Why You Must Prepare to Meet Your God – Isaiah 65:1-25
65 I have revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I allowed myself to be found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call upon my name, I said, Here I am! Here I am! (2) All day long I have held out my hands to a rebellious people, a people who walk in a way that is not good, following their own thoughts. (3) A people who provoke me to my face continually, offering pagan sacrifices in gardens and burning incense upon altars of bricks. (4) A people who sit among the graves and spend the night in caves, who eat the meat of pigs, and the broth of unclean meat is in their pots. (5) They are a people who say, Stay away, do not come near me, for I am holier than you! These people are like smoke in my nostrils, produced by a fire that burns all day long. (6) See, their conduct has been recorded in my presence; therefore, I will not remain silent, but will pay them what is just; indeed, I will deliver their recompense into their bosom—(7) both for your own iniquities as well as for the iniquities of your fathers, declares Jehovah—into the bosom of those who have burned incense on the mountains and scorned me on the hills. Therefore I will first measure their recompense into their bosom.
(8) This is what Jehovah says, As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes, and men say, Do not destroy it, for there is still some good in it, so will I do for the sake of my servants, so that I will not destroy them all. (9) I will bring forth an offspring from Jacob, and from Judah I will bring forth one who shall inherit my mountains. Indeed, my chosen one shall inherit it and my servants shall dwell there. (10) Sharon will become a pasture for flocks and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds, this will be for my people who seek me.
(11) But as for you who forsake Jehovah, you who forget my holy mountain, you who prepare a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny, (12) I will destine you for the sword and you shall all succumb to the slaughter; because, when I called, you did not answer, and when I spoke, you did not listen. On the contrary, you did what was evil in my sight, and chose those things in which I take no delight. (13) Therefore, this is what the Lord Jehovah says, My servants will eat, but you will be hungry. My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame. (14) My servants will sing with a joyful heart, but you will cry out with a sorrowful heart and will wail with a broken spirit. (15) You will leave your name to my chosen ones to be used for the pronouncing of a curse, and the Lord Jehovah will put you to death; then he will bestow upon his servants another name. (16) Consequently, whoever pronounces a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth; and whoever takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth—because the past troubles will be forgotten; indeed, they will be hidden from my eyes.
(17) See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. (18) Instead, be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create; for I will create Jerusalem to be a place of rejoicing and her people to experience joy. (19) I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people. No longer shall there be heard in Jerusalem the sound of weeping and the sound of crying. (20) No longer will there be in it an infant who lives for only a few days, nor an old man who has not lived out the full number of his days; for the man who dies in his youth will be one hundred years old, and the man who fails to reach the age of one hundred will be considered accursed. (21) They will build houses, and inhabit them; they will plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. (22) They will not build houses only to have others inhabit them; they will not plant vineyards only to have others eat the fruit of them; for my people will live as long as a tree, and my chosen ones will enjoy the fruit of their labors for a long time. (23) They will not labor in vain, nor bear children destined to suffer calamity; for these children are the offspring of those who are blessed by Jehovah, they and their descendants with them shall experience his blessing. (24) Before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will respond. (25) The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; but dust shall be the serpent’s food. They will neither hurt nor devour one another on all my holy mountain, declares Jehovah.
Now proceed to the next section of this study, entitled, Exploring the Passage.
