Isaiah: Merciful and Mighty Week 1

Good morning. Today we are beginning a new series, where we will be looking at parts of the book of Isaiah. Isaiah is one of those books that can cause some confusion…as a result, it is often skipped over, similar to the book of Revelation or Leviticus. It is my goal, over the next few weeks to help us understand Isaiah a little bit better and to highlight ways in which we can apply this ancient book to our New Covenant walk with Christ. After all, the book of Isaiah exists (in part) to teach us about the character of our Heavenly Father; and the more we understand that, the better equipped we are to live for Him victoriously.

PRAY

In your outlines I’ve included an outline of the first 39 chapters of the book of Isiah. I will include an outline for the 2nd half in a couple of weeks. I’m not going to be going over it…but I did want to include it, just in case you might be interested in looking at the different topics included in Isaiah. Now, this outline is broad in scope…meaning that it only deals with chapters. There are other, more complicated outlines that deal with individual passages.

I. Condemnation (1–39) (The defeat of Assyria)

A. Sermons against Judah and Israel (1–12)

B. Burdens of judgment on the other nations (13–23)

C. Songs of future glory for the nation (24–27)

D. Woes against the sins of the people (28–35)

E. Historical Interlude (36–39) (King Hezekiah)

1. His victory over Assyria (36–37)

2. His sin with Babylon (38–39)

For the most part, the book of Isaiah is about God dealing with the sin of Israel and the consequences of said sin. However, later on in the book, there are passages that point toward Christ…such as the famous Isaiah chapter 53. In all, there are 66 chapters in Isaiah, making it the 2nd longest book, by chapter in the Bible. Psalms is the first with 150. The book of Isaiah is the most quoted book in the New Testament. It has been suggested that Isaiah’s book is like a “Bible in miniature.” Its sixty-six chapters are divided into two parts, thirty-nine chapters in the first division (like the OT) and twenty-seven chapters in the second division (like the NT). The first thirty-nine chapters emphasize judgment; the last twenty-seven emphasize mercy and comfort. Something interesting to think about there.

Let’s start with a bit of context and history:

The book is written by: Isaiah, son of Amoz, who lived during the 8th Century BC. The man, Isaiah used about 2,200 different Hebrew words, which is way more than anyone else…that tells us that Isaiah was very educated. He was a smart guy. By the time Isaiah was born, the nation of Israel had split into 2 nations…

Israel in the North and Judah in the South.

I’ll kind of set the picture of what was going on. So, the Norther Kingdom was being ruled by King Uzziah and the Southern Kingdom by a man named Ahaz. After King Uzziah died his son Jotham took over. Shortly after Jotham took the crown, the Assyrian kingdom came down from the North and invaded Israel. In fear, King Ahaz made an Alliance with the Assyrians, instead of trusting in the Lord. Eventually, Ahaz died and a king by the name of Hezekiah took the crown. Initially, Hezekiah made some good decisions…but eventually, he too, made an alliance with the the enemy. While all of that bad was going on, at the same time, God told Isaiah that these things are happening so that the messiah can come…but also, God was telling Isaiah that a day will come where Israel will no longer be plagued by enemies and will be at peace. Not only that, but that one day, Jerusalem would one day be the place where all can come to learn about God.

That is a short synopsis off what Isaiah is all about. Today we are going to be looking at the first chapter. It is quite lengthy, so we will break it apart into different sections. Let’s go ahead and open up with Isaiah chapter 1, verses 1-3

Isaiah 1:1–3 “The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah. Listen, heavens, and pay attention, earth, for the Lord has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s feeding trough, but Israel does not know; my people do not understand.””

Interestingly enough, there are many great scholars that disagree with pretty much everything the other says…but they tend to all be in agreement on a few things. One of those is the fact that it is believed that chapter one of Isaiah was actually one of the last things the prophet wrote, but for whatever reason, Isaiah decided to put it first in his collection of writings. The reason this is thought is because the opening chapter is God dealing with Judah, the Southern Kingdom, who lasted longer than the Northern Kingdom, Israel. This really has no effect on us, but I find that interesting. You can probably think about it like Genesis and Exodus. It is believed that the Ten Commandments were actually the first thing that Moses wrote, which makes sense…as the 10 Commandments happened shortly after Israel was freed from the Egyptians.

The prophet opens up with Isaiah announcing who he is to the reader.

The best way to look at Isaiah chapter 1 is through the lens of a courtroom drama, except the Judge and prosecutor is God, the defendant is Judah and the court reporter (or the one who is recording all that is said), is Isaiah. In his opening, Isaiah pronounces God’s accusations against the Southern Kingdom, who made an alliance with the very nation that captured Israel. Isaiah lists all of the players in this drama…Uzziah…his son, Jotham, kings of Israel (in the North) and Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings in the South…or Judah. He then called on the witnesses to defendant to the charges filed against him. God describes the rebellion of his people, referring to them as his children, underlining the scandal of the betrayal.

Whenever Israel would go through the cycle of being obedient, then rebelling. One of the images or analogies that is often used is that of a rebellious child.

In verse 2, God says that his children have rebelled against Him. This particular word “rebelled” actually signifies what these accusations are actually all about. Yes, Judah turned her back on God…but more than that…they broke their covenant with God. The word rebelled was used to describe how a (what is called ) vassal state turned against the larger, more powerful nation. Think of it this way, you know how Puerto Rico is not an official state of the US, yet, they are very much dependent on us for many things. In fact That's because voters in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa are permitted to participate in the presidential primary and are granted delegates by the two major political parties. Puerto Rico and the other U.S. territories get have a say in who becomes president, as they are allowed to vote in primaries…but not in the main election. Anyway, it would be like these US territories decide to rebel against the US and side with China…they would be breaking the covenant they made with the US. That is what the word rebelled is referring to, except it is Judah breaking its covenant with God.

The covenant breaking Judah is compared with an Ox and a donkey…both of the animals are smart enough to know their source…the one who takes care of them, feeds them, and even gives them a purpose…besides just standing around all day, doing nothing. Unlike those animals, Israel has bitten the hand that feeds them....they have turned away and no longer even understand who their source is.

Verses 4-6: God is laying down the accusations against the people of Israel.

Isaiah 1:5–6 “Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep on rebelling? The whole head is hurt, and the whole heart is sick. From the sole of the foot even to the head, no spot is uninjured— wounds, welts, and festering sores not cleansed, bandaged, or soothed with oil.”

This is quite the description of a rebellious Judah. The Lord seems to be referencing a couple of different ideas in verses 5 and 6. Verse 5 seems to be referencing some sort of physical discipline, while verse 6 seems to be some sort of disease. Verse 5 reminds me of my childhood. I was very hard-headed and would do the exact opposite of what I was asked to do. Report card days were always a particularly bad day, as I had been telling mom and dad how great I was doing. There was one particular report card day I remember more than the rest. I come home and my dad sees that I had earned a couple of “F’s,” along with a smattering of “D’.” We lived on the church property....our house was across the parking lot from the church. My sister and I would ride the bus home. That day, my dad was waiting at the house, as he knew it was report card day. I was still in elementary school…I think 3rd or 4th grade. Dad looked at the card, but told me to wait for him in my room, as he had to go back across to the church for a little bit. He told me that I could not watch TV and that I had to be in my room until he got back. Being who I was, I thought to myself…that’s probably not going to happen. So, I go out to the living room and turn on the television…while trying to keep one eye on the window that looked toward the church....so I could see my dad coming. Well, I must not have been paying attention, because my dad comes walking in the door and sees me in front of the T.V. Now, this is where my remembering of the story parts with my dads memory. I claim he walked in, picked me up by the back of my belt…arms and legs flailing in the air, carried me to my room and threw me toward the bed…then walked away. Dad claims he “picked me up, carried me to my room” and gently tossed me. You can believe who you will…

Anyway, when I read Isaiah 1:5, this story immediately came to my mind for some reason…it should have been my life verse for the first 16 years of my life. Well, once Israel found itself in a cycle of rebellion, it would take something drastic for the people to come back to the Lord.

Going back to our courtroom drama analogy, the charges are continuing to pile up against Judah, as Isaiah continues to read off the accusations. Starting in verse 7, the Lord now begins talking about the “Land,” and how the people have corrupted the land that God gave them....they have turned the promised land into Sodom and Gomorrah.

Isaiah 1:8–9 “Daughter Zion is abandoned like a shelter in a vineyard, like a shack in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. If the Lord of Armies had not left us a few survivors, we would be like Sodom, we would resemble Gomorrah.”

Interestingly enough, verse 9 is actually quoted by Paul in the book of Romans:

Romans 9:29 “And just as Isaiah predicted: If the Lord of Hosts had not left us offspring, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have been made like Gomorrah.”

In this section of Romans 9, Paul is talking about the Justice of God. He quotes from both Hosea and Isaiah. The Lord compares the city of Jerusalem, which was the capital of Judah to 3 things:

A shelter in a vineyard

A Shack in a cucumber field

A besieged city

Although we would not use these analogies today, all 3 of them describe things that are without anyone to care for them. Here is how another translation puts it:

Daughter Zion is deserted— like a tumbledown shack on a dead-end street, Like a tar paper shanty on the wrong side of the tracks, like a sinking ship abandoned by the rats. If God-of-the-Angel-Armies hadn’t left us a few survivors, we’d be as desolate as Sodom, doomed just like Gomorrah.

Verse 9 says that Jerusalem would have ended up like Sodom and Gomorrah, but thankfully, some dedicated followers of God remained in the city. We all know that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by the Lord…but what does Isaiah mean by “If the Lord had not left a few survivors.” To understand what Isaiah means by this, you have to know the story that Isaiah is referencing. We don’t have time to get into it in detail, but I’ll quickly explain.

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah actually begins in Genesis 18, where Abraham is visited by 3 strangers. After stopping at Abrahams for a while to rest, the men get up and leave toward the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah. In essence, they are going to pronounce judgment on the cities. Well, Abraham did not like the sound of this, so he begins to negotiate with one of the strangers…who scripture refers to as the Lord. Abraham asks the Lord, “if you can find 50 righteous people, will you spare the cities?” Abraham and the Lord then go back and forth, all the way down to 10 people.

Genesis 18:32 “Then he said, “Let my lord not be angry, and I will speak one more time. Suppose ten are found there?” He answered, “I will not destroy it on account of ten.””

Well, spoiler, they did not find 10 people…the only ones that were saved was Lot and some of his family. This is what Isaiah means by…if the Lord did not leave a few righteous people in Jerusalem, they would have become like Sodom and Gomorrah. Let’s keep going.

Isaiah continues to read out the charges against Judah. The Lord has pinpointed 2 things so far…the rebellion of the people, the desicration of the land, and next…starting in verse 11, will be their sacrifices.

1. The people

2. The land

3. Their sacrifices

Isaiah 1:11–12 ““What are all your sacrifices to me?” asks the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I have no desire for the blood of bulls, lambs, or male goats. When you come to appear before me, who requires this from you— this trampling of my courts?”

It was already bad enough that the people of Judah and the city of Jerusalem were being compared with Sodom and Gomorrah…if fact, you really could not get much worse than that. Sodom and Gomorrah represented all that was wrong with people and society…all rolled up into one. Now though, God takes aim at their false piety and false religion. Most of us are aware of the passage, even if we don’t know where it comes from

1 Samuel 15:22 “Then Samuel said: Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? Look: to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.”

There are actually a couple of places in the O.T. where the writer will suggest that God would have simply preferred obedience, rather than the sacrifices....we must be careful when reading too much into these passages....I understand that we like them, as it speaks more to the N.T. idea of a relationship with the Lord…We must understand what those authors are saying…because God is making the same point here in Isaiah…it’s not that God did not value the sacrifices…because he very much did. Verses 11-15 point out 4 things that the Lord finds offensive.

1. Sacrifices

Things offered to God that represent either sin or thanksgiving

2. Sabbath:

Mandated by God, in order to remember God, we set aside one day where we do not seek to earn more stuff.

3. Festivals

Big feasts, where the people would remember something significant that God did for them. For example, the passover.

4. Prayers

Communication with God.

These 4 things were the very things that God designed, in order for His people to relate to Him. All 4 of these things were given by the Lord to the people. The problem wasn’t that the people weren’t doing these things, the problem is that the people had corrupted all 4 of these things, beyond measure, making a mockery of the commands, thus making them offensive to the Lord.

In the latter part of verse 15, all of these accusations and charges come to a conclusion.

Isaiah 1:15 “When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will refuse to look at you; even if you offer countless prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.”

God says: no matter how hard they try, He will not listen to them, as their hands are covered by blood. The reason that God rejects the people, the reason that their land is now desolate and abandoned,the reason that the sacrifices, offerings, festivals and prayers are offensives to God is because the people’s hands are covered in blood. The imagery here reminds me of the story of Cain and Able…back in the book of Genesis, chapter 4. Most of us are familiar with this story…it is the first recorded murder in scripture. Cain becomes jealous of his brother, because God accepts Abel’s sacrifice but rejects his. Of course, God sees what is about to happen and warns Cain to get his emotions under control.

Genesis 4:6–7 “Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you furious? And why do you look despondent? If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.””

Instead of heeding that advice, Cain murdered his brother, Abel…The Lord then confronts Cain, asking him where is your brother. Of course, Cain lies…as if we can lie to God…but, of course, God knows what happened, so God says to Cain:

Genesis 4:10 “Then he said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!”

What God is saying is that the Israelites had blood on their hands, but instead of trying to hide it, like Cain, they are making sacrifices and lifting up those hands in prayer…even though they are covered in blood. In essence, God is saying that the people of Israel are guilty of murder…except, it’s not who they have killed, but what they have killed. They are guilty of murder, not by killing a person, but by killing the very things that God had set up to commune with His people. God’s issue with the Israelites would be the same, over and over and over, throughout all of scripture…it all comes down to the people of Israel living in unrepentant sin. In fact, the reason that God would raise up men like Isaiah was to pronounce judgment on the people…not so God could just be mean, but to bring the people of Israel to repentance.

Let’s finish up by quickly looking at our last 5 passages.

In verses 1-15 God hands down all of these terrible accusations and charges against the people of Judah. God has found them guilty and now, starting in verse 16, begins to tell the defendant what they need to do, in order to make things right.

Isaiah 1:16–17 ““Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from my sight. Stop doing evil. Learn to do what is good. Pursue justice. Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow’s cause.”

In essence, God is telling the people of Judah a more detailed version of what He said to Cain, back in Genesis 4:

Genesis 4:7 “If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.””

When God approached Cain, he clearly had murder on his mind. The Lord was trying to head him off at the pass (as it were.) In other words, Cain was already in a state of rebellion, just like the people of Judah.

Between verses 16 and 17 the Lord details 8 commands. They are divided up into 2 different lists. The first list in found in verse 16, while the 2nd list is found in 17. The first list is centered around the individual person and their heart, while the 2nd list focuses on societal issues and how we treat others. So, in Isaiah 1:16, God tells the people to:

1. Wash Yourselves

2. Cleanse Yourselves

3. Stop doing Evil

All 3 of these things are about our relationship with God. Scripture talks quite a bit about washing and cleansing, in both the O.T. and the New Testament. . For example,

Numbers 19:19 ““The one who is clean is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third day and the seventh day. After he purifies the unclean person on the seventh day, the one being purified must wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he will be clean by evening.”

and in the N.T.

James 4:8 “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

Washing and Cleansing are normally referred to as the same thing nowadays, but back then…as we can see in Numbers, in the O.T., in order to be cleansed or purified…one had to wash. In other words, if I wash my hands, then they will be pure. I don’t think we should draw too much significance here, but I did want to point out the difference. One of the resources I use had a huge section on the difference between washing and cleansing....I’m not sure that it was Isaiah’s intent to mount some deep philosophical argument of the difference between washing and cleansing.

After Isaiah is finished talking about getting our hearts right with the Lord, the prophet goes on to talk about societal issues (Read all 5). Starting in verse 17 (which I read earlier), we are instructed to:

1. Learn to do good

Even with the grace that the Lord provides…we must unlearn old habits and grab a hold of new one. (oh, and if you need help with that, I know a great guy who is training to be a therapist)!

2. Seek justice

There is often a misunderstanding of what the word Justice means. Only the Lord has the ability or perfection that is required to enact perfect justice. Perfect justice can only happen when the judge knows everything…nothing is hidden and only God can do that. For our part…we are called to “Seek (or pursue) Justice,” there is big difference between God enacting justice and humanity being told to pursue justice. In just about every case in scripture where we are told to pursue or seek after justice, it always has to do with societal issues, like the ones here in Isaiah. It has nothing to do with punishing people for their evil acts. Something to keep in mind.

3. Reprove the oppressor

Some translations say: aid the oppressed, the NASB says: Rebuke the oppressor. Either way, we are to advocate for those who are subjected to harsh treatment by others. I realize that words like and oppressor and oppressed and even the word justice have become tools, used to put forward a false narrative. Things that have nothing to do with the biblical idea of justice or the biblical idea of oppression. That should not keep us from talking about and advocating for those who are subject to true political or religious persecution or oppression. Unfortunately, those terms have been hijacked and have lost their original meaning…that is why I do not used them very often.

4. Defend the fatherless

Advocate for the kids who are without parents.

5. Plead for the widow

become an advocate for defenseless women who are most vulnerable to schemes and scams that rob them of their sustenance.

If you haven’t noticed before, both the O.T. and the N.T. are chalk full of passages like this. In fact, for the early church, advocating for others was their number 2 priority....number 1 being bringing people to repentance. In other parts of the world, in societies where people are openly oppressed and persecuted, that is still the number 2 priority. It’s passages like this, along with many others, that should give us pause and make us ask why we are here and are we truly doing the Lord’s work, if we are not focused on the important things listed in Isaiah.

Now, perhaps this didn’t come to your mind at first, but I submit to you, that these 2 lists are the long-form answer of a question that was asked of Jesus in the N.T. If you remember, was asked about the greatest commandment. The man wanted to know which of the commandments was the most important. Christ answered, the first is to love God, the second is to love our neighbor. That is exactly what Isaiah lays out here: The first list (vs. 16) is about getting your heart right and love God, while the second list is us taking that love and expressing it toward others.

To close out this section, and starting in verse 18, the Lord now ceases the accusations and the instructions on how to make things right…and turns His attention to His desire to restore the people of Judah.

Isaiah 1:18–20 ““Come, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are crimson red, they will be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Think about all of the sins that God listed, starting in verse 1, all of the way to verse 15. He accuses the people of having blood on their hands, He says that they make a mockery of the very things God designed....so that man can commune with Him. However, instead of just turning His back on His people, God first tells them how to make it right (in verse 16 and 17) and then reassures them of His love for them…despite their sin.

We’ll end with this…in verses 19 and 20, God contrast 2 ideas:

Willing obedience vs rebellious refusal

God presented Judah with 2 options…would they follow His willingly and obediently, or, would they continue in their rebellious refusal of following God’s commands. Either way, the people of Judah were going to have to reap what they sowed. The difference is, by willing obedience, God would open up his favor on their lives and their land, and perhaps their consequences would not be as severe…on the other hand, their rebellious refusal would cause them to suffer longer....after all, the Lord is not in a hurry. The Lord would simply wait around for a generation that would repent and live in willing obedience. We saw this type of senerio play out over and over in the O.T. The best example is when the children of Israel approached the promised land for the first time....instead of being able to go in and occupy the land, they had to wait.

The choice that God gave the people of Judah is similar to the choice we have…except it plays out a bit differently.

Sometimes I’ve thought about what my life would have been like, had I not had such a rebellious heart…especially as a child and teenager. it’s for certain that I wouldn’t have been “gently tossed” that day. I wouldn’t have gotten involved in all manner of destructive sin. I would be ashamed to tell you all of the things I was involved with at one point in my life. I hurt countless people, stole a small fortune, and should have died a half-dozen times. I do not say all of that because I stand here in shame....I say all of that because it stands as an example of what we see in Isaiah. Eventually, I came around and submitted to the Lord and became willingly obedient to His plan…but it took way too long. All along though, I was being given the opportunity to willingly obey....but I ended up taking the long way home. Yet, when I did finally submit, the Lord began opening doors and opportunities. Thankfully, the Lord saw fit to restore me…but I still had to suffer the consequences of my bad choices…and to some degree, some of those consequences are still happening and will until I go home to be with the Lord.

This is what we all have to realize…whether or not we want to be willingly obedient, the Lord’s will always proves true. Regardless of what that generation of Israelites chose, God’s plan would come about. The question is, do we want to be a part of it or do we not want to be a part of it. Understand, I’m not talking about our salvation here…I’m talking about our willingness to be obedient in the areas where God is challenging you. Perhaps He has something wonderful in store and wants you to help impact the lives of others…except, we miss out, because of our fear or our rebellion.

My challenge for all of us this week is to examine our lives and see where we might not be willingly obedient. Perhaps it is our fear or a bad attitude or anger, or lust…I know for me, an area where I am held back, due to my lack of willing obedience is my weight....that is no different than someone with an anger or lust problem…or a gossip problem..

Let’s Pray!