Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Isaiah 10:24


Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely
Isaiah 10:24ues

24 Therefore thus saith ['amar] the Lord ['Adonay] GOD [Yahovih] of hosts, [tsaba'] O my people [`am] that dwellest [yashab] in Zion, [Tsiyown] be not afraid [yare'] of the Assyrian: ['Ashshuwr] he shall smite [nakah] thee with a rod, [shebet] and shall lift up [nasa'] his staff [matteh] against thee, after the manner [derek] of Egypt. [Mitsrayim] KJV-Interlinear

24 Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts, "O My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear the Assyrian who strikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you, the way Egypt did. NASB

The Lord God of hosts is a title of the second person of the trinity, Jesus Christ.  He is the one who commands and executes the will of God.

The Father is known as the author of the divine plan, but Christ is the one who gets it done.

The phrase, people who dwell in Zion, has two meanings.

Zion is a mountain or hill located inside of the city of Jerusalem. It is often referred to as the dwelling place of God. 

God being truth, makes this dwelling place the dwelling place of truth or doctrine.

Jerusalem is known as the city of peace.  This is symbolically the spiritual dwelling place of mature believers.  That is to say, doctrine is resident in them creating a dwelling place of peace.  Just as Zion resides within the city of Jerusalem.

Not all Jews can live on the hill, so the symbolism of Zion is applied here as spiritually mature believers, whether Jew or Gentile, will be living virtually anywhere and everywhere within the country or even around the world.

Since doctrine is the source of inner peace, then only the mature believer, who obviously possesses doctrine in their soul, can possess this inner peace.

Now, God warns and in the form of advice, that these things are designed to be and will occur.  There is no way around them.

Israel will exist, Israel will turn negative, Israel will be pounded by Assyria in Isaiah’s time, and certainly in the end days of history, and therefore, knowing this will bring concern, but not to worry.

Who can relax in the midst of trouble?  The spiritually mature believer.

After the manner of Egypt, is a reference to the oppression that Egypt caused against the Israelites when they were enslaved for over four-hundred years.  And especially in those last months, the oppression was at its greatest.

But too, God delivered the Israelites at the Passover, as they were led out of Egypt.

So the point here is that in the end days, there is going to be a destruction of Israel as there has never been before in history.  However, there will also be mature believers living within that destruction region, and it is they, who will be able to remain calm in the midst of all of this disaster which is going to come about.

Praying for it to not happen, will not prevent it.  It is decreed and it will occur. 

The best preparation for the believer in this future time of history, or any time of history for that matter, is to study and grow up within ones spiritual life, and then be prepared in the spiritual sense.  Because when life overwhelms you, just as the Egyptians placed the Israelites in deep oppression, for which the Israelites had no defense, no options, no way out, then there is only one place to turn, and that is to God.

Learn doctrine, learn Bible promises, learn and memorize verses, stabilize yourself with a vast volume of scriptural knowledge and therefore growth obtained through your daily studies, and then wait.  Options and answers will come to you through your common sense, through your logic, through your patience, and so forth.

The key to everyone s life is the study of doctrine.  Doctrine prepares you for the worse and for the best.

The key to ones certain failure is to ignore the daily study of doctrine.  No doctrine, no discernment, no preparation, no success.