July 5: Isaiah 24-26, 32, 35

THURSDAY, JULY 5, 2012

Isaiah 24–26, 32, 35

 

 

In today’s passages, Isaiah prophesies about a far-distant series of events, including the judgment of the wicked and the coming of the new heaven and the new earth.  These visions supplement those that appear in Revelation and provide some of the first recorded glimpses of what the Last Days will resemble.  Please note that the Bible clearly portrays a cycle of sin, which brings death, and redemption, which brings life:

 

1. God creates heaven and earth, which he declares to be “very good,” including man and woman.  God and man enjoy a close communion. (Genesis 1,2)

2. Despite their connection with God, man’s pride induces him to listen to the Evil One and to disobey God.  Man’s fellowship with God is broken, and death comes into being. (Genesis 3)

3. From this point forward, God forms a nation (from Abraham) through which he will bless the earth.  God interacts manifestly in the lives of the patriarchs and shows His great provision.  Still, the patriarchs all struggle with deception, a device used in times of doubting God’s providence. (Genesis)

4. After bringing the people to Egypt, God shows His redemptive power through the Exodus.  Through the Passover Lamb, God shows how the people’s freedom from death only comes through God’s direction, not through man’s actions.  God then gives the law, which points to man’s sin and His need for God’s redemption, through Moses.  The complaining people wander through the desert due to their wavering hearts. (Exodus through Deuteronomy)

5. The cycle of rulers point to the blessings of obedience and the curses of disobedience.  The tenor of leadership has a profound effect on the Israelite nation. (Judges, Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles)

6.  The people’s sin becomes so great that God allows for the exile to Assyria, providing another turning point around which God will demonstrate His redemptive power.

7. God sends prophets to the Israelites to explain how He will send His only Son to earth, as a means of offering redemption to the whole world. (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel)

8. Israel eventually comes under Roman rule around the time of Christ’s birth.  Jesus fulfills the hundreds of prophecies previously given and serves as the perfect substitute for sinful man (2 Corinthians 5:21). (Matthew through John)

9. The Gospel spreads powerfully through Jewish and Greek culture, creating communities of faith among all classes of people.  God attests to the truth of the Good News through signs and wonders. (Acts and the rest of the New Testament)

10. Despite the church’s presence, the cycles of sin and redemption still flow through history through the current time. (Visit CNN.com)

 

Today’s passages point to the end, answering questions about the wicked and the righteous.  God reveals several key lessons through Isaiah:

 

1. There is no favoritism in God’s judgment; God will overturn the present age in His appointed time, and each person will bow to His power and glory.

2. Hoping in the present goodness of the earth represents an attempt to trust the ephemeral instead of leaning on the eternal.  While the earth and its happiness are here for the present time, God will irretrievably change the earth in His appointed time.

3. The righteous will rejoice in God’s judgment and salvation.  They sense their foreignness on earth.  They will come from all nations, all peoples, and all times.  God will “prepare/ a feast of rich food for all people.../ The Soverign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces;/ he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth.”

4. The redemption of the righteous and the death of the wicked ultimately points to God’s glory and goodness.  God’s glory becomes central again.

5. The righteous will rejoice in the blessing of following God:

Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,

                we wait for you;

Your name and your renown

                are the desire of our hearts.

My soul yearns for you in the night;

                in the morning my spirit longs for you.

When your judgments come upon the earth,

                the people of the world learn righteousness.  (26:8,9)

 

 

6. The righteous will receive resurrection from the dead, while the wicked will be banished from God’s presence.

7. God will build a kingdom around His redemption:

1. Even the desert will blossom.

2. The redemption will show other physical signs, too (35:5–10)

5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened

       and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

 

 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,

       and the mute tongue shout for joy.

       Water will gush forth in the wilderness

       and streams in the desert.

 

 7 The burning sand will become a pool,

       the thirsty ground bubbling springs.

       In the haunts where jackals once lay,

       grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

 

 8 And a highway will be there;

       it will be called the Way of Holiness.

       The unclean will not journey on it;

       it will be for those who walk in that Way;

       wicked fools will not go about on it.

 

 9 No lion will be there,

       nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;

       they will not be found there.

       But only the redeemed will walk there,

 

 10 and the ransomed of the Lord will return.

       They will enter Zion with singing;

       everlasting joy will crown their heads.

       Gladness and joy will overtake them,

       and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

 

 

QUESTIONS

 

1. What does the truth of redemption mean for you personally?
2. How can you share this Good News with a friend or relative who is struggling today?

 

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