CALVARY PANDAN godly witness, in chapter 51 of Isaiah, the call to Israel by God comes BIBLE-PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH through once more. The LORD promised Israel that His salvation is near and is meant to DHW BIBLE CLASS be forever. Why is it so difficult for LESSON 51 Israel to stop sinning! Is sinning against God by God's people so ISAIAH delightful that they would keep on CHAPTER 51 sinning regardless of the manifold approaches employed by the LORD to get Israel to stop! All things of the Theme: "Fear Ye Not the Reproach of earth that we see, feel and handle Men" today will vanish but the salvation that the LORD alone gives is eternal. THEME VERSES Do not be afraid of the testing Isaiah 51:7-8 (KJV) "Hearken unto and persecutions that will surely come me, ye that know righteousness, the upon the ones who fear God. The people in whose heart is my law; fear reproaches and persecution of the evil ye not the reproach of men, neither be ones will continue and will never end. ye afraid of their revilings. 8 For the As long as Satan remains on the earth moth shall eat them up like a garment, as the prince of this world, the evil and the worm shall eat them like wool: ones will not stop hindering the work of but my righteousness shall be forever, God. But they will be destroyed in the and my salvation from generation to last day. They will not remain nor will generation." they stand forever. But the righteousness of the LORD will remain and stand forever. This is the blessed INTRODUCTION hope of every child of God. The patience of the LORD is Awake out of her slumber is the beyond human comprehension. It LORD's cry to Israel. Israel must come appears that no matter how persistent back to the LORD. The victory that the man's rebellion is towards God, God LORD longs to give to Israel is for would patiently call His people to stop Israel to take. All she has to do is rebelling and return to Him. This repent and turn away from her sins. wonderful attribute of the LORD is What the LORD reveals here to vividly portrayed here in this chapter of call Israel back to Himself is very Isaiah. Even as the LORD in the appropriate for today's Christians. All previous chapters declared that those who have the fear of God in Gentiles will, in the future, replace them must come back to the Lord and Israel as God's witnesses because of be not afraid of the words of man. Israel's persistent failure to bear a They must return to God on God's DHW LESSON 51 ISAIAH 51 terms. Their sin must cease Christ. They are called the ones "that immediately. They must stop attacking follow after righteousness" and the God's Word by saying that it has ones "that seek the LORD". They will mistakes. To say or teach that the be encouraged even in the midst of the Bible has mistakes is to sin against darkest hour of Israel's history, to go God and to take the side of the into exile! They will meditate upon enemies of God. Why is there so great Israel's blessed and solid beginning a delight to sin! All those who follow and how far Israel has declined in the after righteousness and seek the days of Isaiah into her many sins and LORD should stop sinning and return rebellion. Perhaps then Israel might back to the fold of God! ask herself what has happened to her and then stop sinning and turn back to the LORD. OUTLINE Return to the LORD and 1. Hearken – Turn to the LORD! blessings would be immediate. The (vv.1-3); wasteland would be turned into the 2. Hearken – God's Salvation is Garden of Eden. Joy and gladness will Forever (vv. 4-6); once more fill the Land of Promise and thanksgiving and melody will be heard 3. Hearken – Do Not Be Afraid of Man again. Why will Israel not recall her (vv. 7-8); past and bring those days back again 4. Awake – Israel Shall Return in into her life? All she needs to do is to Victory (vv. 9-16); repent and turn back to God. The 5. Awake – Jerusalem in Desolation! LORD will not and cannot accept (vv. 17-23). sinners who keep on sinning. Hearken – God's Salvation is Forever – 51:4-6 COMMENTARY Listen again O Israel to the call Hearken – Turn to the LORD! of God for He has set a light through – 51:1-3 His holy and perfect Word for His The call to Israel was to listen i.e. the people. The perfect Word of God and longing of the LORD is to bless a God the Person cannot be separated. repentant and returning Israel. It is through His revealed Word that Remember Israel’s beginnings from God the Person is made known to the the time of Abraham. How good those world. To attack His perfect Word is to days were when Abraham and Sarah, attack God. To doubt His perfect Word Israel's founding parents, obeyed the is to doubt God. To say that the perfect LORD and their walk with God was Word of God has mistakes is to say amazingly wonderful and blessed of that God makes mistakes! The perfect God! It was not a general call to all Word of God and God are so eternally Israel but to a select few in Israel. intertwined that God personified His They were the ones who believe in Word in the Book of Proverbs to 2 DHW LESSON 51 ISAIAH 51 describe Himself! (see Proverbs 8 and word "hearken" the third time in this 9). God's righteousness is near. It is chapter, Isaiah challenge the ones only a prayer away. It is very whom he called "ye that know reachable. God's salvation is gone righteousness" and "the people in forth as the world will see the salvation whose heart is God's law" not to be of Israel, His people. The arm of the afraid. Previously, the comparison was LORD i.e. the power of the LORD will on the longevity of heaven and earth. judge the people i.e. the whole world Here it is on the persecutors of the and not Israel otherwise the LORD faith. They will be severely punished would have used "His" people. The by God like moth eating up garments. isles (plural) wait for the LORD to Moths devour garments at will and at a show forth His salvation. In the power fast pace. It is said that a typical of the LORD will they trust Him i.e. find domestic moth can devour 12 cm of salvation in Christ. The rest of the cloth in one minute under controlled world will soon believe the LORD God environment [http://wiki.answers.com/ of Israel. Why will Israel not believe! Q/How_fast_does_a_moth_eat_clothe In Isaiah 51, the LORD applies s]. The worm shall eat up the enemies the same reasoning to assure those of God's people like wool i.e. a woollen who are God's people that His garment. These enemies of the salvation as revealed in His Word is believers would be easily devoured by real and will be forever. It will last God. The people of God should never longer than the heavens and the earth. be afraid of them. The heavens might vanish away like The believers are called here as smoke which is fleeting and the earth "ye that know righteousness". Once a will wax old like a garment becoming person has righteousness, he has frail and fragile and easily torn to nothing to be afraid of. To possess the shreds and all her inhabitants shall die righteousness of God, he has to be in like manner but the salvation of the "perfect" and has never broken any of LORD shall be forever! The heavens God's laws including the Ten and the earth seem so eternal and all Commandments. The moment he the inhabitants of the earth seem so breaks one, he is disqualified and the unending as one generation comes to righteousness is gone from him. For replace the former and yet the LORD him to have this righteousness, he has used them to demonstrate the surety to accept Christ as his Lord and of His salvation which is wrought in Saviour. This is the only way to Christ Jesus, His only begotten Son. possess the righteousness of God. Hearken – Do Not Be Afraid of Man They are also said to have the laws of – 51:7-8 God in their hearts. Unbelievers and non-believers do not have the law of With the assurance of the God in their hearts at all. Only those LORD's salvation in his heart, the righteous in Christ have the laws of believer must not flinch in the face of God in their hearts as verse 7 affirms. the greatest persecution. Using the Therefore the reproach of men i.e. 3 DHW LESSON 51 ISAIAH 51 disgrace or shame and their revilings The LORD will comfort Israel. i.e. vilification must not succeed in Israel should not be afraid of any man, causing God's people to sin. They regardless of how powerful he might must be strong in the LORD knowing appear in the eyes of other man. Man that their relationship is secured for may call him the most powerful man eternity.