Adult Class

December 2006-May 2007

Isaiah

Lesson 2: Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem

            The book begins with a prescript that notes the times of Isaiah’s work. These kings cross more than 40 years. One writer suggested that Isaiah’s work lasted at least 53 years! But the prophetic portion opens with God calling for creation itself to witness the offense against Him by Israel. This is forensic language, as God calls Israel to trial. Within the opening chapters there are a few themes that capture our attention.

1:10-17—Your worship is not acceptable because your life is not right.

            God calls Israel “Sodom,” and “Gomorrah.” He declares that He is disgusted with their sacrifices and their attendance at the temple. He calls their offerings “meaningless,” and their assemblies “evil.” He states that He will ignore all their prayers. The reason for God’s rejection of their worship is that their lives do not reflect their declarations of allegiance to God.

            This is not the only place that God ties ethical practice to religious worship. In fact, this is pointed out as a root cause of Cain’s failure in the very first recorded act of worship! (Genesis 4:7) The same idea is repeated in very similar language in Amos 5:21-24. In the ancient world, it was unthinkable that the gods would have any interest in the daily dealings of people. In contrast to those idols, though, God has always been interested in the righteousness of His people.

            Those who commit themselves to God must live according to His will. It is sarcastic and hypocritical for a person to declare in worship “God is the most important person in my life,” and then go out and live with no regard for His will. Behavior of that type leads others to believe that God encourages or at least condones evil deeds. That kind of persistent insult will not be forever overlooked by Him. Many have understood the need for right practice as the actual desire of God (1 Samuel 15:22; Psalm 51:16-17). Those who think that the performance of some rituals can satisfy God’s interest in human beings do not know Him. In fact, they are treating the only living God as though He were just another idol.

1:18-20—Be sensible!

            God calls the Israelites to think rationally about all this. He offers to forgive their sin and restore them to a perfect condition—if they will truly repent and do what is right. He repeats the same injunctions He gave in Deuteronomy and warns that rebellion will end only in their own death. He finishes with an expression of finality—there is no appeal from the judgment of God.

            It is impressive that God offers grace to the nation. Even in the face of so severe provocation He holds out the possibility of redemption. His will is fixed; He will never adjust His benchmarks of right and wrong to suit a self-willed group of people. The requirement for forgiveness remains the same always—repentance. The people must actually change their lives and change their ways in order to experience the blessings of God. However, He freely offers to grant them all the blessings He has promised if they will follow the terms of His covenant and obey Him.

2:1-5—Many will come to God in the future.

            Prophecy is not primarily a matter of prediction of the future. It is primarily a matter of declaring the will of God. In this case, though, Isaiah is granted a vision of the future and it is a glorious vision. He sees God and the worship of God exalted in all the earth, with all nations streaming to honor Him, a picture mirrored by Micah 4:3. The gentiles will flock to hear God’s word proclaimed and they will live in enduring peace. Against this peaceful and harmonious picture, Isaiah pleads with Israel to be a part of that movement, to “walk in the light of the Lord.”

            Isaiah furnishes a great deal of imagery that is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The mention of the “last days” invokes the idea of the final covenant between God and man, just as the Hebrew writer points out that we are in the last days, and have been in the last days since the resurrection of Jesus (Hebrews 1:1-2). It is in the New Testament that all nations are invited to participate in the grace of God and obtain forgiveness in Christ. Only in Christ is true peace found.

            It is difficult for us to appreciate the winsome attraction of a picture of peace and harmony among all nations in the knowledge and service of God. This vision came to a people who had been beleaguered on every side by enemies who were plundering and raiding the nation. The best possible world they could imagine would involve peace among all the gentiles and a widespread obedience to God. But what good would that be if the nation of Judah refused to participate?

3:4, 6-7, 13-15; 4:1—This whole society will collapse from a lack of leadership.

            When God described their officials as children, He meant more than physical age. He meant that there would be a level of immaturity and bad judgment that would be more fitting to terribly inexperienced young people than to supposed leaders. As the social structure continued to deteriorate, people would turn to anybody, hoping for leadership over the broken-down remnant of the nation.

            However, God will not hold such children to account—His complaint is against the elders and the leaders who should have trained and guided His people to know right from wrong. They have destroyed the nation of Israel (vineyard), amassed their wealth at the expense of others and treated the citizens as if they were of no value or interest.

            Leadership is always of primary interest. Some of the most sought-after learning materials deal with finding and development leadership. Good leaders are indispensable; bad leaders are disastrous. By definition, leadership takes a people from their current place to a new place. Without leadership, people merely become more and more self-directed, and this never results in more righteousness. Society at large only reflects the lives of its citizens. Unless leaders draw people to better individual lives, the society will continue to degenerate and crumble. If people are encouraged to live as cowards, liars, treacherous betrayers, lazy and decadent ignoramuses, then nobody should be surprised to find himself in a hell on earth. If people are encouraged to be brave, honest, upright, industrious, self-controlled and trained in godliness, nobody should be surprised to find a society that provides peace, order and harmony among people.

            While the citizens may be held accountable by God for their failure, it is certain that their leaders will face a sterner judgment (James 3:1).