1 Isaiah 29 The Mysterious Ways of God This morning, I would like for us to consider three mysterious ways God works. 1. God preserves his people through wrath and favor. Let me give a little context as we consider this truth. Chapter 29 is most likely written when Hezekiah was king of Judah, the southern kingdom. If this is so, the northern kingdom of Israel had already fallen to Assyria and many of their people were either killed or carried away in captivity. The king of Assyria was Sennacherib and his armies were moving toward Jerusalem. And a siege of the city was imminent (probably within a year). We have an account of this in cps. 36-37. In 36:1-2 we read: In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 2 And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem, with a great army. And Isaiah declares in v. 1, Ah Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! Add year to year; let the feast run their round. Probably, he is saying, keep doing what you are doing one more year. But, in v. 2-4 he says, Yet, I will distress Ariel, and there shall be moaning and lamentation, and she shall be to me an Ariel. And I will encamp against you all around, and will besiege you with towers and I will raise siege works against you. And you will be brought low; from the earth you shall speak, and from the dust your speech will be bowed down; your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a ghost, and from the dust yours speech shall whisper. It is clear! The sovereign God is bringing Assyria to the doors of Jerusalem. His wrath is coming. And then, all of a sudden, Isaiah moves from wrath to favor, as Jerusalem will be delivered. God preserves his people through wrath and favor. Look at vv. 5-6. But the multitude of your foreign foes shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the ruthless like passing chaff. And in an instant, suddenly, you will be visited by the Lord of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire. And then in vv. 7-8: And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, all that fight against her and her stronghold and distress her, shall be like a dream, a vision of the night. 8 As when a hungry man dreams, and behold, he is eating, and awakes with his hunger not satisfied, or as when a thirsty man dreams, and behold, he is drinking, and awakes faint, with his thirst not quenched, so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion. Now, we must remember as we go through this book, Isaiah is concerned with BIG principles. He is concerned with the ways of God and how he works, and how he will work throughout history. This is why Isaiah does not give us dates, but instead deep mysterious principles concerning the ways of God for all time. Do you remember from chapter 28? In 28:21 he says strange is his deed! and alien is his work. Then, in v. 29 he says, He is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom. At that particular time, God was bringing Assyria to Jerusalem to humble them and reduce them to dust. Then, suddenly, we see deliverance. With this in mind, let s move to why I highlight this mysterious way of God. Isaiah calls Jerusalem Ariel (5 times). Does anyone know what this means? You may have a note in you
2 Bible saying the word is unknown or it may mean lion (2 Sam. 23:20). But, this does not fit the context of this passage at all. God says he will distress Ariel (v. 2). He will bring it low (v. 4). This is wrath, and then as we ve seen, favor. And then in v. 2 he says, and she shall be to me like an Ariel. So, as I studied this word further I found the root in Ezekiel 43:15. And the literal translation is altar hearth. In Ezek. 40-43 the prophet sees a vision of the New Temple. Let me read some of these words. Look with me there! Beginning in 43:1: Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. 2 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. 3 And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and just like the vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal. And I fell on my face. Here, Ezekiel is filled with fear and awe at the holy wrath of God. And then in v. 4: As the glory of the LORD entered the temple by the gate facing east, 5 the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 6 While the man was standing beside me, I heard one speaking to me out of the temple, 7 and he said to me, "Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever. And then, he describes the altar, particularly the hearth or floor of the altar and its measurements. And he says, this is the place where you will sacrifice. And this will be a place of burning and wrath upon those sacrifices. But, we can t stop with wrath. What else takes place at that altar. The wrath of God is poured out on the sacrifice. And because of that sacrifice, the wrath of God is appeased. And that altar becomes the most beautiful place of favor! Wrath and favor go together! God says Ah, Ariel! Ariel! I am the holy One in your midst! My wrath will be poured out on your sin! I will judge Jerusalem. Yet, at the same time, the place of my judgment will be a place of favor! V. 2 You will be an Ariel to me. Brothers and sisters, do you see what I see! In the cross of Christ, we see Ariel. The cross of Christ is the ONLY place we see infinite wrath and infinite favor! Rom. 3:23-26: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Isaiah 4:2-6: In that day the branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. 3 And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, 4 when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. 5 Then the LORD will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy. 6 There will be a booth for shade by day from the
3 heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain. Brothers and sisters, in the cross of Christ, we see holy wrath, yet preserving favor! Is there anything more mysterious than this truth? Absolutely Not! Beloved, for the sinner to we see wrath and judgment and death at the place of burning. And at the same time, the place is the place of favor and safety and preservation. 2. God hardens those who reject the truth. To reject this truth is to reject life. And when this is so, hardening occurs. Spiritual blindness is what you will find. Those who resist the Word of the Lord can only find favor in the next offer of the Word. Yet, with each rejection there comes the awful possibility of going to a point of no return. Look at vv. 9-12. Astonish yourselves and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind! Be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not with strong drink! 10 For the LORD has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes (the prophets), and covered your heads (the seers). 11 And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot, for it is sealed." 12 And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot read. The literal translation of v. 9 is linger, tarry, hesitate, or delay. In other words, when you are faced with the truth and the commands of the truth, do not hesitate. Acknowledge it, Accept it. Do something about it! Recently I saw a YouTube video of a husband and a wife having a very serious conversation. The wife is looking at her husband and she is describing how bad her head hurts. She has excruciating pain. And she is asking him for help, for understanding, for support. And then the camera angle moves, and you see a huge nail sticking out of her forehead. And the husband is looking right at it. And he says, Honey, it s the nail. Just pull it out. And she is furious because her husband is trying to fix the problem, instead of listening to her patiently. (I am sure a man wrote that script.) Well, throughout Isaiah s ministry, He is calling Israel to trust, to repent, to give up their idolatry, etc. Yet, they do not. Do you remember Isaiah s call from cp. 6? God says Go and say to this people: keep on hearing but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes, lest they see with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed. Do you remember what Jesus says about why he spoke in parables? After telling the parable of the sower, his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand (Lk. 8:9-10). Paul teaches this truth also. Look with me to 2 Thess. 2:9-12. Speaking of the power of Satan to deceive, he says, The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. This is a great mystery to me! How God works in election and reprobation. But, I do see this truth: Determined spiritual insensitivity becomes judicial spiritual paralysis (Motyer, 239). In
4 other words, those who refuse to love the truth and be saved, God will harden even further. This is why the writer of Hebrews says, Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? (Heb. 2:1-2). So let me ask by way of application, How do you know if you are neglecting the truth? The answer is right in our text. Look at v. 13: Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men. And v. 15: Ah, you who hide deep from the LORD your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, "Who sees us? Who knows us. And then v. 16: You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, "He did not make me"; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding. Beloved, do not let your heart be hardened! Don t let the word of God escape you again for another day! 3. God will spiritually transform his people. This is none other than the new birth, where God will take that which is dead and give new life. Look at vv. 17-19: Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest? 18 In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. 19 The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel. Here we have the picture of a fruitful field. Let me ask, How long was Isaiah supposed to preach to this people? And we ve already seen their state! They have rejected the truth. They are blind. They are deaf. Again, I ask, how long? Isaiah asked God the same. Is. 6:11: How long, O Lord?" And he said: "Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, 12 and the LORD removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. (Is. 6). Out of the midst of death and destruction and wrath, comes a miracle! And for us, this is by far the greatest mysterious way of our God. And for this, we praise Him; We praise Him for his mighty work. Look at vv. 22-24: Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: "Jacob shall no more be ashamed, no more shall his face grow pale. 23 For when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in his midst, they will sanctify my name; they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. 24 And those who go astray in spirit will come to understanding, and those who murmur will accept instruction. All the prophets speak of this great work of God. Hab. 1:5: Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. Jeremiah writes: Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,
5 declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Brothers and sisters, Do you see this work of God? A man named Nicodemus came to Jesus by night and asked what He must do to attain eternal life. And what did he respond? You must be born again. This is the work of God in the new covenant! And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience- - 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-- by grace you have been saved-- 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. All our hope lies in the work of God to give us life! And so lies the hope of the world! And this truth is fulfilled in the gospel of Jesus Christ! If any man be in Christ, He is a new creation. (2 Cor. 5:17). Strange is his deed and alien is his work! (Isa. 28:21). God preserves his people through wrath and favor. God hardens those who reject the truth. God spiritually transforms his people.