Seek The Lord

The Bible says when the Prodigal Son got the end of himself, he came to his senses. Often times God puts us into situations, or at least allows us to go into situations to give us a chance to repent, turn from our sins, and seek Him.

God has been warning Ahaz and the People of Judah not to trust in Assyria, but to turn to Him.

In the first part of chapter 9 Isaiah point to a beautiful future when Messiah comes, but now he returns to the awful realities of the present.

Judah’s problems stem from their relationship to God not to the outward influences that are causing them troubles. (Isaiah 9.8-10.4)

Even so, there will come a day when God deals with Assyria too. Important note: God is fully in control. He is even able to use His enemies to accomplish His purposes and then deal with them appropriately.

Chapters 11.1-16 points once again to a future Messianic Kingdom.

Much of Isaiah is written in poetic form. 9.8-10.4 is no exception.

It has 4 stanzas that each end with the line “In all this His anger is not removed, and His hand is still raised to strike. 9.12; 9.17; 9.21; 10.4

Today we will see four specific indictments that God levels against Judah.

Misplaced Pride

Isaiah 9:8–12 HCSB

The Lord sent a message against Jacob; it came against Israel. All the people— Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria —will know it. They will say with pride and arrogance: “The bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with cut stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will replace them with cedars.” The Lord has raised up Rezin’s adversaries against him and stirred up his enemies. Aram from the east and Philistia from the west have consumed Israel with open mouths. In all this, His anger is not removed, and His hand is still raised to strike.

God told Judah to observe what was happening in the Northern Kingdom. This reminds us of the principle of “LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES OF OTHERS: Instead of realizing that what was happening was to humble them to turn to the Lord, they just dug in. NOTE VERSE 10!

Misplaced Praise

Isaiah 9:13–17 HCSB

The people did not turn to Him who struck them; they did not seek the Lord of Hosts. So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail, palm branch and reed in a single day. The head is the elder, the honored one; the tail is the prophet, the lying teacher. The leaders of the people mislead them, and those they mislead are swallowed up. Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over Israel’s young men and has no compassion on its fatherless and widows, for everyone is a godless evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. In all this, His anger is not removed, and His hand is still raised to strike.

The people did not pay attention to what God was up to. They did not listen to what Isaiah was trying to tell them. They placed their confidence in bad leaders, and listened to false preachers. so the Lord dealt with both its political leaders and false prophets. These are called the head and the tail. 9.13-17 The people praised their bad leadership instead of the truth.

Missing Pity

Isaiah 9:18–21 HCSB

For wickedness burns like a fire that consumes thorns and briers and kindles the forest thickets so that they go up in a column of smoke. The land is scorched by the wrath of the Lord of Hosts, and the people are like fuel for the fire. No one has compassion on his brother. They carve meat on the right, but they are still hungry; they have eaten on the left, but they are still not satisfied. Each one eats the flesh of his own arm. Manasseh is with Ephraim, and Ephraim with Manasseh; together, both are against Judah. In all this, His anger is not removed, and His hand is still raised to strike.

They had used up all their current resources (which were running out because of God’s remedial judgment in their lives) and it was bringing out the worst in them. It led to a lack of compassion toward “brothers”

Mistreated Poor

Isaiah 10:1–4 HCSB

Woe to those enacting crooked statutes and writing oppressive laws to keep the poor from getting a fair trial and to deprive the afflicted among my people of justice, so that widows can be their spoil and they can plunder the fatherless. What will you do on the day of punishment when devastation comes from far away? Who will you run to for help? Where will you leave your wealth? There will be nothing to do except crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain. In all this, His anger is not removed, and His hand is still raised to strike.

Closely connected to the previous point is this one.

Rich manipulating the laws to take advantage of the poor, but they will end up among the prisoners just like everyone else. The Bible has much to say about taking care of the poor. But what we see here is the worst reversal. Instead of helping the poor, these folks have written laws that take advantage of the poor. Today’s political policies often leave the poor in perpetual poverty and a part of the system in order to secure votes and popularity. The church should lead the way in meeting the needs of the poor and needy.

Over and over again God was trying to get their attention… trying to help them see that they needed to repent and turn to Him.. 4 times they were remind that God’s anger was toward them and his hand was raised to strike.

Maybe you are where you are in life because God desires YOU. He is letting things go on in your life to turn you to Him.

Are you a follower of Jesus? Have you committed your life to Him in salvation?

Are you where you need to be now?

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