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Teaching Notes
ISAIAH
Please turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 57, as we continue our study through the Word of God. Now keep in mind the period of time that Isaiah had his ministry. Isaiah prophesied some 100 years before the Southern Kingdom of Judah was taken into captivity by the Babylonians, which occurred in 606 BC.
The people were out of control at this time, spinning faster and farther away from God and into idolatry. And in this very black period of history for the nation of Judah, for God’s people, the darkness that was permeating the land was manifested in the way they were putting down and oppressing those that did love the Lord. That is where we are at as we begin studying tonight in Isaiah chapter 57, beginning in verse 1.
ISAIAH 57
VERSE 1
1. There was no concern when a righteous person died, no mourning, but probably a lot of rejoicing. Why? It is as Jesus said in John 3:20, "For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." Those people that are living in a manner pleasing to God also exposed the wickedness of those that are practicing evil. What happened when the two witnesses in Revelation chapter 11 are finally put to death because of the light they were shining forth during the tribulation period, tormenting the people who loved doing evil? The earth dwellers threw a huge party, sent gifts, Hallmark had a card made; "Happy Dead Witnesses Day!". When evil are in the majority, they can care less about the righteous and they love to see them fall or die!
VERSE 2
1. This verse goes nicely with the last line in verse 1, which says "That the righteous is taken away from evil." In other words, this could be speaking of the rapture, besides those who sleep or die in the Lord, for in the rapture we will be removed before all hell breaks forth on the earth, and we will be with the Lord. You see, from a human perspective it seems like no one cares. But from a Godly perspective, He cares and He will deliver His people from evil and lead them into His peace and His rest!
VERSE 3
1. God is speaking to his People - Israel and specifically the Southern Kingdom of Judah. And God likens the nation of Israel to his bride, as Isaiah 54:5 says, "For your Maker is your Husband." And yet they were not faithful in their relationship with God, they went after other gods, committing spiritual adulatory! As Hosea 4:12 says, "My people ask counsel from their wooden idols, and their staff informs them. For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray, and they have played the harlot against their God." They were not only involved in these things, but they were teaching them to their children so they would follow in their ways!
VERSE 4
1. They were going around mocking and putting down those people who truly loved the Lord. They were going around flaunting their sinful ways. They became very arrogant in their rebellion against God. Sounds like today. It is just as Isaiah said, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" Isaiah 5:20. And God is inditing these people for their transgressions against Him and the falsehood or lies they were promoting.
VERSE 5
1. Many of the pagan worship sites were called groves, which were wooded areas that were high in the mountains, or on an elevated area, so they could be close to their gods, or so they thought. And many of these gods and goddesses were fertility gods and their worship would culminate with all kinds of sexual promiscuity. In other words they degenerated many times into orgies. They would also have phallic symbols carved out of wood, or other objects that were designed to excite you sexually. Obviously this helped to get their flesh worked up so they would then engage in these behaviors. Now what is one of the results of sexual intercourse? Children, and often unwanted children. Now what do you do with all these unwanted children? You offer them as a sacrifice to the god Molech, whose image was made of brass and was heated up in a fire pit, and then this little child was placed in the outstretched arms of this god to be burned to death. This, they thought, would give them success in life. Now God’s people were involved in these wicked practices. Jeremiah 32:35 tells us, "And they built the high places of Baal which are in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech, which I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin."
2. Now when we read of something like that we are outraged and we can’t believe how barbaric these people were in doing this kind of behavior. But are we any different today? How many unwanted children are conceived because of the sexual freedom we have today, or the so-called sexual freedom? Then we must do something with all these unwanted children so one way is to inject saline into the mothers womb, a place that was to be safe for a child to grow, and we burn the child to death before it is even born. We have come a long way baby, for now we say it is the woman’s right to choose, for this child would hinder her life, she could not be a success. We are no different today, are we!
VERSE 6
1. For some reason, and we are not sure why, they began to worship God through these smooth stones they found in the river beds, pouring out drink offerings and grain offerings. You can’t reduce God to some image that you worship, and that is what it seems they were doing here. If you do it is just as bad as worshiping false gods! Both are condemned by God. You must come to God and worship Him in spirit and in truth, and not by the way you want.
VERSES 7-8
1. These false gods were worshiped in the groves, on a mountain or high place, and the culmination of this worship was manifested in all kinds of sexual promiscuity and orgies. And these gods were beckoning, in a sense, the people to come and partake of them, to sleep with them, to commit fornication unto them. You see, Israel was called the wife of Jehovah, and now they are lusting after other gods, committing not only physical fornication, but spiritual adulatory!
VERSE 9
1. Instead of turning to God, they turned to the arm of flesh and these false gods for help. Their walk with God had deteriorated, it had degenerated so much, to such a depth, it was likened to Hell!
VERSE 10
1. They could not find any real or lasting rest or satisfaction in the worship of these false gods, but they continued to go to them for help, to feed their fleshly desires, to try and find satisfaction and rest. They continued to look for hope outside of the true and living God, and they would not let God’s chastening awaken them to their sin. They refused to turn to God, with no concern or shame of their sin they were involved in. They did not grieve over it, nor were they broken about it, but just continued on as if nothing was wrong. Sounds like life today. Our President can lie before the Grand Jury, obstruct justice, commit adulatory, and still walk out of church with a Bible in his hand with no concern for the sin he is in. And as our leader goes, so goes the people, who are no different. But they are only fooling themselves by their actions, God is not fooled!
VERSE 11
1. Here is the reason they continued on in their sin, they felt they were getting away with it, that there were no consequences to their actions. Wrong! They have mistaken the longsuffering of God with God not caring about what they are doing, or that God can’t do anything about it, or even worse, that God condones their sinful behavior. What a foolish mistake.
Asaph said in Psalm 50, beginning in verse 16, "But to the wicked God says: ‘What right have you to declare My statutes, or take My covenant in your mouth, Seeing you hate instruction and cast My words behind you? When you saw a thief, you consented with him, and have been a partaker with adulterers. You give your mouth to evil, and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother's son. These things you have done, and I kept silent; you thought that I was altogether like you; but I will rebuke you, and set them in order before your eyes. Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver’" Psalm 50:16-22. They mistook the longsuffering of God, His grace and mercy, not realizing that a day of judgment was coming upon them!
VERSE 12
1. This is a false righteousness that was manifested in all their religious activities, and God is saying they are empty, meaningless, and will not profit them.
VERSE 13
1. The Lord is contrasting the help, the blessings the wicked get for trusting in idols versus those that put their trust in Him. The idols are of no help, you can cry out to them day and night. But in the Lord we shall receive an inheritance, as the Lord is speaking of the kingdom age. As Psalm 37:9-11 says, "For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more. But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."
VERSE 14
1. When a king or dignitary came to a town, they would fix it up, clean up the streets, repair the roads, and-so-on. And God is calling out to have those obstacles that are hindering your relationship with God removed. He is calling for someone to step forward and prepare the way. We read in Isaiah 40:3-5 some of the words that John the baptist echoed to prepare the way for the Lord. We read "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.’"
VERSE 15
1. God’s presence not only fills the universe. It not only inhabits eternity. But it fills the hearts and lives of people who humbly come to Him and receive Him!
VERSE 16
1. We spoke last week of what God said in Genesis 6:3, that His Spirit will not always strive with man. That the day of God’s grace was coming to an end. Here God is saying that His judgment will not last forever, for if it did, man would be destroyed. And God did not create man to destroy Him but to have fellowship with him and that man would worship Him out of love. Do you see the grace and mercy that God extends to us even though we don’t deserve it!
VERSES 17-18
1. God’s chastening came upon them, He, in a sense, took them to the wood shed, and yet they still refused to repent and get right with God. And yet, God is longsuffering and His hand of forgiveness is extended to all and that forgiveness will be appropriated into all those who desire to receive it. What a loving God we have.
VERSE 19
1. God’s desire is that we would come to Him and receive His peace that passes all understanding. For as we make peace with God, we can then have the peace of God rule in our hearts and lives. And the result of that is seen in the fruit of our lips, what flows from our mouths. As Hebrews 13:15 says, "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name."
VERSES 20-21
1. Here is a picture of what the wicked are like. Their lives are like the sea whose waves are violent and they cast up all kinds of mire and dirt. There is no calm, no peace for them, only being tossed back and forth. But, as we have said, there is glorious peace for those who are in Christ!
ISAIAH 58
VERSE 1
1. Isaiah was called by God to expose the sins of the nation before them. You see, they became comfortable with all their religious activities, thinking this was pleasing to God, and yet they continued in their sin, their idolatry, seeing nothing wrong with their actions. And so do you think Isaiah was popular when he brought this message? Not really! Now in the church today people are afraid to call sin, sin. It is watered down, a disease, and many times just ignored. And God is calling for leaders today to expose people to their sin by exposing them to the Word of God!
VERSE 2
1. Their relationship with God was all outward, nothing inward. It was all for show. Remember what Jesus said to the church at Ephesus in Revelation chapter 2. We read beginning in verse 2, "I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love." Revelation 2:2-4. You see, they had all the outward things going on. They worked hard, stood up for righteousness, tested those to see if they were of God, they persevered in the work, were patient, and did the work of God. And you would think great, right? Wrong! They left their first love. It was all outward and there was no longer an inward relationship with God. You see, God is not interested in the outward actions, He wants your heart. For if He has your heart, your actions will reflect that relationship.
VERSE 3a-b
1. They were a little upset with God here. They couldn’t understand why He wasn’t happy with all the work they were doing for Him. But you see, it was all outward, and the reality is, they were still loving the life of sin. The Pharisees loved to show everyone how religious they were, making people think if they didn’t make it to heaven, no one could. And yet in their heart was bitterness, pride, criticism, and-so-on. And Jesus, in Matthew 5:20 dealt with this empty form of worship and what benefit it was to them. We read "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."
VERSES 3c-4
1. Instead of grieving over their sins and getting right with God, they are fasting to show people how spiritual they are. Instead of stopping their work, as Leviticus 16:29 says, they forced their servants to work for them so they would not lose any money during this time. They even got a bit cranky when they fasted. Fist fights broke out, arguing with people, all in the name of the Lord. And then they wondered why God did not hear them, why He didn’t acknowledge their actions!
VERSE 5
1. Fasting is good, and both the Old and New Testaments speak of fasting. It is a time of denying the flesh and just spending time with the Lord to praise Him and to make intercession regarding some issue, to hear God’s instructions, His direction for a situation you are in. But it had degenerated into an outward activity where when someone was fasting you could tell by the way they looked and acted. Notice what Jesus said regarding fasting in Matthew 6:16-18. We read "Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly." In other words, this is between you and God, don’t use it to draw attention to yourself, as they were doing.
VERSE 6
1. Here it is, what fasting is all about. Something has you in bondage, there are heavy burdens upon your life that you can’t deal with, you are feeling oppressed and the yoke is heavy upon you, then fast and bring it to the Lord. It is a spiritual battle we are in, use your weapons wisely!
VERSE 7
1. The Lord is not putting down fasting, but He is saying don’t bother to fast when you don’t share with the poor your food, and shelter, and clothing. And with your own family that needs help you hide yourself from them. When I first got saved I had a hard time understanding these verses in James, but it is very clear to me now. In James 1:26-27 we read "If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." This is what God is looking for in our lives, true faith that is manifested in the carrying of the poor, the fatherless, the widowed, for God is concerned for those that are less fortunate and so should we be.
VERSES 8-9b
1. When you do those things your life will radiate the love of God. You see, when you have a real relationship with God it will be manifested in the love you extend to others.
VERSES 9c-12
1. God is saying that if you do these things the nation will be restored. Blessings will flow once again. Are there things in our hearts like bitterness, anger, envy, covetousness, and-so-on, that are hindering the work of God in us and through us, hindering the blessings of God from flowing? Do a heart check and see!
VERSE 13
1. God is saying that He desires one day a week given over to Him to honor Him. To Israel it was the Sabbath that began on sundown Friday night and ended with sundown on Saturday. And as we said last week, the Sabbath day of worship was for Israel, and not for the church. It was a symbol of the covenant that God made with Moses. And we are told in Exodus 31:16-17, "Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. ‘It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’"
Now the new covenant that was given to us is communion. And if you study the history of the early church they got together on the first day of the week, which was Sunday. And thus, we come together to worship God on Sunday. Not a big deal, for every day should be given to God, but as a body of believers we set aside Sunday. My hearts desire is that you could come to this church 7 days a week and worship God, that studies and praise would be going on all week and not just a couple of times of week. Remember what Paul said in Colossians 2:16-17, "So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ."All those things in the Old Testament, including the Sabbath, were a picture of Christ, who is the substance! Our rest or Sabbath is in Christ, but if you have not accepted Him into your life, you will not enter His rest!
The rebuke here by the Lord is that many were doing their own thing on the Sabbath, enjoying themselves with other activities, satisfying their own desires instead of worshiping the Lord. And God is saying that should not be the case. You should delight coming before Him and worshiping Him as a body of believers. Too often self does get in the way, and we would go through all kinds of difficulties to get to a sporting event, watch a television show, go to the movies, or whatever, but when it comes to worshiping the Lord, if there is a snowflake in the sky, it is much to dangerous to go out, or to cold, or to hot, or whatever. And God is saying that we need to put Him first, make Him the priority in our life. He deserves it, for He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings!
VERSE 14
1. God wants us to honor him in truth, according to His Word, and not according to our man made ideas of what worship and a relationship with Him is all about. If we do, God says that He will lift us up so high in the Spirit that it will be like being on a mountain top. The focus though is a relationship with God and not just empty rituals, which God won’t accept. As Jeremiah 17:5-8 says, "Thus says the LORD: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited. Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.’"