His Perfect Love

Matt VanderVen: God rejoices over you. He loves you. You look at history and you think about history so much. I love history. You go back and God over and over again is pronouncing his poetry through a history of love.

Even the difficult things through history that God allowed were so that there could be a clear contrast between what wicked and evil yields and what true righteousness brings. God has always given the example of righteousness and the love that comes with that.

Guest (Male): So, do you have an unfinished project or two? Maybe it’s your backyard or garage that needs finishing, or something at work left undone. We’re not always faithful to complete what we start out to do. But God, on the other hand, is completely committed and faithful to finish his work.

That’s true regarding his work with the nation of Israel and us. Pastor Matt VanderVen will explain today on His Perfect Love. He’ll then go on to discuss the Lord’s coming judgment at his second coming. Join us now in Isaiah 62.

Matt VanderVen: For Zion’s sake, that’s Jerusalem, I will not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest. You might be looking and thinking, I thought Zion is Jerusalem. Yes, Zion is Jerusalem proper. Think of it as downtown or the Temple Mount area. For Zion’s sake, I will not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake, I will not rest.

He’s telling us the reason: until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns. The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will name.

So he’s saying that essentially Jerusalem is going to be this centerpiece of worship and this centerpiece of righteousness. He’s saying that he is going to give it a new name. You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

You shall no longer be termed Forsaken. Circle that in your Bibles. That’s important. At that time, even Judah was considered forsaken. The rumor of the day, which none of us like rumors because it’s unbiblical, but the rumor of that day was that Jerusalem, Judah, and Israel had already been put into captivity. It was hopeless.

They were forsaken. And so God comes back. He knows the whisperings of what people were saying, what the Gentiles were saying and talking all about Israel. Really, is God faithful? This one God? You need multiple gods. Why are you serving this one God? Your God brought you into captivity, the tribes in the north, and now in the south you’re going into captivity. Judah, you’re forsaken. You have no more value to God.

You see, that’s what Jerusalem was being called at the time of the writing of Isaiah. It was being called Forsaken. But not so, friends. Not so. Jesus made a beautiful, wonderful covenant with God’s chosen people Israel, and he will never forsake them.

He brought them into captivity only to correct them for their wrongdoing so that he could bring reconciliation because he wanted more from them. He wanted more depth of heart. He wanted more intimacy. It was all motivated by love. It wasn’t motivated out of an ill heart. It was motivated out of a heart of love because he loves Israel. He loves his chosen people.

Nor shall your land anymore be termed Desolate. And that’s what had already started to happen in the north. Remember, they took the captives and they had intermarried them with the Assyrian people and formed a new people group called Samaritans. Much of that area would become desolate.

Then actually, when they do bring Judah out of Jerusalem and bring them into Babylon captivity, that whole area, minus maybe a hundred or so people, at least from the extra-biblical records we can tell, was desolate. All of it was destroyed. Nebuchadnezzar took all of the wealth and all of the gold and all of the cups and implements and everything.

Nebuchadnezzar’s men took it all and they ransacked all of Jerusalem. There was literally nothing left. This is why when Zerubbabel went back, he was one of the first to go back, he had to go back and start from scratch in rebuilding even the wall, the gates, and not only the temple. Ezra found that the word of God had been lost. They weren’t reading the word of God anymore. Ezra the priest comes and discovers the word of God and starts to read the word of God, teaching them the commandments, statutes, and judgments of the Lord.

It just shows you how far they had fallen and how Nebuchadnezzar literally came through and Babylon ransacked that whole place. He says you’re going to be termed Desolate. That’s how people are going to know you. But what does he say here? But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah. What does that mean? Well, that first word means My delight is in her. Isn’t that beautiful? If you’re taking notes, that’s what it means: My delight is in her.

And then your land Beulah. Look at how he says it. He says, but you shall be called, speaking to Israel and Judah as a bride. Boy, that’s a familiar understanding and terminology. Jesus Christ talking to us as the bride, Israel the bride. He says you’re my delight. My delight is in her. That’s how you’re going to be known. My delight is in Israel. My delight is in you and her.

And then the second way he says it: but your land shall be Beulah. And that word means Married. So he connects this idea with the people and the land, and he speaks about the delight of her and he draws it to marriage. He draws it to that idea of a covenant, a commitment.

God is ushered, and he’s saying that while people are going to say you’re forsaken and people are going to say you’re desolate, oh no. I never issued you a divorce decree. I never divorced you, my people. I might have brought you into captivity to correct you, but I never ever left you or forsook you.

And he speaks to that with those two beautiful words for us. For the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you. And as a bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

Isn’t that wonderful? I mean, it’s wonderful for us to read about God loving on Israel that way, but isn’t that wonderful because God loves on you the same way? He’s wed to you the same way, and he rejoices over you. And it’s just a really good reminder. God rejoices over you. He loves you.

You look at history and you think about history so much. I love history. You go back and God over and over again is pronouncing his poetry through a history of love. Even the difficult things through history that God allowed were so that there could be a clear contrast between what wicked and evil yields and what true righteousness brings.

And there’s always been a dichotomy between the two. There’s never been this amalgamation of twisting good and evil and something that’s holy and somehow making some kind of amalgamation out of that. Historically, that doesn’t exist. God has always given the example of righteousness and the love that comes with that.

I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem. Notice with me, he doesn’t say I set military men, which would have been normal at that time. But he’s talking about spiritual intercessors here. This is what this word watchman means. It’s a spiritual intercessor.

I know there’s a lot of people talking heads you can listen to podcasts and they’ll use this term watchman. It’s taken on a whole different language and tone than what the Scriptures have. You know, the watchman on the wall and we understand the concept. But there’s talking heads now out there, even well-meaning Christians from an eschatological or eschatology perspective, end times perspective, where they’re out there saying you got to be that guy, you’re the watchman.

Next thing you know, you have Christians being set against Christians because there’s people walking around on sin hunts because they think they’re watchmen. That’s not what he’s talking about. Do you know what an intercessor is? We are to be intercessors. When we pray, we are to also pray intercessory prayer.

If you’ve ever joined us for a Sunday night at 6:00 PM when we gather, we have intercessory prayer. Many of you are lifted up. You may not even be aware of it, but many times if you were on the prayer list from the previous week or different things going on, or maybe we haven’t seen you in a little bit or maybe we saw you but you looked like you were carrying a little something with you that day, maybe Sunday morning.

A lot of times in intercessory prayer, somebody will just bring up a name or a face or an idea and they’ll begin praying for others. You see, that’s the term and the idea here. I have set a watchman. This is not a military leader. This is not someone that’s the enforcer. He’s not saying I set the enforcer to be over you. No, he’s talking here about one that is a spiritual intercessor encouraging you to keep going.

He speaks of the fulfillment of what is going to come to pass. So he says, I have set a watchman on your walls, O Jerusalem. They shall never hold their peace day or night. What does that mean? They’re going to be fervent prayer warriors. They’re not going to stop praying. Didn’t Paul write that in the New Testament? Pray without ceasing. That’s right. Pray without ceasing. That idea day or night.

I was just talking to a gentleman this evening and I was laughing. I was saying sometimes when we have those nights where maybe we go to bed for a couple hours and next thing you know, it’s 2:00 AM and we're wide awake. You’re sitting in bed, it’s 2:00 AM and you're wide awake. I said, don’t count sheep; talk to the Shepherd.

I have a sign right above my bedroom door that sits right above the rim of the door, and it says, Don’t count sheep, talk to the Shepherd. It’s just a beautiful reminder. So if you wake up, you look at that and you start talking to the Lord. They shall never hold their peace day or night, who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent, and give him no rest till he establishes and until he makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

Pray for encouragement. He wants us to pray, to wait on God’s promises. This is all in context. Again, if you read this in context, this is not talking about battle. There’s not one thing that we read in the first seven or eight verses here that was talking about a battle. In other parts of Scripture, we do see that when it talks about the Lord of hosts or the God of the armies.

But he’s just talking about marriage and how you were going to be called Forsaken. They’re going to call you Desolate, Israel. He’s not even talking about anything about a military incursion. But I don’t know how somebody took that watchman and made it military. No, this is a beautiful passage about being a prayer warrior, about watching and waiting on the Lord, because he had just said so that you see the glory of God or that your God will rejoice over you.

That was the context in verse five, and he’ll continue to build. The Lord has sworn by his right hand and by the arm of his strength, surely I will no longer give your grain as food for your enemies. He’s talking about restoration. And the sons of the foreigner shall not drink your new wine for which you have labored. But those who have gathered it shall eat it and praise the Lord. Those who have brought it together shall drink it in my holy courts.

This is all good news, isn’t it? I mean, if you were held in hostage or captivity like that, or you were in bondage or oppressed, to find out that the oppression would be lifted and that you would work and get the crop and you would be able to eat your own crop. You wouldn’t have to turn around and give more than half of your crop to your oppressor, but you could eat of it. This is wonderful news. This is goodness that God is going to do here.

He says in verse 10, Go through, go through the gates! Prepare the way for the people; Build up, build up the highway! Take out the stones, lift up a banner for the people! He says, get ready. Indeed, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the world: say to the daughter of Zion, Surely your salvation is coming; Behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

And they shall call them The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord; and you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken. How encouraging is that? This is what Israel has to look forward to. This is what Judah has certainly in the near fulfillment, coming out of captivity.

But when Messiah Jesus returns at the second coming and begins to establish all of these things, just as a way of reminder for us all tonight, is any of the angels or you and I or any born-again Christian going to have to fight a battle at Jesus Christ’s second coming? No, we read Revelation. Who is the one that engages that war against the Antichrist, against the enemy, against even the rising up?

It’s God. And God just literally handles it all. Even the battle of Armageddon, God takes care of everything. He doesn’t need our help in that. God is so faithful. Again, the context is not a battle in this chapter. It’s restoration, goodness, and love. And the watchman is waiting and watching and preparing and praying for all of this to come to fruition to pass.

Why would we ever take this out of context and try to make it mean something about battles and war and having to be somebody on the wall waiting for the fighting and the battle, when he’s talking about how he’s going to restore everything? Why would I need a guy up there when God’s got everything under control and going to give Judah and Jerusalem and make all things new? Beautiful passage.

Chapter 63: Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, this One who is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength? I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.

So again, talking about the time of the second coming, possibly coming out of the city. Who is this who comes from Edom? We see these dyed garments from Bozrah. The one who is glorious, that one would be Messiah Jesus. Most of your Bibles even have that "One" capitalized. It is italicized, so that was added for readability and was not in the original manuscript.

But the idea that almost all scholars believe is that this is speaking of the Lord in judgment and bringing salvation and coming again at his second coming. And he is the one that’s coming in his glorious apparel, traveling in the greatness of God’s strength. I who speak in righteousness, he says, mighty to save.

It could be a picture of the battle of Armageddon as well. Why is your apparel red? This is why I would say that, because of Revelation and the dipping of the blood and "how long, O Lord, for the martyrs" in Revelation. Why is your apparel red, and your garments like one who treads the winepress?

How many of you saw I Love Lucy? Remember the scene in I Love Lucy when she’s treading the grapes? I’m sure you guys can YouTube it. It’s worth a YouTube visit. You know, she’s literally treading, and the idea is the red of the grapes would get on the robe and the whole thing there. And that’s kind of the picture that comes to my mind when I’m reading this because of this idea of red.

What do you think the red is speaking to? Blood. And your garments are like one who treads the winepress. I have trodden, and here’s Jesus answering in verse three, I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me. No one is with me. For I have trodden them in my anger—judgment to the wicked and pagan nations—and trampled them in my fury.

Their blood is sprinkled upon my garments. Not on the saints’ garments, not on the angels’ garments, but God is the one that brings judgment. It’s the wrath of the Lamb to a Christ-rejecting world. Their blood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my robes. For the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed has come. This is really describing a time of the Great Tribulation.

I looked, but there was no one to help, and I wondered. Remember the question when he returns, he asked, when I return, will I find any faith on the earth? Will I find anybody even looking for me or waiting for my return when I come? Speaking at the end of the Great Tribulation, the seven years, will there be anyone?

He says, I looked but there was no one to help, and I wondered that there was no one to uphold; therefore my own arm brought salvation to me; and my own fury, it sustained me. I have trodden down the peoples in my anger, made them drunk in my fury, and brought down their strength to the earth. All evil will be destroyed. All wickedness will be destroyed.

Guest (Male): And don’t you look forward to that day? It is coming. Pastor Matt VanderVen will be right back, so don’t rush away. You’re listening to His Perfect Love and a study in Isaiah. And if you’ve enjoyed today’s message, we’d like to know. Email us at our website, hisperfectlove.org. Be sure to include your prayer requests.

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Matt VanderVen: Now here’s Isaiah’s response to this judgment of God, and it starts with this next section, verse 7 through 14, this beautiful prayer by Isaiah. As you can imagine, Isaiah the prophet has just received this, maybe not fully understanding the full fulfillment of what it’s going to look like in that Great Tribulation.

He didn’t have the Book of Revelation like we do today, but still, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the knowledge, this was very heavy. Much like when Daniel received it, it was so heavy for him when he received that kind of prophecy and word. Isaiah has just received this heaviness of what’s going to come to a Christ-rejecting world, to a God-rejecting world.

And so he begins to really break out into this amazing prayer. He says, I will mention the lovingkindness of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has bestowed upon us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he has bestowed on them according to his mercies, according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.

He’s praising God for this wonderful news that they will not be destined, they will not be forsaken, they will not be left desolate. He says this beautiful bestowing by God, and he gives God all the glory. According to God’s mercies, according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses, for he said, Surely they are my people.

Please underline that. At the height of the time that this was given, Israel was, specifically Judah, in grave sin. I mean, it was terrible. They had prostituted themselves like harlots to the pagan gods, given themselves over to every kind of sin under the sun, trying to find all these things on the earth that would fulfill the lust of their flesh and fulfill the pride of life for them.

And God looks to them and he says, I love you. I’m not done with you. The Lord isn’t finished with the nation of Israel even when they rebel at times. He still loves them. We’ll finish up this chapter next time on His Perfect Love with Pastor Matt.