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Making Sense of the Book of Isaiah By Henry Jaegers Lesson 3

by Henry Jaegers
07/07/22
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Making Sense of the Book of Isaiah

By Henry Jaegers

Lesson 3

The Extent of Her Wickedness

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ordeP-_trNU_V-Ti7DbZ2clNa6aEQVf-/view?usp=sharing

Facing the Problem Verse 2-8

 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.  The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken anymore? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.  From the sole even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. 8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.

As I have mentioned previously, the title "for the love of my people, came as a summary of what the message of this book is meant to convey to us. But one of the things that have confused my understanding of this book is that I could not correlate the theme that I have chosen with the judgment of God upon the wicked people. Perhaps others have faced a similar problem in understanding this book. But as I carefully considered the verses of Scripture before us, I realized, I was using the wrong approach in seeking to understand the main idea of this book.

So, with that, I want to share with you what God is saying to us in these verses.  I have put together a simple outline to keep us focused on what these verses are saying to us.

God’s Mercy in addressing the problem

God’s Motive in admonishing the People

God’s Method used to awaken their perception

God’s Mercy in addressing the problem

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. 

Can you catch the crying of God's broken heart over the rebellious people that he so loves? If you are a parent, you may be able to understand the pain when your child has decided to take a different course than the one you had hoped for him. It is not the hurt so much to ourselves, but for the hurt that you know, lies ahead that they will have to experience, because of the way that they have chosen. Consider how our loving God feels about our backsliding.

Now, God could have destroyed them immediately for the rebellion, but destruction is not his ultimate plan.  Recall the words mentioned in Jeremiah chapter 29:11, which says: "I know the thoughts that I have toward you saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil to bring you to an expected end". Despite the ways of rebellion that we sometimes choose out of ignorance, God's law of love and peace and fulfillment is always this plan for us. It is the great love and compassion of God that we see in these verses that reveal to us his great heart of compassion even for his backslidden child. Can you catch the teardrops in the eyes of God through these words that He is speaking to us?

God’s Motive in admonishing the People

God's motives are always right. Because they are born out of absolute love that only he possesses. Satan, the father of lies seeks to display God as some tyrant who hates people. Unfortunately, some people claim the name of Christ who loves to dwell on the subject of hell and destruction to motivate people out of fear that produces guilt. This motive always has selfish purposes in mind.  This is not the way of God. God's motives are never selfish. They are always to "us-ward."

So, the first motive of God is to prevent backsliding, and his second motive is to give us clear instruction as to how to obtain true happiness through maintaining a healthy relationship with HIM

God’s Method used to awaken their perception

In the final part of this admonition, God contrasts his people with the brute beasts who do not know God, yet they instinctively know where to find food and shelter. Through this contrast, God is showing Judah the privilege that they have over the animals because they are created "in the image of God", whereas the beast has no such knowledge or privilege. They do what they do instinctively and find rest and security. Through this contrast, God is in essence pointing out to them the reasons for the backsliding. In this case, it can be traced to a lack of understanding. And this lack of understanding comes from another source. That of neglect. Couple that together and what you have is a people who are secure in their sin and have no understanding of its seriousness.

As I thought about this, I thought of being infected with a disease that we do not know that we have. Because there are no outward signs, we do nothing about them, and sometimes when it is too late, we discover them.  If we neglect our diets, our health, and our growth opportunities, then stagnation can take place which enhances corruption.

But now, God in his mercy is making the sin clear and plain and possibly hurtful when they discovered how serious the problem is. God's chastenings are meant to have a sting. He wants us to be sensitive to our sins and recognize their danger. And here in these verses, he describes sin as like open sores and infected parts of the body. The pain that we receive is to drive us to correction. The harder our hearts are, the more severe are those chastening made to bring us back to himself.

Thus, we see the mercy of God in these verses, and although we may be feeling the sting, the verses that follow in this chapter green to us a more positive aspect when we consider how God makes the cure possible for his otherwise backslidden people. Now that is something to look forward to.