Isaiah 8, What Are You Afraid Of?

Isaiah chapter 8 starting verse 1 hear the word of the Lord Then the Lord said to me take a large tablet and write on it in common characters

Belonging to may hair shall al -hashbaz and I will get reliable witnesses Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jarrah Jebba Rekiah to a test for me and I went to the prophetess and She conceived and bore a son then the

Lord said to me call his name May her shall al -hashbaz for before the Lord before the boy

Knows how to cry my father or my mother The wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria The Lord spoke to me again because this people has refused the waters of Shaloha that flow gently and rejoice over resin and The the son of Ramallah and the son of Ramallah therefore behold the

Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the river mighty and many the king of Assyria and all his glory and It will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks and it will sweep on into Judah It will overflow and pass on reaching even to the neck and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land

Oh Emmanuel To be broken you peoples and be shattered give ear all you far countries

Strap on your armor and be shattered strap on your armor and be shattered

Take counsel together and it will come to nothing speak a word But it will not stand

For God is with us But 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 do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy and do not fear what they fear nor be in dread but the

Lord of hosts Him you shall honor is holy let him be your fear and let him be your dread and he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel a

Trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken

They shall be snared and taken Bind up the testimony seal the teaching among my disciples

I will wait for the Lord who is hiding his face from the house of it from the house of Jacob and I will hope in him

Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs importance in Israel from that Lord of hosts

Who dwells on Mount Zion and when they say to you inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter?

Should not a people inquire of their God should they inquire the dead on behalf of the living?

To the teaching and the testimony if they will not speak according to this word it is because they have no dawn

They will pass through the land greatly distressed and hungry and when they are hungry they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their

God and turn their faces upward and they will look to the earth, but behold Distress and darkness the gloom of anguish and they will be thrust into thick darkness

May the Lord add his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word Well kind of continuing from where we were last week if you are most afraid

That what you depend on will fail Well, what makes you most afraid? That's what you depend on most

You know if you're a big sports fan You fear your team losing Alabama fans just fear all year long that Auburn Will beat them and that's just the fear now.

I was busy yesterday I'm gonna go to the NC State game and I DVR that game So don't tell me how it turned out, but I'm just looking forward to seeing

Alabama beat him down But you know most Alabama fans just really fear that somehow Auburn will manage to of course that will never happen

But you you know, I know Alabama fans can't even enjoy watching Alabama actually play because they're just overwhelmed by this fear that they might lose.

Of course, we know that will never happen When it comes to Alabama other teams that happens all the time now, you might think well

No one loves sports that much at least not outside the state of Alabama but I've seen people who are who are literally dying and I've been diagnosed with cancer and Terminal can they're dying and even with the approach of death

They're still obsessed With their team. That's just what fills their minds

They write a journal and they're talking about their team that shows what they depend on for meaning Maybe you're most afraid of losing your spouse or a family member

Is that where you put all your hopes? But the sad reality is, you know, if you're married one of you will die first, oh

Yes, you could be like George and Gene Spear who were married in August 1942 and stayed married for 75 years and died within just a few hours of each other last

September 15th that could happen I hope it does but most often one of you will die before the other and if you bought into this kind of modern

American story that the meaning of life is that having that one quote soulmate. What will you do then?

Or maybe you're afraid of losing your money Like the lady who carefully saved her money and stuffed it in a mattress didn't trust banks.

They could fall they could collapse So she kept all her money hoarded it away one day though Her daughter thought that she would give her mother a special treat

And she's been sleeping on that ratty old mattress for years now, you can get her a new mattress She did and threw out the old one not knowing that there was over a million dollars hidden inside They never found it

Or maybe you're afraid of disease and death of you know Getting old and weak and so you're gonna do everything you can to keep that off You're gonna eat these special diets where nothing is cooked or whatever

Kale put in a blender and drink that down and you're gonna do all kinds of exercises and take all kinds of vitamins and supplements and you go to the doctor all the time and therapies and stretching or whatever and You're afraid of even going out too much meeting too many people because you might catch germs from them

And you don't want that to happen and you end up depriving yourself of so many good things like Dairy Queen Just to add a few extra years to your life

Even if you succeed There years you didn't really enjoy You fear most what you depend on most

Here we see what Judah Depends on most by what they fear here

Judah is seized by fear remember in chapter 7 it says that they were they were being threatened by an alliance of Syria and the northern kingdom of Israel and it says in chapter 7 verse 2 that their hearts shook as the trees of the

Forest shake before the wind and this chapter chapter 8 is just continuing on the same story. It's the same situation

Isaiah has been told Isaiah has told them That you don't need to be afraid

You're fearful. You're terrified. You don't need to be this conspiracy against you this alliance against you

It won't work be firm in faith and then just to soothe their fears The Lord tells them, you know, ask me for a sign any sign.

It doesn't matter no matter how spectacular how supernatural I'll do any sign you say and then

King a has you know, he won't do it. He says no I won't ask the Lord for a sign. And so the Lord says

I'll give you a sign then I'll give you a sign of my choosing and it's the sign of a son a son will be born and before he's old enough

Now you gotta remember from chapter 7 first remember and back to chapter 7 before he's old enough to know right from wrong

Figure what age is that? I don't know Few years in before that happens. The son is born and before he grows enough old enough to know right from wrong

These two kingdoms you're so terrified of they will be crushed. They'll be gone. Don't worry about them

That's son will be a sign That God is with you That's why his name shall be called

Emmanuel God with us now in the long term That sign will be literally fulfilled as God would be with them in the sign of a son born of a virgin

But in this and in the short term in their own situation to alleviate their fears

The son was going to be the Isaiah's son as we see here now in chapter 8 So we see that here in four parts who not to fear and then more importantly who to fear first the sign second the spring

Shaloh Third the stone and fourth the seal so first of all, there's the sign and the sign is literally a sign

The Lord tells Isaiah to make a sign right in a way, you know says common characters in a way that Anyone can understand and on a large tablet or what could be translated as a placard other words make a sign

You know put it out there right on it Mayher shall out hash baths.

I like that Hebrew term, which means swift plunder hastening booty

Other words soon an army is coming to take away plunder. It's coming fast

Swift is hastening the and then he calls these witnesses in To witness the sign so it's gone public

But in the sign in chapter 7 was a son so he has a son

He has a son with mrs. Prophet his wife. Okay calls her the prophetess I think not just because she's his wife.

She's the wife of the Prophet, but she too is prophesying and she's prophesying by giving birth to signs to sons

Who become signs and they give their sons names? To show what the sign is all about and the first we already met in chapter in there

Chapter the last chapter chapter 7 which year Joshua. I'd like this You can consider these those of you still having children as names for future children a remnant shall return

In other words, don't fear Although you know it is kind of a double meaning there a remnant which means only a little bit left over But there will be a remnant

A few survivors will be left over. God will protect his people It might look sometimes like God's people will be wiped out like it's the end of them that they will maybe you're like today

But they will all succumb to apostasy or to justifying sin They'll all become quote liberal or whatever.

We want to call it today. They'll all just give in sometimes it feels that way now, but They'll all forsake the

Lord for money or for acceptance by the world Because they're just afraid of being thought of as one of those, you know, one of those weirdos

You know like one of those weirdos who meets in a gym But the Lord Jesus said that the gates of hell will not prevail against his church and Isaiah's first son

Was a sign of that But now Isaiah and mrs.

Prophet. She didn't give her name But mrs. Prophet are going to have mrs Isaiah I guess are going to have another son and he too is a sign and his name is

You gotta love this one may hair shall I'll hash baths Alright, I always thought we shouldn't name

Micah that but he doesn't like that idea but swift plunder hastening booty so we first but first in other words he put this on a sign and then he had a son and named him that and He's named that in verse 4 before he's even old and it says it says in verse 4 before this child

Is even old enough to cry he has not been born yet But before he's old enough to cry my father

Abbi in Hebrew Zabi Our daddy we would say daddy our my mother in me our mommy

You know remember before in chapter 7 it was before the child knows Before he grows old enough to know right from wrong, but now

God has shortened the time Then he had to wait to know right and wrong now It's short in the time to when he's old enough to say mommy or daddy

Then before that time comes His name will become true It says the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away

Before the king of Assyria. I'm was the king of Assyria is coming and he's gonna Take their stuff away.

The plunderer is hurrying The spoiler is hastening

Now remember we saw last week sometimes the prophecies have a near -term fulfillment for the people that the

Prophet is directly speaking to in his day and also a Long term fulfillment an ultimate fulfillment and the sign that the

Sun This the sign of the Sun was that that God was with us in Hebrew Emmanuel now he says his name will be called

Emmanuel now. He wasn't literally named Emanuel But he was a sign

That that was true that Emmanuel was true. Emmanuel means God with us.

God is with you So that what you feared you're in terror.

What had you quaking like a tree in a storm? All it's going to be taken away and it's going to be taken away before this baby who's about to come

It was not even yet conceived Before he's begins to say his first words

What a figure about two years right or less and the long term of course and long term ultimately another son is born and here we are now

What I consider not quite Christmas time But most of you seem to consider it already is Christmas time the signs of the season are already out you know, there's the commercials with a big red bows on the top of cars and Everything trying to get us to believe that that's the reason for the season you get us get stuff trees are already up Okay, I won't complain about it.

I shouldn't no one listens to it anymore. Anyway Trees are already up for some people and this is the most wonderful time of the year one song says now the truth is that The Bible doesn't say a whole lot about the birth of Christ I mean two of the

Gospels don't even mention the brother They just skip right to his ministry But one of the things it does say is that he was born of a virgin quoting from Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14

That he is a sign Jesus is a sign of who he literally is

God with us in the long term He's the one who takes away what we fear most the wrath of God and our sins

Judgment is swift. The end is hastening may her shall have hash baths, but the sign that Christmas is about says

Don't fear God is with us Now he shows us that in the second part beginning in verse 5, which is the spring

Which is literally called Shalom. Ah, the Lord speaks to Isaiah again. He says because this people

Think I switched people as you talk about well He's probably referring to the Israelites the northern kingdom of Israel and you get that by the what he says about them they have refused the waters of Shalom.

Ah, I got no a thing about that Shalom. Ah, there's just the name for the main spring The are the main stream really the stream that came from the spring called

Gihon spring and it gave Jerusalem its water Remember last week the king was out by the waterworks

Taking care of the water. And so the main stream that gave water to the city of Jerusalem.

It's called Shalom Ah, and he said these people they don't care about Shalom and he means that to represent

Jerusalem itself this people Reject Jerusalem. They don't care about Jerusalem the promise of even though God has promised protection for them

Even though it's there is that God said his name will dwell where he puts his his presence at his temple

It was there when he made a covenant with the king And instead but these people don't care about all that stuff

Instead they rejoice over Reza The king of Syria, I mean he's much more powerful

He's a king of Syria not some measly a little kingdom down south of Israel They made an alliance with him and then the son of Romali a

Pekka who's the king of the northern kingdom? You fear losing What you trust in?

What gives you the most joy what you rely on for protection what you think your life is all about you fear losing that I know someone, you know

Who's it was training hard to run a good race? In a marathon so that he could qualify for the

Boston Marathon because that's what that's what meant the most to him that accomplishment His strength his endurance and his training was going very well

Until he got an injury in his in his hip and he couldn't run without pain

He went to the doctor. It didn't help he couldn't run and Wouldn't make it to Boston He said that he was so frustrated.

He said that's right my presence. He was so frustrated. He felt like blowing his brains out

Crazy thing to do kill yourself because your body won't destroy your body because it won't do what you want

But he what he dreaded most came on him taking away from him what he wanted most

Now these people here they don't care about Jerusalem and all that stands for all the God has promised to it where Shalom flows gently

Even though you know wondrous things of thee are spoken Zion city of our

God They're more impressed though by the world By Syria now, there's a strong power

After all look at Jerusalem Measly stream that provides all its water, you know, it's probably no bigger the

Shaloha It's no bigger probably no bigger than that Creek down by the Scruggs house. It's about the size of that thing.

It's small potatoes Who cares about the church, it's mostly old little old lady sitting around singing old songs and writing it

You know talking about an old book who cares about that. This is weak It's not impressive.

It's nothing And they were impressed these people here by by the river

That that measly stream by the river the Euphrates now have you seen that there's a river? It's impressive

River So since they are so impressed by the world the world will Like a river

Flood them The Lord is bringing against them an empire. The Lord says from The river from the

Euphrates and like a river is big and mighty it will rise over them and sweep them all away

Judah look to them for help instead of the Lord So we so that river will not only sweep away the northern kingdom of Israel completely

Which it did and the year 721 BC, but it will rise so far right up to Judah's neck

Says leaving just their heads above the water But just like just Jerusalem in other words from being swept away

This is what happened now for everyone else all these other kingdoms all these other people's you nations you will be shattered by the flood from that River the river represents a

Syria The stream Shiloha is Jerusalem. They're a fear. They're afraid of this river.

That's some impressive Anybody warns them in verse 9 You know, you don't care about Jerusalem you care about but God's promises but in verse 9 give ear listen to this pay attention

Even if you strap on your armor, I can fight them off these Assyrians even if you prepare for the coming invasion

You get your weapons together stock up on ammo They will shatter you and he says it twice because it's certain strap on your armor and be shattered

Otherwise prepare yourself for battle, but it won't help you'll still lose Even if you conspire together like Syria in the northern kingdom of Israel, your alliances will come to nothing talk it up Sure, you could go to have your

United Nations You can have your NATO's your alliances your treaties to all to band together and fight off these

Assyrians but they will not stand against the judgment that the Lord is unleashing because The same reason that people of God will have a remnant

Emmanuel because God is with us And by application not you

Now sure the outstretched wings of God's judgment will will fill the earth but still

God saves His people it's Emmanuel's land

God can judge the whole earth and still save his people in it. That's what the sign of the Sun Christmas Is all about Emmanuel And notice that the separation the distinction

We could even say that the discrimination The Lord makes the the world is judged

But within it God's people are separated And spared saved and protected in John chapter 17 verse 9 the

Lord Jesus prays. I am praying for them For the Apostles and then for all who believe for their testimony in other words for the church

He says specifically in verse 9 7 John 17. I am NOT praying for the world

He's making the distinction right the world. No but for my people I But I'm praying for those whom you have given me for they are yours

There's a distinction. There's a separation. There's You don't mind the work discrimination now here in Isaiah 8

There's these the peoples he calls in the the countries that the Gentiles the the far countries in verse 9

The world we could call them They can do all that they can to stop

God's judgment strap on their armor Stock up on ammo and survival gear, you know be a survivalist

Build a Bunker in their basement prepare for battle make alliances talk strategy

But wait, it will not work to stop God's judgment They will be shattered but even though God's people are in the middle of all this with all this going on Even though it comes right up to their neck

What literally happened when the Assyrians invaded Judah and destroyed almost all of it?

but couldn't take Jerusalem The angel the Lord wiped out their army outside the walls of Jerusalem the city of our

God That little place that measly place is fed by this little spring this small potatoes.

It's nothing Empire How could they not take Jerusalem? But they couldn't

Even though God's people are surrounded by it Even though a thousand may fall at our side and ten thousand at our right hand is in Psalm 91.

It does not come near them God's people God discriminates between his people and the world

Now people today are taught that all discrimination is bad That even though you know, actually even though they discriminate all the time against people

Who don't don't agree with them? They'll mock them and call them names but whatever they don't they don't see that but they do a people whose minds are shaped by the by the rhetoric of the world

That all just all discrimination is bad find it abhorrent that God makes a Distinction among people that he chooses some to be his people to save and others.

He doesn't others are swept away by his judgment They might they might can accept

Distinction based on people's actions on our choices, you know, like the ways, you know schools discriminate all the time

It's between bad students and good students. At least they should sometimes they're not even don't do it when they don't do that They're really in trouble but on the basis of grades on performance

Courts discriminate that's what they're there for actually. It's what we have courts for just discriminate against between kinds of people

So they find this is a criminal. We're discriminating against you. We're putting you in prison these other people. You're not guilty

We let you go free. That's discrimination But to suggest that God's discrimination is based ultimately on his choice

Because people get it when it's based on our choice But if we say it's based on God's choice the worldly person finds that just abhorrent we get to choose he doesn't but here notice that the judgment comes on the world and not on God's people on the faithful remnant, what do we want to call up the church because Emmanuel at the end of verse 10

God is with us in the SV here. They translated it for some reason, but it's it's Emmanuel God with us

Emmanuel Emmanuel What do you fear? Whatever it is

Does that show you don't really believe that God is with? you Emmanuel Next the

Lord spoke to Isaiah again starting in verse 11 This gets to the to this

To the seal this time. He says God's strong hand was upon him

In other words, this is important He felt God's presence heavily that God was really impressing this and speaking strongly to him

The Lord warned him not to walk Lord says to him not to walk in the way of this people

In other words, don't walk like don't live like the world around you Now, why did we so easily?

Think and just live like the culture around us. We're shaped by it We might have heard that Christmas time is all about Emmanuel But really

Don't we often just make it just like the world all about the stuff and the decorations and the big red bows on cars

And the games whatever it is We might know that money isn't everything But we're still gonna live like it was don't we?

we might believe on some level that God is Almighty and Sovereign and that he deserves all our heart in our mind and our soul

But you know, we don't want to appear too radical we don't want to look like it That's you know, those people that see us think we're we're just too extreme

We want to be thought of as respectable people by others, even though we know that God sees us But we're not so much

We're not really embarrassed by what he sees. Are we embarrassed by what people say but not what God see So we can be singing with all our hearts as we're driving down the road the radio blaring

But some stranger happens to look over and see us at a stoplight, you know, we're gonna quiet down and Look respectable.

We're embarrassed or some Anonymous person that we may never see again thinks of us

Even though how God sees us. We're not too embarrassed by we might fear not being liked

Maybe by our co -workers or our you know for our our extreme views

Oh, you have extreme views or even by our children for our discipline We fear losing their approval fear not being seen as the as the caring loving parent

And so we care more about being the cool mom or dad Than being the good one

So we need people's approval Even our children's approval

We need it why for ourselves and we need it more than we love them for the glory of God So we're manipulated by the threat of acceptance

Think of that a perfect stranger we probably never see again can get us to quiet down and stop singing in a car just because we're gonna be embarrassed if we look to Like we're too caught away in our song

How easy to manipulate it we are like but what others to think of us Manipulated by the threat of acceptance or of approval or be ever being taken away

You know Wanting that the smiling signal Yeah, we're the we're the cool parent or boss or friend or pastor

If we don't get that human approval, we don't get it. We're shaking something's wrong. We're afraid

Afraid that maybe we're bad We're depressed. Maybe we're failures because we're not getting approved of by So -and -so we fear losing human approval more than God's We have fallen for that sin was described in a book by a man named

Ed Welch and reviewed by Greg Gilbert at nine marks Whose title says it all?

When people are big and God is small We stumble into being conformed to the world because we think too much of people and too little of God The approval of people of our neighbors our co -workers that stranger in the car next to us at the red light

Even our children that means too much to us. We depend on the approval of these people

We've been seen by them. It's cool as we depend on being liked by them more so Than we depend on what the true

God thinks of us That'll have to take a backseat. We think what do you fear?

You fear being called a bigot or a hater an uncaring ogre a radical

Maybe a nut Well here the Lord tells Isaiah not to fear not fitting in He says do not call conspiracy all that fits people call its conspiracy.

Don't go along with their irrational conspiracy theories You know the way they just know They think that the things really are

Just because everyone is believing that now Do not fear what they fear

Nor being in don't be in dread what they're in dread of Don't fear missing out on the newest gadget

Apple 10s coming out you got to have it the newest style The newest cause now, it's transgenderism.

You're not cool. If you're not on board with that Don't fear of being what they say is on what they say is the wrong side of history

No history is his story. So they don't know history very well But in verse 13, here's what you should fear the

Lord of hosts him. You should honor is holy Let him be your fear and let him be your

Dread you honor him as holy when you come to know him like Isaiah Did and you remember in the year

King Uzziah died high and lifted up the seraphim proclaiming holy holy holy

Then Isaiah himself feared Whoa is me

He was in dread Now this isn't the fear, you know, I fear if you're hiking in the woods and you come across a hungry bear

You have some fear there this is the fear of Standing in awe

You feel wonder and shrink back With a sense that you can't cope with the magnificence the majesty of the one that you are before You dread the the exposure of your inadequacy because a sinfulness compared to the perfection and the holiness of the one who is revealed to you and Then that happens what other people think of you

Doesn't even enter your mind You dread what he thinks of you But that even that dread is overwhelmed by a love for that perfection and holiness you you do feel a

Fear for him Now it's not just not just that you fear punishment for how far you fall short

Yeah, you do feel that fear you fear him who can kill both body and soul in hell You fear him more than you fear anything else

But even that fear is overwhelmed by your by your love for him that you know now

Loves you so because perfect love drives out all fear

You dread Disappointing him who you know loves you with a perfect love

He loves you so much that you don't have to fear and so now because of this fear of the

Lord and love for the Lord Whom you fear who drives out all fear

You don't fear What the world fears? You're not in dread Of the things it's in dread of the death the old age that the weakness the future

That the world is in dread of You're not you're not a dread of the insults that you might earn from people in the world for believing in the

Lord You're in dread of hearing the Lord say You were a lazy servant who only did what was expected

You're in dread of that You care far more about pleasing the Lord Than your children

Than pleasing your children You are more manipulated you aren't now because you fear the

Lord you aren't manipulated by them, but now you're free To do what's best for them he becomes a sanctuary a secure place

From from this world from from this troubled world while others are offended by the Lord others stumble over him as in verse 14

They stumble you're secured on him Now the natural use of religion like the

Israelite religion described in in Romans 9 The natural use of religion is to turn it into a tool to tame

God To turn him into someone that we no longer have to fear

Remember the story of Aslan and the lion the witch in the wardrobe one of the one of the children I think it was

Lucy asked is Aslan who stands for Christ. Is he a tame lion? Someone's response.

Oh, no, he's not tame But he's good But the natural use of religion is to try to turn it into way to tame

God To make him someone who's under our control now, we don't have to fear him We don't have to fear that he might do something that's unpredictable.

That's out of our control so we claim that God has given us a list of rules and rituals and if we keep these rules follow these rituals like Training a dog right you follow the rules the dog will probably learn

Keep these commandments say this prayer get baptized if you do that Then we can be then we can be free of having to fear

God. We've tamed him We know we'll only do what we want him to do now because we've done the right thing

Israel pursued a law that they thought Would put them right with God would tame

God for them so they wouldn't have to fear him anymore I like giving it, you know, like a gift of a diamond ring that will buy off an angry wife

It will tame her for a while, but Israel never succeeded in getting that right relationship

They didn't get it. They didn't get a right Paul calls it righteousness in Roman nine.

In other words a right relationship with God Israel did not get it because in Romans chapter 9 verse 32 quote they pursued it as if It were based on works as if what does that tell you it was never based on works it was based on because here

Isaiah 8 the stone the chief cornerstone the one who was

God with us Emmanuel a right relationship was always based on faith alone in Christ alone

So you trust you hide yourself like in a sanctuary a safe place in Him you build on him as a foundation stone.

I don't know all the other things the world trust in on him But they wouldn't

Israel wouldn't Instead he got in their way They stumbled over him

Like an unsuspecting animal might stumble into a trap and is taken Christ is either the one you build on or the one you stumble over Well, who do you fear?

One of the greatest ironies of the universe is is that if you don't fear the Lord you will if you do

You won't have to Starting in verse 16. We see that those who don't fear the

Lord Where they end up they end up in a rage at him and then distressed

Just type of fear and gloomy because of him Those who don't dread disobeying him so much

That they seek above all to know him and seek his ways Those who are not interested in what he has to say

I'm not gonna learn what he says and I got to follow his way in how to worship God And how the

Lord has revealed that the church should be run they're just they don't care they're more interested in what what works What gets in the crowds?

What gets the people to approve of them what makes them popular? So popular that they'll be called a success.

I'll be called successful as the world count success by the numbers by the size

Or maybe they don't fear the Lord's punishment for sin So they don't follow what his word says about sexuality or about money

Because they are more afraid of losing the cash to buy the luxury car the expensive vacation then they are of Not being a joyful giver whom the

Lord loves so the result of not caring about what the

Lord says like these people Think of these people here in Isaiah 8 they have been given a prophet

Isaiah to speak to them They had been given signs first literally on a placard a sign

Which read may her shall I'll hash bass and the sign of the Sun from the prophetess

But they didn't care. They didn't change. They didn't listen and the result of not being interested in what the

Lord says is That the Lord stopped saying it to you

It's sealed So you can't see it and so he tells

Isaiah in chapter in verse 16 bind up the testimony seal the teaching

Seal it up. So people can't get at it. So only a few people hear it discriminate

Discriminate Keep it among Isaiah's disciples. Keep it among the disciples In other words his little band of followers just few handful of people however many followed

Isaiah Isaiah will wait for the Lord Isaiah wants to hear from him But the rest of what was supposed to be the people of God He says the

Lord is hiding from them He's concealing his word from them from some people says he is hiding his face from the house of Jacob He's not revealing himself to them now

Even Isaiah's prophecies are now confined to a small group of his disciples

The rest don't get to hear it. The only sign from God the rest of Israel will hear is

Isaiah and his children notice he says I me and my children were the witness Share share

Joshua, but remnant shall return and his little brother may hair shall I'll hash bass Swift plunder hastening booty.

The only word from God that they'll get for now is When Isaiah calls his boys names as he's walking down the street

That's the only word from God. They'll hear you know share Joshua may hair shall I'll hash bass. Come here.

That's it So because God will be silent to them Because he doesn't reveal himself to people who have so little fear of him that they don't care what he says

And they'll be desperate for some word some guidance something something from from beyond So they'll go to mediums.

I'll go to necromancers. We could call it. We probably today call them psychics in verse 19 They'll be asking the dead

You're like when Saul he couldn't get a word from God And so we ask a witch to summon the the late prophet

Samuel like today when professed Christians They won't study God's Word for guidance, so they won't go to a good church

But teaches the Word of God, but they will consult horoscopes or psychics Or maybe if they're in church leadership

They'll you know read secular books on leadership and but not really study what God's Word says about how the church should be run

But the mediums he says chirp and murmur. I Don't know what sounds are making but it's not like a bird

Maybe they have crystals or tarot cards close their eyes and feel your aura Maybe they got incense burning a gong making noises

They can find your cheese. Whatever this the flow of forces in your house Feng shui

They might even ring a bell or light a candle or chant our own

Of course all that is nonsense and Isaiah means to mock it here a chirp and murmur.

He's mocking them This ridiculous chirping and muttering they're inquiring of the dead about the living what sense does that make they're not even here

What do they know about what's going on among us? Maybe today they inquire the stars for what's happening on earth that even makes less sense

You know, it's just ridiculous. We have it progressed People today are just are doing the same kinds of ridiculous things that they did back then

Because God isn't speaking to them and he isn't speaking to them because they don't fear him enough

To care what he says to obey him when he speaks They should inquire of their

God They should go as he says in verse 20 to the teaching to the testimony to what the prophets like Isaiah have revealed

They should go to the Word of God. We say to the Bible if they won't follow and speak this word

That's because the light of God has not dawned in their heart. They're in the dark

And the result in verses 21 and 22 in other words the final product of Having so little fear of God that you're not going to follow what he says you care more about what the neighbors think of you the friends even your kids and So you're simply not going to do it

The result is that he seals his word So you can't even understand it anymore, it's like I talking about it's like it's talking about almost another language

Maybe you still have it the Bible collecting dust on your shelf Maybe you even still make yourself read it

It's been your routine for years And so your eyes pass over the words every day that you don't learn anything new from it and you don't do anything

It says anymore. The result is that you are sooner or later taken away

From God's presence from his promised land just like the Israelites were dragged off into exile

You're dragged off to the world To be conformed to it to think and act and spend and live just like it does at first you won't listen to what he says maybe about money and then

It's where it is sealed. You can't hear him anymore about sexuality or about the church

Or about salvation You fear the same things the world fears and so soon your children are just like the world

They're really no different just as greedy or immoral or as uncaring about the church as the rest of the world

You're greatly distressed by everything that distresses the world just like they are By your failing health or your dwindling money or your dimming future

You're hungry. You're hungry for something more than what the world is giving you, but you've forgotten.

What is more So you're hopeless Then enraged this is life.

This is what I have you speak first sarcastically then bitterly Contemptuously against what authorities it's your boss.

It's the government against the president against your husband against whoever Whoever has some power over you and must be the one is keeping your life from you you scoff

Eventually at God himself Maybe you think deep down just like Job did at his worst

That you could you wish you could look him eye to eye and tell him off You're not really thankful even at Thanksgiving You look to the world you look to its families and its pleasures and its money

Promises for life, but look at it now You only see distress and darkness

You have a gloomy future and expect only the anguish of fading health as you will be thrust into a dark hopeless

Pleasureless future that ends with nothing at least nothing real now

I hope none of you are anything like that But that is exactly the life what's described here in chapter 8, but that's exactly the life of many people in the world around us right now

That they've not feared God They've not dreaded his disapproval as if he were their heavenly father

That they should care the most about about how what he thinks of them And so he has sealed his word to them.

They can't hear from him That they hope desperately from time to time to hear something.

This is beyond this mundane world You know the scraps that the world gives it but they can't find anything

Instead they see only a cold Dark universe where they will soon be extinguished like a candle left out in the rain and that's life for many people

The amazing thing is that it's not life for all people and that's because God discriminates

He doesn't really discriminate to keep out some people, you know

Who would have believed the signs? Who wanted to drink of the springs of water who really wanted to be with God's people who sought to build their lives on the

Cornerstone of Christ who who really would have feared the Lord who wanted to inquire of God and know his word

But he but God kept him out No, he doesn't he doesn't do that.

He doesn't discriminate against people like that Because there are no people like that left to themselves

He doesn't keep out people Contrary to their wishes They don't really seek him

They seek to tame him They seek to gain a right relationship with God to get him on their side.

So they don't have to fear him as If it came by their by their rule -keeping by their rituals, but it doesn't it never did

God discriminates He doesn't discriminate to keep out people who really want to believe who really want a right relationship with him through Through faith in Christ because there are no such people left to themselves

He discriminates incredibly amazingly by choosing some people some people to give signs to and Then opens their eyes so they will believe those signs

That he chooses some people to be for them Emmanuel God come in the flesh

That he is for them the streams of life Welling up in their hearts that he places them

He takes them and places them like stones in his his building his temple the church built on Christ That he opens their eyes

So that now they can see Wondrous things in God's Word. They can hear his voice

He chooses to be gracious to them What are we to do well believe him

Believe that we cannot tame him But that he is good Love him