The Story Ch 16: The Beginning of the End

Cold Open

Hey Dublin Powell youth! Good to be back with y’all again, I took a week off from making these videos last week to focus on Sunday service, but we are back at it with our youth study this week! And this week we are studying how the people of Israel see one again the results of rebellion against the Lord, and the prophesy that will change everything. Today is Sunday, July 19th, let’s get into it.

Intro Videos

Recap

So we saw in our previous weeks that Israel had split in two, and that the northern kingdom which remained to be called Israel, and the southern kingdom of Judah. The northern kingdom suffered under evil ruler after evil ruler, until it was finally conquered by Assyria.

Judah, however, every few generations would have a good king who would throw out the idols and return the people of Judah to worship of Yahweh alone. Hezekiah was one of those good kings, who took the throne at 25 and destroyed the idols and pagan altars. When the Assyrian king sent an emissary to demand Judah’s surrender, Hezekiah went into the temple, the “House of the Name of the Lord”, and appealed to God for assistance.

The prophet Isaiah delivered the Lord’s answer, that the king of Assyria would sure not enter Jerusalem, and that night the angel of the Lord killed 185,000 in the Assyrian camp, and the remainder of the broken army retreated to Ninevah and left Judah in peace.

However, unfortunately for Judah, they would not stay faithful long. Despite the warning of the Lord through Isaiah, the people would turn away from God and suffer exile in Babylon. More on that later!

Prophesy

Isaiah brought a hard message to Israel, a message of tough consequences for their rebellion to God. But the very same messenger brought some of the most encouraging prophesies of the Old Testament, you see it was from Isaiah that we heard:

Isaiah 7:14 NIV

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Isaiah 9:1–2 NIV

Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan— The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.

Isaiah 61:1–2 NIV

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,

Isaiah 53:5–12 NIV

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah contributed some of the most beautiful prophesies of Jesus in the whole Old Testament, and in the midst of temporal struggles, pain, disorder and panic, Isaiah looks ahead to the coming Messiah that the Lord promised.

Conclusion

We had a long intro video this week, so I’ll wrap it up here, and I’ll leave you with this. In God’s infinite wisdom He crafted this incredible story that made His power and sovereignty clear to His people, that clearly defined humanity’s need for a savior, and He fulfils that need for us in His son Jesus Christ. He got directly involved so that we could be free from the destructive cycle of sin, turning from God. If you still need to break that cycle in your life, let me know, we will talk about how God wants to do that for you. Let me pray for us:

Lord, we praise you because without you we are trapped in our own sin, our own self interest. We are so grateful for our Savior, Jesus. We are grateful for the prophets who make clear who Jesus is, so that we could be strong in our faith in Him. In Jesus name Lord, we ask that you forgive us our sins and equip us to do your will. Let everything we do be in accordance to your will and to the glory of your name, and to the name of your son Jesus. We pray in Jesus name, Amen.

Thanks everyone, have a great week! Grace and peace.