Isaiah 62-65 Revival And The Return Of The Lord Series

Isaiah 62-65

Revival and the Return of the Lord

Bestowing a New Name Is 62

Announcing a New Victory Is 63-64

Blessing of a New Creation Is 65

Intro: Grand Canyon

This summer we took a road trip as a family with our first stop being the Grand Canyon

Driving all that way and trying to convince our kids that a hole in the ground was cool was tough

Even walking up to it they were reluctant

Was it going to be fun? What are we going to do?

Typical questions kids have for something they can’t picture in their mind

Then there is that magical moment when they first see the majesty of that hole in the ground

It literally takes your breath away and leaves you speechless

I had been to the Grand Canyon before so I just watched their reactions and it was worth the trip

Sometimes we treat God’s word like the Grand Canyon

We miss the majesty of it all because we are too focused on what we’re going to get out of it

What’s in it for me? How can I benefit from it?

Especially when we hit passages that hard to understand

The end of Isaiah is like that. Lots of stuff that is hard to understand but so full of God’s majesty

When it's opened up we are blown away

Today we are going to look the Return of the Lord

Read Isaiah 62:1-4

Transition:

Isaiah startles us with the complexity of God.

He structures this passage around three main points.

First, God assures us that he’s preparing a place for us so great we’ll never want to leave

Thirdly, God reminds us of his steadfast love throughout our history—and in spite of us too

But between those two statements God reveals the triumphant anger of Christ, the bloodied victor in a war of vengeance against human evil (63:1–6).

Future promise, past faithfulness, bloody vengeance, all in one passage. Why?

Because God is not a simplistic person. He is complex

Isaiah invites us to look at the grandeur of God. His text is a Biblical Grand Canyon.

We step up to the edge, we take a long, thoughtful look, and we see more of God than we’ve ever seen before.

That’s helpful. How so?

We look at the world today, we see the brutality, the sufferings, the insecurity of our own lives, and we wonder, “God, are you asleep? Why don’t you do something about all this? You have the power. Why don’t you act?” That’s the way we think, looking at our surroundings.

But when we look beyond this world and enlarge our vision of God and accept him for all that he is, our frustrations melt, and we are strengthened to face anything

This passage answers the prayer of our hearts when we sing “Be Thou My Vision.”

Without a vision of Christ before us, we’re overwhelmed.

Without a clear view of Christ in his glory, all we can see is the world around us, and we’re thrown back on the defensive. We feel threatened.

We then become aggressive and complicate our problems still further.

But with Christ himself clearly before us, when his glory weighs upon us as it should, we know what to fear and what not to fear.

Bestowing a New Name Is 62

God will not hold His peace (Isa. 62:1-5)

God promises to keep speaking and working till His purposes for Jerusalem are fulfilled.

This is not only for the sake of Zion but also for the sake of the nations of the world.

There will be no righteousness and peace on this earth till Jerusalem gets her new name and becomes a crown of glory to the Lord.

Vs. 4 You shall be called “My Delight is in Her”

As an unfaithful wife, Israel was “forsaken” by the Lord, but not “divorced”.

Her trials will all be forgotten when she receives the new name “Hephzibah,” which means “my delight is in her.”

God delights in His people and enjoys giving them His best.

The idea of a new name also extends to Christians

In heaven, when our transformation is complete, we will receive a new name that matches our completely transformed nature.

The old name “Desolate” will be replaced by “Beulah,” which means “married” (see also 54:1).

When a bride marries, she receives a new name. In the case of Israel, she is already married to Jehovah; but she will get a new name when she is reconciled to Him.

Zeph 3:17 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing

The watchmen must not hold their peace (Isa. 62:6–12).