In the first part of this chapter the Lord God told the people of Israel why he would destroy them and their nation. In doing so he declared to us the cause of reprobation and judgment. The cause of reprobation and judgment is man’s willful rejection of God and his truth.
Now, lest true believers should be overwhelmed by God’s denunciation of the nation and distressed by the foregoing prophecy of his wrath, in verses 8-10 he promises to preserve and save an elect remnant from the general ruin of the nations of this world.
Isaiah 65:8-10 "Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all. (9) And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there. (10) And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me."
These verses are expounded by the apostle Paul in Romans 11:1-5. There the apostle asks, "Hath God cast away his people?" Then he answers the question by saying, "God forbid! For...at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace."
Proposition: The unbelief of men will never make the purpose and promise of God according to election of none effect (Rom. 3:3-4).
The title of my message tonight is found in verse eight - "A Blessing is in It." Does anyone ask, "Why did God not destroy the entire nation of Israel? Why do some survive unto this day?" Do any ask, "Why has God not yet destroyed this nation and the rest of the world?" We live in such a wicked, perverse, degenerate society that anyone who reads the Bible has to wonder. Our society is so degenerate that I do not doubt it would make Sodom and Gomorah blush. If God destroyed those cities, why does he allow us to continue? Here is the answer - "A Blessing is in It." Let me show you.
Divisions:
Hold your Bibles open at Isaiah 65:8-10. I want you to see three things in these three verses. Here are three lessons the Holy Spirit here teaches us.
Isaiah 65:8 "Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all."
Get the picture that is drawn before us here. When a gardener is about to cut down a dried up vine, or about to prune away some of its unfruitful branches, the owner of the vineyard passes by and notices a cluster of new grapes on it. When he does, he cries out to the vinedresser, "Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it!" It looked worthless. It appeared to be needlessly occupying space. Ugly and dried up, the gardener would have cut it down and would have thought that was the only thing to be done with it. Nothing in the field is uglier than a dried up vine. But the owner saw a blessing in that which appeared to be worthless.
The Holy Spirit does not leave us there, forcing us to draw out the parallel that is most applicable. He gives us the parallel. Do you see it? "So will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all."
Note:Both the chosen and the reprobate are referred to as "my servants" because all men, indeed all things are the servants of our God (Prov. 16:4).
A. God's elect in this world are the blessing hidden among the nations of the world for which he preserves them.
Read 2 Peter 3:9 one more time. "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." The only reason why God does not destroy this world right now is this - There is yet a remnant according to the election of grace who must be saved. Everything God does in this world is for the elect’s sake. Every benefit of providential mercy that reprobate men enjoy in time is because there lives among them God’s elect, of whom he says, "Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it."
This is not my opinion. This is what God says. "So will I do for my servants' sakes." Once Noah (the blessing) was safely in the ark, God destroyed the rest of the world. Once Lot (the blessing) was delivered unto Zoar, God destroyed Sodom. Joshua and Caleb (the blessings) entered into the land of promise, though all those who came out of Egypt with them perished under the wrath of God. The rest of the world exists and is used by God for his elect, the blessing in it (Isa. 43:1-5).
In this particular text the reference is to these gospel days. It is a prophecy of the fact that there would be few among the Jews in our Lord’s day and today who would called by the grace of God and brought into a saving union with Christ. Indeed, among the nations of the world God’s elect are always a remnant, few among many.
B. Certainly, this eighth verse is also a declaration that wherever the blessing of God’s grace is found in a sinner’s heart it shall not be destroyed.
C. Frequently the object of God’s grace, the blessing of God in the earth, is found in that which we consider worthless.
1. God often gathers jewels for his crown among those who are counted the off-scouring of the earth.
2. These chosen ones scattered throughout the earth are a people concerning whom the Lord God says, "Destroy them not."
God the Father says, "Destroy them not," for he has loved them, chosen them, and found a ransom for them.
God the Son says, "Destroy them not," for he has redeemed them by his blood.
God the Holy Spirit says, "Destroy them not," for he has pledged to regenerate them and make them the willing servants of the Most High.
II. God's elect shall inherit all things with Christ.
Let's look at verse 9 line by line. Everything in this verse has a double application. It speaks first of Christ and then of God’s elect in Christ.
A. "And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob."
1. This must be applied to Christ.
He is the Seed of woman, the Seed of Abraham, and the Seed of David. He sprang from Jacob, out of the tribe of Judah. He is very beautifully represented as a cluster of grapes in which the new wine of all the blessings of God and his grace are found.
2. Yet these words have an application to God's elect in Christ.
We who believe are God’s chosen seed in him, brought forth out of Jacob and Judah, for we are one with Christ. The grace of God in us is as a cluster of new wine.
B. "And out of Judah," God says, I will bring forth "an inheritor of my mountains."
1. Certainly, this is true of Christ.
He who is the inheritor of all things (Heb. 1:2) is the inheritor of God's mountains.
Note: God's mountains speak of those mountains upon which Jerusalem and his temple were built. They represent the fullness of heaven's glory, both the throne of God and the temple of his presence.
C. And mine elect shall inherit it."
Christ is God's first and chief Elect. We were chosen in him by the grace of God unto eternal glory. That is the meaning of the next line "And my servants shall dwell there."
III. Grace experienced and possessed in the soul here is the pledge and hope of everlasting glory hereafter.
Isaiah 65:10 "And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me."
Sharon was a rich, fertile land around Joppa and Lydda in which shepherds found rich pastures for their herds and flocks (I Chron. 27:29). Perhaps this is a prophecy of the conversion of some in those parts which was fulfilled during apostolic times (Acts 9:35). There Christ had his sheep; and there he established a fold for his sheep.
I rather think that Sharon is to be looked upon allegorically, representing the Word of God and the ordinances of the gospel, which are green pastures for Christ's sheep (Psa. 23:1-2).
The valley of Achor was the place where Achan was stoned because of his sin. This the Lord promises shall be given to his people for a door of hope (Hos. 2:15). Here, in this land of destruction, death, and sin, the Lord God gives us hope.
The valley of Achor was also the very first spot of ground upon which the children of Israel set their feet after crossing over the Jordan River into the land of promise. As such, it represents the beginnings of salvation and grace in us, the earnest and firstfruits of the Spirit, which is the pledge, promise, and hope of glory to come.
Grace experienced and possessed in the heart is the pledge of everlasting glory with Christ.
This promise from God is for a specific people. It is given "for my people that have sought me." Notice how these people to whom God gives this door of hope are described by him.
Now, as we prepare to once more receive the Lord’s Table, let me call your attention to the sevenfold description here given of God’s saints in this world. Starting at verse ten and going back up to verse eight, we are described as...
God's people are "blessings to the places where they live; and sometimes God spares whole cities and nations for the sakes of a few such men. How ambitious we should be of this honor, not only to be distinguished from others, but serviceable to others!" Matthew Henry
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