God's Justice and Those Who Refresh the Spirit (Isaiah 47:1-7)
Rev. Myung-Sin Choi
“1 Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called Tender and delicate. 2 Take the millstones and grind meal. Remove your veil, Take off the skirt, Uncover the thigh, Pass through the rivers. 3 Your nakedness shall be uncovered, Yes, your shame will be seen; I will take vengeance, And I will not arbitrate with a man. 4 As for our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name, The Holy One of Israel. 5 Sit in silence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; For you shall no longer be called The Lady of Kingdoms. 6 I was angry with My people; I have profaned My inheritance, And given them into your hand. You showed them no mercy; On the elderly you laid your yoke very heavily. 7 And you said, 'I shall be a lady forever,' So that you did not take these things to heart, Nor remember the latter end of them.”
Introduction
I read a news article and it was about David Livingstone, and David served as a missionary in Africa for 10 years. Then, he returned back to his home afterwards and he gave a speech at a university. During this time, he became very popular and many people wondered how he served as a missionary in a foreign country. Africa back then was not a developed country and people thought there were many adversaries he might have faced, and many people questioned how he survived all of that. David responded to their curiosity, “You wonder how I survived in the harsh conditions in Africa. The answer to this is Matthew 28:19-20*. I held onto God’s promise for me and God saved me within those harsh conditions. Look at me. Jesus, our Lord, never breaks His promises.” When I read this, I was very moved. This person truly lived the life of a model who received answers within his life. When you look at the Bible and those who received answers from God, the commonality that they have is that they held onto God’s word and made it their own. They didn’t take the word as just words in the Bible but they took it as theirs. Livingstone took the word of God as living and active within his life, and truly held onto as God’s word. Livingstone had faith in God’s word and was able to live a victorious life as a result. Just for you, it is simple for you to receive answers. Hold onto God’s word for you today and hold onto it as living and active, and when you do this, then the Holy Spirit will work through God’s word. We read today’s main Biblical scripture, God’s word for you is being proclaimed to you today. Through this scripture, I received a lot of grace and made me think a lot. Let us break this down and see what God is trying to tell us today.
*Matthew 28:19-20 “Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.”
1. The Destruction of Babylon
1) Babylon under destruction
Verses 1-3 - God told Babylon to sit in the dust. Babylon was in a high place but now, God is telling Babylon to sit down in the dust. Since their protector is gone and their power of authority is taken away, they will be sitting down in the dust. This means that they will experience their fall and destruction. They will no longer be called tender and delicate. They were seen with great riches and gold, all of that will be taken away and their wealth will fall into destruction.
Verse 2 - This talks about the people in Babylon. The people there will be taken as slaves and will have to do work grinding meals and grinding milestones. These are works of slaves. They used to be in high positions but they will be taken as captives and they will have to run away from their capturers.
This is talking about something gruesome and horrible in verse 3. God will take them into captivity and put them in shame. This shows the absolute destruction that will take place in Babylon. From here, we need to think about something here.
2) "O virgin daughter of Babylon"
God says in the scriptures, "O virgin daughter of Babylon" - This means that Babylon has never been occupied. Babylon was a super power nation and God was the one who raised up Babylon. Why did God raise up Babylon to become a powerful nation? It was because of the nation, Judah. In other words, God used the nation Babylon to help Judah realize their sins and look up to God once again. God captured Israel and made them fall into captivity so that they could realize their sins against God and repent before Him. But we can see that God raised up Babylon but today, we see that God made Babylon fall down into destruction. Why is that? God saved Judah in the end but destroyed Babylon? Isn’t that not fair? And, cruel for God?
But through this, we can see God’s answer in Isaiah 45:9 “Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' Or shall your handiwork say, 'He has no hands'? ” - The clay maker is the one who can decide what he can make, not the clay to decide what the clay maker makes. This means that what God says, we as God’s creations have no say in what God does. Then, why did God decide to protect and save Judah until the end? This is because the Israelites were people of God’s covenant. This is really important. This shows how many blessings that Israel was in. Then, what did God raise up Israel to become people of God’s covenant?
The answer is because of the covenant of Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” -. The Son of God, Jesus, had to come to Earth and that Son had to come through the family of the nation of Judah. That is why that family was important and that nation was important. That is why God chose to raise up Abraham and God is the one who can decide what family and what nation. From here, there is something important here. The virgin daughter of Babylon, who is that? It is referring to the children of God. Even Babylon was considered as God’s child. Then, does that mean that God loved the Gentiles? Yes, God did. What is important is that we have to see God’s original plan of God, and that plan of God was to fulfill Genesis 3:15. For the sake of God’s covenant, God’s plan was to save all people and all nations.
1 Timothy 2:4 “Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” - God wants all people to be saved.
Isaiah 46:10 “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’ ” - What does this mean? God will absolutely allow Jesus to come through the lineage of Judah and fulfill His covenant. How?
It is seen in Joel 2:32 “And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.” - Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will all be saved. This is God’s standard and plan.
Verse 4 - Only God is the true redeemer and savior. Then, why did God allow Babylon to fall into destruction? There are two reasons. The first reason, Babylon challenged God.
2. The Reason for the Destruction of Babylon
1) Challenging God
Verse 5 - God said that Babylon will fall from their high place to dust. Then, in this verse, it speaks about how they will turn into the light. This means that we need to see this in a spiritual view.
Daniel 5:3-5, 21-22 “Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone. 5 In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 21 Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses. 22 But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this.” - King Belshazzar would use God’s sacrifices and used it for his parties. He would use the materials used for God’s worship and sacrifices for his parties. This means that King Belshazzar thought that he was in the same status as God. But at that time, when God saw this, He wrote out something within His fingers on King Belshazzar. God wrote that King Belshazzar didn’t possess the vessel to be a king and that Persia would destroy his nation. That night, his nation was completely destroyed.
Daniel who prophesied God’s writings, it is seen in Daniel 5:21-22 of King Belshazzar’s frustrations - King Belshazzar’s father, King Nebuchadnezzar, became crazy and ended up living in the woods in isolation for 7 years. He turned insane but through God’s grace, God allowed him to return to his sanity in 7 years.
Daniel 5:22 - Daniel was reminding King Belshazzar of his father’s insanity and what God did for King Nebuchadnezzar.
Isaiah 14:14-15 “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' 15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.” - Babylon tried to become like God and challenged God, and Babylon was judged by God. As a result, Babylon was thrown into the biggest pit in hell. King Solomon said it well, “Pride is the shortest way to destruction.” When you allow your pride to overrun your humbleness before God then you will fall into destruction. There are people who get blinded by their success and money, and as a result, they go astray from God and His word. The more success you achieve, the more humble you have to be.
2) The reason for destruction
Verses 6-7 - When God used Babylon, God allowed Babylon to do something. God allowed Babylon to capture Israel and helped them to see the extent of their idolatry. As a result, God made all of the idolatry to burn in Israel through Babylon’s raid. When Babylon raided Israel and captured them, they would have felt bad for them but they had no sympathy and mercy whatsoever and slaughtered them regardless of who they were. When God saw the suffering of His people, Israel, imagine how hard it must have been. God was saying that He was having a hard time.
Verse 7 - What Babylon thought was that their glory was going to eternal. They had a big misunderstanding. What they didn’t know was that God was judging Israel and was chastising them but eventually God would save them in the end. They didn’t know about God’s covenant and promise for Israel. In God’s love, there is God’s judgment and chastisement.
3. Witnesses Who Refresh the Spirit
1) Witnesses who refresh God's heart
Those who refreshes God’s heart are those who know God’s justice. When did God’s justice start? Genesis 2:17 “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” - Because one man disobeyed God’s word, all of mankind were put to death. I don’t know how you feel about this but you have to understand how important God’s word is. Because they disobeyed God’s covenant, it caused the entire mankind to fall into the condemnation of hell. It says in the book of Hebrews that mankind will face judgment and hell. We should not take God’s word as just words but we must take it as living and active just like David Livingstone said. This is the way for blessings. Why is that?
Those who know about God’s justice and mercy, we must know about the event of the Exodus. What was the core content of the event of the Exodus? Everyone had to die or someone had to die on their behalf. But if you put the blood of the young lamb on the door post, they all lived. This was God’s justice. All mankind sinned so they all had to face death. But, God knew about the judgment of mankind and took the judgment of man. That is why Jesus Christ died for us. We had to die but Jesus died for us. But what is important is that we must die with Jesus. We must enter into the cross of Jesus as well. We must go before the cross of Jesus. The cross of Jesus shows the death of Jesus but also shows our death.
That is Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” - When we go before Christ, then we no longer live. The moment we accept Christ, then our past is no longer existent. When Jesus died, He also resurrected. When Jesus resurrected, we also resurrected as well. This is the new life and this is the gospel. This is God’s justice. We must die. We had to die but Jesus died on our behalf. Our old self died. We must resurrect just like Jesus.
Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.' ” - This message is so important. God is so happy if we live this life as a witness. What God desires the most is His witness.
2) Witnesses who refresh the church
1 Corinthians 16:10, 15, 17 “And if Timothy comes, see that he may be with you without fear; for he does the work of the Lord, as I also do. 15 I urge you, brethren—you know the household of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the ministry of the saints. 17 I am glad about the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, for what was lacking on your part they supplied.” - These are the words of the Apostle Paul. Those who devote themselves to the church are the ones who refreshes the church.
1 Corinthians 16:15 - Those who devote themselves to the church members and church officers are the ones who refreshes the church.
1 Corinthians 16:17 - If someone has a problem, don’t judge or criticize them but we must fill their lacking. This is what Paul was saying. These are the people who refreshes the church.
3) Witnesses who refresh posterity
1 Corinthians 16:19 “The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.” - Their home became the church that saved people. The church that saved the remnants. The church that saved the future.
Romans 16:3-4 “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.” - They staked their lives for the gospel. These are the people who refreshes the future and prosperity.
Conclusion
Hold onto 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done with love.” - Watch means to pray. Standing fast in faith means to stay firm in God’s word. Do all things in love. May great works take place in your lives this week.
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