| << Isa 53 | |
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| This is the New King James text of the passages. |
Isaiah 54-58 ..... Listen 
What about the future of Israel? (Isaiah 54)
1 “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 the LORD.
2 “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.
3 For you shall expand to the right and to the left,
And your descendants will inherit the nations,
And make the desolate cities inhabited.
4 “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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 “For a mere moment I have forsaken you,
But with great mercies I will gather you.
8 With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;
But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”
Says the LORD, your Redeemer.
9 “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.
10 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.
11 “O you afflicted one,
Tossed with tempest, and not comforted,
Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems,
And lay your foundations with sapphires.
12 I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
Your gates of crystal,
And all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children shall be taught by the LORD,
And great shall be the peace of your children.
14 In righteousness you shall be established;
You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
15 Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.
Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.
16 “Behold, I have created the blacksmith
Who blows the coals in the fire,
Who brings forth an instrument for his work;
And I have created the spoiler to destroy.
17 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.
We saw the suffering Messiah in Isaiah 53 (see notes). Now we transition from suffering to the result of that suffering - deliverance for Israel. In verse 3 we see the Messiah's work with Gentiles and verse 5 identifies the work of the Messiah at his return; he'll rule the whole earth. Verses 7-8 speak of the fall of Jerusalem and Israel, but promise a restoration where Jerusalem will be the center of authority. When the millennium (after the tribulation) arrives, Jerusalem will be completely restored, never to fall again. No enemy will be able to prevail against Israel. In verse 9, Isaiah compares the strength of this promise with that of the covenant God made with Noah after the flood (Genesis 9:11, see notes). The Messianic kingdom is clearly seen in this passage, the main emphasis being God's protection of Israel. Even though enemies may contemplate coming against the inhabitants, they will not succeed (verses 14-17). This apparently foretells the growing number of unregenerate people during the millennium who will unite with Satan at the end of the 1,000 years and go to war (although a very short war) against the Messiah (Revelation 20:7-9, see notes). They'll be destroyed, along with Satan, once and for all.
Incidentally, Paul quotes Isaiah 54:1 in Galatians 4:27 (see notes) in his allegory employing Jerusalem - the analogy highlighting the future glory of Jerusalem as it becomes the governmental seat over all the earth.
Now for an appeal to the Gentiles (Isaiah 55)
1 “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.
2 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.
3 Incline your ear, and come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—
The sure mercies of David.
4 Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people,
A leader and commander for the people.
5 Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,
And nations who do not know you shall run to you,
Because of the LORD your God,
And the Holy One of Israel;
For He has glorified you.”
6 Seek the LORD while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the LORD,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
12 “For you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall break forth into singing before you,
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
And it shall be to the LORD for a name,
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
We see here in verses 1-2 that eternal life cannot be bought; it may only be received as a gift. In Acts 13:34 (see notes) Paul quotes a portion of verse 3, "Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you— The sure mercies of David." He does so before his Jewish audience as supporting evidence that Jesus is the Messiah. Therefore, the "everlasting covenant" of verse 3 certainly must be a reference to the Davidic Covenant (see article entitled, "The Davidic Covenant").
Here, Isaiah prophesies regarding the appeal that will be made by the Messiah to the Gentiles for salvation. The millennium (and thereafter) will not be inhabited by only Jewish people, but by all the righteous coming out of the tribulation, Jew or Gentile. This invitation is made clear in verses 5-6 where the invitation for salvation is extended to all nations.
One can't help but notice the string of oft-quoted one-liners which have been adopted from this chapter:
Isaiah offers hope to Gentiles (Isaiah 56:1-8)
1 Thus says the LORD:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
For My salvation is about to come,
And My righteousness to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man who does this,
And the son of man who lays hold on it;
Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3 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.”
4 For thus says the LORD:
“To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And hold fast My covenant,
5 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.
6 “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—
7 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.”
8 The Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says,
“Yet I will gather to him
Others besides those who are gathered to him.”
God, through Isaiah's prophecy, has expressed his disappointment in the Jews for their disobedience and idolatrous practices. One obvious indicator of Israel's disobedience was their disregard for the Sabbath (mentioned in verses 2, 4 and 6). In the preceding chapters, God has promised Israel restoration during the millennium under the worldwide rule of the Messiah. In addition to Jews, here we find the extra benefit of the Messiah's rule during the millennium - blessings upon Gentiles (non Jews) as well. In this passage Gentiles are referred to as foreigners (in relationship to Israel). Observe the stipulations of verse 7, "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." This is the verse that Jesus quotes in the temple when he overthrows the money tables in Matthew 21:13/Mark 11:17/Luke 19:46 (see notes).
In verses 3-8, special attention is given to the inclusion of those who were previously "cut off" from Israel i.e. eunuchs, as seen in Deuteronomy 23:1-2 (see notes). This mention is apparently designed to show the extent to which all will be accepted during the millennium, including Gentiles, eunuchs...everyone.
What about those baaaaad Jewish leaders? (Isaiah 56:9-12)
9 All you beasts of the field, come to devour,
All you beasts in the forest.
10 His watchmen are blind,
They are all ignorant;
They are all dumb dogs,
They cannot bark;
Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
11 Yes, they are greedy dogs
Which never have enough.
And they are shepherds
Who cannot understand;
They all look to their own way,
Every one for his own gain,
From his own territory.
12 “Come,” one says, “I will bring wine,
And we will fill ourselves with intoxicating drink;
Tomorrow will be as today,
And much more abundant.”
Isaiah's prophecy takes up the issue of the wicked leadership in Israel. These leaders were immediately responsible for the nation's fall to the Assyrians and will in the future (to this prophecy) to the Babylonians. The Gentile armies (Assyrian and Babylonian) are referred to as beasts in this passage while the leaders of Israel/Judah have the distinction of being referred to as lazy, gluttonous watchdogs. It's a pretty vivid description - dogs that never bark, always sleep, but are always ready to eat. He also compares them to incompetent shepherds.
More about those spiritually-lacking Jewish leaders (Isaiah 57)
1 The righteous perishes,
And no man takes it to heart;
Merciful men are taken away,
While no one considers
That the righteous is taken away from evil.
2 He shall enter into peace;
They shall rest in their beds,
Each one walking in his uprightness.
3 “But come here,
You sons of the sorceress,
You offspring of the adulterer and the harlot!
4 Whom do you ridicule?
Against whom do you make a wide mouth
And stick out the tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
Offspring of falsehood,
5 Inflaming yourselves with gods under every green tree,
Slaying the children in the valleys,
Under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth stones of the stream
Is your portion;
They, they, are your lot!
Even to them you have poured a drink offering,
You have offered a grain offering.
Should I receive comfort in these?
7 “On a lofty and high mountain
You have set your bed;
Even there you went up
To offer sacrifice.
8 Also behind the doors and their posts
You have set up your remembrance;
For you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me,
And have gone up to them;
You have enlarged your bed
And made a covenant with them;
You have loved their bed,
Where you saw their nudity.
9 You went to the king with ointment,
And increased your perfumes;
You sent your messengers far off,
And even descended to Sheol.
10 You are wearied in the length of your way;
Yet you did not say, “There is no hope.’
You have found the life of your hand;
Therefore you were not grieved.
11 “And of whom have you been afraid, or feared,
That you have lied
And not remembered Me,
Nor taken it to your heart?
Is it not because I have held My peace from of old
That you do not fear Me?
12 I will declare your righteousness
And your works,
For they will not profit you.
13 When you cry out,
Let your collection of idols deliver you.
But the wind will carry them all away,
A breath will take them.
But he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land,
And shall inherit My holy mountain.”
14 And one shall say,
“Heap it up! Heap it up!
Prepare the way,
Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.”
15 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.
16 For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would fail before Me,
And the souls which I have made.
17 For the iniquity of his covetousness
I was angry and struck him;
I hid and was angry,
And he went on backsliding in the way of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him;
I will also lead him,
And restore comforts to him
And to his mourners.
19 “I create the fruit of the lips:
Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near,”
Says the LORD,
“And I will heal him.”
20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea,
When it cannot rest,
Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
21 “There is no peace,”
Says my God, “for the wicked.”
Then Isaiah takes off in chapter 57 on the wicked practices of those Judean leaders. Idolatry is a primary component in this passage - a futile practice unable to deliver them from destruction. Notice the reference to idolatry in verse 8, "Also behind the doors and their posts You have set up your remembrance; For you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me, And have gone up to them; You have enlarged your bed And made a covenant with them; You have loved their bed, Where you saw their nudity." Throughout the Old Testament, idolatry is compared to cohabiting with a harlot. Most references to harlotry in the Old Testament actually refer to the spiritual failing of Israel in going after strange gods instead of their own husband, Jehovah. In fact, the analogy is further enhanced by the fact that the idolatry of pagan cultures often included sexual acts which were quite contradictory to the Law of Moses, as alluded to in this passage. An appeal is made to them in the latter verses of chapter 57 to turn to God along with a promise of destruction if they do not...and history tells us that they declined the offer. In verses 14-21, God encourages the repentant and humble, and warns the wicked. The chapter concludes with bad news for anyone who rejects God in verse 21, "'There is no peace,' Says my God, 'for the wicked.'"
Does fasting make you right before God? (Isaiah 58)
1 “Cry aloud, spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.
3 “Why have we fasted,’ they say, “and You have not seen?
Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’
‘In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And exploit all your laborers.
4 Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast as you do this day,
To make your voice heard on high.
5 Is it a fast that I have chosen,
A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the LORD?
6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 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.
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 extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
12 Those from among you
Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
13 “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,
14 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.”
Israel's leadership has been addressed as being corrupt, leading to their fall to the Assyrians (Northern tribes in 721 B.C.) and later to the Babylonians (Jerusalem in 586 B.C.). However, some of the people had gone through the motions of seeking God, but in vain. Why in vain? It was not from their hearts. It's like any other polytheistic culture hedging their bets by showing reverence to several perceived deities; in their minds God was not their sole deliverer. That's why verses 1-3 seem to show a contrite group of people in Israel, yet to no avail. Isaiah goes on to show these people in the remainder of the chapter that their fasting is not from their hearts. They are fasting with incorrect motivations.
In verses 5-7 Isaiah explains the missing component of their fasts - sincerity. He does so by listing several action items which a person close to God would find automatic, but these action items were absent with this rebellious crowd. In other words, simply skipping a few meals carries no (fasting) weight with God. Correct attitudes and motivations must accompany an effective fast.
From Isaiah's list in verses 5-7, we derive that the following visual actions might indicate sincerity as one fasts:
Let's face it: Without these, you're not fasting to the Lord; you're just skippin' meals!
Since fasting is mentioned in the New Testament approximately 31 times in 26 different verses (see below), these guidelines given to the Jews for fasting certainly should benefit those of us who feel compelled to engage in fasting. In other words, unless you fast for the right reason and with the correct attitude before God, you may as well go ahead and have a big steak instead. Isaiah shows them that their lack of obedience to the entire counsel of the Mosaic law identifies their willingness to make personal sacrifices in fasting futile. Likewise, fasting can only benefit a Believer who is obedient to the leadership of the Holy Spirit in his life.
Here are the references to fasting found in the New Testament:
It is difficult from these passages to pull together a comprehensive doctrine on fasting, but it is obvious that the concept has not been invalidated under grace. It would appear that fasting is akin to importunity/persistence. It adds a level of sincerity and urgency to our petitions before God. Incidentally, God knows how sincere we are, but fasting may very well be the key that helps us realize how importantly we regard our own petition. In other words, fasting demonstrates an intensity in prayer that may not be demonstrated any other way.