Studies in Isaiah Oerfection and His Promises by C. R. Oliver (free ebook reader for iphone .txt) 📖

Isa 2:2
Now it shall come to pass in the latter days

God is intervening in history. The prophet is looking far ahead, to a time when the Mighty God will choose to step into earth's affairs and change things. 

Within this chapter are two phrases that appear in repetition.

l. "From the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty,( vs. 10, 21)."
2. "And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day, (v. 11 and v. 17)."

Surrounding these passages are two variant scenes depicting "the day of the Lord." The first is a return to God's original purpose for Jerusalem and Judah. God intervenes and gives Isaiah a vivid picture of "that day." (This is similar to Ezekiel's vision of the heavenly Temple and how different was God's Temple from man's corrupt Temple in Jerusalem.) Verses 2-4 constitute a time when "God makes things right." All this culminates with an invitation in verse 5.

Isaiah 2:5
O house of Jacob, come and let us walk
In the light of the LORD.

Isaiah then gives God's view of Jerusalem and Judah in Isaiah's day. It is a far cry from what it could be. Should the rulers and people decide to follow the invitation of verse 5, things might be different in their immediate future, but alas, they do not respond to God's invitation. 

Therefore, "God has left the scene." Isaiah hammers this truth: "Israel, you don't know with whom you are dealing."

Isaiah 2:6
For You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are filled with eastern ways;

Let me say this now, America is filled with "eastern ways." The gods of millions invade its shores with insurmountable idolatry. Think of this when you attend your yoga class! 

Now, the leaders of Israel did not think God had forsaken them. They were worshipping according to the Law, doing everything according to the Scriptures, except making Him Lord.
(Sound Familiar?) 

Verses 6-22 are a checklist from God's notebook. 

Alongside His notes is penciled what His intentions are regarding the situation. 
The main judgment will fall on man's interjections into the affairs of the Lord.
Meddling where one has no business is a serious matter with the Spirit! Congregations are not able to determine what is God and what is man. (If there is a question: It AIN'T GOD!)
The people may get confused by the religious community, but their confusion will end in the "Day of the Lord."

The lofty looks of man will be humbled v. 11, 17
The haughtiness of men shall be bowed v. 11 and v. 17

Isaiah offers only one solution for Israel and us in this case:
                    SEVER YOURSELVES FROM MAN!
(Otherwise, you will be condemned by what you condone.) 

Chapter 3: 
Verse one re-introduces God, "Behold the Lord, the Lord of hosts."
It is as if the children of Israel never knew Him and needed an introduction.

Introducing Promises from the mighty God:

Fact, God is in the process of bringing national judgment.
           (A list of things that will come to pass follows His re-introduction.) 

The Lord will use the following areas to bring correction. In the Old Testament, the breaking of the food chain is always a precursor of judgment. Corn, Wine and Oil are sources of wealth and provision; their absence (with the subsequent famine) is a prime method of God's anger.
Israel's national government will see these steps unfold, and they will know why. (Look out America.)

l. Food supply will be gone, "stock and store" vanishes and bread and water gone.

2. Leadership will fail vs. 2, 3. (Including: Military leaders [mighty men and men of war], down to the smallest unit "captains of fifty.") Religious leaders [diviners {those who speak for God} and elders]; Legislators (honorable men); Counselors (from those advisors to the King down to the social interpreters); Skilled workers (those who know how to fabricate, do complex tasks and design beautiful items); the enchanter ( the eloquent orator).

All these will be gone, wiped out. Their disappearance will be methodical and almost unnoticeable. The populous will awaken one day, and they will all be gone.

3. Control Changes: (vs. 4-7) Leadership is likened to children, "I will give children to be their princes." (Fitful, demanding, self-centered) Babies "shall rule over them."

One's own neighbor will inform on them and seek to oppress. 
A sign will signify when this change has taken place: 

"A child will be insolent toward the elder, and the base person (vile, low esteemed ones) will be insolent toward the honorable." 
(This was portrayed beautifully during the debates in the 2012 presidential election.)

(Does anyone see the following things happening in America?) 

Isaiah 3:12
12 As for My people, children are their oppressors,
And women rule over them.
O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err,
And destroy the way of your paths.
                               NKJV

4. Desperate Measures: vs. 6-7 and 4:1

In an attempt to return to decency, grass root elections will be a 
          plea for sanity.
Women, desperate for identity, will seek just any man to use his name.

(Currently, there is a rising emphasis on things of the past (such as past designs in clothing and furnishings.) Great interest is being paid to former eras and a return to less complex living-all this is right in the middle of a huge surge in greed.

5. Sexual mores fallen: v. 9

Isaiah 3:9
The look on their countenance witnesses against them,
And they declare their sin as Sodom;
They do not hide it.
Woe to their soul!
For they have brought evil upon themselves.
                              NKJV

6. Conspicuous Consumption Attacked: v. 16-26

Women are often pedestalled and trophied by men and society.
(The latest fashions, the most desired accessories, the most opulent jewelry, the consort of wealthy men or the independence and prestige of high position are but some of the ways the world distributes or hordes its accolades.)

God addresses the daughters of Zion:

Isaiah 3:16
Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,
And walk with outstretched necks 
And wanton eyes ...

Isaiah 3:17-18
The LORD will uncover their secret parts.
18 In that day the Lord will take away the finery:

God's Promise:

Fact: When the Lord says He will do something, count on it!

1. Isaiah 3:10-11
10 Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them,
For they shall eat the fruit of their doings. 
11 Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,
For the reward of his hands shall be given him. 
                              NKJV

2. Isaiah 3:14
14 The LORD will enter into judgment 
With the elders of His people 
And His princes:

Isaiah 3:8
For Jerusalem stumbled,
And Judah is fallen,
Because their tongue and their doings
Are against the LORD,
To provoke the eyes of His glory
                              NKJV

(The leaders, both civil and religious, have sinned.)

Isaiah 3:14-15
For you have eaten up the vineyard;
The plunder of the poor is in your houses.
15 What do you mean by crushing My people 
And grinding the faces of the poor?
Says the Lord GOD of hosts.

(Here, both Catholic and Charismatic stand guilty.)

Chapter Four: (Since chapter breaks are arbitrary; the indictment continues)

3. The spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning. 

Isaiah 4:4-5
4 When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, 5 then the LORD will create ...

(In this passage, we are introduced to two elements of cleansing.
Righteous judgment precedes the burning. 
[There are three fires of God: Spirit, Judgment and Hell.]
Moderns have lost sight of the power of these two spirits.
After they finish their work, the Lord must do an act of creation.).

Look at what God creates.

4. The promise of a new day:

Isaiah 4:2-3
In that day the Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious;
And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing 
For those of Israel who have escaped. 
3 And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy - everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem ...

Isaiah 4:5-6
5 then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering. 6 And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain. 
                              NKJV

(Dear Reader: in this promise is His Presence and Glory. He plans to tabernacle with His people. Notice the remnant, after the judgment, how blessed they are. This is not a Temple, this is a place far more intimate than that.)

Evidently, God has a lot of things in store for an untoward generation such as ours, but to those who remain faithful and abound in righteousness, "It will be well with them." Remember God promised! 

Chapter Five:
          Yes, we are covering a lot of territory, but it has a purpose. (We are moving toward Chapter six, where the Glory of God is manifested clearly, and there is no doubt of His Power and Magnificence.)
          Earlier, I mentioned the writings of Solomon were in Isaiah's background. No place is this more evident than in Chapter 5. The opening lines of this chapter are identical to the phraseology of the Song of Solomon. Reference to "My well beloved," opens the panorama of that great work. It is in this Song that revelation of God's Glory and Power is consummated, as well as the intimacy He desires with His Bride (Song of Songs 7, 8). 

Since the vineyard of the Lord is His people, Isaiah poignantly shows the disappointment of the Lord in the product of His vineyard. 

God asks a judicially simple question of the people:

Isaiah 5:3-4
And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. 
4 What more could have been done to My vineyard
That I have not done in it?
                              NKJV

God places His case before them, and reminds them that His actions are justified because the plantings of the Lord have now been tampered with-instead of bringing about a sweet people, they are a wild bunch. 

God tells them He has pruned the vineyard when necessary; he has fertilized properly and cared for the garden of His people by walling them away from harm and hedging them about with mercy. He is exonerated! 

His path will now be that of a Mighty God, who is a husbandman of responsibility. He will tear out what is there and plant something that will be worthy. (God did; he tore away the Temple worship and established a work open to the rest of the world.) 

"The Garden of the Beloved" in Song of Solomon was walled about and nurtured. The Shulamite was open-hearted to Him, letting Him plant what was pleasant to Him and according to His plans. (The Bride must be willing and responsive. The garden of our heart must be hedged about to be safe, and we must do nothing to break that hedge. Sin breaks it; self determination breaks it; apathy breaks it.)

Isaiah 5:5-6
And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard:
I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned;
And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. 
6 I will lay it waste;
                              NKJV

Isaiah 5:7
For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel,
And the men of Judah are