PROMISES TO THE HUMBLE AND CONTRITE ISAIAH 57:1-21

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1 1 PROMISES TO THE HUMBLE AND CONTRITE ISAIAH 57:1-21

2 2 Text: PROMISES TO THE HUMBLE AND CONTRITE Isaiah 57:1-21, 1. The godly perish, but no one cares. Honest people disappear, when no one minds that the godly disappear because of evil. 2. Those who live uprightly enter a place of peace; they rest on their beds. 3. But approach, you sons of omen readers, you offspring of adulteresses and prostitutes! 4. At whom are you laughing? At whom are you opening your mouth and sticking out your tongue? You are the children of rebels, the offspring of liars, 5. you who practice ritual sex under the oaks and every green tree, who slaughter children near the streams under the rocky overhangs. 6. Among the smooth stones of the stream are the idols you love; they, they are the object of your devotion. You pour out liquid offerings to them, you make an offering. Because of these things I will seek vengeance. 7. On every high, elevated hill you prepare your bed; you go up there to offer sacrifices. 8. Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols. Indeed, you depart from me and go up and invite them into bed with you. You purchase favors from them, you love their bed, and gaze longingly on their genitals.

3 You take olive oil as tribute to your king, along with many perfumes. You send your messengers to a distant place; you go all the way to Sheol. 10. Because of the long distance you must travel, you get tired, but you do not say, I give up. You get renewed energy, so you don t collapse. 11. Whom are you worried about? Whom do you fear, that you would act so deceitfully and not remember me or think about me? Because I have been silent for so long, you are not afraid of me. 12. I will denounce your so-called righteousness and your deeds, but they will not help you. 13. When you cry out for help, let your idols help you! The wind blows them all away, a breeze carries them away. But the one who looks to me for help will inherit the land and will have access to my holy mountain. 14. He says, Build it! Build it! Clear a way! Remove all the obstacles out of the way of my people! 15. For this is what the high and exalted one says, the one who rules forever, whose name is holy: I dwell in an exalted and holy place, but also with the discouraged and humiliated, in order to cheer up the humiliated and to encourage the discouraged. 16. For I will not be hostile forever or perpetually angry, for then man s spirit would grow faint before me, the lifegiving breath I created. 17. I was angry because of their sinful greed; I attacked them and angrily rejected them, yet they remained disobedient and stubborn.

4 I have seen their behavior, but I will heal them and give them rest, and I will once again console those who mourn. 19. I am the one who gives them reason to celebrate. Complete prosperity is available both to those who are far away and those who are nearby, says the Lord, and I will heal them. 20. But the wicked are like a surging sea that is unable to be quiet; its waves toss up mud and sand. 21. There will be no prosperity, says my God, for the wicked. (NET) Introduction: Isaiah helps us to understand that the righteous die. They feel the sting of death, but do not feel the dread of the horrors that death brings to the ungodly. Isaiah pictures the righteous being taken away so they would not have to see the evil that would come upon Jerusalem. Righteous people are blessed with peace and rest at the time of their deaths. In a very vivid contrast to the death of the righteous, Isaiah pictured the guilt and the grief that the Jews would face because of their idolatry and other sins. Their false worship resulted in shame and disgrace. They were indifferent and ineffective in their relationship with God. They were idol worshipers who were filled with lust. They set up anything and everything in the place of the true and living God. These Jews allow us to see again that sin ends in misery and ruin. While their worship will end in punishment, those who trust in God will have joy in heaven through our Lord Jesus Christ. Those who dread the wrath of God and humble themselves before Him, can possess a heavenly hope. Only those who are humble and submissive enjoy eternal blessings. Man must

5 5 become quick to recognize sin and see it for what it is; we also must be quick to recognize Jesus Christ and see Him for who He is. He is man s only hope. The Jews would spend seventy (70) years in captivity because of sin. They would be brought out of captivity by God s grace and mercy. We, too, have been slaves to sin. We can only be brought out of sin through the grace, mercy and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. The wicked cut themselves off from God s grace and from all hope. The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. (Isaiah 57:20-21) Who is the Loser? Isaiah 57:1-2, The godly perish, but no one cares. Honest people disappear, when no one minds that the godly disappear because of evil. Those who live uprightly enter a place of peace; they rest on their beds. (NET) Isaiah wanted us to understand that those who serve God faithfully and die in the Lord always win. The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness. (Isaiah 57:1-2) (Matthew 5:10-12, Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely on account of me. Rejoice and be glad because

6 6 your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.; 1 Kings 19:1-14, Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, including a detailed account of how he killed all the prophets with the sword. Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah with this warning, May the gods judge me severely if by this time tomorrow I do not take your life as you did theirs! Elijah was afraid, so he got up and fled for his life to Beer Sheba in Judah. He left his servant there, while he went a day s journey into the desert. He went and sat down under a shrub and asked the Lord to take his life: I ve had enough! Now, O Lord, take my life. After all, I m no better than my ancestors. He stretched out and fell asleep under the shrub. All of a sudden an angelic messenger touched him and said, Get up and eat. He looked and right there by his head was a cake baking on hot coals and a jug of water. He ate and drank and then slept some more. The Lord s angelic messenger came back again, touched him, and said, Get up and eat, for otherwise you won t be able to make the journey. So he got up and ate and drank. That meal gave him the strength to travel forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. He went into a cave there and spent the night. All of a sudden the Lord spoke to him, Why are you here, Elijah? He answered, I have been absolutely loyal to the Lord, the sovereign God, even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life. The Lord said, Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord. Look, the Lord is ready to pass by. A very powerful wind went before the Lord, digging into the

7 7 mountain and causing landslides, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the windstorm there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a soft whisper. When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his robe and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. All of a sudden a voice asked him, Why are you here, Elijah? He answered, I have been absolutely loyal to the Lord, the sovereign God, even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life. (NET)) (These references added by Sewell.) The ungodly leaders in Israel were very selfish. Their actions caused many righteous people to perish. The cruelty of the prophets and priests of that day went unnoticed until it was too late. Isaiah wrote, No man layeth it to heart. When a righteous man perishes because of the cruelty of some wicked person, that righteous man is not the loser. He wins because he avoids the evil and damnation that is awaiting the wicked. The righteous is taken away from the evil to come. Those wicked people who were left in the land faced the misery of captivity because of their sins! Pretended Righteousness is Worthless Isaiah 57:3-13, But approach, you sons of omen readers, you offspring of adulteresses and prostitutes! At whom are you laughing? At whom are you opening your mouth and sticking out your tongue? You are the children of rebels, the offspring of liars, you who practice ritual sex

8 8 under the oaks and every green tree, who slaughter children near the streams under the rocky overhangs. Among the smooth stones of the stream are the idols you love; they, they are the object of your devotion. You pour out liquid offerings to them, you make an offering. Because of these things I will seek vengeance. On every high, elevated hill you prepare your bed; you go up there to offer sacrifices. Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols. Indeed, you depart from me and go up and invite them into bed with you. You purchase favors from them, you love their bed, and gaze longingly on their genitals. You take olive oil as tribute to your king, along with many perfumes. You send your messengers to a distant place; you go all the way to Sheol. Because of the long distance you must travel, you get tired, but you do not say, I give up. You get renewed energy, so you don t collapse. Whom are you worried about? Whom do you fear, that you would act so deceitfully and not remember me or think about me? Because I have been silent for so long, you are not afraid of me. I will denounce your socalled righteousness and your deeds, but they will not help you. When you cry out for help, let your idols help you! The wind blows them all away, a breeze carries them away. But the one who looks to me for help will inherit the land and will have access to my holy mountain. (NET) These Jews who would be taken into captivity were an unfaithful people. They would go to the fortuneteller or soothsayer, instead of going to God. They lived immoral lives. God wanted them to draw near and consider how wicked they were in their daily living. The leaders among the Jews took advantage of helpless men and

9 9 women. Instead of learning from the past mistakes of their ancestors, these Jews went back to imitate the most ungodly. God wanted it understood that He knew that He was the target of their foolish living. They made fun of and sneered at the one true and living God. Instead of making God look foolish, they made themselves foolish through sinful living. They had given themselves over to idolatry in the worse ways. They were committing immoral sexual acts under the green trees in the name of their idols. They even sacrificed their own children on the altars of their idols. People can become very low when they leave God out of their lives. The Jews would take smooth stones from the dried up streams and use them to build altars to some idol. God asked them if they thought he would be pleased with such conduct, and would fail to punish such horrible disobedience. The action of the Jews was pictured as spiritual adultery. They made their bed at the idols altar. Some were unfaithful in their marriage relationships. These Jews were unfaithful in their relationship with God. Instead of remembering God in their home, these Jews set up symbols and memorials to their idols all around their houses, even around their beds. The unfaithful Israelites pursued the false gods with zeal. And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell. (Isaiah 57:9) They exhausted themselves running after idols, and would not stop. There was no concern over unfaithfulness to God. The picture, God gave of this unfaithful wife is very sad. God, the faithful Husband, held his peace and waited patiently. The unfaithful wife, the Jewish nation, went on in ungodliness without any feeling of pain or guilt because of having wronged God. They thought they were so good, but God said, I will declare thy

10 10 righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee. (Isaiah 57:12) A Prediction of the Return from Captivity Isaiah 57:14-16, He says, Build it! Build it! Clear a way! Remove all the obstacles out of the way of my people! For this is what the high and exalted one says, the one who rules forever, whose name is holy: I dwell in an exalted and holy place, but also with the discouraged and humiliated, in order to cheer up the humiliated and to encourage the discouraged. For I will not be hostile forever or perpetually angry, for then man s spirit would grow faint before me, the life-giving breath I created. (NET) God gave a prediction that the Jews would return from captivity, and be restored to their homeland. Babylon had been a stumbling block to the progress of the nation of Israel. Now they would be removed. Man may find himself in a helpless condition, but God is still willing to bless those who are humble and contrite in heart. God, who is himself eternal, has every right to expect respect and loving obedience from those whom He had created. When we come to realize our own shortcomings and when we come to realize the greatness of God, we are then in a position to gain spiritual strength. For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. (Isaiah 57:15) God is far different than man; man goes to the extremes, but God does not. When proper punishment had been poured out upon the Jews, at the end of the seventy (70) years, God s wrath

11 11 against them would come to an end. No doubt that the captivity brought despair to the Jews, but they should not give up because God promised an end to the punishment. A Promise of Restoration for the Righteous Isaiah 57:17-21, I was angry because of their sinful greed; I attacked them and angrily rejected them, yet they remained disobedient and stubborn. I have seen their behavior, but I will heal them and give them rest, and I will once again console those who mourn. I am the one who gives them reason to celebrate. Complete prosperity is available both to those who are far away and those who are nearby, says the Lord, and I will heal them. But the wicked are like a surging sea that is unable to be quiet; its waves toss up mud and sand. There will be no prosperity, says my God, for the wicked. (NET) God clearly stated the cause or the reason for bringing captivity upon the Jews. Idolatry and covetousness were serious problems for the Jewish leaders. They oppressed the poor in order to gain riches for themselves. God is pictured as hiding from the Jews during the seventy (70) years of captivity. It was simply that He refused to be found during that period of time. God knew that many of the Jews had given themselves over to idolatry. He used captivity in Babylon to free them from the sin of idolatry. Early on, Isaiah had written, And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy sins. (Isaiah 1:25) Man must learn that joy and peace comes only from God. I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him. (Isaiah 57:19) True peace

12 12 comes only from a heart that is committed to God. God s joy is offered to all mankind through Jesus Christ. God illustrated that the fruits of a wicked life are like a troubled sea that tosses up mud and other filthy things. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. (Isaiah 57:21) Conclusion: Remember, There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. We must be careful not to live and die as wicked persons. The one true and living God is the only one to whom we can look for our salvation. The pretended righteousness of the unbelieving Jews was of no profit. Only total and complete surrender to the Creator can prepare one for eternity.

13 13 Questions on Isaiah 57: Contrast the attitudes of the righteous and the wicked as death is approached. 2. Sin ends in and. Only those who are and enjoy. is s. 3. To what are the wicked compared? (See verses ) 4. Those who serve God faithfully and die in the Lord always win. Do you believe this is true? If you do or do not agree that this statement is true, give reasons for your answer.

14 Why do the righteous have to suffer? 6. When the righteous die, who cares? How do you deal with opposition and rejection, dying alone, etc.? 7. The who would be taken into were an. They consulted and. They lived. Their leaders took of and. They did not from the of their. They made of and at the. They had given themselves over to in the. They committed in the name of their idols. 8. They exhausted themselves, and would not. There was no concern over their to.

15 How can it be said that the Jewish nation was God s unfaithful wife and god was the faithful husband of the Jewish nation? How did God feel about his wife s unfaithfulness? What did he do about his wife s unfaithfulness? 10. What does God inhabit? Where does he dwell? Who are with him there? What will he do for those who dwell there with him?_ 11. When would God s wrath upon Judah end? Why would it end then? What had changed to bring God s wrath to an end? 12. The, in addition to all their other sins, the in order to for. 13. During the seventy (70) year Babylonian captivity, did God hear their prayers? What about the prayers of Daniel? (See Daniel 6:1-28, It seemed like a good idea to Darius to

16 16 appoint over the kingdom 120 satraps who would be in charge of the entire kingdom. Over them would be three supervisors, one of whom was Daniel. These satraps were accountable to them, so that the king s interests might not incur damage. Now this Daniel was distinguishing himself above the other supervisors and the satraps, for he had an extraordinary spirit. In fact, the king intended to appoint him over the entire kingdom. Consequently the supervisors and satraps were trying to find some pretext against Daniel in connection with administrative matters. But they were unable to find any such damaging evidence, because he was trustworthy and guilty of no negligence or corruption. So these men concluded, We won t find any pretext against this man Daniel unless it is in connection with the law of his God. So these supervisors and satraps came by collusion to the king and said to him, O King Darius, live forever! To all the supervisors of the kingdom, the prefects, satraps, counselors, and governors it seemed like a good idea for a royal edict to be issued and an interdict to be enforced. For the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human other than you, O king, should be thrown into a den of lions. Now let the king issue a written interdict so that it cannot be altered, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed. So King Darius issued the written interdict. When Daniel realized that a written decree had been issued, he entered his home, where the windows in his upper room opened toward Jerusalem. Three times daily he was kneeling and offering prayers and thanks to his God just as he had been accustomed to do previously. Then those officials who had gone to the king came by collusion and found

17 17 Daniel praying and asking for help before his God. So they approached the king and said to him, Did you not issue an edict to the effect that for the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human other than to you, O king, would be thrown into a den of lions? The king replied, That is correct, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed. Then they said to the king, Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the edict that you issued. Three times daily he offers his prayer. When the king heard this, he was very upset and began thinking about how he might rescue Daniel. Until late afternoon he was struggling to find a way to rescue him. Then those men came by collusion to the king and said to him, Recall, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no edict or decree that the king issues can be changed. So the king gave the order, and Daniel was brought and thrown into a den of lions. The king consoled Daniel by saying, Your God whom you continually serve will rescue you! Then a stone was brought and placed over the opening to the den. The king sealed it with his signet ring and with those of his nobles so that nothing could be changed with regard to Daniel. Then the king departed to his palace. But he spent the night without eating, and no diversions were brought to him. He was unable to sleep. In the morning, at the earliest sign of daylight, the king got up and rushed to the lions den. As he approached the den, he called out to Daniel in a worried voice, Daniel, servant of the living God, was your God whom you continually serve able to rescue you from the lions? Then Daniel spoke to the king, O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and closed the lions

18 18 mouths so that they have not harmed me, because I was found to be innocent before him. Nor have I done any harm to you, O king. Then the king was delighted and gave an order to haul Daniel up from the den. So Daniel was hauled up out of the den. He had no injury of any kind, because he had trusted in his God. The king gave another order, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the lions den they, their children, and their wives. They did not even reach the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones. Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and language groups who were living in all the land: Peace and prosperity! I have issued an edict that throughout all the dominion of my kingdom people are to revere and fear the God of Daniel. For he is the living God; he endures forever. His kingdom will not be destroyed; his authority is forever. He rescues and delivers and performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions! So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian. (NET)) 14. God promised to away the and take away all his s. God also spoke of to him that was

19 19 and to him that was with for both. 15. Who are those who are far off and who are those who are near to whom God offers peace? Extra Credit Question: Only total and complete sincere surrender to God can prepare a person for eternity. What is God s attitude toward hypocrisy, pretended righteousness?

Darius was sixty-two years old when he led the Medo-Persian army to victory in the city of Babylon (Dan. 5:30-31).

Faithful Daniel Darius was sixty-two years old when he led the Medo-Persian army to victory in the city of Babylon (Dan. 5:30-31). He had been born in 601 B.C., the son of Ahasruerus (Dan. 9:1), when Daniel