Barren Branches
Isaiah 17:4-11
Barren Branches
In that day the glory of Jacob will fade;
the fat of his body will waste away.
It will be as when a reaper gathers the standing grain
and harvests the grain with his arm—
as when a man gleans heads of grain
in the Valley of Rephaim.
Yet some gleanings will remain,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
four or five on the fruitful boughs,”
declares the LORD, the God of Israel.
In that day men will look to their Maker
and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
They will not look to the altars,
the work of their hands,
and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles
and the incense altars their fingers have made.
In that day their strong cities, which they left because of the Israelites, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth. And all will be desolation.
You have forgotten God your Saviour;
you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress.
Therefore, though you set out the finest plants
and plant imported vines,
though on the day you set them out, you make them grow,
and on the morning when you plant them, you bring them to bud,
yet the harvest will be as nothing
in the day of disease and incurable pain.
It is possible to be barren and unfruitful even while having knowledge of the Lord Christ. This message is clearly presented in Peter’s second missive [2 Peter 1:2-8]. There, Peter concludes his instruction in Christian responsibility for growth by saying if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The word which is translated unproductive in our niv is ajkavrpou" — unfruitful. If we will be fruitful we must know how to avoid being barren.
We who are called by the Name of Christ the Lord are prone to neglect the lessons of history. We read the Old Testament, but we ofttimes miss the warnings arising from judgement of the people of God. We ignore such warnings at our own peril. Paul cautioned the Corinthian saints against ignoring the warnings arising from Israel’s history [1 Corinthians 10:1-13]. As Isaiah wrote his prophecy, Israel had become barren because of three errors … errors which plague the churches of this day.
You are no doubt aware that Isaiah delivered prophetic messages against several of the nations surrounding Judah. Babylon, Moab and Damascus were warned as were Cush and Egypt; each was the focus of divine warning. At the time Isaiah delivered this prophetic warning, Syria served as a buffer between Israel and Assyria. No doubt Israel felt secure because Syria was interposed between her and the Assyrians. As Isaiah warned Damascus of coming judgement, the man of God turned his attention first to Israel, and as is frequently the case, he telescoped prophesy to include the entire world during a future time referred to as that day. As Aram was destroyed, so all mankind will likewise face divine judgement in that day of divine judgement. It was as though destruction and restoration were telescoped into one great event, though the specific prophecies were in fact separated by millennia. The message tonight looks at the prophecy of judgement to come, with a view to challenging us in our own situation.
Churches have A Love of Idols [vv. 7,8]. In that day the churches will remember their Maker. The Israelites were idolaters of the worst sort. They had a reputation of following the Lord God of Heaven and earth, but their worship was perfunctory. Throughout their history, Israel strayed from following hard after the Living God. Amos, the rude prophet from Tekoa, confronted the wayward people, reminding them of their idolatry.
Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings
forty years in the desert, O house of Israel?
You have lifted up the shrine of your king,
the pedestal of your idols,
the star of your god—
which you made for yourselves.
[Amos 5:25]
Ezekiel, that prophet of the exile who was shown things weird and wonderful, exposed grossest idolatry among the religious and civil leadership, even as the people were enduring divine punishment. While in captivity in Babylon, this man of God saw the idolatry of God’s people and wrote these words. In the sixth year, in the sixth month on the fifth day, while I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, the hand of the Sovereign LORD came upon me there. I looked, and I saw a figure like that of a man. From what appeared to be his waist down he was like fire, and from there up his appearance was as bright as glowing metal. He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance to the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to jealousy stood. And there before me was the glory of the God of Israel, as in the vision I had seen in the plain.
Then he said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” So I looked, and in the entrance north of the gate of the altar I saw this idol of jealousy.
And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the utterly detestable things the house of Israel is doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see things that are even more detestable.”
Then he brought me to the entrance to the court. I looked, and I saw a hole in the wall. He said to me, “Son of man, now dig into the wall.” So I dug into the wall and saw a doorway there.
And he said to me, “Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here.” So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds of crawling things and detestable animals and all the idols of the house of Israel. In front of them stood seventy elders of the house of Israel, and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan was standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising.
He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’” Again, he said, “You will see them doing things that are even more detestable.”
Then he brought me to the entrance to the north gate of the house of the LORD, and I saw women sitting there, mourning for Tammuz. He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see things that are even more detestable than this.”
He then brought me into the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east.
He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the house of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence and continually provoke me to anger? Look at them putting the branch to their nose! Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them” [Ezekiel 8:1-18].
To the days of the Apostles, Israel was infatuated with idols. Stephen pointed this out with the result that the religious Jews stoned him. Our fathers refused to obey [Moses]. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’ That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and held a celebration in honour of what their hands had made. But God turned away and gave them over to the worship of the heavenly bodies. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets:
“‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings
forty years in the desert, O house of Israel?
You have lifted up the shrine of Molech
and the star of your god Rephan,
the idols you made to worship.
Therefore I will send you into exile’ beyond Babylon.”
[Acts 7:39-43]
Before you begin to feel smug about our position compared to the Jewish people, consider that we also have idols. I fear that contemporary Christians worship the gods of affluence, of success, and of elitism. The evidence that we worship the god of affluence is seen in the fact that on most evangelical church boards, one’s bank balance is of greater importance than is character. It is with the overwhelming support of Christians … whether through silence or through open vocal support, that the economy is of greater importance in American politics than is character of national leadership. We Canadians are not so very different as we worship at the shrine of affluence.
The modern church worships success, carefully listening to the instruction of sports stars and motion picture stars as though these “experts” had insight unobtainable from any other source. I am always amazed when I read a news article such as that which reported that the United States Congress has summoned an actress to testify concerning farm commodity prices because she once played the part of a widowed farmer’s wife. I am astonished when Hollywood actors are heeded as though they were capable of teaching ethics or as if they were paragons of morality. When Larry Flynt becomes the arbiter of morality for politicians I am astonished, though I am quickly becoming jaded at much of anything accepted in our modern world. That attitude which characterises the world has crept into the churches of this day.
Even our language and our sentiments betray us. “If only that actor … that football star … that television newscaster … would become a Christian, he/she/it would do so much good.” We are worshipping an idol of our own making at that point, thinking that God needs their help because of their notoriety. Nothing could be further from the truth. What else can God mean when He says through the Apostle: the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God…
Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him [1 Corinthians 1:18,26-29].
We worship the god of elitism within the modern church. When we judge other Christians on the basis of code words . . . preferred politics . . . the “theological company” one keeps . . . bellwether interpretations of biblical passages designed to test intelligence or “soundness” of position – not tests of the Faith, we reveal that we worship elitism. I really do not care whether you say you are an inerrantist, but I do care that you live as though the Bible is your authority for faith and practise. I really do not care what your eschatological position may be, but I want to know whether you are looking for the return of the Son of God. It is a small matter to me whether your polity allows for an ecclesiastical hierarchy or whether you appeal to a congregational form of government, but I am deeply concerned that you are determined to live a holy life.
I make no bones that I am a Baptist … and a fundamental Baptist at that! I am unashamed to say that I came to my theological position through study of and adoption of the great doctrines of the Word. I intend to co-operate in mission and in evangelism with those who share my theological perspective. However, I rejoice in each soul who reveals faith in the Risen Son of God. Whether they enter Heaven dry-cleaned or drip-dried they will be in Heaven by the grace of God. Though I am very much concerned that the saints prove obedient to Christ, I am much more concerned that they believe Him.
The two thoughts are not necessarily exclusive, for those who believe will reveal their faith through obedience to His commands. This is revealed in Jesus’ own words, Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him [John 14:21]. Jesus teaches in another few short verses the same truth. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete [John 15:9-11].
Though few modern Canadians bow down to idols of wood or stone, we nevertheless hold idols which are dear to our hearts. Family is more importance than faith to us. In our estimate, standing with man is more important than submission to Christ. Perception of others is more important than is praise to God, if our actions are any indication. If we had no idols, we would serve Christ without reservation. If we had no idols, we would obey His will without murmuring. If we had no idols, we would ask what the will of God is and do it regardless of what another may think.
Churches suffer A Loss of Memory [v. 10a]. Can any statement be more arresting than this: You have forgotten? The 103rd Psalms is a jewel of recited blessing [Psalm 103:1-5].
Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
If that 103rd Psalm is a jewel, how much richer still is the 136th Psalm. I will not recite the whole of the Psalm, but I invite your to explore the content. The Psalm begins with an admonition to give thanks to God. Notice Psalm 136:1-3.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.
Every statement concludes with the reminder that His love endures forever. That phrase wDos]j' !l;w[ol] yKi — is quite literally, for to eternity is [His] grace. The author of the Psalm then begins to recite the multiplied instances of God’s goodness … His provision for mankind, His deliverance of His people and at last His mercy to all peoples. The Psalm ends with these words [Psalm 136:23-26] encouraging thankfulness:
to the One who remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.
and freed us from our enemies,
His love endures forever.
and who gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.
Israel had this rich heritage of divine blessing, and yet God would confront them throughout their history as those who forgot their Rock. Long before apostasy was a settled way of life, Moses warned the people.
Jeshurun grew fat and kicked;
filled with food, he became heavy and sleek.
He abandoned the God who made him
and rejected the Rock his Saviour.
They made him jealous with their foreign gods
and angered him with their detestable idols.
They sacrificed to demons, which are not God—
gods they had not known,
gods that recently appeared,
gods your fathers did not fear.
You deserted the Rock, who fathered you;
you forgot the God who gave you birth.
…
How could one man chase a thousand,
or two put ten thousand to flight,
unless their Rock had sold them,
unless the LORD had given them up?
For their rock is not like our Rock,
as even our enemies concede.
…
It is mine to avenge; I will repay.
In due time their foot will slip;
their day of disaster is near
and their doom rushes upon them.
The LORD will judge his people
and have compassion on his servants
when he sees their strength is gone
and no one is left, slave or free.
He will say: “Now where are their gods,
the rock they took refuge in.
[Deuteronomy 32:15-18,30,31,35,37,38]
You see, God is the Rock of our Salvation [Psalm 95:1], our Eternal Rock [Isaiah 26:4], the Rock of Israel [Isaiah 30:29]. Despite knowledge of God’s steadfast love toward them, Israel was prone to wander from God.
I wonder if we who are called by the Name of the Son of God have lost our memory. At the broadest level, do we remember our roots and what makes us Christian? Do we who are called Christians remember what it is that makes us Christian? Do we pursue hard after Christ and seek to obey Him in all things?
We who call ourselves evangelicals, do we remember what evangelical means? Frankly, if we are not evangelistic we are not evangelical. If we fail to adhere to the truths which marked our spiritual forebears as evangelical we have no right to the name. Do we believe in a practical sense that Jesus Christ is very God? Do we really believe that He died a sacrificial death, raised from the dead and ascended into the heavens? Are we actually convinced that He is coming again to receive those who by faith are born again? If we believe these things, to what will we point in our lives to verify our beliefs?
Darren Dick and I enjoyed lunch together yesterday, and as we talked we discussed revival. The question was raised whether there is any sense of longing for revival among the residents of the town site. I wondered aloud whether we actually are willing to return to our first love and pursue Him with the ardent abandon which marked our lives at the first? I questioned whether we would actually wish to inconvenience ourselves with our neighbours. We need to remember. If our lives are barren, let us heed the call of God to remember again God our Saviour. If our lives resemble parched and arid lands instead of well-watered plains bearing rich fruit to the praise of His glory, let us determine that we will again do those deeds which marked us as new-born in the Faith.
Churches experience A Loss of Concentration [v. 10b]. Those are surely stunning words which Isaiah wrote: you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress. It was bad enough that Israel demonstrated a love of idols and had suffered a loss of memory, but they were even then experiencing a loss of concentration. They no longer focused on their strong tower. The glory of the first Temple was already fading, its hallowed precincts contaminated by the invasion of various impure cults. Worse than the presence of foul cults was the toleration of grossest wickedness by the people of God.
Just so the churches of this day are experiencing a loss of concentration. There was a day in which Baptist people would not have tolerated wickedness among their members. It is fascinating to read the minutes of churches from another era. One need not travel very far back in time to read minutes dismissing from membership and barring from the Communion Meal those individuals who publicly disgraced the Name of Christ. Public drunkenness, swearing in public, gossip were each sufficient to earn dismissal from the assembly of saints. Nor were Baptists alone in this pursuit of purity before the Lord. Other evangelical churches were equally serious about purity of their members.
I thought of that fact as I read of the machinations of one church in Little Rock, Arkansas. Immanuel Baptist is the home church of one William Jefferson Clinton. Membership in that church has enabled the President of the United States to claim to be a Baptist which continuing his public display of serial sin because the congregation has not practised biblical discipline. That church has, for whatever reason, apparently drawn the conclusion that it is of greater importance to have as a member of the congregation the President of the United States, than it is to honour Christ the Lord by calling for purity. I can point to that church as an example of the point I am making that we have forgotten the Rock, our fortress.
Lest we chuckle over the antics of those foolish Christians in Immanuel Baptist, I wonder when we last saw a church in Canada expect the members to honour Christ? I wonder when we last witnessed a church which remembered her Rock, her fortress? I wonder when we last saw a church which dared expect that the members would actually submit to divine rule and to living up to biblical standards?
In the Hebrews letter is a humbling quotation. Listen as I read that Word aloud. Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”
Endure hardship as discipline [Hebrews 12:1-7].
We Christians have a focus for our faith; that focus is Jesus Himself. We are to fix out eyes on Him, just as the text states. We dare not lose our concentration. Instead, we are responsible to make every effort to honour Him through discovering what pleases Him and then doing those things which are pleasing before Him. My purpose is not to join the most respectable church in town; my purpose is to glorify God. My pursuit in life must not be to gratify my own desires, but instead I am responsible to seek what would honour Christ the Lord. In just such measure as I follow Christ may I anticipate the blessings of God.
Why speak from this text? What purpose is accomplished through delivering a message such as this which I have just concluded? First, it serves as a warning to each of us. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die [cf. Revelation 3:2], is the warning. God holds us responsible to ruthlessly destroy every idol, to remember Him and to remain focused on His will. If we do not do so, we must experience His discipline. I had a minister ask me this week past whether I thought he would give an accounting to God. I assured him that not only did I so believe, but I was assured that each of us would give an account of our ministry to Him who appoints to service. He replied that he was not accountable to anyone … not to Christ … not to anyone. I smiled grimly as I informed him that in the day when we stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ he would give an account of his life and ministry. He needs to be warned, and so do we each need to be warned.
Again, I am responsible to instruct the people of God that they may be sensitive to the work of God among the churches. You are responsible to be discerning about the trends among the professed people of God. You are responsible to look upon the churches with an eye which distinguishes between light and darkness. Not everyone who says they are Christian is. Not every minister is a minister of Christ. You are responsible to hold both ministers and churches accountable for the conduct of their service to Christ. Is a brother Christian beginning to clutter his life with idols? Confront that one in a spirit of love and gently urge him to again walk with Christ alone. Does a sister Christian live as though Christ is no longer a priority? Remind her of her first love and call her to live godly. Has the will of Jesus ceased to be the focus of the ministry of your fellow saint? Call that beloved child of God to again live in the light and to focus on what pleases the Lord [cf. Ephesians 5:9,10].
The last reason I preach from a text such as this is that I am making every effort to present you as a pure virgin to Him at His coming [cf. 2 Corinthians 11:2]. Even now Christ presents you holy in God’s sight, without blemish and free from accusation [cf. Colossians 1:21], but I long to see you live lives which glorify Him before the eyes of mankind. I received a commission from God to present to you the Word of God in its fullness [cf. Colossians 1:25]. That commission which I received is to faithfully declare the Word. By this means I will prepare you for works of service, so that the Body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ [cf. Ephesians 4:12,13]. Amen.