The Book of Isaiah: A fountain of Restoration opened up (Isaiah 12:1-6)

I have really enjoyed reading Isaiah 12 today. I wanted to share my gleanings and the things that I like about it. It's such a small chapter I'm going to quote the whole thing! (New King James Version)

1And in that day you will say:
"O LORD, I will praise You;
Though You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.
2Behold, God [is] my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
'For YAH, the LORD, [is] my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation.' "

3Therefore with joy you will draw water
From the wells of salvation.

4And in that day you will say:
"Praise the LORD, call upon His name;
Declare His deeds among the peoples,
Make mention that His name is exalted.
5Sing to the LORD,
For He has done excellent things;
This [is] known in all the earth.
6Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great [is] the Holy One of Israel in your midst!"

In the first verse, I had an amazing realization after Praying "God I want to see the Lamb in this Chapter" so I'll quote it again:
1"O LORD, I will praise You;
Though You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me."

Isn't it true, that when Christ offered up himself for me, that the wrath and anger that was spent on me was removed, and instead I became the one in whom is all His delight.

In fact, I wouldn't want to stop there. In the second verse:
2Behold, God [is] my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;

That is a declaration to declare. it will become my new prayer to God, "I trust in you, I will not be afraid" - Among many other things, I take it personally as showing me that God's intentions towards me are without mixture, and that whatever number my fears are, there is sincerity in Him that is bigger than my fears. In fact, I would go further than no fear, I would say "I want to taste the grace coming off from your words" - because only that satisfies me.

I can hear the dancers gathering their tambourines in the 6th verse:
6Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great [is] the Holy One of Israel in your midst!

As a request for the entire congregation, this comes from the hearts of those that truly know Him.

When I begun thinking about the Chapter I began at this verse. If you notice the two phrases in Verse 1 and 4 "And in that day" you would need to find the previous Chapter. Collectively, the nation responds, Individually, the hearts are transformed. God begins and ends in this Chapter. He is the substance, the form, and the vibrancy of their celebration. Whose? Zion, of course, (coming back into covenant bond with Her Husband) those who have had God's wrath poured out only to find that His desire is to comfort them.

The thing I like about their response, is that they don't need God to give them a push along, their celebration comes from deep in their hearts (which is shown in Verse 4 and 5) the beginning of the great commission to reach the world with the glory of God - His works being manifest in all the earth!

Verse 3 is very significant. If you want Jesus look no further than here
3Therefore with joy you will draw water
From the wells of salvation.

If you want to find out the full story, search for it on the internet, for now I will give an abridged summary. These verses are recited during the Feast of Tabernacles. The feast of Tabernacles is the premier feast of the year on the Jewish Calendar, in it we believe that the Messiah will appear to us. If there is any time of year that He will appear it is this time (for further information, and interest, the calendar year is also in 6 month cycles)

As part of the Feast the priest will draw water from the pool of Siloam, which is about 150 metres from the temple mount (Yes, you've read it in the New Testament) they will carry large vessels of water up from the pool to the temple Mount, where they pour out the water. As part of this, they eagerly await the coming of Messiah, who will show Himself at this time. It is this "Living Water" that they are earnestly desiring.

If you find it, in the Gospel according to John, flick to chapter 7, and goto verse 37-39

On the last day, that great [day] of the feast,
Jesus stood and cried out, saying,
"If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said,
out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
But this He spoke concerning the Spirit,
whom those believing in Him would receive;
for the Holy Spirit was not yet [given],
because Jesus was not yet glorified.

NO ONE HAD EVER SPOKEN LIKE THIS MAN!

That is the only thing I'm desiring right now, JOY from deep within me. Who is the well of salvation? who is the fountain of life? My Jesus, my Salvation from God! when they say "God is my salvation" they are literally calling His name. because He is my personal salvation. They are basically saying, "Jesus my joy!" I drunk from YOUR LIFE, inexhaustable, fully satisfying, GLORY They want to drink from this well. So, if you haven't already, DRINK.