The Delight of God

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Israel sin had left them. barren, exposed, and oppressed, but the Lord would not leave them in that state. We turn from God because of our belief that there is someone or some thing better than him, but it is never true. We reach out to meet or legitimate needs in an illegitimate way. What keeps us from him? Seeing God wrongly I.e. is a controlling dictator who is waiting to see if we break the rules. Seeing ourselves wrongly I.e. through the lens of our mistakes, mistreatment, and what others think of us. Seeing our restoration wrongly I.e. as based on our performance. Rest in the promises of God. Resolve in the identity of a belovd spouse.

Notes

Transcript

Introduction:

ACCC Theme: Bear much fruit by abiding in Christ

Great choice of songs and Scriptures!

*Firefly Carpet or

Getting caught and consequences.

Sin has consequences, but does not remove your identity if you are espoused to Christ.

My identity was still cousin and nephew.

*Me receiving a spanking from Treva for my kids bad behavior. They remembered it and put it in our 50th birthday book.

*The commander who offered his back to the soldiers for lashing when his mother had got into the food supplies.

Israel had run from God. Their rebellion had reached a tipping point and the LORD had to remove His protection and blessing from them, but not His heart and covenant.

Originally, they weren’t supposed to have a king at all. God was to be their king, but He also knew that they would cave under pressure and gave prescriptions for what a king should be like. They didn’t do that either. Most of the kings were bad. Some started well, but ended poorly, like Solomon. After him, the kingdom split into Israel and Judah or Northern and Southern Kingdoms. The Northern Kingdom, called Israel, never had a godly king out of its 19. The Southern, Judah, had nearly half good and half bad. Of its 19 kings, there were roughly 10 good kings.

But did that stop God from loving them? Did it stop Him from fulfilling His covenant? No.

Reasons for Captivity

1. Idolatry:

- Exodus 20:3-5 - The First Commandment.

- 2 Kings 17:7-18 - Describes how the northern kingdom of Israel was exiled by the Assyrians due to idolatry.

- Ezekiel 8:10-16 - Depicts scenes of idolatry in the Jerusalem temple.

2. Disobedience to God's laws:

- Deuteronomy 28:15-68 - Lists blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience to God's laws.

- 2 Chronicles 36:14-21 - Discusses the exile of Judah because of their failure to follow God's laws.

3. Social injustice:

- Isaiah 1:17 - Calls for justice and helping the oppressed.

- Amos 2:6-7 - Condemns the Israelites for their social injustices and lack of mercy.

4. Forsaking the covenant:

- Deuteronomy 29:25-28 - Discusses the consequences of forsaking the covenant. (“Because they abandoned the LORD”)

- Jeremiah 11:10-11 - Warns of the consequences of breaking the covenant.

5. Prophetic warnings:

- Jeremiah 25:4-11 - Jeremiah's prophecies about the 70-year Babylonian exile.

- Isaiah 39:6-7 - Isaiah's prophecy about the exile of Judah to Babylon.

6. Violence and Bloodshed:

- Ezekiel 7:23-24 - Speaks of violence filling the land as a reason for judgment.

- Hosea 4:2-3 - Points out bloodshed following bloodshed in the land.

7. False Prophecy and Deceit:

- Jeremiah 14:13-14 - Warns about the deceit of false prophets.

- Ezekiel 13:2-9 - Condemns prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing.

8. Religious Syncretism:

- 2 Kings 17:15-18 - Discusses the Israelites' practice of syncretism.

- Jeremiah 2:11-13 - Condemns the forsaking of God for worthless idols.

9. Rebellion Against God's Authority:

- Isaiah 63:10 - Accuses the Israelites of rebelling and grieving the Holy Spirit.

- Ezekiel 20:8-9 - Recounts their rebellion and refusal to obey God.

10. Immorality and Impurity:

- Ezekiel 22:11 - Accuses the people of committing abominations and sexual sins.

- Hosea 4:10-11 - Condemns the people for their immorality and drunkenness.

Ultimately—- it was their

**Failure to Repent**:

- Jeremiah 8:5-6 - Laments the refusal of the people to repent and return to God.

- Zechariah 7:11-14 - Recalls the people's refusal to heed God's words.

God is patient, like Hosea with his harlot wife. They kept leaving him for her other lovers which was an allegory of God’s relationship with His fickle people.

God wants His people to flourish and love and desire Him.

This passage shows some of God’s heart for His wayward wife:

Main Text

Isaiah 62:1–5 “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.”

Israel’s sin had left them barren, exposed, and oppressed. Though they turned and prayed, the effects of sin were still very present.

However, the LORD would not leave them in that state. He infused them with hope and expectation that they would have their shame removed and the curse and effects removed. They would be known as the one whom God delights in. Instead of desolate and deserted, they’d be a beloved bride! God takes us back!

Like Hosea to his harlot wife, he just keeps longing for His wayward bride.

We often turn from God because of our belief that there is someone or something better and it is never true.

We think that God is witholding something good from us, until we are left with barreness and disallussioned. Sometimes we reach to these things because we are reaching for legitimate needs in an illegitimate way. Perhaps it is our need for significance, safety,love, peace, satisfaction, etc. If God seems absent, we are even more prone.

I want to read these words to you again. Let them be God’s love letter to you. His prophecy over you. His intentions for you.

God is speaking through Isaiah and since God keeps on speaking, Isaiah is going to keep on. Neither are going to stop prophesying and calling forth the desire of God and the prophecy that God’s people are going to be glorious. They keep believing despite the evidence to the contrary. And what is the content of their prophecies?

Beauty, righteousness, honor, intimacy, loved and cherished, pride and wanting to show you off, rejoicing over you, happy with you.. wow!

I just feel like someone needs to know that right now. God is infatuated, in love, and has deep real love, unconditional love towards you.

This passage speaks to the future of Israel, but also of spiritual Israel, the Church, those of us who have placed our faith in Christ and have become united to Him. I use that term, “spiritual Israel” not as replacement theology which replaces Israel with the Church. Israel has not been replaced by the Church through their rejection of Christ or their past rebellions against God. However, the New Testament gives us many allegories and metaphors to refer to the Church as a spiritual Israel. The New Testament informs the Old Testament and the Old Testament informs the New. What is concealed in the Old is revealed in the New.

When Paul writes to the Galatians, he calls them the “children of promise” (Galatians 4:28

28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.” In Galatians 6:16 “16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.” he is referring to a spiritual Israel, not an ethnic one. This is, most likely an eschatological reference to all believers including Jewish Christians who will eventually believe (See New American Commentary). Sometimes he does refer to ethnic Israel like in Romans 9:4 “4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.”

Oh but let us explore just a few examples:

Consider the parallels of Exodus 19:5-6 and 1 Peter 2:9 In Exodus God speaks to ethnic Israel,

Exodus 19:5–6 ESV

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

In 1 Peter, he writes,

1 Peter 2:9 ESV

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Listen to how the Apostle John writes about Jesus and His followers in Revelations:

Revelation 1:5–6 (ESV)

and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Also, when we receive Christ, we become part of spiritual Israel and are sons and daughters of Abraham.

Galatians 3:7 ESV

Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.

Ethnic Israel would resettle and desire to “marry” the land and turn from idolatry for good. Their barrenness would be repopulated and restoration would come. Ultimately there is much of Isaiah that is still for the future. But for the Church, this is God’s heart for us. Those things which speak of Israel, often speak of God’s heart and desires for us. This is one of those passages.

Let’s consider these verses:

Verses 1-2A

Isaiah 62:1-2A “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory,

Does this not echo Jesus speaking to His disciples in Matthew 5:14-16

Matthew 5:14–16 ESV

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

When we read the book of Acts we see such phenomenal demonstrations of Christlikeness. From Stephen’s forgiveness of those killing him during his martyrdom, to the sharing of property and feeding the poor, to the spreading of the gospel during missionary journeys and more!

Verse 2B-3

2B -3 and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

To the Church in Pergamum, the LORD says, Rev. 2.17

Revelation 2:17 (ESV)

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

To the Church in Philadelphia, the LORD says,

Revelation 3:12 (ESV)

The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.

Isn’t that just beautiful? Let’s keep going.

Verse 4 of Isa. 62.

4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.

1 John 3:1 “1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”

Amazing Grace

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Poem, masterpiece, He delights in us.

When we discover great art that has been marred, we do not throw it away. We restore it. How much more does our Heavenly Father?

Verse 5

5 For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.”

Revelation 21:2 ESV

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Consider

Hosea 2:19–20 ESV

And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord.

Also

Zephaniah 3:17 ESV

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Is not Jesus our Bridegroom? John the Baptist spoke of Him that way in

John 3:29 ESV

The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.

and Jesus referred to Himself as such many times:

Matthew 9:15 ESV

And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

Matthew 25:1 ESV

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.

But what about after the incident of sin?

What keeps us from Him?

Seeing God Wrongly.

G O D I S L O V E!

Sometimes people see God as a controlling dictator, as a Cosmic Killjoy who is waiting to see if we will break the rules so He can burn us like ants with a magnifying glass. When this is the case, we won’t be very inspired to approach Him. This is not what I see here. Here, Isaiah shows God as a lover in love, eager to have His wife home with Him, that he can enjoy her company.

1 John 4:8 “8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

How is God pictured in this passage?

In love. Holding you in His hand. Delighting in you, marrying you. Rejoicing in you.

John 3:16 “16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Romans 5:8 “8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

1 John 4:9–10 “9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

1 John 3:1 “1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”

Ephesians 2:4–5 “4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—”

Matthew 11:28–30 “28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.””

1 Peter 5:6–7 “6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

What keeps us from Him?

2. Seeing ourselves wrongly.

You are loved!

How we we see ourselves can keep us at bay as well. If we see ourselves as a misfit, messup, mistake, etc. If we identify as a sinner and not as a beloved bride, we won’t have any motivation for affection or change. We will be covered in shame, boredom, coldness, frigidity, and loneliness.

How are we pictured in this passage?

Righteous, beautiful, royal, treasured, a bride,

What keeps us from Him?

3. Seeing the Source of our Restoration wrongly.

Jesus paid it all!

Is it God’s doing or ours? Christ sacrifice is efficacious upon our belief not our works. No amount of works can do. When we buy the lie, that our salvation and identity lie in our works, we may feel our performance is to blame for a host of circumstances. “It is because I didn’t work enough, believe enough, or pray enough.” Or if we did do a lot of works, we might feel anger towards God, because He didn’t perform well enough for us.

Our restoration is based on Christ. He bought us, not to be slaves, but to be a bride. We were slaves to our sin and to the devil, but now… now we are spouses. Problems are to be worked out, not penalized. His arms are always open as are his hands. They are not closed fists.

How is the restoration pictured in this passage?

In the NT?

Altar:

Non-Christians

Backsliders

Believers

See God correctly:‌

God is love.

See yourself correctly:‌

You are loved!

‌See the Source of your restoration correctly:‌

Jesus paid it all!

Rest/Resolve

I will rest in the view, the image of God, dancing around, showing me off. Showing my picture to people in pride. Why? Because he is so happy to be joined in forever wedlock to me! The blood is our marriage license and the water baptism is the ring. My confession of faith, or my vows in the new covenant are his. We were meant for each other. Destiny has finally been consummated. He rejoices over me. You my king rejoice over me. My sins and flaws are swallowed up in love and affection. They’ve been obliterated by the cross. You have such plans for us. We have a we identity as a couple now. People will see your ring on me and know that I am Beulah and Hephzibah.

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