Judgment & Hope

Walk through sections of Bible: Law, Historical Books, Poetical Books, Major-Minor Prophets // Gospels, Historical Book, Pauline Epistles, General Epistles, Apocalyptic

OT Timeline: Creation - Fall - Israel (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) - Egyptian captivity - Exodus (Moses) - Israel (Law then Joshua-Judges) - United Kingdom (Saul, David, Solomon) - Divided Kingdom (Israel, Judah) - Assyrian Conquer Israel - Babylonian Exile in Captivity - Jewish Return & Temple Rebuild

Today we're studying book of Isaiah

Isaiah is a major prophet: Shakespeare of Israel / Prince of Prophets / Paul of OT / Romans of OT

Isaiah was a prophet to Judah- lived from 740-686 BC – 4 kings (dies under 5th) - during his time, Assyrians conquered Israel & invaded Judah, almost conquering them… contemporary of 2 prophets- Hosea/Micah

As you can imagine, Isaiah writing in very difficult time - lots of tension/anger/confusion/sin... Isaiah hated/despised by many & yet Isaiah delivers the most beautiful, complex, difficult, hope-filled prophecy in history

Isaiah is a fearless revolutionary, bold follower of God & he changed the world forever... let's look at the book!

EXPOSITION

Condemnation (1-39)…Illustration about spanking

1-12: Judgment of Judah & Israel

Starts with a lot of judgment - repeated judgments and condemnations of Judah, Israel, and their sin

6:8 - Then I heard the Lord asking, "Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?" I said, "Here I am. Send me."

Love that boldness and courage! Hope one of you will choose to be that way with your school

Continues judgment - but in the midst of judgment, I love how Isaiah always throws in tidbits of hope

7:14 - All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means 'God is with us').

9:6 - For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Continues judgment - sin is serious y'all! Whole point of 1st half of Isaiah - sin is serious and must be punished

13-35: Judgment of All Nations

Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, Moab, Syria, Israel, Ethiopia, Egypt, Edom, Arabia, Judah, Shebna, Tyre, whole Earth

25-27 - hope requires judgment - from judgment comes hopes & that's how we know we can trust him, in the midst of our sin/judgment

Hope is always God's intended last word, but if we live in sin, judgment will be God's last word

36-39: God's Faithfulness

Assyria invades Judah; Judah's King Hezekiah prays to God for deliverance, God saves Judah

Even in the midst of sin/disobedience/bad choices, if we turn to the Lord in prayer and ask for help, he is always faithful/just to answer

No matter how much we change, God never changes – his character is constant - always faithful, holy, loving

This concludes the first half of the book - Isaiah has been prophesying to Judah pre and up to the Assyrian invasion (~740 BC), but now things are about to change

Consolation (40-66)

But here's what's crazy - in ch. 40-55, he is prophesying to Judah 150 years in the future - Judeans who have been exiled to Babylon (~585 BC), then in ch. 56-66, he is prophesying to Judah 200 years in the future - Judeans who have returned from exile (539 BC)

And his whole tone changes - bc the 1st half of book is about judgment/condemnation with a bit of hope sprinkled in, but 2nd half of book is about hope/comfort with a bit of judgment sprinkled in (mimics the OT/NT – 39/27)

Illustration about mom comforting me after punishment

40-48: God's Promise (of Redemption)

2nd half of the book starts w/ God's promise of victory, redemption, hope... at this point, Judah is exiled, living as slaves of Babylon & the Lord is promising victory - not bc of their power/strength, but bc of his

43:1-3a: But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, "Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

Wow! This is how we’re called to walk as followers of Jesus/leaders…it’s never been about us, always about him

But God doesn't just promise salvation/redemption, he actually shows them how

49-59: God's Servant

My favorite part of Isaiah - bc we're interested to a new character, the Suffering Servant (the Messiah)

It is in this servant that we find salvation

We've spent all of Isaiah recognizing the sin of Israel & therefore the coming judgment bc of that sin; but then, God shows us his remedy, for the only way we can find redemption/salvation/hope is in the Suffering Servant... someone who is willing to die for our sins, in our place, so that we may live and be saved

53:4-6: Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.

Written in 740 BC, with manuscripts found from 356 BC- this Scripture, along with 100's of others in Isaiah were fulfilled by Jesus - so awesome!

This section is massively important to our faith – bc it proves who Jesus is… not just some guy, he is the Messiah, the Savior, and through him we can be made right with God

60-66: God's Kingdom

Isaiah doesn't just end with prophecy @ Jesus, but also prophecy of God's Kingdom, heaven & the end of the world

Isaiah shows us God's grand plan/metanarrative - doesn't just want to punish Israel/Judah, he doesn't just want to restore them... he wants to save them & all of humanity through Jesus, so that at the end of the age we can all live in God's Kingdom together

65:17-19: Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore. Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation! And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness. Her people will be a source of joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and delight in my people. And the sound of weeping and crying will be heard in it no more.

& that is the heart of Isaiah: Immanuel - God is with us... and while sin always results in judgment and punishment, there is always an opportunity for hope and for redemption, and that is found in Jesus

CONCLUSION

Read Isaiah for yourself

Be Isaiah at your school/job - be bold/fearless/mouthpiece of God... & while it may be hard/difficult, watch as God will use your boldness as an opportunity for redemption just like he did with Isaiah

Pray

KNOW (BOTTOM LINE): There is always an opportunity of hope and redemption in Jesus.

DO: Read Isaiah; Be Isaiah

FEEL: Excited

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