Isaiah 2 PT. II
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Intro:
- Last week we started looking at Isaiah chapter 2.
- And if you remember we talked about the fact part of Isaiah’s ministry was to both Foretell of future events tand to forthtell of the current conditions of the people he was speaking to
- So as we look at chapter 2 we want to keep this in mind because as we looked at last week, we will see Isaiah jump back and forth from speaking about future events as well as addressing the current condition of the people of Judah.
- Now last week we started talking about the first portion of this vision that Isaiah received. And he told us that this section was to take place in “latter days”. Which we discussed most believe what Isaiah was seeing was the Millennium reign of Christ.
- The time after the 7 year tribulation period. We briefly talked about the second coming of Christ. At the end of the tribulation period, Rev. 19 tells us that Christ will return riding on a white horse with His armies. And He will come down to judge and to make war.
- Once He has judged those who rejected Him, He will establish His reign on earth for 1,000 years. This is what Isaiah is speaking about in these first 4 verses of chapter 2.
- And we ended the study by looking at the invitation given by Isaiah to the people of Judah in verse 5. He calls the people to “come and walk in the light of the Lord”.
- And we talked about the fact that while these events were going to happen in the future, Isaiah was calling the people to live in expectation of that coming day.
- The call to walk in the light, gives us insight to the reality that Judah was not walking in the light, rather they were walking in darkness.
Transition
- And we took the time to look at this invitation and to discuss that this invitation was not only for Judah but also for us. We have been called out of the darkness to walk in the light of the Lord through Him who is light, Jesus.
- And we took the time to look at what it looks like to walk in the light.
- Now today as we continue in chapter 2, we will see Isaiah jump back to the current condition of Judah. He has just made an invitation to walk in the light of the Lord, and now he will begin to address how they currently are living.
- They were living in darkness and he will point out what that looks like.
- Now the word “darkness”- is the absence of light. In order to have complete darkness, you just have to remove the light. We understand that.
- Now as we look at our study tonight, I want us to keep something in the back of our mind. The darkness that came to the lives of Judah and that can come into our life does not happen overnight. There is a gradual removal of light in the life of a person.
- There are many daily decisions in the life of a person that will slowly being to remove the light. A series of compromises must take place in the life of a person, in order for light to be removed and darkness to reign.
- This is true in the lives of Judah and it is also true in our lives.
I. Judgement on Judah (v.6-11) (contrast to walking in the light )
A. Because of the things they brought into their lives (v.6)
- Isaiah says that God has forsaken His people, the house of Jacob or Judah.
- The word “forsake”- means to leave, to cast off or cast away. To abandon.
- There is a removing of the house of Judah from God’s hand of blessing which included, God’s presence, God’s protection, and God’s provision.
- Isaiah tells us why God has forsaken Judah. He uses the word “because”-
-which is the conjunction of what is about to be said. Isaiah is about to tell us next the reason why God has forsaken Judah.
1. They (Judah) is filled with eastern ways.
- The word “filled” or to be “full”, it is speaking about literally and figuratively. The people were filled by the Eastern world’s goods and their practices.
- NLT- because they have filled their land with practices from the East
- This charge indicates that Judah openly accepted forbidden foreign religious ideas from the people in the surrounding areas.
- Now we need to understand that God’s heart for His people was that they would be Holy and set apart.
And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
- Now they could not be His holy people if they were allowing themselves to be influenced into living like the pagan people around them.
- When we open ourselves up to the influence of the culture, we cannot be surprised when our moral and spiritual compass is affected.
- .As we mentioned last week, God’s word is both light and truth and what is meant to be our standard and what is meant to instruct us.
- When we look to the world to establish our standards and to find our direction, we will live and look like the dark culture around us, rather than being set apart to God.
2. They are soothsayers like the Philistines
. Soothsayers speaks of those who practice the occult, magic, witch craft, fortune telling
. Interesting because webster dictionary speaks of foretelling of future events without aid or authority.
. In other words , this is self drive , notice the contrast from Isaiah’s ministry of foretelling….he was instructed and ordained by the Lord. This was the issue behind the matter, hearts that were driven to do what they wanted even if it was outside of Gods approval
“When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you.
- You see here that the people of God were told not to learn to follow the abominations of the nations, when they entered the promise land. These people made sons and daughters pass through the fire, or they sacrificed their children to these false Gods, they practiced witchcraft, or soothsaying.…. But the people of God were not practice such things.
- Now Isaiah says that the people “are” soothsayers like the philistines.” The Philistines were the enemies of God’s people.
- Most believe these first few chapter of Isaiah are speaking about the reign of King Uzziah and Jotham. Much of what Isaiah is writing about is in the context of these kings.
- Interesting that King Uzziah fought and defeated the Philistines, we are told that he even built cities among them after he defeated them.
Now he went out and made war against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities around Ashdod and among the Philistines.
- while the Philistines were defeated, the people of God lived among them or had interactions with them as they had cities built among them. It is no surprise, that the remaining Philistine people would have such and influence on the people of God.
- So much so that Isaiah tells us that Judah is like them in the practice of the occult.
Transition
- Practically speaking, this is true in the lives of believers. There may be areas of our lives that we have had victory over.. Yet, rather than fully removing these areas, we chose to live among them. We allow these things to still linger in our lives and the reality is that the flesh that is not put away, will eventually come back into the picture and will affect my life.
- The remnant that we allow to live, will always have the greater influence and greatest authority in our lives. Here we are told that the people “are” like the philistines. They are living and practicing things just like the people that they were supposed to remove.
- Walking and living like the world will often begin with the small compromise of allowing myself to live among the flesh.
3. They are pleased with children of strangers.
- This is actually speaking about “clapping of the hands or striking hands with the children of strangers”.
- Some look at this as either a gesture used in making an alliance, sealing a commercial agreement…..or some kind of religious worship practice.
- The main point is that foreign thinking and behavior was influencing the worldview of the Hebrew people.
B. Because of the things they brought into the land (v.7-9)
1. The land was filled with silver and gold (v.7)
2. The land was filled with Horses (v.7)
- We are told that the land of the Southern Kingdom is prosperous.
They are full of …
1 Silver and God
- They are financially in a good place. They are financially doing well
- We are told that there is no end to their treasure.. or there is an abundance wealth
2 Horses
- They are in a state of having military security, as horses would be used for the military.
- You see that under King Uzziah, Judah had an abundance of wealth and political stability.
Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men who went out to war by companies, according to the number on their roll as prepared by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king’s captains. The total number of chief officers of the mighty men of valor was two thousand six hundred. And under their authority was an army of three hundred and seven thousand five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. Then Uzziah prepared for them, for the entire army, shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and slings to cast stones. And he made devices in Jerusalem, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and large stones. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong.
- So the kingdom was financially and politically doing well under Uzziah.
Transition
- When a nation has a large army as Uzziah did, there can be a temptation to think it is not necessary to depend on God for military security.
- When a nation is rich, it may seem unnecessary to trust God for food and other daily needs.
- The people had no need to look to God to provide and to protect them when they were already in a place of sustaining and providing for themselves.
- See when things are going well or when there is an abundance of finances or a feeling of security because of self provision, there is a tendency to stop depending on God.
- When there is a dependence on God, there is a recognition that He is in control of my life. When I depend on self, there is an assumption that I control my own life.
- Judah had allowed the false gods of wealth and materialism to captivate their attention. Because Judah was in a time of economic prosperity, they were far more prone to economic idolatry- David G.
3 The land was filled with Idols (v.8-9)
- The main issue with compromise, is the introduction of Idols. False Gods.
- All of a sudden you have the people of God created to worship and server God, creating their own God’s and worshipping these Gods.
- When we begin to remove ourselves from the presence of God, we will begin to create different things to worship. We may not make physical gods or statues, but things in general or people, jobs, careers, can begin to be the very things that we will worship.
- The further we get from God, the more of a need we feel to be religious, to build idols, temples, statues etc…… and the further our hearts get removed for true worship of God.
- The people are bow downing to these idols. It is not just that they are bowing down physically, although that might have happened, it was a heart that was bowing down to these false idols. This is a reference to worship.
- The very word “worship” speaks of bowing down.
. The main issue with idol worship, was The heart of the people.
. it wasnt just the wooden images they created that was the problem, it was the heart behind it. the people had removed God from the throne of their hearts and had replaced Him with anything they wanted . They followed the dictates of their hearts
. All the disobedience, the false worship, the living like the pagan world was a matter of the heart. The heart pursing what it desired rather than a heart being loyal to the Lord.
.sounds like our culture Today
And the Lord said, “Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it, but they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them,”
-their rejection of God and worship of false gods was unforgivable
Transition – THE DAY OF THE LORD
- Interesting that Isaiah was speaking directly to the condition of Judah and their compromise and sins, yet he will transition from this point on to speak about the future day of the Lord. And the same indictments that Isaiah was just saying to Judah will be true of the people in the last days.
- v.1-4 describe the glory of the Messiah’s reign , we talked about that last week. The second part of the chapter, v 6-9 describes the current corruption of Judah.
- - the question is how will the earth be transformed from its current corruption to the glory of the Messiah’s reign? The answer is found in v. 10-22, what is called “The Day of the Lord”.
- the term day of the Lord does not necessarily refer to one specific day. It speaks of “God’s time”. The idea is that now is the day of man, but the day of man will not last forever. One day, the Messiah will end the day of man and bring forth the day of the Lord.
- The day of the Lord making reference to a time of judgement and purification., this being after the sanctification and the removal of the church.
- Judgement and purification will be part of the tribulation period.
Behold, the day of the Lord comes,
Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger,
To lay the land desolate;
And He will destroy its sinners from it.
For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not give their light;
The sun will be darkened in its going forth,
And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
“I will punish the world for its evil,
And the wicked for their iniquity;
I will halt the arrogance of the proud,
And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord!
For what good is the day of the Lord to you?
It will be darkness, and not light.
It will be as though a man fled from a lion,
And a bear met him!
Or as though he went into the house,
Leaned his hand on the wall,
And a serpent bit him!
Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light?
Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?
C. Warning to Judah (v.10-11)
1. A waring to hide from the judgement of the Lord (v.10)
- We are told 2 things that will happen during this time.
- God’s majesty will be revealed and the dread of God’s presence will cause people to hide.
- When people encounter the living God and His glory it will cause people to have one of two reactions… Either…
- To run and hide in their sins or to humble themselves before God and repent. This is true in our day as well. When people hear the word of God they either will run and hide from it, they will reject it….. or they will surrender themselves to God in repentance.
- The revelation of who God is has this affect on people. When you are confronted with who God is in His word, you immediately see who you are, a worthless sinner. The revelation of God brings the proper perspective of self.
- We see this take place a few chapters from now in Isaiah 6, where Isaiah gets a vision of the throne of God. He is humbled by what he sees and brings himself low in the presence of God.
- But it is a beautiful thing, that Isaiah is picked up by the Lord and commissioned into His service….. Yet here we see the people who see the revelation of God and His majesty….. instead of humbling themselves before God, run and hide to the mountains and they will be humbled by the Lord.
I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!
- They will run and hide from the glory and the terror of the Lord.
2. A warning of the proud being brought down low (v.11)
- We see that those who will be judged for their wicked ways and compromise are those who are prideful. We are given insight twice to the pridefulness of the people. Their pride is called the lofty looks of man, and the haughtiness of men. These will be humbled and will bow down.
- The word “humbled” speaks of being brought down low by someone that is high. Interesting that Pride steams from the assumption that one is greater or in a higher position …..
- The contrast is, that in the day of God’s judgement, the proud will be brought down low, but HE will be exalted or lifted high. These proud men who put themselves on pedestals will see the reality of who sits on the throne.
Pride
- This is the reality of pride. Pride steams from a person having a wrong perspective of God and a wrong perspective of self. They lose sight of who God is and in turn, lose sight of who they are, a sinner. The further I remove myself from God, the more I lose sight of who he is and I begin to exalt myself in my own mind and heart.
- The opposite is true as well. The closer I am to God, the better perspective I have of Him and the better I know who I am, the more humility will be produced.
- I heard someone say this “Arrogance is the visible sign that it has been a long time since your last encounter with God”.
Transition
Nat and i were talking the other night about this very thing. i was telling her ......
“ Men and women who have had a longevity of faithful service to the Lord, are those who have learned the discipline of sitting closely to the Lord”.
The close fellowship with the Lord produces humility and dependence on the Lord.
when men and women are not disciplined in their time with God, they will begin to drift away from the Lord..... and will begin to exalt self and their kingdom or their cause.
a prideful heart will set in, an attitude of taking it easy spiritually will set it and often, men will be drawn to do things they never thought they would.
Transition
- King Uzziah was great King, yet we see that at the end of his life, pride came into his life. We are told that “when he was strong and his heart was lifted up”….. he transgressed against the Lord. 2 Chronicles 26:16-21
- He went in to the temple of the Lord and to burn incense which only the priests were allowed to do.. Because of his pride, God would strike him with leprosy and would be removed from being the king, his son Jotham would rule in his place.
- It was when things were going well, that pride set in and caused him to lose sight of God, and he did things that were not pleasing to God. Pride has a way of blinding us to our own failures and actions.. All we see is ourselves when pride is in our hearts.
My Humbling Story
- A prideful heart only has one place to go, to be brought low and humbled.
Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall.
II. The Day of the Lord (v.12-22)
A. God’s judgement on…. (v.12-18)
(READ v.12-18)
- Interesting that those who were in verse 6-7, were people filled and full of the things of the world, no end to their abundance including their pride…..
- Yet now we see that they are empty as they are humbled by the Lord.
- God’s judgement will come against all things that exalts itself above God and will be brought down low. We are told here what these will be….
God’s creation
1.cedars of Lebanon and Oaks of Bashan
2. mountains and hills
Man’s creation
3. high towers
4. fortified walls
5. ships of Tarshish
6. beautiful sloops – or beautiful pictures
7. Idols
These are speaking about all the expressions of the loftiness and haughtiness of men. In the day of the Lord, every proud and arrogant achievement of man will be humbled.
- Remember both King Uzziah and Jotham had a great building project during their reign. They built many cities, and fortified walls. You see here that even those things done for God at one point, can cause man to have the wrong motive at a different time and be the cause of pride.
- God is against any object that enabled people to believe they can control their own destiny.
- These verses show God’s declaration of a holy war “against” everything that might possibly replace God.
B. The Destruction of Idols (v.19-21)
- Those who will be judged will run and hide in the holes of the rocks, in caves as we mentioned. They will hide from the terror of the Lord and the Glory of His majesty.
- The people will cast away the idols they set up, the very things that they worship, they will give up
They will cast away their gods of materialism and wealth. They will realize that all the financial security will mean absolutely nothing. All worldly investments will not mean anything.
- This is not to say we should not be financially responsible and be good stewards, but it does show that we should be spending our time investing in heavenly things, here moth and rust cannot destroy.
C. A warning not to put our trust in man (v.22)
- The call to separate oneself. The word used here is “server” describes a removal or a separation from something. The call is to make this necessary separation from men like this.
- To stop trusting in men for security and safety. That is what this speaks of when it uses the term, “whose breath is in his nostrils”.
- Men who will be humbled and destroyed, rather we are to turn to the Lord and to trust in Him.
- Remember this comes from the invitation of v.5 to come and walk in the light of the Lord, the same thought here. Stop following and trusting in these worldly men and their methods and practices, and trust and follow the Lord.