It is remarkable to me that people will
look to the stars for guidance, when they can seek the God who hung the stars
in place. They consult one who reads
palms when they should read the Psalms.
People will seek a word from the dead when they could have a word from
Christ who has risen from the dead!
This is nothing new. In Isaiah’s time,
we see the people confronted over their sin of listening to spiritists, rather
than learning from the Scriptures. The
prophet tells them that the only light to be given them for their future course
would be given from God’s Word and not in a séance. That is the way of darkness.
In today’s Scripture portion, we get a
message from God, clearly communicated.
There are four facets of this message which we discover in Isaiah 5-8 .
The message from God is SUNG IN A SONG
in chapter five.
“I will sing
about the one I love, a song about my loved one's
vineyard: The one I love had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.” (Isaiah 5:1 HCSB)
It is a love song, but not one of
happiness, but rather of heartache. It
is the lyrics of lamentation—of love rejected.
God had done so much for His people.
He planted them in a fertile place and expected fruitful produce, but He
was disappointed. What good is a
vineyard, if it doesn’t yield grapes?
“What more
could I have done for My vineyard than I did? Why, when I
expected a yield of good grapes, did it yield
worthless grapes? Now I will tell you what
I am about to do to My vineyard: I will remove
its hedge, and it will be consumed; I
will tear down its wall, and it will be
trampled. I will make it a wasteland. It
will not be pruned or weeded; thorns and
briers will grow up. I will also
give orders to the clouds that rain
should not fall on it.
For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts
is the house of Israel ,
and the men of Judah Isaiah 5:4-7 HCSB)
I don’t know the tune, but I do
understand the lyrics. The message set
to music is clear. God expects fruit
from our lives. Jesus echoed this truth,
“I am the vine; you are the branches.
The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do
nothing without Me. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown
aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire,
and they are burned.” (John
15:5-6 HCSB)
The message from God is SPOKEN BY A
SERVANT in chapter six.
Isaiah has a dramatic encounter with
God. He sees Him on the throne in all
His majestic holiness. Seeing God as He
is, enables the prophet to see himself as he truly is and he pours out
confession to God. This confession brings
cleansing from sin. He becomes a clear
channel through which the truth of God can now flow without impediment. God issues a call to be His ambassador and
Isaiah responds willingly.
This is what God calls us to do. We convey the King’s terms to those at war
with His will. Daily, we journey into this
foreign land of a sinful world, and offer terms of peace. Paul speaks of this in 2 Corinthians 5:20 , “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God
is appealing through us. We plead on Christ's behalf, ‘Be reconciled to God.’”
Whether people submit to that
offer or spurn it, we must steadfastly share it. That is what we are accountable for—and the
sad reality is that many will reject the terms of surrender and keep up the
fight to the end. The end will mean
their doom.
Isaiah was told that most of his
congregation would not heed his sermons.
“And He replied: Go! Say to these
people: Keep listening, but do not understand;
keep looking, but do not perceive. Dull the minds of these people; deafen their ears and blind their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their minds, turn back, and be healed. Then I said, ‘Until when, Lord?’ And He replied: Until cities lie in ruins without inhabitants, houses are without people, the land is ruined and desolate, and the Lord drives the people far away, leaving great emptiness in the land. Though a tenth will remain in the land, it will be burned again. Like the terebinth or the oak that leaves a stump when felled, the holy seed is the stump.” (Isaiah 6:9-13
HCSB)
keep looking, but do not perceive. Dull the minds of these people; deafen their ears and blind their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their minds, turn back, and be healed. Then I said, ‘Until when, Lord?’ And He replied: Until cities lie in ruins without inhabitants, houses are without people, the land is ruined and desolate, and the Lord drives the people far away, leaving great emptiness in the land. Though a tenth will remain in the land, it will be burned again. Like the terebinth or the oak that leaves a stump when felled, the holy seed is the stump.” (
What are we to do, when people won’t
listen? Say it any way!
I have had people ask me before, “How
do you preach every week, pour your heart out and people just sit there and
don’t respond?” There are two important
answers to that question. First, it
isn’t a choice to preach or not to preach that I make. God has called me, and I am compelled to
communicate His Word whether people accept it or not, whether they like it or
not. The only choice before me is to
obey or disobey. Second, everyone does
respond—100% are moved—closer to God in their obedience (few) or farther from
God in their defiance (most). It is
impossible that the living Word does not have an effect. It is promised that it always does. Later, Isaiah is given this assurance by God,
“so My word that comes from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it [to do]." (55:11) The
same sun that melts wax, hardens clay.
The message from God is SENT BY A SIGN
in chapter seven.
“Therefore, the
Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive, have a son, and
name him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14
HCSB)
We should be careful about seeking
signs to confirm the Word of God. When God speaks, that is sufficient. In fact Jesus declared to the sign-seekers of
His day, “An evil and adulterous generation
demands a sign…” (Matt.12:39a ).
King Ahaz of Judah Jerusalem
was threatened by an invasion from the Northern alliance of Israel and Syria Isaiah
7:10-12 HCSB)
That sounds right, but it was wrong,
because in this case, God told him to ask for a sign! God would give it anyway—and it is one of the
most marvelous prophecies in Scripture.
There was an immediate fulfillment in
this sign. A young virgin would marry
and have a son. The boy would eat curds
and honey—just enough food to get by—scant provisions—because the land would be
ravaged by invaders and Jerusalem Judah
“Therefore, the
Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive, have a son, and
name him Immanuel. By the time he learns to reject what is bad
and choose what is good, he will be eating butter and honey. For before the boy
knows to reject what is bad and choose what is good, the land of the two kings
you dread will be abandoned. The Lord will bring on you, your people, and
the house of your father, such a time as has never been since Ephraim separated
from Judah -the king of Assyria [is coming]." (Isaiah 7:14-17 HCSB)
There would be
an ultimate fulfillment in this sign.
The prophecy was not just for Ahaz, but for the entire “house of David”
(v.13) concerning the future King—the Son of David. A virgin would conceive—literally, a child to
be conceived without a biological father, as Mary would give birth to Jesus,
the Son of God. He would be Immanuel in
the absolute sense—God incarnate! That
sign is a reminder that God is still vitally involved in the affairs of
mankind. He is not aloof from the human
condition. Only God could save us, and
so He came down to do that very thing!
God has given
His ultimate communication in His Son.
John wrote, “The Word
became flesh and took up residence
among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the
Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 HCSB) It has been said, “A picture is worth a
thousand words,” and that is what we have in Jesus—the portrait of God.
The message from God is
SYMBOLIZED BY A SON in chapter eight.
“Then the Lord said to me, ‘Take a large piece of parchment
and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-shalal-hash-baz. I have appointed trustworthy witnesses—Uriah the
priest and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah.’ I was then intimate
with the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. The Lord said
to me, ‘Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz, for before the boy knows how to call out father or mother,
the wealth of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria will be carried off to the
king of Assyria.’” (Isaiah 8:1-4
HCSB)
Isaiah would have a son, and
would give him a name—what a name—the longest in the Bible. It was a name filled with symbolic meaning,
and translates as, “speed to the spoil and hasten the booty.” The message meant that the Assyrian Empire
would drive away the Syrian and Israeli invaders. They would conquer the Northern Kingdom and Israel Jerusalem Jerusalem
The Bible is filled with
symbolism, but the messages are not cryptic, they are clear—often disclosed in
the context of the verses, or interpreted by comparing them with other
texts. These are object lessons furnished
for our learning.
So, God has spoken. We don’t need a further message. We just need to hear and heed what He has already said. Otherwise, we are only fooling ourselves to think that knowing is enough. Consider this, “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (
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