(The Word for Today) Isaiah 5:11 - Part 2 — Chuck Smith

To the word for today. The word for today is a continuous study of the Bible taught by Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California. Pastor Chuck is currently teaching from the Old Testament and for those of you following along in your Bibles we'll be continuing today in Isaiah chapter 5 beginning with verse 11.

Isaiah’s Complaint Against Pleasure and Spiritual Neglect

As we continue with an in-depth message entitled The Parable of the Vineyard Part 2. Now with today's study, here's Pastor Chuck. Here's what the prophet is complaining about. They praise really the person as they are drinking their wine and all they praise the musicians for their tremendous skills but they do not regard the work of the Lord nor consider the operation of his hands God's skills, God's abilities.

And because of this, therefore, because of this, my people are gone into captivity because of their ignorance and their honorable men are famished and the multitude are dried up with thirst. Therefore, because of this hell has enlarged herself and opened her mouth without measure and their glory and their multitude and their pomp and he that rejoices shall descend into it.

Humiliation of the Proud and Exaltation of the Lord

A tremendous slaughter of the people and captivity await them. And the plain man shall be brought down and the mighty, big, strong man will be humbled and the eyes of the lofty, the proud, will be humbled.

But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted. God will bring down the pride of man, the glory of man and the Lord of hosts will be the one that will be exalted. The God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.

And so we should glory in the Lord and in his works. He that humbleth himself shall be exalted, but he that exalted himself shall be abased. And so important we give glory to God. Exalt the Lord. And he will be exalted in judgment.

That is, when the judgment comes, God will be exalted through that judgment. And he will be declared righteous in the works of judgment that he brings. And then shall the lambs feed after their manor in the waste places of the fat ones the strangers shall eat.

The Third Woe: Being Drawn Toward Iniquity

Third woe. Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity and sin as it were with a cart rope, that is, a rope to pull the carts. Those who seek after iniquity, draw, are drawn, the idea is those who are drawn to iniquity.

And there are some people who just seem to be drawn towards evil. It just seems to be the bent of their character. They're drawn towards evil things. Woe unto them. They're pulled, easily pulled, actually look after evil, who look for the evil.

That say, let him make speed and hasten his work that we may see it. Let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come that we may know it. You know, if God is there, let him show himself. You know, they sort of defy God.

They live iniquitous lives and then defy God. Woe unto them who call evil good. And good evil. Boy, are we living in that age today. And it happened, I guess, in Israel also, in Judah, where there was such a twisted value that it's good to be liberal and have a very liberal attitude towards all kinds of evil.

You know, you shouldn't condemn it, you shouldn't judge. You know, you should learn to tolerate all kinds of evil and it's bad to be strongly opinionated against evil. You should live and let live. And so they call the good evil because you stand up for righteousness.

They say, oh, that's terrible. And a person who is living a wicked life, they say, oh, the guy's really liberated, isn't he? Great, you know, he doesn't have any qualms or guilt feelings. Who put darkness for light and light for darkness and they put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

Wisdom in One’s Own Eyes

The next woe is to those that are wise in their own eyes. You think you're so smart. You think you're so clever. You think you know so much. You're wise in your own eyes. As Shakespeare said, man, poor man, so ignorant in that which he knows best.

What's your best subject? Which subject are you most conversant in? In which field of science do you excel? Or which field of knowledge do you excel? In that field of knowledge that you know best, how much do you know about all that can be known in that field of science?

I would have to say that my field of understanding and knowledge is best in the Bible. I've made a lifetime study of it. But I will frankly confess to you I'm very ignorant concerning all that is to be known about the Word of God.

Man, poor man, so ignorant in that which he knows best. So woe to those who think they know it all. Those who are wise in their own eyes and they are prudent in their own sight. Oh, I'm so smart, you know.

Bribery, Injustice, and Rejection of God’s Law

Then another woe upon drinking. We had the second one that was addressed to this, the alcoholic. But again, woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, men of strength who mingle strong drink, which justify the wicked for reward.

So he's talking really about the judicial system taking bribes. They'll justify the wicked man for bribe and they take away the righteousness of the righteous man from him. Injustices within the judicial system.

Therefore, as a fire devours the stubble and the flame consumes the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness and their blossom shall go up as dust because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts and they have despised the Word of the Holy One of Israel.

Boy, I'll tell you, that doesn't fit our judicial system in the United States today. I've never read anything that does. Judges who drink, who receive bribes, who condemn the righteous. The whole system is so twisted and they've cast away the law of the Lord of hosts and they despise the Word of God.

They have ruled against the reading of the Word of God in the public schools, despising the Word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore, because of this, the anger of the Lord is kindled against his people and he has stretched forth his hand against them and he has smitten them and the hills did tremble and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the streets.

Judgment, Repentance, and National Decline

For all this, his anger is not turned away but his hand is stretched out still. Now, God's judgment began to fall and Isaiah is declaring the judgment of God is beginning to fall. But even though it has begun to fall, they still persist in their evil.

They haven't turned. They haven't changed. There's no repentance yet. The idea is what does it take to bring a man to his knees in repentance? What will it take to bring the United States to its knees in repentance?

Our school system spends more time and more preparation and all and makes a bigger deal out of the celebration of Halloween than they do all of the other religious celebrations in the year combined. In fact, they can't have Christmas carols and they call it now spring break instead of Easter vacation, winter break instead of Christmas vacation.

But yet all of this to do over Halloween. Halloween parties in the classrooms, prizes for the children with the best witch's costume or ghost or goblins or whatever. And in reality, Halloween is a religious celebration.

It's a celebration of the witches. It originates in witchcraft and the celebration of the witches. And so it's a religious holiday. But do the courts condemn it? Do they rule that you cannot talk about Halloween in the schools?

No, they condone it. Isn't it interesting that the Satanists have a holiday that is promoted and sponsored and all by the school system who cannot really talk much about the other Christian holidays. Woe, God said unto them.

And he began his judgment. And in the judgment he stretched out his hand to smite them. Earthquakes, the hills did tremble. Many of them were killed in the streets. But for all of this they did not turn.

And his hand is stretched out still. And so he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth and behold, they shall come with speed swiftly. In other words, because they did not heed the warnings of God, so to speak, they did not repent when God brought his judgments in the land, when God cut off the rain and they went through a period of drought, when they began to have earthquakes and destruction and they still just persisted in their evil ways, then God said, okay, I am bringing a nation from afar.

I'm making them really detestable to this nation that's way off and they will come with speed. He'll use this nation, which is the nation of Babylon. He's going to use them as his tool of judgment against his own people.

Babylon as God’s Instrument of Judgment

And so God describes the coming of Babylon against them. They shall come with speed swiftly. None shall be weary nor stumble among their ranks. None will slumber nor sleep. Neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed nor the latchet of their shoes be broken.

Their arrows are sharp and all of their bows are bent. The arrows are ready to fly. Their horses' hooves shall be counted like flint and their wheels like a whirlwind and their roaring shall be as a lion.

You remember in the vision that Daniel had, there was the lion that was destroyed by the bear, that was destroyed by the leopard, that was destroyed by this indescribable beast. And Babylon was the lion.

And they shall roar like a young lion. And yea, they shall roar and lay hold of the prey. They will carry it away safe and none will deliver it. Judah will be carried into captivity. They will fall to Babylon and thus it happened, after Isaiah's lifetime, but it happened.

The Word of God was fulfilled and Judah fell to Babylon. And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea. And if one look unto the land, behold, there is darkness and sorrow and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.

And so a dark day and tragic day in the history of Judah when Babylon came and destroyed the nation. Now Isaiah declares that in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up and His glory filled the temple.

Isaiah’s Vision of the Lord on the Throne

Uzziah was a very powerful and popular king. He was 16 years old when he began to reign in Judah and he reigned for 52 years. During his reign the threat of the Philistines was neutralized. He took the city of Gath and broke down the walls, making it defenseless.

He put Israeli settlements around the major Philistine city of Ashdod, neutralizing its effectiveness. And so they were prosperous from a military standpoint. They conquered the surrounding nations and made them tributaries.

The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah. His fame spread abroad throughout all the land, even unto the entrance into Egypt. And twice it speaks about the name of Uzziah being spread all over. Everybody was talking about Uzziah.

He was popular. And under his reign they felt very secure and very safe. People just didn't worry. He was a smart man. He was a good leader and he brought the nation to a period of great prosperity and might.

During the latter part of his years he intruded into the temple of God seeking to offer incense, was rebuked by the high priest, and subsequently there in the temple of God when he began to respond to the high priest in anger, leprosy broke out on his body and he was driven by the high priest and the other priest out of the temple and he had to live the rest of his life in isolation in a leprosarium.

And thus his son Jotham began to sit upon the throne in Jerusalem. But Jotham was not his father's equal in any way. In fact Jotham was a very weak and evil king. And thus when Uzziah finally died and the reins of government were turned over completely to Jotham it was a tragic and sad day in Judah and people were feeling that sort of desperation and that feeling of near panic of what are we going to do.

Uzziah is dead. He had been such a strong and powerful leader. People had just come to trust and rely upon his leadership and they felt secure and safe when he was there. But now that he's dead there's this uncertainty and there's this fear that is gripping them.

The throne is empty. Our great king has vacated the throne. But God gave a vision to Isaiah to show him that the throne was not empty. I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up and his glory filled the temple.

Trusting God Rather Than Human Leaders

God removed Isaiah's idol in order that Isaiah might see the Lord. Many times we get our eyes upon men and because our eyes are upon men we fail to see God. We begin to trust in man and we fail to trust fully in God.

And so God removes our idols many times in order that we might realize that it is God that is upon the throne. It is God that is working. It is not the work of man. Now man is always ready to attribute the work to man.

They don't like to acknowledge the work of God. They're always looking to the secret for success in some man. And so they say some charismatic kind of a character or characteristics in the man, you know, he's powerful leader.

And they're looking to man as the secret for success but it is the Lord and that is the secret of success and that's where people so often get confused when they come around here. Because they can't understand the success of the place.

And God has deliberately done it that way. God has chosen the foolish things to confound the wise. And so they come around with all of their wisdom and all trying to figure out the reason for success, you know.

And they just can't figure it out. And Romaine says, well it's the Lord. And they say, yeah, yeah, but tell us really what is it, you know. He said, look, God gave you one mouth and two ears. That ought to tell you something.

Listen now what I'm telling you. Just keep your mouth shut and listen. It's the Lord. And they go away mad at him. Of course he has that. You know, you either go away loving him or go away mad at him.

God’s Sovereignty in Times of Uncertainty

But God was more or less saying to Isaiah, I'm on the throne. I'm in control. He's revealing that to him. And you know, there are times in our lives when God needs to reveal that to us because we have a tendency of forgetting that God is on the throne.

When things start going bad, when we're confused, when things that we've been trusting in are suddenly taken away and we begin to feel that uncertainty and that sort of inner panic of, oh, what am I gonna do?

So important to know that God is on the throne. I saw the Lord sitting on the throne. He was high, exalted. His glory filled the temple. Mr. Chuck Smith will return with a few closing comments. But first I'd like to remind you that today's message is available in its unedited form on cassette or CD.

Simply write or call and ask for ordering details on tape or CD number C -3244. Again, that's tape or CD number C -3244. Well, it's that time of year again. It may seem innocent, but the symbols of Halloween, like black cats, jack-o'-lanterns, and trick-or-treat all have roots in sorcery and Satanism.

We would never knowingly get involved with anything related to Satan, but many Christians don't understand what's really behind the pagan holiday. The word for today would like to offer you a presentation hosted by Pastor Chuck Smith called Halloween Trick-or-Treat that traces the pagan origins and history of Halloween.

This powerful movie uncovers the mystic rites and ceremonies of Satan and will forever change your opinion of Halloween. Every year as the end of October approaches, we're faced with the dilemma of family and friends pressuring us to participate in the celebration of this pagan holiday.

This documentary will definitely challenge you to decide whether or not you'll continue to participate in this tradition. If you'd like more information on Halloween Trick-or-Treat, then simply write or call and ask one of our operators for the ordering details.

Again, it's called Halloween Trick-or-Treat. And right now, if you place an order, the word for today would like to bless you with Pastor Chuck Smith's pamphlet, How Can a Man Be Born Again? Absolutely Free.

Instead of just giving candy this year, the pamphlet is the perfect tool for Christians to share the gospel with loved ones and friends. Available in both English and Spanish. Again, it's free when you call right now.

To order Halloween Trick-or-Treat for yourself or for a friend, you can call the word for today at 1 -800 -272-WORD or write to us at PO Box 8000, Costa Mesa, California 92628. Once again, that number to call is 1 -800 -272-WORD or write to us at 1 -800 -272 -9673.

And for those of you that would like to visit our website, you can do so at www .twft .com or if you'd like to email us, you can do so at info at twft .com. Well, coming up next time on the Word for Today, Pastor Chuck will be continuing his fascinating study through the book of Isaiah.

That's coming up next time on the Word for Today. Closing comments. Here's Pastor Chuck. Father, we thank you for that finished work of Jesus Christ who once and for all offered himself as the sacrifice for our sins that he might reconcile us, Lord, unto you through the blood of the cross and make us children of God.

Lord, we thank you that you were willing to bear our sins, that you were wounded and pierced for our transgressions. You were crushed for our iniquity. Lord, may we walk in the glorious light of the gospel drawn by your love unto this fellowship with God.

This program is sponsored by the Word for Today, the radio ministry of Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California.