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TH1156: On-Line
Teaching Notes
ISAIAH
Please turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 46, as we continue our study through the Word of God. In this portion of Scripture that we are going to be dealing with tonight, God is going to be speaking of the destruction of Babylon some 176 years before that event even took place, and some 100 years or so before they would even rise to be a world power. At this point the Assyrians are the world power, and Babylon is insignificant. Not only will we see God speak of Babylon's destruction, but also of God bringing His people back home to Jerusalem. So with that in mind, lets begin reading in Isaiah chapter 46, verse 1.
ISAIAH 46
VERSE 1a
1. The Babylonians had many gods they worshipped, but their chief gods were Bel, which means "lord" or "master"; and Nebo, which means "the lofty one". And the people, especially the leaders, would incorporate the names of these gods into their own names. For example, Nebuchadnezzar, which means "may the lofty one protect our boarders", and Belshazzar, which means "master protect the king". And God is going to speak against these gods of Babylon who can't help, speak see or hear!
VERSE 1b-d
1. During their festivals and victory parades, they would bring these large idols out, place them on a cart, and the cattle or beast of burden would pull them through the streets for people to worship and bow down to. Think about that. This god they were worshipping couldn't walk but had to be carried, and they were so large, so heavy, that it was a burden for these animals to carry them.
VERSE 2
1. It didn't matter how much they worshipped these idols, they could not deliver the people from Cyrus and his Persian army. The Babylonians were going to go into captivity, and these gods could do nothing about it.
VERSES 3-4
1. God is speaking to His people and contrasting what He does and what the idols the Babylonians worship do. The gods of Babylon had to be carried around, and it was a burden. God is saying to His people that He not only birthed them as a nation, but He carry's them around, lifting them up, strengthening them from birth till death, and He does the same with us. And that is not a burden to us, but a delight! I like the way James Stewart summarized these verses. He said: "Ever since Isaiah, men have been aware that one of the vital distinctions between true religion and false is that whereas the latter is a dead burden for the soul to carry, the former is a living power to carry the soul." What more needs to be said?
VERSE 5
1. God is not only speaking of worshipping false gods but also worshipping God in a false way! Remember when Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the commands from God, the people down below got bored, and they didn't know if Moses would even return. So they made for themselves a golden calf, not a false god, but they were worshipping the true God in a false manner, reducing Him to an image of a golden calf. And people still do this today when they have lost the consciousness of God in their life. They need something to remind them of God in their life. But what are you going to liken Him to, His presence fills the universe! You can't create an image of an infinite God with our finite abilities, for it will never represent Him accurately, no does God want us to do that.
VERSES 6-7
1. These gods were created by the imagination of men's hearts, and as they were built, they had to be carried by the one who was worshipping it, and they would place these idols in their home so they could worship it, and in the morning, when they got up, it would still be there. These god's couldn't move, they could only be carried away! And for people who are looking to be delivered, for salvation, there is none in these god's!
VERSES 8-10
1. God is telling His people to think back and remember what He has said in the past and how those things came to pass. These idols are silent, and yet God keeps showing us that He alone is God, and people today, like back then, refuse to listen. Think about it. How many people have listened to Jean Dixon and her predictions, which has only a 20-25% accuracy rate, rather than turning to the true and living God who has never been wrong and will never be wrong! What God says will come to pass, you can take that to the bank!
VERSE 11
1. God is speaking of Cyrus, the Persian king, who He will use to bring about His counsel, the Babylonians are going into captivity and God will free His people.
VERSES 12-13
1. The Babylonians felt very secure, they felt their city was impregnable. And so they were very arrogant, proud, and stiff-necked to what God was saying to them. God was going to deliver His people and bring them back to Zion, and defeat the Babylonians who had taken them into captivity.
2. He speaks of "Israel My glory", what does that mean? It means that Israel is an object lesson to the world on who God is and how He deals with His people. He is a righteous God and will not ignore sin, but His chastening is not to death but to bring about repentance in their lives so that they would turn to Him and He could bless them once again. God does not forsake His children!
ISAIAH 47
VERSE 1
1. Babylon is being personified as a young girl who has never been violated, the city walls were never breached. And their rise to power was quick, the palaces beautiful, they had much wealth and prosperity, but it didn't last long, only some 70 years or so.
VERSE 2
1. God is saying that they will be brought down and they will be like the poorest female slave, grinding the meal. No longer will they wear their fancy head coverings and as they are taken captive they will have to remove their skirt as they pass through the rivers.
VERSE 3
1. Judgment was coming upon Babylon, and they would not be able to escape it. They will not be able to talk their way out of this judgment.
VERSE 4
1. The true Deliverer is the Lord, not some idol who has to be carried. In fact, our Redeemer became flesh so that He could die for our sins, and on the third day He rose from the dead, taking the sting out of death for us and cleansing us from all our sins. The idols sit there while God is actively involved with His people.
VERSES 5-7
1. Judah was taken into captivity by the hands of the Babylonians for their idolatry. God used the Babylonians as instruments of judgment, of chastening for His people. But the Babylonians went too far. They showed no mercy to the people but were very cruel to them. Even laying heavy burdens upon the elderly. And their actions they did not take to heart, they did not consider the consequences of their actions, and now the penalty was going to be their destruction. And yet they felt their power would last forever, when in fact God showed and told their king, Nebuchadnezzar that it would not last forever.
Remember the image the king saw in his dream, which Daniel interpreted for him. It had a head of Gold, which represented the Babylonian empire. It was going to be replaced by the chest and arms of silver, which represented the Medo-Persian empire. It was going to be replaced by the belly of bronze, which represented the Grecian empire. It was going to be replaced by the legs of iron, which represented the Roman empire. This empire was never defeated but fell apart, and in the last days it will be revived again, and is represented by the ten toes of iron and clay. It is during the time of this empire that a stone not cut with human hands, Jesus Christ, will strike the image and destroy these gentile kingdoms, and His kingdom will fill the earth. Now Nebuchadnezzar tried to refute what God had said by building a 90 foot image made of gold and setting it in the plain of Dura, saying that his kingdom will never end, it will last forever! Well, it did end and it never rose to a world power again!
VERSES 8-9
1. As proud and secure as they were, their destruction came in one night, just as God said. Their attitude is no different from the attitude of many today. Their lives are given over to satisfy the flesh, and they are in control of their lives, their destiny, they are god! And God is saying to those that feel that way - destruction will come to you in one day!
2. Babylon became a synonym for false worship. It is here that Nimrod, who was a hunter of men's souls, got his start and built the tower of Babel. And by the time Babylon was built, they were heavy into the occult. In the world today, we see this kind of activity on the rise and put in under the guise of entertainment and science. It is not! Don't open a door for the Devil to walk through!
VERSE 10
1. Again, notice the arrogance of the people. They do what they want when they want to do it and no one can stop them. They forgot about God!
VERSE 11
1. When destruction comes, they won't know how to stop it because they won't know where it was coming from. Thus, they won't be able to charm it away, cast a spell against it, atone for it with their gods, and in a sense they will be dumbfounded in what to do because they have rejected the love of the truth.
VERSE 12
1. God is taunting them, telling them to go and see what their sorcerers can do for them, maybe it will profit them? The foolishness of what man turns to in times of trouble - things that are of no help!
VERSE 13
1. As they turned to their astrologers and looked at the horoscopes they were of no help. How sad it is today when all the major newspapers in America have horoscopes, people that are predicting the future and then the millions of people that look to them to see what their day will be like. We see all kinds of occultic activity on the rise in America, and God is saying that if you will look to them for help, you won't find any.
VERSE 14
1. These idols can't deliver themselves from the fire, and those that look to them will be destroyed, judgment is coming, not by a nice camp fire, but a consuming fire!
VERSE 15
1. Even the foreign merchants, in which there were many in Babylon, they were not going to be able to help save Babylon from destruction.
2. Now God is going to turn His attention to His people and speak to them words of chastening for their hard hearts and rebellious actions.
ISAIAH 48
VERSE 1
1. An interesting point. They call themselves "Israel" or "governed by God". They speak of God, swear by God and yet they do so not in truth. People are no different today. Church's are filled with people that say they know God, but their idea's of God are not Scriptural but come out of the imagination of men's hearts. Yes, they profess God, but they don't posses Him. God wants a relationship, not empty rituals. If you want to know what truth is, look to Jesus, He is the final authority on truth. Besides coming to save man from His sin, Jesus came to straighten out the confused concept of God that His people had. They saw God as a vengeful, wrathful God, and not a loving God, as He is. And so Jesus was going to show the people, the world, a clear representation of God, for if you have seen Jesus, you have seen the Father! Also, Jesus made a very good point in John 8:31-32. "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'" The truth of God, found in His Word, will set you free. The lies of the Devil will keep you in bondage!
VERSE 2
1. Again, the Jews felt their heritage gave them access to heaven, and people do the same today. I have often been asked about my faith and what I am, and I will tell them "A Christian!" Interestingly enough, that is not what they are interested in. They want to know if I am a Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, and-so-on. I will tell you this, there are no Catholics, Baptists, Lutherans, or even Calvary Chapel's in heaven, no denomination is going to be in heaven, only Christians. It doesn't matter what church you belong to, the issue is do you have a relationship with Jesus Christ? Who is Christ to you? And, that relationship must be based in truth, not in the doctrine of man.
VERSE 3a
1. Why does God keep making this point? Because He wants His people to understand that He alone can speak of things to come. He alone knows the beginning from the end. God wanted them to forsake their idols that they were worshipping and turn back to Him, the only one that could truly help.
VERSES 3b-5
1. God knew their hearts and he wants them to understand that the reason He told them of these things to come was so when they did come to pass they would not turn to their idols and praise them, but that they would turn to the true and living God and praise Him!
VERSE 6
1. Israel was suppose to be representatives of God, and thus, God blessed them so they might declare to the world who He is. And what they did was develop a perspective of God that was wrong. They pictured Him as wrathful and vengeful and angry all the time, and He was only the God of the Jews. If you wanted to worship Him you would have to become a Jew. That was not the message that was to go forth. And as I have said, Jesus came to give to the world the love that God has for the people of this world and giving us a clear representation of who the Father is!
VERSE 7
1. Just speaking of the power of God, that what He says, will come to pass.
VERSE 8
1. God calls His people transgressors, rebels, in revolt from their birth, and yet God loved them. And I think you can clearly see that they, like us, are not lovable people, but because of His grace and mercy that He has extended to His people, Israel, and extends to us, we are set free from sin.
VERSES 9-10
1. The furnace of affliction, their exile in Babylon, was not to destroy them, but to refine them, to remove those impurities in their heart. God does the same with us. As we go through the furnace of affliction we can learn what is deep down in our own hearts, as it comes to the surface, and we can see how ugly it really is. It is then, once we recognize it, that we can give it over to God as He purges those impurities that are in our hearts. It is as David said in Psalm 119:71, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes."
VERSE 11
1. God will not destroy His people because His name is on the line. God birthed them and thus, He will chasten them when they move in a direction that will ultimately harm them, but He will not destroy them.
2. Think about this for a minute. When our children act up, misbehave, it reflects upon us as parents and people develop a picture of who we are based upon our children's actions many times. The same is true of God. How we as His children live our lives reflects upon Him! Remember when the prophet Nathan came and rebuked David for his sin with Bathsheba. One of the things that Nathan told David was by his actions he gave the enemies of God an occasion to blasphemy God. David's actions, like ours, reflect upon how people perceive our God. Be a witness of Him!
VERSES 12-13
1. Compare those idols that man can make, Nebuchadnezzar made one some 90 feet tall, and yet, when compared to Almighty God, it is nothing. How big is the God you worship? My God has laid the foundation of the earth with His hand, and spread out the universe, some 12 billion light years, with His right hand. He is sovereign, He is in control.
VERSES 14-15
1. God is calling for the Jews to understand that the Babylonian astrologers have not spoken of things to come, and specifically of Cyrus, the Persian king who God will use to defeat Babylon and let the Jews return home. They were totally unaware of what was going to take place.
VERSE 16
1. Another one of those interesting verses that speak of the Trinity. Jesus is speaking, the Father and the Holy Spirit sent Jesus into the world to be that sacrificial lamb and take away the sins of the world, and He freely submitted Himself to that mission. In Hebrews 1:1-2 we read, "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds." God spoke by the prophets but now His final revelation is found in Jesus Christ, called the Word. We don't need new revelations from God, new doctrine, the Word is complete. Yes God does guide us and speak to us by His Spirit, but not with new revelations of doctrine!
VERSE 17
1. When we think of profit we think of money, possessions, but I don't think that is the point here. Our Redeemer, Jesus, came to set us free, open our eyes and hearts to the truth of God. He is the one who allows that inner man, our spirit, to grow as our relationship deepens with the Lord. Paul, in Ephesians chapter 3 makes that very point as he prayed to the Father, "that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height; to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:16-19. Paul was not interested in material possessions, but that we would grow in our relationship with the Lord and know His love for us more and more every day. There is the blessing, the eternal things of God, not the temporary things of this world!
VERSES 18-19
1. If only they would have listened and obeyed God's Word, they would not have gone into captivity. You see, God said these things not to be some cosmic kill joy and ruin all their fun, but to bless them and give them peace. But they refused and they suffered the consequences. The same is true today, God warns us, but we have a free will, a choice, to either listen to Him and be blessed, as difficult as that may be, or to do our own thing and suffer the consequences of our actions.
VERSE 20
1. Again we are jumping into the future, as God is calling for His people to return home from their captivity. To leave Babylon and share with those around them what God has done for them. Tragically, out of the 2 to 3 million Jews that went into captivity, only some 50,000 returned. Many had become comfortable, and stayed in the world rather than return home. Psalm 126 is a song they sang as those that did return, made their ascent up to Jerusalem, free at last! We read beginning in verse 1, "When the LORD brought back the captivity of Zion, We were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, 'The LORD has done great things for them.' The LORD has done great things for us, And we are glad. Bring back our captivity, O LORD, As the streams in the South. Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him." Psalm 126.
VERSE 21
1. We don't have any other record of their return to Jerusalem, but this seems to indicate that when they were traveling through the deserts towards Jerusalem, God provided water out of the rock just as He did during their wilderness wanderings. God will take care of His people, nothing is to hard for Him!
VERSE 22
1. Unless you have made peace with God through His Son Jesus Christ, you will never know the peace of God in your life, you will have no peace!