Bible reading & studying Jeremiah chapter 22-24 by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Bible reading & studying Jeremiah chapter 22-24

by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce 

Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical precepts & Gospel Music

           In the chapter 22 is the message concerning Jehoahaz (Shallum) and Jehoiakim, the sons of King Josiah, who had been killed, Jehoahz reigned three months before being departed to Egypt by Necho. He never returned to Palestine (2Kings23:29-35)

             In 22:13-19 is a denunciation against Jehoiakim, the elder brother and successor of Shallum. He built elaborate royal buildings with forced labor (vv13-14). Jeremiah predicted that the normal form of lament world not be used when Jehoiakim died and that he would not be buried but simply dragged out of the city and dumped on the garbage heap (“the absence of” or was buried” in 2 Kings 24:6 is significant.)

        In 22:24-30 these verses describe the fate of Jehoiachin (Coniah in the Heb. Also called Jeconiah), son of Jehoiakim. After a three-month reign, he was taken to Babylon never to return (2Kings24:8-15;25:27-30), in spite of Hananiah’s false prophecy to the contrary (Jer.28:4;cf.52:31-34)

 

"This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots an don horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. But if you do not obey these commands, declares the Lord, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin. (vv.3-5) People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’  And the answer will be ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods." (vv. 8-9)

 

           In 22:30 Although Jehoiachim (Heb.Coniah) had seven sons, none occupied the throne. So as far as a continuing dynasty was concerned, Jehoiachim was to be considered “childless.” Although his line of descendants retained the legal throne rights, no physical descendant would ever prosperously reign on the Davidic throne. The genealogy of Matthew traces the descent of Jesus through Solomon and Jeconiah (Heb., Coniah) (Matt.1:12); this is the genealogy of Jesus’ legal father, Joseph. Luke traces Jesus’ physical descent back through Mary and Nathan to David, by-passing Jeconiah’s line and showing accurately the fulfillment of this prophecy of Jeremiah. If Jesus had been born only in the line of Joseph (and thus of Jeconiah), He would not have been qualified to reign on the throne of David in the Millennium.

 

       In the Chapter 23 is the message concerning Messiah.  “Branch”. Lit., shoot, a messianic title signifying the new life that Messiah will bring. (Isa.4:2) He will secure righteousness for His people.

 

“ The day are coming,” declares the Lord, “ when I will raise up to David a righteous Brach, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: the Lord Our Righteousness. (23:5-6)

In Chapter 24: 1-10 this vision occurred after Jeconiah and others were taken to Babylon in 597. The good figs represented those who had been deported and promised their return to Palestine. The poor gifs depicted those who remained in the land of Palestine or who went to Egypt and were not promised restoration. Excavations show the remarkable architectural accomplishments of Nebuchadnezzar, who used the skilled artisans

 

“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.’ (vv5-7)

 

"But like the poor figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten, says the Lord; ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt. I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, an object of ridicule and cursing, wherever I banish them. I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their fathers." (vv8-10)

 

 

 Bibliography,

Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986

Bible reading & studying Jeremiah chapter 18-20 by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Bible reading & studying on Jeremiah chapter 18-20

by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

Christian Arts Ministries : Biblical precepts & Gospel Music

 

Chapter 18:1-11 this parable of the potter teaches the absolute sovereignty of God over nations, not capriciously, but with sensitivity to the possibility of their repenting (v.8).

 

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message, “So I went down to the potter’s house and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands, so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

Then the word of the Lord came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand. O house of Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if the nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation of kingdom is to be built up and planted and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it… (vv1-10)…

Yet my people have forgotten me; they burn incense to worthless idols and in the ancient paths. They made them walk in bypaths and on roads not built up. (v.15)

I will show them my back and not my face in the day of their disaster. (v.16)

In chapter 18: 18-23 shows another conspiracy against Jeremiah, with his reaction (11:18-23;12:1-6;15:10-12) so Jeremiah plead to the Lord, “ But you know, O Lord, all their plots to kill me. Do not forgive their crimes or blot out their sins from your sight. Let them be overthrown before you; deal with them in the time of your anger.” (v23)

 

In chapter 19 the message indicates Judah as a broken jar. A clay jar, once hardened, it could not be remade but had to be broken if unacceptable. Judah had arrived at that stage.Topheth. Probably means “fireplace” Ben Hinnom. Gehenna, avalley on the SW. of Jerusalem. Judah was outdoing the heathen, who rarely made child sacrifices.    

This is what the Lord says, “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the elders of the people and of the priests… I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned sacrifices in it to gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind…. “(vv.1-5)

 

Then break the jar while those who go with you are watching, and say to them. “This is what the Lord Almighty says: I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. This is what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares the Lord.  I will make this city like Topheth.

 

In Chapter 20 Jeremiah complained about his lot (vv.7-8, 14-18) yet was compelled to proclaim God’s message (v.9) Terror on every side (v.10). In Hebrew, Magor –Missabib a sarcastic nickname for Jeremiah, means “terror on every side”; Pashhur’s change of name became a symbol of what would happen then the Babylonians came (vv4-6).

 

“O Lord, you deceived me, and I was deceived you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. (vv.7-8).

But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in His name; His word is in my heart life a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side! Report him! Let’s report him! All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him.” (vv.9-10)

“But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten. O Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.  

Sing to the Lord! Give to the Lord! Give praise to the Lord! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked…”(vv.11-13)

 

Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986. 

Bible reading & studying Jeremiah chapter 12-14 by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Bible reading & studying Jeremiah chapter 12-14

by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

Christian Arts Ministries : Biblical Precepts & Gospel Music

 

  In the chapter 12 Jeremiah asked the age-old question, why do the godless prosper? God’s reply is to warn him of even greater opposition from the people in Jerusalem (horses, v.5)  than he was experiencing from those in Anathoth (men on foot, v.5). “The thickets by the Jordan.” The low luxuriant bottom land of the Jordan inhabited by wild animals. (49:19).

 

“You are always on their lips but far from their hearts. Yet, you know me, O Lord, you see me and test my thoughts about you. Drag them off like sheep to be butchered! How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished. Moreover, the people are saying, “He will not see what happen to us.” “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?(vv.2-5)

 Jeremiah describes the coming devastation as if it had already occurred. “Sword of the Lord” means that the Babylonian armies, which would be used in God’s hand to punish His people. “My wicked neighbors.”  Indicates that Syria (Aram), Moab, and Ammon, who, with Judah, would be punished by Babylon.

Your brothers, your own family even they have betrayed you; they have raised a loud cry against you. Do not trust them, though they speak well of you. (v.6)  

Over all the barren heights in the desert destroyers will swarm, for the sword of the Lord will devour from one end of the land to the other, no one will be safe.(v.12)

This is what the Lord says, “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance I gave my people Israel, I will uproot them from their lands and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them. But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and will bring each of them back to his own inheritance and his own country. And if they learn well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, “ As surely as the Lord lives- even as they once taught my people to swear by Ball then they will be established among my people. But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it.” declares the Lord. (vv.14-17)  

In the Chapter 13 actions speak louder than words, so Jeremiah is told to take a linen belt (a thigh –length undergarment that clung to the body, symbolizing the closeness of Israel to God’s heart, (v11), hide it in a rock, then retrieve it only to discover that, like the nation, it was ruined and useless. To Perath, or to the Euphrates(v.6), may mean the river (at least 350 miles away) or may refer to the town of Perath about three miles from Anathoth (in the expression “to Perath” both names take on an identical form in Hebrew. Though the people complacently looked for prosperity (illustrated by the wineskin filled with wine), in reality they would behave in the coming crisis as though inebriated, unable to distinguish friend from foe. The third warning was against pride and arrogance.

“This is what the Lord said to me. “ Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist. Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time: “take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist and go nor to Perath and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” So

I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me. Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless. (vv.1-7)

“Then the Word of the Lord came to me: “this is what the Lord says, ‘in the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt completely useless!” (vv.8-10)

For as a belt is bound around a man’s waist, so I bound the whole house or Israel and the whole house of Judah to me, ‘declares the Lord, to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. But they have not listened.’ (v.11) 

 The third warning was against pride and arrogance.

             A lament over King Jehoiachin (then eighteen years old) and the queen mother (Nehushta, 2Kings24:8), who were taken captive into Babylon (Jer.29:2)

Hear and pay attention, do not be arrogant, for the Lord has spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God before he brings the darkness, before you feet stumble on the darkening hills. Your hope for light, but he will turn it to thick darkness and change it to deep gloom. But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride, my eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears, because the Lord’s flock will be taken captive.  (vv.15-17)

 A final warning that punishment (the Babylonian captivity) would be the inevitable consequence of Judah’s continuance in sin, verse 23 shows who impossible it was for Judah to change her ways.

And if you ask yourself, “why has this happened to me? It is because of your many sins that your skirts have been torn off and your body mistreated…because you have forgotten me and trusted in false gods. I will pull up your skirts over your face that your shame may be seen-your adulteries and lustful neighing, your shameless prostitution! I have seen your detestable acts on the hills and in the fields. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! How long will you be unclean? (vv. 22, 25-27)

               

          In the Chapter 14 Jeremiah interceded for the people, confessing sin and pleading the covenant relationship (vv7-9), but God told him to stop praying for this people (vv.11-12), because judgment is certain on the false prophets and those who listened to them (vv.15-16). Still Jeremiah, in the tradition of Abraham (Gen.18:22-33), continued to intercede (vv.17-22)

                   

              “You are among us, O Lord, and we bear your name; do not forsake us!” (v.9)

Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people. Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague.” (vv.11-12)

“O Lord, we acknowledge our wickedness and the guilt of our fathers; we have indeed sinned against you. For the sake of your name do not despise us; do not dishonor your glorious throne. Remember your covenant with us and do not break it. Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, O Lord our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this.(vv.20-22)

    

 

Bibliography

     Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986. 

 

Bible reading & studying Jeremiah chapter 9-11 by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Bible reading & studying  Jeremiah chapter 9-11 

by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

Christian Arts Ministries:Biblical Precepts & Gospel music 

               In Jeremiah chapter 9, notice Jeremiah’s grief over the sin of his people. As the name of Jacob a deceiver, one who deceives, in verse 4 indicates everyone was a Jacob.(Gen.27:36)

1)                         “They made ready their tongue like a bow, to shoot lies; it is not by truth that they triumph in the land. They go from one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me.” (v.3  Beware of your friends; do not trust your brothers. For every brother is a deceiver, and every friend a slanderer. Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they weary themselves with sinning. You live in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me.” Declare the Lord. (v.4)

3)                     Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks with deceit. With him mouth each speaks cordially to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him. Should I not punish them for this? Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this? (vv.8-9)

4)                   Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross? The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law. Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they had followed the Baals, as their fathers taught them. (vv12-16)

         Therefore, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “see, I will make this people eat bitter food, and drink poisoned water. I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have destroyed them.” (vv.15-16) This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about his: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah9:23-24)

          In the chapter 10:1-16 a scathing denunciation of idolatry, involving a threefold contrast: Heathen worship attached great importance to the sun, moon, and stars.(v.2). Though God made the heavens (v.12). 2) Man-made idols have to be stabilized (v.4), but God even controls the nations (v.10). 3) Idols are senseless (without intellectual capacity)because they are inanimate(v.8), but the living God designed and created all things.(vv12-13)

                  “Hear what the Lord says to you, O house of Israel. This is what the Lord says:

“Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them. For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a melon    patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good….they are all senseless and foolish; they are taught by worthless wooden idols….. But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. When he is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath.

Tell them this: “these gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.” But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. (vv1-5,8,10-12) Everyone is senseless and without knowledge; every goldsmith is shamed by his idols. His images are a fraud; they have no breath in them. They are worthless, the objects of mockery; when their judgment comes, they will perish. He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these for he is the Maker of all things, including Israel, the tribe of his inheritance-the Lord Almighty is his name. (vv.14-16)

 

I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps. Correct me, Lord, but only with justice not in your anger, lest you reduce me to nothing. Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the peoples who do not call on your name. (vv.23-25)

          In the chapter11 unveils that Judah’s breaking of God’s covenant. The historic agreement between God and Israel made at Mt.Sinai. Jeremiah’s warning to be faithful to the Sinaitic covenant was delivered during the reformation under Josiah (2Kings22-23). He obviously viewed this revival as superficial and inadequate (11:13 shows that the people continued to worship Baal). “ you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah and the altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.) (v.13).

  In Jeremiah 7:16 & 11:14 twice mentions about “Do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress.”   The Lord refused to listen the prayers because the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done evil and provoked Him to anger by burning incense to Baal. (11:.17)

  “Listen to the terms of this covenant and tell them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. The terms I commanded your forefathers, when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace. I said, ‘ Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. Then I will fulfill the oath I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey –the land you possess today. (vv.4-5)

 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil heart…there is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. They have returned to the sins of their forefathers, who refused to listen to my words. They have followed other gods to serve them…(vv.8,9)

Bibliography

     Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986. 

 

 

Bible reading & studying Isaiah 63-66 by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Bible reading & studying Isaiah 63-66

by Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce 

Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical Precepts & Gospel Music

Chapter 63:1 mentions about Bozrah is a capital of Edom. There is a play on words here, for Edom means red and Bozrah is similar to the word for grape gatherer. Both figures, along with the crimson garments, highlight the picture of Christ’s second coming in judgment (Rev.14:18-20; 19:13).

"Who is this coming from Edom, for Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.” Why are your garments reds, like those of one trading the winepress? “I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redemption has come. I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so my own arm worked salvation for me; and my own wrath sustained me. I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground.” (Isaiah63:1-6)

In Isaiah 65:17-25 it is a description of the millennial kingdom, which is preliminary to the new heavens and a new earth. (v.17) Characteristics include Jerusalem’s being a joy instead of a burden (v.18; cf.Zech.12:2-3), longevity (v.20); notice that sin will be punished in the Millennium), peace and security (vv21-23), and removing of the animosity in nature (v.25)

“Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered. Nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more…the wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my  holy mountain.” (Isaiah65:17-25)

In Isaiah 66:3 the meaning is this: ritualistic offerings apart from a change of heart (v.2) are as abominable to God as murder or offering unclean animals. In the vv.7-9 described at the second coming of Christ all living Israelites will be saved (Rom.11:26;Zech.12:10;13:1)

“This is what the Lord says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being? Declares the Lord. “ This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word. But who ever sacrifices a bull is like one who kills a man, and whoever offers a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever makes a grain offering is like one who presents pig’s blood, and whoever burns memorial incense, like one who worships an idol. They have chosen their own ways, and their souls delight in their abominations; so I also will choose harsh treatment for them and will bring upon them what they dread. For when I call, on one answered, when I spoke, no one listened. They did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me.” (Isaiah66:1-4 )

“Before she goes into labor, she gives birth’ before the pains come upon her, she delivers a son. Who has ever heard of such a things? Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children. Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery? Says the Lord. “ Do I close up the womb when I bring to delivery?” says your God. (Isaiah 66:7-9)

In the Isaiah66:10-14 a description of the millennial age. In the vv.15-17 a vivid picture of the judgments at the return of Christ (2Thess.1:7-9)

“Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice greatly with her, all you who mourn over her. For you will nurse and be satisfied at her comforting breasts; you will drink deeply and delight in her overflowing abundance. For this is what the Lord says, “I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees. As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.” When you see this, your heart will rejoice and your will flourish like grass; the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants. But his fury will be shown to his foes.  See, the Lord is coming with fire, and his chariots are like whirlwind; he will bring down his anger with fury and his rebuke with flames of fire. For with fire and with his sword the Lord will execute judgment upon all men, and many will be those slain by the Lord.” (Isaiah66:10-17)

In the Isaiah 66:18-21 gives details of missionary witness during the Millennium to Tarshish (SW coast of Spain).

And I, because of their actions and their imaginations, am about to come and gather all nations and tongues, and they will come and see my glory. I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. And they will bring all your brothers, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their rain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels. And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites. (Isaiah66:18-22)

Isaiah 66:22-24 refers to the eternal state, including the eternal punishment of the wicked. (v.24)

“As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before Me.” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the Lord. “And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.” (Isaiah66:22-24)

Bibliography

     Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986. 

Bible reading & studying Isaiah 59-62 by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

 Bible reading & studying Isaiah 59-62, 

by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce 

Christian Arts Ministries : Biblical Precepts & Gospel music

 Isaiah 59: 17-21 described at Christ’s Second Advent He will judge His enemies, and bring salvation to Israel. The word for redeemer means kinsman-redeemer; one who is related by blood to those he redeems, indicating the necessity for the incarnation. (Heb.2:14-16) 

“As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever, says the Lord.” (Isaiah59:21)

            Isaiah 60:1-5 this chapter describes the glory of Jerusalem and Israel in the millennial kingdom (including previews seen in the return from Babylon) your…you. Referring to Jerusalem.  The truth will come to the nations (Gentiles) through the preaching of the gospel of Christ. The nations (Gentiles) will share in the blessings of the millennial kingdom.

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the people, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” (Isaiah60:1,3)

            Chapter 60:15-22 Isaiah contrasts the glories of the millennial kingdom with the inglorious condition of Israel before the Exile.

I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler. No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders. But you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise…the sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting Light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; The Lord will be your everlasting Light. (Isaiah60:17-19)

 Chapter 61:1-3 the ministry of Messiah at His first coming is described in verses 1-2a and at His second coming in verses 2b-3. In claiming to be Messiah, Jesus Christ read in the synagogue only that which applied to His ministry during His first coming.(Luke4:18-19)

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” (Isaiah.61:1-3)

In the Isaiah61:4-11 a description of conditions in the millennial kingdom. Double (v.7) refers to double honor.

“And you will be called priests of the Lord; you will be named ministers of our God.  You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. (Isaiah 61:6)

             Instead of their shame, my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace  they will rejoice in their inheritance, and so they will inherit a double portion in their  land, and everlasting joy will be theirs. (Isaiah61:7)

        Chapter 62:4 Hephzibah means “my delight is in her” and Beulah means “married.” The entire chapter relates to the time of the millennial kingdom.

“No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate, but you will be called Hephzibah. And your land “Beulah” for the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married. As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.” (Isaiah62:4-5)

Bibliography

     Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986. 

Bible reading & studying Isaiah 50-53 by Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

Bible reading & studying Isaiah 50-53

By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce  

Christian Arts Ministries : Biblical precepts & Gospel music

 Isaiah 52:13 -53:12 is one of the most treasured and important passages in the O.T. These verses present the Servant suffering vicariously for men’s sins. Traditional Jewish interpretation understood the passage to be speaking of Messiah, as, of course, did the early Christians, who believed Jesus to be that Messiah (Act.8:35). Not until the twelfth century did the view emerge that the nations Israel is referred to, a view that has since become dominant in Judaism, but the Servant is distinguished from the “People” (53:8) and He is an innocent victim something that could not be said of the nation. (53:9) the passage divides into five sections of three verses each (1)52:13-15, (2) 53:1-3 (3) 53:4-6 (4) 53:7-9 (5) 53:10-12.[1]

Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing. (Isaiah.51:3) The ransomed of the Lord will return they will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. (Isaiah.51:11). For this is what the Lord days,” You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.” (Isiah52:3). Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows. Yet we considered him stricken by God. (Isaiah53:4).

In the Isaiah 52:13-15 the preeminence of the Servant. Raised and lifted up. The same words are used of God in 6:1 (cf.Phil.2:9-11). As a result of the mistreatment done Him by Pilate’s soldiers, Messiah’s appearance was so disfigured (Isa.52:14) so that He could scarily be recognized as human. Because of His sacrifice He would be able to sprinkle (v.15) many, as a priest does in order to purify them. (1Pet1:2).[2]

“See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just as there were many who were appalled at him-his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.” (Isaiah52:13-15)

In the Isaiah 53:1-3 the person of the Servant. The arm of the Lord (v.1) represents the power of the Lord in past miracles and in the future miracles of Messiah. Tender shoot (v.2) Lit., a suckling; i.e., frail (contrast11:1) root out of dry ground (53:2), refers to Messiah’s lowly background. There would be nothing in His personal appearance that would especially attract men to Him, He would experience sorrows (lit. pains,v.3) but men would not recognize His worth.

            “Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot and life a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with  suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”(Isaiah53:1-3)

            In the Isaiah 53:4-6 indicates the passion of the Servant. Though men would think that God was causing the Servant to suffer for His own sins, the truth was that He suffered vicariously for theirs. “Pierced”(v.5). A term appropriate to crucifixion; “brought us peace” I.e., His punishment that obtained peace or well-being for us. 

“Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4-6)  

 In the Isaiah 53:7-9 shows the passivity of the Servant. He didn’t open his mouth (v.7) which confirmed in the Matthew 26:63-64; Jesus did affirm His deity when placed under oath. Compare Isa.53:9 with Matt.27:57-60.

“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grace with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, through he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. (Isaiah53:7-9)

          In the Isaiah 53:10-12 indicates the portion of the Servant. His whole being, including His soul(v.11), was involved in the offering (v.10) the word used in Lev.6-7 of the guilt or trespass offering, which required 120 percent restitution, Lev.6:5) His offspring (53:10) are those who would believe on Him. To prolong his days after being made an offering would necessitate bodily resurrection.

“ Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life, and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”(Isaiah53:10-12)

Bibliography

     Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986. 

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[1]      Charles C. Ryrie. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).(Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986),  989 

 [2]     Charles C. Ryrie. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).(Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986),  989