Sermon #1 Series:
Isaiah
Title: God’s
Prophet, God’s Providence, and God’s
People
Text: Isaiah 1:1
Subject: The
Times, Circumstances, and Message of
Isaiah’s Prophecy
Date: Sunday Evening - March 5, 1989
Tape #
Introduction:
As we begin to study The Book of the
Prophet Isaiah, we should try to realize the importance of this prophecy and
the circumstances in which it was written as well as the message it contains for us. These things are all indicated in the opening verse of the first
chapter.
“The
vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem
in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezzekiah, kings of Judah.”
Isaiah lived in days of great
affluence and prosperity. Uzziah, the
King of Judah, had led his people in the achievement of both economic and
political stability. Under his rule,
Judah had almost risen to the power, prestige, and glory of Israel in the days
of David and Solomon. But, as is almost
always the case, as the nation increased in riches it became more and more
degenerate. Vice increased as wealth
increased. Isaiah lived to see the
worship of God degenerate to lifeless, meaningless ritualism. And he saw the nation and people he loved
forsake the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
In the midst of moral, spirtitual
decay, God raised up this man, Isaiah, to proclaim the coming of a better day,
to proclaim the coming of Christ the Messiah, the establishment of the kingdom of heaven by preaching of the
gospel, and coming of eternal glory by the grace of God.
Isaiah has been called The Fifth
Evangelist, because he, more than any other prophet of the Old Testament, spoke
of the person, work, offices, and gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he does not merely hint at these things,
he spoke of them with clarity and understanding. Though he was a prophet who lived 800 years before Christ, he
spoke as an eyewitness. This prophecy
is called, “The Vision of Isaiah.” It
is that which he received by divine revelation and wrote by infallible
inspiration. All that he wrote and
spoke as God’s prophet he was personally acquainted with and had sure knowledge
of. Those who speak of God speak from
personal, first-hand experience (John 6:69; I John 1:1). And he knew that what God had revealed to
him he must proclaim to man (Acts 4:20; II Cor. 4:13). Unless he taught the people the truth of
God, they had no hope of deliverance.
The nation and people he loved could not be saved unless he gave them
the word of God.
More than any other book of the Old
Testament, except the Psalms, Isaiah is quoted in the New Testament. In fact, except for the Psalms, Isaiah is
quoted more often in the New Testament than all the books of the Old Testament
combined.
·
John the Baptist
began his ministry by quoting Isaiah’s prophecy about himself (Matt. 3:3; Mark
1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23).
·
Our Lord preached his
first sermon at Nazareth from the Book of Isaiah (Luke 4:17-21).
·
Philip preached
Christ to the Ethiopian eunuch from Isaiah 53
(Acts 8:28-35).
In every generation and society God
raised up a man who, more than any other, is God’s ambassador and spokesman to
his people. For more than fifty years,
through the reigns of four kings, in Jerusalem, Isaiah was that man.
Proposition: In
a day of idolatry, ignorance, and iniquity, the Prophet Isaiah faithfully
preached the word of God and called for men and women to come to God in
repentance, trusting the
Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who would soon appear to accomplish redemption
for his people.
Divisions: If
we are to understand the message of this Book, there are three things with
which we must acquaint ourselves.
1.
The Prophet of God
2.
The Providence of God
3.
The People of God
I.
THE PROPHET OF GOD.
First, I want us to look at this man
Isaiah, the prophet of God. In the word
of God there is always a great lack of information concerning God’s
prophets. By comparison, we are told
alot about men like Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and David. But the lives of God’s prophets and apostles
are hidden. And Isaiah is no exception. It is as though God hid the man, so that we
might hear his message. He kept his
service in seclusion, so that God’s message, not God’s man, might be
remembered. Surely, there is a lesson
in that - we are to focus our attention on God’s message, not on the man who
delivers it. But there are a few things
we know about this man, Isaiah.
A. Isaiah was a
man of special election.
We know that God’s election is free,
sovereign, and unconditional. He
chooses none because of their virtue, or because of their vise (Rom.
9:11-13). But usually, not many wise,
not many mighty, not many noble are called
(I Cor. 1:26-29). Isaiah was an
exception.
1.
Isaiah was a man of royal blood.
Jewish tradition tells us that his
father Amoz, was a brother to King Amaziah, who was the father of King
Uzziah. If that is so, then Isaiah was
Uzziah’s first cousin. And the
tradition seems to be confirmed by two things.
a.
The letters “iah” in a man’s name almost always imply
royalty.
b.
And Isaiah appears to have enjoyed exceptional access to the
king’s court.
2.
Isaiah was also a man of great talent and mental ability.
We do not know whether he was well
educated. But he was a man of great,
unsurpassed literary skill, reason, and oratorical ability. He was not a showman. But he was a giant among men. Isaiah was not a herdsman, a fisherman, or a
farmer. He was a man from the city. He spent his whole life in the city. He was a man of culture, a refined
aristocrat.
3.
And he was the son of a prophet.
His father’s name was Amoz, not
Amos. And whenever a prophet’s father
is named that indicates that his father was a prophet too. Amoz was apparently a prophet in the king’s
court during the reign of his brother Amaziah (II Chronicles 25:5-8).
Very seldom does God call the noble,
the mighty, and the learned. Seldom
does God raise up prophets from the sons of prophets. But Isaiah was all of these.
Yet, God chose Isaiah as the object of his love and set him apart as the
servant of the Lord.
B. Above all
else, Isaiah was a prophet.
He was a man sent from God with a
message for God’s chosen people. And
Isaiah was separated to the work God had given to him. Though he was a man of learning and
refinement, Isaiah had no regard for the opinions, customs, and traditions of
men. Like Elijah before him and John
the Baptist after him, he commonly wore a garment of camel’s hair, and
constantly called for the people to repent.
By the commandment of God, on one occasion, he didn’t even wear that. He went naked and barefoot
for
three years (20:1-6), like a slave, as a symbol of God’s judgment upon Egypt
and Ethiopia.
This man, Isaiah, was married and had
a family. But he was married to the
word of God, the people of God, and the cause of God first. We are never told who his wife was. And he even used the names of his two sons
to convey God’s message. His firstborn
son, he called, “Shear-jashub,” which means “the remnant shall return.” His second son he called,
“Maher-shalal-hash-baz,” which means “making speed to the spoil.” In both, he described the salvation of God’s
elect remnant by the mighty hand of Christ.
And by the providence of God, Isaiah’s
name itself describes his work and ministry.
“Isaiah” means, “the Lord shall save.”
And that is the message proclaimed throughout this book. The whole book of Isaiah is a prophecy about
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord who shall save. Isaiah’s message is twofold (Isa. 40:6-11).
·
“All flesh is grass!”
·
“Behold your God!”
Isaiah was a preacher of salvation by the sovereign grace of
God, through the merits of Christ’s effectual atonement. He set forth in clear, unmistakable language
. . .
1. The Total Depravity of Man (1:4-6).
2.
The Unconditional Election of Grace (1:9).
3.
The Incarnation and Virgin Birth of Christ (7:14; 9:6-7).
4.
The Glorious Sovereignty of God (40:12-27; 45:5-25; 46:9-
13).
5. The Particular, Effectual Atonement of
Christ (53:1-12).
6. The Steadfastness of God’s Covenant of Grace
(54:8-10).
7. The Freeness, Fullness, and Firmness of
God’s Saving
Grace and Pardoning Mercy (Isa.
55:1-11).
8. The Irresistible Grace of God in Salvation
(62:10-12).
9.
The Glory of God in Providence (63:12-14).9.
10.
The Certain
Accomplishment of God’s Everlasting Purpose
(66:1-24).
C. And this
prophet of God was faithful unto death.
Isaiah’s ministry extended to the beginning of Manasseh’s
wicked reign. Manasseh hated God and
hated God’s prophet. And the Jewish
Talmud tells us that this godless wretch had Isaiah sawn in pieces with a
wooden saw. He is probably one of those
heros of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11:37 who were “sawn asunder,” because of
his faithfulness to his Lord.
II.
THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD.
I have shown you the prophet of God, Isaiah. Now, I want you to think about the
providence of God. Our text tells us
that Isaiah’s ministry spanned the reigns of four kings in Judah. He was God’s faithful spokesman in the land
of Judah for more than fifty years, perhaps much more. Gill calculates that he preached for one
hundred and twelve or thirteen years!
That takes in a large piece of history, for one man. And in all those years God was sovereignly
accomplishing his own divine purpose in providence. These four kings were but instruments in the hands of God, by
which he sovereignly accomplished his purpose of grace toward his elect (Pro.
21:1; Rom. 8:28).
Each of these four kings, by the
providence of God, were used to accomplish eternal good for God’s elect. And each of them provide important lessons
for us.
A. Uzziah reigned
for fifty-two years in Judah.
He was a good king, a powerful leader,
and the kingdom prospered under his reign.
Everything he did prospered, until his heart was lifted up with
pride. Uzziah died under the curse of
God, because he attempted to approach God without a mediator (II Chron.
26:16-21).
B. Jotham reigned
for sixteen years in Jerusalem.
Jotham was a devout man, a true believer, one who worshipped
God, and prepared his ways before the Lord.
Though Uzziah did not know the Lord, he was used of God to build his
kingdom, and used of God to lead his son in the way of faith (Ps. 76:10).
Only eternity will tell how God has
overruled and used the evil deeds of men to accomplish his purpose of grace for
his people.
C. Ahaz was king
in Jerusalem for sixteen years.
He was a godless man, an
idolater. He was a pragmatist of the
worst sort. Ahaz sought help from a
pagan king to protect the kingdom of God.
And in doing so, he brought Judah into captivity. This weakling, wretch burned his own
children upon the altar to Moloch! Ahaz
brought Judah shame, reproach, and bondage.
Ahaz turned the hearts of the people away from the worship of the Lord
(II Chron. 28).
Yet, Ahaz, with all his wickedness,
idolatry, and unbelief did not hinder the accomplishment of God’s purpose.
D. And Hezekiah
reigned in Judah for twenty-nine years.
Hezekiah was a godly man.
He restored the worship of the Lord, reformed the priesthood, cleansed
the temple, and led Judah in the ways of the God. When Sennacherib thought he would destroy Judah, Hezekiah prayed
and God sent his angel to slay 185,000 Assyrian soldiers (II Kings 19:32-35).
1.
Hezekiah shows us that the effectual, fervent prayer of
a righteous man avails much.
Then the Lord sent Hezekiah a message, telling him to set
his
house in order, he must die. But
Hezekiah prayed again, and the Lord
added fifteen years to his life (Isa. 38:1-6).
There are some things to be learned from this prayer too.
2.
If we are wise, when we pray, we will seek not our own will
but God’s will.
The Lord gave Hezekiah his way. He let him live another fifteen years. But they were a sad, painful fifteen years.
·
His heart was lifted
up with pride, and he showed the Babylonians all his treasures.
·
He prepared the way
for the Babylonian captivity.
·
And he fathered
Manasseh, the most vile, cruel, wicked king the world had ever seen.
Illustration: The
mother who prayed for her dying baby -
later executed for murder at
Hunstville, Al.
3.
Yet, again, in all this we see the ever ruling hand of God
in predestination and providence.
This too was used to accomplish God’s
purpose of grace toward his elect.
After Manasseh came Josiah, from whom came the Christ, the Son of David,
our Redeemer (Rom. 11:33-36). Truly,
our God does all things well.
III. THE PEOPLE OF
GOD.
Now turn your attention to the people
of God, “Judah and Jerusalem.” Isaiah’s
prophecy and God’s providence concerns “Judah and Jerusalem.” Without question, the Book of Isaiah has
direct reference to the southern kingdom of Judah and the city of Jerusalem,
the center of true worship in the Old Testament. But the wider, full, spiritual scope of the prophecy is not about
a literal kingdom and a literal city.
Judah and Jerusalem in Isaiah’s day were the church and temple of
God. And all that Isaiah says of that
kingdom and that city finds its ultimate, spiritual fulfillment in the church,
the kingdom of Christ, the Israel of God, the Temple of God.
If you would understand Isaiah, or any
of the Old Testament prophets, this is
essential: You must understand that
God’s true Israel is the church, the spiritual kingdom of Christ. Even a casual reader of the New Testament
would recognize this, were his mind not perverted by the doctrines of men (Gal.
6:14; Phil. 3:3).
We
are “The Israel of God” . . .
·
The Children of
Abraham.
·
The Heirs of the
Covenant.
·
The True
Circumcision.
Everything
God ever has done, is doing, or shall hereafter do, he does for the salvation
of his elect, the Israel of God (Rom. 11:20).
Application:
·
The Prophet of God is
a man with God’s Message.
·
The Providence of God
is the Sovereign Rule of our God.
·
The People of God are
God’s Elect, Redeemed, Holy Nation.