Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Deuteronomy 32 & Isaiah 52

Deuteronomy 32


- Moses taught the assembly of Israel a new song


- Moses tells the heavens and earth to listen to his words while he proclaims God's greatness.


- Moses refers to God a the Rock


- God's ways are perfect and justice


- God is faithful and without iniquity


- Israel has dealt corruptly with God so they are no longer His children.


- Moses calls the people foolish and senseless because God created them.


- Moses tells the young to ask the older generation about God's faithfulness.


- God gave the peoples of the earth borders, but he made Jacob his heritage.


- Jacob was in the desert, a wasteland and God encircled him and cared for him.


- God alone guided him, no foreign gods were involved.


- God fed him honey out of rocks and oils out of flinty rocks. (similar to water out of rocks at Marriba?)


- God also gave them milk, wine, and wheat to eat.


- Jeshurun grew fat and forsook God and scoffed at the "Rock of his salvation"


- They made God jealous and angry by following strange gods.


- They worshipped demons and new gods which their fathers had never heard about.


- They forgot God who made them.


- God saw their wickedness and hid His face because they were perverse and not faithful.


- God said he would provoke Israel to anger using a foolish nation.


- God anger burns to the depths of Sheol and burn the earth and its increase.


- Is the "increase" the nation of Israel?


- God says He will send plague, waste, teeth, and venom against them.


- God will set the sword against ALL of Israel; man, woman, young, and old.


- The reason Moses didn't want God to wipe out Israel was because their enemies might misunderstand and think they defeated Israel instead of God punishing them.

- Moses says their enemies have no counsel and no understanding.

- Moses recounts that two of their people defeated ten thousand (Joshua)

- Moses links those people with Sodom and Gomorrah.

- God says vengeance is His and He will repay them

- God will judge His people and have compassion on them once their power is gone.

- God will simply ask them in this low time, where their other gods have gone.

- God will tell them to have their gods help and protect them.

- God tells them that He is the only God and no one can deliver them out of God's hand.

- God will sharpen His "flashing sword" (lightning) and take vengeance on His adversaries.

- He will kill His enemies.

- Moses says the Israelites' response should be to rejoice and even other gods should bow down to God.

- He will avenge the blood of His children.

- Moses rehearsed this song with them and warned them to remember it and teach it to their children.

- Moses' song is not simply "empty words" but words of long life in the new land.

- God told Moses to go up Mount Nebo (in Abrim) in the land of Moab to view the promised land.

- God also told Moses that he'd die there.

- Moses would die there because he "broke faith" with God at the waters of Meribah-kadesh.

- This was because Moses didn't treat God as holy before his people.



Isaiah 52

- Jerusalem needs to wake up and put on strength and garments for no more uncircumcised will come into the city.
- They need to pick themselves up and loose their bonds.
- Israel was sold for nothing and will be redeemed without money.
- God recounts them sojourning into Egypt.
- The Assyrians have oppressed them for nothing.
- God sees His people have been taken away and His name is despised.
- God promised they will all know His name soon.
- Well known verse 7 , How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news
- People bring good news, publishes salvation, and who tell Zion their God reigns.
- They sing for joy and see the return of the Lord.
- The Lord redeemed His people so they can sing.
- All nations will see the salvation of the Lord.
- God tells them to depart and go out from "there" Where is there?
- They need to purify themselves.
- God will go before them AND be their rear guard (He will totally protect them).
- God's servant shall act wisely and be lifted up and exalted.
- His appearance was marred and kings will shut their mouths because of him (Jesus?)
- They will see things untold and understand things they have not heard.
- This last section of Isaiah 52 seems to point to Jesus

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Deuteronomy 31 and Isaiah 51

Deuteronomy 31
- Moses tells the Israelites he's 120 and no longer able to go out and come in.
- He also tells them God said he can't cross the Jordan.
- God will cross the Jordan before them and dispossess the nations there.
- Joshua will be their leader there.
- They shall do to them as God commanded.
- Moses tells them to "be strong and courageous" and not fear because God is with them.
- Moses pulled Joshua up and told him to be strong and courageous because God is with them and God will not leave nor forsake them.
- God with you = no fear
- Moses gave the Levites a law to read every 7 years at the Feast of Booths
- Moses tells them to read it to everyone among them so they may learn to "hear and learn to fear the Lord."
- Also their children will hear the law every 7 years.
- God said Moses would die soon and needed to commission him.
- God appeared in a pillar of cloud over the tent.
- God tells Moses that the Israelites will whore after other gods in the new land and God will turn His face from them.
- God tells Moses that when the people enter the promised land and are full and content, they will turn from God.
- God gives Moses a song to confront them in their future sinfulness.
- Moses wrote down the song and taught it to the people that day.
- God said that He knows how they will sin before they even get into the promised land.
- God commissioned Joshua and told him to be strong because God was with him.
- Moses told the Levites to put this book of the law (Deuteronomy?) next to the ark.
- Moses says the law will bear witness against them when he's gone.
- Moses also tells them they are rebellious and says they will be even more so when he (Moses) is gone.
- Moses has all the elders called to speak to them that heaven and earth will bear witness against them.
- Moses tells them they will surely turn from God's commandments and provoke God to anger.

Isaiah 51
- Isaiah tells those who pursue righteousness to listen to him.
- He reflects how Abraham was one man but God multiplied and blessed him.
- God comforts Zion, making her wilderness like Eden.
- There will be joy and gladness and thanksgiving in Zion.
- God's justice is a light to the peoples.
- God's righteousness draws near
- His salvation has gone out
- His arms will judge the people.
- People wait for the arms of God.
- The heavens will vanish and the earth will die out. the people will die.
- God's salvation is forever
- God's righteousness will never be dismayed.
- God calls to His people to not fear man or his revilings.
- Those people will will fall but righteousness and salvation are forever.
- They cut Rahab into pieces, dried up the sea, for the redeemed to pass,
- The ransomed of the Lord will return to Zion.
- Joy and gladness will fill them. Sorrow and sighing will leave them.
- God comforts, but God asks why they are afraid of man "who dies".
- The son of man has forgotten the Lord, your maker.
- God's people fear man, when God made the heavens and the earth.
- God tells those that are "bowed down" that they won't go into the pit and be lacking bread.
- God makes the waves of the sea.
- God has put His words in their mouth and they are in His hands because they are His people.
- God tells them to wake up.
- They have drank from the cup of God's wrath (cup of staggering)
- No man yet born has been able to lead
- God asks who can comfort them after they have faced devastation, destruction, famine, and sword.
- The people are full of the wrath and rebuke of God.
- The people are drunk (not with wine) but from drinking God's wrath.
- God pleads for their cause (Is this a reference to Christ?) and takes away the cup of God's wrath.
- They will no longer drink from that cup.
- God will put the cup in the hands of their oppressors.
- God tells His people to bow down.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Deuteronomy 30 & Isaiah 50

Deuteronomy 30
- God is reminding them to remember the blessings and the curse He promises them this day.
- They need to remember it when they enter the new land with all their heart and soul.
- When they turn back to God, He will restore the fortune and have compassion on them.
- They will then be brought back together from where they had been scattered.
- He will gather them from the "outermost parts of heaven"
- Where is the outer most parts of heaven?
- God will bring them back to the promised land and make them more numerous than their fathers.
- God will circumcise their hearts, so they will love God with heart and soul and live.
- Paul talks about circumcising the heart in the NT.
- The curses will then be on their enemies who persecuted them (Babylonians and Assyrians)
- Loving God = prosperous in all work, fruit of womb, fruit of cattle, and crops.
- God will again delight in prospering them. (It's amazing that God takes delight in us.)
- loving God "heart and soul" is listed 4 times in this section.
- God says this commandment isn't "too hard" or "far off" (God's not distant or unfair)
- God says the commandment is so near, it's in their heart and mouth.
- The command isn't in heaven, or in a far away land over the sea.
- The blessing and a curse = life and death.
- Obeying commands by loving God, walking in His ways, obeying His commandments = multiplying, blessing, and possession of the promised land.
- Turning to other gods and not obeying = they perish, not entering promised land across the Jordan.
- God call heaven and earth to bear witness to this blessing and curse.
- God tells them to choose life.
- Hold fast to God = life and length of days and living in promised land.
- This chapter has a lot of repetition, seemingly to emphasize the blessing and curse and leave no doubt as to what God is saying to His people.

Isaiah 50
- God asks where their mother's certificate of divorce is.
- God says he sent her away.
- God also asks which creditor He sold them to.
- They were sent away and sold because of their iniquities.
- God asks why there was no one when he came or no answer when He called.
- God asks the rhetorical question, "Is my hand to short to redeem?" "Have I no power to deliver?"
- He then answers these obviously leading questions, by saying the seas dry up when He rebukes them, and He can make the heavens black.
- Isaiah says that God has given him a "tongue of those who are taught" so that he can sustain the weary and hear those who are taught.
- Because God opened Isaiah's ear he didn't turn away or rebel.
- Instead Isaiah's response has been giving his back to a beating and his cheek to have his beard pulled out.
- He didn't hide his face from disgrace or spitting.
- Isaiah's response = seeing the Lord helps Him, so he hasn't really been disgraced and can't really be put to shame.
- Isaiah knows the "he who vindicates me is near"
- Isaiah knows that as long as God is with him, no one can really declare him guilty or contend with him.
- His adversaries will wear out like an old piece of clothing.
- Isaiah asks who fears God and obeys Isaiah's voice.
- Isaiah tells those walking in darkness to trust in the Lord and rely on his God.
- Why does Isaiah say "trust in his God"? Is he referring to Christ or himself?
- Those who light their own torches and walk by their own torches light will lie down in torment.
- Isaiah shows an amazing faith in God through his own trials. He can see that as long as God is for him, no one can truly be against him. Wow!