“He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.” (Isaiah 33:16)
Isaiah is prophesying about “He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;” (Isaiah 33:15) In the Old Testament, before the Covenant of Jesus, righteousness was measured by the good works one did. The Law commanded righteous living. That’s why no one could keep the whole Law. Man can try to be good on his own, but he cannot sustain it. He will fail. And that was the purpose of the Law. It pointed out that man was not righteous before God. And we could never be righteous before God. We needed a Savior.
Right away one thinks of the foundational fathers of old, Abraham, Moses, King David, etc. God spoke with them and blessed them. Were they not righteous before God? They were like all men, but they had faith. They believed and trusted God. And that faith and trust in God was counted for righteousness. (Romans 4:16-18) The fathers of old believed God. They believed in the Messiah who would take their sin away.
The work of Jesus on the Cross took away all our unrighteousness. And by faith in Him, we receive His righteousness. “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:” (Romans 3:21-22) We are the righteous Isaiah prophesied about in chapter 33:16. We cannot be righteous on our own merit, our own works or efforts. But Jesus gives us His righteousness. “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” (2Corinthians 5:21) We are made righteous in Jesus.
When we were born again of God, we were given a new nature. It’s the nature of God. One who is truly born again cannot sin. This doesn’t mean that we don’t. It means that our spirit which was born of God, has the nature of God, is pure and holy and cannot sin. When we sin because of the flesh or the world, our spirit man is grieved. Our true nature cannot tolerate sin. But that sin serves to reveal to us that the Holy Spirit has exposed it so that we can repent of it and allow the Holy Spirit to do His work in us to give us victory over that sin and continue His work of making us more in the image of Jesus. (Hebrews 12:2)
Isaiah’s prophecy is about the righteous. We will be glorified with Jesus. “When Christ, Who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:4) God will make us sit in heavenly places with Jesus. “But God, Who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-7) Our refuge is the Rock of Ages. “Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe He is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.” (1Peter 2:6-8) He is our Living Bread. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” (John 6:51) There is no lack for the righteous. “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:” (2Corinthians 9:8) This is the gift of God to those who believe and depart from evil.
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