TEXT : Isa  1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.  2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.  2:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.  2:12 For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:  2:17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.  3:10 Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.  3:11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.  4:2 In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.  4:3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:

 

THEME : THE KINGDOM OF GOD

 

THE BOOK OF ISAIAH - OVERVIEW

 

"Isaiah prophesied in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. He has been well called the evangelical prophet, on account of his numerous and full prophesies concerning the coming and character, the ministry and preaching, the sufferings and death of the Messiah, and the extent and continuance of his kingdom. Under the veil of the deliverance from Babylon, Isaiah points to a much greater deliverance, which was to be effected by the Messiah; and seldom does he mention the one, without alluding at the same time to the other; nay, he is often so much enraptured with the prospect of the more distant deliverance, as to lose sight of that which was nearer, and to dwell on the Messiah's person, office, character, and kingdom." [Matthew Henry]

 

In verse 18 of Chapter 1, Isaiah uses the word "reason." "Come now and let us reason together, saith the LORD." The commission of sin, in the best sense of correct thinking, is unreasonable. Who would want to be in trouble with God? Yet, when we study the Bible in its entirety, and see the blood sacrifice provided by God throughout the Bible - more specifically, the blood of His Son Jesus Christ, it then becomes "reasonable" to talk about forgiveness. At least it is reasonable from God's point of view. Thus, Isaiah foretells of future forgiveness, not only for Israel, but for all Christ died to save.

 

Not only feel sorrow for the sin committed, but break off the practice. We must be doing, not stand idle. We must be doing the good the Lord our God requires. It is plain that the sacrifices of the law could not atone, even for outward national crimes. But, blessed be God, there is a Fountain opened, in which sinners of every age and rank may be cleansed. Though our sins have been as scarlet and crimson, a deep dye, a double dye, first in the wool of original corruption, and afterwards in the many threads of actual transgression; though we have often dipped into sin, by many backslidings; yet pardoning mercy will take out the stain, Psa_51:7. They should have all the happiness and comfort they could desire. Life and death, good and evil, are set before us. O Lord, incline all of us to live to thy glory.

 

Therefore, though judgment is imminent on the Jews, Isaiah looks forward - through the Spirit of God who inspires Him, to the Day when God's Christ shall rule and reign. What hope! Further, what foresight God gives to those that believe. Even in the midst of great peril, an unenviable predicament the Jews brought on themselves, God by His Spirit through Isaiah gives them and ultimately you - hope! Truly, you have a God who though your sins are as red as crimson, not only makes you white as snow, but also gives you a future worth anticipating. The Jews would be taken captive for 70 years, but Isaiah prophesied of their release after those 70 years, and ultimately to "The Day" when His Christ would come, preach the Gospel, die for your sins, be raised from the dead, ascend into Heaven, and return again to set up His Kingdom that will never be destroyed!

 

"And it shall come to pass in the last days,.... The days of the Messiah, as Aben Ezra rightly interprets it; and it is a rule laid down by Kimchi and Ben Melech, that wherever the last days are mentioned, the days of the Messiah are intended. The days of the Messiah commenced in the latter part of the Old Testament dispensation, or Jewish world, towards the close of their civil and church state, at the end of which he was to come, Hab_2:3 and accordingly did, which is called the end of the world, and the last days; that is, of that state, Heb_1:2 and ushered in the world to come, or Gospel dispensation, which is properly the days of the Messiah, reaching from his first to his second coming; the first of which were the times of John the Baptist, Christ and his apostles; the latter days of that dispensation take in the rise and reign of antichrist, 1Ti_4:1 the last days of it are those which bring in the perilous times, the spiritual reign of Christ, and the destruction of antichrist, and which will precede the personal coming of Christ, 2Ti_3:1 and these are the days here referred to." [John Gill]

 

In chapter 2, verse 4 of Isaiah, there is one of the most hopeful and oft quoted statements in Western history. Isaiah 2:4 says - "And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."

 

In popular culture, this truth of the Holy Scriptures is frequently employed to give people hope that there will not always be wars, poverty, sickness, and so forth. Presidents have used it. Songwriters have borrowed it. Ambassadors have evoked its optimistic and encouraging prediction. In the United Nations art collection, a sculpture called - "Let Us Beat Swords into Plowshares," by Evgeniy Vuchetich is erected for all people to behold. Without doubt, the 4th verse of Isaiah chapter 2 holds forth a promise you can use to undergird your entire life! The future, though dark for the moment, will one day birth a Utopia not seen on Earth since Adam sinned. Further, that "Day" is made possible because God is in control of history. Additionally, God has sent His Christ who is prepared to return at the sound of the Trumpet and establish His Kingdom.

 

"Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. This clearly proves that this prophecy belongs to future times; for this has never yet had its accomplishment in any sense; not in a literal sense; for though there was an universal peace all the world over, at the birth of Christ, in the times of Augustus Caesar, yet there afterwards were, as our Lord foretold there would be, wars, and rumours of wars, and nation should rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and so it has been, more or less, ever since; nor in a spiritual sense, for though Christ has made peace by the blood of his cross, and came and preached it by his ministers, and wherever the Gospel of peace takes place, it makes men of peaceable dispositions, and reconciles them, as to God and Christ, and the way of salvation by him, so to one another; and it is peace saints are called to, and, when grace is in exercise, it rules in their hearts; and yet there have been sad contentions and quarrels among the people of God, and which yet still continue; but in the latter day glory, or spiritual reign of Christ, this prophecy will be fulfilled in every sense; for after the hour of temptation is over, that shall try all the earth, after the slaying of the witnesses and their rising, after the battle at Armageddon, when the beast and false prophet will be taken and cast alive into the lake of fire, there will be no more wars in the world, nor any persecution of the saints; and then will the peaceable kingdom of Christ appear, and all his subjects, and the members of his church, will live in the utmost unity and harmony together; they shall no more envy and vex one another; and of this peace there will be no end, Psa_72:7 these words are applied to the times of the Messiah, both by ancient (q) and modern (r) Jews." [John Gill]

 

TRUTH FOR TODAY : "IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL!"

 

Isaiah 3:10 Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. 

 

How often do those who give their all for God need encouragement! At times, it seems that evil will always conquer, and the righteous will never triumph. If you were to judge by appearances there would be no joy, no reason to be happy. All would seem lost if you judged the future by the present and the past.

 

However, you live by faith. You live by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God. You do not live by feelings, sensations, impulses, or defeatist thinking. No, you have faith, and that faith grabs a hold of hope because of what God has said in the Bible. Therefore, you can say - "it is well with my soul!" This is what Horatio Spafford wrote in his famous hymn by the same name - "It is well with my soul," even though numerous severe tragedies had struck his life in a short period of time.

 

"This hymn was written after several traumatic events in Spafford's life. The first was the death of his only son in 1871 at the age of four, shortly followed by the great Chicago Fire which ruined him financially (he had been a successful lawyer). Then in 1873, he had planned to travel to Europe with his family on the SS Ville du Havre, but sent the family ahead while he was delayed on business concerning zoning problems following the Great Chicago Fire. While crossing the Atlantic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with a sea vessel, the Loch Earn, and all four of Spafford's daughters died. His wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, "Saved alone . . .". Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daughters had died. Bliss called his tune Ville du Havre, from the name of the stricken vessel." [Taken from - Wikipedia, "The Free Encyclopedia" [1]]

 

As you live for God, you are never alone. There are always others serving and waiting on the LORD.

 

Isaiah 3:10

 

"The faithlessness of many is no proof that all are faithless. Though nothing but croaking of frogs is heard on the surface of the pool, we are not to infer there are no fish beneath [Bengel]. (See Isa_1:19, Isa_1:20).

 

fruit of doings — (Pro_1:31) in a good sense (Gal_6:8; Rev_22:14). Not salvation by works, but by fruit-bearing faith (Isa_45:24; Jer_23:6). Gesenius and Weiss translate, Declare as to the righteous that, etc. Maurer, "Say that the righteous is blessed." [John Gill]

 

Therefore, wait on the LORD. For they who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength until the day comes there will be no need for "renewal," and all will be well!

 

Isa_40:31  "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."