Bible Study: September 20, 2023

Tonight we're going to be going through chapters 54 and 55 of Isaiah. As I was preparing the Bible study, tonight, just like I have other nights, it's just very interesting the way we... the part that we've come to in Isaiah that just so perfectly fits the time of year that we're in. As we look forward to the Feast of Tabernacles and all the significance of the days that we're observing and the thoughts that are in our mind as we look forward to the time of Christ.

And these two chapters are just really fitting chapters for us to conclude this, our Bible studies, before the Feast. We'll of course be back after the Feast to conclude the book of Isaiah and go on to another book beyond that. But building off of last week, since chapter 40, we've been reading these chapters that really speak to the time after Christ returns and how He will educate the earth and the type of ways He will teach people who He is.

And you can kind of see the detail that He goes through. And as we've talked many times, you know, that there is only one God. There is only one way to salvation. The idols and gods that you worship while you're on earth, they came to nothing. They are absolutely nothing. Building to last week when we read the prophecies of the coming Messiah, His first coming, Jesus Christ, and the agony and the pain that He went through, all for us did it all for us.

And then we move into chapter 54, building on that. He is our salvation. He is the reason we're here. He's the reason that you and I are here as part of this group tonight, the church that God has called us into, not just here in the United States, but of course all over the world. And so with Jesus Christ's first coming, for Him sacrificing Himself, that we might have our sins forgiven. And when we claim those sins to live the life that God has called us through, through the power of His Holy Spirit, we also have the hope of the resurrection as a result of Him living.

We go into chapter 54, and 54 and 55 are just, as I said, really inspiring chapters when you look at it. They speak of the time as we begin in chapter 54 of the two women. We talked about Sarah and Hagar back a few chapters ago.

I think it was in like chapter 48, where we talked about, you know, the children of promise, that Isaac was the child of promise. He came through Sarah, who was barren. Clearly it was a blessing from God for Isaac to be born.

He was a miracle child, if we can put it that way. As opposed to Ishmael, the son of Hagar, that came through, you know, just flesh. So we have in Galatians 4 that analogy there of the children of promise versus children of the flesh. As we get into chapter 4, we see this. We see it rehearsed again as we come out of the chapter of Jesus Christ as Messiah. And in chapter 54, verse 1, it talks about a time where the barren are going to have children and the married not so much.

And in this world, this age leading up to the return of Jesus Christ, it has been the children of flesh that have been multiplied. And not so much the children of God, the children of promise, right? The people that God would call that have been living by His way of life and His Holy Spirit. But in the kingdom, when Jesus Christ returns and His Spirit is poured out on all flesh, we see just the opposite.

Just 54, verse 1, speaks to that. It says, Sing, O barren, you who have not born. That's these... that would be the Sarahs of the world, the Isaac's wife, Rebecca, the Rebecca's of the world who God had to bless and they had their children in the time that He gave them to Him. Sing, O barren, you who have not born. Break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not labored with child. Your time has come, is what God is saying. Now there will be children born.

Now there will be the spiritual birth of God's family as the kingdom comes about. For more are the children of the desolate, that would be the ones who were more barren in the age of the flesh, the age that we live in now, versus the age of the millennium and Christ's rule. For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman, says the Eternal.

That verse, 54 verse 1, is actually quoted by Paul in that verse I was talking about just earlier in Galatians 4 and 26. Let's go back there again because in Galatians 4, God does interpret for us what that chapter 54 verse 1 means. It goes back to Sarah and Hagar. So in Galatians 4, and I'm going to pick it up in verse 22, chapter 4 of Galatians verse 22, says, It is written that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bond woman, the other by a free woman.

But he who was of the bond woman was born according to the flesh. The one by a bond woman, oh, I'm sorry, was born according to the flesh, and he of the free woman, through promise, which things are symbolic.

For those, these are the two covenants, the one from Mount Sinai, which gives birth to bondage. That's the physical law, the physical adhering to just the physical law without the Spirit of God, which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar. For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to Jerusalem, which now is and is in bondage with her children.

Then we have the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. We talked about that a little bit last time. That's still been in my mind. And, you know, we I know in Hebrews, it talks about Jerusalem and in, you know, but we've come to we've come to Jerusalem above in Revelation 12.

It talks about Jerusalem coming down, the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven, dressed as a bride, dressed as a bride and is the bride. But that's, you know, the perfected when when the saints are perfected that Jerusalem comes down to earth. Today we're still in process. Today we're still here. And so it's Jerusalem above, which what that what that means, I think God is still showing us up in these.

But the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. It is God's spirit in us that leads us to perfection. Jerusalem above includes many things and God's grace on us, God's presence with us, God's watching over us, all the angels of heaven, everyone who is focused on what is going on on earth today with the children of God, the ones that he calls, as he works with us, tries us, strengthens us, purifies us, and gets us ready for the kingdom so that we can be born born into that kingdom.

And then in verse 27, he quotes here from chapter 54 of Isaiah, verse 1, for it is written, Rejoice, Rejoice, O barren, you who do not bear, break forth and shout, you who are not in labor, for the desolate has many more children. In this lifetime, in this age, small church, small number of called out ones, small number of people God is working with, but in the millennium, when God's Spirit is poured out on all flesh, working with many, many, many people, all of the world at that time.

For the desolate has many more children than she who has a husband. And then verse 28, always something for us to remember what a privilege it is and how much we should yield ourselves to God for the great things he's done for us now. We, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise, like Isaac, like Jacob, like Joseph. So when he opens right after the Messiah and what he did to sacrifice us, he opens chapter 54 with, look at what's going to happen.

Jesus Christ comes to earth, and then there's a spiritual age that will be there, where God's law is taught, where His Holy Spirit is on the earth, where the knowledge of God covers the earth as the waters cover the sea. And you have this beautiful time where people will learn, they will grow, they will overcome, they will become like God. And none of us can really fully understand how great that will be when people are living by God's way, and as that becomes part of everyone's life. So in verse 2 then of chapter 54, with all that in mind, he says, enlarge the place of your tent and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings.

Well, you know, God talks about enlarging the territories of Israel, right back in the Old Testament, and that's what is enlarged the place of the tent. The children, the children of promise, the children of the desolate, as it says in verse 1 there, they're going to be enlarged. Open up the tent. There needs to be more room. There will be more children in it. Enlarge the place of your tent and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings. Don't spare. Lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes, for you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations and make the desolate cities inhabited. You know, coming out of the world at the end of this age, with all the destruction, with all the man-killing man, with all the death that we probably just talked about at the Feast of Trumpets, and all those seals that lead up to the seven trumpets and the seven trumpets where God exacts his vengeance and his wrath on the world.

And you see the mass, the number of people who are dead, and it's coming out of a decimated society. It'll be repopulated, is what God is saying here. And it will be you, the children of the desolate, who will make the desolate cities inhabited. And in verse 4, it says, Don't fear. Don't fear. You won't be ashamed. You won't be disgraced. For you will not be put to shame. Well, Christians, Christians in this life, you know, we know there's trying times ahead of us.

We will never be ashamed of the gospel. People will try to shame us. They will try to put us into fear. They will try to use whatever tactics they can to get us to depart from God's way. But we won't. We won't be fearful, right? God says, Don't fear. Don't be ashamed. Always stand up for what you know is the truth. And God will see you through. Don't fear. You won't be ashamed.

Don't be disgraced. For you will not be put to shame. For you will forget the shame of your youth. You will forget all that, just like a woman forgets the pain when she's in labor, when that child is born, when you're there in the kingdom. All that pain will just be a part of the past. There will just be joy for being there. And for in a world and with what God is working with all of mankind at that time that we can't even imagine how great that will be.

You will not forget the shame of your youth. And you won't remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore. You'll remember back in chapter 50 that we talked about the certificate of divorce. And that God did divorce Israel.

In Jeremiah we read about that. But he never divorced Judah. He never divorced Judah. And I won't rehearse those scriptures again if you take notes or if you go back and listen to chapter 50. You know, we read about what the certificate of divorce was. That if a man is in Deuteronomy 24 verses 1-4, if a man married a woman and he found uncleanness in her or something, he could write a certificate of divorce and put her away. She was then free to get married again. But if she did get married, she could never go back to him.

But here we're talking about this again. You will not remember the approach of your widowhood anymore. And then, of course, Jesus Christ died, as we discussed on that Bible study as well. So then he died. So that marriage covenant is over, and there is the new marriage that will take place, as in Revelation 19.

So he says you won't remember the approach of your widowhood anymore. And he's building up here to verse 7. For your maker is your husband. Your maker is your husband. The Lord of hosts is his name, and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

He is called the God of the whole earth. Here's your husband. Here's you're not going to be a widow anymore. You're not going to be forsaken anymore. Verse 6 talks about that. For the Lord has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful life when you were refused. So is your God. Well, Israel deserved. God certainly found uncleanness in Israel and Judah. He was perfectly within his rights to put them away and write a certificate of divorce.

And they were left in widowhood as he did leave them because of they stray, because of their uncleanness, and because of the hours we all send. So he draws this analogy again. Let me let some people in here. So he now draws this marriage analogy again. The Lord has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit. Hey, can I just pay 2 for $7 value? Those who are just joining, we're in chapter 54 of Isaiah, verse 6.

For the Lord has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful life when you were refused. Says your God. And then in verse 7, he says, For a mere moment I forsaken you. Just for a mere moment, just for a little bit of time. I never forgot you. I never stopped loving you. I never stopped caring for you. You were never out on my sight. I knew exactly where you were. You had to be put away.

You had to learn your lesson. But just for a mere moment, I forsaken you. You know, we can think back to Christ as well, or just for a mere moment, you know, as he was hanging on that cross, you know, as Christ died. That mere moment. But God never left his side. God never forgot him. He never forgets his people. For a mere moment, it's a beautiful verses 7 and 8, or beautiful verses.

Actually, for chapters 54 and 55, or almost like memory chapters, there's so many beautiful verses in here. For a mere moment I have forsaken you. But with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid my face from you for a moment. But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer. And so when Christ returns, we've talked about it many times in the book of Isaiah here, where Israel will be gathered from all corners of the earth. They will bring come back to the land that God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that they would have forever.

They will be his people. They will worship him. He will be their God. And we have these beautiful verses where God says, just for a little while, just for a little while, but I never forgot you, never forgot you, and you are my people again. Just like God does with us. God is very merciful. God is very forgiving. God loves us. But we can never take that mercy and that love for granted.

When we sin, when we stray, when we do the things, we always have to come back and repent and repent and remember how gracious and remember how loving and remember what he's called us to, to become the way he wants us to become like Jesus Christ. So in verse 9 then, let me look at my notes here, in verse 9, He's reassuring Israel in these next few verses.

He says, This is like the waters of Noah to me, the waters of Noah that covered the earth. For as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you nor rebuke you. For a mere moment, he was. But just like God said when he covered the waters and the flood waters were all life except Noah and the animals on that boat were killed. God said, I'll never do that again. God is saying, you know, you were you were out there for a while, but I called you back and I have sworn that I would not be angry with you nor rebuke you.

Just the same promise. But as they live with God, as his Holy Spirit leads them and guides them, and they come out of a period of despair, I guess, trauma. They've been afflicted. They've been humbled. They realize what they've done and what the recompense was for the way that they turned from God. They will turn. They will turn to God.

Verse 10, for the mountains, the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has mercy on you. There is there's God's words. There's his assurance. I won't leave you again. I will be with you throughout all the things. The same things that he would say to us. I am there.

I am there when you go through a trial or you sin or you stray. If your attitude, whatever it is that takes you away from me, come back to me. Just like Israel will come back to God, I'm there. I will forgive. You will be my people and I will be your God and I will take care of you.

You just see the picture of God's love in here and and and a picture of how it will be when Christ is on earth. And as that millennium period begins, and these words are spoken to the people to reassure them, and they can see that they grow to see Christ's love. They grow to see the love of you and me.

If we continue with God, if we are born into that kingdom because of the the yieldedness that we have given to God and the Holy Spirit that we let him fill us with to become more like him.

That's a tremendous thing. It's a revolution. It's the greatest thing that ever happened to mankind. We have a chance to be part of that.

And we have a chance to experience that even in our life today as we put to practice the things that God said and use his Holy Spirit, that these hopeful and inspiring things that we read about that will happen when Christ returns, we have to be experiencing and learning today as we put God's way into our our hearts and minds. So going on then in verse 11 here, he says, Well, tossed with comfort and not tossed with tempest and not comforted. Remember the people of God, and that includes physical Israel. We've talked about the time of Jacob's trouble and how Satan hates the people of God. God still sees Israel as his children. They're the physical tribes that we've talked about. And then we have the spiritual Israel, you and me, who God has called. The world of Satan in the time leading up to the return of Jesus Christ hates all the people of God. They hate physical Israel. They hate the people of God. They're drunk with the blood of the saints. You read of Jacob's trouble. You see that, you know, as it says in Isaiah 6, just a remnant. God says they won't always be they won't be completely decimated. But there's just a remnant. They go through some very tough times. And he says they were never comforted. The world never showed them any mercy. Never showed them any mercy. They just, the world under the sway of Satan, never showed them any mercy. So just keep your finger there in Isaiah 54, because we started chapter 40 in this section. In the very first thing God says in chapter 40, as we come into this section that we've been in, chapter 40 verse 1 says, comfort. Yes, comfort, my people, says your God. So as they come out of all the things that precede the return of Jesus Christ, comfort, my people. Speak comfort to Jerusalem. Cry out to her that her warfare is ended, her iniquity is pardoned. For she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Comfort her.

You know, 2 Corinthians 1 tells us God is the God of all comfort. We can always turn to him when we need comfort. He knows who we are and he will comfort. He will comfort his people. They weren't comforted at all during the time of the affliction, but he will comfort them.

Verse 11, it says, then, going on with that.

Going on with that, it says, Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of rubies and your gates of crystal and all your walls of precious stones.

You see God painting a picture here of who he will create as people are led by his spirit and this people of God are created. He talks about stones. I'll lay your stones with color. I'll lay your foundations with sapphires, rubies, crystal.

As we look at here, we go all the way to the back of the Bible in Revelation 21.

Let's first hit 1 Peter 1.

We see here at the end of the Bible, those stones. God's people being pictured as those stones.

We know that he's talking about the future.

Let's begin with verse 1.

Therefore, he says, We do as Christians put all that behind us as we're led by God's Spirit, Coming to him as to a living stone, Rejected indeed by men, You also, speaking of you and me, Are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, To offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

He who believes on him will by no means be put to shame. Therefore, to you who believe, he is precious. But to those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. We have this picture as Peter near the end of his life. He's thinking back to Isaiah 54 now, no doubt, And comparing God's people to these precious stones, these living stones, like Jesus Christ is a living stone. Certainly, in Revelation 21, if there's any doubt what God was revealing and having Isaiah record in Isaiah 54, It's all put to rest in Revelation 21 when we come to the end of the age. And he talks about these stones. Again, Revelation 21 and verse 9. I'm not going to read all. Let's begin in verse 9.

God's plan on earth is complete.

Let's drop down to verse 18.

The first stone was the sartre, the second was sapphire, the third Calcedon, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonic, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysalite, the eighth barrel, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. And those precious stones adorning that wall, these living stones, the 12 gates were 12 pearls, each individual gate was of one pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold like transparent glass. But then he goes on to say, you know, there's no need of sun, no need of moon, no need of temple. God is all that. Well, we see what God is talking about here in Isaiah 50 more as he looks forward to the return of Jesus Christ and what will happen during that time. Yeah, Bethany, you got a question or comment? Well, I've always thought that perhaps these are the same stones as that were in the priest's shield, you know, what do you call them? That the priest would wear their garments? Isn't there a similarity there? There is probably a similarity. I haven't gone back and looked at that. There's probably a similarity, but yeah. That's all I could say without having studied it. Yeah, but that's a good thought. So God does everything and you can kind of tie parts of the Bible together to see what his plan was from beginning to end. So yeah, that's a very good thought. In Revelation, Brother Shabir, we just read, doesn't it say that each stone represents a tribe or is it a tribe or one of the 12 apostles? It talks about 12 apostles there. Okay. Yeah. So, you know, so we can kind of see and we can see at the end of the Bible and Revelation what God is talking about here. When he talks about his people, the afflicted ones that are coming out that will be part of that. So let's go back to chapter 54 of Isaiah. And in verse 13, verse 13, you know, in verse 13, I'll read it and then I'll talk about it. It says, all your children shall be taught by the eternal. You know, that word taught there in verse 13, you know, when you look it up, it's number 3928 in the concordance. It really means discipled. Remember what discipled means is that not just students, not just taught book knowledge, not just taught words, but also study the Master. Become like him the same way you and I are disciples. We become like Christ. Attitudes, the way we respond, the way we are with people, the whole nine yards, as well as having the knowledge of God. All your children shall be taught by the Lord, it says. They're going, how precious is it and how important is to God how we teach our children.

And that would be the parents, of course, but even the Church of God. They are important to us and we provide whatever materials we can that our children, as I've said many times over the last year, how important it is today more than ever to for them to be knowledgeable of the way of God, to be knowledgeable of the plan of God, and in a world that is going so far astray and so far downhill, how important for them to be just armed with the knowledge of what God's plan is. And when they hear things in the world from their teachers, friends on the Internet, whatever they're doing, they know, no, that is a sick way. That is not the way. The way of God is the way that will dominate the earth.

So God says, all your children will be taught by the Lord and great shall be the peace of your children. When we teach our children God's way, when we let His Word teach them, and we're diligent in applying Deuteronomy 6 and all the things there where it talks about talking about God when we rise up and when we lay down, when we eat, all, you know, when we walk away in the way and whatever.

Our children will have great peace, just like you and I have great peace, the peace that surpasses all understanding. So, Mr. Glasgow, do you have a comment?

Yes, very briefly. I have in my margin for verse 13 there, John 645.

And it's a repeat, you know.

Yep. Do you have John 645 there?

I did.

Well, I'm turning there.

Okay. Oh, yeah, there we go. Probably actually, yeah, you're right. God quotes Isaiah 54.13 in John 645. I miss that one. It is written in the prophets, they shall all be taught by God. Therefore, everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Yep. Very good. Yep. John 645.

So, it's very important for us to pay attention to what our children are being taught so they can come to God. Hey, Fred.

Yes, it just so happens that today, in the major cities across Canada, there is a protest and an anti-protest, because the schools are forcing young children, they're teaching them about transcendrism, and it's caused quite a stir. So, it just shows where we are today. It is pretty bad. It's all across the major cities of Canada.

Yeah, I mean, it is really... you're right. It is sad. It's a 6'6' society that we live in. And, yeah.

Hey, Xavier.

Hi. Christina looked at the Hebrew word, brother Shibi, which you were saying it has this discipleship, and it also has the meaning to be accustomed. So, your children should become accustomed. And in our Lord's life, growing up, he was an adult, it says, as it was his custom. As it was, yeah. I never heard it used that way before. A custom means to be exercised. Yep. To be familiar, habitually. Habituate. Yep. We exercise the spirit, right? It says that, what, in Hebrew 6, by use of the spirit. Yeah, we exercise it, and we become like that and begin to live that way. Very good.

Okay. We'll go back to verse 14. In righteousness, you will be established. We can turn to a number of proverbs that say that. When we live God's way, and it becomes us, when it becomes our custom, as Xavier just said, that's just what we do. It's us. We don't have to be told. We just obey God in every aspect of his ways. You'll be established. You'll be strong. Whenever I see the word established, I think of 1 Peter 5 at the end of it. It says, after you suffered a little while, God will strengthen you. He will establish you. And we always have to remember that when we go through these little trials and, well, sometimes big trials in our lives, God is doing that to strengthen us so that we become established. So that when the winds blow and the storms come, and everything is moving around us to try to topple us and knock us down, we stand tall. We stand in the gap because we've been established, because we know God. We love the truth. We live the truth. And his Holy Spirit is in us, and we have learned to love him more than this life or anything in it. So verse 14, another encouraging verse, in righteousness you will be established. You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear, and you shall be far from terror, for it shall not come near you. That was a beautiful verse. Whenever I hear, you know, it will not come near you. I always think of Psalm 91 as we do. If we find ourselves feeling a little afraid or tenuous or, you know, the terrorists come close to us, we can always remember what God said. Certainly that verse we just read, Isaiah 54, 14. But in Psalm 91, another one of those very inspiring chapters, says in verse 7, a thousand. A thousand may fall. Well, let me just read, begin with verse 5. Psalm 91 verse 5, You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.

It shall not come near you.

We can claim that with God. We can have faith in Him. We can look to Him. And when those things surround us or happen to us, think back on those verses. Let Him, let His Holy Spirit recall those things and strengthen us to just keep moving forward.

So let's go back to Isaiah 54.

This is in verse 15.

Verse 15 is very good too. They're all there. Indeed, they shall surely assemble. God said, you know, people will gather against you. I mean, they certainly assembled around Christ. He had all those strong bulls of Satan. We read in Isaiah 53 that surrounded Him.

God says, indeed, they will surely assemble. But not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake. Don't fret. Don't worry. Even if your life is taken from you, the very next second of your consciousness, the rest of your life will go on. You know, as we stand for God and stand in that gap and don't let this world or fear overcome us. Verse 16, God talks about how He's the one who created all these things. We look at the wonders of the world. We look at the Internet, airplanes, all the things that we have around us. God built all that into the world. He knew that could happen. Kudos to man, the people that invented these things and worked on those things and found out how to have these things happen. But God says, Behold, I created the blacksmith who blows the coals in the fire, who brings forth an instrument for his work. And I've created the spoiler or the destroyer to destroy. I've made all those things possible, and that's what the world will do. Some things are created for good. Other things are created that people will use them for evil. But God says in verse 17, No weapon formed against you shall prosper. Whatever they devise and do against you, no weapon formed against you shall prosper. And every tongue which rises against you in judgment, you shall condemn. Don't give in. Don't be afraid. No matter how many the forces—you know, at the time of Christ's return, we agreed of the armies gathered in Armageddon with every possible armament, every possible weapon. All the forces and schemes and strategies of man, they will not prosper against God. Against Jesus, the returning Jesus Christ. And he says that about us, too, if we will just remember that and have faith in him.

No weapon formed against you will prosper. And every tongue which rises against you in judgment, you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from me. He says. We always have to remember complete humility, complete our lives, completely glorifying God, never looking to ourselves and thinking how great I am, or I'm the one with all the answers, or God really needed me. No, we all needed God. And whatever goes on in our lives, our righteousness is from him. None of it is due to us. It's because of his mercy, because of his spirit, and because we yield and humbly seek him, follow him, and yield to him to let him lead us and guide us.

Chapter 4 is just a very hopeful verse. As we look at that in our lives, and then think about when Jesus Christ returns, and what he will be teaching the world at that point, and what they will see. Because they will be learning all these things just as we learn about the goodness of God and his mercy and love with all of us. I'm going to pause for a moment if anyone's got any questions about chapter 55. We're going to get through that. It's a wonderful chapter so much of chapter 55. I don't even need to make a comment on it. The last part of it is just so beautifully written that it doesn't require any kind of explanation or anything. Hey, Dale, how are you doing today? Thank you. How are you? Good.

Yeah, just to interrupt me, Malachi 3 and 17, God talks about the day he's going to make up his jewels. I guess that all kind of ties into how he's working with us. He's a master craftsman. He has a plan for us. And then there's the 12 different precious stones. And Peter says, we are peculiar treasure. I just thought of Malachi 3 and verse 17 about in the day he's going to make up his jewels.

He's a master craftsman. We have an awesome calling. Very good. Yeah, and that ties right into the stones. You're right again. So God keeps that symbolism throughout. Very good. Hey, Richard.

Richard. Oh, there you are. Yes. I'm in on verse 17, where the Y is capitalized in that one you. Is that is that discussing the Lord or is that also discussing us when we become spiritual beings? Tell me which Y you're looking at. Are you looking at you and you shall condemn? Yes.

I don't I think that's I think that is just because the way that verse is written, you notice, at least in my Bible, the end and no weapon. And then it's kind of like that poem, right? The no is capitalized, the end is capitalized, the you and this. And I think that's just what that is.

Because it's kind of written in verse there.

OK.

Let's go on to chapter 55, then.

Chapter 55, probably at the feast. This is why these chapters are so fitting. Probably you're the end of the feast. You're going to be reading wherever you are. John 7 37 will come up where it says on that last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus Christ arose and said about everyone who's thirsty come to me and drink.

And most likely you're going to turn to Isaiah 55 verse one on that day in the in the feast. And that's how it starts here. And so it is picturing that time that we're just about to observe here in the next couple of weeks. Oh, everyone who thirsts come to the waters.

Well, as long as we mentioned John 7 37, let's go there because again in the New Testament, we see that carried through Jesus Christ said it. And then we're going to go to Revelation 21 after that. So John 7 and verse 37. On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

So he, you know, and let me check John 7 37 for a minute and see if it references Isaiah there.

Nope, I don't see that. OK, so then let's go to Revelation 21.

Because at the end of the book of Revelation, Christ said the same words again.

21, I think it's verse 6.

Yeah, chapter 21 and verse 6 of Revelation.

And he said to me, God, and he said to me, it is done.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

I will give the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.

So we have this continuing analogy of God giving.

And we can turn to John 4 verse 14, too, that talks about the woman at the well when Christ comes on upon her.

And he asks her for a drink of water. You remember that story.

And he says, if you knew who you were talking to, you would ask of me and I would give you the water and you would never thirst again.

You can look at John 14 later on, that whole story.

They see Christ using that. He does give us the water. He does give us the Spirit.

He gives us the things that we will always be satisfied. We're always thirsty in this life.

And mankind is never satisfied. We never knew satisfaction, what it truly meant.

Until we know God and His Holy Spirit is in us. And we understand what is going on.

And we even understand ourselves. And that we have so much more to learn and so much more to overcome to become like Him.

There is that. And we should hunger and thirst after righteousness.

Because when we see Him and we do hunger and thirst after righteousness, He will feed us. He will give us the water. He will satisfy us and satisfy that hunger. And this verses 1, 2, 1, 2, and 3 here in chapter 55 of Isaiah are talking about that.

Everyone who thirsts, if you are looking for truth, if you are looking for peace, if you're looking for satisfaction and meaning in life and purpose in life, everyone who thirsts, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And you who have no money, come buy and eat.

It's not something you can buy. You can't buy the truth. You can't buy those things.

When we're going through the book of Acts, you remember in Acts 8 where Simon the magician wanted to buy the Spirit of God.

You can't buy it with money. It's what God gives you. The way it is freely given to you, but the way it is our repentance, our yielding ourselves to God and allowing Him to work in us.

That's where it comes from. There isn't any amount of money that is going to buy salvation or by that satisfaction.

It's our turning to God as He says over and over and over in the New Testament.

Repent, as Jesus Christ said, repent as John the Baptist said, repent as the theme of the Bible is turning to Him.

That's where the satisfaction comes from. You who have no money, come buy and eat.

Yes, come buy wine and milk.

In accordance with this, those are items of comfort and luxury that provided.

Come and buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Repentance, offer yourself as a delivering sacrifice when you appreciate what God has called us to and what He's given us.

That's the price He's looking for. That's the price that's going to lead to the joy and all the satisfaction.

The more we yield to Him, the more satisfied our lives become without money and without price.

He says, why do you spend money for what isn't bread?

I'm sure we know what He's talking about there. He's not talking about the physical bread.

Why do you spend money for what is not bread?

John 6, He talks about what is the bread? What's the bread that Jesus Christ said, come to me.

I'll give you water and you'll never thirst again.

He says, who's the bread of life?

In fact, let's just turn back there because again, that's something we read back from the spring holy days, but it has a place here in the Holy, well, in all the plan of God.

John 6, and verse 48, Christ says, I am the bread of life.

Your fathers ate the man in the wilderness and they're dead.

This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.

I am the living bread, which came down from heaven.

If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.

And the bread that I shall give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.

That's the bread. That's the bread. Maybe when Isaiah, when they were first reading this in Isaiah 55, they didn't know what he was talking about, just like when Jesus talked in John 6 and so many people left him at that time, thinking, what is he talking about that he's the bread of life?

If we eat of his bread, we will live forever.

Today we know. And this is what God was talking about then.

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread?

Spend your life for what leads to life. Eat the bread of life.

Why do you spend your money for what is not bread?

Why do you spend your money for what is not bread?

And your wages for what does not satisfy?

What is satisfaction? Where does it come from?

You know, well, the fear of God… I think it's Proverbs. They're written down here. Proverbs… oh, verse 5.

Psalm 22, verse 26, Psalm 22 verse 26. I think that's the one that talks about what satisfies. Here, God leads to satisfaction and all good things. Why do you spend your wages for what does not satisfy? And here, listen carefully to me. Remember back a couple chapters ago, I think that was chapter 50 as well, where we had those, listen to me three times, listen to me, listen to me, listen to me, followed by the three, awake, awake, awake, awake, awake, listen to me, God says, listen carefully to me and eat what is good. Fill your minds with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, not the leavened bread of the world. Don't waste your time on that. Put your time into eating the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. You know, when we go to the feast, we picture that millennium and all the scriptures that talk about it's a time of abundance, right? Amos 9 talks about the reaper or the sower will overcome the reaper or vice versa if I have those wrong. There will be a time of abundance. And so God says, when you go to the feast, you say this tithe, eat what your heart desires, because that's the time of abundance that we're picturing. We might be limited in what we do today, but when you're there, eat the things that you desire. God's given us the tithe to the festival tithe to use and enjoy during that time, because it pictures the time of abundance that will come on the whole world when they're living God's way of life. And of course, I've got written down there, John 10, verse 10. God says, I have come to give you life more abundantly in John 10, verse 10.

So he says, let your soul to life itself in abundance.

And climb your ear, verse 3, and come to me. Hear. Again, listen to me. Just listen to what I'm saying. Do what I say. Humble yourself and turn to me. Hear, and your soul shall live. And I will make an everlasting covenant with you. The sure mercies of David. We will pause on the sure mercies of David for a moment. I mean, David, we know, is a man after God's own heart. And as I said, the Bible interprets itself. So let's turn to Acts 13. Acts 13, verse 34. And there, we read about this verse quoted in Acts 13, verse 34. Again, so many of the verses, you know, that we read in the Old Testament, they're interpreted for us in the New. Acts 13, verse 34.

Let me see if we should begin reading ahead of time. Yeah, let's read verse 34. And then, verse 32, we declare to you, glad tidings, that promise which was made to the Father. So let me just read 33 too. God has fulfilled this for us, their children, and that he has raised up Jesus, as is also written in the second Psalm, You are my son, today I have begotten you. And that he raised him from the dead no more to return to corruption. He has spoken thus, I will give you the sure mercies of David. So part of the mercies of David are, I will resurrect you. You will have eternal life. There will be that resurrection that is there, and the blessings that come from that, I will give you the sure blessings of David. Let's also turn back to Psalm 89. Now let me look at my notes here. What verse it is. I know Psalm 89, and it is verse 2. Psalm 89, verse 2. I could have just looked there. Okay.

For I have said, Psalm 89, verse 2, I have said, mercy shall be built up forever, your faithfulness you will establish in the very heavens. I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn to my servant David, your seed I will establish forever and build up your throne to all generations. David yielded to God. David gave himself to God. David became a man after God's own heart, and God made him these promises. Your throne will last forever. You've heard that talked about in church. There's been some Beyond Today programs recently done on that. Your throne will last forever, and Christ will come, and he will take that throne. If we look at Ezekiel 38, we see that when David comes—I'm getting a little ahead of myself here—but when the resurrection comes and Israel is brought back to their promised land, David will be the king who rules over Israel. The sure mercies of David. You know, God will give us those mercies, too. That's what he says here. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the sure mercies of David.

I'm just going to pause for a moment if anyone wants to add to it. Just contemplate that. Some of these things you just kind of sit back and go back and look at those verses again and see what God is saying. I will make that covenant with you, too. You will last forever. Your kingdom will last forever. What I'm doing with you, I'm bringing you into a kingdom that will last forever and ever and ever and ever. Yeah, Zadir. Yeah, in Psalm 17, God inspired David to say statements in verse 15 where he says, As for me, I will behold your face in righteousness.

I shall be satisfied when I awake with your likeness. Yep, yeah, beautiful verse.

That's satisfaction, right? That's what we're working toward. Very good.

So, let's go back to 55. We're going to go just about an hour. As I said, when we get into the last few verses here, chapter 5, is a fitting way to get ready to go to the feast because the verses are just beautiful and they speak of God. But let's go back to 55 and verse 4 here.

It says, indeed—and we just talked about the sure mercies of David—and God says in verse 4, Indeed I've given him as a witness to the people, a leader and commander for the people. I've got, you know, I broke down Ezekiel 37 verse 24. You can go back and read that chapter there that talks about the resurrection. You know, the dead bones arise. Israel, God brings them back to the promised land. So, it's David as the king over Israel at that time when Christ is on earth.

He says in verse 5, Surely you will call a nation you don't know, and nations who don't know you shall run to you. It's God saying, Israel, my people. You will be looked up to in that time of the kingdom. You will be people of God. You will learn my way.

You know, we've read a few times during the book of Isaiah, Zechariah 823, when it says, you know, today when the world has always been against the Jews, right? We've got a history of that, and we see anti-Semitism on the rise again in this world. But it says in that day, they'll cling to God's people and say, no, no, you're a God. We want to cling to you. We want to be like you.

We want to hang around you. We want to, you know, that'll be completely different than today. So God is saying, you'll call a nation you don't know. Hey, they're going to be, well, if Israel calls, if God's people calls, we want to be like him. We need to learn from them. Isaiah 2, you know, we'll go up to the mountain of the Lord. Let's learn what he has to teach us, because that's where the law will be. That's where truth is.

That's where life is. That's where satisfaction is. That's where everything good is that comes from God. You'll call a nation you don't know, and nations who don't know you shall run to you. They don't run away from you. They'll run to you because of the Lord your God and the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. And we spend all our lives. We should always be glorifying God. Verse 6, a memory verse, seek the Lord while he may be found.

Call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Give it up. Turn to God. Don't yield to yourself anymore. Let him return to the eternal, and he will have mercy on him. And to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. It's a message to the world. Turn back to God. He will forgive, but turn to him with your heart and your soul. Give up the direction you're going on. Go back to the way of life. Verse 8, another memory verse, my thoughts are not your thoughts, God says, nor are your ways my ways.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, my thoughts than your thoughts. That's why we go through things in life, and we think, why is this happening? Why did God allow that to happen? But we always know God's got a purpose that we may not understand today, but we know it is good. That's why Romans 8, all things work together for good. We may not know in the next day, month, year, or in this lifetime, but one day we will say, your thoughts are so far above my thoughts. Let me just follow you and trust in you.

That's why when we stop trusting a God and lean on our own understanding, that's when God says in Proverbs 14, 12, that's what leads to death, but always follow God. He leads to life. Verse 10, for as the rain comes down, the snow from heaven, and don't return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth.

It will not return to me void, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper in the thing for which I sent it. If God said it, it's going to happen. You and I need to have complete trust and faith in that. It may not look like it can happen that way, but what God says, it will happen. He will not—whatever he says—is not going to be.

As we've gone through the book of Isaiah, we've seen prophecies that were fulfilled in most unlikely ways. God said that they would happen, and we've seen that they would happen. Every prophecy in the Bible that has been fulfilled so far has happened exactly the way God said.

Every prophecy that's in there that we've read will happen exactly the way that God says. We don't have to doubt. We may look at the world, and in our own human reasoning thing, how can that be? Most of us 20 years ago would have never thought the world would be today in the United States the way it is or in Canada the way it is, but it's here. It's here, and we see it happening around us.

It happens the way God says it. It's a matter of trusting in Him and always following Him, even though we may not know the answer, having that trust in Him. Verse 12, "'You shall go out with joy and be led out with peace. The mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.'" Kind of reminds you of Romans 8, where it talks about the world is just waiting for the revealing of the sons of God, and they've been held in futility waiting for that day when Christ returns, where the restoration of all things can begin.

And God says that will happen, and even the earth will be happy in that day, as He talks about it symbolically, because God's way is being done on the earth. You know, let's do look at Malachi. Malachi 4.

You don't turn to the book of Malachi very often, but there's a very similar, you know, verse there in Malachi 4 and verse 2.

There it says, Malachi, I think I said for those that are newer, Malachi's last book of the New Testament, or Old Testament, I'm sorry, Malachi 4 verse 2 says, "'But to you who fear my name,'" that should be all of us that are listening here, and anyone who listens to this, "'but you who fear my name and the right sense of the word fear, the Son of righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings, and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.'" Now, if we were in a Nagrarian society, we would understand what that would mean. That would be we would go out and we would be junked and leap like deer, like one of the Psalms talks about, because we would be happy, we would be filled, we would be we would be nourished with everything we need to be to be joyous and and to revel in God's way and to to be that way. And that's what he's talking about here, because when Christ returns, there is the time of healing for all of mankind. The earth will be healed. Mankind will be healed, and when things are rebuilt, they'll be rebuilt the way God wants them to. They won't be like this world. Now, we'll all have a part of that in working with the people who live over into that time to teach them and help them achieve that joy that you and I should be feeling today if we're doing God's way the way he wants us to. Let me read verse 12 again, to my time here, for you shall go out with joy and be let out with peace. The mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree. Instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree, and it shall be to the Lord for a name. It will further his reputation, if you will. The name of God will go throughout the earth, how great he is, how good he is. Look at everything. When people lived his way of life, look how good everything became. It shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. So let me close there. I think that's a very good chapter for us to pause on as we all kind of over the next week and a half go our ways to the Feast of Tabernacles and rejoice before God and give him the glory for what he has called us to and what he is doing for all of mankind. So let me let me pause there and open it up for any comments that anyone might have.

Well, while you're thinking, let me just say I hope everyone has a wonderful feast. When you go to the feast this year, really be thinking about what the feast means.

You go there with that purpose in mind. Every year we say it, but this year we really are closer to the return of Jesus Christ and to learn what God wants us to learn to the feast. Go back and look at those verses and go there with the purpose of serving him and having a spiritual feast and coming home inspired by what God, by his word and by being together with people during those seven and the eighth day that he has with us. Hey, Terry, how are you?

I'd like to tell you a wonderful story about kids in the church that I just heard today one family that their children just wonderfully, they're all preteens, and they had a rough feast last year with sickness. So one of the kids talked to his mother during their homeschool session and wanted to know if they could fast and ask God that they would be able to get to every service.

And so the mother said, well, sure, I'll fast with you. And all four kids said, no, we all want to fast. And they all fasted that they would not be sick during this feast. I thought it was the most wonderful, uplifting thing, example I've heard in many a long time. That is, that is, yeah, yeah, though that's great. Thank you. Thank you for sharing that. That's great. Yeah.

Hope you have a good feast, everybody. You too, Terry. Hey, Gloria, how are you today?

Thank you so much for the preparation. We just love it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Okay. And do I have another hand here? Nope. Okay. Well, of course, most of us will be traveling sometime. Well, all of us will be traveling sometime as we go to the feast. I hope, I hope you will be there. And remember that the feast starts at sunset on the 15th, which is set on Friday the 29th, and that you make plans to go, you know, to be, you know, be there at your feast site wherever, wherever you are in that first service. And then, you know, really be there every day of the feast. Go there for, go there for the right purpose and everything. But, so, no Bible study next week. I will let you know when the next Bible study it'll be. It'll of course be after the feast. I don't know, I don't know if it'll be the 11th, but I'll, I'll, I'll send out emails to let you know what when the next one will be. But everyone have a wonderful, wonderful feast of tabernacles and of course the Day of Atonement with all this meeting here this week as well. So thank you.

Okay, bye.