Gods story in your renewal

We began with a vision of God and concluded with a vision of the eternal future for all those who follow him. In between the vision of God and the vision for the future, we have witnessed this truth: “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will” (Prov. 21:1). God is sovereign over all. He controls all things, and every action he takes has purpose and direction. As it is with kings and countries, so it is with our lives.

Isaiah 66 is a powerful conclusion to this prophetic book. In Isaiah’s final message, we see judgment, hope, and the birth of a new nation.

You emailed repeatedly. No response. You texted several times. No reply. You called, even left a few voice messages. No return call. If you have ever experienced that (hopefully not with me), you have an idea of what God describes in Isaiah 65. His love for Israel was persistent…and consistently rejected.

Let’s work through this chapter—and “spoiler alert”—it ends on a very high note.

Have you ever prayed a prayer of desperation?  Isaiah 64 records Israel’s anguished cry. Let’s work our way through it.

In today’s passage, Isaiah 63, we see both the judgment of God and the mercy of God. Studying these two attributes together is instructive.

Today’s passage, Isaiah 62, is filled with new names. In biblical times, a child’s name signified their expected character. When God bestowed new names, they reflected current character traits. 

Jesus launched his earthly ministry from his hometown, a small village called Nazareth. As he did every Sabbath, Jesus went to the synagogue. Today in Nazareth, there is a structure representing an ancient synagogue, which has a large open room with several rows of stone seats on the sides. The Sabbath service would have included singing, praying, and reading Scripture. On this day, Jesus was the reader. When the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him, he unrolled it and found Isaiah 61.

In our study of the book of Isaiah, we have seen God’s interaction with Israel. He loves them as a father and thus disciplines his children. One day, he will gather them back together to establish his eternal kingdom.

In today’s passage, we will drill down on the problem of sin (Isa. 59:1-8), the result of sin (Isa. 59:9-15a), and finally, God’s response (Isa. 59:15b-21).