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1:31Really well written down there. So, what I'm going to do tonight is just go through like we would in Route 66 to some degree and read so you'll get an idea of what we do and invite you to get your mind around this book. And even if you can't join us, there is a link, a web link. You can join us that way, but also to spend this week reading the book of Isaiah. But let me open us up in prayer again. Lord, we come before you, before you and your words that you gave to us through the prophet Isaiah. Help us, Lord, to understand, to take in, and to get a picture of what you're doing, what you were doing then, and what you're doing today, and how all this relates on us as we go forth and facing the tasks that you have set before us this week. In Jesus' name, amen. Okay, so just want to start off with Isaiah 1. The name Isaiah means the book is really thematically about salvation. And I'm just going to pick up in chapter 1 and verse 1. And read a few verses and then come back and comment. Read through verses 1 through 9. The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amos, concerning Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth, for the Lord speaks. Sons I have reared and brought up, but they have revolted against me. An ox knows its owner, and a donkey its master's manger. But Israel does not know. My people do not understand. 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. Where will you be stricken again as you continue in your rebellion? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart is faint. 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. Your land is desolate, your cities are burned with fire, your fields, strangers are devouring them in your presence, its desolation as overthrow. By strangers. 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. Unless the Lord of hosts had left us a few survivors, we would be like Sodom. We would be like Gomorrah. So as Isaiah opens up, we're around the 700 B.C. time.

4:58He's prophesying to a people who have rebelled against God. Notice some of the language here in verse 2. Listen, heavens, listen to all this. Sons I reared up, sons I brought forth, but they have revolted against me. An ox knows its owner. Donkey, Israel doesn't know who I am. They don't understand. And he says in verse 4, Alas, sinful nation. And this is graphic vocabulary here. Listen to this. People weighed down with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, sons who act corruptly. They have abandoned the Lord. This is where cutting the Lord out of your life takes a person. They have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned away from him. It's pretty graphic. God has announcing this.

6:00Rebellious, this proclamation saying who Israel is. And then in verse 5, he goes on to say, Where will you be stricken again? In other words, your whole body is sick. You're hurt all over. You've been disciplined, but you're just wounded all over. There's nothing sound. Where else can you be afflicted? Everything is desolate. Things are desolate. And unless the Lord had left survivors, we would have become like Sodom and Gomorrah, completely, morally bankrupt, completely under judgment. This is a sinful, sinful generation.

6:54Then, let me read to you verses 10 through 17. Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom. Give ear to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah. 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. When you come. To appear before me, who requires of you this trampling of my courts?

7:37Bring 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. I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts. They have become a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them. 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. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean, remove the evil of your deeds from my sight, cease to do evil, learn to do good, seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. So, this is the Lord's exhortation against Israel, this generation, you rulers of Sodom, deep depravity, you people of Gomorrah, I've had enough of your burnt offerings, your empty religious practices, I have had enough of. Don't think for a second I'm all about the blood of goats.

9:08And then he goes on to say, I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts. I don't like it when you gather to worship. I don't like what's going on in your heart. I don't like the things that you're doing, this empty, religious ceremony, and yet hearts far from him. And he goes on to list some of the things wrong with this generation. Wash yourselves, make yourself clean, remove the evil of your deeds. Cease from doing evil.

9:50Learn what is good. Distinguish between what is evil and what is good. Distinguish. Seek justice. These are social. Seek justice in your land and in all of your dealings. Reprove the ruthless. Reprove in all of your dealings. Reprove the ruthless. Don't let them get away. Deal with them. Government is put into place to deal with the ruthless. Defend the orphan. Plead for the widow. In other words, take care of the most vulnerable. In your society. Have a heart toward them.

10:39He comes against them. This is how sin inevitably shows itself. Social injustice. And specifically, more to the point upon the most vulnerable in society. God is very concerned. As you read the books of Deuteronomy and the law, he was very concerned about the most vulnerable in society. Children, orphans, widows, foreigners. That's his exhortation. Now, look at what he, but then he goes on to give an invitation. Look at verse 18. Come now, 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. If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

12:00So he gives them an invitation. Come, despite your crookedness, despite your rebellion, come, reason together. Come, come to me. I will cleanse your sins. If you consent and obey, you're going to eat the best of the land. All the blessings that were promised in Deuteronomy will come upon you if you will consent and obey. But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. This is exactly what God said would happen in Deuteronomy. If they came into the land and started learning the practices of the idolaters of the land, then God would deal with them as he dealt, he would deal with Israel as he dealt with the Canaanites. He drove them out because of the horrific acts and deeds that they did. And Israel was to go into the land and be a different people, a people who responded to Yahweh God.

13:17But if they learned the practices and did the things that the inhabitants before them did, God's going to not be partial. He's going to Bring on them the very same things. Just as the land vomited the Canaanites out because their sin had reached the limit, God would do the same with Israel. And he's going to use the sword. If you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. And Isaiah is going to prophesy during that time when the Assyrians come, and the Assyrians are going to take the ten tribes, ten northern tribes, get all the way down to Jerusalem, as with the chokehold on the city of Jerusalem. But then God is going to send the angel of the Lord. It's going to kill 185,000 of the Assyrian army, and Sennacherib's going to go back out, and there is going to be the end of the Assyrian threat.

14:39But then the attention turns to Jerusalem. Jerusalem, did you just see what was going to happen? If you don't obey, if you continue, you have now seen what happened to the northern ten tribes. God means business. He will bring the curses in Deuteronomy. 27, 28, upon you, if you do not consent and obey. And as Isaiah closes, it's evident that the Babylonians are going to be on their way. Jerusalem isn't going to heed. But this is the generation to which Isaiah is prophesying. If you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

15:41Then there is a promise. I'll read the rest of the chapter. How the faithful city has become a harlot. She who was full of justice, righteousness once lodged in her. But now, murderers, your silver has become dross, your drink diluted with water. 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. So again, there's a lament over the corruptness of the city.

16:31Once full of justice. Therefore, verse 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. I will also turn my hand against you, and will smelt away your dross as with lie, and will remove all your alloy. Then I will restore your judges as at first, and your counselors as at the beginning. After that, you will be called the city of righteousness, a faithful city. Zion will be redeemed with justice, and her repentant ones with righteousness. But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together, and those who forsake the Lord will come to an end. Surely you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, and you will be embarrassed at the gardens which you have chosen, for you will be like an oak whose leaf fades away, or as a garden that has no water. The strong man will become tender, his work also a spark. Thus they shall both burn together, and there will be none. To quench them. So look at what God is promising to do here.

18:07He laments how the faithful city in verse 21 has become a harlot. He wants righteousness in the land. And then in verse 24, he's saying, This is, listen, therefore, this is what the mighty one of Israel declares: I will be relieved of my adversaries. I will avenge myself on my foes, those who hate me, those who are adversarial to me. And then he turns his attention on people. Verse 25, I will also turn my hand against you, Israel, and will smelt away your dross as with lie, and will remove all of your alloy. What is he saying there?

18:56I'm going to purify you. I am going to turn my hand. I will be relieved of my adversaries. I'm going to deal with them, my foes. I will avenge my foes. But I'm also going to turn my attention and purify you. In the process of dealing with his foes, he's going to take care of his foes, but he's also going to deal with this Israel city. And take away their dross. Then, verse 26: 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.

19:51This is what Isaiah is all about. You will be called, Jerusalem, a city of righteousness. See, this is what's happening. This is a key concept in Isaiah. Unrighteousness leads to judgment, but God's judgment upon them is going to be purifying with the intent of restoring. And this is what Isaiah, it's how God is going to take this rebellious, stubborn people, this city, and turn it into a city of righteousness, a faithful city. This has not ever happened.

20:49You remember when Nehemiah comes back into the land? Well, I'm getting ahead of myself. We're in Isaiah. Nehemiah is going to come later. Let's look at verse 27. See what happens. Zion will be redeemed with justice. She's going to be redeemed, and it's going to be just. And her repentant ones with righteousness. But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together, and those who forsake the Lord will come to an end. So there's a purifying that's going to take place in Israel. The repentant ones, they are going to become righteous. They will be redeemed with justice.

21:41But the transgressors, those who do not, those who continue to forsake the Lord, they will come to an end. That's what Isaiah is about. This is what happens when you purify. The dross goes. That which is gold remains, or that which is pure remains. Surely you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, and you will be embarrassed at the gardens which you have chosen. Speaking of idolatry, this is the gardens were also often associated with idol worship. You'll be ashamed of the oaks, trees under which they practice their idolatry.

22:26For you will be like an oak whose Leaf fades away, or as a garden that has no water. Strong man will become tender, his work also a spark. Thus they shall both burn together, and there will be none to quench him. So that's Isaiah 1, telling us God has got a corrupt people. He's going to deal with them in such a way he is going to avenge himself on all of his enemies, but he is also going to purify the nation so much that they are going to be known, they are going to be called a city of righteousness.

23:13Those who repent will be redeemed in justice. Those who do not will come to an end. And then, we'll just keep going since we have a little time. Go into Isaiah 2 for a moment. The word which Isaiah, the son of Amos, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Now it will come about that in the last days, see what I've got up here. Just read through verse 4. Now it will come about that in the last days, the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as chief of the mountains and will be raised above. Above the hills, and all the nations will string to it, and many peoples will come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us concerning his ways, and that we may walk in his paths. For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and render decisions for many peoples, and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war.

24:48Speaking of a rain, by the way, this hasn't happened yet. We're still studying war all across this planet. This hasn't happened. But notice what he says. Now it will come about, verse 2, in the last days. It's that expression that a literal Hebrew reading would be at the end of the days. It will come about that at the end of the days, or the last days, the end of the days. It's not just in the days to come. Well, that is true. It is more.

25:30Precisely speaking about the end. You'll see that the end of the days. Genesis 49, Numbers 24, Deuteronomy 4, Deuteronomy 31. Speak of this: end of the days, last days. It will come about that at the end of the days, that the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as chief of the mountains. It will be the chief mountains. Again, the idea of nations will be raised above the hills, and all the nations will stream to it.

26:13And many peoples will come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord. Not only Israel will come, but also other peoples, Gentiles will come. They will come searching for his ways to walk in them, that he may teach us concerning his ways, that we may walk in his paths. For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Ignorant nations will come wanting counsel. How then should we live? We want to hear the word of the Lord.

27:00He's going to judge between the nations. War. The result will be peace. And never again will they learn war. You know, God hates broken relationships. God's universal reign isn't here yet. Not in this sense. Yes, those of us who are part of the church, we experience the blessings of the new covenant. We have been reconciled into one body, one people. But this is talking about something that goes beyond this to include the nations never again studying war. And so, then here comes Isaiah's appeal in verse 5. Therefore, come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.

28:08What Isaiah is saying is, look, this is the way things are going to end. Remember, he's talking to his generation there, the generation that's going to experience the Assyrians. And he's saying, look, house of Jacob, let's walk in the light of the Lord. This is the future. The nations are going to be coming to you. For the law. You have the law. Since all the peoples are ultimately going to walk in the light of the Lord, it is reasonable, Israel, for us to walk in the light ourselves.

28:47That's Isaiah's message. This is how it's going to end. You have the law. Israel, walk in his ways. Look what it says in verse 6: For you have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled with influences from the east. And he goes on to interesting to note what Isaiah is saying. Look, Gentiles are going to abandon their ways to come hear the words of the Lord. Israel, you too need to stop being influenced from the east, from the soothsayers like the Philistines, and on and on. You need to stop being influenced by the idols of the land. There is an end goal that is, God is going to bring something about.

29:52He is going to clean you up. He is going to elevate your city to be a Faithful city, and nations are going to learn. I'm going to show you a couple of things. Just as we know, Israel, Isaiah's message is as relevant today as it was when he first gave it. He's saying, Look, he's saying, this is the future, what God is going to do. Let's walk in his light now. As you know, the Assyrians came, and this didn't change Jerusalem's heart. They watched everything take place with the Assyrians, it didn't change them.

30:59They welcomed the Babylonians in. And look at verse 22: stop regarding man whose breath is in his nostrils, for why should he be esteemed? This is Israel's problem. They've been trusting in man. They need to turn and trust in God. He is their Savior, Redeemer. And so the Babylonians come, tear down Jerusalem, carry them away, carry the Israelites away into Babylonian exile. They're there. Then, by God's incredible providence, through Cyrus and several other incredible things that God does to preserve his people, he brings them back into the land, just a very small amount, under Nehemiah and Ezra, brings them back into the land. They build a temple, they get it going again. And the last scenes of Ezra and Nehemiah, you have Ezra pulling out his hair because Israel has married foreign women and were going down the very same path that got them kicked out of the land. And so you have both Nehemiah and Ezra, both scenes, is one of frustration at the end.

32:49Israel hadn't changed. And that's how the Old Testament really ends: is on this note that Israel needs a Savior. And they have come back into the land, but their heart hasn't changed. And then comes the one crying out in the wilderness: make straight the path. And that's how it closes. Be looking for him. Here comes John the Baptist announcing the coming of Christ. And it's evident that they rejected the Messiah. Though he gave them every reason to believe who he was, they rejected him. Their heart had not changed.

33:36Israel is still Jacob. They're still a deceiver. They're still struggling. They still are not in a right relationship with God. Then the Romans come, send them on a dispersion where they have been 2,000 years among the nations. Exactly what Deuteronomy said would happen. You will be dispersed, you will be scattered. That's where you're going to be. That's part of the curse. And this is what Isaiah is saying. This is going to come up on you if you do not consent. If you do not consent and obey, you're going to experience the curses.

34:30And so that's what takes place. And then now, now, in our day, but God promised He's going to regather. He has also promised already in Isaiah 1, he is going to purify this people. After that, you will be called a city of righteousness. So, here we are. 2023, Israel is coming back into the land in large numbers, something a hundred years ago that no one would have imagined. It would have been crazy to say it or prophesy it. But here we are.

35:17And now we're embroiled in more conflict. I want to show you a couple of pictures just to kind of give you an idea. I debated whether to show you these, but I'm going to show them to you anyway, just to just want you to have this picture in your mind. This is nothing gruesome. But I want to talk to you about this latest attack from Hamas and just kind of put it in a framework of Isaiah for just a second. There's okay, you know, there's a music festival. You remember the Feast of tabernacles, sukkot. You remember last year? How many of you, when we built some sukkots out here, do you remember that? Yes, you remember we did that. Well, that was just going on in Israel. It's seven days. And then right after that is over, the very last day. So you're at the very end of their really holy days. I mean, if there's any holiday that I holy day that I see in the scripture that I think would have been a most joyous one, it would have been the Feast of Booths. And Jesus celebrated the Feast of Booths. It was a time to commemorate that the Israelites coming out of Egypt and living in tents, living with God, and an incredible celebration. It does say that the end, that nations are going to go up and celebrate that. Zechariah says that.

36:56But so you have at the very end of this holy day, and then when it's concluded, there is a day of in-gathering, scripture. It's to be a day of reading the Torah. There's probably a wide spectrum of exactly what people do today on that. But it is a holy day. It is a time to come out of this remembrance of Yahweh and his faithfulness and his walking among, dwelling among man. And so what happens is on that day, you have a music festival.

37:37Put down here in the south, here's Gaza over here. This is the BBC maps I'm using. You can see where, by the way, here's Israel. Here's the Gaza Strip, this little bitty area right here. And we're talking about where the initial attack happens. And here's the music festival up here. So you get the picture. Here is a scene, and it's an interesting picture of the morning. This is the BBC, put this picture. I didn't splice these two together. But they caught something profound that I couldn't find these pictures on the Jerusalem post.

38:16But if you will notice what's happening, what do you see over here? Here's the dance going on. What do you see up here? Yeah, I think it's a Hindu idol and people dancing around. I think it's the god of dance. And you have that. But this is Israel. Yeah, it's a segment of Israel. I get it. I understand that. But it is, you see, this is that influence from the East. For you have abandoned your people. Because they have filled, they are filled with influences from the east.

39:06And this was happening in Isaiah's day. And Isaiah was confronting this people. You haven't changed. And here we are, some 2,000 years later. They haven't changed. This is inappropriate for a people. Their hearts are still far from him. What's interesting is in the same picture, at the same time, they are seeing the explosions from Hamas coming over. Isaiah 1: If you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. It's like what happens in Isaiah, and this is just a picture of, this is just an anecdote of this kind of theme that is throughout Isaiah.

40:15People's heart were not seeking Yahweh. And because of that, God was going to bring Israel's enemies against them and use them. To scourge, to purify. That's what Isaiah is sent to do. And God has purpose. So even now, even after all these years, after all the incredible things that have happened, Israel's come back in the land. But their hearts are still. I mean, I've been there, we've been to Tel Aviv. Sodom is a very good name for this parts of Tel Aviv that I visited.

41:10Still a people needing God to purify them. But what is Isaiah about? Isaiah, it's a book about salvation. The Holy One, and this is how I'd summarize: the Holy One of Israel will purge his people of unholiness and make them fit to participate in his rule. That's what Isaiah is about. It's about how God is going to take this people and he is going to purge these people of their unholiness and make them fit to participate. In his rule, he has a place for Israel among the nations.

42:07But they're not fit to participate in that rule. And so, what Isaiah is going to unfold is just how God is going to do that. And this work is going to be the work of the child. This is chapter 7. The work of the child of the house of David. Also, the light, chapter 9, the branch, chapter 11, the suffering servant, Isaiah 52 and 53, the Redeemer, 59, and the Messiah. God has not abandoned these people. And what Isaiah is promising is: you are going to undergo the judgment. You are going to experience His discipline. He's going to bring the nations against you. He's going to deal with the nations. He will be avenged of his enemies. He is going to deal with them. But he's going to use them to accomplish his purposes. Just like we saw this morning, even in Revelation 17.

43:30God is going to use the beast along with his allied ten kings, and they're going to do what's in their heart, but it's God who is accomplishing his purpose through them. And that's what Isaiah is going to take us all the way to that purified time and to his universal reign. So I hope, and if anybody has any questions, I'll be happy to take a few questions or comments if anybody wants to say something. But you all are certainly welcome to come read with us. And we plan on going through the whole book of Isaiah this week, and just kind of like what we did just now. And we'll go through the book in that same fashion.

44:29Tom, I have the Zoom link if anybody wants that. John Gardner, right there, if you want a Zoom link, you can join by Zoom. Thoughts, questions? Okay. Well, you think about that. Let me pray. Heavenly Father, your goodness, we recognize and we give you thanks. And we want you to have your way in our lives. Father, we do not want to be a people, individually, families, or church, or a society that opposes you. We know that you judge in righteousness and it is good. And we want your ways. We want to learn from you. We want to walk in your ways. So, Father, please go with us now. Teach us. Be with us. Bless the week ahead. And may you be exalted in our hearts and in our homes and in our city.

45:37In Christ's name we pray. Amen.