ISAIAH 50
Israel sold themselves into captivity verse 1
Thus says the LORD
Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away?
OR which of MY creditors is it to whom I have sold you?
BEHOLD for your iniquities have you sold yourselves
and for your transgressions is your mother put away
Omnipotence of the LORD verse 2- 3
Wherefore – when I came – was there no man?
when I called – was there none to answer?
Is MY hand shortened at all – that it cannot REDEEM?
OR have I no power to deliver?
BEHOLD at MY rebuke I dry up the seas
I make the rivers a wilderness – their fish stinks
because there is no water – and die for thirst
I cloth the heavens with blackness
and I make sackcloth their covering
Messiah listens to the LORD verse 4- 6
The Lord GOD hath given ME the tongue of the learned
that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary
HE wakens morning by morning
HE waken MINE ear to hear as the learned
The Lord GOD hath opened MINE ear – and I was not rebellious
neither turned away back – I gave MY back to the smiters
and MY cheeks to them that plucked off the hair
I hid not MY face from shame and spitting
Messiah is helped by the LORD verse 7
For the Lord GOD will help ME
THEREFORE shall I not be confounded
THERFORE have I set MY face like a flint
and I know that I shall not be ashamed
Messiah accused by false accusers verse 8- 9
HE is near that justifies ME
Who will contend with ME? let us stand together
Who is MINE adversary? let him come near to ME
BEHOLD the Lord GOD will help ME
Who is he that shall condemn ME? lo
they all shall wax old as a garment
the moth shall eat them up
Messiah warns Israel to follow HIS light verse 10- 11
Who is among you that fears the LORD – that obeys the voice of HIS servant
that walks in darkness – and hath no light?
let him trust in the name of the LORD – and stay upon his God
BEHOLD – all you that kindle a fire – that compass yourselves about with sparks
walk in the light of your fire – and in the sparks that ye have kindled
This shall you have of MINE hand – you shall lie down in sorrow
(Remember brown is the Father and red is the Son)
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 Thus says the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? Or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away. (3748 divorcement”[k@riythuwth]means divorce, dismissal, the act of ending a marriage, or a deed giving notice by a husband to a wife of impending divorce.)
DEVOTION: The LORD has a unique relationship with the children of Israel. They are HIS chosen people. HE told Abraham that HE would take care of his descendant. However, they were disobedient. The LORD chastens HIS children who are disobedient.
We know from the book of Malachi that the LORD hates divorce. HE designed marriage to last for a lifetime. HE wants us to work through any circumstance that comes into a marriage. With the help of the LORD there can be victory in every marriage if both parties are willing to keep working together with the LORD. When this doesn’t happen and sin increases there has to be a change of circumstances. Marriage is W.O.R.K. which means that there needs to be worship, organization, routine, and keepsakes in every marriage.
Here in this chapter HE is telling Israel that because of their sin HE is issuing a time of dismissal for chastening. HE is not giving up completely because HE tells a remnant to continue to trust HIM. The rest will go into captivity and not change their attitude or actions in their relationship to HIS commandments.
HE is sending a servant to suffer. This servant is Christ. HE is going to have individuals hit HIM. HE is going to have individuals pluck off HIS hair. HE is going to have individuals spit on HIM.
However, HE knows that the LORD will help HIM. This all happened to Christ when HE came as the Messiah the first time for all those who trust in HIM. Those who try to do it on their own will have to face eternity in sorrow. Don’t light your own fire! We need to go to the LORD for our LIGHT. Jesus is the LIGHT of the world.
Every believer must give a good witness to their unsaved spouse. Too many believers are bad witnesses to the love of Christ to their spouse. If there are two believing spouses there should be times of prayer and fasting when things are not going according to the Word of God in their life.
CHALLENGE: Pray for your marriage and the marriages of those who are family and friends. Your prayers will make the difference.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 2 Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? When I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinks, because there is no water, and dies for thirst. (7114 “shortened” [qatsar] means to dock off, curtail, cut down, much discouraged, grieve, mourn, trouble or vex.
DEVOTION: Is God limited? Is there anything too hard for the LORD to do? Sometimes we seem to put the LORD on our level of power. We know that we can’t cause everyone to have an end of their problems. We like to be problem solvers but it doesn’t work for everyone, so we think that God can’t do it if we can’t.
How big is our God? Sometimes our thinking is wrong and God gets our attention to correct that thinking. HE has the power to dry up the sea. HE can make rivers in the wilderness. HE can cause rivers to disappear.
It is not that HE cannot save Israel but HE chooses not to save them from this captivity because they need to learn a lesson regarding the consequences of their sin.
The LORD is chastening them but HE has not lost any power. HE chastens those HE loves. HE is trying to get the attention of Israel.
The same is true today. Our unbelief causes us problems. We tend to think that we have to solve our own problems without even going to the LORD in prayer. We think we can redeem ourselves.
That is impossible not only on a problem level but also on a sin level. The only one who can solve our sin problem is the LORD Jesus Christ when HE died on the cross for our sins. The Father looks at us through HIS Son and forgives our sins. Then we are redeemed. We are brought back from our slavery of sin to a relationship of servant of the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Enlarge your belief regarding who is going to solve your sin problem and your daily problems. If we continue to depend on ourselves – we will fail.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 4 The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary; he wakens morning by morning, he awakens mine ear to hear as the learned. (3928 “learned “ [limmuwd] means disciple, taught, discipled, someone who takes up knowledge or beliefs from a teacher, expert, or practiced.)
DEVOTION: The LORD gives an instructed tongue to those who ae willing to be taught by HIM what HIS message is to the people. In this case it was Isaiah who the LORD had taught what to say to the people of Israel.
Those who are taught have a message to give to give to those who are willing to listen to the message of the LORD. This was true in Isaiah’s day and it is true today.
There are many people who are not willing to listen to the LORD but put messages of their own, as if, they were messages of the LORD.
In the Old Testament these individuals were called “false prophets” and today they would be called pastors who are not preaching the truth of the Word of God.
There are many who say they are preaching from the Bible but they are quoting false teaching of men who are not genuine followers of the LORD. They sound good at times but when you compare what they are teaching to the whole counsel of God you find that they are false teachers trying to profit from their false teaching.
Every teacher we listen to should be checked out by the Word of God and our prayer life. The Holy Spirit will give us the truth regarding their teachings. Too many people are following those who are not really teaching the truth but a false religion that is not found in the Bible.
We have to be students of the Word of God and check out what others are saying in person and from the pulpit. We gave to be those who are genuine students of the LORD and the Holy Spirit will give us wisdom as to who we should listen to and support.
CHALLENGE: Those who are genuine teachers want you to check out their teaching in the Word of God on a daily basis. The Holy Spirit will give you discernment if you ask HIM!
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: 7 “For the Lord GOD will help Me; Therefore, I will not be disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982). 2496 חַלָּמִישׁ [challamiysh /klal·law·meesh/]- flint, rock. (in the sense of hardness)
DEVOTION: In ministry and life when we are doing work for the Lord it is extremely important that we know that it is the Lord’s work and not our own. Isaiah was daily challenged as a prophet of God and needed to be reminded that the Lord was there to assist and direct him through the difficulties that he faced. It was only that knowledge that enabled Isaiah to continue to declare a word of God that most people of Israel hated.
When we are in ministry and must declare the word of the Lord to people that do not want to hear or obey the principles and truths that are the Lord’s it is imperative that we know that Christ is directing. Words and actions of adversaries can be very exhausting to the faithful servant of God. Only the one that knows His calling and is strengthened by the Lord’s word will endure. Set your face like a flint (rock) and stand firm in the truth God wants you to share.
CHALLENGE: True ministry is difficult work as people do not want to believe the word of God. As a servant of the Lord it is the privilege to proclaim and present an example before unbelievers. In difficult times we can grow weary but remember what Isaiah said here and “set your face like a flint.” (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1, 10
Redeem verse 2
MY rebuke verse 2
I dry up the sea verse 2
I make rivers a wilderness verse 2
I cloth the heavens with blackness verse 3
I make sackcloth their covering verse 3
Lord – Adonai (Owner, Master) verse 4, 5, 7, 9
Gives the tongue of the learned verse 4
GOD – Jehovah verse 4, 5, 7, 9
Lord GOD verse 4, 5, 7, 9
Gives tongue of the learned to Isaiah verse 4
HE is near that justifies verse 8
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 10
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Servant verse 4- 9
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Adversary verse
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Creditors verse 1
Weary verse 4
Hear as the learned verse 4
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Bill of Divorcement verse 1
Put away verse 1
Iniquities verse 1
Transgressions verse 1
Rebellious verse 5
Turning back on God verse 5
Be confounded verse 7
Ashamed verse 7
Walk in darkness verse 10
No light verse 10
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Redeem verse 2
Deliver verse 2
Tongue of the learned verse 4
Helped verse 7, 9
Not confounded verse 7
Justified verse 8
No condemnation verse 9
Fear of the LORD verse 10
Obedience verse 10
Trust verse 10
Walk in the light verse 11
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Bill of Divorcement verse 1
Isaiah verse 4- 10
Give a tongue of the learned
I should know how to speak a word
In season to him that is weary
HE wakens morning by morning
Lord God opened my ear to hear
as he learned
I was not rebellious
I neither turned away back
I gave my back to the smiters
I gave my cheeks to them that
plucked off the hair
I hid not my face from
shame and spitting
Lord GOD will help me
Not be confounded
I have set my face like a flint
I know that I shall not be ashamed
HE justifies me
I am justified of the LORD
Asks: Who is my adversary?
Wants adversary to come near
Help from the Lord God
Asks: who is among you that fears
the LORD
who obey the voice of his servant
that walks in darkness and has no
light
Let him trust in the name of the
LORD and sty upon his God
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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DONATIONS:
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QUOTES regarding passage
Ver. 1. Thus saith the Lord, &c.] Here begins a new discourse or prophecy, and therefore thus prefaced, and is continued in the following chapter: where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? these words are directed to the Jews, who stood in the same relation to the Jewish church, or synagogue, as children to a mother; and so the Targum interprets your mother by your congregation, or synagogue; who were rejected from being a church and people; had a lo-ammi written upon them, which became very manifest when their city and temple were destroyed by the Romans; and this is signified by a divorce, alluding to the law of divorce among the Jews, Deut. 24:1–4 when a man put away his wife, he gave her a bill of divorce, assigning the causes of his putting her away. Now, the Lord, either as denying that he had put away their mother, the Jewish church, she having departed from him herself, and therefore challenges them to produce any such bill; a bill of divorce being always put into the woman’s hands, and so capable of being produced by her; or if there was such an one, see Jer. 3:8 he requires it might be looked into, and seen whether the fault was his, or the cause in themselves, which latter would appear: or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? referring to a practice used, that when men were in debt, and could not pay their debts, they sold their children for the payment of them; see Exod. 21:7; 2 Kings 4:1; Neh. 5:1–5 but this could not be the case here; the Lord has no creditors, not any to whom he is indebted, nor could any advantage possibly accrue to him by the sale of them; ’tis true they were sold to the Romans, or delivered into their hands, which, though a loss to them, was no gain to him; nor was it he that sold them, but they themselves; he was not the cause of it, but their own sins, as follows: behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves; or, are sold; they were sold for them, or delivered up into the hands of their enemies on account of them; they had sold themselves to work wickedness, and therefore it was but just that they should be sold, and become bond-slaves: and for your transgressions is your mother put away; and they her children along with her, out of their own land, and from being the church and people of God. ( Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 5, pp. 293–294). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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The promise of ransom (50:1–3). 1. Isaiah pursues the question of legality, raised in 49:24–25. He offers two pictures: divorce and slavery. According to Deuteronomy 24:1–4, a divorce could initiate a series of events making reconstitution of the original marriage impossible. The absence here of a certificate shows that this process has not even started. As to slavery, in default of payment, a creditor was legally entitled to enslave the debtor’s dependants (Exod. 21:7; 2 Kgs 4:1ff.; Neh. 5:1–5), and, as long as this situation obtained, all rights lay with the creditor, none with the debtor. In both cases there were legal requirements to be met. But are these situations applicable? Divorce accuses unfailing love of failure; slavery accuses sovereign power of weakness and sovereign resources of inadequacy. The truth, however, is very different, for it was all a matter of due reward of sins (‘awōn, 1f), inner perversion of heart (6:7), and transgressions (peša‘, 1g), ‘wilful rebellion’. Sold: cf. Judges 2:14; 3:8; 4:2; 10:7. (Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, p. 356). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
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Here, as in chapter 42, the true Servant of God appears in a context speaking of rebellious Israel, named also as God’s servant in the earlier passage (42:19). Here, as in 49:3, 6, the Servant is the perfect expression of God’s mind for Israel. The imperfect servant, though not so named, appears in vv.1–3 and 11, and the perfect in vv.4–10.
The chapter provides an interesting study in the prophet’s use of questions. In v.1 Isaiah queries assumptions made by his hearers; in v.2 he uses questions to level accusations at them; in vv.8–9 his questions are exclamatory and exultant expressions of faith; and in v.10 they suggest a reply enabling him to identify a particular group among his hearers.
1–3 The figures of divorce and debt set forth Israel’s conception of the Lord’s relationship to her (v.1). Exiled, she assumes that he has cast her off (cf. 40:27); but God her husband (cf. Jer 31:32) has not divorced her nor sold her to pay off his debts; for he, the Creator, has none. The cause of the Exile was simply sin on Israel’s part; and, it is implied, if she returns to God, he will restore her.
Verse 2 rebukes Israel’s unbelief. Through the prophets God has called to the people but found no answering response of obedient faith (cf. 48:8). Their unbelief had closed the book of redemptive history—with its lessons—to them. The end of this verse clearly refers to the Exodus; see especially the reference to “my arm” (cf. Exod 15:16; Deut 26:8; Ps 77:15). “A mere rebuke” suggests how simple an act of deliverance is for him. The argument from history is reinforced from nature, itself affected by the events associated with the Exodus. The judgment on the Nile and the clothing of the sky’s naked brightness with darkness (v.3; cf. 45:7) are fit symbols of God’s power to judge Israel’s enemies. (Grogan, G. W. (1986). Isaiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, pp. 288–289). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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50:1–3. The Lord declared that He was temporarily “divorcing” Zion because she had rejected Him without cause. He explained to Zion’s children that He temporarily sent away their mother because she sinned. In the Mosaic Law a husband could give his wife a divorce certificate detailing her fault(s) and she would be required to leave the home (Deut. 24:1). Israel’s captivity was like a wife having to leave her husband because of … sins. Isaiah also pictured Israel’s exile as being like sons sold into indentured servitude because of a great debt. Yet Israel’s rejection of Him was unreasonable (Isa. 50:2). Did they think God could not ransom or rescue them? Of course He could. He is the One who can withhold rain and dry up … rivers (cf. Deut. 28:23–24). (Martin, J. A. (1985). Isaiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1104). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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(3) A constant lover (50:1–3). The image of Israel as the wife of Jehovah is found often in the prophets (54:4–5; 62:1–5; Jer. 2:1–3; 3:1–11; Hosea 2; Ezek. 16). Israel was “married” to Jehovah when they accepted the covenant at Sinai (Ex. 19–20), but they violated that covenant by “playing the harlot” and worshiping idols. But God did not forsake His people even though they had been unfaithful to Him.
The Mosaic permission for divorce is found in Deuteronomy 24:1–4 (see Matt. 19:1–12). The “certificate of divorce” declared that the former marriage was broken and that the woman was free to remarry. But it also prevented the woman from returning to her former husband. God had indeed “divorced” the Northern Kingdom and allowed it to be assimilated by the Assyrians (Jer. 3:8), so she could not return. But He had not “divorced” the Southern Kingdom; He had only permitted His unfaithful wife to suffer chastening at the hands of Babylon. He would forgive her and receive her back again.
The second picture in this paragraph is that of a poor family selling their children into servitude (2 Kings 4:1–7; Neh. 5:1–5). God had not sold His people; by their sins, they had sold themselves. God had called to them many times and tried to turn them back from their wicked ways, but they had refused to listen. Judah did not go into exile because of God’s weakness, but because of their own sinfulness.
How could the people say they were forgotten and forsaken, when the Lord is a compassionate mother, a courageous warrior, and a constant lover? He is faithful to His Word even when we are unfaithful (2 Tim. 2:11–13). He is faithful to chasten when we rebel (Heb. 12:1–11), but He is also faithful to forgive when we repent and confess (1 John 1:9).
The Servant’s message to the Gentiles was one of hope and blessing. He would deal with His people so that they, in turn, could bring God’s blessing to the Gentiles. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Comforted (pp. 123–124). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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50:1 certificate of divorce … My creditors. Though the sufferings of Judah were the necessary result of sin, no certificate of divorce or sale to creditors occurred because Zion’s separation from the Lord was only temporary. In fact, God gave the non-Davidic northern kingdom a certificate of divorce (see note on Jer 3:8). However, the unconditional promises of the Davidic Covenant (2Sa 7) precluded such a divorce for Judah, although there would be a time of separation (cf. 54:6, 7). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Is 50:1). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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THUS saith the Lord, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my bcreditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.
Thus saith the Lord: this is another sermon begun here, and continued in the next chapter. The main scope of it is to vindicate God’s justice, and to convince the Jews that they were the causes of all their calamities which they imputed to God. Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement? God had formerly espoused the Israelites to himself in a kind of matrimonial covenant, but seemed to cast them off when he sent them to Babylon, and did wholly reject them afterward from being his people, and took the Gentiles into their stead; which great and wonderful change was foretold in the Old Testament, as hath been already observed, and we shall see again, and accomplished in the New. And because God foresaw that those strange dispensations would provoke the Jews to murmur and quarrel with God for casting them off without sufficient cause, as indeed they were always prone to accuse God, and to vindicate themselves, he bids them produce their bill of divorce; for those husbands which put away their wives merely out of levity or passion were obliged to give their wives a bill of divorce, which vindicated the wife’s innocency, and declared that the husband’s will and pleasure was the cause of the divorce; of which see the notes on Deut. 24:1; Matt. 19:3. Which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? have I any creditors to whom I was obliged or willing to sell you for the payment of my debt? Produce then the bill of sale to witness against me. Parents might, and in some cases were forced to sell their children to their creditors; of which see on Exod. 21:7, and 2 Kings 4:1. For your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, &c.; you can blame none but yourselves and your own sins for all your captivities and miseries. (Poole, M. (1853). Annotations upon the Holy Bible (Vol. 2, p. 440). New York: Robert Carter and Brothers.)
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1–3. The Prophet Hosea, whose ministry was not many years before that of Isaiah, hath made use of the same figure of the married state, to represent the Mediator’s union with his people; and here the Prophet Isaiah adopts the same method. It is indeed, a very striking figure, and the Lord Jesus himself seems to delight in it. See Hosea, 2 Jeremiah, 3:14, 15. Matt. 22:2. It may serve to teach us some sweet and precious things. By the assumption of our nature, the Lord Jesus hath shewn, that the soul is a marriageable creature to Christ, and therefore capable of an union with him, and enjoyment in him, to all eternity. What a sorrowful thought then is it, that by sin we should at any time estrange ourselves from our Lord, our husband; and that our iniquities should act like a bill of divorcement! Precious Jesus! be thou our husband still, and perform the tender office of the husband and the friend, notwithstanding our backsliding; for the Lord God of Israel saith that he that hateth putting away, Malachi, 2:16. I only add, that perhaps the expressions here denoted, concerning the Lord’s drying up the sea, making the rivers a wilderness, and causing the fish to stink, hath respect to the display of his miracles in Egypt, for the deliverance of his people. (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: Proverbs–Lamentations (Vol. 5, pp. 446–447). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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Stephen writes: Social Security and Medicare are not entitlements! We paid for them!
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February 11
Exodus 32
The Israelites sin by worshiping an idol-the golden calf.
INSIGHT
Sin does not mind rubbing shoulders with righteousness. Even while Moses is on Mount Sinai communing with God, the children of Israel are fashioning a golden idol to worship in His place. Fueled by shamelessness and a short memory, the Israelites rush headlong into one of the most remarkable displays of indiscretion in the Bible.
Beware! Even when you are rubbing shoulders with righteousness, sin can trip you up. Even when you are basking in the light of Mount Sinai, evil may be lurking in the shadows.
As Peter wrote, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).( Quiet Walk)
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THE HOLY SPIRIT GLORIFIES THE SON
He shall glorify me. John 16:14
After the Lord Jesus Christ went back to heaven, He sent upon the church the Holy Spirit, and the business and work of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Son. Now this is a marvelous statement. We do not see the Holy Spirit—He is invisible, and in a sense that is because His work is to glorify the Son. Indeed, we read about the Holy Spirit in John 16:14 the same thing that we read elsewhere about the Son. Our Lord says that the Holy Spirit does not speak of Himself, but “He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.” We are told precisely the same thing about the Son in relation to the Father. Therefore, the great controlling thought we must hold in our minds is that the chief work of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.
In a sense the final glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ was the coming of the Holy Spirit. We are told in John’s Gospel that the Holy Spirit was not yet come because Jesus was not yet glorified. We see this in the great promise our Lord made one day in the Temple when He said, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38). And John expounds on that: “But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.” So the Holy Spirit could not be given until Christ had finished the work the Father had given Him to do, until He had died and risen again, until He had ascended and taken His seat at the right hand of God. God then said, in effect, “I give You the promise; You send it upon the people.”
A Thought to Ponder: The chief work of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. (From Saved in Eternity, pp. 86-87, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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THE HOLY SPIRIT REVEALS THE PERSON OF CHRIST
No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. 1 Corinthians 12:3
How does the Holy Spirit glorify Christ? It seems to me that the best way to look at this is to divide it into three main headings. First of all, He reveals the Lord Jesus Christ and His person. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians talks about the Lord of glory. Paul writes: “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery . . . which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:7-8). But we, he says, have received the Spirit, and “the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (verse 10).
Do you see what that means? When the Lord Jesus was here as man, the Pharisees and the doctors of the law did not recognize Him; it was they who incited the people to cry out, “Away with Him, crucify Him.” The Greeks did not know Him either, nor did the great philosophers; they all rejected Him. They said it was nonsense and impossible that a carpenter like that should be the Son of God. And the reason they did not know Him was they had not received the Holy Spirit. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:3, “No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.”
Have you not often been perplexed by the fact that many able men in this modern world of ours do not believe in the deity of Jesus Christ? They say that He was only a man. They praise Him and say He is the greatest man or teacher the world has ever known, but they do not see in Him the Son of God. We should never be happy about that. To recognize the Lord Jesus Christ is not a matter of intellect, but the greatest brain can never come to see it and believe it. It is a spiritual truth and something that is spiritually discerned. The Holy Spirit alone can reveal the person of Christ, but He can do it, and He can do it to anybody and to everybody.
A Thought to Ponder: The Holy Spirit alone can reveal the person of Christ. (From Saved in Eternity, pp. 88-89, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Song of the Rock
“And David spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul.” (2 Samuel 22:1)
This is the first verse of a remarkable poem inserted here near the end of 2 Samuel. With certain significant exceptions, it is the same as the 18th Psalm. David wrote many wonderful psalms, but this is the only one also found in the historical books and so must have special significance. In view of 2 Samuel 23:1-2 (“these be the last words of David”), it may even be David’s last psalm, as slightly modified by him from Psalm 18, just before his death.
In 2 Samuel 22:2-3, he ascribed nine wonderful names to God: rock, fortress, deliverer, God of my rock, shield, horn of my salvation, high tower, refuge, Savior. In the midst of this unique list of metaphors appears his statement of faith: “In him will I trust.” Although this psalm flows from David’s personal experiences, these words are quoted in Hebrews 2:13 as coming from the lips of Christ in His human incarnation. Thus, the song is actually also a Messianic psalm. Its testimonies go far beyond the experiences of David, reflecting the mighty events of Christ in creation, at the judgment of the great Flood, and His work as our Redeemer. It is significant that the concluding name in David’s list is Savior, which is the Hebrew yasha—essentially the same as “Jesus.”
Two of the names (Hebrew cela and tsur) are translated “rock,” but refer to different kinds of rock. They are the same words used for the rocks from which God provided water for His people in the wilderness (Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:11), except that the order is reversed. One is the great rock of provision, the other the smitten rock of judgment. Our God of creation, Jesus Christ, is our daily sustenance but first must also be our sin-bearing Savior. (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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The Mercy of the Lord
“The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.” (Psalm 145:8)
Not one of us deserves God’s mercy, for “we have turned every one to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6), and “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). What we deserve is death and eternal separation from the God who made us. Nevertheless, “it is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not” (Lamentations 3:22). “He hath not dealt with us after our sins. . . . For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him” (Psalm 103:10-11).
It is by His mercy, not our merit, that we are saved. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us” (Titus 3:5). “God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)” (Ephesians 2:4-5). It is “according to his abundant mercy” that He has “begotten us again unto a lively hope” (1 Peter 1:3).
In fact, one of the very titles of God is “the Father of mercies” (2 Corinthians 1:3). Over and over the psalmist assures us that “his mercy endureth for ever” (26 times in Psalm 136:1-26; also Psalm 106:1; 107:1; 118:1; etc.). His mercy is not only infinite, but eternal.
How can one possibly reject His mercy? “Despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering?” (Romans 2:4). Sadly, most do. Instead, the divine challenge is: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:1-2). This is our logical response to God’s great mercy! (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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SIGN SAYS: It’s hard to get in shape spiritually IF you only work out on Sunday!!
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