Let us turn once again to the
Word of God and the chapter that we read, Isaiah 66 and I'll read
once more the end of the chapter in verses 19 and 20. Isaiah 66
and reading now verses 19 and 20. And I will set a sign among
them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations,
to Tarshish-Pul, and Lod, that Lord of Bo, to Tubal, and Japhon,
to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have
seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory
among the Gentiles. And they shall bring all your
brethren for an offering unto the Lord, out of all nations,
upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules,
and upon swift beasts, to my holy mount in Jerusalem, saith
the Lord. as the children of Israel bring
an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. On Thursday evening at the prayer
meeting we were considering the 19th verse that I've just read
and I thought then to say something with regards to the promise that
is given here concerning how God will set a sign among them. And in the context it is evident
that it is a sign that is being set amongst the Gentiles. As we see from the statement
at the end of the verse, they shall declare my glory among
the Gentiles. As I said on Thursday, Isaiah
of course is very much a gospel book, although it's in the Old
Testament, many refer to it as the fifth gospel because there
is so much in the way of prophecy concerning the person and the
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. But as we come to the end of
the prophecy, and of course here we have the last chapter, We
see the promises that this gospel is going to go to the Gentiles. In a sense, what we have in these
final chapters is how God is going to reject the children
of Israel and the gospel is going to go forth to sinners of the
Gentiles. If we go back to the previous
chapter, there in the opening words of chapter 65, God says,
I am sought of them that ask not for me. I am found of them
that sought me not. I said, behold me. Behold me
unto a nation that was not called by my name. I have spread out
my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way
that was not good, after their own thoughts, a people that provoketh
me to anger continually to my face." And then he goes on about
their sacrifices in gardens, burning incense upon altars of
brick and so forth. the sins of the children of Israel
and God's judgments that will be upon them because of all their
many iniquities. And so it goes on through chapter
65 and into this 66th chapter. Again, see how God rejects their
worship, though they have the ordinances of God, the Levitical
laws. They're required to make certain
sacrifices, but They are just formalists. And God rejects their
mere formality. There's nothing spiritual in
their worship. As he says here in verse 3, He that killeth an
ox is as if he slew a man. He that sacrifices a lamb is
as if he cut off a dog's neck. He that offereth an oblation
is as if he offered swine's blood. He that burneth incense is as
if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own
ways. and their soul delighteth in
their abominations. I also will choose their delusions,
and will bring their fears upon them. How God speaks, then, of
His judgments upon the children of Israel. Verse 16 of this chapter,
By fire and by His sword will the Lord plead with all flesh.
and the slain of the Lord shall be many. They that sanctify themselves
and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the
midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination and the mouse
shall be consumed together, saith the Lord." And so we have the
solemn Word of God, the rejection of the children of Israel. when in the fullness of the time
God sends forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law.
He comes to his own and they receive him not. They reject
him. They will not have this man to
be the one who rules over them. And so the prophecy really finishes
on the promise that God will yet set a sign among the Gentile
nations, as we were considering last Thursday evening, I will
set a sign among them, and they shall declare my glory among
the Gentiles." Now the word that we have there, this sign that
he set amongst them, it's literally the word for an ensign, a banner
that would be unfurled, of course, on the battlefield. the point
at which they would seek to rally the troops. But what is this
ensign? Well, previously, in chapter
11, we have quite a specific account
of just what this ensign really is. In chapter 11 and there at
verse 10 in that day, What is that day? It's the gospel day
that's being spoken of. It's the day of grace, the last
days, the gospel dispensation. In that day there shall be a
root of Jesse which shall stand for an ensign. The same word
as we have in chapter 66 at verse 19. For this one, the root of
Jesse, Jesse the father of David of course and Christ, is the
root and offshoot. of David. It's Christ that's
being spoken of, which shall stand for an ensign of the people
to which other Gentiles seek, and his rest shall be glorious. And who are those who are summoned
to this ensign? Well, it says there at verse
12, He shall set up an ensign for the nations and shall assemble
the outcasts of Israel and gather together the dispersed of Judah
from the four corners of the earth or there will be a people
caught not those who are merely ethnic Israel but those who are
the true spiritual Israel the church of the firstborn or those
who are written in heaven God will call is elect from amongst
all the nations of the earth well these are some of those
things that we were considering last Thursday evening and I really
want to continue in that theme of things this morning as we
come to the to the 20th verse the verse that follows what we
were looking at on Thursday And here the promise continues, they
shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord's
out of all nations, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters,
and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mount in Jerusalem,
saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in
a clean vessel unto the house of the Lord. These words then
to be considered for our text this morning. And again, we see
something of the character of those who are going to be the
converts, those who are going to respond, those who are going
to be gathered to this sign, to this end sign. As we said
on Thursday, we have mention of the strange Nations, Tarshish,
Poole, Lodge, Toobow, Japheth, the Isles, they're far off. Or
there are people that are so scattered over the whole face
of the earth. And it's interesting, again,
reminding those who were present on Thursday of what we said on
that occasion, who are those who are to declare the glory
of the salvation of Christ amongst the Gentiles? Well, there at
the beginning of verse 9, it's those that escape of them. For
when the judgment comes upon the children of Israel as they
reject the promised Messiah, as they reject the Christ of
God, yet there were those who were saved out of Israel. And
of course, we can think principally of one like the Apostle Paul
who was very much a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a Pharisee, the
son of a Pharisee of the tribe of Benjamin, a man who delighted
in the Lord of God as he says and as he imagined he kept that
Lord of God. Who he was such a Jew was that
man Saul of Tarsus. But how he was to be the one
who would be the chief instruments in the New Testament to take
the gospel to the Gentiles, those that escape those that escape
of them, these are the ones and of course when we come to what's
said here in verse 20 we see a very literal fulfillment
of these things on the day of Pentecost when There are multitudes
there in Jerusalem. It's the great feast, one of
the great three feasts of the Jewish calendar. And there are
not only Jews, but there are proselytes, Jewish converts from
many nations. And you remember the language
that we have there as the Apostles, not just Peter, we have the record
of course of Peter's sermon, but it's all of those men who
have received the gift of the Spirit of God and they're speaking
in tongues that they've never learnt. They were dwelling at Jerusalem,
Jews, devout men out of every nation under heaven. Now, when
this was noised abroad, the multitude came together and were confounded
because that every man heard them speak in their own language. Oh, they're amazed, they're marveling. They're Galileans, they're unlearned,
they're ignorant men, and yet they're speaking all these different
tongues. Parthians, Medes, Elamites, dwellers in Mesopotamia, Judea,
Cappadocia, Pontius, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, Libya, Cyrene,
strangers of Rome, they're hearing them speak these wondrous works
of God in their own languages. It's a very literal fulfillment,
really, of what we have in these verses, both verse 19 and also
verse 20. And it's interesting to compare
something of the record that we have of the Gospel and the
ministry of the Gospel there in the Acts with what is being
said here in the prophecy of Isaiah. We read of those who
are brought out of all nations upon horses and it says and in
chariots and in chariots and of course we have that remarkable
record in the 8th chapter of the Acts of the ministry of Philip
when the Spirit directs him to the back end of the desert and
he meets with the Ethiopian eunuch who is there sitting in his chariot
and he's reading in the prophecy of Isaiah. He's reading this
very book of Isaiah. He's reading chapter 53 and he
doesn't understand. And we're told in that chapter
that Philip goes up to him and opens up the Scriptures to him
and preaches Christ. He preaches Christ from the very
passage from Isaiah that the eunuch is reading. Is it not a very literal fulfillment
then of the word that we have here in this text this morning?
They shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord
out of all nations upon horses and in chariots, the Ethiopian
eunuch amongst them. But there is, of course, a very
spiritual fulfillment that is to be witnessed when we come
to the day of grace, when we come to the New Testament Scriptures,
when we come to the very day in which we're living. we're
all to be brought onto Jerusalem. The language that's used throughout
this chapter, verse 10, Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, be glad with
her, all ye that love her. Rejoice for joy with her, all
ye that mourn for her, that she may suck and be satisfied with
the breast of her consolations, that she may milk out and be
delighted with the abundance of her glory. What is the spiritual
significance of such words? It's speaking of the Gospel and
all that blessed nourishment that is there in the person and
work of the Lord Jesus Christ for sinners, even sinners of
the Gentiles. There is to be that coming to
Manzion. Again Hebrews chapter 12 where
Paul draws that contrast between the two covenants. the one from
Mount Sinai, he says, the other from Mount Zion. And remember
how in that chapter, verse 22 following, he speaks of how we
are come unto Mount Zion, to the church of the living God,
to the mediator of the new covenant, to the blood that speaketh better
things than that of Abel. All that's a spiritual coming.
There's a coming to of the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, reminding you that on
Thursday we were also saying that we have to recognize here
in Isaiah, as he ministers about a hundred years before the Babylonian
captivity, that dreadful judgment that was going to come upon the
nation because of their idolatrous ways and their formal religion,
He speaks of the judgment, but he also speaks of the restoration. After 70 years, as Jeremiah says
in his book, they would be restored. They would be coming again back
to Jerusalem. Well, Isaiah also speaks of that
blessed restoration. We see it quite clearly, for
example, in the language of the 35th chapter. In the end of that
chapter, the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to
Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads. They shall
obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sigh and shall flee away. All there was to be then a restoration
after that terrible judgment, that period of exile. But again, when we read these
things, we're to understand and interpret it all in the light
of the New Testament. It's not just speaking of the
restoration of the Jews, it's speaking of the salvation that
is going to come to all the ends of the earth. The coming to Zion,
the coming to Jerusalem, the rejoicing in these things. We're
to understand it in that spiritual sense. What does Christ himself
say? all that the Father giveth me
shall come to me and either cometh to me I shall in no wise cast
out either cometh to me shall never hunger either believeth
on me shall never thirst it's in the light of these words of
the Lord Jesus we're to understand and interpret the language that
we have here in this book of Isaiah where God extends peace
like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles, like a flowing
stream. Then shall ye suck, ye shall
be born upon her sides, dangled upon her knees. God will feed his people. He'll
feed them with the grace of the Gospel. This is what is being
spoken of. considering something of the
character of these Gentile converts as we examine something of the
language that is being used in this 20th verse. And there are
three particular things that I want to notice with you this
morning. First of all, they are a people
who are separated. there are people who are called
out, we might say. What does it say at the beginning
of this 20th verse? Those who are to be brought as
an offering unto the Lord, they are out of all nations. They are out of all nations. It's not wholesale conversions of nations,
it's the people who are called out of the nation. the gospel
is ever that separating ministry, isn't it? To some it comes the
savour of death unto death, to others it comes the savour of
life unto life, says the apostle. Who is sufficient for these things? There are those who hear the
message, receive the message. There are others who hear the
message and reject the message. We know that in Israel there
was ever a true spiritual remnant in the midst of ethnic Israel. There were those who never truly
embraced the truths of God. Even in the days of Isaiah, it
was a very small remnant. Doesn't he say that in the opening
chapter? Except the Lord left unto us
a very small remnant, we should have been a Sodom, we should
have been like unto Gomorrah. There's always a separating there.
And those who are called out often feel themselves to be at
a great distance. Certainly here when we think
of the language that's being used in the 19th verse, we have
those nations that seem to be so far away. That's a physical truth. But
there's a spiritual significance also. When the Lord begins to
call a people to Himself, what do they feel? They feel themselves
to be at a distance from Him. When the Lord awakens the soul
of the sinner, that person feels the reality of what his sin is. It brings separation. Again,
think of the language of this prophet in chapter 59 and verse
2, your iniquities. have separated between you and
your God, and your sins have hid His face from you. Or when
there's that initial realization of what sin really is, is it
not a truth that we fear ourselves then to be so very very far away? And it seems there can be no
real hope of salvation. And yet, the strange thing is
that these are the very ones that God is calling to himself. These are the very ones that
he will draw to himself. Again there at the end of chapter
45, those familiar words, Look unto me, and be ye saved, all
the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is none
else. Or the call goes then to those
who are so very much far away, who feel themselves to be so
utterly unworthy, who feel surely there can be no hope for such
a sinner as I am, such a sinner as I have been. Here is one of
the marks then of those who are being called to whom the Gospel
is sent They're called out. They're called
out of all these strange nations that are spoken of there in the
19th verse. Those who really at times feel
themselves to be so very far off. But they're not only a people
who are to be separated. They're a people who are sick
and in need. How are they brought? They shall
bring all your brethren They are upon horses, they are
in chariots, they are in litters, and upon mules. They are in litters. Does it not remind us of that
man that we read of in the Gospel? That man who was sick of the
palsy, he was paralyzed. And his friends bring him on
a bed. to where the Lord Jesus is. We
have the record there in the second chapter of Mark's Gospel. Now these men, they come where
Christ is. He's in the house. Of course,
it's one of those houses with a flat roof. How can they present
their friend upon this litter, upon this bed? How can they bring
him to the Lord Jesus? Well, they take him to the top
of the house and somewhere or other they manage to lower him
down to where Christ is below them in the house. They're very
determined. And we're told, when the Lord
saw their faith, He said to their friends, Son, thy sins be forgiven
them. Remarkable words that the Lord
speaks. Here is a man, he's paralyzed. His friends have brought him
because they want to see him healed. And those are the words
that the Lord first speaks to that man. Son, thy sins be forgiven
thee. And then we have the reaction
of the Jews that Christ should say such things. Who can forgive
sins but God only? And they always want to accuse
Him. Of course, this is what they will continually accuse
Him of, blasphemous, because He makes Himself equal with God.
That's what they charge him with when they set him before Pontius
Pilate. We have a law, and by our law
he ought to die because he made himself equal with God. Well,
what is this man saying? Who can forgive sins but God
alone? And then the Lord answers them,
whether it is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or
arise, take up thy beds, and walk. And then he turns again to those
Jews, but that thou may know that the Son of Man hath power,
hath authority on earth to forgive sins. And then he says to that
paralyzed man, take up thy bed and walk, and he does it. He
does it, you see. Well, these are the characters
that are brought, or the gospel is brought to, I should say,
They are brought to the Gospel. The Gospel is really brought
to them. All your brethren, not only in chariots like the Ethiopian
eunuch, but also in litters like that man sick of the palsy, whom
the Lord not only heals physically, but also speaks those gracious
words, those Gospel words. He speaks to the man of the remission
of sins, Son, thy sins be forgiven. Who are those to whom the gospel
is sent? They that are whole have no need
of the physician, says Christ, but they that are sick. I came
not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Or that
of people they feel at times to be so separated, so different,
so far off, they have such a sense of their sinnership, they're
so unworthy they can do nothing to help themselves, to save themselves
they're those who are so sickly or this man, he couldn't even
get up and walk to where Christ was he has to be brought he's paralyzed and yet strangely
We read of these brethren, as they are called, being brought
upon swift beasts. Well, that indicates that they
come speedily. Isn't this the paradox, or one
of the paradoxes, of the experience of the Christian? They can do nothing, in a sense,
When the Lord begins with us, we're made to feel what we are
when we learn something of our true condition. Before the Lord
God Himself, we're dead in trespasses and sins. The dreadful doctrine of man's
total depravity, our impotence, our inability. We can do nothing. And yet, there's a certain urgency. We must come, and we cannot come. We must believe, and we cannot
believe. This is how the Lord deals with
his people, is it not? We're told how the kingdom of
heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. There's an urgency when the Lord
is working in the soul of a man. There can be no delay, no procrastination
there. There's one thing needful. And
so we have this mention of them being brought on swift beasts. They come with all haste, or
at least they desire that. And yet at the same time, this
is the paradox. We read in scripture of the need
to be those who are waiting on the Lord's. How many times do
we have that in the Psalms? Do we not see that as one of
the characteristics of the people of God? They wait upon the Lord's.
Wait on the Lord's. Be of good cheer. Wait, I say,
on the Lord's. The language of the 27th Psalm
and verse 14. Well, an encouragement. But what
is this waiting? Well, it's lively. It's lively
waiting upon the Lord. It's not waiting upon the Lord
in idleness, waiting upon the Lord in sloth, but it's that
waiting in blessed anticipation, expectation, waiting in hope. And that waiting in hope, of
course, is part and parcel of what real faith is. Without faith
it's impossible to please God. He that cometh to God must believe
that he is, and that he is a rewarder of all them that diligently seek.
And there's diligence in this waiting. Martin Luther knew something
of what this sort of faith really is or the travel that was in that
man's soul when the Lord began to deal with him and he acknowledges
it, he says faith is a laborious, difficult and powerful thing
faith is a laborious, difficult and powerful thing How true that
is! There's something lively about
faith. True faith is the life of God, says the hymn writer.
Deep in the heart it lies, it lives, it labours on the low,
though damped. It never dies. There's all that
holy activity then in the soul of this sinner. He's steadfast,
he's unmovable, he's always abounding in the work of the Lord. He knows
that his labour is not in vain in the Lord. Aren't these some
of the marks that we see then in the language that's used here?
Not just to understand, but to see in physical terms what's
the spiritual significance of these various figures that are
used in verses 19 and 20. We understand something then
of the character of these Gentile converts to whom the gospel is
sent. the gospel banner is raised in
their midst or the Lord has given a banner to them that fear him
that it may be displayed because of the truth the blessed truth
of the gospel is for these characters but I want also to try to say
something with regards to the nature of the conversion of these
people who are brought to God's holy mount in Jerusalem, those
who are brought to God's spiritual Zion. They're spoken of as being presented
as an offering. They shall bring all your brethren
for an offering unto the Lord. They're being presented to God.
It's interesting When we think of conversion, it's not really a taking from God. Yes, of course we receive
much in the way of the blessings, the grace of God, the salvation
that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. But here there is that idea of
presentation. They shall bring all your brethren
for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations. It's not so much receiving, it's
giving, it's giving. Now we know concerning the children
of Israel that three times in every year they were required
to go up to Jerusalem with offerings. They had to observe those great
three feasts, the feast of Passover of course, the remembrance of
how the Lord God had brought them out of the bondage that
was Egypt, when he sent his destroying angel and all the firstborn children
of the Egyptians had been slaughtered, but God had preserved the firstborn
of the Hebrews. They'd been sheltering under
that blood of sacrifice. They'd taken the paschal lamb,
they'd killed the lamb, they'd put the blood upon the doorpost
and the lintels. And they were to remain in their
houses. And death comes upon the Egyptians, but He passes
over all the Hebrews, and they're delivered out of Egypt, where
they were to remember the Passover. Every year, they must go up to
the Temple, well, previously that up to the Tabernacle. But
then also, they were to observe the Feast of Weeks. Seven weeks or fifty days after
Passover they were again to go up to Jerusalem and to observe
that feast. It was associated with the first
fruits of their harvest. They were returning thanks to
God for the continued provision that God made in the harvest. And then the third great feast
that they were to observe And you can read of these things
in Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 16 and verses 16
and 17 speaks of these feasts. The third one was the feast of
Tabernacles. And that was when they made little
dwelling booths as it were. And they were to abide in those,
and they were to remember how they'd been strangers in the
wilderness. They'd wandered 40 years in the
wilderness. They had no permanent dwelling.
They were encamping from day to day, moving from one place
to the other, living in tabernacles. They were always to observe these
various beasts. And here, you see, we have the
idea of the offerings, I shall bring
all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations,
as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel
unto the house of the Lord." It says at the end of the 20th
verse. It's an offering to the Lord. and how important that is. Again,
we have the key to it in the New Testament when we read of
the ministry of the apostle Paul, who is called, of course, to
be the great apostle to the Gentiles. Just as Peter is principally
the apostle to the Jew, it is Paul who is called to take that
Gospel to the Gentiles. And how he speaks of it, There
in Romans 15 and verse 16, his ministry of the gospel, that
the offering up, he says, of the Gentiles might be acceptable
being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. What is his ministry? It's the offering up of the Gentiles
to God. And the margin there tells us
that offering up is literally the sacrificing. The sacrificing
of the Gentiles that he might be acceptable unto God. It's presenting an offering unto
the Lord. It's interesting to think of
what a service of worship is when we gather together in this
fashion. What do we come together for today? Why do we come to
these services? are we coming to receive? or are we coming to offer up? spiritual sacrifices sometimes
we misunderstand what true worship is it's not us coming that we
might obtain something but it's us coming that we might give
something in our worship to God isn't that
the calling of those who have really heard and received and
been blessed with the gospel of the grace of God again Paul
writes into the church at Rome I beseech you therefore brethren
that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice wholly acceptable unto
God which is your reasonable service be not conformed to this
world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds that
you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will
of God I don't think Paul could be plainer really than he is
in those verses at the beginning of Romans 12 we are to present
ourselves as living sacrifices and if our conversion is a real
conversion That's how it will be evidence. Certainly that's
one of the evidences of the grace of God in the soul of any sinner. We see here in the text just
what he said concerning those to whom this gospel message is
proclaimed. God sets a sign, an ensign among
them. He declares amongst the Gentiles, the glorious
gospel. And what does it say here in
verse 20? They shall bring all your brethren
for an offering unto the Lord, out of all nations, upon horses,
and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift
beasts, to my holy mountain, Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as
the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel
unto the house of the Lord. What is his clean vessel associated
with the offering that is presented unto the Lord? Does he not indicate
the holiness of the life of those who are these blessed converts? Or does he not indicate something
of the sincerity of their lives? How their service to God is with
that singleness of mind We're not to present to God a
divided heart. We're to be wholehearted in our
approaches, in our worship, in our service. And yet, though
wholehearted, we also bring, of course, that broken heart. A broken and contrite heart the
Lord God doesn't despise. or we come to worship Him, we
come then, I trust in that spirit of true humility. And we seek
above and beyond all things else the honor and the glory of His
name. The Lord willing, I hope that
we can continue this evening as we look at the words that
follow this 20th verse to go on and see what further he said
with regards to these Gentile converts. And I will also take
of them for priests and for Levites, saith the Lord. For as the new
heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before
me, saith the Lord, so shall your seat and your name remain. Well, God willing we'll come
back And with the Lord's help, we'll look at those further words. The Lord be pleased to bless
His word to us.