Isaiah The Coming Messiah Part 2 Isaiah 11:10-16 A s hard as it may be to believe, Christmas is about reconciliation and restoration. This is often lost in the chaos which comes with the season. We need to stop and refocus on the reason for the season. Reconciliation comes with the Incarnation. Before there can be restoration there has to be reconciliation. The purpose of the Incarnation is individual reconciliation, salvation. Individuals must be reconciled to God before the general work of restoration can occur. Reconciliation is what the last two thousand years have been about. And until God has completed His work of individual salvation, the work of worldly restoration will not begin. But at the Second Coming the work of restoration begins. It starts with the restoration of the nation Israel, that is the Israel of the 12 Tribes, not the northern kingdom. But restoration isn t limited to Israel, for the day is coming when all of creation will be restored. But even that restoration won t be completed in the Millennial Age. It will be completed in the day of the New Heaven and New Earth. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. (2 Peter 3:10-13). I Recap II Introduction III In That Day Verses 10-11 IV The Millennial Kingdom Verses 12-16 V Conclusion I Recap: Because of interruptions that have occurred during this series, I thought I d take a few moments to recap where we are in the study, and finishing up, appropriately, with the role of Messiah, both during the Incarnation and the Second Coming. This recap is essentially a summary of the chapters. Specific messages can be found following the Bible study link at www.cfdevotionals.org.
Isaiah is a book of judgment and mercy, of warning and hope, and of exile and restoration. Throughout the work is found the promise of the coming Messiah. First, let s reiterate a number of themes as developed by Buksbazen. 1 1. Indictment of the nation s sinful condition reflected in religious and moral decay. 2. This unfaithfulness to God brings about God s chastisement through foreign invasion and captivity, The Day of the Lord. 3. These nations, used by God to judge Israel, will in turn be judged. 4. God s judgment is backed by His eternal love and the gracious purpose for Israel s restoration. 5. Israel s national survival and regeneration will come through a holy seed the faithful remnant. Most importantly for us is the warning that it is God s people who had gotten off the track here. And even though we are God s children, if we don t walk close to Him, we too can get ourselves in trouble. God s goal though is always to bring His own back to Him. He disciplines us to restore us. And He has and will discipline Israel to finally restore her. What follows is a summary of the chapters we have already examined. Keep in mind, while Isaiah is generally a prophet to the nation of Judah, some of his messages are applicable to Israel, the northern kingdom, and to a restored Israel encompassing both Judah and Israel. Chapter 1: The book starts of with Judah being put on trial for her sins. And as we saw in the following chapters, the main problem was Ahaz s unwillingness to trust God. Instead, he trusted his own wisdom. He made an alliance with Judah s enemy, Assyria, against Israel and her ally Syria. But even as Judah is on trial, God promises her mercy and hope. Chapters 2-5: The focus of these chapters is warnings against the sins of the nation, idolatry and rebellion against God. Israel will one day go through the time of Jacob s Trouble, the coming Tribulation. But another day is coming when Messiah will return and establish His kingdom, the Millennial kingdom, when the nation will be restored. Israel will at last experience true peace and the Throne of David will become the center of government for the world. Chapter 6: This is a biographical chapter presenting Isaiah s calling. As we noted at the time, it is unclear why it is presented in this place. The calling is a difficult one because Isaiah is told his words are not intended to save, but to be used to judge the people because they will reject them. Chapters 7-8: Here and through the next five chapters the focus shifts from Judah to Israel, the northern kingdom, and to some degree the restored nation as a whole. But even here what happens to Israel is intended to serve as a warning to Judah and Ahaz. We know this is the 1 Buksbazen, Victor, The Prophet Isaiah, In Two Volumes, The Spearhead Press, Collingswood, NJ, 1971, p. 77. ) 136 (
case because Chapter 7 specifically deals with God s warning to Ahaz. It also brings the promise of the Incarnation. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14) It was only in the hope of the Incarnation and the kingdom that there was and is hope for Judah and Israel, even though they still don t know it. But for now, at the time of the prophecy s giving, Assyria would bring destruction upon Israel and Syria. Then the day would come when Assyria would turn on Judah and remove her from the Land. Chapters 9-10: Where Isaiah hinted at the Incarnation in His message to Ahaz, here in Chapter 9 he becomes very specific regarding the first coming of the Messiah. But the flow of the prophecy moves into another warning of coming destruction of Assyria. While God may allow Assyria to act against Israel and Judah, as His instrument of discipline, her actions would lead to her own judgment and destruction. In conclusion let me give you a simple summary of these chapters from Unger s Handbook: 2 1. Isaiah s preface. The prophet gives his name; the nature of the prophecy ( a vision, implying supernatural revelation); the time, c. 750-680 B.C.; and the subject, concerning Judah and Jerusalem,. 2-6. The Lord s accusation. The charge takes the form of a courtroom scene in which the whole universe, 2, is called upon to witness the twofold accusation of base ingratitude, 2-3, and rebellious apostasy, 4, illustrated by the figure of a diseased body, 5-6. 7-9. The Lord s Chastisement. Because of God s punishment the kingdom faced ruin, 7. Jerusalem s suburbs were overrun and forsaken, 8. A faithful remnant was the only hope against complete annihilation, 9. Introduction: And this brings up to speed. Unger explains the chapters we re now looking at this way: 10-15. The Lord s rejection of their religious externalism. The rejcected the Lord, 10. He rejected their empty worship, 11-15, as being purposeless and nauseating, iniquitous, hateful, and devoid of spiritual power, 15. 3 Remember when introducing chapter 9 we noted this section of Isaiah is mostly concerned with the Second Coming. Here Isaiah presents more prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah. Where chapter 9 blended both the first and second, this section deals primarily with the Messianic age. We began our study of Chapter 11 quoting Buksbazen who introduces the chapter, transitioning from 10 to 11 this way: In the last verses of chapter 10 Isaiah predicted that the mighty Assyrian empire would come down with a crash like the forest of Lebanon, never to rise again. In complete contrast to Assyria, the fallen 2 Larson, Gary N., reviser, The New Unger s Bible Handbook, Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1966, p. 243. 3 Ibid. ) 137 (
house of David, which had come upon such evil days, would again sprout a new twig which would grow and bear fruit. 4 The line of David had pretty much become defunct by the time of the Incarnation. As a result of the sins Isaiah had enumerated, the nation, both north and south, had become a backwater in the Roman empire. But that would not always be the case. And as he pointed out in Chapter 9, one day the Messiah would come and restore the nation. As we know, that restoration will occur at the second coming. Isaiah alludes is to this coming here. The cut-off line of David was not completely dead. There was and is enough life left in it to allow for hope, a hope which we know is eternal. The reduction of the Davidic dynasty to a mere stump is a true metaphor for its condition when Christ was born; for, though still in existence, that dynasty had been without royal power for nearly six hundred years. The reference to Jesse who was of course never king rather than to David who was may point to the total absence of royal dignity in the house of David when the Messiah would come. There was still life in the house though, for God s purpose (cf. 2 Sam 7:16) had not been set aside (cf. Ezek 21:27). The Branch is now fully messianic. God s people need more than the promise of fertile land or of continued national life through the remnant. They need the very incarnation of God s life in the Messiah. 5 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever (2 Samuel 7:16). A ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! It will not be restored until he comes to whom it rightfully belongs; to him I will give it (Ezekiel 21:27). The first nine verses of this chapter encompassed two ideas, the qualities of the Messiah and the conditions of the Millennial kingdom. The qualities of the Messiah will be those of the ideal ruler. Now, He won t be ideal by the standard of a representative form of government. His kingdom will be a totalitarian one. It will be a theocracy with God as the absolute ruler. The Messiah will be a spirit-filled ruler. He will rule with wisdom, power knowledge and the fear of the Lord. He will rule with a rod of iron and judge those who try to rebel against Him. Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness. He will judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice. The mountains will bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness. He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor (Psalm 72:1-4). His kingdom will reflect who He is. This means there will be concerned for the oppressed and justice for this who up till then had no expectation of justice. And there will be swift and 4 Buksbazen, Victor, The Prophet Isaiah, In Two Volumes, The Spearhead Press, Collingswood, NJ, 1971, p. 180. 5 Grogan, Geoffrey W., The Expositor s Bible Commentary, Isaiah, Zondervan Interactive Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1990. ) 138 (
harsh judgment on the wicked. I guess there won t be a need for our judicial system because there will be perfect and swift justice. The other thing to remember is God s long term goal is restoration, not only of humanity but of creation. And, the kingdom will reflect this restored creation. The peace and safety of the Messianic age are reflected in the fact that little children will be unharmed as they play with formerly ferocious animals. Such conditions are a description of the future consummation of the Messianic kingdom. 6 Which brings us to where we ended a number of weeks ago. Verses 10-11: Once again the Lord lifts up a banner to draw people to Him. Here there banner is the Messiah Himself, and He doesn t draw just a restored Jewish nation, but the world as a whole. And as in the first Exodus when Israel was taken out of Egypt, there will be a second calling out. This may refer to both a calling out of Assyria following the time of Isaiah, but it also clearly refers to the final gathering of Israel to the restored kingdom during the Millennium. Verses 12-16: The separation of Israel and Judah will finally come to an end. Whatever the factors which have separated them throughout history will end and once again Israel will be made up of the twelve tribes. This could only occur as a result of a miraculous act of God because today, none of us can even say for sure what tribe we come from. Buksbazen puts it this way: Once Israel is reconciled to God, those very nations which brought about Israel s exile and dispersion will be used by the Messiah to help assemble His people from the four corners of the earth. The expression the dispersed of Israel and the scattered of Judah indicates that Isaiah had in mind a worldwide dispersion. 7 Finally the Lord will build a superhighway for the Israelites to return to their home. And exactly how this will occur is not spelled out. But just as the Lord made a way for the people to leave Egypt, He will make a way for the people to become a nation and the governmental center of the world. Conclusion: What should be our response to the message of hope, judgment and restoration? As we ve already seen, Peter has an answer. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. (2 Peter 3:14). We are to live in a way that reflects our expectation of the Second Coming. We are to be ambassadors of that future kingdom. We are to exercise mercy and righteousness with those the 6 NIV Study Bible Notes, Zondervan Interactive Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1999. 7 Buksbazen, p. 185. ) 139 (
Lord brings into our path. We are to be caretakers of His creation, treating it as our God given responsibility until it can be healed. We must ask ourselves, do our lives reflect the reality of an expectation of Christ s soon coming? If the answer is no, then why not? Let our answer be yes and our lives a reflection of that yes. The reality of the second coming is the reality of contentment in our lives, for with our hope in Christ we can truly find contentment in all things. for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:11-13). He has the kingdom of Heaven as present, and the glory that is to come; by faith he makes it present. So the martyrs had contentment in their sufferings, for some of them said, Though we have but a hard breakfast, yet we shall have a good dinner, we shall very soon be in heaven. Do but shut your eyes, said one, and you shall be in heaven at once. We faint not, says the Apostle (<470416>2 Corinthians 4:16). Why? Because these light afflictions that are but for a moment, work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. They see heaven before them and that contents them. When you sailors see the haven before you, though you were mightily troubled before you could see any land, yet when you come near the shore and can see a certain land-mark, that contents you greatly. A godly man in the midst of the waves and storms that he meets with can see the glory of heaven before him and so contents himself. One drop of the sweetness of heaven is enough to take away all the sourness and bitterness of all the afflictions in the world. We know that one drop of sourness, or one drop of gall will make bitter a great deal of honey. Put a spoonful of sugar into a cup of gall or wormwood, and it will not sweeten it; but if you put a spoonful of gall into a cup of sugar, it will embitter that. Now it is otherwise in heaven: one drop of sweetness will sweeten a great deal of sour affliction, but a great deal of sourness and gall will not embitter a soul who sees the glory of heaven that is to come. A carnal heart has no contentment but from what he sees before him in this world, but a godly hearts has contentment from what he sees laid up for him in the highest heavens. 8 8 Burroughs, Jeremiah, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, The Master Christian Library, AGES Software, Albany, OR, Version 8.0 2000, p. 56-57. ) 140 (
Isaiah The Coming Messiah Part 2 Isaiah 11:10-16 I Recap II Introduction III In That Day Verses 10-11 IV The Millennial Kingdom Verses 12-16 V Conclusion I Recap: (Isaiah 7:14) 1. Indictment of the nation s sinful condition reflected in religious and moral decay. 2. This unfaithfulness to God brings about God s chastisement through foreign invasion and captivity, The Day of the Lord. 3. These nations used to judge Israel will in turn be judged. 4. God s judgment is backed by His eternal love and the gracious purpose for Israel s restoration. 5. Israel s national survival and regeneration will come through a holy seed the faithful remnant. 1 Chapter 1 Chapters 2-5 Chapter 6 Chapters 7-8 Chapters 9-10 1 Buksbazen, Victor, The Prophet Isaiah, In Two Volumes, The Spearhead Press, Collingswood, NJ, 1971, p. 77.
II Introduction: (2 Samuel 7:16; Ezekiel 21:27; Psalm 72:14) III In That Day: IV The Millennial Kingdom: V Conclusion: (2 Peter 3:14; Philippians 4:11-13) Personal Application: Meditate this week on the promise of the Second Coming and it s impact on your walk. Prayer for the Week: Lord, we praise You for the promise of Christ s coming for us. May Your Spirit empower us to live in this truth. Amen.