Good morning class
Question of the day: If you could start doing something new today that you have never done before and you would succeed and make it a new part of your life what would it be?
Well today we start a new book. A very long book. Isaiah. If you weren't in class last week. Make sure you go back and watch the video. It will be a great intro. It will help you understand the structure of this book. The first 12 chapters are all about judgement. I hope we can muddle through. I have found though Isaiah is a complicated read, and though there is so much "judgement" there is also always hope.
READ: Isaiah 1
1 The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
A Rebellious Nation
2 Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!
For the Lord has spoken:
“I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows its master,
the donkey its owner’s manger,
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand.”
4 Woe to the sinful nation,
a people whose guilt is great,
a brood of evildoers,
children given to corruption!
They have forsaken the Lord;
they have spurned the Holy One of Israel
and turned their backs on him.
5 Why should you be beaten anymore?
Why do you persist in rebellion?
Your whole head is injured,
your whole heart afflicted.
6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head
there is no soundness—
only wounds and welts
and open sores,
not cleansed or bandaged
or soothed with olive oil.
7 Your country is desolate,
your cities burned with fire;
your fields are being stripped by foreigners
right before you,
laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.
8 Daughter Zion is left
like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a hut in a cucumber field,
like a city under siege.
9 Unless the Lord Almighty
had left us some survivors,
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah.
10 Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the instruction of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.
Your hands are full of blood!
16 Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.
18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the good things of the land;
20 but if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
21 See how the faithful city
has become a prostitute!
She once was full of justice;
righteousness used to dwell in her—
but now murderers!
22 Your silver has become dross,
your choice wine is diluted with water.
23 Your rulers are rebels,
partners with thieves;
they all love bribes
and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
the widow’s case does not come before them.
24 Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
the Mighty One of Israel, declares:
“Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes
and avenge myself on my enemies.
25 I will turn my hand against you;
I will thoroughly purge away your dross
and remove all your impurities.
26 I will restore your leaders as in days of old,
your rulers as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called
the City of Righteousness,
the Faithful City.”
27 Zion will be delivered with justice,
her penitent ones with righteousness.
28 But rebels and sinners will both be broken,
and those who forsake the Lord will perish.
29 “You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks
in which you have delighted;
you will be disgraced because of the gardens
that you have chosen.
30 You will be like an oak with fading leaves,
like a garden without water.
31 The mighty man will become tinder
and his work a spark;
both will burn together,
with no one to quench the fire.”
This passage has some challenging moments.
Verses 1-3
As a parent these verses make me think about God's pain. His pain, having his children not KNOW him! So we see here the importance of KNOWING!
Verses 4-7
Here we see how bad it is. When we are thinking about life application, it is important for us to understand how bad it is. To really see how far we have fallen away, or how stubborn we are, how afflicted our hearts are. Too many times we see our sin, and we just think it isn't that big a deal. I am just doing (xyandz) but it isn't impacting me. Maybe it does impact us more than we realize. Maybe we are also completely sick in our hearts and in our heads. May be it is just complacency and we don't see that as a big deal. Perhaps we need to make sure we are honest with God and ourselves.
Verse 9
If for some reason you believe you are not included... Sodom and Gamorrah... How many were left? How many were found to be good enough to save? WE are ALL included in this!
Verses 10-15
This passage says so much for us!
They were doing everything God himself had asked. Yet it was so displeasing to God. We can do everything... EVERYTHING RIGHT and it be displeasing, so much so that he "hates with all His being" what we are doing.
Could it be us keeping the Sabbath, paying our tithes and offerings faithfully, eating all the right things, ALL of it could be or even is displeasing to him. That the best, most practiced worship services are "worthless assemblies" to Him?
What does He tell them to do....?
Verse 16-17
- Wash and make yourselves clean.
- Take your evil deeds out of my sight
- Stop doing wrong
- Learn to do right
- Seek justice
- Defend the oppressed
- Take up the cause of the fatherless
- Plead the case of the widow.
Verse 18-20
"Come let us settle the matter", says the Lord
"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; (Gospel - Heart)
though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. (Gospel- Heart)
If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; (Cause and effect)
but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." (Cause and effect)
Verse 21-23
What do we see is the down fall that is highlighted here?
Do we still live in a society where wealth is associated with those who are "good" and poor are lacking in positive character traits?
Verse 24-31
There are three thoughts I want to emphasize here in this section.
1. God is going to do a purifying work!
2. We will be ashamed because of our idol worship.
3. Even a tiny spark of evil, can destroy a man, a marriage, the heart of a child, a career, a church. Just a spark, will blow up a parched person, a parched marriage, a parched heart.
- Evil is evil and we should work at avoiding it. We should "wash and be clean."
- We need to make sure we are watering our soul, our marriages, our church, our friendships. A well watered relationship makes a spark have less of a devastating impact.
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