Isaiah Chapter 1 Part 1

Shalom and welcome to via after Israel a Hebrew phrase which means you shall love Israel we hope you'll stay with us for the next 30 minutes as our teacher dr. Baruch shares his expose Ettore teaching from the Bible dr. Baruch is the senior lecturer at the Sarah Avraham Institute based in Israel although all courses are taught in Hebrew at the Institute dr. Baruch is pleased to share this weekly address in English to find out more about our work in Israel please visit us on the web at love Israel you are G that's one word love Israel o RG now here's Baruch with today's lesson who was the greatest prophet of them all if we were to ask individuals that question that vast majority would respond Isaiah and the reason for that is simple some of the best-known prophecies in the Bible are found within the prophecy of Isaiah and some of the most glorious promises of God are indeed found within the prophecies of Isaiah but here's something that might surprise you even though Isaiah's name means god of salvation or God who saves and we see much concerning his salvation but never less we're going to find as we go through this prophecy that so much of Isaiah's words to the reader is one of judgment in fact we're going through this prophecy in our study center in Israel currently and the idea here that most people had as we began and went through the first several months is that Isaiah he speaks about gloom and doom so much of what he has said has to do with the fact that he's not pleased with his people Israel and that he's going to bring judge and also he's not pleased with the nation surrounding Israel Israel's enemies so judgment is a prevalent theme within this book but salvation and judgment they are not unrelated as I have shared numerous times it is only through judgment that salvation can be manifested and when we look at the book of Revelation we see that when God pours out his judgment when he extends his wrath to this world the heavens are going to rejoice the heavens are going to give thanks to God because it is precisely God's judgment that gives birth to the kingdom of God and Isaiah we're going to learn much from him in the later chapters concerning the kingdom of God and that should not be a surprise to us because salvation and the kingdom well they're really the same issue so with that said take out your Bible and let us begin in chapter 1 verse 1 of this prophecy from Isaiah we read here in verse 1 a vision now it's not called a prophecy it is not called a burden or the word of the Lord - Isaiah and I say these things because this is how many other prophets begin their prophecy they speak of a burden a word of judgment from God they speak about the word of the Lord which was to them but here we see the concept of a vision and what we're going to learn is that over and over much like we see in the book of Revelation concerning John the same thing can be said to Isaiah that he encountered over a long period of time and I'll clarify that in a moment but over a long period of time Isiah encountered visions from God and therefore we read in verse 1 a vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz which and we have that same word for vision now we'll translate which he saw but it's not a normal word for seeing something looking at something it's simply the word vision in a verb form so we don't say that in English but in Hebrew you can we'll translate it which he saw he vision this he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem Judah being the southern kingdom and Jerusalem obviously the capital of Israel the place where God caused his name to dwell where God in a unique way manifested himself and let me simply say that God we know theologically that God is everywhere we speak of the omnipresence of God but in a unique way God was present in Jerusalem with the tabernacle and then ultimately the temple of God so verse 1 a vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz which he visioned which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of and we're going to see a few kings mention in the days of who's a Yahoo Yotam a hoss and it's Keauhou the kings of Judah so in a unique way there's an emphasis not on all of Israel but on judah the southern kingdom and not on the of the north although one counter some of them but primarily the kings of the south the kings of Judah and we see that his prophecy the visions that he received was over a very long period of time he spoke and gave these prophecies that he received throughout the days of uzziah we say in Hebrews a yahoo and then Yotam and as well a has and Hezekiah now when we look who's a Yahoo he reigned for a period of 52 years we see that Yotam 4:16 and also a has 16 and then finally his Keauhou reign between 19 and 29 years depending upon whether he stood alone or with another so when we look at this we find that most scholars say that he prophesied depending upon when he began in the days of Uzziah who approximately 60 to 65 years rabbinical scholars say even longer than that so first and foremost we need to realize that i zay did not receive a vision one night and then wrote it down taught it prophesied before the people over a short period of time quite the contrary is seen that Isaiah received prophecy these visions over a half of century and his rule as a prophet extended a long period of time well over fifty years so he had great influence being recognized as a prophet and this longevity also gave him a degree of of power respect among the people let's move on to - now notice his words he says hear hear o heavens and give ear o earth or land the word is arrance Eretz is land specifically the land of Israel but it can also be thought of as the earth when we see heavens and earth what comes into your mind obviously Genesis 1 and therefore we see that here in Isaiah there is a hint of creation but once again we're not talking about the first creation but the second creation and that is the establishment of the kingdom of God ultimately this is where Isaiah is going when we look at the end chapters we see that there's an emphasis and revelation concerning the final kingdom of God so here oh heavens give ear to different words for a hearing or listening give ear o earth for the Lord he spoke now it's in the past tense for he has spoken and the implication is that he's going to speak but we see this tense being used here to speak about God speaking in a complete in the way of entirety meaning he's going to give a complete a full a holistic message to Israel so he says the Lord he has spoken he goes on and says sons or children the word in Hebrew is Benina children I have raised and exalted so God has brought Israel this is the subject of his his prophecy he has brought the Jewish people into existence and he has exalted them they are his chosen people and notice what he says here in this passage he says children I have raised and exalted but and the word here is they normally translated an but many times in the scripture this one letter word they should be understood as but in our language it shows a contrast that God has raised and exalted Israel but they have transgressed against me and it's a word for a transgression but also this word can also be seen as crime that is breaking both civil and spiritual law it is not a word that simply speaks of sinfulness from a religious standpoint but also violations from a general standpoint meaning they have violated everything the laws of God and the laws of man verse three he writes the Ox knew his owner now once more it's not the word yo daya the Ox knows in the presence but the Ox has known his owner and the point here is that he knows him well he knows him completely and the the donkey the trough of his owner now it's a different word but it's signifying that the ox and the donkey they know who they belong to they recognize the authority of the owner over them but Israel says Israel does not know my peep Hasnat and the word is pitbull men which means to to pay attention in a very observant in a very well manner so Israel does not know God Israel is not paying attention not studying not giving much attention to the Lord God in other words Isaiah begins by saying God is not important to the people his people at that time and because of that look at verse 4 the first word hoy it speaks about how bad something's going to be that God is not pleased with the people and therefore there's going to be an outcome a result from God's negative disposition against Israel so he says whoa o sinful nation and the word here is boy hey go hotae the nation that that sins and a people covet of own a people heavy in iniquity or heavy are their iniquities meaning they have violated the Word of God in a very serious manner they are offspring of of evildoers they are sons or children that are corrupt and they have left the Lord so it's not that God has abandoned Israel but they have through their choice of sin iniquity and transgression we see all three of these words used early on the word patient they pet these three words signify Israel's condition before God and therefore because of this behavior their own interests their unwillingness to to listen and pay attention to God what have they done as vu at Hashem they have left the Lord and then we find that they have and it's a synonym for blasphemy they have spoken incorrectly they have spoken in an improper way to the Lord and here he's called Kadosh yes realm they have spoken against the Holy One of Israel and they have turned backward so they have moved away from God they have left him but here says they have turned backward and this realizes this helps us to realize that we are either moving for as Paul says we are moving that upward call walking in obedience Kadeem afford or we're moving backwards and here Judah the Jewish people 2,800 years ago they are moving in the wrong direction they have left and they have turned backwards from the Lord look now to verse 5 au may which means on account of what have they been bruised and here it's in the second person he's asking them a question for red reason have you been been hit and he goes on to say and more have you been turned aside so we see something they had been struck he says you have been struck again because the implication is once more they have turned aside for the head the head of Israel they are are sick and your heart is disease so two words the head and the heart once more we see parallelism when this prophecy is being recorded we see throughout the prophecy it's poetic parallelism and let me go back and and pick up some of this we see parallelism between the heavens and the earth we see parallelism between the ox and the donkey we see parallelism between the fact that Israel did not know and they did not pay attention and then finally we see parallelism between them being corrupt and evil ones and also how they have left the Lord and how they blast mean the Holy One of Israel and now in verse 5 we see parallelism between the head and the heart the head in the heart it's synonymous with a thinking a thought process so it's saying here that Israel in two ways with your mind and with your heart that you are making poor decisions in fact they have a sick a diseased way of looking at things their thought process are not pleasing to God verse 6 from the sole of your feet unto your head and we read and bow matome now some will take this literally and say there is not in him soundness that word matome from something being whole or complete but this expression is used in modern Hebrew when we say and bow matome which speaks about soreness there's not anywhere that which is sound so it's a it's an idiom for pain or suffering so when we look it says from the bottom of your feet to the top of your head there is soreness you don't feel good he's saying and there is wounds and bruises and being struck and there is trouble now the word here for trouble mean things which are not in their correct way they had been afflicted they have been been in a a manner put in a manner that is incorrect and he goes on look at the universe 6 lo lo Zorro now most talk here about Israel's spiritual condition being likened to a disease or sickness where the people are bruised and wounded and have been struck and their wounds are infected and therefore you need to get rid of that infection and one of the ways that they did that was to press it out oftentimes if you have an infected cut there is a a liquid a yellowish liquid and you have to to press it out and this is what it's saying here that this has not been done and furthermore they have not been wrapped up and they have not been anointed with with ointment meaning they have that put that soft pointment upon the the bruise in order to make you feel better what the Prophet is saying is Israel is wounded her wounds have been infected and there is nothing being done to bring health or healing to the children of Israel that's what's being emphasized in this passage because of that Israel the land itself suffers and this brings out a parallelism as well there is a relationship between the spiritual condition of the people and the physical condition of the land and therefore we read here your land is desolate your cities have been burned with fire and your land this is a another word for a land the first one was Eretz speaking about the land in a general sense and now Aadam us about the ground itself it says the your ground before you are foreigners and they devour it meaning and this is certainly going to be proven out that Israel is being attacked foreign armies are coming in and they're making the Land of Israel desolate and when I say Israel at this time we're speaking solely about the the southern kingdom Judah for the most part when we get into later chapters will see that the northern part is indeed alluded to but most of the time it is being ruled over by outward Nations not the people themselves within the land the land is desolate as it's been overtaken by foreigners and the work here speaks about a revolution as a revolution has occurred within the land by foreigners verse 8 the daughter of Zion is likened to what a suka that is left among the vineyards so oftentimes people would build a temporary shelter a Sukkah a shack for example during the the harvest time and after the harvest has ended they have left they have abandoned that that Shack there because it serves no purpose so is you God is looking at Israel and saying you're not serving a purpose you are like a key breeding like and this is another word or a shack in a vegetable patch you are like a city that has been laid siege against so abandoned someone that doesn't pay attention to something that grows in disrepair and now it says you are like a city that is being laid siege against verse verse 9 Lulay Lulay speaks about a situation in the sense that if this were not the case then this would be and what's happening here well in verse 8 it says had the Lord of hosts had not he left for us a survivor so God himself he acted in preserving a remnant a survivor for the children of Israel had he not done so then Judah would have been like Saddam that is Sodom and we would have been like likened to a mora which is gomorrah sodom and gomorrah so these are very very pointed terms to speak about how God how much God is dissatisfied not pleased with his people he'll Atkins them to Sodom and Gomorrah verse 10 now it's important that we recognize parallelism so we learned something notice verse 10 listen the word of the Lord O officials of sodam or Sodom now what's important here God now is addressing Judah the Jewish people and he's calling them Sodom and he says listen the word of the Lord and then he says give ear words shampoo and Xenu hozy newt means to listen but you have to draw close you have to pay attention in a unique way he says give ear to the law of our God people of Ellora of the moor now what do we liken and learn from this passage well what's being liking here is the word of the Lord to the law of God and this is something that's so significant if we look at the Book of Isaiah and we say Isaiah speaks in a magnificent way concerning Messiah and his salvation we also have to put significance in the fact that when it says listen to the word of the Lord it likens the Word of God his revelation to the law of God verse 11 now in verse 11 he's going to say that the people's worship how they respond to God spiritually religiously is inadequate and once again he's very displeased by that he says why is to me these abundant sacrifices the Lord says I am situated meeting I've had too much of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of cattle meaning to choice parts of the cattle that you offer up and the blood of bulls and and sheep and goats he says I have not desired now does this mean that none of these things God ever desired that these things are wrong this is not what he's saying he's saying when you offer them up with the mindset when you're just going through the motions when you're fulfilling obligations but your behavior doesn't reflect a change in heart what these sacrifices represent and should teach when you offer up sacrifices with that mindset living in that manner God says these I have not desired so it's not saying that these offerings are against God's will that he's changed but he's displeased with the manner in which they are being offered up he says look now to verse 12 for when you come to appear before me now we can translate it maybe a little bit more literally ki Tov oh they wrote pnai when you will come to see my face to appear before me he says who has required this from your hand that trampling my courtyards so why does it use that phrase or a most cursory cut sorry he says that because he's speaking about them coming and they're doing so in an improper way instead of worshipping in these holy places they are trampling the holy courts of God he says you shall not continue to bring the offering of futility now it's a word shove which means vain or or that which is futile he's speaking when you comment this way not having the proper purpose therefore I don't want this don't continue to offer such sacrifices and incense he says which is an abomination to me so the sacrifices the offerings the incense God's not pleased with because of how the mind said the behavior the people when they offer them up he said whole dish that is the new and Shabbat your your holy convocations he says I am NOT able an issue here is I'm not able to tolerate the wickedness and acts era is a assembly but it's usually referring to one in particular and that shovelled what he said here is that he's not wanting any more to experience when Israel's in this spiritual condition he doesn't want these these observances any longer and he ends with a Sarah which is uniquely related to shove rote or Pentecost he's saying this day was a day that was supposed to be the the highest one of worship and experiencing God and God wants nothing of that with the people in their current condition your your new moons verse 14 your appointed days he says my soul and when we speak about a person soul even the soul of God in this poetic language it's speaking of it in a strong way that I really I I hate my soul hates these new moons and these appointed times for they have become a burden and he says I have grown weary of of lifting them up meaning responding to them so God is very frustrated with the people now realize that all of this language about God is to help us to understand his displeasure with the people that he has not seen any reflection from them of his word his instructions his commandments and therefore God is distancing himself from them in the way of being a blessed God and we're going to see judgment coming and before that next week we'll see how God offers them an opportunity to repent but unfortunately the children of Judah are not interested in repenting verse 15 and when you spread out your hands this is literally the cuff here is the Yad the hand this here is a cuff so he says when you spread out when you open up hands and lift them up to the Lord spreading them out before me he says my eyes will ignore you also he says also for the fact that you make abundant prayers he says I will not listen why your hands are full of blood shedding innocent blood so God saying when this is your actions your deeds I'm not going to engage you I'm not going to look at you I'm not going to hear I'm not going to respond what does he call the people to do he says wash yourselves purify yourself and remove evil deeds from before my eyes and cease to do evil just like simple it's a call to repentance and it's only when they are willing to do verse 16 and 17 that God offers them forgiveness look at verse 17 which will be our last verse in this study he says learn well now some say learn to do well and that's the implication learn to do the things which are good and what is that seek justice and this word seek is demanded not just with words but act in a manner that establishes justice and that means we had the phrase a shrew Hummels which means correct makes straight the ruthless one now this word huh moats it speaks of one that is far removed he's ruthless in his opposition to the things of God and it says here correct set straight this one and what is going to bring that about I mean that's a hard job well it begins by judging properly the orphan and contending for the widow and it's only when we are willing to do those things are we going to see God move in such a way his anointing come upon his people in order that the ruthless ones are going to be changed and when we do not contend for the widow and we do not execute justice for the orphan when we don't look upon the least of our brethren what's going to happen it is going to empower encourage these ruthless ones to act and behave and they're going to take leadership among us so he's saying unless you do these things then God is not going to offer the people forgiveness this lays and I'll close with this a very important theological truth and that is that the offering of salvation must always be accompanied with a command from God to change we are not saved by our ability to change but we won't be saved if we do not believe that God is calling us to change if we don't believe that and we don't desire a change then salvation is not being offered up to a person we have to agree that sin is wrong and we have to have the desire to turn away from sin we'll never find the power to do that until we're saved but we have to realize that a proclamation of salvation the offering of the good news of God's forgiveness his grace his mercy his forgiveness always must be attached to a call to repentance this desire to turn away from evil and embrace that which is God's will well I'll close with that until next week and we continue on in Chapter one of the prophecy of Isaiah until then may God richly bless you Shalom well we hope you will benefit from today's message and share it with others please plan to join us each week at this time and on this channel for our broadcast of love Israel org again to find out more about us please visit our website love Israel dot bow RG there you will find articles in numerous other lectures by Baruch these teachings are in video form may download them or watch them in streaming video until next week may the Lord bless you in our Messiah Yeshua that is Jesus as you walk with Him Shalom from Israel [Music]

Channel: LoveIsrael.org

Views: 6,965

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Keywords: Book of Isaiah

Id: bPMpE355XLE

Length: 38min 51sec (2331 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 12 2020