Driving to work this morning I was thinking of the thread between the verses in Isaiah and the one in Romans. Isaiah writes of the prophecy of the coming of Jesus. Paul writes after the fulfillment of the prophecy of Christ. We live in the age waiting on the fulfillment of the new testament prophecy—His second coming. God’s only son, Jesus, has always been and always will be our saving grace. Like Paul, we have every reason to praise!
God is telling the Jews through the prophet Isaiah that there are some bad things coming their way because of their penchant for seeking to find fulfillment in things, not God. They have turned their attention away from him and are worshiping the idols made by man, believing the false prophets of the world, and not obeying or seeking him first.
13 For after all this punishment, the people will still not repent.
They will not seek the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
14 Therefore, in a single day the Lord will destroy both the head and the tail,
the noble palm branch and the lowly reed.
15 The leaders of Israel are the head,
and the lying prophets are the tail.
16 For the leaders of the people have misled them.
They have led them down the path of destruction. (Isaiah 9:13-16) NLT
Yet even in his anger, he gives them the hope that he would again pull the remnant of believers back to him.
20 In that day the remnant left in Israel,
the survivors in the house of Jacob,
will no longer depend on allies
who seek to destroy them.
But they will faithfully trust the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel.
21 A remnant will return;
yes, the remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God.
22 But though the people of Israel are as numerous
as the sand of the seashore,
only a remnant of them will return.
The Lord has rightly decided to destroy his people.
23 Yes, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
has already decided to destroy the entire land. (Isaiah 10:20-23) NLT
There is One who is coming to make all things right.
In that day the heir to David’s throne[b]
will be a banner of salvation to all the world.
The nations will rally to him,
and the land where he lives will be a glorious place.[c]
11 In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time
to bring back the remnant of his people—
those who remain in Assyria and northern Egypt;
in southern Egypt, Ethiopia,[d] and Elam;
in Babylonia,[e] Hamath, and all the distant coastlands.
12 He will raise a flag among the nations
and assemble the exiles of Israel.
He will gather the scattered people of Judah
from the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 11:10-12) NLT
All this was prophesized hundreds of years before the birth of Christ.
Then, we have Paul who has come to understand these scriptures and how they pointed to Jesus. Having encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul now has been given the mission of persuading both Jews and Gentiles that this was always part of God’s plan to save us. He uses the scriptures that the Jews are well acquainted with to prove his point. However, we know not all the Jews accepted his words and so Paul turned to the Gentiles. Paul ends this chapter with praise to God for His great plan for the salvation of both Jews and Gentiles.
33 Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!
34 For who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
Who knows enough to give him advice?[l]
35 And who has given him so much
that he needs to pay it back?[m]36 For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.
Lord, thank you for the plan of salvation that has been prophesied since the beginning. I am so blessed to be on the other side to see your glorious plan through the death and resurrection of Jesus. I pray to be as bold as Paul and spread this good news to others by the direction of the Holy Spirit. Your word is as alive and applicable today as it was when Paul taught the early believers. All glory to You forever. In Jesus name. Amen
Cindy (gardnlady)
Sixty-six books in a year 