In Mark 6:4 Jesus noted that a prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household. That is, we have a tendency to disparage things that we’re familiar with because we know them. As the saying goes, “Familiarity breeds contempt.”
As a church, we’re not immune to this reality. We are perhaps always in danger of thinking less of things that we should not think less of simply because they’re becoming familiar to us. We talk a lot, for example, of God, sin, judgment, redemption, forgiveness, the new creation, and more. Each of these realities should be weighty to us, not casual or taken for granted. Yet, we all have to admit that at one time or another in our lives at least one of these realities hasn’t appeared to us with the weight that it ought. This is why it is good for us to study the book of Isaiah.
The book of Isaiah is referred to by some as the gospel of the Old Testament. And it’s perhaps no clearer why than in these first twelve chapters, where we see the holy God, a sinful people, divine judgment, salvation, and the promise of new creation. These are all crucial elements to the biblical story – to the gospel itself – and they are elements that we might not honor, consider, exalt, or glory in as much as we should. So, Isaiah should help serve as a corrective for us in that.
Isaiah was written by the prophet Isaiah, who prophesied mainly to the southern kingdom of Judah from about 740-701 B.C., and perhaps longer. He began his prophetic ministry when Uzziah died. Uzziah had been king in Judah for fifty-two years, and it was a time of relative peace. Isaiah would continue as a prophet through the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (as we read in Is. 1:1).
During the reigns of these kings, Assyria was becoming a powerful empire, and they would eventually conquer the northern kingdom of Israel and wreak much havoc in Judah, coming all the way up to Jerusalem before the Lord killed nearly 200,000 of their soldiers in one night. Therefore, the book of Isaiah largely focuses on the issue of trust. When the kingdom of Judah is under threat from neighboring foes, in whom will Judah trust? Will they turn to neighboring nations in attempts to make alliances, or will they simply trust in the Lord? Far too often the answer is that they will trust in man.
In fact, the prophecy of Isaiah comes during a time when Judah is in great rebellion against the Lord, and his prophecy ends with them largely in the same place. He preaches to a people who will not hear him nor repent, and they are eventually destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 B.C.
In these first twelve chapters of the book, then, we are introduced to Isaiah, Judah, and the prophet’s ministry. However, if you read the text, you’ll note that it’s ordered a bit differently than you’d anticipate. Isaiah’s call to be a prophet doesn’t come until chapter 6, which is a famous text that we heard read as our call to worship this morning. The reason, I think, that we have to wait five chapters before reading of Isaiah’s call to be a prophet is because by providing five chapters of Isaiah’s prophecies about the people’s sinfulness and coming divine judgment prior to reading of his call, it allows us to understand the setting into which Isaiah is called to be a prophet. He is prophesying to a people who have rebelled greatly against the Lord, which we see clearly in chapters 1-5. Then, in chapters 7-11, we see on particular episode in Judah’s history where Ahaz refuses to trust the Lord, and Isaiah prophesies of Israel and Judah’s judgment. Finally, in chapter 12, we have a vision of a forgiven, redeemed people. And this isn’t new to us. In fact, throughout these twelve chapters, we read notes of promise and salvation sprinkled within the notes of threat and judgment. As much as Isaiah’s message is that the Lord is judging his people, it is also a message that the Lord will spare a remnant, saving them and bringing them into a glorious new creation. Again, this is why so many see the pillars of the redemptive biblical story in this one book, and I want us to see that this morning in hopes that these realities which may have become commonplace in our thoughts may be seen in the greatness and magnitude which they deserve.
First, then, I want us to see in these chapters:
If anyone thinks of God as some weak, shy, sort of Santa Claus in the sky just hoping that we’ll invite him to talk to us, that person hasn’t read the book of Isaiah. Perhaps more than any other book in the Scriptures, Isaiah shows the majesty and greatness of our holy God. Right from the start, in the opening verses of the book, the Lord’s majesty and greatness is on display. He calls Judah to stand before him as if he is a judge in a courtroom, and whom does he call to be witnesses in this judgment? Nothing less than the heavens and earth, as we read, “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken” (1:2).
It is God alone who can call the heavens and earth to bear witness simply because he has spoken. But this declaration by God concerning his own greatness is no exception in these chapters. It is the Lord who tells us he is great, high, and exalted. He is regularly called throughout Isaiah, “The Holy One of Israel.” We see to begin this first section of Isaiah in 1:4 and to end it in 12:6. Along the way, he calls himself the “Mighty One of Israel” (1:24), speaks of the “splendor of his majesty” (2:10, 19, 21), declares that he “alone will be exalted” (2:11, 17), proclaims in 5:16, “But the LORD of hosts is exalted in justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness,” and finally, in chapter 6, as Isaiah sees a vision of the Lord, seated on his throne, you have a description of these magnificent beings with six wings whose voices cause the foundations of heaven itself to shake, and their task is to declare of this God, infinitely greater than them, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (6:3).
The God who created all things is not some mushy grandpa, embarrassed to speak of himself or his greatness. He is the glorious, holy, majestic God, who demands that he be exalted, worshiped, honored, and glorified above all things. The Holy God demands nothing less than absolute obedience and devotion from every one of his creatures and all of creation, for he must be exalted above all things, and he is not shy about saying it. That is our God, and Isaiah does well to remind us that this is who our God is lest we forget it or think of him with less honor and reverence than we should. And it’s only when we begin to see God as he is that this second reality comes into focus, namely,
We see the horrific nature of man’s sin through the specific sins of Israel and Judah as Isaiah prophesies of them. This is probably most easily seen just by walking through these chapters. Starting in chapter 1, we’ve already noted that the chapter begins with the Lord calling the heavens and earth to bear witness because he’s about to indict his people concerning their sin. But what I want us to see is how the Lord describes Israel’s sin as rebellion against him and as an act of forsaking and despising the Lord. He declares in 1:2b-4, “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand. Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.”
Since the Lord is saying that Israel has rebelled against him, forsaken him, and despised him, does that mean that all of their sinful actions weren’t necessarily doing wrong to a fellow man but were simply acts of sin that simply were against the Lord? No. What it means is that all sinful actions, even against our fellow man, are always rebellious acts against our Lord who is our Creator and Judge and who demands absolute obedience. Thus, even when we do wrong to our neighbor, it is our Lord before whom we bear sin and guilt.
And note specifically the sins of Israel and Judah that we see in these chapters:
Murder – “When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood” (1:15) and “How the faithful city has become a whore, she who was full of Justice! Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers” (1:21).
Bribery and injustice – “Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not bring justice to the fatherless, and the widow’s cause does not come to them” (1:23).
Consulting fortune-tellers – “For you have rejected your people, the house of Jacob, because they are full of things from the east and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with foreigners” (2:6). This will be mentioned against in 8:19.
Idolatry – “Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made” (2:8).
Stealing from and taking advantage of the poor – “It is you who have devoured the vineyard, the spoil of the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor” (3:14b-15).
Drunkenness – “Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them!” (5:11).
Calling good evil and evil good – “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (5:20). O the downfall of a people who not only commit great evil but label it good!
And each of these is repeated throughout these chapters with more that I’ve not specifically named. Ultimately the Lord says in Isaiah 5 that his people are like a vineyard where he did everything necessary for them to yield plentiful, sweet grapes, but they have brought forth wild grapes (5:1-2). They are a rebellious people who have been given every reason to obey the Lord.
Such is the case with all men, isn’t it? We’ve all been given life, breath, and numerous gifts from the Lord. Yet all have sinned against him and have rebelled and despised him. Perhaps this can be a wakeup call even from those of us who are believers this morning. Have you started to make light of some sins in your life? Are there some areas of rebellion that you’ve found acceptable? Maybe you’re engaging in sexual immorality or watching it on the television or internet. Maybe you’re drinking to the point of drunkenness. Maybe you’ve become so obsessed with superficial body image that you’re starving yourself or making yourself throw up what you’ve eaten. Maybe prayer has no place in your life and you’re just as likely to consult an unbeliever for advice as to get on your knees before the Lord and your face in his Word. And maybe you’re trying to calm down the convicting presence of the Spirit in your life by saying, “Well, everyone else does it to.” And my question is, “Couldn’t everyone in Isaiah’s day say the same?” Everyone seemingly was doing these things. But it didn’t make them less sinful or less rebellious. And it didn’t make God less likely to judge them, which brings us to our next point:
When we talk to our unbelieving neighbors, we may find ourselves becoming a bit embarrassed in noting that because God is our Creator and Judge, he will judge sinful man, but let it be known clearly that the Lord is not embarrassed about the reality that he judges sinners.
In chapter 7 we find a key moment in Judah’s history. Uzziah has died, Jotham has died, and now Ahaz is king. Assyria is a growing, dominant empire who is looking to conquer surrounding nations. So two nations in the west, just above Judah, Israel and Syria decide that they should form an alliance so that they might withstand the Assyrians when they come to attack. And their kings, Rezin king of Syria and Pekah king of Israel have been trying to persuade Ahaz king of Judah to join them. But he refuses. So, finally, Syria and Israel decide that they’ll just attack Judah for their refusal to join this alliance.
Therefore, Ahaz has to decide what he will do. One possible solution is to send word to Assyria that Judah will happily begin paying tribute to them as an empire if they’ll get Israel and Syria off their backs, but Isaiah comes to tell Ahaz that he doesn’t have to do that. He can simply trust the Lord.
Isaiah comes and tells Ahaz that he need not fear Syria and Israel (Ephraim is the capital of Israel), for they will be judged. He points out that within sixty-five years, Israel “will be broken to pieces so that it will no longer be a people” (7:8). However, Ahaz must trust the Lord and not reach out to Assyria. He must stand in faith in the Lord. Isaiah even tells Ahaz that the Lord will give him a sign to show that it is sure and instructs Ahaz to ask for a sign. Then, we read in 7:12, “But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test.’”
Now, this sounds pious, but it isn’t? And the Lord knows it. Isaiah knows it. The reason Ahaz doesn’t want to ask for a sign is because he’s already made up his mind, and he doesn’t want to trust in the Lord. He is going to reach out to Assyria for help.
And he does, and here’s the odd thing: it seems to work. Assyria is more than happy to takes Judah’s tribute and to attack the rebellious nations of Israel and Syria. In fact, Assyria conquers Syria and then conquers the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC. But the problem is that Assyria is not content there. Eventually, they decide they want to conquer Judah as well, and they do indeed ravage much of Judah with destruction, going all the way up to the walls of its capital, Jerusalem, before the Lord stops them, an event we’ll read about in Isaiah 36-39. Isaiah even prophesies that Assyria will not be content to conquer Israel but will bring devastation on Judah as well by picturing Assyria as a river that’s overflowing its banks. Isaiah declares in 8:6-8, “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over Rezin and the son of Remaliah [that is Rezin king of Syria and Pekah (son of Remaliah) king of Israel as Assyria conquers them], therefore, behold, the LORD is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.”
That is, Assyria will bring devastation to Judah, but don’t be deceived, God is the one bringing judgment. In fact, Assyria is simply a tool of the Lord. The Lord declares as much in 10:5-6, saying, “Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury! Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize and plunder, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.”
Eventually the Lord will even bring another nation to finish Judah off, when Babylon conquers them in 587 B.C. Israel and Judah have sinned, and the Lord is going to bring judgment. Even when Isaiah asks the Lord how long he is to preach to the people while they will not repent, the Lord answers in 6:11-12, “Until the cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, and the LORD removes people far away, and the forsake places are many in the midst of the land.”
Throughout these chapters, the Lord continues to say, “I’ll do this and that, but still his anger will continue.” We read the phrase “For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still” in 9:12, 17, 21, and 10:4.” When they think surely it’s over, there will only be more.
And lest we think that God’s judgment is just falling on Israel and Judah, we are reminded that all people are accountable to him and will be judged. Even the Assyrians who are the tool he’s using to bring judgment on his people will themselves be judged. After all, they’re being used of the Lord, but they don’t think of it that way (10:7). They will actually come against Judah boasting that they’re greater than Judah’s God, the one true God who is actually enabling them to conquer. But the Lord will respond in judgment. We read in 10:15-17, “Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it? As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood! Therefore the Lord GOD of hosts will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors, and under his glory a burning will be kindled, like the burning of fire. The light of Israel will become a fir, and his Holy One a flame, and it will burn and devour his thorns and briers in one day.”
And sure enough, this is precisely what happened. As Assyria mounted that siege against Jerusalem that we’ll read about in Isaiah 36-39, they brought 200,000 mighty soldiers against Jerusalem. And overnight 187,000 of them died. The history books tell us it was some plague that broke out among them. It likely was. But Isaiah prophesied of this before it happened us, telling us that it would be the judgment of the Lord.
There is coming a day when all men will stand before the Lord and be judged. These judgments by the Assyrians and Babylonians were merely types and shadows of a judgment to come. And you may be tempted to say, “Well, I don’t really believe God will judge in the end. I don’t really think there’ll be eternal punishment in hell.” But if we think that, then we must realize it’s because we’re gathering that from a false vision of God we’ve created in our minds and not from the testimony of Scripture. God is indeed a holy judge who will judge severely any who have not trusted in his Son, Jesus Christ. But there is hope for sinners like us, which brings us to our last point.
At this point, it seems impossible that there could be any hope. God is a holy and righteous judge, the people are terrible sinners, and he is going to judge his rebellious people. However, throughout these chapters, there is a constant note of hope. God will spare a remnant. He’ll bring salvation to his people. Again, we read this repeatedly.
“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (1:18).
“Zion shall be redeemed by justice, and those in her who repent, by righteousness” (1:27).
“And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning” (3:3-4).
Then, especially in chapter 12 we read: “You will say in that day: ‘I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” (12:1-2).
So, how is it that the Holy Judge will not punish these sinners but forgive them? How is it that the very one whose holy wrath is against them will be their salvation?
The answer is found in the saving work of God through Jesus Christ. You see, God’s plan was always to send his Son, God the Son, to take on flesh, come live the perfect life of obedience we couldn’t live and reign forever.
We read of the promise of his coming in Isaiah 7, 9, and 11. In chapter 7, after Ahaz refuses to ask for a sign from God of his promise, the Lord says he’ll give Ahaz one anyway. He’s going to send a righteous king, unlike Ahaz, as the virgin bears a son. We read in 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Immanuel means God with us, and Jesus, born of the virgin Mary was indeed the fulfillment of that name as he was literally God (the God-man) with us.
And though he was and is God, he would also come from the line of David and be heir to the throne as the Lord promised to bring the Savior through David’s line. We read this in chapter 9. “But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles” (9:1). The area of Galilee was conquered by Assyria and Gentiles filled the area, but when Jesus came, he was from this area, specifically a district called “Nazareth,” thus fulfilling this prophecy.
Then in 9:6-7, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.” Jesus is both mighty God and the son of David. He is the God-man.
Finally, once Judah was conquered by Babylon, it looked like the line of David, pictured as a royal tree was cut down to a stump. There would be no more Davidic king. But Isaiah tells us in 11:1, ‘There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.”
About 700 years later there would be a king, born of a virgin, from David’s line, from Nazareth of Galilee, our Savior. And he will reign over a new heavens and new earth one day, where everything is perfect, even as we read in chapter 11, where the calf and the lion, for example, are together at peace.
But that does leave one question. As nice as it is that Jesus is the King who comes and is perfectly obedient, what about our sins? How can the Holy God forgive and save rebellious sinners? I think the answer is found in Isaiah’s call in chapter 6.
In chapter 6, we kind of have a microcosm of all of these themes together. Isaiah sees the Holy God, realizes his sin, and knows he is due judgment, declaring, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (6:5).
Then we read this: “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for’” (6:6-7).
I think this points to our answer. It is not by mistake that the burning coal came from the altar because the altar is where there would be sacrifices for sin. Animals would be slain, laid on the altar, and consumed, picturing payment for Israel’s sin so that they might be forgiven. This was their atonement. However, animals were never sufficient, so this God-man, Jesus of Nazareth, son of David, virgin-born King came not only to live a perfect life but to die and pay the penalty for the sins of anyone who would trust in him, rising from the dead on the third day. So, if anyone will believe in him, they can be forgiven of their sins and declared righteous before God, able to spend eternity not under his judgment but with him in glory.
Therefore, believer, if you have lost sight of the weight of your sin until this morning and are being convicted, don’t lose sight of the glory and beauty of forgiveness through the sacrifice of Christ. Confess your sins and repent, knowing that he is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. And, unbeliever, the question before you today is the question put to Ahaz. Will you trust the Lord or trust in yourself? If you trust in the Lord, you can stand on the day of judgment and know you are forgiven. But if you do not stand in faith in Christ but only trust in yourself, you will not stand at all but will face the eternal wrath of the Holy God. Therefore, let us reason together, and today, repent, believe, and find forgiveness. And for those who already have and through baptism have confessed your faith in Christ, let us confess it again now as we come to the table. Amen.