Skip to content Isaiah 5-6 Dec 23 · 15 min ...more
Isaiah 5-6
December 23, 2024 · 15 min
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am! Send me." - Isaiah 6:8
Series Stand on the Word - Video On Demand December 23, 2024 · 15 min · Stand on the Word - Video On Demand
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am! Send me." - Isaiah 6:8 ...more Show the full description Show less And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am! Send me." - Isaiah 6:8
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The Vineyard Parable and Six Woes 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. The sun is up. It's gonna be a beautiful day, and we have 2 remarkable but distinct chapters today as we read Isaiah chapter 5 and 6. Verse 3 of chapter0:22 6, and 1 cried to another and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. What a great verse. Now chapter 5 is a parable of the0:33 vineyard, which represents the vineyard represents the entire nation of Israel. And I would I would actually title this chapter the foreclosure on the farm because judgment is coming. Despite god's0:45 extraordinary care and his provision for Israel, it was unproductive. It it did not accomplish its intended purposes of bringing glory to god. Now the reasons are laid out0:57 in 6 woes, and then we're gonna read what was at the heart of those woes. In in in the first 7 verses, we read that god was the progenitor or the creator of the vineyard. He was the provider,1:09 and he was the protector. But that was all coming to an end because of their sin. Verse 1, chapter 5. Now let me sing to my well beloved the song of my beloved regarding his vineyard.1:21 My well beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. He dug it up and cleared out its stones and planted it with the choices vine. He built a tower in its midst and also made a wine press in1:33 it. So he expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes. And now, oh, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, please, between me1:45 and my vineyard. What more could have been done to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild1:57 grapes? And now please let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned, and break down its wall, and it shall2:08 be trampled down. I will lay it waste. It shall not be pruned or dug, but there shall come up briars and thorns. I will also command the clouds2:20 that they rain no rain on it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are its pleasant plant. He looked for justice,2:32 but behold oppression, for righteousness, but behold a cry for help. Something very important here in this last verse, verse 7, what's this characteristic? What was2:44 it that god was looking for? It was justice. Justice is central to the purposes of god. In fact, it is to be the main focus of civil government. That's what god that's why he2:56 instilled and established civil government. It justice is important, and the lack of justice is not to be taken lightly because god does not take it lightly. In verses 83:08 through 25, we have the 6 woes, and we're gonna The first verse 8, woe to those who join house to house, to add field to field, till there is no place where they may3:20 dwell alone in the midst of the field. So what's that talking about? It's talking about greed. It's talking about unrestrained capitalism. Right? Gobbling up the land of the little man. Now3:31 the the rich were getting richer and the poor were getting poor. Now let me stop and say this is not just vacation for today's welfare system or government intervention. That's not what we're talking about. The rich were3:42 not getting rich because the poor were were, being zapped of their motivation because of government subsidies or programs. No. As we will read, the reason was that there were no3:54 justice, and the judges were taking bribes to exploit the poor. They were intentionally exploiting the poor. It wasn't because they didn't want to to to take care of their own land and provide4:06 for themselves. They were being exploited. Alright? There's a big difference. Verse 11, the next woe, woe to. Woe to those who rise early in the4:18 morning that they may follow intoxicating drink, who continue until night till wine inflames them. The harp and the strings, the tambourine and the flute, and wine are in their feast, but4:30 they do not regard the work of the Lord nor consider the operation his hands, wine, women, and song. They were given over to the intoxication of pleasure, which caused them to neglect the4:42 more important things, the things of God. Wow. Some of this stuff sound familiar? I I mean, do you see what's the the parallels to where we are today, the principles? Now this is specifically to Israel,4:54 but you see the principles here in their application. Verse 13. Therefore, my people have gone into captivity because they have no knowledge. Their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.5:06 They lost their idea and understanding of God. Now before we go to woe 3, let's look at verse 16. But the lord of hosts shall exalt shall be exalted in judgment,5:18 and God who is holy shall be hallowed in righteousness. If we will not recognize god for his kindness, we will recognize him because of his wrath. And that's what he says there in verse 16. Next, woe verse 18.5:30 Woe to those who draw iniquity with iniquity with cords of vanity and sin as if with a cart rope. They they they were, like, obstinate. They were5:42 dedicated and proud of their sin. They weren't about to let it go. Verse 20, woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet5:54 and sweet for bitter. He's saying woe to those who darken the moral understanding, the people calling good evil and evil good. That's happening in our culture today. Verse 21. Woe to those who are wise in6:06 their own eyes and prudent in their own sight. Those who reject the word of God saying they know better. Romans 1 22 speaks of that. Professing to be wise, they became fools. The final6:18 woe is more expansive because it it's it's it's central to what we read in verse 7, and that is a lack of justice. Look at verse 22. Woe to men mighty6:30 at drinking wine. Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink, who justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away justice6:42 from the righteous man. Corrupt judges. That's what it was talking about there. That was exploiting the poor. And6:54 what do we what you know, what is the the the a big focus of this last election, a big topic of conversation the last few years is the weaponization of our government. That's an issue of justice.7:06 Verse 24. Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble and the flame consumes the chaff, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom will ascend like dust because they7:18 have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts and despised the word of the Holy 1 of Israel. Notice here what is at the heart of their sin. Alright. We have the 6 woes of what they were doing, but this really7:30 brings it down to the foundation. What was behind that? It was the rejecting of the word of God. You see, once you reject the word of God, the standard of right and wrong, there's no7:42 telling where you'll end up. Now the remainder of the challenges chapter describes God's signaling. He whistles for Assyria to come down upon the land, and they become his instrument of7:53 judgment. Now let's go to chapter 6. Chapter 6 is amazing. There's a lot of debate about the commissioning of Isaiah by God and why it is found here in chapter 6 and not at theIsaiah's Commissioning and Vision 8:05 beginning of the book of Isaiah. There are, numerous explanations that are given as to why my theory, and it's strictly a theory of mine. Okay? So, you take it for what8:17 it's worth. But Isaiah, I believe, had been called and had been operating as a prophet. However, he was moving to a new level, which would require more from him, total8:29 absolute commitment to the Lord, a purification, a sanctification, if you will. And he needed to know without question God's call because his voice8:41 was going to be projecting to the nation the coming judgment of God, and he had to be certain about his call. That's my view. And, again, just my view. Verse 1, chapter 6. Now8:53 in the year king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Now Isaiah, as we talked about in the very beginning of the book, was close to9:05 Uzziah. He was a good king. And not only was Isaiah personally impacted by the loss of this king, but this no doubt left him uncertain about the future of the9:16 nation. Remember, he had been carrying this message of sin and the need for to of of repentance to avoid the judgment of God. And now he he probably had his hopes9:29 pinned upon this good king bringing about the needed reformation. Now what? Well, I I I love this first verse. In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord9:40 sitting on the throne high and lifted up. God was still on the throne. I don't say that flippantly because I know that sometimes that phrase really bothers me when people are dismissive of their9:52 responsibility and say, well, God's still on the throne. Well, here we see Isaiah putting his focus on the right thing, and that's where our focus should be. It should be upon God who's sitting on the10:04 throne. The government of man, as important as it is, is temporal, but the government of God is eternal. Verse 2, above it stood seraphim. Each 1 had10:15 6 wings. With 2, he covered his face. With 2, he covered his feet, and with 2, he flew. Now the seraphim, they were angelic beings. The name10:27 comes from the Hebrew verb to burn. They were agents of cleansing, burning away unrighteousness. Now you you compare those to the cherubim whose mission10:39 was to protect the glory of God. Verse 3. And 1 cried to another and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole10:51 earth is full of his glory. And the post of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said, woe is me,11:03 for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the king, the lord of hosts. Now, wow. This11:14 is this is really important. Because when we come into when we truly come into the presence of God, we are convicted of our unholiness, and and we see this, our unrighteousness. And this11:26 is what happens with Isaiah. He is convicted. Oh, woe is me, for I am undone. Then 1 of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal, which he had taken with the tongs from the altar, and11:38 he touched my mouth with it and said, behold, this has touched your lips. Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged. What a picture here. This is the our our aware the11:50 awareness of his sin, he was aware of his sin. He was convicted of his sin, but then God provided the cleansing. And, see, that's the same way it is when we come to Christ. We are convicted of our sin that we are undone,12:01 that we need some way to have communion with the father, and it is through the son who provides the cleansing, his blood shed for us.12:13 Verse 9, and he said, go and tell this people. Wait a minute. Let me go back to verse 8. And also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send, and who will go for us? And I said, here12:25 am I. Send me. So here he is. Isaiah is cleansed, and he's able to answer the call. Verse 9, and he said, go. Tell these people, keep on hearing, but do not understand. Keep on seeing, but do not12:37 perceive. So here's the commissioning. So he's he's convicted. He's cleansed. He's called, and he's commissioned. Go. We have a commission. It's given to us in Matthew chapter 28. Go therefore12:49 and make disciples of all nations, teaching them all things that I have commanded you. Here here's why I believe the call of God had to be clear to Isaiah because his mission was extremely13:00 difficult, and it's true for us today. We have to know what we believe and whose we are. We need to we need to have our identity in Christ because we live in a culture that has rejected the ways of13:12 god. Verse 10, make the heart of this people dull and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and return and be healed. So he's13:24 saying, look. I'm I'm gonna harden their hearts as as you preach this word, as you bring this to them, their hearts are gonna become hardened so that the judgment will come upon them. Because if they respond, they'll be13:33 healed. Then because this was a as we read back in the beginning of Isaiah, this was a purification process for what was to come. Then I said, Lord, how long? And he answered, until the cities are laid waste and13:45 without inhabitants, the houses are without a man, the land is utterly desolate, The Lord has removed men far away, and the and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land, but yet a tenth13:57 will be in it and will return and be for consuming, as a terribant tree or as an oak, whose stump remains when it is cut down, so the holy seed shall be its stump. It's gonna be14:09 taken away. This was a heavy, hard message that Isaiah had to deliver, and his heart was broken. As we've talked about before, the prophets did not stand away aloof. They carried14:21 in their heart the heart of God, and so was so must we. Father, thank you for your word. And, Lord, we just thank you for this, this amazing book, the book of Isaiah. May the holy spirit14:33 continue to lead us in our understanding of the word and its application to our lives in the world in which we live today. Thank you, father. Thank you. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.14:45 Great to have you with us this morning. Have a great day, and until next time, keep standing on the word.14:53 Today's study comes from the stand on the word bible reading plan available for free at frc dot org slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you15:05 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:10 The Vineyard Parable and Six Woes7:55 Isaiah's Commissioning and Vision
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