Gods story in your renewal

We are disgusted by hypocrisy revealed in others, but today’s passage has an underlying theme highlighting how we all can be guilty of this type of behavior…having outward show without inward sincerity. Let’s dig in.

Today’s passage—Isaiah 56:9-57:21—highlights the dangers of following corrupt leaders, the futility of corrupt worship, and the hope that comes from God alone.

Last time we focused on Isaiah 55 and learned that the God we seek, the only One who can fill the God-shaped void in our hearts, invites us to come to him and find the happiness and meaning that we have been yearning for. It is free; available “without money and without price” (Isa. 55:1; Rev. 22:17). Our relationship with God has been paid in full by Jesus. We find our rest in him.

Four times in this verse God invites all to come. If you are spiritually thirsty, come. If you have no money, come. The rich spiritual food that God provides is free to all who will come. Jesus paid for your sins in full on the cross; the gift of salvation is yours without cost. Today, you may be searching yet experiencing that inward famine. God invites you to come to him.

Isaiah is writing to those who feel that God has forgotten them. They are far from home, living in a foreign country under the heavy-handedness of the Babylonians. Seven decades have passed since they were taken captive.

Our passage today is Isaiah 53:6-12 as we continue our study of the most definitive Old Testament text foretelling the work of Jesus. As we did yesterday, we will consider this verse by verse.

God loves us so much that he sent his Son to pay the penalty for sin, and forgiveness from sin can only be found in the Person and work of Jesus. Seven hundred years before Jesus arrived on earth, Isaiah described the Messiah’s ultimate sacrifice on our behalf. This passage explains Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and exaltation. Today, the focus is on Isaiah 53:1-5. We will study this passage verse by verse.

Isaiah 53 is one of the best-known sections in the book of Isaiah. We will take our time to work through this prophetic passage about our Savior.

As we head down the home stretch in our study of the book of Isaiah, our focus will center on our relationship with God and how it works in real life. One scholar notes that the emotional tone of this section changes as Isaiah begins to tell us about Jesus, the Servant.