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Teaching Notes

ISAIAH

Please turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 49, as we continue our journey through the Word of God. Last week we concluded our study by reading Isaiah 48:22, which says "There is no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked."

But now, as we move into chapter 49, we are going to be introduced to the Messiah, the only one that can give us peace with God and thus, allow the peace of God to fill our hearts. And as we look at the next several chapters, 49-53, it is going to be like traveling from the foothills in chapter 49 and ascending upward, climaxing on the mountain top in chapter 53. We are going to move from His birth and culminate with His crucifixion, seeing a more detailed description than we get in the New Testament. With that in mind, lets begin reading in verse 1 of Isaiah chapter 49.

ISAIAH 49

VERSE 1

1. Jesus is speaking here and He is calling for the people to awaken from their spiritual sleep for the Father has called Him to the mission of paying the penalty for the sins of the world, to be our Savior. If you remember in Matthew chapter 1, during the engagement period of Joseph and Mary, she was found to be with child, and not by Joseph, the one she was betrothed to. AndJoseph, still loving Mary, did not want her to be put to death for her sin, and thus, was going to tell her to go away, to leave town.

And as Joseph thought about what he was going to do an angel of the lord appeared and said to him "...'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.'" Matthew 1:20-21. While He was in the womb of Mary, God spoke to Joseph, naming his step son and identifying His mission.

VERSE 2

1. Of Jesus, they said of Him, "No man ever spoke like this man!" (John 7:46). Why? Because He did not speak according to what the religious leaders of the past had said and taught. Other teachers would say "You have heard that it was said...", but Jesus spoke with authority. He taught the truths of God that pierced their hearts like a sword. It is as Hebrews 4:12-13 says, "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."

2. Now Jesus was not born into this world with all the pomp and circumstance that comes upon someone with distinction. He was born in a manger, lived a simple life, worked with His step-father and it seems that after the death of Joseph, Jesus continued on in the trade, supporting his mother. And even in the 3 years of His ministry He was not living in luxury. Why? Because Jesus wanted people to come to Him out of love, willing to sacrifice all they had, and not out of greed or fan fare. So in a sense He was hidden.

VERSE 3

1. Some will point to this verse and come to the conclusion that it is speaking of the nation of Israel and not Jesus. I disagree. We are going to see in verse 5 that this servant is to draw the nation back to God, and thus, it is speaking of Jesus pointing Israel back to God. Now some may still not be convinced, but listen to what we read in Hosea 11:1, "When Israel was a child, I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son." Now that is obviously speaking of Israel when they were freed from their bondage in Egypt. And we just might leave it at that if it wasn't for what Matthew said in Matthew 2:13-15. We read "Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, 'Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.' When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 'Out of Egypt I called My Son.'" Matthew is telling us that what Hosea was also speaking of was Jesus. And thus, this section here, as it speaks of Israel, must be speaking of the Messiah, Jesus, and not the nation.

VERSE 4a-b

1. When we think of Jesus we tend to focus on His deity, which of course is very important. But He was also human, and we tend to forget that Jesus hungered, He was thirsty, He got tired, He felt pain, and it seems from what is said here in Isaiah that He was discouraged by the reaction of the people. They were not interested in a relationship with God, but of seeing the miracles, getting fed, and-so-on. Yes Jesus was fully God, but He was also fully human, and we are going to see that His perspective of things was correct, even though He may have been discouraged at times.

VERSE 4c-d

1. Jesus committed it all to the Father, not focusing on the outward circumstances. His desire was to do the Fathers will, and give the rest into the Fathers Hands.

VERSES 5-6

1. The Messiah was not just for the Jews, but also for the gentiles. Notice what is said in Psalm 2:8, "Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession." Not just Israel, but the nations of the world!

VERSE 7

1. Today, like back then, many people have rejected the Messiah and the work He has done for them, setting them free from their sins. But one day, as the kingdom is set up, the whole world, from the leaders to the common people, will praise Him.

VERSE 8

1. Jesus is the new covenant that was established in the shedding of His blood. And not only will He restore man from the affects of sin, but this world also, as He sets up His kingdom.

2. The "desolate heritage's" speak of our spiritual heritage's that we were born into. But as the Gospel message lights the way and our hearts are open to Christ, we are reborn into the family of God and our heritage that came from Adam was atoned for.

VERSE 9

1. When a person has been set free from the bondage of sin, stepping into the light of God, don't hide yourselves, but let others see what God has done in you and through you. And as you walk in the light of God He will care for you, provide for you and you will bear much fruit in your life.

VERSES 10-12

1. God is just speaking of how the Gospel message will go forth throughout the whole world as people will come forth to receive Christ.

2. Now we are not sure what Sinim refers to, some say it is China, but that is only a guess. In the Hebrew the "im" ending speaks of plurality, and in saying that we can say that people from around the world will step forth from the land of SINS into the glorious light of God.

VERSES 13-14

1. This is speaking of their Babylonian captivity, when God was trying to comfort them, and through it all they came to the wrong conclusion. They felt that God had forsaken them and forgotten them. Many Jews also felt this way during the Holocaust, and I'm sure they will feel this way again during the tribulation period, as the Antichrist rises up and tries to destroy the Jews. Now the main reason they went into captivity in the first place was because of their sin. It wasn't that God had forsaken them or forgotten them. God was chastening them. And God wants His people, the Jews, to understand that He will NEVER forget them or forsake them, as we are going to see in the next couple of verses.

VERSE 15

1. For the most part, the love of a mother for her child is deep, it is rich, she would never forget about this joy in her life. But there is always the exception and God wanted His people to understand that even as good as a mothers love for her child is, she may forget him or forsake him, but God will NEVER do that with His people. That is an important lesson for us to learn no matter what we are going through in life. God never forgets or forsakes His children.

VERSE 16

1. Again, He will not forget us for we are inscribed on the palms of His hands. And we can see that love that He has for us by the nail prints that held Him to the cross of Calvary, paying the penalty for our sins.

VERSES 17-18

1. Speaking of God restoring His people and delivering them from those that would try to destroy them.

VERSES 19-20

1. Even though only a small handful of Jews returned from their captivity in Babylon, just under 50,000 out of the 2-3 million that went into captivity, they will multiply and prosper so much that the land will not be able to hold them. And we are seeing that even today in Israel. A nation only in the land for 50 years, has grown and grown, establishing new settlements in Israel, and the land is not able to hold them. And ultimately this is speaking of those who are descendants of Abraham by faith, including us, that we will fill the earth.

VERSE 21

1. When they look and see all that God has done for them it is going to be hard for them to believe how much they have been blessed. The same is true with all of us. Think of all the blessings God has bestowed upon us in our life. It is as Paul said in Ephesians 3:20, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." Don't limit what God wants to do for He desires to bless us abundantly, even more than we could ask or think!

VERSES 22-23

1. Even today we are seeing anti-Semitism on the increase, not only in America, but in Russia, Germany, the European Community, and of course the Middle East. But God is saying one day, in the kingdom age, the Jews will be loved and honored as God's people. But before that comes to pass, the world's hatred for the Jews will increase, and sadly enough, we even see that hatred within many so-called Christian churches.

2. God also says that those who wait for Him, look for Him, hope for Him, expect Him to come again, will not be ashamed, they will not be disappointed. He is coming again and every eye will see Him as He returns to punish the wicked and set up His kingdom for the righteous.

VERSES 24-26

1. All those nations, all those people who come against the Jew's will be dealt with by God. And by His actions all will know that Jesus is their Savior, the one who has redeemed them. We see here God's faithfulness to His people, and we, as children of Abraham by faith, are God's children also. He is our redeemer, our Savior, the one who will deliver us from the enemy.

ISAIAH 50

VERSE 1

1. The idea here is they were blaming God for divorcing them, cutting them off. They were blaming God for selling them into slavery to pay off a debt. It is the same mentality that we saw in Isaiah 49:14 where we read "...'The LORD has forsaken me, And my Lord has forgotten me.'" The truth of the matter is God has not forsaken them, or forgotten them. He has not divorced them or sold them into slavery, but they have done this to themselves. You see, God did not move away from them, they moved away from God. It was because of their sins, they had cut themselves off. They had sold themselves into slavery. And the same is true today. God does not move away from us, we move away from Him by our sins!

Remember in II Chronicles when the Ethiopians and the Lubim's came against Asa and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. We see Asa cry out to God and say "...'LORD, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O LORD our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!'" II Chronicles 14:11. And God gave them a great victory over the Ethiopians and the Lubim's. And as they were returning home from this great victory that God had give them, they were met by Azariah, whom the Spirit of God moved upon and Azariah said to Asa "...'Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.'" II Chronicles 15:2.

Some time latter the Northern Kingdom was beginning to cause some trouble and they started to come against Asa and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Before, when Asa was nothing, he had nothing to trust in except the Lord, but now he was older, more established and stronger. Because of that he turned to Ben-Hadad the king of Assyria to help in this matter instead of the Lord. And the plan worked beautifully. Israel was put in check, and you would think it was time for a celebration.

But, we read in II Chronicles 16:7-10, "And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him: 'Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the LORD your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.' Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time."

Notice what happened. God did not turn from Asa, but Asa turned from God. And because of that he had wars and because of that his feet were diseased, his walk with the Lord was hampered. God wants to use us, show Himself strong through us, but He will not force a love relationship upon us. He desires our love, a love that is freely given to Him. If we reject Him, we cut ourselves off from God, we sell ourselves into slavery, God doesn't!

VERSE 2a-b

1. God was calling to them, trying to get their attention so they would repent and return to Him, but they refused. Man is no different today. People refuse to come to Him, to listen to Him, and then they are upset with God when their lives are a mess, out of control. And they blame God or think He can't save, can't deliver them from the trouble they are in. How wrong they are!

VERSES 2c-3

1. God is reminding us that He is in control and what He says will come to pass. Their captivity was not because God lost control or didn't have the power to deliver them, but it was because of their sin. In Isaiah 59:1-2 we read "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear."

VERSE 4

1. This is Jesus speaking of how the Father would awaken Him every morning and as they spent time together, the Father directed Him and taught Him. That tells me that to be awakened by God you have to be listening for His voice. Jesus did. We are told in Mark 1:35, "Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed." That was the pattern of His life. Many today want to know the secret to victorious Christian living, and here it is, "MORNING BY MORNING" spending time at the beginning of the day being directed by God and being taught by Him. God wants to talk with us, the question is, "Are we listening?"

VERSE 5

1. Jesus willingly submitted Himself to do the Father's will. And the text seems to imply that Jesus was a bondslave, giving His ear to the Father to be pierced, which shows again that He willingly gave himself to the service of the Father. It is as Jesus said in the Gospel of John, "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me." John 5:30. And He said "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me." John 6:38.

VERSE 6

1. Now we are beginning to get a glimpse of the events that were leading up to the Lord's crucifixion. His back was given to scourging, and what Jesus endured at the hands of these torture experts was so destructive to a persons body, that many died. You see, the Romans had these leather thongs with broken pieces of pottery and bone embedded in it with a metal ball on the end. And each time this struck the back of a prisoner, who had his arms tied far apart, exposing his back, it would rip flesh right off of them. This was a type of third degree in which the Romans would use upon prisoners to get them to confess of their crimes. The incentive to confess was this. Each time you confessed to a crime the lashings would be lighter and lighter. If you refused to confess they would be harder and harder upon your back. Jesus was silent, for He committed no crime. That meant by the time the 39th lash was laid across His back, it came full force.

Thus, when Jesus came before Pilate after this scourging, Pilate looked at Him and said, "Behold the man!" John 19:5. In other words, when Pilate looked upon Jesus, he was saying that this was truly a man, for He was able to endure such torture and remain standing before him in that condition. And it was not just the scourging, for Isaiah is going to tell us that His face was so marred, He didn't even look human! His beard was plucked out, He had His face covered as they hit him in the face, and you can imagine the swelling that took place after all of this. They also spat upon Him and the Lord, the creator of the universe hung naked on a cross for all to see because He loved us! Over the next few weeks Isaiah is going to paint for us a picture of what Christ endured for us that will leave you with a lasting impression upon your hearts and minds. And make no mistake, as graphic as it may be, God wants us to remember what it cost Him so that we may enjoy fellowship with Him. Don't take your salvation lightly, God didn't!

VERSE 7

1. Jesus was focused on the mission that He was sent to do. We see in Luke 9:51 "Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem." About 6 months from the cross at this point, and Jesus was focused on completing His mission, doing the will of the Father!

2. Many time we fail in our efforts, our mission because we don't stay focused, we don't set our face upon the finish line, but become distracted by what is all around us. Paul put it this way in regards to what we are suppose to do in Philippians 3:12-14, "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." In other words, keep yourself focused on the Lord, complete the work He has set before you and never forget, you will be spending eternity with Him. What we endure in this life, as Paul says, are nothing more than light afflictions when compared with eternity with the Lord.

VERSES 8-9

1. Who is going to contend with Jesus and win? No one! All the enemies of Christ will be silenced one day, it is as Psalm 2:1-6 says, "Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.' He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The LORD shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.'"

VERSES 10-11

1. God is pleading with us to turn to Him, that we would no longer walk in darkness but come to His light, trust in the Lord. For those that refuse, those who are working out their own plans of salvation, they will be destroyed, cast into Hell and tormented for eternity. That is not what God desires, that is why He has provided a way out of that judgment, through His Son Jesus Christ. If you reject that, you have charted your own course that you will take for eternity, and it is not a pretty picture. In Revelation 21:8 we read "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." But for those who have the righteousness of Christ imputed to them by faith, we read in Hebrews 9:27-28, "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation." In Christ we are not appointed for judgment but for salvation - PRAISE THE LORD!