Isaiah 65:1 "I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;"

Imagine life as a horizontal line.  Life begins at the beginning of the horizontal line. At points along the way, God reaches down.  It is up to the individual to reach back or not. Whenever an unsaved person reaches back and accepts Jesus as personal Lord and Savior, they begin to ascend on a vertical line up to God and eternal life.  If the unsaved person does not reach up and accept Jesus, they continue on the horizontal line to the end of it and into eternal death.

Also in Isaiah 65 is a description of obstinate people; they walk in ways not good, they sacrifice and burn incense to false pagan gods, they practice necromancy (communicating with the dead).  And their arrogance is demonstrated when they speak to God saying, "Keep away; don't come near me for I am too sacred for you!"

Imagine telling God they were more sacred than He is!  Or when a pastor makes an error in a sermon and the congregation addresses that issue with him and he responds with, "You have no right to dispute anything I say from the pulpit!" That is ARROGANCE!

Isaiah 65:12 Therefore I will number you to the sword; and you will all bow down to the slaughter; because I called and you did not answer; for I spoke but you did not listen."

This is another verse that illustrates the horizontal line in the beginning of this blog entry today.

“All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people…”

Another verse describing our ever patient God who offers us chance, after chance, after chance! He is not willing that any should perish.

Matthew 18:14
In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.

God makes it perfectly clear in Isaiah 65 how He feels about those “who walk in ways not good”.

Isaiah 65 mentions offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on altars of brick.  Brick is symbolic of something man-made as opposed to stone, which is something God made.  We can also relate this to man-made traditions, which Jesus condemned.   

 Isaiah 65:12b…for I called but you did not answer, I spoke but you did not listen you did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me.

God has repeatedly warned about pagan practices. 

Isaiah is full of prophecies concerning the Millennial Kingdom.  It is possible to live today with a "millennial mindset and lifestyle" as much as possible, even while living among pagan influences.

"As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes..."

 God continually reminds us that no matter how many people walk in ways not good in a world that is not good, there will be a remnant who walk in ways that are good.  This is the "juice still found in a cluster of grapes". 

Again in today’s reading in Isaiah 65:17-25 is another incredible description of eternity and more descriptions of life in the Millennium. 

Isaiah 66 spells out the rewards for the believers and wrath of God for the unbelievers.

Isaiah 66:2
This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.

Will the Lord esteem us now if we are living a "millennial mindset and lifestyle" as much as possible?

Isaiah 66:3b-4a They have chosen their own ways, and their souls delight in their abominations; so I will choose harsh treatment for them and will bring upon them what they dread.

Isaiah 66:17
"Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following the one in the midst of those who eat the flesh of pigs and rats and other abominable things - they will meet their end together", declares the Lord.

There are people who are seeking after righteousness, but find abominable things, are led astray and into false worship and pagan traditions.

We say farewell to Isaiah, a true prophet of God. Some parting thoughts by the commentator of the Chronological Bible that we would like to bring out. “God’s message will sometimes be hidden from the common people by the very ones who ought to bring understanding – the religious leaders”.

Jesus had something to say about the religious leaders of His day.

Matthew 23:13
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

While we may look to religious leaders for understanding, ultimately, we need to look to God's Word and listen to the Holy Spirit.

The spiritual renewal under Manasseh as spelled out in today's reading should give us encouragement to "burn" our own "high places" instead of compromising and "sacrificing" to God on the altars of paganism.