40 Minutes In The Old Testament - Isaiah 50:7-51:8 (Episode 492)

Episode Date: January 5, 2026

Trust in the Lord, or be like a garment eaten by moths. God dug His people out of the quarry of old Abraham. And a word is coming, but this word is wrapped in flesh. Have a listen. Show Notes: ·       Support 1517 Podcast Network ·       1517 Podcasts ·       1517 on Youtube ·       1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts ·       1517 Events Schedule ·       1517 Academy - Free Theological Education What's New from 1517: ·       Face to Face: A Novel of the Reformation by Amy Mantravadi ·       Untamed Prayers: 365 Daily Devotions on Christ in the Book of Psalms by Chad Bird ·       Remembering Your Baptism: A 40-Day Devotional by Kathryn Morales ·       Sinner Saint by Luke Kjolhaug ·       The Bible In One Year  More from the hosts: ·       Daniel Emery Price ·       Chad Bird

Welcome to another episode of 40 Minutes in the Old Testament. 40 Minutes in the Old Testament is a 1517 Podcast Network podcast. You can go to 1517.org slash podcast. Check it all out. The podcasts are living over there. And while you're over there, make sure you check out everything else that 1517 is doing, articles, events, academies, Bible in one year. You know, I mean, this is probably going to come out after the calendar flip.

But I mean, you're still really early. I mean, when this comes out, you're not too late. You can go sign up for Bible in one year with Chad Bird and Eric Sorensen. They're going to be taking you through that thing this year. So hop on board with that. Whenever it is you're listening to this in January, you can jump on board. It's a good time. Chad, we are in Isaiah chapter 50.

We are at verse 7. This is talking about Israel's sin, that was the header, and the servant's obedience. So there's a little contrast here about here's the sort of thing you do, and here's the sort of thing I do, largely in response to you doing that thing. Somebody is going to have to be obedient here, okay? And it turns out it's not you, so it's going to have to be me. This is basically what God has to say. Yeah, it's definitely not going to be Israel. It's going to be the servant who is called Israel, who embodies exactly who Israel was always supposed to be.

And in the verses leading up to this, verses, so Isaiah 50, verses 4 through 6, we hear more about this servant. He has one of these open ears God's given him an open ear To hear his word And because of that he has a taught tongue Means he can say exactly What needs to be said What God gives him to say

In fact it's like his ear has an alarm clock Morning by morning he awakens He awakens my ear So that alarm clock goes off Ear goes open He's always there to hear God's word And because of that He's not rebellious

He's not turning backward In fact, because he says what he says, he's going to be opposed, which, of course, sums up the entirety of the Gospels. Anytime Jesus opens his mouth, there's always going to be a naysayer in the crowd or someone trying to catch him in his words. And this then leads to the kind of violence which is described in verse 6, which is where we ended last time, where the servant, Jesus, gives his back to those who strike him, He gives his cheek to those who yank out his beard. He doesn't hide his face, even from disgrace and spitting. So a real Good Friday kind of scenario that's painted before us 700 years before it actually happened.

A little foretaste of what we're going to hear much more about when we get to chapter 53 in two or three more weeks. Well, it turns out that having a big old ear on the side of your head and a well-trained tongue, those things are not well-received. So people aren't happy about this, right? They're not glad to see, you know, large ear, trained tongue guy show up. They don't like any of that. No, no. And you have a whole Old Testament full of examples of where that's exactly what happened to the prophets and others who were sent by the Lord. Not going to be a vocation where you're just, you know, the crowds are applauding you.

Everybody's happy with what you say. That text does remind me of a recent conference where Stephen Paulson was talking about the guy who got Jesus' fingers. You know, Jesus stuck his fingers in his ear. And he just talked about how he thinks that guy's ears just got humongous. And you're going to see it and you're going to recognize him in heaven. It's going to be an old big ear because he's just like hearing the word of the Lord crazy good after that. Just have this enormous ear on the side of your head. Yeah, that is great.

That could be a prayer. Lord, give me large ears. Enlarge these ears, Lord. I need to look like Dumbo walking around here so I can know what's going on. Make them big and make them open so I can hear everything you have to say. so uh that kind of sets the stage for what he's going to say in verse 7 and following where he's going to use the same word he just used at the end of verse 6 he said i didn't hide my face from disgrace and spitting and then he goes on to verse 7 to say but the lord god helps me therefore i

have not been disgraced therefore i set my face that same face that he didn't hide i've set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. So yeah, he is going to be attacked. His face is going to be spat upon. People are going to try and disgrace him. But while all this is happening, of course, he's got the Lord God on his side, helping him. And because of that, he is not going to be disgraced. In fact, we have this image of a flint-hardened face, which sometimes, I don't know if flint is used metaphorically in this way, but, you know, sometimes a hard face is a negative image. But here it's not.

It's the idea of a firm resolve to steadfastly go in the way that God has pointed him to go. So he set his face like flint. And, of course, we have this coming up. I know it's in Luke's gospel where Jesus resolutely set his face or his face was heading toward Jerusalem. That occurs two different times in Luke chapter 9, verses 51 and 53. And this is the turning point of Luke's gospel. It's right after the transfiguration and Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem, where, of course, the very things which Isaiah describes did happen to him. Yeah, that's one of the great verses in Luke.

Luke does a good job of setting it up to where you almost feel like Jesus is sort of around Jerusalem, right? I mean, not that he never is there, but that his time is not yet, and he leaves there a lot, and he's out in the sort of outer regions doing all these things in the wilderness, or he's out feeding 5,000 people in barren places or whatever it is he's doing. uh and then the transfiguration happens and when it says like he set his face like a flint towards jerusalem uh you get this real impression that he's like now it's time to go jerusalem and and when i go i will not be leaving right like it's this is it yeah it's like i i have visited jerusalem many times but now i'm going there and when i go there it's all gonna it's all gonna happen of course the the exodus right that's talked about in uh in the transfiguration account where jesus moses and elijah are talking about his exodus which is going to happen there all that was

prophesied long before by isaiah so jesus has been given the playbook if you want to call it that the prophetic playbook long before he actually became incarnate and set that face so he's going going to keep talking here. Verse eight picks up with more words. He says, he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord God helps me. Of course, the same thing you just said in verse three. The Lord God helps, verse seven rather, the Lord God helps me. Who will declare me guilty? behold all of them will wear out like a garment the moth will eat them up so kind of a courtroom setting here which uh the prophets love this isaiah certainly loves this we'll you know he'll

spend a few verses or sometimes just a couple of verses kind of setting up this legal scene so you've got the one who vindicates is near let us stand up together who's my adversary so you just picture, you know, a court of law here and somebody's trying to prosecute the servant. That's not going to go very well because his vindicator, his contender is standing there. The Lord God is going to help him, is going to be the one who vindicates him. That Hebrew word, by the way, who vindicates me is near. I didn't realize this until I was just looking more closely this text but the hebrew is karov which does just mean like nearby but it's also used in in context where it's almost a uh a synonym for a redeemer so a next of kin of course is someone who's near

to you you're you're near kin and here it's in a few contexts it's used almost in that same sort of uh and say sort of literal sense so when it says he who vindicates me is near doesn't mean he just like, he's close by, but he's like my redeemer, my next of kin closeness. And he's the one who's going to stand with me and help me in this courtroom scene. And what's interesting about this too, is that you really do know that this is talking about the sort of final conclusion of things, because, you know, when you're talking about the sort of suffering servant here, and you hear them say, I'm going to give up my back and I'm going to get spit on and all this stuff. It's like, hey, but I'm not going to be disgraced. You're like, I don't know. It sounds

like you're going to be disgraced. I mean, I don't know if you'll read the, you know, the trial and the crucifixion of Christ, a lot of disgrace going on there. So there's that. And I know I won't be put to shame. You're like, well, I mean, I think shame is the goal. Like these people, they have one goal uh well two goals one to kill you but to make sure that you're thoroughly shamed before that happens and that becomes uh very obvious uh and and so like you do know that this is talking no this is someone who knows the end of all this stuff like oh yeah i mean yes they're gonna try all those things but like i mean i'm gonna come out victorious and that's why this language uh at the end of verse eight is sounds like so defiant if you notice i

it's like, who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. Like, this is a, like, come and do your worst, right? Like, that's what I'm here for. I've set my face like a flint to go into the city and have you do your worst to me. And yeah, you're going to declare me guilty, but in the end, I'm going to be vindicated. That's why you have, when you think about Jesus during all of the gospel's account of his trial i mean just like unmoved yeah like he's he is not worried one bit i mean it's it's quite a contrast with the whole garden of gethsemane at the you know the night before but you know when he's arrested when he's when he's taken before pilot and kind of shipped around here and there and accused and by everybody he's like he's just like resolved to to stand

there and to you know say what needs to be said but largely he just remained silent yeah utter confidence as he stands there being tried yeah yeah largely silent um he reserves his words like talk to some criminal next to him and even those words like yeah they're great uh for the guy that was crucified next to him uh it's a great promise for him but also uh it lets you know the confidence uh that jesus has i mean like so he doesn't just say today you'll be in paradise but today you'll be with me like jesus knows where he's going you know like he's not he's not worried that this is going to go in some other direction yeah so he's saying hey i'm i'm going to paradise why don't you come with me

yeah and that you know that's imitated uh as much as as much as it can be in the the modernums you We talked about Stephen on a recent episode with Eric. I mean, I think we even discussed this in an episode. He knows this is it. It's not like he enters this trial thinking, you know, maybe I can get out of this. Oh, no. He knows what this is going to be. And he's just like bold, nothing held back whatsoever.

And at the end, he says basically the same thing that Jesus says. You know, Lord, do not let this sin be held against them. And in your hands, I commit my spirit. Then you, if you read some of the, the, the martyrologies of the early church, you know, the way the martyrs acted toward those who put them to death, it was, you know, even to the point of like almost joking or mocking with them. You know, I can't remember which one it was, the one who's roasted above the fire. He's like, I think this side is done. It's about time to turn me over. So there's a, there's something about this confidence.

and steadfastness in the face of impending death that christ uh perfectly exemplifies and that you see also replicated as much as can be in the lives of the martyrs after him yeah i mean and steven too like before he says uh don't hold this sin against him of course he sees jesus get on his feet uh which is a great which is crazy um and i don't think that's just in a like um sort of hey i'm ready here to welcome you in i think it is that but it goes hand in hand with him asking him not to hold the sin against them because when he's because he tells them like i see the the other guy you killed i saw him just stand up in other words um he sees this and he's not happy about it right and so like like why is why does steven have to ask him not to hold this

in against him well you've got an an angry jesus at the right hand of god like he has gotten out of it i don't know if you ever uh best thing i could think of is like my dad is like a very chill guy i never like never lost his temper or anything and uh i remember i said something to my mom one time and uh and he like got out of his chair and i thought i might die because i because he's like Because he never did that. And I can't even remember what I said, something I shouldn't have. And I was a teenager. And he stood up, and I knew I was in deep trouble.

Yep. Uh-oh. Here we go. I think there's some of that going on with Stephen. Like, Jesus stands up, and Stephen then doesn't say, oh, yeah, big brother's going to pound you. He says, you're going to need me to pray for you right now, guys. Yeah, yeah. You desperately need me to pray for your absolution.

Jesus stood up. Yeah, great, great stuff. It ends with, Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment, like the moth will eat them up. Just going to tuck that in your back pocket because we're going to hear this same language in the next chapter. It won't be long. In fact, verse 8 of chapter 51 talks about the moth eating them up like a garment. So this is going to come up once more. this is this is kind of typical uh i mean there's lots of other visuals that it gives you but this

is one of the sort of um fate of the ungodly metaphors that is used right like eaten up by moths uh you know uh burned up like what wax you know this kind of there's a lot of these kind of things yeah yeah do people still deal with this moths it's like i've never had a moth to show my clothing but evidently it was a big thing back in the asia yeah i think that was a real concern back then is that like you leave something for too long and moths will eat it all up yeah be be gone there's somewhere i think it's in the psalms where god is uh this same metaphor is applied to god like god god the moth he's gonna he's gonna devour what is you know precious to you it's that same kind of man he's a he's a consuming fire man like right so like there

There is some of that that will go on. You don't want to be on the wrong end of that. All right. So let's do the last two verses. So this is 10 and 11. Kind of a slight shift of focus here. Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant? Super nice pairing there.

To fear the Lord means to do what? Means to listen to the voice of the serpent. because he speaks what God has him say. So who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant, the servant who just been talking? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the Lord

and rely or lean, literally, lean on his God. Behold, so that's one group. They walk in darkness. They don't have any light, but they're going to lean on, they're going to trust in the Lord, their God. Right. Then you also have another group described in verse 11. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches will walk by the light of your fire and by the torches that you have kindled this you have from my hand. you shall lie down in torment or in pain. So two different groups that are described here.

You have some people, they're walking in darkness. They don't have any of their own light, but they're leaning on God. They're trusting in him. Even though they're trapped in darkness, you have still the assurance that they have their God with them. And then you have this other group And they were in darkness too, but what they did, rather than leaning on God, they made their own fires. They're going to kindle this fire, then get these burning torches. They're going to walk by the light of their own fire, these torches they have kindled. And because of that, in the end, they're going to get something from God's hand, and that is that they're going to lie down in pain or in torment. So these are the second group, the ones who've made their own light, their own fire.

Basically, rather than relying upon God, they're coming up with their own quote-unquote wisdom, their own way to see forward. Instead of leaning on God, they're coming up with their own understanding of how life should be. They're coming up with their own, as people like to say today, their own truth. They're lighting their own fire of truth, which, of course, is going to lead them to no other place than exactly what's described in the end, where they're going to lie down in torment. The root of that word, by the way, for torment, it only occurs here, this particular word, but the root is the same one that occurs in Genesis chapter 3, where the woman is going to have pain in childbearing, and because Adam has listened to the voice of his wife, then in pain you shall eat of the ground all the days of your life.

So that image from that root goes all the way back to the fall and the toil or the pain or the torment that comes as a result of sin. Yeah. This does seem like, I mean, it doesn't directly contrast it, but if you're talking about lighting your own fire and being guided by that and you're talking to Israel, and because God is never slow to bring up or draw parallels to the Exodus, you know if you do have sort of like hey i i i sometimes appear as like you know some fire to guide you and uh you don't like that you don't want to follow that but you can light your own fire uh this is sort of in defiance of the fire that i've that i am that would lead you to a good place i mean he talked talked about this a little while back like hey my instruction is pretty good

and i and i guide you to to good places but you don't want to go there and instead you're like i don't need that pillar of fire i don't need that i'm just gonna light this torch and do my own thing yeah it's the uh you know the devil's always aping god kind of thing you know oh god has apostles and prophets well the devil says well i'll come up my own apostles and prophets or god's a fire and a light well i'll come up with my own light my my own fire which has the appearance of wisdom the appearance of truth the appearance of life and but uh that's it it's just the appearance and not the reality there is a way that seems right to a man but this end is the way of death right yeah okay um that's the end of into 50 so we'll shift here into 51 in 51 it's almost

like isaiah preached this whole this whole sermon on genesis and exodus because we're going to have some right away we're going to have genesis stuff coming up with a reference to abraham and sarah and then going even further back, there's going to be a reference to the Garden of Eden in verse 3. And then, as you go a little bit farther in the chapter, there's going to be a reference to Exodus and the book of Exodus and the events of the book of Exodus. And then a little bit farther down toward the end, which I don't see right now, but there's going to be a reference back to creation itself, so Genesis 1

and 2. So a bunch of Torah images are going to come up in chapter 51. So it begins this way. I'll read verse one through three. Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord, look to the rock from which you were hewn and to the quarry from which you were dug. Now, if you might be thinking, okay, what's this rock and quarry? Well, he goes from the metaphor to the reality in the very next verse. So look to Abraham, your father, And to Sarah who bore you So the rock from which you were hewn is Abraham The quarry from which you were dug is Sarah

For, he goes on, middle of verse 2 For he, that is Abraham, was but one when I called him That I might bless him and multiply him For the Lord comforts Zion He comforts all her waste places And makes her wilderness like Eden And her desert like the garden of the Lord joy and gladness will be found in her thanksgiving and the voice of song so the addresses of this

are israel so especially israel in particular those who are actually pursuing righteousness and seeking the lord so he says go back think back so think back to that abraham rock from which you were hewn into that sarah quarry from which you you were dug now these this is just like one couple and of course they're very old but from this one couple god brought a blessing and a multiplication right so that's that's the lesson here so and even the fact that you had the metaphors of a rock and a quarry you don't really think of them as something from which like life is going to spring forth yeah but that's of course what what god does god can make life spring forth from a rock and from a quarry and he multiplies them and the the emphasis here is on the fact

of course, God is able to bring forth a great abundance from something small or life from something which seems to be dead. And that's what he says in verse three. So God comforts Zion, all her waste places, by transforming them into this Genesis 2, Eden, garden of the Lord type of existence. So the message is, listen, you pursuers of righteousness, you seekers of the Lord, don't forget, remember what God has done, what he did with Eden, what he did with Abraham and Sarah. He's able to bring forth great abundance from something small and life from something which is dead. Yeah, that's such a pretty vivid picture when you're saying it. Yeah, like, you know, Abraham, when he was like, you know, 100 years old, like I've dug you out,

dug this whole nation out of that quarry that was abraham just but it's just nothing going on there and uh that that desert that is uh the womb of sarah yeah turn that thing into eden uh so that's that's the kind of stuff i'm able to do i always laugh a little bit when i'm going through romans when paul refers to abraham and his age and he says something like and he as good as dead it's funny on on multiple levels uh just you know the way he puts it he's like yeah that dude was like basically dead and god's still bringing forth children from him but it's also kind of funny because you know you go forward a few more years and after sarah dies abraham remarries and he has like what three more sons yeah it's like yeah he uh he was still able to produce some some children

even after all that time. Sarah, no, she just had the one child. But the point is obvious. God is able to speak into existence that which does not exist. Yeah, I mean, it seems in a lot of ways, I mean, after the promise is given to Abraham, he really does get this sort of,

it's not just that he has a kid or something, but you're talking about a guy who, yeah, Paul says is basically dead, But then it goes on to, like, there's a lot of not dead stuff that he's doing, right? It's not just that, like, procreation was, like, this miraculous thing that God did. But, like, he does sort of rewind the clock for Abraham, and all of a sudden he's doing all kinds of stuff. Yeah, Moses is kind of like that, too. You know, he's 80 when God calls him.

When I'm out speaking, I'll always say something along these lines, you know, like, you know, when I'm 80, the last thing I'm looking for is to begin a new career, especially the most important career in my life. But that's what God does with Moses. You know, it's like he kind of rejuvenates him, just like he does with Abraham, like he does with Moses, too. He gives them this youthful vigor so they can go on and do some pretty incredible things, even at their advanced age. Yeah, because I read about the things that Moses and Abraham did in their old age, and I feel too old to do those. I'm like, I don't have the energy for any of that. Yeah. You want me to do what?

Go to Egypt? Rescue these people? Put up with them? I mean, I would much more prefer to go into Egypt and put up with Faber for a little bit than for the next 40 years put up with the Israelites. Abraham's going to have to go fight battles and stuff. I'm like, man, good thing I'm past draft age because I would be no good on a battlefield anymore. Yeah, he's a very active elderly person, that's for sure. One more thing before I forget it, it's worth mentioning.

We have this comparison of Eden and the Garden of the Lord to what's going to happen to Zion. And that's a pretty common theme in the prophets, where you have an Edenization of Zion, where it becomes like this pristine place. And it's just a perfect fit with the whole storyline of Scripture, where you start out with the Garden of Eden, the special place God chooses, puts his special people there. And then you go forward, and what happens? Well, God chooses another special place, the Promised Land. He puts his chosen people there. But that's not the end of the story, right? The end of the story is God wants this to expand, and that's exactly what happens with the kingdom of God.

So, beautiful, big arc of the narrative that you have from Genesis all the way to Revelation. Then, of course, you get to Revelation, last two chapters, and what does the New Jerusalem look like? It's like the Garden of Eden. Yeah. Coming down from heaven. River of life, trees of life, all the beautiful things. okay so uh started out by god basically saying hey i want you to give me those big open ears listen to me and he's going to repeat this now in verse four a little bit different verb but

same idea give attention give attention to me my people and give ear to me my nation for a torah all your english versions will have law but the word here is better translated instruction or teaching. So a teaching or an instruction, a Torah, will go out from me, and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples. My righteousness draws near. My salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge the peoples. The coastlands hope for me, and for my arm they wait. Am I wrong here in saying that this may be the worst time to translate this law? Yes. Like one of the top three worst places in the entire Bible to translate this as law. Yeah, I feel like this is it. You tell me, and feel free, just tell me, no, I wouldn't do that if I was you, Dan. I won't be offended.

But to me, based on like what it is we're talking about and like everything that's like, like what's the stuff that came directly before this, talking about giving up your back and talking about like all this like obvious Jesus stuff. Then you're saying, hey, this is what I would need you to do, is to pay attention and unclog your ears, for a teacher is coming from me, and I will set my justice and a light for the peoples, my righteousness, then you're going to have the coast, this is all Gentile kind of language, they're going to wait. Like, what this sounds like is not just like, hey, there's just the law. No, no, no, no. A new teaching, which, okay, so a teaching, if you're going to have a teaching, you need a teacher. And this is what I'm getting at, is that something different is going to happen, so I do need you to pay attention, and I need you to unclog your ears, because there's a word coming, and that word is going to happen to be made flesh, and he's going to be a light for people, and the Gentiles are going to be ecstatic about it, and all this kind of stuff. That's why – one of the reasons I would say I really think that law is a terrible way to translate this.

Because I don't think it's just talking about any old teaching, but a specific teacher with a teaching, a specific word wrapped in flesh that's coming. yeah and they do the uh most translations will do the exact same thing in uh in the parallel to this which is isaiah 2 verse 3 where you have all the people streaming up to the mountain of the lord and they say they're going to do that so that he may teach us his ways that we may walk in his paths for this is the end of verse 3 in isaiah 2 for out of zion shall go forth the torah and the word of the lord from jerusalem right so you got torah word of the lord paralleled here you go back to isaiah 51 you've got torah paralleled with my justice my righteousness my salvation my arms my arm yeah well what is all of this describing it's describing

the messiah and his work that's what it's describing yeah this word this word is a little different because it's wrapped in flesh right yeah so this is not like god saying yeah because i've got i got 10 better commandments they're going to go out from zion and man this time this these laws these commandments they're really going to set things right in the world no this is the instructor the teacher the one who embodies the who is the embodied word from god that's what's gonna that's what's gonna jesus is the arm of the lord yes yeah this is just how it works like he has actual arms yeah right it's not just metaphorical i mean he's got the arms that actually accomplish our salvation yeah he is he is like you know the metaphorical arm but he's also

the actual arm like where he's like comes in uh you know has his arm stretched across uh wooden beams kind of stuff for your salvation like this is the arm of the lord this is was when you're talking about the arm of the lord you're talking about the thing he uses to save and the thing he uses to save isn't just a thing it's a someone and that someone is jesus yeah yeah when you when you set isaiah side by side with the gospels yeah you can say more than one thing at the same time you can say yeah i mean throughout the old testament you have hand and arm used metaphorically The hand is like the agency by which something is done, and the arm is the strength by which something is done. Yes.

So those are powerful Hebrew metaphors. But then when that starts to bleed over into the Gospels, you're like, oh, metaphors become reality. Metaphor has shifted over to something quite literal where God actually has arms. And these arms judge and save and do all the things that Isaiah describes. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, so good stuff there. Now, verse 6, he says to look up to the heavens, look down at the earth. All right, so basically just check out creation.

And what could, what eventually will happen to all this stuff you see? Well, the heavens are, yeah, most translations will say vanish like smoke. And the reason they say, the reason they use vanish is because of the smoke part. Literally, it's torn to pieces. If we ever think about, I'm going to tear some smoke up in a little bit of pieces. That's what the Hebrew verb malach means there. So the heavens will be torn to pieces like smoke. Well, we don't think it's smoke, of course, anything ripped up, but that's the idea.

It's going to be torn into little bitty pieces and it's going to disperse. That can happen. and the earth will wear out like a garment so all these things which we see around us can just be gone and they the people who dwell in it well they're gonna they're gonna die similar to this that can be translated in like manner or the hebrew also allows for die like uh flies or like gnats but you get the picture the reason he says this is to set up the contrast so the heavens and the earth and the people of the earth, they can all be gone. But here's one thing that will never vanish or wear out. My salvation will be forever and my righteousness will never be dismayed.

So what God does through this teacher and teaching in the Messiah, where he brings his justice, salvation, righteousness, all these things, those will not end. That is eternal. and everlasting so it will it will not vanish will not be uh will not wear out like a garment and because of that therefore you know that it's for you now and forever yeah yeah this is uh everything's gonna wear out everything's gonna pass away everything's gonna get burned up except for this one thing which is the salvation of the lord right that's the thing that that's not going that's that is not going to be the end of that and that's why you know jesus says to when all you see all these things happening lift up your heads for your redemption draws nigh yeah

all right i think we had time to do a couple more verses so seven and eight one more call to listen up listen to me you who know righteousness the people in whose heart is my torah there's a our word law again, but people in whose heart is my Torah. Don't fear the reproach of man and don't be dismayed at their revilings. Why? For the moth, here's our moth friend again, for the moth will eat them up like a garment and the worm will eat them like wool, but my righteousness will be forever and my salvation to all generations. So this is a, you know, it's an encouragement to the people who are believing in the servant, trusting in the Messiah. Don't be worried about people's reproach and their revilings. Of course, people are going to say that. In this world, you're

going to have trouble. In this world, you're going to have people who mock you and revile you and do all these things. Well, don't worry about that because if they continue in this, then the same thing is going to happen to them that we heard about in the early chapter. The moth will eat them up. The worm will eat them like wool. But God's righteousness and his salvation will continue. Yeah, you just have him doing more of this contrast, right? So it's tough when you're being reviled and being reproached. He's like, hey, but there is an end. There is an end for you and them, and those ends are not the same, right? They're very different. Very, very different.

Well, one is an end and one is a beginning, right? So it's like, hey, when now that reproaching and reviling ends, so do they. But when that reproaching and reviling ends, that's just the beginning for you. I mean, now you're entering into the good forever. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah, yeah. Now you're entering into, to go back to the end of Revelation, where there's no more sorrow or crying or pain or darkness or reviling or reproaching or anything else, because all things have been made, all things have been made new. yeah i mean it's just it's a reality in this life uh whether it's in you know your person-to-person communications or uh yeah i do a lot of online work of course so i hear it online but there's it's just the reproaching reviling is going to happen uh that's just part of part of life in this world people are going to sharpen their tongues against you and use those tongues to say some you know pretty horrendous things at times but all that will come to an end because yeah, eventually they will come to their end and Christ will bring an end to all things and then

a beginning, which will not end. Yeah, that's pretty good news. Yeah. And I guess we better close it down. I think we're sneaking up here on 40 minutes and rather than jumping into this next section, we'll save it for next time. We got some Exodus material coming up here and we're going to hear about Rahab and the dragon and the drying up of the sea and this new Exodus that's coming up. And then we're going to be getting pretty close to the next Servant song. So we'll pick that up when we come back next episode.

Yeah, shocking that there would be some Exodus stuff coming up. Yeah, I can't believe it. That's so strange that we'd be returning again. But yeah, we'll see how that goes. Hopefully you will join us for that. Chad, I will see you next episode. All right, see you then.

We'll see you next time.