Isaiah 62:8

The Bible says in Isaiah 62:8-9, “The LORD hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured: But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the LORD; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness.” In telling us about the future 1,000 year reign of Christ, we are being told of one of its benefits here in these verses. If you labor, then you should be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor. That is a matter of justice and fair-play. When someone labors, and they must give the fruits of their labors to others, that is called oppression. Economic freedom is one of the basic concepts of capitalism and of true freedom. Too much taxation by the government takes away economic freedom.

It says in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The problem with socialism is that it is based upon the concept that money, by way of taxes and fees, will be taken from those who produce money, and the money will be dispersed in the way of benefits to those who have not earned enough to take care of themselves. But the “pursuit of happiness” does not mean that people are guaranteed happiness, it only means that they are guaranteed the opportunity and the freedom to pursue the development of their gifts and abilities. But through lack of effort or lack of ability, an individual may rise only so far. The important thing is that each person be given the opportunity to go as far as their abilities and the grace of God will take them. On the other hand, if you reward people when they have not made an effort, then you destroy initiative.

If you do succeed from the standpoint of material things, then it is important that you give God the glory. Some people only look to God when they are in trouble, but when they have prosperity they forget God. It says in Isaiah 62:9, “But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the LORD.” Do you praise the Lord for all the good things He has given to you?

The Bible says in Isaiah 62:10, “Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.” These great blessings will take place when Jesus Christ sits upon the throne of David in Jerusalem. When we are told to “go through the gates,” we are being told to enter into that wonderful city, Jerusalem, once it has become the capital city of the entire world. We will enter into the city of Jerusalem that is governed righteously. Finally, we will have in Jesus Christ the Ruler that we all need: the King of kings. He will make just laws and right decisions. There will be no corruption, and no inequalities, and there will be peace like a river. Having the Prince of Peace on the throne will guarantee a kingdom of peace.

The Bible says in Isaiah 62:11, “Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.” The first part of Isaiah 62:11 is a very interesting phrase. It says, “the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world.” Even if Christians stop being witnesses and stop preaching the gospel, the Lord will not stop. If He cannot get any people to speak for Him, then He will cause the rocks to cry out, if necessary. But this is for certain: Jesus will make sure that the truth is proclaimed all the way until “the end of the world.” Of course, this means that there will be an end to the world as we know it. In other words the current system whereby nations rise up against nations; and the power of government is always looking for new ways to dominate and control the populace will come to an end. All of these present day power-struggles will have their culmination in the antichrist, who will dominate human beings through government to an extent that no one else has ever done before. But even during the reign of the antichrist during the seven-year tribulation period, the gospel of Jesus will be preached in the world. God will make certain of that.

The second part of Isaiah 62:11 also has an important truth. It says, “Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.” Of course, this refers to the Second Coming of Christ primarily. “Thy salvation” is Jesus. The angel said to Joseph in Matthew 1:21, “thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.” When Jesus returns, all of these great things revealed in this part of Isaiah will be fulfilled entirely. When Jesus returns, all the problems of the world will be fixed.

Notice that Isaiah 62:11 says that when Jesus returns “his reward is with him.” Remember that in Isaiah 62:6-7 we were told to be watchmen and spokesmen until “he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.” When Jesus returns He is going to have rewards to give out to those who have faithfully done that which He asked them to do. Jesus said in Revelation 22:12, “And behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” The rewards that believers will gain or lose is not a small matter. We are saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but there will be rewards in heaven for those who earn them. The greatest need for any person is to go to heaven instead of hell. That is why Jesus said in Mark 8:36, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

Looking towards eternity, after salvation the second most important goal of all to gain is rewards from Christ. What will those rewards be? We have some information about that when we understand that the Word of God informs us that at least some of the rewards are called “crowns.” There are four or five crowns described in the New Testament as rewards that Christians can gain or lose. The first crown is mentioned in First Thessalonians 2:19 that says, “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?” The very people in the church at Thessalonica were Paul’s crown. In other words when you witness to someone, or when you lead someone to Christ, or when you teach someone from the Bible, you are adding to your crown. You too can have a crown of rejoicing if there are people whom you have touched with God’s Word. Evidently this same crown was referred to in Philippians 4:1 where Paul wrote, “Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.”

Concerning the crown of righteousness, The Apostle Paul wrote in Second Timothy 4:8, “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” This reward is evidently for those who “love his appearing.” In other words, those who look for, wait for, and hope for the return of Christ will receive this reward. To faithfully look for the return of Christ in this way implies a faithfulness to Christ in other ways too, such as stated by Paul in the verses just before this one. It says in First Timothy 4:7, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”

There is a crown of glory. The Bible says in First Peter 5:4, “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” This is a reward for pastors. Of course, not every pastor shall earn this reward. The requirements for winning this reward are found in First Peter 5:1-3, “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.” There are several major requirements for pastors. The fact that there are very few pastors who fulfill these requirements shows us that we are in the last days. The first command to pastors is to “feed” the flock of God. In other words feed them God’s Word. God’s Word is the spiritual food. Many pastors have a lot to say about themselves or about current events, but how many are teaching the whole counsel of God from God’s Word?

Another important criteria for a pastor to receive this reward from Christ is to make sure that he is not doing the work of a pastor “for filthy lucre.” In other words he should not be doing it for money. Unfortunately, many churches are in such financial difficulty that the pastors are under pressure to get as much money as possible from those who attend their churches. Too bad that such churches were not established on a pay-as-you-go basis. If they had been, the pastors would not be making such an emphasis on money.

One more important criteria for a pastor to receive the crown of glory is to not be “lord over God’s heritage.” A pastor should have developed his own Christian character so that he is an example to other believers, and leads by example. Of course, a pastor is to lead the sheep, but he is not to rule over the sheep. A Christian congregation should not have a division of laity and clergy, but should be a true brotherhood of equals. A pastor has a responsibility of leadership, but he should not control, dominate, or manipulate the believers in his congregation. Jesus said in Revelation 2:15, “So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.” The Nicolaitanes are those who rule over a congregation.

There is one other crown called the crown of life. Jesus said in Revelation 2:10, “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried: and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” This crown has to do with suffering for Christ. If you become a believer in Jesus and desire to follow Him, you will be called to suffer something for His name’s sake. There may be some great trial, some great tribulation, or some great persecution that you are called upon to endure. It says in James 1:12, “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”

We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ: not of works. But once we are saved, there is still much that can be lost. We can lose our rewards. These rewards are crowns. The crowns represent power and authority that will be handed out to be used throughout eternity in the Kingdom of heaven. Do not lose your rewards. As it says in Isaiah 62:11, “Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.”

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