Isaiah Lesson 3

We're continuing on in the book of Isaiah and last week we were in, I called it a courtroom.

Scene.

And in this courtroom scene we had an indictment was given against the people of Israel. They were being disobedient. And then there was an argument that was presented and they were described as being rebellious children.

I raised you as my children and yet you're being disobedient to me. And then there was this comparison about the nation of Israel against an ox and a donkey and even the ox, even the donkey know enough, but my people Israel don't.

And finally there was the accusation that they were a sinful nation. Jeff, if you would read verse one of chapter one, it's kind of one of the centers of the opening section of Isaiah one, go ahead, four.

The vision of Isaiah.

No, Isaiah chapter verse four.

It's a good verse.

Chapter one, verse four.

Yes. I'm sorry.

Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly. They have forsaken the Lord. They have despised the Holy one of Israel. They are utterly estranged.

So from that, we're going to eventually get into the consequences of what it means. The wounds, the festering wounds that cannot be, that cannot be healed, cannot be taken care of. They were being defenseless against the nations and they were being overrun.

Do you know her name?

Idea. Idea. Idea.

There are copies up on some of these chairs up here if you want to go ahead and grab one. Uh, having proclaimed in this courtroom scene, the nation of Israel, uh, and, and what they are, who they are and what that means, we, we get our first, our first real picture of the mercy of God.

So give me verse nine.

If the Lord of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.

The, the implications of that can be looked at in one of two ways. Actually, it can be looked at that, uh, as, as the nation of Judah was under siege, uh, pretty much there was an, uh, an overrunning except the nation, except the Judah was protected for, for a time.

It can be looked at for that way. It can also be looked at that, uh, God is never going to abandon his people. There will be consequences. There will be punishment. There will be those who are left to, to suffer the consequences, but God will never, ever, ever abandon his people to the very, very, very end.

There, there is a remnant and his people, his covenant will hold true. What we get now into starting in, in verse 10, and I'll start the first chapter one, verse 10, hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah.

And so he's going to leverage off of what he's just proclaimed against them. And now we're going to learn, uh, some more about what has gone wrong. What does God see with regard to them? Who are they?

Uh, they're going to talk about this false worship, the issue that they have. He's going to talk about the opportunity for cleansing, and then he's going to give an if then, uh, and if then section will eventually get into applications.

So Jeff, would you open us in a prayer, please?

Father, as we open the book of Isaiah, again, we remember the 55th chapter that your word does not return void. God, we ask that it would accomplish the work for which it is sent in our hearts this day in Jesus name.

Amen. Amen.

Thank you. Thank you for that. Uh, I welcome also those who are viewing us on, on video. This is an exciting opportunity to have people actually here with us, uh, but then to be able to get into your family rooms by video, uh, the people here, you have a piece of paper can follow along with me.

Um, I've actually received a request from someone, uh, who's, who's here that likes to look at the notes in advance so that they can get prepared. If you're, if you would like the notes in advance, both Jeff and I, they're prepared in advance.

Uh, just let us know, we'll email you the notes in advance. Those of you who are online, uh, you're online because in the pastor grant, you've got the link, uh, and the link also has the notes. Uh, we are talking about, um, apparently the Isaiah study is on our website, uh, cornerstone sj .org.

You just got to know where to find it. We're going to try to make that a little more obvious and perhaps even put the notes out.

There.

So we want you to be able to track along. Uh, I did notice last week I, I got to review how this went, uh, and I do know that the microphone is up here and it's not out there. Um, I do like participation.

I do like, uh, the people that are here to be able to be part of it. I'm going to continue with that. Uh, when I hand out reading, go ahead and read it. The most you can speak up the better, uh, for those of you who are on our video, uh, you'd be able to see where they're reading.

It's in the notes. And so you can look it up while they're reading. Uh, I don't want to lose the interactive, uh, opportunity that we have here. So we will, we'll continue to use people. Jeff will be my Isaiah 1 reader, uh, and not every passage in my notes will be used.

I'll speak to some, but for now, Sandy, I'm going to have you get Proverbs 7, uh, ready. Genesis 18, Kimberly and Exodus 19, uh, Bob, Barb Curtow, if you would get Genesis 4, you can see I'm moving quite down the page a little bit faster.

Uh, Ecclesiastes 5, uh, Rich probably doesn't even need to read it. He probably knows that by heart. Anyway, Proverbs 1, Gus, if you would have that, and John to totally Zachariah 7, that gets us through the first page.

For now, Jeff, if you would give us verses 10 through 20, the whole section.

All right.

Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom. Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah. What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices, says the Lord. I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts.

I do not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or of goats. When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings. Incense is an abomination to me.

New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations. I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts, my soul hates. They have become a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them.

When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you. Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean. Remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes.

Cease to do evil, learn to do good. Seek justice, correct oppression. Bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow.

Though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Thank you.

We're gonna start right out and I'm going to go incredibly slow initially because that first phrase that Jeff read, it is a stage setter. Just the very beginning of verse 10, filling in my blank. Here, somebody answer, fill that in for me.

Hear.

The word of the Lord.

Hear the word of the Lord. As we get into this prophecy, Isaiah the prophet proclaiming what God gives him, it's the inspired word of God. The nation of Israel has a special relationship with Yahweh. Now, there are so many times where the nation of Israel is given a unique opportunity to have the word of the Lord and to hear the word of the Lord and hopefully to respond to the word of the Lord.

They are in a situation right now where quite frankly, they've fallen away. Quite frankly, they perhaps have lost their fervor. We can talk about the need for the heart. And so as he gets now into this next section where he wants to be more specific about what does he have against them, he starts out with, hear.

This is the word of the Lord. This is not something that is being thought of by a religious organization. This is the word of the Lord. So my question is, why is that important?

Barbara, I appreciate that.

Because you actually just answered both questions. Good job. This is the word of the Lord. There is power, there is significance. The problem would be to have just listening to it and actually hearing it.

What is the difference between actually just listening to the word, but actually hearing the word? What's the difference between that? Say again.

The Holy Spirit.

Thank you, the Holy Spirit. And what does the Holy Spirit do within the believer when he Discernment. Discernment, actually making this something important. Sandy, give me Proverbs 7, please.

Words of my mouth. Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways. Do not stray into her

I have a cell phone that's going off and I couldn't figure out how to turn it off.

Sure.

In fact, if you want to talk to him, go ahead.

Just turn it off.

It's the second time he's called in five minutes. He really, really wants me. Okay, here's the thing. Listen and pay attention. The real easy picture that you can have is a father or a mother trying to get the attention of a four-year-old.

I have some people who are responding to that. Or a teenager. We have a rebellious nation right now and God wants their attention. And so when he talks, this needs to be more than just words. This has to be taken in.

Now, the second thing he does in verse one is he redefines their identity.

Verse 10.

Verse 10, thank you. Rulers of? Sodom. People of?

Gomorrah.

Wow, now this would have to be a harsh, if the people are in fact listening to what this has. This has to be difficult because how would the people of Jerusalem have described themselves? What words would they have used?

Phrase it.

We're children of Abraham.

Children of Abraham.

Chosen people.

Chosen people.

Holy.

Holy. A nation of priests. We are supposed to be the likes to the Gentiles. This is who the people of Jerusalem should have been and would have been describing them.

And apparently they were still doing the offerings and the sacrifice. Yahweh was just one of the God. Yahweh covered and we got this other God covered and we got this other one. So I don't think they were really aware that what they were doing was that sinful.

Wow, for those of you, I'm gonna repeat what Bob brought out there. They are God's chosen people and they are worshiping Yahweh, but yet they were actually worshiping other gods at the same time. They were being influenced by the nations around them.

One of the things that they did, which wow, God couldn't have been more clear, don't intermarry. It's only gonna lead you down a bad path. That being said, the people of Jerusalem would have described themselves as a chosen people, a holy people, a nation, a priestly nation.

God's peculiar chosen. All of these words is how they would have described themselves. They had the word, they had all the privilege. How does God identify them? Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 18. You've got that, Kimberly?

Then the Lord said, the men turned away.

We know the stories of Sodom and Gomorrah. We know the grievous sexual sin that was going on in the city. And we know that it was so bad that God chose to destroy the city. And Abraham goes into a negotiation.

Well, what if we find 40? Well, what if we find 30? And it turns out that really what it was was Lot and his family. And I'm not so sure about his wife because she couldn't resist the temptation to turn around and look.

This nation which typifies, well, we actually use Sodom in a pretty disgusting sexual sin. And to use that now as God is saying, you are Sodom and Gomorrah in my sight. Do you say wow?

Yeah.

Why do you say wow?

That's a strong condemnation and rebuke.

Probably one of the worst things they could be called. Apologize, right?

I hear probably one of the worst things they could be called. So let's look at what they were, what they would have thought themselves. Exodus 19, Bob. Notice that there is an if on the front of that one.

Now we do know that God's covenant with the nation of Israel does not go away. There is no if. The Abrahamic covenant, there is no if. This is God's choice. And God has chosen the nation of Israel, not because they were a great people, not because they were numerous, but because he chose them.

The warnings that Bob just wrote talks now about how is this going to play out. And the people, if they follow God, are going to, the world is going to experience these blessings through the nation of Israel.

There's a huge if there, and God is going to exercise that if here in verse 10 by calling them Sodom and Gomorrah. Not calling them my chosen people. So now he's going to give his reasons why, and we get into 11 to 15.

We're not going to read it all again just for time, but in 11 through 15, we're going to hear him, okay, you're doing sacrifices. Okay, you're offering the blood of bulls. Okay, you're doing offerings.

And it doesn't do me anything. It doesn't do anything. The reality is what we have here is false worship.

At the end, your hands are full of blood.

Absolutely, your hands are full of blood. I'll do some filling in the blanks just to help us get through in verse seven. What is it to me, the multitude of your sacrifices? I have had enough of burnt offerings.

I don't delight in the blood of bulls. How often does the law require the nation of Israel to do these sacrifices? How often are these required?

I believe there are two daily. Sabbath and then new moon.

Okay, God, I don't get this. You're the one who told me I need to do these things daily, often. You're the one who told me to do all these things. And now you're saying, I've had enough. I've had enough.

Why is God saying that to them?

That's what we have to guard.

So Rich mentioned the heart, and Bob brought up a practice that isn't uncommon in churches, even in evangelical churches. At the end of the pastoral prayer, to have everybody recite our father who art in heaven.

Just a little story. I was a worship leader at a church at one point in time, an evangelical church, and I did the pastoral prayer, and we had never done this. We had never recited the Lord's prayer together.

But I had seen it in previous churches, and so I thought, let's introduce it. And I got up there and I said, and we pray these things in the word our Lord has taught us to say. That's the typical introduction to it, right?

Saying, our father who art in heaven, and by now the congregation should have joined in. Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. And I'm not hearing a word. I don't know if they didn't know it, but at that point in time, I didn't know it.

I couldn't remember the next words. And so after a brief moment of silence, I said, amen. Here's the reality. If the congregation, as a bunch of pull a string out the back of a dowel and let go, recited the Lord's prayer without the heart, it would have been no more meaningful than what I did.

Genesis four, who's got that? Barb, you've got that?

And Cain brought some fruit to the Lord,.

One of his flock.

The Lord looked with anger on Cain, so Cain was very angry.

One of the first really recordings of sacrifices and offerings being laid before the Lord. We don't know exactly how and why they were taught to do that. Obviously their father would have instructed them in it, but that passage has troubled people.

It has troubled me. Abel's offering was acceptable and Cain's was not. Just because you go through the external actions of giving an offering to God doesn't guarantee that it will be accepted.

Why?

It says if you are willing, not just for faith and response.

Absolutely, Kimberly, I brought us to Isaiah 119, if your heart is in it. This has to be, we get a clue on this, by the way, as we continue in Genesis, that Cain was angered because there's a sense of self-accomplishment, there's a sense of self-worth, there's a sense of self-contribution that Cain had.

That is pride. Absolutely, Rich. I have had enough of your burnt offerings, and it doesn't mean that the burnt offerings are bad. It means the way that you have bought the burnt offerings. I've had it, which takes me to the next point in verse 12.

When you come before me, who has, anybody see it? When you come before me, who has?

Ask this of you.

Ask this of you. Others might say required this of you. We're now into the realm of motivation. Are you coming before me with these offerings because this is what's required in your religious tradition?

Are you coming before me with these offerings because you might think that my neighbor will see me giving these offerings?

Hey.

Who's requiring this of you? Who should be requiring this of you? That's my question. Who should be requiring this of you? Okay, this is the typical Sunday school question.

God.

If you don't know how to answer in your Sunday school, the answer is God. This is God's, but it's your response and your relationship with God is what should be motivating you to do this. Not because it's Sunday and it's time to put a tie on it.

Tie the offering in the box. Not because, yeah, John, do you?

I'm getting ahead. I'm thinking here is, when's 10? Says, how then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in him whom they have not heard? How are they to hear without someone preaching?

So they were told to do these things. They're doing these things. And yes, they terribly drifted away. But how are they to know?

And John's bringing us to Romans 10 and it's how will they believe unless they hear? How will they hear unless somebody comes to preach? And John, if I try to capture what you're trying to say, they have been taught to do the sacrifices.

Maybe what they haven't been taught is why are you doing the sacrifices? Why are you doing the sacrifices? And one of the things that Pastor Jeff is solid on doing every Sunday is getting us back to the why.

And the why is God. There's a sovereign God. Yes, Louise.

He gave those sacrifices. They were given the reason why.

Yes.

But, and then, at some generations, but then it got to when they were in, that everybody just did what they wanted to do.

It's a different generation, yeah.

It is, and we are basically one generation away from apostasy. There is a great need for parents and for grandparents to not only speak, but to live truth in front of their people.

And one of the great points you made is that God did say the reason. In Leviticus 17, 11, he said life is in the blood. Yes, and he's given blood to make atonement on the altar. So we are to see, they were to see in the bloody sacrifice that that's the death that they deserve because of sin.

It should have been horrifying. And then in seeing that blood, to be thankful to God for providing a substitute. That motivation was missing in their mind, yeah. Yeah, great point.

That's an excellent point. Being able to give what's of value to you, to the God who has provided for you. The sacrifice, the lamb, supposed to be the best. The lamb was supposed to be from within you.

I would have to wonder of the idea of having the capitalists in the temple who had pigeons and doves and stuff like that to sell. It almost made it too easy. Almost made it too easy. You came with a coin, you dropped it off, you picked up your dove and you made the sacrifice.

The motivation is so central to it. Ecclesiastes 5, just for time, it's gonna talk about drawing near and listening. Don't be involved with making the sacrifice of fools. Draw near and listen. Don't let it become superficial or ritualistic.

In verse 13, he's gonna talk about incense. It's an abomination. He's gonna talk that he cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. I'm weary of bearing them. The thought of assembling together where perhaps the high priest would open up the scriptures and proclaim the word.

And the word solemn almost reeks to me of surly obedience. Being there, putting on the beautiful Sunday holy face and but not doing it because iniquity is in my back pocket. That my face shows attempts to show the holiness of God but in my heart and in my background is nothing but iniquity.

It's hypocrisy is what it is. He then goes on to say, and this is a slight paraphrase of what it says there. Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen. This is one of the scariest passages of scripture.

Question, when are prayers actually of value? Luis said from the heart. Wait, Gus.

Any time.

Well, good, that's a good answer too. Anytime and Dave is referring now to the sovereignty of God because your prayers are submitting to the will of God or to the sovereignty of God. When you pray, these are John speak, okay?

Don't write these down as if they're inspired. When you pray, the prayer has got to come from the heart, not from the mind. Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. And I couldn't remember the rest.

As opposed to God, we are here asking for your presence. The heart never forgets the next word. It's from the heart. It's what you, it's got to come from the heart and it's got to include, I believe, a desire to hear God's voice in response.

True prayer is often more meaningful when you're silent.

It's a two-way communication.

Thank you, Rich says it's a two-way communication. And I can't tell you how he does that. Everybody has a different sense, but there are those times when you do allow a period of time beyond just making sounds and going on your way.

There's different approaches. The acts approach and adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication. Notice that supplication comes after you've done all this other stuff. But even when you've done that to stop and let God speak to you, there are ways to do it.

Let, read scriptures and let God speak to you through the scriptures, but you got to hear. You got to have a desire to hear. And not only that, again, this is John speaking. You got to have a desire to be taught.

Did you ever cry out a new scripture to your mind as you answered your prayer?

That is a powerful way that God can, Rich said, did you ever pray and God guides you to a passage of scripture? This is what he might have for you today. And my final challenge in prayer is desire to be changed.

Desire to be changed. We are a new creation. We are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, we are all these things. We are, we haven't arrived yet. Jeff, have you arrived yet?

No.

Prayer, and he says that when you pray, I will not even listen. Why won't he hear their prayers? Who's got Proverbs 128? Did I give that to anybody? Okay, Jeff, get Proverbs 128 for me. I gave that to somebody, but that's okay.

Yeah, let me make a quick point too before I grab that. This word abomination, your prayers are an abomination to me, that word is toevah in the Hebrew. And it only occurs a few times in the holiness code in Leviticus 18, 22, Leviticus 20.

In both cases, it's homosexuality that's being called an abomination. So I found it interesting that the word Sodom and Gomorrah would point towards that in Isaiah 110. Now he's calling their prayers toevah.

That strong language is being repeated. That's verse, where does it say abomination? Verse 13, bring no more vain offerings. Incense is an abomination to me. Toevah, that's some strong language. Okay, so Proverbs what?

128 and 29.

Proverbs 128 and 29. Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer. They will seek me diligently, but will not find me because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord.

There are approaches to going in front of the throne of God to be involved in prayer and to have meaningful prayer. And there are ways to go that aren't necessarily gonna get. Did I give Zechariah 7 to somebody?

Read Zechariah 7 please, 7 .13.

As I called, and they would not.

My goodness, did you catch what he just said? I've been calling and you wouldn't listen. I've been ringing your doorbell and you wouldn't open up. As they would, as I would have been calling them, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.

Sandy was in a situation, I'm sorry, Sandy. Sandy was in a situation where she was trying to express her views on some political issue or whatever. And somebody in the background was going, nah, nah, nah, she's trying to shoot over, shout over her, that the view couldn't be heard.

God is calling, God is calling. Are you so busy with yourself? Are you so involved, are you so overwhelmed by the sounds of the world when God calls that you don't hear him? Guess what happens? John, what's the second half of that verse?

Right back at ya.

Right back at ya.

So they called and I did not hear.

Yeah, Kimberly.

Which means to hear an ovation where we started is the same as the imperative in verse 10. Absolutely, hearing. And, wow.

Absolutely, it says in verse 10, give ear to the teaching of our God. Give ear to the teaching of our God. All right, I recognize where we are in time so I don't know if we're gonna get this whole thing done.

I wanted to spend just a little bit of time on this concept of a ritual. This thoughts come from Pastor Joe from Ocean City Chapel by the sea. My friends Bob and Neva might be listening in on this so kudos to you for showing me Pastor Joe.

The difference between a worship time and a ritual time. That's what's going on here. The nation of Israel are God's chosen people. They have a relationship with God that nobody on earth could even come close to experiencing.

They had the word that was given to them and they had all these opportunities. They had the, if you follow my promises but if you don't, the curses. They had all the instructions that could possibly be necessary.

And then they had the opportunity for the blood to be shed, a foreshadowing of Christ. For them to have the way for their iniquities to be covered by the blood. They had all of this. And what he's getting into here at this point in time is you have fallen into ritual when what I wanted was worship.

What I wanted to do for just a minute, let's make one list worship and another list ritual. Give me a word that you would use to describe worship. Adoration, what's the opposite under the ritual?

Emptiness, it's external.

Absolutely, emptiness. All right, now you just used a word and I'm gonna put this under the ritual side, external. What would you put on the worship side?

Internal.

Internal, why do you say that, Rich? If I come here on Sunday morning and in two weeks we will be celebrating the Lord's table. We do that the first Sunday of every month. And if I come here and I partake in the Lord's supper, what changes that from ritual to worship?

Deep inside. Deep inside the heart. If I'm going to be here on Sunday morning and Michael and the worship team are going to present some songs to us, what changes those songs from worship to ritual? Louise said just singing words without even thinking about those words.

Each one of these things. All right, I'm gonna try a different one. Let's put you down in a situation where you've gotten up early in the morning and you've opened up the scriptures and you've read the scriptures.

When is that worship, when is that ritual?

Spirit and truth versus flesh and lies.

Great answer. What do you mean by that? And I don't, I don't. Caitlin, what were you gonna say? Let me rephrase that, because what she said, if you're just going through the motions then there's no hard feeling.

To having a quiet time out of a sense of obligation and checking it off your to-do list, there's really nothing there. Waking up and saying, I want to meet the Lord because I've got so much to do that I can't, I have to take the time to do this.

It's just this, I think of, I think of Nehemiah. And he's concerned because of the condition of the walls in Jerusalem. He's heard the conditions in it. And it tears him apart. And he's crying out to the Lord.

He really is. He's crying out to the Lord. And he gets the opportunity to go see the king. And I see him walking in and shooting a prayer up to the Lord. The heart is so on fire for what. God, he's not going in saying, hey king, we got some walls, here's a building plan, let's do it.

No, there's a sense of adoration. There's not an empty heart.

So would you say relationship?

I would, I would. And so give me the opposite of that on the ritual. That is a great insight. Kimberly talked about relationship.

What?

Stranged.

Stranged.

You're not reconciled. You're...

How? Distance.

How can a believer fall into that trap? So now I guess I'm going into the application in our last couple of minutes here. How can a believer fall into that trap?

Not valuing or not paying attention to. If you're reading the word of God and you get through this passage and you don't remember what you just read, you gotta go back and read it again. That's a problem.

You're not paying attention.

Yeah, just by getting lazy.

All right, so John said, if you can spend time reading a passage and leave it and not have a clue what you just read, probably go back and do it again so that it... And Rich talked about being lazy.

And one is doing it like from a sense of obligation to do it versus like a desire to do it.

Obligation and desire, relationship, energy versus being lazy, paying attention, as opposed to just checking a thing off. He has described them as an abomination. He has said that, now who's required this of you and why are you doing this in the first place?