(Isaiah 42:1-25)
1 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen one in whom My soul delights.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry out nor raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
3 A bent reed He will not break off
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will not be disheartened or crushed
Until He has established justice on the earth;
And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”
5 This is what God the Lord says,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread out the earth and its offspring,
Who gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it:
6 “I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness,
I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the nations,
7 To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
8 I am the Lord, that is My name;
I will not give My glory to another,
Nor My praise to idols.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
Now I declare new things;
Before they sprout I proclaim them to you.”
10 Sing to the Lord a new song,
Sing His praise from the end of the earth!
You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it;
You islands, and those who live on them.
11 Let the wilderness and its cities raise their voices,
The settlements which Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing aloud,
Let them shout for joy from the tops of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord
And declare His praise in the coastlands.
13 The Lord will go out like a warrior,
He will stir His zeal like a man of war.
He will shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry.
He will prevail against His enemies.
14 “I have kept silent for a long time,
I have kept still and restrained Myself.
Now like a woman in labor I will groan,
I will both gasp and pant.
15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills
And wither all their vegetation;
I will turn the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the ponds.
16 I will lead those who are blind by a way they have not known,
In paths they have not known I will guide them.
I will turn darkness into light before them
And uneven land into plains.
These are the things I will do,
And I will not leave them undone.”
17 They will be turned back and be utterly put to shame,
Who trust in idols,
Who say to cast metal images,
“You are our gods.”
18 Hear, you who are deaf!
And look, you who are blind, so that you may see.
19 Who is blind but My servant,
Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send?
Who is so blind as one who is at peace with Me,
Or so blind as the servant of the Lord?
20 You have seen many things, but you do not retain them;
Your ears are open, but no one hears.
21 The Lord was pleased for His righteousness’ sake
To make the Law great and glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered and pillaged;
All of them are trapped in caves,
Or are hidden away in prisons;
They have become plunder, with no one to save them,
And spoils with no one to say, “Give them back!”
23 Who among you will listen to this?
Who will pay attention and listen in the time to come?
24 Who gave Jacob up for spoils, and Israel to plunderers?
Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned,
And in whose ways they were not willing to walk,
And whose Law they did not obey?
25 So He poured out on him the heat of His anger
And the fierceness of battle;
And it set him aflame all around,
Yet he did not recognize it;
And it burned him, but he paid no attention.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
My chosen one in whom My soul delights.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry out nor raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
3 A bent reed He will not break off
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will not be disheartened or crushed
Until He has established justice on the earth;
And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”
5 This is what God the Lord says,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread out the earth and its offspring,
Who gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it:
6 “I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness,
I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the nations,
7 To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
8 I am the Lord, that is My name;
I will not give My glory to another,
Nor My praise to idols.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
Now I declare new things;
Before they sprout I proclaim them to you.”
10 Sing to the Lord a new song,
Sing His praise from the end of the earth!
You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it;
You islands, and those who live on them.
11 Let the wilderness and its cities raise their voices,
The settlements which Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing aloud,
Let them shout for joy from the tops of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord
And declare His praise in the coastlands.
13 The Lord will go out like a warrior,
He will stir His zeal like a man of war.
He will shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry.
He will prevail against His enemies.
14 “I have kept silent for a long time,
I have kept still and restrained Myself.
Now like a woman in labor I will groan,
I will both gasp and pant.
15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills
And wither all their vegetation;
I will turn the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the ponds.
16 I will lead those who are blind by a way they have not known,
In paths they have not known I will guide them.
I will turn darkness into light before them
And uneven land into plains.
These are the things I will do,
And I will not leave them undone.”
17 They will be turned back and be utterly put to shame,
Who trust in idols,
Who say to cast metal images,
“You are our gods.”
18 Hear, you who are deaf!
And look, you who are blind, so that you may see.
19 Who is blind but My servant,
Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send?
Who is so blind as one who is at peace with Me,
Or so blind as the servant of the Lord?
20 You have seen many things, but you do not retain them;
Your ears are open, but no one hears.
21 The Lord was pleased for His righteousness’ sake
To make the Law great and glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered and pillaged;
All of them are trapped in caves,
Or are hidden away in prisons;
They have become plunder, with no one to save them,
And spoils with no one to say, “Give them back!”
23 Who among you will listen to this?
Who will pay attention and listen in the time to come?
24 Who gave Jacob up for spoils, and Israel to plunderers?
Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned,
And in whose ways they were not willing to walk,
And whose Law they did not obey?
25 So He poured out on him the heat of His anger
And the fierceness of battle;
And it set him aflame all around,
Yet he did not recognize it;
And it burned him, but he paid no attention.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
When the Lord Jesus came to earth in flesh the first time, He came in gently, to accomplish His work on the cross, which makes spiritual peace possible... to make forgiveness of sins and salvation possible and available to all people. Right now, amidst the unrest and injustice, we can experience this peace and joy, and a personal relationship with the Lord. But then, after the rapture (gathering up all believers from all time), the Lord will send down His judgments upon the earth.
Remember that a woman's birth pains exit only because of sin, and just so, because of sin, the Lord will unleash His "birth pains" across the earth during the Tribulation. If we want to continue this analogy, during a pregnancy, there is this sweet time of anticipation and preparation of what is to come... a precious new birth! This will be what happens here on earth after the Tribulation! So...
At the end of those seven years of judgment, which are the signs of the times for Israel to understand that Jesus was and is their Messiah, the Lord Jesus will come again to rid the earth of all unbelievers and evil, and bring all those who became believers during the Tribulation into the Millennium to experience physical, as well as spiritual peace. During those thousand years, those being born during this time will still have to make a decision: to accept or reject the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, Lord and King. In their personal relationship with Jesus, they will actually be able to meet with Him face to face.
While we cannot do that (yet), there is still a two way communication through prayer, His indwelling Holy Spirit, and His word. Jesus gives all of us a fair opportunity to make a decision. Who will we place first in our lives? In what or whom will we trust and put our faith in? When we choose our way, we think we are hearing and seeing everything, but it is in wanting to know God's way which is unsearchable that we need His help. Truly trusting and putting our faith in Jesus is to realize and admit that we are deaf and blind, and we need the Lord to be our eyes and ears, allowing Him to lead us as to where we should go and what we should hear, see, say and do!
Because the Lord is just, this passage shows both a portrayal of what happens when one disobeys and denies the Lord, as well as the hope that one can have when we choose to follow Him. Because He is faithful, part of the good news of salvation is that Jesus is our light and our covenant (promise). Only He is able to set us free from the chains of sin and death and give us eternal life! Only He can be our perfect guide in righteousness, and be our certain hope, peace and joy!
No comments:
Post a Comment