THROUGH THE BIBLE IN THREE YEARS
This program of daily devotions is designed to take you through the Bible in three years. It is our desire to help you gain a better general understanding of God's Word.
Please understand that in a study this brief, we will be concerned with only the major emphases and context of the Scriptures.
Each day a devotion for one or two chapters is posted, beginning with chapter one of Genesis and going through chapter twenty-two of Revelation. You are free to print each page as it appears. If you miss a day, you may contact us and request that devotion. Please send your request, along with $.50 (p&handling) for each page to:
Bruce McGee,Pastor
205 Adams
Columbia, LA 71418
We have a great friend in Gary Godard. He has set up an archive page. To view ALL the prior devotions by Scripture, just clik
Bro. Bruce's commentaries for
the books of Genesis through 2Kings are
now available in hard copy for $7.50. Just mail your request for
COMMENTARY ON (BOOK NAME) to the address above.
Isaiah
CHAPTER 49
1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. 2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; 3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. 4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God. 5 And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength. 6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. 7 Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.
Israel, the nation, had been unfaithful and unfruitful. God had called and formed that nation out of Abraham in order to produce the gospel of His salvation to the world. Yet, they had primarily concentrated on what THEY wanted and not what GOD wanted with their lives.
But now Isaiah begins to speak of the "Servant." The Servant is the ONE Person who will come out of the nation of Israel, and upon Him will res all the fulfillment of God's desires for that nation. He is none other than Jesus Christ.
It is amazing to see that God patiently endured Israel in order to form from the womb ONE Servant Who would be true to the calling of God (verse 5). The entirety of the nation of Israel would not come to God; but this One Servant would be considered glorious in the sight of man and God.
There is a two-fold mission appointed for this Servant in verse 6. He is, first, to restore the tribes of Israel. This Christ did, when He brought disciples (committed believers) to Himself and began the first church in Jerusalem. Those disciples and first believers were from the nation of Israel.
Second, the Servant is to be a "light to the Gentiles." It is His mission to perform the purpose of spreading the gospel of God's salvation through repentance to the whole world. This Jesus did and still does through His "body" - the church.
When Christ came the first time many "rulers" despised, hated and rejected Him. But when He comes the second time, ALL will "worship" Him. It is God's faithfulness to His own promises and purposes that will cause this to happen.
8 Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; 9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. 10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them. 11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted. 12 Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim. 13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
The "acceptable time" is the time when Christ offered Himself willingly upon the cross for the sins of all men. There, He cried out, "Father forgive them; for they know not what they do!" (Luke 23:34)
Being a perfect man, Christ offered the perfect sacrifice of sinless righteousness to God for the benefit of man. But being God in the flesh, He accomplished IN time what He had set out to do when He CREATED time. That's why all the Bible in the Old Testament looks FORWARD to Christ's coming. The Gospels of the New Testament clearly state His coming, His ministry, and His sacrifice for mankind. Then the rest of the New Testament looks BACK to the cross and the propitiation of God's anger toward man through the blood sacrifice of Jesus.
I count it a joy to call Squire Parsons my "friend." He is a godly man who has written very many songs. And all those songs are based on Biblical fact. That's QUITE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT. It shows his heart for God and His faith in God's Word. One of those songs, "I Stand Amazed," is here quoted in part:
"When I examine the old rugged cross,
the mighty gulf that it spans,
it reaches down to the brinks of hell,
and up to Heaven's golden strand.
And I stand AMAZED, I stand AMAZED.
Of the Love which has sought me,
saved me and bought me,
I stand AMAZED!"
The cry of Christ, "Father FORGIVE them," was heard throughout the totality of time!
Jesus is God's "covenant of the people" (verse 8) to establish freedom from the darkness of sin (verse 9).
Because of Him, God's glorious heaven can be offered to any who will come in surrender to Jesus (verses 11-12). Christ Himself will lead them and guide them TO the place and IN the place which God has prepared (verse 10).
Therefore, all those who trust in Christ SING!! They sing with a MIGHTY and THUNDEROUS voice because of God's great salvation (verse 13).
And this leads me to mention another song written by Squire Parsons "OH! What a Moment," quoted here in part.
"Oh what a day 'twill be, when we see loved ones there,
Those who have gone before, eternal joys to share.
And, Oh what a song, when the blood-washed throng,
Start singing the song the angels cannot sing!
OH! What a moment, when we see Jesus!
When we stand face to face in His embrace,
And thank Him for AMAZING GRACE!
OH! What a moment, when we see HIM!"
14 But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. 15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. 16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. 17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee. 18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth. 19 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. 20 The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell. 21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been? 22 Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. 23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. 24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? 25 But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. 26 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
Israel felt tremendous discouragement when they lost their land and were carried off into captivity by the Babylonians. Some may even have declared openly that God had forsaken them. Feelings ARE a part of life.
Jesus also had feelings. On the cross He cried out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Jesus was quoting Psalm 22:1. That song, by the way, is a song which describes the agony of the cross some 800-900 years before it was even invented!
But when we FEEL like God is not with us, if we trust Him, He IS there! The whole song (Psalm 22), deals with the fact of God's faithfulness even when we feel like He is not there.
God even promises, that the world and rulers will HELP His people (verses 22-23). He CAUSES it to be so.
And, may I call your attention once again to the fact that Jehovah God says HE is the Saviour (verse 26). When Jesus came into the earth, it was the Lord God of Creation Who came!
Ain't God good?
PLEASE CONTINUE IN BIBLE STUDY WITH US TOMORROW.