Isaiah Ch42v18-Ch43v1 - God's Promsied Saviour

Isaiah 42, verse 18 to 43, verse 1.

Isaiah 42, verse 18 to 43, verse 1.

And Chris is going to read.

Thanks, Chris.

Isaiah 42, verse 18.

Isaiah 42:18

Hear you deaf, look you blind and see.

Who is blind but my servant and deaf like the messenger I send?

Who is blind like the one in covenant with me, blind like the servant of the Lord?

You have seen many things, but you pay no attention.

Your ears are open, but you do not listen.

It pleased the Lord for the sake of his righteousness, to make his law great and glorious.

But this is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in pits or hidden away in prisons.

They have become plunder with no one to rescue them.

They have been made loot with no one to say, send them back.

Which of you will listen to this or pay close attention in time to come?

Who handed Jacob over to become loot and Israel to the plunderers?

Was it not the Lord against whom we have sinned?

For they would not follow his ways.

They did not obey his law.

So he poured out on them his burning anger, the violence of war.

It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand.

It consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.

But now, this is what the Lord says.

He who created you, Jacob.

He who formed you, Israel.

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you.

I have summoned you by name.

You are mine.

Thanks so much, Chris.

Well, let's ask the Lord for his help to us all as we look at his word together.

Let's pray.

Father, we pray that we will hear your voice clearly.

That you would speak to our hearts afresh.

And you would help us to see clearly the wonder of our redeeming God.

Father, do marvelous things in our lives for our good and for your glory.

Amen.

Well, over the last couple of Sundays, we've been looking at Isaiah 42, which prepares us for Christmas, the Christmas season.

It's been telling us about God's promise, verse 1, about his servant whom I uphold, my chosen one, in whom I delight.

God's promise to send a chosen servant.

And this chosen servant, verse 13, would be like a champion, like a warrior who will triumph over his enemies.

A servant warrior who will come to renew and restore our lives in this broken world.

And this last section that we've just had read to us tells us why we need a savior.

Why we need the servant to come and be our champion warrior.

So we're going to look at the last section together.

And there's three things, three big ideas that we want to think about as we look at this.

Where we are, how we got here, and how to get out.

Okay, where we are, how we got here, and how to get out.

So, where are we?

Well, look at verse 22.

He says,

Pits and prisons.

Plundered and looted.

That's where we are.

But you say, hang on a minute.

I live in a very nice home, and I have all that I need.

I don't think I've been plundered.

What do you mean by being in pits and prisons?

Well, let me explain.

Remember, Isaiah is a prophet.

And he's writing about 750 years before the birth of Christ.

And he's also writing about 200 years before the exile of God's people into Babylon.

In other words, Isaiah is writing about events way in the future for him.

So look at verse 9.

He says,

See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare.

Before they spring into being, I announce them to you.

So Isaiah is foretelling what is going to happen into the future.

Now, if we look back to chapter 39, we will see what has been foretold.

Chapter 39, verse 5.

Here's things he's foretelling that are going to happen.

39, verse 5.

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, he was the king of Judah,

Hear the word of the Lord Almighty.

The time will surely come when everything in your palace

and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day

will be carried off to Babylon.

Nothing will be left, says the Lord.

You see, plundered and looted.

Then verse 7.

And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood,

who will be born to you, will be taken away

and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.

So plundered and looted,

made captives, pits and prisons.

And all that God had said,

go back to 42,

through Isaiah,

came to pass.

About 200 years later,

after writing these words,

in 587,

the Babylonians swarmed in

and attacked Judah,

God's people.

And they were plundered

and looted

and the people were taken

into captivity.

They were exiled.

And what was worse,

look at the second part of verse 22.

They became plundered

with no one to rescue them.

They had been made loot

with no one to say,

send them back again.

No one to rescue them from exile.

No one to deliver them.

They were hopeless

and broken.

Geographically,

they were displaced.

They were taken off to another land,

another location.

Politically,

they were ruined.

Their kings had been taken over.

And economically,

they were poor.

they had become slaves.

Now,

this physical reality

for God's people,

this exile

of being in pits

and prisons

and looted

and plundered,

is also a picture

of the entire

human race.

Because the New Testament

writers pick up

on this whole theme

and remind us

and tell us

that if we are not Christians,

we are exiled

from God.

We may be

settled in our homes.

We can have great jobs.

We can be enjoying life.

But deep down,

the home that we live in,

our physical homes,

is a reflection

of our being exiled

from our true home.

We can be immersed

in our communities.

We can be immersed

in our clubs.

But inside of us,

our hearts are restless.

We're always on the move,

roaming and searching,

looking for something

better and greater.

And no matter where we go

or what we seem to do,

we feel this sense

of being displaced.

It's like we feel

we're a refugee,

that we're stuck

and we can't get out.

We know there must be

something better

and greater,

but we can't seem

to get it.

And what the Bible

tells us is,

we're actually

all in exile.

We're away

from our true home,

our true Father God.

We're separated

from God

and excluded

from his presence.

We were created

for intimacy,

to know him,

to enjoy him.

But that is now

all lost.

So it's not just

the people

way back in Isaiah's time

who've been

plundered

and sent

into exile.

That physical exile

is a picture

of our

spiritual exile,

separated from God

and all that is

good.

And the problem is,

as it says

at the end

of verse 22,

there's no one

to rescue,

no one to come

and say,

bring them back

again

into their

true

home.

So where are we?

Well,

we're in

exile.

Second,

how did we

actually get here?

How did we get

to be in a place

of exile?

Well,

in this section

of Isaiah,

it seems to be

two things

that tell us

why people

end in exile.

The first

is we're deaf

and blind.

Look at verse 18.

Hear,

you deaf,

look,

you blind,

and see.

Who is blind

but my servant

and deaf

like the messenger

I send?

God had

clearly spoken

but they

remained deaf

to his word.

He had

clearly acted

but they

were blind

to his ways.

You see,

about 20 years

earlier,

their brothers

in the north,

so there was

Israel in the north,

Judah in the south,

those in the north

faced the might

of the Assyrians.

That was the power

then.

And God

told them

that if they

kept rejecting

God,

they would be

exiled.

Another nation

would come

and destroy

them.

But they

paid no

attention.

And just

as God

said in

722,

the Assyrians

did come

into the north

and take

Israel

off

into

exile.

Now Isaiah

is speaking

to his people

in the south,

in Judah,

and he's

making it

crystal clear.

He said,

what God

said to his

brothers,

to your

brothers,

that came

true.

They were

taken off

into exile

and they

didn't learn

the lesson.

They remained

unchanged.

Verse 20,

you have

seen many

things.

You've seen

what had

happened to

your brothers

in the north,

but you

paid no

attention.

Your ears

are open.

you heard

their

cries,

but you

do not

listen.

Now again,

the writers

of Scripture

apply this

kind of

deaf and

blind language

to ourselves.

We are

deaf or

can be

deaf to

God's

word.

We can

be blind

to God's

ways.

You'll

know that

our daughter

here,

I did

ask

Rebecca

for her

permission

to speak

about

this,

that she

was born

deaf,

but she

has a

cochlear

implant

that gives

her access

to hearing.

Now when

she was

very young

and I

was trying

to get

her attention,

I would

shout at

her and

call her

and Rebecca

don't do

that.

And if

she didn't

want to

listen,

she would

just simply

take off

her cochlear

implant and

then mouth

to me,

I can't

hear you.

And then

I'd turn

around and

say,

but Rebecca

watch my

lips,

don't do

that,

you can

see.

And then

she'd close

her eyes

and mouth

and say,

I can't

see you.

Now that

is what we

have done,

isn't it?

Isn't that a

picture of

the world?

That we

have been

blind to

God's

ways.

We have

been deaf

to all

that God

has said.

And look

how God

responds to

all of

this death

and blindness

as we

refuse to

listen.

He says

we are

handed over.

God

takes

decisive

action.

Verse

24.

Who

handed

Jacob

over to

become

loot and

Israel to

the plunderers?

Yes,

there was

Assyria.

Yes,

there were

the Babylonians,

nations who

were going

and doing

about their

own business.

But there

was more

to it than

that.

Look at the

rest of

verse 24.

Was it

not the

Lord

against whom

we have

sinned?

For they

would not

follow his

ways.

They did

not obey

his law.

You see,

the nations

did come in

and take

people off

into exile,

but working

through all

those acts

was the

Lord.

He was

taking them

into exile.

Not just

physically,

but it was a

reminder that

spiritually they

have drifted

far from

him.

Now,

haven't we

heard this

kind of

story before?

Isn't this

what happened

at the very

beginning of

the world

with the

first man

and first

woman?

God again

had spoken

his word.

He had

showed them

how to

live,

but they

were deaf

to God,

blind to

his ways,

and as a

result they

were shut

out of the

garden,

exiled from

God's

presence and

blessing,

living in a

world that

is cursed,

a life of

being enslaved

to living

their own

way and

fearing

death.

God had

handed

Adam and

Eve over

to exile.

And so

that pattern

has continued.

What happened

in the

garden,

what happened

with Judah

has been

the same

for every

living person

on this

planet.

Here's how

the Apostle

Paul puts

it in

Romans 1.

He says

the wrath

of God

is being

revealed

from heaven

against all

the godlessness

and wickedness

of people

who

suppress

the truth.

They know

the truth

but they

want to

keep it

down.

For

although

they knew

God,

they neither

glorified him

as God

nor gave

thanks to

him.

They

exchanged

the truth

about God

for a lie

and worshipped

and served

created things

rather than

the creator

who is

forever

praised.

Amen.

You see,

we have

all blocked

our ears

to God's

words.

We have

all closed

our eyes

to God's

ways.

And that

is the

reason why

we end

up in

exile

separated

from our

true home.

You see,

exile isn't

just kind

of something

that has

happened.

it is

God's

decisive

action.

Look at

the end

of verse

24

again.

For

they would

not follow

his ways,

they did

not obey

his law,

so he

poured out

on them

his burning

anger,

the violence

of war.

it enveloped

them in

flames,

yet they

did not

understand.

It consumed

them,

but they

didn't take

it to

heart.

You see,

this isn't

God just

having a

bad day.

He's not a

grumpy old

man on

Stephen's day

who's losing

his temper

with all the

kids who

are having

great fun.

God's

fear in

just

response to

a world

that

continues

to push

him out.

God will

not go

on letting

us ruin

our own

lives and

destroying the

world we're

in.

He will

take action

and what

happened then

is a picture

of what is

going to

happen in

the future.

The Lord

Jesus will

come again

and he

will judge.

It wasn't

an easy

message for

Isaiah to

communicate and

it's not an

easy message

for us to

communicate or

to even

hear.

But sometimes

we must face

up to the

reality of

how God

sees the

world and

how he sees

it from his

perspective and

not our

own.

So where

are we?

Well if

we're

unbelievers

we're in

exile.

How did

we get

here?

By being

deaf to

God's

word and

blind to

God's

ways.

So how

do we get

out?

How do we

get out of

the mess

that we're

in?

How do

we if we

are Christians

help others

get out of

the mess

that we are

in?

Well as

we look at

the last

verse chapter

43 verse

1 it's a

wonderful summary

of all that

God has

done for

us to

how we

get out.

First

there is

God's

gracious

intervention.

Chapter

43 verse

1.

But now

look at

all that's

taken place

but now

something new

is going to

happen.

Something

different.

This is what

the Lord

says.

He who

created you

Jacob.

He who

formed you.

God is

going to

speak into

the situation.

You may

have no one

to rescue

you from

your exile.

No one

is going to

send you

back home.

But I

am coming

and I

will bring

you back

to your

land.

And that's

what God

would do

if we were

to read

on in

Isaiah.

We would

see that

God would

raise up

Cyrus from

another nation

and he

would bring

them back

to their

own land

again.

But again

these are

all pictures

and all

helping us

to see

of what

God is

going to

do in

the future.

He is

going to

come.

and rescue

his people.

He will

intervene

through his

son the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

Have a

look with

me please

to Luke

Luke 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4.

Luke

Luke 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4.

chapter 4.

Here Jesus

takes the

words of

Isaiah.

Not from

Isaiah 42

but from

Isaiah 60

but it's

speaking of

similar themes.

Luke

Luke 4:17

chapter 4

verse 17.

Jesus is in

the synagogue

and he

stood up

to read

verse 17

and the

scroll of

the prophet

Isaiah

was handed

to him.

Unrolling

it he

found the

place where

it is

written

the spirit

of the

Lord is

on me

because he

has anointed

me to

proclaim good

news to

the poor.

He has

sent me to

proclaim freedom

for the

prisoners

and recovery

of sight

for the

blind

to set

the oppressed

free

to proclaim

the year

of the

Lord's

favour.

Then he

rolled up

the scroll

gave it

back to

the

attendant

and sat

down

and the

eyes of

everyone

in the

synagogue

were

fastened

on him.

He

began

by saying

to them

today

this

scripture

is

fulfilled

in your

hearing.

Let's

go back

to Isaiah

42.

You see

Jesus is

saying

all that

Isaiah

was speaking

about

I am

the

fulfilment

of all

of that.

You're

looking for

physical

restoration

to bring

you back

to the

land but

I'm

here to

do

something

bigger

and

greater.

I have

come to

restore

you

from

your

exile

from

God

your

father

to

bring

you

back

into

right

relationship.

That's

why

chapter

42

verse

7

the

servant

verse

7

will

open

eyes

that

are

blind

to

free

captives

from

prison

and

to

release

from

the

dungeon

those

who

sit

in

darkness.

You see

Jesus

comes

to

announce

good

news

that

he

will

enable

us

to

see

his

ways

and

to

hear

his

words

to

set

people

free

from

their

exile

to

bring

them

back

to

their

new

home

their

true

home

but

now

God

is

intervening

and he

doesn't

wait

for the

nation

to

turn

to

God

God

intervenes

before

they

have

a

chance

to

reach

out

to

him

and

it's

the

same

for

us

in

the

middle

of

our

stubbornness

and

refusal

to

hear

and

listen

God

graciously

intervenes

in our

life

to

save

and

to

rescue

so

first

there

is

God's

gracious

intervention

through

his

son

second

there's

God's

loving

redemption

again

look at

chapter

43

first

one

we'll

read it

all

but

now

this

is

what

the

Lord

says

he

who

created

you

he

who

formed

you

do

not

fear

for

I

have

redeemed

you

God

is

going

to

come

and

rescue

his

people

to

redeem

them

from

exile

in

fact

God

is

going

to

bring

about

another

exodus

because

remember

when

God's

people

were

in

Egypt

this

was

another

time

it

seems

their

entire

life

their

history

was

in

slavery

in

one

way

or

another

way

back

at

the

beginning

they

were

in

Egypt

slaves

in

captivity

and

God

said

he

would

come

and

redeem

them

and

the

way

in

which

they

were

redeemed

from

their

slavery

in

Egypt

was

to

walk

through

the

Red

Sea

do you

remember

the

waters

were

piled

up

on

either

side

so

that

God's

people

could

walk

out

of

slavery

to

the

promised

land

and

then

as

they

got

through

the

pursuing

Egyptians

the

water

came

in

on

top

of

them

and

they

were

drowned

!

Now

God

is

saying

to

them

I'm

going

to

bring

an

exodus

to

you

I'm

going

to

bring

you

out

of

exile

in

a

way

that

you

could

never

imagine

look

at

verse

2

when

you

pass

through

the

waters

I

will

be

with

you

when

you

pass

through

the

rivers

they

will

not

sweep

over

you

you

see

Isaiah

is

looking

way

back

to

the

exodus

that

had

happened

and

now

he's

pointing

them

forward

to

the

future

and

saying

a

time

is

coming

it's

all

future

tense

isn't

it

I

will

be

with

you

when

you

pass

through

the

rivers

they

will

not

sweep

over

you

God

is

going

to

do

something

great

in

leading

his

people

out

not

just

of

a

political

or

economical

situation

but

of

something

spiritual

to

restore

and

to

renew

I'm

going

to

bring

you

out

of

exile

to

your

new

home

an

eternal

home

why

would

God

do

that

well

look at

verse

four

here's

the

reason

since

you

are

precious

and

honored

in

my

sight

and

because

I

love

you

God

loved

his

people

and

God

loves

us

he's

heard

what

we

have

said

he's

seen

what

we

have

done

and

yet

he

still

loves

us

he

intervenes

into

our

life

to

redeem

us

so

that

he

can

say

verse

two

do

not

fear

for

I

have

redeemed

you

it's

as if

it's

already

taken

place

it's

not

I

will

redeem

you

but

I

have

redeemed

you

I've

already

done

it

before

you

have

a

chance

to

respond

I've

come

and

made

it

all

possible

because

I

love

you

I

have

redeemed

you

so

God

graciously

intervenes

to

bring

a

redemption

and

then

third

God's

joyful

adoption

of

those

who

he

redeems

look

at

the

end

of

verse

one

of

chapter

43

I

have

summoned

you

by

name

and

you

are

mine

it's

a

picture

of

adoption

and

of

welcoming

back

those

who

had

been

separated

from

him

I

remember

when I

was in

school

being

summonsed

by the

head

master

I don't

know if

you've

ever had

that

experience

in the

middle

of one

of the

classes

the

head

master

came

in

and

just

called

out

grant

in

the

office

that

was

an

experience

of

fear

I

took

my

time

walking

over

to

delay

the

inevitable

well

here's

the

good

news

God

is

not

like

that

he

sees

us

as

child

refugees

separated

excluded

lost

he

summons

us

he

calls

us

to

himself

because

we are

homeless

living

in fear

living

in

exile

and

he

calls

us

by

name

and

with

a

fatherly

embrace

says

you

are

mine

forever

you

see

God

is

the

true

servant

the

true

champion

warrior

who

has

come

to

rescue

people

like

us

from

exile

to

bring

us

to

our

true

home

back

into

relationship

with

the

father

to

receive

from

him

all

the

blessings

of

life

he

intervenes

he

redeems

and

he

adopts

turn

with me

as we

close

to

Isaiah

Isaiah 65:17

65

verse

17

just

to

give

a

glimpse

of

the

true

home

that

we

are

all

waiting

for

and

longing

for

Isaiah

Isaiah 65:17

65

verse

17

see

I

will

create

new

heavens

and

a

new

earth

the

former

things

will

not

be

remembered

nor

will

they

come

to

mind

but

be

glad

and

rejoice

forever

in

what

I

will

create

for

I

will

create

Jerusalem

to

be

a

delight

and

its

people

a

joy

I

will

rejoice

over

Jerusalem

I

will

take

delight

in

my

people

the

sound

of

weeping

and

of

crying

will

be

heard

in

it

no

more

never

again

will

there

be

in

it

an

infant

who

lives

but

a

few

days

or

an

old

man

who

does

not

live

out

his

years

the

one

who

dies

at

a

hundred

will

be

sought

a

mere

child

!

the

one

who

fails

to

reach

a

hundred

will

be

considered

accursed!

It's

beautiful

poetic

language