Introduction
Have you ever bought something you needed to assemble, but already had in mind how it went together, thus obviating the need to read the instructions? I have! (My wife would say I always do that)
[Sprouting...]
[The game, telephone]
Now, can you imagine what would happen if you passed on your flawed wisdom to your son or daughter, in regard to assembly? And they did the same to their children.
Now, what would happen if you decided to just tell your children the things you understand about the Bible and God, but they never go to the source themselves? Something that is not intuitive but is in fact contrary to our very fallen nature.
From the Source (Isaiah 50:1-11)
1)Principle
Obeying God's word is essential in any attempt at pleasing God.
Key Verse:
Isaiah 50:10 Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.
2)Israel Sent Away Due to Disregard For God's Word (Isaiah 50:1-3)
No Certificate of Divorce
God is asking, in verse 1, about a certificate of divorce. The custom was, when a husband found something in the wife that displeased him, he could give her a divorce certificate and send her away.
She was no longer considered his wife.
Here God is asking where is the certificate; but there is none. He wasn't the initiator for the reason Israel, his bride, was sent away. She was the cause.
Sent Away For Sin
It was Israel's sin that was the cause. And more specifically than just sin, and God capriciously sending her away, it was the sin of disregarding God's word.
It was also the sin of disbelief which stemmed from disregard for His word. The pattern of disbelief often starts that way. People begin to regard the word of God as optional, or subject to existential interpretation – the idea that truth is subjective and only realized within the context of individual experience rather than being objective.
That somehow the infallible word of God is no longer infallible but needs to be supplemented. The it needs to be interpreted based upon human experience and learning.
And rather than relying upon a reasoned approach to life founded on the teachings of God, one begins to forge his own path based upon his beliefs about what God is like.
[Insert Mary's example of the concern of two young mothers with the influences of modern media on their sons]
The bottom line is, we are tainted by sin, so we better have some objective source of truth outside of ourselves – something by which we can gain moral bearings in life.
We often accept secular clinical studies over the moral injunction of God's word.
If a study shows a correlation between violence in media and later violent tendencies in individuals we are convinced.
But when the inspired word of God tells us:
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
We often consider these as unconvincing arguments for right behavior.
Could it be that you say the word of God has authority in your life but it really doesn't?
Stopped Hearing God (Isaiah 50:2-3)
The last thing I want to say in this section is this, eventually, a person or people who disregard God and His word long enough, come to the point where they no longer hear His voice.
The beginning of verse 2 points out the fact that “When I came... When I called there was no one”. The idea is that either they ignored his coming and calling or they no longer had the capacity to hear due to training in ignorance.
Either way, they were at a point where they saw God as an impotent entity in their lives. He was acknowledged perhaps in name, but not in substance.
And so they missed the fact of who God is and the eternal power He possesses. Not only the power over all creation, but His moral character – they, more than anything else, minimized the impact of their sin because they ignored His word.
They became content in their own goodness without realizing that moral goodness is not found outside of the Moral Standard Himself.
Are you letting the world and your experiences impact your view of God's word or does God's word impact the way you view the world?
3)God Send His Obedient Humble Servant (Isaiah 50:4-9)
In contrast to the servant Israel, Isaiah prophesies about a coming servant. And this prophecy is spoken in the first person by the Servant himself.
An Instructed Tongue (Isaiah 50:4-5)
4 The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary.
In Matthew, chapter 7, just after Jesus teaching on the wise and foolish builder, depicting a life built on hearing an obeying Jesus' words vs hearing and doing nothing, the crowd makes this exclamation:
Matthew 7:28-29 – 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
Jesus is pointing out the truth that it is not enough to be privileged to have and hear God's word. That is not enough. Obeying is crucial. And just prior to this parable, Jesus had been teaching about the narrow gate to salvation. He took an exlusivist view of the road to life.
Matthew 13:54 – Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?”
Jesus' life on earth was characterized by complete dependence on the Father. His prayer life reflected it. His words reflected it. His conversations with the religious leaders reflected it. He was continually pointing out the fact that his words were not his own. He was speaking only what the Father intended and gave for him to say.
When Jesus says that God gave him an instructed tongue and words that sustain the weary, he wasn't talking about the kind of words a coach gives his team when they are tired and they need a pep talk. He is talking about a weariness that comes through religion of self-effort.
The weariness that comes when you continually try to live up to God's standard on your own, but fail.
Matthew 11:25-30 – 25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.
27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
He had just declared woes on the unrepentant, those who had been exposed to his teaching, but were only interested in the miraculous and physical revelation of Messiah. They didn't want to believe that somehow they were not in good standing with God. They were not weary.
Most people, because of sin, want to believe that they are basically good. But that belief is based upon a flawed standard of good. It is a interpersonal comparison rather than an objective standard of moral perfection.
Abuse For the Sake Of the Lord (Isaiah 50:6-9)
Not only was Jesus, the servant, fully dependent on God as the provider of words and teaching, but he endured extreme difficulties in the process of obedience.
Sometimes we think that obeying will lead to blessing which we often misinterpret as easy living. But blessings are not always immediate and temporal.
I just want to point out several of the items that we see pointed out here that were undeserved by Jesus, but none the less, he endured them willingly and obediently:
back for beating
torn out beard
mocking and spitting
We looked at verses that pointed out each of these things happening in the life of Jesus here on earth. And nothing he ever did warranted this type of treatment. This was disgraceful treatment of the One who created all things. And yet he endured it.
And as verse 7 says, I will not be disgraced. In other words, though the actions were a disgrace in the sight of men, he looked at ultimate disgrace as not what happens to me here on earth as much as what God's view of these happenings are.
It's more important to be mistreated for God's sake and endure it because it's His will, than to be treated respectably throughout life and find that your life never amounted to very much true obedience.
Even the charges that men brought against Jesus, the ones that they eventually killed him for, were actually the truth. He claimed to be the Son of God and was. He claimed to be the King of the Jews and was.
The charges they brought, in their minds, were not substantiated in the person of Jesus Christ. They didn't see him living up to their expectations of a Messiah.
But in reality, they were serving to fulfill this very passage in Isaiah without even knowing it. And all of humanity that goes on into eternity, rejecting Jesus as Lord, are condemning him by their lives. By snubbing the nose at the truth of who he claimed and proved to be.
But all those who condemn Jesus and refuse to accept him, will in fact find that they are condemned and His actions are upheld by the Father.
4)Your Light Or His Light (Isaiah 50:10-11)
Back full circle to the theme verse. Back to the words of God and his revelation and obedience.
There are two types of people in the world, those who follow the light of God's revelation through the word of His servant and ultimately find God. Those who are called out of darkness and by faith, trust in God's salvation for sin.
Or, those who, as verse 11 points out, rely upon their own light. Seek their own illumination only to find that they will one day face an eternity of torment apart from God.
Hebrews 12:2-3 – 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
5)Applications
How is your light? What is it's power source?
How is your fear level?
What are you willing to endure for the sake of obedience?
Things That Last (Isaiah 51:1-16)
In reading this section of Isaiah, you get the idea that some things are going to last forever. And you get the idea that God has control over when the things that won't last forever will cease.
Too often we find ourselves consumed with our little world and forget to step back and see how everything going on has a greater, ultimate, purpose.
1)Principle
Only the Lord provides hope to endure life's troubles and assurance of blessings to come.
Key verse:
Isaiah 51:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment
and its inhabitants die like flies.
But my salvation will last forever,
my righteousness will never fail.
Truths:
God wants His people to have an eternal perspective in the midst of the temporal. We live in the temporal, but we are not bound by the temporal.
God is still the same LORD in spite of circumstances. He doesn't want our relationship and confidence in Him to fluctuate based upon where our current life path is leading us.
2)Two Icons (Isaiah 50:1-3)
Icon of Faith: Abraham
When you think of faith, who do you generally think of? If you consider the man of faith most often referred to in the Bible, you think of Abraham. A man who is the father of people of faith.
He is sort of like the icon of faith, if you will. And so God begins pointing out that those who are pursuing righteousness and seeking the LORD are those people of faith who find that they are the ones hewn from the quarry.
Icon of Rest: Zion
When you think of rest, what do you think of. Lots of times rest in the Old Testament was bound up metaphorically in the land.
For example, every 7 years was to be a rest for the land. Nothing was to be planted. The land was to produce only what came up on its own.
Seven years of 7 and on the 50th year, this was essentially a sabbath of sabbaths in which the land reverted back to its rightful owner. It no longer was for use by the purchaser.
The land of Israel is spoken of as the land of rest where the Israelite people rested from their wandering in the desert. And a whole generation was not allowed to enter that rest.
We know of course, that the true rest of God's people is found in the person of Jesus Christ. Hebrews points out that our rest if found in him and not in a plot of land.
But the symbolism of rest in the presence of God – God with his people – is often depicted in the land of Israel and specifically the city of Zion. That's where God's presence dwelt with them and where temple worship was carried out.
The Blessing of God
Both Abraham and Zion are depictions of God blessing His people. In fact, both are a depiction of God's blessing on all peoples. For out of Abraham, the Seed would be the one through whom all nations of the world would be blessed.
The worship center and ruling center of God's people was out of Zion. And that promise to David that one day a descendant would sit on the throne of David is all tied into this promise of a coming Messiah.
So I like to think of Abraham and Zion as icons of God's coming salvation for His people. His people born of faith and not of nationality.
God certainly is pointing out here that there is coming a day when Zion will be “like Eden” and “like the garden of the LORD”.
There is a coming day when all things will be made new. And that is what He is pointing these people toward (in my estimation).
Final Note
He's saying here, that Abraham is the rock, not by natural birth but by faith in the LORD. The same way Abraham was saved is the same for all who are saved – by faith alone.
The other point is that Zion is not to be an end in and of itself. It depicts something greater. It depicts “God with us” and His rule over his people. And ultimately, the eternal rest that all his people will experience because of God's great salvation.
3)The Temporal and The Eternal (Isaiah 51:4-8)
God's Law and Justice Are a Light to the Nations (Isaiah 51:4-5)
God is speaking to those who are His. The redeemed are in on this information.
And He points out that it is God's Law and Justice that are the light to the nations.
Interestingly true. The law reveals the way things are. It shows the truth of God and reveals the sin of men.
Down at the nuts and bolts level, all men realize that they are not perfect. The Law of God is there to point out what God requires and it reveals how very far we are from God.
His justice points out that there are consequences to sin. We as humans, want to think of God as someone who will overlook the small sins. As long as we avoid the top 10 biggies, then we are generally okay.
But the fact of the matter is, any deviation from God's law is like breaking them all.
Universalism and Annihilationism
Two very old, but very popular notions are out there today. People have a hard time grasping the fact that an infinitely loving God could punish a sinner for eternity without the possibility of parole.
So one of two tacks are taken to resolve this seeming conflict:
Either all will ultimately be save – universalism
Or the unregenerate will be consumed – annihilation
Both of these views have no footing in Scripture without having to take liberty with the teaching and normative interpretation.
Universalism cheapens the work of the cross. It also makes salvation compulsory – whether I like it or not I will spend eternity with the one I rebelled against all my life. There are many other problems with this view, but it's been around for a long long time. Origen was denounced for this and other Gnostic views that he held.
Annihilation cheapens the value of God's creation, humans. The eternal soul of man – the immaterial part of you and I that was created at conception – is somehow not always eternal.
Both views take a twisted view of the nature of God. They look at the aspect of love as being somehow permissive in nature. A coddling type of love in which our sins are actually mistakes that need remedying.
They both minimize the moral character of God and minimize the infinite breach of that moral character. They make all the texts regarding obedience and the need for atonement obsolete.
They overlook all the teachings on hell and there reality of eternal separation and torment.
There are too many problems with both views to cover here. But they are popular, especially in a culture where we have chosen to abandon the Scripture in favor of human philosophies, experientialism, pluralism, and the like.
But these teachings will be shown for what they are one day. All men will face the reality of what was true and what was not when the current order of things is no longer extant.
What Will Stand and What Will Fall (Isaiah 51:6-8)
One day, all of the errant teachings will be burned up and the truth will be known.
Israel, don't get caught up in the physical Zion or the human descent from Abraham.
Instead, fix your attention on the One who defines righteousness. The one whose law is a light. Who is just and the justifier.
The One who brings salvation is the same one who created all things and will one day re-create all things to the state of their original perfection:
the heavens will vanish
the earth will wear out
the inhabitants will die like flies
the reproach of men will one day be over (vs 7)
But what will last:
6b: But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.
8b: But my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all generations.
If you are looking for something to put your hope in, look no further than God. He defines what lasts. He offers what lasts. And when all else is gone, only what He has will matter.
4)A God Who Can and Will Deliver On His Promises (Isaiah 51:9-16)
Briefly, we are going to look at just a couple of aspects of God in this last several verses.
The essence of this part is to show that the God who has done in the past, is still doing in the present, and will do in the future.
He is not dormant or unable to do, but will do.
Redemption From Egypt (Isaiah 51:9-10)
Future Zion (Isaiah 51:11)
In verse 11, He points out this promise, continuing from verse 3, pointing out the fact that the ransomed of God will experience everlasting joy and never experience sighing or sorrow again.
Joy will one day be eternal and sighing and sorrow are temporal.
Joy comes from God and is, despite circumstances.
Sorrow and sighing are a result of our fallen world and we experience them in this current state of life.
Life's Current Issues Will Soon Be a Thing of the Past (Isaiah 51:12-16)
This final few verses point to God's comfort for his people. Though we face many difficulties in this life and persecution. These will not always be here.
Though men rise up against God's people, they are not an issue for God. He made this world and all who are in it. The earth is His and all are subject to him.
The oppressor will one day come to an end. And God's people can depend on Him, even in dire circumstances of life.
15 For I am the LORD your God,
who churns up the sea so that its waves roar—
the LORD Almighty is his name.
16 I have put my words in your mouth
and covered you with the shadow of my hand—
I who set the heavens in place,
who laid the foundations of the earth,
and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”
5)Applications
What do you need to remember about God during these difficult days?
What Scripture are you memorizing to prepare you for possible challenges ahead?
Sin's Consequence/ Redemption's Cost (Isaiah 51:17-52:12)
1)Principle
Redemption is costly to God but the redeemed pay nothing.
Key Verse:
Isaiah 52:3 – For this is what the LORD says:
“You were sold for nothing,
and without money you will be
redeemed.”
This verse is a comforting message of hope. The fact of the matter is, you can't buy it. You can't earn it. It's a gift.
2)The Wrath Removed (Isaiah 51:17-23)
This passage depicts the state of the nation, under the wrath of God. And in that condition, they were subject to whatever their sin deserved.
To be under God's wrath, there is no consolation there is no comfort.
But God is calling Jerusalem to wake up and rise up. They had reached the point of no longer facing God's wrath. In fact, God had withdrawn the cup and was going to give it to their oppressors.
He says, in verse 22,
This is what the Sovereign LORD says,
your God, who defends his people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger;
from that cup, the goblet of my wrath,
you will never drink again.
Thought-provoking passage, isn't it. Could it mean that never would Israel as a nation face the fury of God's wrath as displayed in the sacking by Babylon? Probably not, since the Romans sacked them in 70 A.D.
More likely, he has a future application in mind. One that will come at the consummation of time, when the redeemed with experience eternity with their Savior. And perhaps that fulfillment also points to the fact that God's people in Christ, are no longer subject to the wrath of God. While those outside of Christ, Jew or Gentile, will bear that wrath.
Chapter 52...
3)The Redemption Price (Isaiah 52:1-6)
Robed in Christ's Righteousness (Isaiah 52:1a)
To bear the splendor of their position before God. They belong to Him and that is where their splendor comes from.
As Christians, our splendor is not innate. In Christ, we are God's righteousness – not because of our righteousness, but because of a foreign righteousness.
We are robed in something that is foreign to our fallen human nature, but none the less He displays the splendor of God in human vessels.
Circumcision of the Heart (Isaiah 52:1b)
Romans 2:28-29 – 28 A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.8 A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.
Freed From Bondage (Isaiah 52:2)
The bondage Israel faced in Babylon was horrific. But the physical bondage of any people pales in comparison and importance to the spiritual bondage of all descendants of Adam. Like all people, Israel needed a Savior. And God provides the only Savior, His perfect Servant, Jesus-Messiah.
Redemption In History (Isaiah 52:3-5)
Once again, Egypt is cited as part of God's redemptive history. NOTE: it must be important to return to the basics periodically – Isaiah does over and over.
God's rescue during the Assyrian invasion is brought out – that would be fresh in their minds.
And then in verse 5, he points to the fact that lately they have been taken away. Certainly the Babylonian exile is in view here. But not so much that exile as the impact that it has on people's perception of God and His divine character.
God bears the mocking of men, when evil appear to be triumphing. His name is always dragged out in the mud when things don't seem to be in his control.
Once again, it's to God's glory that He redeem his people.
Then in verse 6, not only is the blasphemy stopped, but the redeemed know their God. There is a unique knowledge of God and His character that comes to those who receive His redemption.
My People Will Know My Name (Isaiah 52:6)
[Illustration from the wedding: asked by the Father of the bride how I am related to this couple]
This verse conjures up thoughts of Jesus teaching about the Good Shepherd and His Sheep. His sheep hear his voice and He calls them by name.
The idea that they are known by the Shepherd and they know the Shepherd and willingly follow him.
4)The Redemption Impact (Isaiah 52:7-12)
God will return to Zion one day. Perhaps not in the way we conceive or in the sense that we may take it from Isaiah. But He will return.
He will recreate all of creation, putting it back to the state it once was. A place of perfection.
And in this new dwelling, there will be no more defilement. God will reign eternally. And as his people, we will be filled with joy and singing as we experience first hand as the redeemed, the salvation from sin completed.
The ends of the earth will see his salvation. This depicts that nothing in creation will be outside of it.
The old order of things will be of the past and all things will be made new.
No comments:
Post a Comment