Burunche’s Blog

Deliverance for Jerusalem

Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength, O Zion! Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, Holy City! For the uncircumcised and unclean will not again enter you. Shake off your dust! Rise up and sit on your throne, O Jerusalem. Remove the chains from your neck, O captive Daughter of Zion. For this is what the LORD says: “You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.” For this is what the Lord GOD says: “At first My people went down to Egypt to live, then Assyria oppressed them without cause. And now what have I here? declares the LORD. For My people have been taken without cause; those who rule them taunt, declares the LORD, and My name is blasphemed continually all day long. Therefore My people will know My name; therefore they will know on that day that I am He who speaks. Here I am!”

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, together they shout for joy, for every eye will see when the LORD returns to Zion. Break forth in joy, sing together, O ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted His people; He has redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.

Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; come out from it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD. For you will not leave in a hurry nor flee in haste, for the LORD goes before you, and the God of Israel is your rear guard.

The Servant Exalted (Philippians 2:5-11)

Behold, My Servant will prosper; He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just as many were appalled at Him — His appearance was disfigured beyond that of any man, and His form was marred beyond human likeness—so He will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths because of Him. For they will see what they have not been told, and they will understand what they have not heard.”

Isaiah has spent a great deal of time warning the residents of Judah and Jerusalem against their approaching fate at the hands of the Assyrians, a fate they are bringing on themselves by reveling in idolatry. But business is good, and since God has miraculously delivered Jerusalem from the Rabshakeh and his 185,000 soldiers, for now, nobody wants to listen. This hard-heartedness leaves Isaiah soldiering on as he prophesies what will happen after Israel goes into exile.

1. “For My people have been taken without cause; those who rule them taunt, declares the LORD, and My name is blasphemed continually all day long. Therefore My people will know My name; therefore they will know on that day that I am He who speaks. Here I am!”Forget the Baals, the Asherah poles, and all the high places, the portable idols hiding in homes, etc. There will come a day when Messiah will come and deliver His people, and nobody will remain confused about the nature of their Deliverer.
2. “Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength, O Zion! Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, Holy City!” In that day, Jerusalem will truly become a holy city, and those who worship idols will have no place in her.
3. “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, together they shout for joy, for every eye will see when the LORD returns to Zion.” When Messiah returns, everyone will see Him and know Him for who and what He is.
4. “Break forth in joy, sing together, O ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted His people; He has redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.” When Messiah comes, Jerusalem will be restored as it never has been before. Nobody will be able to remain confused about the Messiah.
5. “Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; come out from it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD. For you will not leave in a hurry nor flee in haste, for the LORD goes before you, and the God of Israel is your rear guard.“ When God delivers His people, He delivers completely. But God’s people need to repudiate all the false gods with which they have toyed. What is meant by the instruction regarding those “who carry the vessels of the Lord?” The time frame is deliberately vague, but God’s assurance of protection is absolute. Through the centuries, God has used these verses to warn believers to flee many times. Prophecy is dynamic and never operates just on one level. Once God gives a word, He can use it in any fashion He chooses.
6. “Behold, My Servant will prosper; He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.” Jesus the Messiah was beaten almost beyond recognition by the Roman soldiers. But Jesus rose from the dead on Easter. What does the phrase “he will sprinkle many nations” mean? Perhaps these words refer to Messiah shedding His blood for the sins of the world, bringing redemption, peace, and Shalom.

APPLICATION: Recently, a Chinese spy balloon made big news as it flew over the U.S. before finally being shot down. But when Messiah returns to the earth, that will be far bigger news. “Every eye will see when the Lord returns to Zion.”

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns.” Today we can access international news from innumerable sources; unfortunately, most of that news is bad – fires, floods, earthquakes, wars. We all need good news. We all need peace and salvation. We all want reassurance that our God really is in control and that He has not abandoned us. When Jesus was briefing his disciples on the night before he was crucified, he warned them, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

What is the source of your peace? Do you find peace by losing yourself in computer games or videos or sporting events or even online betting or pornography? Such things can give you an adrenaline rush and may even make you feel good for a little while due to elevated serotonin levels, but eventually, you must increase your involvement or the dose of drugs you are taking to obtain the same feelings. Recently there is a new syndrome called Serotonin Syndrome that has been recognized when people attempt to raise their serotonin levels too high through artificial means. This syndrome can be deadly.

Artificial peace is no peace at all. True and lasting peace can only come from knowing Jesus the Messiah as Savior and Lord and by serving Him. Why waste time and energy and resources on things that might hurt or destroy you? Come to Jesus! His return is as certain as the coming of the dawn.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, many of us have hearts that are torn and bleeding. Help us to turn to You, the ultimate Source of peace. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

This entry was posted on February 9, 2023 at 12:01 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.