Isaiah Chapter 4-6, NIV
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Vision of the branch of the LORD..beautiful and glorious..fruit of the land…pride and glory of the survivors in Israel..Zion..remain in Jerusalem will be called holy..the LORD will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgement and a spirit of fire…create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night..glory..canopy..shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding-place from the storm and rain. (vs 2-6, NIV).
Isaiah 4:2-6, GNB
[2]The time is coming when the Lord will make every plant and tree in the land grow large and beautiful. All the people of Israel who survive will take delight and pride in the crops that the land produces.
[3]Everyone who is left in Jerusalem, whom God has chosen for survival, will be called holy.
[4]By his power the Lord will judge and purify the nation and wash away the guilt of Jerusalem and the blood that has been shed there.
[5]Then over Mount Zion and over all who are gathered there, the Lord will send a cloud in the daytime and smoke and a bright flame at night. God’s glory will cover and protect the whole city.
[6]His glory will shade the city from the heat of the day and make it a place of safety, sheltered from the rain and storm.
Chapter 5-Vineyard, woes and judgments
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God’s curse…scenes..bad fruit..wasteland..will command the clouds not to rain on it…(thought: so much emphasis on global warming today instead of repentance and seeking the LORD’s face..great houses will become desolate…a ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath of wine…many woes mentioned..highlights: Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness,…who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight..vs 20-21…acquit the quilty for a bribe, but deny justice for the innocent cs 22, 23….has rejected the law of the Almighty…spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel..LORD’s anger burns against his people; his hand is raised and he strikes them down vs 24-25.
Isaiah 5:20-23,25, GNB
[20]You are doomed! You call evil good and call good evil. You turn darkness into light and light into darkness. You make what is bitter sweet, and what is sweet you make bitter.
[21]You are doomed! You think you are wise, so very clever.
[22]You are doomed! Heroes of the wine bottle! Brave and fearless when it comes to mixing drinks!
[23]But for just a bribe you let the guilty go free, and you prevent the innocent from getting justice.
[25]The Lord is angry with his people and has stretched out his hand to punish them. The mountains will shake, and the bodies of those who die will be left in the streets like rubbish. Yet even then the Lord’s anger will not be ended, but his hand will still be stretched out to punish.
Chapter 6, NIV. Isaiah’s Commission
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During King Uzziah’s reign (791-739 BC, Assyrian’s records 782-742 BC; Isaiah 740 to 700 BC)…vision and description of the Holy God…the whole earth is full of his glory..vs 3…unclean lips make clean by the Holy God through His angels (seraphs)..vision…vs 1-7…availability..Here I am.Send me..vs 8..message to the people on their 9-10…current state… insensitive body organs:…ears (hear but do not understand, dull)..eyes (see but never perceiving …heart (calloused-hardened..no feelings vs 9-10…consequences….vs 11-13.
Isaiah 6:9-13, GNB
[9]So he told me to go and give the people this message: “No matter how much you listen, you will not understand. No matter how much you look, you will not know what is happening.”
[10]Then he said to me, “Make the minds of these people dull, their ears deaf, and their eyes blind, so that they cannot see or hear or understand. If they did, they might turn to me and be healed.”
[11]I asked, “How long will it be like this, Lord?”He answered, “Until the cities are ruined and empty — until the houses are uninhabited — until the land itself is a desolate waste.
[12]I will send the people far away and make the whole land desolate.
[13]Even if one person out of ten remains in the land, he too will be destroyed; he will be like the stump of an oak tree that has been cut down.”(The stump represents a new beginning for God’s people.)
Isaiah 6:3,9-13
[3]They were calling out to each other: “Holy, holy, holy! The Lord Almighty is holy! His glory fills the world.”
[9]So he told me to go and give the people this message: “No matter how much you listen, you will not understand. No matter how much you look, you will not know what is happening.”
[10]Then he said to me, “Make the minds of these people dull, their ears deaf, and their eyes blind, so that they cannot see or hear or understand. If they did, they might turn to me and be healed.”
[11]I asked, “How long will it be like this, Lord?”He answered, “Until the cities are ruined and empty — until the houses are uninhabited — until the land itself is a desolate waste.
[12]I will send the people far away and make the whole land desolate.
[13]Even if one person out of ten remains in the land, he too will be destroyed; he will be like the stump of an oak tree that has been cut down.”(The stump represents a new beginning for God’s people.)…holy seed in vs 13 refers to Christ?