The Slave of Jehovah; the Servant of Jehovah - Centerpiece

 The Suffering Servant

He is the one who will bring salvation, comfort, and the forgiveness of sins. He is the theme of this second section of the book of Isaiah.

This same designation "servant" is used in four songs or prophecies of the Servant in this second section of the book of Isaiah. 

The so-called “servant songs” in 42:1-9, 49:1-13, 50:4-11, and 52:13–53:12 present an increasingly clear prophetic view of the coming Messiah’s role as the Savior not only of Israel but indeed of those from every tribe, tongue, nation, and people who look to God in faith (see 49:6). Isaiah 53:1-12 in particular describes with uncanny precision the sacrificial death and victorious resurrection that Jesus Christ later experienced on behalf of sinners. (ETB Commentary)

The 27 Chapters of the second section are divided into three divisions of 9 chapters each in terms of subject

• Salvation from the Babylonian captivity. Chapters 40 - 48
• Salvation from sin. At the very center, is the Suffering Servant, Chapters 49 - 57
• Salvation from the cursed earth. Chapters 58 - 66

In chapter 53 we find the Suffering Servant. The context of the passage actually begins in Isa 52:13.

The entire section from Isa 52:13 to Isa 53:12 is a vivid description of the sufferings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Israel was Jehovah’s servant in that the nation was used of God to bring the Word and the Savior to the world. However, Israel was a disobedient servant that had to be chastened. Jesus Christ is the true Servant of Jehovah who died for the world and perfectly did His Father’s will. (Wiersbe's Expository Outlines)

The middle division of the second section of the book which deals with salvation from sin runs from chapter 49 to 57. The Jews would ask, "why do we need a savior from sin?"

• The Jews were not convinced that they needed a savior. They thought they just needed a righteous King. 
• They thought that by virtue of their Abrahamic descent, by virtue of the Covenants and the promises that they were in the place of blessing 
• The believed through acts of their own goodness and by virtue of their efforts at religious activities, ceremonies, rituals, and attempts to obey the Law of God, that they had earned their favor with God.
• Isaiah gives a message about a savior who will deliver us from our sins so that we escape eternal hell and enter into God's Eternal presence.

So the centerpiece section of these three sections of nine chapters shows salvation from sin for the people of God, Jew and Gentile. And it’s going to come through the Servant who will be the Savior sent from God. 

• In the middle section chapter 49 to 57, the middle chapters are 52 and 53. 
• The middle verse of Isa 52:13 to Isa 53:12 is verse 5, 

Middle section, middle chapter, middle of the chapter, middle verse, 8 verses down, or 8 verses up...Right in the middle:

(Isa 53:5)  But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. (ESV)

The Centerpiece

The central theme of the Salvation and Grace section of Isaiah's prophesy is right there in the center verse of the center section and it focuses down in verse 53:5 on the substitutionary piercing of the Servant of Jehovah for us.

A Muslim Questions the Alpha and Omega

I was recently asked by a Muslim whether Jesus would use the Greek words "Alpha" and "Omega" when He was speaking to the Jews. My response was basically "how about First and Last in Hebrew?

The only uses of the word Alpha that I am aware of is in the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ reveals to the Apostle John, a Jew, that He is the Alpha and Omega.

As the answer here is obvious, I approached the question from the standpoint that the Eternal had already told the Jews He was Alpha and Omega by declaring in Isaiah He is the First and Last. I believe these references to be powerful testaments to the Eternal Nature of Our Savior, Jesus.

The question posed to me is below, and it is followed by my response.

- Lou


QUESTION FROM MUSLIM ON GOOGLE+
Yesterday 11:22 PM

+BlueMan Lou Alpha and omega was a greeks words, did Jesus Christ spoke greeks to the jews his followers because he was sent only to the house of isreal.

'God' getting circumcise ?? At least you know why I call Christians PAGAN !
'God' became man, circumcise, ate and drank .!? Lol .

MY REPLY:

First and the Last works well too... You can find that in the Hebrew... in Isaiah... If you can't get along with the Greek in Revelation....

Isaiah 41:4
Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he.

Isaiah 44:6
Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

Isaiah 48:12
Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.

Revelation 1:11
Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

You see, those who deny Jesus Christ are denying God Almighty. The Word clearly tells those who have ears to hear, that they are One in the same ("I and My Father are One" - John 10:30)


The Holy Scripture is the Word of God, and the Word was in the beginning with God. The Eternal God is The Word...

John 1:1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

And Immanuel / Jesus, was born a man: The Eternal Almighty became a lowly man, and became flesh....

John 1:14
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

And in becoming flesh, he became a man, and for a little while, became a little lower then the angels. We are told this by the Word of God, in both Hebrew and Greek:

Psalm 8:5
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Hebrews 2:7
Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:

Hebrews 2:9
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.?

His Anger Has Not Turned Away, And His Hand Is Stretched Out Still

The Eternal has made plain His warning that those who reject His existence, His Power, His Glory, are without hope. He brings His arguments to those He loves, the world He created, the world He died for.

He proclaims with a saddened heart:

In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, "There is no God."
(Psa 10:4 ESV)

 Although many reject Him, or even His existence, He is waiting:

• He is waiting to make right all the wrongs in the world...
• He is waiting to stop the suffering and tears...
• He is waiting to purge the enemies of His Elect and His Bride from His Creation...
• He is waiting for all those who would; to come to believe and have faith in Him
• He is waiting for the lost, those without hope, to come to Him
  

 He stands with His nail pierced hand outstretched, "Come, and follow Me..."

All the cosmos in its splendor and mystery; the earth, and all upon it; as well as the vast expanse of the unreachable realms of the universe; all scream the awesome power of The Almighty Creator

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
(Psa 19:1-6 ESV)

For what can be known of God is made plain to us, in His Creation, all around us...

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
(Rom 1:17-20 ESV)

Hear the word of The LORD, The Almighty, Creator of All Things, The Alpha and the Omega, The Beginning and the End

Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes, who say: "Let him be quick, let him speed his work that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!" Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight! Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right! Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom go up like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people, and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them, and the mountains quaked; and their corpses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.        (Isa 5:18-25 ESV)

The Burden of Damascus

 The Burden of Damascus -  Isaiah Chapter 17

 (Isa 17:1)  An oracle concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins.

(Isa 17:2)  The cities of Aroer are deserted; they will be for flocks, which will lie down, and none will make them afraid.

(Isa 17:3)  The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria will be like the glory of the children of Israel, declares the LORD of hosts.

(Isa 17:4)  And in that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low, and the fat of his flesh will grow lean.

(Isa 17:5)  And it shall be as when the reaper gathers standing grain and his arm harvests the ears, and as when one gleans the ears of grain in the Valley of Rephaim.

(Isa 17:6)  Gleanings will be left in it, as when an olive tree is beaten— two or three berries in the top of the highest bough, four or five on the branches of a fruit tree, declares the LORD God of Israel.

(Isa 17:7)  In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel.

(Isa 17:8)  He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense.

(Isa 17:9)  In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation.

(Isa 17:10)  For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,

(Isa 17:11)  though you make them grow on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow, yet the harvest will flee away in a day of grief and incurable pain.

(Isa 17:12)  Ah, the thunder of many peoples; they thunder like the thundering of the sea! Ah, the roar of nations; they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!

(Isa 17:13)  The nations roar like the roaring of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm.

(Isa 17:14)  At evening time, behold, terror! Before morning, they are no more! This is the portion of those who loot us, and the lot of those who plunder us.

 

Dempsey in Israel, Jordan, to tie last ends before Obama decides finally on US military action in Syria

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report August 13, 2013, 8:44 AM (IDT)

US and Jordanian special forces

Chairman of the US Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey arrived in Israel Monday, Aug. 12 for critical talks with Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Defense minister Moshe Ya’alon and Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, followed by parallel talks in Jordan. debkafile reports he has come to lay the ground ahead of President Barack Obama’s final decision to embark on limited US military intervention in the Syria civil war.

The Obama plan, if it goes forward, would involve Saudi Arabia, Emirates, Israel, Jordan and possibly Turkey. debkafile’s Washington and military sources reveal its 11 high points - most of which were first reported exclusively in DEBKA Weekly 598 on Aug. 1:

1. US, British, French, Saudi and United Arab Emirates will establish a no-fly zone over central and southern Syria, stretching from the Jordanian-Israeli borders up to and including Damascus.
2.  The Israeli Air Force will provide these forces with air cover from Syrian air space.
3.  A 40-kilometer deep military buffer zone will be drawn from the Jordanian-Israeli borders up to the southern and western outskirts of Damascus. The military units controlling this zone will hold the entire area of the capital within artillery range.
4.  The southern Syrian town of Deraa, where the Syrian uprising sprang up, will be declared capital of Liberated Syria.
5.   President Obama has determined that there will no American troops in the buffer zone or anywhere else on Syrian soil, only special Syrian rebel forces.
6.  Those forces will consist of 3,000 fighters trained in Jordan by US military instructors. They will be headed by Jordanian special forces and operate under US officers based in Jordan.
7. To host them, the US Army has just finished building in the Hashemite Kingdom a huge training camp and logistical system, debkafile’s military sources report. All the weapons and equipment required to train and arm the rebel force are already stacked there.
8.  The American operational command center for the Syrian operation is already in place in Amman led by US Brig. Gen. John Wright, who at 57 is a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.
9.  The US air force units for imposing the no-fly zone over Syria are already in position at Middle East locations and ready to go at 36 hours’ notice.
10.  A Druze unit trained by US military instructors will be a key component of the special rebel force. It was put up by the million-strong community which populates 120 villages and towns in the Jabal al-Druze area of southern Syria. They are situated in a commanding position overlooking the Syrian-Jordanian-Iraqi border triangle.
11. US forces deployed in the Middle East, especially in Jordan and Israel, will stand ready for possible reprisals against American, Israeli, Jordanian or Turkish targets, if ordered by Syrian President Bashar Assad in retaliation for the no-fly and buffer zones.

Libnah is being awakened from a 3,000-year sleep

The ALMIGHTY said He would make Himself known in the latter days.

"Surely I come quickly..." Jesus Christ (Rev 22:20)

From The Jerusalem Post:

Digging up treasures

07/11/2013 16:04   By ADAM ROSS

The supposed ancient city of Libnah is being awakened from a 3,000-year sleep as excavations reveal findings from First Temple, Canaanite periods.

Photo by: Adam Ross

The residents of the Shfela, which extends from Latrun in the North to Kiryat Gat in the South, are well aware of the historical significance of the area in which they live. The vast excavations at Beit Guvrin that open a window to the Bar Kochba revolt in Second Temple times and the Eila Valley where David slew Goliath, a stone’s throw from Beit Shemesh, are just two of the historical treasures.

It is here, perhaps unbeknown to locals that an archeologist licensed from Bar-Ilan University is almost certain that he has uncovered the biblical stronghold of Libnah.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Libnah or Lobna (Hebrew: לִבְנָה‎, whiteness; Latin: Lobna) was a town in the Kingdom of Judah. The town of Libnah revolted during the reign of King Jehoram of Judah, according to II Chronicles (21:10), because he "had abandoned [the] God of his fathers."
Josiah, King of Judah, married Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah (1 Chronicles 3:15; 2 Kings 23:31-32;2 Kings 24:17-18; Jeremiah 22:11). Two of their sons, Jehoahaz and Zedekiah also became Kings of Judah. Libnah was one of the places the Israelites stopped on the Exodus. (Joshua 10:29)

ASSYRIAN WARRIORS HURLING STONES. The carving is from a wall decoration in the palace of Sennacherib at Nineveh (early seventh century BCE). http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/gerald_larue/otll/chap10.html

As recorded in the Bible at 2 Kings 19 and Isaiah 37, in 732 BCE , 185,000 Assyrian soldiers under King Sennacherib were killed by an angel of God while encamped near Libnah, thwarting their advance from Lachish to Jerusalem.

Digging up treasures | JPost | Israel News

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