The Hope of the Prophets

Introduction

Bible Series

Last Week: The purpose of the prophets

Reminders of the Covenant

A lot of it seems very harsh

But remember how serious God takes his covenant

How God’s relationship to his people is likened to a marriage

But alongside the call for God’s people to be faithful to him

There is a call of hope

Because they abandoned God the Israelites found themselves in some nasty situations

But God sends his prophets to give his suffering people a fresh hope

So today we are talking about the Hope of the Prophets

Scripture Reading

Isaiah 9:1–7 (CSB)

Nevertheless, the gloom of the distressed land will not be like that of the former times when he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. But in the future he will bring honor to the way of the sea, to the land east of the Jordan, and to Galilee of the nations.

The people walking in darkness

have seen a great light;

a light has dawned

on those living in the land of darkness.

You have enlarged the nation

and increased its joy.

The people have rejoiced before you

as they rejoice at harvest time

and as they rejoice when dividing spoils.

For you have shattered their oppressive yoke

and the rod on their shoulders,

the staff of their oppressor,

just as you did on the day of Midian.

For every trampling boot of battle

and the bloodied garments of war

will be burned as fuel for the fire.

For a child will be born for us,

a son will be given to us,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

He will be named

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

The dominion will be vast,

and its prosperity will never end.

He will reign on the throne of David

and over his kingdom,

to establish and sustain it

with justice and righteousness from now on and forever.

The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.

The Hope of the Prophets

Like I said, the prophets aren’t only concerned with judgement but there is a great amount of hope in these books

In a way, the prophets are pointing to something new that God will accomplish

Since God’s people have rejected God—He is on the move to bring his people back to him

The prophets come with words of hope

God hasn’t given up on his people

God is still committed to his people despite their faithlessness

And these hopeful words of the prophets are for us today

When we feel hopeless

When we feel like God has forgotten us

When our circumstances are overwhelming

When our sin eats at us from the inside

And I want to say this before we get into the particulars:

(SLIDES)

Biblical hope isn’t blind optimism

(SLIDES)

How most people define hope:

“To cherish a desire with anticipation : to want something to happen or be true”

Examples

Hopes for a promotion—hoping for the best—I hope so.

(SLIDES)

A more biblical definition:

“A desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment”

(SLIDES)

So today we are going to talk through 3 specific aspects of this new hope:

God is working bringing

A New Leader (Messiah)

A New Covenant

A New Heavens & Earth

(SLIDE TO MAIN)

A New Leader (Messiah)

(SLIDES)

Prophecies of Messiah

We talked a couple of weeks ago about Israel’s deep need for a leader

God promised he would bring one

Here are some of the prophecies of this leader that would one day come:

(SLIDES)

Prophecies of his birth

Through Abraham—Judah—David

Virgin birth

Born in Bethlehem

He will come out of Egypt

(SLIDES)

Prophecies of his ministry

He will destroy the work of the enemy

He will be sinless

He will be a humble servant

His teaching would fall on deaf ears

His ministry would begin in Galilee

His ministry would draw in the Gentiles

His ministry would include miracles

He would be preceded by a forerunner (John the Baptist)

(SLIDES)

Prophecies about his death and resurrection

He would be his peoples’ passover lamb

His bones would not be broken

His life would be given for atonement

He would be mocked and ridiculed

He would have his hands and feet pierced

They would cast lots for his clothing

He will be abandoned

He will conquer death

He will judge the world

He will bring in a new covenant

So this leader would come but the hope is more than just a leader

Think of our current situation in the world—with a presidential election

Its not necessarily the person—but the vision they have—where they will lead the nation

A leader takes you somewhere—they have a vision

A great leader brings people together for a common vision or goal

(SLIDES)

The Hope of Messiah—A Kingdom of Peace

Isaiah 11:1–9 (CSB)

Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—

a Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

a Spirit of counsel and strength,

a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

His delight will be in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge

by what he sees with his eyes,

he will not execute justice

by what he hears with his ears,

but he will judge the poor righteously

and execute justice for the oppressed of the land.

He will strike the land

with a scepter from his mouth,

and he will kill the wicked

with a command from his lips.

Righteousness will be a belt around his hips;

faithfulness will be a belt around his waist.

The wolf will dwell with the lamb,

and the leopard will lie down with the goat.

The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf will be together,

and a child will lead them.

The cow and the bear will graze,

their young ones will lie down together,

and the lion will eat straw like cattle.

An infant will play beside the cobra’s pit,

and a toddler will put his hand into a snake’s den.

They will not harm or destroy each other

on my entire holy mountain,

for the land will be as full

of the knowledge of the Lord

as the sea is filled with water.

So this is the hope of a new leader

A kingdom of peace and prosperity

Even nature—which we see as brutal—becomes peaceful and tame

And imagine this hope for Israel:

In a kingdom of corrupt leaders

Unrighteous where the poor and needy are suffering

In a world of violence

Threatened by other nations

In a society filled with idolatry

God’s name has been forgotten or pushed to the side

It doesn’t take that much imagination…

The same things are true today

And the hope of Messiah—a new leader—is our hope that one day these things will be set right

Although the world we live in is broken

We have hope in our coming king and his kingdom of peace and righteousness

Of true peace not Pax Romana

Peace from love—not from fear

Just imagine—a world of peace

I think it’s in each of our hearts as something we long for

A world with no strained relationships

No friendship drama—no wars and violence

A world where everyone is on the same page—and can freely love their neighbor

This is the kingdom we can taste now but is coming to fulfillment later

This is our hope—a tangible hope

Not only is our hope in a new leader—and a kingdom of peace

But our hope is a new way in which we relate to God

Part of the hopeful message of the prophets was:

(SLIDES)

A New Covenant

Jeremiah 31:31–34 (CSB)

“Look, the days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—my covenant that they broke even though I am their master”—the Lord’s declaration. “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.

A New Way to Relate to God

Israel knew God—but there was always a separation

Separation in the temple—fear of death

Cleanliness rituals

Sacrifice rituals

And with this new covenant—this separation has been removed

The temple veil has been torn (from the top down) — Mark 15:3

(SLIDES)

Hebrews 4:16 (CSB)

Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.

This new covenant is so much better—we don’t need to follow the rituals and be at the temple to encounter God

Jesus has cleansed us

Jesus has been the payment for our sins

Now we have direct access to God

And not only that but the temple building no longer matters

But in the NT we are called the temple of God

We are where God dwells

This is part of the message of hope of the prophets

God’s people will have his spirit and know him personally

Jeremiah 31:34 (CSB)

No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.

Joel 2:28–29 (CSB)

After this

I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity;

then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,

your old men will have dreams,

and your young men will see visions.

I will even pour out my Spirit

on the male and female slaves in those days.

The biggest marker of this new covenant is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit

Today, we have God living with us and in us

So the prophets talk about how a new leader will come ushering in a new kingdom

They talk about a new covenant and way we will relate to God

And finally they talk about:

A New Heavens & Earth

(SLIDES)

Isaiah 65:17–25 (CSB)

“For I will create new heavens and a new earth;

the past events will not be remembered or come to mind.

Then be glad and rejoice forever

in what I am creating;

for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy

and its people to be a delight.

I will rejoice in Jerusalem

and be glad in my people.

The sound of weeping and crying

will no longer be heard in her.

In her, a nursing infant will no longer live

only a few days,

or an old man not live out his days.

Indeed, the one who dies at a hundred years old will be mourned as a young man,

and the one who misses a hundred years will be considered cursed.

People will build houses and live in them;

they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

They will not build and others live in them;

they will not plant and others eat.

For my people’s lives will be

like the lifetime of a tree.

My chosen ones will fully enjoy

the work of their hands.

They will not labor without success

or bear children destined for disaster,

for they will be a people blessed by the Lord

along with their descendants.

Even before they call, I will answer;

while they are still speaking, I will hear.

The wolf and the lamb will feed together,

and the lion will eat straw like cattle,

but the serpent’s food will be dust!

They will not do what is evil or destroy

on my entire holy mountain,”

says the Lord.

When I think of the New Heavens & New Earth I think of the description in Revelation

but over a thousand years before Revelation was written, Isaiah was prophesying about it

God’s people have the assured hope of heaven

That no matter how hard and brutal life is—God has the final word

Nothing can take away our eternal destiny with God

In fact, since we have this hope of heaven—we can give up our lives now for Christ

This life is not what we are living for—things will come and things will go

But what is awaiting us in heaven can never be taken away

And I think even for us today—this remains the Christians’ unshakable hope

You see the prophets talked about the Messiah—and he has come

The prophets talked about the new covenant—and it has come

But the new heavens and new earth—we are still waiting

And I think if we have a correct understanding of heaven—and meditate on that truth—we will be ready for anything the world throws at us

If I told you to work a very difficult job 10 hours/day 7 days/week for 5 years and then you'd never have to work a day in your life again

How would you approach each difficult day?

We have a great hope—we know how the story ends

Think about reading a book/watching a movie

Even the Star Wars movie night

You don’t know how it will go—but you know the good guys will win

We have a hope to get us through our hard and difficult lives

Conclusion

And from the Old to the New Testament—God’s people are a hopeful people

And remember our definition—not just a blind optimism

“A desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment”

We not only have reasons to hope but a confidence to hope in them

We know God keeps his end of the deal

(SLIDES)

The prophets are filled with hope of what God is doing—how he is committed to his people

We have the hope of messiah—our savior

We have the hope of the new covenant—our new relationship with God

We have the hope of heaven—our new destiny/trajectory

(SLIDES)

Difficult times produce hope

Romans 5:3–5 (CSB)

And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

(SLIDES)

God is the source of our hope—not ourselves

Romans 15:13 (CSB)

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And so as we leave here today—my prayer is that you are all filled with hope

I don’t know what everyone in this room is going through

But I do know that this is a very discouraging and brutal world

We have to be people that don’t get consumed by the negativity but choose to hope

It doesn’t just come naturally—its something we have to intentionally choose

Even when it doesn’t seem to make sense

(SLIDES)

We have a God that says:

Look at my track record?—Have I ever failed my people?—Trust me

We have hope in our great savior—who has set us free

We have hope in our new relationship with God—allowing us to be near to him

We have hope in our destiny—knowing how our story will end

So I encourage you all—Choose hope.