221218 Christmas Program: Isaiah

Immanuel: For the honor and greatness of His name and the Salvation of the called

The Cosmic Greatness of God

Is 6:1-4 “In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is Yahweh of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called out, while the house of God was filling with smoke.”

Is 37.16 ““O Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.”

Is 30.18 “Therefore Yahweh waits with longing to be gracious to you, And therefore He is on high to have compassion on you. For Yahweh is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who wait for Him.”

Is 40.12 “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And encompassed the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales?”

Is 40.26 “Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His vigor and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing.”

Is 42.5 “Thus says the God, Yahweh, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it And spirit to those who walk in it,”

Is 42.9 ““Behold, the former things have come to pass; Now I declare new things; Before they spring forth I cause you to hear them.””

Is 42.21 “Yahweh was pleased for His righteousness’ sake That He make the law great and majestic.”

From Isaiah we learn of the Cosmic Greatness of God. Yahweh alone sits on high, enthroned above the cherubim (Is 37.16), the thrice Holy Lord of Hosts (Is 6.3), Creator of heaven and earth, He who names the stars, who alone measures the sum of every ocean and sea and knows every particle of dust on the earth (Is 40.12). He has made all things and all the earth is filled with His glory (Is 6.3). Yahweh gives life and breath to those made in His image (Is 42.5) and He alone tells humanity what He will do in advance, before it happens, so that we will marvel (Is 42.9). He is compassionate, gracious, and just (Is 30.18), and all of His perfection, He has distilled into His perfect Law - which like Him is righteous, great and majestic (Is 42.21).

The Collusion of His Image Bearers with Sin

Is 44.17-20 “But the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god.” They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they will have no insight. No one causes this to return to his heart, nor is there knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then I make the rest of it into an abomination; I fall down before a block of wood!” He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver his soul, and he cannot say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?””

Is 43.24-27 ““You have not bought Me sweet cane with money, Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices; Rather you have burdened Me with your sins; You have wearied Me with your iniquities. “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins. “Bring Me to remembrance, let us enter into judgment together; Recount your cause, that you may be proved right. “Your first father sinned, And your spokesmen have transgressed against Me.”

Is 64.6 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, carry us away.”

Is 48.18 ““If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.”

And because His great good Law has been established, those designed in His image are set at odds against Him. Instead of delighting in Him we have chosen to reject Him. Setting as gods that which we have chosen and not Yahweh. We as image bearers have collided with His perfection. We continuously make idols in our own image and worship created things instead of the Creator (Is 44.17-20). Our feeble attempts to offset our sins (Is 43.24) with good deeds (Is 64.6) against the thrice holy God (Is 6.3) cannot counterbalance the infinite offenses we daily do. The grief Yahweh has suffered from His distorted and destroyed creation is immeasurable. Imageness broken, relationship destroyed, the catastrophic totality of eternal death immeasurable... Because God is love and yet is also perfect justice He cannot just dismiss our offenses - Love and Justice must be confronted.

The Confrontation Between Justice and Love

Isaiah 1:11–20 | 11 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says Yahweh. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats I take no pleasure. 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 convocation— I cannot endure wickedness and the solemn assembly. 14 “My soul hates your new moon festivals and your appointed times, 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; Indeed, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood. 16 “Wash yourselves, purify yourselves; Remove the evil of your deeds from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, 17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Execute justice for the orphan, Plead for the widow. 18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says Yahweh, “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 are willing and obey, You will eat the best of the land; 20 But if you refuse and rebel, You will be eaten by the sword.” For the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.

Is 48.4 ““Because I know that you are stiff, And your neck is an iron sinew And your forehead bronze,”

Is 12.1-2 “Then you will say in that day, “I will give thanks to You, O Yahweh; For although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, And You comfort me. “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not dread; For Yah—Yahweh Himself—is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.””

Is 35.4-6 “Say to those with an anxious heart, “Be strong, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.” Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness And streams in the Arabah.”

Is 48.11 ““For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another.”

Isaiah 59:1–8 | 1 Behold, the hand of Yahweh is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. 3 For your hands are defiled with blood And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken a lie; Your tongue mutters unrighteousness. 4 No one calls in righteousness, and no one seeks justice in truth. They trust in confusion and speak worthlessness; They conceive trouble and give birth to wickedness. 5 They break open vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from that which is crushed a snake breaks forth. 6 Their webs will not become a garment, Nor will they cover themselves with their works; Their works are works of wickedness, And a deed of violence is in their hands. 7 Their feet run to evil, And they are quick to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness; Devastation and destruction are in their highways. 8 They do not know the way of peace, And there is no justice in their tracks; They have made their paths crooked, Whoever treads on them does not know peace.

Is 63.5 ““I looked, and there was no one to help, And I was astonished, and there was no one to uphold; So My own arm brought salvation to Me, And My wrath upheld Me.”

Our iniquity has separated us from God (Is 59:1-2) and we cannot save ourselves (Is 63.5). We are rightfully accused and doomed to death. Our list of crimes is incomprehensible and God cannot let our sins slide. Our covetousness cannot be brushed aside, He cannot overlook our lies, He will not wink at our thefts. We have murdered with our anger, and committed adultery with our lust, we have dishonored our parents and rejected His rest. The great name of God we have blasphemed and neglected. We have not loved God nor man and in failing to keep even one of these laws even once we are doomed to eternal death and destruction. How can God be loving and let us slide? He cannot be loving and ignore our sin. That is not a righteous and good god - one that is lax, forgetful, negligent in enforcing His holiness - that is a small god and unworthy of worship and adoration. Because we cannot save ourselves He must act, He must do, He must save (Is 63:5)

The Christ Coming as a Babe, To Live, To Die, To Be Raised

Is 9.6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this.”

Is 46.12-13 ““Hear Me, you stubborn of heart, Who are far from righteousness. “I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off; And My salvation will not delay. And I will grant salvation in Zion, And My glory for Israel.”

Is 25.8-9 “He will swallow up death for all time, And Lord Yahweh will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For Yahweh has spoken. And it will be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God in whom we have hoped that He would save us. This is Yahweh in whom we have hoped; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.””

Is 49.5-7 “So now says Yahweh, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To return Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am glorified in the sight of Yahweh, And My God is My strength), He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to cause the preserved ones of Israel to return; I will also give You as a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Thus says Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One, To the despised One, To the One abhorred by the nation, To the Servant of rulers, “Kings will see and arise, Princes will also bow down, Because of Yahweh who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.””

Is 45.22 ““Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other.”

Isaiah 7:14 ““Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”

Is 53.2-4 “For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.”

He alone brings about His own required righteousness (Is 46:12-13), He Himself will swallow the flood of death we were doomed to drink (Is 25.8) - no one can do it but Himself (Is 63.5). He will come as a Child, a tender humble baby (Is 53:2), born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14). He, Himself will restore the relationship we rejected. As a babe, child and man He, Himself will keep His own perfect holy Law and present Himself to His Heavenly Father so that He might atone for sin and share salvation to all who believe (Is 49.5-7). His love and justice intact He is to be exalted above all - greater than God the GodMan has achieved the impossible - righteous reconciliation between God and Man. God’s perfect Man and Man’s perfect God: Immanuel God with us, Yeshua Jesus, Yahweh Saves, The Christus, Messiah, anointed Savior.... The story of Christmas is entirely about Christ and what He did for Himself and for humanity and so having been so told now I leave with us all a call to action.

The Call to Action

Is 55.6-11 “Seek Yahweh while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to Yahweh, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares Yahweh. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what pleases Me, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”

Is 13.9-13 “Behold, the day of Yahweh is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash forth their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light. Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the pride of the arrogant And bring low the lofty pride of the ruthless. I will make mortal man scarcer than fine gold And mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, And the earth will be shaken from its place At the fury of Yahweh of hosts In the day of His burning anger.”

Is 54.7-10 ““For a brief moment I forsook you, But with great compassion I will gather you. “In a flood of fury I hid My face from you for a moment, But with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you,” Says Yahweh your Redeemer. “For this is like the days of Noah to Me, When I swore that the waters of Noah Would not overflow the earth again; So I have sworn that I will not be furious with you Nor will I rebuke you. “For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,” Says Yahweh who has compassion on you.”

Is 53.11-12 “As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will divide for Him a portion with the many, And He will divide the spoil with the strong; Because He poured out His soul to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.”

Is 55.6-11 “Seek Yahweh while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to Yahweh, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares Yahweh. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what pleases Me, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”