A Perfect Jewel (1)

“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the Lord:
look to the rock from which you were hewn,
and to the quarry from which you were dug.” Isaiah 51:1 (ESV)

 

Isaiah chapters 50 and onward give tremendous warnings and potential blessings to God’s faithful people, his overcomers.  To understand this verse, Isaiah 51:1, we must discern that which God implies in the previous two verses, Isaiah 50:10-11.

Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow. (Isaiah 50:10-11)

First we see hear that God speaks to two separate groups of people in verses ten and eleven. The first represents the chosen and faithful remnant. These are they who fear the LORD and obey the voice of God’s servant. To fear the LORD means to revere him with respect to who he is and with respect to the lawful morality described and defined by him in his law. To obey the voice of his servant means, first, to walk in obedience to the word written by his servant prophets, second, to obey the lawful spiritual authority of a ruling elder or husband, if any, in your life, and third, to walk in obedience to God’s greatest servant of all, Jesus Christ. Note that Isaiah says that these faithful ones walk in darkness and have no light. Yes, such describes the ones of no consequence in this world who fear God and obey his servant. We walk in darkness and have no light, so little light, in fact, that we dare not speak unless we believe God would have us say something.

This is not true, however, concerning those that “kindle a fire” and who “surround themselves with their sparks and torches.” These are those who break God’s laws just as surely as did those of old who kindled a fire on the Sabbath. These are those who conjure false manifestations of the Most Holy Spirit, who trick men into believing God works among them when, in fact, the devil and his minions trick the minds and emotions of willing slaves to this Jezebel spirit. To the undiscerning God truly seems to be among them. Didn’t you hear the thunder? Didn’t the lights flicker? Weren’t gold flakes falling through the air. Wasn’t that “holy laughter” resounding ’round the room? Couldn’t you feel the presence of God when the worship band perfectly performed their songs in praise? These must walk in the light of their man-made fires. They shall be ever hearing, but never perceiving. They shall build program upon program and church upon church, but the earth shall not be moved, nor shall it be saved, for the arm of the flesh accounts for nothing. You cannot manufacture the presence of God. Instead, these who surely call themselves God’s servants shall “lie down in sorrow” in the outer darkness when God manifests himself through his obedient ones.

And so it is to the first group, the chosen remnant, to whom Isaiah next speaks, saying,

“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the Lord:
look to the rock from which you were hewn,
and to the quarry from which you were dug.” Isaiah 51:1 (ESV)

 

Only the chosen remnant pursues righteousness. Only they seek the LORD for that for which the LORD yearns to be sought, his holiness.  And it is to them to which this word comes.

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