Good morning Believers in Christ Jesus.
We give glory to God for the gift of another weekend, for the privilege of life and for God’s unending mercy and grace upon us always. Praise God!
STUDYING AND UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE – PART 387
The Book of Isaiah Chapter 28 concluded…
We learnt from yesterday’s study about how Prophet Isaiah spoke against the drunkenness of Ephraim (Northern kingdom of Israel) and how the Southern kingdom became infected with the same sin.
The truth is that if an act of evil goes on unchecked in a particular region or location or family, it’s only a matter of time before others around that region becomes infected with it, if care is not taken.
That’s exactly what happened in both kingdoms.
Nonetheless, the good news is that despite the faded glory of Ephraim and Judah as a result of their dead status in sin, the glory of the Lord came upon them to bring about restoration.
Let’s read a few verses…
The verses below explain the negative effects of their sinful state which also figuratively describes the status of a typical sinful man:
Isaiah 28:3-4
[3]The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet:
[4]And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
The same sin problem affected Judah as well. So terrible that even the Priests (those who were supposed to uphold the Scriptures and lead others to God) were involved – dead and rotten in sin and they totally lost their sense of reasoning and became so terribly stubborn. Please read Isaiah 28:7-9
Prophet Jeremiah too spoke about them in his own Prophecies in Jer. 6:10
Stephen, in his long homily, made reference to their stubbornness also when he was preaching to their children before he was killed in Acts 7:51-52
So, God presented Rest (Christ) to them figuratively but they rejected Him. Upon seeing their stubbornness, He then allowed them to be ruled by laws (over 600 laws but they couldn’t keep them).
Isaiah 28:12-13 TPT
For he has said to them, “This is your rest, so let the weary rest; this is your comfort”-but they would not listen.
[13] Therefore, the word of Yahweh will be to them “Do, do this, and do, do that, a rule about this and a rule about that, here a little, there a little,” in order that they will stumble backwards and be broken and captured.
That’s exactly what Apostle Paul was referring to in Gal 3:19-29
But then, despite the above, some of them received the message of Salvation and believed it and the Prophet uses the word “residue” to represent this category of people. In some other places, Isaiah would use the word “remnants.” Isaiah 28:5
Thereafter, Isaiah goes further to explain their new status spiritually. They would no longer be intoxicated with alcohol anymore, which altered their sense of reasoning thereby making it difficult for their judges to pass good judgement.
They would instead be filled with the Spirit of God. Let’s read below:
Isaiah 28:6 TPT
He will be a Spirit of justice for judges to render right decisions. And he will be strength and bravery for those who turn back the battle at the gate.
This agrees with Paul’s message here:
Ephesians 5:18
[18]And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.
Now, let’s sum it up:
Israel was dead in sin, God gave them Rest (Christ), but they rejected Him. Instead, they were drunken and became stubborn and rebelled against God. As a result, God released the law to them to reveal their sinful state and to lead them to that REST (Christ). Moses served as the mediator when the law was released.
I so much appreciate how Apostle Paul explains the whole thing here:
Galatians 3:19-28 TPT
Why then was the law given? It was meant to be an intermediary agreement added after God gave the promise of the coming One!
It was given to show men how guilty they are, and it remained in force until the Seed was born to fulfill the promises given to Abraham. When God gave the law, he didn’t give it to them directly, for he gave it first to the angels; they gave it to Moses, his mediator, who then gave it to the people.
[20] Now, a mediator does not represent just one party alone, but God fulfilled it all by Himself!
[21] Since that’s true, should we consider the written law to be contrary to the promise of new life? How absurd! Truly, if there was a law that we could keep which would give us new life, then our salvation would have come by law-keeping.
[22] But the Scriptures make it clear that since we were all under the power of sin, we needed Jesus! And He is the Savior who brings the promise to those who believe.
[23] So until the revelation of faith for salvation was released, the law was a jailer, holding us as prisoners under lock and key until the “faith,” which was destined to be revealed, would set us free.
[24] The law becomes a gateway to lead us to the Messiah so that we would be saved by faith.
[25] But when faith comes the law is no longer in force, since we have already entered into life.
[26] You have all become true children of God by the faith of Jesus the Anointed One!
[27] It was faith that immersed you into Jesus, the Anointed One, and now you are covered and clothed with His anointing.
Please carefully read this last part and meditate on it…
[28] And we no longer see each other in our former state – Jew or non-Jew, rich or poor, male or female – because we’re all one through our union with Jesus Christ with no distinction between us.
To be continued…Praise God.
Let’s declare this together:
I am no longer in the state of defeat and subjugation of sin. I am in a new domain of victory and total emancipation given to me in Christ Jesus. I dominate the world with my new authority in Christ Jesus. The glory of God is risen upon me. Amen.
Bible readings for today: Matthew Chapters 11, 12 & 13 with Psalm 63
I call you blessed now and always.
Saturday April 18, 2020 (DDMI)
