Isaiah 19-20
miras slav vul is a Croatian Theologian who is Professor of theology at Yale Divinity School he’s the founding director of the Yale Center for Faith and culture vul was born into a devout Pentecostal family living in Marxist Yugoslavia he was converted to Faith as a teenager and pursued a career in academic theology he received his bachelor in philosophy and classical Greek from the University of Zagreb in Croatia 1977 and Ma from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena in 1979 and a THD from the University of tubingen in Germany in 1985 vul taught systematic theology at Evangelical Seminary in Croatia until 1991 when Civil War forced him and his family to flee to the United States he then taught systematic theology at Fuller before taking the theology professorship at Yale where he remains to this day having grown up in Marxist Yugoslavia and having experienced the horrors of the Yugoslavian Civil War firsthand vul provides a unique and perhaps unexpected perspective on Divine judgment unexpected at least in the more liberal Protestant circles in which he walks Ray ortland Jr explains quote Miroslav vul is a Croatian Theologian who has wrestled with this problem not in theory but in the face of his Nations being mauled by Outlaw Serbian forces he wrote about his struggle in the book exclusion and embrace it’s easy for us vul argues sitting in our Pleasant living rooms in the west to come up with high-minded theories of nonviolence our Villages have not been burn bured our brothers have not had their throats slit our sisters have not been assaulted his had and he lumps the idea of a non-coercive god that is a God who does not stir up one nation against another in order to execute his righteous judgment he lumps that idea in with quote many other Pleasant captivities of the liberal mind but there is one thing that can save us from becoming vengeful people and it is a belief in Divine Vengeance quote quoting from vul the certainty of God’s just Judgment at the end of history is the presupposition for the renunciation of violence in the midst of it the blood of the innocent still cries out to God from the ground and when a confidence in God’s Fierce opposition to all human Injustice enters into our hearts we then have reason to forsake our Savage impulses and to love our enemies let me interpret ortland for you here who is himself interpreting vul the doctrine of divine Vengeance and future judgment is essential to any lasting peace in the present vul is saying that he is free to forgive the serbians who slaughtered his countrymen because he is assured that God will judge them on the last day his book exclusion and embrace grew out of a 1993 lecture that he gave in Berlin during the height of the Yugoslav wars and the genocide that was occurring and the main question with which he deals is how the violence cycle the cycle of violence that marks human history in which today’s victims then become tomorrow’s victimizers can be stopped how do we stop that cycle that happens within Nations within cultures within homes the only answer vul concludes is by affirming Divine Vengeance and leaving judgment to God let me take what happened 30 years ago in Croatia and bring it to what happens in homes today the way if you have been abused as a child to overcome the bitterness and the anger and the shame that is toxic and and and and provokes your heart in that anger and bitterness then to become the abuser and that cycle of abuse the way to break that cycle is for you who have been abused to believe and trust and indeed rejoice in that God will exact Vengeance you can leave it to him now I’m not commending all elements of theology I am suggesting that we listen to how he has reconciled himself emotionally to the horrendous Evil by which he was personally touched you need to believe in Divine Vengeance you need a robust doctrine of God’s Wrath poured out upon the wicked partially in the present and fully in the future ortland again writes if we don’t have a just God to trust in we will have no logical reason not to become violent ourselves it is Isaiah’s vision of God’s final Justice that moderates our anger and our frustration right now God has scheduled on the human calendar a day of final Intervention when he will repay all the dirty deals and broken promises and backstabbings of history with a Justice not this clear enough to satisfy no one less than himself doesn’t the Apostle Paul make a connection between present peace and future judgment look at what Paul says in Romans 12 repay no one evil for evil but give thought to do what is Honorable in the sight of all if possible so far as it depends on you live peaceably with all beloved never avenge yourselves but leave it to the wrath of God for it is written vengeance is mine I will repay says the Lord the foundation of my willingness and my ability to forgive those who have wronged and offended and abused and victimized me is my steadfast confidence that the Lord will judge the world in righteousness and he will exact a strict and perfect retribution for Every Act of evil and Injustice and so if the Lord has judgment covered then I don’t have to stay up at night worrying about it now I hasten to add and I want you to listen closely to me that forgiveness and Reconciliation are not the same thing forgiveness is unilateral and unconditional reconciliation is bilateral and conditional forgiveness is something that occurs within myself as I let go of the debt that one who has sinned against me has incurred and I refuse to exact retribution from him forgiveness does not depend depend upon the offender’s repentance or his restitution it is possible to forgive the unrepentant just as it is possible possible to forgive the dead reconciliation on the other hand is bilateral and it is conditional it goes both ways it depends upon the offender’s repentance reconciliation cannot occur until the cause of the offense is removed or otherwise sufficiently dealt with with for example suppose this is entirely hypothetical [Music] suppose a neighbor steals an Amazon package off of my doorstep there’s no doubt of who did it I have video evidence from a ring camera I can forgive my neighbor for his transgression indeed I must forgive him I am commanded to forgive him I can forgive my neighbor even if I never actually speak to him about it or if I do speak to him I can forgive him even if he refuses to acknowledge it and repent and return the package that he stole forgiveness can and must happen but I cannot be reconciled to my neighbor whilst the offense remains where there is no confession and no restitution we can’t be friends and go on as though nothing has happened when it has only if if repentance occurs can the Friendship the relationship be restored but I can still forgive him and I don’t have to stay awake at night fuming about it I don’t have to feel embittered every time I drive past his house I don’t have to wish evil upon him I don’t have to get back at him I don’t have to get my stuff back from him why because I can trust in the Justice of God and leave Vengeance to him now stealing an Amazon package is a rather superficial offense it’s just stuff but I submit to you that the same principle holds true for serious offenses and deep wounds like adultery abuse fraud or Serbian forces enacting genocide upon your Croatian Village the foundation of my willingness and ability to forgive those who have wronged or offended or abused or victimized me is my steadfast confidence that the Lord will judge the world in righteousness and exact strict retribution for Every Act of evil and Every Act of Injustice and the foundation of my confidence that the Lord will do this that he will judge the world in righteousness an exact strict retribution for every evil and Injustice is the promise of his word validated by multiple past fulfillments in other words I am certain of God’s future judgment because of his promised fulfillment of past judgments and that’s the function of this section of Isaiah Isaiah 13-27 in this section Isaiah announces a coming day of the Lord in which the Lord will bring judgment upon the whole earth Isaiah 24 and he will save those who seek refuge in him Isaiah 25-27 but this promise of escat olcal judgment upon a faithless world and eschatological salvation upon a faithful Remnant is made certain by the promises and fulfillments of historical judgments and so in Isaiah 13-23 Isaiah pronounces 10 Oracles of judgment divided into two sets of five with judgments against Babylon heading each set Isaiah 13-20 set 1 Isaiah 21-23 set 2 as Israel sees the Lord fulfill each of these Oracles of judgment in time and in history upon historical kingdoms Israel could be certain and so can we that the Lord will fulfill his promise to judge the world and establish his Everlasting Kingdom now as promised my Approach through these chapters is going to be in the style of an overview we’re not going to spend too long on any one chapter rather we’re looking for one primary truth to pull out of each Oracle of judgment or as I’ve titled this section we’re looking for Five Lessons From five Fallen kingdoms we’ll begin in Isaiah 13 and 14 with Isaiah’s Oracle of judgment upon Babylon now we covered these two chapters in depth last week because of the special prominence that Babylon holds in biblical prophecy we saw that the main point of these chapters extends Beyond God’s historical judgment upon the historical Kingdom of Babylon and its human King and it points ultimately to God’s eschatological judgment upon eschatological Babylon which is the world and the evil power that stands behind all evil Kings we noted in Isaiah 13 the abundance of universal eschatological language in this chapter Babylon stands in scripture as a prophetic symbol for fallen Humanity gathered politically militarily economically and culturally in opposition to God’s purposes and God’s people the king of Babylon appears first in Genesis 3 when he whispers the Mantra of Babylon into Adam’s ear right you can be like God Babylon Finds Its first historical manifestation in genes Genesis 11 when the wicked of the earth gathered together in the plain of Shar to build a city and a tower that reached to the heavens in order to make a name for themselves to become like God Babylon took historical form again in the neo-babylonian Empire of the 6th Century BC and its ruler once again gave voice to the spirit of Babylon when he’s standing upon his rooftop and he’s looking over his City and he says is this not Babylon the great which I have built by my mighty power as a royal re residence and for the glory of my Majesty but even though the Neo Babylonian EMP Empire fell in 538 BC that’s the immediate fulfillment of Isaiah 13-1 14 yet the New Testament is clear when it equates the Roman Empire of the first century ad with Babylon 1 Peter 513 Revelation 17 in other words the neob Babylonian Kingdom located on the Plaine of shinar in the middle of the first millennium BC or even before that Egypt in the middle of the 2 Century BC or Nineveh the capital of the Assyrian King or Susa the capital of the Persian Kingdom or Rome or London or Beijing or tan or even present day Jerusalem these are all just so many Babylons wherever you find a center of Fallen human and civilization gathered together politically militarily economically and culturally in opposition to God’s purposes and God’s people there you find Babylon and as Isaiah 13 makes clear Babylon will fall but if Isaiah 13 in its description of God’s historical judgment upon the kingdom of Babylon is ultimately fulfilled in God’s eschatological judgment upon the kingdom of this world then Isaiah 14 and its description of God’s historical judgment upon babylon’s human King is ultimately fulfilled in God’s eschatological judgment upon the ruler of this world who is Satan now we noted multiple similarities between isaah 14 especially verses 12 to 15 and the new testament’s description of Satan’s judgment which occurred at Christ’s first Advent and his destruction which will occur at Christ’s second Advent we noted that the aspirations on the lips of the king of Babylon in verses 13 and 14 you said in your heart I will Ascend to Heaven above the stars of God I will set my Throne on high I will sit on the Mount of Mount of assembly in the far reaches of the North I will Ascend above the heights of the clouds I will make myself like the most high those aspirations are identical to the man of sin in second 2 Thessalonians 2 and the Beast of Revelation 13 why because the historical king of Babylon and the eschatological Antichrist and every other beastly ruler and regime throughout history are all empowered and energized by the king of this world who is Satan now at the beginning of Isaiah 14: 1:3 we saw a promise for the faithful Remnant a Remnant that is comprised not of Jews only but also of Gentiles we saw that just as God’s people were redeemed historically from the bondage of Egypt through God’s judgment upon Egypt and historically from their Exile in Babylon through God’s judgment upon Babylon even so will God’s people be eschatologically reded redeemed from its Exile in the Kingdom of this world through God’s eschatological judgment upon the kingdom of this world now I’m not going to read Isaiah 13- 14 because we read those chapters last week but we did not read past verse 23 because verse 24 at first glance appears to be a separate Oracle directed towards a different Kingdom namely Assyria but upon further reflection I don’t think it’s a separate Oracle I think verses 24 to 27 of Isaiah 14 is intended to be read with the Oracle of judgment upon Babylon in other words I don’t think the headings in the ESV which I remind you are not original to the Hebrew text they’re added in by the ESV translators I don’t think they give us an accurate road map through this passage so let’s read these verses and then I’ll show you why I think it belongs with the Oracle against Babylon verse 24 the Lord of hosts has sworn as I have planned so shall it be and as I have purposed so shall it stand that I will break the Assyrian in my land and on my mountains trample him underfoot and his yoke shall depart from them and his burden from their shoulder this is the purpose that is purposed concerning the whole earth and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations for the Lord of hosts has purposed and who will anull it his hand is stretched out and who will turn it back let me give you a couple reasons why I think this belongs with the Babylon Oracle first you remember that every other Oracle of judgment in this section Isaiah 13-23 has a Heading an oracle concerning Babylon an oracle concerning fisa and so forth but these verses have no such heading s suggesting that they actually belong with the Babylon Oracle and secondly you’ll look at verses 26 and 27 and you’ll note this return to the the theme of universal judgment eschatological judgment that dominated the first half of Isaiah 13 it’s the Lord’s purpose concerning the whole earth his hand is stretched out over all nations so why we might ask does Assyria appear in an oracle of judgment directed toward Babylon because just like Babylon God’s historical judgment upon Assyria is a model for his eschatological judgment to come upon the world in a Biblical prophetic sense Assyria is Babylon just as Rome is Babylon it’s just another expression of Fallen Humanity gathered politically militarily economically culturally in opposition to God’s purposes and God’s people and just as Assyria fell and Babylon after so will the world and its Wicked ruler fall beneath the Judgment of God that’s the point of the first Oracle let’s move on to the second Oracle of judgment this one upon fisa this Oracle is dated to the year that King ahaz died which was 7:15 BC or roughly 20 years after the events that formed the backdrop of Isaiah 7-12 and I think verse 32 holds the clue to the background of this Oracle what will one answer The Messengers of the nation the Lord has founded Zion and in her The Afflicted of his people find Refuge philistia which lay to the west of Judah along the Mediterranean Coastline was an ancient enemy of Israel from the time of the judges and the Philistine city states ashalon ashdod gath and such they consistently rebelled against their Assyrian overlords and they sought protection from neighboring Egypt to the South but their rebellions never proved successful and they suffered tremendously at the hands of the assy Assyrians the Assyrians is the smoke that comes from the North in verse 31 in 734 BC gath refused to submit to Assyria and was sacked in 720 BC the Philistine city states aligned with Egypt against Assyria but Sargon II king of Assyria defeated Egypt at Gaza and ashalon and gath fell beneath his sword in 711 BC ashdod rebelled again against Assyrian was again punished then she ashdod rebelled again in 705 BC and was finally massacred by sarib in 701 BC so that’s the historical con context right philistia is a rebellious Kingdom and they want Israel to join them or Judah rather to join them in the Rebellion against Assyria so it would appear that in the year that King ahaz died philisa sent Messengers to Hezekiah in Jerusalem and urged him to unite with Felisa in Rebellion against Assyria this Oracle then is the Lord’s answer to that offer so what’s the main point to be drawn from this Oracle it is that the Lord is the only savior of his people therefore their Refuge from danger will not be found in philistia or anywhere else for that matter but in Zion and in Zion’s King verse 28 in the year that King ahaz died came the this Oracle Rejoice not o fisa all of you that the rod that struck you is broken for from the Serpent’s root will come forth an adder and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent I think it is best to interpret the broken Rod here as the Assyrian Throne which was in a period of decline in 75 BC the powerful King Tigo pisar III died about 10 years earlier and his successor shanzer I died in 722 BC and so in a period of Assyrian weakness the Philistines took the opportunity to revolt against Assyria but Isaiah informs the Philistines that reports of Assyria demise were greatly exaggerated for from the Serpent’s root it’s kind of a strange mixing of metaphors but Isaiah wants to mingle the image of the rod with that of the serpent I think the illusion is to uh AR’s Rod that turned into a serpent and swallowed up uh the other rods the Serpent’s root will become an Adder that would be Sargon II and from that Adder will come a flying fiery serpent that would be sakb in other words Assyria will soon rise again to prominence to destroy the Philistines and as mentioned earlier this did occur historically within the next decade verse 30 and the firstborn of the poor will graze and the needy lie down in safety but I will kill your root with famine and your Remnant I will slay or it will slay wail o gate cry out O City melt in fear o philistia all of you for smoke comes out of the North and there is no straggler in his ranks so when the Assyrian King the smoke from the north arises again to destroy the Philistines then the faithful remnant of God’s people described here as the firstborn of the poor and the needy they will find refuge and safety while the Philistines will be left without root or Branch verse 32 what will one answer The Messengers of the nation here’s the answer that they should give the Lord has founded Zion and in her The Afflicted of his people find Refuge so evidently during this period of Assyrian Decline and in the aftermath of ahaz is death fisa sent envoys to Hezekiah king of Judah to entice him to join in their revolt against Assyria well what should Hezekiah answer them well Isaiah gives him the proper response the Lord is the one who founded Zion and the Lord is her only Refuge there is no other salvation there is no other savior now again historically this would be fulfilled in the destruction of sarb’s armies outside the Gates of Jerusalem in 701 BC we’ll read about that in Isaiah 37 but eschatologically this will be fulfilled in Christ and in the Salvation he will bring to his people on the last day so what’s the takeaway from the second Oracle of judgment the world is a dangerous place for the people of God there are enemies on every side it is tempting at times to try to escape one Enemy by making peace with another to try to escape one sin by running into the arms of another but there is no refuge other than Christ and we need no other shelter for he is entirely sufficient and Sovereign and strong to save so don’t seek salvation in anyone else for there is no salvation in anyone else for there is only one name under Heaven given among men by which men must be saved if if Hezekiah had allied with fisa then he and the people of Judah would have been destroyed with fisa and such is the fate of every worldly Kingdom there are no saviors outside of Zion and it’s one true king who is Christ so seek no other the third Oracle of judgment concerns Moab this Oracle is undated but we can safely assume that it dates to roughly the same period meaning the same crisis lies in the the background namely the Assyrian threat upon the whole ancient NE Eastern region historians tell us that Moab which lay to the east of Judah on the other side of the Dead Sea in what is modern day Jordan was especially threatened by Assyria in 7:15 and again in 711 and then once more in 705 so it would appear that under this threat Moab sent a delegation to Hezekiah in Jerusalem not seeking an alliance but seeking shelter seeking Refuge seeking Asylum but Pride prevented them from entering in because entrance into Zion’s Gates is conditioned upon submission to Zion’s King and that’s the point of this third Oracle and submission to Zion’s King is something that the arrogance of the unregenerate will not allow them to do verse one an oracle concerning Moab because R of Moab is laid waste in night Moab is undone because Kier of Moab is laid waste in a night Moab is undone R and Kier were cities in Moab to the north and to the South respectively so Isaiah is picturing ayrian disaster striking the entirety of the nation verse two he has gone to the temple and to dabon to the high places to weep over Nebo and over medba Moab whales on every head is baldness every beard is Shor in the streets they wear sackcloth on the housetops and in the squares everyone whales and melts in tears heshbon and alila cry out their vo is heard as far as jihas therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud his soul trembles so all of Moab is mourning because of this disaster every city mentioned in these verses were in the far north of Moab so closest to Assyria and from which direction Assyrian Invaders would descend I want you to note that there is no help to be found in moab’s Pagan religion verse two in moab’s Pagan Society verse three or in moab’s Pagan military verse four there’s no help anywhere in this world from the Judgment that God has decreed verses five and six My Heart Cries Out for Moab her fugitives flee to Zoar to elith shalicia for at the ascent of luhith they go on weeping on the road to hananim they raise a cry of Destruction the Waters of nim are a desolation the grass is withered the vegetation fails The Greenery is no more now again all of the place names in these verses are now to the south in Moab as they’re fleeing from the northern Invaders they’re fleeing to the southern cities but they find no refuge there either and I think the speaker here is the Lord because in verse 9 he says I will bring right the Lord Lord is a saying that he is grieving the Judgment that he himself is sending upon Moab it’s reminiscent of what he says in Ezekiel 18 have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked do I Delight in the death of moabites and not rather that he should turn from his way and live for I have no pleasure in the death of anyone declares the Lord God so turn and live but you’ll note that even though the Lord Grieves the destruction of the wicked he will bring it upon them nonetheless verse 7even therefore the abundance they have gained and what they have laid up they carry away over the brook of the Willows for a cry has gone around the land of Moab her wailing reaches to eglaim her wailing reaches to beer elim for the Waters of dabon are full of blood for I will bring upon dabon even more a lion for those of Moab who Escape for the remnant of the land so the Waters of the north dabon they’re already filled with blood and even more is to be shed and even though the inhabitants of Moab are fleeing South the Lord’s going to send a lion to capture them in the wilderness well in response to this imminent destruction the moabites who are now in SAA to the far south they determin they’re going to send a delegation to Hezekiah in Jerusalem verse one send the lamb to the ruler of the land from saah by way of the desert to the Mount of the daughter of Zion like fleeing birds like a scattered Nest so are the daughters of Moab at the Fords of the Arnon Lambs were a traditional moabit tribute and they sent it to Hezekiah as part of their request for Asylum what drives them to seek Refuge among their Israelite enemies is news that the daughters of Moab are desperately trying to cross the Arnon to escape the approaching Assyrians well what does the moabit delegation say to Hezekiah when they arrive at the Gates of Jerusalem verse three give counsel they ask Grant justce ice make your shade like night at the height of noon shelter the outcasts do not reveal the fugitive let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you be a shelter to them from the destroyer and I think the words of the moabit delegation end there and I think the ESV should have closed the quotation rather than after verse 5 because I think the speaker of verse five verses 4B to verse 5 is Isaiah in reply to the moabit request for Asylum within Jerusalem or maybe it’s the Lord himself what is the reply when the oppressor is no more and Destruction has ceased and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land then a throne will be established in steadfast love and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks Justice and is Swift to do righteousness the moabites aren’t saying that the Lord’s Prophet is saying saying that because of moab’s response in the remainder of the chapter and what we know of hezekiah’s faithfulness especially early on in his Reign I think it can be inferred that Hezekiah laid down a condition for moab’s entrance into the gates of Zion if Moab wishes to find Refuge within Zion’s walls then Moab must submit to Zion’s King by which Hezekiah does not mean primarily himself he means the true and ever lasting son of David whose Throne is established in Covenant Love and who will reign in faithfulness and Justice and righteousness he means Emanuel in other words Hezekiah tells Moab that if you want to find refuge in Zion then you need to sake your Gods you need to worship Israel’s God and you need to Hope in Israel’s Messiah well Moab refus these terms verse six we have heard Isaiah says of the pride of Moab how proud he is of his arrogance his pride and his insolence well why did Moab refuse well Isaiah puts his finger upon the core issue it was pride and in her Pride Moab will be destroyed verse seven therefore let Moab wail for Moab let everyone wail mourn utterly stricken for the raisin cakes of Kier harth for the fields of heshbon languish and the vine of sibma the Lords of the Nations have struck down its branches which reached to jaer and strayed to the desert it shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea once again the Lord himself weeps for the destruction that is to befall Moab verse 9 therefore I weep with the Weeping of jair for the vine of sibma I drench you with my tears oh heshbon and alila for over your summer fruit and your harvest the shout has ceased and joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field and in The Vineyards no songs are sung no cheers are raised no Treader Treads out wine in the presses I have put an end to the shouting therefore my inner parts moan like the liar for Moab and my inmost self for kir harth just listen to the depth of grief that the Lord is expressing here let’s not rush past this the Lord has no pleasure in the death of the wicked none but he will put them to death none nth less for he cannot deny himself which is what he would be doing if he left the wicked unpunished there’s so much to learn of the ways of God in this Oracle if we just have eyes to see verse 12 and when Moab presents himself when he wearies himself on the high place when he comes to his Sanctuary to pray he will not Prevail this is the word that the Lord spoke concerning Moab in the past but now the Lord has spoken saying in three years years like the years of a hired worker the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt in spite of all his great multitude and those who remain will be very few and feeble so all of moab’s pagan prayers and all of her Pagan offerings cannot rescue her from the Lord’s judgment for he alone is Sovereign and he alone will prevail and within three years of this Oracle all that the Lord had said would come to pass so the main point of this Oracle and its application to us is that anyone Israelite moabit Jew Gentile holy Heathen anyone any one of you is welcome to find refuge in Zion from the coming day of Wrath and be sure there is Refuge there but entrance into Zion’s Gates is conditioned upon submission to Zion’s King who is Jesus Christ there is salvation in Zion those inside Zion’s gates are safe from the judgment to come but only those who repent may enter only those who surrender their rights and pledge their allegiance to Christ may come in and pride will try to keep you away arrogance will try to prevent you from bowing the knee to Jesus our fallen self-will obstinately clings to our insane desire to be like God to determine for our elves what is good and evil Paul said that the Mind Set On the flesh is hostile to God it does not submit to God’s law indeed it cannot and that’s why beloved you must be born again because only a massive work of Grace known as the new birth can shatter human pride and bring a sinner gladly not not unwillingly not resisting gladly to his knees before Zion’s King but when that occurs when regeneration happens when the new birth is granted then submission occurs and all sins are forgiven and all guilt is removed and all iniquity is cleansed and the gates of Zion fling wide open and the redeemed sinner enters into the gates into the Eternal safety of the Everlasting City so I would ask you are you safely in Zion today well how would you know let me ask you a second question are you today gladly submitted to Zion’s King does Christ have absolute authority over every aspect of your life he’s King I’m going to do what he says I’m going to believe what he promises if not you’re still standing outside the gates the fourth Oracle of judgment concerns Damascus which was the capital of Syria the setting of this Oracle reaches back to 735 BC to the C ephraimite war that formed the background the backdrop of Isaiah 7-2 we know this because the Oracle predicts the destruction of Damascus which occurred at the hands of the Assyrians in 7:32 thus although the heading states that this Oracle is directed against Damascus it’s it’s really a message to the Northern Kingdom of Israel or Ephraim which sought Refuge from the Assyrian threat in an alliance with Syria the key section of this Oracle is verses 7 and 8 of chapter 17 in that day man will look to his maker and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel he will not look to the altars the work of his hands and he will not look on what his own fingers have made either the asherim or the altars of incense we’ll find in this Oracle that the Lord offers salvation universally to all mankind to Jew as well as Gentile and he offers it graciously that is not by The Works of men’s hands now while the references to the asherim and the altars of incense are are references to Pagan practices the emphasis is more broadly upon any works of man’s hands that is any man-made religion whether it takes the form of paganism or legalism people attending church singing songs offering tithes in the attempt to make God accept them and earn his favor are no less Pagan than a Hindu man offering incense and coins before an idol in the temple God will not be bought off by religious Works he will not be manipulated into saving he will not be in any man’s debt God Will Save Us freely and graciously by his own works and his own power and thereby for his own Glory or he will not save us at all so if you would be delivered from the Wrath to come you must trust in Christ Al alone and not in the works of your hands you must hope in free Mercy or you will face judgment without Mercy verse one an oracle concerning Damascus behold Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins the cities of Aro are deserted they will be they will be for flocks which will lie down and none will make them afraid the Fortress will disappear from Ephraim and the kingdom from Damascus and the remnant of Syria will be like the glory of the children of Israel declares the Lord of hosts so Ephraim and Damascus sought refuge in one another from the Assyrian threat rather than turning to the Lord both therefore will fall verse four for thus the Lord said to me nope and in that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low and the fat of his flesh will grow lean and and it shall be as when the reaper gathers standing grain and his arm harvests the ears and as when one gleans the ears of grain in the valley of refaim gleanings will be left in it as when an olive tree is beaten two or three berries in the top of the highest bow four or five on the branches of a fruit tree declares the Lord God of Israel so the Judgment that the Lord will bring will be so severe that only the pale vestages of Israel’s former glory will remain like the gleanings of a field in the aftermath of the Harvest or the few olives that remain just Out Of Reach in the uppermost bowels of the tree in that day man will look to his maker and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel he will not look to the altars The Works of his hands and he will not look on what his own fingers have made either the asherim or the altars of incense as mentioned a moment ago these verses are the Crux of this Oracle Damascus sought refuge in Ephraim and Ephraim sought ref refuge in Damascus and there was to be salvation found in neither one of them those who would be saved on the day of judgment must seek salvation in the Lord alone and they must receive it by grace through faith alone and not as though it were on the basis of their merits The Works of their hands verse n in that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooden Heights and the hilltops which they deserted because of the children of Israel and there will be desolation for you have forgotten the god of your salvation and have not remembered the rock of your Refuge therefore though you plant Pleasant plants and SE the vine branch of a stranger though you make them grow on the day that you plant them and make them blossom in the morning that you sow yet the Harvest will flee away in a day of grief and incurable pain verse 9 looks back centuries before to the days of Joshua and the conquest of Canaan and Isaiah is saying those days are long G Israel has forgotten her God and her Rock and thereby has forfeited his salvation and his refuge and what’s the result devastating judgment all of the careful planting all of the diligent labor it will all be in vain the Harvest has been forfeited by their sin verse 12 ah the Thunder of many peoples they Thunder like the Thundering of the sea a the Roar of Nations they roar like the The Roaring of Mighty Waters the Nations roar like the Roaring of many Waters but he will rebuke them and they will flee far away chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind and whirling dust before the storm at evening time behold Terror before morning they are no more this is the portion of those who loot us and the lot of those who plunder us note the absolute sovereignty possessed by the Lord over the Raging of the Nations all he does is utter a rebuke du and they are driven away like chaff in the wind like like whirling dust before a storm and note the confidence of those who will trust him why then would Israel trust in the Nations rather than seeking refuge in the Lord who Stills the Raging of the nations with a single rebuke and why would we verse one a land of woring wings that is beyond the rivers of kush which sends ambassadors by the Sea and vessels of Papyrus on the water ERS go you Swift Messengers to a nation tall and smooth to a people feared near and far a nation Mighty and conquering whose land the rivers divide all you inhabitants of the world you who dwell on the earth when a signal is raised on the mountains look when a trumpet is blown here for thus the Lord said to me I will quietly look for my dwelling like clear heat in sunshine like a cloud of dew In the Heat of harvest for before the Harvest when the blossom is is over and the flower becomes a ripening grape he cuts off the chots from pruning H with pruning Hooks and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away they shall all of them be left to the birds of prey of the mountains and to the beasts of the earth and the birds of prey will summer on them and all the beasts of the earth will winter on them well the land of woring wings in verse one is Egypt it’s a reference to the prolific insect life that existed along the Nile in 7:15 BC an Ethiopian king conquered Egypt and became pharaoh and he sent Messengers to all of the ancient near East nations in an attempt to form alliances against the Assyrian threat but Isaiah prophetically sends these envoys right back to kush or Ethiopia Judah should not be interested in Egypt’s help not when the Lord is King of the Nations for all of their International diom Acy all of their schemes and mockin Nations these will amount to nothing the Earth is the Lord he Lords he raises up and he puts down kingdoms and when he is ready and not a moment before and not a moment after he will deal with the Assyrian King in the meantime the Lord is using Assyria to punish all of the wicked nations of the ancient near East so what then is the message what’s the point rather than forming alliances with one another in hopes of survival why not Ally themselves with the true king who rules Heaven and Earth verse 7 at that time tribute will be brought to the Lord of hosts from a people tall and smooth from a people feared near and far a nation Mighty and conquering whose land the rivers divide to Mount Zion the place of the name of the Lord of hosts so the point of this fourth Oracle is that the Nations will rage through throughout history until the time appointed by the Lord from all eternity indeed the Raging of the Nations is itself appointed by God for the accomplishment of his Sovereign purposes of judgment and no amount of political scheming no no amount of military alliances will Avail against the purposes of the Lord you and I we will simply be swept up in the midst of it it is the inevitable result of living as part of a fallen Humanity in a fallen world so don’t place your hope in men don’t place your hope in Nations don’t place your hope in armies don’t place your hope in economies place your hope in the Lord and do so by grace alone through faith alone and don’t bring to him your Works religious moral or otherwise in in a vain attempt to strike a deal with the almighty no Works no merit of our own can buy off the Lord’s judgment and secure his blessing only the works and merits of Christ Alone given and received freely will suffice so the message of this fourth Oracle to us this morning is to hold fast to Christ as your only hope in the day of judgment and await his signal upon the mountains await the sound of his trumpet at which time you will be called home to Mount Zion bringing the glory of the Nations into that place where God dwells in the midst of his redeemed people now I’m going to save chapters 19 and 20 Collective sigh of relief for next week we’re going to finish the final Oracle of judgment and we’re going to camp out on what is one of the greatest predictions of Salvation one of the greatest Prophecies of Salvation found anywhere in Isaiah in chapter 19: 16 to2 next week we’ll finish up the Oracle of Judge Jud and we’ll look at the Gospel According to Isaiah you won’t want to miss it so this morning as we have listened to Isaiah pronounced judgment upon five or four ancient near Eastern Nations I want to point out that to Isaiah’s original audience and to us there would be two primary applications and I want to send you home with these the first application of is this Divine judgment is certain the Lord will bring Jud judgement upon all the nations of the world and upon the faithless within the church and this certainty Cuts both ways as I mentioned at the beginning of this sermon the certainty of divine judgment is a comfort to the faithful Remnant who are afflicted and abused by the evil Deeds of wicked men if you have been Afflicted and abused and offended and there is no justice and there is no satisfaction anywhere in sight it’s a comfort for you to know that God will bring that into judgment fully and completely and strictly and you can leave it to him none will escape so leave Vengeance to God he has it well in hand you are therefore free to forgive those who wrong you you are free to love your enemies you are free to let go of the bitterness and the anger and the need the insatiable need for justice you can let go of it it will come how do you know how can you be so sure look at these five kingdoms that Isaiah has pronounced judgment upon in these chapters and ask yourself where they are today they’re gone Fallen beneath the crushing Judgment of a just and holy God you can trust him the second application arises from this that arises from the certainty of divine judgment is the futility of putting your hope in those things that the Lord is certain to destroy the gods of Egypt will be shattered the wealth of Babylon will evaporate the world will fall beneath the wrath of an offended God a God who feels indignation Every Day psalm 711 so as we ended last week so I end this week hear the Cry Of Heaven if if Babylon is going to fall what should we do come out of her my people lest you take part in her sins lest you share in her plagues for her sins are heaped high as heaven and God has remembered her iniquities come out of Babylon Leave the World Behind but withi shall you go there is salvation in Zion not in the Earthly Jerusalem but in the Heavenly Jerusalem where God has set his throne and where his people dwell in safety and joy so I ask you have you come out of Babylon where’s your citizenship yes you’re still physically in Babylon that’s where you live that’s where you work that’s that’s where we have to operate until Christ returns to lead us in that last and final Exodus in Zion but where’s your citizenship where’s your hope where’s your satisfaction is it in Babylon or Zion Zion is the only place of safety when the day of judgment arrives and you every one of you every one of you Jew Gentile Rich poor slave free raised in church first time here today every one of you are invited to find Asylum within Zion’s Gates and there is shelter there there is forgiveness there there is cleansing there there is a refuge from the day of wrath but if you would enter into Zion’s Gates you must submit to Zion’s King and if you would enter into Zion’s Gates you must come through empty-handed then and only then may you have confidence now as the Nations rage and hope for the day of judgment when the Nations will fall so where are you to be found in these chapters are you in Babylon or are you in Zion are you within or without the gates come in and find refuge and salvation and joy unspeakable and full of Glory