Isaiah 7:1-9 “Be careful, Be quiet, Do not fear …”

 

This is the season in which we remember the birth of Christ. 

Our thoughts are directed away from the commercialism commonly associated with this season. 

Our desire is to  see Jesus again for who He is – Our Immanuel – God with us.   

Our focus in this Christmas season will be upon Isaiah 7- 9. 

The Lutheran commentator H.C. Leupold gives Isaiah Chapters 7-12 the title “Immanuel book”[1], because of the references to Immanuel  in 7:14; 8:8,10. This prophetic section foretells the conception and birth of Immanuel. The gospel of Matthew 1:21-23 links Immanuel to the Lord Jesus Christ.  The NT solves the mystery of this   mysterious Immanuel.

ISAIAH - A Brief Biographical Sketch

His name (Yeshayahu) means “God saves”. Not much is known about Isaiah.  

• He was the son of Amoz (1:1). 
• He was married (8:3). 
• He had at least two children (7:3,8:3). 
• Isaiah 6 contains   his call   and commission to the prophetic office in the year that king Uzziah died (740 B.C.). 
• He lived in Jerusalem. 
• His prophetic activity lasted approximately from 742-701 BC  
• The greatest political event of his prophetic career would have been the fall of the Northern kingdom (Israel) to the Assyrians in about 722 BC. 

No other prophet in the Scriptures has said more concerning Israel’s Messiah than Isaiah.  He foretells the Messiah’s birth in Isaiah 9. He also presents us with a most graphic picture of the Messiah as the suffering and martyred servant who was wounded for our transgressions (Isaiah 53).  

 ISAIAH 7

Chapter 7 contains the prophecy of the virgin birth of a son called Immanuel (7:14). This Immanuel is as mysterious and unique as Melchizedek who is “without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days or end of life…” (Genesis 14:17ff; Hebr. 7:3).  

Here God commands Isaiah to speak to king Ahaz of Judah[2], who is   presently in a real quandary.  We read in 7:1,2 [3] 

“In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it…  King Ahaz and the people of the Southern kingdom were clearly very afraid… “the heart…shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind…”.  A very graphic picture of fear!

Isaiah was commanded to speak to Ahaz and the people about this fear in 7:4-9: 

“And say to him, ‘be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands…, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah... 5 Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” 7 thus says the Lord God: “‘It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass.8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. And within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people. 9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.’”

Isaiah found king Ahaz at the upper pool. At that time Jerusalem’s water came from the Gihon Spring in the Kidron valley, outside the city. [4] Ahaz was worried about the water supply. It could be easily cut off by an enemy. Isaiah was sent by God to give Ahaz   courage and hope.

Now keep in mind that in Isaiah was warned by God that, “the hearts of this people would be dull…. Their ears heavy and their eyes blind…” (Isa 6:9, 10).   

That would be the mindset of a man like Ahaz.  

He would not hear or believe any word from God through a prophet.  

We must never accuse God of not being patient with His rebellious people. He sends His servants into His vineyard time and again (e.g. the parable of the tenants – Matt.  21: 33-46).  

As Isaiah approaches king Ahaz, he finds a man who had his mind made up. He believed that only Assyria could help him now. To that end he would even give up the temple treasury (the things devoted to God) to Assyria to save his neck.

In 2 Kings 16:7–8 we read 

7 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” 8 Ahaz also took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasures of the king's house and sent a present to the king of Assyria.

This mindset is disturbingly habitual among God’s people. We are inclined turn to anyone for help before we turn to our God. In Isa. 30:1-3 we find the same mindset.  Israel wanted to trust in Egypt rather than in their God:

“Ah, stubborn children,” declares the Lord, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; 2 who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for my direction, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt! 3 Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh Turn to your shame, and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation.

… And these following words in Isa 30: 12-16

12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, “Because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perverseness and rely on them, 13 therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach in a high wall, bulging out, and about to collapse, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant; 14 and its breaking is like that of a potter's vessel that is smashed so ruthlessly that among its fragments not a shard is found with which to   take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern.” 15 For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” (There is the call  to have faith in God). But you were unwilling, 16 and you said, “No! We will flee upon horses”; therefore you shall flee away; and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”; therefore, your pursuers shall be swift.

Isaiah’s message to Ahaz was simple: “Stop worrying! I am in control of these events! Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands.”  See how much God is for Ahaz! He sends a prophet to him with a sure and faithful word. Truly, God does not withhold His word from us. That word says: Be quiet! Trust in me!

Another fact:  Ahaz, the son of Jotham, was a son of David.  Pekah of the breakaway northern kingdom was not of the line of David. Of him we read in   2 Kings 15:23-38 that he had murdered the previous king Pekahiah and seized the throne of the northern kingdom (generally referred to as Israel). The point is that the Lord had no covenantal dealings with the kings of the northern kingdom.  Pekah was merely the son of Remaliah (7:9). 

In contrast to this, Ahaz was born into the Davidic line - the covenant. He could have rested in God’s promises, “… I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:14).   But very sadly, this king could not see that a great and mighty God was committed to fight his battles for David’s sake – for His own glory’s sake. 

Instead of looking to His God, he saw these two earthly kings, who from God’s perspective, were   described as smoldering stumps (7:4). Their fire had died and all that was left was the smoke!   Ahaz should have been comforted by Isaiah’s message.  He should not have been intimidated by their threatening words (7:6). He should have remembered the truth expressed in Isa 40:15-17

“Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. 16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering. 17 All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.”

Ahaz had to do nothing but to stand firm in His faith in the God of his father David. It was not a leap in the dark. It was a faith in a dependable God. It was a faith that was tested and tried by his many godly predecessors.  Not to stand in faith in this situation would mean the downfall of the nation.  And so it was!

In the course of history, it was not only so that the Northern kingdom would be taken into captivity by the Assyrians in 722 BC, but 150 years later the Southern kingdom would share the same fate, being taken into captivity by the Babylonians.

See how much God is for Ahaz!  See how much grace is extended! Next time (Isa 7: 10- 25)  we will consider an incredibly generous offer from the LORD God to this spiritually weak king, Ahaz. God says to Ahaz through the prophet “Ahaz, ask for a sign to prove that I am the faithful God that will protect you and sustain you…”  (7:10). 

We shall find  that Ahaz fails to make an opportunity of this. 

And we shall see that despite his unbelief God Himself will give a sign – “Immanuel” to prove that He is the faithful God who will deliver His people from their trials and tribulations. But, that will be the subject matter for our next sermon. 

 APPLICATION

• This is the month and time of the year when we remember the birth of our Immanuel – the Living Word, who   was given for our release from   fear and anxiety – and from our own darkness.  The message of Christmas is a message of comfort and joy!
• We too are currently living in a very fearful and anxious age. Many people are fearful and stressed.  Because of this, the modern mental health industry is flourishing. This is nothing new in the history of mankind. In Jesus day, He saw many sick, distressed, demon oppressed, harassed people. These were beset by all sorts of fears and phobias and emotional ailments leading to all sorts of psychosomatic diseases. Many are like the woman who had exhausted her finances to find a cure to her ailment (Mk 5:26). They crowd the consultation rooms of doctors and psychologists. Many of them are religious. They go to church, but their demons of fear and anxiety remain.  Christ (the Wonderful Counsellor- Isa 9:6) appears to be of no help at all.  And the main problem is this:  They hear but do not understand; they keep on seeing, but do not perceive …” (Isa.  6:9).  Like Ahaz and the people of His day they do not respond to the word of the Lord because their fears are great and their God is small.  We cannot hear the Word of the Lord speaking into our fears.  We do not want to believe these words from the Immanuel book, because we are preoccupied with man made solutions,  and  with the words  of   false prophets more than this WORD.  We do not hear these words: ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smouldering stumps of firebrands…”. There is too much noise in our souls!
• Our generation is not firm in the faith (7:9b).  We may not be professing atheists, but we are practical atheists. We trust our purses, and will rob our treasuries to pay for the opinions of secular, man- centred opinion or to find soul deadening medications, drugs, alcohol, spending our money on endless forms of escapism.    We are not a generation that   listens to God.  We accumulate for ourselves teachers to suit our own passions, and we easily turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths (2 Tim 4:3, 4)
• We are not committed worshippers. We are not inclined to work from a God- centred faith. We do not disperse from our churches full of faith and confidence in the power in God.  By nature, we are inclined to be Ahaz’s.  We are easily intimidated by people and their opinions. But when it comes to hearing the Word of God, calling us to faith and obedience, it appears as if we are deaf and blind.
• We need Immanuel to restore us. This whole passage begs for a divine solution.  Next time we will consider God’s solution in Isa. 7:10-25. This is the answer to the counsel offered in 7:4

Turn to Him in prayer now as we beg the Father through the Lord Jesus (God with us) by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, to take away any such blindness and deafness as there may be.  

May He enable us to look with biblical faith to God, and learn to interpret various intimidating situations before us, not at face value, but with biblical wisdom and insight.  

The Grace of God be with you!

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[1] H.C. Leupold: Exposition of Isaiah (One Vol. ed.) Baker Book House, p.144

[2] See the list of kings  in whose reign Isaiah  prophesied in  Isaiah  1:1

[3] The historical background is found 2 Chronicles 28 and 2 Kings 16 .The time frame is roughly about 735 BC.

 [4] Under Hezekiah (715-686 BC) a 533 meter underground tunnel was built  to divert   Gihon’s water to the pool of Siloam, within the city walls

Isaiah 10:5-34 "The Sovereignty of God"

The Bible provides us with perspectives that absolutely rock our common worldviews.  A very common worldview today (and it is even held by many Christians)   is that God has nothing to do with the world’s politics.  It is thought that He leaves that to the world’s rulers. It is thought that He is watching this world from a distance, and some Christians believe that He will only intervene at the end of time, when things have thoroughly gotten out of hand.

Well, the Bible knows nothing of this kind of thinking. Nothing!  Isaiah shows us that God is at work in this world in a sovereign, hands-on way. Even though we do not see Him physically, He is the unseen hand ruling the world, upholding it moment by moment.

Nothing exists or happens in this world which He doesn’t know.

Nothing that happens in this world catches Him by surprise.

God is involved in the political happenings of our world. In and through it all He does not command evil, but He does allow evil to have its way for a while, so that our world may learn to see its own folly. In the history of nations God is frequently seen to be handing nations over to the kind of rulers they deserve.    

Do we have any influence in all of this? 

Yes! We must pray and work. The Bible teaches us to pray (that is, to speak to and ask God) for our governing authorities, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way (1Tim 2:2).  The Bible teaches also that Christians must work positively, working as salt and light in this decaying world.  

From  this text we learn to see God’s hand in the affairs of this world  in  that,

1.     Assyria is  God’s  chastising tool  upon  His wayward  nation (10:5-7)

2.     Assyria   is an arrogant boastful nation  (10:7-11 ; 13-14)

3.    Assyria will be in for a nasty surprise, for God will  judge her (10:12;10:15-19)

4.     God will preserve His people, in the midst of it all political chaos (10:20-34)

1.     10:5-7   Assyria, God’s surprising  instrument of chastisement

In  Isaiah 7:1 -10:4  God  has revealed to  Isaiah that He would use Assyria [i] as an instrument of judgment against Syria, Israel, and Judah, who were at this time  at  war among themselves. God was not standing by idly. He was handing over these nations to Assyria: “Ah Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands  is my fury.”

Do you see the Great Shepherd at work here?  “… the rod of my anger … the staff in  their hands is my fury”.  The rod and the staff are a shepherd’s tools to guide and correct his  sheep. Assyria fulfilled that function right now, as God used her to correct Syria, Israel, and Judah. In that sense Assyria was the servant of God - but only in that sense.  Later in Isaiah  44:28  that  same  idea  is expressed,  when  a century and a half later God calls Cyrus, the Persian ruler to be His shepherd  to deliver Israel from Babylonian captivity and to punish the Babylonians  for their brutal ways.

Back to Assyria. The Lord says,  “against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command  him to take spoil and to seize plunder and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.” (10:6b).

The language here leaves us in no doubt that God  was using the Assyrians who were the political superpower at that time. The Assyrians were an efficient, well developed army in its day. They were the first to develop iron weapons, being superior to the bronze weapons, commonly used at that time. Their skill allowed them to make weapons and protective items, so more soldiers could use them. They were the first army to have a separate engineering unit, which could set up ladders and ramps, and fill in moats, and dig tunnels to help the soldiers get into a walled city. They were also among the first to build chariots. These technological advancements allowed the Assyrians to expand their empire.[ii]   What is surprising in all this is that God would use  a pagan nation, an arrogant nation to chastise His people. In this next section we will explore  the arrogance of the Assyrians.

2.      Assyria - an arrogant boastful nation  (10:7-11 ; 13-14)

We have seen that Assyria is a tool in God’s hand. 

But how does Assyria see herself? Chapter 10:7-11 and 10: 13-14 give us insight here.  Assyria, although she is given this momentary authority by God, we find  this  assessment of her own attitude: "(But he- Assyria) does not so intend, and his heart does not so think; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few” (10:7). Assyrians  think that they are the  masters of their own destiny.  The arrogance of the king of Assyria is described in  10:13, “For he says, By the strength of my hand have I done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding; I remove the boundaries of people, and  plunder their treasures; like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones…” (10:13,14). Here  we learn  that,  although Assyria was indeed  an instrument in God's hand, and since she  was  doing the will of the LORD,  that this  fact did not free her  from employing her own motives  for  attacking  Syria, Israel, and Judah.  Not at all!  Although  she  was  given a free hand from God, it was in her heart to destroy, and cut off not a few nations.    When we read of the account of the Assyrian besiegement of Jerusalem in Isaiah 36:10 (cf. 2Kings 18:25) we take note that the commander of the Assyrians appeared to have been aware of his divine mandate from the God of Israel. But it is equally clear in that context that Assyria thought little of the God of Israel. The Assyrian commanders appropriated to themselves much glory, but in truth, their enablement came from the sovereign God, who had enabled them to rule at a time such as this.  

Do you see what is happening here? Assyria had an over - inflated view of herself.  She regarded her commanders to be on the level of the kings of other nations: "For he says, 'Are not my commanders  all  kings? Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus?” The cities mentioned in 10:9,10 were systematically conquered  by the  Assyrians, and in so doing they  boasted  that  none of their territorial  gods  had been able to help them.

Observe the pride of the Assyrians. Consider their boastful language: “As my hand has  reached to the kingdoms of the idols, whose carved images were greater than those  of Jerusalem and Samaria, shall I not do  to Jerusalem and her idols as I have done to Samaria and her idols?'"  (10:10,11). They thought of  the  God of Israel as nothing more than one of the idols that they had conquered in Samaria or in many other cities. They glory in their own strength and wisdom and power.  This is asking for trouble! The Assyrians were going to be in for a rude  surprise!

3.     Assyria will be in for a nasty surprise, for God will  judge her  (10:12; 10:15-19)

This brings us to the next point. Do not think that God Almighty overlooks anything! In this very text God the Almighty vows to severely discipline the Assyrians.

10:12  “When the Lord has finished all his work  on Mt Zion  and on Jerusalem, he will punish  the  speech of the arrogant  heart of the king of Assyria  and the boastful look in his eyes…”

In 10: 15 -19  the LORD uses the pictures of an axe, a saw, a rod, and a staff to make the point that  a tool  should never take credit for what the workman  does with the tool. The skill is in the user, not in the tool.  Assyria was the tool. God was the workman, but Assyria took the glory.  And now she must face God herself.

10:16 “Therefore the Lord God of hosts will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors…”.   In Isaiah 37:36 we read  how God, in history  actually   judged the Assyrians: “And the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185 000 in the camp of the Assyrians”. That was the end of the Assyrian   attempt to conquer Jerusalem, and that is basically also the end of the Assyrian empire. How those that think they stand beware lest they fall. How the mighty have fallen!  God is a terrible Judge! Let the arrogant and unrepentant  take note! It is a terrible thing to fall into the hand of the Living God.

As we pause to reflect on this, one of the greatest perplexities for the thoughtful reader of Scripture is how God could possibly use such a pagan, arrogant nation to chastise among others, his own people? We shall find that there is nothing uncommon about God’s strategy.  140 years later we shall find a similar situation. In Jeremiah’s  and in  Habakkuk’s day  (605 and 686 B.C.)  God raised up the ruthless, godless Babylonians  to  chastise  the Southern kingdom,  Judah (Hab. 1:6-11), and after which  He promptly  announced judgment on Babylon herself (Hab. 2:6-17)!

Here we deal with the mystery of God’s ways in the temporary judgements of the peoples of the world, and especially in the judgement of His backslidden people.  Here we deal with the fact that the LORD can use a wicked nation like the Assyrians to punish His own people’s wickedness. He could use godless nations as the rod of His anger, whilst at the same time   judging theses godless nations, saying to them, "woe  upon you Assyria!"  (10:5). It is true that the backslidden church  has suffered much  at the hand of an ungodly world over these last 2000 years. All this is seen and ordained by God  who  uses  this wicked world to chastise His own.

Scripture teaches us that God can use wicked people  to further His will, without ever approving of their  wickedness, and in the end judging their wickedness. This  is repeatedly seen in the Scriptures. Joseph's brothers sinned against Joseph, but God used it for His purpose, and He disciplined Joseph's brothers. Saul sinned against David, but God used it for His purpose, and God judged Saul. Judas sinned against Jesus, but God used it for His purpose, and He judged Judas. The wicked assault the  people of God, and God uses that for their sanctification, but in the end, the wicked will be judged for their  wickedness.

God is absolutely able to bring  good out of  evil- even the evil  done to  his beloved children. See what good God has brought out of the cross!  But those who  designed and desired the evil cross  will  need to meet  their Maker in the day of  judgement. We cannot  know  exactly how God will bring about  the good, but we can trust  Him for the outcome. God does care about all the evil done in this world, and He will bring about His judgment according to His perfect will and timing. Again, we cannot know when that will be, but it will happen!

4.      What about Israel? In the midst of it  all  God will preserve a remnant (10:20-34)

God  must judge all sin, including that sin  that  is found among His people. “He is  of purer eyes that to see evil and cannot look at wrong” (Habakkuk 1:13). How then shall  anyone escape?  In the midst of all this, God has a word for the worried – for the righteous, who feel themselves to be pawns in the game.  What about  the  true, faithful people of God that are found in  every generation? What about them?  Are they  just  a lost cause,  are they  just incidental to this story, or  are they, as the militarists say,  ‘collateral damage’ in this  eternal wrangle between God and  evil?

Not at all!

The story of the Bible now takes on another profound turn as we are introduced to the doctrine of the remnant ...the survivors of the house of Jacob (10:20) … the remnant of Jacob (10:21).

Chapter 10 closes with real hope and gives us ultimate perspective and application:

(i)   (10:22) “Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness”. When God allows  the destruction  of his own   cause -  Israel or the church,  we must know that it is always righteous, and never unfair. God’s  judgment overflows with righteousness and the outcome will always  be good! The church of our own day, so beset  with compromise and worldly ways  desperately needs  to be cleaned out by God.  Will not God not use our enemies to do that?

(ii)  (10:23) “For the Lord GOD of hosts will make a full end”.  An end of what? An end of Judah's trust in nations like Assyria. They will never again depend on him who defeated him. In the same way, God must cleanse the church  to  stop her  dependence  on worldly solutions  in terms  of her work in this world.

(iii) (10:24) “Therefore … be not afraid of the Assyrians…”. God is telling His people, "I will chastise you, and it will hurt. But I have a plan, so don't be afraid." This may not be nice to hear, but it is oh so necessary.   It hurts to be disciplined and corrected. Yet we must tell ourselves  to  continue  to  trust God, even when it hurts. Weeping will last for a night. Joy comes in the morning.  

(iv) (10:26) God can- just as he did before! Two examples are used: 

a.     Gideon’s victory over the Midianites, and  the Red sea crossing.  “And the LORD of hosts will wield against them  a whip, as when  he  struck Midian at the rock of Oreb.” This is a reference to Judges 7:25 which  describes Gideon's  miraculous victory over the Midianites at the rock of Oreb. Now  God's judgment on Assyria would be as miraculous and complete as Gideon's victory was. We have already seen how the LORD killed  185,000 Assyrians in one night. 

b.     “And his staff will be over  the sea, and he will lift it as he did in Egypt,”  is a reference  to Exodus 14:16  in which we find a description  of  how  God used  Moses staff  to divide the Red Sea. In the same way, He would do something totally miraculous against Assyria.

(v)  (10:27 -34) “In that day that his burden will depart from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck…”.   In  10:28-32  follows  a  prophetic description of the arrival of the army of the Assyrians. The listing of cities from the north to the south, describes  the route of the Assyrian invasion. Nob is found  on the outskirts of Jerusalem. This is as far as the army of the Assyrians came against Judah. There  they were stopped. Here the LORD killed 185,000 Assyrians in one night (10:33,34).

The buck stops with the Lord God of hosts. Everything rises and falls before the  Sovereign God. 

Do you know of any   human dynasty or world power that has endured for any  significant time? 

No! They all come and go.  

Our text is indeed a grand celebration of the sovereignty of God. So then, do not fear  what man can do. Of what account is he? Fear God.  We need to  be reminded again of what  Isaiah had previously said in 8:11-13,

11For the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12“Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honour as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

Now that is biblical perspective. 

Let God’s Word be true and every man a liar!

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[i] Assyria corresponds to most parts of modern-day Iraq as well as parts of Iran, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey.

[ii] https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/assyrian-empire/

Isaiah 9:8-10:4 "God’s Outstretched Hand"

General  Overview

·       Isaiah  Chapters 7-12  is known as "The Immanuel Book”[1]   

·       Last time we ended on a wonderfully encouraging note as we considered the Immanuel child with the 4 names (9:1-7).

·       This new section (9:8-10:4) appears in sharp contrast to 9:1-7.  This is by design. The glorious age of the Messiah just described will come, but it is not yet. This hopelessness is meant to make us look elsewhere. Until the Messiah comes to redeem His creation, this earth will groan (Rom. 8:18-23).Throughout this  section  Isaiah encourages us to lift our eyes above to Immanuel, our Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty God, the  Everlasting Father, the  Prince of Peace, the Branch.

·       Isaiah 9:8-10:4 is written in four parts, each part concluding with the words,  “For all this His anger is not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.”    God has been using the prophet Isaiah to warn the people of Israel (NK) and Judah (SK) concerning  the impending judgment which will come upon them if they do not repent. In this text, Isaiah is commanded to speak a Word from the Lord to the NK. But God is also using the prophet Isaiah to speak to us in our own day. 

We will find 4 warnings here that correspond to our own day. 

Outline  of 9:8-10:4

(i)               Because of your  pride  you will be  defeated  by  many  enemies (9:8-12)

(ii)             Because  you refuse to repent  your leadership will be overthrown (9:13-17)

(iii)           Because  you persist  in  wickedness you will turn against one another (9:18-21)

(iv)            Because  you practice social injustice there  will be a day of judgement  (10:1-4)

1.     9:8-12 Because of  your pride  your  will be  defeated by  many  enemies

Our text begins with these dramatic words: “The Lord has sent a word against Jacob, and it will fall on Israel” (Jacob = Israel=  Ephraim= Samaria= NK).  The tribe of Ephraim was the largest tribe in the NK . Ephraim is therefore  often used synonymously with  Israel and the NK.  Samaria was the capital city of the NK.  This prophecy is directed to the NK. The Lord (here  Adonai -  the sovereign  Lord/ Master) has a weighty word for this  wayward nation. Whenever we think of the word of the Lord, we must  not think in small terms. God’s word is always weighty and sure. 

We get a sense of this in Isaiah 55:11: “...so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” 

The words of the Lord are his deeds. God has sent forth this word, and because it is His word, He will bring it to pass [2]. This word is given as a result of the prideful, arrogant attitude of the NK (9:9).  This arrogant attitude   is described in 9:10.  In their pride, the leaders and the people of the NK of Israel said, “The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stones” etc. Whatever has fallen down (probably a reference to the earthquake of Amos 1:1;4:11), they said,  we will  simply rebuild with something better.  

In so doing they disregarded the hand of God in the earthquake that caused the bricks to collapse. Their world view was the ‘Yes we can’ attitude, which is so common in our own day.  They and we make no connection with the fact that God sends wars and  calamities against a pride infested people.  But look what is happening! From the perspective of Isaiah, the spokesman of God, it is the  LORD that  sends successive waves of enemies  over time against Israel –first there  is King Rezin and the Syrians from the east and the Philistines from the West (9:11,12),   and later the Assyrians in 10:5ff. At the hand of the Assyrians, the destruction of NK- Israel would be complete. After this they will never rebuild anything!   The most notable  fact here  is that  God is the FIRST CAUSE of their down fall,  as He uses the  Syrians  on the east, the Philistine in the west (9:12), and infighting or civil war (9:18-21)and finally Assyria (10:5-19)  to humble them.

This section  ends with the refrain (9:12b),  “For all this, His anger has not turned away, and His hand is stretched out still”.  It appears at the end of each of these four sections (9:12; 9:17; 9:21; 10:4). Literally, it reads, "All this judgment, but still there is more to come." It signifies that He continues to judge,  which  now  follows  in  the next section…

2. 9:13-17 Because you  refuse to repent, your  leadership will be overthrown.

Listen to this: “The people did not  turn to Him who struck them, nor inquire  of the LORD of hosts.So the LORD cut off from NK- Israel head and tail…” (9:13,14). 

Despite  the fact that God  had  sent these enemies against them they would not listen. The more they were chastised by God the more they refused to listen. The consequence of rejecting the word of the LORD is that they will listen to someone else. “You gotta serve somebody” (Bob Dylan).

The problem  is  that those  that they were listening to  their  societal leaders such  as  the  elder and  the honoured man, and the prophet-  BUT none of these led by the truth. On the contrary, they led their people astray (9:16). They were not leaders – they were misleaders! They misled the young men, the vulnerable orphans  and widows. Even these   were led astray by the godless examples of their leaders.  In the end they were all speaking folly (9:17).

When the Word of the LORD is rejected by leaders,  society crumbles! Hosea[3] says, “and it shall be like people like priest” (Hosea 4:9). All are corrupt. No one is righteous. What else can God do but to   judge this wicked nation?  Isaiah speaks graphically. In one day (i.e. very quickly) head and tail, palm branch and reed (tall growth and low growth), elders, respected men and the prophets will be cut off. And God is the FIRST Cause. He hands us over to bad leaders. Yet, Israel still refuses to turn to God. And once again, God says, [REFRAIN  9:17b]   “For all this, His anger has not turned away, and His hand is stretched out still” -literally - "All this judgment, but still there is more to come."

3.     9:18-21 Because you persist in your wickedness you will attack your own brothers.

Evil leaders are self- centered. We have seen that their self- serving leadership causes their society to lose its cohesiveness. Brother betrays brother. It is a part of what it means to be handed over by God. Let’s see how this happens.

9:18 “For wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briars and thorns; it kindles the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke.”  We all have seen the recent images of wildfires in California, Australia and even South Africa. Wildfires are   unstoppable, swift, uncontrolled, devouring everything before them. The prophet Isaiah applies this image to the wrath of God on this godless society:  “And the people are like fuel for the fire” (9:19).  Their wickedness supplies fuel to the fire of God’s judgment.  He hands us over to ourselves.  It manifests in society by the fact that close family ties are no longer considered sacred. No man shall spare his brother (9:19-21). God did not need to start the fire or fan the flames; He simply takes away the gift of common grace - the “fire retardant” that restrains evil men.  Ephraim and Manasseh (9:21) the sons of Joseph were blood brothers, but  here they devour each other, and together  they are against their brother Judah. It is a picture of utter societal chaos and disintegration. This house is hopelessly divided. It cannot stand.[4]

In terms of application all we have to do is to observe the history of the NK- Israel,   following the death of Jeroboam II  in 2 Kings 14:23-29). We see what follows  in 2 Kings 15:8ff . Six kings reigned before NK-Israel fell in 722 BC. Five came to the throne by assassination of their own brothers.  This is the wildfire of God’s judgment. They fought with each other, and they fought against their brothers in the southern kingdom of Judah. No love for God = no love for fellow man.  The apostle Paul saw this and he warned the Galatians, 13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. Gal. 5:13-16

And once again, a third time,  God says, “For all this, His anger has not turned away, and His hand is stretched out still” - "All this judgment, but still there is more to come." (9:21b) There was still sin to judge, and God wasn’t ready to stop His work of judgment.

4.     (10:1-4) Because of  social injustice, you will be exiled and  killed.

Again, the subject here relates to the leadership of NK-Israel, acting in a ruthless  way against the poor and vulnerable of their society: 10:1-2 “Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression, to turn  aside  the needy from justice  and to  rob the poor of my people of their  right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they  may make the fatherless their  prey! “

The question for them is, “What will you do on the day of punishment, in the ruin that will come from afar? To whom will you flee, and where will you leave your wealth?  (10:3) …and the answer is …” you will crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain (10:4).  

All that God needs to do to bring judgment on Israel is to withdraw His protection. Without Him they have no hope before  their enemies. And for the fourth time, Isaiah says, “For all this, His anger has not turned away, and His hand is stretched out still” -  "All this judgment, but still there is more to come." (10:4b). The repetition of this refrain reminds us that God is not letting up on them. They will drink His wrath down to the dregs.  There will be no escape from God’s justice. It is either repentance now, or it is the facing of the wrath of God when the day of mercy has expired.  What hope is there for a people like this?

Here is  the only hope! As we look back over the last few chapters we take note that the Immanuel book (Chapters 7-12) reverberates with Name of the Messiah – Immanuel (7:14;8:8,10), Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, everlasting Father (9:6,7), the Branch  (11:1).

Greater than God’s judgment is the message of God’s mercy. The mercy plan of God is rooted in God’s Messiah. Isaiah begs us to look to the Messiah – NOW! The key to our survival is the Messiah. Look to Him! He is the central focus of this section. 

This is the Gospel, the Good News, and it becomes the Good News only because we have learned to recognise the severity of the bad news that surrounds us. 

Do you recognise these societal symptoms in our day?  

"What will  YOU do on the day of punishment... to whom will YOU flee for help, and where will YOU leave  YOUR wealth?" (Isa.10:3)

And in the light of these facts, do you recognise and embrace the Messiah?

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[1] H.C. Leupoldt:  Exposition of Isaiah, Baker Book House, p.39

[2]  E. Young:  The Book of Isaiah,  Eerdmans , p.348

[3] Hosea –the last prophet of Israel to prophesy before the NK fell to Assyria

[4] Luke 11:17; Mark 3:25; Matthew 12:25