King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Thursday, August 01, 2024
Chapters: Isaiah Chapters 63-66
Message: A Call From Jesus
Hello My Friend,
Last night I was watching the Wednesday night church service with my mom on TV and to be honest I do not remember much of what was preached, but I do remember this, “Those who accepted Christ as their Saviour have already stood before Him in judgment and will be saved from the wrath to come.” It reminded me of the many people who believe that we will all stand before Him a second time. There are two reasons why I believe that the judgments of saved, born again Christians receive comes before we see Jesus face to face and that we will not be judged a second time. One; the man on the cross next to Jesus that was saved right there and had no opportunity to do anything, [Luke 23:42-43 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.]
Two; Jesus will never pluck one soul from His hand that trusts Him, [John 10:27-29 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.]
The Year of Jubilee only happened every fifty years and it was an entire year of redemption, atonement and restoration. [Leviticus 25:10,13,24 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. 13 In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession. 24 And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land.]
Although I do not believe that the Jews practiced it at the time that Christ was here in the flesh, it is said that during the time of His crucifixion that it was a Jubilee year. As we come to the end of the reading of Isaiah, we learn that Christ is returning in all His glory to get vengeance on those who played a part in crucifying Him as well as those who rejected Him.
[Isaiah 63:1-5 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. 2 Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? 3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. 4 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. 5 And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me.]
[I have trodden the winepress alone;] When Christ was led to Calvary He was all alone, there was not one to give Him companionship, to stand by His side, all His clothing was splashed with the blood of His enemies, soiled all over. The time will come when He would deliver those whom He had chosen for His own, an allusion to the great Year of Jubilee in which eternal life will come to all His children, [Revelation 19:13-16 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.]
[therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me;] Christ, not only got the victory for Himself when He arose three days later from the tomb, He obtained it for all His chosen as well, [1 Corinthians 15:56-57 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.]
Even though we are saved by grace, we are still sinners, and the sad truth is many Christians are content to live in sin using their salvation as a cloak for their sin. This causes a great deal of grief as it is Jesus who bears every one of the burdens that come with their living in sin. Just think about all of the weight that Jesus carried around with Him before He hung on the cross and still carries, and yet He still remembers that He made a promise to redeem us, and sticks to that promise. Through Isaiah, Jesus recalls how He was of the Jews, afflicted from their affliction, redeemed them, carried them, and yet they turned on Him.
[Isaiah 63:8-11,14 For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour. 9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. 10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them. 11 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him? 14 As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.]
[In all their affliction he was afflicted,] Do you realize that all afflictions we face Jesus faces as well? We are not alone in this life, we have Jesus with us every step of the way. Of course, it grieves Him if we are adding to that burden if were are living in sin. We can thank Him for His promise to never leave nor forsake us, and to save our soul by grace, and that our salvation us not based on our works, [Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;]
[Then he remembered the days of old,] Moses himself is being represented as an excellent shepherd and guide of the people, in the midst of the Lord’s flock, he pleaded with God not to destroy the stiff necked, rebellious Israelites whom He promised would step foot on the land that He had promised them, [Exodus 32:11-12 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? 12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.]
In the same manner that Moses pleaded with God, Jesus, pleads for His believers. After hearing all this, Isaiah starts praying for God to have mercy on those who erred from their ways.
[Isaiah 63:16-19 Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting. 17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance. 18 The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary. 19 We are thine: thou never barest rule over them; they were not called by thy name.]
[Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not:] Abraham died, never seeing the promise that God had of him becoming the father of so many children that it would be like counting the stars in the sky, [Genesis 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.]. And Jacob died never seeing the promise that God would send Shiloh, who is Jesus, [Genesis 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.] However, the faithful few from generation to generation died having faith in the very promise that we have, and for that reason, they too will be saved, [Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.]
[why hast thou made us to err from thy ways,] It is easy to blame God for the evils that come from sin, but the truth is that He has no more power to keep us from sinning than the devil does to entice us. We are responsible for our own sin, and while God will judge those who played a part in enticing one to sin, we will all be held accountable for what we did in our flesh, [James 1:13-14 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.]
God is no respecter of persons, He deals with sin and rebellion the same way with all people, if they choose Him, He will accept them as one of His. Through Isaiah, we are reminded that it is sin that separates us from God, that none of us are righteous on our own to save ourselves, and He calls on all to come to Him.
[Isaiah 64:4,6-8 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. 6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. 7 And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities. 8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. 9 Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.]
[all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;] The longer I walk with Christ and discover that even on a good day I fail Him the more I understand this phrase. Compared to the righteousness of Christ, none of our righteousness even comes close, which is why salvation has nothing to do with our own righteousness. Jesus actually put it like this, [Matthew 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.]
[for thou hast hid thy face from us,] There is a reason why Jesus does not reveal Himself to His believers sooner than He does, their hearts were not yet prepared to receive Him until then. There is an enormous amount of people, many of whom have grown up in the Church who said they received Christ and even gotten baptized only to doubt their salvation the entire time. Although He will nudge us, until we fully understand what sin does to us and the price it cost Jesus will not reveal Himself to us, [Luke 10:22 All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.]
God never forces Himself on anyone, He does call them, but just like we must answer the phone that is ringing in order to talk to the person on the other end of the line they must answer His call. As Isaiah continues, Jesus reveals how many seek Him, few will find Him, but He does give all that opportunity.
[Isaiah 65:1-3,5,8 I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name. 2 I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; 3 A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick; 5 Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day. 8 Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all.]
[I am sought of them that asked not for me;] This is in regards to the Jews, who were well aware of the Messiah and yet could never come to terms that Jesus is the Messiah. [I am found of them that sought me not:] This is in regards to the Gentiles, even before Christ’s passion, He had people who were not Jews seeking Him for salvation. Point blank, not every Jew will be saved, neither will every person who calls themselves a Christian. Through Isaiah, God reminds us that it is only those who do accept the call and receive His Son as their Saviour that will be rejoicing while those who rejected Him will be crying.
[Isaiah 65:14-18 Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit. 15 And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name: 16 That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes. 17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. 18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.]
[and call his servants by another name:] Those who receive Christ will receive a new name, they will no longer be called Jews or Gentiles, but the people of God, namely the sons and daughters of God, [Romans 9:26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.]
[the former shall not be remembered,] We who are the children of the living God have gotten way too comfortable with sin as being the norm. Of course, we are saved by grace, and nothing can change that, but God wants us obedient because it keeps us from needless suffering while we are here. Nevertheless, we do have something going for us, even though we do suffer from sin while we are here, the day will come when we will no longer need to deal with sin. Through Isaiah, we are given a foreshadow of the days it will be like when we will not have to deal with sin.
[Isaiah 65:20,22-25 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. 22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. 24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.]
[for as the days of a tree are the days of my people,] This is figurative of what is to come to Christ’s true believers and they enjoy life on the new earth, the church on earth shall be full of happiness, like heaven. This prophecy assures that the servants of Christ shall be blessed with the undisturbed enjoyment of all that is needful for their happiness for eternity, []
[before they call, I will answer;] This reminds me of the times when I am crying out to God, wondering what in the world is going on when God shows me something even before I ask Him for it. None of us will be perfect until we see Jesus, even after we are saved we fail God more times than we care to admit, but that really is not what God is after. What He wants more than obedience is actually for us to fear Him, which means simply to love Him and invite Him into our lives.
[Isaiah 66:1-4 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? 2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. 3 He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. 4 I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.]
[even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit,] [Contrite; To break or bruise; to rub or wear.] To be contrite literally means to be worn or bruised, so a heart that has been broken, knowing that it has sinned against the Almighty God is one that gets God’s attention, [James 4:8-10 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Isaiah 63:8 For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour. Isaiah 66:16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, I believe in the sacrifice that You made for me, and I put my faith and trust in You that one day I will see You face to face. I know my works do not get me into heaven, but they do show You just how thankful I am of what You have done for me. They also remind me that I can do absolutely nothing without You and just how weak my flesh is to the resistance if I am not walking in Your strength. Lord, lead me and guide me, let me enter and remain in Your rest, fully protected and comforted by Your loving arms, at all times. Never let me forget that I am Yours and You are mine and no matter what I have done that will never change. Keep me humble and always seeking You for it is only when I take my eyes off you that the I will fall into the resistance. I love You, Lord and ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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