I love
to read the book of Isaiah it is one of my favorite books. One time when
reading this text just seemed to jump off the page to me. “Rip the
heavens apart! Come down, LORD; make the mountains tremble. Be a spark
that starts a fire causing water to boil. Then your enemies will know who
you are; all nations will tremble because you are nearby. Your fearsome
deeds have completely amazed us; even the mountains shake when you come
down. You are the only God ever seen or heard of who works miracles for his
followers. You help all who gladly obey and do what you want, but sin makes
you angry. Only by your help can we ever be saved.” Isaiah 64:
1-5 Contemporary English Version (Emphasis
Mine) In this text the prophet is calling for a visitation of God,
reminding the Almighty of His previous encounters with His chosen people; and
based on those encounters calling for what he is expecting to come.
I see
five particular visitations that the prophet cries out to God for: verse 1 - A
Visitation of Awe, verse 2 – A Visitation of Fire & Respect, verse 3 – A
Visitation of Unexpected Amazement, verse 4 – A Visitation of Miracles For His
Own and verse 5 – A Visitation of Salvation. All five of these visitations are
visitations that we the Church of Jesus Christ need today.
Let us
consider the first cry the prophet makes. “Rip the heavens apart! Come
down, LORD; make the mountains tremble.” The Complete Jewish Bible
renders this same verse: “We wish you would
tear open heaven and come down, so the mountains would shake at your
presence!” (Emphasis
Mine) This was a manifestation of God from
Israel’s past. When He met Moses on the mountain and came down, the very
mountains shook at His presence, which caused awe amongst the people. The awe
of God is something that has been lost to most of the church world today…we are
too flippant with God without proper awe and respect.
In the Old Covenant we have many examples where the people where
in awe of God. “When the people of Israel saw the mighty power that the Lord had
unleashed against the Egyptians, they were filled with awe before him.
They put their faith in the Lord and in his servant Moses.” Exodus 14:31 New Living Translation (Emphasis Mine) I believe that this type of visitation is one that we need
today…one of awe.
The second cry the prophet makes in verse 2 is for the fire of
God, which will bring respect. “Be a spark that starts a fire causing water to boil. Then your
enemies will know who you are; all nations will tremble because you are
nearby.” (Emphasis Mine) Another translation renders verse 2: “It
would be like fire kindling the brush, and
the fire then makes the water boil. Then your enemies would know your name, the
nations would tremble before you!” The
Complete Jewish Bible (Emphasis Mine) Fire was not a
new manifestation to Israel, Moses and the burning bush, Elijah and the
prophets of Baal. Even in the book of Acts the church was birthed in cloven
tongues of fire.
Notice in this verse it declares the result of the visitation of
fire is that the nations (The Hebrew meaning of the word nations in this
text is: people not of Hebrew descent or people who are apart from the
covenant) will tremble because He is nearby, they will know who He is. We
could say for us today a current application would be all unbelievers would
know that your God is with you and respect you when the fire of God comes upon
you. This is definitely one that we need today.
Then
the prophet makes another in verse 3 for God to once again do for them what He
has done in the past; worked on their behalf unexpectedly amazing them. “Your
fearsome deeds have completely amazed us; even the mountains shake
when you come down.” Contemporary English Version (Emphasis
Mine) A different translation renders verse 3 this way: “When you did tremendous things that we were not expecting, we wished that you would come down, so that the mountains
would shake at your presence!” The Complete Jewish Bible (Emphasis Mine) God did things for them that they did not expect. He
totally amazed them. I don’t know about you…but I am ready for this one. I am
ready for God to amaze me, unexpectedly!
The Psalmist declared: “He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many
will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the
Lord.” Psalm 40:3 New Living Translation (Emphasis
Mine) All
throughout the Gospel of Matthew they were amazed at something Jesus either
said or did: amazed at His teaching 7:28, amazed that the wind and sea obey Him
8:27, amazed that a demon was driven out and a mute man spoke 9:33, amazed at
His wisdom and miraculous power 13:54, amazed at His healing ministry as all
were healed 15:31, amazed at the withered fig tree 21:20. This is a visitation
we definitely need to cry for.
The
next visitation the prophet cries for is found in verse 4 is actually a
declaration that God has done what no one ever heard of or saw before. “You
are the only God ever seen or heard of who works miracles for his
followers.” Contemporary English Version (Emphasis Mine) Another
translation renders verse 4: “No one has ever
heard, no ear perceived, no eye seen, any God but you. You work for him
who waits for you.” The
Complete Jewish Bible (Emphasis Mine) Israel’s history
was full of the accounts of God’s miracle working power on their behalf. Not
only is this concept Old Covenant Theology…it is also New Covenant Theology.
The Apostle Paul declared: “But just as it is written, ‘THINGS WHICH EYE
HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND
which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS
PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.’" 1 Corinthians 2:9 New American Standard Bible (Emphasis Mine)
Several
years back I delivered a prophetic word
at church on a Sunday morning, which was right along this same line. “…These
are the days of the fulfillment of My word. Eyes have not seen and ears have
not heard and neither has entered into the heart of man the things I have
prepared for those that love Me. This is the day for that scripture to be made
manifest. This is a day for things that will literally blow the minds of
the saints that will be transpiring within the earth. These are the days of the
outpouring of the Spirit of God. These are the days of a new measure of
anointing and a new realm of glory to be operated in, and there are things that
you could not dream or imagine that shall be common place that I will do by my
Spirit in these days saith God…” (September 30, 2007) I am ready for God to
blow my mind, by doing what we have not seen or heard before.
The
final cry the prophet makes is found in verse 5 and is a cry for a visitation
of salvation; while our sin displeases Him, yet He is our salvation. “You
help all who gladly obey and do what you want, but sin makes you angry. Only
by your help can we ever be saved.” Contemporary English Version (Emphasis Mine) While another
translation renders verse 5: “You favored those
who were glad to do justice, those who remembered you in your ways. When you
were angry, we kept sinning; but if we keep your ancient ways, we will be
saved.” The Complete Jewish Bible (Emphasis Mine) The Hebrew word here for saved implies: to be liberated,
saved or delivered; It is the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek word Sozo.
Again
this is not an unknown concept at the time of Isaiah’s writing. Israel’s
history is full of instances where God was angry with them for their sin, yet
He still delivered them. It is no different for us. He is displeased with our
sin, but thank God the blood of Jesus Christ His Son still cleanses us from all
sin. We as His children, washed in His blood are walking in our salvation as
far as our names being written in the lamb’s book of life is concerned…but we
still need to pray for a visitation of salvation because many are in need of
deliverance.
