Isaiah 61
Chapter 61 and 62 describe the people of God whom the Servant/Messiah has delivered.
They will be righteous, powerful, prosperous and generally blessed.
61:1-3 begins by detailing the role of the Servant/Messiah has in creating the new righteous character of his people and the environment that they live in.
62:10-12 is a proclamation to all the Israelites scattered in the earth that their Savior comes and they are to enter into this new life.
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Divisions of |
Topic of Division |
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61:1-3 |
Servant/Messiah Declares His Ministry to the People |
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61:4-10 |
Promise: Those who receive the grace of God Blessed. |
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62:1-5 |
Promise: Nations will see that God has not |
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62:6-9 |
Promise: Nations will not take the wealth from |
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62:10-12 |
Proclamation to scattered |
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Isaiah 11:1-5 Describes this Messiah.
61:1
Chapter 60 ended describing the climate and living
conditions in
Chapter 61 describes who we find in that city: The Servant/Messiah himself
The Spirit of the Sovereign
LORD is on me,
When the Spirit is mentioned in
Isaiah the Spirit is associated with these things:
Isaiah 11:2 –
·
wisdom,
·
understanding,
·
counsel,
·
power,
·
knowledge,
·
fear of the Lord
Isaiah 32:15-16 –
·
desert becomes a fertile field, and
then a forest
·
justice
·
righteousness
·
justice and righteousness will
produce:
o
peace,
o
quietness and
o
confidence
Isaiah 42:1 -
·
Justice will be brought to the
nations
Isaiah 44:3 -
·
Descendants will spring up like
grass
·
Descendants will have the character
of God
Isaiah 48:16-17 –
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Teaches you what is best
·
Directs you in the way you should go
·
His ways provide:
o
Peace
o
Righteousness
o
Descendants
because the LORD has
anointed me
The reason for the Spirit being on
Him is this anointing.
The only place the anointing and
spirit are assosciated in the OT is when a king was being established:
a) Saul
1 Sam. 10
b)David 1 Sam. 16
2 Samuel 23:1-7 David’s last
words. Here he is called “the man
anointed by the God of Jacob” and David’s last words begin with “The Spirit of
the Lord spoke through me. . .”
In this oracle the Lord says through
David in 23:3,
“When
one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise
on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.”
to preach good news to the
poor.
The Messiah’s mission will be to
preach the gospel.
“Good News” is the Hebrew word “basser” which is translated in the LXX as
“euangelizomai” or which is the NT word for the good news or gospel.
The Good News is the communication
of God’s victory over his enemies and the deliverance
he has provided for people.
The Servant/Messiah will proclaim
the success of his work in Isaiah 53 and 63:1-6 to the poor.
Who are the poor?
The poor is more than those who are
in poverty or the oppressed minorities.
The poor are anyone who will benefit from the Lord’s victory and the
deliverance that follows.
Notice the sequence:
1. Anointed
2. Spirit
then comes on the Servant/Messiah
3. Proclaiming
the Victory is the Servant/Messiah’s
4. Target
audience of the Servant/Messiah is those who will benefit from His victory
He has sent me to bind up
the brokenhearted,
While he is anointed only to preach
or proclaim. (anointed only has the one indirect object “preach good news”)
“sent” has six indirect objects:
1) to bind. . .
a) bind
up broken hearted
2) to proclaim. . .
b)proclaim freedom
for the captives
c) proclaim
release from darkness for prisoners
3) to proclaim. . .
d)proclaim the year
of the Lord’s favor
e) proclaim
the day of vengeance of our god
4) to comfort. . .
f) to
comfort all who mourn
5) to provide. . .
g) provide
for those who grieve
6) to bestow. . .
h) bestow
a crown of glory
i)
bestow oil of gladness
j) bestow
garment of praise
The description of “sent” is what
the Lord does when He “preaches good news”
The people who He is “sent” to are
the “poor”
61:3
In 60:17 the climate of the city was
described as:
a) gold
for bronze
b)silver for iron
c) bronze
for wood
d)iron for stone
Now concerning the people themselves
there will be:
1)
crown of beauty instead of ashes
i. instead of going about as mourners with ashes on their heads they will wear the headdress of a person at a party
2)
oil of gladness instead of mourning
i. instead of having themselves soaked in tears and an attitude of sorrow they will be soaked in fine smelling oils with a disposition of joy
3)
garment of praise instead of a
spirit of despair
i. This garment may reflect a spirit of praise to the Lord
ii. This garment may cause observers to praise the one wearing it for having such a beautiful garment.
“Oaks of Righteousness” refer to:
a) people who are stable and permanent and
productive because of the work the Lord has done in their lives
b) Trees here are a contrast to the trees in Isaiah 1:29-31. There the people had forsaken God and glorified themselves. Here they where like dead oaks whose leaves and wood burnt in the fire. Here the oaks remain because of right standing with God.
61:4-11
These are the people who have
responded and been blessed by God
61:4
They will rebuild what was
previously destroyed because of sin and rebellion
61:5
Former nations who oppressed
Obviously they will not be in a position
to oppress
But
So these “aliens” are members of
God’s people.
61:6
In this condition