Isaiah 65:1-13

Isa 65:1

I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.

 

In this verse we have the calling of the Gentiles unto salvation.  The LORD was being sought or searched for by those that did not ask for the LORD.  Then he states that he was found of them who did not search for him.  This is the essence of true salvation in that those who are called and saved by the LORD were not the ones seeking him because of the spiritual deadness of the seeker.  When the LORD begins to open the spiritual ears and eyes of someone, they will become saved and will have the desire to seek him.  This could not happen when a person is in state of spiritual deadness.  Then those believers who came out of all the countries of the world were the ones who were not called by his name.  The only country that was called of God was Israel from the line of Abraham because they were to bring forth the Messiah.  The true believers in those countries will behold the LORD because even though they were in a country that was not in covenant with God as Israel was, the individual believers are in covenant relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ which is the covenant of grace.  This principle is taught in the New Testament.  But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. (Romans 10:20) 

 

Isa 65:2

I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;

 

Then the LORD states that all day which means all the while they were in rebellion to him, he had his hands opened which means he would welcome them back if they forsook their evil ways and returned to him.  They would not return until their eyes were opened while in captivity and seeing that the fruit of their idolatrous rebellion brought about the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.  Sometimes we must suffer some kind of loss before we realize we have walked opposite the ways of the LORD.  For example, someone has a good paying job and they dedicate all their time to the job neglecting their spiritual life and they continue on this path until the LORD causes them to lose their job and then maybe they will come to their spiritual senses and realign their spiritual life.

 

Isa 65:3

A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick;

 

These people had adopted the ways of idolatry and they practiced their false religions incessantly before the LORD as if he did not matter and that caused the anger of the LORD to be provoked and to place them in a position of being judged for their actions.  They had altars in gardens and in groves where they sacrificed to false gods.  For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen. (Isaiah 1:29)  They also made and fashioned altars out of brick after the pagan altars of the foreign countries.  The people of Israel were not to follow the methods of the false religions.  24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. 25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. (Exodus 20:24-25)  They were to build their altar out of earth and they were not to use hewn stone because God would consider that a polluted altar because it was after the manner of the pagan religions.

 

Isa 65:4

Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;

 

They would remain among the graves in hopes they would receive some kind of messages from those whom had died.  They were hoping for visions or dreams which they would allow to guide them.  Now here is a very evil parallel being practiced by the church today and it is called “grave sucking” where a Christian lays on top of the grave of a famous Christian in hopes to have an anointing from the dead person.  It is very occultic and no true Christian should ever partake of that or even endorse it.  They also lodged in the monuments which can be the pagan temples or even the dens and caves where they practiced their idolatry.  They also ate swine’s flesh which was considered an unclean animal under the law of God.  And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase. (Deuteronomy 14:8)  Then swine was not the only thing they ate but made broth out of the other unclean animals which the LORD forbade them to eat.  So making a broth would give them a justification that they weren’t eating the unclean animals just tasting them through a broth.

 

Isa 65:5

Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.

 

Then because of their attitudes thinking that they have achieved some kind of super spiritual status because of their positions in the false religions, they chose to stay aloof from the people who were not partaking of the false religions and had the idea that they were holier than them.  Now there is a truth to what these false teachers were claiming.  The word “holy” carries a meaning of “dedicate” which means they were more dedicated to their false worship than the other people and thought they were above the people.  The word “holy” can be used in a negative context to and not just describing the Christian as holy unto the Lord.  Their attitudes of being superior was nothing more than smoke in the nostril of God which means they irritated him and because they continually practiced it and became as if a fire of evil was burning in the LORD’s nose all day without respite.  This is how they treated the LORD as he was the one who brought them through so many things in their history.

 

Isa 65:6

Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom,

 

It is like God has kept a book and in that book he has written every sin which the nation and the individuals have committed against him.  David understood it very well.  Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. (Psalm 51:4)  Judah had sinned mightily against the LORD and now it was time for them to face the consequences of their actions.  Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name, (Jeremiah 32:18)  There will be serious personal consequences coming their way for their adoption of false gods and religions.

 

Isa 65:7

Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the LORD, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom.

 

The present generation and the ones preceding it were made up of many who committed iniquity in the sight of the LORD and passed those evil ways down to the succeeding generations.  Their burning of incense on the mountains was done as they worshipped the false gods.  Within those ceremonies they exalted the false gods and then blasphemed the name of the LORD thus causing people to think falsely about him.  This is how they passed their evil to their children.  The former work which the fathers committed was idolatry and because of this they would go into captivity for their sins.  This meant that not only the fathers would face consequences for their sins but also those children who adopted those false religions and departed from the LORD.

 

Isa 65:8

Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all.

 

Here we have a picture of a great separation.  In some vineyards which did not produce an abundance of grapes, there would be some vines that would yield some smaller clusters of grapes which would be useful for wine or for food.  Yet one might say that since the vineyard did not produce the amount of grapes it was supposed to that the whole vineyard should be destroyed and a new planting should take place.  So the word comes down that they are not to destroy this vineyard because they could harvest the smaller amounts found on some of the vines.  What we have here is a picture of the remnant of true believers in Israel among the nation and because of them the nation will not suffer a full end.  Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. (Romans 11:5)  From ancient Israel came the Messiah and that is why it could not be fully destroyed yet.  It will be totally destroyed in 70 A.D. after the Lord Jesus Christ has come and gone back to Heaven and Israel was still living in apostasy.  God would withhold any total destruction for the sake of his Elect within Israel.

 

Isa 65:9

And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

 

The first part of this verse carries a double teaching.  The seed which will come out of the lineage of Jacob will be the Lord Jesus Christ.  Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. (Galatians 3:16)  Then the second teaching is the seed which is the remnant of God.  And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha. (Romans 9:29)  The LORD made a complete end of Sodom and Gomorrah and if it wasn’t for the fact that God had his Elect within Israel, he could have destroyed them completely.  It reveals another amazing fact that as long as the LORD has his Elect within the nations, there will be a preservation of that nation until the last day when they are removed and then the judgment of all the nations commences.

 

Then the inheritor out of Judah is also the Lord Jesus Christ who was born in Bethlehem of Judah and has become the inheritor of all things.  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (Hebrews 1:2)  Then for the time of Isaiah the mountains could refer to those mountains which surround Jerusalem.  As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever. (Psalm 125:2)  Then the Elect who are in Israel will inherit the mountain or the kingdom of God and the redeemed servants of God will dwell there.  This applies to all the Elect in the world when they shall be brought into the kingdom of God and will be joint-heirs with Christ in the kingdom of God for eternity.  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans 8:17) 

 

Isa 65:10

And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.

 

Sharon was a place near Lydda and Joppa which were some of the best grazing lands in Israel.  It was known as the Champaign country.  There would lie a fold of flocks which would graze in splendor.  The valley of Achor was where Achan was stoned after he disobeyed the LORD and took the treasure from Jericho when the LORD commanded them not to.  There the herds will lie down in peace.  When animals lie down, they are not in defense or offense mode sensing a threat.  The valley of Achor will go from being a place of death to a place of life.  Both Sharon and Achor are metaphors for the body of true believers as the ending phrase refers to the people of God who have sought the LORD.  If you recall the LORD is the one who regenerates the dead soul in his Elect and that regeneration allows them to seek the LORD because they are now spiritually alive.

 

Isa 65:11

But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.

 

Then the LORD turns to the fact that the wicked among the house of Israel will be punished for their sins.   They had forsaken the LORD by adopting idolatry and the false religions of the surrounding nations.  They forgot his holy mountain which was mount Zion where the LORD placed his name.  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, (Hebrews 12:22) The true believer has come to Mount Zion which is where God has placed his name for eternity within the body of believers.  The idolaters in Judah had made provisions for the troop who are the ones who bring the false gospels.  The table means that they are welcome and that the people who prepared the table for them were in agreement with their false religion.  One of the Hebrew words behind “that troop” is “gad” which may be pointing to a Babylonian deity of fortune.  Today we would call it luck.  So today, when people play the lottery or gamble and say to someone “good luck” they are in essence invoking a false Babylonian deity.  Who said we are more educated today than the ancients?  When you really get down and study these things, they reveal what ties we still have to the ancient world.   Solomon knew it well.  The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9) 

 

Isa 65:12

Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.

 

Then the LORD lays out the consequences of their actions.  They will face the sword of the enemy which means many of them will die when the Babylonians invade Judah.  They will bow down meaning that they will be unable to resist the onslaught.  This coming of the Babylonians will be the punishment for Judah because the LORD reached out to them with open hands and even when he spoke to them through the prophets telling of their coming doom, they just ignored the warnings and went about their evil lifestyles and lived opposite what the LORD had forbid them to partake of.  They remained rebellious and paid no attention to what the LORD had warned them about and now their stiff necked rebellion will yield the consequences.  Furthermore the LORD spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: (Deuteronomy 9:13) 

 

Isa 65:13

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:

 

Then the LORD shows the difference between the true children of God who refused to forsake the Lord and desired to be obedient unto him and the disobedient among them.  First of all the servants of God will have all the physical food needed to sustain them plus they will have all the spiritual food necessary for a healthy soul.  Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. (John 6:27)  The unbeliever will hunger even if their belly is full but they will hunger for the true spiritual things.  The servants of God shall also have drink with their food but the unbeliever will be thirsty.  They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. (Revelation 7:16)  The true believer will not thirst because all their spiritual needs will be supplied by the LORD himself.  Then the true children of God will rejoice especially on the last day when they are brought to Heaven.  The unbelievers will then realize that they have been deceived and they will suffer shame because of it, especially those who recruited others into their false religion.

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