"Judgment and Glory" Sermon: Isaiah 66:15-24 (video)

 

"Judgment and Glory" Sermon: Isaiah 66:15-24 (video) - YouTube

"Judgment and Glory" Sermon: Isaiah 66:15-24 (manuscript)

 

“Judgement and Glory”

[Isaiah 66:15-24]

August 27, 2023 YouTube

          As we conclude this look at the book of Isaiah, we see God’s judgment upon the wicked, both in the return from Babylon and on the last day, and the Glory of God in saving a chosen remnant out of Babylon and out of the whole world throughout time and space.

          First, those who dwell in idolatry will reap the anger, fire, and sword of the Lord.

“For behold, the LORD will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire will the LORD enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh; and those slain by the LORD shall be many. ‘Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig’s flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together,’ declares the LORD.”

It has been commented that human history is bracketed by a holy sword.  After Adam’s sin in the Garden, we read, “He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life” (Gensis 3:24, ESV).

Here we read that the Lord will come in fire, in His anger and rebuke of fire, with fire in judgment, and with His sword with which He will slay many. Why was His anger against Israel then and against all those who never believe between the Garden and the Judgement?

God said, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:2-6, ESV).

And John records of the last day, “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 19:15-16, ESV).

Here we see both the image of the wicked being tread in the winepress – which we have seen before – and the image of Jesus coming with the sword to strike down the nations – those who never believe in Him for salvation.

We also read, “This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (II Thessalonians 1:5-8, ESV).

And “But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly” (II Peter 3:7, ESV).

God called all humans to have reverence for God’s Word – to believe, honor, and obey the God of the Bible – and to worship Him alone.  We have all turned to worshiping an idol at one – many – times or another. As we just saw, idolatry is forbidden – even idolatry that is tried to be passed off as reverence.

We will remember the self-righteous Pharisee we looked at a few weeks ago who boasted of his righteousness and holiness – out loud – in front of others in the Temple. Now we see those who pretend to be holy and pure according to the Word of God committing idolatry by following the unbelievers to the gardens of pagan worship and by eating pig’s flesh and mice.

Do you revere the Word of God?  Do you strive by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit in you not to sin – not to commit idolatry?  Have you believed in Jesus as God the Savior? If you repent, you will be forgiven as a son or daughter of God – a brother or sister of Jesus.  If not, you will receive fire and a sword from the Lord.

John records, “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15, ESV).

Some will say they don’t want to hear about this “fire and brimstone,” but Jesus talked about it out of love for the elect and His Father.  No one talked more about Hell than Jesus, and He did so to clarify before all what it is to reverence God’s Word and to turn His people from sin and idolatry.

Those who dwell in idolatry will reap the anger, fire, and sword of the Lord – now to some degree, and on the last day, completely and eternally.

Second, every human will see the Glory of the Lord and worship Him.

“For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the LORD, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD. And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the LORD.”

All humans will see the Glory of the Lord and worship Him – and that will include the elect of Israel – all those believers who returned from Babylon who believed in the Servant Savior that Isaiah prophesied – and – Gentiles – people from the nations will also see and worship – and members of the believing remnant of Israel will bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations and the coastlands.

God says He will send the believing survivors – the remnant – to all the nations – including Tarshish, Pul, Lud, Tubal and Javan.  The believing remnant will go to preach the Glory and the salvation of the Lord, and they will go on horses and litters and mules and camels, and they will be brought to Zion -- Jerusalem, “just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD.”  God use the image of bringing a clean – righteous and holy – vessel into the Temple – indicating that the Gentiles are cleansed in the same way the Jews are.  And God makes the shocking statement, “And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites,” to show that even with respect to the guarded class of people able to function as priests, there are Gentiles who will qualify just as Jew have for years.

Paul explains that the bringing in of the Gentiles into the household of God – the people of God – will make the Jews jealous and cause many for them to repent and come back to the Lord.

“So I ask, did [Israel] stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!

“Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?” (Romans 11:11-15, ESV).

What do we conclude?  Just as the believing remnant would be sent out to bring the truth of the Glory of God to the Gentiles, so we are called to bring the truth of the Glory of the Gospel to all peoples.  God is bringing a remnant out of all the world -- out of all the peoples – the ones He has chosen according to His Will, and He has chosen to use human beings to bring the truth of the One salvation to the world.

Every mere human being throughout time and space is a sinner, and there is only Salvation in the Servant Savior, Jesus.

“For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the LORD, so shall your offspring and your name remain. From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the LORD.”

When the Lord comes on the last day to bring His people into the fulness of the Kingdom, He will make new heavens and a new earth, and in the new heavens and new earth, the people throughout the generations who believe in the Savior and the reputation as being people of the Lord will remain forever and forever.

From new moon to new moon and Sabbath to Sabbath, every human being will worship before the Lord.  Month to month and Sabbath to Sabbath – from the day set aside to worship the Lord and Him Alone to the day set aside to worship the Lord and Him Alone, every human being will worship before the Lord.

Peter writes, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

“Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (II Peter 3:10-13, ESV).

John writes, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:1-4, ESV).

And Paul says that every human will worship before the Lord, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11, ESV).

 Isaiah and the New Testament writers that have been quoted say that every human being will worship the Lord – how can that be?  There are a great number of unbelievers who die in their unbelief – can we say that they will worship the Lord as well?  Yes – that is what the Scripture says.  How exactly that will occur is not clearly stated – whether it will be through their eternal suffering that proclaims the Holiness and Jstice of Jesus or something else – that is not clear here.

Isaiah ends his book:

“And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

One commentator asks if we are to believe there is a graveyard outside of the New Jerusalem.  That is quite unlikely.

Rather, what makes more sense is to says that the elect of God will know all those who have been struct by the fire and sword of the Lord and cast into Hell for the sin of never believing in Jesus as Savior.  The believing remnant will know those who fell away after the Babylonian Captivity.  And the chosen will know and believe that the fate of those who never believe is eternal torment. And the believers will be repulsed by them, and they will loath them.

The one thing the righteous are not to do – and it may be why they are known as they saved go out – the righteous are not to gloat over the fact that they are not in suffering with them.  Every mere human being is a sinner and deserves to be in the same Hell – no one has a reason to be smug about those who denied Jesus – we are only saved by the work and choice of us by the Triune God – not for any merit we have ever had.

It is the opposite that those who go by and know the eternal suffering of the wicked:  In humility, we ought to find ourselves in a state of solemnity by those who are damned to Hell.  Our mouths ought to be shut and we ought to find ourselves humbled and prostrated before our God.

As the seraphim eternally sing: “And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!’” (Isaiah 6:3, ESV).

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we thank You that You are both Holy and a Merciful God.  We thank You for being forever Holy, Holy, Holy, and for choosing a people for Yourself who will be with You in the new heavens and the new earth.  Help us to worship in humility and joy.  Strengthen us by the Holy Spirit that we would go to the ends of the earth to spread Your Gospel.  And let us bear with Your Fatherly Hand when we need discipline.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

"Back to the Garden" Sermon: Isaiah 66:5-14 (video)

 "Back to the Garden" Sermon: Isaiah 66:5-14 (video) - YouTube

"Back to the Garden" Sermon: Isaiah 66:5-14 (manuscript)

 

“Back to the Garden”

Isaiah 66:5-14

August 20, 2023 YouTube

          In the preceding section, we saw that God is most interested in people having reverence for His Word.  God spoke to Israel and told them that the Temple is much less important than their reading God’s Word and hearing God’s Word and having a deep respect for the Word of God because it is the Word of God and coming humbly and repentantly because of God’s Word, asking that God the Holy Spirt would cause them to be faithful and obedient to the Word of God.

          Considering His Word, God says that out of those who return from captivity in Babylon – and out of the whole world throughout time and space – there will be people who are nurtured in the church, but never truly believe, and there are those who hear the Word of God and fall on their faces in obeisance and humility, thanking God for His Mercy.

          We see first that those who mock the prophets, and the promises of God will be put to shame.

“Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble at his word: ‘Your brothers who hate you and cast you out for my name’s sake have said, “Let the LORD be glorified, that we may see your joy”; but it is they who shall be put to shame. The sound of an uproar from the city! A sound from the temple! The sound of the LORD, rendering recompense to his enemies!’  

          God tells those who tremble at His Word – who have reverence for His Word – that there are people in the church who say they are brothers and sisters, but they are not.  Rather, these are people who deny the Word of God and throw the true believers out of the church in the Name of God. This is the reverse case of what John records: “Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us (I John 2:18-19, ESV).

          There are those who look like believers.  Some will leave the church because they never truly believed.  Others will stay in the church – as we see here in Isaiah – and work to push out those who are the true believers – the elect of God. It is these people who will say to the true believers who came out of Babylon, “Let the Lord be glorified that we may see your joy.  Let’s see you glorify God for sending us into Babylon.  Let’s see your joy when you lift Him up when He could have prevented all of this.  Do you really think the Lord should be glorified just because we have come home to a barren land and a destroyed Temple?  Do you think you will get joy?  Show us.”

          God says that the wicked will not get away with their mockery – a day of judgement is coming. The day will come when God puts them to shame.  The day will come when there is an uproar in the city of Jerusalem and God will come with His holy angels against those who shall be put to shame. A sound from the Temple – the Temple will be rebuilt and witness against the unbelievers.  And the Lord Himself will call out in judgment – giving those who are false believers what they deserve.  God will reward His enemies – and the enemies of His people – according to their sin.  The wicked will receive shame and the ultimate punishment.

          We should not be surprised that there are people in the church who say they are Christians but are not.  There are people who look at the church as a social club or a welfare organization.  They look at the Word of God and only see the idea that we should be good people and help our neighbors – which we should – but the miss the point that we are sinners in need of a Savior – the Servant Savior of Isaiah.  No one has any hope otherwise.  All those who never believe will find their time in church vain and their recompence eternal suffering.

          Second, God gives a vision of the future restoration.

“Rejoice with Jerusalem ‘Before she was in labor she gave birth; before her pain came upon her she delivered a son. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?’

The Psalmist writes, “When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, ‘The LORD has done great things for them.’ The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad. Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negeb! Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him’” (Psalm 126:1-6, ESV).

I have had kidney stones, but I have never given birth to a child.  My understanding is that childbirth is one of the most painful experiences a woman can experience.

God says to rejoice – all of Jerusalem rejoice – all of the people of God rejoice.  The day is coming when pain will be removed from us.  Imagine a woman who gives birth before she goes into labor.  Imagine a woman who gives birth before any of the pain comes upon her.  This is unthinkable, isn’t it.  How can a woman give birth without pain?  Even as an example, how can we make sense of this in the context of there being no pain?

We can understand – at least – that women were not, initially – created to have pain in childbirth.  It is only after the sin in the Garden that God gives women the punishment of pain in childbirth.  “To the woman he said, ‘I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” (Genesis 3:16, ESV).

God continues, “’Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment? For as soon as Zion was in labor she brought forth her children.’

God switches the example to the restoration of the land – the nation of Israel – Zion.  God tells the remnant that He will restore.  God will see that the children of Zion are born. He will restore the land and raise up New Jerusalem for His people in the days to come.

“’Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?’ says the LORD; ‘shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?’ says your God.”

God promises that all the people of Zion – all of the believers throughout time and space – will come to faith – believing in the Savior.  God will not neglect to bring everyone He intends to save into Zion. And there will be a great increase in the people of God.

Paul writes, “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience” (Romans 8:23-25, ESV).

And Jesus says, “While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled” (John 17:12, ESV).

Third, the glory of the nations shall be a mother to the people of God.

“Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her; that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious abundance.”

The elect of God are called to rejoice with Jerusalem – to look forward to the joy of coming back to the land after Babylon – and, ultimately, to the new heavens and new earth – rejoicing with joy in the hopes of seeing the New Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven.  Now there is still sin for us to mourn – among the returning remnant and among we of the Church now, but the day will come when the wretched state of the Church will be turned to joy.

As we wait, the true Church of God nurses and satisfies us.  In her we drink deeply and with delight for her glorious abundance, because the true Church and the true believers reverence the Word of God which is an eternally deep well.  We are forever consoled because we never plumb all the depths of God’s Word.

“For thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bones shall flourish like the grass; and the hand of the LORD shall be known to his servants, and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.’”

Are you at peace?  God promises peace to the Church – to Zion. All true believers – Jews and Gentiles – are given peace like a river by God through the Church – we are given peace that gives us true prosperity in God and welfare in Him.  In the Church, we nurse – we gain sustenance and growth through feeding on the Word. And so, we are treated fondly with a remarkable condescension in which believers are carried on the hip and bounced in the Church as a child on his mother’s knee.

We who believe are the children of God, and He bears with our sins and weaknesses knowing that the Servant Savior has paid the debt for our sins, so we will be brought into the Kingdom – which will be a return to the Garden.  God will take away sin and the punishment for sin for all we who believe, so all the effects of sin will be removed – forever, in the City of God.  We shall rejoice, and there shall no longer be a weakening of bones – no failing of the body – we will be raised and perfected, never more to experience the effects of sin.

          We will know the fatherly hand of God Who delivers us and the remnant out of Babylon. He will comfort us and bring us into the fulness of the Kingdom – according to His Will and by the salvation His Son has earned.

          And still, the wicked will mock.  These who never believe – even if they spend their whole lives in the church doing good works, but never believing in Jesus for salvation – they are dried up.  They do not have peace like a river, and they do not have a mother to feed them and comfort them.

          The wicked superficially look like believers for a time, but God will reveal Himself and rescue His people. And God will show His indignation against His enemies. God will unleash His Anger in disgust against His enemies, and they will be gone from our sight.

          Don’t be dismayed by the enemies of God in the land and in the Church who pretend to be peart of the people of God. God knows who they are, and they will be dealt with by God,

          Focus on the promise that we will all go back to the Garden – to all the people who are the elect of God being brought into the land – being brought into the New Jerusalem – glorified – without sin or pain or suffering – just as we shall be forever.  Be comforted in God being our Father and the Church being our mother and let us reverence the Word of God.

          Let us pray:

          Almighty God, we thank you for the vision that the remnant from Babylon was given – that God has chosen a people to be the True Church, and we will be brought into the Kingdom – a return to the Garden.  For now, we live among and even have in our churches the wicked – the mockers whom the Lord will recompence. Thank You for giving us Your Son to save us and for the Church that we could be cared for in the Christian community.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

"Worship" Sermon: Isaiah 66:1-4 (video)

 (2) "Worship" Sermon: Isaiah 66:1-4 (video) - YouTube

"Worship" Sermon: Isaiah 66:1-4 (manuscript)

 

“Worship”

Isaiah 66:1-4

August 13, 2023 YouTube

          As Israel prepares to go into the Babylonian captivity, God talks to them about the return of the remnant to Israel one day, and He tells them that worship must conform to the nature of God.

“Thus says the LORD: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD.’

God begins by telling them that the Temple is not the resting place of God.

We will remember that Solomon’s Temple will be destroyed by the Babylonians.  So, when the remnant returns, there will be no Temple – no place for the worship of God – and God tells them not to be confused:  God does not need the Temple and God cannot be contained in the Temple.

That is not a condemnation of the Temple – when Solomon built the Temple, God gave him detailed instructions about how it was to be built – the material, the rooms, the areas of sacrifice, etc.

When Solomon dedicated the Temple, he said, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O LORD my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive” (I Kings 8:27-30, ESV).

So, God gives instruction for how the Temple is to be built and how He is to be rightly worshipped, but He does not want them to become confused about God’s Nature.  God says that the earth is His footstool and Heaven in His throne. And God made everything, and everything that is came into being by His Right Hand.  God is transcendent and immense – He exists apart from the Creation which He made – God was not created – and He is not subject to any of the limitations that exist in the Creation that He made.  He is God and King over all.

God cannot be contained in the Temple – or in any church – but God has told us how to build places of worship to Him – with the understanding that God is far beyond every being and all of Creation.

Second, in worship, God wants us to show reverence for His Word.

“But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.’

How do we meet with God?  How do we get Him to abide with us and make us His people?  Big, beautiful buildings? Fancy robes?  Musical instruments? Statues and art?

Without getting into whether those things or others can be part of biblical worship, let us note that none of those are what God says is the most important part of our worship – what God takes joyful notice of – is our coming before Him in humility, with a contrite spirit, trembling at His Word.

God wants us to come before Him in humility.  God wants us to come before Him with a right estimation of who we are in comparison with Him.  We just looked at the transcendence and immensity of God.  He is Holy, Omnipotent, Omniscient, and so forth – compared with Him – our estimation of ourselves ought to be very low.  Even as forgiven sinners, saved through the work of Jesus – the Servant of Isaiah – David describes himself before God, “But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people” (Psalm 22:6, ESV).

Some today would say that David had low self-esteem, but, in fact, he rightly saw himself in relation to God.  Being humble does not mean that we are unjustly negative about ourselves – we were created in the Image of God. And God has indwelled all we who believe with the Person of the Holy Spirit.  We are not to anger God by offending His creation, much less Himself.

We are to come before God with a contrite spirit. We are to come before God as repentant sinners – again and again as we continue to sin.  We remember Jesus’ parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector, where the Pharisee “prayed” telling God how lucky He is to have someone who keeps the Law and is a great example to the community – not like this tax collector.  And the tax collector – who came with a contrite spirit – called out to God, “Forgive me, a sinner.”  This is how we are to come to worship – this is the one who is forgiven, the one who confesses and repents of his sin.

And we are to come – Israel is to come back devoting herself to the Word of God – we are to come trembling before the Word of God. God does not mean we are to come being afraid of the Bible – though it may be appropriate to tremble in fear before some of the things written in the Bible – rather, it is to come before the Word of God with an appropriate reverence.  It is to come before the Word of God sincerely believing that what we have in the Bible is everything God would have us know for faith and salvation.  We come believing that everything in the Bible is true – the Word delivered through human authors by God and kept from error by the Holy Spirit from the day the texts were written until the day Jesus’ returns.

In reading and believing the Word of God – in being saved by the Servant Savior, Jesus – we have faith that moves us to obedience.  Truth faith – received when God saves us will always lead to believers striving to do everything God has commanded in His Word.

What God wants is for us to have reverence for His Word and then to follow Him in obedience.

Third, having a Temple does not guarantee its purposes are being fulfilled.

As we see in the next section of our text:

“’He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck; he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers pig’s blood; he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol.’

It’s been said that “going into a church makes you a Christian as much as going into a McDonalds makes you a hamburger.”

The sad truth is you can be brought up in the church, take part in everything in the church, be baptized, confirmed, receive communion, teach Sunday School, and still never truly believe and end up going to Hell.  Similarly, there were people – like the Pharisee Jesus mentioned – who went to the Temple and did what he thought he should – maybe even adding some additional rules and ceremonies that God had not commanded – and that son of Israel can still die and go to Hell.

Faith in Who Jesus is and what He did is the sum of the Gospel and the means of our salvation – nothing else.  Then, we are to be obedient and do all those things God has commanded.  So, it was with the remnant who would return from Babylon.  Isaiah records four parallels of righteous and sinful sacrifices that the remnant would bring to the Temple – whether literally or metaphorically – God is warning the remnant – He is warning us – don’t think we are not liable to do things in worship that God hates – just being in the Temple or in the church doesn’t make a thing right – pleasing in God’s sight.

So, we have the parallels between what is acceptable in God’s sight in Temple worship and what is not lawful – what is shocking, monstrous, and pagan.

Some will say there is no difference between offering up an ox to God – which is pleasing to Him, and they will also approve of killing a man in the worship of God. It’s pretty obvious why this is wrong.

Again, God says some will sacrifice a lamb in worship – and that is a right offering to make, but the offering up of a dog after its neck is broken is an abomination.  God does not accept a sacrifice with a broken neck – it must be healthy and clean when it is brought to the Temple for sacrifice.

It is right to offering up a grain offering to God – God has given instructions about this, but pig’s blood!  If someone today knows next to nothing about Jews, he will likely know that pigs are unclean to the Jews – and so it would be a foul and repulsive thing to offer up the blood of a pig to God in worship.

The fourth example is the making of a memorial offering with frankincense – a type of incense as the name indicates – which is right in the eyes of God, and the blessing of an idol, which is blasphemous – though this is one we engage in, isn’t it?  Do we gloat about the money we put into the offering and pat ourselves on the back? Do we consider how we didn’t fall asleep during the sermon this week and think we deserve the biggest piece of cake during coffee hour?

What God wants of us is that we come to worship reverencing His Word.  Reading, listening, and then responding to the very Word of God – not neglecting the parts we don’t like, not adding to it or changing it – but understanding it, thanking and praising God for it, asking that God the Holy Spirit would help us to take what we have reverently received and be obedient to it.

Fourth, God rejects those who do not have reverence for His Word.

This is not a surprise based on what we have already seen.

‘”These have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations; I also will choose harsh treatment for them and bring their fears upon them, because when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, they did not listen; but they did what was evil in my eyes and chose that in which I did not delight.’”

There will be those who come out of exile saying that “god” brought them out – whatever that is.  They will come desiring to do things their own ways – engaging in the abominations they learned in Babylon.  They will be glad to return to Israel, but they will be even more glad that they can continue their sin in peace.  They will bring the idols and worship and practices of Babylon back with them thinking that God won’t care – after all, they had learned He is but one of many.

We have a word, “syncretism,” which means the merging together of one or more religions or thoughts.  I have a doctor like this.  He wears a Hindu bracelet, as well as Catholic prayer beads.  He carries a Torah, and also a card with a saint on it.  All these things, he tells me, protect him from evil spirits.

As Paul walked around the Areopagus, he said, “So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: ‘Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: “To the unknown god.” What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you”’” (Acts 17:22-23, ESV). The Greeks worshipped all the gods they knew of and left the option open to worship one they didn’t know about yet.

Some people who claim to be Christians offer up blood sacrifices, and worship statues, and if they pull the lever just right, they believe God will rain money down on them.  There are more things we do.  This is against the Word of God that says there is One God and He Alone shall you worship – there is no reverence of God’s Word when Israel does that – or when we do that.

          Because people try to do things commanded and forbidden in God’s Word while claiming to be faithful and reverent, God says He will bring “harsh treatment” on such people and cause their fears to come true and arise over them and upon them.  The phrase “harsh treatment” can be translated as “summary execution” or “the cause of destruction” as well.  God is very angry at people who do not reverence His Word.

          God says He called to the remnant, but they didn’t hear, when He spoke, they didn’t listen, rather, they purposefully and intentionally – not accidentally, not ignorantly – but because they willed to do so – they did what is evil in God’s Eyes and chose what God does not delight in.  They spit in the Face of God.  They read the Word of God and all He commands, and their response is to tell God to go away, to leave them alone, that they don’t want Him.

          That’s terrifying.

          I have a friend from college who seemed to be a believer when I met him.  We studied the Bible and discussed the things of God.  We worshipped in church. But, at some point since college, He renounced Christ and repudiated God and calls himself an atheist.  He hasn’t explained to me what happened – not yet.

          I hope this is not true of him, but the author of Hebrews writes, “For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt” (Hebrews 6:4-6, ESV).

          As Israel prepared to go into exile, God told them that what He wanted from them was to reverence God’s Word – to know it and believe it and be faithful to it – to understand that God is not contained in a house but is greater than we can conceive.  This is true of us, today, as well.  God also warned them that there will be those who return from captivity who will think themselves the people of God although they despise the true God and do what they want believing they are right with God, and God will kill them in the way they most fear.

          Let us pray:

          Almighty God, we thank You for the promise and the warning You gave Israel as they went into captivity, because Your Word is for us today as well.  Help us to understand all we can about Who You are from Your Word, and help us to come to Your Word, repentantly and with reverence and thanksgiving.  Cause the Holy Spirit to work in us that we would be obedient to You.  Keep us humble and fill us with joy in You.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

"Mercy Received, Part 2" Sermon: Isaiah 65:11-25 (video)

 "ercy Received, Part 2" Sermon: Isaiah 65:11-25 (video) - YouTube

"Mercy Received, Part 2" Sermon: Isaiah 65:11-25 (manuscript)

 

“Mercy Received, Part 2”

Isaiah 65:11-25

August 6, 2023 YouTube

          We continue with our look at the mercy received by the elect of Israel as they face the Babylonian exile.  God promised to bring a remnant back from Babylon, and He promised that there is a chosen remnant that would be His forever in His Kingdom.  God separates them from the wicked.

          Our text this morning begins with God condemning the worship of the wicked.  We will remember that worship is the proclaiming or affirming the worth of something. There is, of course, only One worthy of this worship.

          “But you who forsake the LORD, who forget my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny, I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen, but you did what was evil in my eyes and chose what I did not delight in.”

          God says the wicked have abandoned God and they have abandoned Jerusalem – the place of Temple worship.  They have abandoned the only God worthy of worship and the place where He commanded He be worshipped.  Rather, they have engaged in pagan worship – offering food offerings of bread and wine to the gods – the idols – of Fortune and Destiny.

          Therefore, they will not receive mercy.  God will put them under the sword and slaughter them for their sin – in this life and/or the next.  God will slaughter them for bowing down to false gods because God called them to repentance and belief, but they didn’t answer – they stayed steadfast in their idolatry.  Even when God spoke and people heard His Word, they did not listen to Him.  In fact, they purposely did what God said is evil and they purposely chose those things that God hates.

          God will not stand for idolatry – for pagan – false worship.  God has told us that He Alone is to be worshipped and He has told us how He is to be worshipped, but we have better ideas.  God will not tolerate worship of idols or in way that He has not approved.

          They will not receive mercy.

          God already told the remnant of believers to call to mind all the good things God did for them in the past that they would see the mercy of God all along in their lives.

“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame; behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart, but you shall cry out for pain of heart and shall wail for breaking of spirit. You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse, and the Lord GOD will put you to death, but his servants he will call by another name,’

          God goes on to parallel the fates of the wicked and the elect in the next section of text.

          The wicked will be left hungry and thirsty by God.  They will be put to shame and cry out in emotional pain and in the breaking of their spirit, so they have no hope.  Their name will be known as a curse, and God will kill them.  They will be forgotten by God and never appear before His eyes again.

          This is the future for all those who never believe in the Savior God sent. Their idols cannot save them.

          But to the believers – the believing remnant – God has readied for them a place of joy to live. They will have drink and food.  They will rejoice and sing with gladness of heart, and they will be given a new name by God.

          Jesus says, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. (John 14:1-3, ESV)

“’so that he who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth, and he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my eyes.’”

          The believing remnant who have a new name will have their former suffering and evils removed from their sight and memory.  When they bless themselves, it will be by the God Who blesses, and any oath that is take in the land God gives them with be as swearing by the God of Truth Himself.

          The mercy received from God will – in the end – change everything for and about the elect.  The fulness of God’s Mercy will be known in the Kingdom of God.

          God describes what this will be like for all we who believe – the elect remnant out of Babylon – and all who believe throughout time and space.  (Of course, this is only in part as the elect return from Babylon and rebuild under the blessed hand of God.  The fulness of the restoration comes at the end of the age.):

           “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.”

          Just as God created the heavens and the earth back in Genesis, God will create new heavens and a new earth.  The former earth and heavens which were cursed after the fall will no longer be remembered.  The devastation all of Creation endured will not be remembered.  We will know and rejoice in the new heavens and the new earth where we will spend eternity.

“But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.”

God creates and restores everything which ever was and received the corruption of sin.  The earth will be new, and the skies will be new.  Jerusalem will be new and Jerusalem will be her people, and her people will be gladness to each other and to God.  Jerusalem – the City of Peace – will be the people of God – saved in mercy – and – with all sorrow and sin behind us – all in us and from us and to others will be gladness.

“I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress.”

It is the joy of God to make a people for Himself and to save a people for Himself out of all the world.  We will be His people, and there will be no more weeping or crying.  We’ve heard this before:

John records this vision of what we have just heard, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’

“And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son’” (Revelation 21:1-7, ESV).

In making the new heavens and a new earth, God will make all things new, and nothing will fall short of godliness.

Looking back to the Garden and the longevity that Adam and Eve and all humans would have had since the beginning – if there had been no sin – God says His people will be returned to that status in the Kingdom.

“No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.”

Now, in the sinless Kingdom, there is no sin, so there is no death, so no one will die in the Kingdom.  What is being said here is that no matter how old a person might live on earth, or whether a person’s life is cut short by one means or another, such a thing will never happen in the Kingdom.  Age will be an irrelevancy.  The age of all people will be fulfilled and eternal.

“They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.”

To Israel returning out of Babylon, they are told that they will have their homes and vineyards again.  The desolate land will not be forever.  As they work it, it will be restored, and it will be a blessing to the people again.

Looking forward, God has provided a place for His people to live, and He has provided fruit for them to eat throughout the year.  All are sheltered and there is no lack of food. As John describes, “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:1-2, ESV).

“They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.”

God promises in the days to come, Israel will no longer be conquered.  Jerusalem will stand forever.  No one will steal from her.  Age will be like a tree, and labor will not be in vain.

“They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD, and their descendants with them.”

Again, this is in the return of the remnant from Babylon.  In the Kingdom, there will be no bearing of children.  As Jesus says of humans, “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven” (Matthew 22:30, ESV).

Still, in the Kingdom, there will be generations of the elect and they will all be blessed of the Father.

In Isaiah chapter 64, Israel complains that God doesn’t hear them.  This is not true.  God hears everyone and answers according to His will.  Here God says He will hear them before they speak and that He will answer before they call out to Him.

“Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.”

Finally, God tells them – and us – that in the Kingdom, all will surpass the perfection of Paradise in the Garden:

“’The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,’ says the LORD.”

We have already seen this beautiful picture of all of Creation living in harmony and joy with each other back in Isaiah 11:

“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,   and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious” (Isaiah 11:6-10 ESV).

The mercy that has been received through Jesus – the Servant Savior of Isaiah – brings a remnant back from Babylon – a believing people for Himself.  God provides for them and prepares them – all we who believe through time and space – to be received into the Kingdom – the new heavens and the new earth where we will live with God and all of the restored Creation in a superior Paradise.

We have much to be thankful for.  We have much to remember that has already come to us in the mercy of God.  We have much to hope for. If we have believed, we have received eternal mercy.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, as we look at the world around us, it is hard to imagine the heavens and earth being perfected and at peace – with no evil or sin – ever-glorifying You.  Help us to believe and hold fast to the hope that just as we have received mercy from You in the past, we will continue to do so, and we will be received into the superior Paradise that Isaiah records.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

Review: "Behold and Become"

 

Behold and Become: Reading Scripture for Transformation by Jeremy M. Kimble looks at how the Christian ought to read the Scripture and how it will, then, transform the reader. The thesis behind the man title is that awe become what we behold (what we see).

In chapter one, the author argues that it is in reading the Scripture that we know Who God is and commune with Him. 

Then he presents the case – which I rarely see these days – that the Scripture is inspired, infallible, inerrant, clear, necessary, sufficient, and authoritative.

In the third chapter he shows that there is a firm relation ship between the Old and New Testaments that present one salvation in Jesus Alone.

With these chapters agreed on, he looks at the efficacy of the Scripture.  The efficacy of Scripture, as he defines it is “the power of God’s word to accomplish God’s purposes in people’s lives” (77).  He looks at numerous Scriptures to show this is true, and then has historical voices weigh in on the matter.  The Holy Spirit, he says, works with the Scripture to transform the reader into the person God intends the person to be.

In chapter five, he looks at the practical ways the Bible ought to be beheld – including: reading, studying, and memorizing.  He gives examples of each and how to lead one’s family in beholding the Scripture, noting that knowing the Scripture will lead to repentance and growth.

Sixth, he looks at the place of the Word in the Church, considering the need for various persons and groups to be in to refine and grow in becoming.

Finally, he considers the Word in the life of the minister.  This is something that should be obvious, but, obviously, is not these days.  Besides the work of “beholding and becoming” he has already described; he explains why preaching and teaching must be text-driven.  From there, he explains how a biblical sermon is to be written.

After the conclusion, there is a page and a half appendix stating the main point of each chapter and how they fit together.

This is an excellent book – especially in a day when people focus on “me”, and ministers focus on everything except the clear and authoritative teaching of the Bible.  The text is straight-forward and readable and may be usable with high school students.  Certainly, it is a text to be used with college and seminary students.

Kimble is right that we become what we behold.  The problem is that what many people who believe they are Christians, and even those who are Christians, behold, is not what the Scripture teaches.

I received this book for free from Kregel in exchange for an honest review.

[This review appears on my blog, Amazon.com, Kregel. Com, and Goodreads.com].