Purify by Richard Hearns

Isaiah 52:9-13 Break forth, shout joyfully together, You waste places of Jerusalem; For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The LORD has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations, That all the ends of the earth may see The salvation of our God. 11 Depart, depart, go out from there, Touch nothing unclean; Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, You who carry the vessels of the LORD. 12 But you will not go out in haste, Nor will you go as fugitives; For the LORD will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard. 13 Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.

What does the phrase “The LORD has bared His holy arm” mean? Is it that the world can see God in this world? God has rolled up his sleeves and done a saving work? God is active and visible?

My other question: what is the difference between the Lord and the God of Israel in verse twelve? The Lord goes out before, but the God of Israel is the rear God. Is this a reference to the same being, thus suggesting that God is encompassing Israel? Is this a reference to two separate persons of God (two parts of the trinity)? Is this a reference to chronology; God working in the past and in the future?

I do not have the answers to these questions. This is a perfect time to go pull out some commentaries and look at how other Christians have responded to this passage.

Isaiah 51:6-8 “Lift up your eyes to the sky, Then look to the earth beneath; For the sky will vanish like smoke, And the earth will wear out like a garment And its inhabitants will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness will not wane. 7 “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, A people in whose heart is My law; Do not fear the reproach of man, Nor be dismayed at their revilings. 8 “For the moth will eat them like a garment, And the grub will eat them like wool. But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation to all generations.”

Isaiah 50:4-7 The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

7 For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.

May God grant you the tongue of a disciple, an opened ear, and daily help as you confront temptation.

Isaiah 49:5-6 And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am honored in the sight of the LORD, And My God is My strength), 6 He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

God did not set out to save one person, or one family, or one nation; God set out to save all people from death and destruction.

The salvation which comes from God, Jesus, is available to all people at all times and in all places. It is an inclusive salvation, available to all who choose to be faithful to God.

To all who receive Jesus, to those who call on his name, God has given the right to become children of God.

God’s family is made up of all people from all places. We need to be sure we are taking care of our family.

Isaiah 48:17-19 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. 18 “If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea. 19 “Your descendants would have been like the sand, And your offspring like its grains; Their name would never be cut off or destroyed from My presence.”

Israel was conquered by Assyria and by Babylon because they strayed away from the commands of God. God states, over and over in the Bible, that blessing is inextricably linked with faithfulness.

When we are faithful we are blessed.

That is not to say that we receive every desire when we are faithful to God; neither is it to say that no tribulations come when we are faithful to God. In every life hard times come, but eternal blessing is available only to those who are faithful to God.

Isaiah 48:22 “There is no peace for the wicked,” says the LORD.

The Ishtar Gate of Babylon

Isaiah 47:8-15 “Now, then, hear this, you sensual one, Who dwells securely, Who says in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me. I will not sit as a widow, Nor know loss of children.’ 9 “But these two things will come on you suddenly in one day: Loss of children and widowhood. They will come on you in full measure In spite of your many sorceries, In spite of the great power of your spells. 10 “You felt secure in your wickedness and said, ‘No one sees me,’ Your wisdom and your knowledge, they have deluded you; For you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’ 11 “But evil will come on you Which you will not know how to charm away; And disaster will fall on you For which you cannot atone; And destruction about which you do not know Will come on you suddenly. 12 “Stand fast now in your spells And in your many sorceries With which you have labored from your youth; Perhaps you will be able to profit, Perhaps you may cause trembling.

In this passage Babylon is represented by the character of a sorceress. The sorceress repeatedly says, “I am, and there is no one besides me”. This is an allusion to God being referred to as “I am” (Moses asked God who he should say sent him, and God said, “Say ‘I Am’ sent you.” Exodus 3:13-14). Essentially, the sorceress is claiming to be God or as great as God.

Babylon believes it has great power which can charm her enemies and prevent destruction. God prophesies that destruction will eventually come to Babylon, regardless of how great her citizens believe her to be.

When we set ourselves up as “little gods” then we are setting ourselves in opposition to God. No matter how great a person or nation, if set in conflict with God, God will win.

To claim to be a god is to invite destruction into our lives. To live under the authority of God, is to invite salvation into our lives.

Isaiah 46:9-13 “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; 11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it. 12 “Listen to Me, you stubborn-minded, Who are far from righteousness. 13 “I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off; And My salvation will not delay. And I will grant salvation in Zion, And My glory for Israel.

A list of truths found in this passage:
* There is no other God
* No one is like God
* God’s purposes will be established
* God will accomplish what pleases God
* God calls people from far countries
* God plans
* What God plans, God does
* People are stubborn
* People do not listen
* People are far from righteousness
* God brings righteousness
* God’s righteousness is near
* God’s salvation is imminent
* God gives away salvation
* God gives away glory

Isaiah 45:2-8 “I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars. 3 “I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden wealth of secret places, So that you may know that it is I, The LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name. 4 “For the sake of Jacob My servant, And Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor Though you have not known Me. 5 “I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; 6 That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, 7 The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these. 8 “Drip down, O heavens, from above, And let the clouds pour down righteousness; Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit, And righteousness spring up with it. I, the LORD, have created it.

This is a promise made to a guy named Cyrus. It is not a promise that was made to you, or to me, or to anyone else (unless your name is Cyrus, then we can talk).

Christian’s often make the mistake of assuming that any promise God ever made applies to them. That’s not true. There are many promises that apply to you and me; this is not one of them.

We can read this passage and know the promise God made to one individual at one point in time. We can read this passage and learn the types of promises that God will sometimes make. We can not read this passage and assume it applies to us.

When you read a passage like this, take the time to learn something about God. God desires righteousness, God will strengthen those doing God’s work, God formed light and created darkness, God causes well-being and creates calamity.

We can learn a great deal from the promises God made to other people.

Isaiah 44:24-28 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, “I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth all alone, 25 Causing the omens of boasters to fail, Making fools out of diviners, Causing wise men to draw back And turning their knowledge into foolishness, 26 Confirming the word of His servant And performing the purpose of His messengers. It is I who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’ And of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built.’ And I will raise up her ruins again. 27 “It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Be dried up!’ And I will make your rivers dry. 28 “It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.’ And he declares of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’ And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’”

God gets what God wants, and there is nothing you or I can do about it. We can get in God’s way. We can oppose God. But, ultimately, God wins. I don’t know that we always do a good job of thinking through the implications of God getting what God wants.

Savior by Michael Pfleghaar

Isaiah 43:1-11 “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! 2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. 3 “For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. 4 “Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life. 5 “Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, And gather you from the west. 6 “I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth, 7 Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.” 8 Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, And the deaf, even though they have ears. 9 All the nations have gathered together So that the peoples may be assembled. Who among them can declare this And proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses that they may be justified, Or let them hear and say, “It is true.” 10 “You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me. 11 “I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me.

Isaiah 42:1-4 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 “He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. 3 “A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. 4 “He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”

This section is the first of the “Servant Songs” (Isaiah 42:1-9; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12). This introduction to the Servant character of Isaiah is quoted in Matthew:

Matthew 12:17-21 his was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: 18 “BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN; MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES. 19 “HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT; NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS. 20 “A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF, AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT, UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY. 21 “AND IN HIS NAME THE GENTILES WILL HOPE.”

This passage focuses on the Servant as the one who brings forth God’s justice. And this justice is an earthly justice. If we assume that the Servant is Jesus (based upon the passage in Matthew), we need to ask the question: how has Jesus brought about earthly justice?

It is too easy, and far too common, to assume that the justice established by Jesus has to do with heaven and hell, and life after death. This verse seems to insist that part of Jesus role was to bring about justice on this earth in the here an now.

My belief is that Jesus established the Church for this reason: to reflect the light of Christ to the world for the rest of time, and to bring justice into a very broken world. As Christians we are all responsible to work toward bringing about the justice described in this passage. None of us can fix everything; but each of us can work on fixing something.

How have you been called to establish justice in your world?

Isaiah 41:10 ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

This was originally spoken only to the nation of Israel; but, I think it applies to Christians as well.

Isaiah 40:26-31 Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing. 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God “? 28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. 29 He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. 30 Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, 31 Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

In this passage Hezekiah shows off the wealth of his family to emissaries of his enemies. He seems to be bragging about his great wealth. God then tells Hezekiah that his wealth will be destroyed during the lives of his children and his people will be taken off to Babylon.

Isaiah 39:8 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “For there will be peace and truth in my days.”

Is it truly good to have peace in your own day if it means there will be grief and strife in your children’s day? What does the present generation owe future generations?

Hezekiah comes off as petty and self-centered in this passage. First, it is questionable if he should have been bragging about the wealth of his family. Second, he should have given God credit for the wealth. Finally, he should be thinking about how he can improve the lives of his descendants.

Everything we possess is a gift from God. We are stewards caring for God’s possessions for a short time. We need to take care of God’s possessions during our life and prepare our children to care for God’s possessions after we die.

Isaiah 38:1-6 In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, 3 and said, “Remember now, O LORD, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 “I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.”‘

The prayers of the upright are powerful. Taking the time to talk to God as we travel through times of sorrow is important. Often, we wallow in self-pity and forget to take our anguish to God. If we tell God how we feel, God may do something about it.

Never be afraid to tell God what you feel.

Isaiah 37:15-20 Hezekiah prayed to the LORD saying, 16 “O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17 “Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and listen to all the words of Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God. 18 “Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have devastated all the countries and their lands, 19 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. 20 “Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, LORD, are God.”

And the Lord answered the prayer of Hezekiah. Sennacherib returned to his home and was killed by his sons who then fled the country.

Prayer is an amazing thing. Honest prayer is the recognition that God is powerful and we are not. The act of praying is submitting oneself under the authority of God.

Submission is a tough thing to do; especially if you are used to being a leader or being in control. It is usually only after we have ceded control of a situation over to God that our prayers are answered.

Assyrian Archers

Isaiah 36:7-10 “But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah has taken away and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar ‘? 8 “Now therefore, come make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. 9 “How then can you repulse one official of the least of my master’s servants and rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 10 “Have I now come up without the LORD’S approval against this land to destroy it? The LORD said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”‘”

I was once counseling an individual who had made some poor choices. Those choices had consequences which this individual was now struggling with. The problem was that this individual failed to see that his current struggles were the result of his poor choices. This individual had convinced himself that God had sent these hard times in order to test him.

While it may be true that God will use the hard times that this individual was experiencing; it is certainly not true that these hard times were what God intended for this person’s life. The individual had created the hardship through poor choices. He needed to deal with the consequences of his actions.

In this passage from Isaiah, the people of Judah are dealing with years of bad decisions that have allowed the Assyrians to besiege Jerusalem. Judah is forced to deal with the consequences of its past actions. The Lord did not create this circumstance, but God will use these circumstances to help bring about religious reform to Jerusalem and all of Kingdom of Judah.

Do you take responsibility for you bad choices? What are you struggling with in your life that is the consequence of a bad decision you made? What are you learning from this time of trial? What can you do to start living a more Christ-centered life?

Isaiah 35:3-8 Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble. 4 Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.” 5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. 6 Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness And streams in the Arabah. 7 The scorched land will become a pool And the thirsty ground springs of water; In the haunt of jackals, its resting place, Grass becomes reeds and rushes. 8 A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it.

God is judge, but God is also savior. I believe we do a disservice to God when put too much emphasis on one of these roles over the other.

If God is judge but not savior, then God is like an artists who sees only the faults in his creation. An artist knows the imperfections in his work and to an artist every work has imperfections. But no artist hates everything he creates because of the imperfections.

If God is savior but not judge, then God is like a parent who raises a spoiled child without boundaries or restrictions, always rescuing the child from disaster. A good parent corrects their child when he or she behaves wrongly and allows their child to experience the consequences of their action.

Each of us has flaws. Each of us sins. Each of us experiences the consequences of our actions. Each of us has the opportunity to turn to a loving savior.

God’s salvation does not remove the consequences of our actions. God’s judgment does not remove us from God’s love.

Isaiah 34:5-7 For My sword is satiated in heaven, Behold it shall descend for judgment upon Edom And upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction. 6 The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, It is sated with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, With the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah And a great slaughter in the land of Edom. 7 Wild oxen will also fall with them And young bulls with strong ones; Thus their land will be soaked with blood, And their dust become greasy with fat.

There are vast parts of the Old Testament that I don’t like; they make me very uncomfortable. How can a God who loves us so much that Jesus was sent to save us be the same God that would bring a sword of destruction on these ancient people groups.

One answer that some have given is that God is a God of hate. God must overcome an inherently hateful attitude in order to give grace to a few.

Another answer is to discount the Old Testament as out dated or representing a God who has changed.

I can not accept either of those options. God’s natural state is a state of love. God inherently wants to live in a relationship with each of us; regardless of our ethnicity, background, or personal history. At the same time, the Old Testament is a part of the Scripture which God has given to us to teach us about God.

The Lord, even in the Old Testament, was not primarily motivated to destroy. God was motivated to draw people closer. The sword of the Lord is meant for sacrifice which leads to restoration. It is only when people oppose the Lord that this sword was used for other purposes. It is God who wields the sword. None of us should ever claim to have such knowledge of God’s will that we can decide when it right to wield God’s sword.

Isaiah 33:20-22 Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an undisturbed habitation, A tent which will not be folded; Its stakes will never be pulled up, Nor any of its cords be torn apart. 21 But there the majestic One, the LORD, will be for us A place of rivers and wide canals On which no boat with oars will go, And on which no mighty ship will pass– 22 For the LORD is our judge, The LORD is our lawgiver, The LORD is our king; He will save us–

The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king.

A good judge is bound to the law that has already been established; the judge’s duty is to uphold the law. The lawmaker’s duty is to create good and just laws that benefit society as a whole. These laws are created by someone’s authority. In a monarchy the laws are created by the authority of the king or queen, in a republic the laws are created under the authority of the people.

In the case of the passage in Isaiah, the Lord judges if we have acted according to the laws the Lord established under the Lord’s authority. It seems to be somewhat akin to our expression, “judge, jury, and executioner”.

Is God our judge, jury and executioner? Will…yes. God made the rules, God judges us by those rules, and God banishes us or accepts us based on those rules.

In order to be on the right side of God’s law, we need to submit ourselves to his authority. We need to ask Jesus to be the Lord and Savior over our lives.