A Justice-Loving God

God Promises A Just Kingdom  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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Obeying the Righteous God of Justice blesses ourselves and others.

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Key Verse

Isaiah 61:8 KJV 1900
8 For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; And I will direct their work in truth, And I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

Lesson Context

Isaiah Ministered about 740 - 680 BC lived in the days when Israel,, the Northern Kingdom was struggling against Assyria and was finally exiled from the land.
The Southern Kingdom of Judah remained, but Isaiah predicted punishment for its disobedience as well.
His predictions were fulfilled almost a century after his ministry.
Isaiah spoke on God’s behalf to the leaders of Jerusalem and Judah
A message of God’s Judgement - He warned that Israels rebellion against God’s covenant would come at a cost. God would use the great empires Assyria and Babylon if they persisted in rebellion.
That message was combined with a message of Hope. God would fulfill his covenant promise, their would be a future king from Davids line, that he would lead Israel to obedience to the laws of the covenant. So that God’s blessings would flow outward to all the nations.
Isaiah announces that God’s judgment will purify Israel and prepare his people to the coming messianic king and new Jerusalem.
Like Elijah, Jeremiah, and the other Prophets, Isaiah was called by God to deliver His messages to Israel for its welfare in the Book of Isaiah. But along with warnings against Israel's sin and rebellious ways came a message of hope in a new depth that would carry on for centuries after Isaiah's passing.

Milestones

Isaiah the Messenger - Isaiah sees God but is purified. God appoints Isaiah as a prophet and tells him to warn the people of Israel about the impending judgment coming to them.
Judgment and Hope - God gives Isaiah various prophesies and visions about judgment for Jerusalem and the nations. But God's kingdom will one day rule, righting the world's wrongs.
Hezekiah's Faith - Assyria threatens Judah as prophesied, but God answers King Hezekiah's prayers and defeats them. Hezekiah falls deathly ill, but God remembers him and heals him.
A Holy Seed - God's Servant is featured, rising from Israel's burnt stump. He is rejected and killed but is resurrected. His death pays for the sins of everyone.
New Heaven & Earth - Isaiah prophesies that the Servant will rule God's kingdom, creating a New Jerusalem. The wicked are expelled and the righteous stay. All nations are welcome.
We can see the book of Isaiah broken down as followed:
1-12 Judgement & Hope for Jerusalem
13-27 Judgement &Hope for the Nations
28-39 The Rise & Fall of Jerusalem.
40-48 Announcement of Hope
49-55 The Servant Fulfills God’s Mission
56-66 The Servants Inherit God’s Kingdom
Isaiah 61:1-11 is a sequence of four speeches that follow up on the Lord declaring Israel a light to the Gentiles in Isaiah 60. The identity of the speakers is not always clear. Paying attention to the pronouns will help!
Vs. 8,9 I/we (The Lord), Thou/Ye/You (The Messenger and Zion)
Vs. 10,11 (Zion), Thou/Ye/You (The Lord and the Messenger)

I. The Priestly Nation (Isaiah 61:8-11)

A. Attitudes and Actions (v.8)

Isaiah 61:8 KJV 1900
8 For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; And I will direct their work in truth, And I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Isaiah 61:8 identifies the speaker as the Lord.
The conjunction “For” links verse 8,9 to the previous verses and explains what it means for God’s people to be a nation of priests.
Isaiah 61:6–7 KJV 1900
6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: Men shall call you the Ministers of our God: Ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, And in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. 7 For your shame ye shall have double; And for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: Therefore in their land they shall possess the double: Everlasting joy shall be unto them.
The Priestly people have moral requirements that stem from the very character of God.
One is these is to practice judgement.
Isaiah 5:16 KJV 1900
16 But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, And God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.
The word judgement as commonly used today implies condemnation
The word judgement also carries the idea of justice.
These words often occur together as synonyms or near synonyms.
Isaiah 9:7 KJV 1900
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, Upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, To order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice From henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
The Lord himself is just look at...
Deuteronomy 32:4 KJV 1900
4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: For all his ways are judgment: A God of truth and without iniquity, Just and right is he.
Isaiah 45:21 KJV 1900
21 Tell ye, and bring them near; Yea, let them take counsel together: Who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? Have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; A just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
and He requires the same of His people, that's why
Proverbs 4:18 KJV 1900
18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, That shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
Proverbs 21:3 KJV 1900
3 To do justice and judgment Is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
Isaiah 56:1 KJV 1900
1 Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: For my salvation is near to come, And my righteousness to be revealed.
This applies especially to their leaders, lets look at...
2 Samuel 23:3–4 KJV 1900
3 The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, Ruling in the fear of God. 4 And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, Even a morning without clouds; As the tender grass springing out of the earth By clear shining after rain.
In many cases the word refers to moral behavior.
Lets look at ...
Isaiah 61:8 KJV 1900
8 For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; And I will direct their work in truth, And I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Contrasted with the judgement that the Lord loves is the robbery that He hates.
Here it stands for all types of wrongdoing.
Burnt offering can also be translated “iniquity.”
Psalm 125:3 KJV 1900
3 For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; Lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.
Micah 3:10 KJV 1900
10 They build up Zion with blood, And Jerusalem with iniquity.
The writer could be laying out a double meaning with this word.
In his condemnation, Isaiah may be casting the spotlight on the practice of fulfilling requirements of sacrifices only ritually, without keeping the moral requirements of the law.
God makes it clear that acts of worship from those who do not follow Him wholeheartedly are repulsive. look at...
Amos 5:21–24 KJV 1900
21 I hate, I despise your feast days, And I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. 22 Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: Neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. 23 Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; For I will not hear the melody of thy viols. 24 But let judgment run down as waters, And righteousness as a mighty stream.
The intends to bring about dramatic changes in His People.
His Righteous Standards do not vary..
Isaiah 61:8 KJV 1900
8 For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; And I will direct their work in truth, And I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
v. 8c “In Truth” their is a two-fold meaning for this word.
it refers to God’s character and the certainty of His direction or rewarding.
it refers to the character of His people.
The validity of the peoples actions is due to the constants of the Lord’s direction.
Isaiah 61:8 KJV 1900
8 For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; And I will direct their work in truth, And I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
The Lord is giving His assurance that He will not forget His people in their Exile.
He will keep His promise to them.
The word everlasting can refer to an indefinite period of time that has no discernible end.
In the this verse it refers to a truly eternal covenant. compare...
Hebrews 13:20 KJV 1900
20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
Centuries later, the NT writers will confirm the fact of the Lords preservation of Israel for the inauguration of a permanent new covenant through the Messiah.
Romans 9:3–5 KJV 1900
3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: 4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

B. Result and Reactions (vv. 9-11)

Isaiah 61:9 KJV 1900
9 And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, And their offspring among the people: All that see them shall acknowledge them, That they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed.
This verse offers an example of parallelism:
Their seed parallels their offspring - the Gentiles parallels the people.
In their future captivity, the Israelites will be derided by foreigners. see
Deuteronomy 28:36–37 KJV 1900
36 The Lord shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone. 37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the Lord shall lead thee.
And God’s covenant people will become “a reproach” to the nations around them. see..
Jeremiah 29:17–19 KJV 1900
17 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. 18 And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them: 19 Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the Lord, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the Lord.
Isaiah predicts a time when that reputation is to change. The release from captivity and other events will result in the descendants of Isaiahs current audience being known as the seed which the Lord hath blessed.
Isaiah 43:5 KJV 1900
5 Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, And gather thee from the west;
Genesis 12:2 KJV 1900
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Isaiah 61:10 KJV 1900
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
The speaker here is Zion and again we see a parallel.
I - My Soul
will greatly rejoice -shall be joyful
in the Lord - in my God
Isaiah starts with the effect, then moves to state the cause.
Isaiah 61:10 KJV 1900
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
The second pairing states the cause of Zion’s rejoicing.
Notice we say cause and not causes.
There is one cause mentioned here not two.
The phrase clothed me and covered me point to one action by God, expressed twice with different words.
Likewise the garments of salvation equate to the robe of righteousness.
This describes a person fully clothed by God so as to be acceptable in His sight.
Revelation 3:4 KJV 1900
4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
Isaiah 64:6 KJV 1900
6 But we are all as an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; And we all do fade as a leaf; And our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
It also shows the close relation of Salvation and Righteousness.
No one earns salvation through personal righteousness
Titus 3:5 KJV 1900
5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Instead the Lord imputes, or credits, His own righteousness to the sinner to make salvation possible.
We see the need when we realize that all our righteousness are as filthy rags.
Philippians 3:9 KJV 1900
9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
To have salvation is to have the imputed righteousness of God.
Isaiah 61:10 KJV 1900
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
The third pair uses a comparison to describe the beauty of the clothing.
Garments given by the Lord are as magnificent as the finest accessories worn by a bride and groom at their wedding.
Isaiah 49:18 KJV 1900
18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: All these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, And bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.
The analogy involving a bridegroom and a bride brings to mind the relationship between Jesus and His Church.
Revelation 19:7–9 KJV 1900
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
He prepares us to join Him at His marriage...
Isaiah 61:11 KJV 1900
11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, And as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth Before all the nations.
This verse features two pairs.
Righteousness and Praise will grow out of all the nations just like plants grow in the earth and in the garden.
God causes all things to grow - not just flowers or trees but also right living and worship.
Isaiah 45:8 KJV 1900
8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, And let the skies pour down righteousness: Let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, And let righteousness spring up together; I the Lord have created it.
The Lord God’s grace shown to Israel will in turn cause the nations to bloom with the same righteousness and subsequent praise.
The righteousness that Zion displays will have an effect on the nations as well. They to will know the Lord.
Their praise is an intended consequence of God’s faithfulness to Israel.

II. The Righteous Nation (Isaiah 62:2-4)

A. New Name Predicted (v. 2)

Isaiah 62:2 KJV 1900
2 And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, And all kings thy glory: And thou shalt be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the Lord shall name.
In this pair the second thought builds on the first.
Gentiles in the first line corresponds to kings in the second.
Kings represent the Gentile nations because of their leadership roles.
Righteousness most often refer to moral integrity in doing what God declares right.
Psalm 4:7 KJV 1900
7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, More than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.
The people of Zion will live lives so distinct from sin that the nations will take notice.
Christians look forward to the new names the Lord will grant after the resurrection of the dead.
Revelation 2:17 KJV 1900
17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

B. Old Name Discarded (Isaiah 62:3-4)

Isaiah 62:3–4 KJV 1900
3 Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, And a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. 4 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; Neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: But thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, And thy land Beulah: For the Lord delighteth in thee, And thy land shall be married.
A crown is often made of gold and worn by a king.
diadem occurs parallel to the crown.
They both signify the glory of the Lord and His royalty.
To be in the hand of the Lord is to be under His control. see...
Psalm 75:8 KJV 1900
8 For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; It is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: But the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.
Proverbs 21:1 KJV 1900
1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: He turneth it whithersoever he will.
Isaiah 62:4 KJV 1900
4 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; Neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: But thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, And thy land Beulah: For the Lord delighteth in thee, And thy land shall be married.
This word forsaken is used over 20 times by Isaiah and represent a theme in the book.
Israel forsook the Lord
Because of this the land was to be forsaken.
The people will seem to be forsaken in the Babylonian captivity to come
Once they yield to become the righteous crown in God’s hand, they will know they are not forsaken.
Here alone is desolation set in a positive light, because it will be permanently ended.
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