Cleansing flood
Isaiah • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 1 viewAlthough Israel, like all of mankind, is guilty in inborn and actual sins, and incapable of redeeming herself, God will cleanse her and cause her to bring forth much fruit.
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22 “But you have not called upon Me, O Jacob;
And you have been weary of Me, O Israel.
23 You have not brought Me the sheep for your burnt offerings,
Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices.
I have not caused you to serve with grain offerings,
Nor wearied you with incense.
24 You have bought Me no sweet cane with money,
Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices;
But you have burdened Me with your sins,
You have wearied Me with your iniquities.
25 “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake;
And I will not remember your sins.
26 Put Me in remembrance;
Let us contend together;
State your case, that you may be acquitted.
27 Your first father sinned,
And your mediators have transgressed against Me.
28 Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary;
I will give Jacob to the curse,
And Israel to reproaches.
1 “Yet hear me now, O Jacob My servant,
And Israel whom I have chosen.
2 Thus says the Lord who made you
And formed you from the womb, who will help you:
‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant;
And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty,
And floods on the dry ground;
I will pour My Spirit on your descendants,
And My blessing on your offspring;
4 They will spring up among the grass
Like willows by the watercourses.’
5 One will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
Another will call himself by the name of Jacob;
Another will write with his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
And name himself by the name of Israel.
Notes
God’s faithfulness to the covenant and Israel’s unfaithfulness.
“I will be your God and you will be my people.”
God did not treat them like slaves, he did not “cause them to slave for him”.
The systems of sacrifices were not designed as harsh burdens to accomplish to prove worthiness, but to imprint the reality of fellowship with God.
God is dwelling with them. The sacrifices were given to comfort Israel, and give them courage to call upon the Lord.
He IS indeed a consuming fire, and we are guilty and polluted. But he has given us an entrance into his presence. (Exodus). He is making us holy so that the conditions of the covenant might be fulfilled.
How can we dwell in his presence, like we were created to, when we can’t even bear to be alone with our own thoughts.
And in spite of that, the sacrifices of the old covenant did not change the heart. God was willing to be reconciled to his people, to dwell with them and be their god, but they were unwilling to do the slightest thing - you have not called upon me.
This is the heart of the abomination of idolatry. They turned to idols rather than simply call upon the Lord.
Notice the comparison - like the faithful husband saying, “I never cheated on you, but you continually cheated on me. I always provided for you, loved you, only did you good. And yet you refused to show me the slightest bit of affection”
I haven’t burdened you with sacrifices
But you burdened me with your sins
I haven’t wearied you, yet you became weary of me, and wearied me with iniquity.
And what is the heart -
13 “Do not go on bringing your worthless offerings,
Incense is an abomination to Me.
New moon and Sabbath, the proclamation of an assembly—
I cannot endure wrongdoing and the festive assembly.
14 “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts,
They have become a burden to Me;
I am tired of bearing them.
15 “So when you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide My eyes from you;
Yes, even though you offer many prayers,
I will not be listening.
Your hands are covered with blood.
16 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight.
Stop doing evil,
17 Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Rebuke the oppressor,
Obtain justice for the orphan,
Plead for the widow’s case.
They brought the religious services, thinking in terms of an exchange. They do this, God responds with blessing.
And then God doesn’t come through.
And so they got more and more angry - I served you and you didn’t even see!
But they hated God and their neighbor. Their hatred of God showed in their abuse of the ones made in God’s image.
So now, Israel is in exile. It is 150 years later (Isaiah is seeing this from afar) and the misery and corruption continue.
If God is going to dwell with his people, then God will need to do two things.
First, wash away their sins. Nothing filthy can stand in the sight of God.
And two, make them new creatures - lovers, instead of haters. Faithful, instead of rebellious. Sincere, honest, joyful, patient, believing, full of peace - all of those things that God loves.
And this is exactly what he promises to do for his people in chapter 44.
He is able to call them his people, even though they are unfaithful, because he will make them new creatures. Just like the desert after a rain, so also their hearts after the Spirit is poured out.
Not now - but on their offspring.
They were barren and unfruitful.
The vine that didn’t bear any fruit - we looked at that a while ago.
And now the vine was dug up, judgment is upon them.
Every branch that doesn’t bear fruit is thrown into the fire.
But how can a branch bear fruit when it has two problems - a bad root, and no water.
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 bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
Do you see how Jesus fulfills this? We are the branches in HIS vine. And if we remain - that is, continue to walk by faith, holding to him alone rather than our own works, we will continue to be more and more like him.
His love, his obedience, his joy - flow into us, like life-giving sap flows from the trunk to the branches.
That is the Holy Spirit - he unites us to Christ, dwells in our hearts, and causes us to bring forth much fruit.
As long as we remain in him.
1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?—3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?
In order for God to make his creatures like him, he must dwell in their hearts. They must become temples of the living God.
In order to do that, they must be righteous. Their sins must be washed away and they must be treated as if they had never committed nor had any sin, but had kept the law perfectly.
Jesus died, and blood and water flowed from his side.
It isn’t a matter of finding the right formula, or making sure our service is adequate. It is a matter of resting in Jesus, trusting him alone, and waiting patiently.
When we fail, and we will, it is like Peter taking his eyes off of Jesus and looking at the waves. Look back.
Call upon him again, and again.
And the day will come when we will be completely clean and free of this body of death.