November 29, 2020 - Isaiah 65:17-25

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                                                                                                  November 29, 2020

 

Lessons Learned

By Wayne Gaeddert

Isaiah 65:17-25

1. Isaiah 63:15-64:12 is a prayer of Isaiah as he looks ahead (at least 100 years) to the exile of Judah by Babylon. In this prayer Isaiah prays for the remnant of Israel who have had to endure the exile along with the unfaithful who have given themselves to idol worship.

·        In Isaiah 64:1-5 the prayer turns to confession and acknowledges their sins of the past.

·         In chapter 64:6-7 they confess that even their righteous acts (good deeds) are like a ‘polluted garment’ (ESV) before God. Everyone is guilty before God and does not measure up to His standard.

·        In chapter 64:8-9 Isaiah paints a picture where God is the potter and Israel is the clay. The Potter can create from the clay whatever He wills. Implying that God can free the exiles and mold them into what He wants them to be.

·        In chapter 64:10-12 Isaiah appeals to God to restore the broken down conditions of Judah; Jerusalem is a wilderness and the temple lies in ruins.

2. Isaiah 65:1-25 is God’s answer to the prayer of Isaiah for the exiles in Babylon.

·        Isaiah 65:1—The apostle Paul applied this verse to the Gentiles in Romans 10:20. The Gentiles with whom God did not previously have a relationship find God during the time that Israel had abandoned God.

·        Isaiah 65:2-7—These verses refer to Israel’s rebellion against God and rejection to follow God. They had sacrificed to gods, eaten forbidden meat, and claimed to be holy. As a result, God would repay them for their sins.

·        Isaiah 65:8-12—God promises to spare a good cluster of grapes (the remnant) in an otherwise bad vineyard (the rest of the nation). The remnant will dwell in the land but the apostate will be destined for slaughter by the sword.

·        Isaiah 65:12-16—Blessings for the remnant; plenty to eat and drink, rejoicing and singing. But the rebellious will be cursed; hunger and thirst, shame and heartache, wailing due to a broken spirit.

3. When Jesus rules, everything will be at peace.

4. “The one true God promises to restore His creation for His people through faith in his Son.” Dr. Blake Hearson

5. Hope in the future gives strength in the present.

6. Isaiah wrote this at least 100 years before the Babylonian captivity began.

7. I believe the creation of the ‘new heavens and a new earth’ in Isaiah 65:17 does not represent the new heavens and new earth of Revelation 21 because:

·        Revelation 21 is referring to the eternal state of the redeemed believer in Jesus.

·        The mention of the possibility of death in Isaiah 65:20.

·        The mention of the presence of sin in Isaiah 65:20.

·        Isaiah 11:1-9 speaks of the righteous rule of the Branch (Jesus) with a similar description.

8. During the 1000 year reign of Jesus Revelation 20:7:

·        God will fulfill his promises to Israel as a nation.

·        The Jews will recognize Jesus as their messiah.

·        There will be peace on earth.

·        Satan will be bound.

• Many of the curses of Genesis 3 will be removed.

9. Application:

• Jesus will rule and reign and there will be peace on earth, goodwill toward men.

• Every knee will bow and honor of Him.

• God, in his own time and in His own way will bring the current state of the world to its appropriate end.

• Spending eternity in the presence of Jesus (His holy mountain) requires the proper preparation—being washed in the blood of the lamb.