130. Shall a Nation Be Born At Once (2)

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Hymns: RHC 326 Like a River Glorious 538 In the New Jerusalem 539 Beyond the Sunset 

Isaiah 66

10 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: 11 That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. 12 For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees. 13 As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 14 And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies. 15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many. 17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD. 18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. 19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, toTarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. 20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. 21 And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the LORD. 22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. 24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.  

Shall a Nation Be Born At Once (2)

OUTLINE

  • Comfort for the Remnant and Curse for the Rebels (v1-6)
  • All Israel Shall Be Saved (v7-9)
  • Jerusalem in the Millennium (v10-24)

The establishing of the nation of Israel as a worshipping nation, leading the nations of the world in worship of the living and true God was the destiny of Israel. She has struggled to fulfil this calling that God as endowed upon her. The turning of the entire nation to God has been prophesised by the Apostle Paul in Romans 11:26 (KJV) And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

Isaiah 45:17 (KJV) But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.

Romans 2:28-29 (KJV) For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is thatcircumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Jeremiah 31:3 (KJV) The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

The fulfilment of it is well attested by the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 31:31-34 (KJV) Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

It shall be a miraculous occurring when God will turn the hearts of the entire nation to Him – Isaiah 66:7-9 (KJV) Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. 8 Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. 9 Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.

It shall bring forth

(3)Jerusalem in the Millennium (v10-24)

10 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: 

Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. Israel’s Temple was there in Jerusalem signifying the very presence of God with His people in the inauguration of the First Temple. The Second Temple was where our Lord Jesus Himself was present.

The nation turned against their Messiah when they crucified Christ. God’s judgment upon Jerusalem was predicted by our Lord in the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24:2 (KJV) And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

The glory of God was departed, as it were, when the Roman General Titus came in A.D. 70 and destroyed the Temple.

It was a time of mourning for the Jews in the past 2000 years in their diaspora as Jerusalem was no longer their home! 

Though Israel returned to the land as a modern sovereign nation on 14 May 1948. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) captured East Jerusalem and the Old City, previously held by Jordan, on June 7, 1967, during the Six-Day War. And on December 6, 2017, the United States of America officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital city of the State of Israel.

There is no real rejoicing in Jerusalem until the Jews recognize, acknowledge and truly turned to their Messiah Jesus Christ.

This is yet future.

11 That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. 

Here is the imagery of the mother giving birth to her child and nourishing the baby with her breast milk.

12 For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees.

When God comes to reside in the heart of His people it is described as peace like a river that extending even to the Gentile nations.

Isaiah 48:18 (KJV) O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:

This is prophecy with the first advent of Christ and culminate in His Second Advent when He shall rule Israel and the world from Jerusalem.

Isaiah 9:7 (KJV) Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Daniel 2:44 (KJV) And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

Daniel 7:24-27 (KJV) And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. 26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. 27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

13 As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

As a child is by its nurse or mother. The idea is, that the tenderest care would be exercised for His people; the same care which an affectionate mother evinces for her children. The meaning is, not that they should be borne upon the sides and dandled upon the knees of Zion; but that God would manifest to them the feelings of a parent, and treat them with the tenderness which a mother evinces for her children. As a mother nurses her children at her side so would God tenderly provide for His people; as she affectionately dandles her children on her knees, so tenderly and affectionately would he regard Zion. [Adapted from Barnes]

14 And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies. 

The LORD raising the nation of Israel in steps toward their ultimate salvation is a rejoicing for His church to observe and marvel at. The covenant and the grace of God upon His chosen people!

15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many. 17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD. 

There will be a time of reckoning where the LORD’s wrath will be poured out starting with His own people and to the gentile nations. 

Israel shall depart from idolatry. No more meddling with the unclean things but a people holy before the LORD.

A people that have the holiness of the LORD before them and enjoys and rejoices in the beauty of holiness.

18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. 

There will come a time when the nations of the world, men of every tongue and language shall acknowledge the God of Israel, our Lord Jesus Christ, as the only Saviour!

Christ Himself shall rule from Jerusalem – Zechariah 14:9 (KJV) And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. 

These are generally understood to refer to locations in the ancient world, often interpreted as Spain, Libya/Nubians, Lydians, and the people of the Black Sea region, and Greece. 

Tarshish: A distant port, often associated with Spain.

Put: A nation in Africa, likely the Libyans or Nubians.

Lud: Known for archery, likely the Lydians in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey).

Meshech: Associated with the Mushki, a people in the ancient highlands.

Tubal: A people in ancient Anatolia, west of the Euphrates.

Javan: The Ionians, or Greeks, located in Asia Minor and the surrounding islands.

Distant coastlands: Refers to the islands and coastal areas of the Mediterranean and other far-off regions.

There will be ambassadors of Israel bringing the nations to come to Israel.

20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. 

Their coming will be to worship the LORD, Christ, in Jerusalem. Coming with various means of transport, these people will come to worship in the holy mountain of Jerusalem where our LORD Himself will be there.

21 And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the LORD. 22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. 

I will give to them an honourable place in my public service; that is, I will make them ministers of religion as if they were priests and Levites. This cannot be taken literally – because the priests and Levites among the Jews were determined by law, and by regular genealogical descent, and there was no provision for substituting any in their place. 

But it must mean that under the condition of things described here, those who should be brought from the distant pagan world would perform the same offices in the service of God which had been performed formerly by the priests and Levites that is, they would be ministers of religion. The services of God would no longer be performed by the descendants of Aaron, or be limited to them, but would be performed by others who should be called to this office from the pagan world.

23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. 

From one week to another, every two weeks, the Gentile nations shall come to worship the LORD there in Jerusalem.

24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.  

A contrast is made of the judgment of rebels – Revelation 21:8 (KJV) But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Revelation 20:14-15 (KJV) And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.