Isaiah 65 ~ my Chosen shall long enjoy the work of His hands

Jesus said the Kingdom of God belongs to the little children. Painted by Greg Olsen.

Isaiah 65

[1] I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me;

I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, "Here am I, here am I,"
to a nation that did not call on my name.
I spread out my hands all the day
to a rebellious people,
who walk in a way that is not good,
following their own devices;
[3] a people who provoke me
to my face continually,
sacrificing in gardens
and burning incense upon bricks;
[4] who sit in tombs,
and spend the night in secret places;
who eat swine's flesh,
and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
[5] who say, "Keep to yourself,
do not come near me, for I am set apart from you."
These are a smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that burns all the day.
[6] Behold, it is written before me:
"I will not keep silent, but I will repay,
yea, I will repay into their bosom
[7] their iniquities and their fathers' iniquities together, says the
LORD;
because they burned incense upon the mountains
and reviled me upon the hills,
I will measure into their bosom
payment for their former doings."

[8] Thus says the LORD:
"As the wine is found in the cluster,
and they say, `Do not destroy it,
for there is a blessing in it,'
so I will do for my servants' sake,
and not destroy them all.
[9] I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
and from Judah inheritors of my mountains;
my chosen shall inherit it,
and my servants shall dwell there.
[10] 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.
[11] 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;
[12] 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."

[13] 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;
[14] behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart,
but you shall cry out for pain of heart,
and shall wail for anguish of spirit.
[15] You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse,
and the Lord GOD will slay you;
but his servants he will call by a different name.
[16] So that he who blesses himself in the land
shall bless himself by the God of truth,
and he who takes an oath in the land
shall swear by the God of truth;
because the former troubles are forgotten
and are hid from my eyes.

[17] "For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth;
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
[18] But be glad and rejoice for ever
in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing,
and her people a joy.
[19] I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and be glad in my people;
no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
and the cry of distress.
[20] No more shall there be in it
an infant that lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not fill out his days,
for the child shall die a hundred years old,
and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
[21] They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
[22] They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
[23] They shall not labor in vain,
or bear children for calamity;
for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD,
and their children with them.
[24] Before they call I will answer,
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
[25] The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
the lion shall eat straw like the ox;
and dust shall be the serpent's food.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain, says the LORD."

~ my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands


Psalm 90:16-17
16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children.

May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.


When Jesus dwelt among us, the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. Jesus knew the heart of man, yet He chose to willing open His arms, lay down His life and be our sacrifice, to atone for our sin. Many people do not see Jesus as fully human, but God's Son leaving Heaven, temporarily, willing to wade into our midst, like war, and endure it. What would Jesus have missed from His life on earth? For all of us, to die is frightening. Jesus did receive love & worship from a life worth leading:

John 15:11
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Jesus had a happy childhood, as the adopted child of Joseph. In a small town, everyone's business is known, but Jesus' hometown saw that complete blended family and said:

Matthew 13:
53When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. 54 Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?" they asked. 55"Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?

Luke 2:
48When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you." 49"Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?"

52And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Luke 3:
21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

Mark 1:14,15
Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

Mark 1:
17"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 18At once they left their nets and followed him.

27The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him." 28News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.


Luke 5:
20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."

16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.

John 2:
1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.

5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."

10and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now."

Matthew 11: 19The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds."

Mark 1:
41Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!"

13Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them.

Mark 2
23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grain fields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain.

Mark 3:
13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.

34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."

Mark 4:
1 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge.

Jesus must have recognized His own life in this parable:
30 Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade.

Mark 5:
34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

36 Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe." 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!" ). 42Immediately the girl stood up and walked around.

31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."

Mark 6:
4 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

46After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

50b Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."

Luke 6:
7"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Luke 7:
9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel."

22 And he answered them, "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.

Mark 7:
37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. "He has done everything well," they said. "He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."

Mark 8:
29"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
Peter answered, "You are the Christ."

Mark 9:
1 And he said to them, "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power."

2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

7 Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!"

24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

36 He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."

Mark 10:
14When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."

21 Jesus looked at him and loved him.

Mark 11:
7When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
"Hosanna!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
10"Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!"
"Hosanna in the highest!"

11Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

Mark 12:
29"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 31The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'There is no commandment greater than these."

34a When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."

43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

Mark 14:
6"Leave her alone," said Jesus. "Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.

9I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."

22While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take it; this is my body."

23Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it.

24"This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them. 25"I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God."

John 19:
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" 27Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!"

Luke 23:
42 And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." 43 And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

34 And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

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