Friday, December 24, 2010

I Am Your Redeemer, Isaiah 44:21-26, Sunday School Lesson for 1-2-11





ATTENTION:  Please note that this lesson, I Am Your Redeemer on Isaiah 44:21-26 is for the 01-02-11 ISSL.  You will find the 12-26-10 lesson, I Will Be with You, directly beneath this message and on the right side.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Jed






I Am Your Redeemer
Isaiah 44:21-26
International Sunday School Lesson
01-02-11
Commentary
By
Jed Greenough





Isaiah 44:21-26 

 21 “Remember these things, O Jacob,
   for you are my servant, O Israel.
I have made you, you are my servant;
   O Israel, I will not forget you.
22 I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,
   your sins like the morning mist.
Return to me,
   for I have redeemed you.”
 23 Sing for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done this;
   shout aloud, O earth beneath.
Burst into song, you mountains,
   you forests and all your trees,
for the LORD has redeemed Jacob,
   he displays his glory in Israel.

Jerusalem to Be Inhabited

 24 “This is what the LORD says—
   your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:
   I am the LORD,
who has made all things,
who alone stretched out the heavens,
who spread out the earth by myself,
 25 who foils the signs of false prophets
   and makes fools of diviners,
who overthrows the learning of the wise
   and turns it into nonsense,
26 who carries out the words of his servants
   and fulfills the predictions of his messengers,
   who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’
   of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be built,’
   and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’



In last week’s message in Isaiah 43 we saw God as redeemer and that thought continues this week along with Israel the servant.

In that message I mentioned that God uses whatever means suit Him to carry out His will for those who are His and I mentioned the ruler Cyrus and though he isn’t mentioned in today’s scripture we only have to read forward a couple more verses to see his name brought up.

In that verse he is referred to as God’s shepherd and it is a fitting reference even for this conqueror, if he serves a role of someone who has a responsibility for God’s sheep.  The title, shepherd, can be one of honor such as the Good Shepherd of John 10 or of dishonor such as the foolish shepherd of Zechariah 11.

For some it might seem perplexing that God would use someone we might consider to be dishonorable but God does not limit himself when He sets out to achieve His ends and this time He was using one from foreign lands to bring His servant Israel back even though Cyrus did not even acknowledge God (Isaiah 45:4).

In today’s scripture we are given a glimpse at our God who will discipline those that are His but then once the time of that discipline is completed He removes from His mind the offenses just as if they were clouds that are now gone on a bluebird day or like morning mist that disappears in the heat of the sun just as if they had never been.

Additionally, today’s scripture reminds that this redemption is something to celebrate with much joy.  Joy because His children are called to return to Him, joy because God Himself is glorified in the redemption of Israel.  And of course we cannot forget as Christians our joy and the joy we can feel for our fellow servants as we consider our own redemption and the glory that brings Him.

I love that the scripture tells us that the heavens and earth are included in this celebration of joy for as we know even creation was subjected to decay and therefore frustration and that each redemption will bring it all the nearer to ultimate liberation. (Rom 8:19-21)

In the Bible version I use most often the section of today’s passage beginning with verse 24 is a declaration from God and is entitled “Jerusalem to Be Inhabited”.  Isaiah’s listeners didn’t have our benefit of seeing that God actually accomplished what He declared since Isaiah’s prophecy occurred approximately 150 years before it was fulfilled, but for our sake,  I am very glad that we study prophesies that have been fulfilled but it is possible we may have a tendency to miss the things that are still pertinent.  They can still be reminders and an education that only His word can be wholly relied upon.  Just as then, we have false prophets and diviners and the so-called learned among us.

In Isaiah’s time the prophet not from God, the diviner, the so-called wise were not carrying His message but the message that they did have, played well, it was accepted readily enough.  It might have made perfect sense on the surface, but the message wasn’t His.

Back in Isaiah’s day the Israelites could have been exposed to teaching or declarations that did damage by giving false hope and resulting disillusionment.  Another teaching could have been one that resulted in destroying hope and therefore faith.

Today, many are still mislead.  Some of this is by cults that are passing themselves off as being His.  They are more and more “mainstream” as their history among us grows.  They are coming to be treated like just another denomination.

Others that are misleading appear more benign on the surface.  Their wisdom grows from their zeal for God, but they are teaching a message that will result in nonsense instead of fulfillment.  And just as in Isaiah’s day and as we are warned in this scripture we must remain aware that with too much erroneous teaching you will end up with people who cannot recognize true teaching because it fails to measure up to what they are looking for based on what they have been taught.

Just as pertinent today is the message that God does what He says He will, He promises and fulfills.  Through His prophets such as Isaiah, He has declared things that were fulfilled without error and just as exciting are the final fulfillments that we have to look forward to. 





For Discussion:



  1. Our lesson starts with “Remember”.  Other versions might say “Keep this in mind”.  Another still, “Pay attention”.  Consider how God is like any parent and unlike any as well.
  2. As Christians, compare today’s 2nd verse of Isaiah 44:22 with Acts 3:19.
  3. Discuss verse 23 with regard to God displaying His glory in Israel.
  4. With regard to today’s verse 25, consider 1 Corinthians 1:18-31.
  5. Discuss the prominent well known cults of today and their growing acceptance.
  6. Discuss all aspects of the timing of this prophecy (given 150 years in advance) not forgetting to include God’s time table.






(Join me next week for the International Sunday School Lesson for January 9, 2011, Turn to Me and Be Saved, on Isaiah 45:18-24a)

















Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Friday, December 17, 2010

I Will Be with You, Isaiah 43:1-7, 11-12, Sunday School Lesson for 12-26-10





ATTENTION:  Please note that this lesson, I Will Be with You on Isaiah 43:1-7, 11-12 is for the 12-26-10 ISSL.  You will find the 12-19-10 lesson, The Mission of the Servant, directly beneath this message and on the right side.

Merry Christmas!

Jed











I Will Be with You
Isaiah 43:1-7, 11-12
International Sunday School Lesson
12-26-10
Commentary
By
Jed Greenough






Isaiah 43:1-7

Israel’s Only Savior

 1 But now, this is what the LORD says—
   he who created you, O Jacob,
   he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
   I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
   I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
   they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
   you will not be burned;
   the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the LORD, your God,
   the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
   Cush and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
   and because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you,
   and people in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
   I will bring your children from the east
   and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
   and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
   and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 everyone who is called by my name,
   whom I created for my glory,
   whom I formed and made.”

Isaiah 43:11-12

11 I, even I, am the LORD,
   and apart from me there is no savior.
12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
   I, and not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “that I am God.


As with a couple weeks ago, the scripture as chosen by the committee for the ISSL, begins our lesson at a place that requires that we see what precedes what they have chosen since we see that it begins with a “but”.

It should be sufficient for us to go back no further than the 18th verse in the preceding chapter.  This section in my Bible is entitled Israel Blind and Deaf.

Isaiah 42:18-25 

Israel Blind and Deaf

 18 “Hear, you deaf;
   look, you blind, and see!
19 Who is blind but my servant,
   and deaf like the messenger I send?
Who is blind like the one committed to me,
   blind like the servant of the LORD?
20 You have seen many things, but have paid no attention;
   your ears are open, but you hear nothing.”
21 It pleased the LORD
   for the sake of his righteousness
   to make his law great and glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered and looted,
   all of them trapped in pits
   or hidden away in prisons.
They have become plunder,
   with no one to rescue them;
they have been made loot,
   with no one to say, “Send them back.”
 23 Which of you will listen to this
   or pay close attention in time to come?
24 Who handed Jacob over to become loot,
   and Israel to the plunderers?
Was it not the LORD,
   against whom we have sinned?
For they would not follow his ways;
   they did not obey his law.
25 So he poured out on them his burning anger,
   the violence of war.
It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand;
   it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart



From the beginning of this passage we see Israel being described as blind and deaf.  They are His messenger, they are the ones committed to Him, and they are His servant.  As such, they have so much but have paid no attention.

Through this people God made His glorious law for His righteousness-sake but yet for them, all that resulted was disobedience and in His anger God turned them over and if you know anything about Israel’s history you know it was not just one or two chances and recoveries but several.  His patience expired but He never stopped loving, never stopped redeeming, but oh, the price.

And so we find ourselves today with the lesson in Isaiah 43 beginning with that “But now.”  But now again, He calls them back, He redeems them; again He will see them through the testing that comes in life, the refining fires.

If you have ever tried to cross a rapidly moving water of any depth you know how impossible it can be without a walking stick or staff to support you against the massive weight moving against your body.  This is what I think about when I read verse 2 as I have tried it and you are just swept away, but with a walking stick to give you support you are able to keep your footing.  God will be that support without which the floodwaters will be too much.  Other tests symbolized by fire in this same verse remind us of His refining fire in which those who are His emerge with faith and purity.

These tests can come through whatever means God deems best to use for the time such as the conqueror Cyrus (Isaiah 45) as I am sure you will read in your studies of Isaiah or through countries such as Egypt (Romans 9:17), who may be raised up specifically for a time only to bring them down as a payment or a ransom for His purposes, His glory.

This is a facet of God that we are not able to understand, this giving of men in exchange for another.  This one that as the potter, He has the right to exercise as He alone knows how best to create His final creation and we in faith just need to accept that His ways are not our ways but His ways are just.

I hesitate to use the word example but really that is what Israel has been for us.  They have not accepted Him in faith.  Despite all that they had to see and hear from God they have been blind and deaf and He has punished them and then called them back, punished them and called them back.

Eventually, however the time runs out, eventually as we read in today’s verses 5-7 He will gather those sons and daughters who are called by His name just one last time.

Matthew 24:30-31 

   30 “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.



Let’s again read the final two verses from today’s lesson.


Isaiah 43:11-12 

11 I, even I, am the LORD,
   and apart from me there is no savior.
12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
   I, and not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “that I am God.



It really will be a final statement when He finally gathers those who have His name that He is LORD and apart from Him there is no savior but until then will we remember to be His witnesses or will we repeat the same error of the blind and deaf witness of the past?







For Discussion:

  1. Study the major occurrences in the Bible that record Israel’s history of punishment and redemption.
  2. Consider the latest and longest period of punishment and future redemption for Israel.
  3. Consider how you can apply verse 2 to your own life.
  4. Discuss verse 4.
  5. Considering how God treated His servant Israel when they failed Him, discuss what we Christians who are His servants can expect if we fail Him.






(Join me next week for the International Sunday School Lesson for January 2, 2011, I Am Your Redeemer, on Isaiah 44:21-26)















Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.










Monday, December 13, 2010

The Mission of the Servant, Isaiah 9:7, 11:1-8 Sunday School Lesson for 12-19-10

The Mission of the Servant
Isaiah 9:7, 11:1-8
International Sunday School Lesson
For
12-19-10
Commentary
By
Jed Greenough





Isaiah 9:7 

7 Of the increase of his government and peace
   there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
   and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
   with justice and righteousness
   from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
   will accomplish this.

Isaiah 11:1-8

 1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
   from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
   the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
   the Spirit of counsel and of power,
   the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD—
3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
   He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
   or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
   with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
   with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness will be his belt
   and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
 6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
   the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
   and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
   their young will lie down together,
   and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,
   and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest.



Everyone has favorite scriptures and favorite prophecies and these verses today probably rank up there on many peoples top favorite lists especially for this season and especially since they concern Christ.

The people of Israel from the time of Isaiah on would have known these as being Messianic just as we as Christians do today.  But Israel was looking for His slaying of the wicked to happen when He first arrived on the scene, not as we know it will be, on His return.

They, like we, want the “increase of His government and peace” to happen, they want the justice, the righteousness, and the return to the idyllic just as we Christians do, but they again, do not know that it will all occur only after He, Jesus Christ returns.

Both know that, as it says in 9:7 and 11:1, that He will come from the line of David, as we also read in other scriptures such as 2 Samuel 7:12-13, 16 and Jeremiah 33:15, 20-22, Revelation 5:5 etc., in fact we can go all the way back to the book of Genesis and see the prophecy that came from the lips of Jacob as he blessed his sons. 

Genesis 49:8-12 
 8Judah, your brothers will praise you;
   your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;
   your father’s sons will bow down to you.
9 You are a lion’s cub, O Judah;
   you return from the prey, my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
   like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
   nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he comes to whom it belongs
   and the obedience of the nations is his.
11 He will tether his donkey to a vine,
   his colt to the choicest branch;
he will wash his garments in wine,
   his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes will be darker than wine,
   his teeth whiter than milk.


Yes, we as Christians have the blessing to know as we celebrate the season of His birth that He has already come and tethered His donkey to a vine.  And as happy as that makes us, we have to keep in mind those that do not know this blessing.

Verse 1 of Isaiah 11 talks of a branch bearing fruit and of this there can be no doubt; He in fact is the vine of John 15:5

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

And in fact, “All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.” Colossians 1:6a

In 11:2 some would say we see the seven spirits of God as mentioned in the book of Revelation.  I have to admit I am not solidly behind that, but clearly the virtues listed are what the world has needed.  Finally, we can have the righteous authority on this earth that has never existed, since no man is or has been righteous; because all men have been under sin save for this ruler, Jesus Christ.

This seems like an appropriate moment in this lesson to make a change in tone.  Up to this point we have seen a vision of a ruler who will have a government of never ending peace, upholding His reign with justice and righteousness forever.

I feel like the change of tone is needed because the tendency has been, due to the Christmas season, to focus on the beautiful idyllic nature of verses 5-8, the return to how things were before the fall of man, the return to how things could have been.

In doing that, we completely lose sight of that part of verse 4 that I want you to never lose sight of:

“He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth; with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.”

Mentioned elsewhere as:

2 Thessalonians 2:8 

8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.

Isaiah 49:2 

2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,
   in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow
   and concealed me in his quiver.


Revelation 1:16 

16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.


Revelation 19:14-15, 21

14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.

21 The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.



I don’t ever want you to read this passage of scripture from Isaiah again without giving due attention to the part that describes this slaying and if nothing else, is what I want you to come away with from this International Sunday School Lesson entitled “The Mission of the Servant”; a reminder that you are the servant too.  I know that you have read it countless times but do me this favor and read again 2 Peter 3:9

9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

I want you to read that and underline it in your Bible too.  Most have read that verse and consider that Peter is referring to the unsaved, but is he?  Go back and see who he is directing this letter to.  He might be referring to the unsaved but He might very well be speaking to you, the Christian, the one who has been given a task by Christ.  He is patient with you   to complete your work as His servant, the work of the gospel, because He doesn’t want anyone to perish but to come to repentance.

How will they do that unless you the servant share with them the good news about Him?

Before the idyllic returns, remember “He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth; with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.”

Will one of you that read this be the one who shared the good news with the family of the child of verse 6 or those seen in verse 8?  God is being patient with you



For Discussion:

  1. Review and share scriptures that deal with the eternal heir to David’s throne.
  2. Share your thoughts on that part of 11:1 that refers to “a Branch will bear fruit.”
  3. Discuss fear of the LORD
  4. Discuss how frequently the poor and needy and their treatment are referred to in the scriptures.
  5. Discuss justice and righteousness as they relate to the weight given them in today’s scripture.
  6. Discuss the slaying of the wicked when He comes.
  7. It is fitting that we should celebrate Christ’s birth, but perhaps there is no opportunity squandered more for sharing the gospel than this the season of His birth.



(Join me next week for the International Sunday School Lesson for December 26, 2010, I Will Be with You, on Isaiah 43:1-7, 11-12)











Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.


Friday, December 3, 2010

I Am Your God...International Sunday School Lesson for December 12, 2010





ATTENTION:  Please note that this lesson on Isaiah 41:8-10, 17-20 is for the 12-12-10 ISSL.  You will find the 12-05-10 lesson, The Highway for God, directly beneath this message and on the right side.

Blessings,
Jed







I Am Your God
Isaiah 41:8-10, 17-20
International Sunday School Lesson
For
12-12-10
Commentary
By
Jed Greenough







Isaiah 41:8-10


 8 “But you, O Israel, my servant,
   Jacob, whom I have chosen,
   you descendants of Abraham my friend,
9 I took you from the ends of the earth,
   from its farthest corners I called you.
I said, ‘You are my servant’;
   I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
   do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
   I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:17-20


17 “The poor and needy search for water,
   but there is none;
   their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the LORD will answer them;
   I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
   and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
   and the parched ground into springs.
19 I will put in the desert
   the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set pines in the wasteland,
   the fir and the cypress together,
20 so that people may see and know,
   may consider and understand,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
   that the Holy One of Israel has created it.



As we start today’s lesson the first verse (verse 8) starts with a “But” and so of course that demands that we know what is being referred to here and even though it is not included, we must look at the preceding verses where we see that other people, other nations, are in sight and they are not His.

God is speaking to them.  He tells them, “Be silent before me,” and “let us meet together at the place of judgment.”

The nations see what has happened to other nations and fear and tremble but who do they turn to?  Each other, telling the other, “Be strong!” and they create their idols…..

But Israel has God, not by their own design, but rather because He chose them and therefore unlike the nations, they need not fear.  He will strengthen them, He will help them, He will uphold them.

Like Israel, you and I have been chosen, we also are “descendants” of Abraham, and we like Israel, no longer need fear for He will strengthen, help and uphold us as Paul said in Romans 8:38-39

38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

As it says in today’s verse 10, God will accomplish that with His “righteous right hand”, who is Christ Jesus our Lord.

The alternative to our being chosen by Him is as it says in verse 9 to be “rejected”, or to use the words of the KJV “cast away”.  And if we are not cast away, we do not need to fear because He says, “I am your God”! 

God made a promise to Abraham concerning His descendants but if we didn’t know that we would just read this and think, “Wow! God really must have loved Abraham to still be taking care of his descendants this long after his life was over,” and it made me think about my own descendants.  Wouldn’t you like to know that your descendants were taken care of in this way?  Your children, your grandchildren can in no small measure be put on the path towards this goal because of the life you lead for God today!

But getting back to these descendants of Abraham, it says that they were “from the
ends of the earth, from it’s farthest corners”.  Now I know many who comment on today’s ISSL might say that where Abraham came from, Ur of the Chaldeans, would have been considered just that in Isaiah’s day, the ends of the earth.  But I am not from then and what is in sight to me are all of us, we that are coming and have been coming in to the fold, we are coming from all over the world, from the actual “ends of the earth, from its farthest corners.”

As we move forward in the passage to verse 17 again notice that once this verse could have been a prophecy concerning Israel returning from exile thus their thirsty state, but is that what is really in view in verses 17-20?

I think rather that we see the poor and needy and a thirst that is not like one experienced by those traveling in a literal desert but instead a figurative worldly, dying soul thirst.

Additionally, I see special significance that it is the poor and needy that search, because just as it was then, so as it is now, that those who are rich, those that feel self-fulfilled, these almost never thirst for God.  Jesus said the following:

Matthew 11:4-5 

 
 4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

These poor and needy that thirst will be satisfied:

John 7:38 

38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”

And Isaiah was given another prophecy concerning this subject:

Isaiah 55

Invitation to the Thirsty

 1 “Come, all you who are thirsty,
   come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
   come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
   without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
   and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
   and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
   hear me, that your soul may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
   my faithful love promised to David.
4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
   a leader and commander of the peoples.
5 Surely you will summon nations you know not,
   and nations that do not know you will hasten to you,
because of the LORD your God,
   the Holy One of Israel,
   for he has endowed you with splendor.”
 6 Seek the LORD while he may be found;
   call on him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake his way
   and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him,
   and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
 8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
   neither are your ways my ways,”
            declares the LORD.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
   so are my ways higher than your ways
   and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 As the rain and the snow
   come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
   without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
   so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
   It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
   and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy
   and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
   will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
   will clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree,
   and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the LORD’s renown,
   for an everlasting sign,
   which will not be destroyed.”


All of Isaiah 55 strikes a similar chord as today’s passage from Isaiah 41 but in closing, lets focus on the last verses from both.  55:13 says, “This will be for the LORD’s renown...”  41:20 says, “so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.”

I say, may we, the poor and needy that He has chosen and not cast away, that He has strengthened and upheld and we who He has quenched of our thirst, “be for the LORD’s renown” and that when people see us that they “may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this.”


For Discussion:


  1. Research the incidents in which Abraham was called God’s friend.
  2. Discuss the significance of verse 9’s, “You are my servant”.
  3. Research the “right hand” of God.
  4. What do you know about each of the 7 trees mentioned today?
  5. Research the usage of “Holy One of Israel” especially as used in Isaiah.
  6. Share the similarities found between Isaiah 55 and today’s scripture.




(Join me next week for the International Sunday School Lesson for December 19, 2010, The Mission of the Servant on Isaiah 9:7, 11:1-8)











Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.