What I Noticed Today (Isaiah 64-66)
Isaiah 64
The prayerful plea of the remnant continues in verses 1-7. In verses 1-4, the people ask God to come down from heaven and make Himself known to His enemies. In verses 5-7, Isaiah admits the people have sinned and made God angry and asks how they can be saved if they remain in their sins.
In verses 8-12, the prayer concludes with Isaiah appealing to God as their Father, the work of His hands. He pleads with God 1) not to remember their sins forever, 2) to see how everything that was important to them was in ruins (their cities had become ruins and the temple destroyed by fire), and 3) to end the people’s affliction.
Isaiah 65
Isaiah 65 is the Lord’s response to the remnant’s prayer.
In verses 1-7, the Lord reminds the people that He had always sought them out. He was open even to those who did not know Him and to those who were rebellious provoking the Lord with their idol worship. The Lord promises He will not keep silent forever but will repay those who have rejected Him.
In verses 8-12, the Lord promises, although there will be judgment there will be a remnant who will be saved. Like a bunch of good grapes made into wine, God promised to make the remnant into a new nation. However, those who do evil and reject Him are destined to be slaughtered by the sword.
In verses 13-16, the Lord contrasts the life of those who are His servants with those who reject Him. In summary, those who are the Lord’s servants will be blessed, and those who reject Him will face trials and persecution.
In verses 17-25, the Lord describes the future Millennial Kingdom (new heavens and new earth).
Note: Strictly speaking, we know from Revelation 21:1 the new heavens and new earth will follow the Millennium reign.
In this time, God will no longer remember past sins; there will be rejoicing, and no longer will there be crying and suffering. Even the wild animals (predator and prey) will exist together in peace.
Isaiah 66
Isaiah 66 is a fitting end to the book of Isaiah describing the Millennial time that God had promised to Abraham.
In verses 1-2, the Lord describes heaven as His throne and the earth as His footstool. With all, He has made no one could build a house for Him. As Creator, what God will look favorably on is a person who is humble, submissive in Spirit, and follows His Word.
In verses 3-6, the Lord points out the hypocrisy of the people in that they make sacrifices and external shows of loyalty to God, but they do what they want instead of what the Lord had commanded.
In verses 7-21, the Lord describes giving birth to the nation in Jerusalem (Zion).
In verses 7-11, the Lord describes the return of the people taking place so quickly it will be like a woman giving birth before she even goes into labor. The people will rejoice at the rebirth of Jerusalem.
In verses 12-13, there will be peace in Jerusalem, and great wealth will flow into her from all the nations of the world. God will comfort the people of Jerusalem as a mother comforts her son.
In verses 14-21, the Lord describes the restoration of the people to Jerusalem and the rejoicing of the people. He explains how His power will come down and execute judgment on His enemies. God will gather together people from all nations and languages to see His glory. He will establish a sign (the remnant as missionaries) to go to these nations and tell of God’s glory. Those who believe in God will come to Jerusalem to worship in the temple, and some will even become priests and Levites.
In verses 22-24, the Lord describes the people enduring just as the new heaven and earth that He created will endure. All mankind will come to worship the Lord. In contrast, the people who rebelled and rejected God will suffer eternal torment.
All the notes for the book of Isaiah have been compiled into a single pdf document. You can download it by clicking here.
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Tomorrow: 2 Kings 20-21
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