Isaiah 40:9-11

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All right, Isaiah chapter forty. I know it feels like

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it's been a couple of years since we've been here

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Isaiah chapter forty. I have this tendency if we start

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certain teaching here from this building, from this pulpit, that

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if we're not here and I'm doing something just on

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the internet, just the podcast, I tend to save what

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I start here for here in the podcast. I always

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do something a little different because I like it to

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be somewhat uniformed and consistent. It's not always probably the

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best idea, but because of that, then we've been a

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while since we've been in Isaiah chapter forty. So what

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we're going to do is we're going to try to

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get caught up a little bit here. The goal today,

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I don't think it's going to happen, is I would

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like to get through verses nine through eleven in this hour,

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which is not going to happen, and then in the

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next hour, the goal was to get through twelve through seventeen,

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so by the end of the day we would be

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Isaiah forty ready to go to verse eighteen. But there's

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no way we're going to accomplish this. So let's try

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to put a lot of things together as far as

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the things we've been talking about and covering kind of

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we'll mix the podcast in with Church here is.

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On the podcast, we have spent a lot.

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We spent a considerable amount of time and even for

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a broadcast I did when one of the Sundays we

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weren't here, we talked about AI versus Lordship Salvation.

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We did a lot of work on that.

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I'm still fascinated by AI's basically total rejection of lordship Salvation.

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I love the fact that it points out all of

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its problems.

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So we worked on that.

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But you can hear the AI part of that, which

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has been an essential part of everything we've been doing

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in twenty twenty five talking about artificial intelligence, showing how

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artificial intelligence and theology and how it's working and all

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the different issues with that. And so we've been doing

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all of that, and in the midst of all of that,

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we've been working on Isaiah forty through Isaiah chapter fifty five,

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and we've been utilizing AI to do a lot of

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work on that as well. So all of this brings

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us to Isaiah forty through fifty five, which the reason,

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the reason we have been doing this entire series on

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Isaiah forty through fifty five is not because of how

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much AI messes up Isaiah forty through fifty five.

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We have been doing this because of how.

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Much human beings have messed up sermons on Isaiah forty

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through fifty five.

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Because at this.

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Point, I'm probably over one hundred sermons now of listening

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to sermons on Isaiah forty through fifty five and have

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yet to hear one that has handled the text in

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anything that I would refer to as an accurate way.

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And every situation, over and over and over the pastor

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takes Isaiah forty through fifty five, he almost he will

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pay a little lip service, talk about the original context

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in the original recipients, and move them out and move

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us in. Sometimes it's even it's just starts with us,

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and they spiritualized the text, allegorize the text just it's

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just a disaster. And I was shocked how bad that

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it has gotten. Other people who have listened online, they

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themselves have acknowledged that they've listened to somewhere between fifty

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and one hundred sermons and they can't find one.

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So I'm just utterly.

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Fascinated and how bad it has gotten and that's why

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we are working on Isaiah forty through fifty five and

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why we've done so many sermon reviews. So I asked

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Ai this morning kind of like, you know, what in

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the world is going on with all of these sermons

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in Isaiah forty through fifty five and what is happening? Well,

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Ai said, there's some important things going on in regards

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to sermons on Isaiah forty through fifty five. The first

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thing is says that we should learn from this and

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see from this is philological and hermeneutical trends and preaching.

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That what we are seeing with.

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Reviewing and listening to all these sermons in Isaiah forty

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through fifty five is we are witnessing in real time

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philological and hermeneutical trends that have entered into preaching. We're

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seeing these trends and we have to be able to

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interpret these trends. Ai said, many sermons I just listen

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to this. This is so important. Many sermons are shaped

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by philological tradition that often imposes pre existing framework onto

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the text.

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I've said that. Now, if you've.

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Been in this church for any lenguet the time, you've

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heard me say it for over twenty years. That is

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the thing we cannot do. And what does AI mean

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that many sermons are shaped by a philological tradition. Well,

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if you come if you come from a distance sational tradition,

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or if you come from a covenant theology, you take

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that philological tradition and you read the theilological tradition where

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into the text, and then you interpret the text based

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off what the philological tradition that you've read into the text.

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And every church does that. That that's why if you

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go into one church and they're preaching on a passage,

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you're going to hear these things. And if you go

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into a different church and they're preaching on the same passage,

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they're going to say different things. Well, so everyone should

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raise their hand and go. That's a problem, right, because

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the text can't mean one thing for one group and

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another thing for another group. The text either has a

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meaning and the group should not determine that meaning. And

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AI is like, that's what people are doing there. Their

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sermons are shaped by their fill logical tradition, and then

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they impose that that pre existing framework onto the text,

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rather than allowing the text to speak on its own terms.

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And that's what we see. If you go to a

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lordship church, how are they going to interpret the sermon

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on the Mountain radically different than if you go to

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a non lordship church. It's the same sermon. So how

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can one get if you go to First John, a

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lordship is going to interpret it one way or not.

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That is the fact that that happens.

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Should should in reality, every single person who goes to

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church raise their hand and kind of go. So I'm

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actually not coming to church to learn the text. I'm

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coming to church to hear the text interpreted through a

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specific philological framework. Many we don't come to the church

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to study the Bible. We come to church to study

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a philological framework being imposed on the Bible. And that

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should lead make everyone just go then there's no point

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in coming to church. Now you say that people will

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lose their minds, but the reality is there is no

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point in going to church if all you're going to

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go to church for is to hear the philological framework,

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because if you already agree with the philological framework, you're

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simply going to hear what you already agree with. That

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means there's no challenge, there's no difficulty. And while there

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is a problem. So I just that's that's crazy. I

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just cannot stress that enough. So Ai said that there

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is there's these trends in preaching, and the first trend

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is really that sermons are shaped by theilological traditions. The

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second trend that's happening. Ai says that many preachers tend

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to over spiritualize Isaiah forty through fifty five. They read

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New Testament reality into the text without preserving its original

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context regarding Israel. So what's happening in churches They take

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their sermons or shaped by their thoological tradition which is

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imposed upon the text. And secondly, preachers spiritualize Isaiah and

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read New Testament realities back into Isaiah and forget Israel

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and make it all about us.

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A third thing is the.

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Tendency to force direct crystological connections overshadows Isaiah's immediate message

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to Israel and exile and how these promises function within

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their historical and covenantal context. So there is a tendency

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within preaching to force a chrystological a connection to Christ

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instead of doing what, well, wait a minute, this is

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about whom Israel and exile. Wait a minute, The promises

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deal with what the covenant given to Israel. All of

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that ys forgotten, so that it becomes about your theology.

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It becomes about you, It becomes about this crystological connection,

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and the text gets completely abandoned. So Ai said, those

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are three things happening within the thiological and hermoneutical trends

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and preaching. A second thing Ai says is that this

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calls for a challenge of exegetical rigor. Many sermons focus

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on application first rather than careful exegesis. This leads to

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a sermon that emphasizes comfort, encouragement while neglecting historical context.

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And philological precision.

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So that Ai says, what we have to do is

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we've got to become more committed to exegetical study. The

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only problem is churches want whate application. What do they want?

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They want comfort? What do they want encouragement? What do

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they not want? Historical context and pilological ps Will they

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say they want historical context yes? Will they say they

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want philological precision yes? So how can the pastor appease

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that while giving the people what they really want even

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though they don't say it. All he has to do

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is just say, Isaiah, it was written at this time,

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he just has to give a little historical tidbit, right,

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a little historical sound bite. Everyone in church will go, oh,

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that was such in depth preaching when most of it

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was application encouragement, and everyone walks away going, oh, love

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my church, and they didn't actually get anything they claim

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that they actually want. So AI says, obviously, we have

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these trends that pointed out those trends that we need

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a challenge for exegetical rigor. And the reason why is

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because sermons typically focus on application and exegesus and that

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preachers rely on common interpretive shortcuts repeating what has traditionally

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been preached, rather than engaging in fresh text driven study.

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That is a major condemnation. So everybody hear that again,

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what do preachers rely on common interpretive shortcuts? Repeating what

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has traditionally been preached? Can I if I know Protestants

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don't like to hear that. You know what that means?

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We're no different than Catholics. We rely on what tradition

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we go with, what's traditionally been preached, how the text

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has traditionally been handled, and what actually.

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Do you not get?

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You do not get a fresh text driven study and

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What have I always said that we have to do

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when we come to the text.

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What do we have to throw out.

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Everything that we've ever heard? Right, it doesn't matter how

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you interpreted, It doesn't matter what you've been taught.

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All of your preconceived idea.

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Even your philological framework, must be taken out back and

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put down.

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I've been saying this for twenty years.

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I'm glad now finally I got a tool that will

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agree with me.

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Finally.

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Okay. Three, The influence of popular preaching styles often prioritize

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this inspiration over precision, leading dis sermons that lean towards

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devotional reflections rather than serious textual engagement. And guess what

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happens if you stand behind the pulpit and you don't

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care about anyone's theological team. You don't care, you don't

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care about traditional way of preaching. You don't care. You're

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going to approach the text fresh, You're gonna challenge things.

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You don't care about encouragement, you don't care about inspiration,

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you care about the text and precision. You will drive

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everyone out of your church. And that is a sad reality.

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And Ais even mentioned that before that. Hey, if you

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continue the way you're going, and I'm like, well, okay,

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well it's a little late now, all right. So AI says,

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here's some things we can learn. There's these trends happening

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and preaching we've talked about. We need these challenge for

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exegetical rigor because sermons focus on application and they rely

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on interpretive shortcuts and basically tradition and the preaching styles

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today often prioritizes inspiration over precision. All right. Then it

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goes on to say. AI goes on to say number three,

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the prevalence of preaching for the church rather than the text.

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That's an interesting phrase. AI says, we have a prevalence

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today of preaching for the church rather than preaching the text.

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What does AI mean by that? Many preachers feel the

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need to make every passage immediately applicable to modern day Christians,

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leading them to bypass the original audience's context. What does

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this mean When a pastor stands behind the pulpit, he

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feels like he has to do what I've got to

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deliver something to you that's for you, and I don't

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care about what was originally going on and who was

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originally about? So what do I do? I go to

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Isaiah forty and I move them out and I move

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you in. And do most people sitting in the pew

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care that I do that?

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No?

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They say, amen, Oh what a good sermon, Oh that

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touched my heart, I felt God speak to me. Whatever

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nonsense they want to say, and their little you know,

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church language, that's that's what we've got.

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To stop it.

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Ai even knows that that's what we're doing, all right,

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So then what does Ai go on to say? This

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results in misapplied promises, where texts that were given to

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Israel about their restoration are directly claimed for the church,

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and instead of wrestling with how Isaiah forty through fifty

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five functions within Israel's prophetic and covenental framework, sermons jump

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to gospel connections too quickly without considering how the text

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would have been understood in this time. Right, So then

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AI give me a bunch of things that we can

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do to try to fix this.

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Right.

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Something gives me all these steps, and just it goes on.

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It goes on for pages, giving me all kinds of

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things that we could do. It had been encouraging me

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to write a book on Isaiah forty through fifty five

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to try to fix the problem. Because basically it's like, hey,

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there's a problem, you need to try to fix it.

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I'm like, well, who am I? I can't fix it?

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Okay, I can't do anything about it. I've done over

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thirty three hours of study on Isaiah forty fifty five,

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that all on the podcast, and I don't know if

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we've come up with any good answers, but we've demonstrated

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the problem. But AI realizes there is a problem. So

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that's why we're doing all of this work. So with

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all of that said, that's why we're doing it. I

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just want to refresh into your mind why we are

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spending all of this time. With that said, let's go

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to Isaiah chapter forty. Let's start in verse one. Let's

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read to where we are so that you can see

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everything in its context. All right, Isaiah chapter forty, Verse

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one begins with comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith

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your God. Right. This is a message of comfort that's

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to be delivered to whom my people, and who are

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my people? Those in Babylonian captivity. Their Babyloni captivity is

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mentioned where chapter thirty nine five through eight. Okay, everybody,

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So the immediate context sets it up right. The people

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in captivity need to be brought a message of comfort

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from whome. Verse one, saith your God, from God, And

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what is this word of comfort? Speak he comfortably to Jerusalem,

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and cry under her her warfare is accomplished, her iniquity

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is pardoned, for she hath received of the Lord's hand

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double for all her sins. We talked about all of that. Basically,

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simply put, their time is, their time of punishment is over.

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Their sins have been forgiven. They are going to be

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what delivered and brought back to the land. Okay, that

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was promised to them. We talked about all of that

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that brought us Verses three through five. The voice of

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Him that Christ in the wilderness. Prepare ye, the way

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of the Lord makes straight in the desert a highway

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for our God. Every valley should be exalted, every mountain

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shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight,

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and the rough place is plain, and the glory of

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the Lord shall be revealed, and all the flesh shall

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see it together, for the mouth of the Lord hath

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spoken it. We know many want to immediately run to

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the New Testament, talk about John the Baptist. But this

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is not what it's talking about in its original context, right,

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we would have to be in the New Testament to

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see why it's using that for John the Baptist, because

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obviously there's some similarities. But this is ultimately that there's

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going to be someone crying out for what to prepare

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the way so that the people can do what.

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Return.

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And we connected this to whom We connected it to Cyrus.

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Cyrus's decree and Azra chapter one, and where he kind

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of calls to people to do what to prepare, and

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he calls for all the things that they're going to

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need to get them ready, and in a sense he

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removes all of the obstacles so that they can go back.

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And we talked about all of that. That brings us

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to verses six through eight. The voice said cry, And

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he said, what shall I cry? All flesh is grass,

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and all the good thereof is as the flowers of

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the field. The grass withereth the flower faith, because the

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spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it. Surely the people

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is grass. The grass witheth the flower faith. But the

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word of our God shall stand forever. What is the

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significance of verses six through eight. It wants to remind

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the people of what while the frailty of life, how

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we will disappear? This could be pointing to whom the Babylonians,

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whoever's got you captive, they can just be begone in

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an instance. Right, you yourself are frail. But what is

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the one thing that will abide and stand? God's word?

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And specifically what word of God is being referenced here?

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The word of them being delivered from their captivity? Right?

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In other words, what do they need to realize? Everything

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they're looking at? Circumstances, situations are their own frailty. It

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may all disappear, but God's word ultimately to them is

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going to abide and stand. And God had told them.

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In fact, remember this word of comfort was delivered over

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one hundred years before they even go into captivity. And

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it's saying that that word is still wide, enduring, still

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goes into effect and still will work. That brings us

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to where nine through eleven. All right, here we go,

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All right, we got less than thirty minutes. All right,

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here we go. I'm going to read it from two

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different translations. First, I'll read it for the King James

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nine through eleven. Everybody ready, Oh Zion, that bring us

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good tidings. Get thee up into the high mountain, Oh Jerusalem,

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that bring us good tidings. Lift up thy voice with strength,

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lift it up. Be not afraid, say, into the cities

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of Judah, behold your God.

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Verse ten. Behold the Lord God will cometh with strong

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hand and his arms.

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She'll rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him

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and his work before him. Verse eleven. He shall feed

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his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs

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with his arm, carry them in his bosom, and shall

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gently lead those that are with young. If I read

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it from the ESV, it reads like this, go up

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into a high mountain, Ozion, herald.

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Of good news.

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Lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of

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good news, Lift it up. Fear not say to the

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cities of Judah, behold your God. Behold, the Lord God

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comes with might and his arm rules for him. Behold,

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his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.

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He will tend his flock like a shepherd. He will

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gather the lambs in his arms. He will carry them

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in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

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All right, now, couple of things.

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First, I did a sermon review where I know this

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is going to come as a shock to you. Isaiah

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forty verse eleven. If we want to look at that,

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somehow that verse was used in a sermon supposedly proving

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and teaching infant baptism, which is one of the most

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insane things I've ever seen in my entire life. That

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verse has nothing to do with baptism. That verse has

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nothing to do with the church. That verse has literally nothing.

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And you know what is so frustrating about all of this, Okay,

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if you go back to Isaiah forty verse two, right,

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it says, speak ye comfortably to whom Jerusalem. Everybody see that.

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Go to Isaiah forty verse nine, Oh Zion, that bring

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us good tidings, get thee up in the high mountains,

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Oh Jerusalem. And then it goes on to say, be

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not afraid say unto the cities of Judah. What is

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maddening to me is in just about and what nine

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verses there have been now two attempts by the author

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to clearly indicate.

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Who this message is too right.

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In other words, that does not require what does not

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require Bible college, does not require seminary, that does not

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even require ai that just requires basic reading comprehension. This

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is a message to a specific people in a specific setting.

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Why is it that preacher after preacher goes here and

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makes it about us?

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That is?

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That's why all the problems. AI was explaining what is

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happening in preaching? That should have never passed it the

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first time that should have ever happened in a sermon.

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The people in the pews should have went, how did

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we get there? How did we get here?

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Text is emphatic, right, but.

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It raises some serious questions here. So let's let's break

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this down, right. We're gonna do a little bit of

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an exogenical study. We're gonna go as fast as we can.

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H here we go. I think, well, let's do this

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nine through eleven.

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Right, you look at those texts that text again, is

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there anything that jumps out of you that's kind of

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looks difficult, looks possibly confusing anything. I've got a bunch

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of questions we could ask who we did talk last

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week about questions we're supposed to ask to the text.

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I'm not gonna go I was gonna go through all

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the questions. But it's pretty straightforward. Don't you feel that

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00:24:40.680 --> 00:24:43.200
it's pretty straightforward. I don't think there's any real difficulty

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in nine through eleven. If we understand it within its

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historical context, it seems pretty simple. There may be a

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couple of questions we will say, in other words, this

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is not one of those texts that were like what

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and the world is going on? Let's say once we

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figure out the basic context that it seems to take

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care of all of that.

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But I'm gonna go and remind you of the historical context.

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You're ready.

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This passage is a part of Isaiah forty through fifty five.

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Isaiah forty through fifty five is often called what.

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Book of Comfort? Who? Is? It? Written to exiles and Babylon.

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Isaiah forty opens with a message of hope and restoration,

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promising deliverance after years of captivity. Nobody has a problem

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with any of that. You know why? You can't have

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a problem with any of that. That's all factual, okay, Right?

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The immediate context, the immediate context seems to speak to

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God's sovereignty and his ability to fulfill his promises, contrasting

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him with the false gods of Babylon. If you look

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at the immediate context, right, if you jump down to

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well if you start in verse twelve, it really starts

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this contrast. It's going to compare God of the Bible

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to the God of the idols of Babylon. And we'll

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get into more detail, but that comes after. So this

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is written to people in context. Right after this, it's

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going to compare God, God to the God of the

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of the of Babylon or the idols of Babylon. So

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this falls right in the midst of all of that, right,

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Does that kind of make sense? All? Right? The literary context,

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So there's there's kind of the there's kind of the

435
00:26:16.359 --> 00:26:18.720
historical context. If we want to break context down. I

436
00:26:18.759 --> 00:26:21.640
just said context, but that's kind of the historical context.

437
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The literary context. Isaiah forty begins with a call to

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comfort God's people Verses one through two. Can we agree

439
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with that? A declaration of His greatness and majesty Verses

440
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three through eight, and then verses nine through eleven transitions

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into a proclamation of God's coming salvation, focusing on his

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power and tenderness. Does everybody see that it's a proclamation?

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I think we can see. Look at what it says,

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bring good tidings right, say, into the cities of Judah

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what what do they say to the cities of Judah?

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And verse nine words behold your God, all right, and

447
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then it says, behold the God will come with what

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verse ten a strong hand. His arms shall rule for him.

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Everybody see the power part? And then where's the tenderness part?

450
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Verse eleven? So it verse nine to eleven reminds them

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of God's power and his tenderness. I think we can

452
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agree with that, right, So there's a literary context.

453
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What's the thiological context.

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The text reflects themes of God's sovereignty, faithfulness, and the

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balance of might and compassion, which I just pointed out.

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And it calls for trust in God's plan even when

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deliverance comes through ordinary means. Now I stress that in

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great detail, all right. I cannot stress this enough. When

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that text says behold your God, remember everything that's going

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to transpire in their delivery rents, it is going to

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be done through ordinary means, not through what some kind

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of supernatural means, in the sense of it's not this

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extravagant thing like the parting of the Red Sea. There's

464
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not going to be plagues. What's ultimately going to happen

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one kingdom is going to be conquered by another kingdom,

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and that king is just going to let them go.

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It is supernatural in the sense God is involved, but

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it's not. But it's going to be. God's power is

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00:28:31.799 --> 00:28:36.160
going to be played out under ordinary means. And what

470
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do we have a tendency to do with ordinary means?

471
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We don't see God? Right? Does that make sense? And

472
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so this is a sense for them to see God's

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hand in the ordinary. We spend a lot of time

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talking about that. All right, So there's the historical context,

475
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the literary context, and the theological context. Now let's kind

476
00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:01.759
of go through and exegetical analysis of it.

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All right, let's start in verse nine.

478
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What do we have in verse nine?

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What do we call this.

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A proclamation? I think that's good, right. I think AI

481
00:29:16.920 --> 00:29:19.680
would agree with that. It's a proclamation, go up on

482
00:29:19.720 --> 00:29:23.519
a high mountain, O Zion. And then depending on your translation,

483
00:29:24.039 --> 00:29:26.400
go up on a high mountain, O Zion or O

484
00:29:26.559 --> 00:29:29.400
Zion that bring us good tidings, get thee up in

485
00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:33.839
the high mountain. So Zion is to get up in

486
00:29:34.519 --> 00:29:39.400
a high mountain. Now Zion, and some will say Zion

487
00:29:39.480 --> 00:29:43.680
and Jerusalem. It's really the same thing. It is personified

488
00:29:44.200 --> 00:29:48.480
as someone bringing good news, almost like a messenger bringing

489
00:29:48.519 --> 00:29:52.720
good news to God's salvation. Now, why would this be

490
00:29:53.079 --> 00:29:56.200
if it's Zion slash Jerusalem. It's kind of like the

491
00:29:56.240 --> 00:29:59.400
same thing. Zion, bring good tidings, get up in a

492
00:29:59.440 --> 00:30:04.279
high mountain. Oh, Jerusalem, bring good tidings. Zion and Jerusalem.

493
00:30:04.319 --> 00:30:07.319
If that's basically the same thing, what is the significance

494
00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:13.519
of Jerusalem within this historical context? It's laid in waste

495
00:30:14.119 --> 00:30:19.119
right Number one? Number two? Jerusalem was what in relation

496
00:30:19.200 --> 00:30:25.640
to Judah the capital? So, hey, Jerusalem, you need to

497
00:30:25.640 --> 00:30:27.799
bring good news? And what and where does it say

498
00:30:27.960 --> 00:30:36.960
to bring the good news? Right? Then? Verse nine say

499
00:30:37.079 --> 00:30:41.960
unto whom the cities of Judah. All right, So Zion

500
00:30:42.079 --> 00:30:44.880
is personified as the person to bring this good news,

501
00:30:45.119 --> 00:30:46.880
the good And what is the good news that they

502
00:30:46.880 --> 00:30:52.640
are to deliver? Right? Well, yeah, it's it's the beholder

503
00:30:52.759 --> 00:30:56.039
God is basically news of deliverance and that and and

504
00:30:56.160 --> 00:30:59.599
look to God. Right. The idea of lift up your

505
00:30:59.640 --> 00:31:03.160
voice reflects urgency and confidence, emphasizing that the message is

506
00:31:03.200 --> 00:31:07.359
not to be hidden. Hey, speak up, speak loud, speak

507
00:31:07.400 --> 00:31:10.559
to the people, that this is a message from God.

508
00:31:10.599 --> 00:31:13.480
And what you were to say and behold your God.

509
00:31:13.839 --> 00:31:18.000
This is the central proclamation. This is to see and

510
00:31:18.119 --> 00:31:23.240
recognize God as the true deliverer. Ultimately, that sets up

511
00:31:23.240 --> 00:31:28.240
the contrast with the Babylonian idols. Now, I think what's

512
00:31:28.279 --> 00:31:31.839
being set up here is this. Okay, these people have

513
00:31:31.920 --> 00:31:36.720
been in Babylon captivity for how long? Somewhere around seventy years.

514
00:31:36.720 --> 00:31:38.920
We don't know exactly when they would have received this man,

515
00:31:39.079 --> 00:31:40.799
I mean, the message was given to them before they

516
00:31:40.799 --> 00:31:43.720
even go into captivity. But they've been in captivity and

517
00:31:43.759 --> 00:31:46.000
they've been in Babylon for seventy years. And what is

518
00:31:46.039 --> 00:31:52.920
the one thing we know about Babylon? What is one

519
00:31:52.920 --> 00:31:57.039
thing we can all agree about Babylon? Okay, they were

520
00:31:57.079 --> 00:32:02.480
the world power, but they were very very spiritual, but

521
00:32:02.640 --> 00:32:10.599
spiritual in a kind of way. Were they monotheistic or

522
00:32:10.640 --> 00:32:19.359
were they polytheistic? That they definitely are not monotheistic. Right,

523
00:32:19.359 --> 00:32:23.079
they've got idols everywhere, right, polytheistic. They've got a God

524
00:32:23.119 --> 00:32:25.240
for this, a God for that, and it's attached to

525
00:32:25.279 --> 00:32:27.279
this idol and this idol and this idol and this

526
00:32:27.359 --> 00:32:29.880
idol and this idol and this idol. So what could

527
00:32:29.880 --> 00:32:32.160
be the danger for those who now have been there

528
00:32:32.200 --> 00:32:35.599
for ten twenty thirty forty fifty sixty years. Some people

529
00:32:35.680 --> 00:32:38.319
were born and raised in it. They have seen all

530
00:32:38.359 --> 00:32:42.680
of these idols everywhere, right, So they may have attached

531
00:32:42.680 --> 00:32:46.440
faith to these idols, or it may be hard for

532
00:32:46.519 --> 00:32:51.559
them to perceive a God in whom they cannot see,

533
00:32:51.680 --> 00:32:53.799
because they've been living in a place where all the

534
00:32:53.799 --> 00:32:59.559
gods can be seen. That this section is a key

535
00:32:59.680 --> 00:33:04.200
section here, right, because it says behold your God. When

536
00:33:04.240 --> 00:33:06.880
it says behold your God, where are they to look

537
00:33:06.920 --> 00:33:12.759
to see their God? Do they look to an idol?

538
00:33:13.640 --> 00:33:15.680
No, they have to behold God.

539
00:33:16.119 --> 00:33:18.599
But no, and they have to behold of God in

540
00:33:18.640 --> 00:33:20.440
whom they cannot see.

541
00:33:20.799 --> 00:33:21.480
And they need to.

542
00:33:21.440 --> 00:33:25.680
Behold God and actions which may not seem like God

543
00:33:25.759 --> 00:33:30.519
is involved, because who's going to be the one delivering

544
00:33:30.559 --> 00:33:36.200
them Cyrus, who is a pagan king. So they're going

545
00:33:36.279 --> 00:33:39.920
to have to behold God where God doesn't appear to be.

546
00:33:41.480 --> 00:33:45.359
That that's the key message here, right. If you don't

547
00:33:45.440 --> 00:33:50.319
understand the Babylonian idolatry, this start, this falls completely apart.

548
00:33:50.559 --> 00:33:53.880
So we'll have to spend some considerable time looking at

549
00:33:53.920 --> 00:33:58.480
the idolatry and all the different gods that Babylon had,

550
00:33:58.599 --> 00:34:00.680
so that you'll have a better understand ending here, right,

551
00:34:00.960 --> 00:34:03.480
But this is setting up the contrast. I want to

552
00:34:03.519 --> 00:34:05.839
make sure you understand. And we're going to do a

553
00:34:05.839 --> 00:34:09.039
lot of thing about the about the transitioning here. But

554
00:34:09.079 --> 00:34:13.719
if you go verses twelve and following, it's about comparing

555
00:34:13.760 --> 00:34:17.320
God with false gods, comparing God with idols. That behold

556
00:34:17.320 --> 00:34:20.719
your God is the key phrase here. Does that make

557
00:34:20.760 --> 00:34:23.119
sense all?

558
00:34:23.159 --> 00:34:24.239
Right? Verse ten?

559
00:34:24.320 --> 00:34:29.599
What does verse ten say? Behold the Lord God comes

560
00:34:29.639 --> 00:34:36.719
with what a strong hand? So behold God? So immediately

561
00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:39.800
what it wants to do. We've got this proclamation and

562
00:34:39.840 --> 00:34:42.599
it's and we see all these things about your proclamation.

563
00:34:42.679 --> 00:34:45.519
The key proclamation is behold your God. And then immediately

564
00:34:45.559 --> 00:34:48.599
what we see is we see God's power and sovereignty.

565
00:34:48.840 --> 00:34:51.639
And verse ten, verse nine is all about the proclamation.

566
00:34:51.840 --> 00:34:55.119
Verse ten is all about God's power and sovereignty. Behold

567
00:34:55.119 --> 00:34:59.960
the Lord comes with might. Coming signifies his active intervention

568
00:35:00.440 --> 00:35:05.400
in history. Some translations, he comes well, he says, strong

569
00:35:05.440 --> 00:35:07.800
hand and his arm. Everybody see that.

570
00:35:09.280 --> 00:35:10.719
She'll rule for him.

571
00:35:11.400 --> 00:35:14.079
Everybody sees the idea of the arm in the hand.

572
00:35:14.480 --> 00:35:18.159
This is a metaphor for his power. And authority often

573
00:35:18.280 --> 00:35:23.599
used to describe his deliverance. Look in Exodus chapter six,

574
00:35:24.360 --> 00:35:26.559
and just tell me what you find in verse six.

575
00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:30.360
I cannot verify for sure if this is accurate. But

576
00:35:30.440 --> 00:35:36.079
let's look there Exodus six. I believe verse six. There

577
00:35:36.119 --> 00:35:38.639
may not be anything there, but just to see. Because

578
00:35:38.800 --> 00:35:42.280
this idea of the arm, this idea of his hand

579
00:35:43.159 --> 00:35:59.519
was Exodus six six. Say, okay, the stretched out arm

580
00:35:59.559 --> 00:36:03.599
and Exodit sixty six is connected with what deliverance? What

581
00:36:03.800 --> 00:36:07.960
is this arm connected with delivering them from Babylon? It's

582
00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:11.119
the same thing, right, it's the same concept.

583
00:36:11.159 --> 00:36:13.000
Does everybody see that? All right?

584
00:36:13.280 --> 00:36:16.440
So I want you to see behold your God. And

585
00:36:16.719 --> 00:36:19.920
that's the proclamation, and then it immediately wants them to

586
00:36:19.960 --> 00:36:24.159
focus on God's power and sovereignty. His arm is going,

587
00:36:24.320 --> 00:36:28.239
He's coming. He's going to intervene by his strong arm.

588
00:36:28.559 --> 00:36:34.920
He's going to deliver you. And what is coming with him?

589
00:36:35.199 --> 00:36:39.280
His reward is with him, and his work is before him.

590
00:36:39.800 --> 00:36:40.000
Right.

591
00:36:40.440 --> 00:36:43.320
The phrase indicates that God's bringing both blessing for his

592
00:36:43.400 --> 00:36:48.559
people and judgment for their enemies. Right. This language echoes

593
00:36:48.639 --> 00:36:53.480
imagery of a victorious king returning with his spoils. Right,

594
00:36:53.920 --> 00:36:56.960
So The proclamation is behold your God. And what do

595
00:36:57.000 --> 00:37:00.480
they need to see about God? His power? They need

596
00:37:00.519 --> 00:37:03.559
to see his atrevention, they need to see his strength,

597
00:37:04.000 --> 00:37:07.400
they need to see him coming. Why because it's going

598
00:37:07.440 --> 00:37:10.119
to be difficult for them to see God in all

599
00:37:10.199 --> 00:37:13.639
of this. It's the idea that don't forget God in

600
00:37:13.800 --> 00:37:20.360
what's about to happen. Okay, then what happens now? So

601
00:37:20.440 --> 00:37:23.199
I think we have the proclamation, we have the idea

602
00:37:23.239 --> 00:37:25.559
of God's power and sovereignty. And then what do we

603
00:37:25.559 --> 00:37:29.400
have in verse eleven? We have the shepherd or we

604
00:37:29.440 --> 00:37:33.719
could refer to this as we could call it God's

605
00:37:33.719 --> 00:37:37.320
tenderness and care, the tenderness and care of a shepherd.

606
00:37:37.559 --> 00:37:41.239
But it's changing the focus from power to now. Like

607
00:37:41.280 --> 00:37:45.079
you said, like a shepherd, he gathers the lambs with

608
00:37:45.119 --> 00:37:48.519
his arm, he carries him in his bosom, and shall

609
00:37:48.559 --> 00:37:51.840
gently lead those that are with young. It's all about

610
00:37:52.079 --> 00:37:56.400
it's balancing the power with this compassionate care. All right,

611
00:37:56.480 --> 00:37:58.119
If we want to break this down a little bit,

612
00:37:58.679 --> 00:38:01.039
he will tend his flock life like a shepherd. The

613
00:38:01.119 --> 00:38:06.000
shepherd imagery conveys God's intimate care and protection. This contrast

614
00:38:06.039 --> 00:38:08.960
with the power we had in verse ten. It shows

615
00:38:09.039 --> 00:38:12.280
God has multiple you know, there's aspects to his character.

616
00:38:12.800 --> 00:38:14.039
He will gather the lambs.

617
00:38:14.079 --> 00:38:18.599
The imagery of gathering and carrying reflects God's compassion gently

618
00:38:18.679 --> 00:38:21.280
lead those with the young. This highlights God's patience and

619
00:38:21.480 --> 00:38:27.440
understanding of human frailty. Like hey, in a sense, Israel

620
00:38:27.559 --> 00:38:30.480
is always viewed almost like a child. Right, They are

621
00:38:30.519 --> 00:38:33.280
a child, and sometimes they need discipline, they need guidance,

622
00:38:33.320 --> 00:38:35.000
they need care, they need provision.

623
00:38:35.280 --> 00:38:37.800
And does that change after all of this time.

624
00:38:38.159 --> 00:38:40.920
No, they still need the exact same things because of

625
00:38:40.960 --> 00:38:44.119
their same frailty. It's just as there is, it's always been.

626
00:38:44.480 --> 00:38:51.719
So we have a proclamation, behold your God. They want

627
00:38:52.039 --> 00:38:56.360
God wants them to understand his power. They want him

628
00:38:56.719 --> 00:39:00.320
them to understand his tenderness. That's a good way to

629
00:39:00.320 --> 00:39:03.400
break this down. He wants them to see his power.

630
00:39:03.679 --> 00:39:08.760
He wants them to see his tenderness. All right, Now,

631
00:39:09.519 --> 00:39:11.760
before we break down all the ways that this is

632
00:39:11.800 --> 00:39:14.760
often mishandled, I just want you to get that if

633
00:39:14.800 --> 00:39:17.679
we break the text down, we can simply state it

634
00:39:17.719 --> 00:39:18.159
this way.

635
00:39:18.719 --> 00:39:20.920
Right, this is a call.

636
00:39:21.760 --> 00:39:27.760
For a message to be proclaimed to all those in captivity, right,

637
00:39:28.039 --> 00:39:31.480
all those from Judah, and that message.

638
00:39:30.880 --> 00:39:33.840
Is behold your God.

639
00:39:34.480 --> 00:39:38.480
And there's two things they want them to understand about God,

640
00:39:38.760 --> 00:39:42.039
his power, or you could say three things, his power,

641
00:39:42.760 --> 00:39:46.480
his coming, intervention, and his tenderness. I think we could

642
00:39:46.639 --> 00:39:49.920
we could do that way all right, Behold your God,

643
00:39:50.239 --> 00:39:55.039
see his power, behold his intervention, and see his tender care.

644
00:39:55.800 --> 00:39:59.000
And why is this being done? This is being done?

645
00:39:59.119 --> 00:40:02.719
What I cannot enough because God is going to work

646
00:40:03.119 --> 00:40:06.800
in the most ordinary way you have ever seen. That

647
00:40:06.880 --> 00:40:11.960
there's a chance they could miss God and possibly attach

648
00:40:12.119 --> 00:40:15.199
what is happening to whom an.

649
00:40:15.079 --> 00:40:17.039
Idol or a god of Babylon.

650
00:40:18.119 --> 00:40:21.719
And it's like, don't do that because if you think

651
00:40:21.719 --> 00:40:25.239
about what happened in the Exodus, they had been where

652
00:40:25.280 --> 00:40:28.960
in Egypt for what four hundred years? And when they

653
00:40:29.000 --> 00:40:33.239
are delivered, what do they ultimately turn to after a

654
00:40:33.280 --> 00:40:37.960
period of time a golden calf? Where would they get

655
00:40:37.960 --> 00:40:42.480
the idea of a golden calf from the Egyptians worshiped

656
00:40:43.079 --> 00:40:46.280
cattle in many cases, right, we talked about that. So

657
00:40:46.679 --> 00:40:52.360
they were borrowing from Egyptian religious concepts and mixing it

658
00:40:52.440 --> 00:40:57.719
with their belief in the God of Abraham. Isaac and Jacob, well,

659
00:40:57.840 --> 00:41:01.320
guess what they're now when Babylonian kept him, what is

660
00:41:01.360 --> 00:41:04.920
the concern They're going to come out of Babylonian captivity

661
00:41:05.079 --> 00:41:09.480
and bring what their Babylonian religion that they've been around.

662
00:41:09.719 --> 00:41:14.000
And this is behold God, See God. Don't look to

663
00:41:14.039 --> 00:41:17.280
those idles see God. And it's hard to see God

664
00:41:17.559 --> 00:41:21.280
when we don't see God. We have to see God

665
00:41:21.559 --> 00:41:24.800
in a different way, right, and it's very difficult for

666
00:41:24.880 --> 00:41:27.639
us to see God in the ordinary. We look. We

667
00:41:27.679 --> 00:41:30.400
want to see the supernatural. Right, we want to see

668
00:41:30.679 --> 00:41:33.920
a miracle. We want to see the sky's part. We

669
00:41:33.960 --> 00:41:36.599
want to see fire come from heaven. We want to

670
00:41:36.599 --> 00:41:38.800
see someone raised from the dead. We want to see

671
00:41:38.800 --> 00:41:41.079
someone walking on the water. We want we want to

672
00:41:41.119 --> 00:41:45.559
see the storm calm and No. Sometimes it's like, behold God,

673
00:41:46.079 --> 00:41:49.679
his power and tenderness, and it may be exercise or

674
00:41:49.719 --> 00:41:54.400
demonstrated in an ordinary way, and you're going to miss it,

675
00:41:54.800 --> 00:41:57.679
or you're going to attach what you're seeing to.

676
00:41:59.480 --> 00:42:00.519
A false deity.

677
00:42:00.840 --> 00:42:07.440
And that's the message here. It's very simple. You don't

678
00:42:07.440 --> 00:42:09.920
even need me to help you with that, do you now?

679
00:42:10.360 --> 00:42:12.800
So I asked Ai, what are some of the ways

680
00:42:12.880 --> 00:42:19.760
this text is often mishandled right over. Spiritualizing the passage.

681
00:42:20.039 --> 00:42:23.880
Some interpretations ignore the historical context of the Babylonian exile

682
00:42:24.159 --> 00:42:28.239
and apply the text solely to spiritual deliverance. Okay, well,

683
00:42:28.239 --> 00:42:31.400
this is not about spiritual deliverance. Does everybody understand that,

684
00:42:32.159 --> 00:42:34.840
behold God, he is coming to intervene in what way?

685
00:42:35.079 --> 00:42:40.079
In a material, physical way from their captivity. Another thing

686
00:42:40.639 --> 00:42:44.719
is pastors will misapply the shepherd imagery in verse eleven.

687
00:42:45.480 --> 00:42:49.440
The shepherd imagery is sometimes applied narrowly to church leaders

688
00:42:50.079 --> 00:42:54.119
or pastors without recognizing its primary reference to God himself

689
00:42:54.320 --> 00:42:57.039
as the shepherd of his people. Or we may try

690
00:42:57.039 --> 00:42:59.360
to run and make it about Jesus, but this is

691
00:42:59.400 --> 00:43:05.400
about God, God shepherding whom the captives coming out of captivity.

692
00:43:05.519 --> 00:43:08.800
Right number three. This is important Ai, This is what

693
00:43:08.840 --> 00:43:13.119
AI says. Another way that this is commonly mishandled, neglecting

694
00:43:13.199 --> 00:43:17.880
the ordinary means of deliverance. Many fail to recognize that

695
00:43:17.920 --> 00:43:22.440
God's deliverance in this context came through Cyrus, a human king,

696
00:43:23.000 --> 00:43:27.079
rather than supernatural intervention, leading to an over emphasis on

697
00:43:27.239 --> 00:43:32.719
miraculous expectations. This is not about having any miraculous expectations.

698
00:43:32.960 --> 00:43:36.400
This is god fulfilling a promise, but doing so in

699
00:43:36.440 --> 00:43:41.599
an ordinary way. And when God moves in an ordinary way,

700
00:43:41.760 --> 00:43:46.880
we have a tendency to do what miss God. That's

701
00:43:46.920 --> 00:43:51.199
the point here that cannot be overemphasized, all right. Number four.

702
00:43:52.079 --> 00:43:56.760
Many pastors will isolate this passage from the larger narrative.

703
00:43:57.199 --> 00:44:01.239
This passage is sometimes treated as a standalone without coming

704
00:44:01.440 --> 00:44:04.320
to the broader themes of Isaiah forty through fifty five.

705
00:44:04.599 --> 00:44:11.119
All right, so we can't do that. So then AI says,

706
00:44:11.320 --> 00:44:13.960
here are some lessons and applications. So I'm gonna do

707
00:44:13.960 --> 00:44:15.960
it this whole. We're almost out of time, all right.

708
00:44:16.000 --> 00:44:19.159
I mean we've already covered I mean, there's nothing here

709
00:44:19.159 --> 00:44:21.159
in the text. But if you were to what were

710
00:44:21.199 --> 00:44:25.320
some lessons or applications and verses nine through eleven that

711
00:44:25.400 --> 00:44:28.440
you can see what would be some lessons and applications

712
00:44:28.480 --> 00:44:31.599
you can see in the text that would be correct

713
00:44:31.599 --> 00:44:39.599
to apply to us, even if you don't have multiple ones.

714
00:44:39.639 --> 00:44:41.800
There should be just one big lesson that I think

715
00:44:41.920 --> 00:44:44.719
screams to us from nine to eleven, and that is

716
00:44:44.800 --> 00:44:51.960
what Okay, okay, that's a good one. How I would

717
00:44:52.000 --> 00:44:56.000
say is we have to learn to behold God within

718
00:44:56.159 --> 00:45:03.559
what ordinary means. God's power and God's tenderness can be

719
00:45:03.719 --> 00:45:06.719
present and be working, even though all we see is

720
00:45:06.760 --> 00:45:12.800
what one kingdom defeated by another kingdom, and this king

721
00:45:13.320 --> 00:45:17.159
lets us go back. Yet in all of that, what

722
00:45:17.239 --> 00:45:22.159
are we seeing God's power and God's tenderness? What does

723
00:45:22.199 --> 00:45:27.840
it look like just something happening in the news? Right,

724
00:45:28.079 --> 00:45:30.679
it's hard to see God. That The whole point of

725
00:45:30.719 --> 00:45:36.119
this text is for them to see God and the ordinary.

726
00:45:36.239 --> 00:45:40.639
We have to learn because even in the Bible, typically

727
00:45:40.679 --> 00:45:43.119
God is working in which way if you could take

728
00:45:43.159 --> 00:45:49.000
out even Biblical history in ordinary ways? Ordinary ways is

729
00:45:49.039 --> 00:45:50.719
the common way in which he works.

730
00:45:51.039 --> 00:45:52.320
He doesn't always work.

731
00:45:52.199 --> 00:45:54.800
In the super How many times did he depart the

732
00:45:54.840 --> 00:45:56.239
Red Sea?

733
00:45:56.679 --> 00:45:58.440
Was? How many times did he send plagues?

734
00:45:59.719 --> 00:46:00.360
Was right? I mean?

735
00:46:00.400 --> 00:46:01.800
And go on and you get the point.

736
00:46:01.920 --> 00:46:06.119
How many times did he destroy a city by fire? Right?

737
00:46:06.519 --> 00:46:07.639
You see that there?

738
00:46:07.679 --> 00:46:12.639
It's always these supernatural events? Are they're supernatural? Meaning what?

739
00:46:14.119 --> 00:46:17.800
They're not natural? They're not common. So we've got to

740
00:46:17.840 --> 00:46:20.719
see God in the ordinary, which is hard to do that.

741
00:46:20.960 --> 00:46:23.360
I think that's the point, all right, So I think

742
00:46:23.400 --> 00:46:25.280
that's the main lesson I want you to take from this,

743
00:46:25.639 --> 00:46:29.440
And I think it's important, and Ai points this out

744
00:46:30.360 --> 00:46:34.360
faith in the midst of idolatry. Just as the exiles

745
00:46:34.360 --> 00:46:37.920
were surrounded by Babylonian idols. We must resist the temptation

746
00:46:38.039 --> 00:46:42.480
to trust invisible, tangible things over the invisible, invisible God.

747
00:46:43.159 --> 00:46:43.760
We tend to.

748
00:46:43.719 --> 00:46:45.840
Take our focus and our attention and put it where

749
00:46:46.760 --> 00:46:50.440
on tangible and visible And what are they tempted to do?

750
00:46:51.079 --> 00:46:54.280
Put it on the tangible and visible idols that were

751
00:46:54.320 --> 00:46:59.079
present in Babylon? Does that make sense? All right? Now?

752
00:46:59.320 --> 00:47:02.000
I have all the discussion questions. I got things we

753
00:47:02.039 --> 00:47:04.360
could do for further study. I think you get the

754
00:47:04.360 --> 00:47:06.880
basic idea. So let's just read it one more time.

755
00:47:06.960 --> 00:47:09.840
Isaiah forty nine to eleven. I don't think we need

756
00:47:09.840 --> 00:47:11.239
to do a lot more work here. I mean, there's

757
00:47:11.239 --> 00:47:12.679
a lot more we could do, but I think you

758
00:47:12.800 --> 00:47:16.320
got the basic idea. O Zion, that bring us good tidings.

759
00:47:17.039 --> 00:47:19.760
Get thee up in the high mountain, O Jerusalem, that

760
00:47:19.800 --> 00:47:22.559
bring us good tidings. Lift up thy voice with strength,

761
00:47:22.920 --> 00:47:25.440
lift it up. Be not afraid, say into the cities

762
00:47:25.480 --> 00:47:31.519
of Judah, watch the proclamation, Behold your God. Behold the

763
00:47:31.559 --> 00:47:33.920
Lord God will come with strong hand his arms. She'll

764
00:47:33.960 --> 00:47:36.079
rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him, his

765
00:47:36.199 --> 00:47:39.400
work before him, that shows his power and his intervention

766
00:47:39.559 --> 00:47:42.000
in verse ten and the verse eleven shows his what

767
00:47:42.920 --> 00:47:45.639
tender care. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd.

768
00:47:45.840 --> 00:47:49.079
He shall gather the lambs with his arm, carry them

769
00:47:49.079 --> 00:47:52.199
in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are

770
00:47:52.239 --> 00:47:56.760
with young. We've broken down all three verses, we placed

771
00:47:56.760 --> 00:48:00.320
it in its historical context. We've done a little application,

772
00:48:01.079 --> 00:48:03.800
and what if we once again demonstrated that you can

773
00:48:03.960 --> 00:48:07.360
handle the text correctly and it doesn't require that much work,

774
00:48:07.440 --> 00:48:12.480
did it? It didn't yet, We've got we talked about

775
00:48:12.480 --> 00:48:15.079
all the problems and the church that are leading to

776
00:48:15.159 --> 00:48:20.280
these texts being mishandled. All right, any questions? All right?

777
00:48:20.880 --> 00:48:23.320
I went through that fast, but we had to finish it.

778
00:48:23.599 --> 00:48:25.840
I can't if we stopped in the middle of that,

779
00:48:25.920 --> 00:48:28.239
the next hour would be all messed up. Right, So

780
00:48:28.840 --> 00:48:32.880
we'll now move on to versus nine through. We'll transition

781
00:48:34.360 --> 00:48:38.159
from nine to eleven to twelve to seventeen, and we'll

782
00:48:38.199 --> 00:48:39.719
do that in the next hour. We're going to do

783
00:48:39.760 --> 00:48:42.960
more focusing on a transition here than anything, but we'll

784
00:48:42.960 --> 00:48:44.679
do that in the next hour. All right, let's pray, Lord, God,

785
00:48:44.719 --> 00:48:49.119
we've come before you this morning. Lord, there's something clearly

786
00:48:49.199 --> 00:48:53.400
wrong and the way modern preaching is handling Isaiah forty

787
00:48:53.440 --> 00:48:55.840
through fifty five. Forgive us for all the times we've

788
00:48:55.840 --> 00:48:59.960
mishandled it. Help us avoid those same errors and problems,

789
00:49:00.440 --> 00:49:03.159
and help us in our next hour. As we look

790
00:49:03.159 --> 00:49:07.239
at this, Lord, just continue to have We just wanna

791
00:49:07.239 --> 00:49:11.679
continue to be dedicated and committed to studying your word.

792
00:49:11.719 --> 00:49:13.079
And we asked this in chees his name, and Gods

793
00:49:13.119 --> 00:49:15.760
people said