Jeremiah 1 : Jeremiah is predestined to be a prophet

In Jeremiah 1, Jeremiah is called to prophecy in the name of the Lord when he was very young:

4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
And before you were born I consecrated you;
I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then I said, “Oh, Lord [a]God!
Behold, I do not know how to speak,
Because I am a youth.”
7 But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
Because everywhere I send you, you shall go,
And all that I command you, you shall speak.
8 Do not be afraid of them,
For I am with you to save you,” declares the Lord.


The Lord details his mission:

10 See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To root out and to tear down,
To destroy and to overthrow,
To build and to plant.”


The Lord watches over His word to fulfill it:

12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am [c]watching over My word to perform it.”

The Lord is in control of everything. The Lord reveals that will punish Judah. Babylon will destroy Judah:

14 Then the Lord said to me, “Out of the north the evil [d]will be unleashed on all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares the Lord; “and they will come and place, each one of them, his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls around, and against all the cities of Judah. 16 And I will [e]pronounce My judgments against them concerning all their wickedness, since they have abandoned Me and have [f]offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.

Jeremiah must spread this particular message from the Lord, but he will face problems:

17 Now, belt your garment around your waist and arise, and speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before them, or I will make you dismayed before them. 18 Now behold, I have made you today like a fortified city and like a pillar of iron and walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its leaders, to its priests, and to the people of the land. 19 And they will fight against you but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to save you,” declares the Lord.
 

Isaiah 66: the Lord looks for one who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at His word

 In Isaiah 66 we read Jerusalem, a place where earth and heavens meet. It begins with:

1 This is what the Lord says:
“Heaven is My throne and the earth is the footstool for My feet.
Where then is a house you could build for Me?
And where is a place that [a]I may rest?
2 For My hand made all these things,
So all these things came into being,” declares the Lord.

Is there a temple made by man that can house the Lord? The answer seems to be "no"; but  the Lord looks for a place, a person to live:

2 ... “But I will look to this one,
At one who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at My word.

However, the Lord is against hypocrisy. He is against people who claims to praise the Lord and make sacrifices but don't fear the Word of the Lord:

4 So I will choose their [c]punishments
And bring on them what they dread.
Because I called, but no one answered;
I spoke, but they did not listen.
Instead, they did evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”

The Lord says from the temple:

8 Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?
Can a land be [d]born in one day?
Can a nation be given birth all at once?
As soon as Zion was in labor, she also delivered her sons.
9 Shall I bring to the point of birth but not give delivery?” says the Lord.
“Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” says your God.

I suppose that the Lord is talking about Zion giving birth to Christians in verses 8-9, but some say it refers to Jerusalem (perhaps because Jerusalem must be destroyed):

10-11 “Rejoice, Jerusalem,
    and all who love her, celebrate!
And all you who have shed tears over her,
    join in the happy singing.
You newborns can satisfy yourselves
    at her nurturing breasts.
Yes, delight yourselves and drink your fill
    at her ample bosom.”

I still think that the newborns from Jerusalem are Christians (as Christian faith began in Jerusalem according to the book of Acts).
Indeed Christians are people form other nations and languages that is gathered by the Lord:

18-21 “.... I’m going to come and then gather everyone—all nations, all languages. They’ll come and see my glory. I’ll set up a station at the center. I’ll send the survivors of judgment all over the world: Spain and Africa, Turkey and Greece, and the far-off islands that have never heard of me, who know nothing of what I’ve done nor who I am. I’ll send them out as missionaries to preach my glory among the nations. They’ll return with all your long-lost brothers and sisters from all over the world. They’ll bring them back and offer them in living worship to God. They’ll bring them on horses and wagons and carts, on mules and camels, straight to my holy mountain Jerusalem,” says God. “They’ll present them just as Israelites present their offerings in a ceremonial vessel in the Temple of God. I’ll even take some of them and make them priests and Levites,” says God.

The people that belongs to the Lord are winners that bow down before the Lord:

23 And it shall be from new moon to new moon
And from Sabbath to Sabbath,
All [n]mankind will come to bow down before Me,” says the Lord.
24 “Then they will go out and look
At the corpses of the people
Who have rebelled against Me.
For their worm will not die
And their fire will not be extinguished;
And they will be an abhorrence to all [o]mankind.”

Isaiah 65: new heavens and a new earth

 In Isaiah 65, 1-2, the Lord invites people to come to him:

1 I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’
To a nation which did not call on My name.

however, Israel didn't listen to the Lord and rebbeled against Him:

2 I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,
Who walk in the way which is not good, [a]following their own thoughts,

Israel made a lot of things that displeased the Lord such as: offering sacrifices to other gods, eating pork, spent a night in cemiteries to get messages from the dead, etc; but there are still servants of the Lord that will be treated in a special manner:

9 I will bring forth [g]offspring from Jacob,
And an heir of My mountains from Judah;
My chosen ones shall inherit it,
And My servants will live there.

They will inherit the mountains from Judah
But those that don't repent will die:

12 I will destine you for the sword,
And all of you will bow down to the slaughter.
Because I called, but you did not answer;
I spoke, but you did not listen.
Instead, you did evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.

while the servants will eat, drink and rejoice.
The chapter finishes with a promise of new heavens and new earth:

17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
And the former things will not be remembered or come to [o]mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing
And her people for gladness.
19 I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;
And there will no longer be heard in her
The voice of weeping and the sound of crying.

Isaiah 64: we are sinners and even our righteous deeds are repugnant.

 Let us imagine that the God of Israel was created by men. Certainly, this false god would praise Israel and its leaders. However, the Lord is Holy and wants his people to be holy. He insists so much on it that the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed as in Isaiah 64:

8 But now, Lord, You are our Father;
We are the clay, and You our potter,
And all of us are the work of Your hand.
9 Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord,
Nor remember wrongdoing forever.
Behold, please look, all of us are Your people.
10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness,
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and beautiful house,
Where our fathers praised You,
Has been burned by fire;
And all our precious things have become a ruin.

Before, the prophet acknowledges the sin of the people of the Lord:

5 (..) Behold, You were angry, for we sinned,
We continued in [c]our sins for a long time;
Yet shall we be saved?
6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us wither like a leaf,
And our wrongdoings, like the wind, take us away.
7 There is no one who calls on Your name,
Who stirs himself to take hold of You;
For You have hidden Your face from us
And have [d]surrendered us to the power of our wrongdoings.

The temple was destroyed by the Babylonians. Will the Lord rescue his people? Certainly He is powerful to do it:

1 Oh, that You would tear open the heavens and come down,
That the mountains would quake at Your presence—
2 [b]As fire kindles brushwood, as fire causes water to boil—
To make Your name known to Your adversaries,
That the nations may tremble at Your presence!
3 When You did awesome things which we did not expect,
You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence.
4 For from days of old they have not heard or perceived by ear,
Nor has the eye seen a God besides You,
Who acts in behalf of one who waits for Him.

The Lord wants to meet us when we rejoice in doing righteousness:

5 You meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness,
Who remembers You in Your ways.

Let we have a new heart from the Lord!

Isaiah 63: You cause us to stray from Your ways

 In Isaiah 63 we read:

God’s Vengeance on the Nations (1-8)

4 For the day of vengeance was in My heart,
And My year of redemption has come.

6 I trampled down the peoples in My anger
And made them drunk with My wrath,
And I [e]poured out their lifeblood on the earth.

The Lord poured out lifeblood from many people on his anger, on the day of vengeance.

God’s Ancient Mercies Recalled (9-14)

The Lord made great things to his people :

9 In all their distress [f]He was distressed,
And the angel of His presence saved them;
In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them,
And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old.
10 But they rebelled
And grieved His Holy Spirit;
Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy,
He fought against them.

You Are Our Father (15-19)
15 Look down from heaven and see from Your holy and glorious lofty habitation;
Where are Your zeal and Your mighty deeds?
The stirrings of Your heart and Your compassion are restrained toward me.
16 For You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us
And Israel does not recognize us.
You, Lord, are our Father,
Our Redeemer from ancient times is Your name.
17 Why, Lord, do You cause us to stray from Your ways
And harden our heart from fearing You?
Return for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage.
18 Your holy people possessed Your sanctuary for a little while,
Our adversaries have trampled it down.
19 We have become like those over whom You have never ruled,
Like those who were not called by Your name.

These final verses are very interesting. The Lord is called "Father" of his people in v16 what is not so common in Old Testament where "father" is applied to a nation, not individually. In the New Testament we see the Lord being called Father, Aba in more personal way. We read in v17:

17 Why, Lord, do You cause us to stray from Your ways
And harden our heart from fearing You?
Return for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage.

I doubt that anyone would ask the Lord such question: "do You cause us to stray from Your ways And harden our heart from fearing You?"

However, it is prayer like: "You Lord can change my heart and bring me to you; so please do it!". He finishes saying: "Return for the sake of your servants" because it seems that the Lord has forsaken his people in the Babylonian captivity.

Isaiah 62: Jerusalem: from a destroyed woman to a queen.

 In Isaiah 62 we read:

1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet,
Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness,
And her salvation like a torch that is burning.

As in other chapters of Isaiah after chapter 40, we suppose this chapter was written in Babylonian captivity; thus now Zion is destroyed. Is Jerusalem righteous? Jerusalem was destroyed because it is not righteous, so the Lord is working on Jerusalem, transforming Jerusalem so that her righteousness appear. It is very similar to the Lord changing me into a new creature.


2 The nations will see your righteousness,
And all kings your glory;
And you will be called by a new name
Which the mouth of the Lord will designate.
3 You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
And a royal headband in the hand of your God.
4 It will no longer be said to you, “[a]Forsaken,”
Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “[b]Desolate”;
But you will be called, “[c]My delight is in her,”
And your land, “[d]Married”;
For the Lord delights in you,
And to Him your land will be married.
5 For as a young man marries a virgin,
So your sons will marry you;
And as the [e]groom rejoices over the bride,
So your God will rejoice over you.


Jerusalem that is now destroyed will no longer be called "desolate" but it will become a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord. It is very similar to the Lord changing a destroyed life into somebody very beautiful.

6 On your walls, Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen;
All day and all night they will never keep silent.
You who profess the Lord, take no rest for yourselves;
7 And give Him no rest until He establishes
And makes Jerusalem an object of praise on the earth.
8 The Lord has sworn by His right hand and by His mighty arm:
“I will never again give your grain as food for your enemies,
Nor will [f]foreigners drink your new wine for which you have labored.”
9 But those who harvest it will eat it and praise the Lord;
And those who gather it will drink it in the courtyards of My sanctuary.

Jerusalem was very unsecure, but the Lord will change it. This prophecy must be in the hearts of the people of the Lord. They must pray and somehow fight for this fulfillment instead of just rest and do nothing.

10 Go through, go through the gates,
Clear a way [g]for the people!
Build up, build up the highway,
Remove the stones, lift up a flag over the peoples.
11 Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth:
Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation is coming;
Behold His reward is with Him, and His compensation before Him.”
12 And they will call them, “The holy people,
The redeemed of the Lord”;
And you will be called, “Sought Out, A City Not Abandoned.”

The prophecy continues: many people are coming in Jerusalem. It is very interesting that in verse 11 we read: "His reward is with Him, and His compensation before Him. The holy people that is going through Jerusalem gates are the Lord's reward to Jerusalem.

Isaiah 61: Jesus release the captives

 In Isaiah 61 we read:

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord anointed me
To bring good news to the humble;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim release to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The cloak of praise instead of a disheartened spirit.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon who? Isahiah? Some other prophted? Someone who is in first person in Isaiah text such as the suffering servant from Chapter 42?
Jesus read this passage in Luke 4 and applied to himself. Thus, Jesus read that Isaiah 61 is connected to many other chapters about the suffering servant.
I understand that the "brokenherated", "captives¨, "prisioners" are applied to all who believe in Jesus and find in Him freedom.

4 Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
5 Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks,
And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.

Based on the verses above, we could understand that "captives" or "prisoners" refers to Judah in Babylonian captivity, but we know problems (sins) of those who returned from Babylon to Zion; so do "oaks of righteousness" in verse 3 may be applied to them? As a Christian I understand that we may be called "oaks of righteousness" not because based on our righteousness but base on Jesus's.

6 But you will be called the priests of the Lord;
You will be spoken of as ministers of our God.
You will eat the wealth of nations,
And you will boast in their riches.

Those former captives will be called "priests of the Lord" which is really a great honor.

Although Christians may see themselves as righteous due to Jesus; the Lord expect that they behave accordingly as people of the Lord:

8 For I, the Lord, love justice,
I hate robbery in the burnt offering;
And I will faithfully give them their reward,
And make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Then their offspring will be known among the nations,
And their descendants in the midst of the peoples.
All who see them will recognize them
Because they are the offspring whom the Lord has blessed.

As a Christian, I may read Jesus saying the following verses:

10 I will rejoice greatly in the Lord,
My soul will be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a groom puts on a turban,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth produces its sprouts,
And as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up,
So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
To spring up before all the nations.