Cole Community Church Growth Groups Leaders Guide for Isaiah 1: 1-20 Week of September 11, 2016. Ah, Sinful Nation! Isa. 1:4 (ESV) True prophets are like good doctors: They diagnose the case, prescribe a remedy, and warn the patient what will happen if the prescription is ignored. Warren W. Wiersbe Introduction: Isaiah s prophesies foresee grave threats to Judah and Israel from rising foreign powers: the Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes, and Persians. Do God s children (v.2) have a faith capable of meeting these coming perils? God s Great Arraignment in Chapters 1-5 finds them lacking. The book begins with Isaiah s vision of God the Holy One of Israel convening heaven and earth to hear his judgment on his children s faithlessness. Q. 1. Who was Isaiah? (See, Isa. 1:1; 7:3; 6:1-8; 8:1-4,18 and your study Bible s notes) His prophesy, recounted in this book, ranks him as one of the major prophets of the Old Testament, along with Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Scripture gives us very little personal information about Isaiah. His name means Yahweh is salvation. He was the son of Amoz (1:1, not Amos) but scripture tells us nothing more about Amoz. An extra-biblical tradition suggests Amoz was part of the royal family. Some scholars note Isaiah s writings evidence an insider s knowledge of royal life and events. He likely lived in Jerusalem (7:3). Isaiah was married and a father (Isa. 7:3; 8:3,18). His wife is called a prophetess but there is no record of any prophetic activity, so the term may only mean wife of a prophet. He had two sons whose names have prophetic significance: Shearjashub ( a remnant shall return, 7:3) and Maher-shalal-hash-baz ( quick to plunder, swift to the spoil, 8:1; 4,18). Isaiah s ministry spanned the reign of at least four kings of Judah beginning before and extending after the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel,* suggesting his call to prophesy (6:1-8) came when he was a young man. He lived in turbulent international times, during the rise of new middle eastern powers first Assyria and later Babylonia. As we study his book, we will discover that Isaiah was a man in touch with God, courageous, unafraid to denounce kings and priests, and unwavering when public opinion went against him, he boldly declared the Word of God. * Uzziah (Azariah), 767 740 BC; Jotham, 750 735; Ahaz, 735 [Fall of Northern Kingdom 722 BC] 715; Hezekiah, 715 686. Page 1 of 5
Q. 2. In Isaiah s vision (v. 1), the entire cosmos--heaven and earth--convenes as a witness to hear the Lord s judgment. Who is being judged and for what? (vv. 2-4)? Isaiah recounts his vision. A vision is a supernatural prophesy (speaking forth a word from God to his people, which may speak to future events) given in symbolic form. Other examples in the Old Testament are 1 Sam. 3:1; and Ezek. 7:26. Keep in mind the vision is both prophetic and symbolic, filled with analogies and metaphors. In this scene, the vision describes things in heaven, not on Earth. The scene in Isaiah s vision is often compared to a court. In chapter 1, of which our passage is only a part, God presents his case against his people, his own children whom he has reared and brought up. The charge is that they have rebelled or revolted (v. 2). The words convey breaking a contract. Their unbelief and idolatry have broken their solemn covenant with God, entered into at Sinai (Ex. 19-20). This charge against God s children contrasts his grace and his people s ingratitude. Instead of being grateful the children, the people of Israel, rebelled. The powerful analogy of God s people to his children magnifies their ingratitude. Throughout Israel s history, the privilege of being God s people should have led to gratitude but did not. They no longer have as much devotion to God as unthinking animals do to their masters whom even an ox and a donkey know and trust! His children do not appreciate what God has done for them and are taking their blessings for granted. They have despised the Holy One of Israel ** (v. 4) by completely turning away from him. In turning away, they have become a sinful nation (v. 4). Note, in these first few verses we see a vivid example of Isaiah s remarkable skill with language. He mixes both genres (a legal indictment and a parable) and metaphors (father/child and master/animals) to dramatic affect. Q. 3. What does Isaiah say about why the children will be stricken for this rebellion and what is its result (vv. 5-11)? Note to leaders: There is a difference in translation of verse 5 between the ESV and the NIV which both ask the question Why and the NASB which asks where. The text that follows seems to better address why than where. The word for vision occurs 35 times in Isaiah; saw referring to revealed truth, 36 times. To many scholars, the book appears to contain multiple visions received during Isaiah s life. Chapters 1-5 are sometimes called the Great Arraignment as in a court when a defendant is first brought before a judge to have the charges against him made clear. Children as a figure of speech for God s people is characteristic of Isaiah. ** The phrase Holy One of Israel is Isaiah s characteristic title for God, occurring 25 times in the book, and only six times anywhere else, mostly in later writings. God as holy is a major theme. Page 2 of 5
Isaiah explains why God s children are in crisis. Pay attention to the location of quotation marks in verses 2 and 3 showing when Isaiah directly quotes God s statement of charges. Beginning in verse 4, Isaiah addresses the people, explaining what God s vision has made clear to him. God s children are rebellious because both their minds and their hearts are sick or afflicted. More than that, their whole bodies from the tops of their head to the soles of their feet are unsound. The language in verses 5 and 6 gives a word picture of the complete depravity and sinfulness of the human condition. A turning away from God. This state of sinfulness is the cause of their rebellious nature. Turning away from God rebellion they have forsaken God, hollowed out their worship, and corrupted their society bringing natural consequences (vv. 7-8): Their country lies desolate. Their cities are burned with fire. Foreigners devour the land. Jerusalem itself ( the daughter of Zion v.8) is like a besieged city whose surrounding fields have been left bare and barren by the besieging enemy. This situation is so bad, that Isaiah equates the land to Sodom and Gomorrah which must have seemed shocking to Isaiah s audience. Observation: The picture in verses 7 and 8 fits the time of the Assyrian invasion of Judah by King Sennacherib in 701 BC, during the reign of King Hezekiah when Judah is a ravaged battlefield devastated by the Assyrians with only Jerusalem spared (chaps. 36-37). But, it would have been puzzling at the time of King Uzziah whose long rule was peaceful and prosperous. In verses 11-14, God complains about the multitude of sacrifices and excessive feasts, far more than is required, suggesting the people had plenty to give for sacrifices. This suggests that Isaiah delivered his message in good times in Judah when crops and livestock were plentiful. But, the view from Heaven, where God has convened all creation (heaven and Earth, v. 2) is very different. A people turned away from God, worshipping foreign gods, are a people living in desolation. Isaiah s imagery was prophesying about the consequences of the peoples rebellion. All of it devastation, burned cities, foreign invasion, Jerusalem besieged would become very real during Isaiah s lifetime and the lifetime of many in his audience. Nevertheless, there is a reminder that God s promises will be fulfilled through a faithful remnant (v. 9). God promised Abraham that his descendants would become numerous as the dust of the earth and number of the stars (Gen. 13:16; 15:5). The doctrine of the remnant is important in the message of the prophets (Isa. 6:13; 10:20-22; 11:11-13, 16; Jer. 6:9; 23:3; 31:7; Mic. 2:12; Zech. 8:12). Paul also referred to it (Rom. 9:27; 11:5). Despite the peoples apostasy, a remnant of true believers will be spared so God s work can be accomplished. Q. 4. God commanded the system of sacrifice. Why is he now complaining about the people s sacrifices, being weary of bearing them (v. 14)? See vv. 10-15. God is not rejecting the people s proper sacrifice! He rejects rituals divorced from contrition. The system of worship set up by the Old Testament commands was intended to move people to Page 3 of 5
purity and piety. But the people have lost the purpose for worship. The practices Isaiah describes resemble something closer to the worship of insatiable pagan gods. They seek to manipulate God the way Canaanite religions sought to appease their idols. This is hypocrisy and blasphemous. Therefore, their offerings are vain (ESV), worthless (NASB), and meaningless (NIV) (v. 13). Worse, they are committing this blasphemy in my courts (v. 12) and on God s own alter. It is important to note the spiritual link between this kind of Old Testament ritualism and the New Testament empty legalism of the Pharisees. Isaiah rejects the first; Jesus rejects the later (even quoting Isaiah in Mark 7:6 ; see also, Matt. 3:7). Both, speaking for God, condemn the hypocrites. Thus, early in the book we see one of its major themes: the people s need for a Saviour. Observation: Some readers are troubled by verse 15, worried that it as a rejection of prayer. They read the whole passage as a rejection of ritual sacrifice, instead of only a rejection of ritual without meaning and so don t interpret verse 15 as referring only to prayer without faith. As Matthew Henry puts it: God is never weary of hearing the prayers of the upright, but soon weary of the costly sacrifices of the wicked. He hides his eyes from their prayers, as that which he has an aversion to and is angry at. Q. 5. Compare and contrast verses 16 20 with the earlier verses. How do the people live up to God s desire for them? Just at the point we might expect the Judge in this court proceeding to condemn the accused, he offers a pardon by God s unmerited grace! What they have tried to achieve by corrupt worship and hypocritical practices is offered freely. Rather than continue in their current ways, the people are urged to remove the evil of your deeds and learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression (vv. 16 & 17). Notice again the quotation marks. Isaiah quotes God s wish to reason together (or settle the matter in the NIV). Look ahead to verse 23; doing good in God s sight includes seeking the just functioning of society. But they must make a deliberate choice. Verses 19-20, offer the same choice that God gave Moses in Deuteronomy 28, a blessing or a curse. Their current ways lead only to destruction by the sword. As we study this book, be alert to reoccurrences of this theme: judgment giving way to hope. Mark 7:6 (ESV): And he said to them, Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; (Jesus is quoting from Isa. 29:13). Page 4 of 5
Q. 6. Isaiah addressed a religious people, generous in their sacrifices, but condemned them for hypocrisy. Discuss how this speaks to Christians and the Church today (see vv. 16, 17). Leaders - Some suggestions for leading discussion on this question: o Ask your group to consider whether our religious practices (attending services, praying, tithing, studying the Bible) can become like the excessive sacrifices Isaiah condemns or like the empty legalism of the Pharisees that Jesus rejected. Can our practices become empty rituals, rather than real biblical faith? If so, how does that happen? Ritualistic practices can stem from a feeling that we, not God, are in control. The ancients sought to insure their own security by appeasing idols or appeasing God with excessive sacrifices or by extreme legalistic laws that God did not require. Similarly, we think that by trying hard to be religious we can control our salvation when, in fact, faith requires surrender and obedience. o What does God seek instead of empty rituals? 1. Truly fulfilling worship, prayer, study and tithing that help shape and develop spiritual habits leading to deeper realities of faith, those that bring surrender and obedience. 2. Direct your group s attention to verses 16-17. They teach that faith (surrender and obedience) is most manifested by how we treat one another, how we do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause (v. 17). If the chief end of man is to glorify God, then glorifying God is not just religious worship, singing praise and traditional rites of the church. It is to reveal his character by being who we were created to be the hands and feet that actually do God s work on Earth. o Ask your group for specific examples of how well Cole practices the teachings of verse 17 or how we can do better? What can your Growth Group do? From Cole s Ministry Principles: Reaching the Lost We are convinced that God calls His disciples to a life of actively sharing the Gospel with a lost world, through word and deed. We believe evangelism and outreach flow out of love for the Lord which translates into love for people. We encourage a missions mindset. (Acts 1:8) tvs - 9/13/2016 Page 5 of 5