ISAIAH LESSON 70


     We will begin this lesson in Isaiah 61:1 "The spirit of the Lord
GOD [is] upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good
tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to
[them that are] bound;"

     We know the Lord spoke these very words from the book of Isaiah,
when He proclaimed that He was the fulfillment of this Scripture. Luke
4:17 "And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias.
And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was
written,"  Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he
hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to
heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are
bruised,"  Luke 4:19 "To preach the acceptable year of the Lord." Luke
4:20 "And he closed the book, and he gave [it] again to the minister,
and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were
fastened on him." Luke 4:21 "And he began to say unto them, This day
is this scripture fulfilled in your ears."  The Holy Spirit was on
Jesus and in Him, as well. At His baptism, the dove lit on His
shoulder. The dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit. He, also, was conceived
of the Holy Spirit of God as well. All of the things in the Scripture
were fulfilled in Jesus. He did set the captives free, He did preach
the good news of the gospel. He did all of the things thus mentioned.
Jesus was sanctified long before He was even conceived in the womb of
Mary. He, from the beginning, was God the Word.

     Isaiah 61:2 "To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the
day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;"

     Jesus waited until He was 30 years old to begin His public
ministry, because that was the time appointed. The acceptable year of
the Lord was a long period of time when salvation would be offered to
all mankind. There would come a day, when it would be too late. Jesus
fulfilled the law of sacrifices, and opened a new way to the Father
for us. The age of grace is another explanation of this time. We all
regret and mourn the sins we committed in the past. God forgives, when
we seek forgiveness in Jesus' name.

     Isaiah 61:3 "To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give
unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment
of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees
of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be
glorified."

     "Ashes on the head" was a sign of mourning for sins you had
committed. Notice, the word appoint. We had nothing to do with the
appointment. God appointed, we accept the appointment. This, of
course, is speaking of salvation. The "oil of joy" is speaking of the
anointing of the Spirit of God working in our life. Sin had caused the
heaviness. Now that sin has been atoned for, there is nothing left to
do but praise and rejoice. "Trees of righteousness" would be speaking
of trees that are in right standing with God. Jesus is the Tree that
we must be grafted into. He is the Branch, He is the Vine. We are
grafted into Him. We are to glorify God. Our strength comes from the
Tree {Jesus}.

     Isaiah 61:4  "And they shall build the old wastes, they shall
raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste
cities, the desolations of many generations."

     This message is two-fold. The destruction of Jerusalem shall be
no more. They shall restore it to its former greatness. The cities of
Israel shall be restored. This, also, means the people of God, Jew and
Gentile, shall be put back into right relationship with God through
Jesus Christ.

     Isaiah 61:5 "And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and
the sons of the alien [shall be] your plowmen and your vinedressers."

     The Jews will no more be the captives. They will be the land
owner. This looks even further than the natural house of Israel, to
the time when the Christians shall reign with Christ. II Timothy 2:12
"If we suffer, we shall also reign with [him]: if we deny [him], he
also will deny us:"  Revelation 20:6 "Blessed and holy [is] he that
hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no
power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign
with him a thousand years."

     Isaiah 61:6 "But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: [men]
shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of
the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves."

     "The priests in the tabernacle in the wilderness" symbolized the
Christians. The physical house of Israel was known as a kingdom of
priests. Priests do minister in the temple of God. Christians minister
to the rest of the world, as well. Gentiles, in the verse above, is
speaking of the non-believers.

     Isaiah 61:7  "For your shame [ye shall have] double; and [for]
confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land
they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them."

     Shame has been a daily experience with the Jewish people. God
will not only take the shame away, but they will get a double portion
of blessings for the problems they faced. We know that when faithful
Job was restored his losses, it was double what he had before. This is
God's way of saying, I saw your plight, and I appreciate your stand.
This, also, could be speaking of the small group of Jews, who were
given the law, growing into a mighty army of believers in Christ. They
were far more than doubled in this. Their joy is without end. They are
eternally joyful in heaven.

     Isaiah 61:8 "For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for
burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make
an everlasting covenant with them."

     God is just in judgement. Not many of us want justice though. We
want forgiveness and grace. The everlasting covenant has been in place
since Abraham. Look, with me, at who receives this. The spiritual
covenant is with those of the following verse. Galatians 3:29 "And if
ye [be] Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to
the promise." The physical covenant was with the nation of Israel.

     Isaiah 61:9 "And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles,
and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall
acknowledge them, that they [are] the seed [which] the LORD hath
blessed."

     Notice, seed is singular in the verse above. This is speaking of
Jesus, the seed. The natural house is spoken of as seeds. The seed,
spoken of, was not through Abraham's son of flesh, but through the son
of the spirit {Isaac}. Gentiles, again, is speaking of the unsaved
world. Look again at the Scripture above from Galatians on the seed.
Those who belong to Christ are the seed of Abraham. Jesus is the
singular seed, we spring from. He is Christ. We are Christians. We
belong to Him. We have even taken on His name.

     Isaiah 61:10 "I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall
be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of
salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a
bridegroom decketh [himself] with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth
[herself] with her jewels."

     Look, with me, at who is in the white linen garment of
righteousness. Revelation 7:9 "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great
multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds,
and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb,
clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;" Revelation 7:13
"And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which
are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?" Revelation 7:14
"And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest.  And he said to me, These are
they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes,
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."  Salvation is in Jesus.
The Christians, both male and female, are the bride of Christ. The
bride of a King would wear a crown of jewels. Jesus is the King.

     Isaiah 61:11 "For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the
garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the
Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before
all the nations."

     There is a process of growth in a plant. The bud comes, and then
it blooms. This is the way with Christianity. It blossoms out after a
long time of being very small. Righteousness is a gift from God to all
who believe. Praise is our sacrifice to God. Being assured of
salvation in Jesus is enough to cause praise to burst forth from our
lips. One plants the seed, another waters, but God gets the increase.

                          Isaiah 70 Questions


1.  Quote Isaiah chapter 61 verse 1.
2.  Where is this Scripture mentioned in the New Testament?
3.  Who fulfilled these Scriptures?
4.  When did Jesus begin His public ministry?
5.  What age is the same time as verse 2?
6.  What did putting "ashes on the head" symbolize?
7.  What is the "oil of joy" speaking of?
8.  What is "trees of righteousness" speaking of?
9.  Our strength comes from ___________.
10. What are the two messages in verse 4?
11. How are the Jews and Gentiles put back into right relationship
    with God?
12. Quote 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 12.
13. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the ______ __________.
14. "The priests in the tabernacle in the wilderness" symbolized whom?
15. Gentiles, in verse 6, is speaking of _______________.
16. What is God going to give in exchange for their shame?
17. For I the LORD love ______________.
18. What type of covenant will God make?
19. Most people do not want justice, they want ___________.
20. Quote Galatians chapter 3 verse 29.
21. What does the author say to notice about the word "seed"?
22. What has the LORD clothed the believers in?
23. Where do we find the Scriptures pertaining to the garments of the
    multitude?
24. Praise is our ____________ to God.