SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/24/2013
10:11 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
The Bestowing of a New Name
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Isaiah
62:1-12
Message of the
verses: We will try to look at the
two sub-points under this main point of Dr. Wiersbe’s outline.
God will not hold His peace (Isaiah 62:1-5): “1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, Until her righteousness goes
forth like brightness, And her salvation like a torch that is burning. 2 The
nations will see your righteousness, And all kings your glory; And you will be
called by a new name Which the mouth of the LORD will designate. 3 You will
also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, And a royal diadem in the
hand of your God. 4 It will no longer be
said to you, "Forsaken," Nor to your land will it any longer be said,
"Desolate"; But you will be called, "My delight is in her,"
And your land, "Married"; For the LORD delights in you, And to Him
your land will be married. 5 For as a young man marries a virgin, So your sons
will marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So your God will
rejoice over you.”
As we look at this passage we must remember that it is
the Lord who is the One who is speaking for in verse six the word “I” is used
indicating that it is the Lord who is speaking.
We must also remember how special Israel is to the Lord, and that the
people of Israel were married to the Lord, as the ceremony happened on Mt. Sinai,
but as we read through the OT we see that Israel was not faithful to the Lord
and therefore the Lord had to discipline Israel on many occasions. When the Babylonians captured Jerusalem and
tore down the temple along with the city then many though that this was the end
of the relationship that the Lord had with Israel, but that is not the case. “1 Thus says the LORD, "Where is the certificate of
divorce By which I have sent your mother away? Or to whom of My
creditors did I sell you? Behold, you were sold for your iniquities, And for
your transgressions your mother was sent away. 2 “Why was there no man when I
came? When I called, why was there none to answer? Is My hand so short that it cannot ransom?
Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, I dry up the sea with My rebuke, I make
the rivers a wilderness; Their fish stink for lack of water And die of thirst. 3
“I clothe the heavens with blackness And make sackcloth their covering’ (Isaiah
50:1-3).” This section shows that the
Lord did not divorce Israel and so even though He sent them into captivity He
is not done with them, nor will He ever be done with them.
The wording in the KJV of verse four is a bit different
than in the NASB “Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be
termed Desolate:
but thou shalt be called Hephzibah,
and thy land Beulah:
for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.” Dr. Wiersbe explains: “Her trials will all be forgotten when she
receives the new name, ‘Hephzibah,’ which means ‘my delight in her.’ God delights in His people and enjoys giving
them His best. The old name ‘Desolate’
will be replaced by ‘Beulah,’ which means ‘married’ (see also 54:1). When a bride marries, she receives a new
name. In the case of Israel, she is
already married to Jehovah, but she will get a new name when she is reconciled
to Him.”
When we look at the first part of this passage we see
that Israel will be a blessing to the Gentiles, and although we know that
through the Lord Jesus Christ Israel has already a blessing to the Gentiles,
that in the kingdom age Israel will fulfill this ministry even more to the
Gentiles.
The watchmen, must not hold their peace (Isaiah
62:5-12): “6 I have set watchmen upon thy walls,
O Jerusalem, which shall
never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD,
keep not silence, 7 And give him no
rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. 8 The LORD hath sworn by
his right hand, and by the
arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for
thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the
which thou hast labored: 9 But they that
have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the LORD; and they that have brought
it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness. 10 Go through, go through the gates; prepare
ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a
standard for the people. 11 Behold, the
LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion,
Behold, thy salvation
cometh; behold, his
reward is with him, and his work before him. 12 And they shall call them, The holy people,
The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not
forsaken.” (KJV)
“6 On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; All day and all
night they will never keep silent. You who remind the LORD, take no rest for
yourselves; 7 And give Him no rest until He establishes And makes Jerusalem a
praise in the earth. 8 The
LORD has sworn by His right hand and by His strong arm, "I will
never again give your grain as food for your enemies; Nor will foreigners drink
your new wine for which you have labored." 9 But those who garner it will
eat it and praise the LORD; And those who gather it will drink it in the courts
of My sanctuary. 10 Go through, go
through the gates, Clear the way for the people; Build up, build up the highway, Remove the
stones, lift up a standard over the peoples. 11 Behold, the LORD has proclaimed
to the end of the earth, Say to the daughter of Zion, "Lo, your salvation
comes; Behold His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him." 12
And they will call them, "The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD";
And you will be called, "Sought out, a city not forsaken.’” (NAS95)
In Psalm 122:6 we read “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
"May they prosper who love you.” We
know how important Jerusalem is to the Lord, for when we get to the last book
of the Bible we read about a New Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven which
will be the place where believers will dwell in the eternal kingdom. The name, according to the Heb/English
dictionary on my online Bible program says Jerusalem mean “teaching of peace.”
When we pray according to Ps. 122:6 we are actually praying for the kingdom of
God to come for there will be no peace in Jerusalem until the Prince of Peace
comes.
I want to make another point from verse eight which
speaks about the arm of the Lord, and the arm of the Lord speaks of His
omnipotence (being all powerful), but when we look at Ps 8:3 “When I consider Your heavens, the work of
Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained.” God’s fingers made the universe, but He uses
His arm to say that He will never again give the grain of Israel to their
enemies. God is promising Israel that their grain will remain with them. When we read the story of Gibeon we see an
example of the enemies of Israel stealing their grain for Gibeon was sifting
his grain in a place where the enemies would not find him, for if they did then
they would steal it. All of this will happen in the Millennial Kingdom and we
can get a picture of how this is going to happen when we read Ezekiel
40-48. During that time there will be a Millennial
Temple as Ezekiel explains in those chapters.
The problem now is that the spiritual eyes of the Jewish people are
veiled. “14 But their minds were
hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted,
because it is removed in Christ. 15 But to this day whenever Moses is
read, a veil lies over
their heart; 16 but whenever
a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is
the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as
in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image
from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:14-18).”
We have mentioned the word “highway” is seen in Isaiah on
different occasions, and we see it here in Isaiah 62:10. “There is an urgency about these words”
writes Dr. Wiersbe. “The Lord is about
to arrive, and the people must get the road ready! When the work is completed, they must lift a
banner to signal they are ready.” Look
at verse 11b (NIV) “‘See, your Saviour comes! See, his reward is with him, and
his recompense accompanies him.’”
Dr. Wiersbe completes his commentary on this section with
these words: “God will have no rest till
He accomplishes His purposes for His people, and the world will move no peace
till He succeeds. He asks us to ‘give
Him no rest’ (v.7) but to intercede for Israel and Jerusalem, for the prayers
of His people are an important part of the program of God.” When we were studying the 9th
chapter of Daniel we saw that Daniel was praying about something that he knew
was going to happen, that is that the Lord would allow His people to return to
Jerusalem and rebuild the city and the temple.
Jeremiah wrote that Israel would spend 70 years in Babylon before Cyrus
would allow them to return to Israel, yet Daniel prayed this would happen. In the same sense we know that the Lord will
return someday to set up His kingdom in Israel, reigning from Jerusalem but we
are commanded to pray for the peace of Jerusalem knowing that it will not
happen until He returns. Keep praying!
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: God has many
promises in His Word, and I am to pray for these promises to happen, not only
for my life but for the lives of others.
I have begun to pray for the leader of Israel that God would empower Him
to understand what He wants him to do. I
believe that God desires all believers to pray for Israel.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Memory verses for the
week: 2 Cor. 6:19-20 “19 Or do you not
know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have
from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a
price: therefore glorify God in your body.”
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
Question: “The Lord’s Grace.”
Today’s Bible
Question: “What kind of worship did Jehu
destroy in Israel?”
Answer in our next SD.
12/24/2013 11:17 AM
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