“I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,

And from Judah an heir of My mountains;

My elect shall inherit it,

And My servants shall dwell there.” vs9

God speaks with absolute determination of purpose: His elect will inherit the spiritual blessings that He has for us in Christ. The Son of God has made the purchase, and the Spirit will come in power. Therefore, we can be absolutely certain, as we preach the gospel, that God will prevail [1 Thess 1:5]. We can go with the conviction that honors the gospel in full reliance upon God, not fearing man’s faces or trembling because of weakness in self! We can open the text, and give them Christ in the Scripture.

It is not up to man to will or to perform; it is up to God that has mercy. Rom 9:16, “So then it is not of him who wills,nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.” Therefore, let us please Him and give glory to God in what we preach and how we preach it!

Secondly, this is who the blessing is for, “For My people who have sought Me.” vs10

Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks,

and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,

for my people who have sought me. vs

This is not a contradiction; it is the whole counsel of God, which must be preached. Men learn a part of God’s word, and think they know it all. We must PREACH IT ALL to know it all: A partial gospel is a lie!

God has people He’s chosen to save, and they will seek Him with all their heart, until they find Him. He says,

“And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” --Jer 29:13

You’ll throw away everything else! One thing will be important to you, and that’s finding Christ in the truth of the gospel. Like Bunyan’s Pilgrim, you’ll put your fingers in your ears, crying, “Life! Life! Eternal Life! I must have eternal life!”

Your sins will be so dreadful and profound that there is nothing that you can do about it. God will not allow you to be comforted by a lie. Esau comforts himself in rebellion, but Jacob must have the blessing, and He will not let go of Christ [Gen 32:26].

You have to have peace, because you need it. Eternal hell is too hot and real. Now, you need a changed life, and you must be forgiven. So, you cast yourself upon the Blood and the Spirit, and God gives you what you need. Emptied of self, you trust Christ, and He hears you. Comfort comes with abundant peace: You now have what your soul is after! Money means nothing to you, even health is cast aside! So long as your soul is right with God, you are happy!

Thirdly, here is the problem: men hear the gospel, and they don’t want to be saved. vs11-12

“But you who forsake the LORD,

who forget my holy mountain,

who set a table for Fortune

and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny,

I will destine you to the sword,

and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter,

because, when I called, you did not answer;

when I spoke, you did not listen,

but you did what was evil in my eyes

and chose what I did not delight in.”

They want destiny helpers, but not the God who predestinates. They want earthly blessings and not the heavenly inheritance with contentment [1 Tim 6:6-8]. They do not believe that God is enough, so they serve another god, whom they use to get stuff. The heavenly casino is where they roll their dice, hoping to hit it big, casting in coins in the expectation of getting more… serving this god zealously for earthly treasure. This is an abomination, and God hates it, because it rejects Christ the bread of life for the falsehood of this world. It disdains the spiritual for the physical, the eternal for the temporary, and God for Satan. It worships selfish ambition, and any god that can promise the world is blessed, praised, and served: Their god is their belly!

Flee from this mindstate and this thinking. This is what destroyed them in John 6. Jesus came with spiritual blessings, even His blood and flesh, but they could only see money and miracles. They had no interest in thirsting no more, because they did not think that He could give it. They didn’t want to be satisfied with God in the forgiveness of sins, the power of the Spirit, and the hope of heaven. They wanted something else to make them happy, so they rejected Christ, and God hates it!

Finally, the Lord is going to put everyone to eternal death, who doesn’t choose Christ. vs13-15

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:

“Behold, my servants shall eat,

but you shall be hungry;

behold, my servants shall drink,

but you shall be thirsty;

behold, my servants shall rejoice,

but you shall be put to shame;

behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart,

but you shall cry out for pain of heart

and shall wail for breaking of spirit.

You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse,

and the Lord GOD will put you to death,

but his servants he will call by another name,

He’s punishing them forever in the fullness of fury, while the righteous are blessed! What a horrible thing! Their smoke shall ascend to heaven, while the righteous praise God, and shout, “Hallelujah [Rev 19:1-3].” They are going to have eternal torments, while the righteous are laughing forever!

It is an all in or all out gospel. It doesn’t matter how close they got to the Ark. If they were not inside, then they perished.

Choose wisely where you want to spend eternity. Choose whom you will serve [Deut 30:19]. God promises you good, instead of evil, if you repent and trust Him. He will save you from sin. He promises eternal death, if you forsake His ways. Kiss the Son, or perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled a little [Ps 2:12]. It is the safety of the Refuge, or the Man-slayer will hunt you down. It is heaven or hell, eternal life or the second death.