Isaiah Background
Becoming the Family of God • Sermon • Submitted
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PART III
RECAP LAST WEEK
The point of judgment:
To purify Jerusalem and make it a holy kingdom for all nations
The next 27 chapters are about that hope
Just like the last 27 books are about that hope
1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
: “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” says your God. 2 “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.”
Isaiah jumps way ahead now in the story
Isaiah ministered 740-680 BC
Exile in 605 BC (75 years later)
Return by Cyrus in 539 BC (66 years)
Return was 141 years after death, 678 years before Christ
Isaiah is now writing to a new audience
Some scholars believe there are 2 or 3 authors
I believe Isaiah is speaking to the future
He says Exile is done! Go home! The kingdom of God is at hand!
Let’s look at the reaction:
6 “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
6 “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
Is 42:6
: “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles…
God expects His people to praise Him and declare Him to the nations
But that’s not what they do…
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
: Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my just claim is passed over by my God”?
Israel is actually complaining!
ILLUSTRATION: Oh, it’s ok. You can ride it.
You’re missing a key fact here, kid.
Jews were missing a key fact too
As a human, I understand; they were captured after all
2 Complaints:
1.) You have neglected us…
2.) Maybe God’s not that powerful…
(God lost to Babylon who said they were gods, and they lost to Persia)
They complain in 2 parts, so God responds in two parts:
1.) Exile was judgment, not neglect!
24 Who gave up Jacob to the looter,
and Israel to the plunderers?
Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned,
in whose ways they would not walk,
and whose law they would not obey?
25 So he poured on him the heat of his anger
and the might of battle;
it set him on fire all around, but he did not understand;
it burned him up, but he did not take it to heart.
Is 42:24
: Who gave Jacob for plunder, and Israel to the robbers? Was it not the Lord, He against whom we have sinned? For they would not walk in His ways, nor were they obedient to His law. 25 Therefore He has poured on him the fury of His anger
ILLUSTRATION: Phil Jackson – playing through adversity
God could call timeout any time, but they need adversity
2.) Persia conquered Babylon because I said so!
1 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:
2 “I will go before you
and level the exalted places,
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
3 I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
: “Thus says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held—To subdue nations before him and loose the armor of kings, to open before him the double doors, so that the gates will not be shut: 2 ‘I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, who call you by your name, am the God of Israel.
God says don’t look at Persia and they are strong
Look at Persia and realize I am strong!
17 Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them,
who have no regard for silver
and do not delight in gold.
: “Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them…
The Medes and Persians are one in the same
This has been God’s plan the whole time!
was written long before the exile happened!
The wrong conclusion:
Idol worshippers are stronger than God
The right conclusion
God is the ultimate authority over everything!
And Persia is evidence of that!
And He’ll do it with two more empires before the diaspora!
And He’ll bring them back after more than 1,800 years!
Back up to Persia freeing the Jews…
Israel should declare God to the nations!
But they don’t – just as rebellious as their fathers
So God moves on to the person that will accomplish His purpose
Purpose:
1.) Restore Israel
2.) Light to the nations
The shocker – the way God accomplishes His purpose
Imagery of a mighty king makes you think warrior, grandeur and judgement!
6 I gave my back to those who strike,
and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
from disgrace and spitting.
: I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.
That doesn’t sound like a powerful king
But look:
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
This King took this punishment for us! From us!
: But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
This King took this punishment for us! From us!
Who is this King? Jesus!
The humble king shows His love in sacrifice
But here’s the thing:
7 let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him…
Which means there is a choice:
You can be wicked and reject Christ, but…
You have to take the consequences with that
Isaiah closes his book with what the consequences look like
24 “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
: “And they shall go forth and look upon the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, and their fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
What do you want? Worship or the worm?
People don’t like to hear “fire and brimstone”
But Isaiah listed another option:
MAIN SERMON POINT:
God’s message includes HOPE!
John R. W. Stott said: The Gospel is good news of mercy to the undeserving. The symbol of the religion of Jesus is the cross, not the scales.
And if you are revived, you go into God’s New Jerusalem
[Label the tree]
Which is a brand-new creation:
17 “For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness.
19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people;
no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
and the cry of distress.
: “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people; the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
We become the Holy seed!
This is the reward of the saved
Again, we don’t like fire and brimstone…
But if you trust in God, you don’t have to fear it!
Why?!
Because there is a New Kingdom – a New Jerusalem on the way
Made up of all nations who hope in Christ
Lesson: God is just, but even the worst sinners can find hope in Christ.
Because 537ish years after Israel’s return, God’s hope was delivered
A baby boy was born to die after 33 years…
His name was Jesus, and He came for a huge reason
You can be a part of that today…