Download Chapter 54

Isaiah 54 -59
“Is Anyone Thirsty, Come and Drink”
Chapter 54
1
“Sing, O childless woman, you who have never given birth!
Break into loud and joyful song, O Jerusalem, you who have
never been in labor. For the desolate woman now has more
children than the woman who lives with her husband,” says
YaHWeH.
26
But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly
Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother. 27
As Isaiah said, “Rejoice, O childless woman…28 And you,
dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just
like Isaac. Galatians 4
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For your Creator will be your husband; YaHWeH of
Heaven’s Armies is His Name! He is your Redeemer, the
Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth.
Ephesians 5 (NASB95) 31 FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS
FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO
SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH. 32 This mystery is great; but I am
speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
Chapter 54
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“O storm-battered city, troubled and desolate! I will
rebuild you with precious jewels and make your foundations
from lapis lazuli. 12 I will make your towers of sparkling
rubies, your gates of shining gems, and your walls of precious
stones.
Revelation 21:10–11 (NASB95) 10 And he carried me away in
the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the
holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
11 having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very
costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper.
Chapter 54
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I will teach all your children, and they will enjoy great
peace. 14 You will be secure under a government that is just
and fair. Your enemies will stay far away. You will live in
peace, and terror will not come near.
John 6 (ESV) 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who
sent Me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45
It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by
God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father
comes to Me.
Chapter 54 NIV
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…No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will
refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of
the servants of YaHWeH, and this is their vindication from
Me,” declares YaHWeH.
Proverbs 26:2 (ESV) 2 Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a
swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight.
Chapter 55
1
“Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no
money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk— it’s all
free! 2 Why spend your money on food that does not give
you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good?
Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy
the finest food. 3 “Come to me with your ears wide open.
Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting
covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I
promised to David.
John
“Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food
which endures to everlasting life” (6:27, NKJV)
7:37–39 (NLT) 37 On the last day, the climax of the festival,
Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is
thirsty may come to Me! 38 Anyone who believes in Me may
come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living
water will flow from His heart.’ ” 39 (When He said “living
water,” He was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to
everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been
given, because Jesus had not yet entered into His glory.)
Revelation 22:17 (NLT)
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears
this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let
anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.
Chapter 55 NAS
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Seek YaHWeH while He may be found; call upon Him while
He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the
unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to
YaHWeH, and He will have compassion on him, and to our
God, For He will abundantly pardon.
“We could translate while he may be found as ‘while he
permits himself to be found’, indicating a divinely
determined day of grace and salvation.” Moyter
Pastor David Guzik
The prophet impresses a sense of urgency on God’s people.
“This is the time. God can be found now. Seek Him now.”
It isn’t that God is hidden, and can only be found now. It is
that He can only be found when our hearts are inclined to
look for Him, and that inclination itself is a gift from God!
We must receive the gift, and make the most of it while we
have it. Not seeking, and failing to call upon Him while He
is near, means we will not receive the blessings He promises.
Luke 14:16–24 (NLT)
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“The servant returned and told his master what they had
said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the
streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the
crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ 22 After the servant had
done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’ 23 So his
master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the
hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house
will be full. 24 For none of those I first invited will get even
the smallest taste of my banquet.’ ”
Chapter 55:8-9 NASB
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways
My ways,” declares YaHWeH. “For as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My
thoughts than your thoughts.
“Indeed, my plans are not like your plans, and My deeds are
not like your deeds, for just as the sky is higher than the
earth, so My deeds are superior to your deeds and My plans
superior to your plans.” NET
Tom Constable
Repentance is not something a person must do before God
will accept him or her. It is simply a description of what
seeking the Lord looks like. In other words, forsaking sin is
not a precondition for acceptance by God. The person who
genuinely seeks the Lord and calls on His name has come to
grips with his or her sin and is willing to turn it over to the
Lord. After all, an unsaved person cannot forsake sin or even
desire to do so without the Lord’s help. God can pardon
sinners because of the Servant’s work in paying the debt of
their sins in their place.
Chapter 55 NASB
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“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth And
making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower
and bread to the eater; 11 So will My word be which goes
forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire, And without
succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
John 1:1–3 (NASB95)
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In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with
God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart
from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
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You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will
burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their
hands! 13 Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will
grow. Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up. These
events will bring great honor to YaHWeH’s name; they will be
an everlasting sign of His power and love.”
Romans 8:19–21 (NIV84)
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The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God
to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to
frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one
who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be
liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the
glorious freedom of the children of God.
Chapter 56
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This is what YaHWeH says: “Be just and fair to all. Do what
is right and good, for I am coming soon to rescue you and to
display My righteousness among you.
It is important that God’s people demonstrate righteousness
in their lives, but that is impossible without divine
enablement. These chapters clarify the roles of God and man
in demonstrating righteousness. Notice that practicing justice
and righteousness do no accomplish salvation. They should
be its consequence; they cannot be its cause. Tom Constable
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“Don’t let foreigners who commit themselves to YaHWeH
say, ‘YaHWeH will never let me be part of His people.’ And
don’t let the eunuchs say, ‘I’m a dried-up tree with no
children and no future.’ 4 For this is what YaHWeH says: I will
bless those eunuchs who keep My Sabbath days holy and
who choose to do what pleases Me and commit their lives to
Me. 5 I will give them—within the walls of My house— a
memorial and a name far greater than sons and daughters
could give. For the name I give them is an everlasting one. It
will never disappear!
“Yad vaShem” – “A Memorial and a Name”
Revelation 2:17 (ESV)
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He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the
hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new
name written on the stone that no one knows except the
one who receives it.’ …
3:5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white
garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of
life. I will confess his name before My Father and before His
angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says
to the churches.’
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“I will also bless the foreigners who commit themselves to
YaHWeH, who serve Him and love His name, who worship
Him and do not desecrate the Sabbath day of rest, and who
hold fast to My covenant
Are Christians required to keep the Sabbath today? The New
Testament makes it clear that Christians are not under
obligation to observe a Sabbath day (Colossians 2:16-17; Galatians 4:911), because Jesus fulfills the purpose and plan of the Sabbath
for us and in us (Hebrews 4:9-11). David Guzik
Warren Wiersbe
Keep in mind that the Sabbath Day is the seventh day of the
week, the day that God sanctified when He completed
Creation (Gen. 2:1–3). Sunday is the Lord’s Day, the first day of
the week; and it commemorates the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead. To call Sunday “the Sabbath” or “the
Christian Sabbath” is to confuse these two important days.
The Sabbath was a sign to the Jews and belongs to the Law:
You labor for six days, and then you rest. The Lord’s Day
speaks of resurrection and belongs to grace. God’s people
trust in Christ, and then the works follow.
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I will bring them to My holy mountain of Jerusalem and will
fill them with joy in My house of prayer. I will accept their
burnt offerings and sacrifices, because My Temple will be
called a house of prayer for all nations. 8 For the Sovereign
YaHWeH, who brings back the outcasts of Israel, says: I will
bring others, too, besides My people Israel.”…10 For the
leaders of My people— YaHWeH’s watchmen, His shepherds—
are blind and ignorant…They are ignorant shepherds, all
following their own path and intent on personal gain.
Mark 11:15–17 (NLT)
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When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the
Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling
animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the
money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and
he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a
marketplace. 17 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare,
‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’
but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”
Oswalt
“All of Israel’s separation from the world was in order to
keep Israel from being absorbed into the world and thus
losing the ability to call the world out of itself into the
blessings of God. But should Israel ever come to believe that
its separation was so that Israel could keep her God and his
blessings to herself, then all was lost.”
“I will bring others, too, besides My people Israel.”
Chapter 58
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“Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Shout aloud!
Don’t be timid. Tell My people Israel of their sins! 2 Yet they
act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem
delighted to learn all about Me. They act like a righteous
nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. They
ask Me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want
to be near Me. 3 ‘We have fasted before you!’ they say. ‘Why
aren’t you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves,
and you don’t even notice it!’
Matthew 24:10–14 (NLT)
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And many will turn away from Me and betray and hate
each other. 11 And many false prophets will appear and will
deceive many people. 12 Sin will be rampant everywhere,
and the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who
endures to the end will be saved. 14 And the Good News
about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole
world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will
come.
Chapter 58
“I will tell you why!” I respond. “It’s because you are fasting
to please yourselves. Even while you fast, you keep
oppressing your workers. 4 What good is fasting when you
keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will
never get you anywhere with Me. 5 You humble yourselves
by going through the motions of penance, bowing your
heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap
and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting?
Do you really think this will please YaHWeH?
Tom Constable
This was not the type of fasting God approved. It consisted
only in His people bowing their heads, not their hearts.
Bowing the head like a reed expresses formal worship,
like a reed automatically and unthinkingly bending in
response to wind. The people sat in sackcloth and ashes, but
they did not really mourn over their disobedience to the
YaHWeH. They thought their outward fasting, bowing,
dressing, and adorning were more important than their
attitudes and behavior…
Oswalt “The Book”
“But repentance is not for the purpose of getting God to do
anything; it is an expression of the conviction that my ways
are wrong and God’s ways are right, whether He does
anything for me or not.”
‘Thank God, I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially
like that tax collector over there!...But the corrupt tax
collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes
to heaven as he prayed, but beat upon his chest in sorrow,
exclaiming, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’
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“No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are
wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work
for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains
that bind people. 7 Share your food with the hungry, and
give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who
need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your
help.
James 2:17–20 (The Living Bible)
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So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. You must
also do good to prove that you have it. Faith that doesn’t
show itself by good works is no faith at all—it is dead and
useless. 18 But someone may well argue, “You say the way to
God is by faith alone, plus nothing; well, I say that good
works are important too, for without good works you can’t
prove whether you have faith or not; but anyone can see
that I have faith by the way I act.” …20 Fool! When will you
ever learn that “believing” is useless without doing what God
wants you to? Faith that does not result in good deeds is
not real faith.
Chapter 58
9…Stop
pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!
10 Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your
light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness
around you will be as bright as noon. 11 YaHWeH will guide
you continually, giving you water when you are dry and
restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered
garden, like an ever-flowing spring. 12 Some of you will
rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be
known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes.
Alan Redpath – 1907-1989
“We live in a broken world. In every direction there are
breaches which are wide and deep. There are broken hearts
and broken homes, and that which once was sacred is but a
waste place. Whereas once there was a carefully guarded
fence around the sanctity of family life, sex life, and the right
to personal privacy, now there is just a waste place. The wall
of protection is in ruins, and life has lost all its meaning.”
“When God wants to do an impossible task, He takes an
impossible man, and He crushes him.”
Isaiah 59:15–17 (NASB95)
Now YaHWeH saw, and it was displeasing in His sight that
there was no justice. 16 And He saw that there was no man,
and was astonished that there was no one to intercede;
Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, and His
righteousness upheld Him. 17 He put on righteousness like a
breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; And He
put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped
Himself with zeal as a mantle.
Ephesians 6:13–16 (NASB95)
13
Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will
be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything,
to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR
LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF
RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE
PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16 in addition to all, taking
up the shield of faith with which you will be able to
extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
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In the west, people will respect the name of YaHWeH; in
the east, they will glorify Him. For He will come like a raging
flood tide driven by the breath of YaHWeH. 20 “The
Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in
Israel who have turned from their sins,” says YaHWeH. 21
“And this is My covenant with them,” says YaHWeH. “My
Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have
given you.
Chapter 55
1
“Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no
money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk— it’s all
free! 2 Why spend your money on food that does not give
you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good?
Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy
the finest food. 3 “Come to me with your ears wide open.
Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting
covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I
promised to David.
Chapter 55 NAS
6
Seek YaHWeH while He may be found; call upon Him while
He is near.
Isaiah tells us to call on the YaHWeH while He is near. God is
not planning to move away from us, but we often move far
from Him or erect barriers of sin between ourselves and Him.
Don’t wait until you have drifted far away from God to seek
Him. Later in life, turning to Him may be far more difficult.
Or God may come to judge the earth before you decide to
turn to Him. Seek God now, while you can, before it is too
late. Life Application Bible