#1015 Isaiah 51 Pine Cone Lager

 

“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,

you who seek the Lord:

look to the rock from which you were hewn,

and to the quarry from which you were dug.

2 Look to Abraham your father

and to Sarah who bore you;

for he was but one when I called him,

that I might bless him and multiply him.

3 For the Lord comforts Zion;

he comforts all her waste places

and makes her wilderness like Eden,

her desert like the garden of the Lord;

joy and gladness will be found in her,

thanksgiving and the voice of song.

4 “Give attention to me, my people,

and give ear to me, my nation;

for a law will go out from me,

and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.

5 My righteousness draws near,

my salvation has gone out,

and my arms will judge the peoples;

the coastlands hope for me,

and for my arm they wait.

6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,

and look at the earth beneath;

for the heavens vanish like smoke,

the earth will wear out like a garment,

and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;

but my salvation will be forever,

and my righteousness will never be dismayed.

7 “Listen to me, you who know righteousness,

the people in whose heart is my law;

fear not the reproach of man,

nor be dismayed at their revilings.

8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment,

and the worm will eat them like wool,

but my righteousness will be forever,

and my salvation to all generations.”

9 Awake, awake, put on strength,

O arm of the Lord;

awake, as in days of old,

the generations of long ago.

Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,

who pierced the dragon?

10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,

the waters of the great deep,

who made the depths of the sea a way

for the redeemed to pass over?

11 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return

and come to Zion with singing;

everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

they shall obtain gladness and joy,

and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

12 “I, I am he who comforts you;

who are you that you are afraid of man who dies,

of the son of man who is made like grass,

13 and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker,

who stretched out the heavens

and laid the foundations of the earth,

and you fear continually all the day

because of the wrath of the oppressor,

when he sets himself to destroy?

And where is the wrath of the oppressor?

14 He who is bowed down shall speedily be released;

he shall not die and go down to the pit,

neither shall his bread be lacking.

15 I am the Lord your God,

who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—

the Lord of hosts is his name.

16 And I have put my words in your mouth

and covered you in the shadow of my hand,

establishing the heavens

and laying the foundations of the earth,

and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”

17 Wake yourself, wake yourself,

stand up, O Jerusalem,

you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord

the cup of his wrath,

who have drunk to the dregs

the bowl, the cup of staggering.

18 There is none to guide her

among all the sons she has borne;

there is none to take her by the hand

among all the sons she has brought up.

19 These two things have happened to you—

who will console you?—

devastation and destruction, famine and sword;

who will comfort you?

20 Your sons have fainted;

they lie at the head of every street

like an antelope in a net;

they are full of the wrath of the Lord,

the rebuke of your God.

21 Therefore hear this, you who are afflicted,

who are drunk, but not with wine:

22 Thus says your Lord, the Lord,

your God who pleads the cause of his people:

“Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering;

the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more;

23 and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,

who have said to you,

‘Bow down, that we may pass over’;

and you have made your back like the ground

and like the street for them to pass over.” Isaiah 51 ESV

Isaiah 51 The Lord's Comfort For Zion

It is good for those privileged by the new birth, to consider that they were shapen in sin. This should cause low thoughts of ourselves, and high thoughts of Divine grace. It is the greatest comfort to be made serviceable to the glory of God. The more holiness men have, and the more good they do, the more gladness they have. Let us seriously reflect upon our guilt. To do so will tend to keep the heart humble, and the conscience awake and tender. They make Christ more precious to the soul, and give strength to our attempts and prayers for others. - Matthew Henry

1-3. You who seek the Lord - Those are very different who truly seek Him.

…32For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.… Matthew 6: 32-34

Rock and the quarry - They came from one man, and God is pointing them back to the Abrahamic Covenant. 

1Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you. 2I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”… Genesis 12: 1-3

…15for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever. 16I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if one could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted.17Get up and walk around the land, through its length and breadth, for I will give it to you.”… Genesis 13: 15-17

Look to Abraham your father - Called out from Ur of the Chaldea, a pagan land, the land of Babylon where their children would later be taken. 

…16saying, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your only son, 17I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.18And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”… Genesis 22: 16-18

8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going. 9By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.… Hebrews 11: 8-10

And to Sarah who bore you - The barren womb; they were called from death into life. They came from impossible beginnings.

…11By faith Sarah, even though she was barren and beyond the proper age, was enabled to conceive a child, because she considered Him faithful who had promised. 12And so from one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. 13All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.… Hebrews 11: 11-13

Her desert like the garden of the Lord - Men, like we read about in the last chapter, will continue to make their own light, think that they can save the world. Global warming is the big thing in our day, but I am still waiting for the ice age they predicted was coming in some 20 years, back in the 70's. They also play with their own systems of morality, religion, humanism, denying the God that made them. When they are wrong they just make a movie about it, so that global warming can be the fires in California (that they could have mitigated based on science), or global warming could be an ice age, this way you can never be wrong. They will have no objective source for morality, so right and wrong are what society decides, reeds blowing in the wind.

The same God whose power fulfilled His promises to Abraham is to transform Israel's desolation into a primeval paradise, both nationally and spiritually, causing joy and songs of thanksgiving to ring from it. - J Mac 

Odd, seems as though fire has been occurring in cycles with drought for some time, so long that some trees need it to germinate, it helps clear underbrush, which in Florida helps many animals, like our gopher tortoises. If I was a macro evolutionist then I would probably guess that these survival patterns and relationships took quite some time to develop, maybe millions of years, that's a long time that these cycles have been occurring. Do men contribute to the earth's destruction? Of course, that is Biblical, men brought sin into the world, everything they think and do now is from a fallen state, but like all Pharaoh's wise men and sorcerers, they could only add to the problem, but it was for Pharaoh to be impressed.

4-8. The earth will wear out like a garment - 

…34Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away. 36No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.… Matthew 24: 34-36

Fear not the reproach of man - If they hated Christ they will hate you also. If the truth is distasteful to them then they will not want to hear it.

…27What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.… Matthew 10: 27-29

9-16. Was it not You Who cut Rahab in pieces - Rahab is another word for insolence, pride, and it was used of Egypt. We can see in verse 10 the description of wonders that occurred upon their exit from slavery in Egypt, but also that spiritual battle that occurred and still occurs today, God giving men over to themselves.

…11The magicians could not stand before Moses, because the boils had broken out on them and on all the Egyptians. 12But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said to Moses. Exodus 9: 11-12

He, who is bowed down, shall speedily be released - The opposite end of the prideful.

…16For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You take no pleasure in burnt offerings. 17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.18In Your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem.… Psalm 51: 16-18

…8If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.… 1 John 1: 8-10

And I have put My words in your mouth - The opposite of being left to our own, turned over to a reprobate mind. I wonder if that light went on in Nicodemus's head?

…26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.28Then you will live in the land that I gave your forefathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.… Ezekiel 36: 26-28

17-23. The cup of His wrath - Israel had been drinking from this for her iniquity, but the time of her punishment would come to an end.

Among all the sons she has born - No one to guide her, no permanent peace or long lasting good governance, all her heroes and leaders were but men, frail in one sense or another, all died, all were inferior shadows to God's ultimate deliverance.

And I will put it into the hand of your tormentors - Israel has drank so much to the point of staggering under God's wrath, but the cup shall be removed from them and given to Babylon to finish.