The New Heavens & The New Earth
Isaiah 64:1-12, 65:17-25
The New Heavens & The New Earth
Isaiah 64:1-12, 65:17-25
Main Idea: We are to long with patience for the glorious day God renews all things in Christ.
I. Lamenting the Present (64:1-12)
Isaiah cries out in a longing (‘Oh’) for God to “rend” the heavens and to rip open the “curtain” (cf. Isa. 34:4) that separates & conceals him from humanity. He is longing for God’s presence (3x) and a showcase of his glory to his adversaries and the nations.
This longing comes from a palace of lament; God’s surprising work all feels past-tense (64:3), and Jerusalem and God’s people are in shambles, all while he is seemingly absent (64:10-12).
The longing for God to come is one of the deepest longings of the human experience because it is in our creational design.
“So much of our restlessness and disappointment is the result of trying to convince ourselves that we’re already home… [but we are called] to a refugee spirituality – unsettled yet hopeful, tenuous but searching, eager to find the hometown we’ve never been to.” ~ James K.A. Smith
But Isaiah knows firsthand (cf. Isa. 6) that an encounter with God’s presence is terrifying because of our sin. Isaiah describes our sin using 4 images (64:6):
Unclean Leper: sin spreads like a disease & infects all things
Polluted Garment: even our best efforts are not as good as they look
Fading Leaf: sin causes decay & breakdown
The Wind: sin controls us & takes us places we were never meant to go
What Isaiah could not have known is how God would answer this prayer & fulfill this longing. God has indeed already “rend the heavens” in Jesus Christ to forgive us of our sins & to promise his steadfast presence (Mt. 28:20).
Hebrews 9:28: … so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
II. Life in the End (65:17-25)
At the end of the story, God does not give up on the earth and his creation. He remakes a new heavens and a new earth, renewing and restoring all that has gone wrong because of sin. God’s people will spend eternity not in the clouds or a serene garden like Eden, but the idealized city of Jerusalem (cf. Rev. 21:2).
“Many people want to go to heaven the way they want to go to Florida – they think the weather will be an improvement and the people decent. But the biblical heaven is not a nice environment far removed from the stress of hard city life. It is the invasion of the city by the City. We enter heaven not by escaping what we don’t like, but by the sanctification of the place in which God has placed us.” ~ Eugene Peterson
This new heavens and the new earth is marked by 4 things in Isaiah 65:
Joy (65:17-19). All the hardships of the “former things” in this fallen world will be forgotten. We are invited to “be glad and rejoice forever” in their place.
Revelation 21:4: 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.”
Life (65:20). Isaiah speaks metaphorically to try and accommodate our minds to understand something that we cannot fathom: the end of death itself. In this heavenly city, “death will have no more power and sin no more presence” (Motyer).
Fulfillment (65:21-23). Life will be marked by security & work will be fulfilling - reversing the curse to Adam in Gen. 3:17-19. There is no threat of attack or another stealing, and the gates of this heavenly city are always left open (Rev. 21:25-27).
Peace (65:24-25). God will never again feel asbent, but he will “answer” his people before they even call. All of creation (including) the animals will experience shalom, and the serpent will forever live in humiliation.
“The work of Christ is not just to save certain individuals… The total work of Christ is nothing less than to redeem this entire creation from the effects of sin. That purpose will not be accomplished until God has ushered in the new earth, until Paradise Lost has become Paradise Regained… God will not be satisfied until the entire universe has been purged of all the results of man’s fall.” ~ Anthony Hoekema
Everlasting Joy
Isaiah 61:1-11
Everlasting Joy
Isaiah 61:1-11
Main Idea: Jesus proclaims the gospel of salvation, transforms his people, & clothes us in garments of joy & praise.
I. The Salvation of the Gospel (61:1-2)
Jesus quotes Isaiah 61 = in Luke 4:16ff as his “mission statement” in his first public ministry appearance in Nazareth. These verses give us the “seven infinitives for all that it means for God to save us” (Ray Ortlund).
The recipients of this good news (gospel) include:
The poor & afflicted
The brokenhearted
The captives (or those in exile) & prisoners
Those who mourn
“Jesus did not come into the world to exalt those who are high, to give greater power to the strong, or to clothe those who are already clad in their own righteousness. No! The Spirit of God was upon him, that he might preach good tidings to the meek, that broken hearts should be bound up, captives redeemed, and prisoners released... This ought to be a very great subject of thanksgiving to those who are heavy of heart. Is it not sweet to think that the Anointed of the Lord came for your sakes, that you whose eyelids are fringed with beaded tears, you whose songs are dirges, you who dwell at death’s door, may be brought forth into the sunlight?” ~ Charles Spurgeon
The circumstances of these recipients include physical & socio-economic realities along with spiritual & emotional needs. The Anointed Messiah is coming to mend & set right all that has gone wrong, because sin has infiltrated all things in our fallen world.
Proclaiming “The year of the Lord’s favor” is an allusion to the “Year of Jubilee” in Leviticus 25. Every 50 years, Israel was to forgive all debts, free all slaves, and the land itself was returned back to original family allotments. Jesus came to accomplish the fulfillment of all the Year of Jubilee foreshadowed.
II. The Transformation of the Gospel (61:3-9)
5 “insteads” anchor these verses that talk about the transformation brought by the Messiah.
Instead of ashes → a beautiful headdress or garland (61:3a)
Instead of mourning → oil of gladness (61:3b)
Instead of a faint spirit → a garment of praise (61:3c)
Instead of shame → a double portion (61:7a)
Instead of dishonor → rejoicing with everlasting joy (61:7b)
1 Peter 1:8: Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
The gospel is the message of the “great instead” in Jesus Christ. In Luke 4, Jesus stops reading before “the day of vengeance of our God,” because this was yet to take place. The ultimate “instead” occurs on the cross, where Jesus bears the day of vengeance, taking our shame, dishonor, & sin, while offering us his righteousness, honor, & double portion of grace.
III. The Garments of the Gospel (61:10-11)
The Messiah is clothed as a groom, wearing the garments of salvation & the robe of righteousness. He is experiencing the joy of a wedding celebration & delighting over his work of redemption for his bride.
Revelation 19:6–8: Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,
“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
As we await the marriage supper of the lamb, we have been clothed by Christ which sprouts up within us “righteousness & praise” (61:11). We are invited to live as a Jubilee people, “putting on Christ” (Eph. 4:22-24) and living with an everlasting joy before a weary, broken, and mourning world.
The Great Reversal
Isaiah 60:1-22
The Great Reversal
Isaiah 60:1-22
Main Point: There remains a bright future for the people of God.
There are the two realities about our bright future that Isaiah foresees in this chapter:
Our bright future hinges on a Great Reversal that taps into our deepest hopes.
The Great Reversal hangs on the success of a Great Hero who makes those hopes real.
What is this Reversal that Isaiah foresees?
It is a COMPLETE reversal. Things were going one way and now they are going in a completely different way. Everything has changed.
It is a DEEP reversal. The nature of things was one way and now the nature of those things is another way. Everything about everything has changed.
It is a SATISFYING reversal. The change in things fills out what we always longed for. What has finally changed, changes everything.
What makes this Great Reversal so satisfying?
The bright future promised to the people of God is:
Physical - it corresponds to our reality as embodied creatures
Communal - it fulfills our hunger for home and community
Beautiful - it satisfies our taste for aesthetic, appealing pleasantness
Eternal - it offsets our aversion deterioration, decay, disappointment
Substantial - it affords us the significance, the weight, the dignity we know that creatures like us are worthy of (even as we know that right now we do not deserve it.)
The Great Reversal hangs on the success of a Great Hero.
It is very important to note that there is NO action taken or undertaken in this chapter by anyone other than “the Lord your God… the Holy One of Israel.” All the other players in this passage do what they do in RESPONSE to what He has done. This Great Reversal is NOT derived or generated from anything we do. The entire tone of this poem sees us as beneficiaries, recipients, and responders NOT benefactors, contributors, or producers.
Who is this Great Hero?
The Heroes credentials in Isaiah:
Born to a virgin and called Immanuel (God with us) - Isaiah 7
Descended from David and heir to his throne - Isaiah 9
A light to those dwelling in darkness in Galilee - Isaiah 9
The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon HIm as He conducts Himself with perfect righteousness and equity - Isaiah 11
When He arrives, the blind shall see, the deaf shall hear, the lame shall leap, the mute shall sing - Isaiah 35
His arrival would be announced by a voice in the wilderness crying, “Prepare the way of the Lord.” - Isaiah 40
He is the Servant of the Lord, who accomplishes the Lord’s will in the most unexpected way.
He is beaten and spit upon (Isaiah 50) yet remains silent before His accusers (Isaiah 53)
He is innocent of any crime, yet slaughtered with the wicked and buried among the rich. (Isaiah 53)
In this profound injustice, the Lord reverses the basis of who stands righteous before Him. It is not performance based, for all we like sheep have gone astray
Rather, the Lord lays on Him the iniquity of us all and by His sacrifice, the Hero brings many sons and daughters to righteousness.
Isaiah’s point is this: When you identify the One who is the Hero of God, run to Him, look to Him, trust in Him, for He alone brings the Great Reversal which shall satisfy your deepest hopes.
The good news of the Christian gospel is that Jesus of Nazareth
- crucified, buried, and risen again -
is the one and only Hero of God.
Everything our souls hope for is found in Him.
In Jesus alone, there remains a bright future for the people of God.
True Worship
Isaiah 58: 1-14
True Worship
Isaiah 58: 1-14
Main Idea: The Gospel transforms us into people who love justice and delight in righteousness from the heart.
I. The Counterfeit Fast (Isaiah 58:1-5)
‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? (Zechariah 7:5–6)
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (Matthew 23:27–28)
II. The True Fast (Isaiah 58:6-12)
Embrace Responsibility (Isaiah 58:6-7)
Blessing (58:8-9a)
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” (Zec 7:9–10)
Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” (Ps 82:3–4)
Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him. (Proverbs 14:31)
Correct the Wrongs (58:9b-10a)
Blessing (58:10b-12)
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3:16–18)
Enjoy the Sabbath (58:13-14)
Blessing (58:14)
Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” Now this he said about the Spirit, (John 7:37–39)
Renewal & Repentance
Isaiah 55:1-13
Renewal & Repentance
Isaiah 55:1-13
Main Idea: The Lord invites us to experience his lavish, generous grace by coming to him in repentance.
I. Come & Be Satisfied (55:1-5)
The Lord again invites his people to come to him in faith. Like street vendors trying to sell a product, God is beckoning all who hear him to come, feast, and be satisfied. This invitation is to two groups of people:
The Needy: those who thirst & have no money (the “have-nots”)
The Self-Sufficient: Those who spend their money on & labor toward that which does not satisfy (the “haves”)
1 Timothy 6:17: As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” ~ C.S. Lewis
The Lord is inviting us not merely to an intellectual knowledge of his goodness or a theory of his mercy, but instead a full-fledged experience of his lavish, generous grace. He is offering refreshment (waters), rich provision (milk), & joy (wine). We are invited to come to him for life & life abundantly (Jn. 10:10), and someone else has already paid the bill.
We come to this feast of God’s grace by listening to his word (“listen diligently.. Incline your ear… hear”). It is through the Word of God that we are pointed to our source of satisfaction & joy.
God’s Word ensures us that all who accept this invitation to come to him experience the blessing of the everlasting covenant made with David (2 Sam. 7), ultimately seen & fulfilled in Jesus Christ: John 6:35: Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”
II. Return & Be Renewed (55:6-13)
The way that we come to God & accept the invitation to his feast of grace is by repentance. 55:6-7 tells us exactly what repentance entails:
1. Seek & call upon the Lord with urgency (55:6a; cf. Acts 17:30)
“To ‘seek’ the Lord is to stop dawdling and to become intentional about him, setting highest value on him, removing everything that keeps us from him, hearing his Word without back-talk, opening up to his will with no preconditions... Seeking the Lord is a whole-life realignment with Christ. We stop treating him as a religious garnish on the side. He becomes our continual feast, our defining center. And the time to move in his direction is now.” ~ Ray Ortlund
2. Forsake our sins, both in belief & behavior (55:7a)
3. Return to receive compassion & abundance of pardon (55:7b)
“This [promise] is a profound consolation for us as we find ourselves time and again wandering away from the Father, looking for soul calm anywhere but in his embrace & instruction. Returning to God in fresh contrition, however ashamed and disgusted with ourselves, he will not tepidly pardon. He will abundantly pardon. He does not merely accept us. He sweeps us up in his arms again.” ~ Dane Ortlund
Typically, Isaiah 55:8-9 is quoted to talk about God’s unique, mysterious providence or his sovereign governance over all things. But in the context of this chapter, Isaiah is noting that there is indeed an immeasurable gulf between God & us, but it in regard to his compassion & mercy toward the undeserving (cf. Ps. 103:9-12)
When we have trouble believing this, we are reminded that God’s word will accomplish what he purposes; it will “rain” down like rain from the sky, watering & nourishing the ground, causing it to bear fruit. Those who trust in him will be led out of exile with joy & peace, worshipping alongside creation itself as God promises to roll back the curse (“thorns & briers”) & transform not only us, but all of creation.
“This passage is beautifully communicating that God’s heart for his people is building toward a crescendo as the generations roll by, preparing to explode onto human history at the end of all things. Our joyous restored humanity will surge forward with such spiritually nuclear energy that the creation itself will erupt in raucous hymns of celebration. This is the party for which the created order is on the edge of its seat in eager anticipation.” ~ Dane Ortlund
Psalm 34:8a: Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
The Suffering Servant
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
The Suffering Servant
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Main Idea: Christ is the suffering servant whose crucifixion was a substitutionary death in our place.
I. The Servant’s Suffering (53:1-3, 7-9)
This servant would be a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief,” an apt summary of the life of Christ. This suffering was seen in different categories:
1. Social (53:1-3)
This servant experienced the rejection of his own people, even from birth (“like a root out of dry ground”). Jesus did not fit the expectations of the Jewish people & their assumptions about Christ & the Messiah. His own family though he was crazy, he was rejected in his hometown (cf. Mt. 13:53-58), & abandoned by his closest companions at his time of greatest need.
2. Physical (52:14)
Many would be “astonished” (appalled) by the physical suffering of this servant, wondering if he was even a human being.
“Crucifixion was for displaying people in the most cruel circumstances possible, to demonstrate publicly the power of the empire not just to kill, but to dehumanize – and by so doing, to deter anyone who dared to think of defying Caesar. Cruel, inhuman, public, and prolonged torture, that’s what it was… In addition to the physical pain and the shame of naked exposure, the victim was deliberately dehumanized to the point of being unrecognizable. A message was being sent: this object that you see before you is displayed here specifically so that you can vent your most sadistic and inhuman impulses.” ~ Fleming Rutledge
3. Injustice (53:7-9)
This servant faced the height of injustice; though he was an innocent man, he was oppressed and “cut out of the land of the living.” He does not offer a defense, but willingly & voluntarily embraces this injustice.
II. The Servant’s Substitution (53:4-6)
These three verses are the “center” of this servant song and at the heart of its meaning. The pronouns (“our,” “we,” or “us” 10x) are key to understanding the deeper significance of the cross. Though Jesus is bearing greif, iniquity, and transgressions, they were not his own. They were our griefs, sorrows, iniquities, and sins.
“The concept of substitution lies at the heart of both sin and salvation. For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be. Man claims prerogatives that belong to God alone; God accepts penalties that belong to man alone.” ~ John Stott
The issue here is sin, which cannot simply be “swept under the rug.” Someone must absorb the cost and the debt that sin creates. The cross tells us that God himself will absorb this cost, as he voluntarily takes our sins and iniquities off of us and upon himself.
The Romans & the Jews viewed the cross with great disdain as it represented punishment & a curse (Deut. 21:23). The Christians came to find the cross as their symbol of hope because of this “great exchange.” The cross was his death, but it is our life. Until we see ourselves at the cross, it will remain “folly” to us (cf. 1 Cor. 1:18).
III. The Servant’s Success (52:13-15, 53:10-12)
This servant was:
1. Humiliated yet exalted (52:13-15)
The ‘high and lifted up’ one (cf. Isa. 6:1) shows his glory through the suffering of the cross (John 12:23). Through his suffering, he “shall sprinkle many nations,” like a priest sprinkling the mercy seat on the Day of Atonement. He brings the outsiders in by becoming an outsider himself.
2. Crushed yet victorious (53:10-12)
The suffering & death of the servant is not the end of the story. Even though this servant is “crushed,” Isaiah indicates he will “see his offspring” and that his soul will be “satisfied.” What looks like defeat to the world is actually victory in Christ, as he is raised three days later, sharing the spoils of victory with his enemies who become his friends.
Galatians 2:20: I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
The Holy Savior
Isaiah 44:6-8, 45:14-25
The Holy Savior
Isaiah 44:6-8, 45:14-25
Main Idea: God is simultaneously Holy Incomprehensible & Knowable. This is made manifest in Christ our Holy Savior.
I. The Holiness of God (Isaiah 44:6-8)
God is Holy^3, There is none like Him.
“Idolatry is the worst sin of all because it moves God to the periphery of our lives and puts something else in his place. It gives to something else the glory that should be God’s alone. Chameleon-like, it constantly disguises itself so that we are scarcely aware of its presence, even when we are most in the grip of it. Greed, Paul tells us, is idolatry, because it turns us away from God towards things, and makes the pursuit of them the passion of our lives. The modern world is no less given over to idolatry than the ancient one; it is just that its cruder forms were more prevalent then.”- Barry Webb, The Message of Isaiah: On Eagles’ Wings
Idolatry manifests itself in many ways. Some of the most modern forms of idolatry involve the worship of self, or even worse the worship of an imaginary, unattainable version of self.
“When people say, "I know God forgives me, but I can't forgive myself," they mean that they have failed an idol, whose approval is more important than God's.”-Timothy Keller
II. The Knowability of God (Isaiah 45:18-19)
Idolatry can manifest itself through creating an image, or idea, about God that is untrue or false.
“I like to think of Jesus with like giant eagles wings and singin' lead vocals for Lynyrd Skynyrd with like an Angel Band, and I’m in the front row, and I’m hammered drunk…” Cal Nalughton Jr.
God’s revelation of himself is sufficient and complete.
God reveals to us his personhood and nature in two ways
General Revelation 45:18
Specific Revelation 45:19
III. The Saving Power of God in Christ (Isaiah 45:14-17,20-25)
God’s plan from the beginning was to restore and redeem his people through the Messiah v.45:15
Only God could save us from God.
God will have you turn your eye off yourself and look unto him. The hardest thing in the world is to turn a man’s eye off himself; as long as he lives, he always has a predilection to turn his eyes inside, and look at himself; whereas God says, ‘Look unto me.'”- Charles Spurgeon in his sermon, Sovereignty, and Salvation
Christ’s invitation is to the world, the way He sends out this invitation is through your lips.
The Gentle Servant-King
Isaiah 42:1-9
The Gentle Servant-King
Isaiah 42:1-9
Main Idea: Jesus is the promised servant of God who brings world-wide justice by dealing gently with the weak.
I. The Mission of The Servant (42:1, 5-7)
Though Israel was called to be the “servant” of God, they have failed to uphold their covenantal responsibilities, turned to idols, and are in exile (cf. 42:18-20). Isaiah 42 is the first of four “servant songs” (Isa 42, 49, 50, 52-53) that set an expectation for an individual messianic figure who will carry out God’s will & fulfill his mission.
This servant is beloved by God & empowered by the Spirit, the very language used of Jesus at his baptism & his transfiguration (cf. Mt. 3:13-17, Mt. 17:5, Ps. 2:7-8). The expectations & hopes of the strong messianic King & the servant of the Lord are brought together in Jesus Christ.
The mission of this servant is:
1. Justice to the Nations (42:1)
‘Justice’ is the key word in this passage, used 3x to describe the aim of this servant. This ‘justice’ (Heb: mishpat) is more than a legal category or retributive justice; it is a wholeness, the setting right of all that has gone wrong.
2. Salvation to the Nations (42:5-7)
The servant will be a living “personification” of God’s covenant with his people. He will bring light to the darkness, open the eyes of the blind, and free those enslaved & in bondage.
“The Servant will undo all the horrendous and degrading effects that sin has had on the human race and restore to people their true freedom and dignity as sons and daughters of God.” ~ Barry Webb
II. The Method of the Servant (42:2-3)
The surprise of Isaiah 42 is that this servant will produce the results of a king without the using the typical methods of a king. This servant will not “cry aloud” (shout, yell) or raise his voice in an attempt to dominate all other voices or shout others down in self-aggrandizing fashion.
He will deal gently with:
A ‘bruised’ reed: a stalk of grain or stick that has been badly bent, about to snap in half
A faintly burning wick: a flame that is barely flickering & about to go out
These two images are metaphors for those who are lowly, broken, crushed, and discarded by society; Rather than breaking the “bruised reed,” this servant will mend it back to health; rather than snuffing out the barely flickering flame, he will fan it back to life.
“He won’t call attention to what he does with loud speeches or gaudy parades. He won’t brush aside the bruised & the hurt and he won’t disregard the small & insignificant.” (Isa. 42:2-3, The Message)
The gentleness of the Servant-King is set in contrast to the methods of earthly kings & rulers (cf. Cyrus in 41:25). The longest OT quotation in the gospel of Matthew is this section of Isaiah (Mt. 12:15-21), in reference to Jesus healing a man who is a “bruised reed” while not drawing attention to himself.
“Big hearts never get Christ inside of them; Christ lives not in great hearts, but in little ones. Mighty and proud spirits never have Jesus Christ, for he comes in at low doors, but he will not come in at high ones. He who has a broken heart, and a low spirit, shall have the Savior, but none else.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
III. The Success of the Servant (42:4, 8-9)
The gentleness of the servant-king cannot be mistaken for weakness or inability in himself; this servant-king will succeed in this mission despite opposition and pushback. Though he will share the suffering of his people in some capacity, he will faithfully fulfill his mission to bring God’s Kingdom of justice to the ends of the earth.
Where Israel failed as God’s servant, Jesus succeeded. His glory is seen profoundly in his servanthood and we are invited to participate in this coming Kingdom of justice by taking up the same posture.
Philippians 2:5–11: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 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.
When You Go Through…
Isaiah 42:17 - 43:7
When You Go Through…
Isaiah 42:17 - 43:7
Here is how I see Isaiah unpacking this passage:
First, he addresses why we face the adversity we do.
What we really need when we face adversity.
How the Lord provides what we really need to face our adversity.
How to avail ourselves of what the Lord provides when facing adversity.
The main point is this: The presence of God is our only peace in adversity.
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I. WHY DO WE FACE THE ADVERSITY WE ALL DO? (Isaiah 42:18-25)
Living as a human being involves dealing with adversity. Setbacks, cruelty, affliction are “normal” parts of life as we know it. Everyone goes through hard times. Everyone. The writer of Job puts it poetically, “Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.” There are at least three competing ideas out there today as to why this is.
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The Bible offers an answer too. In fact you catch the Bible’s answer by reading between the lines of Isaiah’s text here.
The Bible contends that the Being, who is Creator, is also the one place in the known universe with whom peace and joy are constantly and abundantly present. (Ps 16:11) The good news is that there IS such a place.
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C.S. Lewis put it this way: “God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.”
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II. WHAT WE REALLY NEED WHEN WE FACE ADVERSITY. (Isaiah 43:1)
It is worth noting that what the Lord offers through Isaiah as our real need in adversity is very different from what we typically think we need when adversity strikes. We tend to imagine that our best life now is very similar to the one we had before adversity came.
In our adversity, our greatest need is not to be taken out of the adversity, but rather to find the One whose presence is peace and joy forevermore. We do not merely need God to get us out of this fix so that we can get our lives back on track. We need to abandon our off-track lives for the one He is leading us into. We do not merely need to be rescued, we need a Rescuer.
Adversity is nothing if God is present. Comfort is nothing if He is absent.
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III. HOW DOES THE LORD PROVIDE FOR US WHAT WE REALLY NEED? (Isaiah 43:1)
The word “redeemed” here speaks to a rich, ancient concept that is mostly lost on modern Westerners like us. It is the concept of a kinsman-redeemer. Like no other prophet in the Old Testament, Isaiah foresees a servant of the Lord, a person born of David’s line, who becomes the kinsman-redeemer for God’s people. A person who comes to be with us in our adversity and to shepherd us through it safely home.
Isaiah is talking about Jesus.
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IV. HOW DO WE AVAIL OURSELVES OF WHAT THE LORD PROVIDES WHEN FACING ADVERSITY? (Isaiah 43:1,5)
The answer in the text is found in the two “FEAR NOTS” in this passage.
Fear not, for I have redeemed you (Isa 43:1)
Fear not, for I am with you (Isa 43:5)
Here is what the Lord is saying. This thing that has come upon you is from Me. Whatever you have done to bring upon yourself is over. I have taken up the debt upon Myself and paid it in full. I am what you need right now and I will be with you. I will bring you home.
God’s Sovereignty & Our Strength
Isaiah 40:1-11, 52:7-10
God’s Sovereignty & Our Strength
Isaiah 40:12-31
Main Idea: We find strength for our weary souls by waiting in faith for the sovereign, omnipotent God.
I. The Sovereignty of God (40:12-26)
The Lord asks 14 rhetorical questions in these 15 verses in order to remind Israel of his character & nature. The emphasis is on the sovereignty, omnipotence, and uniqueness of God over and above all things.
1. God’s Sovereignty over Creation (40:12-14, 25-26)
The immensity & “bigness” of God is emphasized in these verses:
He can measure all of the waters of the earth in the “hollow” (palm) of his hand
He can measure all the dust of the earth & he can place the mountains on a scale
He marked off the heavens with the “span” (outstretched thumb to pinky) of his hand
Though the Babylonians worshipped the stars, God has created every single star in the sky & he calls each of them by name. The stars witness the glory of God himself.
Implication: Just as “not one star is missing” under the sovereignty of God, not one of his people is missing either. God can be trusted because of both his transcendence and his immanence.
2. God’s Sovereignty over the Nations (40:15-17, 21-24)
The nations, as mighty as they may seem to us on earth, are like a “drop from a bucket” before the Lord. Even the most lavous of offering before God would still fall short of his glory & majesty. “Before him” the nations do not compare.
Likewise, the leaders of the nations are like mere grasshoppers before the Lord who sits enthroned above the horizon & the heavens.
Psalm 2:2, 4a: “The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and his Anointed…
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
Implication: Tying our hopes to any earth princes or rulers, seeking to find our strength in them, will inevitably contribute to our weariness & fatigue. We do not need to fear Babylon, but instead trust in the Sovereign Lord over the nations.
3. God’s Sovereignty over Idols (40:18-20)
Rather than explicitly criticizing idols, Isaiah sarcastically describes how they are crafted & made. Even though idols might look orante with gold & silver, and even if they are crafted with the finest of wood that does not rot, they ultimately must be “propped up” so they do not fall.
Implication: Despite the foolishness of idolatry, we know that there is a constant temptation toward this false worship, as our hearts are a “perpetual factory of idols” (John Calvin). Idolatry gives us a false sense of control, power, and convenience that ends up turning against us. We must turn in repentance from our trust in idols back to the sovereign God.
II. The Strength of God (40:27-31)
Israel’s complaint (40:27) was that God did not care about them; they assumed he had neglected them and no longer answered their prayers. But the problem lies not with God, but within themselves. They had a deficient view of God & a deficient experience with God. They needed a reminder that God is not only great, but that he is also good.
God is inviting his people to turn away from the things that will only contribute to their weariness (themselves, the things of creation, nations & their leaders, idols, etc.) and to instead turn to him. The posture of strength is found in waiting on the Lord.
“The Christian’s waiting and watching is hoping – based on the conviction that God is actively involved in His creation and vigorously at work in redemption. Hoping does not mean doing nothing. It is not fatalistic resignation. It means going about our assigned tasks, confident that God will provide the meaning and the conclusion. It is not compelled to work away at keeping up appearances with a bogus spirituality. It is the opposite of desperate and panicky manipulation, of scurrying and worrying. Hoping is not dreaming. It is not spinning an illusion or fantasy to protect us from our boredom or our pain. It means a confident, alert expectation that God will do what He said He will do.” ~ Eugene Peterson
When we wait on the Lord, our strength is renewed even if our circumstances do not change. We will experience the freedom & ease of an eagle flying, and we will have a resiliency to keep moving forward through the life of faith as we wait for the promise of God’s coming.
This invitation to come to the Lord in our weariness & our fatigue is embodied in the ministry of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 11:28–30: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”