Sunday, January 31, 2016

Isaiah 4-5 ... Viewing the works of God through scripture




Isaiah 4

1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.
 

2 In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious,
and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.
 

3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem,
shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:
4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion,
and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof
by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

 

5 And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies,
a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night:
for upon all the glory shall be a defence.
 

6 And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat,
and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.


Isaiah 5 

1 Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: 2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. 4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?
wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
 

5 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
6 And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns:  I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
 

7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah HIS pleasant plant: and HE looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.

8 Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place,
that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!
 

9 In mine ears said the Lord of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate,
even great and fair, without inhabitant.

 

10 Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah.
 

11 Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink;
that continue until night, till wine inflame them! 12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the Lord,
neither consider the operation of HIS hands.

 

13 Therefore MY people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.
 

14 Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.

(The ones who rejoice in the pomp of humans will descend into the hell of those humans.)

15 And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled,
and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:
 

16 But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness

(When God raises up someone to judge the evil doers, then God will be exalted in that judgment.)


Numbers 25 ... 1 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. 2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods:and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. 3 And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor:and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. 

4 And the Lord said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the Lord against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel. 5 And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor.
 

6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 

7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand; 8 And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. 

So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. 9 And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand. (24,000 died)
 

10 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 11 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned MY wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for MY sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy

12 Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:13 And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel. 

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Isaiah 5

17 Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.

18 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:
19 That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it:
and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!
 

20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!


Comments by Joan Boney  ...
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil ... A Catholic woman called me to tell me of the death of her mother.  She was so excited because her mother (who was very wealthy) wanted her funeral to be conducted by a bishop of the Catholic church and the mother died and they went to the bishop asking him to perform a ceremony in honor of her dead mother.  The bishop had agreed to do this.  This Catholic woman who called me to tell me this was so proud that the bishop would perform this.  (I wondered what would have happened had a poor, Mexican, woman asked they bishop to perform her funeral?)  I suspected if they had been richer they might even had persuaded the pope of the Catholic church to perform her mother's funeral.  But all they seemed to be able to aim for was a bishop and they rejoiced in him.


I sent her an email the next day after she told me this abominable story.  I told her I was sorry she had told this story and that it was an abomination.  She stopped calling me.

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Isaiah 5

21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
 

22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
 

23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
 

24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust:
because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts,
and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

 

25 Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against HIS people, and HE hath stretched forth HIS hand against them, and hath smitten them: 

(David was described as a man after God's own heart ... desiring to do the will of God and to please God ... David was chosen by God to rule over the kingdom of Israel before the kingdom was divided.)


II Samuel 11 ... 1 And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.
 

2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house:and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.  

(I Jn. 2 ...  16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof:but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.)



3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite

4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness:and she returned unto her house. 5 And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
 

6 And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. 

7 And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered. 

8 And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. 

And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king. 

9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house. 

10 And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house? 

11 And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing. 

12 And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow. 13 And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk:and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
 

14 And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die

16 And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were. 17 And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab:and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
 


18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war; 19 And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king, 20 And if so be that the king's wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.
 

22 So the messenger went, and came and shewed David all that Joab had sent him for. 23 And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entering of the gate. 24 And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and some of the king's servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. 25 Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another:make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it:and encourage thou him.
 

26 And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. 27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

II Samuel 12

1 And the Lord sent Nathan (a prophet) unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. 2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up:and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. 4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. 

5 And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
 

7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man

Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; 8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. 

9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in HIS sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. 

10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised ME, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 

11 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For thou didst it secretly:but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. 

13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. 

And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. 14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
 

15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick. 

16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. 17 And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth:but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. 

18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead:for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice:how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead? 

19 But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead:therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. 

20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped:then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat. 

21 Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. 

22 And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept:for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live? 23 But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

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Isaiah 5

and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets.
 

For all this HIS anger is not turned away,
but HIS hand is stretched out still.


26 And HE will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:
 

27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep;
neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:
28 Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses 'hoofs shall be counted like flint,
and their wheels like a whirlwind:
29 Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions:
yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey,
and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.
 

30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea:
and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow,
and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.


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Gal. 6 ... 7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked:for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.