Jerusalem is the barren woman

Isaiah 54:1-5

“Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,” says the LORD.”            

When reading verse one of chapter 54, it requires some understanding of the ancient Near East, for a woman who could not give her husband a male child, was often put aside for a new wife who could perform in producing male children.  There are many examples of women like Sarah the wife of Abraham, Rachel the wife of Isaac and Hannah the wife of Jacob, who it seemed could not give their husbands male children, or children at all.  Never forget “But God” for in doing so you forget hope and faith.

If a woman did not have a son to take care of her in her old age she was very susceptible to the culture of her time.  It seems as if Jerusalem is the barren woman who will have children.  You will see this proclaimed in Psalm 113, where the question is asked in verse 5, “Who is like the LORD our God?”  The Psalm ends with verse 9, “He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children.  Praise the LORD!”

Jerusalem is the barren woman then who is her husband?  Verse five makes that very clear; “For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.”   God is telling His people Jerusalem the family is going to grow, so increase your boundaries, and no longer let the shame of your youth bother you, for God as your husband will provide and protect you.

As a follower of Christ, we are no longer orphans, we have been grafted into the Vine who is Christ, we are now part of His time line, we are the King’s kids, children of Abraham, and children of grace.  Jesus our High Priest lives in us, and He has given us His Spirit to lead us in victory.  This is Jesus’ prayer for you His bride; “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”  (John 17:20-24 ESV)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

It has always been a Choice

Isaiah 53:10-12

“Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.  Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.  Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”

This is such an important message God the Father was willing to crush His Son, His only Son, so that you and I could have the choice of redemption.  The Holman Study Bible on page 1211 has this to say on verses 10-11, “That God was pleased to crush the Servant sounds mean-spirited, but His pleasure is explained by the fact that the Servant’s suffering will justify many.  What seems harsh will turn out to be gracious.  The Servant’s pain, suffering, and death will function like a restitution offering (Lv 5:14-6:7; 7:1-10) – a sacrifice offered when there was a “transgression against the sacred things of the Lord” (Longman, Immanuel in Our Place, p. 99).  The sin of God’s people was such a transgression.

For years the enemy would say in a voice that sounded much like my own, “Bob Jesus is God, and Jesus did this not as a man but as God,” it was not true, for we are told that Jesus the God man never acted as God while in the flesh but went to the Father for everything.  He was without fault as a man, He was pure and yet as man God the Father took His full fury of sin out on His Son, the Servant, Isaiah is telling us about.  Many a person has been crucified but none of them for the sins of the world.  This is made clear to us in Ephesians 1:7-10, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”

The crucifixion without the resurrection leaves no hope, a dead Servant but no Redeemer, no Salvation.  Or as stated in 1Corinthians 15:13, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.”  In fact, the apostle Paul goes on to state in verse 17, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”  I am so glad Paul does not leave us with that as the last word, but in verse 22 states the following; “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”  It comes down to this, will you choose life or death?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

My fictional story

Isaiah 53:3-12

You’re in the crowd, you heard him speak, you have seen the miracles, in fact you were one of the families who were fed at the dinner of the 2 fish and five loaves of bread, and many in the crowd were also there, but now it seems the Scribes and elders, and even the priests are in charge, this miracle worker is on trial.  The rumors are being told that Jesus said when ask by Pilate the governor “are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.”  But when accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. 

 

I remember hearing one of my friends who knew one of the priest say, they were worried if this Jesus was allowed to keep going they would lose all the power and privileges, it seems like today Jesus has the deck stacked against him.  It is the feast time and the governor was accustomed to releasing one prisoner and I was sure others who had been with him who had experienced the miracles would ask for Jesus, but it’s feast time and so many thousands have come to Jerusalem, I’m not sure what they will do. 

 

I’m a little shocked at Pilate, he is offering up one bad guy, his name is Barabbas, he a notorious prisoner, and or Jesus, it seems like the governor is making it very hard for the chief priests and elders, for no one, not even them would want Barabbas, would they?  To my surprise they began to ask for Barabbas, and when the governor asked what should they do with Jesus who is called the Christ?  I was totally amazed the crowd yelled, “Let him be crucified!”  And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?”  But the crowd, the one I was part of began, and I found myself joining with them in yelling, “Let him be crucified!”

I did not mean it, I got caught up in the moment, but when Pilate had Jesus scourged, he no longer looked like the man who had fed us; he was almost beyond recognition.  And the crowd said, “His blood be on us and on our children!” I was crying by this time, so ashamed of my actions, but it seems the priest and the crowd had won; and Jesus is to be taken and crucified. 

 

As I took my family away, a righteous man who had no part of the crowd came and ask me why I was crying and I told him of how I got caught up in the crowd and knew my actions and the crowd were wrong.  He began to teach me from Isaiah how the Suffering Servant would be misunderstood by the people and they believed He was as One struck down by God for His own sins.  He told me he believed Jesus was the one Isaiah wrote about: “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.  By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?  And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.  Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”

In my fictional story, this man was presented with the Scripture, and now you also have the same opportunity as he.  What will you do with Jesus?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Hard Questions

Isaiah 53:1-2

Hard questions coming from someone you respect or maybe you fear, because they first know the answer, and second they may have authority over you.  Think about your childhood, mother or dad asked a question, it went something like this in my home, “Bobby, have you been playing with the matches under the house again?”  My answer, “Matches?” as if it was the first time I had heard the word.  My mom asks, “Bobby do you have homework?” and the answer is no or not much, that is until it is time for bed and I confess one small fact, I have homework that is due in the morning.  What about work and the boss asks if your expense report is up to date, like he does not know you are three months behind.  In fact, it may be your wife who asks; “Honey, did you pick up the items I need to cook dinner?”  Now we all know she has ask that question more than once and should know the answer; you heard the request that morning but that was 6:45 and it is now 6:00 pm and many fires had to be put out between that time.

The prophet Isaiah has some hard questions for each of us, do not fool yourself into believing it was only for the community he was living in.  Here is the question: “Who has believed what they have heard?  This question has rung in the ears of mankind, that question holds the hope or condemnation of all mankind.  The Suffering Servant, the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ, is the answer to Isaiah’s second question: “And who has the arm of the Lord been revealed to?”  The Suffering Servant revealed the victorious power to us!

The people of God need to awaken, we put our hope in things, we put value in looks and charm, even in skin color, but not in integrity.  Our politicians lie and we do not hold them accountable, we put value in our currency and it is no more than a house of cards built on paper, and only has the value of paper.  Our culture is newer and we think smarter than the culture of Isaiah’s time, but are we?  Do we not place value on the same things they did; a person’s appearance, not the character, morality, and integrity.  Isaiah has shown how people will perceive Jesus, a young plant growing up in dry ground, if you live in the Texas hills you understand dry ground, the plants wither for lack of water.  This is the image of the man of suffering, much like a plant that withers and is pulled up, so will man reject the Suffering Servant.  Listen, read, and reread verse 3, “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hid their faces, he was despised and we esteemed Him not.” 

The apostle John gives this insight; “The true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was created through Him, yet the world did not recognize Him.  He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.  But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.  The Word became flesh and took up residence among us.  We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  (John 1:9-14)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Servant's mission

August 28, 2014

Isaiah 52:13-53:12

Do you recall the Servant mission being addressed in chapter 42:1-9, by the prophet Isaiah, and the same Servant is being addressed in the above Scripture as both suffering and being exalted.  Looking at the suffering Servant, before the cross, Lee Strobel in his book “The Case for Christ” interviews Alexander Metherell, M.D., and PH.D.  Strobel ask this question: “Tell me, what was the flogging like?”  Metherell reply: Roman floggings were known to be terribly brutal.  “The back would be so shredded that part of the spine was sometimes exposed by the deep, deep cuts.  The whipping would have gone all the way from the shoulders down to the back, the buttocks, and the back of the legs.  It was just terrible.”  Metherell paused.  “Go,” I said.  “One physician who has studied Roman beatings said, ‘As the flogging continued, the lacerations would tear into the underlying skeletal muscles and produce quivering ribbons of bleeding flesh.’  A third-century historian by the name of Eusebius described a flogging by saying, “The sufferer’s veins were laid bare, and the very muscles, sinews, and bowels of the victim were open to exposure.”

Metherell, goes on to share the agony of the cross, how spikes that were five to seven inches long and tapered to a sharp point were driven through the wrists, about an inch or so below his palm.  Metherell goes on to explain that in that day the wrist was considered part of the hand in the language of the day.  He goes on to explain the nail would go through the median nerve and the effect would be unbelievable pain.  Then a spike would be driven into his feet causing the same nerve damage there.  Next Jesus’ arms would have been stretched; probably about six inches in length, and both shoulders would have become dislocated.  Psalm 22, foretold the Crucifixion hundreds of years before it took place and says, “My bones are out of joint.’”  It seems impossible to fully grasp the magnitude of what Jesus suffered for one such as I, the song “Who am I that a King would bleed and die for” the first verse; “When I think of how He came so far from glory
Came to dwell among the lowly such as I To suffer shame and such disgrace On Mount Calvary take my place Then I ask myself this question Who am I?

I hope it is clear we are only addressing the fourteenth verse: “As many were astonished at you—his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—“ Isaiah is telling us the Servant was so disfigured by His captors that He will not appear human.  “For God so loved _________ (place your name in the slot) that He gave His only Son, that whoever (all inclusive) believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  Your life story is being written each day of your life by the choices you make, without bowing your will to our LORD and Redeemer, the Creator of all that is, your story will have an eternally bad ending, one you will recall over and over, with no hope of change.  The Scriptures are clear, you will not be throwing a party in hell with your buddies, you will be in total darkness, isolated, with each of your choices being played back, over and over, and over, forever, now that is hell.  So once more it is not God sending you to hell, it is your choice, and my prayer is that you choose to seek Jesus, seek blessing not curses.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Herald

Isaiah 52:3-12

One of the first examples of selling someone into slavery in the Bible is the brother’s of Joseph who sold him to the Midianite traders for 20 pieces of sliver.  All throughout history and even in 2015 people are being sold for a profit, and it would seem the only reason someone would do such a thing, but God was so sick of sinful Zion He sold her for nothing.  And since He sold her for nothing, He can now redeem her for nothing.  We must remember God is allowing Isaiah to see many things in what we call future or prophecy.  In verse four Isaiah is seeing the future of living under Babylonian captivity, and he is also looking back to what we call the past, and the exodus from Egypt and the Assyrian invasion of the northern kingdom during Isaiah’s lifetime.

Many a person wants to blame others for the choices they have made or are making, so was the case with the people of Zion, but God used this in punishment and restoration for His people to come to know Him.  As we read verse seven we see the herald in the time of Isaiah, the herald was the news media, and it was not like our media who spends their energy on proclaiming the right spin on the news or focusing on bad news.  The herald was to bring good news,  “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the herald, who proclaims peace, who brings news of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

In that most large cities were walled, the watchman were posted on the walls to keep watch for attacks, but these watchmen were the first ones to witness the return of the LORD to His city, Jerusalem.  What a wonderful encouragement from the watchman,  “Be joyful, rejoice together, you ruins of Jerusalem!  For the LORD has comforted His people; He has redeemed Jerusalem.

The salvation referred to in verse ten is the restoring of Jerusalem after the Babylonians destroyed it into rubble and it was clear that God was the Source of the rebuilding.  Verse eleven is calling the priests to leave Babylon and to be purified before returning to Jerusalem with the vessels of the Lord.  It is verse twelve that should encourage each of us; it’s a slow down and smell the roses verse, it’s a do not sweat or be fearful verse, for our “LORD is going before you, and the God of Israel is your rear guard.”  Now as my friend David Bush often says, “It’s all good!”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Illusion of Bondage

Isaiah 52:1-2

Often, we who have grown-up in western nations may understand the meanings of words like slavery or captivity, but most of us have never experienced the loss of freedom.   Most of us go and do as we wish without asking for permission to do so, that is unless we are under our parents control, have joined the military, or have entered into a contractual relationship with an organization.  Even with such restrictions, it is hard for the mind of such people to grasp the fullness of what Israel has grown accustom to over its many years of captivity.

Listen to God’s prophet once more telling the Israelites to “Awake, Awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean.  Shake yourself from the dust and arise; be seated, O Jerusalem; loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.”  God, speaking through the lips of Isaiah, is telling His people they are no longer to live as if still in bondage, they are now living in Jerusalem, the holy city, and it’s time to renew, refresh, and restore Jerusalem, for it is no longer under the control of the uncircumcised.

Freedom can be an illusion to people who have long been under the control of someone or something, and often it requires a person to address the issue, and to remind them they are free to choose.  In my lifetime I’ve observed the illusion of bondage, where people of color whose great ancestry were brought in bondage to our nation and for many years were slaves, but a great war divided our nation and many men died so that today they could choose to live as free men.  Many of these people who have never known slavery, and neither have their parents or grandparents, but the illusion of slavery holds many in bondage.  This is what Isaiah is telling the people of Israel to awaken from the illusion, and to live as free people.

Many of us who go by the name of Christian have also bought into the illusion of sin and death as if it still has control over us, as if we were without a choice, but God is telling you to awake, for if you have entered into Christ you are no longer under the control of sin or death.  Each day, an often many times each day, we are given the opportunity to choose, and Channel One the deceptive channel that mimics our voice, and we listen and choose the way of sin and death.  But it is a choice for Channel Two, the Holy Spirit is also telling us to choose life, to love God, and to love our neighbors.  God has instructed all who are in Christ to renew our minds, if that was not possible then God would be setting us up to fail, and we know that is not true.  Romans 6:12 gives this insight; “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.”  And Romans 6:14, makes clear that we are free to choose; “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”

And yet many Christians are being taken captive, for they are not awakened to the fact that it is a choice, and they are walking by feeling and not by faith.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice