Isaiah 1:2-31
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
[READING - Isaiah 1:1]
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.
[PRAYER]
[CONTEXT] In Isaiah 1:1 we were given the superscription—the heading of the whole book—which includes the who, the what, and the when of Isaiah’s writings.
[CIT] The rest of Isaiah 1:2-31 serves as an introduction to Isaiah with the theme of Judah’s rebellion met with God’s judgment and God’s grace.
Indeed, through the rest of Isaiah we will see Judah’s rebellion met with God’s judgment and God’s grace.
[PROP] As we study this chapter tonight, we will learn that whether we are a part of the rebellion that is put down by God or a part of the remnant that is purified by God depends on how we respond to discipline of God.
[TS] This chapter shows us the sinfulness of three major SEGMENTS of Judah’s society…
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
SEGMENT #1: The Sinfulness of Judah as a Nation (vv. 2-9)
SEGMENT #1: The Sinfulness of Judah as a Nation (vv. 2-9)
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.
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.
[EXP] This passage begins with God calling the heavens and earth to witness the wickedness of Judah.
The first accusation (vv. 2b-3) is that Judah, although treated like a son, does not know its God. It’s worse than a dumb ox or an obstinate donkey.
The second accusation (v. 4) is that Judah has abandoned its God. The abandonment follows turning away from and despising the Holy One of Israel.
The third accusation (vv. 5-6) is that Judah has ignored God’s discipline. God has not sparred the rod with Judah; in a manner of speaking, the nation is covered with the marks of God’s discipline, but Judah still refuses to repent.
Therefore, judgment will come.
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.
[ILLUS] I was once reading a magazine on biblical archeology. In one article, the authors were talking about the potential discovery of the area where Sodom and Gomorrah once stood. The best evidence they could point to though was a bunch of sulfur here and signs of intense heat there, but Sodom and Gomorrah was so throughly destroyed due to their great wickedness that no remains remain.
The archeological community is left to guess where it may have been.
The only thing that saved the nation of Judah from this same sort of fate was God’s preserving grace.
If not for God’s grace toward His remnant, Judah would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah.
[APP] Just as Judah rebelled against God, so have these United States of America.
We have passed laws that are contrary to God’s Law.
We have celebrated immorality that God condemns.
We have argued for policies that would make demons proud.
But we must make our choice: Will we be part of the rebellion or part of the remnant?
The remnant lives by the Law of Christ.
The remnant celebrates what God celebrates and refuses to celebrate what God condemns.
The remnant argues for that which please the Lord even if it offends other men.
And for the sake of His remnant, God shows mercy.
May He show His mercy to us.
[TS]…
SEGMENT #2: The Sinfulness of Judah as a Church (vv. 10-20)
SEGMENT #2: The Sinfulness of Judah as a Church (vv. 10-20)
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.
[EXP] In this passage God makes His case against Judah’s religious practice. Verse 10 already signifies that the case isn’t going to be positive as God calls them “rulers of Sodom” and “people of Gomorrah.” This is how wicked the church in Judah was.
In v. 11, God rejects Judah’s sacrifices.
In v. 12, God rejects Judah’s gatherings.
In v. 13a, God rejects Judah’s offerings.
In vv. 13b-14, God rejects Judah’s feasts and festivals.
In v. 15, God’s rejects Judah’s prayers.
God is not opposed to these things in principle; He has, in fact, commanded His people to worship Him through these means, but He is opposed to them in Judah at this time because the worshipping community comes into the solemn assembly carrying iniquity in its heart and wiping blood from its hands.
In other words, the church is Judah is full of wicked hypocrites.
In vv. 16-20, God tells Judah’s church to repent of wickedness, pursue righteousness, and be rewarded rather than devoured.
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.
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.
[ILLUS] This whole thing makes me think of Spanx. Do you know what Spanx is? I looked it up so I could tell you…
“Spanx is an American underwear maker that specializes in foundational garments intended to make people appear thinner or more shapely. It works by compressing and flattening your stomach, hips, and buttocks… helping to smooth out any lumps and bumps.”
In other words, Spanx is supposed to hide so-called flaws and make a person appear more attractive.
The church in Judah viewed its sacrifices, worship gatherings, offerings, feasts and festivals, and prayers as religious Spanx that was meant to hide all its sinful lumps and bumps from God.
But no matter what we do, we cannot hide our sinful lumps and bumps from God.
[APP] Do we think church attendance on Sunday will hide our sin against God on Monday? Do we think lifting our voices in praise on Sunday will hide our hate toward our neighbors?
If so, God cannot endure our iniquity and solemn assembly; He sees that our hands are covered with the blood of our most vulnerable neighbors, and it is time for the church to repent.
If we do, we shall have the best of the land in eternity to come.
If we don’t, we shall be devoured by His wrath.
[TS]…
SEGMENT #3: The Sinfulness of Judah as a People (vv. 21-31)
SEGMENT #3: The Sinfulness of Judah as a People (vv. 21-31)
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.
[EXP] In this passage God turns His attention to the people of Judah. We’ve seen the sin of the nation, the sin of the religious community, and now the sin of the people in general.
The people of Judah have moved from…
…faithfulness to harlotry.
…justice to injustice.
…righteousness to immorality.
…life to murder.
…valuable silver to worthless dross.
…rich drink to watered-down wine.
…noble rulers to thieving rebels.
…love of neighbor to looking out for one’s self.
They take bribes.
They chase after dishonest gain.
They care nothing for the orphan.
They ignore the plea of the widow.
Therefore, judgment will come on this people both to punish His enemies and purify His remnant. Look at Isaiah 1:24-31…
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.”
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.
[ILLUS] Imagine two little boys have been disobedient to their father. The father wisely determines that his sons need his loving discipline, so he take them into the bedroom one at a time.
To the first son he explains the sin his son committed and discipline it has earned; he deals out the discipline; he then prays for his son’s sins to be forgiven; and then loves his son by giving him a hug.
To the second son this wise father does the same thing: he explains the sin and discipline necessary; he deals out the discipline; he prays for his son; and loves his son by giving him a hug.
But later the two boys are in their room when they begin to discuss their father.
One son says, “I hate that guy. I have to put up with him now, but when I’m older, I’m out of here.”
But the other son says, “I think he disciplines us because he loves us. I’m going to do right because I love him.”
The same stroke put one son on the road to more judgment and the other son on the road to repentance.
[APP] Where will God’s discipline lead you?
Your answer reveals whether you’re a part of the rebellion or a part of the remnant.
[TS]…
Conclusion
Conclusion
The judgment that was due to us as sinful enemies of God fell on Jesus Christ as He suffered and died for us on the cross.
In the resurrection of Jesus, we are assured that we have been made right with God through the righteousness that is in Christ Jesus.
If we have trusted Jesus, His Spirit is at work within us, the Spirit that enables us to cry out to God as our loving Father.
It’s as our Father then that God speaks to us the words of Proverbs 3:11-12…
11 My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord Or loathe His reproof,
12 For whom the Lord loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.
Let us consent to the Lord’s discipline and so prove to be apart of the remnant, i.e., true sons and daughters of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
The only other option is to be a part of the rebellion that will face His wrath.
[PRAYER]