ISAIAH LESSON 2


     We will begin this lesson in Isaiah 1:13 "Bring no more vain
oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and
sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; [it is]
iniquity, even the solemn meeting."

     All of these things just remind God of His children He loved who
had gone astray. Vain oblations would be those given to no avail. They
would be given, not of the heart, but in formality. They were keeping
the law in form only. Isaiah brings to light some of the times when
they would offer unto the Lord. These times now are just painful
memories of their transgressions. Incense had been a sweet smell to
the Lord, now it was a stench. This type of offering was a sin itself.
To worship in form only, greatly displeases God.

     Isaiah 1:14 "Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul
hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear [them]."

     The new moon was the signal of the first of the month and a time
of special worship. The feasts were especially holy times, such as
feast of Unleavened Bread. They had been a joy, but when done out of
obligation and not from love, became a sad remembrance to the Lord.

     Isaiah 1:15 "And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide
mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear:
your hands are full of blood."

     The following Scriptures show us that Solomon knelt before the
altar of God and held his hands up to heaven in praise, when he
prayed. I Kings 8:22  "And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD
in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth
his hands toward heaven:"  I Kings 8:54 "And it was [so], that when
Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication
unto the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from
kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven."  This type
of prayer is usually very pleasing to God. God looks into the heart of
man and knows when the prayer offered is sincere. It would not help to
lift your hands up in humble praise before the Lord, when you prayed,
if the praise and prayer are not sincere. God will not hear our
prayers when we are not sincere. His eyes are closed to them, because
they have bloody hands. This possibly is referring to the death of
Isaiah.

     Isaiah 1:16  "Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your
doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;"

     This is the answer to their problems. They must repent of their
sins. "Repent" means to turn the other way. It actually means, turn in
the opposite direction. To say we are sorry is not enough, we must
walk in the salvation provided. A Christian washes in the blood of the
Lamb to get clean and free from sin. These Hebrews must repent and
wash away their sins and then walk before God uprightly. The Hebrews
had ceremonial washings which symbolize our water baptism. The old man
of sin must be buried in water baptism. The new man rises to walk a
wholesome life.

     Isaiah 1:17 "Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the
oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow."

     These Hebrews had been given the Law of God. They must set an
example to the whole world of how to live. They were the chosen
people.  This is just exactly like the Christian walking in newness of
life.  Doing well is a slow progressive learning of what is pleasing
to God. You cannot do the will of God, until you know what His will
is. First learn, then do, the will of God. Be fair in all of your
judgements.  Help those who cannot help themselves, especially the
widow and orphans.

     Isaiah 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."

     The beautiful thing about Almighty God is that He will reason
with us. There is no way that we can completely do away with our own
sin. Even the blood of animals could just cover the sin for a year and
not clear the conscience of man. The precious blood of the perfect
Lamb, Jesus Christ, did away with sin for all time for everyone who
would receive it. The type of whiteness {as snow} above symbolizes the
righteousness. Snow is beautiful white and falls from heaven with no
effort on our own. Salvation is that way, as well. God, Himself,
reconciles Himself to man. Salvation, and freedom from sin, is a free
gift coming down from God. We have no part in it, except to believe
and receive it. We need to see in this that, even though the sin is
very bad, God will cleanse it.

     Isaiah 1:19 "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good
of the land:"

     Throughout the Bible, obeying God brings great blessings, and
disobeying God brings a curse. The beautiful thing about those who
work for God is, God does not care about your technical training. He
wants you to have a willing heart and obey Him. The Holy Spirit will
train you. Psalms 37:25 "I have been young, and [now] am old; yet have
I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread."

     Isaiah 1:20 "But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured
with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken [it]."

     The fact that "the LORD hath spoken it" means it will certainly
happen. God cannot and does not lie. About the most foolish thing a
person could do, would be to refuse so great an offer. Rebellion is
akin to witchcraft. To rebel against God would be a much more severe
thing than to rebel against people.

     Isaiah 1:21  "How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was
full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers."
     We see the results of refusing to follow God. The main thing to
notice here, is the fact that they had been faithful in the past. God
speaks of Jerusalem as His bride. To become unfaithful, turns a
beautiful bride into a harlot. This is true, whether it is a city,
church, or an individual. To go against God is to commit spiritual
adultery. The blessings of God was upon His bride, but unfaithfulness
causes all kinds of sin. Murder is a sign of total degradation.

     Isaiah 1:22 "Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with
water:"

     Silver of this kind has trash mixed in it. It is not pure. Wine,
many times, symbolizes the Holy Spirit of God. It appears the
operation of the Holy Spirit has been stopped. Silver indicates that
at sometime these people were redeemed, but have gotten mixed up with
the world and are become debased by the evil of society around them.
This is about what has happened in our society today. Even churches
have gone so far as to deny the power of God in their services. This
appears that there is great danger in wandering from the pure
teachings of God.

     Isaiah 1:23 "Thy princes [are] rebellious, and companions of
thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they
judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come
unto them."

     The LORD is King. His sons would be called princes. Christians
{sons of God} are princes, because our Father is the King. This
"princes" is speaking of God's children who have rebelled against Him.
The lost world is not spoken of here, these are God's people who have
become worldly. They are disobedient to the teachings of God. These
rewards are speaking of bribes to pervert justice. This is a perfect
description of our society today, even many Christians. The 2
commandments are love of God and fellowman. Both of these are broken
in the verse above.

     Isaiah 1:24 "Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the
mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and
avenge me of mine enemies:"

     Now we see the judgement spoken upon the rebellious. In the
physical, this is speaking of Jerusalem. Silver is purified by
applying great heat to it. The redeemed {in this case} will be
purified by great persecution and trials. Those who are not purified
by the heat are destroyed by it. Notice, the three names for God in
the above verse; Lord, LORD, and Mighty One of Israel. The wrath of
God is poured out to get the people to repent.

     Isaiah 1:25  "And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge
away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:"

     The tin, in the verse above, is the non-precious metal that had
been used to take away the pure state of the silver. The Right Hand of
God is Jesus Christ. Whether that is meant here, I cannot tell. If it
were Him, Hand should have been capitalized. Jesus is the One who
cleanses us with His blood and makes us righteous in God's sight. Tin
symbolizes sin in the verse above.

     Isaiah 1:26 "And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and
thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called,
The city of righteousness, the faithful city."

     This is a prophecy of the New Jerusalem, wherein dwelleth
righteousness. It is, also, speaking of the church which Jesus,
Himself, purifies. Jesus is the Judge of all the world. Christians
will reign with Him as His subordinates, when He sets up His kingdom.
He is the Righteous Judge.

     Isaiah 1:27 "Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her
converts with righteousness."

     "Zion", as we said before, is the church or the city of
Jerusalem. Those who repent {converts} and receive Jesus as their
Saviour, are redeemed and take on the righteousness of Christ.

     Isaiah 1:28  "And the destruction of the transgressors and of the
sinners [shall be] together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be
consumed."

     When heat is applied to silver and the trash {dross} comes to the
top, the dross is skimmed off and thrown away. It is no good to
anyone. This is what happens to the transgressors who will not turn to
God. Those who reject God will be put in the lake of fire with Satan
and all of his followers.

     Isaiah 1:29 "For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have
desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have
chosen."

     It seems there was false worship being conducted under these
trees and, also, places of worldly pleasure called gardens. This is
just saying, they chose the pleasures of the earth for a little season
over God.

     Isaiah 1:30 "For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as
a garden that hath no water."

     In the winter, the oak tree sheds its leaves. The evergreen tree
symbolizes everlasting life. A garden would soon wither and die
without water.

     Isaiah 1:31 "And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it
as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench
[them]."

     The tow would hold him back from doing what he desired to do.
This, again, is speaking of the pull of the world being so great that
they would go that way. This leads to destruction in the lake of fire.
                          Isaiah 2 Questions


1.  Why does God say the oblations and incense are an abomination to
    Him?
2.  They were given not of the __________, but in formality.
3.  To worship, in form only, greatly __________ ______.
4.  What did the new moon signify?
5.  Name one of the feasts spoken of here?
6.  They had been a joy, but when done from obligation and not from
    love, they become a _____ ________ to the Lord.
7.  How did Solomon pray in the dedication of the temple?
8.  When would it do no good to raise your hands in prayer to God?
9.  What is wrong with the hands in verse 15 ?
10. What could these bloody hands be referring to?
11. What is the answer to their problem?
12. What does repent mean?
13. How does a Christian get clean and free from sin?
14. What did the Hebrews have that symbolized our water baptism?
15. What were the instructions in verse 17?
16. Why must the Hebrews set an example for others?
17. Who is the Perfect Lamb?
18. Quote Isaiah chapter 1 verse 18.
19. Whiteness like the snow comes from where?
20. First _____, then __, the will of God.
21. If ye are _________ and ___________, ye shall eat the good of the
    land.
22. Quote Psalms chapter 37 verse 25.
23. What does it mean, when the Scripture says, "the mouth of the Lord
    hath spoken it"?
24. Rebellion is akin to _________________.
25. To become unfaithful , turns a beautiful bride into a harlot,
    whether it is a ______, ___________, or an __________.
26. What is murder a sign of?
27. What does wine symbolize many times?
28. What does the silver, in verse 22, tell us?
29. Who is the King?
30. Who are the "princes"?
31. What 2 commandments of God are broken in verse 23?
32. How is silver purified?
33. What are the three names given for God in verse 24?
34. What is the tin, in verse 25, symbolic of?
35. Who is the Right Hand of God?
36. Verse 26 is a prophecy of what?
37. What is "Zion" symbolic of?
38. What happens to the dross burned out of the silver?
39. What is intended by the leaf of the oak fading?
40. What problem would the tow cause?