The Prophecy of Isaiah – Lesson 44

Audio

As we move on into the rest of Isaiah we'll see God continually foreshadowing how He will accomplish the final redemption of Israel including your salvation.

 

Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified." But I said, "I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the LORD, and my recompense with my God." And now the LORD says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength—

Isaiah 49:1-5

God called Christ from the womb (Matthew 1:21), He taught with authority as if His mouth was a sharp sword (Mark 1:22), God was glorified in Him (Matthew 15:31), He was forsaken by everyone (Mark 14:50; Mark 15:34), and He was honored in the eyes of the Lord (Hebrews 2:9). Even today, He has gathered you, as Israel, for God's glory and purposes

 

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Ephesians 2:11-13

How can we not glorify God when we realize that we were separated alienated strangers who had no hope and were without God. The Greek says our natural state is ἄθεος [atheos /ath·eh·os/] translated "without God" and even means one who denies God and is fundamentally ungodly. Don't flatter yourself with the idea that you were a holy seeker of God who weighed and compared the world's religions and found that Christianity was the most reasonable and right of religions. You were ἄθεος and without hope when the God of all mercy pulled you out of the pit you deserved and made your dead heart alive in Christ. God reveals this is Scripture and it isn't something you naturally understand before or even after salvation. God explains it so that you will glorify Him.

 

He says: "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: "Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."

Isaiah 49:6-7

Your salvation was not "Plan B" after a failed attempt to redeem Israel. Your salvation was prophesied 2700 years ago by Isaiah as a result of the work of the Holy One. He became a light for the nations and salvation has gone to the end of the earth. He was despised by "the nation" in His days on earth but now kings and princes bow down to the King of Kings.

 

God the Father here becomes the kinsman redeemer of the Holy One who was despised and rejected and protects the interests of the Holy One so that kings and princes then bow down. We don't see here (at least not clearly) the full nature and depth of the abhorrence expressed by the "nation".

 

Thus says the LORD: "In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages, saying to the prisoners, 'Come out,' to those who are in darkness, 'Appear.' They shall feed along the ways; on all bare heights shall be their pasture; they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them. And I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways shall be raised up. Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Syene." Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.

Isaiah 49:8-13

God then keeps Christ and gives Christ, in the day of favor and salvation as a covenant to establish the blessings promised to Abraham. So God through Christ 1) establishes the Holy Nation, 2) gives a heritage where there was no heritage, 3) frees prisoners, 4) provides for and protects those He calls, 5) guides those He calls, 6) makes a way for those He calls, and 7) commands praise and worship for His work. The view is telescoped as if salvation were already accomplished and complete.

 

But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me." "Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

Isaiah 49:14-16

This was of great comfort to those in Isaiah's day who were seeing such a severe judgment for the sins of their nation. However, think of it in our day for us as individuals. When we walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death and falter and wonder if God has forgotten us we have the answer and the answer is that God can't forget us. We are written on the palms of His hands and our defense is always something He pays attention to. We may not understand the times we live through but we are "born again of imperishable seed" (1 Peter 1:23) by the Word of God. You cannot perish even if you die because the Gospel is alive in you and cannot die. The treasure is in you as in a jar of clay so that it is clear the power belongs to God and not to us (2 Corinthians 4:7).

 

Your builders make haste; your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you. Lift up your eyes around and see; they all gather, they come to you. As I live, declares the LORD, you shall put them all on as an ornament; you shall bind them on as a bride does. "Surely your waste and your desolate places and your devastated land— surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants, and those who swallowed you up will be far away.

Isaiah 49:18-19

Then we see builders begin to rush to build as the destroyers are removed and pushed back. The children of promise (as promised) begin to flood in. They become ornaments and decorations testifying to the faithfulness of God. Mourning turns into rejoicing at God's blessing.

 

The children of your bereavement will yet say in your ears: 'The place is too narrow for me; make room for me to dwell in.' Then you will say in your heart: 'Who has borne me these? I was bereaved and barren, exiled and put away, but who has brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; from where have these come?' " Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and raise my signal to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame."

Isaiah 49:20-23

Think of Simeon, the man who quoted Isaiah while holding the infant Holy One in his arms (Luke 2:25-35). I'm sure that the mansions in glory filled with the Abraham's offspring make him rejoice at the restoration that God has accomplished. I hope he wonders as where we all came from and praises God. From pagan peoples, God will call His people. Those that wait for the Lord, like Simeon and Anna, will not be put to shame.

 

Can the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued? For thus says the LORD: "Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children. I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine. Then all flesh shall know that I am the LORD your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."

Isaiah 49:24-26

God asks a rhetorical question and answers it. God will take captives (plunder) from the powerful and prey (lawful captives) from tyrants and no one can stop Him. Both strength and legal right fall because God is stronger and He paid the price for your sin. Eventually those who oppose God are self destructive and consume themselves with ineffectual opposition to God.

 

Thus says the LORD: "Where is your mother's certificate of divorce, with which I sent her away? Or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities you were sold, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away. Why, when I came, was there no man; why, when I called, was there no one to answer? Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a desert; their fish stink for lack of water and die of thirst. I clothe the heavens with blackness and make sackcloth their covering."

Isaiah 50:1-3

God never divorced His people. He kept his remnant by His strength for His own sake. The failure was on the part of a people who would not listen to God (did not answer when called) and simply assumed they were forgotten. God had shown that He could dry up the Red Sea (Exodus 14), turn the Nile to blood and make its fish stink (Exodus 7:17-18), made Egypt dark (Exodus 10:21) and kept His people in the light (Exodus 10:23). So why do we doubt God? Our fear and sin cloud our minds and we don't think clearly about God's sovereign power. These examples of God's faithfulness in the face of unfaithfulness are given to us so that we will be encouraged to believe Him and rest in Him.

 

The following verses are prophetic songs and poetry with our Savior speaking in the first person autobiographically 700 years before He was born in Bethlehem. I'm afraid we are so accustomed to this that we don't realize the marvel and majesty of the prophetic word.

 

The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.

Isaiah 50:4-6

He taught with authority and His words, even today, sustain the weary. His ears are open and wisdom and knowledge dwell in Him. The daily discipline of hearing God's word was part of His youth. Christ didn't turn back even when the call was to bear our sins and suffer our fair punishment. When His ear was opened to the Cross, He didn't turn away. He was obedient even to death on the Cross.

 

But the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord GOD helps me; who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up.

Isaiah 50:7-9

You, if you are a believer, have benefited from His resolve. He set his face like flint (Luke 9:51) when He turned to go to the Cross in Jerusalem knowing the end. He was not rebellious and He didn't turn back. In legal language, His innocence and purity are complete. He is not guilty. His enemy's are no more and He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

 

Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.

Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches! Walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches that you have kindled! This you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment.

Isaiah 50:10-11

There is one light and one way of salvation and it is found in the name of the Lord. You must have no spiritual light other than Him. He is Holy and jealous and will not permit sinful reliance on any polluted spiritual illumination. If you neglect, that is refuse, so great a salvation then you will not escape (Hebrews 2:3). If you equip yourself with any other spiritual light and walk by it then you will lie down in torment.

The Prophecy of Isaiah – Lesson 43

Audio

In Chapter 48, the prophecy turned back to Israel and Judah but God speaks about those who use the name but not truly or rightly.

 

"You have heard; now see all this; and will you not declare it? From this time forth I announce to you new things, hidden things that you have not known. They are created now, not long ago; before today you have never heard of them, lest you should say, 'Behold, I knew them.' You have never heard, you have never known, from of old your ear has not been opened. For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously, and that from before birth you were called a rebel.

Isaiah 48:6-8

 

In this verse God accuses Israel of a mental blindness as they hear and see but will not recognize and declare His works. God even says that He is doing a new thing so that they can't simply say that they saw it coming. They would have attributed God's judgment to "natural causes" if they had a chance.

 

"For my name's sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.

Isaiah 48:9-11

 

Here is another spot in which we see that Israel has failed to keep the Sinai Covenant (which was conditional) but God is honoring His covenant with David and with Abraham. God's salvation here is not based on Israel. Israel, like each one of us, deserved nothing but the wages of sin. That debt we owed was impossible for us but it must be paid. God must act based on His sake because we clearly don't want it based on our merits. It must be clear in our hearts and minds that God's work in our lives, like His work in Israel 2700 years ago, is going to reveal His glory for His sake and not to glorify us. We glorify Him.

 

"Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together. "Assemble, all of you, and listen! Who among them has declared these things? The LORD loves him; he shall perform his purpose on Babylon, and his arm shall be against the Chaldeans. I, even I, have spoken and called him; I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.

Isaiah 48:12-15

 

The omnipotent God of the universe asks which of the idols has seen this ahead of time. God saw it ahead of time and prepared Cyrus (the one He loves) to deal with Babylon. Once again, God will use a wicked man according to his wicked nature to accomplish God's righteous purposes.

 

Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there." And now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his Spirit. Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go. Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea; your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me."

Isaiah 48:16-19

 

All the blessings promised at Mount Sinai would have been theirs had they done what God commanded and they had promised to do. However, they are not forsaken. God still calls Himself the "Redeemer" and the "Holy One of Israel" so they have hope and reassurance from God that they will not be left and that God will free them from the Babylonian captivity.

 

God is both the Redeemer who pulls us out of our sins and failure and the Holy One who will not tolerate sin. As a recurring theme from Isaiah we look for some way to be cleansed from our sins. We have that in Christ and we see it foreshadowed in Isaiah.

 

Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea, declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it, send it out to the end of the earth; say, "The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob!" They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and the water gushed out. "There is no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked."

Isaiah 48:20-22

 

The response, when the call came to leave Babylon, was not as strong as it should have been. So, in context, God had a purpose in redemption, He provided, and He continued to discipline the wicked because hearts hadn't uniformly become conformed to God by the captivity (that is understatement of course).

 

God doesn't redeem in order to abandon His servants. He redeems and He provides in the desert. So even where there is no natural provision God can provide and we should always recognize that provision. But God doesn't redeem and then abandon His work in your life. I'm persuaded that He who began a good work in you will complete it (Philippians 1:6).

 

Completing that work in your heart will mean that those sinful parts of your life will not be left in peace. You should rejoice that God will not leave sin in your heart but you may not feel like rejoicing.

 

I started to wonder about the "end of the earth". I was wondering where that was if you were in Jerusalem or Babylon. Turns out it puts you in the ocean but it is not too far from the Pitcairn Islands. That was where Mr. Christian landed and hid with others of his band of mutineers from the HMS Bounty. It appears they kidnapped the Polynesians they had with them so they would have women. They landed in an unoccupied paradise with food and water and lots of land. So they were treasonous mutineers who had kidnapped for sex. Then they started fighting and killing and it continued through drunkenness so bad that the women tried to build a raft and leave. After suicides, murders, and fighting, peace came when Mr. Adams became the leader and began regular Sunday services and began teaching Christianity in the settlement. One man left (Mr. Adams), 9 Tahitian women, and dozens of children. The Bible from the HMS Bounty is still in the church there, under glass.

 

Apart from the Grace of God in our lives we would end up in just the same predicament when we are given paradise. In a sense, the angel guarding Eden is protecting Eden from us. Be sure to rightly value God's Grace in your life.

The Prophecy of Isaiah – Lesson 42

Audio

Last week focused on Babylon and their pride and ignorance of God. Babylon is a good general picture for the secular world and its influence and it has been used in that way for a long time. For example, Martin Luther wrote a book titled "The Babylonian Captivity of the Church" and we find Babylon in modern cultural references frequently.

 

This week the prophecy turns back to Israel and Judah but God speaks about those who use the name but not truly or rightly.

 

Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who came from the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD and confess the God of Israel, but not in truth or right.

Isaiah 48:1

So if you want to consider Babylon as the world apart from the God of the Bible then you can consider these statements as directed at the unregenerate in the visible church. Remember that we use the terms the "visible church" and the "invisible church" to reflect what Scripture teaches us about the unregenerate or unsaved who live in the church with the regenerate or saved. The visible church is what you see and the invisible church is what God sees.

 

A similar thing was happening in Israel. In the current context this was addressed to those who were identified as Israel but were not in truth part of Israel. Notice how God uses the names "Jacob" to indicate the nation, "Israel" to indicate the people of God, and "Judah" as those who are the audience right now.

 

For they call themselves after the holy city, and stay themselves on the God of Israel; the LORD of hosts is his name. "The former things I declared of old; they went out from my mouth, and I announced them; then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass. Because I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass, I declared them to you from of old, before they came to pass I announced them to you, lest you should say, 'My idol did them, my carved image and my metal image commanded them.'

Isaiah 48:2-5

This is a hard word to a stiff necked people who don't get the point and won't change their mind even if you thump them on the forehead. Sound like anyone you know? It is by God's mercy that we are not judged for our lack of response to the word of God.

 

God says here that He prophecies so that sinful man will not attribute the blessing to an idol. Here is a thing we can be careful to do. We can be careful to give God thanks for all things. Giving God thanks for your meal is not a trivial thing and is a good discipline to remind ourselves that, in spite of the means of His provision, it is still He who provides.

 

 

The Prophecy of Isaiah – Lesson 41

Audio

For Babylon the news was bad. They were a rod of correction that God was going to destroy. I've mentioned before that God seems to have had the habit of making a tool of discipline and then destroying it when He was done. Babylon couldn't imagine that they were going to be conquered. They were wealthy and cultured. This prophecy did not look likely when it was given except in the context of the source.

 

I still find it striking to step back from this situation and view it as if I were able to see what was going on in the entire region. In the Babylonian captivity I would have been sure that Israel was finished for all time. I would have been able to see Persia growing in power but the idea that a man named Cyrus was going to come and conquer Babylon would seem to be wild conjecture. The idea that somehow the Babylonian captivity would be good for the nation of Israel would not have made any sense to me. It could only have been understood in the context of faith in God's providence.

 

Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called tender and delicate. Take the millstones and grind flour, put off your veil, strip off your robe, uncover your legs, pass through the rivers. Your nakedness shall be uncovered, and your disgrace shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will spare no one.

Isaiah 47:1-3

The throne of power is gone and they sit on the ground. They must work rather than sit in leisure. They must take off robes to cross rivers and escape. All this, and yet God's hand will be against them and they will be embarrassed and disgraced.

 

Our Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name—is the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 47:4

In this conversation with the Babylonians, the faithful know who their redeemer is and that he will bring back a purified remnant. The Apostle Paul pulls some of these prophecies together in Romans.

 

As indeed he says in Hosea, "Those who were not my people I will call 'my people,' and her who was not beloved I will call 'beloved.'" "And in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' there they will be called 'sons of the living God.'" And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay." And as Isaiah predicted, "If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah."

Romans 9:25-29

We can see ourselves and our blessing in these verses as we are called His people and beloved by the Grace of God. However, we can also see the remnant returning and know that apart from God, the Lord of hosts, they would not have been saved. In our lives, we too can know from Scripture and confess that apart from His mercy and grace in our lives we would have died in our sins.

 

In every age we can say, "If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah". This should be a tremendous source of encouragement to prayer. If our eyes are open and if we have paid attention to Jesus' teaching, we know how we ought to pray for God to establish His kingdom. The attitude that was can rule our own lives without God and get what we need to be happy is not a Godly attitude. John says:

 

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.

1 John 2:15-16

Babylon was caught up in satisfying desires, living in great beauty, and possessing everything they could possess. Apart from God's mercy each of us would be caught up in that rat race that ends with death and judgment. God has saved a remnant in every generation because He is faithful. Babylon was the rod of correction for a people who violated the Sinai Covenant.

 

Sit in silence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for you shall no more be called the mistress of kingdoms. I was angry with my people; I profaned my heritage; I gave them into your hand; you showed them no mercy; on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy. You said, "I shall be mistress forever," so that you did not lay these things to heart or remember their end. Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, "I am, and there is no one besides me; I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children": These two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day; the loss of children and widowhood shall come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the great power of your enchantments.

Isaiah 47:5-9

I want to jump forward and look at the fulfillment of this prophecy. In 605 BC Jerusalem fell and a young man named Daniel was taken into captivity and carried away to Babylon. He was blessed by God and served under the King's Chief Eunuch. Many things happened and God seemed to use Daniel to work in the life of Nebuchadnezzar but after his death we find his son choosing poorly. There was writing on the wall (539 BC) and the king's wife remembered Daniel.

 

O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.

"Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."

Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

Daniel 5:18-31

The king's wife, who remembered Daniel, suddenly became a widow and I think it is reasonable to assume that her children, being heirs, were killed that same night. There was symmetry in the sin that brought them down. They took what God had sanctified (the temple furnishings) and used them in a sinful celebration. They were also in possession of God's sanctified remnant of people such as Daniel and they were using them inappropriately. Belshazzar had not humbled his heart in spite of God's revelation to his father. Belshazzar praised idols and forgot the God in whose hand was his breath and who owned all his ways. So while Daniel spoke to his face and gave him the bad news, Isaiah wrote the bad news down before 700BC. About 160 years before his day, Isaiah had already described Belshazzar and all who served with him.

 

You felt secure in your wickedness, you said, "No one sees me"; your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, "I am, and there is no one besides me." But evil shall come upon you, which you will not know how to charm away; disaster shall fall upon you, for which you will not be able to atone; and ruin shall come upon you suddenly, of which you know nothing. Stand fast in your enchantments and your many sorceries, with which you have labored from your youth; perhaps you may be able to succeed; perhaps you may inspire terror. You are wearied with your many counsels; let them stand forth and save you, those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons make known what shall come upon you. Behold, they are like stubble; the fire consumes them; they cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. No coal for warming oneself is this, no fire to sit before! Such to you are those with whom you have labored, who have done business with you from your youth; they wander about each in his own direction; there is no one to save you.

Isaiah 47:10-15

All of the pride, the corrupt desire for spiritual power in charms and magic, the corrupt desire for wisdom and foreknowledge in astrology will be destroyed as by fire and even old friends will just turn the other way. There is a great desire for spiritual power and foreknowledge apart from the God of the Bible in our society. Make sure that you don't get drawn into religion apart from the Gospel. Mankind wants spiritual power to manipulate the present and foreknowledge to use for personal gain. Sin can go on for a long time. Daniel spent a long time in Babylon with both Babylonians and Persians. But God will put an end to both personal and corporate sin. If it were not for God's mercy and patience we would all fall quickly but don't test God's patience. If you are aware of sin then deal with it. Our relationship to sin differs from those who didn't and don't know God and the atonement of Christ. However, it means we should be careful to obey God.

 

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:14-23

God has made it possible for us to submit ourselves as slaves of righteousness. We were once obedient slaves of sin. So now we work to submit ourselves to God in everything. This makes us a slave of righteousness leading to sanctification. So the fruit leads to sanctification and eternal life. Think of the remnant that God kept during the Babylonian captivity and the cups that were taken into captivity with them. They were sanctified or set apart for a single purpose. Your life in Christ is to be set aside for God's purposes alone. Everything you do in every day you are given is to be for His glory. You don't know how many days you have. It is OK if you don't finish your last job. Don't be afraid to start a new task as you work out your salvation with fear and trembling because it is God who is within you to will and to do what He wants done (Philippians 2:12-18).