Isaiah 30 Part 2
Notes
Transcript
A Gracious God
A Gracious God
You know last week I asked this question; How often do you follow the advice of another, you know someone who is older and perhaps wiser than us?
We tend to do that, especially if it is an area or topic, task that we do not know much about...
But then the other question we could ask is this, And with that being the case....
Why doesn’t mankind listen to God?
Why do we trust each other so often but we have difficulty trusting God?
The same is true of the children of Israel. They tended to trust each other and the ability of other nations over the words of God.
It really sounds strange, but this is exactly what they were doing… and you know what? It’s heart breaking to see...
Here in our chapter, God is warning them not to strike a deal and trust in Egypt. But will they listen????
He is reminding them in those first 17 verses that they cannot and will not be able to carry you safely with their merits..
Instead of turning to Egypt, why not turn to God. And so He has warned them in those verse 17 verses...
Now with verse 18 the topic changes, that the Lord will be gracious to those who follow and love Him. In turning in repentance they turned back to God and followed Him.
So lets look at verse 18 Isa 30:18
18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.
Now we know that because of Judah’s sin, they will face the Lord’s chastisement, but with the same faithfulness that He promises to punish his people for turning away from His word, there will also be a a of help.
So it is a double faithfulness, faithful to act because of sin and faithful to bless as we return to Him.
So He says therefor the Lord waits to be gracious to you. After judgment, the Lord will act on our behalf.
Have you ever thought that God desires to bless and protect His people? But he must act in a way that is just to all and his plan, Remember He is a God of Justice.
This last line is important for us to consider, blessed are those who wait for him.
I like the idea of waiting on God, but it is hard to put ourselves in the back seat. In doing so we are looking for his trust and leadership in our lives.
The essence of faith is to hope or trust in what is yet unseen.
Verse 19....
19 For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you.
The people were being faced with the possibility of defeat by the Assyrians, this would cause them to weep, to be afraid after being under seige for so many days. They are scared.
But Blessings will only come to those who wait for him.
And listen to what God is saying here, He is saying that someday the weeping will end.
He will be gracious to his people, when they call out to him with their cries and suffering … He will hear them.
Do you remember all the way back to when the children were in the land of Egypt? Exodus 3:7
7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings,
And when he hears you, the idea is that you have give up trusting self and others, and you look to God, then he will answer.
Now lets move forward Verses 20-22 Isa 30:20-22
20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. 21 And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. 22 Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, “Be gone!”
The text here reminds us that God allows them to experience times of adversity because of sin. Verse 20 says the Lord gives you bread of adversity and the water of affliction..
Here we see that God did not intervene when Assyria invaded. He allowed the attack on Judah and the defeat of 46 cities as Assyria marched toward Jerusalem.
In the future God will allow you to see your teacher. This is really a look forward to the days of Jesus, when the OT law has changed to a internalized law of the new covenant. And you will have the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit.
The day coming would help the people walk in God’s ways without any deception or wonder. He will lead us to walk in His ways.
How wonderful it is to see and hear the Lord’s leadership in our lives. He will teach us the way, why? He is the way!
His presence will cause man to reject those worthless idols of their past. Those idols even that were covered with silver or good will be scattered and no one will need to claim them again… namely because man will understand they are worthless.
So what will happen to them… they will be scattered.
I like that, scattering them is throwing them away, why? They are worthless. No hope, no value and no help comes from them.. they are just tools of the devil to enslave people.
Those who were once defiled by idols are not forgiven
Verses 23-26 Isa 30:23-26
23 And he will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and bread, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. In that day your livestock will graze in large pastures, 24 and the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground will eat seasoned fodder, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork. 25 And on every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. 26 Moreover, the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day when the Lord binds up the brokenness of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.
Is this not a brighter day?
When He sends rain for the growing season, when he gives bread to sustain life, is that not good?
What about when the grass of the field is thick and rich to bless the animals
Even those who work around the farm, will eat a well seasoned and fodder..
All of these speak to the abundance of the Lord’s blessing.
And as we go up the mountains, an abundance of fresh brooks and streams are seen.... a time they will enjoy the blessings of God once again. A time when God will wipe out, slaughter the enemies of HIs people.
But God will not only kill the enemies but He will tear down the high towers… all of this is opposite of what they are currently facing but it will not continue, it will one day stop, the oppression of the nations and God will bless them.
What does it tell us, God is not finished with his people, and listen, we cannot judge the scene with accuracy.. what looks hopeless is not in the eyes of God.
Now we could also say they the defeat of God’s enemies here has a realization both near and far...
Near, the defeat of the Assyrians Far, the final defeat of the enemies of God on the last day.
Now we come to the last section of the chapter, verses 27-33
27 Behold, the name of the Lord comes from afar,
burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke;
his lips are full of fury,
and his tongue is like a devouring fire;
28 his breath is like an overflowing stream
that reaches up to the neck;
to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction,
and to place on the jaws of the peoples a bridle that leads astray.
Here the oracle announces a theophany of judgment, The Lord is marked by coming in a cloud and in fire.
And look at this, we See God describing himself with human characteristics..
As a person whose anger is burning with fire, lips full of fury, and a tongue of devouring fire. His breath like a river with the force of a flood.
God’s coming is often seen as Him coming on the wings of a storm, His coming is really the movement of God to defend and act on the behalf of His people.
we forget that the God who is full of mercy is also at times full of wrath, but that anger, that fight is in rightoueness, and just. Why… He is holy
Verses 29-30 Isa 30:29-30
29 You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept, and gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel. 30 And the Lord will cause his majestic voice to be heard and the descending blow of his arm to be seen, in furious anger and a flame of devouring fire, with a cloudburst and storm and hailstones.
When God’s people observe the victory of his presence, they will respond with singing and celebration. Why?
Because he is saving His people…He is punishing His enemy. Israel will repsond with celebrtaion/.
Think of the celebration we will have, the songs we will sing at the last day when our enemy is defeated. when satan is cast down forever we will give praise to Him.
When there is no more death, pain, suffering, only the joy of salvation.. will we celebrate and praise the Lord our God, You better believe it.
Verse 30 says the Lord will cause his voice to be heard, and his work seen.
God will smite the people of Assyria who thought they were above God and those who punished God’s people.
Now this last section verses 31-33
31 The Assyrians will be terror-stricken at the voice of the Lord, when he strikes with his rod. 32 And every stroke of the appointed staff that the Lord lays on them will be to the sound of tambourines and lyres. Battling with brandished arm, he will fight with them. 33 For a burning place has long been prepared; indeed, for the king it is made ready, its pyre made deep and wide, with fire and wood in abundance; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it.
God will turn his rod against the Assyrians and he will punish them and glorify Himself.
God doesn't say how he will punish them, but the the fact remains he will swiftly and terribly
The Mighty Arm of God will accomplish this my friends, the punishment of God will strike to the beat of instruments as he fights in the Battle.
God doesn’t struggle to do this, He decrees with his voice , the movement of his staff, His will is accomplished and they are defeated
The burning place speaks to the place where trash was burned, it was called the Tophet, the Bin Hinnom valley on the south side of Jerusalem.
This was the place where the dead bodies of the enemy would be cremated. Back in the OT cremation was only reserved for criminals or in times of warfare when thousands die.
Here we know the whole Assyrian army is defeated and the bodies must be taken care off because of smell and disease.
when they are brought to this place, God will set the wood on fire and destroy the bodies o f the enemy.
We know from history, the bodies of 185,000 Assyrian soliders were disposed of after their defeat
God’s power will take care of his people, destroy our enemies and as such we can trust God fully and freely