Savor the taste of our previous brew

In the previous passage, verses 1-5, the LORD reacts to the prophet’s appeals in Isaiah 64.

1 The LORD reacts to the prophet’s appeals in Isaiah 64. He speaks to a religiously divided or only partially converted community, from which God will rescue only a remnant, or handful. The LORD repeats the thoughts of 64:7, using the people’s reluctance to ask for help or call on His name to explain His silence. He deliberately lays out His thoughts in ascending order to accent why they should have sought His help. The first line accuses the people of refusing to seek His willing aid. The second accuses them of refusing to seek Him though He made Himself available. And, the third blends the two ideas, accusing them of refusing to request His help, though He told them where to find Him. The word “nation” reinforces and amplifies the already repeated expression, “no one,” to prevent anyone from claiming an exception to the charges that they denied, ceased to acknowledge, and have rejected God and His support.

Paul quotes these verses to explain how “foolish Gentiles” embraced the same Good News spurned by apostate “Israel” (Rom. 10:20-21). Jesus used the terms, “ask… seek… find” to describe a genuine hunger, or desire for truth (Mt. 7:7).

The LORD says, A “I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help.

B I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me.

A’B’ I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’ to a nation that did not call on my name.

The LORD The Eternal One

says, wants everyone to know

“I was ready to respond, “I allowed myself to be sought” (God tolerated)

but nevertheless

no one asked for help. not a single Israelite explored the possibility with me.

I was ready to be found, I allowed myself to be found,

but nevertheless

no one was looking for me. Not a single Israelite worshiped or prayed to me.

I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’ I told them my location, where to find me

to a nation everyone in Israel, no exceptions

The Grind

Since everything in the Bible leads into and prepares the way for what comes after it, refresh yesterday’s Brew to let the previous passage get you ready for today’s verses. Though you should have already explored the passage, personally with Jesus, here is the heart of what we saw, together.

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that did not call on my name. did not petition, or appeal to me by my personal name

2 The LORD continues his reply to the people’s appeals to underscore His innocence and accent their guilt. The expression “I opened my arms,” is literally, “I spread out my hands”. Normally a gesture by people toward Him when they pray for help, it paints a picture of the LORD imploring “a rebellious people” to turn to Him, confirming His gracious willingness to help them. The phrase “all day long,” implies they never responded to His kindness that lasted and was available throughout their rebellion. “But,” or “instead of” heading toward Him, the people “followed their own evil paths and their own crooked schemes,” trails and plans that only led them astray and into more trouble.

The second half of v.2 begins a list of misguided sins stretching to v.4–a string of brief action clauses–that describe pagan rites, sinful actions far more incriminating than mere words, completely out of place among those who worship the LORD.

All day long Throughout the daytime

I opened my arms I spread my hands to plead with

to a rebellious* people. a stubborn, resistant, unmanageable people.

But they follow Instead the rebels go after, or pursue

their own evil* paths their own, human bad, wicked, harmful, immoral ways

and plus

their own crooked* schemes. their own human, substandard plans, plots, or courses of action

3 The expression “all day long,” resumes and adds to the list of charges begun in v.2. In addition to the crimes in v.2, the people have openly provoked the LORD’S anger, flagrantly (in broad daylight) “worshiping idols,” in gardens dedicated to His unholy rivals. The word “insult” refers first, to the dishonor of His own people publicly watching over these unholy “gardens” while Adam and Eve failed to take care of Eden, the Garden God planted for the human race to tend.

All day long Throughout the daytime

they insult* me the rebels break my heart

to my face openly, publicly, flagrantly in front of me (without shame or any attempt to hide what they were doing)

by worshiping* idols offering sacrifices to false gods

in their sacred gardens*. In (counterfeit) gardens under their care and dedicated to them

They burn incense* The rebels created fragrances by fire

on pagan altars* on places of sacrifice made from bricks (like they did for Pharaoh back in Egypt, returning to their slavery)

The second line describes the people shamefully worshiping these false gods, “burning incense” on “pagan altars.” Though incense had a place in worshiping the LORD, offering it to idols amounted to insulting Him. And instead of improvised pillars of natural stones erected as monuments to the LORD, the text refers to blocks of clay bricks intended for worshiping other gods, like the bricks they used to build monuments to Pharaoh in Egypt. Probably imported from Babylon before the exile, such incense-altars, like the one found at Lachish, scorned God’s instructions and publicly disrespected Him.

4 Like some before the exile (Isa. 8:19), they went out at night to mingle with corpses buried in cemeteries, a metaphor for consulting the dead, seeking guidance from them rather the LORD. They spent the night in the presence of the dead, a practice known as “incubation”, seeking an oracle or pronouncement from a supernatural alternative to the covenant God.

Let us pour you a fresh cup, ground verse-by-verse from today’s passage

Knowing that human nature tends to adopt ungodly ways, the LORD warned His people about to enter the Promised Land not to worship the gods of neighboring nations (Deut. 6:14), otherwise they might forget Him (6:12) and His ways (6:13). So it’s no surprise, instead of shunning “pork” as demanded in Lev. 11:7 and Deut. 14:8, the people ate it, no doubt as part of worshiping other gods who made regular use of swine flesh in their rituals. Such idolatry apparently led to additional infractions, because the LORD accuses them of “making stews with other [biblically] forbidden foods.” The word “stew” implies the use of other forbidden flesh-foods.

At night (as opposed to daylight), Under cover of darkness

they go out among the graves*, the rebels hang out (like a way of life) in cemeteries

worshiping* the dead*. (spending the night watch or shift among tombs for the purpose of either) worshiping, or gratifying underworld gods, or consulting the spirits of the dead

They eat the flesh of pigs* The rebels chew and consume pork

and plus

make stews* with other forbidden* foods make soups with the crumbled flesh of other unclean things (they have completely trashed God’s Law and reign)

5 This verse looks back at verses 1-4, especially at the incriminating evidence in verses 3-4 to mock the “holier than thou” attitude of the apostate nation. The linking word, “yet,” in the sense of “nevertheless” or “in spite of,” implies that at the same time they spurned the LORD and His help (verses 1, 2), plus continue to commit the unholy crimes in verses 3-4, the people claim complete innocence. Ignoring God’s warnings against contact with the dead as well as to avoid idols and forbidden flesh-foods, the apostates still pretend to be holier than their neighbors, warning each other to keep their distance so they won’t contaminate one another. They remind us of the Laodicean church that claimed it didn’t need anything, though it needed everything. As the LORD disagreed with Laodicea, saying: “you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,” so He corrects the hypocrisy of the people here, scolding: “[You] are a stench in my nostrils, an acrid smell that never goes away.” Instead of moral and spiritual excellence, they are repulsive to the LORD who considers them totally unacceptable. Apparently rejecting the incense they burned on unauthorized altars to false gods unable to cover their sins, the LORD uses two unpleasant metaphors to describe how they still reeked of unmasked decay. Yet Instead, or in spite of (spurning and disobeying God in verses 1-4)

they say to each other, the people threaten one another

‘Don’t come too close Stay away, keep your distance

or else

you will defile* me! You will contaminate, or make me dirty.

I am holier* than you!’ I am cleaner, or more innocent than you in God’s eyes

These people are a stench* in my nostrils*, [God says] Every one of you are a stink in my nose

an acrid* smell that never goes away. A permanent, or constant pungent odor, reeking from the decay of sin (Unless these people let Messiah stand in their place, they have no hope of avoiding destruction)

Christ is our righteousness, rather than the ups and downs of obedience and disobedience (Php. 1:6, 7)

The BrewNow Serving

Isaiah 65:6-7 -12;1-4

In today’s passage, verses 6-7, the LORD points to the salvation of people–past and present–through Messiah, promising that He will make everyone pay, or settle accounts with Him for the sins they have committed. So, please open your Bibles to Isaiah Chapter 65, and let me pour you a hot CuppaJesus from today’s brew, starting with v.6.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR TODAY Here are the main items in the text that will lead you to its understanding.

Pay careful attention to every item as you follow today’s devotional in your study Bible. We have already grouped them by colors in “Today’s Text,” so you can follow the writer's flow of thought for yourself. Capture and grasp what he is trying to tell you with matching color pencils to draw lines connecting items to others in the same color-family, and a black pencil to cross-link items from different color-families that still have something to do with one another. Use circles, boxes, triangles, etc. to identify topics and themes (triangles, for instance, might represent the Trinity). Also mark with asterisks, etc., the ones you need to look up later for more information or greater details.

TODAY’S TEXT 6 “Look, my decree* is written out in front of me: I will not stand silent*; I will repay* them in full*! Yes, I will repay* them—

7 both for their own sins* and for those of their ancestors,” says the LORD. “For they also burned incense on the mountains and insulted me on the hills. I will pay* them back in full*!

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL 6 The expression, “my decree is written out in front of me” refers to a book in heaven where God dwells, that records sins awaiting punishment, paralleled on earth by courts that chronicled unpunished crimes. The idea of using such books for evidence at the last judgment also appears in Dan. 7, picking up where Isaiah left off in these closing chapters of his book. The LORD repeats His promise, “I will not stand silent,” from 62:1, only this time to promise the people retribution, or repayment for sin rather than intervention on their behalf. He repeats the phrase, “I will repay them,” to guarantee this will happen. Everyone must settle accounts with the LORD “in full.” He will not accept partial payment from anyone.

Look, Take note, give me your attention (stop being distracted)

my decree* Here is my official judgment, or decision

is written out (no longer under consideration), ready to go into effect

in front of me: ready for public reading

I will not stand silent*; I am ready to announce what’s in it

I will repay* them in full*! I will make sure you reimburse me for every penny that you owe me (settling accounts, no installments or partial payments)

Yes, Let me make this perfectly clear

I will repay* them I will make sure they pay off the entire debt

Verse 6 Verse 7 Links Look, yes Both, and 2x, for, also

Persons My, me, I 3x (the LORD), them 2x (the people) Their 2x, own (current generation), ancestors, they, them

Places In front of (me), in (full) On (the mountains), on (the hills), in (full) Things Decree, full Sins, those of, incense, the mountains, the hills,

full Words Is written out, will not stand silent, will repay 2x (Repay) for, says, burned, insulted, will pay back

1. Open your Bible to today’s passage and review today’s brew. 2. Savor the passage, one verse at a time, listening for God’s still small voice. 3. Follow the trail you marked in each verse, pause to look up the terms you

flagged for further consideration, and write whatever the Spirit brings to mind.

.

7 Though v.7 begins with the linking word “both,” it actually completes the final line of v.6. In the first case, the expression “both for their own sins and for those of their ancestors,” identifies “them” who are about to receive the bill for their sins. It also puts another spin on the words, “in full,” in v.6. The final line, “I will pay them back in full,” in v.7 acts like a bookend with the statement, “I will repay them in full,” in v.6 to bracket and isolate for emphasis, everything between them. Called an “inclusio” by scholars, it highlights and thereby alerts the reader to something too important to leave to chance. The LORD wants to make certain that the people see both the extent and content of their indebtedness to Him. Besides suffering the ultimate consequences for their sins, all of them––every generation––will be held completely accountable for failing to meet the LORD’s expectations. The current generation had not changed its ways, repeating the same crimes against the LORD as their “ancestors,” in particular the burning of incense to false gods and insulting Him publicly with flagrant disrespect for His revealed will. So, Israel’s current misery can be traced to a sin that began long ago and has run its course to their ruin. More of a persistent character flaw than an occasional, careless mistake, the time has come for them to pay a long overdue debt to the LORD. Owing God so much for so long, they must settle their account with Him. Since they refuse to repent, spurning the LORD and His help (65:1-2), He will take the initiative and demand payment in full from all of them. Since all the generations must pay up at the same time, verses 6-7 point to the final judgment. And, as scholar, R. N. Whybray observes, repeating His ultimatum from v.6, the LORD assures the people in v.7 that, “they will receive their due in full and without fail.” both including the next two items

for their own sins* repayment for the way they twisted, or distorted my requirements

and equally

for those of their ancestors,” repayment for the way previous generations of Israel twisted, or distorted my requirements (the debt for the same sins is long overdue)

says the LORD. the Eternal One, Himself tells us

For Because

they also burned incense on the mountains your ancestors created fragrances by fire on the high places, too (imagining they were closer to God up there)

and plus

insulted me on the hills. Ruined, or destroyed, or trashed my reputation with their half-hearted, spur of the moment, lukewarm ways (sloppy)

I will pay* them back in full*! I will reimburse them completely, make them pay their entire debt to me.

Well,we hope you enjoyed this morning’s CuppaJ for the Day, brewed verse-by-verse to bring out the full-flavor of the text. Now it’s your turn to explore the passage for yourself––to make this study good to the last drop. Remember, you haven’t really studied the Bible, God’s Written Word––until it connects you with Jesus, God’s Living Word. Then Jesus, the true Teacher can customize the text, so every word comes across written just for you. This morning’s CuppaJ is just a taste of what’s in the text––the starting point for a deeper learning experience with Jesus. So, go ahead; spend time alone with Him to go over this passage together. Let Jesus pour a tastier CuppaJ from the same brew, for you, today. Use the following form to jot down whatever Jesus shares with you.

Bible Study

Let Jesus pour you a fuller bodied, more flavorful CuppaJ from today’s brew A Tastier CuppaJ

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