In the last days of human history, both the city of Jerusalem and the Jews will be restored to their nation, Israel. The nation will be reborn quickly, suddenly—within a day—more quickly than a mother who gives birth even before her labor pains begin (Vv. 7–8). God Himself guarantees the rebirth (v. 9). And because He is the source and the giver of life, He will not fail to deliver Israel. The nation and its capital will both be restored (49:18–21; 54:1–3).
The Restored Jerusalem
7-8 Who
has heard or seen anything as strange as this? For in one day, suddenly, a
nation, Israel, shall be born, even before the birth pains come. In a moment,
just as Israel’s anguish starts, the baby is born; the nation begins. 9 Shall
I bring to the point of birth and then not deliver? asks the Lord your God. No!
Never!
10 Rejoice
with Jerusalem; be glad with her, all you who love her, you who mourned for
her. 11 Delight in Jerusalem; drink deep of her glory even as an
infant at a mother’s generous breasts. 12 Prosperity shall overflow
Jerusalem like a river, says the Lord, for I will send it; the riches of the
Gentiles will flow to her. Her children shall be nursed at her breasts, carried
on her hips and dandled on her knees. 13 I will comfort you there as
a little one is comforted by its mother.
14 When you see Jerusalem, your heart will rejoice; vigorous health will be yours. All the world will see the good hand of God upon his people and his wrath upon his enemies” (Isaiah 66:7–14).[1]
On That
Day, All Jerusalem Will Be a Cause for Great Rejoicing Among God’s People (Vv. 10–14).
All who love the Lord—including the righteous believers down through the centuries who had mourned the city’s sufferings and destruction—will rejoice over Jerusalem.
Five
reasons are given for the overwhelming joy of God’s people:
1)
People will rejoice because Jerusalem will
nourish, comfort, and satisfy those who love her (v. 11). When Christ
returns, He will rule from Jerusalem. And all the world will receive what it
needs from Him. Looking to Him who reigns in Jerusalem, believers will have
every need in life met by Christ.
2)
People will rejoice because God will overflow
Jerusalem with peace and prosperity (v. 12). This peace will allow all
nations to become economically prosperous, with Jerusalem as the capital of the
world, the seat of government where Christ rules. Jerusalem will become the
financial center of the world, the center into which the wealth of all nations
will flow.
3)
People will rejoice because Jerusalem’s
children will be provided and cared for (v. 12b). Obviously, the
children of Jerusalem will be the true believers and worshippers who enter the
Messiah’s kingdom when He returns to earth. Naturally, the Lord will take care
of all His people, all the citizens of His kingdom.
4)
People will rejoice because Jerusalem will
comfort her children (v. 13). comfort will flow from the heart of the
Lord, reaching out to all His people. Although Christ will be ruling from
Jerusalem, His Spirit will move throughout the world and comfort all His
people.
5) People will rejoice over Jerusalem because the city itself will stir joy and bring vigorous heath to the population. The very lives of people—their mental and physical health—will flourish like grass, for the hand of the Lord will rest upon His people.
Jerusalem and the Jews Will Be Restored to Their Nation,
Permanently Restored.
When Christ
returns to set up His kingdom on earth, He will set up His seat of government
in Jerusalem. The Holy City will be reborn, restored as though it had been
given a new birth. Old Jerusalem will become a brand-new city, completely
rebuilt. And all Jews who have truly trusted the Lord will be returned to their
nation, becoming citizens of God’s kingdom on earth. Listen to this wonderful
promise of God given to all Jewish believers:
V “And I will restore thy judges as at the
first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called,
The city of righteousness, the faithful city” (Is. 1:26).
V “And he shall set up an ensign for the
nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the
dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Is. 11:12).
V “Thus, saith the Lord God, Behold, I will
lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and
they shall bring thy sons in their
arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders” (Is.
49:22).
V “And the sons of strangers shall build up thy
walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath, I smote thee,
but in my favour have I had mercy on thee” (Is. 60:10).
V “For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain
of the height of Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all the house of
Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there
will I require your offerings, and the first-fruits of your oblations, with all
your holy things” (Eze. 20:40).
V “Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of
hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad, and the Lord
shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem” (Zec. 1:17).
V “And I will strengthen the house of Judah,
and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them;
for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them
off: for I am the Lord their God, and
will hear them” (Zec. 10:6).
V “And men
shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction, but Jerusalem
shall be safely inhabited” (Zec.
14:11).
V “Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years” (Mal. 3:4).[2]
Shall I Bring to The
Point of Birth and Then Not Deliver?
7-8 “Who has heard or seen anything as strange as this? For in one day, suddenly, a nation, Israel, shall be born, even before the birth pains come. In a moment, just as Israel’s anguish starts, the baby is born; the nation begins. 9 Shall I bring to the point of birth and then not deliver? asks the Lord your God. No! Never!”[3]
Shall I put in all this time, effort, energy, and money and not complete my intended goal? We all have goals in mind that we set out to accomplish. But, for one reason or another, many goals do not come to fruition. However, this is not so with God. What God says, He does. We should not lose heart, though; even though we may exhaust an innumerable number of resources in the endeavor of a desire, all is not lost. The experiences and lessons learned through time, trial, and error all work together to improve upon the next step in the long line of sequential events.
The preacher said, “For everything, there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.” (Ecc. 3:1-8 NLT, 2nd.Ed.). The preacher could have summed up his thought by saying, “For everything, there is a reason.”
It is interesting from the perspective of
Isaiah with his statement, “For in one day, suddenly, a nation, Israel, shall
be born, even before the birth pains come,” that Isaiah spoke of the end of
what is yet to come. We cannot know of Isaiah’s visions as having been given
the divine sight of all that was, is, and is to come concerning this nation’s
birth. It suffices to say Isaiah saw enough to say the birth of the nation of
Israel was to come about in a near instant.
We 21st-century citizens cannot fathom the
birth of a country without all the ensuing struggles to bring about the birth
of the said nation. The birth of the United States came about through many
struggles, strife, pain, and death. A cursory look at the global history of the
birth of nations reveals what is true of the U.S., is true for most countries,
and is still valid.
When considering the image of the birth of a child that Isaiah used to describe the restoration of Jerusalem and the nation of Israel, it hardly seems true that a child and the mother thereof will not experience struggles along the way to delivery, and even so for the birth of a nation. Think of the labor pains a mother experiences before delivering the newborn life. Is it not true for all mothers that pain is a part of the process? How much more accurate is it of a nation? Moreover, in the delivery of that new life, all the contemplation of joys the mother meditates upon and concerns in the caring for that new life remind one of the necessities of proper preparation. How much more does our heavenly Father prepare for our life as we enter this world and begin our journey as contributing members of our family, community, country, and the world at large?
Now, thinking again of the statement, “Shall I bring to the point of birth and then not deliver? asks the Lord your God. No! Never!” Consider the following praise from the apostle Paul speaking of our secure salvation.
There is, therefore, now no condemnation to those
who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh but according
to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has
made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do
in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in
the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,
that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not
walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who
live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but
those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is
life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for
it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those
who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh but in
the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does
not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in
you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because
of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead
dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your
mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Therefore, brethren, we are
debtors--not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you
live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death
the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the
spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by
whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with
our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then
heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him,
that we may also be glorified together.
For I consider that the sufferings of
this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which
shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation
eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was
subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it
in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the
bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For
we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together
until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the
Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the
adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope,
but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he
sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it
with perseverance.
Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
And we know that all things work
together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according
to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed
to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called,
these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
What then shall we say to these things?
If God is for us, who can be
against us?
He who did not spare His own Son, but
delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all
things?
Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect?
It is God who justifies.
Who is he who condemns? It is
Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written:
“For Your sake, we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
“Yet in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:1-39 NKJV)
‘Oh, the wonderful joy of birth pains!’ Even Jesus acknowledges the joy of birth through pain, “A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world” (John 16:21 NKJV).
7-8 “Who has heard or seen anything as strange as this? For in one day, suddenly, a nation, Israel, shall be born, even before the birth pains come. In a moment, just as Israel’s anguish starts, the baby is born; the nation begins. 9 Shall I bring to the point of birth and then not deliver? asks the Lord your God. No! Never!”[4]
The Lord, our God, delivers; not only will He deliver on time, but the
joy that follows will cause all who are the true children of God to forget all
the anguish, failures, frustration, heartache, pain, suffering, and trials of
life.
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV).
Father God, we praise you for your
deliverance of our souls from this world of death and decay into your heavenly kingdom,
our new home of new life. We are looking forward to that day of your return to
set this world and life right. We look forward to helping you carry out your
will through our reaching out to the lost in this world, providing them with the
opportunity to receive you. We praise you, Father God, for allowing us to come alongside
you and work with you in the salvation of your children, our brothers, and
sisters. Redeeming your children as you have redeemed us through the preaching and
teaching of your Word is a privilege and honor, and we want to obey your will
as we serve others carrying out this. Thank you, Father, for all you are doing.
May we remain faithful to your call upon our lives.
In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.
The Restoration of The City of Jerusalem & of The Jews, 54:1–17 (vv.7-14)
[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[2] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah: Chapters 36–66. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
[3] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[4] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
No comments:
Post a Comment