Isaiah 65:1

Isaiah 65:1 says, 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.  Isaiah said that God sought those who had not asked for Him and found those who had not sought Him.  We will never find God, but He will always find us by reveling Himself to us.  This refers to the Gentiles being called into the kingdom of God.  The Jews had failed to reach out to them and call for them to come to God, so God was going to do this without them.  We as followers of Jesus Christ are commissioned to share the gospel with everyone, but if we fail to do so, God Himself will call the lost people of the world to Him. 

Verse two adds, 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;  God said that He had reached out His hand all day to His rebellious people, but that they wouldn’t take His hand and follow Him.  They went their own way instead, following ways that were not good.  They were still God’s chosen people in name, but not in their actions.  If we profess to be a Christian, we must follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit and never live by our own desires if they are not in accordance with God’s will. 

Verse three continues, A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick;  God said that the people of Israel were provoking Him to His face.  They weren’t even trying to hide their disobedience, which is a sad state for those who are supposed to be God’s people to be in.  They were going through the motions of making sacrifices to God, but these sacrifices had no spiritual meaning to the people.  Some people who profess to be Christians today go through the motions of worshipping God but then don't live in accordance to His commandments.  God will never be fooled by this even if the people of the world are. 

Verse four states, Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;  The people of Israel had certain foods that were declared unclean, though this was later taken away after Jesus Christ came and died for our sins.  This obeying of dietary restrictions set the people of Israel apart from the rest of the world, and now we are set apart by our faith in Jesus Christ, so these dietary restrictions are no longer needed.  In the days of Isaiah and even in the days when Jesus Christ was here in the world, the people of Israel were disobeying God’s commandments.  The statement that they were eating pork and putting abominable things in their food was an indication that they weren’t obeying Gods’s law.  Though we are free to eat any food, if we put the things of the world ahead of obeying God’s commandments, we are just as guilty as the people of Israel were in that day. 

Verse five adds, 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.  The people of Israel had the attitude that because they were born into the family of God’s chosen people that they were better than anyone else.  They didn’t want anyone who was not a Jew to come near them.  We can have that same attitude today, thinking that because we were born in a certain country that we are better than other people and not even want them near us.  This was a sin for the Jews in that day and it is still a sin today.  We are to reach out to all people with the gospel and want them to become a part of the family of God.  God said that their sacrifices did nothing but displease Him.  Going through the motions of worshipping and obeying God without having put our faith in Him will never please God.

Verse six continues, Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom,  God said He might keep silent for a while when those who professed to be His people were rebelling against Him, but He wasn’t going to keep silent forever.  We may sin against God without anything bad happening to us immediately, but one day we will be held accountable for our sinful actions, unless we accept God’s gift of salvation.  I believe even then that we will one day have to answer for the sins we commit after we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  We are still saved, but we cannot just sin after we are and ask God to forget about it.  The penalty of our sins is washed away, but we may still stand before God and answer for those that we committed after we accept Jesus Christ.

Verse seven concludes, 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.  God said he was going to hold everyone who offered empty sacrifices to Him accountable, from their ancestors to them.  This didn’t mean that the people then were going to be held accountable for the sins of those who came before them, but that everyone was going to be held accountable for their own sins, no matter what time they may have lived.   

Isaiah 64:8

Isaiah 64:8 says, But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.  Isaiah said that all who put their faith in God were His children and were like clay in the hand of the Potter.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savor and Lord, we become a child of the Heavenly Father and then should allow Him to shape us into what He wants us to be. 

Verse nine adds, Be not wroth very sore, O Lord, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.  Isaiah then asked God to not be angry with those who put their faith in Him and to not remember their iniquities anymore. When we become a follower of Jesus Christ, all our sins are washed away, and God no longer remembers them. 

Verse ten continues, Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.  Isaiah said at that time, all of God’s holy cities were as a wilderness and Jerusalem was desolate.  Still, this was not because of the failure of God but because of the rebellion of His chosen people.  If things are looking desolate for us spiritually in the world today as Christians, it is usually because of our rebellion against God. 

Verse eleven says, Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste.  Isaiah continued to talk about how Jerusalem was in desolation and mentioned the temple in particular.  He called it their holy and beautiful house where their fathers worshipped God, but it was always His house.  We should never think that a church building belongs to us.  Even more so, we should understand that as Christians, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and belong to Him and should reflect His glory. 

Verse twelve adds, Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O Lord? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?  Isaiah asked if God would keep himself from them and hold His peace because of their sins.  I believe the answer was yes until they repented and returned to following God.  Even though we are forever saved, if we allow sin back into our lives, God may allow us to suffer in this lifetime, even though we are His forever.

Isaiah 64:1

Isaiah 64:1 says, Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,  Isaiah said the people of Israel were calling on God to appear in a miraculous way and restore them to power.  He did appear in a miraculous way when Jesus Christ came to live, die, and be resurrected to make forgiveness of our sins available, but it wasn’t the way they were looking for God to restore them.  He didn’t melt mountains by His power, but He came as a humble servant.  We should not expect God to physically destroy all our enemies by a mighty display of power until Jesus Christ returns.  Instead, we should be humble servants of God reaching out to the lost world with His gospel. 

Verse two adds, As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!  Isaiah said that if God melted the mountains and caused the water to boil that their adversaries would then know the presence of God and tremble in His presence.  This is likely true, but they wouldn’t be obeying Him out of belief in Who He is, a God of love and compassion, but out of fear.  I don’t believe we should ever accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord because simply because we fear what will happen to us if we don’t. We should accept His gift of salvation because we know that He loves and wants to restore us to a right relationship with Him.  

Verse three continues, When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.  Isaiah said the people of Israel were calling on God to remember when He had come in power before, particularly when He delivered them out of Egypt.  Still, this was done not because the people of Egypt were less worthy of God’s redemption but because they refused to obey His command to them.  When Jesus Christ returns in judgment, those who are sent way to everlasting punishment will not be sent away because they are less worthy than those who He calls home with Him, but because they have refused to put their faith in Him.  The thing that God did in the past that we as Christians should look back on is His sending His only begotten Son to die in our place.  

Verse four states, For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.  Isaiah said that by their own ability people had never completely understood Who God is and the way that He works in the world.  We do not come to know Who God is by our own reasoning power but by God revealing Himself to us if we come to Him in repentance and faith.  Even then, we cannot completely understand God.  We just have to wait by faith for the time when we will be called to our heavenly home, and even then, I don’t think we will ever know everything about God. 

Verse five adds, Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.  Isaiah said that God met those who rejoiced in the Lord and obeyed His commandments.  This does not mean that we can become acceptable to God by our own righteousness, but that we meet Him through accepting the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  It is by His righteousness that we can be saved, since as Isaiah pointed out, we are all guilty of iniquity, or sin, and sin separates us God.  Only when we confess our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord can we be saved. 

Verse six continues, But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.  Isaiah continued to state the fact that all were spiritually unclean because of the sin in their lives and that their righteousness was as filthy rags.  By their own righteousness, they would fade away as a leaf fades away in the fall and winter.  This still applies to us today.  Our righteousness is still as filthy rags, and if we rely on it for salvation, we will one day fade away from the presence of God to go to everlasting punishment in hell. 

Verse seven concludes, And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.  Isaiah said that there was no one that God had not revealed Himself to and that those who believed in Him and accepted His gift of salvation would be saved.  On the other hand, those who didn’t but continued to live in sin, or disobedience to God, would face God’s punishment one day.  These are the only two choices. 

Isaah 63:14

Isaiah 63:14 says, As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.  Isaiah said that just as God caused the beast to find rest in the valley, He led the people of Israel to rest in the Promised Land, and He did it not so that they might be praised but so that He would.  As Christians, we should be at rest or peace spiritually even as we are doing what God has called us to do, and we should always give the glory to GOD. 

Verse fifteen adds, Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained?  The rest of this chapter is a prayer that Isaiah prayed concerning the people of Israel and their relationship with God.  Isaiah asked that when God looked down from heaven, would He see their living in holiness, or set apart from the world.  He also asked if He could see their zeal for their righteousness given to them by faith in Jesus Christ.   I don’t believe Isaiah was bragging on the people, but He was lifting their obedience to God up for Him to view.  We should never go to God in prayer bragging about what we are doing for Him, but we might ask if He is watching us as we live our lives for Him. 

Verse sixteen continues, Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O Lord, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.  Isaiah said that even though Abraham had entered into a covenant relationship with God and was known as the father of the nation of Israel, he was dead and could not help them.  Therefore, he could know nothing of them, but God as the Heavenly Father could know them, since He is eternal.  Our salvation will never come through any earthly father but will always come from the Heavenly Father and our relationship to Him as such. 

Verse seventeen states, O Lord, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.  Isaiah seems to imply that God was responsible for the people of Israel turning away from following Him, but He did then ask that God return to them. Matthew Henry says that instead of blaming God that Isaiah was pointing out the sin of the people in not following Him.  I do know that when we sin against God that He will not be the cause of it, but our lack of faith and obedience to Him will.  Isaiah asked that God return to them, but He never left.  If we are separated from God by sin in our lives, He will always be calling us to return to Him.

Verse eighteen adds, The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary. Isaiah said that most of the people of Israel had possessed the holiness of God for a while, but then their adversaries had trodden them down.  Still, there was always a remnant that remained true.  This was because they had rejected following God and had begun to worship false gods and was not something that God had caused.  If we are a follower of Jesus Christ, we will always be a part of God’s kingdom, but we may lose the joy of our salvation by allowing sin back into our life. 

Verse nineteen continues, We are thine: thou never barest rule over them; they were not called by thy name.  Isaiah said that those who remained faithful to their covenant relationship with God were His people still.  Those who had turned away to serve other gods were not.  They were people of Israel by birth but not by rebirth in faith.  Not everyone in the church today has a personal relationship with God, but all we can do is to make sure that we do.

Isaiah 63:7

 Isaiah 63:7 says, I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.  Isaiah said he would speak of the loving kindness of the Lord toward Israel after He entered into a covenant relationship with them.  We know many examples of this, from bringing them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land and culminating with sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins so that we can enter into a covenant relationship with Him.  In our own life as Christians, we should be able to cite examples of His acting in loving kindness towards us. 

Verse eight adds, For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour.  Isaiah said that God had proclaimed that the people of Israel were His people and were children who would not lie.  Because of this, He was their Savior.  If we are to be a part of God’s family, we must not lie about Who He is and who we are and the only Way to become a part of His family, which is by putting our faith in His only begotten Son Jesus Christ.  After we become a part of His family, we should always speak His truth, no matter how the world may view us when we do. 

Verse nine continues, In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.  Isaiah said that when the people of Israel were afflicted that God was afflicted with them.  He also said that the angel of God’s presence saved them and out of His love and pity, or compassion, He redeemed them.  Though some people understand this as being a real angel, I believe as does Matthew Henry that it ultimately refers to Jesus Christ, the only One Who can bring everlasting salvation to anyone. 

Verse ten states, But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.  Isaiah then said that since the people then rebelled against God and vexed His Holy Spirit that He became their enemy.  This was not because God changed but because the people of Israel did.  They were chosen by God, but they weren’t choosing to obey Him.  If we are saved, we are chosen by God, but we can still rebel against Hiim and invite His wrath.  The people of Israel were God’s people because He had chosen them and entered into a covenant relationship with them, but this didn’t give them the right to then fall back into sinful ways.  Once we are redeemed by putting our faith in Jesus Christ, we are not free to continue to sin, and if we fall back into sinful habits, we will vex the Holy Spirit.   

Verse eleven adds, Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him?  This verse calls on the people of Israel to look back to the days of Moses when they questioned who God was and remember that God was the one Who worked through Moses to bring them out of bondage in Egypt.  They needed to realize that He was the same God.  If we begin to rebel against God as followers of Jesus Christ, we need to look back to the day He redeemed us and remember that He is still the same God Who saved us.

Verse twelve continues, That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name?  The people of Israel were asked to remember how God through Moses had led them through the parted waters of the Red Sea out of captivity and towards the Promised Land.  We were just as captive to sin until God sent His only begotten Son, Jesús Christ to redeem us by paying the death sentence of sin for us.  If we are straying away from God, we need to remember that we are in a covenant relationship with Him, and He will never fail in His part of the covenant. 

Verse thirteen concludes, That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble?  Isaiah said they needed to remember that God had provided a way for them to travel without stumbling.  If we are faithful to God as Christians, He will lead us through life so that we don’t stumble spiritually, if we will allow Him to.  If we do stumble back into sin, we just need to remember that God is ready to restore us and put us back on the path of righteousness if we will repent and turn to Him again.  We also need to realize that even if we are off the path of righteousness that if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior that we are forever saved even if we have failed to make Him Lord for a time. 

Isaiah 63:1

Isaiah 63:1 says, Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.  Edom had been an enemy of Israel for years, but they were not victorious.  Isaiah asked Who was the coming Deliverer Who would be clothed in glorious apparel and traveling in the greatness of His strength.  Through Cyrus was going to deliver the people of Israel from their captivity in Babylon, this Deliverer is Jesus Christ.  If we are a Christian, we need to speak in the righteousness of God so that we might reach others. 

Verse two adds, Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?  The question was asked why this coming Deliverer’s garments were covered in red.  We know that it is through the shed blood of Christ that we are saved and that His blood covers all our sins.  The question was also asked if this One had been treading grapes for wine and that was the reason their garments were red.  Treading grapes was the job of servants and not of a conquering hero, but Jesus Christ came in a servants role and not as a Hero.  People today still question Who He is and many don’t want to accept the fact that it is by His blood that we are saved. 

Verse three continues, I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.  Isaiah said that this coming Messiah proclaimed that He had tread the wine press alone without any help from others.   He then says He will tread on those who do not put their faith in Him with fury and their blood would stain His garment.  We can either accept salvation through putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, or we can one day face His judgment. 

Verse four states, For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.  Isaiah said that God was ready to have His day of vengeance.  It may be a long time in coming, and it certainly has since Isaiah’s day, but we can rest assured that it is coming when God says the day is here, but if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, we won’t feel His vengeance.  Of course, there was a day of deliverance when God brought the people of Israel out of Babylon and before that when He bought them out of Egypt, but these were temporary deliverances and not the day of vengeance of the Lord. 

Verse five adds, And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me.  God said that He looked and there was no one to help Him deliver people from the bondage of sin I believe.  God could find no one qualified to redeem His people, so He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to redeem them by dying in their place.  The death penalty for sin has already been paid, but if we don’t accept God’s gift of salvation, one day we will know His vengeance. 

Verse six continues, And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.  God said that when His day of vengeance came, that He would destroy all His enemies.  We might say that God shouldn’t act out of wrath, but we have to understand that He acted out of love first.  I believe that His wrath comes from His making salvation possible and people refusing to accept it.  Sin must be punished, and if we don’t accept Jesus Christ’s payment for it, then we will have to pay the penalty for our sins, and that is everlasting punishment separated from God.