Session 2: Isaiah 6-10 -- Feb 11

[Mikael]

Session 2 covers Isaiah chapters 6-10.


1.) How treasured this prophet must have been in the eyes of the Lord that he was afforded the opportunity to experience a vision in which he actually saw "the Lord of Hosts" sitting on a throne in His Temple.


2.) "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." The signature verse that paves the ground on the Missions field.

3.) I am reminded in the following verse of the saying, "Man plans, and God laughs." Man can scheme, cajole, devise, manipulate, deceive, and do whatever else he thinks that is part of "having it all figured out", but if it's not God's will, it "shall not stand."

Isa 7:6 - "Let us go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them, the son of Tabel"
Isa 7:7 - thus says the Lord GOD: "It shall not stand, Nor shall it come to pass..."

4.)Isa 7:14 "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

You would be surprised at the number of Jews I've had discussions with who counter the notion of the virgin birth with a supposed mistranslation of "virgin" -- their definition being simply "a young girl".

[charliedohmann]

I never "got" this before: Isa 8:16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
17 And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. 18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion. (This is almost too wonderful for me! I love you Jesus! Let Your presence fill your temple!)

[dana]

4.)Isa 7:14 "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

You would be surprised at the number of Jews I've had discussions with who counter the notion of the virgin birth with a supposed mistranslation of "virgin" -- their definition being simply "a young girl".

I've gotten this argument many times too. Reading Isaiah 7 and 8 together, it is clear (at least to me) that this prophecy has a dual fulfillment, a partial fulfillment with Isaiah's own wife and children. Isaiah 8:18 "Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion." Before "Marshall" (ha, ha!) could even say "mother" or "father", the Assyrians attacked. I believe this is why the word can be used and contested by those who cannot see.

It is fitting to me that Isaiah 8 is one of the chapters that mentions the Lord (Who we know is Jesus) as being a stumbling stone for Israel and Judah.

Isaiah 8:14 "He will be a holy place;
for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
a trap and a snare.
15 Many of them will stumble;
they will fall and be broken,
they will be snared and captured.”

How fitting that this verse follows shortly after the very verse that unbelieving Jews try to contest, in their argument of Who Jesus is. Stumble, indeed.

The thing that is missed by unbelievers is that the Lord gave this prophecy (the virgin being with child) as a *sign*. It would not be such a sign for a young woman to give birth to a child. That would be a normal occurrence. But a virgin birth...now that's a sign. And that is the part of the prophecy that was fulfilled by Jesus' birth to Mary. No one else in history could have fulfilled that prophecy. Not only that, but Immanuel...meaning God with us... Who else could be given that name, but *God* with us?

Pulling out one verse out of context is such an issue among not only unbelievers, but believers who form doctrines off of one misused verse. And I believe that is exactly what people are doing when they pull that one verse and hone in on one word, yet ignore the plethora of scripture that makes clear Jesus is Messiah, and makes sure He is Who is being referred to there...especially when that plethora of scripture is in the same book of the Bible. :-)

Look at

Isaiah 9:6 "For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever."

Who else could have fulfilled this? This is referring to the promised child, the promised seed...Immanuel...given He is called "Mighty God" and "Everlasting Father". It is none other than Jesus, our Lord and Messiah. Of course, the Kingdom on earth is still a future fulfillment. But the child was born, the son was given....

Isaiah 6-10 are hard chapters to read, not just because of the hard to pronounce names, but because it is so heart-wrenching to see that signs have been given, and still, people will not see. They will not, because they choose not to.

[charliedohmann]

2 And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. 3 And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz

He took two faithful witnesses with him?!?!

[Maria]

Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." This prophecy is fulfilled in Matt. 1:23 "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." In Luke 1: 31, 34 35 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus"..."Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" "And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God." I love the fact that all the promises of God are yea and Amen. To Him be the glory!

[jeanb]

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself giveth to you a sign,

I love this verse....No man is involved whatsoever....The LORD HIMSELF, he needs no confirmation, no explanation, no approval from anyone but His own Council....so very Amen.

Isaiah 9:6 "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,

What a marvelous verse to describe the ONE and the ONLY True Son of God, Son of Man.....for a child is born - son of man.......a son is given ....Son of God....no one else can come close to this.

[charliedohmann]

Hello! Knock, knock, is anybody there? Am I the only one online? It's 7 pm est Hello!

[dana]

Good comments, Maria and Jeanb! :-) Amen, indeed.

Charliedohmann...Sorry about that! :-) I came back briefly to see what others had written before heading to bed. It's 12...Yikes! Saturdays are usually spent as family days, so I, for one, am not on much. Loved your comment above though. I'm hoping they didn't witness everything. I'm thinking maybe they stayed outside the door. Lol! I remember reading about the Jewish wedding ceremony in a pamphlet by Zola Levitt, and from what he said, it was the custom for the bridegroom's "best man" of sorts to stand outside the door of the wedding chamber and wait for the bridegroom to proclaim the consummation of the marriage. I'm thinking this was similar. I'm hoping this was similar.

[billharper]

Feb 7, 2012 17:19:13 GMT -5 Mikael said:

Session 2 covers Isaiah chapters 6-10.


1.) How treasured this prophet must have been in the eyes of the Lord that he was afforded the opportunity to experience a vision in which he actually saw "the Lord of Hosts" sitting on a throne in His Temple. ...

Isaiah saw the LORD in all of His glory, His holiness and His purity. I was struck how Isaiah seemed to become keenly aware of his own sins in addition to the sins of Israel ( v.5 ) which somehow seemed to be magnified in the presence of the LORD. It must have been an overwhelming conviction and sense of unworthiness to be standing in the presence of the Holy One. When I was saved I didn't see a vision of God but my born again experience was something like that as far as my realization that I was a sinner in need of being saved and made holy. It is notable that after Isaiah confessed his sin that it was purged and taken away ( v.7 ). So must it be with all men if they want to see God and that is only possible through the Messiah. Jesus ( Yeshua ) said:

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

~ Matthew 5:8 KJV

I see in the hot coal of fire off of the altar with which the angel touched Isaiah's lips as being a foreshadow of the Bema Seat Judgment of Christ before which all believers in Him must one day appear to have our works tested by fire ( 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 ) which will determine our heavenly rewards. Of course, our sin itself is purged by the blood of Christ ( Hebrews 9:22; 10:1-12 ) and today He is risen from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God the Father in Heaven.

GOD, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself PURGED OUR SINS, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

~ Hebrews 1:1-3 KJV

[dana]

Amen Bill! :-)

[Maria]

Praise the Lord! It is good to be encouraged and inspired by brothers and sisters in the Lord! Thank you Bill!

[billharper]

Feb 7, 2012 17:19:13 GMT -5 Mikael said:

Session 2 covers Isaiah chapters 6-10.

4.)Isa 7:14 "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

You would be surprised at the number of Jews I've had discussions with who counter the notion of the virgin birth with a supposed mistranslation of "virgin" -- their definition being simply "a young girl".

It's not just unbelieving Jews who do that. There are many professing Christians these days who also deny the virgin birth.

The Revised Standard Version ( RSV ) translation of The Bible has replaced the word " virgin " with " young woman." A few other modern versions have " virgin " but add footnotes to clarify " young woman."

The Message paraphrase of The Bible, which seems to be becoming a popular version in the modern Church, renders it " A girl who is presently a virgin will get pregnant " which is not unusual and is fairly common in the human experience. This to me implies that Mary was no longer a virgin when she was with child which is contrary to what Matthew 1:24-25 teaches about sexual relations between Joseph and Mary before the birth of Jesus.

Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And KNEW HER NOT till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

~ Matthew 1:24-25 KJV

The word translated " sign " in the Hebrew means miracle. The conception and the birth of the Messiah was to be a miraculous one. A virgin who had never been with a man yet is with child is a miracle. A young woman losing her virginity and getting pregnant is not.

The essence of the argument is this: the prophet [ Isaiah ] is promising a sign, and a sign is obviously something unusual. Now it is not an unusual thing that a young married woman should have a child. That would not be a sign. But if a virgin has a child it is unusual and it is a sign. So apart from the meaning of words, the whole context makes it perfectly clear that it must be a virgin.

~ D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Source: Great Doctrines of the Bible, Volume 1: God the Father, God the Son