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Isaiah 23-27 Deep Diving Bible Study

 

 GOOD MORNING SIBLINGS!
Before we get started today, you might want to grab a drink and a snack because you’re probably gonna be here a while. Shockingly, I did try to condense these notes so it could be worse.

Today’s readings are Isaiah 23-27

Click here to read today’s passages on BibleGateway.

Rabbit trails

Lets see what the Father has in store for us today! Don’t you just feel like Josiah when his men discovered the Torah (foundational texts of our Bible) that had been lost all those generations?
Each day, when I open the Word, I know that I am adding new treasures of wisdom to my life!

And while we’re speaking of reading the word. We should never think that just because we’ve read the Bible once or twice or four or even ten or more times, start to finish, that we know all we need to know about it. As I’ve been harping on all week, The father reveals and conceals things from us in His wisdom, in his time, according to his good plans.
EACH time we read the word, He is going to show us more, bring us closer to Him, and teach us how to step into His will.
And if we have spent most of your life focusing on the back 25% of the book and neglecting the first 75%, we have not focused on what Messiah and the apostles read, studied, and taught from. Remember, the “New Testament” did not exist in their time.

Here is the thing..
We’ve been conditioned to “know” what the Bible says by hearing stories over and over about it. However, this is inherited knowledge. If you haven’t read it for yourself this is not firsthand knowledge.
The problem is that when we do set out to read it for ourselves, this inherited knowledge puts a filter over our eyes that leaves us us halfway reading the word and halfway recalling from memory. As a result, we don’t always catch when the word doesn’t say what we’ve been told it says.

I got to thinking about this yesterday when I read a discussion on a page about Noah’s ark. It was a humor post that said “Notice God saved steak, Not Lettuce.” Well the follow up comments were filled with people pointing out that if Noah had of eaten one of the cows then cows would have gone extinct because there wouldn’t have been enough to procreate. Makes sense, right?

The only problem is that is not what is in the Bible. If Noah had of eaten one of the cows, there would have been thirteen left. Yes, 13.

If this surprises you, don’t be discouraged. Instead, be encouraged and EXCITED because the Father is revealing things to us now and calling our attention to the fact that we’ve overlooked key parts of His word! He is calling us, personally, to Him!

Also, you can catch up by going through my Genesis study via email. It is an 18 day study and that is the foundation for everything else. This Bible study began in Genesis for a very important reason but some folks tuned out Genesis, thinking they already knew it. That can be corrected by clicking here. Sure, you’ll need to double up on studies for a few weeks but there are countless “free time” activities (tv, hobbies, sleeping in) that can be cut out during that time for a more worthy pursuit. What could be more worthy than the study of YHWH’s word?. 

Isaiah 24 is not directed at a certain people or nation but the whole earth. It is highly prophetic and is mirrored greatly in Revelation.

Here are some cross references for you:
Isaiah 24:18, 23 – Revelations 6:12, 13
Isaiah 24:23 – Revelations 22:5

Isaiah 24: We see a day of judgement but also a foreshadowing of the final judgement that Messiah spoke about in Matthew 24.

When we get to Isaiah 24:2-3 we see the “As with” section. This is pointing out that high stations will not be able to save anyone just as low and humble stations will not be an exemption, either.

And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
    as with the slave, so with his master;
    as with the maid, so with her mistress;
as with the buyer, so with the seller;
    as with the lender, so with the borrower;
    as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;
    for the Lord has spoken this word. Isaiah 24:2-3

Isaiah 24:5 is an interesting verse. Remember a few days ago when I said you might want to do a word study on the Hebrew word for law? Well, If you did you’re a little ahead today and will have a deeper understanding of this passage right at the get go.
What was the cause of all of this destruction coming upon the earth?
This verse answers this in short form. You might want to do a quick glance at this verse in several translations before hopping over to the Interlinear version on Biblehub and checking out some of the key words. Learn how to do that in this post.
There is a lot that can be gleaned just by an initial translation surfing with this one.

Why is this verse important?
Well this chapter is all about God’s judgement and this verse is our key as to why YHWH is passing that judgement, so it is pretty pivotal. https://biblehub.com/isaiah/24-5.htm

Isaiah 24:15 is ironic in our modern translations. I just sigh and shake my head, reminding myself of how well reasoned our wisdom seems in our own eyes but how foolish it is in reality.

“Give glory to the name of the LORD, the God of Israel…”

Why is this ironic? Recall that an all caps LORD means translators have removed the personal name of YHWH.
So this is a verse about giving glory to the name of YHWH – that has removed the name of YHWH. Only humans, leaning on our foolish wisdom, would miss the point in this.

Isaiah 25 begins a hymn of thanksgiving at the fall of Babylon. FB Meyer describes the transition from Isaiah 24-25 as “Sorrow turned to Gladness”.

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
And he will swallow up on this mountain
the covering that is cast over all peoples,
the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” Isaiah 25:6-7

After the tumult of Isaiah 24 and seeing what it was that caused that wrath and judgment, we see the contrast to this – and our hope- in Isaiah 26:

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. Trust in YHWH forever, for YHWH is an everlasting rock. ~Isaiah 26:3

What does it mean to trust in YHWH?
How can we have this peace (shalom) rather than the anguish and judgement of Chapter 24?
Ask yourself what caused the judgement in chapter 24 and what trusting in YHWH means.
Do we trust in His authority?
Do we rely on His wisdom over our own?
Do we trust that He knows what is best for us and His instructions are perfect?
At some point, after however many years or generations of trying things the world’s way, many of us come to a point where we give up – and finally decide to trust in YHWH.
That is when everything changes.

Isaiah 26:20-21 gives instructions to YHWH’s people as to what to do while His fury is enacted upon the earth. This has obvious parallels to Passover.

Come, my people, enter your chambers,
    and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourselves for a little while
    until the fury has passed by.
 For behold, the Lord is coming out from his place
    to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,
and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,
    and will no more cover its slain. Isaiah 26:20-21

Since we have begun keeping the Feasts, it is amazing how much more personal – and familiar- all of this feels. The Biblical feasts are set up as teaching tools. They teach us where we came from, what lies ahead, how to walk in obedience, and bring us closer to the Father by teaching us of His character and what to expect from Him in days and years to come. In many ways, the Fall feasts are dress rehearsals for the return of our Messiah. We can read about the Feasts til the cows come home, just as we can read about YHWH’s wisdom, but until we implement it in our own lives, we aren’t able to understand it to the extent that the Father intends us to. It’s similar to having a car sit in your driveway vs actually driving the car. You can look at it all you want, but just looking at it won’t take you anywhere.

In Isaiah 27:6 we see beautiful figurative language about Israel and Judah. Judah is, of course, a tribe of Israel, so the use of the two being separately listed tells us that what is being referenced is actually Judah and the remaining tribes

While this is figurative, the Father often reminds us of the family tree coming together and bringing forth unified fruit according to His plan. Have you caught on that you are a branch on that family tree, yet? We are not a new tree, but rather, an addition.

Let’s start by reading the verse:

In days to come Jacob shall take root,
Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots
and fill the whole world with fruit. Isaiah 27:6

Fascinating Agricultural Rabbit Trail Regarding Israel – In biblical times, Israel was the breadbasket of the Middle East but once Israel went into exile, the land ceased to produce. However, as Judah began moving back in the early 1900’s, it began to produce again, proving the principle that the land only produces when YHWH’s people are in the land, and therefore His blessing is over it.

It is important to note that the Father promised Israel would prosper but that is only in effect when the land is inhabited by His intended inhabitants. The return of Israel as a country took place in 1948 and at that time Israel began experiencing an agricultural boon that grabbed the attention of scientists and news organizations. Check out this article written in 1960 that appeared int he Scientific American.

Click here to read this article about the land in Israel flourishing since the return of Israel in Scientific American.

By the early 2000’s, around 50 years since the founding of Israel, the land had gone from being a desolate and barren land to becoming self sufficient agriculturally and actually exporting 1.3 billion worth of agricultural products each year.
A tiny little strip now known as the Gaza Strip, which Israel took control of after the 6 day war in 1967, produced almost 1/3 of that.

However, In 2005 Israel “disengaged” with the Gaza strip and the Palestinians took control. Since then, regardless of how much effort was put into it, this little Gaza strip (which had produced almost 1/3 of Israel’s produce just years before) has quickly returned to rocky desert land. The Palestinians have tried to accuse Israel of spraying poison on the land while in their possession and they say that is why they can’t grow crops. A quick google search of crops in Gaza strip will yield results from propaganda websites declaring this. But the truth is that the land is no longer under YHWH’s blessing. However, those who would decry YHWH and His people must explain this another way, so propaganda ensues.

Note For security purposes, I do not recommend visiting any of these sites. If you want to do a google search,  I suggest just looking at the headlines and stopping there.

 “Therefore you shall do my statutes and keep my rules and perform them, and then you will dwell in the land securely. The land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and dwell in it securely. Lev 25:18-19

And if you say, ‘What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop?’ I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years. Lev 25:20-21

Compare this also to Abraham and Sara. Sara was barren and far beyond childbearing years. There was every reason why she couldn’t conceive and no one would even consider it a possibility, but YHWH set Abraham apart for a special purpose and so He blessed Sara. Further, recall that Israel multiplied faster than the Egyptians could have possibly imagined in Exodus 1.

This is a pattern of YHWH

What belongs to YHWH is under the blessing of YHWH.

Sidenote: This is not to be misconstrued as the world’s prosperity doctrine. Keep in mind that what is considered prosperity to the world has no value in YHWH’s eternal kingdom.

*The Genesis study was something I had set up where people could subscribe via email and get one set of notes a day for an entire month, until they finished Genesis. I no longer have a paid email service so this is not available anymore. However, all of those notes are always on the site and available to anyone who would like. Just click “Bible study” at the top of the page and then click “Genesis” to access them. 


Test everything, hold tight to what is good.~ 1 Thess 5:21

We are saved by Grace alone: Obedience is not the root of our salvation, it is the fruit!

May YHWH bless the reading of His Word!