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Isaiah, 2

Published March 17, 2014 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: Christmas prophecy, Isaiah, prophecies

The Promised Deliverer

Isaiah 7—9

Some like to refer to the Old Testament prophetic book Isaiah as “the Fifth Gospel,” for it emphasizes many themes found throughout the four New Testament Gospels. Themes like God is the Savior, the coming Messiah and its frequent use by the Gospel writers all make the ancient book of Isaiah seem a lot newer than it really is.

A coming deliverer or Messiah is a common theme, not only Isaiah, but all throughout the Old Testament. His eventual coming was Israel’s great hope—an event all Jews look forward to and long for. No other prophet captured this longing more than Isaiah, and his book contains a prophecy of the Messiah’s coming that is like a lightening rod, drawing the attention of liberal and conservative Bible scholars since the dawn of Biblical higher criticism.

The deliverer is with us, Isaiah 7:14—16; 8:14, 15; Matthew 1:22, 23; Luke 20:17, 18

The prophecy in question is one we hear and sing about every Christmas season. It’s hard to believe these verses are so controversial, but they are.

All right then, the Lord himself will choose the sign—a child shall be born to a virgin! And she shall call him Immanuel (meaning, “God is with us”). By the time this child is weaned and knows right from wrong, the two kings you fear so much—the kings of Israel and Syria—will both be dead. (Isaiah 7:14—16 TLB)

A little history lesson

A common trait in predictive prophecy is that it very often mixes together different times and eras in one prophecy. In other words, when a certain prophecy deals with future events, it may actually have more than one fulfillment. It may have an immediate fulfillment (during the prophet’s lifetime, for example) as well as a future fulfillment. Such is the case with the so-called Christmas prophecy.

The prophecies of Isaiah 7 to 12 were all given during the reign of King Ahaz, at a time when the kingdom of Israel was actually split into two smaller kingdoms, Israel to the north and Judah to the south. Pekah, evil king of Israel, had joined forces with Syria to take over Jerusalem and the southern kingdom of Judah. This worried King Ahaz, monarch of Judah. Not only that, the Assyrian army, much greater than the combined forces of Syria and Israel, was massing on the horizon. God, through His prophets, had promised that Judah would be delivered from all enemies, but still Ahaz was fearful. In order to calm Ahaz’s nerves, God directed him to seek for a sign.

Ask me for a sign, Ahaz, to prove that I will indeed crush your enemies as I have said. Ask anything you like, in heaven or on earth. (Isaiah 7:11 TLB)

The promise of Immanuel

The sign the Lord gave Ahaz was a curious one: a virgin would conceive and give birth to a son, and before that child would be able to talk, the kings of Syria and Israel would both be dead. The child’s name would be Immanuel.

The word “virgin” used in Isaiah’s prophecy has two meanings: “a young woman” or “a virgin.” We steadfastly deny the liberal interpretation of this prophecy, which says it only refers to an immediate fulfillment in Isaiah 8—

Then I had sexual intercourse with my wife and she conceived and bore me a son. And the Lord said, “Call him Maher-shalal-hash-baz. This name prophesies that within a couple of years, before this child is even old enough to say ‘Daddy’ or ‘Mommy,’ the king of Assyria will invade both Damascus and Samaria and carry away their riches. (Isaiah 8:3, 4 TLB)

Remembering that predictive prophecies often have more than one fulfillment, we see this as the immediate fulfillment. Isaiah used his own son as a sign from God to King Ahaz. So, before Isaiah’s son, Maher-shalal-hash-baz (Baz for short), was old enough to talk, the kings of Syria (Damascus) and Israel (Samaria) would be eliminated, thanks to the Assyrians. Judah would be spared.

The spiritual name of Baz, Immanuel, meant simply that God was with Judah and fighting for Judah, at least for the foreseeable future. Ahaz got his sign, thanks to Mr and Mrs Isaiah and their soon-to-be-born son.

God with us, Matthew 1:22, 23

So how do we know the liberals are wrong and we’re right? Aside from the fact that liberal theology is always wrong, there is the plain testimony of Scripture! Matthew, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, uses the Christmas prophecy in a direct application to Jesus Christ!

This will fulfill God’s message through his prophets—‘Listen! The virgin shall conceive a child! She shall give birth to a Son, and he shall be called “Emmanuel” (meaning “God is with us”).’ (Matthew 1:22, 23 TLB)

It has been said, “the Bible is its own best interpreter.” So we see that the prophecy has two meanings—one for Isaiah’s day and one for the future. A son was born during Ahaz’s time, but he was just a sign of God’s deliverance; he was not the deliverer himself, but he did prove that God was with His people. Matthew, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, saw the birth of Jesus as evidence that God was still with the people of Israel, but that this Child, unlike Isaiah’s son, would prove to be much more than merely a sign. This Child, born of a young woman who was a virgin, would be the promised deliverer.

Jesus perfectly fulfills His spiritual name, Immanuel, “God with us.” The virgin birth of Jesus means that He had no earthly father, therefore God is His Father. Somehow, Jesus is both human and divine at the same time. In Jesus, God clothed Himself with human flesh. Through His Son, God truly lived among His people.

And Christ became a human being and lived here on earth among us and was full of loving forgiveness and truth. And some of us have seen his glory—the glory of the only Son of the heavenly Father! (John 1:14 TLB)

It is quite true that the way to live a godly life is not an easy matter. But the answer lies in Christ, who came to earth as a man, was proved spotless and pure in his Spirit, was served by angels, was preached among the nations, was accepted by men everywhere, and was received up again to his glory in heaven. (1 Timothy 3:16 TLB)

“God with us,” the great prophetic name of our Lord, sets forth His deity and His humanity. In Him, God is always with us.

Jesus, our rock, Isaiah 8:14, 15, Luke 20:17, 18

He will be your safety; but Israel and Judah have refused his care and thereby stumbled against the Rock of their salvation and lie fallen and crushed beneath it: God’s presence among them has endangered them! (Isaiah 8:14, 15 TLB)

That’s a terrible indictment on people who should have known better! Those who work against the Lord, or align themselves with those who work against Him, will find defeat. The cleverest plans that go against God’s will cannot ever prevail (verses 9 and 10). The Law made it clear that God’s people should never consort with those who would do evil:

Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. (Exodus 23:2a NIV)

The northern kingdom of Israel had done this, and they would pay dearly. But Judah at times had done the same things, and that’s the point of this prophecy. God wants to protect His people, but if His people refuse His care, they will suffer. God’s presence is like a double-edged sword; He will either be a sanctuary or a stumbling block. Both Israel, and later Judah, will stumble and fall because of their fear of man rather than their fear of God.

Over in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus took Isaiah’s words and applied them to His own ministry.

Jesus looked at them and said, “Then what does the Scripture mean where it says, ‘The Stone rejected by the builders was made the cornerstone’?” ¹⁸And he added, “Whoever stumbles over that Stone shall be broken; and those on whom it falls will be crushed to dust.” (Luke 20:17, 18 TLB)

Our Lord is the chief cornerstone; the foundation block. He is our rock. But for those who refuse to follow Him, He becomes a stumbling block.

Divine governance, Isaiah 9:2—7

Light, verse 2

The people who walk in darkness shall see a great Light—a Light that will shine on all those who live in the land of the shadow of death. (TLB)

Isaiah’s (and Judah’s) real hope rested in the God who IS salvation. The wonderful prophecy of chapter 9 ranks high on the list of favorite prophecies. This prophecy is full of promises discouraged followers of God needed to hear and need to hear. There will be a spiritual revival when the Messiah is born and reigns. It’s a daring vision, to be sure. People, so long in “darkness,” spiritual and otherwise, will at last see God’s Light; they will experience God’s real hope.

“The people” refers to the faithful remnant. Yes, there weren’t many left, but there were a few faithful followers of Yahweh left in the land. It was the same the night Jesus was born; there weren’t many still looking in earnest hope, but there were a few—a very faithful remnant—and to those, the birth of Jesus was bright light, indeed.

Joy, verse 3

For Israel will again be great, filled with joy like that of reapers when the harvesttime has come, and like that of men dividing up the plunder they have won. (TLB)

This will be Israel’s “golden age,” and it will occur when Jesus Christ returns as the rightful king and heir to David’s throne. This hasn’t happened yet. This prophecy is over 2700 years old, but both Jews and Christians alike are waiting for it to come to pass.

Deliverance, verse 4

For God will break the chains that bind his people and the whip that scourges them, just as he did when he destroyed the vast host of the Midianites by Gideon’s little band. (TLB)

When the Messiah assumes the throne, all oppression and tyranny will finally come to an end. God’s people will finally be free—forever free!

On the spiritual side of the ledger, believers in Jesus Christ today, be they Jews or Gentiles, may experience total deliverance from all sin and oppression from the Devil! This is real deliverance that any repentant sinner may experience.

So if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free… (John 8:36 TLB)

But it will happen in reality at the Second Advent.

Peace, verse 5

In that glorious day of peace there will no longer be the issuing of battle gear; no more the bloodstained uniforms of war; all such will be burned. (TLB)

Again, there is an obvious spiritual application of the verse; believers may be at peace with God through their relationship with Jesus today, but in the prophetic future, this refers to real and lasting peace. Imagine, a world where war has become a dim memory. No more fighting. No more bloodshed.

The birth of hope, verses 6, 7

For unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder. These will be his royal titles: “Wonderful,” “Counselor,” “The Mighty God,” “The Everlasting Father,” “The Prince of Peace.” His ever-expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule with perfect fairness and justice from the throne of his father David. He will bring true justice and peace to all the nations of the world. This is going to happen because the Lord of heaven’s armies has dedicated himself to do it! (TLB)

All this hinges on the birth of one Child. The birth of this Child took place 2,000 years ago, at Christ’s first coming. His universal reign has not yet taken place. That will happen when He comes back the second time. A Child is born (Jesus’ perfect humanity) and a Son is given (His absolute deity) perfectly captures the two natures of our Lord.

We live in a day and age where praise comes cheap. Even among Christians. But when we read Isaiah’s stunning words concerning the Messiah, we see that no human being can compare. The more we get to know Jesus, the more we will want to praise Him. Isaiah wrote some wonderful words, but he never experienced the wonder you and I may experience in a personal relationship with Him through faith.

In him lie hidden all the mighty, untapped treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:3 TLB)

Isaiah: Hope For Eternity, 1

Published March 4, 2014 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: Hope in Isaiah, Isaiah, Isaiah's Vision

A LIFE-CHANGING ENCOUNTER WITH GOD

Isaiah 6:1—13

The Old Testament prophet Isaiah lived some 700 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, which means he lived over 2,700 before our time. Yet his words are just as relevant today as they were the day he spoke them and wrote them. This prophet addressed issues we continue to struggle with in our 21^st century. For example, in our day of religious plurality and secular humanism, what does it mean to be “God’s people?” How does Israel fit into God’s plan for the future of our world? Is it possible for a believer to trust God even while his world seems to be spinning out of control?

We’re better off knowing what Isaiah had to say about these things than reading all the Christian “self-help” books and theology books that fill our eReaders.

Isaiah is the name of the prophet, but it also means something: “God is salvation.” It’s an appropriate name because it’s a major theme in Isaiah’s book.

We begin with an interesting vision the prophet Isaiah had.

A vision of God, Isaiah 6:1—4

Isaiah was certainly not the only prophet in Judah, nor was he the first. Most scholars think he was greatly influenced by the likes of Amos, Hosea, and Micah. He may have met them all at one time or another, but his immediate contemporary was Micah.

But Isaiah’s greatest influence was not that of any man, but of a tremendous, life-changing spiritual event; a crisis really, that occurred at the Temple in Judah in the same year King Uzziah passed away. There are some scholars who think the vision recorded for us in chapter 6 was Isaiah’s very first vision, but others believe he had it long after he had begun his ministry. They say that this incredible vision served to deepen Isaiah’s relationship with God and to give him a clearer understanding of aspects of God’s character and even of the nature of his calling.

Either view could be the correct one, but there is no denying this experience was truly life-changing. The vision came suddenly, without warning, and it appealed to Isaiah’s already reverent fear of his transcendent God. He saw and he heard things no man could conceive in his natural mind.

A King on His Throne, verse 1

The year King Uzziah died I saw the Lord! He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the Temple was filled with his glory. (TLB)

Earthly King Uzziah’s time was short; he was under the death sentence of leprosy because he dared presume upon God.

But at that point he [Uzziah] became proud—and corrupt. He sinned against the Lord his God by entering the forbidden sanctuary of the Temple and personally burning incense upon the altar. When Azariah and the others saw it, they rushed him out; in fact, he himself was as anxious to get out as they were to get him out because the Lord had struck him. So King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death and lived in isolation, cut off from his people and from the Temple. (2 Chronicles 26:16, 20, 21a TLB)

Isaiah had lived and ministered during the last 20 years of Uzziah’s life, and while there was the outward appearance of prosperity and peace in the land, the truth was there was much inward corruption, spiritual and otherwise. Because the King was living his out his final years in seclusion, the people began to wonder about their future. They were concerned and had lost confidence in Uzziah and their leaders. As if all that political uncertainty wasn’t enough, a great earthquake had rocked Jerusalem, frightening the people into thinking divine judgment was just around the corner.

The contrast between the dying earthly king and Heaven’s King was apparent! Earthly thrones and kingdoms are temporary, and sometimes the grandeur of kings waxes and wanes, but Jehovah’s throne and glory are permanent.

The seraphim and their praise, verses 2, 3

Hovering about him were mighty, six-winged angels of fire. With two of their wings they covered their faces, with two others they covered their feet, and with two they flew. In a great antiphonal chorus they sang, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is filled with his glory.” (TLB)

Uzziah was still king, but the throne in Judah sat empty. There was no glory in earth’s throne room. How different things are in heaven! Isaiah was allowed an incredible glimpse of the immortal King and the glory that surrounds Him, day and night.

Surrounding God were the seraphim, the “angles of fire.” This is the only reference to this class of angels in Scripture. They are, apparently, God’s attendants with six wings and one face. The cherubim, another class of angel seen by Ezekiel in his vision (Ezekiel 1:6) and other places in the Old Testament, had four faces and four wings.

It seems the purpose of these heavenly beings is to proclaim God’s majesty and to worship Him continually. They are seen and heard drawing attention to God’s holiness. Thirty times in Isaiah God is given the title, “The Holy One of Israel.” This holiness is seen in stark contrast to the unholiness of God’s disobedient, rebellious people. Not only is God personally holy, but His holiness fills the whole earth. From the human perspective, and certainly Isaiah’s at this time in history, corruption, idolatry, uncertainty, and violence filled the earth, not God’s holiness. This part of the vision served to show the transcendence of God; to give Isaiah the proper perspective on things. Not only the transcendence, but also the immanence of God is seen here. He is no remote divine being, hanging out way off beyond the farthest star. He is close by; His presence co-exists with ours. This is something the prophet state later on:

Let all the people of Jerusalem shout his praise with joy. For great and mighty is the Holy One of Israel, who lives among you. (Isaiah 12:6 TLB)

Isaiah needed to see this aspect of God’s character, and Dave Hunt offers a reason:

The more clearly we see the infinite chasm between God’s glory and our sinful falling short thereof, the greater will be our appreciation of His grace and love in bridging that guilt to redeem us.

The power of God’s presence, verse 4

Such singing it was! It shook the Temple to its foundations, and suddenly the entire sanctuary was filled with smoke. (TLB)

Sometimes God’s power is manifested in things like an earthquake or earth tremor:

After this prayer, the building where they were meeting shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and boldly preached God’s message. (Acts 4:31 TLB)

And often His presence is indicated by smoke:

As he entered, the pillar of cloud would come down and stand at the door while the Lord spoke with Moses. (Exodus 33:9 TLB)

Ultimately, though, God would unveil Himself in the person of His Son:

Christ was alive when the world began, yet I myself have seen him with my own eyes and listened to him speak. I have touched him with my own hands. He is God’s message of life. This one who is life from God has been shown to us, and we guarantee that we have seen him; I am speaking of Christ, who is eternal Life. He was with the Father and then was shown to us. (1 John 1:1, 2 TLB)

Cleansed for service, Isaiah 6:5—8

Awareness of his sin, verse 5

Then I said, “My doom is sealed, for I am a foul-mouthed sinner, a member of a sinful, foul-mouthed race; and I have looked upon the King, the Lord of heaven’s armies.” (TLB)

J.C. Ryle, the first Anglican bishop of Liverpool and prolific writer, offered these relevant thoughts that explain how Isaiah felt:

I am convinced that the first step toward attaining a higher standard of holiness is to realize more fully the amazing sinfulness of sin.

Indeed, the clearer God becomes to man, the worse that man appears to himself. Nobody can stand long in God’s presence without becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the state of his own life. No wonder so many people—Christians included—avoid going to church! Who wants to feel that uncomfortable? Yet, that sin and the guilt of that sin cannot be taken care of apart from a personal work of God.

Isaiah’s sin cleansed, verses 6, 7

Then one of the mighty angels flew over to the altar and with a pair of tongs picked out a burning coal. He touched my lips with it and said, “Now you are pronounced ‘not guilty’ because this coal has touched your lips. Your sins are all forgiven.” (TLB)

To serve God effectively, Isaiah needed to be cleansed. Regardless of when this vision took place—before or during his ministry—Isaiah’s spiritual state needed to be constantly cared for and tended to. For any believer to grow in his faith and be of continual use to God, he must always see himself accurately (a redeemed sinner) and he must be willing to let God work in him.

For God is at work within you, helping you want to obey him, and then helping you do what he wants. (Philippians 2:13 TLB)

Commissioned to prophesy, Isaiah 6:9—13

An unresponsive audience, verses 9, 10

Here’s a job nobody with good sense would want:

“Yes, go. But tell my people this: ‘Though you hear my words repeatedly, you won’t understand them. Though you watch and watch as I perform my miracles, still you won’t know what they mean.’” (verse 9 TLB)

Basically, Isaiah was told that in spite of his all his work, the people would never receive his words. He would, in effect, be a failure by man’s measurement of such things.

We can see why Isaiah in particular needed to see this great vision. His would be a life and ministry full of disappointment. Preaching and preaching with no converts was the promise. In spite of Isaiah’s best efforts, the people would remain spiritually dull. But to add insult to injury, Isaiah learns the awful reason his people would never change:

Dull their understanding, close their ears, and shut their eyes. I don’t want them to see or to hear or to understand, or to turn to me to heal them. (verse 10 TLB)

You read that right! God allowed the spiritual understanding of the people to become dull; God prevented them from hearing Isaiah’s preaching. So, hands up, all of you faithful Christians, who would be willing to do what Isaiah was called to do?

A message of judgment, verse 11, 12

Then I said, “Lord, how long will it be before they are ready to listen?”

And he replied, “Not until their cities are destroyed—without a person left—and the whole country is an utter wasteland, and they are all taken away as slaves to other countries far away, and all the land of Israel lies deserted!”

Talk about depressing! But now we know why God wanted Isaiah to preach a message that wouldn’t be heeded. It was part of a bigger plan of judgment on the people that involved an exile and deportation. The instruments of this judgment to come would be the Assyrians and the Babylonians.

“Who does Isaiah think he is,” the people say, “to speak to us like this! Are we little children, barely old enough to talk? He tells us everything over and over again, a line at a time and in such simple words!”

But they won’t listen; the only language they can understand is punishment! So God will punish them by sending against them foreigners who speak strange gibberish! Only then will they listen to him! They could have rest in their own land if they would obey him, if they were kind and good. He told them that, but they wouldn’t listen to him. So the Lord will spell it out for them again, repeating it over and over in simple words whenever he can; yet over this simple, straightforward message they will stumble and fall and be broken, trapped and captured. (Isaiah 28:9—13 TLB)

So then, if the people won’t listen to Isaiah’s message in a language they can understand, the next words they hear would be in the language of the Assyrians.

Isaiah was a great prophet and man of God. He was a man in need of a constant relationship with God, who was willing to step out from the crowd and do the hard work to which God had called him. To do that work involved great personal risk, but that singular vision of God and His glory pushed Isaiah on in a ministry that speaks to us even today.

Today some Christians are content to merely exist until they die. They don’t want to risk anything, to believe God, to grow or mature. They refuse to believe His Word, and have become hardened in their unbelief. Now they’re living just to die. (David Wilkerson)

ISAIAH, Part 9

Published August 17, 2011 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: answered prayer, fasting, injustice, Isaiah

How to NOT get your prayers answered

Isaiah 58:1—9

Isaiah 58 begins the final section of Isaiah’s book. In chapters 49-57, the prophet presented us with the spiritual agent of our salvation; now he will show us the spiritual conditions of our salvation.

The prophets were not only predictors of the future, they were preachers of righteousness. They were not only “seers,” they were “doers of the Word.” That’s not always an easy thing to do, and faithful servants of God are hard to find for that reason. Isaiah was faithful because he wasn’t timid; he wasn’t afraid to “Shout it aloud, do not hold back.” Isaiah was being asked by God to preach a stern message of rebuke and reproof to his people. His message was meant to correct the people’s false way of thinking in how to receive the favor and even salvation of the Lord.

Isaiah’s message was not meant to be deep, theological treatise, but rather an intensely practical one:

Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins. (verse 1)

1. Their sinful condition, verses 2—5

For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. (verse 2)

Back in chapter 1, Isaiah dealt with the empty ritualism of the people and here he picks up that theme again. What must have made Isaiah’s task particularly difficult was that he was not preaching to completely godless people. In fact, this message was addressed to people who looked faithful; they appeared to be faithful to the teachings of their Scriptures. They were utterly meticulous in following the forms of worship. They may have actually enjoyed attending worship services. Yet their lives did not reflect the spirit of God’s Law in any way.

The people to whom this message was addressed had drifted into a formal observance of faith, but at heart it was a practical ungodliness. Reading these verses puts us in mind of what Samuel said to King Saul:

Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. (1 Samuel 15:22)

People like King Saul and Isaiah’s listeners were the kind of people who, like many Christians, think they can “live like the Devil” all week long, assuming their weekly attendance at church and their periodic religious feasts were enough to atone for their gluttony and insincerity.

Verse 3 drips with arrogance and reveals the people’s true motives in their rigid adherence to the Law:

‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ (verse 3a)

Although Isaiah focuses on fasting, this petulant attitude probably extended to all their observances. What makes the fasting issue particularly interesting is that the people seemed to have made regular days of fasting part of their religious observances, but God never gave the people of Israel “fast days.” In fact, God gave His people “feast days.” It is true that from time to time the people were to fast in connection with their sins, and in particular with the Day of Atonement, but the people had made fasting a form of worship which ministered more to themselves than it did to God. So of course, their fasting did nothing to move God.

In effect, these people were cheating God. Instead of giving God what HE required of them, they gave God what THEY wanted to give Him, because it was easy and convenient. And they had deluded themselves into believing they were “OK.”

What the people failed to realize, and what Isaiah was desperately trying to convince them of, is that true religion is a personal relationship with God. For the Christian it is no different; true faith is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And that intimate relationship we have with Christ is precious, personal, and private. Of course, we witness for Him, we share our faith with others, but just like in a marriage, we don’t brag about our intimate time with our Savior. Yet this is what Isaiah’s people were doing; bragging about what they were doing, fasting, for God.

In fact, they fasted and they observed these fast days and so-called holy days, but they’re hearts were miles away from God, as evidenced by their behavior. They fasted, but turned right around and took advantage of people, they argued, they fought, and they generally treated other people badly. What more proof is needed to show that these people, in spite of outward appearances, were nowhere near God.

God’s response to their so-called demonstrations of worship is stern:

You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. (verse 4b)

Proper fasting, done for the right reasons, can produce all kinds of good things in a persons life or in the life of a congregation. But when fasting is done as a duty, for the wrong reasons, it produces bad things, like irritability and anger and jealousy. Prayers offered against that kind of backdrop would never reach God’s ears.

God must be approached HIS way, never OURS. The Bible proves this time and time and time again, yet even to this day, Christians think they make up their own rules; they can invent “new and improved” ways to approach God, but it doesn’t work like that. When we make up ways to worship God so as to make it convenient for us or easy for us, and if those ways are contrary to Scripture, God cannot and will not be moved no matter how many tears we may shed or songs we may sing.

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Proverbs 14:12, KJV)

The only way to approach God is His way, and there is no mystery about it; you find the right way in the Bible.

2. God’s cure

Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? (verse 5a)

God’s cure is to, using Isaiah’s example of fasting, do the right thing for the right reason(s). The true and only reason to fast is not so you can appear humble, but to accomplish a definite purpose: to pray, to meditate, and to repent of sin. One scholar made the very interesting observation that true fasting is not necessarily an enjoyable experience:

A person who enjoys confessing his sins is not coming before God with an honest confession, but rather is giving a performance before men, or perhaps merely before himself, that intended to demonstrate righteousness.

Part of God’s cure for the spiritual malaise of His people included:

“To loose the chains of injustice,” verse 6. This is not a call to some kind of general social action. The “injustice” the prophet is referring to here is the injustice they themselves were causing during the “fast.” What Isaiah was telling the people was simply this: If you are going to fast, don’t walk around looking humble and pious, stop your sinning! Stop taking advantage of other people. Stop gossiping. God’s cry to His people was, and remains, a very simple and direct one. If you call yourself a Christian, live like one; demonstrate your faith in Him by your conduct. When we do that, we will not only treat others exceedingly well, but our own chains of spiritual bondage will be broken.
“Untie the cords of the yoke,” verse 6. Many believers are carrying around burdens that are far too heavy for them. A true believer will help carry another’s burdens. A Christian that spends time in God’s presence will be sensitive to the needs of others; in the practical world, that means he will cut them some slack; exercise patience. In the spiritual realm, it means they will pray for the one in need, exercising spiritual discernment so as to ease their burdens, whatever they may be.
“Break every yoke,” verse 6. This is all part of “setting the oppressed” free. How does a Christian do that for another? One who is “oppressed” is one who set upon by outside pressures. This oppression can take many forms. Some people are oppressed by their work, or their family situation, or by their health. A true believer is one who will do what they can for one who finds themselves “oppressed.” A true believer sees one who is oppressed but can’t merely walk on by them. This is what happens when one spends time in God’s presence: their eyes are open to the needs around them.
Care for the poor, verse 7. The people of Isaiah’s time had figuratively and literally turned their backs on the poor. They refused to show kindness to their own flesh and blood. Their faith had become a cold, formal exercise. Because the people had no heart for others, they had no heart for God. The Christian who can’t show compassion to the genuinely destitute can’t have God dwelling within him (1 John 3:17).

3. The guaranteed result, verses 8, 9

Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. (verse 8)

There was no way for God to manifest His blessing and glory to people who practised their religion in such a lazy fashion. The word “then” is emphatic. If the people would re-dedicate their lives to the Lord and start taking their faith seriously, “then” certain things would start happening. These promises are strung together like a beautiful necklace of precious gems.

Your light will break forth like the dawn. “Break forth” indicates speed and suddenness. If the people would focus on obedience to God and His Word in the exercise of their faith, their health, wealth, and access to God in prayer would be restored in an instant. Obedience to God’s will is like spraying window cleaner on a dirty window; once that window is cleaned, the light can shine in…or shine out…and the world becomes clearer.
Your healing will quickly appear. Good health is always viewed in the Old Testament as a sign of God’s blessing. When His children obey, God is quick to bless and show favor.
Your righteousness will go before you. When Christians live in obedience to God, our faith will be evident to all without uttering a word. Righteousness will go before us, and the glory of the Lord will follow us. Obedience has so many rewards; the obedient are literally surrounded by the presence of God.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I (verse 9). There’s that emphatic word again: “then.” When the Lord sees our love for Him manifested in our obedience to Him, He will never fail to answer when we call. Truly, the two greatest needs of mankind are met: the need for a response and for recognition. Those needs can only be fully met by God and then only when we demonstrate our obedience to Him. There is nothing more isolating that unwanted silence and aloneness. And only God can remove them.

Our obedience to God and His Word can never be overstated. No obedience, no fellowship. No obedience, no answered prayers. No obedience, no presence of God. When sin is cleared from the heart, then the way is clear for the Lord to show us favor:

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me… (Psalm 66:18)

The only way for a child of God to receive from God “whatsoever we ask,” it will be:

…because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.

(c) 2011 WitzEnd

ISAIAH, Part 8

Published August 9, 2011 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: Atonement, Crucifixion, Isaiah, substitution, Suffering Servant

The Man of Sorrow, Isaiah 53:1—6

A bird’s eye view of Isaiah 53 might look like this:

verses 1—4, the life and earthly ministry of Jesus;
verses 5—8, His death and burial;
verses 10—12, His resurrection and exaltation.

The chapter’s overall theme, which is the innocent Savior dying in place of the guilty, ties the whole chapter together. This chapter deals with what theologians call the “vicarious atonement.” There is much that we find difficult to explain about what happened on the Cross; those are the infinite, divine things that our finite, earthly minds cannot understand. One day, when we reach the other side, all will be made clear. However, this much is clear and this much we do understand: Jesus Christ took the place of guilty sinners and paid the price for their salvation.

Unfortunately, this is something the people of Jesus’ day could not grasp:

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? (verse 1)

The “who” in verse 1 probably refers to the Jews and the collective “our” are likely the prophets. The Jews, to whom the Savior came, didn’t recognize Him as such because they didn’t believe the message of the prophets. This reminds us of what Paul wrote to the Romans:

But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. (Romans 10:16—17)

The phrase “arm of the Lord” is significant and its usage here is often missed. It frequently refers to God’s mighty strength, but God’s mighty strength wasn’t revealed to just anybody; only to the Jews. When God made the material universe, He used His fingers, which was plain for anybody to see:

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place… (Psalm 8:3)

When He delivered Israel from Egypt, He did so by His mighty hand, which was plain for onlookers to see:

Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the LORD brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast.” (Exodus 13:3)

However, in order to save sinners, God had to bare His strong arm, yet it went unrecognized. The people to whom was revealed God’s strong arm refused to see it and refused to believe this awesome manifestation of God’s power in love.

Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (John 12:37, 38)

This Savior who went unrecognized was part of history for He “grew up” among them (verse 2). God didn’t just miraculously deposit a full-grown, mature Savior in the midst of His people. Their Savior was literally one of their own; there was nothing outwardly special about Jesus. He was part of their history for He had a history.

He was just an ordinary Baby

That’s the way He planned it, maybe

Anything but common would have kept Him apart

From the children that He came to rescue,

Limited to some elite few;

When He was the only Child who asked to be born.

And He came to us with eyes wide open,

Knowing how we’re hurt and broken,

Choosing to partake of all our joy and pain.

He was just an ordinary Baby,

That’s the way He planned it, maybe

So that we would come to Him and not be afraid.

Despite this, the people didn’t recognize Jesus as their long-awaited Savior. Instead, Jesus Christ became a “man of sorrows.” Throughout history, there have been many men, full of sorrow, but only one Man was a “Man of Sorrows.” The sorrows of the Son of Man were unique to Him and unparalleled. His sorrows included:

1. Humiliation, verse 2

He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

The Servant, was the eternal Son of God, and yet He became human and had to grow up! We may find the prophet’s choice of words a bit odd. Why compare the growth of a child to a “tender shoot?” The Jews of Isaiah’s day would have made a connection we modern Bible readers miss:

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. (Isaiah 11:1)

I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king. (1 Samuel 16:1b)

The connection is really two-fold. The obvious one is that King David was a kind of foreshadow of Israel’s true Messiah. David was the son, or the shoot from the stump, of Jesse and both Mary and Joseph were descendants of David. Hence, Jesus was also a “shoot from the stump of Jesse.” But the second connection is a little more subtle and is found in 1 Samuel 16:7—

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Samuel, when he was looking for which of Jesse’s sons would be chosen by God as king, took note of their outward appearance, but the Lord mildly rebuked him and set him straight. Israel, as a nation, had a preconceived notion of what their Messiah would look like and how He would act, and because Jesus didn’t fit the bill, they didn’t realize that He was their Messiah. His humiliation was complete. Not only did the glorious, majestic Son of God leave heaven to become a nondescript man, but His people failed to recognize Him!

2. Opposition, verse 3

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Verse 3 carries the idea of Christ’s humiliation a step further. The people not only failed to recognize Him and desire Him, but they actually rejected Christ outright, refusing to even look at Him. The Hebrew words behind “despised and rejected” mean literally “to look upon with disdain” and “to forsake.” As one scholar observed, “Loneliness is often the crown of sorrow,” and surely our Savior was lonely.

The words translated “suffering” and “pain” really mean “pains” and “sickness.” Jesus was well acquainted with “pain” and “sickness,” in other words. Does this imply that our Lord was a sickly, physically weak man? Certainly He experienced all the maladies a human being experiences in their lifetime, but consider Jeremiah 15:18 where these terms are also used:

Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable?

Here, the pain is the pain of a broken and breaking heart. So, perhaps the “pain” and “sickness” referred to by Isaiah are both physical and emotion anguish. And no wonder! While Jesus’ teaching attracted great crowds at first, eventually they turned on Him, egged on by the religious leaders of the day. Once those who adored Him came to despise Him and oppose Him. They put a cheap price on His head. They were ashamed of Him because He wasn’t the kind of Savior they were looking for. They thought they had been had.

3. Anticipation, verse 4a

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering…

The dominant theme of “atonement” is what this phrase is all about. The innocent taking the place of the guilty; the Sinless Son of God bearing the punishment for sinners. This phrase views our punishment figuratively in terms of a disease. In this case, the disease is the disease of sin. This is an awful way to view sin: as disease from which there is no escape; an infection that cripples and kills. Who in their right mind would walk into a colony of people infected with such a contagion? A person that would do that would certainly die. And yet this is exactly what the Son of God did! He knowingly descended into a world of people infected with a disease.

Theologians recognize the atonement as “the” theological issue of Scriptures. Without it, what was the point of it all? Even G.F. Handel saw the power of the atonment and based one of his most important compositions upon it in his famous oratorio, “The Messiah.”

It should be noted, though, that the disease is ours, not His. The pronoun “our” is emphatic here, meaning ours were the sicknesses He carried; ours were the pains He bore. Christ foresaw all this, and yet He came to offer His life a ransom for many.

“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. (John 12:32—33)

Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen to Him; there was no way He couldn’t. He was the perfect Son of God.

4. Separation, verse 4b

... yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.

Our Lord walked to His crucifixion alone. This is the heart of the whole passage; the heart of the Bible. Interestingly enough, the message of atonement is not only the central message of the Christian Gospel, but was at the heart of the Jewish religious system—the innocent animal offered as a sacrifice for the sins of the guilty sinner.

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

Only Jesus could do this by Himself. Nobody could help Him. He was the perfect choice because He was the only choice.

Imagine this: The Son of God living for an eternity in the glories of Heaven with the Father and the Holy Spirit. One God, three Persons living in perfect unity and perfect fellowship. Imagine willingly leaving that kind of perfect paradise; imagine separating yourself from the Father and the Holy Spirit. Now imagine entering our world, being born and growing up and making friends and having fellowship with your family and with friends. Imagine Jesus spending some 30 years living, working, and ministering to those people He loved so much, those people He identified with and came to save. And finally, imagine being forsaken by them. Jesus Christ, separated from the glories of Heaven and separated from world He loved.

And yet, while all this is true, the word “considered” is important to, well, consider. It means that by the estimation of man, the Savior was being punished by God, stricken and afflicted by Him. However, the next verse shows how wrong that estimation was!

5. Relationship, verse 5

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Man made his estimation, but the facts are:

He was pierced for our transgressions;
He was crushed for our iniquities;
Our punishment was put on Him;
His wounds resulted in our healing.

This describes another theological act performed by Christ. Not only did He make atonement for our sins, He suffered in our stead. This is known as vicarious expiation. Everything He endured on the Cross sinners themselves should have endured.

He was “pierced” for our transgressions. The word pierced really means “transfixed” or “bored through,” in other words, He was quite literallyfastened to or secured to the Cross. He was joined to the Cross for our “transgressions,” or for our rebellions. The pain was His, a result of sins which were ours.

He was further “crushed” for our iniquities. The Savior was “shattered” because of our “inbred crookedness.” This is different from “transgressions,” which are sins of determination; sins which are deliberate. “Iniquities” refer to the sin principle within all human beings; the tendency to sin.

The “punishment” He bore resulted in peace for us. The KJV uses the word “chastisement,” and that accurately reflects the Hebrew, which literally means “disciplinary sufferings.” On the Cross, Jesus got what we deserved. This we understand, but the stunning part of this phrase is the word “peace,” for it means many things. It means, for example, the absence of strife. Christ secured our peace with God; thanks to what Christ did for us on the Cross, God is no longer angry at us. But “peace” also means soundness, health and well-being, prosperity, and completeness. It’s amazing what Jesus did for us!

Lastly, we were “healed” by His wounds. There are those who take that literally, teaching that physical healing was included in the atonement. In other words, Christians have a right to good health and divine healing simply by virtue of their relationship with Jesus Christ. But is that what Isaiah means here? Probably not exactly, although divine healing is certainly part of the Savior’s continuing ministry. The phrase, when translated literally, means “it has been healed for us.” In other words, the idea is that by His wounds, we could be healed. The question is, healed of what? The overriding theme of this passage is sin and atonement for sin. The healing, therefore, must not refer to physical healing only, but rather the forgiveness of sins, the healing of the soul. Sin is, after all, a sickness and a disease that man cannot rid himself of. That is the healing which Christ secured on the Cross for all those who call upon Him as Savior.

This was the beginning of His relationship with redeemed man. He alone could do all these things for us, as a devoted mother carries the griefs and sorrows of her child. So intense was the love of Christ for sinful man, that He could not refrain from doing what He did.

…the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (verse 6b)

And our Lord took it! It was for us that He poured our His holy, perfect soul!

…he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. (verse 12b)

The Suffering Servant did all that on the Cross for people that never even noticed.

Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see. Is any suffering like my suffering that was inflicted on me, that the LORD brought on me in the day of his fierce anger? (Lamentations 1:12)

In answer to the question, “Who has believed our message?” may we always be able to answer, “We do!”

(c) 2011 WitzEnd

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Isaiah, 2

Isaiah: Hope For Eternity, 1

ISAIAH, Part 9

(c) 2011 WitzEnd

ISAIAH, Part 8

(c) 2011 WitzEnd

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