Life and Ministry of the Christ in Isaiah
Isaiah 55 & 62
1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
How fitting that in a chapter devoted to salvation we find a prophecy of Christ:
3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.
the sure mercies of David This is Messiah, whom he calls David, and is a reference to the promise God made to David in 2 Samuel 7:15-16
15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.
16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
My mercy shall not depart from him, this is the sure mercies of David, and is fulfilled in Christ.
When he comes Christ will be a witness to the people, that he fulfills the promises made to the fathers; a leader and commander to the people, he will be Lord and King; and then, a nation that thou knowest not, He will also gather the gentiles.
Isaiah 62 is another wonderful chapter and I encourage everyone to read it. It is full of promises concerning the salvation of the Jews and restoration of Jerusalem. And the chapter ends on a high note:
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.
Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him The coming salvation is an individual. The ancient Jews understood this - this is how they translated this verse in the Septuagint
For behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth, say ye to the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy Saviour has come to thee, having his reward and his work before his face.
And the Targum Ben Uziel has, Behold, thy Redeemer shall be revealed . . .
Salvation is not a thing God does to us, it is a person. As the angel said to Joseph, when explaining Mary’s pregnancy in Matthew 1:18-21,
When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins Thy Savior is coming and salvation is his name!
His very name, Jesus, means salvation. Jesus is the Christ!
Next week I hope to list all the promises concerning Christ in Isaiah.
No comments:
Post a Comment