ISAIAH LESSON 58


     We will begin this lesson in Isaiah 49:11 "And I will make all my
mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted."

     In the last lesson, we learned of many of the beautiful promises
the Lord made to His people. This is a continuation of that here.
This is just saying, that nothing will prevent God's people from
coming to Him. All of the obstacles will be removed.

     Isaiah 49:12 "Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these
from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim."

     The word "Sinim" is not known of in other Scriptures. It is,
perhaps, a distant Oriental region. This is speaking of a time when
all nations will flow to the Lord {probably in Jerusalem}.

     Isaiah 49:13  "Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break
forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his
people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted."

     Heaven and earth break forth into singing in this joyous victory.
This joy comes because of the victory that the cross will bring to all
of God's people. We are saved because of a merciful God. His mercy
endureth forever.  We believers in Christ have the Comforter {Holy
Spirit} living within us. He brings us to all Truth. He is our Teacher
and our, Guide.

     Isaiah 49:14 "But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my
Lord hath forgotten me."

     This Zion is not just the city of Jerusalem, but the church of
the Lord Jesus Christ. In this particular case, Zion is speaking
primarily of the natural Hebrews. It did seem as if God had forsaken
them. God does not forget, He sends a Saviour.

     Isaiah 49:15 "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she
should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may
forget, yet will I not forget thee."

     These Hebrews are God's chosen family. He will never forget them,
because they are His. Even if your natural parents fail you, God will
never fail you. God is the perfect parent.

     Isaiah 49:16 "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of [my]
hands; thy walls [are] continually before me."

     We do know that there is still evidence of the cruelty of the
cross in the hands of Jesus. The only thing earthly in heaven are the
scars in the hands of Jesus. This is a constant reminder of the family
He purchased on the cross. The city that God had chosen to be the holy
city was Jerusalem surrounded by walls. Even though Jerusalem is
surrounded by walls, there are open gates. These walls are not to keep
people out. The walls symbolize eternal protection from God for His
people.

     Isaiah 49:17 "Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and
they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee."

     We know that there is a hasty return of the children of Israel to
their land today. This, perhaps, is speaking of their return from
Babylon then, and their return from the world today to the holy city.

     Isaiah 49:18  "Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all
these gather themselves together, [and] come to thee. [As] I live,
saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with
an ornament, and bind them [on thee], as a bride [doeth]."

     This could be speaking of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ who
is the bride of Christ. The new Jerusalem is, also, spoken of as a
bride coming down from God. Chapter 21 of Revelation has a great deal
to say about this.

     Isaiah 49:19 "For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land
of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the
inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away."

     Israel is a very small nation of many people. This could,
possibly, be speaking of this, but I believe it is speaking of the
vast number of people who come to Christ. There would be far too many
for the small country of Israel. They, therefore, would be scattered
to all the world.

     Isaiah 49:20 "The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast
lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place [is] too
strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell."

     This is speaking of the vast number of Gentiles who come to
Christ when the natural Jews have, in the most part, rejected Jesus.
Every nation of the world will have believers in Christ. We will see
from the next Scripture why the natural Israelite rejected Jesus.
Romans 11:11 "I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall?
God forbid: but [rather] through their fall salvation [is come] unto
the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy."  Jesus is the Saviour
of all mankind, who will accept Him.

     Isaiah 49:21 "Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath
begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a
captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these?
Behold, I was left alone; these, where [had] they [been]?"

     The natural Hebrews felt that God was reserved for them. They did
not understand God offering salvation to the Gentiles, as well. The
Jews did not want the Gentiles in their fellowship at first. Look,
with me, at the following Scriptures and see why Peter decided to call
Gentiles into Christianity. Acts 10:44 "While Peter yet spake these
words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word."  Acts
10:45 "And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as
many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured
out the gift of the Holy Ghost."  Acts 10:46 "For they heard them
speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,"  Acts 10:47
"Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which
have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?"  Acts 10:48 "And he
commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed
they him to tarry certain days." The answer to the question "where had
they been?" is simple. They had been in spiritual darkness. Now they
have seen the Light.

     Isaiah 49:22 "Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up
mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and
they shall bring thy sons in [their] arms, and thy daughters shall be
carried upon [their] shoulders."

     We see now that Christianity is open to the Gentiles, as well as
the Jews. When a parent gets saved, the first thing they want to do is
to get their children saved, too. Small children were carried on the
shoulders of their mothers. In a spiritual sense, the parent never
stops having their children on their shoulders. Parents care for their
own until they die.

     Isaiah 49:23 "And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their
queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with [their]
face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou
shalt know that I [am] the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that
wait for me."

     Kings and queens come to God the same way as everyone else. They
must repent. They must be humble before God. They must receive Jesus
as full payment for their sins. They must not lord it over their other
sisters and brothers in Christ. All are the servants of Christ, who
have received Him as Saviour. He is Lord over kings and queens the
same as everyone else.

     Isaiah 49:24  "Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the
lawful captive delivered?"

     Babylon did not want to give up the Israelite captives. The world
does not want to give up the captive sinners today, either. They are
released by the Deliverer {Jesus Christ}. It matters not that someone
like Cyrus was instigator in the deliverance. God is the true
Deliverer.

     Isaiah 49:25 "But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the
mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be
delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and
I will save thy children."

     God deals harshly with those who deal harshly with His children.
Just as Pharaoh did not want to let the people go, Babylon did not
want to let them go, either. God has a way of changing their minds. We
saw the 10 plagues He brought on Egypt, which made Pharaoh glad to
give the children up. It is the same with others who are holding God's
children. God can make it so rough on the captor, they will be
thrilled to let them go.

     Isaiah 49:26 "And I will feed them that oppress thee with their
own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with
sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD [am] thy Saviour
and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob."

     There would be famine caused by God. They would be so hungry,
they would eat their own flesh. Their devastation will be so great,
that they will appear to do these things. At the end of God's wrath
upon them, they will be like Pharaoh, eager to send the captives out.
There will be no question at all, who has the power. They will know
without doubt that God has delivered the captives from them. The
captives will know, also, that God delivered them. In fact, everyone
will know God delivered them. Notice the names Saviour, Redeemer, and
mighty One.  All are speaking of God.




































                          Isaiah 58 Questions


1.  What is verse 11 saying that God will do?
2.  What does the word "Sinim" mean?
3.  What time is this speaking of?
4.  Why does heaven and earth break out rejoicing?
5.  Who is the Comforter?
6.  What is Zion?
7.  In this particular case, Zion is speaking primarily of what?
8.  Why will God never forget the Hebrews?
9.  Where had God graven them on Himself?
10. What is the only thing in heaven that is earthly?
11. What is this marking a reminder of?
12. Israel is surrounded by walls, but their ________ are _________.
13. What do the walls symbolize?
14. What is verse 17 speaking of?
15. Who, or what, is the bride of Christ?
16. Verse 19 is speaking of what vast number?
17. When the vast majority of Jews rejected Jesus, who came to Christ?
18. Quote Romans chapter 11 verse 11.
19. Who were the church members in the beginning?
20. What happened that caused Peter to baptize Gentiles?
21. What is the first thing parents do, when they get saved?
22. Who is the Deliverer?
23. Who did God deal harshly with to get him to release the
    Israelites?
24. What are some of the terrible things that might happen, if they do
    not release God's people?