WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND The Book of Isaiah Dr. Jon McNeff, Senior Pastor January 28, 2018 Note: The following are the pastor s notes used in preaching this message. This is not a complete, word-for-word transcription of what was preached. These notes serve as a companion to the complete message, which is available by listening to the audio version. Bible quotes are primarily from NASB and ESV, respectively. Isaiah has unique place in Old Testament and modern history scholars often say the Bible can t be trusted has been changed over the years couldn t possibly predict with accuracy the things it does disproven with discovery of Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 one of the discoveries was the scroll of Isaiah: One of 11 original scrolls one of the best-preserved manuscripts 17 sheepskin sheets sewn together with linen thread ten inches high whole scroll is 30 feet long contains all 66 chapters of Isaiah arranged in 54 columns dates to 125 B.C. Compared to previous oldest version of Isaiah Masoretic Text of 980 A.D. Gleason Archer Even though the two copies of Isaiah discovered in Qumran Cave 1 near the Dead Sea in 1947 were a thousand years earlier than the oldest dated manuscript previously known (980 A.D.), they proved to be word for word identical with our standard Hebrew Bible in more than 95 percent of the text... The five percent of variation consisted chiefly of obvious slips of the pen and variations in spelling. 1 This confirmed the copying practices over 1000 years were accurate and reliable led famous archaeologist Sir Frederic Kenyon to conclude, The Christian can take the whole Bible in his hand and say without fear or hesitation that he holds in it the true word of God, handed down without essential loss from generation to generation throughout the centuries. 2 Isaiah prophesied in Jerusalem from 740-701 B.C. during the reigns of four kings of Judah - Uzziah (called Azariah in 2 Kings), Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (Isaiah 1:1) for over 40 years he warned people who wouldn t listen, but he kept faithful. I. JUDGMENT FOR THE PAST (Isaiah 1:1 35:10) A. Against Judah and Jerusalem (Isaiah 1:1-12:6) Noted right off the bat Isaiah 1:4 Alas, sinful nation, People weighed down with iniquity, Offspring of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the Lord, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away from Him. Religious ritual condemned (Isaiah 1:10-15) This is a scathing condemnation of empty ritual unparalleled anywhere else in Scripture I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. Isaiah 1:14-15 Isaiah applies the picture of Sodom and Gomorrah to the activities of Israel. Evidently, their sin was worse than Sodom s (Ezekiel 16:48 As I live, declares the Lord God, Sodom, your sister and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. ) Despite continuing on in the external worship prescribed by God in the 1 Gleason Archer Jr., A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 3 rd ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1994), 2 Norman L. Geisler and William E. Nix, A General Introduction to the Bible, Rev. and expanded. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1986), 382. 1
Pentateuch, their heart was far from God. This teaches the utter emptiness of ritual. This is similar to 1 Samuel 15:22-23 Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifice as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. False worship is among the things God hates includes robbery for burnt offering (Isaiah 61:8), serving other gods (Jeremiah 44:4), harboring evil against a neighbor and love for a false oath (Zechariah 8:16), divorce (Malachi 2:16), and the one who loves violence (Psalm 11:5). He hates false worship so much that He firmly denies to listen to the prayers that are offered there (Isaiah 1:15). Solution in Isaiah 1:16-17 Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow. In the middle of listing Judah s sin, several things happen: 1) The call of Isaiah Isaiah 6: Personal holiness Isaiah 6:1-7 His call Isaiah 6:8 Here am I. Send me! His message Isaiah 6:9-10 his message was God s instrument to hide the truth from unreceptive people Isaiah 6:10 Render the hearts of this people insensitive Jesus did the same thing in New Testament (Matthew 13:14; Luke 8:10) dangerous principle the longer you hear the truth and reject it, the greater your blindness How long? Isaiah 6:11-13 Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant 2) The promise of a sign of deliverance Isaiah 7 Isaiah 7:1 Rezin, the King of Aram (NE of Judah) and Pekah, King of Israel went up against Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not conquer it. Isaiah 7:2 still caused great fear Isaiah 7:3 Isaiah instructed Ahaz, the King of Judah to ask God for a sign of His presence (Isaiah 7:11) Ahaz feigns humility by refusing Isaiah 7:13 Isaiah widens his prophecy to the whole faithless house of David Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. Not a reference to his wife who bore a son in Isaiah 8:3 because she was not a virgin furthermore Isaiah s son s name was not Immanuel = God with us name of Jesus in Matthew 1:23 3) God s means of judgment Isaiah 10:5-6 Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger and the staff in whose hands is My indignation, I send it against a godless nation and commission it against the people of My fury to capture booty and to seize plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets. God condemns Assyria for doing what God ordained them to do! And He condemned His own people for the same sins as Assyria did Isaiah 10:11 Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her images just as I have done to Samaria and her idols? B. Against surrounding nations (Isaiah 13:1 23:18) 1. Babylon and Assyria (Isaiah 13:1 14:27) 2. Philistia (Isaiah 14:28 32) 3. Moab (Isaiah 15:1 16:14) 4. Syria and Israel (Isaiah 17:1 14) 5. Ethiopia (Isaiah 18:1 7) 6. Egypt (Isaiah 19:1 20:6) 7. Babylon continued (Isaiah 21:1 10) 8. Edom (Isaiah 21:11-12) 9. Arabia (Isaiah 21:13 17) 10. Jerusalem (Isaiah 22:1 25) 11. Tyre (Isaiah 23:1 18) 2
Observations: Incredible accuracy led to 2 Isaiah God will judge all sins No nation is beyond His purview Sobering scope of prophetic events C. Against the world (Isaiah 24:1 27:13) Isaiah broadens his view of judgment for the whole world Isaiah 24:1 Behold, the Lord lays the earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface and scatters its inhabitants. Isaiah 24:4-6 The earth mourns and withers, the world fades and withers, the exalted of the people of the earth fade away. The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live in it are held guilty. Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left. what is this? used in that day seven times picture of the day of final judgment greater than the flood or tower of Babel pictures final destruction in Revelation 21 and 2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. D. Against Egypt (Isaiah 28:1 35:10) Judah was threatened by brutal regime of Assyria northern kingdom of Israel had already fallen in 722 B.C. This section is governed by Judah s failure to turn to God instead they turned to Egypt as their help Isaiah 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord! Isaiah s warnings come in six woes cry of agony: Woes to drunken politicians (Isaiah 28:1 29) Woe to religious formalists (Isaiah 29:1 14) Woe to those who hide plans from God (Isaiah 29:15 24) Woe to the pro-egyptian party (Isaiah 30:1 33) Woe to those who trust in horses and chariots (Isaiah 31:1 32:20) Woe to the Assyrian destroyer (Isaiah 33:1 24) Final cry for justice against the nations (Isaiah 34:1 35:10) Egypt was not the solution for Israel s problems God was Listen Jesus is not going to return on Air Force One! E. Against Sennacherib (Isaiah 36:1 39:8) 1. Sennacherib s attempt to capture Jerusalem (Isaiah 36:1 37:38) 701 B.C. 21 years after Israel fell sent spokesman Rabshakeh to threaten King Hezekiah wanted to conquer them without a battle arrogant Isaiah 36:10 said We re Mighty Assyria, you re defenseless, God told us to conquer you, don t listen to Hezekiah give up! Hezekiah consulted Isaiah Isaiah 37:7 Behold I will put a spirit in Him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land. Isaiah 37:36 Then the angel of the Lord went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians, and when men arose early in the morning, behold, all of these were dead. Sennacherib returned to Nineveh his two sons killed him with a sword sobering! 3
II. HOPE FOR THE FUTURE (Isaiah 40:1 66:24) drastic change here second half of Isaiah brings hope while in captivity A. The blessing of God (Isaiah 40:1 48:22) God prepares them for captivity in Babylon: Comfort Isaiah 40:1 Comfort, O comfort My people says your God. Speak kindly to Jerusalem; and call out to her, that her warfare has ended. That her iniquity has been removed, that she has received the Lord s hand double for all her sins. Expands to messianic invitation Isaiah 40:3 Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. John the Baptist reminded them of this in Matthew 3:2 preparation for coming of the Messiah Our great God Isaiah 40:22, 26, 28-31 Isaiah 42:3 Isaiah 43:2 Isaiah 44:28 reference to Cyrus Persian king 140 years before he came to power! In God s power God s absolute sovereignty Isaiah 45:7 Isaiah 46:10 B. The suffering servant (Isaiah 49:1 57:21) back up to include vast array of information on the Messiah prophetic power! 1. The life of the Messiah Only Psalms contains more messianic prophecies than Isaiah. Every aspect the life of Christ is prophesied: His incarnation (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6,7) His youth (Isaiah 7:15; 11:1; 53:2) His mild manner (Isaiah 42:2) His obedience (Isaiah 50:5,6) His mission (Isaiah 61:1, 2) claimed by Jesus in Luke 4 His miracles (Isaiah 35:5, 6) His sufferings, rejection, and vicarious death (Isaiah 50:6; 53) His exaltation (Isaiah 52:13) 2. The coming of the Messiah In addition, Isaiah 11:1-12 contains an incredibly accurate description of the coming Messiah and His kingdom: A descendant of King David (Isaiah 11:1 Matthew 1:1) Filled with the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:1 Matthew 3:16) He would be a merciful and righteous judge (Isaiah 11:3,4 Revelation 19:11) His future reign will have universal significance and be characterized by peace and reconciliation (Isaiah 11:6 9) He will come for Gentiles (Isaiah 11:11,12 Ephesians 3:6) The gathering of the faithful remnant of Israel (Isaiah 11:11 12) 4
3. Fulfilled prophecies of the Messiah The Prophecy The Messiah will be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14). will have a Galilean ministry (Isaiah 9:1, 2). will be an heir to the throne of David (Isaiah 9:7). will have His way prepared (Isaiah 40:3 5). will be spat on and struck (Isaiah 50:6). will be exalted (Isaiah 52:13). will be disfigured by suffering (Isaiah 52:14; 53:2). will make a blood atonement (Isaiah 53:5). will be widely rejected (Isaiah 53:1, 3). will bear our sins and sorrows (Isaiah 53:4, 5). will be our substitute (Isaiah 53:6, 8). will voluntarily accept our guilt and punishment (Isaiah 53:7, 8). will be buried in a rich man s tomb (Isaiah 53:9). will save us who believe in Him (Isaiah 53:10, 11). will die with transgressors (Isaiah 53:12). will heal the brokenhearted (Isaiah 61:1, 2). The Fulfillment Jesus Christ was born of a virgin named Mary (Luke 1:26 31). Ministered in Galilee of the Gentiles (Matthew 4:13 16). was given the throne of His father David (Luke 1:32, 33). was announced by John the Baptist (John 1:19 28). was spat on and beaten (Matthew 26:67). was highly exalted by God and the people (Philippians 2:9, 10). was scourged by the soldiers who gave Him a crown of thorns (Mark 15:15 19). shed His blood to atone for our sins (1 Peter 1:2). was not accepted by many (John 12:37, 38). died because of our sins (Romans 4:25; 1 Peter 2:24, 25). died in our place (Romans 5:6, 8; 2 Corinthians 5:21). was silent about our sin (Mark 15:4, 5; John 10:11; 19:30). was buried in the tomb of Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea (Matthew 27:57 60 ; John 19:38 42). provided salvation for all who believe (John 3:16; Acts 16:31). was numbered with the transgressors (Mark 15:27, 28; Luke 22:37). Healed the brokenhearted (Luke 4:18, 19). 5
4. The Servant Songs of Isaiah Messiah presented as bringing blessing to Israel and to the nations of the world: The despised area of Galilee would become glorious because of Messiah s presence (Isaiah 9:1 2; cf. 42:6; 49:6) As a descendent of David, He will exercise governmental rule over the earth in the future kingdom (Isaiah 9:7) His government will be just and equitable (Isaiah 11:1 5) His rule will be preceded by a judgment upon the nations of the world (Isaiah 24:1 23) At that time Messiah will bless Israel (Isaiah 14:1 2) and the nations (Isaiah 25:6 12), restoring all that Adam lost. The curse of death will be removed through Messiah s rule (Isaiah 25:8) He will guide the people of His kingdom into truth (Isaiah 30:20 21) Messiah will bring His healing to the world to those who walk in holiness (Isaiah 35:5 8) In the middle of the consolation section (Isaiah 40-66) Isaiah presents four Servant Songs (Isaiah 42:1 4; 49:1 6; 50:4 9; 52:13-53:12) last one describes the saving work of Christ as the Suffering Servant: His humiliation and exaltation (Isaiah 52:13 15) His experience of rejection (Isaiah 53:1 3) His vicarious suffering (Isaiah 53:4 6) His sacrificial death (Isaiah 53:7 9) His reconciling atonement and resurrection (Isaiah 53:10 12) Section ends with the results of the Suffering Servant s redemption (Isaiah 54:1 57:21) C. The coming Kingdom (Isaiah 58:1 66:24) 1. Two kinds of religion (Isaiah 58:1 14) 2. Plea to Israel to forsake their sins (Isaiah 59:1 19) 3. Future blessedness of Zion (Isaiah 59:20 61:11) 4. Nearing of Zion s deliverance (Isaiah 62:1 63:6) 5. Prayer for national deliverance (Isaiah 63:7 64:12) 3 6. Final joy in Jerusalem s future (Isaiah 66:18-24) QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Does history repeat itself? Give some examples. 2. What do we learn about false worship from Isaiah 1:10-17? 3. What can we learn about the series of judgments in Isaiah 13-23? 4. What do we learn from God s answer to Sennacherib in Isaiah 37:22-38? 5. Who is the suffering servant in Isaiah 53 and what do we learn about Him there? 6. What section of Isaiah have you profited from? 3 MacArthur, J. J. 1997. The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) Word Pub.: Nashville 6