Voice in Wilderness Isaiah 40

Isaiah 40:3 "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." See also Matt. 3:3

It is appropriate, in this Christmas season, that we come to this chapter where the coming of the Christ is mentioned. Indeed, it would be a difficult thing to find a part of the Bible that is not about him. It is His story.

Verse 3 above is referring to John the Baptist who came a few months ahead of Jesus and baptized and told of his coming. John the Baptist was similar in appearance and character to Elijah.

v5 "And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it." See also Exodus 16:7 Luke 2:10

Perhaps, some of these passages are why Israel did not understand the coming of Jesus. I am sure they expected him to set up his kingdom, his fleshly kingdom, then and there. Jesus, though, had the whole world in mind and set up a different kingdom, one of the heart so that all could come. He will be back to set up an earthly kingdom and rule from Jerusalem.

v10 "Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him."

I am unsure how to explain this, let me try. Not the verse but the mission of Israel and that of the Savior.

I've said in previous studies (many times) that Israel was like a pregnant lady carrying the promise down through the ages so that Jesus could be born at the appropriate time. He was born of a virgin, yes, but the promise was established with Israel. For them firmly, but also for the whole world, As Abraham was told that in him all nations would be blessed.

v11 "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young."

Then we are told of his greatness. It would require God, that such a system of worship as was established with Moses on the mountain could be set up. It would require God, to fulfil such a worship system and bring a new and better system. As the original system required blood sacrifices, the new system would require a blood sacrifice but a pure one and greater than all those offered. A sacrifice that could be offered ONE time only and be sufficient. Jesus was that sacrifice.

v21 "Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?"

They should, by now, understand that there is but one God. But the mystery of salvation by the cross of Calvary was not understood. Isaiah left the explanation of this mystery off, although we can understand it now.

I Peter 2:9 "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;"

I Peter 2:24 "Who (speaking of Christ) his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."

I think of this ministry of Jesus in the same vein as the ministry of Israel. Let me explain. Israel had a purpose and an ultimate destination. They were to honor one God amidst a world that worshipped many gods. Israel was on a journey to the time when Christ the Messiah would reign over them and they would again be great as with King David. Jesus was headed to that same destination, to glorify his Father and to set up his kingdom. He did it differently than was expected by Israel but being king, he can do things differently. The king does not have to tell all his plans to those he rules. Jesus went to the cross to fulfill the requirement of the law for a sacrifice. He made things better than under the law. He is still on his way to reigning in Jerusalem but he choose to include all of us under the offer of grace through faith in Him. Jesus was often on his way someplace but stopped along the way to help someone sick or blind or in need. It did not hinder his goal to stop and help.

I'm sure I did not explain myself well but I gave it a shot.

v31 "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

Levites Recount Israel's Rebellion Nehemiah 9

Nehemiah 9:1 "Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them."

They have now heard the law read and explained to them. The children of Israel faced their own sin head on. They humbled themselves before the Lord.

They separated themselves from the strangers of the land v2 "And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers."

Then some stood up to recount some of the history of the people. It was a sad story of the sin of the people and the wonderful mercy of God.

v13 "Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:"

Here they confirm that what God told them to do and the guidelines he set down were the right way for them to go. It is quite different in our time where, it seems, every thing that God told us to do is questioned. Why did God tell us to do this or that? Why does God let this or that happen? It is hard for people to accept the truth when it condemns the way they live. It is also difficult for man to admit that there is a power higher and more honorable than they.

v16 "But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,"

Even while the rebellion was going on, the LORD sustained the people and multiplied them as the stars.

v21 "Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing, their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not. v23 Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it."

In this recount of the events concerning Israel, we can see that God kept his promises and did not falter in his care for his chosen people. It was Israel that sinned and brought the captivity upon themselves. God was faithful even though they were not.

v31 "Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God."

v33 "Howbeit thou are just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly;"

So they now make a covenant with God and put their signatures to the document. The next chapter continues the subject.

In Acts chapter 7 of the New Testament, Stephen recounts a brief history of Israel when he was before the council before he was stoned. It is a good read and goes along with this prayer in Nehemiah. Stephen continues the rebellious acts to the death of Jesus Christ.

Acts 7:51-52 "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart, and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted; and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:"

As generations come and go, Israel has rebelled, but in our study the remnant are as one coming to terms with their sin and the rightness of the law for them.

Isaiah 33:5 "The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness."

Accepting the law as right and confessing sin in Jerusalem.

Law read and explained

Law Read and Explained Nehemiah 8

Nehemiah 8:10 "Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

On a certain day the people have gathered together as one in the street near the water gate. They have asked Ezra to read the law. Understand, these people have been in a foreign land and many have never seen Jerusalem or heard the law. The day is a sad day for them and a joyous day. They have learned that they have not been following the law and that God has shown great grace to them by not completely destroying them. Their fathers promised to follow the law and now they find out it did not happen.

v5 "And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people (for he was above all the people:) and when he opened it, all the people stood up;"

They have erected a wooden pulpit for Ezra to stand on, so he was physically above them so all could see. It does not mean that he was better, just physically above them.

v8 "So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading."

I think this is where we get our pulpits in our churches and in some cases the people sitting behind the preacher. Here it gives a list of those who stood with Ezra.

v9 "And Nehemiah which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep, For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law."

So the people went away comforted and came back the next day.

v14 "And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month;"

So the people willing to obey went out and stripped off branches from trees and made booths for themselves. Word was spread throughout the area.

v17 "And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel do so. An there was very great gladness."

The feast went on for seven days while they read in the book of the law.

Not only are the people returned physically to Jerusalem but they are returning spiritually to the LORD by obeying his law. It is truly a great day.

Jeshua is Joshua.

II Chronicles 7:14 "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

Revival in Jerusalem.

Geneology.

Josiah II Chronicles 34

II Chronicles 34:1 "Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years. v2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left."

Josiah was very young when he started to reign. It does not say here but he must have had someone guiding him in the tasks of the king. His life was very systematic so far as his growth was concerned.

v3 "For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images."

He was sixteen when he turned to the LORD on a personal level. That says a lot for him when he had the authority and riches of a king to play around with but he choose to follow God and seek his will. Then when he was twenty, he shook up the kingdom by exerting his authority as king and working to do away with idol worship.

v8 "Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.

Important to note here the last part of the verse: "...his God." He did not say the God of Israel, thou he is, but his own personal God. So Josiah found the God he was seeking when he was sixteen.

Something happened when they were repairing the house of the LORD. Hikiah the priest found a book of the law of the LORD given by Moses. v14 It was given to Shaphan who gave it to the king. Honestly, I do not know how a people such as Israel who were schooled in the wilderness from the very lips of God could loose the book of law that Moses had written down but they did. It was put aside when they turned to idols and apparently got covered over. Now it is found.

Josiah did not hesitate. He found out what was in the book and realized that they had sinned against God by not following the law written in the book. He took action.

The king was distressed over the pronouncements of the book which described the punishment for Israel for turning away from God. But the LORD was touched by Josiah and told him he would die and not see all that took place.

v27 "Because thine heart was tender and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, ...I have even heard thee also saith the LORD."

So Josiah read the book to the people, further cleaned up the land of idol worship and caused the people to honor the law. "...And all his days they departed not from following the LORD, the God of their fathers."

Psalm 149:4 "For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation."

Josiah, a very good king, follows God at a young age and does not turn aside.

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