I am here at the start of a daily study, halfway through the book of Isaiah, and it occurs to me that I may be missing a key element of Isaiah’s testimony: the Lord Jesus Christ. On days when I struggle to extract meaning out of my scripture study, I have had these default questions as a resource in my study tool belt: “How does this passage of scripture help me draw closer to Jesus Christ?” or “What do these verses teach me about the mission of Jesus Christ?” Up until this point in Isaiah, I have not found myself lacking in my studies, but this morning and I am wondering if I’m missing the primary purpose of Isaiah’s testimony.
This particular chapter is fairly explicit in stating what the Lord will and will not do. Even still, I was actively looking for Christ in these verses.
The Lord has a sword that he uses to punish leviathan (a serpent). The Lord’s sword which he uses to punish the dragon is described as sore, great, and strong! The footnotes and context alone suggests that this is the devil.
The next several verses talk of a vineyard, the Lord’s watchful care over it, and an invitation to those that have assumed wrongfully that Christ is a vengeful Being. This invitation is a reprise from the verses in the last chapter that declared that the Lord was able to keep us in perfect peace.
Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me.
Verse 5
What is most compelling about this is the surety of the promise of peace. “Perfect peace” and “he shall make peace with me”.
The remainder of this chapter talks of the falling out of favor of the children of Israel, but then how they shall also be gathered individually, one by one, back into the Lord’s covenant. This reminds me of a dear friend who was brought into the gospel near the end of his mortal life. He was of Jewish descent, a member of the house of Israel. One by one, the Lord gathers his children.