Watching for the Work of God

Introduction

e.g. Sleeping in my Suzuki Sierra

When I was 19-20 brother and I went camping with friends in Maragaret River

Back of Sierra filled with camping, surfing, etc. gear

Started raining & we weren’t prepared so we slept in front seat of my car

Barely slept, waiting for morning which seemed to take forever to come

Have you ever had a long, sleepless night when you were just watching and hoping for the sun to rise?

What kept you going through the night? The sun will rise!

Today’s message is about enduring a long, hard night(s) waiting for the morning to come

READ Isaiah 21

It continues God’s prophecies against the nations for their rebellion

Here we come back to Babylon and her allies

Wilderness of the Sea = Babylon

Elam = modern southern Iran (Persian Gulf)

Media = modern northern Iran

Edom = descendants of Esau

Arabia = descendants of Ishmael

Why Babylon again? The nation & the spirit have large influence

Like much of this section Isa. 21-22 is vague & mysterious

Wilderness of the Sea isn’t identified until later (Isa. 21:9)

Which is much like life in that God doesn’t reveal things until the end

It’s a prophecy which to Isaiah is future but to us is historical

Though it certainly speaks of God’s work beyond us too

Being able to look back helps us see the continuity of God’s work

Isaiah speaks these words to Jerusalem where the ancestors of Daniel will hear them

Many years later Daniel will live through the fulfilment of these words

In these words comes the imagery of the Watchman

Isaiah both sees a watchman & is the watchman

Watchman is the one who stands vigil through the night until the dawn

To keep an eye out for danger and to give warning

Also to announce the coming of dawn

In other places we’ll learn of our need to be Watchman

Here is a time to listen to the Watcman

Hear God’s Message

Isaiah 21:1-4

Source of Fear

Distressed by what you hear

Isaiah 21:3 (NKJV)

I was distressed when I heard it; I was dismayed when I saw it.

As God reveals this message to Isaiah he is deeply troubled by it - physically affected by it

He sees Medo-Persians rising against Babylon to overthrow

As he hears God’s words he is distressed & pained

Usually we think of God’s Word bringing comfort to God’s people

He encourages, strengthens, promises, even comforts in correction

Rarely do we think that God’s word could bring such distress to God’s people

Especially when those words have to do with the enemies of God & His people

Sometimes God’s word is, and should be, distressing to us

Yes, there is joy in knowing that God will overcome evil

If we’re truly hearing God’s Word we also hear the tragedy that comes with that victory

It’s one thing to say ‘God hates the sin but loves the sinner’ but we must recognise because of sin the sinner dies

Passages like Rev. 20:11-15 are true and real and terrifying

Isaiah isn’t overcome by fear, that is living in fear & distress, but here God’s judgment rightly causes distress

Dismayed by what you see

What amplifies his distress is seeing the reality of it

Isaiah can see the wickedness and rebellion of the nations

He lives in Jerusalem amongst people rejecting God

He can see the words of God being lived out in front of his own eyes

For all the joy, hope & peace that Christians have this world can still be very hard to live in

It’s distressing to hear what God says about those who continue in their sin

It is dismaying to see people you know and love continuing to live in sin

We’re not called to live in fear, be overcome by world or live without hope

If we’re never distressed and dismayed by the reality of sin and consequences something is wrong

In this we see Isaiah’s humanity - he isn’t a cold, heartless, prophet of doom

Source of Compassion

Fear of hopelessness

Isaiah 21:4 (NKJV)

4 The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me.

Fear he feels isn’t a result of lack of faith or pessimism

Rather, God moved him to distress and dismay

Rest & peace he longed for God turned to fear (Isa. 21:4)

Some think it is a sense of hopelessness that overwhelms him to fear

Judgment & destruction are coming and there’s no way to stop it

That is a legitmate possibility for his thinking

It’s a hard job being a prophet of God having to announce judgment

Fear of Judgment

I don’t think his fear is born from hopelessness

As we will see there are glimmers of hope in this message

I think Isaiah has truly heard God’s Word and understands the implications of it

Just like you can’t divide sin and the sinner you can’t divide nations from people

That is, to judge nations causes pain and loss to individuals

To judge sin is to judge people

Judgment on Babylon means pain & suffering for multitudes - including Judah

The personal cost represented in these words is overwhelming

Not first time we’ve seen Isaiah express this compassion

Isaiah 15:5“5 “My heart will cry out for Moab...”

Isaiah teaches us an important truth:

We must not just proclaim the truth but be moved by it

God’s word is never just for others

We must take it in, ponder it, be changed by it

Here, Isaiah shows a true compassion for those under the judgment of God

True proclamation of the Gospel, Word of God, must have a compassion, burden for the lost

Your knowledge of God’s Word is empty if it isn’t moving you, if it isn’t leading to compassion for others

We must have a burden for the lost

700 years before Jesus we see Isaiah illustrating His words, “love your enemies”

We see in Isaiah what we see in Jesus

Matthew 9:36–38 “36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.””

The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, Vol. VII The Wailing of Risca (No. 349)

Oh, my brothers and sisters in Christ, if sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies; and if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay, and not madly to destroy themselves. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.

See God’s Works

Isaiah 21:5-17

God Has a Plan

Dan. 2:36-45

Have faith

Again we see God speak to Jerusalem about other nations

Message doesn’t seem to be given to Babylon at this time

Why? Is it so Israel can gloat over them

No, God reveals things so that the people of God know what He is up to

God doesn’t tell us everything but He does tell us things we ought to know

This message reinforces the message He has been telling Israel:

Don’t trust in worldly alliances, trust in God

God doesn’t tell us all the details of His plan but He tells us enough so that we can have faith in Him

Gain understanding

e.g. Internet game: How often do men think of Roman Empire?

Turns out quite a lot - my girls were surprised how much I think about it

I live in the ancient world

Might help us here to look at bigger picture that God gives

What Isaiah prophesies here God makes clearer to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon

Statue of Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

God’s program of the ages

In Isaiah’s time, Assyria is the world power - heard God speak to them

Assyria takes northern, Israel into captivity (722 BC)

Babylon eventually conquers Assyria

Babylon takes souther, Judah, into captivity (586 BC)

Babylon is conquered by the Medo-Persian empire (539 BC)

Israel’s exile will end under Persians

Medo-Persia is conquered by Greece (Alexander the Great ~330 BC)

Rome conquers Greece (~146 BC)

Last part (iron & clay) is remnants of Rome still playing out today

Eventually, Christ will bring His Kingdom to crush all and establish an eternal, glorious Kingdom

God Will Be Victorious

Isa. 21:5; Dan. 5:22-29

The Feast

Isaiah 21:5 (NKJV)

5 Prepare the table, Set a watchman in the tower, Eat and drink.

Events of Isaiah 21 are part of the fulfilment of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue dream

Isaiah 21:5 tells of the fall of Babylon to Medo-Persia

Daniel 5 begins with Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson (Belshazzar) hosting a grand feast (Isa. 21:5a) where he mocks God and defiles property from the Temple

Dan. 5:1-4

During that feast God writes on the wall a message of judgment

Dan. 5:5-6.

The Fall

Isaiah 21:5b NKJV

5 Prepare the table, Set a watchman in the tower, Eat and drink. Arise, you princes, Anoint the shield!

It’s written in one verse with abrupt change because that is how Babylon finally fell - in one night

Interestingly, ancient historians record how Persians used donkeys & camels in their conquests

Dan. 5:22-29.

In Isa. 21:9 we should rightly hear the words of Rev. 18:2

Revelation 18:2 “2 And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!”

The end of the nation of Babylon is the promise of the fall of the spirit of Babylon

Watch for God’s Hope

Isaiah 21:10-12

Trust God’s work

Isaiah 21:10

Remember I said I don’t think Isaiah felt hopeless?

Here is a little of that hope

Short, succinct picture of the threshing floor

Firstly, God speaks of Israel as grain and not chaff

Secondly, work of threshing gives hope

To separate the grain from stalks & husk it was crushed & trampled

That process, though ‘violent’, freed the grain to be useful

Skill of the thresher was in knowing how much to trample the grain to free it without ruining it

God knows exactly what He’s doing

Trust God in His work

God knows how to free you without crushing you

2 Corinthians 4:8 “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed”

Look for the morning

Isaiah 21:11-12

Call to Watchman, “Is the night almost over? Please let the night be almost over”

At first his reply seems unhelpful

“Not yet and then another night is coming”

That doesn’t seem helpful - it seems like how we often feel

Will the night ever end?

When we get a glimpse of sun it disappears into the night again

It’s the Watchman’s instructions that give hope

“Don’t give up, come back and ask again”

God is working in your night so keep looking for the morning

Keep looking for your blessed hope

Trust God and look for the morning

Conclusion