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Isaiah 65

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God Reaches Out to the Unseeking 1–7

1
I am inquired of by them that asked notfor me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name. ​
2
I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, that walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts; ​
3
a people that provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens, and burning incense upon bricks; ​
4
that sit among the graves, and lodge in the secret places; that eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; ​
5
that say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me, for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day. ​
6
Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, yea, I will recompense into their bosom,
7
your own iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith Jehovah, that have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I first measure their work into their bosom. ​

A Remnant Will Be Saved 8–10

8
Thus saith Jehovah, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sake, that I may not destroy them all. ​
9
And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains; and my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there. ​
10
And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me. ​

Judgment on the Apostates 11–16

11
But ye that forsake Jehovah, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for Fortune, and that fill up mingled wine unto Destiny; ​
12
I will destine you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter; because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but ye did that which was evil in mine eyes, and chose that wherein I delighted not. ​
13
Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be put to shame;
14
behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall wail for vexation of spirit.
15
And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen; and the Lord Jehovah will slay thee; and he will call his servants by another name: ​
16
so that he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes. ​

The Promise of New Heavens and New Earth 17–25

17
For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. ​
18
But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. ​
19
And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and there shall be heard in her no more the voice of weeping and the voice of crying.
20
There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed. ​
21
And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
22
They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. ​
23
They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for calamity; for they are the seed of the blessed of Jehovah, and their offspring with them.
24
And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. ​
25
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith Jehovah. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Isaiah 65

Verse 1

I am found of them that sought me not — Paul quotes the verse of the Gentiles: 'I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me' (Rom 10:20). The words 'sought' (darash) and 'found' (matsa) are those of 55:6, 'Seek ye the LORD while he may be found'. 'Behold me, behold me' is the LORD's own call to a nation 'not called by my name'.

Verse 2

I have spread out my hands all the day — Paul sets this verse beside the last: 'All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people' (Rom 10:21). The spread hands are an open appeal. The people walk 'after their own thoughts', against 55:8, 'my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways'.

Verse 3

sacrificeth in gardens — Gardens were chosen for idolatrous worship: 'ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen' (1:29; also 66:17). 'Altars of brick' set aside the LORD's order, 'An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me', or of uncut stone (Ex 20:24–25). They provoke him 'continually to my face'.

Verse 4

among the graves — A grave made a person unclean seven days (Num 19:16), and 'the swine… is unclean to you' (Lev 11:7). The verse lists practices Scripture forbids: lodging among the dead and eating 'swine's flesh'; 66:3 and 66:17 return to the same offences, 'eating swine's flesh, and the abomination'.

Verse 5

I am holier than thou — The Hebrew is the verb qadash, to be holy or set apart, the root of 'holy mountain' in v.11. They keep others at a distance, 'Stand by thyself, come not near to me', claiming a holiness that the LORD answers with 'a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day'.

Verse 7

burned incense upon the mountains — The hills of idolatry are named in Hos 4:13: 'They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills.' The sins are those of 'your fathers together' with the present generation. 'Into their bosom' is the recompense of Ps 79:12 and Jer 32:18, 'the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them'.

Verse 8

As the new wine is found in the cluster — A cluster with some good fruit is not destroyed, 'for a blessing is in it'. The LORD does the same 'for my servants' sakes', sparing a remnant (compare 'a remnant according to the election of grace', Rom 11:5). 'Destroy' (shachath) is the verb of 11:9 and v.25, 'They shall not hurt nor destroy'.

Verse 9

a seed out of Jacob… an inheritor of my mountains — 'Inherit' (yarash) is used twice: the 'inheritor' of the mountains and the 'elect' who 'shall inherit it'. The promise is 57:13: 'he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain.' 'Mine elect' (bachir) is the word of 42:1, 'mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth'.

Verse 10

the valley of Achor — Achor ('trouble') is where Achan's sin was judged (Josh 7:26). Hos 2:15 promises it 'for a door of hope'. Here it becomes pasture for 'my people that have sought me', and Sharon a fold of flocks. 'Sought' (darash) is the verb of 'I am sought' in v.1, now said of the people who do seek him.

Verse 11

that troop… that number — The Hebrew names are Gad, which means 'troop' or fortune, and Meni, 'number' or fate (from manah, to count); the table and drink offering were set out for them. The LORD answers with the same verb in v.12, 'will I number you to the sword'. 'My holy mountain' is what they forget.

Verse 12

when I called, ye did not answer — 'Therefore will I number you to the sword' plays on Meni in v.11. The charge, 'when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not', returns in 66:4. 'Choose' (bachar) is the root of 'elect' (bachir) in vv.9 and 22: they chose what he did not.

Verse 15

call his servants by another name — The name of the faithless is left 'for a curse unto my chosen', who use it in oaths. The servants receive a different name, as 62:2 promises: 'thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name'. 'Chosen' here is the same word as 'elect' in vv.9 and 22.

Verse 16

the God of truth — Literally the God of amen, the God whose word is firm. In him men bless themselves and swear, the second a command of Deut 6:13 ('swear by his name'). Christ takes the same word as a title, 'the Amen, the faithful and true witness' (Rev 3:14). 'Former troubles' are forgotten as in v.17.

Verse 17

I create new heavens and a new earth — 'Create' is bara, the verb of Gen 1:1, used three times in vv.17–18. 66:22 repeats the promise, Peter says 'we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth' (2 Pet 3:13), and John saw 'a new heaven and a new earth' (Rev 21:1).

Verse 18

I create Jerusalem a rejoicing — Jerusalem herself is created 'a rejoicing' (gilah) and her people 'a joy' (masos), the word of 62:5, 'as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride'. The command to be 'glad and rejoice' (sus and gil) rests on one cause, 'that which I create'.

Verse 20

an infant of days — No child will die in infancy, and 'the child shall die an hundred years old'. An old man will fill his days, and a sinner who reaches a hundred is still 'accursed'. The verse sets long life against Ps 90:10, 'The days of our years are threescore years and ten'.

Verse 22

They shall not build, and another inhabit — This reverses Deut 28:30, 'thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein', and matches Amos 9:14, 'they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them'. 'Long enjoy' is balah, literally to wear out: the elect will use up the work of their own hands.

Verse 24

before they call, I will answer — The answer of 58:9, 'Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer', here comes first. It is the same readiness as Christ's: 'your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him' (Matt 6:8), and Dan 9:23, 'At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth'.

Verse 25

The wolf and the lamb — The line repeats 11:6–9: 'the lion shall eat straw like the ox' and 'They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain'. The serpent keeps the sentence of Gen 3:14, 'dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life': here 'dust shall be the serpent's meat'.