Isaiah: The Collapse of God’s People and the Coming of the Messiah 12/27/2020

Why should anyone listen to the ? Among all the religions and philosophies in this world, why should a person listen to ? There are many ways to answer this question. There is the historical fact of the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. There is the fact that a humble band of fishermen and a few others gave their lives to spread this message. There is the remarkable historical reliability of the Biblical text, attested to by the . And then there are the prophets in the . There is nothing else like them in all the beliefs and spiritualities in the history of man. They were men who were set aflame by the Spirit of God to speak His words. Usually, they spoke to people who would not listen and yet their words were recorded and kept. They were men asked to empathize with God, to understand how He felt about sin and righteousness. They served as prosecutors of God’s covenant Law. They would explain what God had said to His people in His Law. They would accuse God’s people of violating this Law. They would bring evidence to demonstrate the guilt of the people. They would describe the anger of God and pronounce judgment upon the sinful people. They would predict these coming judgments. They would speak of the hope of a coming Messiah who would turn people’s hearts back to God. They would describe the ultimate fulfillment of all God’s promises despite our failures.

In Deuteronomy 18:9-22 Moses speaks of these prophets and our need for them. We human beings are drawn to look to anything and anyone but God for guidance and help… Sorcerers, mediums, spirits, witches and fortune tellers… Today we have entertainers, movies, media pundits, experts, scientists, psychologists, the list goes on… We demand answers and solutions from man… for we feel we do not get what we what from God. 41:26-29 Every source of wisdom other than God is ultimately nothing. The prophets would come to speak for God, different, strange, odd, voices in the wilderness. Important: Hebrew prophesy is poetic discourse = conversation in verse between God and people. These men did not speak as the world speaks. They did not flatter. They did not conform. They really did speak truth to power in a way that no one ever has. Some of them suffered for it.

Moses was the first of the prophets. Many consider Isaiah to be the greatest. Jesus was the ultimate prophet and the ultimate fulfillment of the prophesy of Moses in Deuteronomy. The name “Isaiah” means “The Lord is Salvation” and his message reflects his name.

The Messiah is the only hope for a wayward nation. And the nation was wayward. Isaiah lived in a time of moral and religious decline. Things were getting worse, the world more unstable, God was becoming less popular. In many ways, the people to whom Isaiah prophesied were much like people around us today.

Isaiah’s prophetic ministry took place in and around about 700 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. The glorious reigns of King and Solomon had ended 200 years before. Now the great Kingdom of had split into two after a brutal civil war. The northern part was still called Israel and consisted of 10 of the 12 tribes. The southern part consisted of the tribes of and little Benjamin. Jerusalem was its capital still. In both Israel and Judah the kings had not led well and had made many bad decisions. Israel and Judah were both awash with idolatry and people increasingly cared little about God. We find in :1 that Isaiah prophesied during the reigns of four kings of Judah. But we will discover that his words look ahead much farther than the times of these kings. In fact, we will see that Isaiah is looking ahead to the Messiah and then to the New Jerusalem. Of all the prophets in the Bible, Isaiah most clearly features the Messiah of Israel, long before He came. In this church and elsewhere we teach people to share the gospel in a four-part outline: 1. God (His truth, majesty, holiness, love, faithfulness… He made us to know Him) :21-26 2. Man (Created to reflect God but miserably failing to do so… the sin problem) Isaiah 1:2-4 3. Christ (God’s solution to our sin problem) :4-6 4. Response (We must repent and believe and follow Jesus) :6-12 No one before the coming of Jesus so clearly proclaimed these truths better than Isaiah. You might say that Isaiah presents the gospel of Christ before Christ shows up to do it.

My prayer for all of you is this: That this book of prophesy will become a familiar friend. This does not mean that it will ever become easy to read. Isaiah cuts like a knife. This is its purpose. And it is intended to bless you like a healing balm. This too is its purpose. But the better you know it and understand its message, the more effective it becomes. This year we will be on a journey to understand the thought and teaching of this marvelous book. I want for each of you to be able to have in your mind the entire , its flow, its focus.

So, think of the book of Isaiah as written by the prophet in four sections. You will see them in your outline. I want to give credit to Alec Motyer and David Camera for their help to me in understanding this book.

I. Introduction: The Two Isaiah 1-5 The first truth that we discover in Isaiah is that God speaks. He has something to say and expects us to listen. Isaiah 1:1-2b All of creation is expected to listen… and are called to be witness to God’s words.

Next, we have the indictment. Remember the prosecutorial role of the prophet? Isaiah 1:2c-4 “The Holy One of Israel” is how Isaiah especially refers to God throughout this book. This basic indictment will be repeated many times and in many ways in the book. There is a reason for the repetition. We are dim-witted and hard-headed. These words beat on our stubborn wills like a hammer on a wall. Sooner or later, we hope they break through. God wants repentance but we resist.

The first five chapters serve as an introduction to Isaiah’s entire message. Through Isaiah the Lord presents us with His problem… we are invited to empathize with God. Isaiah 1:18-23 The faithful city has become a harlot. That’s bad. Isaiah 1:24-27 The Lord will restore Jerusalem. That’s good. So, we have a problem and a promise. There is the Jerusalem that is and the Jerusalem that will be. In between the two will be a day of reckoning… the Day of the Lord is thematic in Isaiah. :12-19 So, here is the great question that these first five chapters leave us with: How will the sinful Jerusalem survive the judgment and become the beautiful Jerusalem? The answer that Isaiah gives us through the rest of the book is this: He will send His Messiah. He will do it. The three major parts of Isaiah are each organized around God, sin, judgment, and the coming Messiah.

II. The Book of the King -37 This section begins with an important implied contrast. , after a 52-year reign, has died; the Lord reigns. Again, at the beginning of this section and at the beginning of Isaiah’s ministry we see the holiness of God. There is no one like God… in contrast to kings like Uzziah, , … the Lord reigns.

In this book of the King we learn that Judgment is coming upon Judah and Israel. They have been warned. They will not listen. Consider Isaiah’s calling. Isaiah 6:9-13 Three themes appear: 1. They will not listen, so judgment is imminent. 2. There remains a faithful remnant with whom God will keep His promise. 3. The Messiah is on His way. “The holy seed is its stump.” It looks dead but a shoot will grow. A child is coming. :14

The following chapters tell of the sin of Judah and Israel and the coming judgment. is on its way to crush God’s people. But a remnant of faithful people will remain who still seek God. And Isaiah continues to keep in view the coming King, the glorious hope, the future Messiah. :7

Though God will bring judgment upon Jerusalem using the nations that surround her, especially Assyria… The Lord spends chapters 13-35 proclaiming judgment over all the earth including all those nations.

Finally, in verses 36-39 we come to a narrative section describing events of Hezekiah’s reign. This is not poetic discourse. It is narrative. Now we are getting history with prophesy in it. Hezekiah is in trouble. The Assyrian army has destroyed Israel and is at the gates of Jerusalem. Hezekiah finally seeks out Isaiah and prays and God wipes out the Assyrians and Jerusalem is saved. God rescues Hezekiah from conquest and then sickness but then welcomes the Babylonians. It is the undoing of Judah and the rest of the book is written by Isaiah to God’s people in captivity.

III. The Book of the Servant -55 The enemy up until chapter 38 was Assyria. Now the enemy is and Persia. Isaiah is writing this prophesy now to people in his future. They have been captured by Babylon and taken into exile, far from Jerusalem. Much of Isaiah’s prophesied judgment has already come to pass. The people of God need comfort, and that is how Isaiah 40 begins… comfort from a sovereign God. Isaiah 40:9-11 The coming Messiah is still a king, but now He is presented as a shepherd, a servant.

The Lord is still reminding His people of their sin and the reasons for the calamity they endure. :22, “‘There is no peace,’ says the Lord, ‘for the wicked.’” But something new is in view. :14-21 In this part of Isaiah are the four of the coming Messiah, the last of which you probably know. :13-53:3 The Messiah is a servant, a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” He will save His people by His suffering.

But we are not done. The Messiah will be an everlasting King, a suffering Servant… and He will be a conquering warrior come to rescue His faithful remnant who still seeks Him.

IV. The Book of the Conqueror -66 Still Isaiah is serving as a covenant prosecutor, pointing out sin and guilt and judgment. But now the Messiah id presented as a coming holy warrior, and you and I want to be ready. Isaiah 56:1-2

We are reminded again in Isaiah 57:21, “‘There is no peace,’ says my God, ‘for the wicked.’” The Spirit-filled Messiah Warrior King is coming to bring justice and vengeance, salvation and renewal.

God’s people will finally realize the mess they have made of things and cry out to God. They will realize that they cannot save themselves or make themselves righteous. Isaiah speaks with their words… :9-15b There seems to be no hope. So, God will come Himself. Isaiah 59:15c-21

How will the sinful disobedient Jerusalem become the beautiful bride that the Lord had promised? The Lord will come and do it Himself. :1-5

Amen.