ISAIAH LESSON 74

     We will begin this lesson in Isaiah 65:1 "I am sought of [them
that] asked not [for me]; I am found of [them that] sought me not: I
said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation [that] was not called by my
name."

     This verse is speaking of God coming to the Gentiles. Praise God!
All can be saved. We see the great mercy of God reaching beyond the
physical house of Israel to all of mankind. God will now reveal
Himself to the Gentiles. We know that Jesus was accepted much more
readily by the Gentiles, than He was by the natural house of Israel.
We see, in this verse, God reaching out to all mankind. The word
"behold" is calling the nations to recognize God, and come to Him.

     Isaiah 65:2 "I have spread out my hands all the day unto a
rebellious people, which walketh in a way [that was] not good, after
their own thoughts;"

     The rebellious people, of course, is the natural house of Israel.
God had been patient with them. He had reached out to them over and
over. He had sent, judges, prophets, and even gave them His law, and
yet they rejected Him. God had never left them, but they had left Him.
They had committed spiritual adultery by seeking false gods. They were
determined to walk in ways that were right in their own sight, and not
in the path God had given them.

     Isaiah 65:3 "A people that provoketh me to anger continually to
my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars
of brick;"

     This is a description of some of their false worship. The
sacrificing in gardens was the same as the grove worship, which
promoted feel good religion. It was a sensual false religion connected
with goddesses. They pleased their flesh in these religions. I have
said over and over, we must crucify the flesh and live in the Spirit
to please God.  To burn incense to false gods was blasphemy.

     Isaiah 65:4 "Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the
monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable [things is
in] their vessels;"

     The eating of swine's flesh had been forbidden to the Jews. It
was one of the dietary laws in Leviticus. It seems the eating of the
swine flesh had something to do with this abominable worship. They
remained near graves of the dead, somehow planning to communicate with
the dead. This is an abomination even today, in Satan worship.

     Isaiah 65:5 "Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me;
for I am holier than thou. These [are] a smoke in my nose, a fire that
burneth all the day."

     This was an abomination that had risen up to heaven. It was not a
sweet smelling savour to God. It was an abomination. Most people, who
practiced this heathenistic worship, thought they would become above
those around them. Some people today who take drugs do it for the
feeling of power they get. This is a false hope. There is nothing in
drugs, but death and hell.

     Isaiah 65:6 "Behold, [it is] written before me: I will not keep
silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom,"

     God keeps records in heaven. There is a book that contains all
the sins of each person on this earth. When the books are opened, each
person has to give an account to God. Praise God, when you receive
Jesus as your Saviour, the sins in the book are all blotted out. You
become a new creature in Christ. God blots out our sin, and writes our
name in the Lamb's book of life.

     Isaiah 65:7 "Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers
together, saith the LORD, which have burned incense upon the
mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure
their former work into their bosom."

     There is a day of judgement coming. Revelation 20:13 "And the sea
gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the
dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to
their works." Those who have not repented of their sins and come to
Jesus will be doomed. Revelation 20:14 "And death and hell were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the second death."  Revelation 20:15
"And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into
the lake of fire."

     Isaiah 65:8  "Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in
the cluster, and [one] saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing [is] in
it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them
all."

     God has always had a remnant of the natural Jew which has not
bowed his knee to Baal {false gods}. I Kings 19:18 "Yet I have left
[me] seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto
Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him." Romans 11:4 "But
what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven
thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to [the image of] Baal." I
personally believe this seven thousand have grown to one hundred and
forty four thousand at the time of the end in Revelation. Revelation
14:1 "And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with
him an hundred forty [and] four thousand, having his Father's name
written in their foreheads." Notice, these are the physical house of
Israel, because they have the Father's name, not the name of Christ.
Revelation 7:4 "And I heard the number of them which were sealed: [and
there were] sealed an hundred [and] forty [and] four thousand of all
the tribes of the children of Israel."  The hundred and forty four
thousand were on the earth at the same time the multitude were in
heaven. 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;"  The multitude is
the spiritual house of Israel, and the 144,000 are the physical house
of Israel. All belong to the Father. Jesus has made them sons of God.

     Isaiah 65:9 "And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out
of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit
it, and my servants shall dwell there."

     Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He is the One spoken of
here. The mountains is speaking of the area of Palestine, which is
actually a group of mountains. God had chosen Israel to be His elect.
We will find in these lessons, there is a physical Israel, and there
is a spiritual Israel. Spiritual Israel is comprised of those who
belong to Christ. The following Scripture says it very well. Romans
9:6 "Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they
[are] not all Israel, which are of Israel:"  To be Abraham's seed {in
the spirit}, you must belong to Christ. Galatians 3:29 "And if ye [be]
Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the
promise."

     Isaiah 65:10 "And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the
valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people
that have sought me."

     Sharon will no longer be a wilderness. Jesus is the thing that
makes this area bloom again. He is called the Rose of Sharon. Song of
Solomon 2:1 "I [am] the rose of Sharon, [and] the lily of the
valleys."

     Isaiah 65:11  "But ye [are] they that forsake the LORD, that
forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that
furnish the drink offering unto that number."

     This has reverted back to the unfaithful house of Israel. They
sought false gods.

     Isaiah 65:12 "Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye
shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not
answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes,
and did choose [that] wherein I delighted not."

     God has tired of their unfaithfulness and has turned His wrath
toward them. They rejected God as their Saviour, and He will destroy
them.

     Isaiah 65:13 "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my
servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall
drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but
ye shall be ashamed:"

     God is separating those who obey Him, and those who do not.
Blessings to those who obey, and curses to those who do not obey.

     Isaiah 65:14 "Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart,
but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of
spirit."

     Those who chose the world, and the false gods, would go hungry
and not have anything to rejoice about. They will cry and be vexed in
their spirit, but it will be too late. Those who choose to serve God,
will not hunger, or thirst, and they will rejoice in the bountiful
blessings the Lord bestows upon them.

     Isaiah 65:15 "And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my
chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by
another name:"

     It is not Satan that destroys those who have turned away from
God, it is GOD. GOD, in the verse above, is Yehovih. Calling His
servants by another name, is speaking of the new name they are given.
They will be called Christians.

     Isaiah 65:16 "That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall
bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth
shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are
forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes."

     The God of Truth, here, is speaking of the God of the Amen. If
God says it, it is so. God is absolute Truth. God keeps all of His
promises. God is the only Truth. God is going to bring forgiveness to
the earth through His Son Jesus Christ.

     Isaiah 65:17  "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth:
and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind."

     This sinful world will pass away. God will create a new heaven
and a new earth. Revelation 21:1 "And I saw a new heaven and a new
earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and
there was no more sea." II Peter 3:13 "Nevertheless we, according to
his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth
righteousness."

     Isaiah 65:18 "But be ye glad and rejoice for ever [in that] which
I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people
a joy."

     This will be a time of great rejoicing for God's people, as we
read in the next verse. Revelation 3:12 "Him that overcometh will I
make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out:
and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city
of my God, [which is] new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven
from my God: and [I will write upon him] my new name."

     Isaiah 65:19 "And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my
people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor
the voice of crying."

     The following Scripture is the best to explain this. Revelation
21:4 "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there
shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall
there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

      Isaiah 65:20 "There shall be no more thence an infant of days,
nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die
an hundred years old; but the sinner [being] an hundred years old
shall be accursed."

     This speaks of all people living to be at least 100 years old.
Some live to happiness, some to a curse.

     Isaiah 65:21 "And they shall build houses, and inhabit [them];
and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them."

     This appears that even in the New heaven and the new earth, there
will be gardens and homes.

     Isaiah 65:22 "They shall not build, and another inhabit; they
shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree [are] the
days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their
hands."

     This is just saying, they shall live forever and ever. Their days
will be a long time. In fact, some trees live to be thousands of years
old. This does not intend to limit the time to even that, it is just
saying, they will live in their house, and they will not die, and
leave it to another.

     Isaiah 65:23 "They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for
trouble; for they [are] the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their
offspring with them."

     Jesus explained in the next verse how it would be for those who
are His followers. Matthew 6:20 "But lay up for yourselves treasures
in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves
do not break through nor steal:"  If we belong to Christ, we are heirs
with Him. Romans 8:17 "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and
jointheirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we
may be also glorified together."

     Isaiah 65:24 "And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I
will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear."

     This just speaks of the wonderful care God takes of His family.
He hears even while our prayers are still in our hearts, even before
we utter them.

     Isaiah 65:25 "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the
lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust [shall be] the
serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain, saith the LORD."

     Jesus defeated sin, death, and Satan, there is no danger here.

                          Isaiah 74 Questions


1.  Who is verse 1 speaking of?
2.  What does the word "behold", in verse 1, mean?
3.  What does God call physical Israel in verse 2?
4.  Who had God sent to minister the truth to them?
5.  Whose ways did they walk in?
6.  What is verse 3 a description of?
7.  To burn incense to a false god, was _________.
8.  Where do we find the law forbidding the eating of swine?
9.  Why did they remain near graves?
10. The incense these evil people burned was what?
11. What kind of records does God keep.
12. Quote Revelation chapter 20 verses 13 and 14.
13. God has always had a remnant of the __________ _____.
14. How do we know the 144,000 are the physical house of Israel?
15. Jesus made both Israels _______ ___ ___.
16. Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of ________.
17. Quote Galatians chapter 3 verse 29.
18. Who is the Rose of Sharon?
19. What happens to the ones God called, who did not answer?
20. My servants shall eat, but ye shall be ________.
21. Who destroys those who have turned away from God?
22. The God of truth, in verse 16, is speaking of whom?
23. Verse 17 says God will create what?
24. Quote 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 13.
25. Quote revelation chapter 21 verse 4.
26. What is verse 20 speaking of?
27. What are 2 things, verse 21 says, we will have in the new earth?
28. Quote Romans chapter 8 verse 17.
29. Verse 24 promises God will answer, before we _______.
30. What three things did Jesus defeat?