Sermon Tone Analysis

!! Isa.

52:1-12

* *

*Introduction:* The book of Isaiah has been called the gospel according to Isaiah.

Isaiah himself has been called the evangelical prophet, the prince of prophets, and the fifth evangelist.

The book of Isaiah is a treasure trove of history, doctrine, and prophecy.

The book sets forth every aspect of the glory and ministry of Christ: His incarnation, His youth, His mild manner, His obedience, His message, His miracles, His sufferings, rejection, and vicarious death, and His exaltation.

Isaiah is quoted in the New Testament more than any other prophet.

Of all the OT books, only Psalms contains a larger number of messianic prophecies.

Matthew Henry writes, “It is transcendently excellent and useful; it was so the church of God then, serving for conviction of sin, direction in duty, and consolation in trouble.”

Yet when is the last time you heard a series preached on the book of Isaiah?

Because it’s so obscure to so many, let’s do our work first of all, and set the context.

*1) *Author

 

• Isaiah means “The LORD is salvation.”

- similar to the names Joshua, Elisha, and Jesus.

• Son of Amoz, tribe unknown.

• Ministered in and around Jerusalem from 739 – 686 BC (53 years).

- during the reign of Uzziah (Azariah in 2 Kings), Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

- knew from the beginning that his ministry would be one of fruitless warning and exhortation.

• Married, with 2 sons who were given prophetic names – Shearjashub (“a remnant shall return”) and Maher-shalal-hash-baz (“hasting to the spoil”).

• Skillful author and orator – range of 2,186 different words (even more than Psalms, with its multiple authors!)

His writing style has no match for versatility, expressiveness, brilliance of imagery, and richness of language.

• According to tradition, he was martyred under King Manasseh, who had him sawn in half.

*2)* Setting

 

    *a)* Of the book

 

• About 50 years after Elisha’s ministry.

Contemporaries were Micah in Judah, and Hosea, Jonah, and Amos in Israel.

• In the Northern Kingdom, there was a time of great struggle.

Israel deteriorated politically, militarily, and spiritually, until it finally fell to Assyria in 722 BC.

            - It looked as though Judah might fall to Assyria as well, but it withstood the attack.

• In the Southern Kingdom, Judah was experiencing its greatest period of prosperity since the “Golden Age” under David and Solomon.

Prosperity, agricultural and commercial success, and military dominance were accompanied by immorality, excessive drinking, idolatry, oppression of the poor, greed, and the presence of false prophets who pandered to the desires of the people.

• Isaiah ministered during the last days of the Northern Kingdom, but he ministered *to* the Southern Kingdom.

\\ • In response to this situation, Isaiah stressed:

            1.

salvation by faith

            2. the holiness of god and the need for ethical living

3. the offense of human sin and the certainty of divine judgment

4. the assurance of redemption for a repentant remnant

 

*b) *Of the chapter

 

• The first 39 chapters of Isaiah are prophecies of /condemnation/; the last 27 chapters are prophecies of /consolation/.

• The first part of Isaiah, the prophecies of condemnation, can be broken into distinct sections:

1. Chapters 1-12 are prophecies against Judah.

2. Chapters 13-23 are prophecies against other nations.

(Babylon, Philistia, Egypt, Assyria, etc.)

3. Chapters 24-27 are prophecies of the Day of the Lord.

4. Chapters 28-35 are miscellaneous prophecies of judgment and blessing.

5. Chapters 36-39 are prophecies regarding Hezekiah.

• The prophecies of consolation emphasize more than just redemption from sin.

They are about more than just Israel’s being freed from bondage in Babylon.

They speak of a change in the cosmos—of the Lord’s restoration of His created order.

• These break down into 3 parts:

            1.

The prophecies of Israel’s deliverance, chs.

40-48

            2.

The prophecies of Israel’s deliverer, chs.

49-57

            3.

The prophecies of Israel’s glorious future, 58-66

 

• Chapter 52 falls in the middle of the prophecies about Messiah, Israel’s Deliverer.

Chapter 49 = The Messiah’s Mission  *49:1-3*

Chapter 50 = The Messiah’s Obedience  *50:5-6*

Chapter 51 The Messiah’s Encouragement to Israel *51:1-3*

Chapter 52 The Messiah’s Redeems Jerusalem *52:1-2*

 

• Our text, 52:1-12, is written with two things in mind: first, the */immediate/* redemption of Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity; and second, the */ultimate/* redemption of Jerusalem in the millennial kingdom.

• Isaiah follows the pattern of Deuteronomy.

Chapters 1-39 tell of the punishment for their disobedience.

You’ve broken the law, now you must pay.

But after punishment, if you repent, God will restore you.

That’s what we’re looking at now. 

            - Isaiah is prophesying that because Judah broke the law, they will have to suffer the Babylonian captivity; but God will one day deliver them.

When that happens, it will be like God says, “Awake, awake!”

 

*c)* Of the verse

 

• v. 1: God says, “Get up!  You’ve been crushed by oppressors – now, get up and put on beautiful garments.”

Jerusalem’s pagan oppressors, the uncircumcised and the unclean, will no longer enter the city.

It was time to put on priestly robes and once more shine as the holy city.

• v. 2: Shake off the dust of mourning.

Rise up and sit down – get off the ground where you’ve sat in mourning, and seat yourself on the throne.

Cast off the chains of slavery, and be free!

• v. 3: You have, by your sins, sold yourself into slavery.

And you sold out cheap.

But now, you will be redeemed – bought back from the slave market of sin!

And you will be redeemed without money – you won’t have to pay a thing!

• vs. 4-5: Israel had been in slave in Egypt.

The Northern Kingdom had just been carried away by Assyria.

Israel was a mockery.

Israel’s God was mocked.

But not for long.

*Illus:*  Midget (the toy dachsund) & Khan (the rottweiler).

The only thing holding him back is my hand on the leash.

Just like lost people mocking God.

 

• vs. 6-9: The message would go out far and wide that salvation was come to Zion!  God had wondrously delivered His people!

 

• v. 10: “The LORD hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations”.

This is a reference to war.

One Bible historian writes, “The loose sleeve of the Arab shirt, as well as of the outer garment, leaves the arm so completely free, that in an instant the left hand, passing up the right arm, makes it bare; and this is done when a person, a soldier for example, about to strike with his sword, intends to give the arm full play.”

• v. 11: The immediate manifestation of God’s mighty deliverance will be Judah leaving Babylon.

It’s a holy procession – touch no unclean thing, just go.

• v. 12: Don’t flee in haste.

You won’t be leaving like you did from Egypt, with the army on your heels.

This is to be a stately, victorious procession.

You are perfectly safe, because “*the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.*"

• So, what does this mean to us today?

*Gal.

3:8-9, 29, 6:16; Rom.

2:28-29, Rom.

15:4-13; Phil.

3:3*

 

• There is that about Israel which is literal, historical, or prophetic, and applies specifically to Israel.