Isaiah 12: 4-6

 

⁴ And in that day you will say,
“Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name.
Make known His deeds among the peoples;
Make them remember that His name is exalted.”
⁵ Praise the Lord in song, for He has done excellent things;
Let this be known throughout the earth.
⁶ Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Matthew Henry considers our passage today the second part of an "evangelical song" in which the singers show thanksgiving to God through prayer ("call on His name," vs 4); by preaching and writing ("Make known...Make them remember"; "Let this be known," vss 4 and 5); and, by expressing our joy ("Cry aloud and shout for joy," vs 6). As we will see from looking at the verses, it is a song the Israelites will sing upon their ultimate reunion with "the Holy One of Israel," (vs 6) but it is a song that has been sung and needs to continue to be sung until that Day.

As we saw with the first part of Isaiah 12, the overall theme of the passage is thanksgiving. The remnant has been preserved and given passage safely home to the final Promised Land and covenant redemption in God through His Son. Only the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, could have brought the people to this place. The response is an outward expression of overwhelming gratitude. 

This idea of giving thanks and sharing the message of God's goodness reaches back to the earliest of days for the people of God. We looked at a small portion of song of Moses in last week's post, written in thanksgiving for God's hand in delivering the Israelites out of the hands of Pharaoh and into safety. It was not enough to just thank God in the moment, but to remember and to share--share through the generations--the works of God. One of my favorite Old Testament Scriptures is Deuteronomy 6: 5-9, in which we are commanded to love God and to teach others to do likewise as we "talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." It's not a message for today, only, but for every day and everyone.

"One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts."

--Psalm 145:4

The psalmists wrote poems and songs that were meant to be sung in the moment, but, also, to be passed down through the ages. How many contemporary Christian songs are based on their words, offering today's generations the opportunity to praise, give thanks and remember the "mighty acts" of God? We are called to "praise the Lord in song" (vs 5) and even to sing to Him a "new song" (Psalm 33, 96, 98, among others), but in doing so, are we remembering the works done of old, not just that done in the moment? In making known His deeds, we establish that the Lord has been doing good things FOREVER, not just today. Not only that, but we exalt the name of the God who Himself is goodness, not just today, but FOREVER! (vs 4)

"We must not only speak to God, but speak to others concerning him, not only call upon his name, but (as the margin reads it) proclaim his name; let others know something more from us than they did before concerning God, and those things whereby he has made himself known.... When the apostles preached the gospel to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem, then this scripture was fulfilled, that his doings should be declared among the people and that what he has done should be known in all the earth."

--Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

For Israel, in that Day, they shall surround the now-realized Hope of their salvation, Jesus Himself, and worship Him with shouts and cries for joy! (vs 6) For those who know this Hope already, the cry is that more might know Him--through our calling on Him, and making Him and His works known--before that Day arrives.

"Until the whole world hears, Lord, we are calling out
Lifting up your name for all to hear the sound
Like voices in the wilderness, we're crying out
And as the day draws near
We'll sing until the whole world hears...."

--Lyrics from Until the Whole World Hears, by Casting Crowns

Change of tune as Chapter 13 begins many chapters of Isaiah focusing on God's word against the nations. We start with Babylon.... 'Til next Wednesday!


Photo: www.bulkka.com

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Next week: Isaiah 13: 1-5

Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 12: 1-3

Thanksgiving Expressed

¹ Then you will say on that day,
“I will give thanks to You, O Lord;
For although You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away,
And You comfort me.
² “Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
For the Lord God is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.”
³ Therefore you will joyously draw water
From the springs of salvation.

For all of the changes I have made in the blog schedule since we started Isaiah, I have to say that I'm thrilled to have two blogs of Thanksgiving wrapped around Easter Week! Not something I could have planned, I'm tellin' ya....

Isaiah Chapter 12 is a response of thanksgiving to God's restoring the remnant of Israel into His people, gathering them from the "four corners of the Earth" (11:12), across the "highway" (11:16) He created from the land and water to Zion. "Then you will say on that day, 'I will give thanks to You, O Lord....'" (12:1) For thousands of years, God's chosen people have been, once again, wandering in a wilderness. Separated and scattered across the nations. Ruled over by opposing factions. Unable to return home. Not that He had ever left them completely, nor would His promises to them ever be reneged. But, He was angry.

"For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning."

--Psalm 30: 5

Now, in that time of perfect peace, God's anger is "turned away" and He comforts His own. In his commentary, Matthew Henry notes, "even the turning away of his anger is a comfort to them." Think about that. We are quick to see the restoration of blessings as a sign of God's comfort. When we turn away from our sins--those things that make God angry with us--are we comforted by the simple, amazing truth that God's anger toward us is turned away? His favor is for a lifetime, and He waits patiently for us to turn toward Him in all things.

Such is the case with His people, Israel. Who has delivered them as He promised? God! More specifically, in verse 2, the "Lord God," or in the King James Version, "Lord Jehovah," meaning Israel's God. 

"God, furthermore, said to Moses, 'Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, "The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you." This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.'"

--Exodus 3:15

The God who delivered them out of Egypt is the one and the same who delivers them into eternity. There is no more fear as to who is in control of their lives. He has again become their "strength and song." If that phrase sounds familiar, it directly echoes the song of thanksgiving from Moses and the Israelites following the redemption of their lives from the slavery of Pharaoh and the destruction of his armies in the Red Sea.

"'The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
This is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will extol Him.'"

--Exodus 15:2

Though the Lord was their strength in that victorious moment and the song of their lives, it wouldn't be long before those same Israelites would lose that melody and wallow in their own ways and desires. This would be--and is--the circuitous pattern taken by sinful man. Even when we acknowledge the Source of salvation, we do not turn to Him. So, it's no wonder that God is confused, frustrated and angered. 

What a perspective God gave the Apostle Paul! Jewish to his Pharisaical core, Paul received the mission to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the Gentiles. Yet, he passionately tried to reach his brethren throughout his ministry. No doubt, he probably continues to pray from the heavenly realms for true salvation to come to the Israelites. "...My heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.... For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness of everyone who believes." (Romans 10: 1 and 4)

This is what the world needs to understand about salvation. It's not just deliverance out of bondage, or deliverance from enemies or persecution, or deliverance from the Law or deliverance from ________. The salvation of God is a saving TO! A saving to God Himself, forever. Salvation, as Paul said, is available today for everyone who believes in Jesus Christ! This is the Easter message: Christ died that we might be delivered to eternal life, united with our God, forever. What all of Israel and the rest of the world will not understand until the Day, God continues to make known through his disciples today:

"'Who is like You among the gods, O Lord?
Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
Awesome in praises, working wonders?....
In Your lovingkindness You have led the people whom You have redeemed;
In Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation....'"

--Exodus 15: 11 and 13 

 

As God's people recognize their Savior, they will "joyously draw water from the springs of salvation." (vs 3) Knowing with full trust and reverent fear that Israel's God has saved them would certainly elicit joyful praise. It is the ultimate homecoming, after all. How much more sweet to know those springs of salvation now, that we might draw from the living water of our Savior in those times we we fear losing our strength and our song?

"Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, "From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water."'"

--John 7: 37 and 38

"Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia! 
 Following our exalted Head, Alleluia! 
 Made like him, like him we rise, Alleluia! 
 Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

 King of glory, soul of bliss, Alleluia! 
 Everlasting life is this, Alleluia! 
 Thee to know, thy power to prove, Alleluia! 
 Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia!"

--Christ the Lord is Risen Today, lyrics by Charles Wesley  

The inhabitants of Zion shout for joy.... 'Til next Wednesday!



Photo: www.fanpop.com

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Next week: Isaiah 12: 4-6

Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 9:1-3

Birth and Reign of the Prince of Peace

¹ But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; 

in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun 

and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, 

by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.

² The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
³ You shall multiply the nation,
You shall increase their gladness;
They will be glad in Your presence
As with the gladness of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

Chapter 8 left us with a picture of "distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish." (8:22) Thankfully, Isaiah's words continued directly into Chapter 9--and the news is brighter, literally!

To get through verse 1, we need to address some place names. Zebulun and Naphtali were two of the territories--part of the 12 tribal lands of Israel--on the border of Galilee (see map below), and those areas among the first to be invaded by Tiglath-pileser of Assyria.

 

"In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon and Abel-beth-maacah and Janoah and Kedesh and Hazor and Gilead and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria."

^{--II Kings 15:29}

 

^{As God would bring this warring nation to Judah, He first brought it to destroy Israel. The nation would not be a nation as it knew itself after its captivity. The people would be scattered. Times were truly dark. But what Isaiah's message says is that the gloom of this situation would not last; that God would, again, "make it glorious." The ultimate fulfillment of that prophecy has yet to be seen, as it will come with Christ's second coming. The foreshadowing of that fulfillment came with His first Advent.}

"Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
“The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light,
And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death,
Upon them a Light dawned.”

From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

^{--Matthew 4: 12-17}

^{One of the great blessings of studying Isaiah is seeing the direct relationship and fulfillment of so many of his prophecies--both in Old Testament and New Testament times. Matthew records the very Scripture we read today out of Isaiah 9, and Jesus lived out these recorded words in his ministry. This "great light" would be the Messiah, "the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man." (John 1:9) The word of prophecy should have been a word of hope to a people in the darkness of captivity.}

^{"In the worst of times God’s people have a nevertheless to comfort themselves with, something to allay and balance their troubles; they are persecuted, but not forsaken, sorrowful yet always rejoicing. And it is matter of comfort to us, when things are at the darkest, that he who forms the light and creates the darkness has appointed to both their bounds and set the one over against the other...."}

 ^{--Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible}

 

^{"You shall multiply the nation," says verse 3. This would have had significant meaning to Israel, as God was reaffirming the covenant that He made with Abraham: "...Indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies." (Genesis 22:17) For a scattered people to not only see itself again as a nation but as a nation blessed by God should have been a comfort. There was hope for the exiled children, that this "seed" would "possess the gate of their enemies."}

"We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
He chastens and hastens His will to make known.
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing.
Sing praises to His Name; He forgets not His own."

--We Gather Together, lyrics by Adrianus Valerius

 

^{There is an interesting section of verse 3. This is how it reads in the King James Version: "Thou has multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy...." (emphasis mine) At first, this would seem a little odd, especially in the context of what the rest of the passage is saying. If there's no more gloom, wouldn't joy be on the rise? It would be if it were the proper kind of joy.}

"Yet it follows, Thou hast not increased the joy—the carnal joy and mirth, and those things that are commonly the matter and occasion thereof. But, notwithstanding that, they joy before thee; there is a great deal of serious spiritual joy among them, joy in the presence of God, with an eye to him."

--Matthew Henry

^{Isaiah does make comparisons to earthly gladness associated with this joy. It will be like the celebration over the gathering of the harvest or sharing the spoil of a victorious battle. The celebration will not be over the goodness of that gathered or gained, but, rather, in the One who enables the gathering and the victory; the One who brings forth and is true goodness!} 

"Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,
Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;
Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves."

^{--Bringing in the Sheaves, lyrics by Knowles Shaw}

^{In this season of Thanksgiving, let us remember that while we have much to be thankful for, we celebrate not that which we have, but give all glory, laud and honor to the One who has given beyond measure, by His grace unto us. And we shall come to Him, rejoicing!}

^{"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."}

^{--Psalm 100, King James Version}

Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

 

 

 

"For a child will be born to us".... 'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: faithandworship.com; keyway.ca

* * *

Next week: Isaiah 9: 4-7

Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).