03/12/2022 – Day 013 – Isaiah – Chapters 7 – 11 / The “refreshing Edenic stream” of God’s presence forever..
The “For unto us a child is born” section of Handel’s Messiah, starting with verse 9:6. The Gramophone Chorus is a good “go to” choice when you are unsure of which messengers.
Ok, I could say this throughout our Isaiah readings , but truly, these five chapters are like taking a “drink of water from a fire hose.” haha The gospel connections are endless, starting from the surface and seemingly proliferating geometrically as you dig deeper, like the deer panting for water. How do we harness all this power, except through the Holy Spirit. And the modern day church wants to separate the old testament from the new testament as if they were two different books. Really ?!?
To be continued and completed this weekend. I may spend hours on it, resulted in a couple of concise sentences. I can hear brothers and sisters say: Jimmy? Now that would be another miracle.
- Ch 7:10 – 25 – The Immanuel Prophecy: – Matthew Henry’s commentary points ut that Ahaz shows a hardened heart with his messenger, just as Pharaoh did with Moses. His answer : “I will not test the Lord today sounds pious but truth is that he had already decided that he would trust the Assyrians for Judah’s protection. In spite of his hardened heart, God gives Ahaz and his court of the most significant sign in all of human history, no close second places, with the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ. Important sidebar note on verse 16 noted by Matthew: The boy reference in verse 16 is Shearjashub, Isaiah’s son, not the child Jesus.
- For the aforementioned verse 9-6 – “a child is born”, I would like to share just my bible footnote in my Apologetics Study BIble , to show just a single illustration of the deep connection between old testament and new testament: “… But even if the names do not recur as such in the NT, they fit the ministry and messianic role of Jesus. As a “Wonderful Counselor,” He is the doer of “miracles, wonders, and signs” (Acts 2:22) who sends the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, to continue His work (John 14:26). Hailed as “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28) in His resurrection, Jesus has been given “all authority… in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). As one with the Father (John 10:30), He is eternal — “alive forever and ever” (Revelation 1:18). As a memeber of David’s royal line (Romans 1:3) He is the Prince who brings peace between Jew and non-Jew (Ephesians 2:14), whose rule all kingdoms (Revelation 1:5) brings an end to wars.”
- And another mind blower for the Covenant people in chapter 11, a fast forward to end times, the re-gathering the remant as one, both Jew and Gentile!: Here is the footnote: 11: 6-7 (a seemingly smaller note):
- “Some interpreters view this prophecy as an exageration of the peaceful times under the rule of “the stump of Jesse” (v 1), meaning the rule of Hezekiah. Since nothing close to these conditions ever characterized Hezekiah’s reign, these critics allege that Isaiah’s prophecy failed. But it was not uncommon in the ancient Near East to expect the rise of a new political leader to produce an idyllic time of peace (e.g. the Egyptian Prophecy of Nefer_Rohu , and certain Mesopotamian documents) and a return to Garden-of_Eden like conditions Such a vision for an eventual retestoration of paradise is consistent with Hosea’s claim that in the last days God will make a covenant with the animals (Hosea 2:18), or with the covenant blessings predicting peace with animals (Luke 26:6), Psalm 36: 6-9 speaks of the Lord’s preserving both ‘man and beast in the context of the ‘refreshing stream’ of God’s presence, a phrase that could be translated ‘Your Endenic stream.’ Similar promises of restored Eden-like conditions appear in Isaiah 51:3; Ezekiel 34:25; 36:35.”
In this reading and today’s reading in Romans 3:4, the Jewish people are told to stand fast in their faith that we win in the end by God’s grace. Not easy but here again where we stand today, we give Him glory by standing fast in unwavering faith!
Blessings to y’all’s day!
Soli Deo Gloria!