Come, Redeemer Lord. We turn from transgression this day. Do not depart from us and from our children and their offspring forever.

Romanian Mission

My Recent Romania Trip, Rev. Stephen C. Magee, Exeter Presbyterian Church

I am so thankful to the Lord for Hong Key Chung and for his important ministerial work over the course of these many years. Most recently, Hong Key has been cultivating Christian friendships among the political and social leaders in this important nation. I had the privilege of spending several days with him as we met with various people all over Romania.

Hong Key organized a series of seminars in Suceava, Oradea, and Cluj on the topic of living out our faith in business and society in our contemporary world. I saw firsthand the determination of Romanians to avoid the latest streams of European/American culture, particularly as these touch upon family life. I also saw an interest in understanding the historic pillars of healthy Christian living.

A Christian view of history helps us to understand that the latest ideas are not always the best. The coming of the Son of God, His death on the cross, His resurrection from the dead, His ascension on high, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon the New Testament Church—these are not old events that have been superseded by more important philosophical and social developments. Everything prior to the coming of the Messiah prepared us for this turning point in history. Everything after the resurrection of Jesus and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit is the outworking of the mission of our best Prophet, Priest, and King.

The church in Romania and throughout the world needs to proclaim healthy Christian doctrine, ethics, and fellowship. The modern and postmodern instinct to restrict the Christian life to private religious experience is not a fitting mission for the One who is over all as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Several of our most encouraging meetings were in small settings where we heard from sincere Christians grappling with what it means to have a Christian business or a biblical community life. Members of Parliament have been blessed through gathering together to discuss the Scriptures and to pray for their nation. These good beginnings need to be encouraged by all of our churches.

I am more convinced than ever that solid Christian experience must involve learning and teaching others about true doctrine, ethics, and fellowship. Throughout the centuries of church life, the Nicene Creed has been a guide for Christian understanding of doctrine; the Ten Commandments have provided a summary of the best Christian ethics; and the Lord's Prayer has reminded us that Christianity is not just a religion of abiding religious and moral truths, but also of a shared life of fellowship with God and with one another.

We need to develop tools that will affirm orthodox Christian assemblies including every true church all over the globe. Those who can hold to the doctrines of the Nicene Creed, the ethics of the Ten Commandments, and the relationship that Jesus taught us in the Lord's Prayer, need to find the confidence to present these profound truths of life to others in our families and in our communities.

We face a worldwide onslaught of individualism that is destroying the fabric of many nations. Contemporary life comes with its own competing doctrines, ethics, and standards of relationship. People have lost a sense of what it means to gather together and to cry out to God from the heart saying, “Our Father!” But this is no time for us to be silent. We need to learn these fundamental truths again so that we will be able to teach others. The Lord will give us grace for this spiritual battle. As we follow Christ together, may His churches be more and more effective in rebuilding our nations with true doctrine, God-honoring ethics, and warm relationships with our Lord and with one another.

Isaiah 58

Read Isaiah 58

In the days of Isaiah the prophet, there were many who were performing acts of religious devotion like fasting and Sabbath-keeping. Though they “seek Me daily,” the Lord did not consider them faithful. What was the problem? “In the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers.”

The Lord confronted these worshipers in their double-mindedness, not to leave them condemned, but to show them a healthier way of life. In Isaiah 58 God described true religion and then encouraged His hearers with promised blessings that would come to those who would listen to His Word.

The best devotion was more than ceremonial. It was not merely an inward contemplation or a display for the approval of God or neighbor. True religion that would be heaven-sent would touch the lives of others in ways that would bring life and freedom. The person who knew and loved the Almighty would “loose the bonds of wickedness” that were holding others back. He would “let the oppressed go free.” Godliness would find appropriate expression not in taking advantage of the weak, but in feeding the hungry and clothing the naked.

If Israel would live this way, the Lord promised them gifts from on high—blessings of “light” and of “healing.” He committed to their protection and care. As Isaiah promised, “Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'”

God intended that His children would be generous. As the Lord of grace, He would lead His family not in “the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,” but in caring for “the afflicted.”

A life of heavenly mercy expressed among the needy was to begin in their own households and clans. They were “not to hide” themselves from their “own flesh.” Having begun at home, their charity would not end there. They would be “like a watered garden” in their villages. Societal rescue would be possible by the power of God working through them. “You shall raise up the foundations of many generations.”

To enjoy this great privilege of meaningful service, they needed to begin with a sincere delight in God, the Author of every good gift. The Lord who gave them one day a week to rest in Him was worthy of their worship. If they took no joy in Him, only longing to return to their own businesses, they could never show others around them a better way. But if they would love the Lord and rest in Him, God would make them “ride on the heights of the earth.”

Jesus was the perfect fulfillment of the life of love described by Isaiah. His way of devotion and Sabbath-keeping was so unusual that many of His neighbors believed that He was breaking God's Law by healing on the Sabbath those who were stuck in disease and demonic oppression. He became for us the perfect embodiment of what it means to obey God. He was our salvation and our guide. He has paid our debt and He uses us now as agents of His generosity, not only in Israel, but all over the earth.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord of the Sabbath, we have done foolish things. We pretend to seek You and to serve You, we have even fasted and prayed, and yet we have sought our own way and boasted in our own names. We yell at those we should be gentle with, and we have turned away from Your goodness and Your life. We should share our bread with the hungry and clothe the naked. We should love our families near and far. But we have looked on the poor and done nothing to help. We have ignored Your good promises. We want close communion with You. We want the bright joy of Your holiness and the fruitfulness of a watered garden. We must follow Your Word again, that we might be repairers of the breach all around us. We will take our delight in You, and You will rescue us.

Isaiah 57

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If we are willing to live the life of those who will seek first God's kingdom, then we can be assured of this: If we die, we will enter into the Lord's peace. We do not need to wait for the day of death for that blessedness to be ours. We can rest even now in His great promises.

Those who live in unrighteousness cannot have that assurance. Their lives testify against them. Those who “burn with lust” in false religious practices, who “slaughter children” in offerings to strange deities, who make their bed in a field of idolatry and make covenants with false gods—can all be well with them?

Yet in every generation there are those who want the outward label of “covenant-keeper” but who actually prefer idols. False gods have their own doctrines. They have their own moral order. They have their own practices of worship. God expects us to take His Word seriously and to obey His commandments. If we insist on worshiping idols, then we will be directed to our wood and stone gods in the day of trouble.

Can other gods help us? Can money, prestige, and pleasure be our hope? God's Word to idolaters is very clear: “Let your collection of idols deliver you!”

The Lord’s plan for us is so much better. He invites us to take refuge in Him and to listen to His Word as obedient and grateful children. He promises us that a wise and holy life of faith will bring us great blessing. Even in the day of our worst afflictions, the Lord will be with us. What a comfort! The God who is high above the heavens, who inhabits eternity, will happily dwell with anyone “who is of a contrite and lowly spirit.”

Even more than that, the Almighty has promised to heal us. While we may not immediately perceive Him reigning over our afflictions in every difficult moment, His promise is entirely secure.

How much goodness is enough in order for an individual to be acceptable to the Lord? How can we have assurance of God’s presence and His healing power? We know that the Lord demands perfection, but we also know that those whom God calls “righteous” in Christ have been credited with the flawless obedience of Christ through faith in His name. This is the essence of the good news that we preach and believe. Christ Jesus came to save sinners. Through faith in Him we have been given His record of holiness. We also have a new heart that has an orientation toward the good life that He has for all His children.

This is the gospel of peace that Christ speaks to His disciples. May the God who has loved us with such an extravagant love not only save us for eternity, but also redirect us more and more even now, that our lives under the sun will be increasingly fruitful for the glory of His name.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord, our Lord, will the righteous man perish while the wicked man rests in his soft bed? You have given us hope in Your justice, and we call upon Your Name, knowing that Your Word will not be powerless. You know the secrets of every idol worshiper. They are spiritual prostitutes. They seduce false gods and find themselves slaves to demons. Lord, rescue us from evil men and angels. Idols cannot deliver us from trouble. We take refuge in You alone. We will rest on Your holy mountain. You inhabit eternity, and You will revive the spirit of the lowly. Blessed be Your Name. Your Spirit heals the mourning soul. Bring us settled hearts.

Isaiah 56

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We don’t leave foxes to be the guardians of henhouses. Sometimes those who imagine themselves to be the protectors of God’s people act in ways that show that they are dangerous wolves who would devour the sheep. We are repeatedly warned concerning this danger in both the Old and New Testaments, and we need to be on our guard for those who would destroy the church. Yet our sure hope is that we have a Good Shepherd in the Lord Jesus Christ. He was willing to lay down His life for His sheep.

There are times when loving and diligent under-shepherds are few, yet the Lord's people must not give up. Surely our heavenly rescue will come quickly. In the meantime, those who would truly follow the Lord need to remain aware of the demands of righteousness, and keep their hearts pure from entangling distractions that would move them from the pathway of obedience.

Concerning the hopes of God’s Old Testament people, the Lord’s intentions for the rescue of His elect would even bring deliverance for the foreigner and the eunuch, two groups that did not have full privileges of worship in Israel. They would one day be a part of God's people, and have an “everlasting name” that could “not be cut off.” The prophet speaks of a New Covenant future using the picture of Old Covenant practices that were current in his time. Somehow there will be a new temple of God that will truly be a house of prayer for all the nations.

Israel's shepherds were without real understanding of the plan of God. They knew their own appetites and furthered their own private interests, but they did not lift a finger for the weak and the confused. They expected great things for themselves with their days ending with plenty of wine and strong drink, but they completely missed the true Shepherd of Israel when He came to give His life for outcasts.

This Shepherd was the perfect “watchman.” He came with great healing power for those in desperate need, but His greatest act of mercy came at the cost of His own life. The wicked shepherds of Israel sought His death when there was no charge that could be rightly laid against Him. Their fathers had killed the prophets, and they would seek to put an end to the greatest Shepherd of the sheep. They imagined that the story of mercy for Gentiles and eunuchs would rest in the grave with Him. Yet when His body was raised incorruptible the hope of the hopeless was secured.

We flee to this same Jesus Christ every day. It is Him that we preach and teach, and we are His body. He is coming again soon, and He will not disappoint the expectations of His faithful followers. The church may have too many false shepherds who do more to block the way to everlasting life than they do to show the only gate to heaven. Yet the Lord Jesus still has His ways of calling the weak to persevere in hope until the end. By His Word and Spirit we must keep justice and do righteousness however formidable the opposition may seem, for our salvation soon will come.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord of our Salvation, we will keep justice, and consider Your Law to do it. Though we are weak, You are capable of taking a fruitless servant and granting him an everlasting name. We will hold fast Your covenant and come streaming to Your holy mountain for the fullness of Sabbath rest. All the nations shall find rest in Your Son. The dogs who tear and kill will be shut out from harming Your sheep. You will grant to us the wine of holy rejoicing.