One of the most often quoted Old Testament books in the
New Testament is the book of Isaiah. Isaiah was written nearly 2,800 years ago
yet it is important for us to study and understand the book for several
reasons.
Additionally, Isaiah describes the future ministry of John
the Baptist. Isaiah gives a prophecy of John in chapter 40:3:
"A voice cries: In
the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a
highway for our God." (See John
1:23 where the prophecy is fulfilled).
Most important of all
is that Isaiah recorded some remarkable prophecies concerning the coming
Messiah, Jesus Christ.
In the closing chapter
of the book of Isaiah he deals with the creation of the new heavens and the new
earth -- the same subject that the book of Revelation, the last book of the New
Testament deals with.
A MINIATURE
BIBLE
Coincidently, the book of Isaiah is divided into 66
chapters. Similarly, the Bible contains 66 books. Isaiah is divided
into two distinct sections. The first 39 chapters deal with Judah's sin and
warn people of the punishment to come if they don't repent. Likewise the
Old Testament is divided into 39 books. The final 27 chapters of Isaiah
(40-66) deal with words of comfort and hope of the Messiah. The New
Testament is divided into 27 books, teaching us how to live and have the hope
of eternal life through belief in Jesus Christ.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
We mentioned in
previous studies that the people of Israel are God's chosen people. He
promised to bless them if they would obey his commandments and not follow after
other gods like the surrounding nations. But because of their sin, they
made the choice not to follow God and they were plunged into war and
chaos. Because of their unbelief and disobedience to God they began to
fight among themselves and the nation split into two kingdoms; The Kingdom of
Israel to the north and the Kingdom of Judah to the south. Isaiah's
message was directed primarily to the people of Judah. He focused on the
city of Jerusalem.
WHO WAS THIS
GUY?
We don't know a lot
about the man Isaiah outside of the book itself, but we do know from the first
chapter that he began his prophetic ministry around the year 740 B.C. His
ministry probably lasted about 60 years.
Isaiah was married to
a "prophetess" (see Isaiah 8:3), and he had two sons. He was an
excellent writer, poet and a man of great intellect (He was aware of the
political structure of all the surrounding nations.)
Like us, Isaiah lived
in troubled times. We face the problems of rampant sin, the breakup of
families, and the threat of terrorism from within our country and from
without. Isaiah confronted the same issues. When Isaiah was called
by God to be a prophet, the Assyrians were a huge threat to the nation of
Israel. In fact, some historians have called the Assyrians the largest
and cruelest empire that western Asia had ever seen. The people of Israel
and Judah had become sinful themselves. They were "laden with
iniquity", "evildoers" and corrupt (Isaiah 1:4). It was to this
period of time Isaiah was called. Although Isaiah lived and spoke nearly
2,800 years ago, we are going to find that his message on "How to trust
God in troubled times" is just as relevant for us today as it was for the
nation of Israel.
WHAT IS A PROPHET?
A prophet means
"One who speaks for God." In the Old Testament, before Jesus
came to earth, God used prophets to warn the people and the leadership of their
sin. The prophet’s purpose was to reveal what their sin was and the
judgment from God that would take place if they did not repent.
Prophets had two
primary ways of speaking:
1. They would speak
the exact words of God. They
would use expressions like, "Thus says the Lord." Isaiah for
example uses this phrase 36 times throughout his book.
2. They would tell
the future. They were not
fortunetellers; rather they were foretellers of God's future consequences.
DUMBER THAN
ANIMALS! (Isaiah 1:1-3)
Verse 1 begins by
stating that Isaiah had a vision. Earlier in Israel's history God told
them that he would make himself known to prophets through visions and
dreams.
And he said,
"Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself
known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. (Numbers 12:6)
Isaiah wrote down the
words of the Lord word for word as the Lord revealed them to him in the
vision. He recorded the very words of God. All Scripture is a
record of the words of God (2 Timothy 3:16).
The words that the
Lord is commanding Isaiah to speak were so important that he told both those in
heaven and those on earth to listen to them (1:2).
The Lord began by
giving Isaiah a vision of children growing up with a loving and caring parent
only to watch the child rebel and turn away from the parent's instruction
later in life (1:2).
The people of Israel
were so disobedient that they were worse than simple animals. Even an ox
knows who his owner is and who takes care of him. Likewise, even a donkey
knows where to sleep at night in his master's stable. But the people of
Israel were so rebellious that they didn't even want know God anymore and did
not even attempt to understand him (1:3).
CHARGES LEVELED
AT JUDAH (1:4)
Isaiah's description
of the people is that they are:
Sinful: Sin is knowing what is right, but doing what is
wrong. James says this about sin: "So whoever knows the right
thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin" (James 4:17). The
people knew they were rebelling, but they chose to do their own thing.
Laden with
iniquity: In the literal Hebrew
language this means the people were "Stupid with perversity!" A
person who is "stupid" is one who is senseless, or completely lacks
understanding. They were being senseless in their perversions -- not
considering the consequences of their actions.
Evildoers: This word literally means "one who breaks
things into pieces" for no reason. It's a picture of a person who is
good for nothing, or worthless to society.
Corrupt: We see here a picture of "decay" or
total "ruin." In the sense of this word someone who is corrupt
is an utter waste.
Deserters of God: The word in the text is "Forsaken"
but it means a person who deserts. When a person deserts the military,
for example, they run as far away as possible and hide -- they don't want to be
found. They never want to go back.
Despisers of God: A word we might use for despise is abhor.
The people of Israel detested anything and everything related to God.
Estranged: The word estrange means to break any type of
loyalty or affection with the other party. The term, "He was
estranged from his wife" means that all affection is gone, it's
over. Perhaps nothing could be more heart-wrenching in a relationship,
especially a marriage relationship, as when one spouse says to the other,
"I don't have any feelings for you anymore." It is a sad and
final event in a relationship.
ISRAEL'S GRIM
SPIRITUAL CONDITION (Isaiah 1:5-6)
Through Isaiah they
are asked a question, "Why will you still be struck down?" In
other words, why will you keep allowing God to discipline you? Won't you
ever wake up? You keep on rebelling! You are sick people. He
describes their spiritual condition as a bruised and bloodied body. Their
spiritual sores are left open and raw and oozing. God has been willing to
bandage their wounds and apply healing oil, but they have not allowed him to.
WILTED VINES AND
SOGGY CUCUMBERS (Isaiah 1:7-8)
Isaiah describes the
future of Israel. He does it in a way that makes it sound like the events
have already happened. He gives a prophecy of what Israel will be like if
they do not repent of their sin and turn back to him.
He says that the
country will be desolate and burned and that foreigners would take over the
land. This would happen twice to Israel. First, in 722 B.C. to the
Northern Kingdom as they were taken captive by the Assyrians. It would
happen again to the Southern Kingdom of Judah in 586 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar
invaded the land, burned Jerusalem and took the people captive.
Verse 8 goes on to say
that the people of Jerusalem will be like "a booth in a vineyard, like a
lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city." Since agriculture
was a main occupation of the people of Israel, Isaiah’s readers knew what this
meant. The picture here is of an abandoned hut or shack in the middle of
a once thriving vineyard or field. Now, the crops are gone. The
plants are withered and all that is left is a ramshackle hut that once housed
all of the workers in this thriving vineyard or field. Lonely and
desolate, the shack stands empty and beaten down by the weather. It was a
picture (or metaphor) of the future of Jerusalem because of their rebellion.
Likewise, they would
be like a "besieged city" where no one can come or go because it is
surrounded by the enemy.
WHY DO WE REBEL
AGAINST GOD?
1. We deny that God
is the Holy One. The book of
Isaiah records the words "The Holy One of Israel” 24 times. The
same phrase is used in seven other passages throughout the Old Testament.
Because God is Holy and because he is the Creator, he has set up certain
standards by which we must obey if we are to be able to stand before him.
We'll discuss some of those standards next week.
2. We are
sinners from birth. All people are
born with sin. When someone says, "Ah look at that innocent little
child." They are correct in that the child is innocent from a
worldly perspective (and children should be.) But from a spiritual
perspective the child was born a sinner. That is why you never have to
teach a child to hit another child, or not share his toys, or disobey an order
from a parent. Children know these things instinctively because they are
sinners -- We're all sinners. Romans 3:23, "For all have
sinned." 1 John 1:8, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive
ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
WHAT'S THE POINT
OF THE PASSAGE? (Isaiah 1:9)
It's really
this: Because of God's great mercy, he would end up allowing some of the
Israelites to survive. Otherwise, their fate would have been the same as
the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah (Their fate is found in Genesis 19:24).
For us, the message is
this: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases."
(Lamentations 3:22). Literally, "We are not consumed because of
God's love for us." God is reaching out to you and asking you to
obey him; to love him; to recognize that he is the Holy One who can save you
from being "struck down" (Isaiah 1:5). Your job is to trust him
and to turn your life over to him.
This Week: Take the focus off of yourself and reach out to
others. Remember that it is because of God's great mercy that you are
saved. He has reached out to you with his great love, you should continue
to do so to others. Stop rebelling against God this week -- be obedient
to him in all aspects of your life.
