God Creator or Gods Formed
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Isaiah
41. An expository study of Isaiah, chapter 44
Chosen
Have you considered the many things in your life over
which you have had no control? The family into which you were born, the time
and place of your birth, your name, and your physical features are all things,
which were decided for you. You had no choice in the matter. In the earliest
stage of your life, you were totally dependent on others for care and
sustenance. You were left in their hands to be moved, fed and put to sleep.
They did your thinking for you.
As children, we yearned for freedom and independence,
for the day that we could leave our parents’ house and be on our own. So we got
a job and lived in our own place. Soon we found that we were not as free, as we
thought we should be. There were bills to pay and our employer thought that we
ought to obey his wishes. Then we married and found that our area of freedom
was smaller, because now we had to share our existence with another. Then
children came and chipped away even more at our little independent world.
Israel's Only Salvation
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Isaiah
40. An expository study of Isaiah, chapter 43
What the Spirit says now
We see in the book of Revelation that Jesus gave
different messages to each of the seven churches. He concluded each message
with the words, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches” (Rev.2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). Although every Christian should
be occupied with a systematic study of the entire scope of revelation, there is
a more specific word, which the Spirit of God applies in different places and
in different times. We must be attentive to that which the Spirit says to the
church now.
I want to keep reminding you to have your Bible open
to read along, as we go through the chapters. I assume that you will do that,
as I make comments. You will notice that verse 1 begins with the words “but
now”. The preacher of Ecclesiastes claims that there is a time for everything
(Ecc.3:1-7) and the preacher of the gospel must be sensitive to the Spirit in
order to know specifically what He wants the people to hear at any given time.
There is a time for rebuke and there is a time for comfort. The prophet Isaiah
knows how and when to do both.
“But now”, after the warning of judgment delivered at
the end of chapter 42, it is time for God to comfort Israel. There is no
comforter like the Holy Spirit. He inspires Isaiah to begin with Israel’s
creation. The Lord continues to create; He creates individuals in the wombs of
their mothers and He creates whole nations. Comfort begins with the knowledge
that we are created beings and therefore we have purpose and care from our
Creator.
Spurgeon, Ryle and the Jews
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Important messages
I want to present to you an important
study for our times, according to two of the most important figures of the 19th
Century, C. H. Spurgeon, a Baptist preacher, and J. C. Ryle, a bishop in the
Church of England. I have gotten my material from two sources: One on Spurgeon
from Dennis M. Swanson of The Master’s Seminary and the other on J. C. Ryle from
the Middletown Bible Church. My purpose is to use the direct quotes from these
two men and not to refer to personal comments, which the sources may have
added.
The object, which we will pursue, will
be to see the viewpoint that each of these men had, concerning the return of
the Jews to their Promised Land. This is an extremely important issue in our
day, because Israel was reestablished as a sovereign nation in 1948, fulfilling
prophecies which are 2,500 to 2,700 years old. Yours and my viewpoint on the
subject will determine, whether or not we have concrete evidence to point to
the soon return of Christ to reign upon the earth.
Spurgeon and Ryle were contemporaries,
both English, and died just before the beginning of what is known as the
Zionist Movement… the return of the Jews to Palestine from all points of the
globe. Without further ado, let us first allow Charles Spurgeon to relate to us
his view on a pre-millennial rapture of the church. He will also show that
there will be two resurrections, that of the just, separate from that of the
unjust. Later, of necessity, both Spurgeon and Ryle will tell us about the
literal interpretation of Bible prophecy:
The Servant Christ
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Isaiah
39. An expository study of Isaiah, chapter 42
A
Messianic prophecy
“Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my
chosen, in whom my soul delights” (v.1). Having shown us that He is able to raise up a servant, who will
restore the Jew to his homeland, God is now saying that He can and will do more
for His people. Here is One, who will carry out the purposes of God incomparably
beyond what Cyrus can do. He comes to this earth, as a Servant, meek and lowly
of heart. “Though he was in the form of
God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself
nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And
being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point
of death, even death on a cross” (Phil.2:6-8). The apostle Paul, of course,
speaks of Jesus Christ.
This Servant will bring to pass the eternal will of
God, conceived before the foundation of the world and designed to extend into
the countless and measureless eons, after time will be no more. He is chosen
and upheld in the heart of a delighted God: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Mt.3:17). It
was proclaimed by the Father at His baptism, when the Holy Spirit came upon
Him. His ministry began and continues as a work of the trinity and just so, it
is prophesied in our first verse. “I (the
Father) have put my Spirit (the Holy
Spirit) upon him (the Son).” It is our pleasure to consider a
chapter, which begins with an unmistakable reference to the Messiah. The Jew
today joins us in the conviction that this passage refers to the Messiah,
although, of course, he is still awaiting His coming.
In his Gospel, Matthew quotes directly the first four
verses of this chapter, showing that the inspired writer is satisfied that
Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled them. The message and demeanor of the Christ will
not be aggressive (v.2), something which we should take into account,
concerning our evangelistic and missionary efforts. We can take personal
comfort in the fact that Jesus will not break the bent reed nor put out the
lowest flame, but in compassion will straighten and strengthen them both. He
was not a revolutionary, mustering the strong to fight, but a Savior, calling
the weak and wounded to His side (v.3). Only God Foretells the Future
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Isaiah
38. An expository study of Isaiah, chapter 41
We have read of Assyria and its king recently in the
book of Isaiah. Not only is there prophecy concerning this empire, but we have
learned some of its history, particularly that which relates to its invasion of
Judah. Isaiah foresaw the Babylonian Empire and he spoke of the satanic
influence upon it.
A
message to the nations
In this chapter, Isaiah begins to prophesy concerning
Cyrus of Persia and we will learn much of him in the following chapters. He
becomes a prominent figure, who is even named by Isaiah in 44:28 and 45:1, long
before his birth (see also 41:2, 25; 45:13; 46:11). In the books of Ezra and
Nehemiah, he has much to do with the return of the Jews to their land and the
rebuilding of their temple.
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