Lesson
006 - The Woman Forsaken
Subjects
of the Everlasting Kingdom of God on Earth
Isaiah
52-54 and Psalm 22
The
luminaries are a heavenly pictorial of an earthly
kingdom. The subjects of the kingdom
of God on earth would come from God’s called out assembly - the nation of
Israel. Israel is the primary focus of
God’s earthly kingdom.
Two
women are in the starry luminaries; the prominent woman is Israel. Although the word Virgin implies an unmarried
woman, the “Virgin” of Virgo is not a woman. She is a nation. Nations are built through the seed of
man. A man builds his house through
sons. God built the nation of Israel from
the dust seed of Abraham’s 12 grandsons, an earthly creation. The dust seed of Abraham is scattered all
over the earth.
The
nation Israel is the “seed carrier.” The Seed – Christ would come from Israel.
In Genesis 3:15 is the prophecy of a “seedbed.” A seedbed is a plot of ground in which seeds
and seedlings are cultivated. Within
this verse are multiple generations of seed:
the woman and her seed (the Jews), the nation Israel; the serpent and
his seed (those who willingly follow him); and Christ and His seed. Prophetically speaking, they are within the
“seedbed.”
Israel
rejected her Messiah at His first coming - His people did not receive Him. Yet Israel’s rejection of her Messiah did not
thwart the plan of God. God knew it
would be at Jesus’ second coming that His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would
be fulfilled – the establishment of Israel, the kingdom of God on earth.
In the
song of Psalm 19, the heavens declare the glory of God. In verse 5, the Seed Christ is the bridegroom of Israel; He is the betrothed of His
people. His intended betrothed is the
woman forsaken, the remnant of Israel. In
the typology of the scripture, Jesus is a bridegroom to His people Israel and a
husband to His bride-wife the Church. The
titles of bridegroom and husband unite the two realms and declare one universal
kingdom of sons of God.
One man and one woman
equals one flesh. The
Lamb’s wife is the bride-wife from the body
of her husband; she is of His seed of the household of Christ, which is
identified as the New Jerusalem in the heavenlies (Revelation 21).
The woman forsaken, the
wife of her youth (Isaiah 54:6) - the remnant of the nation Israel is not of
His flesh and of His bone, but a “wife” in the sense that the bridegroom
marries the people and the people marry their land.
In Revelation 19, the
“wife,” who has made herself ready for the Lamb’s supper, is the nation Israel
who is about to be married to her land by the bridegroom – her King – the Lamb.
There are not two wives because
that would be contrary to God’s design of family. Israel is called the Lamb’s wife in Revelation
19 in a figurative sense because it pertains to the inheritance of the land for
the nation that God promised Abram and his seed. (Hebrews 11:8-10). Therefore, the Lamb’s
wife on the earth is the sons of Israel –
the remnant. The marriage supper of the
Lamb (Revelation 19:9) takes place when Jesus, the bridegroom king, has the
heart of His people (Israel) at His second coming.
Jerusalem
is the key to understanding the difference between a bridegroom and a husband. God has
a city in Jerusalem, Zion the city of the King. “Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole
earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King”
(Psalm 48:2).
Christ has a city – the New Jerusalem in the
heavenlies. “… one of the seven angels …
talked with me saying, ‘Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb’s
wife.’ And he carried me away in the
spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy
Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God …” (Revelation 21:9, 10).
As we
shall see later in the stellar signs, the Serpent
also has a city – Babylon.
The
marriage of the Lamb takes place when the bridegroom “marries” His people and
His people “marry” the land. (Revelation
of this union is seen in the kingdom stellar sign of Gemini.) The Lamb’s wife on earth is the city of
Jerusalem and her inhabitants.
Isaiah
52-54 is a trilogy of and companion to the stellar signs Leo, Cancer and Gemini. These stellar signs picture the awakening of
Israel to her deliverance in the kingdom age with the coming again of her
Messiah as her bridegroom king and the establishment of the kingdom of God on
earth.
The
book of Isaiah and the Old Testament books that follow are the prophetic
portion of the Bible. The prophets were
more than foretellers; they were men raised up by God during a period in Israel’s
history when the nation was in steady decline through its flagrant disobedience
to Jehovah God.
The
prophets not only spoke of events in the far future but also spoke of local
events in the immediate future. They had
to accurately foretell in order to qualify for the office of prophet as
outlined by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:20-22).
If the local event the prophet predicted did not transpire, he was
labeled a false prophet and so
treated – “even that prophet shall die.” The prophets were not supermen – they were men of passion. However,
they speak for God making their message the infallible and inspired Word of
God.
Little
reference is given to the prophet Isaiah’s life and ministry. Isaiah states three things regarding himself. He is the son of Amoz; his service was during
the reigns of “Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah”; and the
children whom the LORD gave him were for signs and for wonders in Israel – from the LORD of hosts, who dwells in Mount
Zion (Isaiah 1:1, 8:18).
What
does Isaiah mean when he says he and his children are for signs and wonders in
Israel? Not one thing is made known of
Isaiah’s sons, their doings or sayings; nothing is known but their names. Therefore, the “signs” must lie in the names. The names of Isaiah and his sons are a
prophetic revelation of events past, present and future for the nation of
Israel.
Beyond the
meaning of the name of the father of Isaiah and that of his two sons, Isaiah stands
in the shadows proclaiming “The Salvation of Jehovah” (the meaning of his name).
The name Amoz means “He shall strengthen”
and “good courage.” Shear-Jashub (Isaiah
7:3) means “a remnant shall return” and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (Isaiah 8:3) means
“spoil quickly, plunder speedily.”
The
“signs” seen in the names of Isaiah and his family are the prophetic revelation
of the salvation of Jehovah; He shall strengthen. Through the victory of Israel’s Messiah, a
remnant shall return and spoil quickly and plunder speedily. As such, Israel is to take good courage in
Jehovah in Isaiah’s day and afterward.
A broad
view of these three chapters shows they pertain to the kingdom of God on earth.
Dark days were coming to the nation and
darker days still – the days of Jacob’s time of trouble, the tribulation. However, the awakening of Israel to her
deliverance is coming with the coming again of her Messiah, her bridegroom king;
He will establish His kingdom.
“In
that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather
her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; and I will make her that
halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount
Zion from henceforth, even forever” (Micah 4:6, 7).
Therefore,
despite the current thinking among some that God has cast away His people
Israel and the church has replaced the nation, the stellar signs say differently
(Jeremiah 31:35, 36). God’s eternal
covenant plan is for a universal
kingdom of sons of God in heaven and on earth. God fills the two realms with sons of God who
are satisfied with their inheritance.
Isaiah
52 could be titled, “The Awakening of the Nation to Righteousness.” The chapter is divided into three parts:
Verses 1-6 are an invitation
to the redeemed remnant of Israel
Verses 7-10 institute
the kingdom to Israel
Verses 11-12 are the
proclamation of Israel’s final deliverance
Many commentators
place the last three verses of chapter 52 (the introduction of the Suffering
Servant) with Isaiah 53.
The
times of the Gentiles have been fulfilled. Israel is exhorted to awake from her sleep –
awake, awake! What is she awakening too?
The righteousness of God has come, her bridegroom
king has come, saying, “Here am I” (Isaiah 52:6)!
Israel
can shake off the dust of despair and shackles of slavery. She must change her garments of dust and ashes
(death) and put on the garments of sons of God – the garments of beauty and glory
(body of glory). Jerusalem is at peace;
she and her bridegroom king are reconciled.
How
beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of Him bringing good news, peace He
is proclaiming! The kingdom of God is
come; His will is done on earth as it is in heaven. King David is upon the throne in the Jerusalem
below; the great city, the holy Jerusalem (Jerusalem above) has descended out
of heaven from God as the bridal canopy over the Jerusalem on earth. Thy God reigneth! (Jeremiah 30:9).
All has
been made possible because the LORD laid bare His mighty arm Christ Jesus, the covenant
Son in the redemption at His first coming and has redeemed and restored Israel
at His second coming – the Salvation of Jehovah.
Isaiah 52:13-15:
“Behold, my servant shall deal
prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high, As many were
astounded at thee, his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form
more than the sons of men: So shall he
sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him; for that which
had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall
they consider.”
The
kingdoms of the earth (the mountains) will submit themselves to the King! That fiery trial that
produced the needed repentance for Israel (Jacob’s time of trouble, the
tribulation) will be so great that there is none like it.
Not only will the nation of Israel experience
great persecution but also the devastation of the trial will be universal in its effect to cause the
nations of the earth to be willing to pledge their allegiance to the
Sovereignty of Israel’s king. For “the
hour of temptation shall also come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth” (Revelation 3:10).
The
man of lawlessness - the one who opposed and exalted
himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped – the one sitting in
the temple of God declaring himself to be God – he will be cast
alive with his false prophet into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. The devil, that Old Serpent – Satan, will be
bound in the bottomless pit. All the mouths
that had been full of cursing and deceit and guile shall be silenced in the presence
of the king.
In Isaiah
53 the arrival of the bridegroom king is clearly portrayed as the Suffering
Servant of Jehovah and is the heart of the whole book, the holy of holies. Those who are familiar with God’s word
recognize that the 53rd chapter of Isaiah and the 22nd
Psalm give the most vivid account of the crucifixion of Christ.
When
considering the gospel account of the crucifixion, only a few unrelated events about
the crucifixion are given; the actual crucifixion account is written with a
reverent restraint. God never does
anything without design or purpose. Likely,
the reasons are these: (1) the shocking details
are not to treat as commonplace that which is sacred; and (2) to take the
sacred and make it familiar is to deny the holy.
To
focus on the blood and gore of the crucifixion detracts from the person and gives
attention to the blood and gore. In
addition, the scant outlines in the gospel account bring to mind the vivid
account in the Old Testament. It is a
way for the gospel writers to hit the heart of the nation saying, “See, all has
been done according to our scripture.” Sometimes
the less said is more.
Finally,
the vivid account in the Old Testament is
for Israel. Her Messiah had no form or
comeliness when she saw Him. There was
nothing to recommend Jesus as King of Israel.
Who was
He? Nobody – He was Jesus of Nazareth; there was no
beauty that they should desire Him. They
were seeking a king of their imagination.
Yet
when He appears and Israel is awakened to the righteousness of God - her bridegroom,
her shepherd king, hearing Him say, “Here am I!” (Isaiah 52:6), she will look
on Him whom she has pierced and
grieve.
Israel
will be in her awakening in the presence of the “Here am I” – the one despised and rejected of men, a man
of sorrows and acquainted with grief, the one whom they hid their faces from; He was despised and they esteemed Him not. In
the day of that coming, they will
receive Him as the one who hath borne their
grief, and carried their sorrows;
the one they esteemed not, stricken,
smitten of God and afflicted (Isaiah 53:4).
They will look on Him whom they wounded – for their transgression,
bruised for their iniquities; the
chastisement of their peace upon Him,
they will know that it is His stripes
by which they are healed. In the day of the kingdom, they like sheep that have gone astray
and turned everyone to his own way will awake to their shepherd king, the one upon
whom the LORD laid the iniquity of them all.
In that
day the LORD will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem …
and Israel shall look upon Him their Redeemer whom they have pierced and they
shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for his only son and shall be in bitterness for Him as one that is in bitterness
for his firstborn (Zechariah 12:9, 10).
After
the sorrow of grief is the joy of a new beginning. Isaiah 54 is the song that accompanies salvation.
This chapter is divided into two parts:
Verses
1-10 speak of the restoration of Israel as the woman forsaken.
Verses
11-17 speak of the rejoicing of the righteousness established.
The
first word after sorrow of grief is sing! Israel is to break forth into singing! She is no longer forsaken; she is no longer
barren. She has fulfilled the purpose of
her creation – children, sons of God for her Maker, her Husband; the LORD of
hosts is His name; her Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole
earth shall He be called (Isaiah 54:5). The
LORD has had mercy on her. This day, God’s
day, is the day when the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the
waters cover the sea.
This
brings peace. Peace brings
righteousness. They belong together. With peace and righteousness is freedom from
fear. “Mercy and truth are met together;
righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Psalm 85:10).
So
begins the everlasting kingdom of God on earth. No enemy will ever attack Israel again. “This is the heritage of the servants of the
LORD, and their righteousness is of Me, saith the LORD” (Isaiah 54:17).
Glossary for The
Woman Forsaken
Bridegroom
–
what Jesus is to the remnant of Israel
Christ and His seed –
sons of God
City of Babylon –
the serpent’s city – the world’s
system (Ephesians 2:2)
City of Jerusalem – the
Lamb’s wife on earth (Revelation 19:7)
City of
the New Jerusalem –
the bride-wife of Jesus in the heavenlies (Revelation 21:9-10)
Husband
– what
Jesus is to His bride-wife the church - one body one flesh.
Woman
and her seed – the Jews, the nation Israel.
Woman Forsaken (Isaiah 54:6) – the Lamb’s wife, the remnant of Israel, who believes on the
Righteousness of God - her Bridegroom King.
She is the Lamb’s “wife” figuratively in the sense that the bridegroom
marries the people and the people marry their land.
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