Page 107 - Isaiah Student Worktext
P. 107

Instead, He speaks again about His extended hand.  It is not shortened so that it
                                    could not redeem.  He has the power to deliver.  He also has the power to dry up
                                    the waters until the fish die, and to take away the light.

                                    In the midst of the great power of God, He reminds His people, and by extension
               He reminds us, that He has the power to redeem or destroy.  But it was not something He arbitrarily
               did…it was because of the iniquities of Israel.

               V. 4-9 These verses are the words of Jesus.  We see in Luke 2: 47 that even at a young age, Jesus had the
               ‘tongue of the learned.’  Throughout the Gospels, Jesus arose early and went to pray.  In John 7: 16,
               Jesus said that the teaching was not His, but was from the One who sent Him.

               He willingly allowed Himself to be beaten, to have His beard plucked out.  Through it all Jesus was not
               ashamed and knew that His Father would strengthen Him.

               V. 10-11 Here is the choice: fear the Lord, trust in Him fully; or surround yourself with the sparks that
               you yourself have kindled.  Those who choose the latter will lie down in torment.



                                      Chapter 51 -  Main Idea: God’s saving actions in the past are the key to
                                      our hope for the future.

                                      God speaks here to His chosen people, the Jews in exile, but by extension to all
                                      people throughout the history of redemption.

               V. 1-6 He begins by addressing those who ‘follow after righteousness’ and those who seek the Lord.

               The ‘rock’ from which you were hewn and the ‘hole’ from which you were dug are symbolic of Abraham
               and Sarah.  Know this: if God could ‘cut’ us from such a rock and such a pit as Abraham and Sarah, He is
               certainly capable of raising Israel back or raising anyone or anything at any time.

               As the contemporaries of Isaiah would have read these words, Jerusalem was a pile of rubble.  But the
               promise was, from the God who made a wilderness like Eden, that He could raise up Jerusalem and its
               people.

               His restoration, His salvation will go forth, not just to Jerusalem but to the ‘coastlands’.

               Then Isaiah addresses the end times...the heavens will vanish away, and the earth will ‘grow old like a
               garment’.  The destruction of Jerusalem is a ‘dress rehearsal’ for the ultimate destruction that will come
               at the end of the age. 2 Peter 3: 10 and 12

               The ground beneath our feet seems solid and maybe even everlasting, but the Word of God is more
               permanent than anything we can see or touch.

               V. 7-11  Listen to Me!  If you know righteousness, which can only come from the Lord, do not fear men.
               Certainly, don’t be afraid of their words, their insults.  These people won’t last, but salvation is eternal,
               from generation to generation.

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