Judgment, Rebuke, Deliverance, and RestorationIsaiah
The Greatest Writing Prophet
Who was Isaiah?
Isaiah, son of Amoz, is often thought of as the greatest of the writing prophets. His name means, “The Lord saves.” He was a contemporary of Amos, Hosea, and Micah, beginning his ministry in 740 B.C., the year King Uzziah died. Isaiah lived at least until 681. According to unsubstantiated tradition (The Ascension of Isaiah), he was sawed in half during the reign of King Manasseh.
Isaiah was married and had at least two sons. He probably spent most of his life in Jerusalem, enjoying his greatest influence under King Hezekiah.
Isaiah warned Judah that her sin would bring captivity at the hands of Babylon – a message that is prophetic for the world today – including those who consider themselves Christians. Even as this is being written, Babylon – in the form of the New World Order/Illuminati Jews – are taking over the world.
But Isaiah also reveals that God would redeem his people from Babylon just as he rescued them from Egypt – a comforting prophecy for our time as well.
Theme and Theology of the Book of Isaiah
Israel is a nation blind and deaf, a vineyard that will be trampled, a people devoid of justice or righteousness. The awful judgment that was unleashed upon Israel and all the nations that defied God, as prophesied by Isaiah, will also be unleashed against America, and all the other nations around the world, including the those throughout the world who claim to be Christians, but who “draw near God with their mouth and honor Him with their lips – but their hearts are far from Him.” (Matt 15:8)
Literary Features
Isaiah contains both prose and poetry; the beauty of its poetry is unsurpassed in the Old Testament. A taunting song against the king of Babylon is found in 14:4-23. Chapters 24-47 comprise an apocalyptic section stressing the last days. A wisdom poem is found in 28:23-29. The song of the vineyard (5:1-7) begins as a love song as Isaiah describes God’s relationship with Israel. A national lament occurs in 63:7-64:12. The poetry is rich and varied, as is the prophet’s vocabulary. He uses nearly 2,200 different Hebrew words – more than any other Old Testament writer.
One of Isaiah’s favorite techniques is personification. The sun and moon are ashamed (24:23), while the desert and parched land rejoice (35:1) and the mountains and forests burst into song (44:23). The trees “clap their hands” (55:12). A favorite figure is the vineyard, which represents Israel (5:7). Treading the winepress is a picture of judgment (63:3), and to drink God’s “cup of wrath” is to stagger under His discipline (reaping what we have sown) (see 51:17).
Isaiah often alludes to earlier events in Israel’s history, especially the exodus from Egypt, including the crossing of the Red Sea, the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, and Gideon’s victory over Midian. Isaiah, like Moses, called the nation to repentance and to faith in a holy, all-powerful God.
Chapters 1-39 of Isaiah comprise the “Book of Judgment” – Rebuke, Judgment and Promise to Israel and Judgment against the Nations. Chapters 40-66 are referred to as the “book of Comfort” – Deliverance and Restoration of God’s people, referred to as “Israel” (those who worshipped God) in the Old Testament and “Christians” (those who worshipped God) in the New Testament.
The Book of Isaiah was written around 700 B.C., over 3,500 years ago but it is a message for American Christians today!
Isaiah
Chapter 1
1. The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
The son of Amoz: This is the only occurrence of the name Amoz in the Bible. Nothing further is known of Isaiah’s father. The name Amoz should not be confused with Amos. In Hebrew the two are distinctly different.
Concerning Judah and Jerusalem: Isaiah’s messages were addressed primarily to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, and were intended for their benefit. Here the word “Judah” is used. Those who lived in Judah were called “Judahites” in the Bible. Unfortunately, the Bible translators took it upon themselves to change the word to “Jew” – a deliberate fraud perpetrated on the population of the world. In Strong’s Concordance, #3063 is the Hebrew word Yehuwdah – and means Judah; #3064 is the word Yehuwdiy and means Judahite – which they then take the unauthorized liberty to shorten into the word “Jew.”
The word Judahite refers to a person who lived in the land of Judah or one who worshipped the God whose presence resided in the temple in Jerusalem – in Judah (or Judea). In addition, those who worshipped the God in the temple in Jerusalem were also looking forward to Jesus Christ, the Messiah, who would come from the tribe of Judah – and would be born in Bethlehem – in Judea (Judah), so they were referred to as either Judahites or Judeans – but NOT “Jews.”
The terms Judahite or Judean denoted either a place of residence or a form of worship (worship of the God in the temple in Jerusalem as opposed to the nations – mistranslated “Gentiles” – who worshipped many pagan gods) NOT an ethnicity.
In the days: According to the chronology employed in this commentary, Uzziah died in 740/739 B.C., and Hezekiah in 687/686 B.C.
2. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me.
2. Hear, O heavens: Isaiah’s first discourse opens with an indictment of the professed people of God. Their utter failure to appreciate and profit by the unprecedented opportunities afforded them as a nation is amazing beyond words. As it were, Isaiah calls upon the inhabitants of heaven to witness the extraordinary spectacle, a literary device that was designed to impress the dull senses of the people with the enormity of their transgression.
The heavens are to be witnesses to the astounding situation among those for whom God has done so much and who have been so utterly unmindful of Him. Before the universe the rebellious people of God stand guilty, and God is justified in the course He is about to take against the rebels.
The same is true today of those around the world who refer to themselves as Christians. They have profaned the name of God by worshipping Him as though He were a mere human being, a God unable to save them unless they let Him. They are utterly blind to the holiness of God. They have brought the world into the church with rock music, theater, an atmosphere of a secular country club, and in many churches - demonic speaking in tongues.
Those who call themselves Christians in America, and in many other countries, are “ripe” for the judgments of God which are taking place right now. America has been taken over completely by an “alien” nation – international Jewry – the “spiritual” (but not physical) progeny of those who murdered Jesus Christ.
I have nourished: The relationship between God and His people has been that of father and son. Everything a father could do for his children, God has done for His people. Being the recipients of His fatherly care, God’s people should have accepted the responsibilities of sonship along with its privileges.
Rebelled: They renounced the authority of their Father in heaven and ignored the requirements He made of them.
The same thing is happening in today’s churches. Christians believe that being “saved by grace” means they don’t have to keep God’s law. They apparently believe God has NO standards of conduct. All one has to do is “parrot” a short paragraph about believing in Jesus who died for our sins – and Voila! one is “saved” and doesn’t need to make any changes in his life. He can do whatever he pleases. Developing a character like Jesus Christ which requires one to obey God’s law is somehow considered “works” even though Jesus said:
“I came NOT to destroy (abolish) the law, but to fulfill it (to show you how to keep it).” Matt 5:17
3. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s feeding trough: but Israel does not understand, My people do not consider.
3. The ox: Domestic animals know who supplies them their sustenance. Even unthinking brutes know where to find their food, and consequently acquire a certain attachment for the one who provides for them. But not so the people of God! They have been guilty of the most ungrateful stupidity, unmindful and unappreciative of their heavenly Father’s tender care. They have not even shown the intelligence of dumb animals.
4. Woe sinful nation, a people heavy with depravity! Seed of evil doers! Son of ruiners! They have forsaken the Lord, and they spurn the Holy One of Israel. They are gone away backward.
4. Woe sinful nation: The very ones God had chosen to be “an holy people” unto Him (Deut 14:2) had become a sinful nation. Ingratitude for the blessing bestowed upon them was the cause of their unholy state. Forgetting God as the giver of the good things they enjoyed, they became openly apostate and flagrantly disobedient. Negative forgetfulness developed into positive rebellion.
Seed of evildoers: They who might have been an “holy seed” (Ch 6:13) became an evil plant producing worthless fruit.
Forsaken the Lord: That is, in preference for another master, the prince of evil (John 8:44).
Provoked: Israel had so spurned God’s grace and so disregarded His precepts that they had degenerated into a rebellious, careless, insolent, destitute, and degenerate nation – “ripe for the picking” by another nation to enslave them. Israel was going to reap what they had sown.
America has become the same way. Prosperity breeds laziness and contempt for an honest day’s work. The unemployment rate today is 41%, however, 33% don’t even want to work. Over the past 100 years, we have been slowly enslaved by our captors – the New World Order/Illuminati Jews.
America is reaping what it has sown.
The Holy One of Israel: A favorite expression of Isaiah. He uses it 25 times, as compared with only 6 times by all other Old Testament writers. When Isaiah first saw God in vision, seated upon His throne, he also heard the angelic choir singing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts” (Ch. 6:3). The holy character of God made a deep impression upon the prophet. He recognized God as, above all else, a holy being, and aspired to be like Him. Henceforth, Isaiah’s great task in life was to keep before Israel a picture of the holiness of God and the importance of putting away sin and recognizing their need for God to run their life.
Gone away backward: Instead of drawing ever closer to God and walking with Him, they were estranged from Him. They veered ever further from the pathway of holiness just as the Christian church of today has done.
5. Why should ye be stricken anymore? Ye will revolt more and more; the whole head is sick, and the whole heart languishes.
5. Why should ye be stricken any more? By their sins the professed people of God had brought woe upon themselves. The deeper they went into sin, the greater the weight of woe they took upon themselves. Isaiah endeavored to reason with them, asking why they chose to pursue so foolish a course of action. But their eyes were blind to their apostasy.
The same is true of the Christian church of today. Like the “believers” of Laodecia in Revelation 3:14-22, Christians of today say,
“I am rich, and increased with goods and have need of nothing (I have the truth and there is nothing more for me to learn): and you do not know that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” Rev 3:17
God says, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I wish that you were cold or hot. So then because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth.” Rev 3:15,16
Those in Laodecia were not hot - “on fire” for the Lord – nor were they “cold” – recognizing their need for God to run their life. They were “lukewarm” – they thought they were just fine – a perfect picture of the Christian church of today.
6. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores; they have not been closed, neither bound up , neither soothed with ointment.
6. No soundness in it: The entire body suffers. Wherever Isaiah looked in Jerusalem and Judah he saw evidence of the results of transgression.
7. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by alien peoples.
7. Your country is desolate: From his figurative description of the land( vs 2-6), the prophet turns to a literal description. The picture here given aptly represents the situation of Judah at the time of the Assyrian invasions. With their customary ruthless cruelty the Assyrians had swept through the country, burning, pillaging, and killing. Many of the strong cities had been taken, countless small villages had been smitten, and much of the land had been reduced to a desolate waste. It appeared that the end was not far away.
This is the same picture as the countries that the U.S. and Israel have declared as their “enemies” – Japan (Nagasaki and Hiroshima), the absolute devastation of Germany during World War II, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Palestinians. Carnage is everywhere!
8. And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage (booth or shelter) in a vineyard, as a lodge (hut) in a cucumber patch, as a besieged city.
8. The daughter of Zion: That is, Jerusalem. Zion was originally the ancient Jebusite stronghold, the city of David, but later the name was applied in an extended sense to the entire city.
A cottage: That is, a hut or booth in which the keeper of the vineyard or members of his family dwelt during the vintage season. Those dwelling in such structures were, of course, isolated from the rest of the community and unprotected. Thus it was with Jerusalem during the period in question.
A lodge: Cucumbers and similar plants were common in the East. A booth was often erected in the field where the caretaker would live during the summer to keep watch over the crops against thieves.
A besieged city: At the time of Sennacherib’s invasion Jerusalem was literally surrounded by the Assyrian armies. It alone stood when all the rest of the land of Judah had fallen into enemy hands.
9. Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant (a few survivors), we would become as Sodom, and to Gomorrah we would be likened.
9. The Lord of hosts: This is the divine title used by the angels in Isaiah’s vision of the glory of God (Ch 6:3). It refers to God as commander of the hosts, or armies, of heaven.
Small remnant (few survivors). All of Judea, except Jerusalem, fell into enemy hands. The capital alone stood, seemingly insecure and in desperate peril. Except for this “small remnant” the nation of Judah would have met its doom as certainly as Sodom and Gomorrah.
10. Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom: give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
10. Ye rulers of Sodom (and Gomorrah): The title “Sodom,” here figuratively applied to Judah in view of the fact that similar conditions now prevailed there, stands as a terrible indictment of the nation that professed to rule in the name of God. The rulers of the country had strayed so far from the Lord that, in policy and practice, they differed but little from the rulers of the most sinful nations on earth. Accordingly, a most solemn summons was now addressed to them, a message from God that involved the doom of the entire nation unless it repented.
In the Bible, Sodom and Gomorrah represented the most corrupt and detestable cities, filled with perversion and depravity yet these names were being applied to the Israelites. It is the same in America today, as well as in England. Those at the highest levels of government, the leaders of this nation, and others long admired by the public, are also involved in the same perversions and depravity.
Jimmy Savile, for decades one of the biggest personalities on Britain’s airwaves, knighted by the Queen as “Sir James Savile” who recently died at the age of 84 at the height of a major sex scandal, has been found to have sexually abused hundreds of young girls as well as some young boys over a 40 year period. Over 300 sexual abuse victims of Savile have already come forward. Executives in the BBC, the network for which Savile worked, were also involved in the cover-up of his activities.
11. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me? Saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt (ascent) offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts: and I delight not in the blood of young bulls and he-lambs and he-goats.
11. To what purpose? Judah was still, outwardly, a very religious nation. Great numbers of sacrifices were offered at the Temple, but there was little true religion. While maintaining the external forms of religion the professed people of God had forgotten what it was that God really wanted of them. They were willing to offer sacrifices, but not to give their hearts to the Lord. They knew the forms of religion, but they did not understand their need of a Saviour or the meaning of righteousness.
The same is true of the Christian churches of today. They love the rituals of the church – the order of service, the pastors or priests in “righteous” robes, the huge Cross at the front of the church, the ritual of communion, the ritual of repeating together various creeds.
Again God says, “They honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.” Mark 7:6
Isaiah endeavored to bring the people to their senses and to cause them to realize the folly of their course. By a series of pointed questions he hoped to bring home to them the fact that a religion consisting only of outward forms was an offense in the sight of God.
Throughout the ages, God has made it clear that He requires obedience rather than sacrifice, righteousness rather than rituals.
“To obey is better than sacrifice. To hearken, than the fat of rams.” 1 Sam 15:22
12. When you come to appear before Me, who hath required this at your hand, to trample My courts?
12. To appear before me: To “appear before God” was the normal phrase for visiting the Temple at the great religious services (Ps 42:2; 84:7; Ex 34:23). The Hebrews rightly believed that when they came to the Temple they came into the immediate presence of God.
Too bad the Christians in all the churches have lost that reverence for God. Even during their services, their churches often sound like a party at a country club – people chatting with each other, singing happy birthday as a group to a member, clapping, laughing – having a jolly good time!
13. Do not continue to bring vain oblations (futile sacrifices). Incense is an abomination to Me! The new moons and Sabbaths, the calling of a meeting, I cannot endure it. It is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
13. Vain oblations: Sacrifices offered as a ritual – without contrition and genuine repentance – were offered in vain. They were valueless, just as the rituals of the church today are worthless in God’s sight.
An abomination: Instead of being delighted with the offering of sweet incense before Him, the Lord was highly displeased. The formalities of religion mean nothing when its true spirit is lacking. God has made it clear that where obedience is lacking, even prayer is an abomination to Him (Prov 28:9).
New moons and Sabbaths: It was an essential part of the religion of the Israelites to observe these sacred days. They had been appointed by the Lord Himself, and it was He who had required Israel to observe them. But the outward observance of these forms of religion was not enough. Ritual and ceremony are without meaning when righteousness is lacking. God made it clear that the formal observance of the sacred days He Himself had commanded was offensive when obedience was lacking.
It is iniquity: The solemn services of the Israelites were accompanied by a life of iniquity. This was an offense to the Lord. Many who strictly observed the formal requirements of the ceremonial law openly violated the solemn commands of the law of God. Their course was a mockery of religion and a disgrace in the sight of God.
When one looks at the Organized Churches of today – nothing has changed!
14. Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hateth: they are a trouble unto Me; I am tired of bearing them.
14. My soul hateth: God was speaking to a group of people who were outwardly very religious. They engaged in the ceremonies of religion because they thought in this way to earn the favor of God. But the Lord informed them that He was highly displeased with their course of action. He hated the observance of their appointed feasts, He rejected their worship, and resented their hypocritical pretense. They were actually defying God by refusing to walk in His ways, and no cloak of religious formalism could cover their sins.
Then – as now – it is always easier to perform rituals, or even to “work” for God, doing good deeds, than it is to become “one with God.” The church members are so busy with their good works and their religious rituals that they have no time to have a close personal relationship with the Lord.
15. And when you spread forth your hands (to pray), I will hide Mine eyes from you: yea, when you make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Amidst your finger extrudes lawlessness.
15. When ye spread forth your hands: When the Israelites prayed they frequently stretched out their hands toward God. (see Ex 9:29-33; 17:11, 1 Kings 8:22, Ezra 9:4).
I will not hear: To be heard, prayer must be sincere. The prayers of hypocrites will not be heard (Matt 6:5; Luke 18:14). Prayers may be long and frequent, yet be of no avail (Matt 6:7). The prayers of evildoers whose hands are stained with blood and who persist in their evil ways will not reach the throne of God. The Israelites in the days of Isaiah appeared outwardly to be a very religious people who made much of prayer, but they refused to forsake their sins. Their prayers came from the lips but not from the heart. Such prayers, God made it clear, He refused to hear.
16. Wash yourselves! Purge Yourselves! Take away the evil of your actions from in front of My eyes! Cease to do evil;
16. Wash you: Sin results in moral pollution and spiritual decay. When David sinned, his prayer was, “Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Ps 51:7). He recognized the defilement of sin and asked God o give him a clean heart (v. 10), and his prayer was heard. Every sinner is in need of moral purification; his heart must be cleansed of its moral corruption. God calls upon the sinner to wash his heart of wickedness (Jer 4:14), to cleanse his hands of iniquity (James 4:8). He promises to write His law in the heart (Jer 31:33) and to cleanse man from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Isaiah called for Jerusalem to put on her beautiful garments, for the time was coming when the unclean would no longer enter there (Isa 52:1). John declared that nothing that defiles will in any wise enter into the Holy City (Rev 21:27). The lesson Isaiah endeavored to impress upon Israel was that God, “the Holy One of Israel,” requires holiness of His people.
Cease to do evil: God called upon His people to cease from sin. He was holy, and they were to be holy. Evil must be put out of the life of every child of God. Sin will not exist in the pure atmosphere of heaven, and all who enter there will wear the garments of righteousness.]
Unfortunately, the Organized Churches of today don’t believe that anyone can be perfect. They just believe that Christians are to “try their best – and God makes up the rest.” That means they must believe that after they’re dead, God will wave a magic wand to make them perfect.
But God promises, “You SHALL be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matt 5:48) After we’ve had sufficient trouble in this life to recognize our absolute need for Jesus Christ to run our life, He will come in to our heart and give us a new character and disposition – His character and disposition. He will then be making ALL the decisions in our life – and when that happens - we WILL be perfect because All the decisions of Jesus Christ are perfect!
17. Learn to do well; seek justice, relieve the oppressed (literal: reprove the oppressor), vindicate the fatherless (orphans), plead for the widow.
17. Learn to do well: Those who serve God will “hate the evil, and love the good” (Amos 5:15). When Jesus Christ is making ALL the decisions in our life, we will have no inclination to sin.
Relieve the oppressed: Many in Israel were being oppressed by their fellows. It was the duty of those who loved God to correct this situation. Oppressors must be restrained and the oppressed given the needed relief.
Plead for the widow: The poor and needy, the unfortunate and oppressed, were in desperate need of relief. The leaders among the professed people of God were taking advantage of these unfortunate classes and enriching themselves at their expense. A religion that consists of the observance of magnificent ceremonies but neglects the needs of the oppressed is meaningless.
18. Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
18. Come now and let us reason together: God wants us to use our brain. This is contrary to the very nature of “speaking in tongues’ where the individual doesn’t even know what he is saying. God also wants us to “study to show ourselves approved unto God” (2 Tim 2:15) – studying God’s Word for ourselves rather than just believing what the churches teach.
Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow: God not only forgives our sins when we repent, He can take away our sinning nature, so we will eventually have no inclination to sin. It’s not that we try and try and try – our best – and hope that we make it. We are unable to be perfect on our own. When God moves into our life, it is true that we must develop new habits, but He is the One who gives us a new nature. He even cleans our subconscious – an area of our mind over which we have no control.
19. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land;
19. If ye be willing and obedient: Isaiah here sets forth the fruitage of obedience. In the spiritual realm, it is obedience that eliminates confusion – not intellectual effort. When we obey all we know and all we have the opportunity to know, God will open our mind to understand His truth.
20. But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
20. But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: It is not an arbitrary decree of God that condemns the sinner. He only reaps what he has sown. When men transgress the commandments of God they reap the inevitable result. When Israel turned from God, they entered the pathway of ruin. When men rebel against God and refuse to obey His law they automatically invite trouble.
God has given us, in His Word, the right way to live. When we “follow His laws, commandments and decrees” (Deut 7:11-15) He will keep us “free from every disease” – both physically and spiritually. Rebellion leads only to sickness, heartache, and premature death.
But that is not the end. After the Great White Throne Judgment, God will allow all sinners to reap what they have sown, but not to eternal damnation. God’s Judgment is designed to turn the sinner back to right-doing – back to righteousness.
“Judgment returns unto righteousness.” Psalm 94:15
“When Thy Judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness (they will learn to do right).” Isaiah 26:9
21. How is the faithful city become an harlot (literal: prostitute) It was full of justice, righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.
21. How is the faithful city become an harlot! Zion, once the faithful city, has become faithless. Once the true wife of Jehovah, she has now turned from Him and given herself to others. She has become a harlot. The experience of Israel shows the depths to which men may fall. Once true and obedient, holy and upright, Israel became vile and corrupt, a startling example of the terrible fruitage of unfaithfulness to God.
It was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers: Though written over 2,500 years ago, it sounds like a description of America.
22. Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water.
22. Thy silver is become dross: Physically: the gold in Fort Knox has been stolen and all that is left is Tungsten covered with a thin film of gold.
Spiritually: The character of the people had degenerated from precious silver to worthless dross.
Thy wine mixed with water:
Physically: Almost everything that is now produced in this country is tainted and corrupted.
Spiritually: The wine – unfermented grape juice – represents the blood of Christ that takes away the sin of the world. But that doctrine has also been diluted by the Christian church. According to Church doctrine, Jesus’ death on the Cross was inadequate to “take away the sin from EVERYONE in the world” so God will have to burn up His failures. Apparently Jesus can only save those who “let Him.” The Church believes that man’s “will” is stronger than God’s “will” even thou God says He is “operating everything in accord with the counsel of HIS OWN Will.” Eph 1:11
23. Your princes (chiefs) are rebellious and companions of thieves: everyone loveth gifts (bribes) and followeth after rewards: they defend not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
23. Thy princes are rebellious and companions of thieves: Our leaders are corrupted, arrogant and rebellious. They hate those they are supposed to serve. The leaders of the U.S. not only are companions of thieves – they are thieves themselves, i.e. the Federal Reserve System, Unconstitutional Progressive Income Tax, Drug running through “Fast and Furious,” fraudulent home foreclosures, police who behave worse than street thugs.
Their duty is to enforce the law but they are in partnership with those who violate the law.
Every one loveth gifts (bribes). Micah (ch 7:3) declares that “the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward (bribe).” For every service the rulers in Israel expected a reward. Bribery was the order of the day.
3,500 years later – nothing has changed. The same thing is happening in America: from illegal campaign contributions, to bribes for government contracts, to the rich avoiding payment of taxes.
They judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them: Of course not. The judges in Israel - as the judges now in America – turn a deaf ear to orphans and widows who were – and are – not usually in a position to offer bribes. It was – and is – easy for a judge to postpone indefinitely the hearing of the cases of the poor (see Luke 18:2-5).
24. Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease Me (be relieved) of Mine adversaries, and avenge Me of Mine enemies.
24. The mighty One of Israel: It’s not surprising that the elitists believe there is no God. If they believed there is a God, they would have to deal with His promise that they will “reap what they have sown.” That will, indeed, be a LOT of reaping for the Rothschilds, the Rockefellers, the Kuhns, the Loebs, the Lehmanns, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Bernanke, Sr. and Jr. Bush, the Clintons, Obama and all the other criminals that run the U.S. government.
Obviously, they are not familiar with God’s message through Isaiah:
“I will contend with him that contendeth with thee” (ch 49:25).
Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies: Everyone on earth can rest assured that no one will “get away with” anything. Everyone will reap what he has sown, but not to eternal destruction – a fraudulent doctrine written into the scriptures by the translators.
“God is the Savior of ALL mankind.” 1 Tim 4:10
“Judgment returns unto righteousness.” Psalms 94:15
“Behold the Lamb of God who TAKES WAY the sin of the (whole) world.” John 1:29
25. And I will turn My hand upon thee, and purely (thoroughly) purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin (alloy).
And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross and take away all thy tin: Here is God’s promise that He WILL “take away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) He “sits as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” Malachi 3:3,4
God will not destroy His children. Instead, He will refine and purify them – even the most wicked, the biggest sinner – and present them as a righteous offering to the Lord.
The Lord “turns His hand” on His children (and everyone who has ever been created is God’s child) to redeem and restore them.
Dross: Fires of affliction – trouble - removes the dross, and only the pure gold of holy character will remain (Job 23:10).
Tin: All the base traits of character will be removed, and only the pure gold will remain.
26. And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.
26. Restore thy judges: God watches over His Word to perform it. (Jer 1:12) And His will is that “none should perish, but ALL should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) God WILL restore ALL those He has created.
The City of Righteousness, the faithful city: When all are eventually saved, at the end of the eon that begins with the Great White Throne Judgment, there will surely be a Jerusalem – a name that means Possession of Peace – or a Complete Wholeness.
27. Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts (those restored) with righteousness.
27. Zion shall be redeemed with judgment and her converts with righteousness: Here we have God’s promise again that Judgment leads to redemption that results in converts to righteousness.
“Judgment returns unto righteousness.” Ps 94:15
“When Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness (God’s judgments - reaping what they have sown - eventually will lead them to righteousness). Isaiah 26:9
28. And the destruction (breaking) of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed (finished).
28. And the destruction of the transgressors and the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed: Jeremiah gives us a perfect picture of “destruction” from God’s point of view.
“The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,
“Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear My words.
“Then I went down to the potter’s house and, behold, he wrought a work on the potter’s wheel
“And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter : so he (crushed it – “destroyed” it) and made it again another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.
“Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
“O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. Jeremiah 18:1-6
“Behold, I make ALL new.” Rev 21:5
Through trials and tribulations, God consumes the sin – but not the sinner.
29. For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which you covet, and ye shall be abashed for the gardens that ye have chosen.
29. The oaks were the site of pagan worship.
30. For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth (decays), and as a garden that hath no water.
30. An oak. Like the objects of nature that they worshiped, the people also would perish.
30. That hath no water. Without water no garden can prosper. With the Lord is the fountain of life (Ps. 36:9), and those who forsake Him forsake the fountain of living waters (Jer. 2:13). As a garden without water becomes an arid waste, so, without God, Israel would degenerate into a desolate field. By forsaking the Lord, the Source of life, Israel sealed its own doom.
31. And the strong shall be as tow (tinder) and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn (consume), the two of them together, and none shall quench them.
31. And the strong shall be as tow and the maker of it as a spark: The tow, the coarse and broken part of flax, hemp, or jute when ready for spinning, is highly flammable. It is God’s “fiery” law (Deut 33:2) that will consume the sin in the sinner’s life.
“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
“But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s suffering; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” 1 Peter 4:12,13
They shall burn together, and none shall quench them: The “fire” is unquenchable until all the sin has been “burned up” because fire cannot burn in the same place twice. Excerpts from the SDA Commentary
“It is God’s WILL that all men be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. 1 Time 2:4
“I will hasten My Word to perform it.” Jer 1:12
Behold, I make ALL new.” Rev 21:5