.65:1-16.

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God’s people: servants or rebels? (Isa 65:1-16)

It was God’s desire that Israel seek him and enjoy his blessings, but instead the nation rebelled against him and stubbornly went its own way. Only a minority within Israel, along with those of Gentile nations who turned to Israel’s God, were really God’s people (Isa 65:1-2).

As for the people of Israel as a whole, they had throughout their long history repeatedly made God angry. They sacrificed to other gods, consulted the spirits of the dead and ate forbidden food, yet all the time they claimed that they were holy but other nations were unclean (Isa 65:3-5).

Consequently, God had punished Israel and sent the people into captivity (Isa 65:6-7).

Amid all the religious corruption of Israel there is still a faithful remnant. They are like a few good grapes in a bad bunch. For their sake God will restore Israel to its land, where faithful believers will worship and serve him in peace and contentment (Isa 65:8-10).

But those who ignore his warnings and continue to worship foreign gods will be destroyed (Isa 65:11-12).

The minority of faithful believers, those who worship and obey God, are God’s truly chosen ones, God’s true servants. They will be blessed with God’s favour. The rest of the nation, those who ignore God, will be disgraced with God’s punishment (Isa 65:13-14).

Although the ungodly will be destroyed, their name will continue to be used by the faithful as a symbol of the curse of God upon disobedience. The faithful, by contrast, will be given a new name, to indicate God’s favour upon them. They will live in loyal dependence on the faithful God (Isa 65:15-16).