Judah Abandons Its God
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Isaiah
1. An expository study of Isaiah, chapter 1, verses 2-9
Isaiah begins a declaration in the name of the Lord to
Judah and to Jerusalem, but his message holds true in the entire world. How
clearly and with what detail God speaks to His prophet! It is a protest against
His people, but also gives counsel towards repentance. It is a call to rational
thinking, with an intention of offering forgiveness, followed by blessing. The
Lord speaks of Israel’s fall into corruption and they have become His enemies.
From sons of God they become offspring of evildoers. In the end, they will be
brought to repentance through a work of righteous judgment.
God
speaks: Heaven and earth must pay attention
The Lord wants to be heard (v.2a); He wants to
communicate, therefore throughout the Bible He commands His servants to write.
His words sweep the heavens, fall down to earth and fill all of time. He
reveals His thoughts and the feelings of His heart.
He is worthy to be heard and we ought to pay
attention. He is the Lord of Lords, therefore turn your ears in Heaven’s
direction. Open your Bibles and He will reveal Himself to you. He has authored
it for that purpose.
In similar words, Moses, God’s man, commands the same
universal attention. “Give ear, O
heavens, and let me speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth”
(Dt. 32:1-3). Everyone should hear and no one should ignore words that are
coming from the throne room of the universe. Man’s ignorance is inexcusable and
it will be judged, because it is voluntary. Moses’ authority is due to the
theme of his message. He speaks in the name of the Lord and declares the
meaning of His name, denoting His character… who He is. He is the Rock
(Dt.32:4), perfect in His works, just in His ways, faithful, never guilty of
injustice, He is righteous and upright.
Micah also calls the population of the earth to
attention: “Listen, oh earth and all it
contains” (Mi.1:2). The world’s masses should all know that the Lord is
taking careful account. He sees from His seat of holiness… awesome and supreme
judgment is decided there and He personally will carry it out (Mi.1:3)
Rebellion
fosters stupidity
The Lord creates life and He is the only one capable
of doing so (v.2b). He produces sons and He rears them as in a family. The evil
in man is seen, in that, though the Lord is a faithful Father, His sons have
rebelled (v.3). They are less discerning than animals. Rebellion fosters
stupidity. “Who is God, who is our Maker?” they wonder. He became Man and “the world was made through Him and the world
did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not
receive Him” (Jn.1:10-11).
Oxen and donkeys do better! The animals respond upon
the entrance of their owner into the barn. No stranger can possibly gain their
recognition. Jesus said to the Jews of His day, “You are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice and I know them, and
they follow Me” (Jn.10:26-27). Who are these that refuse to hear truth, war
against His work, and quench every flame that begins to glow? They
misunderstand His work and dealings.
Isaiah had the same message as Jesus 700 years earlier
and it extends over the centuries of the Christian era. It concerns a spiritual
nation with bad genes, an “offspring of
evildoers, sons who act corruptly!” (v. 4a). Notice the words that describe
their actions: abandon, despise, turn away (4b).
Opposition
to God’s lordship, holiness and heaven
They are engaged in personal rebellion against their
God. They abandon His lordship… “abandoned
the Lord”, His rightful rule over their lives. Things don’t get better in
the New Testament; in fact the indictment sounds even more severe. “There will also be false teachers among
you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master (despot) who bought them” (2 P.2:1).
Then, they hate the Holy One, because of His holiness…
“despised the Holy One of Israel”,
and their unholy nature rises up against His purity. Throughout his book, the
prophet reminds the people specifically of His name… The Holy One of Israel. At
the end of the introduction, I gave you the many instances, in which Isaiah
names Him by that name. Jesus in His high priestly prayer declares, “I have manifested Your name to the men
whom You gave me” (Jn.17:6). Those who have been given Him in this era will
also profit from the manifestation of the
Holy One of Israel in Isaiah.
The rebels have reversed their course, departing from
the God of heaven and chosen the road to hell. The means of discipline have
been exhausted on these incorrigible sons. There is no spot of their being that
has not been wounded already, from head to toe. The lack of repentance is seen,
in that their wounds have not been treated (v.5-6). Isaiah is presenting the
position of sinful Judah to them, much in the way that evangelists, whether
personal or public, need to present the state of sinners today. Unless they see
their state before a Holy God, they
will not repent and, if they do not repent, they cannot be saved!
History…
its sin and its consequences
An allegory of a beaten body, without bandages or
healing oil, is given to show the spiritual state of the nation, although
punishment came also in the form of a physical plague. The history of
destruction surely dates as far back as the days before Joash, because of a
compromise between a good king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, and evil King Ahab of
Israel. The daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, Athaliah, became the wife of
Jehoshaphat’s son, Jehoram (see the consequences in 2 Chr.21:14-20). Jehoram’s evil
son, Jehoahaz, only reigned a year and, when he was murdered, Athaliah took
over Judah. These were extremely dark days for Judah and they stand as an
example for the church, as to what happens, when good people compromise, in the
name of tolerance and brotherhood.
Joash did right under the influence of a priest,
Jehoiada, but then gave sacred things from the Lord’s house to appease an
enemy. He afterwards listened to wicked counsellors, turned to idolatry and killed
a righteous priest. Apparently, the bad blood of Ahab still ran in his veins
and the outward influence of Jehoiada was not enough to change his heart.
Amaziah reigned and also turned away from the Lord in
later life, became proud and idolatrous, for he also did not have a “whole heart” (2 Chr.25:2) for God. In the time of Isaiah, Uzziah reigned and
excelled his father, Amaziah, in righteousness for most of the 52 years of his
reign and he experienced “marvelous help”
(2 Chr.26:15) and strength. However, success was not good for Uzziah, he was
filled with pride and lost the fear of God. His greatest sin was to assume upon
himself the priesthood. He became a leper, and lost the kingdom as a result.
You might remember that King Saul lost the kingdom for the same reason (1
S.13:9,14). The two offices of priest and king was reserved only for the Son of
Man.
Isaiah’s
ministry begins
Isaiah’s prophetic ministry began upon the death of
Uzziah (Chap.6) and continued through the good reign of Jotham. Jotham’s one fault
was that he did not remove the high places, which seemed to hold cultural power
over the people, so that even though a king was able to make many reforms, the
populace held strongly to the traditional high places.
Afterwards, Ahaz became king and was evil, following
the kings of Israel in his idolatry. Isaiah worked to bring Ahaz to faith and
to ignore the worldly threats against Judah, but he was not successful. Isaiah’s
knowledge of his nation’s history and what he personally observed up to the
reign of Ahaz, prompts the declaration that we are studying (v.7-9). We do well
to study church history, in order to warn the believers of our day, concerning
past mistakes. Unfortunately those mistakes are often repeated, because
Christians only see the present and don’t look to the past.
Now, Isaiah sees the
daughter of Zion, a term used to describe that which has spiritual beauty
(daughter) and what is the height of God’s interest (Zion), the city of David
upon which Jerusalem is built. These are the remnant, the survivors, of which
Isaiah speaks, but their position is insecure and cramped. When God destroyed
Sodom and Gomorrah, there was not enough of a remnant to ward off His wrath.
His people are the salt of the earth and they intercede, as Abraham did (Ge.18:22-33).
They have been at work, even in modern times, in various places throughout the
earth. They know the power of intercessory prayer, and understand that God
alone can remedy the self-destruction dwelling in wicked society; therefore
they are reduced to prayer.
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