Not Cheap Comfort

"Isaiah's new message (Ch's 40 and beyond) is for people whose whole world has been shattered.  And for people like that, cheap comfort is not only a waste of time, it is cruel.  Comfort that is not grounded in reality is no comfort at all." - Webb, p162.

And so Isaiah is for anyone who lives in a world that has been shattered.  

Isaiah 6 and Isaiah 40

In Isaiah 6, the commission is to go to ears that will not hear and preach a message of judgment.  In Isaiah 40 a new commission is given to go and preach a message of comfort.

Isaiah's Latter Years

"As early as 712 BC, as much as twenty years before his death (simply an estimate), (Isaiah) could see that the Babylonian exile was coming (39:5-7).  It must have weighed heavily upon him, but as far a we know he did not enlarge on it in his preaching.  For most of the following fifteen years the more immediate Assyrian crisis demanded his attention and, with the accession of Manasseh, and the fierce repression that came with it, it would have become impossible for him to preach at all...It is therefore likely, ..that in the latter part of his life Isaiah was called to a new task:  to comfort God's people in words that his disciples would cherish and preserve in the dark days ahead until Israel was at last ready to hear them." - Webb, p 160.

In his footnotes, he recalls what Isaiah recorded back in 8:16-17, 

¹⁶ Bind up the testimony, Seal the law among my disciples. ¹⁷ And I will wait on the Lord, Who hides His face from the house of Jacob; And I will hope in Him.

What do we do when people will not listen to the Word, especially the warnings?  Bind them up and save them for another day will come when there will be ears to hear.

O Lord, grant us such days today!

In Order to Test Him

"In order to test him..." - Those are the words in 2 Chronicles (32:31) that describe what God allowed to occur as recorded in Isaiah 39 with Babylon and Hezekiah.  After being healed, “his heart was lifted up” (2 Chron 32:25), Hezekiah, dazzled by the envoy from Babylon, showed them his own treasures, all of them (Isaiah 39:1-2), indicating his intention to impress and align with Babylon at all costs.  Here was the opportunity to give glory to God, but all Hezekiah revealed was his worldly riches.  There is similarity to the self-glorying declarations of Moses at the rock in the wilderness (Num 20:2-13) which also ended with consequences from the Lord.  Isaiah shows up unbidden (v3) as the Word of God often does to confront us.  God’s questions are like those to Adam and Eve (“where are you…what did these men see...where are they from”), questions that we know God already knows the answers to, but which indicate his judgment.  Hezekiah tells the truth (either in repentance or brazenly, we are not sure – v4) and then Isaiah replies with deadly calm that one day all those treasures would belong to Babylon (vv5-6), and that Hezekiah’s descendants would become eunuchs serving in the courts of Babylon (v7).  

Hezekiah’s answer in v8 leaves us all scratching our heads (v8); he doesn’t seem to care (at that moment) about the future of the country he leads.

The Ironic Sundial Steps of Ahaz

When the shadow goes down on the “sundial of Ahaz” this is probably referring to the idolatrous altar that Ahaz had built after returning from Baal-worshipping Israel (2 Kings 16).  The sign showed that the kingdom of Judah, which was on its deathbed because of wicked Ahaz’s unbelief and idolatry, was going to be given an increase of years.  Ahaz, committed to his unbelief, had refused any sign offered by God (Isaiah 7); Hezekiah, because he believed, asked for a sign and received one (38:22).

Hezekiah and Jerusalem - the Looming Similarities

How are the stories of Hezekiah's illness and Sennacherib's attack linked?  They are both in crisis and in both stories, a salvation is granted.  Assyria is struck a blow and sent away.  Hezekiah's illness is struck a blow and sent away as well.  In Hezekiah's reprieve we learn explicitly that it is temporary.  He is granted an additional 15 years.  Jerusalem's reprieve will also be temporary.

"In short, the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BC is already beginning to loom up on the horizon of the narrative; it will come into direct view at the end of chapter 39, and dominate the scene from there on.  Chapters 38 and 39 are not (as they might at first appear) a digression from the main drama, but an introduction to its second major movement." - Webb, p155.

Hezekiah's Prayer

Hezekiah prays, as recorded in Isaiah 37:14-20.  It is worth noting this prayer - my prayers are so feeble in comparison - and Webb makes these good points - 

"It begins and ends with God, and its overriding concern is that God might be glorified in the situation.  Hezekiah has gone up to the temple and spread out Sennacherib's letter before the LORD.  And now, as he begins to pray, he recalls who it is he prays to:  O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim...Hezekiah's prayer is so magnificent because it arises from a deep and true understanding of who God is, and is fundamentally an act of worship.  Such praying lifts people out of themselves and into the presence of God.  And in that context, present problems are not lost sight of; they are just seen from a new perspective, and the cry for deliverance becomes a cry that God's kingdom may come and his will be done." - Webb, p 152.

And note why Hezekiah wants this prayer answered - "...save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD, You alone." - Isaiah 37:20.  He has become consumed with the glory of God.

Satan's Sly Speech

On Sennacherib's speech:

"The speech is so persuasive precisely because it contains so much that is true.  But its basic premise is false:  namely, that the LORD has forsaken Judah, and therefore that trust in him is futile.  It is always Satan's way to make us think that God has abandoned us, and to use logic woven from half-truths to convince us of it.  This speech is so subtly devilish in character that it might have been written by Satan himself.  The truth is that the LORD had brought Judah to the end of her own resources so that she might learn again what it meant to trust him utterly.  But he had not abandoned and would not abandon her." - Webb, p149.

The Wrath of Sennacherib

The scriptures quickly bring us to Sennacherib's stand at the city-walls of Jerusalem.  Ancient documents, including a sculpture from Sennacherib's palace in Nineveh, now in the British Museum, portrays his siege and capture of Lachish.  Other documents describe Sennacherib boasting to have conquered forty-six of Judah's strong cities, walled forts and countless small villages in their vicinity.

When Sennacherib arrives at Jerusalem, Hezekiah truly is shut up like a bird in a cage.

Armed with Hope for Tomorrow

The stark contrast of the glorious vision of victory in chapter 35 and the frightening world of chapter 36 displays something of what we experience living in today's world with God's promises.  It gives us a sense of what we have to stand on when Monday comes after a glorious covenant renewal service on the Lord's Day.

"It leads us not away from reality, but more deeply into it.  It arms us with the knowledge of what will be, so that we can confront what is...with renewed courage and steadiness of purpose." - Webb, p147.

On Whom Are You Depending?

In opening his comments on chapters 36-39, the center of this book of Isaiah, Webb writes, 

"Ironically, it was the Assyrian invader who put the issue most succinctly:  On whom are you depending? (36:5).  It is a question which the book of Isaiah forces us to ponder again and again, and with good reason, for our response to it will determine the whole shape of our lives." - Webb, p147.

A question that of course we should ask ourselves and proactively answer in every situation we find ourselves in.

The Necessity of Judgment

In his section on Isaiah 34, Webb says, "A king must rule, or he is no king at all, and that means that rebellion must finally be put down." - p142.

If God were not to bring His righteous vindication down upon all sin, He would not, by definition, be righteous or holy.  His wrath upon sin is not an anger-reaction of God, it is a righteousness-action; it is what righteousness does.

Be Our Strength Every Morning

"Be their arm every morning." - Isaiah 33:2

Webb notes that the morning was a time of particular danger because of the threat of a new launch and a fresh attack from the enemy.  The prayer then is for God to be our strength in the most dangerous times as well as our constant, every-day, defense.

The Sin of Complacency

Isaiah 32:9 (NKJV)

⁹ Rise up, you women who are at ease, Hear my voice; You complacent daughters, Give ear to my speech.

"Complacency is a perennial problem, and it is the way of perverse humanity to indulge in it even when disaster is staring them in the face." - Webb, p137.

How prophetically applicable in our day!

In Isaiah's day:  In a little more than a year, the crops would fail (v10), the cultivated land would be full of thorns and briers (v13a), removing the joy (v13b).  But Isaiah even points to something far in the future:  the fall of Jerusalem (v14).  This did not happen (the first time) until Nebuchadnezzar and more than a century after Sennacherib, but Isaiah sees these two as one process of judgment.  

And beyond that, this still fits the prophecies for the final destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in 70AD.

And just as immediately, vv15ff portray a great and longstanding blessing that will come forth by the pouring out of the Spirit from on high.  The New Creation would be brought forth.

When Kings and Princes Love God - part 2

What would this good government look like?  Isaiah paints a picture in vv2-5 of chapter 32.

First - "Instead of being exploited by their rulers (e.g. 1:23; 29:21), the common people will be defended and cared for by them." - Webb, p136.

Second - A reversal of the blindness and deafness (e.g. 6:9-10) so that seeing, hearing, and understanding God's ways will become manifestly clear.  Imagine leaders who clearly and exuberantly responded to God's Word!

Third - People will be judged righteously and lawfully (v5).

When Kings and Princes Love God

Isaiah 32:1 (NKJV)

¹ Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, And princes will rule with justice.

This passage (vv1-8) is about the quality of government that will characterize the rule of the king of the new age.  He and those who rule with him will be those associated with righteousness and justice.  "That is, they will reflect, in the way they exercise their rule, the very character of God himself (i.e.5:16)." - Webb - p136.

Imagine a world of kingdoms ruled by kings and princes who reigned in righteousness and with Word-defined justice.  Now pray the Lord's prayer again - with more fervor!

No Political Maneuvering

There is a central confession that only the LORD will save the nation in this section - 

Isaiah 33:2 (NKJV)

² O Lord, be gracious to us; We have waited for You. Be their arm every morning, Our salvation also in the time of trouble.

Isaiah 33:22 (NKJV)

²² (For the Lord is our Judge, The Lord is our Lawgiver, The Lord is our King; He will save us);

And so this new age that is hoped for in Isaiah 32-33 is an age brought forth, not by any political maneuvering, nor by any human achievement, but by the divine gift of God.

What do we learn?  We are in that new age, this gospel age of hope.  Then how do we move forward?  We do not primarily take up political activism nor place our hope in the progressive human race.  We turn to the Lord.  We trust and pray and wait and cry out to Him.

Promises Amidst Dire Circumstances

In Isaiah 32-33, Isaiah looks forward to an ideal situation where a king shall reign in righteousness (32:1, 15-16; 33:5-6, 17-22), but the present situation is one in which Judah sits in complacency and under judgment (32:9-10, 33:1, 18-19).  Some of the context could be the great tribute Hezekiah paid to buy off Sennacherib, emptying the temple treasury and even stripping the gold from the doors (2 Kings 18:13-16).

"It is against this background that Isaiah pointed to the only alternative that could secure the nation's future:  government grounded in the kingship of God.  Hezekiah reverted to this kind of government at the eleventh hour of the Assyrian crisis (2 Kings 19:14-19), but Isaiah looks in these chapters to the day when this will be the habitual stance of leaders and people alike.  Then indeed a new age will have dawned.  This is the state of affairs we pray for in the words of the prayer Jesus taught us:  'Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." - Webb, p135.

Of course, Jesus taught us to pray that prayer in this age because He intends to answer, and is answering, that prayer in this age.

Return to Him = Repentance

Isaiah 31:6 (NKJV)

⁶ Return to Him against whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.

"Repentance is radical.  It is not just giving up this or that sin, but a complete turnabout in our stance towards God, and it goes right to the root of our sinfulness." - Webb, p133.

In that repentance, God promises something wonderful - vv8-9 declare that God will deal with Assyria, destroying them "by a sword not of man."  this from the LORD, "Whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem."

"In view of all this (chapters 29-31), the expression "in that day" (v7) must be allowed to point beyond the events of 701 BC to something more distant and more perfect, as it so often does elsewhere in the book.  There was no perfect repentance or perfect salvation in 701.  But God's gracious goodness to his people when they cried out to him then was a foretaste of something far greater and more glorious..." - Webb, p134.

Repentance can sound like such an angry word "Repent!"  But it is actually a word of release and salvation.  "Return to me!"  "I am Your deliverance!"  "Be free of those dead and lying idols!"

The LORD will Fight for His People

Isaiah 31:4–5 (NKJV)

⁴ For thus the Lord has spoken to me: “As a lion roars, And a young lion over his prey (When a multitude of shepherds is summoned against him, He will not be afraid of their voice Nor be disturbed by their noise), So the Lord of hosts will come down To fight for Mount Zion and for its hill. ⁵ Like birds flying about, So will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending, He will also deliver it; Passing over, He will preserve it.”

"What the two pictures of verses 4 and 5 amount to is a promise that the LORD himself will fight for and protect Jerusalem.  That promise still stood when Sennacherib's envoys were finally at the gates (37:35), and Hezekiah then had, at last, the wisdom and humility to claim it." - Webb, p133.

The trials of the LORD and of course His chastisements, are often due to our own rebellions, large and small.  Through them all, we often hear the voice of the LORD telling us that we only need to return to Him (in faith and obedience, both are critical).

And when He grants wisdom, when He humbles us and grants humility, and when He give us the gift of repentance, there is so much deliverance.  Often, in forgiveness, we experience the deep release of our broken fellowship with God restored.  And often, when a nation turns to the LORD, there is quick restoration and blessing.