Healing of Unbelief for Judah (Isaiah 30:1-33)
Rev. Myung-Sin Choi
“1 'Woe to the rebellious children,' says the Lord, ‘Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin; 2 Who walk to go down to Egypt, And have not asked My advice, To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt! 3 Therefore the strength of Pharaoh Shall be your shame, And trust in the shadow of Egypt Shall be your humiliation. 4 For his princes were at Zoan, And his ambassadors came to Hanes. 5 They were all ashamed of a people who could not benefit them, Or be help or benefit, But a shame and also a reproach.’ 6 The burden against the beasts of the South. Through a land of trouble and anguish, From which came the lioness and lion, The viper and fiery flying serpent, They will carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys, And their treasures on the humps of camels, To a people who shall not profit; 7 For the Egyptians shall help in vain and to no purpose. Therefore I have called her Rahab-Hem-Shebeth. 8 Now go, write it before them on a tablet, And note it on a scroll, That it may be for time to come, Forever and ever: 9 That this is a rebellious people, Lying children, Children who will not hear the law of the Lord; 10 Who say to the seers, ‘Do not see,’ And to the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy to us right things; Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits. 11 Get out of the way, Turn aside from the path, Cause the Holy One of Israel To cease from before us.’ 12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel: ‘Because you despise this word, And trust in oppression and perversity, And rely on them, 13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you Like a breach ready to fall, A bulge in a high wall, Whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant. 14 And He shall break it like the breaking of the potter's vessel, Which is broken in pieces; He shall not spare. So there shall not be found among its fragments A shard to take fire from the hearth, Or to take water from the cistern.’ 15 For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.’ But you would not, 16 And you said, ‘No, for we will flee on horses’— Therefore you shall flee! And, ‘We will ride on swift horses’— Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift! 17 One thousand shall flee at the threat of one, At the threat of five you shall flee, Till you are left as a pole on top of a mountain And as a banner on a hill. 18 Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him. 19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you. 20 And though the Lord gives you The bread of adversity and the water of affliction, Yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, But your eyes shall see your teachers. 21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left. 22 You will also defile the covering of your graven images of silver, And the ornament of your molded images of gold. You will throw them away as an unclean thing; You will say to them, ‘Get away!’ 23 Then He will give the rain for your seed With which you sow the ground, And bread of the increase of the earth; It will be fat and plentiful. In that day your cattle will feed In large pastures. 24 Likewise the oxen and the young donkeys that work the ground Will eat cured fodder, Which has been winnowed with the shovel and fan. 25 There will be on every high mountain And on every high hill Rivers and streams of waters, In the day of the great slaughter, When the towers fall. 26 Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, And the light of the sun will be sevenfold, As the light of seven days, In the day that the Lord binds up the bruise of His people And heals the stroke of their wound. 27 Behold, the name of the Lord comes from afar, Burning with His anger, And His burden is heavy; His lips are full of indignation, And His tongue like a devouring fire. 28 His breath is like an overflowing stream, Which reaches up to the neck, To sift the nations with the sieve of futility; And there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, Causing them to err. 29 You shall have a song As in the night when a holy festival is kept, And gladness of heart as when one goes with a flute, To come into the mountain of the Lord, To the Mighty One of Israel. 30 The Lord will cause His glorious voice to be heard, And show the descent of His arm, With the indignation of His anger And the flame of a devouring fire, With scattering, tempest, and hailstones. 31 For through the voice of the Lord Assyria will be beaten down, As He strikes with the rod. 32 And in every place where the staff of punishment passes, Which the Lord lays on him, It will be with tambourines and harps; And in battles of brandishing He will fight with it. 33 For Tophet was established of old, Yes, for the king it is prepared. He has made it deep and large; Its pyre is fire with much wood; The breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, Kindles it.”
Introduction
I recently read a news article and it was about a famous painting called, "Head of Christ" by Warner Sallman. He was famous for painting the famous painting of the head of Jesus Christ. He drew a lot of famous paintings but this was one of his famous pieces. He got married in 1917 but his wife got tuberculosis, and the doctor gave his wife the prognosis that she will only live for 3 months. When he heard this, he felt instant despair. His wife that he just married, they have only been married for three months and his wife was also pregnant. He was distressed but his wife comforted him by saying, “Don’t think about how I will only live for three months but let us live thankfully knowing that God has given us 3 months. During these 3 months, let us make those 3 months the most precious 3 months. Let us be thankful for these 3 months.” When he heard his wife’s words, he decided to live in thanksgiving. After this event, he always made sure to give thanksgiving with everything. He decided to make his last piece of Jesus Christ and that was the famous painting of Jesus’ head. He was drawing it with thanksgiving. But a miracle occurred, after 3 months, his wife’s health was recovering and started improving in her health. His wife’s diagnosis of tuberculosis disappeared. The doctor asked them what they did for 3 months that his wife was completely headed. Warren replied that he didn’t take any medication but took the medicine for thanksgiving. The doctor applauded and said that was the best medicine. Thanksgiving is the best medicine and healing method. I am sure his wife was healed because of thanksgiving but imagine how much happiness God felt when they did this. Who do we believe in? We believe in the living God. When we don’t have faith in the living God then problems and conflict will come to us. Today’s sermon is a message where we can experience the living God.
1. The Spiritual State of Judah
1) Judah's unbelief
Verses 1-7 - From here, what is important is that this message was written during the time when King Hezekiah was in reign. Who was King Hezekiah? King Hezekiah was the son of King Ahaz who was an evil king. Instead of asking God for help, King Ahaz was a king who asked Assyria for help for everything. Through this incident, this caused the destruction of Northern Israel and Aram. Also, this allowed Assyria to torment the land of Judah. After King Ahaz died, King Hezekiah became king. The moment King Hezekiah became king, he destroyed all of the idols in his nation and cut ties with Assyria. Not only that but the staff of Moses that turned into a bronze snake during the time of Moses, King Hezekiah got rid of that as well. King Hezekiah who had this great of faith, he was receiving this kind of message from God. Just like his father who formed an alliance with other nations, King Hezekiah did the same thing and formed an alliance with Egypt. God was telling King Hezekiah that he was committing a grave sin by relying on Egypt. Even though disobeying God and His word was a sin, God was telling King Hezekiah that relying on Egypt and worshiping idols were grave sins as well.
Verse 3 - God was telling King Hezekiah that he will be put into shame and placed great mockery by relying on other nations. But even though God gave these warnings to King Hezekiah, he still commanded that his people make the journey to Egypt to form an alliance.
Verse 4 - Zoan was the capital city of Egypt and Hanes was the city where the Egyptian leaders lived. In order to form this alliance, the people of Judah had to travel a long distance to Egypt. This journey was not considered an easy journey, it was considered a difficult journey to travel.
Verse 6 - In order to thank Assyria, they were making this journey. They loaded their camels and donkeys with golds and valuables to bring to Assyria. The journey was very dangerous because there were snakes and lions. What does this mean? They were staking their lives to rely on Assyria. They had to stake their lives to make this dangerous journey because it was the king’s command.
Verse 7 - Rahab was a sea monster and this sea monster was worshiped by the Egyptians. It was called Rahab for a reason. God was showing that it doesn’t matter if they go to Egypt because they can’t do anything for Jerusalem. But the Israelites still went to seek help from Egypt. As you know, the Assyrian king attacked Judah during King Hezekiah’s reign. Because of this, King Hezekiah went to Assyria to beg for mercy. Assyria said that they will forgive King Hezekiah if he bought all of their gold and valuables to him. So King Hezekiah ripped off all of the gold from the temple of God and gave it to the king of Assyria. If you look in history, you can see the image of King Hezekiah on his knees begging for mercy and forgiveness from the king of Assyria. God already warned that if he went to Assyria, this would end up in vain but King Hezekiah still did all of this.
2) The predestined judgment upon Judah
Verses 8-17 - The problem of Judah was written in verse 9. The problem was not within Assyria but it was within the Israelites. King Hezekiah didn’t want to hear the word of God. God promised that He would protect the people of Judah but King Hezekiah was relying on other things other than God. This was the problem of King Hezekiah, he didn’t believe in God’s promise. King Hezekiah didn’t experience the word of God, he just knew about the word of God. The problem of King Hezekiah was his arrogance, he thought that he couldn’t be destroyed by God. There are a lot of Christians who think like this. They think that they are invincible since they are saved and a child of God, and live however they want. They think it is okay if they commit sin so they just live however they want. Today’s Biblical passage said that the people of Judah were rebellious people.
Verse 10 - The people of Judah only wanted to hear the good things and didn’t want to hear about demons and Satan. They only wanted to hear what made them feel good.
Verse 12 - Even though the priests and pastors were talking of God’s words, they didn’t hear any of it at all. They felt secure because they thought that Egypt was going to save and protect them no matter what.
God spoke in verse 13 - Their faith collapsed and as a result, everything else collapsed.
Verse 14 - When a potter makes their pottery, they will destroy it apart and make it again from scratch. This was what God did to the land of Judah. But God gave another offer to restore Judah.
Verse 15 - God was telling them to repent and quietly meditate on God’s word. This was the method for them to be saved. But the land of Judah didn’t want any of this. Instead, the people of Judah fled to Egypt.
Verse 17 - You can see the desperation of the people of Judah. The Israelites were begging for mercy during their time of destruction that they were shouting out loud. Those who will be saved, on top of the mountain, will stand like a flag on top of the mountain. This means there will be only a few remnants who remain. But God didn’t end there. God gave them another opportunity for Judah.
2. Salvation for Judah
1) God waits
Verses 19-22 - God is waiting for a certain person. If we become the person that God is waiting for then we will be blessed. There are three things that God is waiting for. The first person that God will wait for are those who cry out for God. When a problem arises, there are people who cry out to God. God is waiting for these people. You are wailing for God because you believe in God. If you don’t believe in God, then there is no need for you to cry out to God. As a person who believes in God, you cry out to God and believe that He will answer you.
Verse 20 - Even though we will drink the water of affliction and the bread of adversity, God is trying to open your spiritual eyes. Those who follow God’s word, God is looking for this kind of person.
Verse 22 - You won’t need any of your idols, all of the gold. When you throw away your idols and seek after only God alone; God is waiting for this kind of person. When we do these three things, then God will answer you. When did King Hezekiah receive answers? It was when he threw away all of his humanistic methods and worldly ways, and sought after God at the temple of God then that was when God answered him. He shouted out to God and looked towards God. When he truly accepted God as His God and master, that is when God answered King Hezekiah. That was when God promised great answers to King Hezekiah.
2) Abundance prepared
Verses 23-26 - When you restore your relationship with God, then God will pour down abundant blessings.
Verse 25 - When you realize that your thoughts are wrong and throw away your arrogance, and hold only Christ; this is the greatest blessing.
Verse 26 - When we restore our relationship with God, then all of our scars and despair will all be healed. Healing will take place. Then, the light of the sun and moon will shine in your life once again. The brightness of the sun and moon will shine so brightly in your life. This means that you will enjoy the blessing of God’s throne in your life. May you receive this blessing.
3. Judgment on Syria
1) Predestined judgment
Verses 27-33 - The raging fire is referring to how God will destroy the Assyrian army.
Verse 29 - When Assyria is destroyed, all of the people of God will rejoice and hold festivals, giving glory and praise to God.
Verse 30 - God said that He will make them hear God’s voice and allow them to see how He will destroy Assyria. God will directly work to destroy Assyria and show that He is alive. He will show them He is alive and will bring judgment to Assyria. God was telling them to see directly that it was God, Himself, who destroyed Assyria. May you enjoy and receive this blessing.
Verse 31 - God will bring judgment to Assyria; this also refers to the final judgment. The judgment that came upon Assyria, that same judgment will come upon this world during the final days. During the final judgment, the people of God will rejoice while those who are in God’s judgment will be destroyed. There will be a scary judgment of God. This is very scary.
Verse 33 - During the final judgment, the nonbelievers will be thrown into hell. God promised that He will destroy all of the darkness that was tormenting Israel. This is the important message given to us. What covenant must we hold onto? We must hold onto God’s covenant.
2) The covenant we must hold onto
John 19:30 “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, 'It is finished!' And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” - Everything is finished. We need to hold onto the God who finished everything. We must realistically believe in this and live our lives with this faith, and not just know it by knowledge.
Hebrews 9:26 “He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” - In order to save us, God sent Jesus to this world. He didn’t just say this but He physically sent His Son, Jesus to this world and died on the cross for us. He realistically solved all our sins on the cross. He solved all of our original and ancestral sins on the cross. We must believe and hold onto this covenant. Everything is finished.
Acts 1:14 “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.” - When we hold onto and experience God’s power, then the power of the Holy Spirit will come upon us.
Conclusion
Hold onto 1 Corinthians 10:31 “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” - As I told you in the introduction, when we give thanksgiving with everything then great blessings will come to us. Whatever we eat or drink, do it all for God’s glory. God is listening to everything. Receive blessings this week.
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