Prophecy of Isaiah – Isa 43:20-28 For My Own Sake I Will Blot Out your Transgressions and Will Not Remember Your Sins

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Isa 43:20-28- For My Own Sake I Will Blot Out Your Transgressions and Will Not Remember Your Sins

Isa 43:20 The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.
Isa 43:21 This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.
Isa 43:22 But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.
Isa 43:23 Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense.
Isa 43:24 Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.
Isa 43:25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
Isa 43:26 Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.
Isa 43:27 Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me.
Isa 43:28 Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.

In our last study we quoted many verses of scripture declaring in various ways that the Lord makes us first as wicked men for the day of our own  evil (Pro 16:4), and He makes peace and creates evil (Isa 45:7), and He is working all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11). We saw there is nothing, from the sparrows falling to the ground to the hairs of our heads being numbered (Luk 12:7), which can take place without His hand and His foreknowledge making it all happen (Act 4:26-28).

Today’s study continues to drive this point home. The Lord is our Savior, and we are the work of His hands. Whether we are good or evil, we are “His workmanship”. As His elect we are created unto good works which He has before ordained that we should walk in them (Eph 2:10). That is the plain message of our first two verses:

Isa 43:20 The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.
Isa 43:21 This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.

Even our old man, “the beast of the field”, in His daily dying is honoring the Lord. It is the Lord who has “formed [us] for [Him]self”, and the New Testament accords with these words of Isaiah 43:

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

It is “The beasts of the field… the dragons and the owls”, all unclean animals and fowls, which “shall honor [the Lord] because [He] gives waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert”. These unclean beasts typify “my people, my chosen” who are given to drink the waters of life:

Isa 43:20 The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.

Now notice how the holy spirit, with no segue, goes from speaking “the beast of the field”, our old man and those who are not His elect of this age, to the Lord’s elect, “my  people, my  chosen”, and then back to our carnal-minded old man:

Here is the very next verse:

Isa 43:22 But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.

These words have an application, each in his own time, to every man who has ever lived. We all become “weary of [the Lord]”. The very fact that we do indeed all become “weary in well doing” is why we are twice admonished:

Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

2Th 3:13 But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.

“Well doing” is the same as dying daily and being crucified with Christ. Our old man does become weary in dying daily (1Co 15:31) and being crucified with Christ (Gal 2:20) and offering himself up daily as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1).

Notice what we are told right in the very middle of this admonition against the ways of our old man. Look at why we are told our old man is what he is:

Isa 43:23 Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense.
Isa 43:24 Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.

Why do we become “weary in well doing”? why do we “not… serve” the Lord? Here is why we become weary and refuse to serve the Lord with an offering and with incense. It is because: “I have not caused you to serve with an offering…”

This “cause” is repeated in:

Isa 63:17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

Our natural reaction upon being made aware of this extent of the Lord’s sovereignty is to say:

Rom 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he still find fault? For who withstandeth his will? (ASV)

We do not like the fact that God causes us to resist Him and then punishes us for our resistance.What do we just naturally do then? We deny that the Lord “lead[s] us into temptation” (Mat 6:13). We deny that He ‘makes the wicked for the day of evil’ (Pro 16:4). And we simply deny that He “makes peace and creates evil”. However, our ignorance robs God of none of His sovereign power. The clearly stated truth is that the Lord Himself blinds us from knowing that we are all withstanding the Lord and His Christ, and through that ignorance we are all guilty of His blood and of His stripes:

Rom 11:8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

Deu 29:4 Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

Isa 29:10 For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.

“The Lord” is working all things after the counsel of His own will, and we simply do not like the way He makes us to sin against Him and then punishes us for our sins. He could not judge our old man any other way, and it is He who is the only sovereign God, who can do such things and not be guilty of any sins simply because sin is defined as disobedience to His commandments and His laws:

1Jn 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

We have “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God”:

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

The wages, the price, for sinning is death:

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

However, “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”, which is the message given us even in the Old Testament:

Isa 43:25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

Everything the Lord does “is for himself”:

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

When the Lord spared Israel at Moses’ request, He did so “for His own sake… for Himself”.

Deu 9:13 Furthermore the LORD spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
Deu 9:14 Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they.

Deu 9:18  And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
Deu 9:19 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also.

“The Lord listened to me at that time also” is taken by our old man to mean that Moses changed the Lord’s mind and persuaded the Lord not to destroy Israel.

The truth is we can all make our petitions known to the Lord and at the same time acknowledge that our very thoughts and words are “of the Lord” as the scriptures actually teach:

Pro 16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

The Lord knew in advance exactly what Moses’ reaction would be when He threatened to destroy Israel. “The answer of [Moses’] tongue was “from the Lord”. The Lord knew in advance that Judas would betray Him because as Judas’ heart prepared to betray the Lord and as Judas spoke the words negotiating that betrayal, “The answer of [Judas’] tongue was “From the Lord”. We know this is true because that is what we are told… “the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord”.

We are also twice told:

Psa 94:11 The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.

1Co 3:20 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.

Our thoughts are vain because, by the Lord’s own design, we are born with a “carnal mind [which] is enmity against God, and is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be”:

Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Being carnally minded, we believe we are capable of thoughts which are our own, independent of any influence from our Creator. The Truth is that even our vain thoughts “are from the Lord”, so He can judge us and show us just how powerful He is:

Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

You and I are blessed to know that Pharaoh is not the exception, rather, he is typical of how the Lord deals with all men. What the Lord did to Pharaoh is what He does with each of us:

1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples [Greek: tupos, types of us]: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Pharaoh typifies our old man who must be judged and begin dying daily as Christ in us, our ‘new’, man is being formed within us and as our old man begins dying and we begin to be “conformed to the image of His Son”:

Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Rom 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Rom 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

Both Paul and Isaiah contrast the physically “firstborn” with the spiritual “firstborn among many brothers”:

1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

This is the physical right of the physical ‘firstborn’:

Deu 21:15 If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated:
Deu 21:16 Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn:
Deu 21:17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

As Paul makes clear, “not that which is spiritual is first but that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual” (1Co 15:46). So ‘the law of the firstborn’ was fulfilled physically in the “carnal commandment[s]” of the law of Moses.

Again, that law has a blessing that comes with it:

Deu 21:17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

The firstborn was acknowledged “by giving him a double portion of all He has”. The holy spirit has seen fit to make a point of how this law must be applied even to the son of the wife who is hated for this reason:

Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Mat 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

Mar 13:13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Luk 21:17 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.

This is the law which is being acknowledged in the parables of the workers in the vineyard, the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of Lazarus and the rich man and the parable of the prodigal son, all being types of the Lord’s spiritual firstborn, who are given much greater honor and glory than those who were hired first, the ninety and nine who needed no repentance and the elder son who had never been a prodigal son.

But there is a practical reason for giving the firstborn “a double portion [of the inheritance] of all he has”, and that practical reason is: “He is the beginning of His strength; the right of the firstborn is His.” The firstborn was expected to help with the later born, and to be his Father’s strength in helping with the upbringing of the rest of the family.

The firstborn was not selfish and self-centered. He used his position to strengthen the entire family, just as Christ uses His firstborn to grow His family.

This is what Christ is doing with His “firstfruits… firstborn… unto God and the Lamb” (Jas 1:18 and Rev 14:4):

Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

Jas 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Rev 14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

Because Reuben, “for he was the [physical] firstborn”, had defiled his own father’s wife, “the birthright was Joseph’s”, and Joseph became the type of the Lord’s spiritual firstborn. It was through Joseph, the type of the spiritual firstborn, that the Lord saved the entire known world of Egypt and Canaan:

1Ch 5:1 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.
1Ch 5:2 For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph's)

It is our own “old… man of sin” who “defiles his Father’s bed” when he sits in the temple of God proclaiming himself to be God”:

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

The parables of the ‘the lost sheep… the workers in the Lord’s vineyard… and the prodigal son’ are all types of the Lord’s spiritually “firstborn” who replace our old man, the Lord’s physical firstborn.

We are specifically called the Lord’s ‘firstborn’ with all the blessings of that calling in these verses:

Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance [of the firstborn], being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

Heb 12:23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

As the Lord’s spiritual firstborn we will be used by Christ, our Father (Isa 9:6), to bring all men to His Father and to save all men:

Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:

Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

Contrary to many of the doctrines of Babylon’s many harlot churches, we are not raised up in the resurrection in physical bodies of flesh and blood. The fact that Christ said:

Luk 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

That verse does not prove that He was not “raised a spiritual body” (1Co 15:44). Luke 24:39 does not prove that we will be raised up in bodies of “immortal flesh” as is taught by many. All this verse proves is that our Lord “appeared” as “flesh and bone” because of the lack of faith inHis unbelieving disciples. ‘His unbelieving disciples’ includes you and me. Christ’s resurrection from the dead had to be witnessed by many and be beyond having any way for the Jews to deny there was no body in His tomb. As we are told, Christ not only appeared to His eleven apostles, He also appeared to “above five hundred at once”:

1Co 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1Co 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
1Co 15:5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
1Co 15:6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
1Co 15:7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
1Co 15:8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

Not one of the apostles believed Christ had been raised from the dead until they saw Him with their own eyes. We are told that He “appeared in another form” to two disciples on the road to Emmaus:

Mar 16:12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.

That very same evening these same two men returned to Jerusalem to relate to the other disciples how Christ had appeared to them, and Christ appeared as Himself with all His wounds still in His body.

Here is how He revealed Himself to these two disciples on the road to Emmaus:

Luk 24:30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
Luk 24:31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
Luk 24:32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
Luk 24:33 And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,
Luk 24:34 Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.
Luk 24:35 And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.
Luk 24:36 And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
Luk 24:37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
Luk 24:38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
Luk 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
Luk 24:40 And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.

So, in one day Christ appears “in another form” to these two disciples, and later the same evening He appears to those same disciples, plus the other disciples, as Himself. He had earlier that day appeared as a gardener to Mary, and some days later He appeared to some of His apostles by the sea of Galilee in a form which elicits John to say:

Joh 21:12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.

What these four various appearances tell us is that Christ wants us to know that He is in all His disciples, and that therefore we must consider all men as “the least of these my brothers”:

Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

The message of this chapter of Isaiah is that we, the Lord’s elect, have done nothing to earn our election, and those who are not His elect are not responsible for the fact that they are less favored.

Let’s review the preceding verses:

Isa 43:21 This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.

Isa 43:22 But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.
Isa 43:23 Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense.
Isa 43:24 Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.
Isa 43:25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

We have all “made [the Lord] to serve with our sins [and we] have wearied [Him] our iniquities”, and still the Lord has blotted out our transgressions “for [His] own sake”.

The Truth is that whether we transgress or obey, both are the Lord working in our lives “both to will and to do of His good pleasure”. When we err against our Lord, it is He who made us to do so, and when we humble ourselves and tremble at His word, and are obedient to His commandments, it is always and in every situation a work of the Lord working out His own plan and His own purpose in His creatures. So says the Lord’s own inspired words:

Isa 63:17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Php 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

In that same sovereign will in which He admonishes us to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling”, He also encourages us to:

Isa 43:26 Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.

He encourages us to do this immediately after telling us, “thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities” (vs 24).

Is it true we weary the Lord with our iniquities and make Him serve with our sins? He is the one who says we do, so yes, we do weary Him with our iniquities and make Him serve with our sins, but why do we do this to Him?

The answer to this question was given many years earlier in the book of Proverbs:

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Lest we miss the point of this verse we are also told just a few chapters later:

Pro 20:24 Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?

We are told many times in this prophecy of Isaiah that everything the Lord does is done for His own name’s sake after the counsel of His own will and not because we deserve either His favor or his wrath by our own will.

Notice that message in these verses:

Isa 37:35 For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

Isa 48:9 For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.

Isa 48:11 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.

If our sins, transgressions and iniquities were our own and done in our own power, then the Lord would not be sovereign at all, because “the whole world lieth in wickedness”, and if that “wickedness” is not His sovereign work, then His sovereignty would extend over very little and over very few indeed:

1Jn 5:19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.

To put the Lord’s sovereign power over all things beyond any doubt, we are told explicitly:

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Isa 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

We are even told that it is through “evil spirits from the Lord” (1Sa 16:14-15), and through “the law of sin… in my members” (Rom 7:17-23) that the Lord “makes us to err from [His] ways”:

1Sa 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
1Sa 16:15 And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

Isa 63:17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.

All of this being true, “[our] first father and [our] teachers have transgressed against [the Lord]” because He “made [them] to err and hardened [their] hearts from [His] fear” (Isa 63:17) simply to give the Lord the occasion He is seeking to judge us “in this present time” (Luk 18:30), so we can “judge [this] world [and] angels… in the ages to come”:

Isa 43:27 Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me.
Isa 43:28 Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.

“The curse” is the fiery work of the Word of God which will judge our works and burn up all that will burn in the works of “every man”:

1Co 3:13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

This “fire” is the Word of God which judges “every man’s work of what sort it is”:

Jer 5:14 Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them [be a curse to them].

Our “first father” is our old man and “[His] father the devil” (Joh 8:44), and our new father (Isa 9:6) is our “second man… the Lord from heaven”:

Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

It is the Lord Himself who ‘profanes the princes of the sanctuary and has given Jacob to the curse’. He does so just to “seek an occasion against” [our] old man and his works, all typified by the uncircumcised Philistines, in the story of Samson:

Isa 43:28 Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.

Jdg 14:4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

“The Philistines” are in the promised land without the benefit of circumcision. In that way they typify our old man who is not circumcised of heart and must therefore be judged by the fiery words of God and removed from the Lord’s house. That is why these verses are so profound and such very good news, meaning this is “the gospel” for all men:

Isa 26:8 Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Here are the verses for our next study, and once again we will see that the Lord’s words of judgment are words of comfort to His elect whom He is judging in “this present time” (Rom 8:18-19) to be His witnesses and His judges in the coming ages (Eph 2:7).

Isa 44:1 Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:
Isa 44:2 Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.
Isa 44:3 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:
Isa 44:4 And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.
Isa 44:5 One shall say, I am the LORD'S; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD and surname himself by the name of Israel.
Isa 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Isa 44:7 And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.
Isa 44:8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.

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