Sermon Tone Analysis

Overall tone of the sermon

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Tone of specific sentences

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From surveying the distant peaks of messianic prophecy, Isaiah returns to his own day momentarily.
He takes the leadership of Judah head-on and squarely puts much of the blame for the nation’s moral and ethical ills on their shoulder.
/"Now more than ever the people are responsible for the character of their Congress.
If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption.
If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature. . . .
[I]f the next centennial does not find us a great nation . . . it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces."/
-- President James Garfield
!
I. CORRUPT LEADERS ARE BLIND TO THE DANGERS THAT FACE THE NATION vv.
9-12
* /“Israel’s watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep.”/
(Isaiah 56:10, NIV84)
#. it was the godless and wicked conduct of Judah’s leaders that caused the nation to fall to Babylon
#. had the prophets, priests, and rulers turned to God in repentance and faith, He would have intervened on their behalf
#. but they persisted in rebellion by worshiping other god’s and ignoring the Sabbath
#. the result is that God invites the enemies of God’s people to devour the nation
#. in this passage, the God of Israel—through the Prophet Isaiah—brings multiple indictments against the leaders of the nation of Israel
#. there has been a tremendous failure of moral, spiritual and political leadership
#. the result is that God has openly invited Israel’s enemies to attack and devour her
* /“Come, all you beasts of the field, come and devour, all you beasts of the forest!”/ (Isaiah 56:9, NIV84)
#.
Isaiah’s portrait of the nation’s leadership is essentially the same leadership problems that the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel lament
* /“Has not my inheritance become to me like a speckled bird of prey that other birds of prey surround and attack?
Go and gather all the wild beasts; bring them to devour.”/
(Jeremiah 12:9, NIV84)
* /“So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals.”/
(Ezekiel 34:5, NIV84)
* /“As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock,”/ (Ezekiel 34:8, NIV84)
#. if a nation’s leaders do not acknowledge God and promote the ways of God, that nation is doomed to anarchy, disorder and eventual destruction
#. more about this in a few moments
!! A. CHARACTERISTICS OF CORRUPT LEADERS
#. in vv.
10-11 Isaiah vividly describes the moral and ethical character—of lack there of—of Israel’s political and spiritual leaders
#. corrupt leaders are /unobservant leaders—“Israel’s watchmen are blind,”/ v. 10
#. with biting sarcasm, Isaiah refers to Israel’s leaders as blind watchmen
* ILLUS.
The watchman was one who stood upon the tower or wall of the city to observe whether an enemy was approaching, or if the word be applied to shepherds, one who kept watch to see that wild beasts did not approach the flock.
From this it is clear that one portion of the prophetical work was to warn the nation of its enemies, to tell of impending danger and disaster.
A blind prophet could not know the nature of the danger.
#. these are the kind of leaders who, as Ezekiel describes as crying ... /“ ... “Peace,” when there is no peace ... ”/ (Ezekiel 13:10, NIV84)
#. the blind leader is a leader who is unaware that enemies are lurking
#. this describes the Pastor or spiritual leader who fails to see the dangers of doctrinal or theological heresy that threaten the congregation
#. this describes the Politician who’s myopia cannot see past the next election
#. corrupt leaders are /ignorant leaders—“they all lack knowledge,”/ v. 10; /“they lack understanding,”/ v. 11
#.
they are spiritually and politically obtuse because they have neglected their heritage in the Lord
#.
Israel’s rulers were leaders who had forgotten their God and their birthright
* /“my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge ... ”/ (Hosea 4:6, NIV84)
#. whether it is the denomination or the nation, when our leaders forget or neglect our God and our godly heritage, the people are in danger
* ILLUS.
This is why we need men like David Barton and organizations like Wallbuilders.
#. corrupt leaders are /silent leaders—“they are mute dogs, they cannot bark,”/ v. 10
#. not only were Israel’s leaders ignorant about the true dangers facing the nation, but what dangers they did see, they failed to warn others about
#. this describes the Pastor or spiritual leader who fails to warn the congregation about sin and judgment and righteousness and is only concerned that they live their /‘best life now'/
#. this describes the Politician who claims that character doesn’t matter, only policy
#. this passage absolutely refutes that sentiment—Isaiah’s critique of leadership in this passage is wholly about character and not of policy
#. the ideas that the private lives of leaders is their own affair, finds no support in the Scriptures
#. corrupt leaders are /slothful leaders—“they lie around and dream, they love to sleep,”/ v. 10
#.
Israel’s leaders were effective because they were more concerned with the perks of leadership than the stewardship of leadership
#. those perks included not having to work quite as hard as your typical ‘Joe the plumber’
#. the result is that they’ve become ‘dreamers’—always thinking about what ‘could be’ and dreaming of an unrealistically rosy future for the nation
#. corrupt leaders are /gluttonous leaders—“they are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough,”/ v. 11
#.
Isaiah describes Israel’s rulers as leaders with huge appetites
#. that doesn’t necessarily refer to food alone
#. there is something of a play on words here: Instead of /being watchdogs/, Isaiah implies that they’ve became a /common street dog/—devouring everything they come across
#. these were leaders who craved all the benefits that come with power while sticking the common person with the tab
* ILLUS.
Can you spell G-e-n-e-r-a-l A-c-c-o-u-n-t-I-–g S-e-r-v-I-c-e?
#. corrupt leaders are /narcissistic/ and /egotistic leaders—“they all turn to their own way, each seeks his own gain,”/ v. 11
#.
Self-absorption defines the character of so many contemporary spiritual and political leaders in our society
#. and narcissism has become one of the central themes of American culture
#. there is an ever growing segment our American society that is pursuing a dangerous inner-directedness that ignores the future and the betterment of society
#. it’s the belief that “It’s all about me, I’m entitled, somebody owe me” attitude
* ILLUS.
This is why some 60% of Americans actually agree with the President that Millionaires and Billionaires have too much money and the Federal Government needs to take more of their money away from them, because it’s only fair.
#. add to this the growing sentiment that Christian values of morality and ethics are increasingly archaic and oppressive, and even a cause of social maladjustment and emotional disorders
#. corrupt leaders are /self-seeking and self-centered leaders—“Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine!
Let us drink our fill of beer!
... “/, v. 11
#. the attitude behind the excessive imbibing of alcoholic beverages is /“Let’s have drinks and work on our agendas.
You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.”/
#. many modern leaders have given up concern for society as a whole
#.
their focus is decreasingly on their “constituency” and increasingly on “special-interest” groups who will get them re-elected
#. corrupt leaders are /short-sighted leaders— “ ...
And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better.”/,
v. 11
#.
here is the attitude, /“We’ll just kick this can down the road, cause things will be better then and we can deal the problem more effectively in the future.”/
#. rather than caring for the sheep unselfishly, these shepherds went off and indulged themselves
#. they did so at the expense of their charges and in the process became enslaved to sin and incapable of fulfilling their responsibilities
#. /Corrupt Leaders Are Blind to the Dangers That Face the Nation/
#. the result of wicked, ungodly leadership of the nation is two-fold ...
!
II.
RAMPANT APOSTASY WILL OVERTAKE THE NATION vv.
3-13
#. the result of ineffectual, immoral leadership is a “trickle-down” immorality that infests the larger culture
#. vv.
3-13 are a laundry list is moral ills afflicting the national of Israel just before she is swept into captivity and which she continues even after captivity!
!! A. RIGHTEOUSNESS IS MOCKED AND GODLESSNESS FLOURISHES
* /“But you—come here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!
Whom are you mocking?
At whom do you sneer and stick out your tongue?
Are you not a brood of rebels, the offspring of liars?”/ (Isaiah 57:3–4, NIV84)
#. in the decades before Israel’s captivity, it was a time when “good” was called “evil” and “evil” was called “good”
!! B. LUST IS CELEBRATED AND CHILDREN BECOME EXPENDABLE
* /“You burn with lust among the oaks and under every spreading tree; you sacrifice your children in the ravines and under the overhanging crags.”/
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