Needless Misery - Isaiah 30
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Copyright April 10, 2022 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche
Have you ever talked to a friend or family member who was complaining about all the hard times they were going through? Our hearts go out to these people. Most of the time! Sometimes we know the misery that has come upon them is something they created for themselves! There is the person in financial distress because of excessive borrowing, or perhaps the person who is jobless because they only choose to work when and where they WANT to work. You may think about the parent who complains about their undisciplined children who you know has always refused to discipline their children. Sometimes we make our own messes.
This is what we are going to see in our text in Isaiah 30 this morning. God has challenged the people of Judah to trust Him but they have steadfastly refused to do so. The message is this: our strength comes when abandon all other hope but Him. Conventional wisdom in our culture focuses on human potential. The idea is that if we can just “believe in ourselves” we can overcome anything and reach whatever goal we set. God says, “That is nonsense! It is delusional” We can convince ourselves that we are superman but we still aren’t going to be able to fly, stop a bullet or go faster than a speeding train. Something doesn’t become true because you want it to be true. If that was the case La Harpe would be a nice rural farming community only 30 minutes from Chicago!!!
The Lord wants us to understand that we are completely dependent on Him! The sooner we realize this, the better off we will be. It’s a tough pill to swallow for most people and Judah struggled with this message, just like we do.
Characteristics of the Person Heading in the Wrong Direction
It is possible to have all the right information and still use it in all the wrong ways. Faith in God, is not measured by an exam, it is revealed by our life. How we live shows the values we embrace. And this is where Isaiah shines the spotlight.
1 “What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,”
says the Lord.
“You make plans that are contrary to mine.
You make alliances not directed by my Spirit,
thus piling up your sins.
2 For without consulting me,
you have gone down to Egypt for help.
You have put your trust in Pharaoh’s protection.
You have tried to hide in his shade.
3 But by trusting Pharaoh, you will be humiliated,
and by depending on him, you will be disgraced.
4 For though his power extends to Zoan
and his officials have arrived in Hanes,
5 all who trust in him will be ashamed.
He will not help you.
Instead, he will disgrace you.”
The people of Judah just didn’t seem to get this reality. When they were threatened by Israel and Syria they went to the Assyrian Empire and asked for their protection. It cost them dearly and they didn’t get any protection. When this same Assyrian Empire decided they also wanted the land of Judah, the people of Judah went to get help from Egypt. When we are headed in the wrong direction we return to that which is familiar rather than what is best.
Like many alliances in our own day, Egypt was not particularly eager to help Judah. They entered the alliance to help themselves. They wanted an alliance to keep Judah as a buffer between the Assyrians and the Egyptians!
God had rescued Judah from Egypt once before and now the people are returning to those who once enslaved them. It sounds absurd when we look at Judah. Unfortunately, we don’t see it when it is happening to us. God has remained faithful, but our memory is faulty. The present crisis in our life always seems to overshadow the faithfulness of God in our past. And as a result, we turn to things that were comfortable but not helpful.
· We turn to alcohol or drugs to numb our senses
· We go back to friends that drag us down rather than pick us up
· We buy things to distract us only to find we need to buy more things to distract us further adding debt to our misery.
· We may turn to other religions or to the occult to try to get a quick fix from some religious huckster.
· We return to superficial relationships and lusts in the hope of finding that one person who will make our life better.
· We try to use force to make things happen
Proverbs 26:11 says it graphically: ‘As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.”
We are used to the life we have always lived. Therefore, it makes us comfortable. Even when our previous life was bad . . . it is still familiar. This is why some people stay in a bad situation relationally. It is familiar. Have you ever heard someone say, “Better to go with the Devil you know than the one you don’t?” The follow-up statement should be: Why are you going anywhere with the Devil? Follow the Lord! However, there is a measure of discomfort in the step of faith. We don’t want to admit a need. We prefer what is comfortable.
When we are going in the wrong direction we want to silence truth.
these people are stubborn rebels
who refuse to pay attention to the Lord’s instructions.
10 They tell the seers,
“Stop seeing visions!”
They tell the prophets,
“Don’t tell us what is right.
Tell us nice things.
Tell us lies.
11 Forget all this gloom.
Get off your narrow path.
Stop telling us about your
‘Holy One of Israel.’ ”
12 This is the reply of the Holy One of Israel:
“Because you despise what I tell you
and trust instead in oppression and lies,
13 calamity will come upon you suddenly—
like a bulging wall that bursts and falls.
In an instant it will collapse
and come crashing down.
14 You will be smashed like a piece of pottery—
shattered so completely that
there won’t be a piece big enough
to carry coals from a fireplace
or a little water from the well.”
The people of Judah had their minds made up. They did not want to trust God. They wanted to do things their way! The only arbiter of truth was their own opinion or popular opinion. They are not interested in rationality. They care nothing about the Word of God. They don’t want to hear about sin, repentance, sacrifice, patience, or faithfulness. They want to hear about blessing, success, and the status quo. We would rather hear lies and distortions that tickle our fancy than hear a truth that demands we do something that is uncomfortable.
We are to be people who listen to the Scriptures with eager ears. We must always evaluate the opinions of men by the unchanging truth of God’s Word. Some of these truths will melt like a mint meltaway in your mouth, others will be like a punch in the gut. However, each is the unchanging truth of God’s Word. This is why we are careful in our study of God’s Word, lest we read into the text our preferences, rather than hearing to the message God has so carefully and lovingly given to us.
One final characteristic: When we are going in the wrong direction we are pursuing the ways of Satan rather than the ways of God. The person who continues to ignore the witness of God’s Spirit will become more and more calloused in the heart. They are pursuing a course that will be devastating spiritually. Satan delights to encourage such practices. His goal is for us to be so hardened or deaf to the voice of God that you no longer CAN hear or understand the truth.
This is what happens to eyes and ears that are not seeing or hearing the way they should be. Doctors will tell you that if you don’t make some kind of correction then the bad eye or ear will in a sense be gradually turned off by the brain. That’s why you want children to get glasses as soon as possible if they need them, and why “post-children” should consider a hearing aid in your bad ear to keep that ear working.
The Godly Alternative
15 This is what the Sovereign Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, says:
“Only in returning to me
and resting in me will you be saved.
In quietness and confidence is your strength.
But you would have none of it.
The Lord spells it out for Judah and for all who wish to wear His name. It starts with repentance.We must abandon our idols and once again place our trust solidly and without reservation in Him. In other words, we must stop the frantic activity and scheming and rest in Him.
This does not mean we don’t consult with doctors, or financial experts, or even godly counselors. God has given us all these people. It means we stop turning to other sources INSTEAD of the Lord. Of course, when His Word speaks clearly, we need no other counselors. When His Word is a little less clear, that is when we talk to others prayerfully listening for the direction of God’s Spirit.
Jesus said you cannot serve both God and money. You can replace “money” with anything you want. You can’t serve God and serve only yourself, the expectations of friends, the practices or fads of the culture around you, political agendas, personal desires, or even family interests, hobbies, or even personal goals. He must be FIRST.
Once we get priorities right in our life, then we will be able to rest in confident and quiet strength. We will be in good hands (the best hands) and we can give all our worries to Him.
18 So the Lord must wait for you to come to him
so he can show you his love and compassion.
For the Lord is a faithful God.
Blessed are those who wait for his help.
19 O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem,
you will weep no more.
He will be gracious if you ask for help.
He will surely respond to the sound of your cries.
20 Though the Lord gave you adversity for food
and suffering for drink,
he will still be with you to teach you.
You will see your teacher with your own eyes.
21 Your own ears will hear him.
Right behind you a voice will say,
“This is the way you should go,”
whether to the right or to the left.
22 Then you will destroy all your silver idols
and your precious gold images.
You will throw them out like filthy rags,
saying to them, “Good riddance!”
Second, we must do this as quickly as possible. Isaiah 30 says, “the Lord must wait for us.” Why? It is just like trying to help anyone. In recovery ministries (like A.A.) the first thing that has to happen is people must come to the “end of themselves.” In other words, they must realize they cannot “make themselves better.” They must hit “rock bottom.” A key principle in any recovery program is recognizing the need for help. In the same way, the Lord waits until we stop fighting Him and are ready and willing to let Him care for us.
In a sense life is like playing chess with a master chess player. He quickly and expertly makes his move and then he waits for you to move. He spends most of the match waiting but when it is his turn He acts quickly with expertise. In those times when we might cry out, “How Long, O Lord?” God answers, “Whenever you are ready.”
We are given assurance that God is faithful, He will be gracious, He will respond . . . but He waits to be asked. He assures us that if we sincerely ask (which implies a willingness to listen) we will hear the whisper of His Spirit giving us direction for our life.
Conclusions
As we have been searching out these chapters in Isaiah the main theme is the challenge to trust God. Each week we are given, it seems, another layer to this instruction. Once again, we are faced with some questions.
Am I making foolish alliances? Are we lining up with the world’s values in the areas of morality, priorities, and how we define success and faithfulness? Are we running after the fads of the day? Are we redefining things that the Bible has already defined? Have we negotiated the truth of Scripture or are we evaluating the worldly values by the Word of God?
Are we more aligned with a political party than we are with the Lord? Do we embrace all the tenets of our political group even though they don’t line up with what God has told us? Are we more loyal to our party than to God? Are we more loyal to our country than we are to God? Our first allegiance MUST be to the Lord. Any allegiance that overshadows our allegiance to Him is a sinful alliance.
Do I regularly stop to examine my life before the searchlight of God’s Word and then Repent? Repentance is coming to grips with the wrong we are doing, confessing this honestly before God and asking for His help to change. Without true repentance, we will always find a way to explain away our sin. We will justify things that God condemns. And what is worse . . . we will begin to harden our own hearts. We will stop hearing the whispers of God’s Spirit because we have ignored Him for so long. We will start to call sin, virtue. And that is when we are in big trouble.
Do you ever wonder how people can live by train tracks or a busy airport? I grew up near O’Hare airport. Planes were going overhead constantly but I seldom heard them. I had learned to tune them out. Over the years, that ability diminished and I noticed sounds again. Now, whenever I stay with Debbie in Chicago (who is even closer to the airport) I have to learn to tune them out all over again. The first few nights the first jet in the morning darn near knocked me out of bed! It sounded like a train barreling toward the wall of the bedroom! But over time, I am learning to tune them out again. This is fine for noises around us, but it is tragic when we learn to tune out the whispers of God.
The only way to restore the ability of our soul to hear is to repent of those things that are wrong in God’s eyes. It takes brutal honesty with ourselves.
Finally, in your life right now, is God waiting for you to make the next move? Are you frustrated because God seems indifferent to your needs? Is it possible He is waiting for you? He will wait as you pursue all kinds of foolish alternatives. He will wait until you are ready to trust and rely on Him. We have said it several times already in Isaiah: there are two roads, two approaches to life – one is to deny God’s rule (and you can do this as a believer just as you do an unbeliever); the other to trust Him, obey Him and follow Him.
On this Palm Sunday, we remember the crowds who cheered triumphantly for Jesus proclaimed as Messiah and those who cheered just as enthusiastically for his execution. When we turn from Him; when we put our trust in things other than Him, we are standing with the hostile crowd. The people who “get” Jesus are those who work every day to become more responsive to Him. They want to follow Him and please Him. This is because we understand the depth of His love, the extent of His mercy and the transformation that comes when we turn to Him. We respond to Him out of gratitude and love. The more we understand this love . . . the more we would do anything for Him.
The Savior waits for you. He is eager to lead you to experience His provision and blessing. But the longer you wait . . . the farther you drift from Him and the more difficult it will be to return. Don’t waste another minute running after a mirage. Turn to the One who is truly the One you have been looking for all of your life. Embrace Him as your King and as your Savior.