Untitled Sermon

Introduction

When Jason approached me and asked if I would like to join him in a course of study on preaching and teaching I was elated, I was overwhelmed with joy. In that very moment of time I couldn’t help but to reflect on the life that I have lived and the details of such a life. I do get to stand here today in awe of what God has done, in awe of what God is doing, and in awe of what God will continue to do tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, for all eternity.

The reason I can stand before you in awe, despite the details of my life, is because God, having chosen me before I was formed in the womb, has revealed Himself to m.

He has shown me that by no merit of my own do I stand before you, by no works or efforts do I come before His church to edify, encourage, to build up, and to exhort. He has reminded me that I am the clay and he is the potter, I am the axe and he is the hand, I am the child and He is the Father, I am the servant and He is the King, I am the mouth and He is the speaker, I am in desperate need and He is the provider.

Through this passage I am reminded to identify my place in God’s plan of redemption and to humbly remain there, this is also my desire for each of you as we work through Isaiah 14.

As Kurt alluded to last week, the book of Isaiah was a game changer for the NT writers. It is one of the most quoted Old Testament books, and one of three books found in the dead sea scrolls. This book has been carried across oceans by sailors, proclaimed by dying martyrs. Isaiah has impacted people in many ways with his preaching, Before ever having a right knowledge I God I had Isaiah 43:2 tattooed to my arm as a verse that carried me through Basic Training. How fitting it to be that I now get to preach to you all from the Book of Isaiah.

So, how do you perceive God? When you think of God what comes to mind. We were taught last week that the perspective we hold of God directly effects how we hear and apply the Word of God. Well lets jump right in with a question:

Who is God: The challenge of Isaiah 14 is not a question of seeing God, but rather, do we have enough time to talk about every aspect of God that is seen in this Chapter? Because we are limited in time, unlike God, I am left to choose just a few things about God that can be seen in Isaiah 14, and which can help us find joy in the book of Isaiah.

First - We can hope in God because God is a Promise Keeper, A Protector, a Vindicator, Sovereign and Merciful.

The promise keeping attribute of God is first seen in the opening verses of the chapter.

Beginning with Verse 1; “For the Lord will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel”, and even more so this attribute of God, as Promise Keeper, is amplified in verse 3 “when the LORD has given [them] rest from [their] pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve,”.

In preparing to preach, seminary teaches that questions are a good thing, and there is no limit to the number or type of questions you can ask during your studies. Likewise, as I have been encouraged to do so, I encourage you to ask tons of questions as you study scripture. Even if the answer is obvious you should ask the question. One question I asked while studying this passage was regarding this “rest” that God provides His people in verse 3. What do the people need rest from? Clearly the passage says they are in need of rest from pain and turmoil. Ok, but what pain and turmoil, where in scripture can I find examples of this pain and turmoil? … OHHHH, AHA, wait a minute. Then it hit me, I didn’t need to research a cultural book on Israel to understand this pain and turmoil. Open with me to Genesis Chapter 3. Beginning in verse 16 we learn of God’s punishment on our first parents, and well, all of us as a result of sin.

Genesis 3:16-19 To the women he said, I will surely multiply your PAIN in child bearing; in PAIN you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you [TURMOIL].” And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in PAIN you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Well how does this apply, not only to the people of Judah over 2,700 years ago, but to all of us today? After all, this is a punishment that was imposed on Adam and Eve right? Surely this pain and turmoil imposed on Adam has nothing to do with me…what did I do? What did you do? What did I do?

Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin came in to the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spreads to all men because all sinned.”

1 Corinthians 15:21 “For as by a man came death...” and the first half of verse 22 “For as in Adam all die...”

James 1:15 “Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”

Ephesians 2:1 And you were once dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.”

Brothers and sisters, what God say is the punishment for sin? DEATH.

Suddenly, with just a few references it becomes clear that all people are in desperate need of rest from the penalty for sin. In fact, since the fall of man many have made it their life’s mission to escape this penalty to no avail. Which brings us to our next answer to the question “What pain and turmoil do the people need rest from?”

Isaiah not only provides us with the theological need for rest but also a historical need. That’s right, in this book of a Major Prophet we see hints of the histroical genre.

Isaiah 1:1 “In the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.”

Isaiah 6:1 “In the year that king Uzziah died”

7:1 “In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah...”

10:20 “In that day” speaking of the day when the Lord would finish his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, when he would punish the king of Assyria.

14:28 “In the year that king Ahaz died...”.

Basically what we are seeing is that Isaiah, the most quoted prophet in the New Testament, is saying history matters. Isiah is implying that gaining a proper historical context is important and must be done if we desire to understand his prophetic message.

To understand Isaiah Chapter 14 I had to go back a bit further, to Chapter 7 of Isaiah, 2 Kings 15:37 - Chapter 16, and 2 Chronicles 28. Through an in depth historical study this is a summary of the events leading up to Isaiah’s message in Chapter 14.

King Ahaz was 16 years old when he began to reign as king of Judah. Like many other kings of Judah Ahaz did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord. He was 16 years old when he was thrown in the middle of a regional war between nations. On every side he was facing attacks. 16 years old. How many of you were ready to do your homework at 16, let alone be responsible for the health and welfare of an entire nation of people? In his fear Ahaz turned to the safety and protection of men, specifically Assyria. He took the treasures of God, from the temple, and gave them to the king of Assyria as an offering in exchange for protection from his enemy number one at the time…Damascus. The king of Assyria leads a conquest successfully overthrowing Damascus. While in Damascus Ahaz sees something he likes…the altars of Damascus where the people presenting offerings to their gods.

Ahaz orders Uriah, the high priest, to make a replica of this altar. This isn’t even the worst part. After completing the replica and returning to the land of Judah, Ahaz does the unthinkable…he places the altar in the temple of God. Seeing that there wasn’t much room, he moves the altar of God and in its place he sets the altar of Damascus, where he proceeds to make offerings to God. Clearly the altar of the Lord was of no help. So what does the king do, he does what all kings do and asserts his authority in ordering the people of Judah to do likewise.

God, having been provoked by the wickedness of his people shuts them down, by using the very same people that protected Ahaz and the house of Jacob…the Assyrians. Only now the Assyrians are filled with pride beyond measure. Not only do they defeat Judah, they humiliate Gods people in Israel. Having gained such power they begin to abuse said power for selfish gain and proclaim that they are mightier than the hand of God, to be feared and honored.

Again this brings us to an example of our finite, another way of saying limited, nature. Because we are bound by time I will attempt to provide a brief yet concise summary of the events that led up to Isaiah having been called by God to preach a message of hope to the people of God.

is answered with more research, specifically, the history of the house of Jacob, which is the same as saying the house of Israel, or the land of Jacob and Israel. All of these sayings represent the remnant chosen people of God.

Today I am going to share with you four attributes of God that can give you cause to stand in awe of God today, and what better time than today.

Before I give a brief description of the reason we need to remember who God is, let me recall the wise words of a Preacher, the son of David, king Solomon of Jerusalem.

Ecclesiastes 1:9 “What has been will what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.”