Have you ever noticed how easy it is to diagnose faults and correct the problems of others from a distance? It’s easy to know what’s wrong with that person’s child and how we would solve it or to note how silly that person’s decision was and how we obviously would have made a better decision. And perhaps we see these things so clearly while we struggle to raise our own children and are more than a little confused about the decisions that we face. Nonetheless, it is a reality; we can often see faults or foolishness more clearly when we’re looking at them in someone’s life besides our own.
I think that reality actually works in our favor when we come to books like Isaiah, wherein the Lord reveals the sin and shows the folly of Israel’s decisions again and again. It’s not hard for us to understand just how foolish it is, for example, for King Ahaz to want to work a deal with Assyria instead of relying on the Creator of the universe when the Lord tells him, “I’ll take care of Israel and Syria, so you don’t have to start paying tribute to Assyria; just trust me.” The hope, of course, is that we’ll see that truth so clearly and then begin to say to ourselves, “You know, it may be that I’m not trusting the Lord as I’m hoarding my money and refusing to give it away to the work of his kingdom.” I think that’s, in large measure, how the book of Isaiah can help us. And I think that’s how these chapters (28-35) can help us in particular.
As we turn to these chapters, let me remind you again about some basics of this book of Isaiah that we’re studying. After all, one of the benefits of looking at a biblical book in large sections as we’ve been doing is that we can see more clearly the message of the book, how it fits together, etc. Therefore, I want to keep the big picture of the book in front of us. The prophet Isaiah wrote this book that bears his name. He was a prophet from 740 BC till at least 700 BC, but it seems even into the 600s. He was called of God to be a prophet (as we saw in chapter 6) when he had a vision of the Lord seated on a throne and the Lord instructed him to preach to Judah to repent and turn to him, warning Isaiah in the process that the people would not listen to him, would not repent, and would have to face judgment that would ultimately happen in 587-586 BC when Babylon destroyed Jerusalem.
So Isaiah is called to be a prophet to a people who are quite rebellious and sinful. They have been blessed by the Lord in so many ways: delivered from Egypt, brought into the promised land, provided for in rich abundance, and yet they’re worshiping false gods, abusing the poor, perverting justice, and the like. And perhaps most at fault have been their kings, who should have been a model of godliness. Instead, they, like Ahaz don’t want to trust in and obey the Lord. Rather, they prefer to try to protect themselves from enemy threats by entering into alliances with other nations that will prove futile.
The reason, of course, that they’re entering into such alliances is because Judah is always seemingly under threat. They’re surrounded by nations on every side who pose great possible threat and one, in Babylon, which will bring about their ultimate destruction. Yet, and this is the main emphasis in the book, the Lord calls them simply to trust in him. Trust the Lord, obey him, and watch him take care of their enemies. That’s what Isaiah continues to echo in his prophecies to the people. We saw in chapters 1-12 that Isaiah clearly outlined Judah’s sin before the majestic of holy God, warned of severe judgment to come if they didn’t repent, and then told them of a glorious future and glorious King that the Lord would bring as a glorious blessing to those who trusted in him. Then, in chapters 13-27, Isaiah gave them more reason to trust the Lord instead of making alliances with men by noting that the Lord is sovereign over these surrounding nations, will judge each one of them, and will judge them because he is intent on bringing salvation to all who will trust in him.
At this point, you’d think that they’d have more than enough reason to trust in the Lord, seeing the futility of putting their hopes in other nations. Yet, by the end of chapter 27 we’re not even halfway through this book that is full of these prophetic calls to repent and trust in the Lord. So, as you read, the pleas to trust in the Lord continue, as we’ll see in chapters 28-35.
Now, usually with a lengthy sermon text, I think it’s helpful to walk through sections of the text and explain what’s going on, but it’s a bit easier done if the text is a narrative, so that you can explain the development of the story. With Isaiah, it’s a collection of prophetic declarations, and it’s therefore a bit harder to give a good overview of the content. However, let me try to give a few notes that might help us know the content of these chapters broadly. First of all, the chapters are divided into six sections, where each section begins with a Hebrew word that is translated “Ah” most of the time. We see this in 28:1; 29:1; 29:15; 30:1; 31:1 (here it’s translated “woe,” but it’s the same Hebrew word); and 33:1.
Generally speaking, then, in chapter 28 the Lord announces to the northern kingdom of Israel that they’re going to be destroyed by the Assyrians. They’ve refused to listen to and obey his Word, and now they’ll face judgment. Sure enough, they do face judgment as Israel is destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 BC. In chapter 29, the Lord announces an event that will face Jerusalem in 701 BC. Assyria will lay siege to them, and the Lord will deliver his people in a miraculous way, but not before Judah has suffered much. Chapter 30, then, is a rebuke to Judah for seeking alliance with Egypt. Instead of trusting in the Lord, they’ve turned to paying tribute to Egypt instead. Chapter 31 is then an denouncement of those who trust in Egypt instead of the Lord, followed by chapter 32 which reiterates the promise of the Lord bringing his king to reign. Finally, chapters 33-35 we see salvation in the form of a promise that the Lord will judge the enemies of his people and preserve a remnant (i.e. those who have faith in him). So, what then do these chapters teach us? I think they teach us simple lessons on why we must be a people who trust in and obey the Lord whatever the cost. The first of these simple lessons is this:
We see this throughout the book of Isaiah, but we see it especially clearly in these chapters. After announcing the coming judgment upon Israel in chapter 28 by the Assyrians, the Lord speaks in chapter 29 of the coming judgment on Jerusalem that will come through the siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians in 701 BC. In 701 BC the Assyrians laid siege to Jerusalem in hopes of ultimately conquering the city.
But Isaiah wants to make it quite clear that when the Assyrians would come up against them, they would merely be representatives of the Lord’s judgment. He declares in 29:1-3, utilizing the term “Ariel” as a name for Jerusalem, “Ah, Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! Add year to year; let the feasts run their round. Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be moaning and lamentation, and she shall be to me like an Ariel [probably a play on altar meaning that Jerusalem will be consumed like a sacrifice]. And I will encamp against you all around and will besiege you with towers and I will raise siegeworks against you.” God was going to judge his people.
Now, keep in mind that the Lord’s purpose of bringing this judgment against his people was so that they might turn to him. But what do they do? They turn to form an alliance with Egypt. I mean, imagine that? They are rather turning to their enemies than to the Lord.
The Lord is aware of this and notes that it’s not his plan, declaring in 30:1-2, “’Ah, stubborn children,’ declares the LORD, ‘who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for my direction, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!’” But the Lord declares that Egypt’s help will be worthless (30:7). It will come to nothing simply because it’s not the Lord’s plan.
Thus the Lord ultimately notes, “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the LORD! . . . The Egyptians are man, and not God, and their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD stretches out his hand, the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall, and they will all perish together” (31:1, 3).
Now, you can see and hear and feel the reality of this situation, can’t you? Judah is being told to trust in the Lord, but Assyria is breathing down their neck. Judah is being told to trust in the Lord, but there are the Egyptians, supposedly willing to help them if they’ll pay tribute to them. You can see why it would seem wise in their eyes to disobey the Lord and turn to the Egyptians. But it will come to nothing and will result in their harm because it is never good or helpful to try to be wiser than God.
And though that sounds so obvious, this is what we do when we sin, don’t we? When we are tempted to not be generous in giving our money to the work of the Lord, we’re walking through this same thought process that Judah walked through in relation to the Egyptians. We’re saying, “Well, I know that the Lord says we should give and give (or sow) bountifully. But I know I’ll have some needs going forward that will require money, so I’ll give sparingly.” When we’re tempted to marry an unbeliever, or pursue sexual immorality, or gossip, or not to pray, we’re doing those same sinful calculations, aren’t we? I know I should pray, but it seems that it’d be more productive for me to (fill in the blank). That’s how sin always works, with an attempt by us to be wiser than God.
Now, maybe that’s where you are right now. You’re not wanting to let go of some sin you’re pursuing or some element of obedience you’re neglecting, and though you know it’s not right, it just seems to make so much sense or like it’ll result in such little harm. If that’s the case, just put yourself in the shoes of those Israelites thinking that turning to Egypt instead of trusting in the Lord was the wisest move because that’s the very thing you’re doing, brother or sister. One simple starting point for seeing why we should trust and obey the Lord instead of running after sin is because trying to be wiser than God will never prove to be good or helpful.
But it’s not just that sin will result in our detriment and hurt that we must avoid sin and trust and obey the Lord whatever the cost. It’s also because we know the Lord’s goodness. In fact, in this text it’s hard to miss that:
This element is the most shocking and astounding element in this text. When I set out to study this text in detail this week and get ready to preach it, I first made copies of the biblical text (all eight chapters) and laid them on the desk in front of me. And I started reading it, labeling each section with a heading for what was taking place in each section. Ideally for preaching, each chapter might lend itself to an easy heading. I’d be okay if half the chapter dealt with one topic and the other half the something else. That’d still be easy to label. That’s not how these eight chapters work.
If you read it before today, I trust you saw it as well. The text bounces back so frequently between judgment and salvation that it’s hard to label anything. Just when you think the Lord is really giving it to this sinful and rebellious people, you realize he’s quickly turned to promising them salvation. Let me show you some examples.
In 28:22, the Lord is speaking about Jerusalem for making this deal with Egypt. As we noted earlier, it was an unwise and foolish decision. The Lord compares it to making a covenant with death, and tells them it will come to nothing. Then we read in 28:22, “Now therefore do not scoff, lest your bonds be made strong; for I have heard a decree of destruction from the Lord GOD of hosts against the whole land.” The Lord is bringing judgment. Then, starting in verse 23 we have these questions about how a farmer works. What is the Lord saying here? It’s right after this decree of destruction. Well, we find the answer in verses 28-29, “Does one crush grain for bread? No, he does not thresh it forever; when he drives his cart wheel over it with his horses, he does not crush it. This also comes from the LORD of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.” That is, the Lord is saying that though he is threshing his people, he wants them to know up front that he will not crush them.
Again, chapter 29 starts with news of Assyria coming to lay siege to Jerusalem, and as we’ve already noted, the Lord says that this is his judgment, the work of his hands. In 29:4, the Lord begins to describe what this judgment will be like. He says, “And you will be brought low; from the earth you shall speak, and from the dust your speech will be bowed down; your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a ghost, and from the dust your speech shall whisper.” I read this early in the week and made a note that chapter 29 is about the judgment of Judah by the hands of the Assyrians.
And since the Lord hasn’t unleashed a long tirade about Jerusalem specifically in this section, you may have read it thinking, “Man, he’s about to give it to them. Let’s see how he ratchets this up as we go on after verse 4.” Here’s what we find next, starting in 29:5, “But the multitude of your foreign foes shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the ruthless like passing chaff. And in an instant, suddenly, you will be visited by the LORD of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and with great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire. And the multitude of all the nations that fought against Ariel, all that fight against her and her stronghold and distress her, shall be like a dream, a vision of the night. As when a hungry man dreams, and behold, he is eating and awakes with his hunger not satisfied, or as when a thirsty man dreams, and behold, he is drinking and awakes faint, with his thirst not quenched, so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion” (29:5-8).
It’s as if God is so quick to want them to know his tender heart toward them that he can hardly speak of judgment toward his people without bursting into his desire to bless them, forgive them, and be merciful toward them.
In our attempt to be wiser than God, perhaps we want to stop and give God some advice here, don’t we? We want to say, “No, Lord, don’t quickly tell them about your heart for them, your desire to forgive them, and your willingness to accept them. Lay into them. They’ll never learn otherwise. It feels like a parent who tells his child that the child will get a spanking for disobeying and then at the last minute tells him, I’m going to get this paddle, bring it right next to your bottom, and then pull it away. It’ll be like you were only dreaming that you were about to get a spanking. What do we tell that parent? They’ll never learn!
And it continues. I could show example after example of this pattern, but let me just show you one more. In 30:15-17, the Lord in speaking to them about how Egypt won’t prove to be helpful and they’ll be judged as they run from the Assyrians. He starts by noting that he was willing to save them but they decided to turn to Egypt’s horses. We’ll pick up at the very last line of verse 15 in our reading: “But you were unwilling [to trust in the Lord], and you said, ‘No! We will flee upon horses;’ therefore you shall flee away; and, ‘We will ride upon swift steeds;’ therefore your pursuers shall be swift. A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill.”
“Alright,” we might say, “now we can label a chapter about judgment. He’s getting ready to pour into them.” The next verse? “Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hearts it, he answers you. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher” (30:18-20), who will instruct them in righteousness, and they’ll obey.
Once more, why does a chapter that begins as 31 does, “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses” all the sudden include a line as it does in verse 5, “Like birds hovering, so the LORD of hosts will protect Jerusalem; he will protect and deliver it; he will spare and rescue it”?
Here, I think, is the answer. It’s because the Lord’s chief end isn’t to describe his judgment, though he does that. His chief goal isn’t that the people might sit in terror and be helpless. His chief end is to have his people repent and turn to him. Look at what follows 31:5 in 31:6-7, “Turn to him from whom people have deeply revolted, O children of Israel. For in that day everyone shall cast away his idols of sliver and his idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you.” Even in talking about judgment, look at how gently and graciously and mercifully the Lord speaks to his children.
So, I want to say to us this morning, if you’re felt the disciplining hand of the Lord because you’re walking in sin, turn away from sin and turn to him. The goal of his disciplining hand isn’t to crush you but to lead you to repentance. He wants you to know his heart is to happily receive and forgive. The Lord is so good and loving for his people, and he only wants good for us. So, why would we choose to rebel against one whose heart is to do us good? Why would we not turn to one who says things like, “I’m waiting to be gracious to you”? Don’t continue in sin, trying to be wiser than God, when the Lord will be gracious to you if you turn to him.
But let me end with one more note as an encouragement to repent, trust, and obey.
In chapters 32-35 there is a going back and forth on announcing coming glory and coming judgment. In chapter 32, we get another picture of what coming glory will be like. The Lord will bring a king to reign over his people in perfect righteousness. We read, for example, in verse 1, “Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice.” We know this king to be the Lord Jesus Christ. In chapter 33, we read of this king overlooking a day when his people will dwell in a glorious city with their king, be made righteous, forgiven of their sin, and free from even sickness, so we read in 33:24, “And no inhabitant will say, ‘I am sick;’ the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.” This is glory.
But we also see judgment. In chapter 34 we read of the Lord’s judgment against all who have not trusted in him. We read in 34:2-3, “For the LORD is enraged against all the nations, and furious against all their host; he has devoted them to destruction, has given them over for slaughter. Their slain shall be cast out, and the stench of their corpses shall rise; the mountains shall flow with their blood.”
So, I think the picture is becoming clear. When God the Son took on flesh and lived a perfect life, died for our sins, and rose from the dead, he did that to bring salvation to anyone who would believe in him. If we’re trusting in him today for salvation, that’s us. He’s the King Isaiah is prophesying about. After his resurrection from the dead, then, he ascended back into heaven where he reigns from heaven at the Father’s right hand.
Yet, he’s coming back. One day the Lord is coming back, and he’s not coming back in the same way he came the first time. He came the first time merely to save. He’s coming back the second time to bring final salvation to his people and to bring terrible judgment to his enemies. We see all of this together in chapter 35. The chapter begins with the picture of a glorious new creation that will be present at the Lord’s return. Then, Isaiah says in verses 3-4, “Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, ‘Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”
Do you see that? He’s coming to save us, with vengeance. That is, the salvation of God’s people will also mean the judgment of his enemies. The Lord fulfilled part of this as he came and began to heal the blind, deaf, and lame in accord with Isaiah 35:5-6. But he’s not done. This final day will happen. So, I want to end with some exhortations to different groups.
First, if you’re laboring to walk in righteousness, and it’s hard. You’re fighting against temptation, but you’re growing weak. Let me use the words of Isaiah, “Be strong; fear not!” Hold on; he is coming. Make your weak hands and feeble knees strong by remembering that salvation is coming. Persevere.
To those who are convicted of sin this morning, and want to turn but wonder how the Lord will respond to you. Hear this: he waits to be gracious to you. His heart is toward you. He doesn’t want to hold you at a distant. He only disciplines so that you might repent. So repent and know he forgives and receives you joyfully.
To those who are wrestling and not sure they want to let go of sin. First, why would you not let go of sin and turn to, trust, and obey a God who is so good, so willing to forgive, and so willing to lavish his merciful love on you? And, second, if you don’t turn, you may be showing yourself to be one who will face the Lord in his vengeance, and you don’t want to face the Lord in his vengeance. So, repent and turn to the glorious and gracious Lord.
And, finally, to those who don’t know Christ, the good news that sounds too good to be true and yet is true is that though you’ve only merited God’s wrath and judgment on that day of coming vengeance, you can be saved by repenting and placing your faith in the one who lived, died, and was raised for all who would trust in him – Jesus Christ. Please don’t die in your sins and face eternal wrath. Come to the one whose heart is to do good to all who trust in him.
So, if our hearts are trusting in the one who is glorious and good and we’ve professed that in baptism, let us give thanks and rejoice in the Lord, expressing our desire not to walk in our own wisdom but in obedience to his. Amen.