"The Lord's Choice" Sermon: Isaiah 58:1-14

“The Lord’s Choice”
[Isaiah 58:1-14]
February 25, 2009 Second Reformed Church

Today, Ash Wednesday, we being the season of Lent. The season has been observed as “forty days” before Easter since the fourth century, patterned after the many forty day periods in the Scripture. This is to be a time of reflection on our sin and mortality and a time of change, when we purpose to take up with new vigor all those things which God has called us to do. It is a time, not merely of renouncing sin and sinful acts, but of picking up new habits, committing ourselves to the good works Christ calls Christians to perform.

This evening, we are looking at one of the final prophecies of the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah, at this time, was in Babylon, a captive with the nation of Israel, around 700 B.C. Isaiah’s ministry among the people of Israel consisted largely in two themes: God calling Israel to understand that she had sinned against God and that was why she was captive in Babylon, and God promising Israel a day of restoration for all those who repent of their sin and commit themselves to the Gospel of God.

This evening’s Scripture begins with God telling Isaiah to shout to the people of Israel like a trumpet. “Make sure that no one fails to hear what you are going to tell them. Tell them that they have committed rebellion. Tell them that they have sinned against their God. Name their sins – lay it out for them, because they don’t understand that they have sinned – they don’t understand that I have sent them into captivity for their sin. They don’t get it – they don’t understand that they are not right with Me.”

To use the language of the “Charlie Brown” cartoons, Israel, as a nation, was a “blockhead.” They had sinned against God – disobeyed His Commands – God had sent them into captivity for their sin. And they were still saying, “Who? Me? What did I do?”

But isn’t that like all of us when we sin? Our first response is to deny – to stick our head in the sand – to deflect our responsibility for what we have done to someone else. We remember what happened to Cain: “in the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at your door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it’” (Genesis 4:3-7, ESV).

Cain and Abel had brought sacrifices. Abel offered his sacrifice in the way that God commanded, but Cain did not. And Cain was furious that his offering was not accepted. But God told him, “Look, if you offer a sacrifice in the way I have commanded, all will be well, but if you sin and offer it in another way, do you really have the right to be angry at Me for not accepting it?” We know what happened next....

Starting in verse three, Israel objects, “What do you mean we sinned? We keep the fasts. Don’t You see us? We put on sackcloth and ashes. We’re humble. Can’t You see how humble we are?”

God responds to this outrageous pride and sin by telling them that the only reason they keep the fasts and dress like they are repentant and make motions of humility is so they can condemn others who they don’t think are being repentant. They were pretending to be repentant for the purpose of seeing who was not repenting and accusing them. And God tells them that going through the motions is not acceptable – it’s not enough – especially if it’s done to bring others down. There must be true repentance for sins – not just going through the motions – or there is no forgiveness.

Jesus said the same thing to the scribes and Pharisees: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites For your clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matthew 23:25-28, ESV).

We will soon receive the imposition of ashes and anointing with oil. Be forewarned: these are outward symbols, they are not magic devices. The ashes symbolize that we are conscious of our sin and mortality and desire to repent and be forgiven, having received the Gospel of Jesus Christ Alone. If we are truly repentant and believe in Jesus Alone for our salvation, we are saved, but if we do not, the ashes are a meaningless and hypocritical symbol. Likewise, the oil symbolizes that our God, the Great Physician, is able to heal all ills, as He is willing to do so. The oil, itself does nothing. We are anointed with oil to remind us to put our trust and hope in Jesus Christ Alone, Who may heal us in this life and will bring all who believe in Him to full healing in the life to come.

Beginning in verse six, God tells Israel that true repentance involves more than symbols: it involves a change of heart, a change of life, and a change of action. God is served in vain if we serve Him merely with ceremonies. And it is not enough just to be repentant of our sins, but we must take on the commitment to purity of life – real duties of piety.

God tells them that the symbols without the reality of true repentance are meaningless. In fact, God would rather they forget about the symbols all together, truly repent, and live out those lives of repentance. And He gives them examples of how that is done: true repentance is seen in seeking to overthrow injustice, in freeing people from oppression, in sharing our food with the hungry, in providing housing for the homeless, in providing clothing for the naked, and so forth. Now, let us understand that God is not saying that they will be forgiven for doing those acts. Forgiveness comes through true repentance and faith in Jesus Christ Alone. Then that faith is lived out by doing these good works – by fulfilling the Law in love, as we looked at last Sunday – by keeping the “Second Table of the Law.”

It’s not enough to keep the ceremonies and wear the symbols. It’s not enough to be of the “right” heritage or church, as John said, “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father, for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:7-10, ESV).

Likewise, James wrote, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:14-17, ESV). And remember, James is not saying that our works save us, what he is saying is that our works are a proof that we have received salvation in Jesus Alone. That is, if we truly have repented and received Jesus, then we should live out that salvation by doing the good works that God has set before us. Symbols and ceremonies are not enough: true belief leads the Christian both to renounce sin and to live changed lives that involve good works.

True repentance is the Lord’s chosen fast. Beginning in verse eight, God tells Israel that if she truly repents of her sin, then He will answer them and forgive them. Then, He will hear their cry for help. Then, He will be their light, their healing, their vindicator, their rear guard. Then, the Glory of the Lord will be among them once more and the Lord will be in their midst.

If they truly repent, if they truly desire the heavy yoke of sin to be removed from them, if they repent of being hypocrites and speaking evil against each other, if they live out their repentance in loving and providing for their neighbors, the Light of the Lord will chase away the gloom – their sin will be forgiven. God will guide them and prosper them in His Will; He will bring them back to the land He gave to their fathers and give them restoration in the land. And we know in the years that followed, that is exactly what God did – Israel repented, and God brought the people back to the land, and they rebuilt the temple.

Only national Israel had the promise of the land, if they kept the covenant, but all people are given the promise that God will remove the heavy yoke of slavery to sin that every human is born with, if we will truly repent and believe in Jesus Alone for salvation. Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30, ESV).

In the final two verses of this chapter, God promises that such persons – those who truly repent and believe – will find worship a delight and seek to be before the Lord in worship at every opportunity.

God tells Israel that they are to turn from trampling on the Sabbath. They are to refrain from pursuing their own interests on the Sabbath and rather be about the worship of God. They are to call the Sabbath a delight – to find their joy and satisfaction in the Sabbath of their God – to treat the day as honorable and holy.

And, certainly, God meant what He said about the one day in seven called the Sabbath, but the implication of these two verses extends beyond just the one day in seven to the idea that the whole of life – of the Christian life – is to be a Sabbath to the Lord, and all who believe are looking forward with great expectation to the fulfillment of the age when we enter into eternal Sabbath. The writer of Hebrews explains, “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by some sort of disobedience (Hebrews 4:9-11, ESV).

John gives us a picture of what this rest looks like, in part: “After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven crying, ‘Hallelujah Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.’ Once more they cried out, ‘Hallelujah The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.’ And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, ‘Amen, Hallelujah ’ And from the throne came a voice saying, ‘Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.’ Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, ‘Hallelujah For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure’ – for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints” (Revelation 19:1-8, ESV).

Brothers and sisters, tonight we begin the season of Lent, and we shall receive the symbols of ashes and oil. The symbols don’t do anything themselves – they exist to remind us that we are sinners, and our God is able to heal. It is only through true repentance and belief in Jesus Alone that we are forgiven, and God heals as He is pleased to heal.

As God called Israel in the days of Babylon, so God calls us to repentance and belief and then to live out that belief by doing what is right and living lives of purity, as we look forward to the restoration of all things and the glorious everlasting Sabbath of worship in the Kingdom of our God and King, Jesus. Let us come before our God, honestly, humbly, repentantly, expectantly, and joyfully. It is the Lord’s choice to save us, so let us live.

And let us pray:
Almighty God and Savior, we thank You that we cannot earn our way back to You, but You make us Your own and cause us to come honestly repentant and believing. We ask that we would receive these symbols honestly and purpose to live for You, looking forward to the joy of Your Kingdom. For it is Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.