Isaiah 48

I don't know whether you've ever done one of these things where you draw a line on a page and then you mark the significant points in your life.

! Most of us, I expect all of us would put down the year of our birth, wouldn't we? I guess that's pretty significant. If you're married, you'd probably put that down. If you graduated, you'd stick that on the page, you'd mark that, birth of your children and so on.

And one year that I would quickly mark down would be 1990. We moved house on that date and I was 14. We moved to a village about 5 miles away from where we were living and I swapped schools.

I'd made no secret to my parents in the run-up that I thought that moving house was a disastrous idea and didn't want to go.

However we did, and as you do as a 14-year-old boy, you make peace with it, don't you? And you think, well, it could have its benefits.

It could provide a fresh start. I hadn't worked particularly hard in school that year, which is normal, and I'd gone into some pretty bad friendships.

And so you imagine, don't you, a new start, a new year, and a new you. A blank canvas. A new me. A place where no one knows you, where you can kind of create for yourself a new image.

And you can behave as you want others to perceive you while we moved.

And I quickly discovered that the fresh start, the new me, well, it was all a bit of a pipe dream.

Even though my surroundings had changed, that didn't mean that I had changed.

And I remained the same young man I was at my old school.

With all the internal struggles or sins that I'd battled with there.

They didn't just disappear.

They'd just become the internal struggles and battles of a new place.

A change of address

had not produced in me

a change of heart.

It was by and large the same me

in a different location.

Well, that is really the message of Isaiah 48.

But at a much deeper level.

Isaiah chapter 48 serves as a summary

Isaiah 48 · chapter mention

for chapters 40 to 47.

And Isaiah brings together

a number of the themes

that we've looked at in the last few weeks.

And he's wrapping up on this section

where God promises,

I will bring my people

out of exile.

I will bring them back from Babylon

to the city of God's Jerusalem.

And we saw last week

that that rescue was going to come through

the most unexpected individual,

a Persian pagan king called Cyrus.

Whom God referred to in chapter 45

shockingly as his Messiah.

As his anointed one.

As the one who would be appointed by God

to deliver them from Babylon.

And as we keep moving,

and the chapter before this one

in chapter 47,

God addresses the Babylonians.

To tell them that even though,

Babylonians,

you have been the agent of judgment

upon Israel.

That does not excuse how you live.

And God tells them in chapter 47,

in no uncertain terms,

Babylon, I will bring you down.

Your downfall in judgment

from your pride and your arrogance.

And how you've treated my people.

I will bring you down.

But then in chapter 48,

God addresses his people,

the Israelites.

Those who he's going to bring back

from Israel to Jerusalem.

And here's the bottom line

of what God wants them

to understand through this chapter.

And what he wants you and I

to understand through this chapter.

That a change of address

does not produce a change of heart.

A change of address

does not produce a change of heart.

And that is the conclusion

that we're going to move to

this morning.

And to do that,

we look at the condition

of the human heart

and the reason for God's patience

with the people.

And then lastly,

a glimpse of God's grace

that changes everything.

So first of all,

the condition of the human heart.

Several times through the chapter,

God calls on his people

to listen.

Verse 12

and verse 14.

But also right here

at the beginning of the chapter.

Specifically,

they've got to listen to him.

They haven't been listening.

So the first call to listen

comes in verse 1.

Hear this.

Listen, O house of Jacob,

who are called by the name of Israel

and who come from the waters of Judah,

who swear by the name of the Lord

and confess the God of Israel,

but not in truth or right.

For they call themselves

after the holy city

and stay themselves

on the God of Israel.

The Lord of hosts is his name.

And God says,

Listen to me.

Hear me.

And then he addresses them

in terms like the people

would have understood

in terms that they would have worn

as part of their national identity.

The honoured name of Israel.

The impeccable pedigree

of being in the line of Judah.

A true religious allegiance

by their oath.

A privileged citizenship

that they were very proud of.

A mighty God

on whom they could rely.

But right in the middle

of these glorious truths,

God says,

the end of verse 1,

but it's not really true, is it?

It's not really true.

You'd like to make

these proud claims,

but based on my current observations,

they are all without reality.

There's no genuineness

in what I've just described.

There's no righteousness,

people of God,

in how you're living.

For the Israelite,

all that language

was a facade.

So what was the reality?

Well, we're told

they're true condition

in verse 4 and verse 8.

Look at verse 4.

Because I know

that you are obstinate.

And your neck

is like iron sinew.

And your forehead

is brass.

Verse 8.

You've never heard,

you've never known.

From of old

your ear has not been opened.

For I knew

that you would surely

deal treacherously.

And that from before birth

you were called

a rebel.

That's the true picture

of the people of God.

That God was going

to deliver from Babylon

and shepherd home.

They were stubborn.

They were idolatrous.

And they were inattentive.

And they were uncomprehending

and treacherous

and rebellious.

It's quite a list

when you say.

The image of a neck

of iron

is pointing to

their utter self-confidence.

Their unwillingness

to submit to anyone

let alone God.

Their foreheads

of bronze.

Their hard-headed people

who are closed-minded

and they refuse

to listen.

And the accusation

of treachery

was particularly telling

because God had made

exactly the same

accusation about

pagan Assyria

back in chapter 42.

Well, in chapter 22.

God's point being

here was Israel

who had been called

by God

to demonstrate

a different path.

They'd been called

by God

to show a God-glorifying way.

And instead

they'd allowed

this world

to squeeze it

into its own mouth.

And God's

indictment of Israel

here is a reminder

to you and I

that lip service

means absolutely

nothing

to God

if our hearts

are devoted

to something else.

Past generations

would have hid

behind the facade

of denominational loyalty.

You know the labels.

I must be okay

with God

because I'm

a Methodist.

I must be okay

with God

because I'm a Baptist.

I'm a Presbyterian.

I'm an Anglican.

But no one plays

really those

denominational cards

anymore, do they?

But it doesn't mean

we don't like to still

play the same game.

It's just we've

changed the cards.

So some of us

know all the

Christian lingo,

don't we?

I'm saved.

I've been washed

by the blood.

I've been baptised.

I know the catechism.

I've had some

Christian experience.

I went on camp.

I went forward.

I prayed the prayer.

And it's a badge

of spiritual honour

or at best

fire insurance.

And for some

who play those cards,

God says to you,

I look at your heart.

I look at your heart.

And all those

proud things,

they've got no basis

in reality,

have they?

And actually,

I see the same

stubbornness and

idolatry and

rebellion and

treachery that I

saw in my people

Israel.

Your words

are a facade.

How bad was the

condition of an

Israelite's heart?

Well, look at

verses 5-7.

I declared them

to you from

abode.

Before they

came to pass,

I announced

them to you.

Lest you

should say,

my idol did

them,

my carved

image and

my metal

image commanded

them.

You've heard.

Now see all

this.

And will you

not declare it?

From this time

forth, I

announced you

new things,

hidden things

that you've

not known.

They are created

now, not long

ago.

Before today,

you've never

heard of them.

Lest you

should say,

behold, I

knew them.

Here's what

God is saying

here.

Do you

know why I

prophesied in

advance what

was going to

happen and

what I was

going to do?

Because if I

had not told

you ahead of

time what I

was going to

do in the

future, when

all those

things happened,

you would

have had the

gall to

attribute that

to your

idols.

And in the

future, you

would have

come along

and said,

yeah, I

knew that

was going

to happen.

In previous

chapters in

Isaiah, we've

seen God's

unique

ability to

predict the

future, to

expose the

deadness and

the blindness

of idols.

And now he

uses the

same deadness

to expose

the deadness

of his

people, such

as their

hearts.

Now all

that raises

an important

question.

Why then,

from chapter

40, has

God committed

himself to

deliver his

people from

exile in

Babylon when

he knows that

they are still

utterly

idolatrous?

Why has

he done

that?

They're

stubborn and

they're

rebellious.

They don't

merit this

rescue at

all.

Exile in

Babylon, it

hasn't

reformed them.

And so

they're still

committing the

same sins

that they

were committing

before they

went into

exile.

So why

does God

not wipe

his hands

of them and

forget them

and let

them rot

in Babylon?

Well, God

gives the

answer in

verses 9-11,

and it is a

shocking answer

to modern

people.

Look at

what it

says in

verses 9-11.

For my

name's sake,

for my

name's sake,

I defer

my anger.

For the

sake of

my praise,

I restrain

it for you,

that I may

not cut

you off.

Behold, I

have refined

you, but

not a

silver.

I have

tried you

in the

furnace of

affliction.

For my

own sake,

for my

own sake,

I do it.

For how

should my

name be

profaned?

My glory,

I will

not give

to another.

God

says,

the reason

I've not

wiped my

hands of

you,

the reason

I've not

given you

what you

deserve,

is for

the sake

of my

name.

For the

sake of

my praise,

for the

sake of

my glory.

And there

are a couple

of things

that we

really need

to consider

here.

The first

is we

actually

thought about

it a few

weeks ago,

but it's

so foreign

to our

way of

thinking,

we need

to think

about it

again.

Because when

you read

verses 9-11,

it's very

easy to

think,

isn't God

just being

a tad

egotistical

here?

Isn't God

being just

a little bit

self-sanguished,

a bit full

of himself,

a bit arrogant?

That everything

God does

is for

God's own

sake?

That everything

God does

is for

God's own

glory?

In every

group of

people,

there are

here I am

people,

and here you

are people.

You know

the here I

am people,

and they

say,

don't they,

that's enough

from me

about me,

what do

you think

about me?

And then

there are

there are

you people.

People are

always focused

on the

other.

It's not

hard,

is it,

to work

out who

you'd

rather have

for lunch?

The here

I am

people,

or the here

you are

people.

Who would

you rather

have a

friend,

the here

I am

person,

or the

there you

are

person?

And as

you read

Isaiah 48,

9 to 11,

God does

come across

as a here

I am

person,

doesn't

he?

So why

is it

okay for

him to

be like

that,

and not

for us?

well the

simple answer

to that

is,

he is

God,

and you

are not

even though

you wish

you were.

Because God

created

everything,

God

created

everything,

and everything

redounds

in his

glory.

And you

might say,

well if he

defined the

purpose,

couldn't he

have defined

it in such

a way that

the glory

goes to

others?

Couldn't he

share that

glory?

Well he

could.

But if he

had, he

would have

been an

idolater.

That's where

we landed

a few weeks

ago.

God would

be telling

us that

there is

something

more

beautiful

in the

universe

than I

am,

but there

isn't.

God would

be saying

there is

something

more

satisfying

in the

world

than I

am,

but there

isn't.

God would

be suggesting

that there is

something

more splendid

and something

more perfect

and something

more righteous

and more

just.

But you

see there

isn't

anything

greater

than God.

He would

be proclaiming

that there is

something more

loving and

more passionate

and more

merciful and

more forgiving

than God,

but there

isn't.

God would

be saying

to anyone

else but

himself,

he would

be an

idolater.

Because he

would be

saying there

is something

more ultimate

than me.

And he

would be

lying.

As Isaiah

has been

telling us

over and

over and

over again,

God says,

I am

God and

there is

no other.

God and

God

is

God's

demonstration

of

patience,

his

withholding

of

wrath,

as you

say here,

how does

that work

for the

glory of

his name?

How does

that delaying

of his

wrath for

the sake

of his

name and

glory,

how does

that work?

Well I

think we're

helped in

this by

going back

to another

passage earlier

on in the

Bible and

to know that

God has

been around

this block

before.

So keep

a pause

in Isaiah

48 and

come with

me to

Exodus

Exodus 32 · chapter mention

chapter 32.

Exodus

Exodus 32 · chapter mention

chapter 32.

I'll give

you the page

number.

Exodus

Exodus 32 · chapter mention

chapter 32.

If you've

got a black

Bible,

it's on

page 72.

And as

you turn

there,

let me

set the

scene a

little bit.

It's on

page 72

Exodus

32.

And the

situation in

this chapter

is that the

people of

Israel are

at the

bottom of

Mount Sinai

while Moses

is up at

the top

receiving the

law from

God.

And they

are a little

bit tired of

having to wait

for Moses to

come back down

from the

mountains.

So they

come up with

the bright

idea of

melting down

all their

jewellery and

crafting an

idol the

shape of a

calf to

worship.

The golden

calf.

And God

decides to

give Moses

advance warning

of what is

going on at

the base of

the mountain.

So we pick

it up in

Exodus

Exodus 32 · chapter mention

chapter 32

in verse

7.

the Lord

said to

Moses

go down

for your

people whom

you brought

out of the

land of

Egypt have

corrupted

themselves.

They have

turned aside

quickly out

of the way

that I

commanded

them.

They have

made for

themselves a

golden calf

and they have

worshipped it

and sacrificed

it and said

these are your

gods of Israel

who brought

you up out of

the land of

Egypt.

And the

Lord said to

Moses I have

seen this

people and

behold it is a

stiff necked

people.

Now therefore

let me alone

that my wrath

may burn hot

against them

that I may

consume them

in order that

I may make a

great nation

out of you

Moses.

But Moses

implored the

Lord his

God and

said O

Lord why

does your

wrath burn

hot against

your people

whom you

have brought

out of the

land of

Egypt with

great power

and with a

mighty hand?

Why should

the Egyptians

save them

with evil

intent to

bring them

out to

kill them

in the

mountains and

to consume

them from

the face of

the earth?

Turn from

your burning

anger and

relent from

this disaster

against your

people.

Remember

Abraham and

Isaac and

Israel your

servants whom

you swore by

your own

self and

said to

them I

will multiply

your offspring

as the

stars of

heaven and

all this

land that

I have

promised I

will give

to your

offspring and

they shall

inherit it

forever.

And the

Lord relented

from the

disaster that

he had spoken

of bringing

on his

people.

Now if

you look

carefully at

that section

all the

elements are

there.

Israel they

wanted to

attribute something

that God

had miraculously

done to

this golden

calf for

their idols.

And they're

bowing down to

the golden

calf and

they say

you brought

us out of

Egypt.

Why?

Because God

says they are

stiff necked

people.

They've got

necks of

iron.

But didn't

you hear in

Moses initial

appeal to

God what it

was based on?

Moses says

consider what

the Egyptians

are going to

say here.

He says

that God

your reputation

will be

tarnished and

the Egyptians

take on

events would

have been

completely

wrong.

So God

holds back

pouring out

his wrath

because he

will not

allow his

name to

be famed.

He has

made promises

to his

people and

he will

keep them.

And he

doesn't want

it to be

seen that

he will

not keep

them.

So whether

it's

defamation

by the

Egyptians

or defamation

by these

idolatrous

Israelites

God acts

to guard

his name.

And God

acts to

guard his

reputation

because he

says I

am God.

There is

only one

God and

there is

no other.

Now all

of this

leaves us

on a

sticky

wicket

doesn't

it?

Because of

our

predicament.

This is a

big predicament.

The human

heart, your

heart and

my heart

is idolatrous

and stubborn

and treacherous.

That is

God's words

not mine.

And for

the sake of

his glory

God says I

will delay

my wrath.

But it's

just a

delay.

It's just

a delay.

It means

his righteousness

and his

justice

demand that

his wrath

will at

some stage

be poured

out on

sin.

God

will

be

God

if he

did not

do that

he would

not be

just.

And that

sounds rather

ominous for

the Israelites

and it

sounds ominous

for us

too

because I've

got news

for you

and I

and the

news is

this that

you and

I are

no better

we are

no better

in our

natural

state

than the

Israelites

at the

bottom of

Mount

Sinai

than the

Israelites

in exile.

But in

this last

section we

get a

glimpse of

the

Greece

that

changes

everything.

Thirdly the

Greece that

changes

everything.

Look at

verses 17

to 19

and God

reveals with

the Israelites

their failure

to listen

and he

says your

failure to

listen only

harms you

because what

God was

teaching them

was best

for them

and how

God was

guiding them

was best

for them

but no they

closed up

their ears

to God

and consequently

they forfeited

the blessings

of the covenant

that God

made with

their father

Abraham.

And then in

verse 20

comes this

sudden

and abrupt

command

verse 20

go out

from Babylon

flee from

Coltia

declare this

with a

shout of

joy

proclaim it

set it out

to the ends

of the earth

they say the

Lord has

redeemed his

servant

Jacob

they did

not thirst

when he

led them

through the

desert

he made

water

flow from

the rock

and despite

the spiritual

condition of

their heart

despite what

they deserved

God is going

to summon

these rights

out of

Babylon

so the

summons

comes to

flee

but it's

flee with a

shout of

joy

not anguish

despite the

condition of

your hearts

God says

I will

provide for

you

on the

journey

through

the

wilderness

back to

Judah

just like

I provided

for your

forefathers

in the

wilderness

on their

way to

the promised

land

you're going

to get

thirsty

and you'll

have no

water

but it

will be

no problem

I'll get

water

out of

a rock

I did

it then

and I'll

do it

now

and he

says that

you need

to trust

me

completely

that I

will take

care of

you

on the

way

home

but it's

the last

phrase

isn't it

of the

chapter

that I

didn't

read

do you

see it

so shocking

isn't it

and often

when you

come to a

chapter

and you

see a

verse

that sticks

out like a

sore thumb

and it

doesn't seem

to fit

that is the

key to the

whole chapter

because after

everything we've

read in this

chapter it

seems really

bleak doesn't

it and then

verse 20

and 21

lift the

gloom

it's so

positive

it seems

like a

hopeful

journey

maybe

everything

will be

okay

after all

and happy

ever after

but to say

that we

just speak

too soon

because

verse 22

there is

no peace

there is

no peace

says the

Lord for

the wicked

there is

no peace

says the

Lord for

the wicked

what is

Isaiah

saying

Isaiah

is saying

that exchanging

a

Babylonian

postcode

for a

Jerusalem

postcode

is not

going to

fix your

heart

you're

still

inherently

wicked

and there

is no

peace

there is

no

shalom

there is

no

flourishing

for the

wicked

a change

of address

does not

produce a

change of

heart

and that

is so

fundamental

for you

children

and for

us

grownups

to

understand

about how

God

brings

change

in your

life

and in

my

life

how

does

God

transform

us

it is not

by some

mechanical

compliance

it is not

through some

external

force

you cannot

just rearrange

the furniture

of your life

or change

the circumstances

or mechanically

say right

I'm going to

be different

this morning

or force

yourself to

act in

another way

if you want

genuine

transformation

in your life

because it's not

the way that

God works

moving from

Babylon

to Jerusalem

never fixes

anything

idolatrous

stubborn

treacherous

hearts

deserve

the wrath

of God

and God

is delaying

his wrath

praise God

he delays

his wrath

but it is

only a delay

and the

wrath of

God

is coming

here end

of the

sermon

oh no

that's how

it ends

isn't it

verse 22

sit tight

the wrath

of God

is coming

but I want

to say to you

there's a great

glimmer of hope

here

verse 16

there's a glimmer

of grace

come here to me

draw near

come here

listen to this

listen

from the beginning

I have not spoken

in secret

from the time

it came to be

I came to be

and now the

Lord God

has sent

me

has sent

me

and his

spirit

now look

quietly

who is

speaking

who is

speaking

the Lord

is the one

who is

speaking

God

is speaking

in the first

part

he's calling

them

isn't he

he's been

calling to

them

to listen

all the way

through chapter

48

but then the

speaker changes

in verse 16

can you spot it

because now

someone is saying

the Lord

the sovereign

Lord

Yahweh

has sent

me

and the

question is

who's the

me

who's the

me here

could be

Isaiah

could be

Cyrus

Cyrus

but I

think

Isaiah

gives us

a very

strong

clue

that it's

neither

of those

and the

clue

is those

three

words

isn't it

and his

spirit

because we've

already seen

this connection

haven't we

in Isaiah

do you remember

Isaiah chapter 42

Isaiah 42 · chapter mention

the first servant

song

here is

my servant

whom I

uphold

my chosen

one

in whom

I delight

and I

will

pour out

my spirit

on him

and he

will bring

justice

to the

nations

this is

in Isaiah

48

the servant

of the

Lord

speaking

at the

end

of

verse 16

Isaiah

gives you

a little

glimpse

a little

trailer

of what's

going to

dominate

the next

few

chapters

that we'll

look at

in the

next few

weeks

but from

Isaiah

42

we already

know

who this

servant

is

because

it is

Jesus

why would

Isaiah

in just a few

little words

in the middle

of this

chapter

introduce

a servant

like this

and the

reason is

because

he is

the only

hope

he is

the only

hope

for the

wicked

to have

peace

he's

your

only

hope

for you

to have

peace

we read

about

that

back in

Isaiah

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9

do you

remember

that

he is

called

the

prince

of

peace

we sing

about it

and we

hear it

every

Christmas

don't we

do you

see what

he's

saying

a change

of heart

does not

come from

a change

of address

or a change

of your

circumstances

a change

of heart

comes through

the gift

of sheer

grace

a change

of heart

your heart

cannot be

changed

by mechanical

compliance

or external

force

or turning

over a new

leaf

it comes

through

an organic

change

through an

internal

dynamic

in our

lives

that the

bible

calls

grace

so that

while there

is no peace

for the

wicked

there is

only alienation

and wrath

and hostility

there is good

news here

and it is

good news

that projects

forward

hundreds of

years

to an

upper

room

in

Jerusalem

and the

first

encounter

with Jesus

with his

gathered

disciples

after he

died

and he

rose

again

and do you

know what

his very

first words

to his

disciples

were in

that room

do you

remember

what they

were

peace

be with

you

and the

disciples

they're hardly

hot stuff

are they

they've just

all

scattered

denied him

they are

sinners too

they are in

the wicked

category

they've blown

it like you

and I have

this week

they've abandoned

Jesus in his

time of need

how can they

have peace

if they are

wicked

and here is

what John

writes

immediately

after those

words of

Jesus

he said

peace to

them

he showed

them his

hands

and his

side

and the

disciples

were overjoyed

because they

had seen

the Lord

and Jesus

gives them

the evidence

of why peace

can be theirs

evidence now

not of words

but of scars

scars

from the

crucifixion

where the

servant

took our

alienation

where the

servant

of the

Lord

bore the

wrath

that was

no longer

delayed

but was

poured out

upon him

was unleashed

on him

so that you

and I

this morning

could have

peace

the servant

of the

Lord

bore the

penalty

that you

and I

deserve

because we

are idolaters

and we

are

stubborn

and I

am

treacherous

towards

God

but he

bore it

all

so that

you could

be forgiven

this morning

and that

you could

be restored

and here

is how

our hearts

are changed

they are

changed

by this

internal

dynamic

of God's

grace

where God

works

by his

love

by his

spirit

to say

here is

my love

for you

I sent

my servant

I sent

my son

to die