Isaiah 3:10-15 - God's Justice and Mercy

10 Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. 11 Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him. 12 My people—infants are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, your guides mislead you and they have swallowed up the course of your paths. 13 The Lord has taken his place to contend; he stands to judge peoples. 14 The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders and princes of his people: “It is you who have devoured the vineyard, the spoil of the poor is in your houses. 15 What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor?” declares the Lord God of hosts.

Target Date: Sunday, 29 October 2023

Word Study/ Translation Notes:

10 - Tell - אָמַר amar – Say or declare

There is some discussion on whether this verb is telling Isaiah to “Say to the righteous” or to “Declare [to all] that the righteous…”. Calvin leans toward the latter with convincing arguments.

Say; that is, hold it to be a settled point; for in Scripture to say often means to think, and to be convinced; as David writes, I said, I will take heed to my ways, (Ps. 39:1,) and in a thousand instances of the same kind; so that he does not bid them tell the righteous man, but he bids every man be fully convinced, that happy will be the condition of the righteous man, though he may now appear to be unhappy.

15 – crushing - דָּכָא daka – denotes a crushing with no concern for the state of the fruit, as in a winepress.

Crushing (dākā’) is always metaphorical and always used of the severest maltreatment

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; - Isaiah 53:5

But the Lord was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. – Isaiah 53:10

15 – grinding - טָחַן tachan – grinding as wheat in a millstone.

Thoughts on the Passage:

There is nothing in this passage that indicates that the righteous will avoid the troubles of God’s judgment. The promise is not that they will be unaffected or be protected from inconvenience or pain;

The promise is that they will be kept THROUGH the trial, sustained by God’s word and power, just as they wear His righteousness.

But the righteous man shall live by faith.” – Romans 1:17

We have the same contrast in the first chapter of Romans:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth - Romans 1:18

10 – Tell – Declare, proclaim – contrasts with the Woe of v.11

Isaiah is not declaring a personal word to the “good” men he knows; he is delivering DOCTRINE. And that doctrine either comforts or terrifies based solely on the relationship each person has with the holy God.

10 - The property of the trouble shall be altered to him, and he shall be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger. He shall have divine supports and comforts, which shall abound as afflictions abound, and so it shall be well with him.”

The trouble a believer sees has a different purpose, a different result, than the wicked.

God takes His child into the wilderness to perfect him there; He takes the wicked to the desert to abandon him and punish him there.

It is a hard saying, but I am convinced of its truth throughout Scriptures:

The kindest turn, the greatest grace God will provide His child is to take him through trouble and trial. Only then will His child learn the full extent of his need of the Father, and the depths of the kindness and mercy of God.

You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him; 6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. – Hebrews 12:4-8

10 – the fruit of their deeds – Notice this is not saying “the repayment of their deeds” or “the earnings of their deeds.” This is the fruit, something that grows out of those deeds that, if it is blessed by God’s hand, will multiply a hundredfold.

11 – the wicked will be repaid.

God is consistent and his ways are consistent. To live according to those ways is to reap blessing in part now, but especially ultimately. To live in defiance of those ways is to reap evil, if not now, then certainly ultimately. This sentiment could have been expressed at this point as a source of encouragement to those saints who were going to be swept into the maelstrom created by their wicked compatriots. The prophet assures them that, whatever the short-term effects, they would have no reason to regret their choice in the long term

10 - Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly. 13 But it will not be well for the evil man and he will not lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God. – Ecclesiastes 8:12-13

10-11 - The contrast between the righteous and the wicked is something that began before the calamity, but will be intensified in the midst of calamity.

Those who truly trusted God prior to the calamity will find their faith and resolve strengthened by the troubles; those who ignored or cursed God in the former days will do so even more when the time of testing comes.

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; - 1 Peter 1:6-7

10-11 - He likewise exhorts them to ascribe to God the praise of justice; as if he had said, “Think not that blind chance rules in the world, or that God punishes with blind violence, and without any regard to justice, but hold it as a principle fully settled in your minds, that it shall be well with the righteous man; for God will repay him what he hath promised, and will not disappoint him of his hope.

It is not blind chance that rules the world, but the just God Almighty. Only He can, in the same stroke, punish the wicked and bless the righteous.

the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, - 2 Peter 2:9

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. – 1 Thessalonians 4:13

This isn’t merely the attitude of the believer that makes this blessing, not some trick of psychology or positive thinking:

the blessing and sustenance of the saints is real and divine. God knows each one who comes under His hand, and each stroke is measured perfectly for its intended purpose.

To some, it is a stroke of wrath, delivering God’s angry judgment to one who has repeatedly earned His hardest stroke.

To some, it is a stroke of discipline, teaching His beloved child to trust Him more through the trial. The hand the believer feels is not the back of the knuckles striking his face, but the hand of the Father holding his in the midst of the terrifying trial.

To some, it is the gracious warning of God: repent or meet His wrath. It is these fortunate souls that find the mercy of God in the midst of the trial; they hear the words of Christ “Peace, be still” in the midst of the raging storms that threaten to take their lives. And it is these who, though entering the frightful storm as enemies of God will emerge as beloved sons and daughters of the same Lord of hosts.

11 - Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him. He brings forward this clause as a contrast to the former one; from which it may be easily inferred what was the design of the Prophet, namely, to comfort the godly, and to terrify the wicked by the judgment of God. For when an uncommonly severe calamity occurs, which attacks all without discrimination, we doubt whether it be by the providence of God, or, on the contrary, by blind chance, that the world is governed. On this account godly men fear and dread that the same destruction which overtakes the wicked will ruin them also. Others think that it is of no importance whether a man be good or bad, when they see both classes visited by pestilence, war, famine, and other calamities. And hence arises the wicked thought, that there is no difference between the rewards of the good and of the bad; and in the midst of these gloomy thoughts carnal appetites lead many to despair.

12 - There is nothing which men are more reluctant to allow than to have a yoke laid on them; nor do they willingly submit to be governed by nobles. Feeble and cowardly, therefore, must be the minds of those who obey delicate and effeminate men, and permit themselves to be oppressed by them; nor can it be doubted that God has struck with a spirit of cowardice those who offer their shoulders, like asses, to bear burdens. The power of a tyrant must indeed be endured, even by men of courage; but the reproach which Isaiah brings against the Jews is, that while they obstinately shake off the yoke of God, they are ready to yield abject submission to men, and to perform any services, however shameful or degrading.

14 – devoured the vineyard – you have left no joy in the houses and families of those you oppressed. You have taken it all.

You were appointed to care for the vineyard of God, but instead of tenderly ripening the fruit, you have eaten and devoured every one.

15 – The importance of the indictment of crushing and grinding the poor is that the poor were being used to make the leaders wealthy. They were benefitting from the use of the poor.

They were not only cruel (crushing) but they treated those they ruled as a crop to be reaped for self-enrichment.

Sermon Text:

We begin this morning where we finished last Sunday morning, in the midst of Isaiah’s description of the judgment of God.

But verse 10 shines like a sun’s ray through the dark warnings of God’s imminent judgment.

Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.

How we need to hear that in the midst of troubled times!

So this morning I would like to begin with a look at what this verse means, particularly in the light of the context in which it is set.

First, let us make sure we know to whom Isaiah is being commanded to speak.

To whom is he telling this wonderful news?

Perhaps you think this is obvious: he is speaking to the righteous people.

But how would they know who they were?

We certainly have many people who read this passage in this way today:

That somehow Isaiah was supposed to discover the righteous men around him and proclaim this comforting word from the Lord.

Or that perhaps the “righteous” were people who were in good standing with God before the troubles came because they had maintained their piety in the midst of that crooked and perverse generation.

By that measure, the group that made up the “righteous” had not only already been determined, but called and firmly in the camp of righteousness.

And in the same extent, the wicked, mentioned in verse 11, are group immovably into the congregation of the wicked, with no escape.

But what about repentance?

When God’s judgment falls upon a people, tribe, nation, or congregation, there are three actions that are accomplished in that tribulation:

1. For some, the stroke of God’s hand is the stroke of His wrath, repaying the wicked for their continued and unremitting rejection of God’s offer of peace.

They will see only the anger and unfiltered judgment of God both on earth and in eternity, never seeing or understanding His love and mercy.

2. To some, those who believe and trust in God through Jesus Christ, it is a stroke of discipline, teaching His beloved child to trust Him more through the trial.

The hand the believer feels is not the back of God’s knuckles striking his face, but the hand of the Father holding his in the midst of the terrifying trial.

3. And to some, this tribulation is the gracious warning of God: repent or meet His wrath.

It is these fortunate souls that find the mercy of God in the midst of the trial; they hear the words of Christ “Peace, be still” in the midst of the raging storms that threaten to take their lives.

And it is these who, though entering the frightful storm as enemies of God will emerge as beloved sons and daughters of the same Lord of hosts.

And it is this third group, those who will repent because of God’s call in the midst of the trial, who are forgotten if we see this beautiful promise of God as something that is set in stone before the judgment begins.

But there is another way to read and understand this promise.

It is best reflected in the English translation known as the Geneva Bible:

Say ye, Surely it shalbe wel with yͤ juste: for they shal eat the frute of their workes.

Say ye, surely it shall be well with the just, for they shall eat the fruit of their works.

Rather than “Tell the righteous”, we see the much more general command to “Declare”, meaning to declare to everyone.

So the verse is a proclamation to EVERYONE about the righteous, rather than a special message to the righteous.

This is the translation favored by John Calvin for this passage as seen in his commentary on Isaiah.

But Patrick, you might say, why does that matter at all?

It seems like such a small thing.

And both interpretations seem to be accomplishing the same thing – offering God’s comfort to the righteous.

Even if we allow the fact that some will undoubtedly be saved in the midst of the trials.

And I would tend to agree.

The principle of God’s provision for His righteous is identical in both translations.

But there is a big difference in the way that assurance is communicated.

And the difference is this: in the translation “say to the righteous”, this is a special message of God to an exceedingly small group of people.

And certainly God does have the ability to do this in His word.

But when we see that Isaiah is DECLARING this truth to EVERYONE, he is not delivering a special message to these people:

He is delivering DOCTRINE.

“Declare: for the righteous, it shall be well with them…”

That isn’t a special message for a secret group of people;

It is the promise of the Almighty God that if the people will repent and follow Him, it will be well with them.

There are a lot of believers who are looking for a special message, a private word from God about their situation.

And there are many who will deliver comforting messages and platitudes that, I fear, do not come from God at all.

Because God’s word for you is not the private whisperings of the Holy Spirit in yours or someone else’s ear;

It is in the doctrine He has set before you.

He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God? – Micah 6:8

All these people looking for a special word from God when they haven’t or won’t begin to do the things He has already declared in His word.

Yes, I know God spoke directly with Abraham, Moses, Solomon, Elijah, and Zechariah, but I know something else:

You ain’t them.

The Scripture that brings God’s words to them to you IS the word of God to you.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and soul, and mind, and strength.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Do to others what you would want them to do to you.

Why would anyone spend a single second trying to selfishly receive a special word for themselves if they haven’t mastered the things God has already commanded.

You aren’t writing the Bible;

You are called to be living it.

So it is not the message of Isaiah that is meant to comfort;

It is the doctrine of God’s provision for His people that is the comfort.

That is the first part of it.

And in the very next verse, the same format is used with the first word being “Woe!”

Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.

Verse 10: Say, declare.

Verse 11: Proclaim woe/ declare the bad news.

So, putting it all together, the doctrine amounts to this:

God’s judgment, while it may affect every single person, is not capricious.

As Peter tells us in 2 Peter 2:9:

the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment

Nothing in this great promise to the righteous declares that they will be excluded from the troubles that are coming – far from it.

This promise is for those who put their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ will be kept THROUGH the tribulation.

Their crops will be among the ones the locusts eat or the blights devour.

Their families will be touched by the pestilence.

They will suffer under unworthy leaders.

Their sons will be among the fallen on the battlefield.

Their houses and land will be among those taken by invaders.

And they will be among the ones carried off into a foreign land.

So where is the good news?

Where is the comfort of this great doctrine?

The comfort is that God is with them, that it shall be well with them.

Their lives may be tossed about, but God will hold them up.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; 8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. – 2 Corinthians 4:7-10

Nowhere – NOWHERE in Scripture is the believer guaranteed an easier life than a pagan – NOWHERE.

It is exactly the opposite.

See how Paul started that paragraph we just read:

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves…

We have been made BREAKABLE, WEAK containers for the treasure of God’s gospel SO THAT the greatness of the power will be recognized as God’s, not our own.

We can be hurt, hungry, scared, mistreated, persecuted, and killed – we are weak. But God is STRONG.

Dear brother or sister, you may be sitting there thinking “This doesn’t sound very comforting.”

But I invite you look at your struggles this way:

The kindest turn, the greatest grace God will provide His child is to take him through trouble and trial. Only then will His child learn the full extent of his need of the Father, and the depths of the kindness and mercy of God.

The very trials you are going through right now are NECESSARY.

We can never know, never experience the great mercy of God in our lives unless we walk with Him through these terrifying days.

And they are brought not by some blind chance of the world, but by the loving hand of your Father who is working to complete your transformation into the image of Jesus Christ.

I am sure there are some who are hearing me who are fearing financial ruin,

the devastation of a relationship,

the consequences of grave and humiliating sin,

the loss of a job,

the loss of health,

or the imminent approach of death.

I don’t say this because I have some special prophetic vision;

I know this because these are trials most everyone will face in their lives.

And the choice before you is whether you will trust God through the trial or whether you will abandon Him and take the remedies the world offers.

Because the world will give you remedies that will fix your situation or your feelings about it;

There are lots of sinful ways to gain money;

You can just go from spouse to spouse without concern;

You can justify your sin, or find others who revel in it so you don’t feel so guilty;

Or you can simply medicate or drink your way into a stupor, staying so intoxicated you don’t care about job, health, or death.

You can listen to the world and swallow its opiates, or you can cling more closely, more desperately to Jesus Christ.

Knowing that God knows exactly what your situation is.

Knowing that our Savior is someone who has been tempted in every way we can be, and without sin.

Knowing He faced poverty, abandonment, betrayal, and death.

So when we endure these things, we carry in ourselves both His dying and His life because we are in Him.

Things may seem hopeless in the moment, but look to Christ, who is our hope.

Don’t despair; don’t fear or dread tomorrow.

See in Him the love of God that will sustain you through any and every trial.

Find in Him the strength of God that is perfected in our weaknesses.

And be assured that even if you lose EVERYTHING here on earth, you have HIM in all eternity.

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ - Philippians 3:7-8

But finally, we need to look at who are these righteous?

Are they the ones who were constantly at the temple?

Were they the ones who offered the required sacrifices?

Were they the ones who chose to do good while all around them were choosing evil?

Habakkuk 2:4 - Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.

These righteous people, whether in Isaiah’s day or today, are those whose trust was in God.

And for us specifically, it is those whose trust is in God through Jesus Christ alone.

Thus we see in our passage today that it is not the wage or the repayment of the righteous that will be given them:

It is the fruit.

The wicked, they receive payment for their wickedness.

The WAGES of sin is death.

But for the righteous, they are not simply being repaid for their faithfulness,

They are enduring, thriving on the fruit that is growing from their faithfulness.

And fruit doesn’t just come in one piece at a time;

It comes a hundredfold because it grows out of every branch.

It is not God simply paying them for being good;

It is God’s blessing on them because they are His.

It is God guarding their hearts because He called them.

No child of God is lost in the midst of their storm:

Even if we lose sight of Him, He never loses sight of us.