101 lines
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101 lines
33 KiB
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<h2><a onclick="return mV('Isa',1,'1-');">Isa 1</a> - Indictment and Invitation</h2>
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<p><span>A. God states His case and offers a cure.</span></p>
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<p class="c1"><span>1. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',1,1);">1</a>) Introduction: <b><span class="c3">The vision of Isaiah, son of Amoz</span></b></span>.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, <i>and </i>Hezekiah, kings of Judah.</span></p>
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<p class="c4"><span>a. <b><span class="c3">The vision of Isaiah</span></b></span>: This is the book of the prophesies of <b><span class="c3">Isa, the son of Amoz</span></b>, who ministered from about 740 to 680 <span class="c6">b.c</span>. For about 20 years, he spoke to both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. After Israel's fall to the Assyrians in 722 <span class="c6">b.c.</span>, Isaiah continued to prophesy to Judah.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. This period of Israel's history is told in <a onclick="return mV('2Ki',15,'1-');">2Ki 15</a> through 21 and <a onclick="return mV('2Ch',26,'1-');">2Ch 26</a> through 33. Isaiah was a contemporary of the prophets Hosea and Micah. By the time of Isaiah, the prophets Elijah, Elisha, Obadiah, Joel, Jonah, and Amos had already completed their ministry.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. By this time, Israel had been in the Promised Land for almost 700 years. The first 400 years in Canaan, Israel was ruled by <i>Jdg</i>, spiritual, military, and political leaders God raised up as the occasion demanded. Then, for about 120 years, three kings reigned over all Israel: Saul, David, and Solomon. But in 917 <span class="c6">b.c.</span> Israel had a civil war, and remained divided into two nations, Israel (to the north) and Judah (to the south) up until the time of Isaiah.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. Up until the time of Isaiah, the northern nation of Israel had some 18 kings - all of them bad, and rebellious against the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. The southern nation of Judah had some 11 kings before Isaiah's ministry, some good and some bad. </p>
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<p class="c5">iv. In the time of Isaiah, Israel was a little nation often caught in the middle of the wars between three superpowers: Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon.</p>
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<p class="c5">v. As Isaiah's ministry began, there was a national crisis in the northern nation of Israel. The superpower of Assyria was about to engulf the nation of Israel. During the span of his ministry as a prophet, the southern nation of Judah was faced with repeated threats from the larger surrounding nations.</p>
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<p class="c5">vi. Many modern scholars think that there was more than one author to the book of Isaiah. They throw about terms like "Deutero-Isaiah" and "Trito-Isaiah" or the "Isaianic School." The New Testament quotes Isaiah by name more than all the other writing prophets combined. In <a onclick="return mV('Jhn',12,'37-41');">Jhn 12:37-41</a>, John quotes from both the "first" part of Isaiah and the "second" part of Isaiah - the parts supposedly written by two or more different Isaiahs - and specifically says it is the same Isaiah.</p>
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<p class="c4"><span>b. <b><span class="c3">Isa, son of Amoz</span></b></span>: The name <b><span class="c3">Isa</span></b> means <i>Salvation is of the <span class="c6">Lord</span></i>. There are at least seven men by the name of <b><span class="c3">Isa</span></b> in the Bible, but only one is <b><span class="c3">Isa, the son of Amoz</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Some have thought that <b><span class="c3">Amoz</span></b> and the prophet <i>Amo</i> were the same person, but this seems unlikely. Some ancient Jewish traditions say that <b><span class="c3">Amoz</span></b> was a brother of king Amaziah, but there is no biblical way to prove this.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. We know more about Isaiah than we do many other of the prophets. Isaiah was married and was the father of at least two sons (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',7,3);">Isa 7:3</a> and <a onclick="return mV('Isa',8,3);">8:3</a>). He lived in Jerusalem (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',7,3);">Isa 7:3</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Isa',22,1);">22:1</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Isa',37,2);">37:2</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Isa',38,5);">38:5</a>, and <a onclick="return mV('Isa',39,3);">39:3</a>).</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. There is "a strong Judeo-Christian tradition that holds that Isaiah also outlived Hezekiah and was sawn asunder by his successor Manasseh with a wooden saw after the prophet had hidden himself in a hollow tree from the angry king." (Bultema) Many think <a onclick="return mV('Hbr',11,37);">Hbr 11:37</a> (<i>they were sawn in two</i>) is a reference to the martyrdom of Isaiah.</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. Most of all, Isaiah was a great man of God. Isaiah "has the courage of a Daniel, the sensitivity of a Jeremiah, the pathos of a Hosea, and the raging anger of an Amos; and moreover he leaves all of them far behind the in the unique art of holy mockery. His courage is of such a nature that he never, not even for a moment, shows himself to be weak or timid." (Bultema)</p>
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<p class="c4"><span>c. The prophecy of this chapter probably took place in the time of Ahaz, king of Judah (<a onclick="return mV('2Ki',16,'1-');">2Ki 16</a> and <a onclick="return mV('2Ch',28,'1-');">2Ch 28</a>). Ahaz was an evil king who was invaded many times by surrounding nations.</span></p>
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<p class="c1"><span>2. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',1,'2-4');">2-4</a>) The complaint of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> against Judah.</span></p>
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<p class="c2"><span>Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the <span class="c6">Lord</span> has spoken: "I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me; the ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's crib; <i>but </i>Israel does not know, My people do not consider." Alas, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, they have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel, they have turned away backward.</span></p>
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<p class="c4"><span>a. <b><span class="c3">Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth!</span></b></span> God is calling heaven and earth as witnesses against Judah. The leaders and people of Judah have resisted His will, and God will state His case against them. We might think of heaven and earth as a "jury" God will present the case before.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <a onclick="return mV('Rom',8,22);">Rom 8:22</a> says, <i>For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now</i>. Creation is waiting for the deliverance that will come when the Messiah rules directly over all creation. When God's people disobey, we might say there is a sense in which they "delay" that resolution of all things. So, heaven and earth have an interest in our obedience!</p>
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<p class="c4"><span>b. <b><span class="c3">I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me</span></b></span>: The leaders and people of Judah are like rebellious children, who never appreciate all that their parents have done for them.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. As parents, we can appreciate how frustrating and galling it is for our children to disregard and disobey us. It fills us with righteous indignation, and we think, "After all I have done for them, they treat me like <i>this</i>?" But we have treated God even worse than any child has treated their parents.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's crib; but Israel does not know</span></b>: The leaders and people of Judah are not like dumb animals, such as the <b><span class="c3">ox</span></b> or the <b><span class="c3">donkey</span></b>. They are <i>dumber</i> than dumb animals. The <b><span class="c3">ox</span></b> at least <b><span class="c3">knows its owner</span></b>, but Judah doesn't know who owns them. The <b><span class="c3">donkey</span></b> knows who takes care of him, but Judah doesn't know who takes care of them.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. No animal has ever offended or resisted or rejected or disobeyed God the way every human being has. Any animal is a more faithful servant of God than the best human!</p>
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<p class="c4"><span>d. <b><span class="c3">Alas, sinful nation</span></b></span>: God clearly and strongly exposes their sin. They are <b><span class="c3">laden with iniquity</span></b>, <b><span class="c3">a brood of evildoers</span></b>, and they have <b><span class="c3">provoked</span></b> the <span class="c6">Lord</span> to <b><span class="c3">anger</span></b>. </p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',1,'5-9');">5-9</a>) The desperate condition of Judah.</p>
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<p class="c2"><span>Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, <i>there is </i>no soundness in it, <i>but </i>wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; they have not been closed or bound up, or soothed with ointment. Your country <i>is </i>desolate, your cities <i>are </i>burned with fire; strangers devour your land in your presence; and <i>it is </i>desolate, as overthrown by strangers. So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, as a hut in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Unless the <span class="c6">Lord</span> of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been made like Gomorrah.</span></p>
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<p class="c4">a. Despite their sin, God does not wish evil upon Judah. Instead, He longs for them to repent and make it easy on themselves: <b><span class="c3">Why should you be stricken again?</span></b> God has been chastising Judah, and they have not responded. They will continue to be <b><span class="c3">stricken</span></b> as long as they rebel.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Sick...the whole heart faints...no soundness...wounds and bruises and putrefying sores</span></b>: Because of their rebellion against God, Judah was in a bad place. This is where their disobedience and lack of submission has brought them!</p>
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<p class="c4"><span>c. <b><span class="c3">Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; strangers devour your land in your presence</span></b></span>: During the reign of Ahaz, king of Judah, they were attacked and pillaged by Israel, Syria, Edom, the Philistines, and Assyria (<a onclick="return mV('2Ch',28,'1-');">2Ch 28</a>). It was written of this period, <i>For the <span class="c6">Lord</span> brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had encouraged moral decline in Judah and had been continually unfaithful to the <span class="c6">Lord</span></i>. (<a onclick="return mV('2Ch',28,19);">2Ch 28:19</a>)</p>
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<p class="c5"><span>i. For all this, Judah would not repent. Their sin brought them great trouble, but they still preferred their sin, with all of its trouble, than submitting to the <span class="c6">Lord</span> God. In fact, <a onclick="return mV('2Ch',28,22);">2Ch 28:22</a> says, <i>Now in the time of his distress King Ahaz became increasingly unfaithful to the <span class="c6">Lord</span></i>.</span></p>
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<p class="c4"><span>d. <b><span class="c3">Unless the <span class="c6">Lord</span> of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been made like Gomorrah</span></b>: As bad as Judah's state was because of their sin, it could have been worse. It was only by the mercy of God that they survived at all. <b><span class="c3">Sodom</span></b></span> and <b><span class="c3">Gomorrah</span></b> were both totally destroyed, with not even a <b><span class="c3">very small remnant</span></b> to carry on. Even in the midst of judgment, God showed His mercy to Judah.</p>
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<p class="c1"><span>4. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',1,'10-15');">10-15</a>) God hates their empty religious ceremonies.</span></p>
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<p class="c2"><span>Hear the word of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, you rulers of Sodom; give ear to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah: "To what purpose <i>is </i>the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?" Says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats. When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no more futile sacrifices; incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies; I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing <i>them. </i>When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood."</span></p>
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<p class="c4"><span>a. <b><span class="c3">You rulers of Sodom...you people of Gomorrah</span></b></span>: God is obviously trying to get the attention of the leaders and people of Judah, by associating them with two cities synonymous with sin and judgment.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?</span></b> Even in the midst of their rebellion, Judah continued its religious ceremony and ritual. They continued the <b><span class="c3">sacrifices</span></b>, they continued the <b><span class="c3">burnt offerings</span></b>, they continued offering the <b><span class="c3">fat of fed cattle</span></b>, they continued burning <b><span class="c3">incense</span></b>, they continued their <b><span class="c3">assemblies</span></b> and their <b><span class="c3">sacred meetings</span></b> - and God was sick of them all!</p>
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<p class="c5">i. See how the <span class="c6">Lord</span> describes His reaction to these religious rituals: <b><span class="c3">I have had enough...bring no more futile sacrifices...an abomination to Me...I cannot endure...My soul hates...they are a trouble to Me...I am weary of bearing them</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. What a sobering thought! We can offer God all kinds of religious rituals and ceremonies, all kinds of religious service, <i>and He may hate it and consider it an abomination!</i> Perhaps, in the midst of all their calamity (described in <a onclick="return mV('Isa',1,'5-9');">Isa 1:5-9</a>), Judah thought the answer was in religious ceremonies, in their ancient version of "church attendance" and a few dollars in the offering. But if their heart wasn't changed, and humbled, and surrendered to the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, it made no difference. Without the right heart, God <i>hated</i> their religious ceremony and service!</p>
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<p class="c5"><span>iii. "When sinners are under the judgments of God they will more easily be brought to fly to their devotions than to forsake their sins and reform their lives." (Matthew Henry)</span></p>
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<p class="c4"><span>c. <b><span class="c3">When you spread out your hands</span></b></span>: this was the posture of prayer in that ancient culture. Instead of praying with heads bowed and hands folded, they would pray with the face turned towards heaven and the hands spread out to heaven. So, when they prayed, the <span class="c6">Lord</span> says, <b><span class="c3">"I will hide my eyes from you...I will not hear."</span></b> </p>
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<p class="c5">i. We may be certain, that in the midst of all this religious ceremony, there were many fine prayers offered. Many eloquent, stirring, and emotional prayers were said. But they were empty, hollow, useless prayers, because God looked at Judah and said, <b><span class="c3">"Your hands are full of blood."</span></b></p>
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<p class="c1"><span>5. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',1,'16-20');">16-20</a>) The <span class="c6">Lord</span> offers a cure.</span></p>
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<p class="c2"><span>"Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow." "Come now, and let us reason together," says the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword"; for the mouth of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> has spoken.</span></p>
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<p class="c4"><span>a. <b><span class="c3">Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean...Learn to do good, seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow</span></b></span>: The corruption of Judah's leaders and people was shown in their bad treatment of one another. </p>
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<p class="c5">i. Many centuries later, the apostle John would repeat Isaiah's message: <i>If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?</i> (<a onclick="return mV('1Jo',4,20);">1Jo 4:20</a>) The leaders and people of Judah wanted to say they loved God by their religious ceremonies, but the <span class="c6">Lord</span> cared more about how they treated other people, especially the weak (<b><span class="c3">the fatherless...the widow</span></b>).</p>
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<p class="c4"><span>b. <b><span class="c3">"Come now, let us reason together</span></b></span><b><span class="c3">," says the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>: The Lord <span class="c6">God</span> invites His people to come <b><span class="c3">reason</span></b> with Him. What He offers us isn't just offered because He is "bigger" than us and has the right to dictate whatever terms please Him. God's direction for us is <i>reasonable</i>. It is <i>smart</i>. It is the <i>best way to live</i>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. What <i>madness</i> it is reject and resist a God of infinite wisdom, infinite love, infinite grace, and infinite power! True <b><span class="c3">reason</span></b> will drive any honest man to the most humble adoration and submission towards God.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. The angels surrounding the throne of God are covered with eyes, which speaks of their great ability to perceive and know (<a onclick="return mV('Rev',4,'6-8');">Rev 4:6-8</a>). These are perhaps the most intelligent, rational beings God ever created, and they spend every moment of their existence lost in total praise, total adoration, and total surrender to God. That is where the highest <b><span class="c3">reason</span></b> will drive us!</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. It is just plain reasonable to follow God. Have you ever once heard of an old Christian, on their deathbed, gathering their children and friends around, and saying: "Now friends, watch out for that Christianity! I've followed Jesus my whole life and I'm so sorry I did! What was waste that was!" What nonsense! Quite the contrary, we find that Christians on their deathbed are trusting and loving God more than ever. It's just plain reasonable!</p>
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<p class="c4"><span>c. <b><span class="c3">Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool</span></b></span>: The <span class="c6">Lord</span> offers a repentant, humbled Judah <i>true</i> and <i>complete</i> cleansing from sin. Their condition of sin can be transformed from deeply stained to completely white.</p>
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<p class="c5"><span>i. In this passage, Isaiah says nothing about <i>how</i></span> this cleansing comes. But we know that it comes because Jesus took upon Himself our stain of sin, and God judged sin perfectly and completely in Jesus, so we can be accounted <b><span class="c3">white as snow</span></b> and as white as <b><span class="c3">wool</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. What tremendous hope there is in God's forgiveness! We really can be clean from the stain of sin. Our good works can't clean the stain. Our best intentions or promises can't clean the stain. Our suffering or pain can't clean the stain. Time can't clean the stain. Death can't clean the stain. Only the work of Jesus can make us <b><span class="c3">white as snow</span></b>! We really can have a break with the past, and a new beginning in Jesus Christ. The power of sin, the shame of sin, the guilt of sin, the domination of sin, and terror of sin, and the pain of sin can all be taken away in Jesus.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. "The Lord does not deny they truth of what the sinner has confessed, but he says to him, 'Though your sins be as scarlet, I meet you on that ground. You need not try to diminish the extent of your sin, or seek to make it appear to be less than it really is. No; whatever you say it is, it is all that, and probably far more. Your deepest sense of your sinfulness does not come up to the truth concerning your real condition; certainly, you do not exaggerate in the least. Your sins are scarlet, and crimson; it seems as though you have put on the imperial robe of sin, and made yourself a monarch of the realm of evil.' That is how a man's guilt appears before the searching eye of God." (Spurgeon)</p>
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<p class="c5">iv. You may be "a wicked old wretch who has taken his degrees in Satan's college, has become a Master of Belial, a prince and chief of sinners - a Goliath amongst the Philistines - yet, to such a man, is this word sent today. Your hands are bloody with the souls of the young, you have kept a hellhouse; you have grit up public entertainments which have debauched and depraved the young; you have gold in your pocket to-day, which you have earned by the blood of souls; you have the fool's pence, and the drunkard's shillings, which have really come into your hands from the hearts of poor women, you have heard the cries of the starving children, and you have tempted their husbands to take the drink, and ruined their bodies and their souls. You have kept a place where the entertainment was so low, so grovelling, that you awoke the slumbering passions of evil in the minds of either young or old, and so you shall sink to hell with the blood of others on your head, as well as your own damnation, not with one millstone about your neck, but with many." (Spurgeon) Yet you can still be white as snow!</p>
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<p class="c4"><span>c. When we consider the greatness of God's cleansing and pardon, it is all the more reason for us to <b><span class="c3">come <i>now</i></span></b></span>. God wants the separation between you and He to be gone <b><span class="c3">now</span></b>. He doesn't want you to continue in your destructive path another moment. He wants the best for us <b><span class="c3">now</span></b>!</p>
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<p class="c5"><span>i. "Come now, no season can be better. If ye tardy till you're better, ye will never come at all. Come now; you may never have another warning; the heart may never be so tender as it is to-day. Come <i>now</i>; no other eyes may ever weep over you; no other heart may ever agonize for your salvation. Come <i>now, now, now, </i>for tomorrow you may never know in this world. Death may have sealed your fate, and the once filthy may remain filthy still. Come <i>now</i>; for to-morrow thy heart may become harder than stone, and God may give thee up. Come <i>now</i>; it is God's time; to-morrow is the devil's time. 'To-day if ye will hear his voice harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, when your fathers tempted me and proved me in the wilderness and saw my works.' Come now. Why delay to be happy? Would you put off your wedding-day? Will you postpone the hour when you are pardoned and delivered? Come <i>now</i>: the bowels of Jehovah yearn for you. The eye of your father sees you afar off, and he runs to meet you. Come <i>now</i>; the church is praying for you; these are revival times; ministers are more in earnest." (Spurgeon)</span></p>
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<p class="c4"><span>d. <b><span class="c3">If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword</span></b>: Here God offers Judah a choice. They can find hope in the midst of their chastisement, relief from empty religious ritual, and cleansing from their sin. But they must surrender their heart before God, and not <b><span class="c3">refuse and rebel</span></b></span>. Instead, they must be <b><span class="c3">willing and obedient</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. No one perfectly matches either phrase, but which phrase better describes your life? Is it <b><span class="c3">willing and obedient</span></b> or <b><span class="c3">refuse and rebel</span></b>? There is a consequence for either course: <b><span class="c3">eat of the good of the land</span></b>, or <b><span class="c3">be devoured by the sword</span></b>. No wonder the <span class="c6">Lord</span> said <b><span class="c3">"Come now, let us reason together</span><span class="c3">!"</span></b></p>
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<p><span>B. A promise of redemption - with justice.</span></p>
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<p class="c1"><span>1. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',1,'21-23');">21-23</a>) The unjust leaders of Judah.</span></p>
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<p class="c2"><span>How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; righteousness lodged in it, but now murderers. Your silver has become dross, your wine mixed with water. Your princes <i>are </i>rebellious, and companions of thieves; everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, nor does the cause of the widow come before them.</span></p>
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<p class="c4"><span>a. <b><span class="c3">The faithful city</span></b></span><b><span class="c3"> has become a harlot!</span></b> The <b><span class="c3">faithful city</span></b> is Jerusalem, the city once known for its faithfulness to the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. Now, Jerusalem <b><span class="c3">has become a harlot</span></b> - spiritually speaking, they have forsaken the their "marriage" to the <span class="c6">Lord</span>, and are committing spiritual adultery with their idolatry.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">It was full of justice</span></b>: The days of <b><span class="c3">justice</span></b> and <b><span class="c3">righteousness</span></b> are long past in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was filled with <b><span class="c3">murderers</span></b>, political corruption (<b><span class="c3">Your princes are rebellious</span></b>), <b><span class="c3">thieves</span></b>, fraud (<b><span class="c3">Your silver has become dross, your wine is mixed with water</span></b>), <b><span class="c3">bribes</span></b>, and favoritism against the weak (<b><span class="c3">They do not defend the fatherless, nor does the cause of the widow come before them</span></b>).</p>
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<p class="c5">i. The <span class="c6">Lord'</span>s accusation against Jerusalem shows, by contrast, what God values among political and civil leaders. God expects them to keep the peace (against <b><span class="c3">murderers</span></b>), have integrity (instead of being <b><span class="c3">rebellious</span></b> and the companion of <b><span class="c3">thieves</span></b>), and to defend the weak (the <b><span class="c3">fatherless</span></b> and <b><span class="c3">widows</span></b>).</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. <b><span class="c3">Your wine mixed with water</span></b>: "The Lord Jesus made water into wine; sinners make wine into water." (Bultema)</p>
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<p class="c4"><span>c. The spiritual adultery of Judah showed itself in this kind of sin. In a sense, the corruption among the leaders of Judah was a symptom of an even deeper spiritual problem.</span></p>
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<p class="c1"><span>2. (<a onclick="return mV('Isa',1,'24-31');">24-31</a>) The <span class="c6">Lord</span>'s plan of redemption with justice</span></p>
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<p class="c2"><span>Therefore the Lord says, the <span class="c6">Lord</span> of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, "Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries, and take vengeance on My enemies. I will turn My hand against you, and thoroughly purge away your dross, and take away all your alloy. I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city." Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and her penitents with righteousness. The destruction of transgressors and of sinners <i>shall be </i>together, and those who forsake the <span class="c6">Lord</span> shall be consumed. For they shall be ashamed of the terebinth trees which you have desired; and you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens which you have chosen. For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades, and as a garden that has no water. The strong shall be as tinder, and the work of it as a spark; both will burn together, and no one shall quench <i>them.</i></span></p>
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<p class="c4"><span>a. <b><span class="c3">The <span class="c6">Lord</span> of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel</span></b></span>: God now addresses Judah, introducing Himself with titles showing His power and majesty. He is the <b><span class="cmscap">Lord</span><span class="c3"> of hosts</span></b>, "<b><span class="c3">hosts</span></b>" referring to the armies of heaven. He is the <b><span class="c3">Mighty One of Israel</span></b>, whom it is futile to oppose. The title itself is a wake-up call.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Bultema on <b><span class="c3">the <span class="c6">Lord</span> of hosts</span></b>: "Describes Him as the Warrior who has all the angels as mighty soldiers at His disposal in the battle against the wicked. This is God's battle name and as a rule it signifies little good when He uses it in reference to His people, as is the case here. It usually implies that He considers and deals with His people as His enemies."</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">I will rid Myself of My adversaries</span></b>: The problem with the leaders and people of Judah was that they had set themselves as <b><span class="c3">adversaries</span></b> of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. They were acting like His <b><span class="c3">enemies</span></b>. They were putting themselves in the path of judgment. They would find the <b><span class="c3">hand</span></b> of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> <b><span class="c3">against</span></b> them, instead of for them.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">And thoroughly purge away your dross, and take away all your alloy</span></b>: <b><span class="c3">dross</span></b> and <b><span class="c3">alloy</span></b> are impurities in metal. God promises to "turn up the heat" and refine Judah, taking away their impurities. His goal is not to destroy; instead He says, <b><span class="c3">"I will restore</span></b>.<b><span class="c3">"</span></b> God will purify Jerusalem, to the point where <b><span class="c3">Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">Zion shall be redeemed with justice</span></b>: God's redemption and restoration are always done with <b><span class="c3">justice</span></b> and <b><span class="c3">righteousness</span></b>. He never saves or redeems at the <i>expense</i> of His justice and righteousness.</p>
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<p class="c4">e. <b><span class="c3">They shall be ashamed of the terebinth trees which you have desired</span></b>: <b><span class="c3">terebinth trees</span></b> were sites of pagan worship which idol-loving Judah kept among them. When <b><span class="c3">Zion</span></b> is <b><span class="c3">redeemed with justice</span></b>, they will be <b><span class="c3">ashamed</span></b> of their former idolatries.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. It is good to be <b><span class="c3">ashamed</span></b> and <b><span class="c3">embarrassed</span></b> over sin. There is something wrong with us when we are <i>shameless</i> or beyond embarrassment. God promised He would give Judah the gift of shame and embarrassment over sin again.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. "Sacred trees played an important part in the Canaanite fertility cult...for deciduous trees like the oak or terebinth may well have symbolized the death and rebirth of the god. The 'gardens' may be groves of these trees, or, alternatively, places of sacred springs or wells." (Grogan)</p>
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<p class="c4">f. <b><span class="c3">As a terebinth tree whose leaf fades...as a garden that has no water...the strong shall be as tinder...both will burn together</span></b>: The <span class="c6">Lord</span> here speaks of the spiritual <i>dryness</i> of Judah. Though they continued their religious ritual and ceremony, they were still spiritually dry. And as try trees, dry gardens, and dry tinder are ready to burn, so is an unrepentant Judah ready to feel the fires of God's refining judgment.</p>
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