{"id":1881,"date":"2022-07-10T13:38:22","date_gmt":"2022-07-10T18:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/?p=1881"},"modified":"2022-07-10T13:38:59","modified_gmt":"2022-07-10T18:38:59","slug":"iniquity-separates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/10\/iniquity-separates\/","title":{"rendered":"Iniquity Separates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
\u201cBut your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his<\/em> face from you, that he will not hear.<\/strong>\u201d
Isaiah 59:2 <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Excerpt from Year Two Quarter Three, Lesson 3: Isaiah\n40-66: Grace and Salvation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis section begins with a\npointing out of the people\u2019s sin. \u201cCry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice\nlike a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob\ntheir sins<\/strong>\u201d (Isaiah 58:1). Especially notice what the people had been\ndoing. \u201cYet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation\nthat did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of\nme the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God<\/strong>\u201d\n(Isaiah 58:2). They had been seeking God and His ways \u2013 daily. Moreover, they\nwere going to the Temple when required and performing their duties. We can\nunderstand that outwardly it appeared they were doing everything right: they\nwere seeking after God, wanting to know His ways, going to the Temple, and doing what they were supposed to do. However,\nfrom God\u2019s perspective, they were sinners who needed their sin declared aloud.\nKnowing what sin is was not enough. Going through the motions of religion was\nnot enough. There was a serious problem! God was not pleased. \u201c4b. \u2026 ye\nshall not fast as ye do this<\/em> day, to make your voice to be heard on\nhigh. 5. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his\nsoul? is it<\/em> to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth\nand ashes under him?<\/em> wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day\nto the LORD?<\/strong>\u201d (Isaiah 58:4b-5)\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGod wanted to see a people\nhumbled before Him, seeking forgiveness for their sins. This would change their\nwhole outlook. \u201cThen shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine\nhealth shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee;\nthe glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward<\/strong>\u201d (Isaiah 58:8). Then God would\nhear them and answer them (see Isaiah 58:9-14). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGod\u2019s people had not yet\nlearned how to do it correctly. Nevertheless, that could not stop God from\ndoing all he planned. \u201cBehold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it\ncannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear<\/strong>\u201d (Isaiah 59:1). It\nwas God\u2019s people in the error. \u201cBut your iniquities have separated between\nyou and your God, and your sins have hid his<\/em> face from you, that he will\nnot hear<\/strong>\u201d (Isaiah 59:2). They were a sinful people, and everything they\ntried to do to become a righteous people failed. God was warning them again\nthat because of their sinfulness, the enemy would come in and take them away\nfrom their homeland. But one day, in the distant future, God gives hope again,\nof one who can take their sin from them. \u201cAnd the Redeemer shall come to <\/strong>Zion<\/strong>, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob,\nsaith the LORD<\/strong>\u201d (Isaiah 59:20). And\nthis verse introduces us to what the rest of the book of Isaiah is all about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRemember back for a minute.\nWe read that God\u2019s glory filled the Tabernacle when Moses completed it in the\nwilderness (see Exodus 40:34). God\u2019s glory also filled the Temple that King Solomon built (see 2 Chronicles 5:14). We will read in Ezekiel how God\u2019s glory departed\nbefore the coming invasion of the Babylonians to carry God\u2019s people out of the\nland. Do you remember why the glory of the Lord departed? The people sought\nidols instead of watching for Jesus to come. Remember what we can read in John\n1:14: \u201cAnd the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his\nglory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and\ntruth.<\/strong>\u201d Jesus came. He was<\/em><\/strong> God\u2019s glory. Nevertheless, the\nworld (as a whole) rejected Him. As we read Isaiah chapter sixty, we find a\npromise. \u201cArise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is\nrisen upon thee<\/strong>\u201d (Isaiah 60:1). One day, Jesus will come again. And at that\ntime, God will turn His attention back to His people, the Israelites. However,\nbefore that day comes, see what will happen. \u201cFor, behold, the darkness\nshall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise\nupon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee<\/strong>\u201d (Isaiah 60:2). The world\nwill become a very dark place before the Lord returns to rule and reign. At\nthat time, God will make Jerusalem\nwhat He had always intended for it to be \u2013 and the whole world will want to\ncome and see it! (\u201c\u2026 And they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The <\/strong>Zion<\/strong> of the Holy One of <\/strong>Israel<\/strong>\u201d Isaiah 60:14b.)\u201d \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember why it was that Jesus sent Paul to proclaim the message of salvation to all: \u201cTo open their eyes, and<\/em> to turn them<\/em> from darkness to light, and from<\/em> the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me<\/strong>\u201d (Acts 26:18).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you turned from darkness to Light (Jesus), from the power of Satan unto God, receiving forgiveness of sin?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Excerpt from Year Two Quarter Three, Lesson 3: Isaiah 40-66: Grace and Salvation \u201cThis section begins with a pointing out of the people\u2019s sin. \u201cCry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins\u201d (Isaiah 58:1). Especially notice what the people […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[319],"tags":[349,525,388,252,186,322,825,737,492,909,359,753],"class_list":["post-1881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-excerpt-from-the-biblical-path-of-life","tag-answer","tag-darkness","tag-eyes","tag-forgiveness","tag-god","tag-grace","tag-iniquity","tag-lesson-3","tag-light","tag-quarter-three","tag-salvation","tag-year-two"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1881"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1883,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1881\/revisions\/1883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}