5 27 03

7:10a

Isaiah 65

Again I am brought to this chapter. The verse that stands out to me of the first five is verse four. who sit among the graves and spend there nights keeping secret vigil; Okay, so it�s the first part of verse four.

Still� God is talking about how He offered His presence to people who didn�t want Him; to people who were choosing to walk in �ways not good� (v2). So my question about that specific verse snippet is, what is this secret vigil? The idea that comes to my mind is someone who is doing s�ance stuff.

I don�t have a lot of information about this, I simply don�t know much about it, but I�m thinking that God is talking about witchcraft. All I know about people who might spend their nights among the graves is that either they�re a grounds keeper for a cemetery, or there up to no good. Perhaps they�re waiting for a loved one to return from the dead or something.

I think the verse is talking about witchcraft, though.

The next little segment is verses six and seven and God is saying that He won�t keep silent and that He will pay back, in full, the sins of the person ignoring Him and the sins of that person�s fathers. It makes me think that I should really, really be concentrating on forgiveness. I should be asking forgiveness for my sins and those of my ancestors.

Many places in the Bible talk about the payment of sins unto the third and fourth generations. So I think about this in regard to my most obvious sin of the moment: smoking.

My father smokes. My step father used to smoke. My aunt smokes. My maternal grandfather smoked. My maternal grandmother smoked. My paternal grandmother smoked. My maternal great grandfather smoked. I don�t know about the generations before them. But that�s quite a lot of smoking.

Perhaps, in order for me to successfully quit, I have to ask forgiveness not just for my smoking, but for that of my immediate ancestry. I have been actively trying to quit now for a few months. I�d make it a day, sometimes three days, but then buy another pack or two. Man, letting go is more difficult than I thought it would be.

AS we go on, through to verse 12, God is talking about both showing mercy and the final price. Because He loves His children, He will not destroy them yet. Because there is still good found among His people, He won�t just destroy them, He will wait and allow them to choose Him once more. If they don�t, however, He will destroy them all.

Moving on� *chuckles* (Sorry, got a phone call, so the train of thought was derailed for a moment)

The above verses affirm my personal thought that I should be seeking mercy. The thing that strikes me is my personal reference to David. He did a lot of really harsh stuff but (in my opinion) because he asked for forgiveness and because he was earnest in his desire to do good, God repeatedly had mercy on him. If I want mercy, I have to ask for it. The hard part is that I have to actually respond then. I have to let go of the sin part.

In the next segment, verses 13 through 16, verse 16 really jumps out at me.

Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth; he who takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes.

This makes me think that perhaps, upon forgiving and asking for forgiveness, and then stopping the behavior, my sins will not just be forgiven, but will be forgotten and hidden from sight. Hidden from sight� as if they had never occurred.

So, if I�m willing to let go, if I�m really willing to just surrender myself to God and His will in my life, what I have done wrong will be forgiven and forgotten� truly forgotten. How amazing is that, huh?

Verses 17 through 25 talk about the new heavens and the new earth. God will make good on this promise. And, I have the feeling that this section is applicable to me personally in that if I turn my life over to God, completely, He will create in me new life.

I have the feeling that this means I can apply all the promises God speaks of in this section to my personal life. I won�t cry anymore. I won�t have children who live only a few days and then die. I won�t die before my time. I will be able to build my house and live in it rather than having someone take it away from me. I will be able to plant and grow things, and they will feed me instead of someone else taking what I�ve worked hard for.

If I surrender myself to God, completely, my days will be measured like the trees and I will be able to enjoy the things I�ve worked for. I will not have to work hard and have nothing to show for it. There will be peace within and without my household and before I make the request, God will fulfill it.

This, to me, is extremely cool. The rewards so definitely outweigh the problems.

But, I have to let go first.

If I let go, God will�

If I let go, God will rejoice over me.

If I let go, God will delight in me.

If I let go, God will take away my pain, tears and sadness.

If I let go, God will give me long life.

If I let go, God will give me peace.

If I let go, God will give me success.

If I let go, God will give me joy.

If I let go, God will increase my dwellings.

If I let go, God will bless me.

If I let go, God will bless my children.

If I let go, God will reward my work.

If I let go, God will answer my prayers as I speak them.

If I let go, God will hear me before I call.

Loose paraphrase of Isaiah 65:19-24