Home thoughts from abroad.wordpress.com

“Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth,
    and no one will even think about the old ones anymore. (NLT).

A couple of years ago I read a novel by Marilynne Robinson in which an old pastor, who knows his time is short, is writing to the young son born to him in old age. There are things he wants to say to his boy. At one point he says, ‘I think I will find it hard to leave this old world’ (or words to that effect). We may think, ‘That doesn’t sound very Christian.’ But if we are honest, at least some of us will resonate with them. The world, at its best, is so beautiful On some days, in some places, it might be hard to imagine anything more lovely. But the Bible assures us that there is infinitely more, and better, to come. Best of all, we will see the Lord Himself (Rev.22:4).

I think it was C.S. Lewis who encouraged us to think of it like this. A candle is lighting a room, but then daylight comes and overwhelms the limited light of the candle, so it is no longer needed. The greater has come flooding in superseded the lesser.

²⁰ “No longer will babies die when only a few days old.
    No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life.
No longer will people be considered old at one hundred!
    Only the cursed will die that young!
²¹ In those days people will live in the houses they build
    and eat the fruit of their own vineyards.
²² Unlike the past, invaders will not take their houses
    and confiscate their vineyards.
For my people will live as long as trees,
    and my chosen ones will have time to enjoy their hard-won gains.
²³ They will not work in vain,
    and their children will not be doomed to misfortune.
For they are people blessed by the Lord,
    and their children, too, will be blessed.
²⁴ I will answer them before they even call to me.
    While they are still talking about their needs,
    I will go ahead and answer their prayers!
²⁵ The wolf and the lamb will feed together.
    The lion will eat hay like a cow.
    But the snakes will eat dust.
In those days no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain.
    I, the Lord, have spoken!” (New Living Translation).

‘The contours of that new world open up here in ever-widening circles: from the mountains, plains and valleys of a renewed Palestine (9-10) to the new heavens and a new earth (17) with a new Jerusalem at its centre (18) – a cosmic paradise, one vast sanctuary from which everything harmful has been banished for ever (25)…It is a whole new order of things in which all political structures are transcended. It will be so new that the past will be forgotten entirely (17). The promised land will no longer be Canaan or Israel but the whole earth…The chapter ends with an unmistakable allusion to the final undoing of the work of the serpent who brought sin and death into the world in the first place (25). The new world will be history perfected and paradise regained, and it will be full of the modest and simple delights that God always intended us to have: joy (18), fullness of life (20), security (21-23a), rewarding work (22b), fellowship with God (23b-24), and peace (25).’ Barry Webb: ‘Isaiah’, pp.244,245.

It’s important to point out that the description of the ”new heavens” and ”new earth” in Isaiah are not exactly the same as that given in Revelation 21. For example, here in Isaiah, death will be delayed but not abolished. In John’s vision there will be ”no more death” (Rev.21:4).

Derek Kidner makes the observation that the new is depicted wholly in terms of the old, only without the old sorrows. He says the point of a hundred years old (20) is that in this new setting a mere century is so short, so vast is the scale. ‘But all this is expressed freely, locally and pictorially, to kindle hope rather than feed curiosity.’ ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.669.

Isaiah’s language points to miraculously long life and multiplied blessing, but it awaits the final book of the Bible to complete the picture. We might say that Isaiah draws the lines, but Revelation colours them in.

‘See, I will create
    new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
    nor will they come to mind.
¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice for ever
    in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
    and its people a joy.
¹⁹ I will rejoice over Jerusalem
    and take delight in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
    will be heard in it no more.

Three times God says, ”I will create”. In the words of a book title, ‘There’s a new world coming.’ God is its ”architect and builder” (Hebs.11:10).

Before the first ”I will create” God says ”See”. Even now, although we only glimpse it dimly, He wants us to have a faith sustaining/strengthening vision of things to come.

”Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebs.11:1).

2 Peter 3:13 provides a short summary of Isaiah 65:17-25:

”But in keeping with his promises we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.”

Which promises? Well Isaiah 65 surely contains one of them?

As Christians, we have no reason to lack hope. Christ has shown the trustworthiness of God and His Word.’ Chuck Colson.

¹¹ ‘But as for you who forsake the Lord
    and forget my holy mountain,
who spread a table for Fortune
    and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,
¹² I will destine you for the sword,
    and all of you will fall in the slaughter;
for I called but you did not answer,
    I spoke but you did not listen.
You did evil in my sight
    and chose what displeases me.’

¹³ Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

‘My servants will eat,
    but you will go hungry;
my servants will drink,
    but you will go thirsty;
my servants will rejoice,
    but you will be put to shame.
¹⁴ My servants will sing
    out of the joy of their hearts,
but you will cry out
    from anguish of heart
    and wail in brokenness of spirit.
¹⁵ You will leave your name
    for my chosen ones to use in their curses;
the Sovereign Lord will put you to death,
    but to his servants he will give another name.
¹⁶ Whoever invokes a blessing in the land
    will do so by the one true God;
whoever takes an oath in the land
    will swear by the one true God.
For the past troubles will be forgotten
    and hidden from my eyes.

Although some people argue that in the end ‘everybody goes to heaven’, if we take the Bible at face value we must see that it doesn’t paint such a cosy picture. Rather, it points to a judgment that will bring about a great separation.

Barry Webb writes clearly and helpfully about this:

Isaiah ‘…is not a universalist. He does not believe that all will be saved. From verse 8 onwards the contrast between those who are God’s servants and those who are not is drawn ever more starkly. There are those who seek him and those who do not (10-11), and their destinies are as different as light and darkness (13-15). There are the saved and the lost in this chapter, there is heaven and there is hell…The door to the kingdom has been thrown open to all and sundry, but the sad fact is that many steadfastly refuse to go in. This chapter speaks of the final and irrevocable separation that will be made on the last day between them and God’s servants. But long before then, the choice that people have made becomes clear from the way they live…Hell, in the end, is God simply giving us what we have chosen. Isaiah is quite clear about this. To be servants of God or not is a personal decision that none of us can avoid, and the consequences are eternal. There will be a new world, but God will not force us into it. The choice is ours.’ ‘Isaiah’, pp.245/246.

 This is what the Lord says:

‘As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes
    and people say, “Don’t destroy it,
    there is still a blessing in it,”
so will I do on behalf of my servants;
    I will not destroy them all.
⁹ I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
    and from Judah those who will possess my mountains;
my chosen people will inherit them,
    and there will my servants live.
¹⁰ Sharon will become a pasture for flocks,
    and the Valley of Achor a resting-place for herds,
    for my people who seek me.

‘God always has His faithful remnant, like a few grapes after the harvest (Deut.24:21); and He uses them as the nucleus of a new beginning.’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.492.

In verse 1 we have seen the Gentiles responding to God’s call. Verses 2-7 showed the Jewish people refusing to come to Him. However, this next section reveals the encouraging news that a remnant of God’s people will be rescued. (See 10:20ff.)

‘The Gentiles, then, are to be brought in, and apostate Judaism rejected (1-7); but vs 8-10 reaffirm the promise of a ‘remnant’ of godly Israelites…God’s dividing line clearly runs not between Jew and Gentile as such, but between ‘seekers’ and ‘forsakers’ (10c-11a), who are respectively blessed and cursed in vs 13-16.’ Derek Kidner: ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.669.

All day long I have held out my hands
    to an obstinate people,
who walk in ways not good,
    pursuing their own imaginations –
³ a people who continually provoke me
    to my very face,
offering sacrifices in gardens
    and burning incense on altars of brick;
⁴ who sit among the graves
    and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;
who eat the flesh of pigs,
    and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;
⁵ who say, “Keep away; don’t come near me,
    for I am too sacred for you!”
Such people are smoke in my nostrils,
    a fire that keeps burning all day.

⁶ ‘See, it stands written before me;
    I will not keep silent but will pay back in full;
    I will pay it back into their laps –
⁷ both your sins and the sins of your ancestors,’
    says the Lord.
‘Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains
    and defied me on the hills,
I will measure into their laps
    the full payment for their former deeds.’

You can’t help but see the sharp contrast between the responsive Gentiles (1) and the rebellious Israelites (2-7). The Lord knows intimately, and more acutely than anyone else, the pain of unrequited love. We have here a portrait of a people pursuing their own ways, loving their gods and pagan practices. (Note ”altars of brick” v.3b. God’s altar was to be made of uncut stone: Ex.20:25). There is no doubt that all of this leads inexorably to judgment.

‘This was hardly the answer from God that the Israelites were expecting! God was not going to ”go easy” on those of His people who persistently engaged in such evil practices. God was drawing a clear line between good and evil, between godliness and ungodliness, and that line was not based on race or nationality; it was based on faith in God and obedience to His commands. The Israelites could claim no special privilege that would ”cover” or ”cancel out” their evil deeds.’ Tom Hale: ‘Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1071.

‘I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;
    I was found by those who did not seek me.
To a nation that did not call on my name,
    I said, “Here am I, here am I.”

‘Prayer is a mighty instrument, not for getting man’s will done in heaven, but for getting God’s will done on earth.’ Robert Law

This is God’s first answer given to Isaiah’s prayer: a prayer full of passionate concern for the Jewish people. He says, in effect, I’m going to bring the Gentiles into my Kingdom! Yes, He does far more than all we can ask or imagine.

‘And why should it seem absurd that the prophet here should speak of that to which all the prophets bore witness? 1 Pet 1 10, 11. The rejection of the Jews, and the calling in of the Gentiles, are often mentioned in the New Testament as that which was foreseen and foretold by the prophets, Acts 10 43; 13 40; Rom 16 26.’ Matthew Henry.

‘In the very beginning, the Lord seeks us and finds us. Once we are found, we must then seek Him – and keep on seeking Him, seeking His fellowship, seeking His guidance – so that our relationship with Him will grow stronger. We seek Him because He first sought us. We love (Him) because he first loves us (1 John 4:19).’ Tom Hale: ‘Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1070.

Your sacred cities have become a wasteland;
    even Zion is a wasteland, Jerusalem a desolation.
¹¹ Our holy and glorious temple, where our ancestors praised you,
    has been burned with fire,
    and all that we treasured lies in ruins.
¹² After all this, Lord, will you hold yourself back?
    Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure?

In his prayer, Isaiah anticipates the punishment the Babylonians will inflict on God’s people as the agents of His judgment (10,11). This will be the outcome of long years of the people’s waywardness. He cares about what is going to happen. He cares deeply, and he prays intensely.

When we see our nation become a ”wasteland” (and much of the church the same), does it move us to pray personally, and motivate us to gather with other believers to seek God’s face? Do we care enough to give ourselves to prayer? I fear that increasing numbers of Christians in the Western world are content to turn up at one Sunday service every few weeks (so long as it doesn’t personally inconvenience them). I know you can’t measure spiritual life by church attendance, but I believe I increasingly see a lackadaisical carelessness about ‘churchmanship’. I think something is seriously amiss. Where are the ”hunger” and ”thirst” for righteousness?

‘Isaiah’s prayer ends with a question; God’s answer to the question will be given in the final two chapters of Isaiah…Note that Isaiah’s prayer begins in the previous chapter with praise (Isaiah 63:7); here it ends with the humble expectation of God’s answer. That’s a good beginning and ending for any prayer.’ Tom Hale: ‘Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1070.

Yet you, Lord, are our Father.
    We are the clay, you are the potter;
    we are all the work of your hand.
⁹ Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord;
    do not remember our sins forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray,
    for we are all your people.

As this great prayer moves towards its conclusion, Isaiah appeals to the Lord on the basis that:

• He is their Father: even a sinful earthly father, though angry with his child, will still love them and want the best for them. ‘Foolish and careless as we are, poor and despised and trampled upon as we are by our enemies, yet still thou art our Father; to thee therefore we return in our repentance, as the prodigal arose and came to his father; to thee we address ourselves by prayer; from whom should we expect relief and succour but from our Father? It is the wrath of a Father that we are under, who will be reconciled and not keep his anger for ever.” ‘ Matthew Henry;
• He is their Sovereign Creator and Lord. He is ”the potter”. They are ”clay” in His Hands. He who made them has the right to shape them and re-shape them according to His good will. ”Then the word of the Lord came to me.  He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.” (Jer.18:5,6);
• They are in a covenant relationship with Him: They are His ”people”. Like many other great intercessory pray-ers in the Bible, Isaiah ‘wrestles’ with God, appealing to great truths about who He is, and His special relationship with His own.