Isaiah (Session 1) Intro & Chapter 1

the book of the prophet Isaiah I know my Jewish friends will be shaking their heads the Americans we always say Isaiah I think that's that plight probably it's most of us so I won't try to do it correct because I'm sure I'm not doing it correctly enough so it's Isaiah for all of us this is the first session and it's just an introductory session in just the first chapter tonight and so the name itself is ayah no devalues salvation is what the word apparently actually means now we're also going to draw will continue to use the King James Version is sort of our baseline but we're going to be something a little different here for a number of reasons we're gonna draw on the International Standard Version Bible it's just being released now the ISV is it's called it the its primary it teaches kind of the Dead Sea Scrolls as the primary text it's the only translation that's ever done that and using the great Isaiah scroll as the base text and the Masoretic text and the Septuagint and the Syrian and and Targum all boys are compared as variants as most translations do attempt to do and but we also are blessed by having a specific translation by dr. Peter Flint himself who is acknowledged as the the world expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls and dr. Flint and dr. Welty who are the very very active in the is V program and they so and we also have direct personal access to them that help us with some of the difficult passages so in addition to the International Standard Version II obviously by doing that we're leaning primarily on the Dead Sea Scrolls the dss it's called that was found in 1947 in cave one and that's sometimes called the great scroll the great Isaiah scroll and there's actually a second Isaiah scroll but not as complete as the first one and so we have a proprietary translation that from the paleo Hebrew into English by dr. Flint that we're drawing on but we also will of course lean on the Septuagint and on the Masoretic text which is most most translations uses so that's the perspective that we'll be drawing on as we go through this incredible book now Isaiah is a very unusual guy he was the son of Amos not Amos the prophet a different Amos if you will both the first and last letters of the name are different in the Hebrew by the way he we believe he may be the brother of a messiah who was who's I as the father of the King if you will which makes if that's correct then as I as actually a royal blood is actually a royal rank if you will and so he had direct access to the King we discovered when we get to chapter 7 he had intimacy with a high priest he's going to be distinctive by the way in the sense that he is actually has a court position as a prophet prior to him prophets were for a person Nathan for David and so forth but Isaiah really was had had oil standing before the King in a very unique way as well so Jerusalem of course was his home and he was the court preacher if you will he apparently was martyred and the tradition is that he was killed by King Manasseh who apparently cut him in half with a wooden saw and that's not only in the Jewish traditions but it may be an allusion and he in the Epistle to the Hebrews chapter 11 makes an allusion to that so he had he was married had two sons and they have some pretty wild names we'll deal with that later but because they're named symbolically for prophetic reasons and we'll get into that later as we get into the book he is acknowledged to be the greatest of the writing prophets he ministered during the reign of four kings and that that included the invasion of the northern kingdom by Assyria that'll be a big event that we'll be dealing with as it goes forward something else that we'll touch on as we go forward here that all calendars on the planet Earth changed in 701 and there's some evidence that the orbit of the earth was altered for some reasons and we'll talk about that when we get into then so but Isaiah is the most comprehensive of all the prophets his span of themes included the creation of the universe all the way through to a creation of a new heavens and a new earth so that's a pretty broad span of his writings no other prophet matches his eloquence he is an articulate writer and especially on the glory of God all the nations of the world are included in this predictions so we won't be surprised as we run into some very very contemporary comments and no other prophet is as focused on God's redemptive work of the Messiah and so forth Oh Maury there's no prophet more clearly aware of grace in the Old Testament than Isaiah now his vocabulary is interesting they measure sometimes well carry the number of different words that the the writer uses Ezekiel uses about a little over 1500 Jeremiah about 1600 the psalmist collectively a little over 2000 but Isaiah is almost 2200 and he compares in a sense if you're a student of English you know that Milton Dante and Shakespeare our regard as having the largest English vocabularies on record and so in in in the Jewish sense Isaiah would head the list in their domain so very articulate guy he has versatility is versatility of expression the brilliance of his imagery has no rival in the Bible and it's regarded as the climax of the Hebrew literary art and he uses epigrams in metaphors interrogation and dialogue the antithesis and alliteration and hyperbole and parables you'll also discover in Isaiah it's probably incidental tour through the the story but it's going to be provocative to us to discover encryptions if you're a student of cryptography you're aware of some patterns in the Bible and one occurs in Isaiah chapter 7 we'll deal with that issue when we get there but I think that's rather provocative it's well known to the science of encryption as one of the early forms of encryption in the chapter 7 but we'll also discover another form of something you probably would consider an encryption equidistant letter sequences and you'll be startled with what is encrypted in Isaiah 53 when we get to this centerpiece of the third section of the book and so it's poetical has rhythmic style this examples of that and the rhythms and and stylings are very well identified and they're in your notes if you want to go chase those things down but I want to pause before we get into the book itself to deal with something that is astonishing to me and that's the fact that well first of all you need to know there is a tradition as I said that Isaiah was sawed in half by King Manasseh and but something that has happened we know for sure they tried to saw his book and half so I'm calling a section song Isaiah asunder and this is a precious lesson I should but anecdotally make a comment here when I was a teenager I got very interested in the Bible and I started collecting books and I'd saved my money and buy some commentaries and I ran it and I did this without a lot of knowledge at first and I picked up some beautiful commentaries well bound very modern very nice and so forth and I encountered the scholastic tradition that Isaiah really didn't write Isaiah it was really written by different two different guys and so forth and it's interesting because of that as I ran into some of that it tended to cloud my perception of the Bible being inspired by the God uniquely and then I entered a period of my life where I didn't never rejected the Bible I stayed involved in it but not with the zeal I had before for probably more than twenty years I was sort of sitting in two Bibles but I didn't really have that initial edge that I started with and because I ran into what what I'll call today's pseudo scholarship it sounded very good and this is one of them the so-called Deuter Isaiah thing and so higher criticism it's called led to the so called deutero Isaiah belief that there really - Isaiah's the chapters 1 through 39 was 1 Isaiah and from 40 to the end was a second Isaiah in fact there's even some versions of that it divides into three parts but I'll skip that for now - Isaiah is that really bothered me that was so widely accepted among seminaries as I started doing a sophisticated reading I realized it was naive to think that Isaiah wrote Isaiah and what's amazing that's in spite of any concrete evidence on that any part of Isaiah ever existed without the other part and as far back as 200 BC the dogma of most scholarship today is that two or more individuals authorize eya you'll find that among those that considers themselves biblically literate and - Isaiah's and this perspective arose originally in the deistic climate of the 18th century Europe originally Godman McDormand was one of the first to argue for a second author and he said explicitly that since Isaiah could not have foreseen the fall of Jerusalem the 70 year captivity the return of Cyrus he could not have written those chapters making such claims in other words he rejected prophecy and since Isaiah is so explicit in those prophecies and obviously couldn't be what it's represented to be that was the view that emerged from the so-called higher critics of that period so I stumbled from what I call pseudo scholarship and so they said your whole idea the tradition says that Isaiah was sawn asunder and I say that's what's happened to the book it was sawed in half and so we're indebted I have to I can't summarize quickly how indebted I feel to the Apostle John because there is quite a bit of stuff and I'll share that with you shortly but the the the Apostle John has a couple of verses that when I encountered and realized what they said they were a life spring to me and let's get into that it's in John chapter 12 and there in John 12 starting about the verse 37 John says but though he had done so many miracles being of Jesus before them yet they believed not on him that the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled which he spake Lord who hath believed our report and to whom hath the lower arm of the Lord been revealed so John is making a comment here that they were in disbelief as Isaiah predicted and what he's doing here he's quoting from Isaiah in verse 37 and that may sound if you recognize that phrase that's obviously coming from the the first of the opening line of Isaiah 53 but he's talking is according from Isaiah the prophet and so let's move on here therefore they could not believe because that Isaiah said again he hath blinded their eyes hardened their heart that they should not see with their eyes nor understand with their heart and be converted and I should heal them these things said Isaiah when he saw his glory and spake of him and that phrase occurs in Isaiah chapter 6 and the verse that's become dear to me personally is verse 40 because in verse 40 you see the end he says I said Isaiah but in verse 40 therefore they could not believe because that Isaiah said again you see what John is doing me you missed this unless you're watching for it John is quoting from Isaiah part two so to speak then he's quoting from part one but he connects them with verse 40 that same Isaiah I believe that's the Holy Spirit just throwing out the window all this baloney that rises out of higher criticism and that verse that that that Isaiah that meant so much to me and I remember I was sharing this with dr. Walter Martin and it says Chuck those were the years they're locusts of Eden I said that's great what does that do because the Lord is going to give you those years back and so I feel that my life from this discovery on was enriched because I didn't waste my time chasing these fool this foolishness that masquerades of scholarship and that's one reason I wanted before we even get into Isaiah throw that out the window don't be surprised at the the the pseudo scholarship that you'll encounter on this subject and so that single verse verifies that that Isaiah said again but in the meantime just to arm you a little more fully there are 61 separated passages that are quoted and refer to 85 times in the New Testament 23 of those passages are from what I'll call Isaiah 1 the first 39 chapter and 28 of them are from Isaiah 2 and that they're corded for 53 times so 85 all together Isaiah 1 talks about the reign of Christ and the kingdom talks about the virgin birth in chapter 7 I say it talks about the reign of Christ and Isaiah 9 that Jesus rule over the world in Isaiah 9 Christ is the descendant of David in Chapter 11 Christ to be filled with the spirit in chapter 11 the Christ a judge with righteousness in chapter 11 and Christ to rule over the nation's in chapter 11 how precious those passages are let's go to Isaiah part 2 if you want to call it that Christ to be gentle to the weak in Isaiah 42 Christ to make possible a new covenant and Isaiah 42 and 49 Christ to be a light to the Gentiles and to be worshipped by them is in 42 and 49 and 52 and so forth Christ to be rejected by Israel is described in Isaiah 49 and detailed in 53 in fact Isaiah 53 summarizes Paul's epistles more succinctly than any of us probably could Christ to be obedient to God and subject to suffering Isaiah 50 and of course 53 Christ to be exalted of course in Christ to restore Israel and judge the wicked and 61 and so forth Jesus himself quotes from Isaiah 29 and Mark 7 and he quotes in chapter 42 he quotes from Matthew 12 or you say Matthew 12 Accords that code and then that's the one we just looked at and that is they referenced in his met in Matthew 8 by quoting Isaiah 53 so we find Jesus quoting from all parts of Isaiah if you will and these are example that are in your notes so we'll just move on here Isaiah is mentioned 21 times by six books in the New Testament as an author ten times he's quoted mentioned and what I'll call Isaiah 1 because we have Matthew 4 it quotes from Isaiah 9 in Matthew 13 there's a quote from Isaiah 69 in Matthew 15 I said 29 and then mark 7 for myself 29 we have John 12 the one we looked at shortly ago and John 41 and again 69 we have axed 28 quote 6 and C 6 9 is quoted a great deal by the way all through and Romans 9 quotes Isaiah 10 and also to Isaiah 1 and so Romans 15 from Isaiah 11 and on it goes so it's all from the first jobs day now from the second Isaiah we have eleven times there we have Matthew in chapter 40 and in mark we have a chapter 42 we have Luke chapter 40 Luke chapter 4 it quotes Isaiah 61 and that's the Christ mandate when you in Nazareth I'm John 1 quotes Isaiah 43 is during the Baptist introduction and we just go right on through here there's 11 of these where in the New Testament it's quoting from the point is you're a New Testament interchanges their quotes from one am to there is no there is it's the same guy it's my point and so six different speakers quote Isaiah here's another Talley Christ speaks of it four times our list of those earlier three times from what we call Isaiah one and one Sam Isaiah 2 Matthew quotes from each side Luke quotes four times from Isaiah to John quotes three times twice from Isaiah one and one and so they're bridging if we were these six speakers are bridging the the so-called two parts what I'm calling here with my tongue in my cheek I'd say a one in Isaiah 2 so the manuscript evidence though is a very strong and it gives important evidence of Jesus claims to God Isaiah's writings were completed many centuries before Christ was born and yet they are completely accurate about his birth the Dead Sea Scrolls contain more than one complete scroll of this book well before the birth of Christ and the that was included in the Septuagint translation which it was the earth up until the Dead Sea Scrolls the earliest version of the Old Testament Scriptures that and it was translated some time about 300 years before before Christ's ministry and Isaiah is presented there in the Septuagint as a single book not as a split book and when the Dead Sea Scrolls come along we discover a complete scroll of Isaiah dated from the second century BC and it's a single unit chapter 39 the be end of chapter 39 in the beginning of chapter 40 are one continuous column of text see there's no manuscript evidence supporting this nonsense that is embraced by so many seminaries see this demonstrates that the scribes who copied the scroll never doubted the singular unity of the book and I'll also add this as you understand the book you'll be overwhelmed by the unity of the book yourself it's not that big a mystery and so sitting and the New Testament authors and the early church quoted both sections and tributed only 2:1 Isaiah's I think I've hammered here a bit so out of all this here's something a guard I want to have you put on yourselves here learn to be a critical thinker don't confuse don't force I'll be skeptical of unsupported academic traditions you'll discover that seminaries are full of traditions that are not true it's astonishing how academia in general especially in science not just theology embraces traditions that are not true and don't mistake sophistication for scholarship fancy vocabularies elaborate equation no no be a critical thinker make acts 17:11 litmus test as you know for what five decades we've had acts 17:11 as our trade market be like the Bereans in that they were more noble than those in Thessalonica in that they received the word with openness of mind and then searched the Scriptures daily to prove whether those things be so that's two parts and for many many years I emphasize the second part search the scripture daily to prove those things to be so in recent years I realized the tough that isn't the tough part the tough parts the first part have an open mind with readiness of mind set aside your own presuppositions when you go to the biblical text receive the word all readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures daily to prove are those things be so and make your refuge the whole Council of God if you have a perception make sure it stands the test of fitting into the whole fabric all 66 books if you will well to give you a quick glimpse of what we're going to get into here we're going to discover the vision of the throne of God and I that's the way it's called in the by most commentators I think he actually was there I don't think it's just a vision by the way but we'll get into that in Chapter six and of course the virgin birth issue we'll deal with when we get to chapter seven and incidentally it's also the chapter we will encounter some interesting encryptions that will reveal a plot behind a plot on the king chapter nine will be the Messianic revelation then we'll also get an exposure to the origin of Lucifer Satan is he real where did he come from what's all that about and we'll even talk a little bit about the Great Pyramid which may be an allusion in chapter 19 John the Baptist emerges in chapter 40 and chapter 53 is an astonishing chapter for many reasons that's the suffering death of the Messiah and we'll see Jesus quote from 61 his mandate when he starts his ministry and it was even when we get to 65 and 66 we'll talk about the millennium and beyond the millennium itself is a controversial thing but it's interesting that most of what we know about the millennium does not come from Revelation chapter 20 it comes from Isaiah 65 and 66 and so we'll get into that when very heavy at that time but it's interesting you'll discover that the deity of Christ the Eternity pre-existence creatorship omnipotence omnipresence we were indebted to Isaiah for insights and all those things the Incarnation is going to be hidden heavily we're going to discover a lot about his youth when he grew up in Nazareth and then anointed as a servant the Lord in Chapter 11 and how he got delighted in him we'll learn a lot about his manner and his kindness as a bee this is all described in Isaiah centuries before Jesus was born and his message in miracles and so forth we'll we'll learn a lot about his sufferings you'll learn some things about the sufferings of Christ that you won't find in the New Testament it goes beyond that the gathering to exaltation his rejection by Israel's all laid out in advance the shame he struck means bruised vicarious death on our behalf his burial his resurrection his ascension and the spiritual progeny from all of this and his high priestly ministry which many people don't realize and his future glory all dealt with by this incredible articulate capstone prophet of the scripture and as we do all this we're going to encounter something that may surprise you is that much of what Isaiah is talking about has to do with today there's a broader revelant than most people realize see God had called a special people to represent him they had become apostate and failed that's the real message here the enemies of God are represented by metaphors of Assyria and Babylon here God's judgments and his ultimate restoration are depicted and surprisingly relevant to us today many of us are very sensitive to the fact that we're moving that we're in the age of Laodicea what does that mean how does I say a rate late to that see most of us have a Greek model of prophecy we think of predictions and fulfillment predictions and fulfillment the Hebrew models a little different the Hebrew model is prophecy is pattern they see God dealing in patterns the patterns of the nation are Harvey nur's of Messiah himself and vice versa and we're going to see some of that emerge from Isaiah now the design of the book is in three major pieces the session one division one if you will is 35 chapters the first six are about Judah six has the King on the throne silly then Israel then it'll deal with eight nations specifically and then it'll deal with the the day of your evolving the day of the Lord what is all that about in fact chapters 24 through 27 are called by some scholars the little apocalypse it's like a miniature of Revelation in this sense we're going to talk about the six woes that come up on Jerusalem we're going to discover those six loaves are upon us today very graphically and then the tribulation of millennia moved up with that's the first major section of Isaiah there's a third section that's a big section between the two there's a little one we'll call division - it's a parenthetical historical insert and it's in four parts in fact it Carol elds second Kings 18 and second chronicles 32 in fact it looks as if second Kings 18 may have been written by Isaiah himself he was a assistant of the King in those days but chapters 30 the next for those four chapters 36 is Hezekiah as trouble and deals with the Asian invasion that's Forth Worth they talk about Hezekiah is prayer very unusual one and then his illness and finally his folly so it's a little for chapter historical insert before we get to the main event and the main event is division division three and 40 through 48 is the purpose of peace 49 to 57 is the Prince of Peace and 58 to 66 will be the program of peace and the highlight of the set division 3 is chapter 53 many people call it the Holy of Holies of the Old Testament and you'll discover it's very interesting it's exactly in the middle it's preceded by 13 chapters and there's 13 chapters that follow it and and of course it's bracketed also by a phrase there is no peace if you leave a mate to the wicked and that's both in front of it and behind it but that's the peak that's the pinnacle and that's really our target is to prepare ourselves for that third division of this book as we go forward so with all that as sort of a warm-up let's take a look at chapter one God's case against Judah in Chapter one this is the first this first chapter by the way is not an introduction just this part it's an introduction to the entire book many people list that it's about the sinfulness of God's chosen people the focus tactically is of course Judah and Israel but I'm going to suggest that most of us here would raise her if I said are you and God's chosen people you'd raise your hand we for you the churches - and are we sinful absolutely that's the problem and we're going to see the tender appeals to the Lord we'll talk about the certainty of coming judgment and we'll talk about the blessedness of the salvation to come and so on so let's just start let's say a chapter 1 verse 1 in the King James of course that's where you easily start the vision of Isaiah the son of amos which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of uzziah jotham ahaz and hezekiah kings of judah and so might point out this is the introduction to the entire book not just this section and so I'm Amos by the way is not the Amos of prophet the book we have a book called The Book of Amos that same it's the Prophet Amos here it says it's spelled with different first and last letters in the Hebrew he may have been the brother of a messiah the father of the king is I am which would make of course isaiah royal lineage and the cousin so now if we switch we're going to take a look as we go we're going to take advantage of the new the International Standard Version Bible which is coming out so let's take a look at this and they it reads as follows this is the record of the vision that Amos is son Isaiah had about Judah and Jerusalem during the reigns of Isaiah Jotham Ahaz kings of Judah small point you'll notice it doesn't mention Hezekiah and that's because the Hezekiah thing appears only in the master texts it looks like it was added by the master it's interesting it's certainly he rained he ministered in the days of Hezekiah but but not all the way but interesting ly enough that's that's that's not in the Dead Sea Scrolls it's not and it's a small point a subtle point by just one point out there there are subtle differences that will notice as we go because the ASV is taking advantage of the Dead Sea scroll perspective and so okay now the chronology here King Uzziah is we're going to discover in chapter 6 that when he dies is when Isaiah gets treated to a throne room of God so he starts that he's starting just near the end of his ayahs brain obviously he's followed by Jotham he's followed by a has who's a major loser and we'll talk about that when we get to chapter 7 and then comes Hezekiah and while he makes the mixed mistakes he's considered a good king but Hezekiah is followed by the worst of the bunch a guy by name Manasseh and the masses rain there was blood bordered a border and we just need to understand that he was bad news and and by least by tradition it looks like that that he is the one that martyred Isaiah and the tradition is that he sought him in half with a wooden saw and there's allusion to that in Hebrews 11 so that may have some substance here but we'll move on here see Isaiah may have outlived as Akaya strangely enough and it was sorts Manasseh that ended it for the last dated event is the 14th year of Hezekiah in year 701 that's when all calendars changed for some reason and there's and Hezekiah responded to that and we'll talk about that when we get there some very interesting conjectures come out of it but it's of course the the the Jewish tradition that he was put to death during the reign of Manasseh and that's in there in the Jewish documentation so we'll move on here then so sawed in half is what the writer but de Paula suggests in the Epistle of Hebrews well we've made it all the way to verse 2 let's keep going here here o heavens and give ear o earth for the LORD hath spoken I have nourished and brought up children and they have rebelled against me little / a little verse but it turns out that there's a lot of implications here whenever you hear heavens and earth were reminded of Genesis 1:1 it's really an echo if you will of the creation itself and really begins somewhat in the style of Deuteronomy 32 by the way the song of Moses but the it's interesting that Isaiah is positioned midway between Moses highly venerated in the Jewish community of course and the forthcoming messianic Office of the Messiah namely Jesus he's right between the two interestingly enough and so all the way from here through verse 30 at 23 the chasing that's been visited upon the land and the time of the expulsion is near is focused on this is detailed for you and Deuteronomy 28 and 29 and the renewal of the land covenant for future restoration is included in these passages also as we go here picking up the IFV before we go on he says listen you heavens and let earth pay attention because the Lord has spoken I reared children and brought them to adulthood but then they rebelled against me so as you compare the ISV with the King James it's no big surprise perhaps or reads a little smoother for our our ear I imagine but I want you to notice something that the commentators seem to some don't pick up on here they talk a lot about the Fatherhood of God as being a New Testament concept the Fatherhood of God is right here where he says I brought up children see the concept of God as our Father is is implicit in Isaiah's writing but we'll move on and so the I have nourished and brought up children he says so the Fatherhood and for God is his father hood over his chosen people and that actually is all through the Old Testament much the surprise of many people who have a different perspective from seminaries so the the the this this is the first explicit occurrence of that idea is back in Exodus 4 verse 22 but to assume this is restricted to the New Testament I love this the way one commentator says is to betray and ignorance of the facts I was quote so that's a very polite way of putting it the next verse is the Ox knoweth his owner and the ass his master's crib but Israel does not know and my people have not consider and so it's interesting that he's drawing a contrast to even animals that are not exactly sagacious here even the Ox is not considered a very bright animal but even he knows his owner and an ass knows who feeds him that sort of you mean that in sort of as a baseline and yet Israel doesn't hasn't figured out either one of those in regards to their owner or they're the one that provides their food and one of the things that we'll touch on as we go is God's primary jealousy is his role as creator and he has some specific judgments that he calls against those that fail to recognize him as creator his role as Redeemer you have to get from the Word of God but his role as creator of the creation itself bears testimony so we're without excuse while getting to the ASV they said the Ox knows its owner the donkey its master's feeding trough but Israel doesn't know and my people don't understand so it says that it captures a thing in a little more modern language perhaps our sinful nation a people laden with iniquity a seed of evildoers children that are corrupters they have forsaken the Lord they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger they are gone away backward okay that's the an on a show off sinful nation it's in the Hebrew it's hi guy there's a boy wee boy hey you know I guy is the as the nation ethnos and so in obviously this whole thing has a different flow in the in the Hebrew and so but the Holy One of Israel is auditioning title that's a very frequent title used by Isaiah of the Lord and so forth so let's say the ISV handle this a little different it says oh you sinful nation you people burdened down by iniquity you offspring of those who keep practicing what is evil you children who corrupt whatever they do they've abandoned the Lord they've despised the Holy One of Israel in their estrangement they've walked away from me and so that's the rendering there and so the the the mass errect X doesn't have the lack from me in there but that's this captures it pretty well continuing verse five why should ye be stricken any more he will revolt more and more the whole head is sick the whole heart faint and the IFV says why will you be struck down will you continue to rebel your whole head is sick and your whole heart is faint now so far the ISV we throw it here to get a flavor of it there are places where it's going to give a whole different perception in this case here it's just in a sense of putting the style from the King James little and more in the modern language but it's doing it with a competence that is unique we move on from the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness in it but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores they have not been closed neither bound up neither mollified with ointment and gasps visas from the sole of your foot to the top of your head there's no sound as evident only bruises sores and festering wounds that haven't been cleaned out bandaged or treated with oil so you get the flavor perhaps a little more clearly from the is VD but there's no surprise continuing your country is desolate your cities are burned with fire your land strangers devoured in your presence and it is desolate as overthrown by strangers so this is total destruction that's featured in Deuteronomy 29 Amos 9 and other passages and so the is V handles this with a subtitle God's diagnosis devastation so it goes on your country lies desolate your cities have been incinerated for your very eyes foreigners are devouring your land they've brought devastation on it while the land is overthrown by foreigners so that makes it pretty direct the the King James continues and the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers as a besieged city in the Hebrew this is really a disastrous description it's even courted by Paul in Romans 9c mere outward religion it's condemned this is regard as the most scathing indictment of religious formalism in Scripture and there's a series of parallel passages you can look in your notes that are in your notes I'll kiss bury that here the SV simply says the daughter of Zion is left abandoned like a booth in a vineyard like a hut in a cucumber field or like a city under siege so it distinct stew the language but makes it perhaps a little clearer to our understanding and going head here except the Lord of Hosts hath left unto us a very small remnant we should have been a Sodom and we should have been like Gomorrah that's pretty devastating literally of sodom and gomorrah because that had happened long before but if the lord of the heavenly armies hadn't left us a few survivors we would be like sodom we would be like the more in other words what he's focusing on is Sodom and Gomorrah were totally destroyed never to be rebuilt they weren't cities that had a bad time and then you got rebuilt no they were wiped out permanently and with no survivors there was no Sodom and Gomorrah today they're gone and they're used idiomatically that way here see unless if he had if we didn't have a few survivors we would have been like silent and Gomorrah and I'm reminded Billy Graham's famous quip several decades ago he said if God doesn't judge America he's going to have to apologize as Sodom and Gomorrah incredible soundbite and the points there one of the most frequent questions we have to answer when we travel when answer you have question-and-answer periods the America you know why hasn't God judge America because anyone that's spiritually sensitive realizes it's overdue and the answer is that probably has already started so we move on here continuing in verse 10 here the word of the Lord rulers of Sodom give ear unto the law of your God ye people of Gomorrah maintaining that that metaphor there if you will and so Sodom of course is simply here being used as a metaphor for Jerusalem they're using Sodom and Gomorrah as metaphors for Jerusalem and Judah we're gonna see later in the book they're going to use this Assyria and Babylon as metaphors for the enemies of God and that's what John picks up in Revelation as Mystery Babylon not the literal Babylon but something idiomatic and we'll get to that later but the svt treats verse 10 listen to what the Lord says you rulers of Sodom and pay attention to the teaching of our God you people of Gomorrah because it's going to get into here followed the whole idea of false worship they're worshiping but it's meaningless so to speak it contains two in verse 11 in the King James to what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me said the Lord I am full of the burnt offerings of rams the fat of fed beasts then I delight not in the blood of Bullock's or of lambs or of he goats and the United sweet pics this up pretty much how do your voluminous sacrifices benefit me the Lord is asking I've had enough of burnt offerings of rams in the fat of well-fed beasts I don't enjoy the blood of bulls lambs or goats so God is rejecting the formalism because their hearts not where it belongs verse 12 when he come to appear before me who hath required this at your hand to tread my courts and so may I ask to be handles that when you come to present yourselves in my presence who has required you to trample on my courts bring no more vain ablations incense is an abomination unto me the new moons and Sabbath's the calling of assemblies I can't I cannot away with it is iniquity even the solemn meeting gets a little clumsy probably of the King James for us art here's the word abomination of course is an abominable image in Revelation 13 really deals with the ultimate ones of those but go here he says stop it in the highest VIII treats verse 13 stop bringing useless offerings your incense is detestable to me as are your new moons Sabbath's and calling of convocations I cannot stand iniquity within a solemn assembly see he says in the verse 14 your new moons in your appointed feasts my soul hate it they are a trouble unto me I am wearied to bear them and the ivy trees as for your new moons and your appointment festivals I abhorred them they've become a burden to me I've grown weary of carrying that burden this is God talking about sacrifice things that they thought were part of his ordinances what's what's wrong here in continues and when you spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you yeah when you make many prayers I will not hear your hands are full of blood Wow okay the ISEE says when you spread out your hands in prayer I'll hide my eyes from me even though you pray repeatedly I won't listen your heads are full of blood your fingers drenched with iniquity a little clearer now give them credit a little clearer wash you make you clean put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes cease to do evil and this is an invitation to reconciliation he says wash yourselves and make yourselves clean remove your evil behavior from my presence stop practicing what is evil well okay that's a that's getting two specific requests here learn to do well seek judgment relieve the oppressed judge the fatherless plead for the widow see after the negative excitation of the preceding verse isaiah now gives five positive excitations the first of which lays the foundation and groundwork for the remainder of them five positive ones here the ISB says it's very we learned to practice what is good seek justice alleviate oppression defend orphans in court and plead the widows case that seems straightforward enough well next we come to a very key verse in Isaiah verse 118 come now let us reason together saith the Lord though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow and though that he read like crimson they shall be as wool and let's reason together meaning real let's reach an understanding and you know it's interesting that grace includes full amnesty but the ISV handles this pretty much pretty straightforward please come let us reason together employers the Lord even though your sins are like scarlet they shall be white like snow though they are like crimson they'll become like wool and so King James I find that actually easier but that's that's the slice there but there's more here that we want to talk about this word crimson in the Hebrew happens to be the word Toula and Tola turns out to be a very provocative allusion that Jesus himself uses of himself and when he hangs on the cross as we have it recorded in Psalm 22 Jesus apparently says but I am a worm and no man a reproach of men and despised of the people strange remark but here again he uses this strange word Toula now the reason he's doing that see the word Torah in Hebrew can mean scarlet or crimson it's traded translated crimson 38 times but you see scarlet dye was made from a particular worm thermos familial and it's an interesting illusion here this sermon service vermigli Oh Pierce's the thin bark of twigs to suck the sap from which it prepares a waxy scale to protect its soft body the red dye is in this scale when reproducing the female climbs the tree usually the home oak where it bears its eggs the larvae hatch and feed on the body of the worm in other words it gives its life for the young and what's interesting a crimson spot is left on the branch when the scarlet spot dries out in three days it changes to white as it flakes off what a provocative idiom we have here in three days how interesting that is to me come now let us reason together saith the Lord though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow though they be red like crimson they shall be as wool you know it's interesting how the Lord uses such careful metaphors here he's using the metaphor of the worm to be both scarlet and punch to this interesting biological model it's interesting when he talks in his in Matthew Matthew 13 he talks about the pearl the game of heaven is like like a pearl which and and the pearl is a strange metaphor for a judy use because they're not kosher it's the only jewel that responds to an irritation and then grows by accretion and is removed from its place of growth to be an item of adornment what a fabulous model of the church so as we watch these metaphors not only are they used consistently out through the scripture but we find them with amazing insights that we can apply so I passed that on as we go though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow though the red like crimson they shall be as well what a precious promise Isaiah 1:18 is your memory verse 4 the evening and we'll move on here now the reason I'm on this kick a little bit is because one of the things that bothers me is that most people don't know what the gospel is you can go to churches and find out they don't preach the gospel what is the gospel that makes it clear what is gospel Paul tells us what it is in a very unique place 1st Corinthians chapter 15 Paul says I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received how that Christ did three things he died for our sins according to the scripture he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to scriptures that's the gospel what's interesting to notice here he doesn't the gospel does not talk about his miracles his teachings his example those are all great don't misunderstand me the gospel is how Christ died for our sins according Scripture he didn't disappear he died most documented death on the planet Earth and he just died he fulfilled hundreds of specific specifications including his family tree and all kinds of other things and that he was buried only Paul emphasized that because it makes the thing about baptism later and that he rose again the third day ah see that's the key that's that's what all first great decisions all-out without that we have nothing but there was something else there he says that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures and one of it one of the challenges I I suggest you take on it's where in the Old Testament that's what he's talking about where in the Old Testament does it point to the it's the third day that he's gonna be in the tomb three days and if we get into that issue where does it say that well in four places at least Jonah of course that's pretty straightforward the Aki da Genesis 22 Rahab scored and the total of wormwood you just looked at the Jonah thing is pretty well we all think of that right away because in Matthew 12:40 Jesus said points and I says for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the belly in the whales belly so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth so that one's that that's there's there's an allusion from the Old Testament that directly points to the tomb okay great the Akkad is a little more subtle I won't try to develop it here but if you remember the the offering of Abraham offering Isaac he knew he was acting out prophecy and 2,000 years later on that very spot another father did offer his son as an offering for sin so that's a whole study on its own right but but ah Hebrews 11:19 points out that Isaac was dead to Abram for the three days it took to get there and but then we get to Ray AB score this is one you probably haven't seen I can't resist the sticking it in here for those that may not have seen this before in the Joshua chapter 2 we have Rahab giving coverage for a Asylum if you well for the the two spies that were there and she let them down by a cord through the window for our houses upon the town wall and she for she dwelt upon the wall so in other words the two spies that she's been sheltering she's gonna lower out let them sneak away obviously and so though when she uses that when she lifts him down by a cord she uses a Hebrew word hippo the word hebel can mean rope or cord obviously but it also is a word that can mean pain sorrow or travel it's one of those words that has two meanings well what they do what the two spires do they we reply to her a couple verses later and say behold when we come into the land thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by and thou shalt bring thy father thy mother thy brethren and they all I father's household home unto thee what they say is you've taken care of us when we attacked Jericho you put this cord out there and our troops will protect you and your family that you won't be injured as we as we level the place and so fair enough that's not look back see but something interesting when they refer to the line of scarlet thread they don't use the word camel they take a word different word another word stigma which can mean line or cord but it's another one of these words that has two meanings it also can mean hope or expectation in fact the National Anthem of Israel is hatikvah the hope they well what's interesting about this little passage is between those two verses she gives them when she tells him she's gonna let them out the window she said I didn't get you to the mountain lest the pursuers meet you hide yourselves there three days until the pursuers be returned and afterward may ye go your way so she's advising them don't go straight back to your camp go up in the mountains and hide until the search is over then go back to your people a strategy which they follow the question is why did she happen to say three days I don't think she knew I think the Holy Spirit was in charge here she'd say two days or four days she said three what's that God do you think let's examine the text and see what the Holies the Holy Spirit frequently diddles with the text I've discovered let's see what's doing here pebble can mean a rope record tech book can mean but see the Itchy each of these can mean a rope record but each of these words are a pun and can mean something different they can mean in the one case pain sorrow or travel in the other case hope and expectation and we understand that the ultimate pain and travel is the cross the ultimate hope is the empty tomb and how much space is between Kebbell and tikva three days between the cross and our empty tomb how many of you lose a Chuck you're making something out of nothing maybe I don't think so I just stand back in awe and realize that this is god-breathed the text is god-breathed and there are subtleties here that will surface if we're diligent so I challenge you with that one and so for what it's worth I said therefore of course the fourth one is the taller worm which introduced me to this little side trip but I couldn't resist it so we'll return to the text that from verses 19 through 31 the rest of this chapter is all about entreaty and warning and I want to point out as we go the failure of Judah and Israel is eclipsed in a sense by the failure of the church which is greater than that of Jerusalem because the church has had greater light so before we get too critical as as Isaiah rails against Judah and Jerusalem let's recognize that we're eligible for the same kind of entreaty and warning verse 19 if he'd be willing and obedient you shall eat the good of the land or in the eyes fever we are willing to be you will eat the best of the land produced okay that's fair enough but if he refuse and rebell you shall be devoured with a sword for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it or in the eyes of you but if you refuse Nivelle you'll be devoured by the sword because the Lord has spoken okay it's pretty straightforward no surprises in the King James how is the faithful City become a harlot it was full of judgment righteousness lodged in it but now murderers boy how much it's fallen right the word harlots a strong term but used this way not only here but throughout Hosea and other places and the IV handles is how the faithful cities become a she's used to be filled with justice righteousness used to reside within her but now only murderers live there so the is V perhaps makes it a little more crisp in our perspective perceptions thy silver has become dross by wine mixed with water and silver of courses the emblem of redemption here it says your silver has become dross and your best wine isn't alluded with water continued by princes are rebellious companions of Thieves everyone loveth gifts and followeth after rewards they judge not the fatherless neither death the cause of the widow come unto them what Isaiah saying here he now gives the explanation for the figures of speech he's and boy since the corruption of the nation generally begins with its rulers Isaiah singles these out for denunciation that's how tragic it is when the rulers of a land are corrupt the IC says your Prince's are rebels and companions of thieves all of them are lovers of bribes and our runners after gifts they do not bring justice to the orphans or the widows case never comes up for their review in their Court so that's the way they summarized it there therefore saith the Lord the Lord of hosts the Mighty One of Israel ah I will ease me of mine adversaries and avenge me of mine enemies quite a verse but notice a subtlety here notice the three titles therefore saith the Lord the Lord of Hosts the Mighty One of Israel are those just synonyms or are they three titles I'll leave it up to you to judge I think there's three titles tucked away there the ISIS therefore this is what the Lord God of the heavenly father's the one who is Israel's Mighty One declares now I'll get relief from his enemies and avenge myself on his foe's so they don't they don't see it quite the way I do but that's there probably is obviously much much more confidence that we'll move on and I will turn my hand upon the and purely purge away they dross and take away all thy kin well the dross is mentioned in Ezekiel 22 but we will get it here I turned my attention to you I'll refine your dross as a furnace as in a furnace let me remove all your alloy which is that what was the role that n played move on here and I will restore the judges as that the first and that counselors is at the beginning afterward thou shalt be called the city of righteousness the faithful City so here's the ray of hope at the end of the tunnel if you will the judges are to be restored at the future Kingdom that's what Matthew 19 also talks about the icy streets at this will let me restore your judges at the first and your counselors as at the beginning afterward you will be called the right to city and the faithful city of Zion and okay Zion shall be redeemed with judgment and her converts with righteousness and I pretty much the same thing that I as we sees it pretty much the same way and the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed relevance in easily broken together but those who would forsake the Lord will be consumed the IFV echoes for they shall be ashamed of the Oaks which he have desired and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that she have chosen and you if you want to duck dig into trees and Gardens especially as idioms I'll let you track those down at your own leisure now as a simple says you'll be ashamed of the oak trees that you desire do you blush because of the gardens that you have chosen for ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth and as a garden that hath no water and or you'll be like an oak leaf is withering and like an unwanted garden and so and the last verse here is and the strong shall be as toe and the maker of it as a spark and they shall both burn together and none shall quench them now have you stumbled through that in the King James you run the risk of missing the point here this term tow is not familiar to most of us tow is the course part of the flax or hemp that shaken off when the fat when the flax when it's beaten and so that's what that's what tow really means it's the strand of flax shaken from the flax so the way the ISV treats this just to cut through all that your strong one will be like tinder and your work as a spark both of them will burn together with no one to quench the flames that burn them oh that's a little clearer isn't it this is one of those places where the the is ve certainly cuts through the some of the confusion and you're strong one will be like tinder and you work like a spark both of them are burned together with no one with no one to quench the film's to burn them so here's probably this is place where it does seem a little helpful there there's gonna be other places it can be quite profound we'll leave it there for there but there's a broader relevance lurking behind all of this God has called a special people to represent him and they had become an apostate and failed the enemies of God will be represented by Assyria and Babylon here in Babylon of course is the type a symbol of the hostile opposition of God's people and the harmony and the residents of this book will it'll resonate with Revelation and Patents the revelations with patmans will be astonishing God's judgments and ultimate restoration are depicted and that's surprisingly wrong to God's people today you're going to discover as we go into this it's going to have relevance to all of us to remind you again of the design of the book we're a division 1 which is the first 35 chapters and we're in the first group of 6 and that'll be filed with Israel then we're gonna get into all the nations Babylon Felicio Moab Syria Egypt Edom or maybe entire there be surprises in each of those and then we have the day of the Lord that's boy there's a lot of confusion about what is that really and we'll get into that then and then the six woes upon Jerusalem and then of course the tribulation land that'll be the first major section of this book for the next session is I'd like you to prepare for a next session by reading chapters two through five we'll take that as a group we'll pick up the space here a little bit we'll see the promise of the last days we'll see the vision of the future kingdom and the parable of a valleys vineyard very interesting parable that Jesus draws upon and we're talking about the six woes and we'll discover those six woes are manifest upon us all so it's going to be suddenly it's going to get very very very deeper but also very timely for all of us and so with that let's bow our hearts for a closing word of Prayer

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Length: 62min 27sec (3747 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 28 2020