Isaiah 8:11-20 - A Stone of Stumbling - Part 3

11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”

16 Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples. 17 I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. 18 Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. 19 And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.

Target Date: Sunday, 3 March 2024

Word Study/ Translation Notes:

16 – bind - יָצַר yâtsar, yaw-tsar’; a prim. root; to press (intr.), i.e. be narrow; fig. be in distress:— be distressed, be narrow, be straitened (in straits), be vexed.

To bring and tie closely. Used in reference to sieges against cities and in bundling things for travel.

16 – seal – חָתַם châtham, khaw-tham’; a prim. root; to close up; espec. to seal:— make an end, mark, seal (up), stop.

To close, perhaps officially, so that only those who are authorized may open.

The tomb of Jesus was sealed.

He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. – Daniel 12:9

17 – wait – חָכָה châkâh, khaw-kaw’; a prim. root [appar. akin to 2707 through the idea of piercing]; prop. to adhere to; hence, to await:— long, tarry, wait.

The waiting here is not simply passing the time, but attaching to the LORD and being along for the ride in His time.

17 – hope – קָוָה qâvâh, kaw-vaw’; a prim. root; to bind together (perh. by twisting), i.e. collect; (fig.) to expect:— gather (together), look, patiently, tarry, wait (for, on, upon).

This hoping follows the attaching to the Lord; it is the entwining with Him in His timing.

18 – signs – אוֹת ˒ôwth, ōth; prob. from 225 (in the sense of appearing); a signal (lit. or fig.), as a flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence, etc.:— mark, miracle, (en-) sign, token.

18 – portents – מֹפֵת môphêth, mo-faith’; from 3302 in the sense of conspicuousness; a miracle; by impl. a token or omen:— miracle, sign, wonder (-ed at).

The combination of these words may serve as little more than an idiomatic statement since both are often translated “signs”.

The difference between the two seem to be the “signs” in this case are more warnings, where the “portents” are more direct announcements akin to the trumpets of the book of the Revelation.

Signs (’ōtôt) direct attention (Exod. 3:12); symbols, literally ‘portents’ (mōpĕtîm), arrest attention (Exod. 3:3).

In relation to Isaiah’s children’s names, this probably bears no exegetical weight beyond the idiomatic use.

20 – teaching – תֹּרָה tôrâh, to-raw’; from 3384; a precept or statute, espec. the Decalogue or Pentateuch:— law.

This points directly to the existing word of God in these matters. Rather than seeking the voices of the dead, they must seek the living God through His living word.

20 – testimony – תְּעוּדָה te˓ûwdâh, teh-oo-daw’; from 5749; attestation, i.e. a precept, usage:— testimony.

Assuming Isaiah is pointing the people to Scripture for answers, these would be the other writings of the Old Testament, particularly the Psalms (and the other writings of Job and Solomon) and histories which would already have been extant. This may also have included some early prophets, although many of the twelve had not begun, not had the other major prophets been born.

20 – dawn – שַׁחַר shachar, shakh’-ar; from 7836; dawn (lit., fig. or adv.):— day (-spring), early, light, morning, whence riseth.

They will not have the hope of glory in Christ.

Thoughts on the Passage:

This message no longer seems to be aimed at Ahaz, but at some faithful people, even the remnant or perhaps those Isaiah was training.

The terminology used is insider:

V.15 – They shall fall…

V. 19 – They will say to you…

The message of this passage is for those who will follow the LORD in faith, in spite of the devastation and opposition they see.

12 – The conspiracy here seems to be the lack of Isaiah’s blind support of the king and the people. When he preaches the judgment of God and the need for the holiness of God’s people, he is declaring a message some would consider traitorous.

When he declares in this passage the faith in God that is required, he is repudiating the faith in Assyria and Egypt that the government favors.

In all this, though, Isaiah is not fomenting rebellion nor trying for a regime change. He is loyal to Judah through His loyalty to God. He is calling his disciples to greater faith in God.

This is not the only time a prophet, preaching God’s message, was accused of such:

Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said, “ ‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.’ ” - Amos 7:10-11

It was Isaiah himself who had been attempting to dissuade Judah from seeking foreign aid. That was to go contrary to the policy of the court. Isaiah, Jeremiah and other prophets advocated a policy of dependence upon the Lord and not upon foreign powers. Surely that was treason!

13 – Fear God - Matthew 10:28–33 (ESV): And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

13 - But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. – 1 Peter 3:14-17

14 – He will become:

But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus - Hebrews 2:9

Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. – Hebrews 2:17

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. – 2 Corinthians 5:21

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich - 2 Corinthians 8:9

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. – Philippians 2:5-8

15 - Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” – Matthew 21:43-44

What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” - Romans 9:30-33

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. – Romans 11:17-23

15 - What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.” 9 And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; 10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.” - Romans 11:7-10

16 – among my disciples – There could be some question whether this was Isaiah talking about his students or God speaking of His.

In the end, it does not matter. The message is the same – proceeding from God.

19 – mediums and necromancers – today, these might be the historians and experts.

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. – Colossians 2:13-14

Teachings (Passage Outline):

11-12 – Don’t trust the definitions and issues the world defines for you.

13-18 – Trust in the LORD and His revelation through the Scriptures.

19-20 – Urge those among God’s people to His Scriptures.

Applications:

How do we preach the gospel in situations like this? Just like in our day, the hearts of the people are not seeking after God, yet we are not called to abandon them to their fate; we are called to proclaim the gospel to them with the best of our ability.

1. God knows who are His, and He will unerringly call them to the gospel if we only open our mouths with His word.

2. The deeper people descend into their sin, the more meaningless and hopeless they find it. Sensuality only satisfies for a moment, and that less and less. For many, it takes the depths of sin to cause them to see the heights of God’s love through Jesus Christ.

3. It is not helpful for the church, or the individual believer, to endorse the sin or accept the false justifications and false premises of those who would defend it. We preach the truth in the gospel of God.

4. We must know going in that many people will find false solace in the number of people who follow the wrong way. They will be encouraged by those around them who justify the sin. But we must recognize, and help them to do so, that those who would lead them to sin do not do it out of love or sincere affection: they do it out of selfish motives in justifying themselves or to profit from the other’s fall.

5. Every single person who has died now knows the truth – Jesus Christ is Lord, and they must face God’s judgment. The worst sinner, the most devout atheist, once he passes through death, will know too late the holiness of God and his utter defenselessness before His righteous wrath.

Primary Preaching Point:

God builds His kingdom His way.

Building Points:

11-12 – Trust God for the future.

13-18 – Trust God through the storm.

19-20 – Trust God for the results.

Sermon Text:

As we come one more time to this passage, let’s review briefly what we have looked at thus far:

Judah is at war, and the war is going badly for them.

Pagans from the nation of Syria and apostates from the Northern Kingdom of Israel have invaded Judah and have driven almost to the walls of Jerusalem.

Although it has been a long time since King David sat on the throne, the people of Judah still looked back to the time when God fought FOR them rather than bringing invaders in judgment AGAINST them.

This invasion had brought the nation to a crisis: the protection of God they had taken for granted was removed because of their wickedness and faithlessness.

Although the situation between Judah and our nation is vastly different in the redemptive plan of God, we might understand the feelings of the people of Judah in this way:

It would be like the United States was successfully invaded by an alliance of China and Iran.

The atheist and the false religion together in conquest.

That Judah could be conquered was almost as unthinkable to them in that day as it would be for us today that our nation could be successfully conquered from outside.

Some might try to comfort themselves with Romans 8:31:

If God is for us, who can be against us?

But God isn’t for wickedness;

God isn’t for idolatry.

God isn’t for greed.

God isn’t for pride.

For the nation who raises itself up to compete with God, they should remember this:

If God is AGAINST you, who is there to stand FOR you.

But it is not my intention to simply proclaim that the world is bad.

The real question is how God’s people, the people He has truly called to Himself, shall live in the darkest of times.

These dark times don’t have to be great national upheavals;

They may be dark days in your own life that affect few beyond you or your family.

The loss of a job. A frightening diagnosis. The guilt and consequences of a grievous sin.

Or the loss of the feeling of closeness to God, like the feeling of a child in a huge store who has become separated from her parents.

These are times that shake us to our core.

That threaten to fill us with fear.

That tempt us to remedy the situation for ourselves.

So the first thing we saw in this passage was to Trust God for the future.

When God’s judgment falls, there will be many who deny His hand.

Many who will step up to tell you what to fear.

Many who will offer to make you FEEL better about the situation.

But we who are God’s people must live in faith, live in trust, that God is firmly in control even when all the authorities and comforts around us are out of control.

When they can’t tell us with certainty we will all be ok; everything will return to normal.

Or when they tell us these things, but we know they don’t believe what they are saying.

Perhaps it is still too soon to make reference to the COVID panic of 2020, but it does illustrate the point.

How many times did the directions change from those who claimed they knew?

“Masks won’t work”, “Wear a mask. If you don’t, you are murdering my Grandma!”.

Rarely in my life have so many people been so panicked about the future. And not even the “certain future”, but the “possible future”.

That is why God’s people must trust God above all for the future.

To know your life on earth will not end one second before God has ordained it to end.

And to know, if you are His, that you are secure against the scariest threats this world can throw at you.

The second thing God’s people must do is to Trust God in the midst of the storm.

I think it may be even harder to do that than to trust God for the future.

We may be like Martha who, when Jesus came to the grave of Lazarus, spoke from her darkness:

Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” – John 11:24

There is comfort in that, to be sure.

But it didn’t keep her from lashing out at our Lord:

“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. – John 11:21

Trusting God in the middle of the storm seems harder.

When you keep praying, and you don’t see God answering your prayers right away.

And it is in the middle of the storm God sets up His sanctuary, His tent to meet with us.

And those who are in are comforted by His holy presence, even when the situation outside hasn’t changed at all.

You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. - Psalm 91:5-6

Those who are not looking to Him in faith? They will stumble; they will fall.

They will find God’s holiness in Himself, and His command to holiness for His people, too much.

And that brings us to our elusive third point: Trust God for the results.

Elusive, because I introduced it a month ago, but there was so much in this passage we needed to work through first.

Verse 16 says: Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples.

Now, we have to be careful about what he is saying here.

He is not telling God’s people, His disciples, that they should shut their mouths and hide the promises of God from the people around them.

What good would that do anyone?

Are His people better off in silence? Are their neighbors better off without God’s word?

Of course not!

Would God inspire a prophet with this message only to tell him to keep it to himself?

Obviously he didn’t keep it to himself; it is written right here.

Look at what he is saying here:

Bind up the testimony:

Bring it all in and bundle it up, like packing a suitcase for a trip.

Bind it together like a bundle of sticks for a fire you carry over your shoulder.

God’s people – bring together in your hearts all of God’s promises to you and do not fear the terrors of this world.

One way to do that is to hold Scripture in your heart.

That is one meaning of the words “testimony” and “teaching” (which is the word Torah).

Bind God’s word closely to your heart.

And seal the teaching among my disciples.

Once you have gathered the comfort of God in His word, seal that word in your life.

Don’t let it leak out, particularly if the storm is long.

It is not sealing away from others; he is telling us to

Hold on to the word of God.

Hold on to His holiness.

Hold on to your trust in Him.

SEAL it inside yourself (among my disciples) so it will sustain you until God’s promises are fulfilled.

We know this is how Isaiah means this because of the next verse:

I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.

This word “wait” doesn’t mean what we often do when we think of waiting.

For us often it means being put on hold, just watching time pass until something happens to cause us to move.

Like we just hit a pause button on our life – not really DOING anything, just waiting.

But this word carries the picture of sticking to something, adhering to something.

So what Isaiah is saying here is that he will “stick to the Lord”.

Not just idly waiting for the Lord to act, but actively attaching yourself to the Lord wherever He goes.

And then he says “I will hope in Him”.

And that word has the picture of entwining, binding together by twisting, like a rope.

This hope, then, is not some airy idea in the future, but a present state of being so entwined with the Lord that you cannot be separated from Him.

So you see the progress of these verses:

1. We gather and bundle God’s word within us.

2. We seal it in so we do not lose it over time.

3. We attach ourselves to the Lord wherever He goes.

And 4. We entwine our lives so tightly that we cannot be separated from Him.

We know we cannot be separated (Romans 8:38), but do you know that? Do you live like that?

Are you so desperately tied to God and to His word that you cannot survive away from Him?

You cannot go an hour without some thought of Him, some word to Him?

Do you treasure His word, hiding it deeply in your heart, or is memorization an oft-neglected chore more fit for children than adults?

Brothers and sisters, this is what FAITH is. This is what TRUST is.

It is the love for God with all our heart, and our devotion to Him with all our lives.

Now, don’t kick yourself if you aren’t there yet – but don’t give up straining forward to trust Him completely, either.

That is what Isaiah is telling God’s people to do – trust God.

Because if you don’t trust God for the results, you are liable to seek anyone who will tell you about the future.

Isaiah talks about mediums (fortunetellers) and necromancers (who claim to talk to the dead).

These are the fakers people will seek out when they don’t want to hear God’s word.

It could be horoscopes, fortune cookies, or good-luck charms.

In some churches, it could be modern-day “prophets” who try to predict the future.

Or it could be simply relying on “experts”, forecasters who try to predict the future.

There are talking heads on every television station, saying they know what is coming.

And there are self-appointed gurus on social media that gain far too many followers and far more influence than they deserve.

If you are determined NOT to follow God, you will turn to any number of things to know what to expect – and you will stumble and fall.

Why would we trust someone, even someone quite smart, to tell us the future when we are certain they are just as human as we are, and we don’t know anything about tomorrow?

It’s like one D-student asking another D-student what their answer was on an exam question: do you REALLY trust that they got it right?

Others run to their experts and gurus; you run to the teaching and the testimony.

Like I said before, these are the two divisions of the Old Testament (which was still being written when Isaiah wrote this).

The teaching – the Law, the Torah.

The testimony – the history and the Psalms and the writings and the prophets.

The Bible is God’s living word – those who do not know God are dead in their sins.

Why do you seek the living among the dead?

What truth does a person have that did not proceed from the mouth of God?

None! And if they spout contradictions to God’s word:

They have no dawn!

I try not to roll my eyes out loud when people come up and tell me of some new archeological discovery that “proves the Bible is true”.

Christian, you need no proof beyond the faith you have in God and the Holy Spirit He has given you to implant that word in your heart.

When you trust God, you entwine yourself with Him and say, “If God is wrong, I will be as well. I am working without a net. I don’t have a plan-B.”

And you know that He will never let you down.