April 1, 2011
EXCHANGE THE OLD FOR THE NEW
Isaiah 65
Jessica Gober
Central Truth
God offered Himself to us even when we didn't want Him or ask Him to. Believers' lives should be a reflection of Him. Unbelievers should turn from their rebellious ways and seek Him. We should live for the new heaven and new earth and not this one.
Key Verse | Isaiah 65:12
"I will destine you for the sword,
And all of you will bow down to the slaughter
Because I called, but you did not answer;
I spoke, but you did not hear.
And you did evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight."
(Isaiah 65:12)
Isaiah 65
Judgment and Salvation
1
I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me;
I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, “Here I am, here I am,”
to a nation that was not called by
1
65:1
Or that did not call upon
my name.
2
I spread out my hands all the day
to a rebellious people,
who walk in a way that is not good,
following their own devices;
3
a people who provoke me
to my face continually,
sacrificing in gardens
and making offerings on bricks;
4
who sit in tombs,
and spend the night in secret places;
who eat pig's flesh,
and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels;
5
who say, “Keep to yourself,
do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”
These are a smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that burns all the day.
6
Behold, it is written before me:
“I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will indeed repay into their lap
7
both your iniquities and your fathers' iniquities together,
says the LORD;
because they made offerings on the mountains
and insulted me on the hills,
I will measure into their lap
payment for their former deeds.”
2
65:7
Or I will first measure their payment into their lap
8
Thus says the LORD:
“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
and they say, ‘Do not destroy it,
for there is a blessing in it,’
so I will do for my servants' sake,
and not destroy them all.
9
I will bring forth offspring from Jacob,
and from Judah possessors of my mountains;
my chosen shall possess it,
and my servants shall dwell there.
10
Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks,
and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
for my people who have sought me.
11
But you who forsake the LORD,
who forget my holy mountain,
who set a table for Fortune
and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny,
12
I will destine you to the sword,
and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter,
because, when I called, you did not answer;
when I spoke, you did not listen,
but you did what was evil in my eyes
and chose what I did not delight in.”
13
Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, my servants shall eat,
but you shall be hungry;
behold, my servants shall drink,
but you shall be thirsty;
behold, my servants shall rejoice,
but you shall be put to shame;
14
behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart,
but you shall cry out for pain of heart
and shall wail for breaking of spirit.
15
You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse,
and the Lord God will put you to death,
but his servants he will call by another name,
16
so that he who blesses himself in the land
shall bless himself by the God of truth,
and he who takes an oath in the land
shall swear by the God of truth;
because the former troubles are forgotten
and are hidden from my eyes.
New Heavens and a New Earth
17
For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
18
But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness.
19
I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people;
no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
and the cry of distress.
20
No more shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not fill out his days,
for the young man shall die a hundred years old,
and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
21
They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22
They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy
3
65:22
Hebrew shall wear out
the work of their hands.
23
They shall not labor in vain
or bear children for calamity,
4
65:23
Or for sudden terror
for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD,
and their descendants with them.
24
Before they call I will answer;
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
25
The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;
the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
and dust shall be the serpent's food.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain,”
says the LORD.
Dive Deeper | Isaiah 65
As I read Isaiah 65, I was reminded of who I was before I gave my life to the Lord. During that time I, too, did as these wicked people did. I was a rebellious person who walked in ways that were not good, following my own thoughts. I also worshiped and sacrificed to other gods/idols. Those idols included, but were not limited to, the right everything: job, house, car, and relationships--specifically with men. I sacrificed to them my integrity, my heart, my body, my provision, and foremost, my relationship with the One True God.
At that time I would have acknowledged that there was a God. I even prayed every night, though I didn't know much about Him, and He certainly didn't rule my life. I ruled, and I was pretty self-serving about it even though I would have called myself a "nice person." In my own way I was also saying to God, "Keep to yourself, do not come near me. For I am holier than you!" (Isaiah 65:5). Whoa! Ugh! I cringed when I realized I provoked Him to His face many times. My future was locked in to the same horrific future, the same sword, that this chapter speaks of.
It was when the world I had built almost fell completely apart that I was humbled and confessed I was on the wrong road with the wrong gods. I am grateful for the truth in Isaiah 65 that is reiterated in Romans 10:20, "I was found by those who did not seek Me, I became manifest to those who did not ask for Me." Praise God!!
As I read on in Isaiah 65, my heart hurts at the reality to come for those that do not give their lives to the Lord. I pray they would set down their OLD idols and THIS earth and live for the NEW heaven and NEW earth as they become NEW people in the Lord! I pray my life, even through my stumbles, would be marked by faithfulness to His call and His Word.
Discussion Questions
1. Have you chosen to walk in God's ways, or are you still walking in "ways not good"?
2. Have you given everything in your life to God, or are there things in your life that you are still the god over? Are you choosing things in your life that would blatantly provoke God to His face?
3. Are you living for this earth or the promise of the new heaven and new earth to come?
WEEKLY FAMILY ACTIVITY
ISAIAH 61-65 (MAR 28-APR 1)
Read Isaiah 61:1-3.
Who is this passage about? Go read Luke 4:18-21. How great is that!
What did Jesus come to do?
Activity: Family Relay
Needed Items: hat, cup of vegetable oil, and a sweat suit.
(The hat represents a crown of gladness; the cup of vegetable oil, oil of gladness; the sweat suit, garment of praise.) Put on the hat and the sweat suit, and carry the oil as you run to and around a tree in your front yard. Run back and have the next family members in order put on the hat and sweat suit and carry the oil as they run around the tree and back. Repeat until everyone has run. Time yourselves and see how quickly you can do it.
After the activity: Discuss how God's grace is a crown of beauty, forgiveness is an oil of gladness, and salvation is a garment of praise.