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Bible study for Isaiah 1:1-9

Isaiah 1:1-9 (get text)   Study links:   /  Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Review

(consult Dictionaries)

Isaiah lived for many years during the reigns of four kings of Israel (1:1), and by the time he was an older man, he was a prophet of repute and a close confidante of King Hezekiah (1:1 – see chs. 36-39); he prophesied from around 760 BC to 700 BC and perhaps even later.  It is also thought that Isaiah may have been a priest, due to his access to the ‘Holy place’ in the Temple in Jerusalem (6:1-8).  He was a remarkable character, who was able to see God at work in the events of his day and spoke about the future of God’s people driven by an extraordinary and special calling, recorded in chapter 6.  The book of Isaiah stands out within scripture because although he undoubtedly spoke because of what was happening in his own day, his prophecies reach far beyond his own times.  Jesus certainly believed that Isaiah spoke about Him (Luke 4:18), and early Christians quickly saw that Isaiah’s prophecies about God’s ‘suffering servant’ (Isaiah 53) helped them understand what Jesus had done for them on the Cross (Romans 8:36 etc).

Our reading today begins the first part of Isaiah’s prophecies, and these are similar to the prophecies of Amos, Hosea and Micah.  These prophets lived in the eight century BC and they all addressed the religious and social evils of Israel and Judah in their own day.  Amos and Hosea spoke against the people of the Northern kingdom of Israel (capital Samaria), and Micah and Isaiah spoke against the people of the southern Kingdom of Judah and its capital Jerusalem.  Crucially, Isaiah lived to see what happened when the Northern Kingdom of Israel was invaded and dismantled by the Assyrians in 721BC (2 Kings 17:5-41) in fulfilment of the prophecies of Amos and Hosea, and this terrifying event deeply affected people like Isaiah and many others in Judah and Jerusalem.  They perceived that if God’s people in the south continued to sin like those in the north, they would fall in a similar way.  What then would happen to God’s Covenant and His people?  What would happen to the Temple, if Jerusalem were to be captured?  We will discover the answers to these and many other questions throughout our study of Isaiah

The first recorded prophecies of Isaiah, however, are a stinging attack on God’s people for wandering far from the God who had created them and chosen them.  The verses we have read today are written in a poetic style rather like the great psalms; but whereas the psalms are poems through which people speak to God, prophecies are poems through which God speaks to His people.  To begin with, the first two verses contain God’s general complaint against His people; He has made a nation, but they pay him less attention than farm animals do to a farmer (1:2,3)!  The heart of God’s deep concern is that His own people have ‘rebelled’ against Him.  This is the most serious accusation God can bring against any people, let alone His own people!

The prophecy goes on to explain the nature of the rebellion against God by His people.  Firstly, the people are ‘weighed down’ and ‘corrupted’ by sin (1:4), but they have also turned away from God and have ‘forsaken the Lord’ (1:4).  The first chapter of Isaiah is a stunning indictment of God’s people, which we will need to look at in more detail, but is clear enough from what we plainly read.  Nevertheless, there is a hint of sadness and bemusement in the prophet’s words, a heartache which Isaiah felt and reflect the heart of God as well.  Surely, the people of God were sick (1:5,6).  What else could explain their terrible state (1:7-19)?  What had gone wrong?

Our passage sets the scene for the entire book of Isaiah’s prophecies and the story of his life.  It is one of the greatest books of the Bible because the prophecies within it eventually cover the whole range of God’s saving and redemptive work.  A good understanding of Isaiah is invaluable for understanding the New Testament Gospels, and Jesus quotes Isaiah more than any other prophet in Scripture.

Isaiah 1:1-9 (get text)   Study links:   /  Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Going Deeper

(consult Dictionaries)

There are four stanzas to this poetic prophecy: God’s concern about His people; verses 2 and 3; God’s complaint about His people, verse 4; the sickness of Israel, verses 5 and 6; and the state of the Promised Land, verses 7 to 9.  As we look at each of these in turn, we will find out more about what was going on, and reflect upon how these same problems occur today.

Before we start, it is worth noting that King Uzziah was a successful king of Judah who reigned from 787BC to around 740BC (Uzziah is somtimes called ‘Azariah’).  During the last ten years of Uzziah’s life, his son Jotham reigned as regent whilst his father was an old man, but Jotham himself only lived a few years after Uzziah died.  Both Uzziah and Jotham were reckoned to be good kings (2 Kings 15:32f.).  After Jotham, however, his son Ahaz came to the throne (reigning from 741-722BC), and he did not hold the faith of his people in high regard, resulting in a number of confrontations with Isaiah (see Isaiah 7,8).  Judah and Jerusalem were changed however when Ahaz died and his son Hezekiah reigned in his place; he was a good king who closely consulted Isaiah.  Isaiah’s prophecies mention all these kings and a brief understanding of them all will help us follow his prophecies as they unfold.

God’s concerns about His people (1:2,3)

Each of knows what it is like when we first discover that something is wrong.  We can be deeply upset and confused about why things have turned out badly.  God had raised a people through the descendants of Abraham, delivered them out of Egypt and made them into a nation with a unique experience of His deliverance.  He then gradually bound them together as a nation in the Promised Land under King David, but tragedy struck after the days of Solomon when God’s people split in two, between the northern kingdom (called Israel) and the southern kingdom (called Judah).  How this must have hurt the Lord!  People had followed their own ways rather than that of their Lord and Master.  Isaiah opened his prophecy with emphatic words spoken in anguish by the Lord, calling out to all the heavens as witness to his integrity.  He had ‘reared children’, but they had ‘rebelled’ (1:2).  The word rebelled (‘pasach’) is no casual word; it means intentional, knowing opposition to God, even an intent to do the opposite to His will.  It is extraordinary that Isaiah uses this word, but we will find out why he does so in studies to come.

As an illustration of God’s amazement at the rebellion of His people, Isaiah was given a simple picture of animals in a farmyard.  Even a domestic cow or donkey has a natural instinct to return to the one who provides its food, but Israel, God’s children, have become worse than animals.  They do not ‘know’ their Father! The word ‘know’ here does not mean ‘head knowledge’.  Rather, it means the intimacy of a proper relationship. It is a tragedy when God’s people fail because they do not ‘know’ their God!

God’s complaint about His people (1:4)

Isaiah 1:4 is a stunning verse of Scripture.  In despair, God calls out ‘Ah’; a word which is almost untranslatable into English, but which is more like ‘woe’, or a call which sounds a cry of mourning at the death of someone loved.  God had lost His people as if they had died, not for want of love on His part, but because the nation was ‘sinful’, which means quite literally, ‘full of sin’, or ‘full of deeds of wickedness’.  God’s people had been given the codes of law which told them right and wrong (Exodus 20, Leviticus 19, etc.), and chosen to ignore this; something we can hardly imagine ourselves unless we think (for example) of people today who deny that Jesus rose from the dead and yet insist upon calling themselves Christians!  Isaiah’s prophecy cries out in anguish against all those He has blessed and yet choose to ignore Him; ‘offspring who do evil, corrupt children!’ (1:4).

In a rhythmic change to the pattern of the poem, verse four concludes with three short, punchy lines.  Each line drives home the incongruity of what had happened over the years; ‘they have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged’.  Each sentence presents the situation as simply and sharply as possible.  The people of Israel had abandoned their Lord and God, then followed this up by purposefully going their own way like headstrong adolescents intent upon doing things their own way.  However, these irresponsible youths had no intention of returning to their Father’s discipline, and created a tragic division in God’s ‘family’.

The sickness of Israel

But the amazing state of affairs was just like the example I gave above of people who call themselves Christians whilst denying the central tenets of Christian faith.  In Israel and Jerusalem God was still God and He still reigned in Jerusalem; He still had a representative on the throne of King David, and His Covenant with His people was still in force.  Moreover, the people still lived in the ‘Promised Land’ of Canaan, even though they were divided between north and south.  God remained where He was, and so did the people, obstinately refusing to do anything other than take all the benefits God had given them whilst persisting in their chosen sins.  The chief benefits they enjoyed at the expense of God were possession of the Promised Land and protection from their enemies (as promised in the historic ‘Covenant’)!  That, we might say today, represents the attitude of a people who were ‘sick’; and that is how Isaiah described the people (1:5,6).

Verse 5 begins strangely with ‘why return to be beaten again’.  This is a difficult phrase to understand and translate, but the Hebrew conveys the idea of a slave who has committed a crime and been sent away with nowhere to go; he returns and gets beaten again!  Surely the slave is sick; sick from head to toe!  What other reason could there be for such stupid behaviour (1:5,6).

In these words of prophecy, Isaiah looked at the people of his day and saw them not as the materialistically wealthy people many of them were, but as spiritually sick and little more than deranged.  Isaiah used words for physical beating; sores, bleeding and bruises, for example.  However, all of these are spiritual likenesses, and the final lines indicate the therapy required; the soothing balm of oil, or what is later called ‘anointing’.  It is a bold thing to suggest what comes next, but in my opinion it should be said.  By the time we get to the end of Isaiah, we will find that almost every word Isaiah prophesies speaks about how God intended to resolve the problem of His errant people, and I am willing to guess that the hint of ‘balm’ and anointing in verse 6 is just the beginnings of this powerful theme in Isaiah; it is a very simple hint of the Lord’s intention to heal through the ‘anointed one’, the Messiah.

The state of the Promised Land

The Promised Land has always been essential to our understanding of God’s people, and as I have already explained, the errant people of God continued to live in it despite denying the God who gave it to them.  Now, however, in the light of the people’s rejection of God, the land itself was suffering!  If you read through verses 7 to 9, you gain a picture of a land ravaged by invaders with little left intact except Jerusalem (Zion – 1:8) and a few ‘survivors’ (1:9).

What was going on, and what was happening?  It is highly likely that Isaiah’s words (1:7-9) reflect the days around the time of the Assyrian invasion of northern Israel in 721BC.  For some years before this, the invaders had entered the land and attacked towns, raising them to the ground to spread fear and trembling amongst the population; and they succeeded.  Then, after they invaded the whole of Israel and proceeded almost to the gates of Jerusalem (a story which we will focus on in studying Isaiah 36-39), the Assyrians pillaged the regions of Judah around Jerusalem, in preparation for war against Jerusalem.  It was a terrifying time for all who lived in that part of the world at that time.  Isaiah, however, saw this as the terrible consequences of the rejection of God by His people; the Promised Land was no longer a safe place to live!

Yet Isaiah’s prophetic words never left the people without hope, and although the land had been devastated, Jerusalem stood as a sign of hope that one day, by the grace of God, normal city and country life could be restored (1:8).  The Lord would never again bring a destruction like that of the Flood, as He had promised (Gen 9:11).  Neither would He bring again a destruction like that of Sodom and Gomorrah (1:9).  This promise was a powerful word from the Lord.  Tomorrow, we will see more of Isaiah’s prophetic vision of God and His people, and it is no easy reading!

Isaiah 1:1-9 (get text)   Study links:   /  Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Application

It is hard for us to read prophecies like this in the Old Testament because the Christian can say so easily, ‘Jesus is our Saviour, and He will keep us safe.  These problems do not exist amongst God’s people today.’  I can assure you, I have heard this said on more than one occasion, and this is the reason why I gave examples during the study of how Isaiah’s prophecies might connect with us today.  I doubt there is any Christian today who could not put forward a few apt examples of how God’s people fall from their high calling and (in the eyes of other Christians and people generally) appear to deny the God in whom they are supposed to believe.  It sounds incongruous and impossible, but it happens and it is true; but I will not spend time giving further examples.

The results of the spiritual problems between God and His people are there for all to see.  Sick and dying churches exist all over the world, and there are attempts to manage and change the church which have nothing to do with the Gospel, and everything to do with money, politics or power.  In the Old Testament, the ‘Promised Land’ was the place where God’s people lived, and today, the place where God’s people live is not some part of the earth’s surface, but the visible church.  In many parts of the world, God brings great blessing through His church, but we cannot deny that in many places it is sick and under extraordinary spiritual attack.

Now, if you can agree with me about this, then please read Isaiah’s prophecies again.  Isaiah is insistent that God will always have an answer for His people. But from the small evidence of this passage and the considerable evidence of the rest of Isaiah and all Scripture, this answer will come through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Messiah.  Resurrection holds endless possibilities!

Isaiah 1:1-9 (get text)   Study links:   /  Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Discipleship

Questions (for use in groups)

1. Discuss in your group what you know about Isaiah, and recall any famous quotes from his prophecies which are important to you.
2. In what ways do God’s people sin against God today?
3. Does God abandon His people today when they fail to honour and obey Him?  How?

Ideas for exploring discipleship

• In any series of studies such as those in Isaiah, try keeping a small notebook in which you write down the main points of each study, as the Lord leads.  This will help you learn the important truths of scripture, and reading through it will help you gain a grasp of the portion of scripture studied.
• You may know people who have rebelled against God.  Pray for them, and seek the Lord’s will about how you should relate to them and witness to them.

Final Prayer

We hold fast to You, O Lord our God, and join with ancient people of faith to trust in Your love and power.  We stand together with Kings, prophets, disciples, and the saints of the Early Church to confirm and declare our faith.  May other people see something of You through us and through what we do in our communities of faith.  Thank You, Good Lord.  AMEN

Bible study for Isaiah 1:10-17

Isaiah 1:10-17 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Review

(consult Dictionaries)

In this passage, Isaiah struck at the heart of the problems of God’s people in the eight century BC.  Here at the beginning of his prophecies, in the very first chapter, we are left in no doubt that something had gone wrong with the sacrificial system of worship used by God’s people and given in the Law.  It is easy for Christians to be critical of Old Testament worship because we know that the sacrificial system of worship has ended with the death of Christ, and we might therefore consider our worship immune from the criticisms Isaiah levelled at the people of Israel and Judah.  However, the basic point behind this passage is this; worship reflects the relationship between God and His people, and if God’s people do not have a right relationship with their God, then no form of worship will rectify it.  If we understand this, then it becomes obvious that the passage has a great deal to say to us, even now.

Yesterday, we read about the collapse of the relationship between God and His people (1:1-9), and today, the point is emphasised.  Isaiah’s words would have shocked those who heard them; he described God’s own people as ‘rulers of Sodom’ and ‘people of Gomorrah’, people who were regarded as the most depravity in history (see Gen 18 and 19:14f.).  The point of this prophecy, however, is that God’s people could not sit back and claim that everything was fine providing they continued to perform the rituals of worship God had given them.  It is true that the sacrificial system could not deal with the heart of sin that had infused God’s people, but God had commended Israel to worship Him with sacrifices and offerings.  Their worship had become abhorrent to God because it did not reflect the true heart of the people; it was ritual and religion, and did not come from an obedience of the heart. 

Centuries before, during the time of Moses, God had given His people a worship system of sacrifices and festivals.  Over time, however, the system fell into abuse.  For example, Leviticus says that only limited number of animals should be sacrificed as ‘whole burnt offerings’ and given over to God as something like a tithe (Leviticus 1f.); other sacrifices were offered for the forgiveness of sins (Leviticus 4f.), or for the purpose of sharing ‘fellowship’ meals (Leviticus 3f.).  If you scan the Old Testament carefully, you will discover that eventually, individual kings and priests (e.g. 1 Kings 3:4, 2 Chron 1:6 etc) went ‘over the top’ offering vast numbers of sacrifices, as if to display their personal importance!  This was worship in honour of God but in honour of kings!  So in our reading God says that He has had enough of such unworthiness!

After this, Isaiah’s prophecy describes the Lord asking why people came to His ‘courts’ (1:12) when they had forgotten what true worship meant.  They were not so much interested in worshipping their God as enjoying ‘New Moon’ feasts, festivals and sacred gatherings (1:13,14), they even used the Sabbath for their own entertainment!  ‘New Moon’ and related festivals were not even prescribed in the Law as part of worship, they were an import into Israel from the general religious life of people in that part of the world in the eighth century BC.  Isaiah’s prophecies tell us next of God’s abhorrence even of ritual prayer, especially when offered with insincerity (1:15), and they call for His people to take action to restore their purity.  This could not be done by sorting out the old sacrificial system, but only by the intent of the people to do good not evil, thus restoring their relationship with God (1:16,17).

The whole passage warns us about the dangers of living life as we please and assuming that our rituals of worship will please God.  Even though we have no need of the sacrificial system today, we are still in danger of falling into the same trap.  True worship can only come from the heart of the people, and God knows the difference between this and false religion, even if it is done properly and for all the right reasons.

Isaiah 1:10-17 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Going Deeper

(consult Dictionaries)

Our passage today summons God’s people to hear what He had to say about their sacrifices (1:11-13), then their religious festivals (1:13-14), then their personal life and worship (1:15-17).  We will study each of these in turn before looking further at what these prophecies can tell us today.

Sacrifices and Offerings (1:10-13)

There is evidence all the way through the Old Testament of the misuse and misunderstanding of the great sacrificial system of worship instituted by Moses and recorded in the Law.  It was intended to give the people of Israel a means of honouring God by tithing (the whole burnt offering), of offering all slaughtered meat to God before it was eaten (the fellowship offering) and a means of dealing with the sins of people who repented (the sin-offering).  Above, we noted the example of Solomon who shows his grandiose authority by sacrificing ‘thousands’ of whole burnt offerings to God (1 Kings 3:4) in a manner completely contrary to the regulations of Leviticus.  Others also abused the system, such as Eli’s sons, who refused to allow the people to receive back the proper portions of meat from ‘fellowship’ offerings, and effectively stealing them for their own consumption (1 Samuel 2:12-17).  These are examples of how something intended by God for good had been used sinfully and in a manner which was an affront to God.

Verses 10 to 13 are full of expressions which demonstrate God’s displeasure.  Verse 10 indicates God’s anger at the sins of His people (see above), and verse 11 pronounces God’s verdict on the large number of whole burnt offerings sacrificed in the Temple.  There were too many (‘what do your numerous sacrifices mean’), He had enough of them (‘I have had had my fill’) and He was no longer pleased with the sacrifices (‘I take no delight in them’).  How could God be pleased with a sacrifice of worship which said more about the people than about Him?

Isaiah was not the only prophet to whom it was revealed that the sacrificial system of worship was not fulfilling its purpose as a means of drawing people to God, to each other, and dealing with sin.  Amos complained in the same way (Amos 4:4,5, 5:21-24, etc) as did others.  Isaiah made this observation more than seven hundred years before the time of Christ, and it is tragic that the people of Israel did not attempt to reform their religious practices in the course of that time even though they venerated people who exposed its weaknesses, in particular Isaiah, Amos, Jeremiah and the other prophets.

The truth of the matter was observed by Moses, who was responsible for giving the law in the first place.  He knew that unless a system of religious practice arose from a true relationship between God and His people and was imprinted upon people’s hearts, then it meant nothing (Deut 30:2f.)  Eventually, God had to demonstrate His own ‘heart’ by allowing His own Son to die on the Cross for us.  In so doing, Jesus did for us everything that the sacrificial system could do and more, but unless our hearts are set on Him alone, then even in the church we quickly create religious systems according to our own desires and designs.  God’s wrath against these is as strong as that expressed in this passage against the misuse of the old sacrificial system.

Festival events (1:13-15)

Not only had the people manipulated the sacrificial system to their own advantage and preference, they had also taken on a variety of ‘gatherings’ and festive occasions which suited them.  Many of them did not appear in the calendars of festive worship found in the books of the Law; for example, ‘New Moon’ festivals had no place in the seasonal round of festivities described in the Law (Exodus 23:14f.; Leviticus 23) but the worship of the ‘moon’ is mentioned in the list of idolatrous worship which King Josiah exposed during his great reforms (around 627BC).  It also appears from this prophecy that some kind of ‘sacred assemblies’ (possibly for the privileged) were a regular feature of cultural life and that religious requirements were attached to the Sabbath (1:13).  The Sabbath, of course, was instituted by God not as a day of worship but as a day of rest; indeed, it is described in the 10 commandments as a day in which God is honoured and worshipped precisely by not doing anything (Deut 5:12-15).

Just as before, the Lord’s anger at all this is extraordinary.  He says; ‘I hate them with all my being’ in verse 14, using a unique Hebrew expression in which God refers to everything about Himself (most translations have ‘... my soul hates’).  These festive events have become a ‘burden’ to the Lord and He has become ‘tired of their weight’ (1:14).

What appears to have been happening here is that people were adding on to the essential requirements of Israelite faith a whole variety of assemblies, events and festivities.  These did nothing to enable the people to worship God with all their ‘heart and mind and strength (Deut 6:5) and Isaiah’s words tell us that God saw no purpose in them.  It was pointless, meaningless worship because it was not centred upon God but upon the social life of the people who enjoyed doing things as they wished.  It was like hands ‘spread in prayer’ to which God would pay no attention because they were ‘filled with blood’ (1:15).  These words are a damning indictment of all those who seek to mould and shape the worship of Almighty God according to human requirements, and they speak directly to us today.  There are too many examples around us now of how people prefer to play with the structure of church life and worship rather than engage in the simple honesty of worshipping God for who He is.

Personal responsibility in worship (1:16-17)

The passage concludes with a call to God’s own people to rid themselves of all evil and ‘make yourselves clean’ (1:16) by washing.  We now know that such a thing cannot happen except through Jesus and that we are dependent upon Him for that cleanliness, but the call in Isaiah’s prophecy is to the human heart.  We need the work of God to make us clean, but we also need to show a personal intent to work with God to do what is right and live according to His ways.  Then, after the emphatic phrase, ’Take your evil deeds away and out of my sight’ (1:16), there are three pairs of short pieces of advice, as relevant to us now as they were to those who first heard them.

The first is ‘stop doing evil, learn to do good’.  This reminds us that for all our intent to put aside evil, goodness is not something we can take for granted.  It is something which has to be worked at and learned, and this cannot happen in a vacuum.  We all need guidance from others, from our Lord and from His Word, for example.  Learning will not simply infuse us as life goes by.  We need to put every effort into getting to know right from wrong.  It is a challenge.

The second is ‘seek justice, challenge the ruthless’.  Now in many translations, the second half of this reads differently, as in ‘seek justice, correct oppression’.  The truth is that the Hebrew words are not altogether clear.  However, justice is a straightforward but abstract idea, so the second half of the phrase asks us to do those things which demonstrate justice, such as standing against ‘the ruthless’, for example, or as it says in the New Revised Standard Version, ‘rescue the oppressed’.  There are plenty of ways in which we can put justice into action!

Lastly; ‘give the orphan justice and fight on behalf of widows’.  This pair of actions continues the same theme of just action.  Orphans and widows were some of the poorest of people in early Israelite society because for complex social reasons they did not have the protection of the larger extended families within which most people lived; when the death of a father or husband left his family destitute, for example.  The orphan and the widow are constantly mentioned together in the Laws of Moses (in Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy in particular) as people who should be cared for by the community despite their social problems.  Isaiah’s prophecy therefore reiterates what the law says.  True faith must show itself in godly deeds.

Isaiah 1:10-17 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Application

Clearly, we can read this passage and be challenged in a variety of ways about how we worship our God.  Isaiah’s prophecy tells us at least that rituals can become human props to worship rather than worship itself, that trying to add all manner of social gatherings to the agenda of Christian worship will not help and that unless we do all in our power to learn to do what is right and stay close to the Lord our God, then our worship can become a sham.  In common with most of the Old Testament prophets, Isaiah’s words are neither kind nor tactful, but blunt.  In this case, God speaks to us through these words like a person himself, chastising the sheer stupidity of any pretence at religion that is not completely focussed on God Himself.  Certainly, Isaiah delivered this message aware that the Lord’s judgement was coming which would deal with the problem he spoke about, and what he said was just the opening of a substantial body of work about God’s work in the world.

These words speak simply to us even today about our relationship with God because they give a clear example of what happens when religion is practiced without the ‘heart’ of a relationship with God.  When Christians worship God they do so in public, inviting anyone to join them.  However, people do not worship God simply by attending and joining in.  Those who form the heart of worship are those who have a relationship with God of which they are conscious, those who are focussed on God and Him alone, and who have a personal agenda to act justly in the world.  This is not a council of perfection, but an impressive truth which we can observe in real people; and which, through Jesus Christ, should draw others to Almighty God through its honesty and integrity.  May God’s people avoid all bandwagons, rituals, social posturing and religious pomposity which stands in the way of demonstrating the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 1:10-17 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Discipleship

Questions (for use in groups)

1. What church rituals act like the ancient ‘sacrifices’ in this text and can become a snare for us and our true relationship with God?
2. What gatherings of God’s people are necessary, and what are not, given the criticism of Isaiah’s prophecies (1:13,14)
3. Discuss how the church can show God’s priorities for doing good and worshipping properly in the world today.

Discipleship issue in this text

• Right worship and our relationship with God
• False religion and worship

Personal comment:

The forceful words of our passage today are a warning to all of us to take care in our worship, and make God the centre of everything we do.  Worship, here, means the worship of our lives and the worship offered by all God’s people on a regular basis.  I do not say these things lightly, because I know that all of us are capable of wandering from ‘right worship’.  This is not a matter of pointing fingers at others, but of looking at ourselves and ensuring that our attitude to God is right whilst we worship.

Ideas for exploring discipleship

• Today, consider how you can respond to the challenge of this passage by being positive and building up the worship and service of your Christian community, and not tear it down!
• In the course of the day, ensure that you worship God by doing what is right and good and giving Him the glory for everything.  Try to make sure that others are aware that you give glory to God.

Final Prayer

Lord God, You are powerful in deed and in word; may we never forget You or fail to recognise what You are doing amongst us.  Speak to us so that we do not forget the sound of Your voice, and may we always understand what You would have us do in any situation.  Lord God; reveal Yourself to us in power today: AMEN

Bible study for Isaiah 1:18-21

Isaiah 1:18-21 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Review

(consult Dictionaries)

There is no doubt that Isaiah was shocked at the state of the people of Judah and especially the people of Jerusalem (see 1:1).  The opening prophecies in Isaiah speak of the separation between God and His people (1:2-4) due to sin, and the irrelevance of their worship (1:10-17); but they always remind us that God cared.  God had His own plans for dealing with His people and these can be seen earlier in the chapter where we gain the impression that His intention was to heal (1:5,6), and where we learn that God wanted ‘Zion’ to survive (1:8,9) despite its problems.  In our reading today, the tension between the sins of the people and God’s desire to save becomes even more evident.  On the one hand, the Lord challenges the people of Jerusalem because of their appalling unfaithfulness (1:21f.) and promises vengeance on his enemies (1:24,25), but on the other hand, the Lord’s desire is to put things right, and towards the end of chapter 1 we read again about God’s promise to redeem Zion (1:27).

The early prophecies of Isaiah are full of this tension between God’s justice and His mercy, between His condemnations of what was wrong amongst His people and His desire to save them.  In this, Isaiah is quite different from Hosea and Amos, for these earlier prophets saw little if any hope for the Israelites of the north who had rebelled against God, and they said so.  Moreover, their gloomy prophecies of the destruction of Israel were indeed fulfilled (2 Kings 17).  However, Isaiah was speaking to the southern Kingdom of Judah, and especially to Jerusalem itself (the ‘faithful city’ – 1:21, 26), which he refers as ‘Zion’ (1:8,27).

What do we mean by ‘Zion’?  When Solomon had built the Temple in Jerusalem, it became the focal point of all religious and state power within Israel.  Since then, the people of Israel had split into two kingdoms, and in Isaiah’s day, the people hoped that one day, God would re-unite His people and Jerusalem would exercise its authority over all God’s people again.  The word Zion refers to this prophetic hope of a united and redeemed Israel under God, as we can see clearly from both this passage, ‘Zion will be redeemed with justice, and her repentant ones with righteousness.’ (1:27), and also from Isaiah’s later prophecies (chapters 59-66).

Despite the continued condemnation of wrongdoing in our reading today, Isaiah speaks of God’s desire to bring about restoration and redemption, ‘come now, let us set things straight ...’ (1:18).  This is followed by an amazing divine promise that is characteristic of all Isaiah’s prophecies; he declares that if people will accept their sin (1:18) and be obedient (1:19), then God will set things right, remove their sins and restore His grace and favour (‘you will eat the best of the land’ 1:19).  Isaiah continues by condemning sin (1:21-23) and bemoaning the religious and social sins of the people.  Nevertheless,  Isaiah does not let go of his vision of hope, and it is found again in verses 24 to 27, where Isaiah prophesies that God will act unilaterally to set things right.  He will deal with His enemies (1:24) and establishing justice (1:26).

Isaiah’s conviction is impressive.  Despite his raging against sin, he prophesies that God has the answers to all human sin and rebellion, and He will not allow anything to prevent Him from accomplishing His work of redemption in the world.  The more you read of the Old Testament and the awful manner in which God’s people sinned in the eighth century BC, the more remarkable it is that Isaiah heard this distinct message from God, delivered it.  He was the first prophet to speak of God’s redemptive power and he worked throughout the whole life to put flesh on this conviction, leaving us with a unique prophetic heritage that points to Christ.  His work is essential for our understanding of scripture.

Isaiah 1:18-21 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Going Deeper

(consult Dictionaries)

In order to track this passage we will look firstly at the great promises of God which come at the beginning of the passage (1:18-20).  After this we will review the ‘sins’ of humanity mentioned in the following stanza (1:21-23) which contain important biblical themes.  Finally, we will look at God’s declaration (1:24f.) and its consequences in terms of judgement and redemption.

God’s unilateral promises of redemption

It is not at all surprising that we should read that if God’s people rebel and refuse to listen to the Lord, then they will be ‘devoured by the sword’ (1:20).  This reads just like the prophecies of Amos and Hosea, and is not far from what Paul says about those who teach falsely in the early church (Gal 1:8, 6:11f.)!  As Isaiah spoke, he may well have been aware of what Amos and Hosea had said, and those who heard Isaiah also knew that the northern nation of Israel had indeed been conquered by the Assyrians progressively over several decades and finally in 721BC.  These words were cemented in the reality of history; ‘for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’ (1:20)

The passage starts however, with God ever ready to sort things out; ‘come now, let us set things straight, says the Lord.’ (1:18) but He will never compromise.  Sin and God cannot exist together, and nothing we can do will change this.  Even the work of Jesus on the Cross did not alter this; Jesus removed sin and its power, and we need to show faith in this rather than imagine that Jesus has somehow negotiated for sinful people to come into God’s presence on the basis that we ought to confess it, for example.  Through Jesus, sin must go, and then we may have ‘peace with God (Romans 5:1).  It is fascinating that if we read verses 18 and 19, God does promise that He will deal with the problem of sin; ‘though your sins are like scarlet, they will be like snow.’ (1:18).  We do not yet know how, and Isaiah had not yet been given those revelations which would point to the life of Jesus by which God would do this, but the promise is there.  It is an important promise, and it depends on nothing except God’s own will to break the barrier.  If His people will not be obedient to it, then, as Isaiah says, they ‘will not eat the best of the land’, but that comes after God’s powerful, unilateral action.

To add interest to this theme, you will notice that most Bible versions have ‘they shall be like snow’ or ‘they shall be like wool’ but I have used the word ‘will’ instead of ‘shall’.  Before you accuse me of bad English (‘shall’ is the normal English ‘future’ tense used here), it is in fact good English to use the word ‘will’ where the passage indicates intent to do something, and I strongly believe that the whole theology of this passage indicates God’s specific intent to act for our redemption and salvation!  For that reason, ‘will’ is the right word to use!

The sins of humanity

We have already read about the general sins of Judah and Jerusalem in the earlier verses of this chapter.  The people have forgotten their God (1:2,3) and live in evil and corruption (1:4).  In addition, the worship of God has been abused (1:10-16) and people do not show the discernment to do what is right socially, for the ‘orphan and the widow’ (1:17).  Now, in verses 21 to 23, the Lord exposes more specific sins which have compromised God’s people.

The most shocking accusation comes in verse 21 where Isaiah’s prophecy describes ‘the faithful city’ as being like a ‘prostitute’!  Coming after the prophecies of Hosea, we may safely assume that Isaiah meant that Judah and Jerusalem acted towards God like an unfaithful wife towards a husband.  In addition, the way they did this was by worshipping other gods as well as the Lord, even in Jerusalem; and as 2 Kings records, even in the Temple.  A careful read of 2 Kings 17 and one or two of the preceding chapters will fill you in with the reality of Judean worship in the Temple of Jerusalem, which included sacrifices to god’s placed in the Temple because of trade agreements with foreign countries, and because of the wives of various kings in Jerusalem!  It is all very scandalous from the point of view of scripture; but clearly, back in those days, people thought little of it.  That is, until Isaiah started to prophecy against it!  There is some evidence that as an extreme, young children were sacrificed in the Temple to the Amorite god ‘Molech’ (Lev 18:21; 2 Kings 23:10) and this may be the reason why Isaiah bursts out ‘murderers’ in verse 21. This was no trivial matter.

The prophecy’s general comment is that what was intended for good has become mixed up with evil; the ‘silver’ has become tainted by ‘dross’ (meaning impurities), and good wine has been watered down (1:22).  A more serious comment is that people in high places or holding high office have become susceptible to bribes, and as such are regarded by God as little more than common thieves (1:23) more interested in their own pockets than the needs of real people.

God’s declaration

In the light of everything, God pronounced what He intended to do.  Verse 24 declares this emphatically using a multiplicity of God’s names but predominantly the more ‘war-like’ ones such as ‘Lord of Hosts’ and ‘Mighty One of Israel’ indicating the absolute power and authority of God to defeat all spiritual evil and all enemies (1:24).  The first action God chooses to take on earth is to deal with the impurities of His own people (1:25f.), so that their relationship with God will be restored; ‘Zion will be redeemed with justice, and her repentant ones by righteousness.’ (1:27)

It is tempting for us to think that God must surely have more important things to do to save the world rather than return again and again to His own people to deal with their on-going problems.  However, the reason why God deals firstly with His own people is because they are supposed to be the means whereby He is known by the rest of the world, so their imperfections need to be dealt with and ‘refined (1:25).  The first object of this work of refinement is to ‘restore your judges ... and your counsellors’ (1:26); and if you read this verse you will find that God’s work is not to set up new schemes or appoint new people, but to deal with what is wrong so that true restoration takes place and God’s original intentions for His people be re-established.  The Lord is always faithful to what He has done in the past and those with whom He has worked in the past.  He does not lightly reject any of His people.

The result of this action of God appears to be that some will follow the Lord and then be called ‘the city of righteousness’ (1:26), but that some ‘rebels and sinners’ (1:28) will continue to stand against the Lord and seek to prevent Him from doing His work.  The word of the Lord against such people is damning; they will be ‘crushed’ (1:28).  Such words appear too radical for us, surely God is more tolerant than that, we might say?  But no, our God is constantly seeking to work with His people, but if they stand in His way, then they have no future.  The last of our verses then describes the fate of those who claim to be God’s people and yet stand in the way of all that He does.  They will find themselves dispossessed and fruitless (1:29,30), and the strongest are likened to ‘tinder’ which easily burns (1:31).

Isaiah 1:18-21 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Application

The prophets in general present us with some very difficult dilemmas because they often speak about the judgement God brings upon His own people for going against His will, and there is plenty of this in our passage today.  We like to think that if we call ourselves Christians then we have some protection from God against all the evils of the world, and if we find this to be not quite so, then we question God rather than our own inadequate view of Him.  The truth is that God has never changed, and He is a just and exclusive God.  Jesus is the only means whereby we may have access to the Father, and then, only through our genuine repentance and acceptance of His authority to forgive our sins and make us ‘clean’.  All this sounds very ‘old’ and traditional, but we will not find that true faith will lead us in any other way.

God is not in the business of doing something new today which He has not done before, and it is profoundly helpful if God’s people accept this fact today.  Jesus Christ has died for us and we are privileged to know the means of restoration and salvation which Isaiah did not know.  So, in the midst of our own problems, we are called to return to this truth in all justice and wisdom.  It may not be fashionable, but it is what is right.  God has never ceased to work consistently and in the same way for our redemption and restoration so that we may know how to find Him and not be confused by the way in which people like to create religious bandwagons and schemes instead of trusting the ancient truths of prophecy in God’s Word.

Isaiah 1:18-21 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Discipleship

Questions (for use in groups)

1. Discuss in your group whether sin and its consequences can ever be completely obliterated.
2. In the light of verse 23, is it inevitable that leaders of the world will succumb to the lures of wealth?
3. How does God act in judgement against His people today?  Why might He need to do this?  Can you give examples?

Discipleship issue in this text

• God’s offer of redemption
• The nature of injustice in the world
• The hand of God upon history

Personal comment:

It is so easy to read passages of scripture like this and gloss over it.  We can see a simple message of redemption within it, yes, but it also speaks powerfully of God’s judgement and power to deal with errant humanity.  We cannot afford to ignore the justice of God and His authority to deal with every sin and rebellious act we perform.  If we trust the Lord to judge us with His searing righteousness, then we will also know His power to save.  But we will never know the full extent of His power to save if we never submit ourselves to His wrath.  It’s a tough but powerful message

Ideas for exploring discipleship

• Read carefully and slowly through this passage.  As you do so, ask the Lord to alert you to sins within your own life that He alone can deal with.  When you become aware of these, offer them to the Lord and accept His redemption through Jesus Christ.  Does this sound simple?  You may well find it hard to do!
• Do the same exercise as above, but looking for the sins of God’s people the church (which is you, not just ‘other people’).  Repent on behalf of God’s people and be a minister of His grace to others.

Final Prayer

Inspire us, O Lord, with the world around us.  May we see within it a beauty that reflects Your nature, a purpose that points us to our destiny, and a love that reflects Your graciousness to all those who respond to Your call through Jesus Christ Your Son.  Inspire us to live according to the truths we find both in the Word of God and also in the world You have made: AMEN

Bible study for Isaiah 2:1-4

Isaiah 2:1-4 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Review

(consult Dictionaries)

This is indeed a powerful word within the early prophecies of Isaiah, and it has had a profound impact on many people ever since it was revealed.  In chapter 1, we have already seen that Isaiah was convinced that God would act in justice to deal with the sins of His people, and yet he would not give up believing that God would somehow save His people, and do it from Zion.  Isaiah perceived that God would not simply destroy the people of Judah and Jerusalem in the same way that the northern kingdom of Israel was wiped of the map of history (as predicted by the prophets Amos and Hosea, in 721 BC).  In this astonishing prophetic vision Isaiah revealed some surprising facts about how God intended to overcome the sins of His people by His own power and authority, and eventually establish His righteous Kingdom.

Many people read this passage of scripture too literally, for example, we do not have to imagine that God will one day lift Jerusalem high above Mount Everest!  We will gain most from this text if we allow ourselves to see that God was ‘thinking big’ when he gave this prophetic word to Isaiah.  Isaiah’s vision of the ‘mountain of the Lord’s house’ (2:2) being ‘lifted up’ therefore means that God will indeed create His Kingdom on earth, and from this ‘high’ position, rule over all things and all people (2:3,4).  When put like this, the prophecy reminds us of the work of Christ, and its language reads like the book of Revelation.

The breadth of the vision is stunning.  Isaiah describes ‘all the nations’ (2:1) coming to Zion with enthusiasm, and wanting to learn about God’s revelation through Jacob (Israel) so that they can ‘walk in His paths’ (2:3).  It also paints a picture of God’s Law spreading out from Zion to become the plumb line of right judgement amongst the nations (2:4).  Although there is nothing here about the Messiah, all of this is something that we can see fulfilled today.  God has come to reign through Christ and in the visible form of His Kingdom on earth, the church.  Isaiah perceived that it was God’s nature to save the world and He had already begun to reveal His plan.  God would not wipe all His people off the face of the earth because of their sins (as He had done at the time of the Flood – Gen 6-9), and no new religion or way of coming to God would be required.  He would find a way to save Hs people and fulfil His goal of making Himself known to all the world!

We may be familiar with such things, but such thoughts were unparalleled in Isaiah’s day, in the later part of the eighth century BC.  It is remarkable that although this vision does not put much flesh on how this great work of the salvation of humanity would be achieved, it does reveal one significant thing about how it would be done.  Isaiah’s prophecy says that God will establish His Kingdom by peaceful means; ‘they will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks ...’ (2:4).  This peace is not merely the result of God’s saving work; there is nothing in this prophecy about the ‘End Times’ as we think of them today; the vision speaks abstractly about future describing God’s work as happening in ‘days which are to come’ (2:2).  The peace described here is a practical peace that comes from accepting God’s ways, and as such, it is an inspiration to all those who believe that the path of faith should be one of peace, not war.  Moreover, the prophecy confirms the Christian understanding of Jesus as essentially a ‘man of peace’.

Isaiah prophesied that God would save the world despite all human sin, even the sin of His own people, and do this not through war, but through peace.  We cannot afford to ignore the importance of this remarkable prophecy about how God has worked in Jesus, will work through us, and will one day be victorious in both heaven and earth.

Isaiah 2:1-4 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Going Deeper

(consult Dictionaries)

Each part of this brief passage contains fascinating prophetic insight and leads us into a deeper appreciation of other scriptures.  Verse 1 tells us little more than the same information about Isaiah which we found in the first verse of chapter 1.  Verse 2 (into verse 3) describes the elevation of Zion and God’s purpose for His city; verse 3 describes the action of the Word of the Lord; and verse 4 describes judgement and peace.  Each has its treasures!

The elevation of Zion (verse 2)

Verse 2 tells us about ‘days which are to come’, and the Hebrew words read literally ‘in the end part of the days’.  Isaiah’s vision is that God will lead His people on a journey from where they are to a future in which they are secure in Him, but he does not tell us much about the exact timescale.  For that, we will have to go elsewhere in the Bible.  The point of this verse is not the timescale but the nature of the journey.  Zion, as explained in yesterday’s study is a word which describes God’s dwelling place with His people.  In Isaiah’s day, Zion was a specific place, the Temple Mount on which stood Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem.  Jerusalem (on a geographical map) is itself located on a series of hill tops of which the Temple Mount was one, and it is tempting to think of this prophecy as telling us that God will raise the Temple mount of Zion higher than all the other peaks in the range of Judean hills, just to signify its importance.

This, however, just scratches at the surface of what the text means.  The notion that God dwelt on hill-tops and mountain tops was strong in ancient times, and so Isaiah’s words tell us not so much about the geography of Zion as the nature and character of the God who dwells there.  Isaiah saw the coming of a time when the one true God would be observed by all people as superior to all other gods, and this is the core meaning of his words.  The universal breadth of this vision is extraordinary because the Old Testament does not often revert to its core theme of the universal love of God for all humanity and Creation.  The people of Judah and Jerusalem had played about with the worship of many gods over the centuries, and Isaiah knew that eventually the truth would come out that there was only one God; and of that, he had absolute faith.  But the Judean people also had to learn that the Lord was not their private god; He was the Lord of all, and one day this would be evident to all people.

Today, the Christian is able to say that this became true when Jesus was ‘lifted high’ on the Cross to die.  At that moment, metaphorically speaking, ‘Zion’ was lifted up above all mountain tops, and Jesus’ death was God’s unique demonstration to the world of His love and passion for all humanity.  In addition, the ‘Lamb standing on Mount Zion’ in Revelation (14:1) also fulfils this prophecy at the end times of Christ’s coming again, in preparation for the coming of the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:2).  This prophecy of Isaiah still challenges all people to believe that God is leading them on a journey from where they are to where He wants them to be, which is a place in which God reigns supreme.  Neither should we forget that although this is all familiar language to us, it was first revealed to Isaiah, in this passage.

The Word of the Lord (verse 3)

In a quite extraordinary way, Isaiah prophesies that God will draw people to Zion as it is raised above the other mountain peaks (2:2,3).  This opening out of God’s Word to other nations is an essential feature of Isaiah’s prophecies, and is shown elsewhere in Isaiah’s prophesies to ‘many nations’ (see chapters 15-24 which cover a large number of nations) and also his famous references to Israel as a ‘light to the nations’ (42:6, 49:6).  This theme points forward to the evangelistic mission given to the disciples after Jesus’ resurrection (Matt 28:18-20) and the call to all Christians to bring the knowledge of God to all nations (Romans 10:14-17).

What is interesting in Isaiah’s prophecy is that no mention is made of any effort on the part of people to affect the gathering of the nations to Zion, which happens simply because Zion is ‘lifted up’.  Because of this text, there has always been a school of thought which says that if Christians perform their proper duty of lifting up God in public worship, then people will naturally be drawn towards Him.  However, I suggest that Isaiah is not attempting to be prescriptive about how God’s mission is done.  He simply observes that people come when Zion is ‘raised’.

People come ‘to Zion’ spiritually, as well as physically.  Jerusalem is an important centre for faith and for learning about God, but the Zion which is the dwelling place of God with people today is the church (which is why ‘Zion’ was a popular name for a church in times past!).  The heart of Isaiah’s message in verse 3 is that people will learn about God because of their connection with the ‘house of Jacob’; that is, the people of Israel.  They will therefore learn about God from a historic connection with the God who revealed Himself to the forefathers of Israel: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  No Christian today can therefore ditch the historic truths of God’s faithful revelation throughout time and history as recorded in the Bible, Old and New Testaments.  The Bible remains fundamental to our knowledge of God.

Isaiah says of the people who come to be taught, that they desired ‘that He may teach us His ways’.  Of course, teaching about the things of God normally requires the human agency of a teacher, but the heart of any teaching about God is always brought to the heart of the learner by the Spirit of God.  All the human methods which we can think of cannot compete with the way that the Holy Spirit works in the heart of one who truly wants to know more about the things of God, and every true teacher knows when the things they say and do are being used by the Lord in this way.  Teaching faith is different from any other kind of teaching.

Lastly, in verse 3, when Isaiah talks about the knowledge about God as the ‘Law’, we should not forget that he is using the word ‘Law’ in its loosest technical sense.  All too often, we think of it as ‘the Ten Commandments’ and the rule book of Leviticus.  However, a proper understanding of the Law of God (the ‘Torah’) is that it is God’s revelation of Himself through the ancient stories of the world and the forefathers, as found in all of Genesis to Deuteronomy!

Judgement and peace (verse 4)

Again, Isaiah’s vision and prophecy is extraordinary.  The idea of God judging ‘the nations’ is not commonly found in the Old Testament; indeed, it is more common in the teaching parables of Jesus (see Matt 25), so what did it mean to Isaiah?  In his day the world was in turmoil and the different nations in the region of the ‘Near Middle East’ were all jockeying for power.  The more we read in Isaiah, the more we will connect with what was going on.  However, this prophecy says to God’s people that the Lord God Himself was in control of what was happening around them and would judge all nations appropriately; they should therefore trust their God.

The message which stands out for us from the passage however, is that Isaiah could see that God’s way of dealing with the world would be a way of peace.  It was almost unheard of in Isaiah’s day to talk in this way, and Isaiah must have received this by revelation because the evidence is that before his time, most of God’s people thought that the right way to secure their peace and integrity was to fight for it, just as David and Saul had done, a few centuries previously (see 1 and 2 Samuel).  So why should peace be God’s way now, and not war?  Perhaps Isaiah saw by revelation that for God’s work of salvation to be achieved, God needed to act not only with justice, but with love; and this needed a new approach of peace.  If Isaiah had spoken in the same way as Amos and Hosea, then the only answer he could have given to the sins of the people would be God’s wrath and judgement by warfare; but Isaiah’s prophecies go beyond this.  Isaiah was convinced that God had more to offer than judgement.

To express this, Isaiah used an expression which has become well known; ‘they will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks’.  In other words, the implements of war will be turned into agricultural tools!  It is interesting that Isaiah’s compatriot and fellow prophet Micah also uses the same expression (Micah 4:3), and for the same reason.  Isaiah was not the first person to observe that you can use the implements of war for peaceful purposes if there is the will so to do!

Isaiah 2:1-4 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Application

We started this study with a prophet speaking words of hope to the people of God who needed to know that their God would help them in times of trouble, but the prophecy they were given by Isaiah gave them far more than this.  It told them that God would act to save His people, but it also gave a much broader picture of God’s work of salvation which, in its time, was the beginning of a new revelation of God’s love and His purpose for the world.

These words help us see something of God‘s overall plan.  He is always directing history towards the time when He will be ‘the highest mountain peak’, and although it may not seem to us that the Church is making headway towards this goal in our own day because of secular opposition and antagonism from other religious faiths, that is the truth of history as God has made it.  He will raise Zion, and it may be important for some of us to take hold of this fact.

The rest of the prophecy gives us insights about God’s work which are quite pointed.  God is our teacher, and His laws are still His ways.  By ‘laws’, I do not mean the sacrificial laws which Jesus died to complete, but the teaching which explains to us the principles of God’s justice and what is right and wrong in God’s eyes, all of which we can learn from God’s Word.  Lastly, this prophecy challenges us at least to consider that war is not an answer to anything in God’s eyes.  God is ultimately interested only in peace, and although we live in a sinful world in which much war happens because of godlessness and sin, let us all work towards the goal of making sure that aggression and war are not our pathway.  Some have done this in the past and created terrible damage both for individuals and the work of the Gospel.  Let us be people of peace.

Isaiah 2:1-4 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Discipleship

Questions (for use in groups)

1. How can we worship God in a way which makes His presence known in the world today?  How can we ‘lift Him high’?
2. How do God’s people learn the truth about God and about their faith today?  Are these means adequate?
3. Is it practical or wise to believe that peace can be achieved without conflict?  Most nations base their defence on the belief that the threat of war will avert enemies. 

Discipleship issue in this text

• The sovereign rule of God on earth#
• The justice of God on earth
• The peaceful ‘victory’ of the Lord

Personal comment:

It is good study and take in the details of a great passage of scripture such as this, and it is important to see the broad sweep of its majestic poetry; God, after all, is far bigger than we can imagine.  It can be helpful to read a passage such as this and be challenged to realise that He is bigger than our thoughts and experience, and His salvation is greater than our personal experience.  Our God is awesome and we need to take opportunities to allow Him to speak to us out of His majesty.

Ideas for exploring discipleship

• Write down a list of the ways that God exercises His authority in the world today.  If you cannot think of anything, try reading a few more verses of scripture.  Ask yourself; how does God exercise authority over you?
• Pray for the day when the Lord’s authority will be shown again to the whole world, and Christ comes again in glory.

Final Prayer

All glory to You, God of all joy and happiness.  Bless us today in the good things of life, and help us overcome the problems of suffering and be confident in Your love.  May we radiate the happiness of those who are at peace with themselves and with You, and may we declare with every part of our being that You are the One who ‘makes the difference’ to our lives!  AMEN

Bible study for Isaiah 2:5-22

Isaiah 2:5-22 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Review

(consult Dictionaries)

In this astonishing prophecy, Isaiah moves on from describing God’s eternal purposes (2:1-4) to address ‘Jacob’ (Israel, that is - 2:5,6) about what would happen to them because of their sins.  Reading this is hard going, and although we gain some insight into what was happening in Israel in those days (2:6,7), Isaiah’s words seem designed to scare those who hear or read them (2:19)!  Isaiah prophesies against the extravagances of life (horses and chariots - 2:7), ignorant attitudes (pride and presumption - 2:11), the rich and affluent (represented by grand features of the countryside - 2:13-15), and trade (as in shipping - 2:16).  What does this mean, however, coming after the magnificent prophecy that opened the chapter?  Many people give up on the Old Testament when facing passages like this, even though they know that it is the ‘Word of God’.  People quickly say ‘what has this to do with my faith in Jesus?’ and move on.

I hope that after looking at this passage today you will refrain from doing this!  Isaiah’s prophetic poem is written with a structure which is not clear to us in English and I will explain it further in later study, but the clues to its meaning lie in the key phrases which hold the whole poem together.  I have rearranged the essential phrases of the text below in a way that helps us understand what the prophecy says, and it can be seen quite easily that it has a message for today.

1. Come let us walk in the light of the Lord.  (2:5)
2. You, O God, have abandoned Your people because of their rebellion and sin; please do not let them become arrogant! (2:6-9)
3. People of Israel, take cover from the terror of God’s judgement against all who are arrogant or have a high opinion of themselves, and against all the things in which we take pride (2:10-17).  They are idols and they mean nothing.  (2:18)
4. People of Israel, throw away all your home made idols and false gods as you take cover from the terror of God’s judgement and stop listening to people.  Their opinion about these matters is worthless!  (2:19-22)

In order to create this summary I have missed out many interesting details, but it is obvious that the whole prophecy in chapter 2 prophecy begins with a call to Israel to come back into line with God’s vision of salvation for the whole world (2:1-4).  This is summarised in the first verse of our passage today; ‘come let us walk in the light of the Lord’ (2:5).  The passage continues with a section that reads like the prophet interceding for the people because their sins mean that they are not ready to do God’s will (2:5-11).  He calls on God not to let His own people be ‘lifted high’ because they are not yet repentant and have not perceived that they are doing wrong in God’s sight.

Then, in verses 12 to 19, the prophecy picks up the theme of people and things that are ‘lifted up’, because the people have elevated themselves rather than honoured their God.  It is a most pertinent message, because even today, the church is often compromised by people who are convinced that their own opinion is right and show little regard for the Lord’s revelation of truth to others.  Frankly, this passage is designed to scare people who have such a haughty attitude, and also to encourage those who suffer under such domination that God is standing with them!  God cannot abide such human arrogance, and He will always rise in judgement against it.  Finally, the prophecy calls on people to thrown away anything that is an offence to God’s sovereignty, especially pride and arrogance, and it concludes with an appeal; why pay attention to people when you have God to guide you?

As with so many passage of the Old Testament prophets, once we have looked properly at the passage, it has considerable relevance and power for all people of whatever time or place in the history of the world!

Isaiah 2:5-22 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Going Deeper

(consult Dictionaries)

In our further study, we will look at each of the three main sections of the prophecy (2:6-9, 10-19, 20-22).  In order to understand them, we will need to look at their structure, because as poems, they each express God’s Word through a different poetic structure, and some of these are not poetry as we know it today!  Nevertheless, we will find that each has some interesting things to say to us, as we should expect of the prophecy of Isaiah!

Will God abandon His people? (2:6-9)

It does not take too much observation to see that the first verse in our passage today is a link verse with what has gone before, but the prophetic message which follows in verses 6 to 9 is different from the rest of the passage.  This is because it does not read like God speaking to His people, but a person (presumably Isaiah) speaking to God.  In addition, if you take the whole of the section and read the first line and then the last, you will find that together they make what reads like a prayer; ‘You have abandoned Your people ... do not raise them high!’  This sounds a little strange, but remember that the previous vision in Isaiah 2:1-4 was about lifting up God (residing in Zion) higher than anything else in the world.  Isaiah prays that God will not lift up with Him in Zion a sinful people, for Israel are not worthy of this!

In summary, the things which Isaiah prays about in verses 6 to 9 are firstly religious practices adopted from ‘the east’ and the temptation to join in ‘divination’, which means the prediction of the future (2:6), secondly the relative wealth of the land as measured in silver, gold, horses and chariots (2:7), thirdly the idolatry of people worshipping idols which people have made themselves (2:8).  All of them are criticisms of God’s people made frequently by Isaiah (as we will see), and all of them are issues which God’s people today should be concerned about.

Criticisms of inappropriate use of wealth and of idolatry occur in many of the prophetic messages of the Old Testament and also figure in the teaching of Jesus.  However, the issues which are raised freshly here in this passage are what Isaiah calls ‘eastern practices’ and ‘divination’.  Even in Isaiah’s day, people were fascinated by a range of mystical eastern ‘religious’ practices, though we do not know much about what they were.  Later on, at the time of the early church, eastern ‘mystery cults’ abounded which required people to be initiated by special rituals into the ‘secrets’ of heaven and earth; they were widely followed, but the church followed Isaiah’s advice and banned them.  Today, you do not have to look far to find various practices such as Yoga and some martial arts taking place on church premises.  These may have a well known history in eastern countries, but where they are part of a religious belief system about the nature of people and who they are (as is Yoga), this scripture suggests they should be examined with caution and if necessary, cut off from the life of the church.  There is much more to this for us to consider, but because Isaiah raises the issue, we must respond.

In the same verse as this, Isaiah warns against ‘divination’, which is classically defined as the prediction of the future by mystical or magical means.  It is interesting that Isaiah says this because many people would say that prophecy is very similar, being all about ‘predicting the future’.  Isaiah insists that we must be clear about the difference between using human pseudo-religious means to predict the future, and reporting the words of God about the future which were guaranteed to be true because they came from God.

God deals with the arrogant (2:10-19)

According to Isaiah’s prayer at the end of verse 9, the next and largest section of this reading is about how God resolves to ‘bring low’ all people and everything in Creation which attempts to raise itself higher than Himself, that is, higher that Zion.  This is generally obvious from what is said in verses 10 to 19, but the verses themselves show a great deal of repetition; and in addition, some crucial sentences such as ‘the idols shall utterly pass away’ (2:18) seem lost in the barrage of information about things and people which have become ‘lifted up’ but God will ‘bring low’.  Here, however, there is a specific form of Hebrew poetry at work, and it is called a ‘chiastic’ poem, meaning one which is ‘inverted’ or goes back on itself; and it works like this.

• Verse 10:  Fear the Lord (go to the rocks)
• Verse 11:  The arrogant will be humbled
• Verses 12-16:  The ‘Lord will have His day against ...’
• Verse 17:  The arrogant will be humbled
• Verse 19:  Fear the Lord (go to the rocks)

It is easy to see from this analysis that the themes of the poem are repeated; verse 10 is very similar to verse 19, verse 11 is similar to verse 17.  But this repetition draws attention not just to these verses and what they say, but serves to emphasise the central section, which begins ‘the Lord will have His day against ...’ 

By recognising this structure it becomes easier to explain what Isaiah says in this prophecy.  Firstly (in verses 10 and 19) those who were aware of God’s majestic authority in the history of the world should ‘take cover’, in other words, they should seek a ‘low’ place on earth because of what He was about to do.  Secondly (in verses 11 and 17) Isaiah specifically identifies the haughty and arrogant people who needed to hear this message, because the Lord intended to ‘humble’ them whilst lifting Himself ‘up high’.  Thirdly (in verses 12-16) Isaiah declares with utter prophetic conviction that God will deal with all people and all things that might be considered to be ‘high’.  The Lord will not allow anything to compete with Him, and whilst Isaiah’s list contains imposters recognisable in his day, we might add others, like the wonders of the world, technology or political leaders.  All must be humbled by the Lord!

Throw away false gods (2:18, 20-22)

The chiastic poem is broken in only one place by verse 18, which consequently stands out from everything else said in the previous verses.  However, by doing this it points forward to the last theme Isaiah presents in this part of his prophecy, which is all about idolatry.

With distain, Isaiah draws a mental picture of people fleeing away from the wrath of God’s judgement, throwing away their home made idols, ‘to rodents and bats’ (2:20).  The previous poem began and ended with a terrifying picture of people taking cover as the ‘terror of the Lord’ arose (2:10,19) and reduced people to trembling (2:19), and this is repeated yet again to give it more force.  God will be raised high in majesty, nothing will stand in His way, and people will be reduced to hiding and trembling in fear of the Lord when this happens. 

This is a picture which we may find hard to read but it clearly expresses the heart of Isaiah’s message here.  The chapter began with a majestic picture of the Lord God being raised high in Zion, but this was a not a picture of victory as we might think of it, as if the Lord had defeated his enemies in battle, but a peaceful consequence of the Lord’s work of salvation in the world (2:4).  What Isaiah describes in our passage today is not the Lord’s victory over His sinful human opponents by battle, but by the sheer force of His glory, presence and majesty.  It is these that make people ‘run for cover (2:10,19,21).

Isaiah 2:5-22 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Application

Isaiah presents us with something new in Scripture.  The Lord will do His work of salvation and will achieve His purposes because He is God, and not through war or battle or punishment or any such devastation.  As we move further into Isaiah, we will see more of the importance of this revelation.  It is the beginning of Isaiah’s realisation that God’s work is not done by force, but by obedience, service and doing His will, principles which will mature in later prophecies, principally the great prophecy of the suffering servant (53).

As a Christian and a church member, this prophecy reminds me that fighting my way through to try and get people to do this or that in the life of the church is not necessarily God’s way.  Largely because if I or anyone else acts like that, then we place ourselves in the very category of haughty and self opinionated people this prophecy says God dislikes and will humble!  It is always necessary for us to work hard to achieve results in our work for the kingdom of God, but I am not sure that attacking things we think are wrong is a wise and helpful way of going about the Lord’s work.  He will do what is right, and our job is to stay with Him and be obedient, rather than be carried away by our concerns, however legitimate we may feel them to be.

Isaiah 2:5-22 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Discipleship

Questions (for use in groups)

1. In this passage, what are the most significant criticisms of His people made by God, and why does He make them?
2. Discuss in your group the meaning of the different things featured in verses 12-16.
3. In the light of verse 22, what value should we place upon advice from other people, and how can we weigh what we hear from others with what we believe the Lord says to us?

Some of the discipleship issues found in this text

• The call of God for us to walk with Him in this world
• The arrogance of those who presume to know God
• God turns the tables on His own people

Personal comments from the author:

This passage of scripture is not easy, and it is hard to focus on the heart of the message, which is about how God exercises His authority in the world.  It is so easy for us to assume that we are right, but I have found that in order to check against my own natural tendencies here, I have to submit to the Lord in prayer what I think and what I do.  Again, it is so easy not to do this!  There is no magic formula here, except the constant need for prayer.

Ideas for exploring discipleship issues

• Look back upon the significant issues within the life of the church that you have been involved with in recent times, and assess whether you have had to ‘fight’ for victory or whether the Lord has given it to you.
• Read over this passage and pray to the Lord.  Seek His reassurance that you are not like those mentioned here, and if you are not certain, pray until you are sure!

Final Prayer

Remember us O Lord, and flood our lives with the joy of Your presence!  Give us patience as we wait for Your timing of what will happen in our lives, and give us the comfort of knowing that we await Your works of power and might.  We praise You for everything You do for us, O Lord;  AMEN

Bible study for Isaiah 3:1-12

Isaiah 3:1-12 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Review

(consult Dictionaries)

When we read a passage of prophecy such as this, we can see that it speaks about what happens when people ignore God.  We may be tempted to think we have heard it all before, and settle back, mentally, knowing that the prophet is speaking of something that was relevant to the people of Israel, but not to us.  However, God has given us His Word to help us learn, and the story of God’s people and their covenant relationship with the Lord speaks to us in every verse.  If we are willing to follow the general story of the Old Testament, then passages like this will indeed make sense.  The nature of people today is not far different from those of ancient times, and it does not take much to spot the connections.  Here, they tell us about what can happen when the Lord is ignored by His own people, and we can hardly say that this is not an important matter today.

Isaiah has already bemoaned the sins of God’s people (1:1-31), specifically unfaithfulness and idolatry.  However, the Lord revealed to Isaiah in a vision that He would eventually save His people in peace, not through war (2:1-4).  For Biblical times, this was an astonishing new revelation.  Other prophets spoke about the coming destruction of Israel because of her sins, and God had indeed destroyed those peoples and nations in the past who had disobeyed him (e.g. the story of Noah – Gen 6-9).  Consequently, most of the rest of Isaiah holds us in tension, at one moment prophesying the gloom of those who ignore their God (e.g. Isaiah 1,5 etc.) and then revealing God’s desire to overcome evil with peace (see Isaiah 9,11,35).  So although this passage sounds gloomy, we must accept the wider picture of prophecy of which it is a part.

Since the opening of chapter 2 when Isaiah revealed the loving heart of God, the sins of God’s people stand in ever more stark contrast not so much to His justice, but His love.  Where yesterday’s passage contrasts the generosity of God with the haughty arrogance of humanity (2:5-22), our passage today details the tragic human consequences of those who have abandoned God, specifically, those who have claimed to have a relationship with Him.  The more we read the more we should feel real horror and concern at the plight of those described.  They thought they knew better than God but they were wrong.

From verse 1 it becomes obvious that our passage describes what happens when God’s blessing is withdrawn from His people, and they become weak.  In ancient times, a weak nation was ‘easy prey’ for surrounding peoples seeking to extend their own empires, and it was only a matter of time before they would be attacked.  This weakness is graphically described in the first five verses of our passage.  Those who would have held society together were not to be found (3:2,3), and social anarchy reigned (3:4,5).  Moreover, people were reluctant to take positions of authority because the prospects were not good (3:6,7).  The verse at the heart of our passage is in the middle; ‘Jerusalem is stumbling and Judah is falling because what they say and do is against the Lord; a provocation in the sight of His glory’ (3:8).  Lastly, Isaiah tells of God’s horror at the trouble His own people have brought on themselves (3:9-12).  Despite this, God does not curse them, He appears heartbroken; ‘things will not go well for them; for what their hands have done will be done to them. This is my people ... your leaders have misled you’ (3:11).

It does not take much to see connections between all this and the life of God’s people today, and these words act as a warning to us.  When the leadership of God’s people is ineffective and ungodly, as in this passage, the people are lost.  No wonder that Isaiah’s prophecies soon begin to focus on the quest for a new leader of God’s people; one who will be a new ‘king’ and ‘servant’ of God, His ‘Anointed One’, the Messiah’!

Isaiah 3:1-12 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Going Deeper

(consult Dictionaries)

If we travel carefully through this passage with this background in mind, all manner of things pop up for our consideration.  We are told about the nature of weak leadership so that we can spot it, and the reluctance of people to accept leadership reminds us of the excuses people make today to prevent holding office in the church!  But Isaiah is insistent, the root problem is a reluctance to follow the Lord and submit to Him (3:8); this is what will ruin God’s people.

The collapse of a community (3:1-5)

If you read from 2 Kings 16 you will discover what happened in Judah and Jerusalem after Uzziah died and his son Jotham also passed away (2 Kings 15:38).  Below are some extracts from this chapter which will help us understand why Isaiah was so concerned about what was happening in his own country.

‘King Ahaz began to reign ... he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God. ... he made his son pass through fire after the practice of the nations ... King Rezin of Aram waged war on Jerusalem and besieged him. ... At that time the king of Edom recovered Elath for Edom ... Ahaz sent messengers to the king ... of Assyria saying ‘I am your servant and your son, come up and rescue me ... he found the gold and silver in the Temple ... and gave them as a present to the king of Assyria.’ (from 2 Kings 16:1-9)

This background seems to fit this prophecy of Isaiah perfectly.  Ahaz was a king of Judah during the middle of Isaiah’s life (1:1f.) and during his reign, Jerusalem was besieged, which explains Isaiah’s talk of the lack of food and provisions (3:1), his talk of Judah as falling and Jerusalem as stumbling (3:8).  It also explains the social breakdown in verse 5 which was a common feature of a city under siege.  Clearly, the military were in a state of decay or decline because they seemed to be quite unable to fight off either the neighbouring city-state of Aram, or to defend local towns from Edomite raiders (see above), hence the towns described as ‘heaps of ruin’ (3:6).  Also, under such circumstances, it is not hard to imagine that those with real wealth had long since escaped a land which they saw as without prospects.  They had the means to go and had left (3:3).  In such anarchy, authority hardly had a chance to establish itself and was severely stretched (3:4,5).

The social collapse occurred because king Ahaz was weak and sought to buy protection from the king of Assyria (a large empire North East of Judah).  Imagine the horror of a godly man such as Isaiah who may have been a priest in the Temple, at the stripping of gold and silver from the Temple to pay an emperor for protection instead of trusting in God!  You will probably have noticed that there are a number of comments in our passage which are quite derogatory about leaders; Isaiah says ‘youths [are] their rulers’ and calls them ‘babies’ (3:4), and later on he speaks dismissively to say ‘women rule over them’ (3:12).  None of these comments are insults against youths, babies or women, neither are they comments about who should be leaders and who should not.  In the light of our understanding of this text, they are Isaiah’s insulting way of talking about king Ahaz!  He is disgusted at his behaviour!

Reluctant leaders (3:6-8)

If you are uncertain about whether it is right to connect King Ahaz’s rule to this passage of scripture, then bear in mind the great passage of Isaiah we all remember ‘the year that King Uzziah died ...’ (Isaiah 6:1), a passage which describes the great call of Isaiah (Isaiah 6).  Immediately after Isaiah’s call in chapter 6, you can read a confrontation between Isaiah and King Ahaz (Isaiah 7); the story is very tense!  Ahaz was clearly not interested in the Lord and Isaiah was clearly completely disillusioned with him.  It certainly seems that Isaiah began prophesying around the time that Uzziah (and his son Jotham) died and Ahaz seized the throne, and this is the time frame for the quote from 2 Kings 16 above.

Now, if you imagine yourself as a group of people who live in a town outside Jerusalem at this time.  You have heard all about this awful king who has lost control of the country, is only interested in saving his own skin by buying protection from the nearest emperor, and has made everyone so disillusioned that the military leaders as senior social classes have all left the country.  Defenceless, you find yourselves at the mercy of marauding tribesmen from neighbouring states, and you own town has been raided just like Elath (2 Kings 16:6).  On returning to your own home after the terror of the raid, you have to try and re-establish some kind of order, so someone has to take authority.  But no-one is prepared to do it because the responsibility is too great!  The town has been raised, and there is no prospect of help from Jerusalem, because it too is ‘stumbling’!

With this background, read again verses 6 to 8; and you will find it all seems very real.  Isaiah was not writing poetry for the sake of it, or to bore us more than two and a half thousand years later.  He was describing the collapse of a society which once believed in God, so that we could recognise the signs and hopefully learn from the lessons of what happened to Judah and Jerusalem!

God’s sadness (3:9-12)

When reading verses 9 to 12, it is difficult not to hear the voice of Isaiah himself within the prophecy.  Sometimes a true prophet will speak and does not have to say ‘this is the word of the Lord’, and it is clear that what is said is prophetic.  These verses sound like a heartfelt cry from a preacher.  The leader of the nation has acted abominably; ‘my people ... your leaders have misled you’ (3:12) and the prophet calls out to warn the people of the consequences.  It may well have been that other people did not see the trouble coming, and Isaiah spoke these words by way of warning about Ahaz, and because what he preached proved to be right, they were recorded and eventually recognised as prophecy, according to the standards set in Deuteronomy (Deut 18:15:2f.)

Isaiah warned that failing leadership brought trouble down on the people (3:9).  The main result would be a division between those who remained righteous and those who followed wickedness like the king.  He sought to warn those who remained righteous not to be taken in by the tyrant.  They would ‘be all right ... [and] eat the fruit of their labours.’ (3:10).  On the other hand, the wicked would bear a different fruit; ‘what their hands have done will be done to them.’ (3:11).  This is a rather extraordinary prophecy because it uses the famous principle of justice; ‘an eye for an eye ...’ (Ex 21:24) which advocates equality in retribution.  Isaiah turns the full weight of this principle against those who have acted in an ungodly way; the insults they have brought upon God and His people should be turned back on them!

Isaiah bemoaned the fact that the people had lost their way, and as a priest and spiritual leader of God’s people, he probably felt a deep sense of personal responsibility to respond to the challenge of this ungodliness.  We will certainly find out more in the chapters to come!

Isaiah 3:1-12 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Application

I have read a number of commentaries on this scripture which speak of its analysis of the problems of God’s people, pointing out, for example, that it appears to say that leadership has gone wrong if ‘youths’ or ‘women’ become leaders, or the difficulties which arise when people will not take personal responsibility for leadership (3:6-8).  However, by keeping close to the story of the Old Testament and following the evidence, I have arrived at a different set of conclusions.

The most important conclusion is that at the head of each human structure there is a leader, and the whole of that organisation will in some way reflect the one who is its head.  Isaiah saw Judah collapse as its own leader King Ahaz failed in his duties and rejected the God who had placed him on the throne of Israel.  How important it is, therefore, for those ‘at the top’ of the life of the church to be good and godly people.  It is unfortunately true that many a church takes its character from its minister or leader, in worship styles, ministry emphases and many other things.  To a certain extent this is always true, but where Jesus is not honoured with complete integrity, and church leaders act in a dictatorial manner in taking authority to themselves, the results can be disastrous.  There is a need for accountability in leadership within the church so that bad leaders are rooted out, but few churches are willing to confront the need or deal with this issue.  It is my opinion that Isaiah would be one who advocated the highest standards of godly leadership and the most exacting standards of accountability.  So should we.

Isaiah 3:1-12 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Discipleship

Questions (for use in groups)

1. What do you believe are the most significant issues raised in this passage, and how do they affect the life of God’s people today?
2. What signs of the collapse of society mentioned by Isaiah are observable today?
3. Are the churches of God stumbling and falling today (3:8), or is the picture more complex than this?  What can we learn from this passage today?

Some of the discipleship issues found in this text

• The failures of leadership
• The destruction of society by abandoning God
• The love of God despite sin

Personal comments from the author:

There is a great deal of sadness in this passage today, focussed as it is on breakdown of a society.  Some people welcome the changes that are happening in our world around us today, but some feel that the changes represent a breakdown of what is good and right.  I have always felt that the Bible can help us understand such things because it offers us a perspective from which we can judge morally what is happening.  This, then, can point us towards understanding how the Lord would have us react to events around us. 

Ideas for exploring discipleship

• Jot down any features of this passage which remind you of the life of the church or society today, and make an attempt to discuss what you think about this with others, wherever you are.
• Think and pray about why there are leadership failures amongst God’s people today and what can be done to overcome this.

Final Prayer

Glorious Lord; You clothe us, You feed us, You give us energy, and You nurture us.  You do this for us so that we might grow into the full stature of those who live in righteousness; trusting in You, victorious in this world, and giving You the praise and the glory which is Your due. Glorious Lord, we praise You:  AMEN

Bible study for Isaiah 3:13-4:1

Isaiah 3:13-4:1 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Review

(consult Dictionaries)

Yesterday, we discovered that Isaiah prophesied because he was disgusted at the actions of King Ahaz, and he described the affect his leadership had on the people of God.  Isaiah was convinced that the Lord God had a plan of salvation that would be revealed through His own people, Israel and Judah (2:1-4); but this could not happen if the King (as the servant of the Lord and the descendant of the great King David) refused to accept the faith of his fathers and worship the one true Lord.  The deeds of the king affected every part of Judean society, but in today’s passage, we read that Isaiah was shocked to see how quickly the people were led astray from their godly heritage.  More specifically, how could the priests, scribes and officials of God’s people (3:13-15) so quickly abandon their responsibilities to uphold justice and righteousness, ‘crushing my people ... grinding down the poor’ (3:15)?

Then, in a quite astonishing piece of writing, Isaiah prophesied against the wives and daughters of the rich ruling classes remaining in Jerusalem (3:16-24).  They had a life of luxury in comparison to the poor people of the land, whose homes and villages were being wrecked by the policies of King Ahaz (see yesterday’s study) and they arrogantly paraded their wealth without remorse.  Isaiah was a priest in Jerusalem, and it is easy for us to imagine him becoming increasingly upset by what he saw around him; his feelings of anguish being aroused by the sight of women displaying themselves in all their finery, and being flirtatious whilst walking amongst the markets and bazaars of the city, (3:16).  It is generally true of human nature that when deep feelings lie just beneath the surface of our consciousness, it does not take much to trigger our emotional responses, and this sight appears to have activated Isaiah’s heart to prophesy.

Verses 16 to 23 are an extraordinary denunciation of the excesses and frippery of women’s fashion, but we should be careful not to jump to conclusions.  It would be unwise to read this prophecy as being a general dismissal of women’s fashion, clothing and manner, as if we can lift it out of scripture and impose it upon women today with no further thought.  Some have taken this route but by so doing, they miss the point of the prophecy.  Clearly, Isaiah was incensed at the sight of these ‘painted ladies’ of ancient society, but the Hebrew of text here is quite uncertain, and we know very little about the items mentioned here; the text is too vague.  The point is that if we get bogged down trying to identify the apparently banned items of fashion accessories, we will not deal with the substance of the text.  We must ask a more general question about why Isaiah was so upset with the ‘daughters of Jerusalem’.

For Isaiah, the decadence of these women reflected the rottenness of Judean society under King Ahaz, and the fact that they paraded themselves inappropriately within Jerusalem was damning proof of the lack of spiritual leadership and structure within the nation.  This is quite clear in the last part of our reading, from 3:24 to 4:1.  Isaiah prophesied that the failure of the nation under Ahaz would lead to war and battle (3:25) in which all luxuries would be destroyed (3:24).  More than that, the men-folk upon whom the women depended for their wealth and identity would be destroyed (3:25)!  Isaiah concluded his prophecy with an awful example of the consequences of this; destitute, the women would accept polygamy rather than the disgrace of widowhood and loss of place in society (4:1)!  What a terrible way to learn that their men were more important to them than means of acquiring fine clothes and flirting in the market places!

This is a dire prophecy, but Isaiah had already placed the blame for the state of Jerusalem on its male leaders.  Isaiah’s prophecy against the excesses of the women should not be used to oppress women, but it remind us that all bear responsibility when God’s people go astray.

Isaiah 3:13-4:1 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Going Deeper

(consult Dictionaries)

As we study this passage, we will see how the prophecy arises from the Lord’s judgement of His people (3:13) and the war that Isaiah said would happen as a consequence (3:25,26).  There are some powerful warnings in the passage about the behaviour of women and their slavery to fashion, but we will study these as the prophecy presents them; as examples of how godlessness affects the life of women, after their men-folk have abandoned the Lord.

The Lord rises in judgement – 3:13-15

We do need to be reminded that although we are used to reading about judgement in the prophetic literature of the Bible, this is the first formal occasion in Isaiah where the Lord is described as formally rising in judgement against His people.  It is always helpful to remember that when we read prophecies, sometimes the Lord is described as talking with or arguing with His people, sometimes He tells them the logical consequences of their actions (according to the Universe He has made) and thirdly, He sometimes has to formally pronounce a judgement, because the sins of the people require Him to take action to stop them.  Keeping this distinction in mind will often help you interpret Old Testament prophecy in a way which is closer to the meaning of the text.  In Isaiah, the Lord earlier pleaded with his people to ‘argue it out’ (1:18), and also predicted the dire consequences of what the people were doing (1:24-31, 2:9-17); now, however, comes the formal judgement.  The text describes how the Lord ‘rises to argue His case’ (3:13) for to take a stance is to assert authority; and He ‘enters into judgement’ (3:14) not against women, but against ‘the elders and princes of His people’.

In this first part of our passage, the accusation against the leaders of the people (King Ahaz and his court) is a summary of what we know so far in Isaiah.  The country has been ‘ruined’ (3:14) by the rich plundering the poor (this summarises 1:7-17), and standing in authority, the Lord makes His direct accusation; ‘what do you mean by crushing my people?’  Those who read the books of the Law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) can have no doubt that the intentions of the founding fathers of the nation of Israel were to pass on to them God’s understanding of the equality of all people before Him in terms of basic humanity, ownership of property and especially ownership of the land.  In Isaiah’s day and under King Ahaz, such ideas had been ditched in favour of government by the elite (in the manner of the day, but not too different from the way that ruling elites operate to this day).

Isaiah perceived all this and was the Lord’s vehicle for this prophetic message.  The truly fascinating thing about this passage is that against this background, Isaiah must have been triggered to prophesy after observing the trivial pursuits of the glamorous women of the day in Jerusalem.  It seemed to him like an example of all that had gone wrong in Jerusalem and Judah.  In particular, it was the parading of wealth gained at the expense of the poor (most likely by their husbands).  Isaiah sounds very angry in delivering the prophecy which comes next.

Unjust wealth (and the women) – 3:16-23

There is no doubt that the prophecy in this passage is against the women, their behaviour, fashion and dress.  The first set of phrases in verse 16 all describe behaviour which is not simply showing off clothes and fashion, but strongly hints at the women’s open displaying of their sexuality.  ‘Daughters of Zion’ clearly refers to the upper class women of the city, and yet they are behaving like common prostitutes!  The Hebrew word I have translated ‘fluttering their eyes’ is rendered ‘ogling’ in some translations, or ‘glancing wantonly’, for example, and the truth is that it meant some kind of rolling of the eyes in a fetching way but we do not know exactly how the women of the day used their eyes to attract men!  Certainly, the ‘tinkling ornaments’ on their feet were the garb of prostitutes who sought to draw attention to themselves.  To put it crudely, Isaiah describes the noble women of Jerusalem behaving like common prostitutes.  Each society has its own uncomplimentary way of expressing such behaviour.

The judgement of the Lord is awful.  Those who behave in this manner will be afflicted with sores, and they will be exposed (3:17).  There is no way round the Hebrew here, it definitely means that the Lord will strip them naked in shame.  It is as if the women have behaved like prostitutes, so the Lord will treat them like prostitutes. It is a harrowing image, but one which perhaps needs to be presented, even in our own day.

The prophecy goes on, and in a passage which departs from the usual poetic form of the prophecy (3:18-23). Isaiah crashes through a long list of items of clothes, fashion, jewellery and make up which he saw paraded on the women.  It is unwise to take each of the items mentioned and imagine that we know exactly what they are.  For example, the last word in the Hebrew of verse 18 is ‘moons’, but it seems that this means a ‘crescent shaped necklace common to the day and mentioned in other writings.  Also, the ‘bracelets’ mentioned in verse 20 were items of jewellery worn probably around the upper arms and what they were like, we do not know.  What is clear is that each word in Hebrew is grand and long, the words themselves (as words often do) expressing the grandiosity.  However, the point of the list is straightforward.  As it says in verse 18; ‘in that day, the Lord will snatch [them] away’.  They are not what the Lord expects of the women of His people.

But as I explained above, we must not forget that it is perfectly possible for women to dress well, wear jewellery and ornaments appropriately and present themselves as they please.  Nothing in this text says they cannot or should not do this.  It does suggest that if women do so in wilful ignorance of the injustices by which their wealth has been obtained, then they are culpable before God.  The trouble is that much fashion and jewellery requires wealth, and there is too much evidence today of women’s dependence on expensive make up, fashion and presentation, including issues of size and eating.  Our passage is a warning to women that these things are not the source of their beauty before God or before men.  Dressing well is one thing, obtaining one’s identity through them or dressing to present oneself for sex is another, and this is what the Lord abhors.

Catastrophe – 3:24-4:1

As we have already seen, the last part of this passage talks about the consequences of war.  However, it is not certain that the war described is something that the Lord has declared as a punishment.  Throughout this passage, the words of Isaiah are descriptive, and not prescriptive.  Remember that earlier in chapter 2 Isaiah spoke with conviction that the Lord was not interested in pronouncing war and defeat in battle as an answer to the sins of the people; God was looking for a different way to teach His people that He loved them and had a future for them.  However, Isaiah knew full well that war could not be avoided.  It is an important distinction for our understanding of Isaiah.  What we read in 3:24 to 4:1 is not the judgement of God which is pronounced on the women because of their sins, it is merely the natural consequences of their behaviour.  They and their men have flagrantly disregarded the Lord, and the reversal of fortunes described (3:24), the war (3:25,26 and the panic amongst the women (4:1) will be the direct consequence of this; tragic as it is.

The judgement which the Lord stood up to pronounce at the beginning has not yet been given, and it comes in the rest of chapter 4 which we read tomorrow.  At the end of our passage today, we are simply left to bemoan the consequences of ungodly behaviour.

Isaiah 3:13-4:1 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Application

The issue of women’s clothing and dress may seem to you to be a rather insignificant subject within scripture.  However, this passage is fascinating because it asks us to address questions about the appropriateness of how we present ourselves, and it does so in a forceful way.  Although the prophecy is directly about women’s apparel, I see no reason why we should not extend the argument to the issue of how people present themselves generally.  In an age of body piercing and body art, as well as all forms of fashion, and a clothing industry which extorts wealth out of the poverty of some of the world’s poorest people, this passage has more to say than merely to damn bracelets or make-up.  All of us have a responsibility to manage the wealth God has given us in a godly way, and in the light of this passage, spending it on ourselves beyond our reasonable needs does not seem to me to be a worthy way of doing this.  Certainly not by using our wealth to make ourselves sexually attractive to others when we are already married!  All of us would do well to take a spiritual reality check on the way we use our money from time to time.  We should examine whether what we spend on ourselves is morally justified, either because of the nature of the industries which supply the goods or because of the wider calls on the resources God has given us.

Beyond the issues of clothing, sex and apparel raised in this passage, we are reminded that God is always at hand to judge; that is His nature.  People today are often unreceptive to the idea of a God of justice who is always ready to act, but we should not be afraid to explain this truth.  We have found our salvation through Jesus, in a way which the people of Isaiah’s day had not, but God is still our Judge, and the Christian faith is not a license for us to do what we please.  As in this passage, our behaviour counts, and it displays what lies within.

Isaiah 3:13-4:1 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Discipleship

Questions (for use in groups)

1. Discuss examples of God’s judgement, and talk about how this differs from the natural ‘cause and effect’ process of sin and its consequences.
2. What manner of dress and fashion is inappropriate for men or women today?  How can we know what is right or wrong in matters of fashion?
3. How would your society respond to the threat of war? 

Discipleship issue found in this text

• Personal responsibility amongst rich and poor
• The dangers of worldly excess amongst God’s people
• The devastation of war

Personal comments from the author:

This passage is a typical example of an Old Testament that can be misunderstood.  I have indeed heard sermons that use this passage to tell women not to wear jewellery.  Plenty of Scriptures teach us about modesty, and suggest that we present ourselves in a godly manner to all others; and this surely means that our aim should be to present Christ, not ourselves.  I have often thought that if some of God’s people spent as much time presenting Christ as they did presenting themselves, then we would hasten the coming of our Lord!

Ideas for exploring discipleship

• After reading this study, what do you feel about the way you present yourself?  Do you feel that you have to present yourself differently in different circumstance, especially at church, and if so, why?.
• Think about how this passage affects you and the people you know and love in your own church.  Could this passage be misinterpreted there, and how can its real message of dependence upon God be made clear?

Final Prayer

At the end of a day, when good things have happened and the worst has been overcome, may we rest in the knowledge that You Lord Jesus, have been our guide.  Then, in full confidence of Your love and power, lead us into tomorrow with faith and without fear.  AMEN

Bible study for Isaiah 4:2-6

Isaiah 4:2-6 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Review

(consult Dictionaries)

These words come upon us suddenly and unexpectedly after a chapter in Isaiah in which we are told that the Lord was standing to pronounce judgement (3:13) on His people because of their sins!  Given that the previous verses are a damning indictment of slavery to fashion and a description of how war is a consequence of sinful behaviour on the part of God’s people (3:13-26), the wonderful visionary nature of these words is a complete surprise!  But what is going on?  Are God’s people to be blessed or cursed for their sins?  It is easy to read a passage such as this by itself and glory in its rich description of the blessings of God’s presence amongst His people ‘on that day’ (4:2), but in order to understand what is happening, we must work our why these wonderful promises are placed here within Isaiah’s prophecies.

Some scholars believe this prophecy to be so different in style and language from those around it that it must have been written and inserted at a later date.  However, suggestions like these are totally improvable however convincingly they are explained; and there are good reasons for believing that the passage fits exactly where it is.  This is because for the second time in Isaiah, we have found a passage that rises above the surrounding prophecies to speak forcefully of God’s gracious and greater intention to be with His people ‘in Zion’.  Everything we have learned about Isaiah leads us to believe that he did not believe that God would simply punish His people’s sins by means of war and destruction.  Isaiah knew that God did not want to destroy His people, He wanted to redeem them so that they could take part in His plan and be a testimony to the world of His saving love and mercy (see 2:1-4).  In this, Isaiah’s prophecies are completely different from those of other prophets (such as Amos), who said that Israel would be destroyed by war, and was right.  Isaiah saw that God had greater things for Judah and Jerusalem, and although sin would always have its consequences, the Lord intended to be far more than a God of justice and retribution.  He wanted to show love for His people, and through them, to the whole world.

The passage speaks of a ‘branch of the Lord’ that would become fruitful; language that soon came to refer to the Messiah (see Isaiah 11:1, Jer 23:5, Zech 3:8 etc), even if it did not mean this when Isaiah first said it!  The prophecy speaks not about wars so much as survivors (4:2) who are a chosen people (‘recorded amongst the living’ – 4:3), blessed and restore to holiness in Jerusalem and Zion.  The prophetic message then speaks of God’s cleansing judgement and burning (4:4), which would make the whole of Zion worthy of His presence, symbolised by the cloud, smoke and fire (as in the days of the wilderness, Exodus 13:19, 40:38).  The remarkable thing is that these signs of God’s presence are not confined within Zion or Jerusalem, they are extend over it.  In other words, the presence of the Lord is bigger and broader than one place, and the area covered by God’s love and protection is far greater than just Jerusalem and Zion.

On the one hand, the theme of this prophecy is consistent with the development of the prophecies so far in the book of Isaiah, but it also projects them far into the future.  It is perhaps understandable that some people think this must have been written later, but the words of the Lord spoken to His prophets have always projected forward, explaining consequences and revealing mysteries about His will for the present and the future.  This is how the Lord blesses His people and prepares them for all that is to come.

Isaiah 4:2-6 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Going Deeper

(consult Dictionaries)

There is much we do not know about the writings in the Bible, but what we do have is invaluable as it stands, and that is how it is best studied.  As we look further at this passage, we will look at how the great blessings described in this passage link up with the promises of God in Israel’s past and also point forward to His self revelation in Jesus Christ. Isaiah had glimpses of what was to come which he may not have fully understood himself, but by faithfully recording them, he has passed down to us an invaluable record of God’s revelation.

The ‘branch of the Lord’

Before this passage there have been seven references in Isaiah to a ‘day’ on which the Lord would do something (2:2, 11, 12, 20, 3:7, 18, 4:1).  On each occasion, the prophecies look forward to a time when the Lord would act in some way.  Here, after this complete round of seven anticipatory texts, the prophet speaks about God’s purpose and aim for His people, and the first of these aims is that His people become fruitful.  But where did the idea of a ‘branch’ come from?

In Numbers 13 we are told an important story about the taking of the Promised Land.  The spies sent out by Moses came back with a large single cluster of grapes ‘on a branch’ which was so big it had to be carried by two men (Numb 13:23).  Unfortunately, this sample of God’s good provision for His people in the Promised Land was rejected, because the people were too afraid of the enemies their believed existed in Canaan.  As a consequence, the people of Israel were condemned to wander in the wilderness for 40 more years. The story was a sorry reminder to God’s people of their lack of faith in God.  Here, however, Isaiah foresees a branch bearing ‘beautiful and glorious’ fruit which will be the ‘pride and glory of the survivors of Israel’.  The prophecy appears to be a reversal of this terrible event in Israel’s past, and the language of the passage therefore implies that those who survive in Jerusalem are about to enter a new ‘Promised Land’!

Scholars often say that this passage is about the return of the people from Babylon to Jerusalem about 200 years after Isaiah lived.  However, it is also possible that those who returned to Jerusalem at that time were able to find encouragement from this earlier prophecy of Isaiah which spoke to them powerfully of their history.

Holiness restored

Only yesterday we read about the terrible state of wanton behaviour and injustice in which the people of Israel lived, and learned that the logical consequence of such things would be the destruction of the country by war.  In ancient times, nation states were unforgiving in their pursuit of land and they had no hesitation in exploiting states which had become as weak as the Judah described by Isaiah.  There would indeed be war because of the sins of Judah and Jerusalem (3:25,26); but our passage declares forthrightly that God’s holy purposes lay beyond such war.

It was God’s intention to record a chosen people (‘recorded amongst the living’ – 4:3) who were left out of those who would survive war and ‘remain in Jerusalem’ (4:3).  The Lord would cleanse Jerusalem from its filth not by means of war, but by a ‘spirit of judgement and by a spirit of burning’ (4:4).  Some say that this is an allusion to war, but Isaiah had plenty of ways of describing war, and his prophetic vision led him to describe the cleansing in this more ‘spiritual’ way.  No explanation is given about how God would go about this work, and we are left only to be amazed that God does the work of cleansing from sin not physically, but spiritually!  This reminds us of what Jesus said to Nicodemus; ‘no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.  What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the spirit is spirit.’ (John 3:5,6).  Sin needed a spiritual solution, not a physical one!

The daughters of Jerusalem who had paraded their wealth and their jewellery were acting like prostitutes within the walls of Jerusalem, and their actions represented the way their men folk had prostituted themselves by worshipping the ‘ba’al’ gods of Canaan, even in Jerusalem.  The Lord had to cleanse the city but He did this Himself.

The presence of the Lord

The last two verses of our passage describe the presence of the Lord which comes in renewed protection over the land.  God’s presence was manifest (meaning ‘made evident’) in ‘a cloud by day and smoke and the shining of a flame by night.’ (4:5).  This famous reminder of the presence of God during the wilderness years is further proof to us that Isaiah saw a connection between what had happened during the first quest for the Promised Land and what would happen in the future when God saved His people (the same was true with the ‘branch’ – above). 

The great feature of this passage is that the cloud and the fire which represent the Lord are described as providing a ‘refuge and a cover’ which is not located in Mount Zion, but ‘over’ it.  In Isaiah’s day, the people believed that the Lord was present in His Temple in a special way, and for this reason, Zion had special meaning to the people of Judah.  However, what this vision speaks about is a time when God’s presence was ‘above’ not ‘in’ any physical place, offering a far more extensive cover than before, because it was no longer tied to one place.  We should remember that in the church, the name Zion is a description of any place where God shows Himself to be present by his Spirit, it is no longer a particular place.  The Temple Mount today is covered by a Mosque, and that is difficult for many people, Jews and Christians alike.  However, God’s promise here is that His covering protection will be over ‘those who gather’, in other words, His people; for that is now where ‘Zion’ is.

Isaiah may not have understood the prophetic visions he had, and many people today testify that they do not necessarily see the meaning of the pictures or vision they have.  This great prophetic vision speaks of a future which was quite unlike anything anyone had ever heard of at that time, but it confirmed that God’s intention was to love and protect His people and not simply judge their sins for all eternity.  This, of course, is just the beginning of Isaiah’s prophecy; there is much more to come!

Isaiah 4:2-6 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Application

Some people find it convenient to believe that the God of the Old Testament is a God of wrath.  This is not true in this passage, and it is not true of Isaiah generally.  God is intent upon helping His people, and His people are all those who are prepared to come to Him in faith, for help.  All of us need the ‘cover’ which the Lord provides, for without it, the enemy will attack us through the ‘storm and rain’ (4:6).  This is picture language for all that shakes us up and disturbs our life within our troubled world.  It is undoubtedly true that the Lord does indeed provide cover for all who believe, but the truth is that everyone who is a Christian will testify that whilst they still live and have faith, the enemy will sometimes make their lives a misery.

One way that the Lord uses to provide us with the cover of His love and protection is through other people; their friendship, their prayers and their active care for us.  Some object and say that the Lord’s cover must surely come from Him alone, but the Lord normally works to do His will through His people; and we should expect this.  Many people I know who work in ministry or leadership in the church would simply not be able to continue unless they had people praying for them and making real the Lord’s cover and protection from the works of the enemy.  The cloud, smoke and fire (4:5) of the Lord’s presence must have been impressive in the days of the wandering through the wilderness.  For all God’s people who need His cover and protective care, the love, prayers and care of friends is impressive evidence of the Lord at work.

Isaiah 4:2-6 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Discipleship

Questions (for use in groups)

1. Discuss in your group whether this prophecy is a picture which is fulfilled in Christ or will be fulfilled at the End Times.
2. How does the Holy Spirit work to cleanse us today?
3. In what ways do you experience the cover and care of the Lord either directly, or through other people?

Discipleship issue found in this text

• The work of God to cleanse His people
• The presence of the Lord in glory

Personal comments from the author:

Hope is a wonderful thing.  Isaiah’s prophecy undoubtedly gave hope to the people of Israel at different times in their history, and also to Christians who saw this prophecy become true in the life of Jesus.  I find that this prophecy also gives me hope, because it tells me that God intends me to be a person of hope who is able to trust Him in all things, knowing that He will cover me and bring good out of all circumstances.

Ideas for exploring discipleship

• Would you say that you are full of hope for the future, or deeply concerned about it?  Pray about this and wait on the Lord for what He would say to you.
• Write down some of your hopes for the future, and ask the Lord to help you look ahead to do His will.

Final Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, we are grateful for Your protection and care.  Help us when we become unsure about what is happening to us and feel uncertain about Your presence.  Lead us back to a place of confidence so that we do not become prey to the enemy, and give us peace we pray.  AMEN

Bible study for Isaiah 5:1-7

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Review

(consult Dictionaries)

This passage is called the ‘Song of the Vineyard’, and it is a tragic poem describing the deep sadness of God at the failure of His people.  The poem is an important Old Testament prophecy because the idea of God’s people as His vineyard is one which is found in several places within Scripture (see Hosea 10:1f., Ezekiel 15:2f. John 15:1f.).  The story told by the poem is simple enough.  Isaiah recites the poem on behalf of the Lord, who likens His work with Israel to that of a farmer who prepares and plants a vineyard.  The farmer uses all the best methods, but discovers that his vine does not produce the sweet cultivated grapes required for wine-making, but bitter wild grapes that have the wrong acidity for wine-making.  The Lord is therefore forced to do away with his vines and abandon the vineyard (5:6).

If you have followed these studies of Isaiah, your head will now be spinning!  Yesterday (reading from chapter 4), we discovered the most wonderful promises of God to His people.  He declared that He would bring Israel through her coming troubles, and would provide them with perfect protection by means of His presence by ‘cloud, smoke and fire’ (4:5)!  Yet this great promise came after Isaiah had previously delivered the most shattering of prophecies against Israel, citing the arrogance of its women and the failed leadership of its men in Jerusalem (ch.3).  Isaiah’s prophecies appear to swing ever more violently between extremes; at one moment we hear about the Lord’s passion and love for His people, and at another moment we read about His judgemental wrath against the Israel’s sins!

Some might say that Isaiah’s prophecies demonstrate a certain ‘two-faced’ attitude of God towards His people, for as we read through the book we do not know what we are going to hear about next; love and compassion, or justice and retribution!  Isaiah prophecies both that God will punish Israel’s sin (1:7,8; 3:2,3; 3;25,26), but he also prophesies that God has a purpose for some of the ‘survivors’ of His people (4:2), through whom He intends to do His work in the world.  We need to know more about what this means, and we will only discover this if we read through the rest of the book of Isaiah, and in particular, discover how his prophecies change after the special call of God described in chapter 6.  Yet there are some conclusions we can reach even with the limited picture we have at our disposal.

The general picture we should hold in mind is that of a broken-hearted God; He is desolate because His own chosen people have rejected Him and gone their own way.  Most of us are aware of the complex feelings we all have when we have been rejected by someone we love.  These feelings combine the passions of love with abhorrence, and it would be fair to say that Isaiah’s prophecies paint a picture of God as One who is certainly heartbroken that His people have rejected Him.  Sin has its consequences and will be met with punishment, but God’s love is not simply destructive; He has higher plans and purposes (see chapter 4).

If we do not have this balance firmly fixed in our minds, then we are liable to misunderstand Isaiah 5.  Undoubtedly, this poem reads like a religious horror story, but the ‘Song of the Vineyard’ (together with the rest of chapter 5) begs the very important question; what will the Lord do about this sorry state of affairs?  God does indeed have a great plan of salvation both for His own people and for the rest of the world, moreover, He is about to reveal this through the life and work of Isaiah.  The introductory passages in Isaiah (chapters 1 to 5, prior to the famous ‘call of Isaiah’ in Isaiah 6) serve to highlight the critical tension between God and His people because of sin.  The people of Israel, just like people of all time and all places, liked to think that they could live as they pleased, and something had to happen to restore the relationship between them and the God who had made them and chosen them.

Isaiah 5:1-7 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Going Deeper

(consult Dictionaries)

We will look further at some of the details of the poem, though its general theme is readily understandable.  What is interesting, however, is how the ‘picture’ of the vineyard appears in the Old Testament prior to Isaiah’s use of it in this prophecy.  Secondly, if we look in the New Testament, we will find that Jesus used the picture of the vine and the vineyard at critical points in His own ministry.  The ‘Song of the Vineyard both built on scripture and provided a base for what was to come.

The setting in the ‘Song of the Vineyard’

The ‘Song of the Vineyard’ consists of four ‘stanzas’ of Hebrew poetry, and in the first of these (5:1,2) it is the prophet Isaiah who speaks (or sings!), declaring what the Lord has done.  He describes the normal actions taken by someone who wanted to grow a vineyard, choosing the ground, clearing the stones, selecting the right plants and planting them, building the right structures to look after the vine and keep out unwanted animals, and creating a winepress out of some nearby rocky outcrop.  In just the same way that Jesus would one day tell a parable (see later), Isaiah created a word picture and then came to a conclusion, which in this case was startling.  What should have resulted in good fruit had produced ‘wild grapes’!

This was not just a matter of ‘bad’ being the end result instead of ‘good’, for anyone listening to Isaiah would have know even without the explanation given in the fourth stanza (verse 7), that ‘the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel and the people of Judah are the plants in which he delights’ (5:7).  The point was this; the vines were ‘chosen’, but they produced ‘wild’ fruit.  In other words, the lifes work and witness of God’s people had proved to be no better than that of Gentiles or pagans!  This was a scandalous state of affairs in Judea and Jerusalem, and no doubt some who heard Isaiah say this could hardly believe their ears.  This was Isaiah’s sharp way of putting across what he had been saying since the beginning of his prophecies; which was that when the people of God sinned, they behaved in a way which was no better than the nations around them; they were unjust, they impoverished the poor and they worshipped idols (1:1-31).

The questions about the vineyard posed by God

What should be done about this state of affairs?  This is the question addressed in stanzas 2 (5:3,4) and 3 (5:5,6), and in both of these, Isaiah changed to reporting the speech of God instead of speaking himself.  Isaiah had set the scene, but it was up to God Himself to declare the consequences of what had happened, and in the second stanza, He began by asking what more could He have done? Surely He had done enough for the vineyard to be successful?  This was reasonable to ask, but the song holds an amazing paradoxical twist, for we realise that God was speaking to the people of Judah themselves!  What did they make of what had happened?  What more could God have done for them (5:4)?  Why did they continue to sin (5:4)? God used the song as a method of asking His own people why they had sinned against Him!  In Hebrew, the grammar of a question conveys whether the expected answer is a ‘Yes’ or a ‘No’.  In verses 3 and 4, the grammar of the question implies the answer ‘No’.  In reality, the breakdown between God and His people was the responsibility of the people, the ‘vineyard’, and not of God.

In the third stanza, God speaks for a second time, but this time to pronounce judgement.  It was his intention to allow a comprehensive course of action which would render the vineyard unusable, firstly by leaving the plot open to the animals and the beasts of the field to eat the plants and then let it become overgrown (5:5) with weeds and ‘thorns and briers’ (5:6) followed by the greatest curse of all in that part of the world; drought (5:6).  It is not certain, but it is just possible that Isaiah was aware of a previous reference to ‘thorns and briers’ in Scripture.  This comes in Judges 9:14,15, where the ‘thorns and briers’ otherwise translated ‘bramble’ figure in a poem at the heart of the book of Judges, which sarcastically describes the most lawless period of time in the life of Israel and Judah.  Without going into the full meaning of the passage from Judges, Isaiah’s use of this reference harks back to that time when God’s people were ungovernable; it is not something we might easily pick up on today, but it may well have been something which people recognised in Isaiah’s day.

Isaiah 5:1-7 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Application

As God’s people the Church, we know that Jesus has saved us and that we have access to the Throne of Grace through Jesus.  This is basic to our Christian beliefs, and it is hard to go back into the Old Testament and read that God punishes His people for their sins.  Surely, we say, God does not do that; He is a loving God and He has sent Jesus to save us.  I do not disagree that Jesus has come to save us and that we are now God’s people in a new era of salvation, rather than the era of anticipation of the Messiah in which the people of Israel lived.  However, we should not try and suggest that sin or its consequences have changed; sin is still sin, whoever commits it and the consequences of most sins are the same whoever commits it.  Jesus has cracked the problem of how sin separates us from God and we depend upon that, but the world in which we live is still the same.

We can learn from the ‘Song of the Vineyard’ that God is still in the business of growing vines; we know this because Jesus calls us ‘branches of the vine’ in John’s Gospel (John 15:2f.).  Our options therefore are to accept the Lord’s rule, His hand upon our lives and sometimes His ‘pruning’ (John 15:2), or to reject it and find that we do not bear the fruit He requires and we become as it says in our passage today; ‘wild grapes’ (5:2)!  If it is the second path we choose, then we will place ourselves in the same position as the people of Judah to whom Isaiah spoke this prophecy.  God will act justly against all who choose not to do His will.  Unfortunately, it is still easy for people, even church people who would call themselves Christians, to live a live which is not in obedience to the Lord, and repeating the sins of past generations.  If we are truly born again of the Spirit of God then we are pruned in order to bear fruit, but if we have gone our own way then there is no escaping God’s justice.

Isaiah 5:1-7 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Discipleship

Questions (for use in groups)

1. Why do people sin today, and why do Christian people battle with sin when they know that Jesus has died to save them? 
2. How does the Lord act in judgement now, when His own people do not do what He has asked of them?
3. In the light of this passage, is it right to think of the church as like a ‘vineyard’?

Discipleship issue found in this text

• Being fruitful or unfruitful for the Lord
• The wrath of God
• God’s plan of redemption and salvation for the world through Israel

Personal comments from the author:

The picture of the vine is a challenge for each of us.  We who claim our salvation through Jesus Christ will too often presume that because we have accepted Christ’s call, we can get on with the rest of our lives with our eternal destiny secured.  The life of faith, however, is a matter of doing God’s work, and being ‘fruitful’.  When I go to church on Sunday, I am sad to say that I am unconvinced that all those who attend are doing anything other than living their lives as they see fit, and we are still subject to the judgement of God ...

Ideas for exploring discipleship

• Do you feel like a fruitful branch or not?  And is what you feel really true of your life and what you do?  The only way to sort out the difference between these two questions, if there is any, is to talk about it to someone else!
• Pray for the church of God, and pray against those who seek to destroy it by rebelling against God from within it

Final Prayer

Your love, O Lord, draws me onwards, through all the fears and doubts, the trials and temptations I experience.  Your love has drawn me to the Cross where, inexplicably, all the things of this world fall away and I am empty before You!  Fill me up O Lord, and make me worthy of my call!  AMEN

Bible study for Isaiah 5:8-17

Isaiah 5:8-17 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Review

(consult Dictionaries)

After the parable of the useless vineyard (5:1-7), the rest of Isaiah 5 is full of sadness and despair.  Isaiah prophesies the anguish of God at being rejected by His people, weeping because of the ignorance and rebellion of the nation He created, loved and blessed.  Twice in this passage Isaiah calls out ‘woe’, an almost untranslatable word that has more to do with funereal wailing that the pronouncement of judgement, and twice he calls out ‘therefore ...’, to announce the consequences of Israel’s defiance.  The hand stretched out to Israel by God in love had become a hand of judgement and wrath (5:13).  This is a poem full of emotion, but with care, we will find within it much to help us understand what Israel was doing to offend God.

Before we look at this passage further, I need to explain something about the study of Isaiah.  So far, we have read and studied Isaiah verse by verse and paragraph by paragraph, treating it sequentially, one prophecy after another.  We could do this with the rest of Isaiah 5, but although each verse is fascinating, some of it repeats what we already know from Isaiah’s previous prophecies.  For example, today’s passage tells us again that the punishment of God on Judah and Jerusalem would come in the form of war and exile, and while Isaiah predicted this just like other prophets (e.g. Amos and Hosea), he would not give up on his belief that God had something more for His chosen people (see chapter 4).  Unless we remember this, we will misinterpret the prophecies.  The wrath of God is not loveless anger, it is an anger that arises from love rejected, and it longs to return to love; the last two verses of today’s text are a vision that reminds us of God’s plan to overcome the problems of humanity and establish justice and righteousness in His own way and His own time.

In the first woe, the prophet bewails the manner in which property and land were used in Israel.  Most human social and economic history can be focussed upon the subject of who owned what land; battles have been fought over this, lords have enslaved populations to work the land, and kings have used the land as a bargaining tool since earliest times, and much of this is reflected in verse 8.  God had set down laws for the ownership of land and its exchange (see Deuteronomy 15:19,26f. and Leviticus 25,27) that were fundamentally egalitarian, but Israel had set these aside to allow people to get rich and oppress the poor.  This was an offense to God, and He was intent on destroying such injustice (5:9f.).  Feasting was an important part of worship, as defined by the laws of God (), but the people had made this into partying and excess, in drinking, revelry and gluttony.  The picture painted by Isaiah in verse 11 and 12 is familiar to people even today, and those who are drunk are in no position to appreciate the good things of God or ‘consider the work of His hands’ (5:12)!

These are the reasons why the Lord God had declared ‘my people will go into exile’ (5:13).  Isaiah saw the horror of death as the consequence of rebellion, and in death, all were reduced to the same level, ‘nobility’ and ‘crowds’ together (5:13), all would be ‘brought low’ (5:15).  We have already seen this warning before in the prophecies of Isaiah, but this is the first verse where Isaiah which mentions ‘exile’.  This is a loaded word, because we now know that around 150 years after Isaiah said these words,  Judah and Jerusalem were indeed taken away into exile to Babylon.  This passage suggests that Isaiah foresaw this 150 years before it happened.

Some people think it farfetched to imagine that Isaiah could predict this and suggest that this passage must have come from later times and perhaps another author.  Yet Isaiah knew the politics of his day, and he knew that small corrupt nations would be swallowed up by larger ones; what he said is entirely logical for one who saw the consequences of Israel’s behaviour.

Isaiah 5:8-17 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Going Deeper

(consult Dictionaries)

There is in fact a great deal more for us to find in this passage, which we will now explore, but we should be aware that these verses are the final set of prophecies before a great upheaval came in Isaiah’s life, together with a revelation from God which changed Isaiah’s prophecies and his whole life.  We are in the last stages of ‘setting the scene’ before the powerful work of God’s Spirit in Isaiah’s life recorded in Isaiah 6.

It is also worth noting that the prophecies in today’s reading are very similar to those found in 10:1-4, later on in Isaiah.  If you have read other commentaries on Isaiah you may be familiar with theories about the ‘fragmentation’ of the prophecies found in Isaiah.  This may sound rather strange to you if you are unfamiliar with this idea, but think of it like this; in today’s reading there are 6 ‘woes’.  However, there is plenty of evidence from other prophets that ‘woes’ were grouped together in ‘whole’ numbers (see Amos 5:18f and 6:1f.), either three or seven.  Now if we have six of them here, where is the seventh?  Some say it occurs in Isaiah 6:5, and others in Isaiah 10:1.  We will discuss this later when we look at these texts.

Two ‘woes’ (5:8-12)

It is extraordinary how these words of Isaiah encapsulate some of the most ancient sins of humanity.  Most of human social and economic history can be focussed around ‘who owned what land; battles have been fought over it, lords have enslaved populations to work it, and kings have used it as a bargaining tool since earliest times.  In addition, people have moved from land to land in order to find fertile ground on which to grow the food they need to live; land has always been essential to human identity and wealth.  So it was that God set down His laws for the ownership of land back in the ‘Law’ (see Deuteronomy 15,19:14, 26f.), which if read together with the laws relating to Sabbath and Jubilee (Leviticus 25,27), are a radical system of land ownership which is fundamentally egalitarian.  This was the norm for God’s people; every Judean was supposed to own some land and even if it was sold, it should by law return to him or his descendants every fifty years.

It was Ahab who broke this tradition of equality in the northern kingdom of Israel when he had Naboth killed for his vineyard (1 Kings 21:1f.), but despite what happened to the northern kingdom, it appears that during the reign of Uzziah in the south, Jerusalem itself became wealthier and wealthier with a larger and larger number of rich families buying up the surrounding Judean lands (5:8) and like mediaeval lords, making the people of the land work it for them.  Because they had thrown aside the ‘law of the Lord’, God said he would abandon them, making the produce of their land worth less and less.  The measures of wine and seed mentioned in this verse are not familiar to us, but they indicate that the landlord would get less in produce than their investment in it (5:10). 

Partying and feasting have always been a delight to all people, but where individual growth grows unchecked, there are always dangers in reckless excess, whether eating, drinking, or revelry.  The picture of such excess painted by Isaiah in verses 11 and 12 are somewhat familiar to us, particularly drunkenness.  One who is drunk is in no position to appreciate the good things of God or ‘consider the work of His hands’ (5:12)!

Two ‘therefores’ (5:13-15)

As a direct consequence of these sins, Isaiah prophesied ‘my people will go into exile’ and described the cruel manner in which death reduces all people to the same level, ‘nobility’ and ‘crowds’ together (5:13), all would be ‘brought low’ (5:15).

We have already seen this warning before in the prophecies of Isaiah, but this is the first verse where Isaiah which mentions ‘exile’.  This is a loaded word, because from our perspective, we know that around 150 years after Isaiah prophesied, Judah and Jerusalem were indeed taken away into exile to Babylon.  Did Isaiah foresee this 150 years before it happened?  Some people think it rather farfetched to imagine that Isaiah could predict this and suggest that this passage must have come from a later time and perhaps another author.  However, within Isaiah’s own lifetime, he often saw the consequences of war and battle amongst the nations around him, and he certainly saw the northern kingdom of Israel invaded by Assyria (in 721BC) when many people were taken into exile (see 2 Kings 17).  As far as he was concerned, exile was the terrible consequence of the invasion of one land by another, yet by prophesying as he did, he did indeed speak of a time when this would happen to Judah and Jerusalem, and he said it would be God’s doing.

Isaiah 5:8-17 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Application

I always find it distressing to read the considerable quantity of evidence in the Old Testament of how God’s people can be unfaithful to Him.  The reason for this is because as I read passages such as this, I see echoes of how people in the church behave today, and it makes me cringe.  I believe that God is working powerfully through His own people in the churches of the world today, but there are still many people, many congregations and many theologians who talk about God or manage their general wealth and belongings as if nothing had changed since the days of the people of Judea and Jerusalem at the time of Isaiah!  And for all our joy at the presence of Christ who enables us to deal with all manner of sin and problems in the church, and the joy of proclaiming the Gospel which has been given to us, it seems as if we still battle some of the same ungodliness today.

Personally, if I were to choose a moment to preach about the ‘wrath of God’, I would not speak against the people of the world who have had little to do with the church, or do not know the Gospel or the power of Jesus.  I would speak to God’s people and warn them about the terrible consequences of presuming upon the God they claim to believe in without living the transformed lives and changed characters which are a result of the true work of the Spirit in the life of the believer.  There are too many people who think they are Christians and in practice are not; their behaviour is too like that described in this passage.  And there are also many people who think of themselves as unworthy of the Lord’s name yet who are far closer to the Kingdom, and they need to hear the Gospel and receive the Spirit.  Those of us in God’s church must read the words of the prophet Isaiah with caution, lest they refer to us!

Isaiah 5:8-17 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Discipleship

Questions (for use in groups)

1. What does this passage tell us about how God responds to human sins, such as injustice and revelry?
2. How can we apply this passage of Scripture to the world in which we live?  How can we apply this passage of Scripture to the church today?  What is the difference?
3. Discuss verse 17.  What does this verse tell us about how God responds to the sins of the world?

Topics covered by text

• Injustice and the evils of riches
• The consequences of drunkenness and revelry
• The eternal justice of God that transcends time

Personal comments by author

We often find it hard to empathise with much of the Old Testament, but you can hardly tell me that what Isaiah says here about the evils of injustice and drunkenness, for example, is not as much understandable today as it ever was.  I feel that the Old Testament confirms the notion that the sins of humanity ‘were ever thus’, and I find it hard to see the same injustices of the rich practised in our own days, and the same addictions to alcohol that create trouble for people today.  The real horror occurs when these things happen in the church.  Watch out for it, for God will judge it today at least as harshly as He has done in the past.

Ideas to explore discipleship

• Read through a newspaper and see how many articles describe problems in society that are similar to those mentioned in this passage.  If God has a plan for this world, how do you think He plans to deal with these things today?
• If you feel that any of the sins alluded to here are things that you have been involved with in the past, then talk to the Lord about them prayerfully, do not miss the chance to submit this to Him

Final Prayer

Bring us peace this day, Lord Jesus, bless us with peace, love, joy, hope, and all the good things of faith which sustain us through the ups and downs of life.  You are our helper and our guide, and You are our King, and for this, we praise Your Holy name: AMEN

Bible study for Isaiah 5:18-25

Isaiah 5:18-25 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Review

(consult Dictionaries)

In this passage, Isaiah continues to cry in anguish at the peril of Israel.  This is the second part of a poem that began in yesterday’s reading (5:10-17), and it is full of prophetic snippets introduced by ‘woe’ or ‘therefore’.  Here, there are four ‘woes’ and two ‘therefores’, and each ‘woe’ describes some sin of Israel that rejects God, and each ‘therefore’ describes an aspect of God’s judgement firstly on the land (5:24) and secondly on the people (5:25).

The four ‘woes’ describe a generation of God’s people that has known about God in the past or been brought up knowing God, but decided it knows better, and to this extent, they could be applied to people even today.  As a whole, the woes seem to describe a superior attitude towards God, something that is typical of our own world, where people feel that they have grown out of dependence upon God, and by the ‘miracles’ of science and technology, are able to provide sufficiently for themselves while they live.  The fact that this scripture was written in the eight century BC suggests that these sins are indeed sins of humanity in general.

Verses 18 and 19 speak of deceit, but it is hard to know exactly what is meant by the phrase ‘who tug at guilt with cords of deceit’ (5:18), and verse 19 explains this for us.  God’s people initially believed that their God would always help them, but as the years went by, they began to feel that God was distant and remote, and they failed to see the evidence of God at work, they said ‘let God hurry, let Him speed up His work ...’.  The message of doubt, however, was deceitful because it misunderstood the nature of God’s work, which as Isaiah said, was very much at hand.

The next woe (5:20) speaks about the classic failure of those who misinterpret God’s words and deeds, and get them mixed up, light for darkness and darkness for light; this is a sin that even Jesus spoke against when the Pharisees began to say that Jesus was ‘Beelzebub’ (Matt 12:24f.).  It is also reflected in the ‘woe’ found in verse 21, which speaks about those who have misunderstood the nature of knowledge and become ‘wise in their own eyes’.  The last ‘woe’ is more practical, addressing the well known sins of drunkenness and bribery, and we can recognise their danger to society, and assume that Isaiah mentioned them because they were particularly prevalent in his day within Jerusalem.

Such sins do not go unpunished amongst God’s people, whatever the consequences for those who do not know God.  Verse 24 describes the consequences for God’s people, and in a summary few lines of Hebrew poetry, Isaiah says that the results of human sin are that the land will suffer.  This is a constant theme within Isaiah, and although we will only notice it occasionally, it is dramatically turned around in Isaiah’s later famous work, such as the great poem of God’s re-creation, found in Isaiah 35; ‘the desert and the parched land will be glad, the wilderness will rejoice and bloom ...’ (35:1f.).

Lastly, the Lord’s just wrath will come against His people, against those who have rejected all He has done and the evidence of His presence with them.  Like one who has been unjustly treated and rejected, the Lord’s ‘wrath’ or ‘anger’ (5:25) will cause Him to ‘stretch out His hand and strike them’.  The  language of mountains shaking and bodies being strewn around sounds like ‘earthquake’ to us, but for ancient people, this was a description of war.  Isaiah warns, for those who sin, God’s hand is ‘stretched out still’.  It is an ominous warning.

We may struggle to read some passages in the Old Testament, but there are surely enough connection here with the world in which we live for us to identify some of its warnings, whether against people in general or His people, the church.  It may be difficult for Christians to hear, but this funereal song is sung for those who walk away from the Lord of any generation.  It is a serious problem in our day.

Isaiah 5:18-25 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Going Deeper

(consult Dictionaries)

Four ‘woes’ (5:18-23)

The four ‘woes’ in these verses are acutely descriptive of a generation which has known about God in the past or been brought up knowing God, but has decided it knows better.  To that extent it could be said to be similar to today!  As a whole, the woes seem to describe a rather superior attitude towards God, just as we often find in the world today!

The deceit mentioned by Isaiah in verse 18 is that of people who say God doesn’t matter and neither does what you do!  With such values propounded within society, people often feel guilty because they know inwardly that certain things are wrong, but society does not allow them to deal with that guilt.  It is common for people in such a setting to say ‘all’s fine, don’t worry, you’re not a sinner, and forget God.’  It is not easy to work out exactly what is meant by ‘tug at guilt with cords of deceit’ (5:18), but this is close!

The passage continues with all manner of ungodly attitudes exampled by Isaiah. The arrogance which calls on God to prove himself by showing what he can do (5:19) reminds us of the Pharisees who asked Jesus for a sign (Matt 12:38,39), baiting the Lord to see what he will do!  This kind of attitude comes from those who have confused evil and good, darkness and light, bitter and sweet (5:20), and those who are ‘wise in their own eyes’ (5:21).  Also, like many evils in society such attitudes can be fuelled by alcohol (5:22) and although they appear clever, are often accompanied by corrupt behaviour (5:23).  Isaiah is colourful in his language as he identifies these details, but it is fascinating to read a passage of scripture from eight hundred years before Christ which speaks of human behaviour with such extraordinary detail and insight, such that we can recognise all these things today.  For that, these prophecies are valuable.

Two ‘therefores’ (5:24,25)

Because of all this godlessness amongst His own people, ‘the anger of the Lord burned against His people’ (5:25).  Why should we doubt that this is an appropriate response from God?  His anger is because He loves those who have rejected Him, and as God, He cannot just disregard such rebellion or let it go unchallenged.  The people who behave in this way are supposed to be a ‘light to the world’ (42:6, 49:6) but they have changed direction completely to become an example to God of the excesses of the world, rather than an example to the world of the Covenant love of their God.

These last two verses describe God’s ‘wrath’ as like a hot wind which burns the land and whips up fires in parched scrublands (5:24).  Isaiah is, I believe, shocked at what he sees going on around Him.  He sees God’s hand stretched out towards His people; not ‘for’ them, as when Moses stretched out His hand over the Sea and the people walked through on dry land, but ‘against’ them.  He saw no end to this judgement; ‘His hand is stretched out still’ (5:25), but this prophecy came before Isaiah had his famous experience in the Temple, and his life was changed forever by the commission he received from the Lord (Isaiah 6).

Isaiah 5:18-25 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Application

So it is entirely clear that God’s wrath is applied to those of His people who decide to live according to their own ways and not those of the God they claim to worship.  We began to agonise over this issue yesterday, but today we must take this further.  It seems that we must conclude that if God’s people will not respond to Him as their true Lord and God, then they come under judgement, just as the dry wind blew across Israel in our text today (5:24).  We live at a time when humanity as a whole is confident of its own abilities, and this attitude affects the church as well (see 5:21).  The church is full of schemes and programmes, and one can hardly pass a week without hearing from one or other Christian organisation about some scheme that it believes will have a fundamental impact on the life of the church in this or some other country.  Certainly in England, the impression is given that the only way people think they can deal with the diminishing size of the church is to have schemes and plans to deal with it.  All of these have been thought out and prayed over by many people, and yet the evidence is that for the great effort that is put into them, most achieve very little in terms of the global picture of mission or the life of the church.

When will God’s people today search to find out why they are under judgement, and when they have found the answers, seek to address the reasons why they are unable to reflect the love of God in our world.  Just as in Isaiah’s day, God’s people get on with life as if they can live as they please, and assume that they are covered by God’s protection and love when they have often placed themselves far outside it.  By refusing to believe that they have an inherent problem with their relationship with the Lord, and that their God is calling them to repent and turn again to Him, they delude themselves about the life of the church.  At present, I see no end to the circumstances of decline within the churches of the UK because they show no signs of collective repentance for their self-evident sins of ignorance about God and His moral values, inability to stand with other believers for the sake of the Gospel, and profound insularity in their practice of the faith.  In writing this, I am only touching at the surface of the problem.  However, this passage of Scripture begs us to seek God’s perspective on our struggling spiritual life as God’s people and accept the hot wind of His judgement, so that we can return to the place where we witness effectively to our Saviour, once again.

Isaiah 5:18-25 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Discipleship

Questions (for use in groups)

1. What sins, mentioned in this passage, remind us of sins committed today, and how many of them are prevalent amongst God’s people?
2. In your group, give each other examples of people who are ‘wise in their own eyes’ an unable to see the things of God.
3. Does the Lord punish His people today, and if so, how?  Do these prophecies hold for people today, or are they somehow fulfilled in Christ?

Topics covered by this text

• The sins of godlessness and rejection of God
• The response of God to rejection

Personal comments by author

The Bible seems to go on and on about sin.  However, when we complain about this, it sounds as if we are becoming complacent about it.  Unfortunately, the evidence is there to say that we forget it too easily, and this is the tragedy of the history of God’s people in the Old Testament, who, despite all the prophetic messages, continued to reject their own God.  I have come to the conclusion that one of the real difficulties within the Christian church today is the lack of understand of sin, and this is caused by a lack of reading the Bible, which tells us so much about it.

Ideas for exploring discipleship

• Can you imagine what would happen if a preacher were to speak like this in church today?  Try to work out for yourself whether you believe that there are sins that persist amongst the body of Christ, which mean that God’s will is not done, and that true faith has been rejected.
• Pray with others about the sins of God’s people, and make sure that you include yourself in such prayers.

Final Prayer

Bless those we love this day, Lord Jesus.  Keep them in Your care and protect them from all evil.  If there are problems between us, may we be humble enough to confess our sin and let you heal us.  May we give You the glory, for in our families, You have given us each other.  Praise be to You, Lord Jesus, AMEN

Bible study for Isaiah 5:26-30

Isaiah 5:26-30 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Review

(consult Dictionaries)

Read on its own, this passage is profoundly disturbing; Isaiah clearly prophesies that God is calling up a nation who will invade Judah and Jerusalem as a consequence of their sins and rejection of their God.  Is this God’s Word?  Can it be that a God of love will sanction war against His own?  What purpose can this terror serve?  These are important questions, but by examining even these terrible words, we will find important spiritual pointers to the way God deals with His people.  This is because we have not arrived at this prophecy by accident.  You will know that the passage that comes next is the famous story of Isaiah’s ‘call’ (chapter 6), and it would be tempting to read past this passage in order to glory in this important text.  However, this short dramatic passage stands in our way, and the shocking description of God calling out a nation to fight against His own arrogant and self centred people is intentional, and important.

The writing in this poetry shows evidence of a high degree of rhetorical skill and drama, so much so that as we read it, we can almost see an army coming towards Jerusalem.  The prophecy declares that God has set in motion something that cannot be stopped; His judgement has been delayed, but now it comes swiftly and will not stop (5:26).  He has summoned an army ready for war, the soldiers are fully prepared (2:27), their weapons are primed (2:28), and their victory seems certain, just as a lion closes in on its prey and moves in for the kill (2:29).  The lion is victorious and ‘roars’ over its kill (2:30), and this is a sign of the coming victory of the invading army.

Now, if we try and work out what historical event Isaiah was actually describing in this prophecy, then we will find ourselves in difficulty.  Many scholars have attempted to do this and found themselves involved in ever more complex theories.  I suggest we think of this as a terrifying vision, like a nightmare of God’s judgement; the kind of vision that would have frightened Isaiah by its power and clarity.  The people of Isaiah’s day simply did not believe that God would let such a thing happen; so he must surely have had a vision for he would not otherwise have entertained the idea that God would destroy His own people, the capital and the Temple in this way.

The vision is shattering, and it brings to a climax the profoundly disturbing condemnation of God’s people found in the early chapters of Isaiah.  We have already seen that Isaiah is convinced God will come in judgement on His people, but He has also prophesied that God would find a way to save His people.  Taken as a whole, the first five chapters of Isaiah present this fundamental conundrum.  God will destroy His people because of sin, but He still loves them and will save them.  Isaiah’s prophecies have no answers as yet about how this can possibly happen, but this is the situation, and the means of God’s judgement is at hand; this is the force of the prophecy here.  Isaiah is not the only person who has been bemused by an apparently irresolvable puzzle, but still believes it must be solvable at some time in the future!

In the coming chapters we will see the beginning of God’s solution and the revelation of His saving plan, and from time to time we will have to refer back to Isaiah 1-5 in order to make sense of what we read.  So what does this short and disturbing passage of scripture mean?  It refers to something we have already read about but has so far gone unnoticed, but is now thrown to the forefront of Isaiah’s prophecies and will become a major theme of his prophecies.  This passage declares God’s intent to judge His people for their sins by using the force of foreign nations; yes, He was committed to using pagans to teach His people the truth of their predicament!  As the rest of Isaiah unfolds, we will find much more about this, and surprisingly, it crops up as an unexpected theme in the call of Isaiah, as we will see in coming days.

Isaiah 5:26-30 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Going Deeper

(consult Dictionaries)

There is some more we must consider about the scandal of God’s judgement, but the details of the passage have few spiritual ‘highlights’ for us to discuss!  Nevertheless, in the rest of the study, we will also examine the overall structure of this part of Isaiah, because the prophecies in Isaiah 5 link with others which come later, and we need to know why this is so in order to get a broad understanding of Isaiah’s prophecies.

God’s use of foreign powers in judgement

It is not easy for us to appreciate the degree of scandal attached to the idea that God would use foreign powers to do His work in the world, for this was completely contrary to the way that Judean people thought about God.  Clearly, this is what is happening in our passage, as God ‘whistles up’ (5:26) a nation ‘from the ends of the earth’ to bring judgement on His people for their sins.  The idea has been there all the way through Isaiah’s prophecies about judgement on Israel, but here it is placed before us very starkly.  Surely, a Judean might say, God made His own people so that He could use them to do His will in the world.  Before the time of Isaiah, there is little reference in scripture to the notion that God is involved with the affairs of nations throughout the world and can use them according to his purpose, an idea with which we are more familiar today, so this is an important part of Isaiah’s prophecy.

However, God’s people had become completely insular, and had forgotten the basic nature of their God who was Creator of all and Lord of all the earth.  Although God chose His people and had a special role for them in His plans, He was still able and willing to use nations according to His will.  Since the events of the Exodus through which God acted to create a nation out of His people under the leadership of Moses, the story of scripture has largely been about Israel and Judah alone.  The prophecy of Isaiah heralds a new phase of God’s work and revelation, in which the story of salvation involves other nations; for example, Jonah was sent to Nineveh in Assyria to preach (Jonah 1f.); the Babylonian captives (led by Daniel?) kept the faith during a time of exile and persecution for God’s people, rather than the people left in Jerusalem (see the books of 2 Chronicles, Jeremiah, Ezra and Nehemiah); and the story of Esther (which takes place in Persia) tells of God’s power to protect His people in a world far broader  than the ‘Promised Land’.

You may feel that all this is stretching a point here because of what otherwise may be a difficult passage!  It is indeed a passage for which there is little to say about its details, but what it reveals is important and powerful, and it was placed here for a reason.  All this is important for our understanding of what is to come, and this will be proved only by following these studies in coming days.

The placing of this prophecy

Many people who have studied Isaiah over the centuries have commented that they think the passages of Isaiah we read yesterday and today are ‘out of place’.  By this, they mean that yesterday’s passage which contains 6 ‘woes’ should be linked to Isaiah 10:1-4a, which is a prophetic ‘woe’ which seems to follow on well from the other six.  Why would anyone make a connection between these two passages when Isaiah gives many prophecies with the word ‘woe’ in them (17:12, 18:1, 28:1 etc.)?  The reason is partly because the passage we have read today appears also to be connected with Isaiah 9:8-17.  If you read this passage you will find that it easily follows on from our passage today, giving a further explanation of why God judged His people as He did.  It would in fact help the point I have tried to make above about God using other nations to discipline His people (see 9:11,12)!

We like to think of the prophecies written down in scripture as being chronological in order, but there is plenty of evidence that this was not always so, and the prophecies of some of the great prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah are arranged thematically rather than in a time sequence.  Why then would Isaiah or the people responsible for copying down his work ‘split’ such prophecies in this way?  It is possible that they would have done so (remember, perhaps Isaiah did it himself), in order to emphasise the prophecies contained within each section.  There are many prophecies in the Old Testament which are presented like this (e.g. Amos 5:1-17 and others) in which similar prophecies are grouped around a central prophecy of significance.

If we follow this line of argument, then the conclusion must be that Isaiah chapters 6 to 8 must have special significance because they are ‘contained’ within this pair of ‘split’ prophecies!  We could be right, for as we will find out, Isaiah 6-8 is of the greatest importance to our understanding not just of Isaiah and his work, but of God’s plan of salvation for the whole world.

Personally, I reckon that there are good reasons for thinking the prophecies are split in this way, but they could also have been received by Isaiah in the order we have them.  I am not of the opinion that the argument I have described to you is conclusive.  However, I am convinced of the importance of Isaiah 6-8, which we will study in some detail in the coming days.  But in order to understand it, we will find it necessary to have the firm message in our minds that God is prepared to use other nations in order to discipline His people.  Of that, there is no doubt.

Isaiah 5:26-30 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Application

It is not easy to read a passage of scripture which describes war, and overcome one’s natural revulsion at the thought that God is using this means to discipline His people in order to find out some ‘message’.  However, this goes right to the heart of our understanding of God’s Word.  Scripture is sacred to us because we believe that God has worked through people to give us these words as His Word, and therefore all of it is important whether we like it or not, and whether we understand it or not.  For this reason, it is very important that we are prepared to read such passages and come to terms with them.  Certainly, I believe that a passage such as this was appalling to Isaiah when he received it, and it is appalling to us now.  But if Isaiah and his disciples (which we will come across later in the book) decided it was important to include in the written book of his prophecies, then there must be something in it for us to discover.

It is important that God’s people remember even now that God does use people and nations who do not bear His name to discipline His people.  It does not sound very pleasant when put like that, but the principle still stands.  If God’s people sin and do not do what is right, then God will judge them.  For example, if a group of people in a church sin by deceiving the congregation about the use of money or the management of the church property, perhaps by allowing a building to fall into disrepair so that it cannot be said to give glory to God, then there are consequences.  People who have used money inappropriately or illegally can be prosecuted (and there are quite a few instances of this which I have heard about in England), and if property is not maintained then there comes a point when it may not meet legal requirements; and a church may be forced to close.  In both cases, God has to use the secular nation in which the church is set to discipline His own people for their wrongdoing.

This example avoids the issue of war and destruction, but it remains an important issue for us.  God is far bigger than we think, and He is able to us whatever He will within His creation for His purposes.

Isaiah 5:26-30 (get text)   Study links:  / Review / Going Deeper / Application / Discipleship /

Discipleship

Questions (for use in groups)

1. Discuss in your group whether you think this text has any value.  Would you think a preacher could preach from it?
2. Does God use ungodly people and nations, even ‘non-believers’, to do His will, especially to discipline His people when they refuse to do His will?
3. How can scripture say that God has anything to do with war?

Topics covered by this text

• The universal authority of God in the world
• The consequences of sin amongst the people of God

Personal comments by author

You may not have thought that this passage was significant; but I hope I have convinced you otherwise.  God still uses worldly forces to judge His people, and this can be dreadful when it happens.  As I look at the church today, riven as it is with sin and division, I see churches closed by state authorities because they have misappropriated money, or acted illegally in their management of property, for example.  I have also seen churches destroyed by newspaper coverage of the sins of individual church members or leaders.  Be very careful, in all this, God uses worldly forces to judge His people.

Ideas for exploring discipleship

• In what ways does the Lord teach you lessons through the natural world or through other non-Christians or ‘unsaved’ people?  Would you naturally look there to find evidence of God at work?
• Pray about some of the issues raised in this text, because as soon as we try to put Isaiah’s prophecies into a modern context, they raise profoundly important issues.

Final Prayer

Almighty God; I give You my all in the journey of my life, so take the little I have to offer and use me.  Change me into the person You would have me be, make me ever vigilant of sin, and give me hope as I catch sight of Your glory.  Thank You, Almighty God.  AMEN