Isaiah Series Introduction, High Point Church
By Jay Wegter
BACKGROUND: Isaiah’s name signifies “The Salvation of the Lord” – esp. appropriate since so much of his prophecy is about Jesus the Messiah. In fact, we have more messianic prophecy in the book of Isaiah than in any other OT book. The prophet paints a ‘portrait’ of Messiah, 700 years before Christ is born giving us the clearest views of Calvary found anywhere in the OT.
The data Isaiah provides of Christ’s Person and ministry was fulfilled to the letter by our Savior. The odds of all of these prophecies happening by chance is utterly remote. And, the fact that each of them was fulfilled to the letter assures us that Isaiah’s prophecies concerning Christ’s victorious return as glorious King, and the Messianic age to follow will also be fulfilled to the letter. Isaiah wrote much about the future Day of the Lord, and Jerusalem’s status among the nations. His prophecies put the cross and the crown of our Lord in sharp focus.
In addition, a number of Isaiah’s prophecies were fulfilled at, or near his lifetime: 1) the deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrian army. 2) the recovery of king Hezekiah from a terminal illness. 3) the naming of Cyrus, the Medo-Persian king (150 years before his birth) who would support Israel’s return to her land after exile. 4) deliverance from Babylonian captivity. We serve a God of the impossible; each of these prophecies looked humanly impossible. Isaiah was the greatest of the writing prophets (vocab. exceeds the entire Psalms) (Elijah and Elisha were great prophets, but not writing prophets).
Let’s round-off some dates to place Isaiah in a proper chronology: Isaiah ministered around 700 years before Christ was born. Isaiah’s time was about 300 years later than king David’s time (around 1000 BC). Judah was taken into captivity by Babylon around 600 BC. If you can remember those three numbers: 1000 David, 700 Isaiah, 600 Babylonian captivity.
Isaiah ministered during a stormy, unsettled time in Judah’s history. The prosperity and independence enjoyed under Uzziah’s reign had eroded at a record pace under Jotham and Ahaz. Isn’t it interesting, even proverbial that spiritual and moral compromise by a nation’s rulers leads to political corruption and social injustice? Isaiah addresses this wickedness; often oscillating between ominous dark warnings, and the promise of salvation and future golden age. Many of his prophecies are filled with a torrent of judgment but, are followed by a shining rainbow that sweeps the reader into the kingdom promises. It is Christ as Sovereign King and Judge, and it is Christ as Lamb of God.
Becoming familiar with just a bit of history will open up broad vistas for you as we study this glorious book. Knowing even the most basic things about the geo-political situation (international scene, relations) of Isaiah’s day will shed light on so many of the prophecies. To start with, the major player; the ‘bad boy’ on the block was the Assyrian empire. This cruel military machine was advancing its sway ever further to the west. And, the kings of Aram and Israel were trying to persuade king Ahaz into joining a coalition against Assyria. Ahaz instead asks the Assyrian king for help. Isaiah condemns this decision as distrust in God. At first, Ahaz seems to get what he wants, protection; Assyria assists Judah (where Ahaz reigns) and conquers Israel. But this made Judah even more vulnerable. Once under the influence of Assyria, without an alliance to help the Israelites, Judah under Ahaz is trapped.
In a breathtaking act/move of absurdity, Ahaz becomes infatuated with the idolatrous altar of Assyria, and commissions one to be made in Jerusalem and set up in Solomon’s temple! Wicked king Ahaz leads his nation into great lengths of apostasy. Now that is where our story begins in Isaiah chapter one.
COMMENTARY:
1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw
during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth;
For the LORD speaks,
“Sons I have reared and brought up,
But they have revolted against Me.
3 “An ox knows its owner,
And a donkey its master’s manger,
But Israel does not know,
My people do not understand.”
4 Alas, sinful nation,
People weighed down with iniquity,
Offspring of evildoers,
Sons who act corruptly!
They have abandoned the LORD,
They have despised the Holy One of Israel,
They have turned away from Him.
Under wicked Ahaz, idolatrous altars were erected in every corner of Jerusalem. (v. 2) The language in these verses depicts a courtroom in which God is the plaintiff and the nation is the defendant. The people have failed to respond to God’s care with loving obedience to Him. They cannot serve their calling of being blessing to the nations if they revolt. (v. 3) God reproves them for their base ingratitude stating that animals have more powers of reason than God’s people when they break fellowship with Him. (v. 4) They are traitors against God’s dignity, a vicious profane people. They do not know or consider their obligations to God (duties, obedience, gratitude).
5 Where will you be stricken again,
As you continue in your rebellion?
The whole head is sick
And the whole heart is faint.
6 From the sole of the foot even to the head
There is nothing sound in it,
Only bruises, welts and raw wounds,
Not pressed out or bandaged,
Nor softened with oil.
7 Your land is desolate,
Your cities are burned with fire,
Your fields—strangers are devouring them in your presence;
It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers.
8 The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard,
Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.
9 Unless the LORD of hosts
Had left us a few survivors,
We would be like Sodom,
We would be like Gomorrah.
(vv. 5-6) Their land is already in ruins because of their rebellion against God. Their closed minds and unresponsiveness to divine discipline is pictured as a person damaged in his vital organs of brain and heart. The picture in verse 5 is not merely of a sick man, but a person who has been flogged within an inch of his life—yet asking for more! (The symptoms here are of inflicted injuries.) Their attempts at reformation are ineffectual, for they are unsearched, unwashed, and unpardoned. They have not considered the fatal consequences of their corruption; they had to be shown their misery. This is what we shall call DVP.
(vv. 7-9) The land of Judah is trampled under the invading foreign hordes with only Jerusalem left standing. Yahweh bids them look what has happened to Mt. Zion, the “joy of the whole earth” has become a desolation. But, they are not mortified and brought to repentance by their afflictions, but are further hardened. (v. 8) A booth is a fieldworker’s shanty (or cucumber hut) left standing after harvest—a forlorn relic of harvest like a shabby scarecrow in an empty reaped field. Glorious Zion has less than a square mile remaining (inside the walls of Jerusalem), that’s how close it is to being wiped out like Sodom.
10 Hear the word of the LORD,
You rulers of Sodom;
Give ear to the instruction of our God,
You people of Gomorrah.
11 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?”
Says the LORD.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle;
And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.
12 “When you come to appear before Me,
Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?
13 “Bring your worthless offerings no longer,
Incense is an abomination to Me.
New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies—
I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.
14 “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts,
They have become a burden to Me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 “So when you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide My eyes from you;
Yes, even though you multiply prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are covered with blood.
16 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight.
Cease to do evil,
17 Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Reprove the ruthless,
Defend the orphan,
Plead for the widow.
(v. 10) It is an ultimate humiliation to be addressed as Sodom—for that former city is a disaster site (like Pompeii or Hiroshima have come to signify to us). It would be righteous for God to destroy them like Sodom and Gomorrah. (v. 11-15) God justly refuses to hear their prayers or receive their sacrifices and worship. Isn’t it remarkable that sinners under judgment revert to religious rituals, but do not actually forsake their sins and reform their lives in true repentance? They become more active in outward religion as if to bribe God and have His punishments removed. Religious activity without reformation of heart and life is an abomination to Him. “To obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Sam 15:22).
(v. 16) Sin defiles the soul; they must cease to do evil. Repentance must be fully practical and fully personal. (v. 17) It is not enough to break from evil, they must learn to do good, to do well. To take pains to learn what your duties are before God. Relieve those whom others oppress. Make certain the evil-doer is punished. Speak for those who do not know how to speak for themselves. Good works are to be done on behalf of those in need.
18 “Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the LORD,
“Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool.
19 “If you consent and obey,
You will eat the best of the land;
20 “But if you refuse and rebel,
You will be devoured by the sword.”
Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
(v. 18) True religion has reason on its side. The great offer of cleansing is offered like the great accusation in the previous verses; in the echo of the law courts. This frank confrontation from God puts into bold relief that He alone can change and delete the indelible. The shocking red color depicts the extreme perversity, iniquity, and blood guilt of the people. (v. 19-20) Isaiah is a prophet of grace, but forgiveness is not unconditional. It comes through repentance as v. 19 indicates.
The choice here is as stated in Deut. 28—is a choice between the blessing and the curse, life and death stand before them. Two paths, two eternal destinies. If they choose repentance, they will enjoy the best of the land. If they refuse, they will be devoured by invaders. It is eat or be eaten. If they continue in their course of sin, and refuse to be ruled by God’s scepter, they will be devoured by God’s sword.
21 How the faithful city has become a harlot,
She who was full of justice!
Righteousness once lodged in her,
But now murderers.
22 Your silver has become dross,
Your drink diluted with water.
23 Your rulers are rebels
And companions of thieves;
Everyone loves a bribe
And chases after rewards.
They do not defend the orphan,
Nor does the widow’s plea come before them.
24 Therefore the Lord GOD of hosts,
The Mighty One of Israel, declares,
“Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries
And avenge Myself on My foes.
25 “I will also turn My hand against you,
And will smelt away your dross as with lye
And will remove all your alloy.
26 “Then I will restore your judges as at the first,
And your counselors as at the beginning;
After that you will be called the city of righteousness,
A faithful city.”
(v. 21-23) This is cast as a funeral dirge. “How the mighty are fallen.” From a pure bride to a harlot. Unfaithfulness of devotion in religion is depicted by the impurity of harlotry. The beauteous, virtuous spouse is now an adulterous. The progression of evil can be traced in these verses: moral loss; purity lost; spiritual revolt; loss of social justice. Ethical depravity replaced the city’s former virtues that were once the norm under king David (generally honest dealings then). Now the city is full of worthless cheats who readily pervert justice for a bribe. The poor, the orphan, and the widow were trampled in the process.
(v. 24) The wicked are regarded as God’s adversaries, especially the rulers who by their degenerate example give tacit permission to the people to do likewise. With a note of satisfaction God speaks of the coming day of vengeance when He will avenge Himself upon them and be relieved of them (who have endlessly wearied Him by their sins).
(vv. 25-26) There is a merciful aspect of judgment. God’s judgment has a goal of future restoration (but a greater, more lasting restoration in view of the return from Babylonian captivity which would occur approx. 200 years later). By means of two actions, the Lord will restore the city to righteousness and faithfulness: 1) He will reform them with good judges. 2) He will cut off those who hate to be reformed. Hypocrites will be destroyed (those who forsake the Lord. Their abominable idols won’t help them. Those who make creatures their hope will go into confusion. These are the consequences which will befall those who trust idols.
27 Zion will be redeemed with justice
And her repentant ones with righteousness.
28 But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together,
And those who forsake the LORD will come to an end.
29 Surely you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired,
And you will be embarrassed at the gardens which you have chosen.
30 For you will be like an oak whose leaf fades away
Or as a garden that has no water.
31 The strong man will become tinder,
His work also a spark.
Thus, they shall both burn together
And there will be none to quench them.
(v. 27) The remnant of the city who repented of their sins would find redemption in conjunction with God’s future restoration of Israel’s prosperity. The Lord will relegate the unrepentant to destruction. For that is the only way that Zion can become pure. (v. 28) God’s line of discrimination between friend and foe runs right through Zion—between converts and rebels.
(v. 29) ‘Oaks’ stand for human strength and organization which one is tempted to trust (see ‘strong man’ in v. 31). The garden setting is that of idolatrous worship (the place of their shrines to foreign gods). When God calls them to account for their rebellious choice, they will be ashamed and embarrassed.
(vv. 30-31) The rebel and his works will perish together—an eternal monument and object lesson as to the foolishness of departing from the Lord. This ‘perish’ reference alludes to kindling the fire of God’s wrath in final judgment in hell, and not merely to judgment by invasion and captivity. Flammable stubble, kindling to be ignited—burning in the lowest hell with none to quench it. God makes Himself to the impenitent a consuming fire (Heb 10). The holiness of God is made manifest in His settled unquenchable wrath against sin.
CONCLUSION/APPLICATION:
Sin is not ultimately defined by how ugly it is, or shameful or enslaving, nor it is ultimately defined by its temporal and eternal consequences. Sin is defined by its utter lawlessness (1 Jn 3:4). Sin is murderous opposition and hostility toward the character of God (Rom 8:5-8). Sin opposes not only who God is but His purpose to extend the glory of His holiness and righteousness. Sin is enmity toward the requirement of perfect love to God and neighbor. Sin blinds, binds, dishonors, and degrades; it has the personality and purpose of Satan to wreck the image of God if it could.
Mankind’s wholesale descent into sin in any given culture tends to be progressive. This certainly is true of Israel’s history. What begins as leniency and toleration towards sin moves from a stage of curiosity to normalization to advocacy (Is 5:20). Sin justifies its own behavior, for one of its characteristics is self-deception. Is it any wonder then that when God’s judgements rain down upon the rebellious, people are in disbelief, shock and speechless? “Why is this happening?” They cannot believe or even fathom that their deeds should draw down upon them the vengeance and retribution of God Almighty.
How desperately we need divine viewpoint. For, who God is in His immutable unchanging character is our fixed point of reference for reality. Fads, trends, cultures and empires come and go, but God changes not. Therefore, we must be changed if we are to dwell with God. His commitment to His own holiness is the truth our lives must be built upon. His righteousness is an all-pervasive reality which will fill the new heavens and earth (2 Pet 3).
Our response to who God is produces an arresting awareness that we must be changed if we are to live with Him forever. But, this all-essential knowledge of God and His ways is easily obscured when our Bibles stay closed. For we are naturally man-centered and operate from a human perspective. Thus, how great is the need for DVP. Only the Word of God gives us God’s authoritative viewpoint. His perspective is not one of many competing views. His vantage point is the foundation of prime reality.
The day is coming when God will invade human history and there will not be a single hold-out rebel who is operating in freedom. God makes Himself a consuming fire toward the impenitent. In the great judgment that precedes the new heavens and new earth, every last soul who has ever lived will prove to be an eternal object lesson to the rational universe (the myriad of holy angels). Each person will be of vessel of wrath or a vessel of mercy; for every person will receive absolute justice or absolute mercy. How sure we must be that we are in Christ!
How we need to have these themes in the forefront of our thoughts, for God has allotted to each of but a sliver of time in which to seek our Creator through His only begotten Son. My friends, in view of this coming day in which we will give an account of ourselves to God, how vital it is to be prepared. God threatens dreadful things against the impenitent (Rom 2:1-16). Lest, we forget in our sin-tolerating culture, all sin is against God Himself. He takes it personally, for we are His moral image created to mirror His perfections and virtues. Thus, our sin reflects poorly upon His dignity and tells a lie about Him (lust, greed, rage, impurity, dishonesty, hatred, laziness, gossip, etc.,).
Scripture addresses our predicament, we are terribly fallen creatures who live before the gaze of a holy God. His Word puts an exclamation point upon the seriousness of our dilemma. For, when we are face to face with God in His Word, a kind of crisis takes place. We are arrested, staggered that our personal sins which we so easily excuse, God sees and judges. His Word imbues upon us that the obedience which we owe God, we have not supplied. It is into that dilemma of real legal guilt that Jesus so often spoke.
The Lord commands that all within the sound of the gospel immediately repent of sin and turn to God. This obedient response to the gospel is what it means to fear God. For our Creator is a great King and Governor who energizes moral cause and effect. He, by His divine authority enforces the laws He has put in place. Thus, true repentance is not merely a resolution to do better or even the recognition that some personal reformation is needed. No, true repentance is first and foremost repentance toward God. That means fully taking God’s side against your sin, acknowledging what it deserves, why it is deadly, confessing and forsaking it, and turning from it to God (1 Thess 1:9).
We must learn from our Isaiah passage this morning that it is possible to name the name of God, attend religious services, and yet be in a state of impenitence. That was the case with the vast majority of the inhabitants of Judah at the time of Isaiah’s ministry. This is why the prophet places into bold relief the horrific consequences of sinning against the light of the truth. To know the truth and reject it, turning one’s back on opportunity is spiritual suicide. But in Judah, by the grace of God there was a small remnant who heard, heeded the message, and repented. The majority did not.
Is it any wonder we so desperately need God’s Word which gives us God’s authoritative DVP? There is no true knowledge of God, no doing of His will or pleasing Him, without His Word received, believed, and obeyed. God changes not. We must be changed, and that transformation and renewal of mind and heart requires that the Word get into you deeply. We live in a culture that values entitlement, human rights, and freedom from personal offenses. These man-centered ideals fill our world. No wonder the doctrine of eternal damnation sounds absurd, medieval, even scandalous! We so easily enter the mindset described in Ezekiel chapter 18 where everything is blamed upon our dysfunctional families. Only through Scripture can we truly understand that sin is the plague of plagues, the universal heart problem—and in so many ways sin is its own punishment.
Pride and forgetting go together. DVP corrects the man-centered ideals which obscure and crowd out the fear of the Lord. We are finite, utterly dependent creatures. Our Maker stamped His own moral image on dust and breathed into it the breath of life. Our creational identity is the image and likeness of God. Thus, our calling is to live to reflect the righteous character of our Creator. The powers of darkness have declared war on the image of God. Satan’s great weapon is idolatry.
Idolatry is about counterfeit source. Idolatry masquerades as a true source of security, significance, fulfillment, strength, pleasure and happiness. When idolatry becomes a cultural force, a society’s leaders begin to advocate and endorse a nation’s idols of preference. This is what happened to Judah. How remarkable that the one people group on the face of the earth called out of Egypt, called to holiness, called to be God’s witness to the world, would descend into the filth of the Canaanite fertility cults. Their political and religious leaders reached a point so perverse, they made idolatry the national, civil religion.
Lest we say that they are wicked and we are righteous by comparison, consider for a moment idolatry’s seductive subtilty. It doesn’t meet you in an alley way with a drooling demonic figure offering you forbidden pleasures if you sell your soul. No, idolatry comes to us in a subtle disguise. It is an offer to have your needs met through sin, through what God forbids. Idolatry involves giving the best of your time, talent, trust, and affection to created things instead of to God. Idolatry’s solicitations invite our worshipping natures to something in the creation that will bring us ultimate fulfillment. That’s the heartbeat of idolatrous thinking, it’s the bait idolatry uses to take captives: “You can excuse your sin because you were only trying to get your needs met.” That’s what lured ancient Israel into its death grip. But God could not let them continue in idolatry.
Is it any wonder that God had to judge them severely if they were to be a faithful nation into which the Savoir of the world would be born? At the time of Isaiah there was still seven hundred years to go before Christ would become incarnate. Let us consider these facts, that the severity of God’s judgement on Judah was necessary if our Messiah was to be born in a mono-theistic nation.
With our holy God there is a fire of ferocity and holy jealousy associated with His love. He will not permit those He loves to abide in sin. He alone knows how destructive sin is. He alone knows its endless misery and agony in its final form in hell. How we must diligently learn from our heavenly Father that the ultimate gift of sharing His holiness requires that we root out our sin, kill it, and give no place to it.
Dear friends, salvation is a change in masters, it is a change in worship and service. God’s grace is not only a deliverance from the penalty of sin, it is the release from the prison cell of sin. God’s grace is not leniency, nor is it the lowering of God’s perfect standard of obedience, it is Christ obeying in your place and paying the penalty in your place so that God’s righteous requirements are met on your behalf. That is the only way a fallen human can be prepared for a life of obedience to God. By our Savior’s work, God can pour out His grace freely without us seeking to be qualified for that grace by our own efforts.
It has been said that God has positioned Israel geographically so that she would have to depend upon the Lord. Consider that this small nation is surrounded by larger more powerful heathen nations. Also, the king’s highway trade route joining three continents runs right through Israel, not only that but she is geographically prone to drought. That kind of pictures the Christian today. We are aliens and strangers in enemy-occupied territory but the Lord promises in the book of Philippians that we are lights in the world in this darkened generation.
“Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain” (Phil 2:14-16).