Month: November 2009

  • The Book of Isaiah Chapter 1 V.16-18 Part 1


    Isa 1:16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;

    So here now, is the admonishment. Clean up your act. Be pure, be justified. There were several words that came up for “put away.” Among them: turn aside, depart, avoid, to be removed, depose, leave undone, retract, reject, abolish.

    This goes well beyond simply “quit doing the evil you are doing.” This is, completely remove yourself from any trace of it. To leave undone, is like getting up and departing from one city to another, and not packing a thing.

    And again, the command is given a second time with the word “cease.” The meanings here have some similarities: to stop, cease, desist, forego, cease to be, leave undone, forbear, come to an end, leave off. In other words, walk away from it and don’t look back.

    Evil here refers to being displeasing, to be sad, to be injurious, to be wicked, be evil (ethically), to do an injury or hurt, to do evil or wickedly,
    Mischief, to break, shatter. In other words, cease from shattering lives.

    Isa 1:17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

    Learn, teach, be willing to be taught and trained, and then exercise what you learned in being good, being pleasing, being well, being glad. Be joyful and rejoice. Deal well with people, and make things good or right or beautiful. As Spike Lee said, “Do the right thing.”

    Seek (with a demand), demand, require, to investigate, enquire, ask for, practice, study, follow, seek with application, to seek with care, care for justice. Your purpose now is to advance, keep making progress, and go forward to relieve the oppressed, judge, govern, vindicate, and punish the fatherless, and plead for the widow. God is giving a new directive and direction for the life of one who answers the call.

    Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

    Here now is your chance at redemption, but first something is required from you. You have to be willing to give up something. You have to be willing to walk away completely from the mess you were involved in. You have to have a desire to progress and move forward. You have to be willing to be taught and to teach others on what is right, and you have to be willing to defend justice.

    Then we can “reason” together. Then I can wipe the slate clean.

    *An interesting footnote is that from the insect ‘coccus ilicis’, the dried body of the female yields a coloring matter from which the dye is made that is used for cloth, to colour it scarlet or crimson.

    “When the female of the scarlet worm species was ready to give birth to her young, she would attach her body to the trunk of a tree, fixing herself so firmly and permanently that she would never leave again. The eggs deposited beneath her body were thus protected until the larvae were hatched and able to enter their own life cycle. As the mother died, the crimson fluid stained her body and the surrounding wood. From the dead bodies of such female scarlet worms, the commercial scarlet dyes of antiquity were extracted. What a picture this gives of Christ, dying on the tree, shedding his precious blood that he might ‘bring many sons unto glory’ (Hbr 2:10)! He died for us, that we might live through him! Psa 22:6 describes such a worm and gives us this picture of Christ. (cf. Isa 1:18)” (Henry Morris. Biblical Basis for Modern Science, Baker Book House, 1985, p. 73)

  • The Book of Isaiah Chapter 1 V.15

    Isa 1:15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

    This spreading forth of hands apparently is an act of desperation. The definition of spread forth is as follows.

    1) to spread, spread out, stretch, break in pieces
    a) (Qal)
    1) to spread out, display
    2) to spread over
    b) (Niphal) to be scattered, be spread out
    c) (Piel)
    1) to spread out
    1) to scatter

    The definition for hands also confirm this in my mind.

    1) palm, hand, sole, palm of the hand, hollow or flat of the hand
    a) palm, hollow or flat of the hand
    b) power
    c) sole (of the foot)
    d) hollow, objects, bending objects, bent objects
    1) of thigh-joint
    2) pan, vessel (as hollow)
    3) hollow (of sling)
    4) hand-shaped branches or fronds (of palm trees)
    5) handles (as bent)

    It’s interesting that the word “hollow” pops up in these definitions four times, as well as the word “power.” It strikes me that whatever power they thought they had via prayer was hollow, or their efforts were hollow.

    “I will hide mine eyes from you,” speaks of mental and spiritual faculties.  At this point of desperation, people will be making many prayers, but it will all be hollow effort, because He’s going to hide His mental and spiritual faculties from them, and not hear them or not pay attention.

    The reason, He says, is that their “hands” are full of blood. There’s a difference in the meaning of hands here versus earlier in the verse. Hands here refer to the hand of man, as well as to strength and power.

    The word “full” here refers to being full, accomplished and to have abundance. In other words, they became accomplished via the blood of others. They either used, abused or stepped on others in ways that caused the ruin of others.

    The word “blood” here has a figurative connotation of “wine.” It makes me think that those left desolate in their path, became drunkards. People don’t seem to understand or care much about the effect they have on the lives of others, but God does, and it matters a great deal to Him that one of His children is not misdirected or permanently damaged by the selfishness of others.

  • The Book of Isaiah Chapter 1 V.14 pt.2

    So I looked up the soul, because God apparently has one.

    1) soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion

    So if I were to just look at the main definition here, (soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion) I can definitely understand the first three, and equate them with God. He has a “self.”

    I found “creature” before. This reference I found in Genesis, as I was studying the creation. Person, mind, living being, desire, emotion and passion I can understand and equate with God with no problem.

    However, I never would have equated the word “appetite” to God. The reason is because I don’t see us eating in heaven. I recognize grand feast when we the “bride,” meet up with and “marry” the “bridegroom,” Christ. However, I don’t know that I equate that feast on the same level as what we know of as a feast here.

    First of all, we will have different bodies; spiritual bodies. We’ll have shed our outer covering of flesh, and the spirit beings that we are shall be seen. We won’t need food as we know it here. So I can only assume that any feast in the heavenlies is a feast of the word, or a spiritual feast of some sort.

    So, that being said, I find it hard to equate the word “appetite” with God. The only thing I can connect that word to, is worship. God craves our worship. It is the one thing He requests and requires as a service to Him.

    When I think of the appetites of man, all I see is greed and gluttony. But with God, when I think of that word appetite, I only see desire and passion.

    a) that which breathes, the breathing substance or being, soul, the inner being of man

    That which breathes…Most people don’t think of God as a living, breathing being. He may not have a fleshly body, but there’s more substance to Him than to any of us.

    b) living being
    c) living being (with life in the blood)

    If God has a soul, and this is defined as a living being with life in the blood, then I have to wonder if there is some type of blood within a spiritual being. Not blood as we know it, but some type of blood on a spiritual level. However, this is purely speculation. It could be just that there is a separation of some of these meanings. Some could apply to God, and some could apply to man, and some could apply to both.

    However, a thought I have is that God created us after Himself. So far, I’m seeing similarities in the fact that He, like us, has a soul, an appetite, and now I’m wondering…blood.

    I never had the connotation that a spiritual being would have any of this, but apparently, He does. I mean, now that I think about it, it seems that God has every quality, characteristic and the same content we have, just in a spirit form versus flesh. What do you think? After all, He created us with all of this, and He made us in His image and likeness.

    d) the man himself, self, person or individual
    e) seat of the appetites
    f) seat of emotions and passions
    g) activity of mind
    1) dubious

    Well, we definitely see evidence of the activity of the mind of God all around us. Our entire environment was the design of the active mind of God. Yet there are those that have doubts about it.

    This is why I’ve asked God to ensure the safety of my pets once Christ returns and takes us up. I don’t know for any certainty that they’d be taken as well, although some people have tried to convince me of this. I don’t know of scripture that supports the claim, but I’d like to believe it.

    What I do know, is that the animals do have a soul, according to Genesis, because of the same reference to “creature” there. So they too have an active mind.

    h) activity of the will
    1) dubious

    There is no doubt that the God who created our wills and gave us the freedom to use them as we please, has, himself, an active will, which He exerts to accomplish His purposes in our lives.

    i) activity of the character
    1) dubious

    And yes, this living being, God, has activity of the character. This is evidenced by His blessings, provision, and the fact that His promises are true, and He is a God of integrity, who keeps His promises.

    Isa 1:14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear [them].

    So here, it is quite clear that God abhors what they are doing, because He’s so upset by their lack of proper respect and love, that it has irritated Him down to His “soul.”

    Weary
    1) to be weary, be impatient, be grieved, be offended
    a) (Qal) to be weary, be impatient
    b) (Niphal) to be tired of something, weary oneself
    c) (Hiphil) to weary, make weary, exhaust

    This faithless ritual of theirs has so offended Him that He says He is just too tired to put up with them.

  • The Book of Isaiah Chapter 1 V.14 pt.1

    Isa 1:14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear [them].

    We already have a bit of info on the new moons. We also know that the appointed feasts are a scheduled requirement. But what caught my attention is “my soul hateth.” First of all, I didn’t know God has a soul. When I think of a soul, I think of it in the connotation of man. It is the seat of his emotions, and the part of man that is most easily led astray.

    When we react versus respond, we are reacting from an emotional place. When this occurs, and we fail to exercise restraint or self-control, it can be our undoing, because we don’t actively think before we act, we simply re-act.

    Self-Control (Without):
    “powerless” (a, negative, kratos, “strength”), is rendered “without self-control,” in 2Ti 3:3, RV; see INCONTINENT.

    Since the syllable “re” means to go or turn back, then a reaction is a backwards action, or an action that takes you backwards from where you are. There are certain peoples and cultures that have more of a tendency toward over emotional reactions to everything. Some of them think that the law has no bearing in accordance to whatever they are upset about at a given moment.

    I can think of an example of a specific group here in Florida that causes havoc here every time something happens in their country of origin that they don’t like. We’ve had incidents of protests wherein they have blocked major roadways and arteries to prevent the rest of the community from going to work, just so they can vent their frustration. This sort of behavior does not endear them to the rest of the population here.

    Pro 16:32  [He that is] slow to anger [is] better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.

    The point is that it is better to respond than to react, because when you react, you render yourself incontinent.

    Incontinency, Incontinent:
    denotes “want of power” (a, negative, kratos, “power”); hence, “want of self-control, incontinency,” 1Cr 7:5; in Mat 23:25, “excess.”
    denotes “powerless, impotent;” in a moral sense, unrestrained, “without self-control,” 2Ti 3:3, RV (AV, “incontinent”).

    2Ti 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
    2Ti 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
    2Ti 3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
    2Ti 3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
    2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
    2Ti 3:6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
    2Ti 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

    1Cr 7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except [it be] with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

    Mat 23:25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
    Mat 23:26 [Thou] blind Pharisee, cleanse first that [which is] within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also    .