SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
11/12/2013 10:19 AM
My Worship Time Focus: The Servant
& Israel PT-1
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Isaiah
51:1-8
Message of the
verses: We are at the last main
point from the tenth chapter of Dr. Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on the book of
Isaiah which he has entitled “Be Comforted.”
For those new to these Spiritual Diaries that I write I have been
following the outline and get info from Warren Wiersbe’s “Be” books in order to
make my way through the entire Bible. I
began doing these Spiritual Diaries back in 1993 and later on I began to go
through the New Testament a book and a section at a time, and then after
finishing the NT I began the OT in 2005 and am at the 51st chapter
of Isaiah at this time.
Dr. Wiersbe writes at the introduction to this third main
section these words: “This section
contains several admonitions; ‘hearken to me’ (51:1 KJV; also 4, 7); ‘awake,
awake’ (vv. 9, 17; 52:1-6; and ‘depart, depart (vv. 7-12). Except for 51:9-16, which is a prayer
addressed to the Lord, each of these admonitions is from God to His people in
Babylon.” I use the NASB, and so in the
following SD’s on this section I will use both the NASB and also the KJV in
order to better follow the things that Dr. Wiersbe is writing about.
“Hearken to Me” (Isaiah 51:1-8): “1 "Listen to me, you who pursue
righteousness, Who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn And
to the quarry from which you were dug. 2
"Look to Abraham your father And to Sarah who gave birth to you in
pain; When he was but one I called him, Then I blessed him and multiplied
him." 3 Indeed, the LORD will comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste
places. And her wilderness He will make like Eden, And her desert like the
garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in her, Thanksgiving and
sound of a melody. 4 "Pay attention
to Me, O My people, And give ear to
Me, O My nation;
For a law will go forth from Me, And I will set My justice for a light of the peoples. 5 “My righteousness is near,
My salvation has
gone forth, And My arms
will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait for Me, And for My arm they will wait
expectantly. 6 "Lift up your eyes
to the sky, Then look to the earth beneath; For the sky will vanish like smoke,
And the earth will wear out like a garment And its inhabitants will die in like
manner; But My salvation
will be forever, And
My righteousness will not wane. 7 “Listen to Me, you who know
righteousness, A people in whose heart is My law; Do not fear the reproach of
man, Nor be dismayed at their revilings. 8 “For the moth will eat them like a
garment, And the grub will eat them like wool. But My righteousness will be
forever, And My salvation to all generations.’”
(NASB)
“1 Hearken
to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look
unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are
digged. 2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I
called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. 3 For the LORD shall
comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her
wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and
gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. 4 Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I
will make my
judgment to rest for a light of the people. 5
My
righteousness is near; my
salvation is gone forth, and mine
arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they
trust. 6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for
the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a
garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation
shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. 7 Hearken unto me, ye that
know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach
of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. 8 For the moth shall eat them
up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness
shall be forever, and my salvation from generation to generation.”
God is addressing the faithful remnant of Israel who were
in Babylon as seen in Isaiah 50:10 “Who is among you that fears the LORD, That
obeys the voice of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let
him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.” This admonition the Lord tells these people
to remember their first parents, Abraham and Sarah, and their story, at least
part of it is found in Genesis 12-25. It
may be good to review a bit of their story in order to see how the Lord
performed a miracle to begin the children of Israel through Abraham who was 100
years old and Sara who was 90 years old when their promised son, Isaac was born
to them. The Apostle Paul points out
that both Abraham and Sarah were well past the time of when they could produce
a child, but God performed a miracle so that Sarah could have Abraham’s
baby. We may make note that a similar
miracle was done for the birth of John the Baptist. The nation of Israel began with a very small
family, but while in Egypt this family became a nation and is still one to this
day. The faithful remnant that was in
Babylon was very small to, but in this section God promises to them again that
they will grow and that their ravaged land will become a paradise. Dr. Wiersbe writes “Be comforted!” God said
to His people. “The Best is yet to
come!”
In verses 4-6 we see the second command from the Lord to
them. I have highlighted the word “My”
and then what follows that word in the NASB to show that this is the grace of
God who does these things for His people.
These things could not be done by His people on their own, but God does
them which makes them grace to them, something that they could never do on
their own, or could never earn on their own.
We also see the phrase “arm of the Lord,” and this is somewhat of a
theme in the book of Isaiah as it is seen in 30:30; 40:10; 51:5, 9, 52:10;
53:1; 59:16; 62:8; 63:5, 12). Dr.
Wiersbe writes “Heaven and earth will pass away, but God’s righteousness and
salvation will last forever. That
righteousness will be displayed in a special way when Messiah returns and
establishes His kingdom on earth.
Now we will look at the third admonition which is seen in
verses 7-8 of Isaiah 51, and it focuses on looking within, where we find either
fear of faith. “7 “Listen to Me, you who
know righteousness, A people in whose heart is My law; Do not fear the reproach of man, Nor be dismayed at their
revilings. 8 “For the moth will eat them like a garment, And the grub
will eat them like wool. But
My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation to all generations.’” (NASB)
Isaiah was talking about the seeds of destruction which
were going to happen in the nation of Babylon and they were like the moth and
the worm or grub. Both move slowly but
they do get their work done.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I believe that
the seeds of destruction have been working in our country for a long time. The question is what am I to do about
it? For one thing I can tell others
about the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and how people can spend
eternity with Him in heaven, and that would be changing the world one soul at a
time.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I pray that the Lord will allow me to begin a
one on one Bible Study with people in our neighborhood so that I can explain to
them the way of salvation.
Memory verse for the
week: 1 John 5:13
13. These things I
have written to you who
believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you man know that you
have eternal life.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
Question: “Jesus” (Luke 2:49).
Today’s Bible
Question: “In what city was Jesus
brought up?”
Answer in our next SD.
11/12/2013 11:12 AM
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