A Word of Warning

Isaiah • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago • Presented 4 years ago

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Isaiah's calling as a prophet was not always a joyful experience. At times, he had to deliver serious messages of warning and judgment to people. When giving this message, Isaiah wept bitterly because his people would experience the consequences of their sin. The pain ran deep in his heart because this situation could have been avoided had the people humbled themselves and turned toward God.

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Isaiah 22:1–14 ESV

1 The oracle concerning the valley of vision. What do you mean that you have gone up, all of you, to the housetops, 2 you who are full of shoutings, tumultuous city, exultant town? Your slain are not slain with the sword or dead in battle. 3 All your leaders have fled together; without the bow they were captured. All of you who were found were captured, though they had fled far away. 4 Therefore I said: “Look away from me; let me weep bitter tears; do not labor to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.” 5 For the Lord God of hosts has a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the valley of vision, a battering down of walls and a shouting to the mountains. 6 And Elam bore the quiver with chariots and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield. 7 Your choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen took their stand at the gates. 8 He has taken away the covering of Judah. In that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest, 9 and you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many. You collected the waters of the lower pool, 10 and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. 11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago. 12 In that day the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth; 13 and behold, joy and gladness, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 14 The Lord of hosts has revealed himself in my ears: “Surely this iniquity will not be atoned for you until you die,” says the Lord God of hosts.

An Oracle

An oracle is a divine message given by God to people. In the Old Testament, the oracles from God fall into two categories: judgment or salvation. In this section, God has a message of judgment as God's response to the people of Jerusalem's unfaithful acts.

During King Hezekiah's reign, the Southern Kingdom of Judah experienced multiple threats from invading nations, namely Israel and Assyria. Even though these nations succeeded in smaller attacks, they never overthrew the Southern Kingdom. Isaiah might be recalling one of these successful events when he mentions the celebrations on the rooftops. Verses 1 and 2 remind us that their celebration was greatly misguided. Judah would eventually experience a terrible future because of their self-reliant attitude and rebellion.

The Valley of Vision

When we imagine a valley, we often think of a positive image of beauty or serenity, but this Valley is not. The Valley of Vision is Jerusalem and describes what will happen to the inhabitants should they persist in their sin. It will be filled with great trouble, chaos, and destruction. But the real tragedy is that the people could have avoided this through repentance and heeding God's warning.

Try to recall how many warnings that come your way in an average week. We find warnings on labels, road signs, and posters. All these came about because a certain activity or use of an item was connected with a negative outcome. The warning is meant to keep us safe. Most of us ignore the warnings like, "Do not microwave", "Speed Limit 65 MPH", or often-overlooked warning of "Do Not Insert into Ear Canal" on the Q-Tip package. Why do we ignore it? Because we have found a way to be "safe" and not get injured, or we concluded that it probably won't hurt us this time.

When God gives a warning, we can be assured that if we continue to ignore it, we will suffer the consequences indeed. Isaiah's harsh messages were meant to stir the human heart toward awakening to the fact that they are on a dangerous path. This dangerous road is called self-reliance. When Judah faced the invading countries' threats, they quickly resorted to their natural resources and abilities to solve their problems and preserve themselves.

They gathered the stockpile of weapons from the House of the Forest (a location in the Temple named because of the many pillars it had).

They gathered water supplies for securing the future of the city.

They took apart their houses to get materials to fortify the damaged walls.

God scolded the people for these actions because they did so to be self-reliant instead of God-reliant. And as a result of their self-reliance, they developed dangerous false confidence.

The Sin of Self-Reliance

We may find it odd that God considers self-reliance a sin when our culture often applauds it. In global economics, it seems to make good sense to be self-reliant. When it comes to personal economics, it is always a good idea to be prepared to take care of yourself because you don't want to burden your family or society. We might be surprised to discover that God does not expect us to be self-reliant. Let's look at what God expects from His covenant people.

When God brought Israel out of slavery in Egypt, he promised to take them to a land flowing with milk and honey. It took them 40 years to finally get there, but God provided all their needs during those years. He provided water, bread, and meat in the desert. He guided them with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Their shoes did not wear out. They survived battles and attacks because God fought for them. Think about the Sabbath day, when all other nations worked seven days a week. God commanded His people to rest from work in faith that God would provide all their needs. When they entered the land, God continued to promise His provisions. But he reminded them that He would remove His hand of blessing if they were rebellious.

The Vine and The Branches

When we look at the life that God has for those who are His people, we find that He demands that we entrust everything in our lives to Him. This includes our daily provisions and our future. Judah people assumed that they were in charge and could cause their future to be safe and secure apart from submitting to God. This is the sin of self-reliance.

Christ taught his disciples about the futility of self-reliance in John 15.

John 15:1–8 ESV

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

In this illustration, we see that Christians are to live in complete dependence upon God for all things. Matthew 6:33-34.

The believer is called to live in the Vine, Jesus. A fruitless branch proves that it is not connected to the Vine and is cut off. Therefore, our Christian life will look like we are constantly going to God for all our needs, our questions, our hopes, and all our worries. We fully depend upon the Vine for life. Apart from Him, all life is futile.

What do we do if God does it all for us? Doesn't that seem too passive of a life? We need to understand that God has a domain where only He can bring change, and He gives us a domain of cooperation and obedience that we can participate in. He gives us the "possible" to manage, and He is in charge of the "impossible". And when it comes to our plans and preparation for the future, we can make plans and prepare for the future. However, we are not counting on these things to provide for us. We submit them to God, who has the final say. The reason for this is that anything not from God will fail. If we have learned anything from this past year, it should be that the future can be so unpredictable that even our best preparation will fail. Instead, we submit all things to God and leave the future to Him.

James 4:13–16 ESV

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

Our preparation is made subject to God's plans. This is how we avoid the sin of self-reliance. We place God on His proper throne of our lives and let Him bring the outcome as He wills. We don't prefer this because it takes all the power out of our hands, and we give it all to God. We dare not boast in ourselves or the things we have done, and we only boast in the power of our God. Our God is able.

The Blessing of God-Reliance

Living in a God-reliant manner is the only way that we are called to live. It requires us to remove ourselves from the foundation and build our lives upon the foundation laid in Christ. It requires us to act in obedience and wisdom but leave the results to God’s sovereignty. While it leaves us no room to be in control, it does provide us the amazing blessing of hope and confidence in God. Think about the powerful witness of the faith statement that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego ave when they chose to trust God and not give into solving their death threats with self-reliance. They chose to obey God and let God determine the results of their reliance upon Him. And consider the words of Paul who wrote this in Philippians 4.

Philippians 4:11–13 ESV

11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

When we let go of self-reliance, God enables us to have a different outlook. It is the voice of faith and trust. Trust God and leave the results to Him. Let us live this dependent life. Let us rely heavily upon our God and cooperate in obedience with the wisdom He gives us. In doing this, we will find the blessings of trusting the Almighty God.

Leaning On The Everlasting Arms

What a fellowship what a joy divine