HOPE IN ZION FOR ALL NATIONS (Part 1)

                                                                         

       Isaiah 2: 2-3 it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it,

      and many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

         Profile: Prophet Isaiah prophesied about 740-700BC , he lived in the period of decline of Israel in the shadow of the powerful Assyrian Empire and spoke the word of the lord to a people deaf and blind and who blatantly repined to his warnings. Yet he spoke also of a servant, a man of sorrows who would be wounded for our transgressions faithfully accomplishing God’s plan of redemption and salvation.

                   It’s an amazing insight of a people so lost and rebellious becoming recipients of good news. A servant who will accomplish God’s plan of salvation. This book was a prophecy of salvation to the Israelites and the whole world thus where sin abounds grace even super abounds.  

       

        Back to our text in Isaiah chapter 2, Isaiah speaks of the mountain of the lord that shall be established. The covenant God makes with Moses was made on Mount Sinai whereas mount Zion represents the new covenant God makes with man through Jesus

       In exodus 19 we are given an insight of Israelites on exodus to caanan coming into the wilderness of Sinai. Moses would often ascend the mountain to commune with God and take instructing from him.

      

         Mount Sinai was a mountain of limitations and Israelites weren’t allowed to touch even the edge of it. On this mountain Moses receives the Ten Commandments. This mountain represents the law which ushers a dispensation of operation of God’s wrath to because his nature has changed  but because his people had continuously and blatantly had become stiff necked and increasingly transgressed against their God  necessitating addition of  the law as God’s infinite standard of perfection locking up the Israelites to the promises of God.

     Hebrews 12:18-21 gives us a sight of mount Sinai and Moses describes the sight as  so terrifying that he trembled with fear, this is the same place where Moses would  commune with God s a man does with a friend

      The second mountain Isaiah speaks of is mount Zion representing Christ the mountain unshaken that will be lifted up above the hills.

       Psalm 125 those who trust in mount Zion which cannot be shaken but abides forever.

       This mountain is Jesus. The first mountain representing the law was to abide 2500 years only but Jesus abides forever. Heb 12:22 tells us “but you have come to mount Zion and to the city of the living God the heavenly Jerusalem….”

Back to Isaiah verse 2….and all the nations shall flow to it. The first mountain was so terrifying that no one dared to touch it but to this mountain all the nations shall flow to it

In verse 3: many will come and say come, let us go up to the mountain of the lordto the house of God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways

 How comes that we will now ascend the mountain of the lord…….. that he may teach us his ways. The answer comes in the latter part of the verse.

For out of Zion shall go the law and the word of God from Jerusalem. In the fullness of time God sent Jesus in the form of Man ho fulfilled the law and its regulation and the debt that was charged against us he paid By God judging him on the cross and now Jesus fulfills the requirements of God’s justice and mercy towards man. Therefore we have been justified by faith in Jesus and we have peace with God. God is no longer angry with us , Let me put across flatly and firmly GOD IS NOT ANGRY WITH YOU. If you think we are in that dispensation that was in Sinai then you have been overtaken with time.

      

        The law represented the perfect infinite standards of God that no man could accomplish but they needed a savior. On the day the law was given to Moses the children of Israel started carving a god out of a calf, and as Moses descended Mountain what followed was that three thousand people were killed by God’s rage.

         The covenant Sinai brought immense fear that the children preferred that Moses deal with God on their behalf rather than for them to deal directly with God.

      But Christ became the end of the law so that there might be righteousness to them who believe (Rom 10:4)

     And so as the psalmist asked who shall ascend the hill of the lord? Psalm 15”1-2 the psalmist answers and says he who walks blameless and does what is right.

     And so who is  worthy to ascend God’s hill/mountain, mountains in the ancient Israel were considered a plus in case of defence against attacks , mountains symbolize protection and as  the psalmist said as the mountains are about Jerusalem so the Lord is about his people.

      I would put across that there is one who ascended the holy hill and did not stay there forever but when he descended full of compassion and mercy he did good wherever he went. His name is Jesus

            

      In matt 5 Jesus delivers a sermon called” The sermon on the mount” he ascends the mount , with him his disciples followed by . Jesus began to teach about the blessed are’s and also teaches about anger, divorce, Adultery, oaths, Treatment of enemies, giving to the needy, The Lord’s prayer, fasting among many other things. You can read from chapters 5 to chapter 8

      These represented infinite standards God that no man could keep. In Matt 5:17 Jesus says that he has come to fulfill the laws and the prophets. He continues to lay emphasis that all commandments are to be kept and taught wholly and not partially.

      In verse 20 he tells the crowd” unless your righteousness exceeds  that of the scribes  and Pharisees you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” Wait a minute what is this righteousness that exceeds that of Pharisees. In some ways I have been like a Pharisees , for example there was a time I use to believe that I deserve a breakthrough from God because I served hi with all my might, I cannot to tell of when I would seek the approval of men, all these facets are pharisaical . I believe to be a Pharisee is to regard your own efforts before God as more precious than what Jesus has done at the cross. It is to repine against the provision of help from God and to focus and to be obsessed with your self effort. This results in self centeredness, you start being focused to yourself and you become selfish and depraved.

  

      Did Jesus therefore come to make life harder by requiring from us a righteousness that is higher than that of Pharisees?, No! he came to fulfil the law , he is the only one who fulfils the righteous requisites of God. Thus by believing in Jesus we become recipients of a righteousness infinitely higher than that of the Pharisees where man is not clean on the outside as the Pharisees sought to be clean on the outside while in the inside were whitew washed sepulchers.

     Jesus is the mountain that has been lifted above the hills for mount Zion is lifted higher than mount Sinai and Grace is higher than the law, there is hope in mount Zion, thus those who trust in the Lord are like mount Zion which cannever be shaken.

      

     What a great justification? That we believe in the captain of our salvation and the righteousness of God is imputed in us, the bile tells us that we reign in life because we have received the abundance of grace and free gift of righteousness through the life of one man Jesus
(Rom 5:17) through faith in Christ Jesus we have ascended the hill of the Lord and not  only that, we also dwell there.

Hebrews 12:18-24 sheds a great light on the glory of the new covenant. The wirter tells us that we have not come to a mountain that cannot be  touched(mount Sinai) amountain burning with fire, full of gloom and strm that which even when an animal came near it was prevailed upon with stones.

But we have come t mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of he living God we have come face to face with God through Jesus who has become our mediator.

      

        And so our hope is in the Lord our rock we become immovable like mount Zion, we then with unveiled face behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We like a bride are not afraid to appear before the lord our chief , our greatest Good , the one from whom we derive our greatest satisfaction. This is it there is so much light, so much glory in the new covenant, so much anointing , we are adorned with the unction of Jesus himself, we are forever surrounded , forever held, forever encouraged, Halleluiah

     WATCH OUT PART 2 OF THIS EXPOSITION; UR BLESSED