READ An Addition to Isaiah from the Book of Mormon…in Additional Resources for an important note on the 49th Chapter of Isaiah.
The future is bright for the Lord’s people.
ISAIAH 50 Isaiah speaks as the Messiah
READ Isaiah 50:1-3, 6
The Lord employed the figure of a divorce and the sale of a slave to teach that though Israel’s past apostasy scattered them among the nations, the Lord had not set aside the original covenant He made with His people. He came to them once (in the meridian of time), Yet when He appeared on earth, there was no man ready to receive Him; when He called upon men to repent, there was none to answer (see v. 2). He gave His “back to the smiters” (He was scourged) and hid not His face “from shame and spitting” (v. 6). But in spite of such rejection and treatment, He still did not divorce Israel or sell her as a slave. The covenant was still in effect, and Israel would be restored to the status of a free and faithful wife of Jehovah.
READ Isaiah 50:10-11
Two classes of people are contrasted in these verses. One consists of those who fear the Lord and obey his servant.They will not walk in spiritual darkness. The other class consists of those who seek to be spiritually self-sufficient, relying on themselves instead of the Lord. Those in this group will eventually receive judgments from the Lord, resulting in sorrow.
(Parry, e tal,Understanding Isaiah,444)
Isaiah 50:1 Thus saith the Lord, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.
2 Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering.
6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
Isaiah 50:10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him etrust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.
11 Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.
40-OT SS Lesson: Sept 26-Oct 2 : Isaiah 50-57 “He Hath Borne Our Griefs, and Carried Our Sorrows”
CHAPTER 51 In the last days, the Lord will comfort Zion and gather Israel—The redeemed will come to Zion amid great joy—Compare 2 Nephi 8.
READ Isaiah 51:1-2
-Who is the rock whom Israel should remember in distress?
“ The chapter begins with an appeal to the children of Israel to remember their heritage and to follow the righteous example of the progenitors, Abraham and Sarah. The promises God made to these grand heads of Israel’s people are still in force.” (Woodruff, Journal of Discourses, 16:271)
READ Isaiah 51:3
-What will the Lord do for Zion?
By means of the covenant established with Abraham and Sarah, “the Lord shall comfort Zion” and make “her desert like the garden of the Lord” (v. 3). This passage is a plain assurance that God will fulfill for Abraham and his descendants all that He has promised in the covenant.
READ Isaiah 51:4
This is a prophecy of the restoration of the gospel law and covenant in the last days. That law and covenant includes modern scripture and living prophets to reveal God’s will anew.
SUMMARY Isaiah 51:5–16. If Israel will turn to the Lord, He will give them great blessings;
Verse 7 Who are we, where is our heart,who should we not fear or be afraid of?
Verse 9 What do we need to do and to put on?
Verse 11 How shall we return, and how will we feel?
READ How do we become the redeemed…in Add’l Res
Chapter 51:1 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.
2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.
Isaiah 51:3 For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
Isaiah 51:4 Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.
7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.
----------------WAIT----------------------
9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?
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11 Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
READ Isaiah 51:18-20
-Who are the two sons that “lie at the….heads of the streets?”
The text of 2 Nephi 8:19–20 taken from the brass plates suggests that the two sons may be the two witnesses of Revelation 11:1–6 who will keep the armies from defeating the Jews (see also D&C 77:15). The two witnesses are discussed in detail in: The Battle of Armageddon: A Prophetic View,
Which is Enrichment 1 in the Institute Manual (17:15 The Gathering of Israel and the Coming of the Messiah (Isaiah 48–54)
Chapter 52 As shown in Notes on Isaiah 2:3, there will be two headquarters for the Lord and His people during the Millennium: Zion, the New Jerusalem, on the American continent; and Zion, the Old Jerusalem, in the Holy Land.
READ Isaiah 52:8-10
READ What place does this chapter take in Scripture…Add’l Res
READ Isaiah 52:1-3, 6
Again, Isaiah records an Invitation from God to His people.
-What do the people need to do?
In chapter 52 we are told that at the point of destruction, the Lord will personally save the Jews.
In Doctrine and Covenants 113:7–8, Joseph Smith answered questions about the meaning of Isaiah 52:1–2. He showed that the beautiful garments symbolized the priesthood power restored to the house of Israel in the last days and that the loosing of the bands from her neck signified the removal of the curses of God. If Israel would return to God, new revelations would be given. Zion also has a right to this authority.
18 There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up.
19 These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee?
20 Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of the Lord, the rebuke of thy God
Isaiah 52:1 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
3 For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.
6 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.
Isaiah 52:8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.
9 ¶ Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
READ D&C 113:8
Jesus Christ took upon Himself our sins and sorrows.
READ Isaiah 53;:2
-How did Isaiah envision people receiving Christ?
READ President Joseph Fielding Smith…in Add’l Res
READ Isaiah 53:3
-In What Ways Was Jesus a “Man of Sorrows and Acquainted with Grief”?
Jesus experienced tragedy and sorrow throughout His life. Members of His own family did not accept Him as the Messiah at first (John 7:5). People in His hometown sought to kill Him (Luke 4:16–30). His countrymen, the Jews, rejected His messianic calling (John 1:11). One friend betrayed Him; another denied knowing Him (Luke 22:48, 54–62). In the end, “all the disciples forsook him, and fled” (Matthew 26:56). His enemies demanded His crucifixion (Matthew 27:22–23).
SUMMARY: Isaiah 53:4-12 Through suffering the pains, sins and sorrows of the world, Jesus Christ works out the Atonement. Isaiah 53 presents the ‘most complete prophecy found in our OT about the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.’ In this chapter, Isaiah prophecies that Jesus will be wounded for transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities…and with His stripes we are healed.’ Isaiah knew that Christ would be an ‘offering for sin.’ Black, 400 Questions and Answers about the OT, 174
-What did it mean in vs 10 that He would see His seed?
READ In what way did Jesus “see His seed.”...in Add’l Res
-Can you imagine Christ suffering individually, one at a time, for our sins and sorrows? What would you do for Him?
D&C 113:8 He had reference to those whom God should call in the last days, who should hold the power of priesthood to bring again Zion, and the redemption of Israel; and to put on her strength is to put on the authority of the priesthood, which she, Zion, has a right to by lineage; also to return to that power which she had lost.
Isaiah 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
If you read nothing else in Add’l Res, please read these comments.
“In some manner, actual and terribly real though to man incomprehensible, the Savior took upon Himself the burden of the sins of mankind from Adam to the end of the world.Talmage, “Jesus the Christ,” pp. 613–14.
READ Modern revelation assists us to a partial understanding…in Add’l Res
READ Isaiah 53:11-12
Isaiah was blessed to prophetically see the life of the Savior. As he struggled amongst the wickedness of his time and beheld the wickedness of future times, what comfort it must have been to know that in the battle between good and evil, that righteousness would ultimately be victorious.
The prophet Abinadi offers these thoughts
READ Mosiah 15:10-13
-Who will be the seed of the Savior?
Isaiah 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors".
Mosiah 15:10 And now I say unto you, who shall declare his generation? Behold, I say unto you, that when his soul has been made an offering for sin he shall see his seed. And now what say ye? And who shall be his seed?
11 Behold I say unto you, that whosoever has heard the words of the prophets, yea, all the holy prophets who have prophesied concerning the coming of the Lord--I say unto you, that all those who have hearkened unto their words, and believed that the Lord would redeem his people, and have looked forward to that day for a remission of their sins, I say unto you, that these are his seed, or they are the heirs of the kingdom of God.
12 For these are they whose sins he has borne; these are they for whom he has died, to redeem them from their transgressions. And now, are they not his seed?
13 Yea, and are not the prophets, everyone that has opened his mouth to prophesy, that has not fallen into transgression, I mean all the holy prophets ever since the world began? I say unto you that they are his seed."
Jesus Christ wants us to return to Him.
CHAPTER 54 In the last days, Zion and her stakes will be established, and Israel will be gathered in mercy and tenderness—Israel will triumph. Isaiah 54 begins by talking about the children of Israel. The "children of the desolate" represent the large number of people from the tribes of Israel that will gather to Zion following the building of the New Jerusalem.
READ Isaiah 54:2
-What does the tent here represent?
-What os the meaning of the phrase “enlarge the place of thy tent”?
-Why does a tent need stakes?
-What do the stakes mentioned here represent?
READ President Ezra Taft Benson
-What can we do to strengthen the stake in which we live?
-How can stakes bless people’s lives?
READ D&C 115:6
-How do the stakes of Zion offer defense and refuge for us?
READ Joseph Smith:
SUMMARY Isaiah 54:1-10 The Lord’s church shall grow and nothing will stop it. With great mercies will I gather thee.
READ Isaiah 54:7
READ The Bride of the Lord Is Prepared…in Add’l Res
-Who is invited to find refuge by gathering with the saints?
Isaiah 54:2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;
President Ezra Taft Benson: "To members, the term stake is a symbolic expression. Picture in your mind a great tent held up by cords extended to many stakes that are firmly secured in the ground. The prophet Isaiah likened latter-day Zion to a great tent encompassing the earth. That tent was supported by cords fastened to stakes. (See 3 Nephi 22:2; Isaiah 54:2.) Those stakes, of course, are various geographical organizations spread out over the earth. Presently Israel is being gathered to the various stakes of Zion." (Teachings of ETB, p149)
D&C 115:6 "And that the gathering together upon the land of Zion, and upon her stakes, may be for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth."
Joseph Smith: "The time is soon coming, when no man will have any peace but in Zion and her stakes." (TPJS, p161)
Isaiah 54:7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
REVIEW of chapter 54
Studying Isaiah 54 should inspire those of us who may feel discouraged because of our sins or weaknesses. We need to answer these questions.
-How does the Savior feel about us?
-How does He want us to feel about our past sins and weaknesses?
-How does the Savior want us to feel about Him?
READ Through Jesus Christ we can have hope…on next slide
CHAPTER 55 SUMMARY Come and drink; salvation is free—The Lord will make an everlasting covenant with Israel—Seek the Lord while He is near.
-Who is invited to find refuge by gathering with the saints?
READ Isaiah 55:1
-What is this thirst that Isaiah makes reference to?
-How is this thirst quenched?
-What two things might be meant by coming to the waters?
(Accepting the ‘living water,’ or Jesus Christ, and baptism)
-How do some attempt to quench this thirst?
READ Isaiah 55:2
Isaiah offers the people a choice:
READ Isaiah 55:6-9
-According to vs 6, what should we be doing?
-What (vs 7) should the wicked be doing? Why?
-How do our thoughts and ways (vvs 8,9) differ from the Lord’s?
READ Elder Monte S. Nyman
Isaiah 55:1: 1 Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, cbuy wine and milk without money and without dprice.
Isaiah 55:2 "Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness."
Isaiah 55:6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 ¶ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Elder Monte S. Nyman: "These verses seem to clearly describe the times of the Gentiles when those who are not of Israel will be given the opportunity to come and be numbered with Israel. The strangers are those not of Israel who represent the gentile nations where the gospel is restored. The eunuchs, literally those who could not produce offspring, may refer to those who have no posterity in the Church and no other relatives who will join; yet they will become the sons or daughters of Jesus Christ." (Great Are The Words of Isaiah, p218)
Through Jesus Christ we can have hope. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught:
“It matters not how completely ruined our lives may seem. It matters not how scarlet our sins, how deep our bitterness, how lonely, abandoned, or broken our hearts may be. Even those who are without hope, who live in despair, who have betrayed trust, surrendered their integrity, or turned away from God can be rebuilt. …The joyous news of the gospel is this: because of the eternal plan of happiness provided by our loving Heavenly Father and through the infinite sacrifice of Jesus the Christ, we can not only be redeemed from our fallen state and restored to purity, but we can also transcend mortal imagination and become heirs of eternal life and partakers of God’s indescribable glory” (“He Will Place You on His Shoulders and Carry You Home,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2016, 102).
MY THOUGHTS: Wow. Get released from being the teacher and I only get ¾ of a page. But I will gladly share with Elder Uchtdorf. His remarks, from the end of our CFM lesson, are essential, they remind us that because of Christ, we have hope. I included them even though you might have already read them. They are just as good in the second reading.
Jesus Christ declared that the scriptures testify of Him, His life, and His atoning sacrifice. This is especially true of Isaiah’s writings [particularly the chapters we studied for this lesson] . Through his prophecies, we understand that “a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14); ] a son who would “be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”[Isaiah 9:6] He would be “a sanctuary” for His people and “a stone of stumbling” for those who would reject Him.[Isaiah 8:14].
Elder Holland, quoting Elder Bruce R. McConkie, said: “Isaiah is everywhere known as the messianic prophet because of the abundance, beauty, and perfection of his prophetic utterances foretelling the first coming of our Lord. And truly such he is….Moreover, the first coming of the Messiah is past, and so even those among us who are not overly endowed with spiritual insight can look back and see in the birth, ministry, and death of our Lord the fulfillment of Isaiah's forecasts.”
Elder Holland then said: “It was, after all, the Savior of the world himself who said, after quoting to the Nephites chapter 54 of Isaiah, "And now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. [By "these things" I presume he means all the writings of Isaiah generally and not just chapter 54.]”...Christ will bring peace to those who accept him in mortality, and he will also bring peace to those in the millennial and post-millennial realms of his glory.
These are great chapters with a message of hope and comfort--for those who willingly, or will willingly, follow the Savior. It Is my prayer we all continue on that path, assisting others along our way, . There is joy and peace in fellowship.
Have a good week. Enjoy General Conference. Look for references to Isaiah.
Greg
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Isaiah 49:26. An Addition to Isaiah from the Book of Mormon In his work on Isaiah, Monte S. Nyman (former President of SVU and Professor at BYU) noted a significant addition to Isaiah: “As Nephi commented on Isaiah 49 in 1 Nephi 22, he quoted or paraphrased three verses from ‘the prophet,’ obviously Isaiah. We do not have these verses in the present Bible text, but they fit very well into the context of Isaiah 49 and 50. We can illustrate this by placing [1 Nephi 22:15–17] between the last verse of chapter 49 and the first verse of chapter 50.” (“Great Are the Words of Isaiah,” p. 191.)
1 Nephi 22:15 For behold, saith the prophet, the time cometh speedily that Satan shall have no more power over the hearts of the children of men; for the day soon cometh that all the proud and they who do wickedly shall be as stubble; and the day cometh that they must be burned.
16 For the time soon cometh that the fulness of the wrath of God shall be poured out upon all the children of men; for he will not suffer that the wicked shall destroy the righteous.
17 Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness of his wrath must come, and the righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire. Wherefore, the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire.
How do we become “the redeemed of the Lord?”
In 2 Nephi 9:10, Jacob discusses the two deaths,’that monster, death,and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit.’ This commentary gives added meaning to several passages in Isaiah 51 that Jacob has just quoted in 2 Nephi 8. Isaiah writes, ‘Art thou not he that hath cut Rahab [the same as Jacob’s “death”], and wounded the dragon [i.e., the same as Jacob’s “hell”]?. Isaiah’s use of the words ’ransomed’ and ‘redeemed’ takes on broader meaning as ‘sorrow and mourning shall flee away’ because of the infinite Atonement that overcomes death and hell.” Davis, “Book of Mormon Commentary on Isaiah,” 57-58.
What Place does this Chapter Take in Scripture? (Isaiah 52)
“Isaiah’s writings in chapter 52 are referenced by the apostles John and Paul in the NT, quoted by Book of Mormon prophets as Nephi, Jacob, Abinadi, and Moroni, taught by the resurrected Lord in the ancient Americas and found sprinkled throughout the D&C. This is a chapter of hope, focusing on the house of Israel in the last days. Verses 8-10 of the Isaiah text are obviously significant, for they are quoted four times in the Book of Mormon, twice by Jesus Himself. He first recited these verses at the conclusion of His teachings in 3 Nephi 16, which included prophecies about the last days. He introduced the OT seer’s words by saying, ‘And then the words of the prophet Isaiah shall be fulfilled.’ The people were then told to go to their homes to ponder and pray about His teachings and to prepare their minds for subsequent teachings the following day.” Brewster, Isaiah, Plain and Simple, 230
The Battle of Armageddon: A Prophetic View
Old Testament Student Manual Kings-Malachi
The Battle of Armageddon: A Prophetic View
President Joseph Fielding Smith: “Did not Christ grow up as a tender plant? There was nothing about him to cause people to single him out. In appearance he was like men; and so it is expressed here by the prophet that he had no form or comeliness, that is, he was not so distinctive, so different from others that people would recognize him as the Son of God. He appeared as a mortal man.” (Doctrines of Salvation, 1:23.)
In what way did Jesus “see his seed”? “Christ tasted ‘death for every man’, perhaps meaning for each individual person. One reading of Isaiah suggests that Christ may have envisioned each of us as the atoning sacrifice took its toll--’when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed.’ Just as the Savior blessed the ‘little children, one by one,’ just as the Nephites felt his wounds ‘one by one’, just as he listens to our prayers one by one, so, perhaps, he suffered for us, one by one,” Callister, Infinite Atonement,141
Modern revelation assists us to a partial understanding of the awful experience of the Savior’s suffering. In March 1830, the glorified Lord, Jesus Christ, thus spake: ‘For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent, but if they would not repent, they must suffer even as I, which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit: and would that I might not drink the bitter cup and shrink—nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.’” (Talmage, “Jesus the Christ,” pp. 613–14.)
The Bride of the Lord Is Prepared Once again the figure of a marriage is employed. Israel is called a barren wife because of her inability or unwillingness to produce spiritual offspring for the Lord. But in the end, when she is gathered once again, there will be more children from the “desolate,” or temporarily forsaken, wife than when she enjoyed her wedded status in ancient times (Isaiah 54:1). In ancient times, the inability to bear children was considered a great curse by women of the Middle East. As a gathered “wife,” Israel will forget the shame or cast-off status of her earlier years and rejoice in her new and prosperous condition. She is once again “married” to the Lord (see vv. 4–5). The barren or forsaken years, though they seemed long, were but a small moment compared to the vast eternity that lies ahead (see vv. 6–8). “The Gathering of Israel and the Coming of the Messiah (Isaiah 48–54),” Institute Manual, 17-28