"Mercy Received, Part 1" Sermon Isaiah 65:1-10 (video)

 "Mercy Received, Part 1" Sermon: Isaiah 65:1-10 (video) - YouTube

"Mercy Received, Part 1" Sermon: Isaiah 65:1-10 (manuscript)

 

“Mercy Received, Part 1”

Isaiah 65:1-10

July 30, 2023 YouTube

          As a result of Israel’s sin, God allowed the Babylonians to conquer her and take her into captivity.  Israel cried out to God, and God told them that He would crush the wicked like grapes in a wine press, and He told Israel to remember all the good things He has done for them, and they cried out to God in prayer for mercy.

          God answers their prayer, first, by telling them that the wicked are arrogant.  All those who never receive salvation from God are arrogant.  And these are from the Gentiles and the Jews.

          “I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that was not called by my name.”

          God says He is ready to be sought and found – God is not the problem for the unbeliever.  The unbeliever never seeks and never asks for God. 

Paul says, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10-12, ESV).

And John writes, “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:11-13, ESV).

God says He calls out to the wicked with force – with emphasis – (we see the statement that God says, “Here I am” twice) – “If you really wanted Me, you would see Me and not be saying that you don’t need to seek Me or ask for Me.  You have an opinion of yourself that is far beyond what is realistic.”

          God continues, “I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices; a people who provoke me to my face continually,”

          God stands with His hands out – round the clock – waiting to receive anyone who will come to Him – but as we just saw – no one comes of their own will.  The wicked of all people don’t believe they need God – they won’t ask for Him to save them or seek Him that they would know how to live rightly.  No, they believe they deserve to be in rebellion against the absolute truth – they deserve to do what is actually not good – they deserve to do whatever they want with no one contradicting them.  In their arrogance, they believe no one is above them or worthy of calling them on the carpet.  Rather, they get up in the Face of God and tell Him that they don’t need Him, and they don’t want Him and to just go away.”

          Have you ever gotten up in your parent’s face – or a teacher’s face – and told them off?  Have you ever told them that they can’t tell you what to do?  Have you ever said, “you’re not the boss of me?”

Paul considers how it can be that there are people in the nation of Israel – God’s people – who still remain in wickedness and arrogance:

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for ‘Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.’ But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, ‘I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.’ Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, ‘I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.’ But of Israel he says, ‘All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people’” (Romans 10:17-21, ESV).

How can it be that some in Israel would be so arrogant – not just the Gentiles – how is it that the people who have heard the Gospel of God provoke God to His Face by overturning the pure worship God has commanded?

“sacrificing in gardens and making offerings on bricks; who sit in tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat pig’s flesh, and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels;”

Sacrificing in gardens is a practice of the pagans.  Making offerings on bricks instead of on stones and the altars approved by God is idolatry.  So is witchcraft involved in worshipping in graveyards and other hideaways.  Eating pig’s flesh and other forbidden foods is slapping God in the face and saying they will not obey the kosher laws.

 “And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you” (Leviticus 11:7-8, ESV).

In God’s Word, He has set out the way He commands believers to worship Him.  We are to worship Him as He has said to worship Him because He has said, “This is how you are to worship Me.”  The wicked do what they want to do in worship – sometimes with seeming good intentions – but still befouling the worship of God.

A friend of my sisters died recently.  This friend used Tarot cards.  The plan was to have a memorial service in a local Presbyterian Church.  One of the friends suggested having a Tarot reading as part of the service.  That would have been an abomination to God.  Thankfully, it did not happen.

          Arrogant hypocrites “who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.’ These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day.”

          The wicked hypocrites turn against true believers and God – claiming to be holy – rather than sinners, and to believers and God say, “Get out!  Go away!”

          I hope any of us would stop dead in our tracks to hear those words – that anger – that self-inflicted misperception – about believers and especially God!

          God answers this stupefying arrogant anger by telling the wicked that they will be punished. 

          God is punishing Israel for her sins in the Babylonian exile, and this punishment and discipline is for fathers and sons, because they have committed the same sins.

          “Behold, it is written before me: ‘I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their lap both your iniquities and your fathers’  iniquities together, says the LORD; because they made offerings on the mountains and insulted me on the hills, I will measure into their lap payment for their former deeds.’”

          The arrogance of the wicked will be repaid.

          Second, the remnant will be separated from the wicked.

“Thus says the LORD: ‘As the new wine is found in the cluster, and they say, “Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,” so I will do for my servants’ sake, and not destroy them all.’

Grapes are formed in clusters, and when they are ready to be harvested and made into new wine, they begin to ooze, so it is said not to destroy those grapes, for there is a blessing in it – the new wine – the fruit of the vine, which is formed by the believing remnant – the elect – those who live are branches of the Vine.

Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:1-11, ESV).

Out of all those who were sent into Babylon for their sin, there is a remnant that God will bring back to Israel, and within that remnant there is a remnant who are the true believers – the elect of God – those who were disciplined for their sin and for their growth and for their bearing of grapes that are a blessing to God and His people. Thess are those who believe in the Servant Savior and the salvation He brings.

God has separated the remnant from the wicked and causes them to be ingrafted into the Vine – the Savior – that they would be faithful and obedient and produce the good works of fruit to new wine. God will not destroy those who bear new wine.

‘I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, and from Judah possessors of my mountains; my chosen shall possess it, and my servants shall dwell there.

The believing remnant are not just for the generation that returns from the exile.  They are for all those who believe throughout the generations.  The chosen of God – the servants of God – will dwell in the Kingdom of God – in Israel and Judah – and in the Kingdom that is yet to come.  God will bring the remnant out of the wicked, and they will dwell with God eternally.

No matter how things may look among believers, don’t give up hope – our assurance is in the Almighty God.  God will bring His Church through the most wicked of times, and she will not fall to the gates of Hell but will be victorious through Christ.

‘Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, for my people who have sought me.’”

Sharon is on one side of the land of Israel, and the Valley of Achor is on the other.  Sharon is land for flocks, and the Valley of Achor is a place to raise herds. The land was destroyed during the Babylonian conquest, but with the return of the remnant, the land will be restored.

God promised that after their discipline, the remnant will return to Israel.  The remnant will be separated out from the wicked. They will be fruitful and bear new wine as the people of God grafted into the Vine Who is the Servant Savior. They will be a blessing as the elect of God – the chosen of God.

All of the people of God receive discipline because we sin.  The author of Hebrews writes, “For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:10-11, ESV).

Now we are a blessing to the world and to God, and we wait with assurance and great hope, knowing we belong to God our Father, and He will bring us into the fulness of the restored Kingdom.

In this, we have received the Mercy of God.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we thank You for answering Israel and us that the wicked will suffer for their arrogance, but You have chosen a remnant out of all people to be Your people, and You will cause us to be a blessing and assure us of our salvation and our life with You in the restored Creation.  May we be faithful to You.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Reformed Wisdom

 John Calvin on Isaiah 65:8 --

"Now. as believers being often punished along with the reprobate, let us not think that it is wrong; for the Lord will often find in each of us enough of blame to afflict and punish us."

"A Prayer for Mercy" Sermon: Isaiah 63:13-64:12 (video)

 "A Prayer for Mercy" Sermon: Isaiah 63:15-64:12 (video) - YouTube

"A Prayer for Mercy" Sermon: Isaiah 63:15-64:12 (manuscript)

 

“A Prayer for Mercy”

Isaiah 63:15-64:12

July (16) 23, 2023 YouTube

          God and Isaiah urge Israel and all believers to remember all the things that God has done in our lives.  When we are suffering for God, we ought to find comfort in remembering all that God has done for us.  In times of peace and joy, we ought to give extra thanks to God for all He has done for us. And as we remember all the things that God has done for us; we are spurred on to prayer.  As Israel looks at the Babylonian captivity, the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem, and hears that their sin is what sends them there, they are reminded to remember all God has done for them and to pray.

          This morning we take a brief look at their prayer for mercy.

          “Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and beautiful habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion are held back from me. For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name.”

          Our immediate thought might be that the believers of Israel are accusing God of not being Who He should be – not doing what He should be doing.  But that is not what they are saying.

          The believers in Israel call out to God in prayer, asking that God would look down upon them from Heaven – from His beautiful and holy habitation.  “God, we acknowledge the good hand of Your discipline on us, yet we ask that You would not forget us, but remember us in Your Mercy.”

          “We don’t see Your Zeal and Your Might – the stirring of Your inner parts and Your Compassion for us.  We are still Your children – it cannot be that You have withdrawn Your Love for us, but it does seem as if You have.”

          They understand what Peter says, “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (I Peter 5:7, ESV).

          Israel continues by saying they call Abraham their father, but he doesn’t know them, nor can he help them.  Israel (that is, Jacob) is their father, but he doesn’t know them, nor can he help them.  He is God Alone Who is their Father.  God Alone will never forsake them.  He will never deny us.  He will never cease to be our Father.  Even though our sin separates us from God for the moment, and we receive discipline, it is discipline from our loving Father Who shows us mercy in our discipline.

          The author of Hebrews writes, “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?” (Hebrews 12:6-7, ESV).

          God is the Redeemer of all those who believe.  He shows mercy even in our discipline.

“O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our heart, so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage. Your holy people held possession for a little while; our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary. We have come like those over whom you have never ruled, like those who are not called by your name.”

Is Israel accusing God of sin?  God made them wander.  God hardened their hearts.  God made them so they did not fear Him.

God does not sin, and God does not force anyone to sin.  Humans are inclined towards sin since the fall of Adam, and believers fight their whole lives against the inclination to sin – until Jesus returns.  What God does do is let people choose to follow after their sin – God does not always stop us from sinning.  Sometimes God – for His reasons – lets us follow after the sin we desire. And as we come to ourselves after we sin, we may wonder where God was.  We may call out to God and ask Him to come down now and sanctify His people so we would not sin again but be the heritage He created us to be.

Israel cries out for mercy saying that they kept the Law of God for a time – they followed God in holiness for a time, but now, in their sin – as a result of their sin – the wicked have trampled Israel and trampled down the Temple.  Solomon’s Temple – one of the wonders of the world – the House of God – was destroyed as part of the discipline for the sin of the people of Israel.

To the wicked nations around Israel, it looks like God never ruled over them.  It looks like they were never called by God’s Name.  “If we are being sent off into captivity, no one will believe we are Your people.” As our own denomination “peacefully” splits, what do the unbelievers around us think?  “Show us Your Mercy, O God, our Redeemer.  Make Your Truth clear.” And as we go through the discipline of our loving Father, the Truth will be clear, we will see mercy, and we will grow in our love of our Father.

Paul writes, “For all the promises of God find them Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee” (II Corinthians 1:20-22, ESV).

And the author of Hebrews writes, “…for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So, we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5b-6, ESV).

“Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence—as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil—to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence! When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.”

Israel turns her sights to the need for the wicked to be disciplined or punished – as God sees fit.  Israel asks God to come down to earth in power and show the nation Who God is – just like God did in the days of Moses and when Israel did not ask for God to do anything, but God acted without a cry from His people.

Israel remembered how God acted when He called Moses up to receive the Ten Commandments, and they asked God to do likewise now:

“On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.  And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up” (Exodus 19:16-20, ESV).

“God, our Father, we know we need to go into captivity for our sin, but so the nations won’t think You have deserted us, would You bring a thick darkness and thunder and lightning and the sound of trumpets blaring as a sign before the nations?”

“From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him. You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?”

Israel cries out that there is no god besides God.  No one has seen or heard or perceived any god by God Who is real.  He rejoices and meets with the penitent.  All those who confess their sins and believe in the Savior that God would send – Who we know is Jesus  -- God will act on our behalf and save us.

Israel asks God to show Himself as the One Who meets with the penitent – the One Who meets with the one who truly repents. When we repent and remember Who God is and all He has done, we know He has remembered us and will act for us as we remember Him.

And so we understand that God’s anger is against us for our sin, but we confess our sin and He forgives us.  He meets with us in His Mercy and gives us His Grace so we would be declared righteous.  Though our sin has been long and many, we are saved and shall be saved forever because God, our Father, is faithful. And His Mercy never ends.

“We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.”

Now Israel confesses who she has become due to her sin.  Israel understand that sin makes a person foul.  When we sin, we are a stench in the nostrils of God. Sin makes us unclean, and our righteous deeds are like “a polluted garment” – specifically, the cloth used during a woman’s time of the month.

Jeremiah writes, “Jerusalem sinned grievously; therefore she became filthy; all who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns her face away” (Lamentations 1:8, ESV).

Sin makes us lightweights, unstable, prone to follow after more sin – like a leaf that is taken away with the wind.

Paul says this is not how we should be:  “so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and from by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,” (Ephesians 4:14-15, ESV).

When we follow after sin, we are pressed to not turn back to God – to not repent of our sin – to not receive God’s Mercy that He has given in saving a people for Himself. The Face of the Redeemer is hidden from us as we crawl back into the darkness and hide from the light.

Because Israel’s union with God in the Redeemer is dampened, they are overwhelmed with the punishment – the discipline that are facing – and they melt like wax in the heat of the day. Sometimes we delight in sin that pulls us away from God and our only hope is in repenting and throwing ourselves on the Mercy of God – and He will restore all those who truly believe because He chose us and loves us.

But…

“But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Be not so terribly angry, O LORD, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people.”

Israel cries out in hope for mercy, because no matter how deep their sin – no matter what the necessary discipline – no matter how bad things look, the Lord God is our Father.  He has adopted us through the Savior, Jesus, and we are His children, and He will never leave us nor forsake us.

We confess the Sovereignty of God in acknowledging that we are clay and God is the potter.  We are all the work of God’s Hand.  Everything that happens does so according to God’s will, and God brings all things together for the good of those who love Him.

Paul uses the same example in looking at God’s Sovereign choice of the people who are His forever:

“But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?” (Romans 9:20-24, ESV).

 In acknowledging God’s Sovereignty, Israel prays that God will be merciful – that His Anger will not be against them forever – that He will not remember their sins forever, but that He would remember that they are His chosen people.  All who believe are His chosen people, and He does show us mercy upon mercy, and with regards to our sin which we repent of and confess and are forgiven of through the work of Jesus, David writes:

“The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:8-14, ESV).

And God says, “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25, ESV).

The Father Who loves disciplines His children, but we remain His children and He loves us.

“Your holy cities have become a wilderness; Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and beautiful house, where our fathers praised you, has been burned by fire, and all our pleasant places have become ruins. Will you restrain yourself at these things, O LORD? Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly?”

God is allowing the Babylonians – unbelievers – to be the Hand of discipline against Israel.  The Babylonians destroy the cities of God, destroy Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple, and everything that was beautiful about the city of God on earth – Israel – has been crushed and destroyed.

Imagine if the Federal Government passed a law that all the churches in the United States had to be razed to the ground.  Burnt, destroyed, turned into rubble. What might we think or do?

Israel called out to God and asked if He was going to do something.  Is He going to restrain Himself and keep silent.  Is God’s Anger going to settle on the Babylonians who did these things to God’s cities and Temple?  Considering how great the discipline is for Israel for her sin, she asks if God will not bring down His Wrath on these people.

“Look at what they are doing.  Do you know what everyone is saying about You? Are You going to do something to show Yourself Holy in the light of this – given the severity of Israel’s discipline?”

God will not let His Glory be trampled.  Though God allows the Babylonians to conquer, God will conquer them for their sin. So many of the prophets ask when God is going to do something about the wicked – and when God will discipline His people.  God works in His own time.

          By the end of the prayer, Israel understands the depths of their sin and misery, and the justness of their discipline is reinforced. And they are assured that they are the children of God, that their sin is forgiven in their Redeemer, and God continues to show mercy to His people – even in their discipline.

          Nothing has changed.  God is giving us mercy every day and every hour.

          Let us pray:

          Almighty God, we thank You that You are the merciful God.  We thank You that You have chosen a people for Yourself that You will never leave nor forsake.  We thank You for showing Your Love in our discipline. Help us to know You more fully and help us to avoid sin and to repent quickly when we do. Forgive us, Merciful Lord. Let us evermore know Your Love, our Father. And may we, even under discipline, show You to be the God of Mercy.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

"Do You Remember?" Isaiah 63:7-14 (video)

 "Do You Remember?" Sermon: Isaiah 63:7-14 (video) - YouTube

"Do You Remember?" Sermon: Isaiah 63:7-14 (manuscript)

 

“Do You Remember?”
Isaiah 63:7-14

July 9, 2023 YouTube

          After a few chapters of glorious portraits of the future for all those who believe savingly in the Servant Messiah, Jesus, Isaiah gives a horrific portrait of what will happen to all those who never believe in Jesus for salvation.  They will be put in a wine press and trampled until their blood flows deep and wide – they will endure the Wrath of God.

          After reminding Israel of the wages of sin – the repentance and obedience that must follow salvation – Isaiah tells them to remember.

          “I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love.”

          First, they are to remember the steadfast love of the Lord and the praises of the Lord that are given and ought to be given for all that the Lord granted them, and for the great goodness that God has given to the people of Israel according to His great goodness according to His compassion, according to His abundant steadfast love.

          Isaiah tells them to remember all the benefits of being God’s people – all He has given them.  He begins and ends this statement stating, “the steadfast love of the Lord…the abundance of His steadfast love.” The bracket of this statement is that God loves His people – God loves His church – and God will never stop loving them lavishly – God will never forsake His people. 

          Remember all the good that God has lavished upon His people – even us – and the praise He was given and should still be given. God has shown His compassion in underserved mercy to His people.

          Do you remember?  Do you remember what you were and how God chose you and gave you mercy and compassion and His steadfast love – immovable – unchangeable love – even though you have not yet followed God perfectly?  Do you remember praising Him?

          “For he said, ‘Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely.’ And he became their Savior.”

          God chose a people out of Israel – and all we who believe – to be His children.  And the assumption that is stated – though God knows all things – this statement is to expose the sin and remaining sin in His people – they will not deal falsely.  If God has chosen a people to be His out of all the world and become their Savior, surely, they would not sin against God.

          Moses sings on the other side of the Red Sea, “The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him” (Exodus 15:2, ESV).

          Do you remember that God chose you out of all of humanity to save from His Wrath – instead to make you His son or daughter.  Do you remember that God is all-knowing, so He is not surprised that you are not holy yet and will need to be disciplined and instructed as He makes you holy for Him?

“In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.”

Much of the imagery in this section comes from the history of the Exodus.  We will remember that Israel had been in slavery in Egypt for four hundred years until God sent and went with Moses to call Pharoah to let Israel go free and to lead Israel out of Egypt and to the Promised Land.

God allowed Israel to be taken into slavery for their sin, but when the time was right, God knew the affliction with which they were afflicted by the Egyptians, and we read, “Then the LORD said, ‘I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites’” (Exodus 3:7-8, ESV).

God loves His people and has pity on them and redeems them, and as God leads Israel out of Egypt that final night, the angel comes through the nation and kills the first-born – except for those who put the blood of the lamb on the doorposts and the lintel of their doorways.

Moses sings as he describes the Exodus, “Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions, the LORD alone guided him, no foreign god was with him” (Deuteronomy 32:11-12, ESV).

Isaiah reminds them what God did in the past to assure them that God has not changed and will do the same as He brings them out of Babylon. God still loves His people and pities them – knows their suffering and wants them to come out of it through the salvation of God. God will lift them up and carry them out of the place of their suffering and discipline when the time is right.

Do you remember a time when you suffered because you deserved it?  Are you going through suffering now?  Do you remember God loving you and pitying you and – eventually – saving you from your suffering?  Do you remembered God lifting you up and bringing you out of your suffering for God’s sake?

“But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.”

Israel rebelled.  We will remember that Israel rebelled again and again – not just throughout the Exodus, but throughout the Scripture, and we rebel as well – every time we sin, we rebel against God.

And when we sin, we grieve God, the Holy Spirit, in which we join in causing the pain and sorrow and distress that Jesus suffered on earth.

Near the end of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he tells them things to do and things not to do, and he says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30, ESV).

(Don’t be confused:  there is a difference between grieving the Holy Spirit and blaspheming the Holy Spirit.  Grieving the Holy Spirit can be forgiven, blaspheming the Holy Spirit cannot.  As Mark records Jesus saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin’— for they were saying, ‘He has an unclean spirit’” (Mark 3:28-30, ESV).)

When Israel rebelled against God and grieved the Holy Spirit – causing the Son to suffer – God became Israel’s enemy.  God turned against Israel to punish them – to discipline them. To cause them to turn back to the God Who saves them.

Do you remember a time when you shook your fist at God?  Do you remember a time when you knew God said this and you refused and did what you wanted?  Do you remember a time when you sinned and didn’t care if by grieving the Holy Spirit you approved of the suffering of Jesus?

“Then he remembered the days of old, of Moses and his people. Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put in the midst of them his Holy Spirit,”

With regards to Israel being in captivity in Babylon, God remembered the days of old when something like this happened before – when God sent His people into exile for their sin – and He remembered Moses and his people.

Understand, God does not say to Himself, “Oh, my goodness.  I completely forgot about that.”  No, when we are told that God remembered – it is not the opposite of forgetting here – it is God stating His faithfulness to His people and His Word – paralleling what happened before to what is happening now – and He acts in the same way, because God never changes.

And then questions are asked – paralleling the Exodus with the return from the Babylonian exile – questions that answer themselves.

Where is the God Who brought Israel through the Red Sea with the leadership God gave to Israel? Where is this God?  He is here – bringing His people back through the barrier that keeps them from the Kingdom.

Where is the God Who sent God, the Holy Spirit, to indwell all of the people of Israel who came out of Egypt and believed savingly in the promised Savior?  He is with the people of Israel in Babylon and in their return to the Promised Land, and all those who believe – the saved remnant of Israel – they are indwelled with God, the Holy Spirit, and He never leaves them, but makes them able to be the people of God and to strive after holiness.

Do you remember – after your rebellion – when you came to yourself and repented of your sins to God – that God was right there, as He always is for His people. And as we live with other believers and read the Word of God, He will cause us to remember all the things God has done for His people throughout time and space – the gift of salvation, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, holiness, glorification, and entrance into the fullness of the Kingdom.  Do you remember all that God has done and continues to do for you?

“[Where is He] who caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to make for himself an everlasting name,”

Israel left Egypt after the tenth plague – the death of the firstborn.  They left quickly and made their way towards the Red Sea, and then they saw the Egyptians riding towards them to take them back into captivity.  But they were facing the Sea, so they feared and cried out that it would be better to be in Egypt than dead.

We read:

“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.’

“Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.

“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided” (Exodus 14:15-21, ESV).

God told Israel to remember the parting of the Red Sea.  “Remember what I did to save My people from Pharoah. And if you think, well, Moses parted the Sea, remember that I sent the plagues to free you, I hardened the Egyptians hearts, I kept them from overcoming you in the wilderness, and I told Moses to stretch out his hand, and I divided the waters and made dry land, and I did this for My Glory.”

Do you remember that God has done things in your life that only He can do?  Do you remember that God has worked through humans to accomplish His will for you? Do you remember that God is to be glorified for what He has done?

“[Where is He] who led them through the depths? Like a horse in the desert, they did not stumble.”

After the Red Sea parted, the water shot up as a wall to the right and a wall to the left, and God held the water so Israel could walk across dry land to the other side of the Sea. And when the last Israelite made it to the other side, God took the Egyptians who were coming after Israel and put them in the center of the dry ground of the Sea, and God told Moses to raise his arms, and the walls of the Sea crashed down and drown all of the Egyptians and their horses.

 “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.’ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left” (Exodus 14:26-29, ESV).

God tells them to remember the way He delivered them in the past.  Remember how Israel walked on dry ground through the Red Sea, and God eliminated their enemies.  Look at how they went from one side to the other without there being any obstacles in the way – even the obstacle of the Sea God made no more an obstacle. So, it’s no issue for God to bring Israel back from Babylon.

Do you remember a time when you thought there was no way you could get from this point to that point?  Do you remember a time when you thought it would be too hard to accomplish what God calls you to?  Do you remember that “[And I am sure of this, that] he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6, ESV)?

“Like livestock that go down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. So you led your people, to make for yourself a glorious name.”

Israel is told to remember that the Spirit of the Lord brought them like livestock down into the valley.  The Holy Spirit was Israel’s Shepherd as He led them to rest in the land of Canaan – the Promised Land. And as God led His people, they glorified God – they made the Name of the Lord glorious – God’s Glorious Name was lifted up among them, because they understood that all good comes from God.  Every good they could do and think and accomplish is a gift from God.  So, God is worthy of all praise.

In the same way, God would lead Israel out of Babylon as His livestock down to the valley.  God would free them from exile and cause them to return by a smooth path and come into a fertile area that God provides for them.

These familiar words may have come to mind – they may have sung them on the way from Babylon to Israel:

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:1-3, ESV).

Do you remember that the Lord is our Shepherd?  Do you remember that His plan for His people is to bring every one of them to green pastures and still waters?  Do you remember that God’s fulfillment of our needs and restoring our soul and leading us in righteousness is all for His Glory – for the praise of His Name?

Israel had been given glorious news about the Kingdom prepared for all those who believe in the Servant Savior.  They were also given the horrific vision of the wicked being trampled by Jesus like grapes in a wine vat. And here, we see that they are told – as they go into captivity and as they live through it and one day return from it – remember what God has done in the past for His people.  Remember the historical events in which God shows His love and power for the sake of His people and to the Glory of His Name.  Remember all these things that have been recorded and know that God has not changed and His love and plan for His people has not changed.

Do we remember that?

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we thank You for giving us Your Word and for the history in it that we would learn what happened and what You have done.  We thank You for giving us this history as examples for us so we would know You better and trust and obey You more.  Help us to remember and not be afraid, but in obedience know You for Who You are and live as Your faithful and obedient people. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Reformed Wisdom

Calvin on Isaiah 63:10

"We are said to irritate 'the Holy Spirit' by our wickedness; and this form of expression, after the manner of men, is intended to produce in us stronger abhorrence against sin, which provokes God's wrath and hatred."

"The Day of Vengeance" Sermon: Isaiah 63:1-6 (video)

 (5) "The Day of Vengeance" Sermon: Isaiah 63:1-6 (video) - YouTube

"The Day of Vengeance" Sermon: Isaiah 63:1-6 (manuscript)

 

“The Day of Vengeance”

Isaiah 63:1-6

July 2, 2023 YouTube; St. Luke’s REC

          We will remember that Jesus began His public ministry with a text from Isaiah – as Luke records:

“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:16-19, ESV), And Jesus tells them that this prophecy has been fulfilled in their hearing.

Jesus is quoting a section from Isaiah 61, but He stops short of finishing the couplet.  Isaiah 61:2 reads “to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God;” (Isaiah 61:2ab, ESV).

          Why did He stop?  Because Jesus came to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and He will return with the day of vengeance of our God.

          Beginning in chapter 60, we see the fulness of the year of the Lord’s favor – the year of Jubilee – the exaltation of Zion – with Jewish and Gentile believers being received into the fulness of the Kingdom.

          In our text this morning, Isaiah asks questions of the Anointed One – the Messiah – about what he sees on the day of the vengeance of our God.

          Isaiah asks, “Who is this who comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength?”

          Isaiah does not initially know Who is coming from Edom.   He sees this Person is wearing crimson garments and coming from Bozrah – the capital of Edom.  His apparel is splendid, and He is marching in great strength.

          Remember that Edom is the nation that Esau – Jacob’s brother – founds.  Esau’s name means “red,” because he was red all over.  “Edom” means “red,” the nation of Esau. Bozrah is the capital of Edom, and it is the wine-bearing district of the nation.

          The Person responds, “’It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.’”

          He is the Savior, the Anointed One, the Messiah.  He is “I am Who I am,” the Word of Truth, the One mighty enough to save His remnant – the people God promises to bring back to Israel throughout the book of Isaiah – the remnant that He will bring into the New Jerusalem.

          Isaiah asks another question: “Why is your apparel red, and your garments like his who treads in the winepress?” Why are your splendid garments splattered and splashed as though You have been treading in a wine press?

“I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood spattered on my garments, and stained all my apparel.”

The Anointed One explains that He has been treading the winepress – and He was treading it alone.  There was no one who could help Him.  He, alone, completed the work of treading the winepress. Only the Anointed One alone has the ability to be the One Who treads the winepress. 

What is different from the usual treading of the winepress is that this treading is a picture of God giving justice to those who never believe in the Savior.  The day of God’s Wrath comes down upon all those who never believe.  The debt for sin has to be paid – and the unbeliever takes it upon himself and finds himself in the winepress where the Anointed One tramples him in anger and wrath for his sin until his blood stains the Saviors robes. And the word “tread” is in the present tense – indicating that his destruction is utterly determined.

This imagery is carried into the book of Revelation where we read of the same event, as John records:

“Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, ‘Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.’ So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.

“Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, ‘Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.’ So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia” (Revelation 14:14-20, ESV).

And:

“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:11-16, ESV).

The Anointed One continues, “For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption had come.”

          The Savior distinguishes between two groups – those who are set for the year of redemption – and those who are set for the day of vengeance.  The year of redemption is the merciful gift of God through Jesus Christ that our sins are forgiven, and we will be received into the fulness of the Kingdom.  The day of vengeance is the day of justice when those who never believe receive what they are due for their sin.

          God is Just and every mere human born after the sin of Adam is only worthy of being trampled by God in His vengeance – sent off to eternal suffering.  But God in His Mercy chose to save a remnant out of all of humanity – as we see in Isaiah.

          You may have heard people say it is unjust for God to only choose some out of humanity.  Justice would be for God to choose none – all have sinned – but God has mercifully chosen some to be His Son’s.  The rest will suffer the vengeance of Jesus.

The Savior continues, “I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold; so my own arm brought me salvation, and my wrath upheld me.”

The Messiah replies in shock that there is no one to help Him tread the wicked in the winepress.  He is appalled that no one has upheld God’s Law – there is no one righteous.  So, the Messiah and He alone brings salvation to the remnant, and His wrath upholds Him in His wrath against those who never repent and believe.

Now, the Messiah is not really shocked – He is the Almighty and Omniscient God – what we are seeing here is His disgust – making this point to us – that none of us should feel worthy or better than anyone else, because none of us can stand before the Holiness of the Triune God. And it should also stir in us the desire to tell our neighbors Who Jesus is and what He has done that the Holy Spirit might save them from being trampled in the winepress.

The Anointed One concludes our text saying:

“I trampled down the peoples in my anger; I made them drunk in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”

          Here we see the fulness – the completeness – of the Justice of God.  In the Savior’s anger He tramples down people from all the peoples – there will be people from every people that will ever exist that never believe.  Just as God has chosen a remnant out of every people to save.

          He causes them to become drunk in His wrath – they are overwhelmed – unstable – unable to get up in their drunken stupor.

          And He pours out their lifeblood – as we saw earlier in Revelation – God pours out their blood – they will be kept from everlasting life in the Kingdom because they have rejected the Anointed One.

Julia Ward Howe was an abolitionist, and in 1862 she wrote “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”  She uses the imagery Isaiah has recorded, though she meant it as a call to the rightness of the victory of the Union army.

Let me read the original lyrics and think about what Isaiah tells us about the Vengeance of the Anointed One and the Justice of God.  (I won’t read the chorus.)

 

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;

He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;

He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:

His truth is marching on.

 

I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps,

They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;

I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps:

His day is marching on.

 

I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:

"As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal";

Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel,

Since God is marching on.

 

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;

He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat;

Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! Be jubilant, my feet!

Our God is marching on.

 

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,

With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me.

As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,

While God is marching on.

 

He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,

He is Wisdom to the mighty, He is Succour to the brave,

So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of Time His slave,

Our God is marching on. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Hymn_of_the_Republic)

          The Savior, the Anointed One, came to earth for the salvation of His people – the remnant out of the world.  They are saved and will be brought into the fullness of the Kingdom on the last day.  This is an act of the Mercy of God.

          He will return again – in wrath, with vengeance – to mete out His justice on the rest of the world.  They will not have eternal life, but eternal death.  They will be trampled until their life blood covers the ground.

          The remnant of God’s Mercy will not change, nor the number of the remnant of justice and vengeance. Even so, God uses us to glorify Himself through the preaching of the Gospel that the Holy Spirit would apply it as it has been forever determined.

          How shall we respond to these things?  Shall we be thankful for the Mercy of God that has saved we who believe?  Shall we recognize the depths of our sin and what justice was endured by Jesus for our sake?  Shall we pray and speak the Gospel in obedience before the day of Vengeance and the fall of the Justice of God as we have been commanded?

          Let us pray:

          Almighty God, we thank You for the witness of the Scripture.  We thank You for assuring us that You have chosen a remnant who will be received into the fullness of the Kingdom and Your everlasting joy. We thank You for the horrifying vision of the Day of Vengeance and the trampling of the unbelievers.  Help us to take Your Justice seriously and may the Holy Spirit work through our lives and words to bring the remnant Jesus died for to You.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.