ISAIAH LESSON 64


     We will begin this lesson in Isaiah 55:1 "Ho, every one that
thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye,
buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without
price."

     In the last lesson, we were speaking of the New Jerusalem. The
lesson has suddenly switched back to the present. It is not only the
present for the people of Isaiah's time, but for ours, as well. Jesus
told the woman at the well she would never thirst again, if she drank
the water He gave her. This is the same water He offered her. He is
the Water. "Water" many times symbolizes the Word of God. Jesus is the
Word, so that would be reasonable. This supernatural wine and milk is
from the Lord Himself. He sustained the children of Israel 40 years in
the wilderness. He will make provision for you, as well.

     Isaiah 55:2 "Wherefore do ye spend money for [that which is] not
bread? and your labour for [that which] satisfieth not? hearken
diligently unto me, and eat ye [that which is] good, and let your soul
delight itself in fatness."

     The bread, spoken of here, is that bread which is the flesh of
Jesus. He was the Mannah that fell from heaven. John 6:41 "The Jews
then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down
from heaven."  The natural bread feeds your body of flesh. His Bread
fills your soul and spirit. Matthew 4:4 "But he answered and said, It
is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God."  Bread for your body can not
bring you eternal life. The "Bread" that brings eternal life is the
flesh of Jesus. John 6:51 "I am the living bread which came down from
heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the
bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of
the world."  We do not need fat bodies, we need fat spirits.

     Isaiah 55:3 "Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your
soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
[even] the sure mercies of David."

     "The new covenant", spoken of here, is the covenant of grace that
God provides for man. Man was unable to keep the law. God seeing the
weakness of man, provides a solution to man's problem. God sends His
only begotten Son to fulfill the law of sacrifice. The sacrifice of
Jesus on the cross fulfilled the law for all time for everyone. Romans
6:10 "For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he
liveth, he liveth unto God."  Salvation through the shed blood of
Jesus Christ is so simple, many miss it altogether. Matthew 10:32
"Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess
also before my Father which is in heaven." John 3:16  "For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  We
are saved because of our faith, like faithful Abraham.

     Isaiah 55:4 "Behold, I have given him [for] a witness to the
people, a leader and commander to the people."

     This, of course, is speaking of Jesus {their Messiah}. Jesus came
to bear witness of the Truth. He is, in fact, Truth. Look, with me, at
the following Scripture. John 18:37 "Pilate therefore said unto him,
Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To
this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I
should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth
heareth my voice."  He is the Leader of all believers. To be a
Christian is to be a believer in and a follower of the Lord Jesus
Christ.

     Isaiah 55:5 "Behold, thou shalt call a nation [that] thou knowest
not, and nations [that] knew not thee shall run unto thee because of
the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath
glorified thee."

     We mentioned previously that the other nations besides Israel
received the message of Jesus more readily than the Jews did. The law
had been given just to the Jews, but the covenant of grace is for all
mankind. Many things in Jesus' ministry brought glory to the Father.
Look with me at just a few. Matthew 15:31 "Insomuch that the multitude
wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the
lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of
Israel."  Luke 7:16 "And there came a fear on all: and they glorified
God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God
hath visited his people."  John 12:23  "And Jesus answered them,
saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified."
John 13:31  "Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the
Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him."  Jesus always gave
glory to God in everything He did. The Sermon on the Mount continues
to glorify God even unto this day.

     Isaiah 55:6  "Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye
upon him while he is near:"

     Today is the day of salvation. This is one thing in a person's
life that they should never put off. This could be spoken to the
physical house of Israel, who soon will {on the whole} reject their
Messiah. It is, also, addressed to every person who has put off being
saved.

     Isaiah 55:7 "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous
man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have
mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."

     John the Baptist had the message that was needed by all of these
people. His message was repent and prepare for the coming of the Lord.
Jesus' message was similar, as we see in the next verses. Matthew 4:17
"From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand."  Mark 1:15 "And saying, The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe
the gospel."  We see, in the following verse, that the disciples
continued with the message of repentance. Acts 2:38 "Then Peter said
unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost."

     Isaiah 55:8  "For my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither
[are] your ways my ways, saith the LORD."

     We know that man uses only a small part of his brain here in this
life. Even if we could use all of our brain, we would still not be
able to think like God. The Creator is greater than His creation. God
thinks a thought, speaks the Word and whatever it is, it happens. It
is as simple as that. God is not a man that He should sin. Man has a
carnal mind, until he takes on the mind of Christ. God's mind is
spiritual.

     Isaiah 55:9 "For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so
are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your
thoughts."

     God's ways are beyond the comprehension of man. God is all
knowing. Man knows only a fraction of the here and now. God lives in
eternity. He knows all, because everything is part of His plan.

     Isaiah 55:10 "For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from
heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh
it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread
to the eater:"

     The rain ministers to the people upon the earth. God controls the
rain and the snow, as He does everything else. Without the rain, we
would not have crops to grow, or flowers that bloom. The rain is a
gift from God to mankind. The sun draws it back up into the heavens in
a vapor, then it rains again. Without the rain, we would not have
bread for our table. Nothing grows without the benefit of sunshine and
rain.

     Isaiah 55:11 "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my
mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that
which I please, and it shall prosper [in the thing] whereto I sent
it."

     My statement is that the two powers in this world are the spoken
and the written Word. The world was created by the Word of God. John
1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God." John 1:2 "The same was in the beginning with God."
John 1:3 "All things were made by him; and without him was not any
thing made that was made."  We know the Word of God was Creator. We,
also, know that to speak the Word of God is a high calling.
I Corinthians 1:18 "For the preaching of the cross is to them that
perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of
God." I Corinthians 1:21 "For after that in the wisdom of God the
world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of
preaching to save them that believe." We see, from this, the power of
the spoken Word. The written Word is the Bible. No one can study the
Bible and remain the same. It will change your life.

     Isaiah 55:12 "For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with
peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into
singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap [their] hands."

     This is speaking of the joy that comes from victory. This applies
to the Jews being released from Babylon, and the Christian when they
are released from sin. Mountains, hills, and trees are all part of
nature which God put here for the enjoyment of man. This means even
nature rejoices at the victory.

     Isaiah 55:13 "Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree,
and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall
be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign [that] shall not be
cut off."

     The wrath of God is removed. The ground is no longer cursed.
Jesus removed the curse. Thorns sometimes symbolically mean sin. Jesus
defeated sin, when He nailed it to the cross. The blessings of God are
on His people. Even all of nature is at peace with mankind. The
following Scripture says it better than I can. Proverbs 16:7 "When a
man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace
with him."





























                          Isaiah 64 Questions


1.  What did Jesus tell the woman at the well?
2.  What does "water" many times symbolize?
3.  What is the bread in verse 2?
4.  Quote John chapter 6 verse 41.
5.  Quote Matthew chapter 4 verse 4.
6.  What is the "Bread" that brings eternal life?
7.  Quote John chapter 6 verse 51.
8.  What is the "new covenant"?
9.  What law does Jesus fulfill?
10. Quote Romans chapter 6 verse 10.
11. Who will Jesus confess before His Father?
12. Quote John chapter 3 verse 16.
13. Jesus came to bear _______ of the Truth.
14. Quote John chapter 18 verse 37.
15. What is a Christian?
16. Who is the covenant of grace for?
17. Name some things in Jesus' ministry that brought glory to the
    Father.
18. Quote John chapter 12 verse 23.
19. What continues to glorify God even unto this day?
20. _________ is the day of salvation.
21. What was John the Baptist's message?
22. What did Jesus preach?
23. What was Peter's message?
24. What is the difference in God's mind and the mind of man?
25. God is not a man that He should _____.
26. Who controls the rain?
27. Quote Isaiah chapter 55 verse 11.
28. What are the two great powers in the world?
29. Quote 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 18.
30. It pleased God by the foolishness of ___________ to save them that
    believe.