Isaiah 42-43

Introduction

What will the voice in the wilderness cry?

Okay. That’s one answer. There’s another answer. Make straight in the desert, a highway. And there’s another answer. Even out the mountains and the valleys, make everything smooth and down it’s even. Okay. And there’s another answer. Down in verse 6. The voice said, Cry out. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass. So a series of statements there. First, prepare the way of the Lord. A highway for our God, make things straight, and all flesh is as grass. In other words, nothing will stand in the way of God accomplishing his purpose in the deliverance of his people. When the voice cries, what shall be revealed? Well, I just answered it for you. All flesh is as grass. What are all the nations counted to as to God?

Drop in the bucket. Drop in the bucket. It’s a common phrase we use today, isn’t it? In other words, insignificant. Insignificant. Number five, what will be the reward of those who wait upon the Lord? From verse 31.

Okay. They will rise up on wings like eagles. They will renew their strength. And I believe he’s talking about the spirit of man. Those who trust in the Lord do not lose heart, because the promises are sure. And run and not get tired. Run and not get tired. And that’s a sense of spiritual tiredness, I believe. We don’t lose heart. For the goal is always in front of us, and the goal is sure. And because the goal is sure, we can renew our strength. What five assurances does he give in saying, Fear thou not? And I believe Robert’s talking about verse 10. I am with you. I will strengthen you, help you, uphold you. I am God his friend. Okay. So I am with you. I’m your God.

I’ll strengthen you. I’ll help you, I’ll uphold you. Think of that. Those are the assurances of God. He will be with us each step of the way. Number nine, what will they see, know, consider, and understand? The hand of the Lord has done all of this. Okay. The hand of the Lord has done all this. And he’s talking about the deliverance. When it’s all over, and the deliverance is plain to anybody who sees, who’s done it? Hand of the Lord has done it. How do we know? Because he declared it in advance. He did that which none other can do. And so, as we studied our previous uh lesson in chapter 41, we saw Israel as a servant, and there was an entreaty to the world to examine God’s judgment.

God’s challenges is who can do the things that he does? The Gentile spirit and trusted in idols. But Israel, God’s servant, will be a demonstration of God’s strength and faithfulness when he returns them from captivity. And there’s a call to idolaters in this last lesson in chapter 41. Present your case. Do good or do evil. That is, bless your people or judge them. But do something. And can you call the things in advance what will happen? God’s evidence is He does that. He declares in advance what will happen, which we do not see anywhere else. God alone has that power. And he’s like a potter in control of the nations. Now, we live in a world in which traditional Greek and Roman idolatry is pretty much gone.

You don’t see that in the world today much. I guess by the time of 391 AD, under Theodoreus, I believe it was.

We’re going to get there. We’re not there yet. Isaiah chapter 50, which says, Look, all you who kindle a fire. Now keep in mind that the metaphor of light being knowledge. And so a fire is a form of light. So people that kindle a fire are those that are trying to provide light. In rejection of God, look all you who kindle a fire and encircle yourselves with sparks. Walk in the light of your fire, that is, walk by your own knowledge and your own wisdom, and in the sparks you have kindled, this you shall have from my hand, you shall lie down in torment. Those that reject God and seek to find light in their own ways, God will reject. But look around, you’ll see it everywhere.

Awakening your psychic skills, using intuition to guide your life. Yes, there’s plenty of books like this around. There’s uh books like this one by Carolyn Reynolds, who died in 2010. Spiritual fitness. And the key there is would you like to connect with whose divine wisdom? Who’s higher power? Your divine wisdom. Your higher power. In fact, in the summary, when someone wrote about what she had accomplished, she said, I now, this person said, I now feel the importance of my time since I’m filled with direction from my intuition and a deep sense of my purpose. Whose light are we walking in? Paul Quinn, expect inspiration. Tarot cards for the road. Let the moon guide your life. Enhance your life with the purchase of an astrology report that will guide your life path.

There are many things that people use to guide their lives, but they all represent one thing. First of all, a rejection of God. We see an admonition in the text over and over again. Do not go down this path, because when you reject God, you will face judgment. How do we know God? He’s the one that can guide our lives, and astrology is not. Who can predict the future before it happens? It used to be uh, I don’t know if they still do it or not, but it used to be that every year they uh around New Year’s, they would bring out the uh prognosticators’ reports, those that claim to predict the future and show how wrong they were. Every year it’s the same thing, isn’t it?

1. Behold My Servant: The Unnamed Servant

Yeah, no one knows the future. So we get to our lesson today in Israel or Isaiah chapter 42. Remember when we talked about Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 1 through 5, the voice crying out in the wilderness. What I said is this text demands in the context an immediate fulfillment. And he’s talking about a return from Babylon. But it’s not merely that, because the text also demands a future deliverance. Matthew records that that’s talking about John the Baptist crying in the wilderness, preparing the way for the Christ. Well, when we get to chapter 42, you see in the text, the context, a demand for that. So we get to chapter 42, and we see the unnamed servant. Or uh, where are they at at this point?

Well, in the history, Isaiah is going to be 740 to or uh 740 to 690. So roughly a hundred years before the captivity into Babylon. Now, there are some in the world that say that Isaiah wrote, or this was not written by Isaiah, it was written by a second Isaiah, who lived after the captivity, because he speaks of the captivity in the past tense. Sometimes he does not always. We’ll see in the text of Day that he will speak of it, or the release or release from the captivity as in a future event. But we are about a hundred years before the captivity, and so he’s calling in advance over a hundred years, about 150 years nearly, of the deliverance from that captivity. The term servant, Isaiah uses it to speak of many people.

In chapter 20, he uses it to speak of Isaiah, like my servant Isaiah. He speaks in chapter 22 of my servant Eliakim. This is speaking for God, of course. God says in chapter 37 that David was his servant. He says in chapter 41 that Jacob, that is the descendants of Jacob, the nation of Judah, was his servant. In 21, 42, he introduces a servant, behold my servant. But he doesn’t name the servant. So our challenge is to figure out who this servant is. In the context, just a few verses later, you’ll see him speak of my servant Jacob again, named. 44, he’ll speak of my servant Jacob. In chapter 49, he will speak of this servant again, who has been formed to be his servant from the womb to bring Jacob to him.

So it’s apparent in chapter 49 that the servant is not Jacob, but this servant has introduced for the purpose of bringing Jacob back to God. So in chapter 42, I believe, it’s the same context as chapter 49, speaking of a servant unnamed, who would bring Jacob back to God. So who is this servant? Well, let’s look at what he does. I believe by what he does, we know who he is. Chapter 42, verse 1 Behold my servant whom I uphold, my elect one in whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit upon him. Remember, chapter 11 was a pivotal chapter. Talk about the rod, the branch from the stem of Jesse. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. That fits. Remember, chapter 11 was talking about Messiah, and that passage was even quoted in Romans 15 to say this is what Isaiah was talking about.

The branch. Well, he’s been introduced in chapter 6, when he talked about the house of David.

And chapter 11, he talked about what will grow out of that stump, the Messiah. We see that same idea in Jeremiah 23 when he talks about, Behold, the days come, says the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper and shall execute justice and judgment in the earth. We see that same concept in Zechariah, where it says, Speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold, the man whose name is the branch. And he shall grow out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. Christ said, I will build my church. Zechariah 6, uh 13, the very next verse. Even he shall build the temple of the Lord, and he shall bear the glory, he shall sit and rule upon his throne, and he shall be a priest upon his throne.

And the council of peace shall be between them both, that is, between God and this king. Now, how could anyone under the law of Moses be a priest and a king? The kings. God said, one of the sure mercies of David is if there was a or if there was someone reigning, it would be a son of David. You couldn’t be a priest unless you were a tribe of Levi. Two different tribes. How could you be both? You couldn’t be. That’s the point. This could only be fulfilled under Messiah. Being a priest after the order of Alchizedek, being priest and king. So this idea of having the spirit upon this one fits well with chapter 11, the branch.

Well, chapter 11 again, chapter verse 4, with righteousness he will judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. Equity is justice, fairness. So he’s going to bring forth justice to the world. A bruised reed he will not cry out, nor raise his voice, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street, a bruised reed he will not break, and smoking flax he will not quench. You might think of a of a lamp, a flaxen lamp, and it’s just about to go out, and he’s not going to quench it. Well, Matthew tells us in chapter 12 and verse 9, when the man whose hand was withered was healed on the Sabbath. Let’s turn over there and read it. Matthew 12.

Now, when he had departed from there, he went into their synagogue, that is Jesus. And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand, and they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath that they might accuse him? And then he that is Jesus said to them, What man is there among you who has one sheep? And if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath will not lay hold of it and lift it out. Much more value then is a man than a sheep. Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. And he said to the man, Stretch out your hand. He stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. The Pharisees went out and took counsel against him how they might destroy him.

Verse 15, but when Jesus knew it, he withdrew from there, and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all, and he warned them not to make him known, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my spirit upon him and will declare justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry out, nor anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and smoking flax he will not quench, till he sends forth justice to victory, and in his name the Gentiles will trust. So direct evidence from Matthew that yes, this is the servant, the unnamed servant in Isaiah that was spoken of in chapter 42.

And you see that throughout Jesus’ ministry. John chapter 5, the man at the pool with the infirmity. Jesus healed him.

When Jesus saw him later, he said, Stop sinning, lest something worse happen. Jesus did not come in his earthly ministry to judge the earth, but to seek and save. And so when we talk about a bruised reed, he will not break that which is weak to the point of breaking. Christ will not break it, that is, provide judgment, but he will heal it. And so we see the woman at the well. She was caught up in sin. Well, she had had many husbands, and the man she had then was not her husband. Jesus could easily have said to her, Thou sinner, go forth. You will be judged. But what did he do? He spoke to her, the words of life, and tried to attract her to God.

John chapter 8, the woman caught in adultery, same thing. The bruised reed he did not come to break, but to strengthen. And the coastland shall wait for his law. The coastlands are the far-flung reaches of mankind, I believe, in the context. And so remember chapter 2, when we first started off Isaiah, the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established, and all nations shall flow to it. You’ve seen this concept over and over again in Isaiah. All nations coming to God. And the coastland shall wait for his law. The coastland shall look to God for guidance in the times of Messiah. Verse 6.

Verse 5 I skipped over in the slides, but verse 5 says, Thus says the Lord of God who created the heavens, stretch them forth and spread forth the earth, and that which comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk in it. I, the Lord have called you in righteousness. I will hold your hand. That is, the creator of the world is going to guide this servant, keep you and give you as a covenant to the peoples, as a light to the Gentiles. That’s just the same thing as he’s been talking about in the coastlands shall wait on his law. Well, that’s true. And we see that concept also in Jeremiah, where he says, Behave, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant.

What did he say in chapter 42, 6? I will give you as a covenant to the people? Yes. A new covenant, not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, which was made with the Jews only, but this new covenant would be with all mankind. And so we see in Ephesians, the Apostle Paul making the argument that Gentiles who were once without Christ are now in Christ. Those that were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace. He’s made both one. A covenant with all mankind. And what’s the purpose? And also in chapter 6, to open the blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, that those who sit in darkness from the prison house.

I am the Lord, that is my name, and my glory I will not give to another. And we see that language. As Jesus said in John chapter 8, yeah if you abide in my word, you are my disciples, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. And so the figure is that of the blind having their eyes opened, mankind now being filled with the knowledge from God, and that knowledge, making him free. It’s kind of like bringing out the prisoners from the prison house. Remember the words of uh the writer of Hebrews, chapter 2, where he says, talking about Jesus, that he shared in the same that is the nature of man, that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetimes subject to bondage.

Why? Law of sin and death. Man’s sin deserves death. There’s a bondage. But when Christ the Messiah comes, and sin is taken away, he’s bringing out from the prison the prisoners, opening their eyes. And so he says, My glory I will not give to another, but nor my praise to graven images. Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare, and before they spring forth, I will tell you of them. So the assurance that we see here, God is telling of things that will happen before they happen, in order to assure his people. But all these things in these first few verses are definitely not the return from Babylon. They’re speaking of Messiah. And so in the context, there are two fulfillments to this voice crying in the wilderness.

2. God Will Make War With the Idols

And so there’s praise in the next few verses, starting in verse 10. Sing to the Lord a new song, and his praise from the ends of the earth. You who go down to the sea and all that is in it, you coastlines, and you inhabitants of them. Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits. Okay, so that’s talking about the desert areas, wilderness areas. Let the inhabitants of Selah sing, let them shout from the tops of the mountains, that is, from all areas of the land. Let them give glory to the Lord and declare his praise in the coastlands, the far-flung reaches of mankind. Let all the earth praise him, in other words. The Lord shall go forth like a mighty man, he shall stir up his zeal like a man of war.

You think of uh a great battle and them going into battle and roaring. Why the roar? Timidation. That’s it, intimidation. I believe that’s what God is saying here. He will roar and intimidate all those that would claim the powers of deity. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud, he shall prevail against his enemies. He says, I’ve held my peace a long time. I’ve been still and restrained myself. That is, I believe he’s saying he has with long suffering allowed for mankind to go their way. But he says, I have an I have an issue with mankind. We’ve seen that in several chapters in Isaiah so far, of God saying, I have an issue with mankind, I will judge mankind for the idols. And he’s saying the same thing here.

In fact, he says, I’ll now I will cry like a woman in labor. I will pant and gasp at once. Not a picture you normally think of as God. But think about it, he says, I’ve restrained and held myself with long suffering. But now, now it’s time for judgment. And he says, I will cry out like a woman in labor, a woman in labor cries out in a manner which is unrestrained. There is no shame in the labor room. Women cry out because of the pain. Unrestrained. I believe that’s the picture he’s talking about. I will restrain myself no longer. I will cry out to mankind. I will judge. And so he says, I will lay waste the mountains and the hills, verse 15, dry up all the vegetation.

I will make the rivers coastlands, and I will dry up the pools. What does he mean by that? Drying up the vegetation and drying up the pools.

Think back where we’ve been. Chapter 40, uh chapter 32, the king and his righteousness. Talking about the king and his righteousness and his princes. Each one will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, streams of water in a dry place, and the glade of a great rock in a weary land.

You know, Jesus, he’s the living water, and revelation from God is considered water and nourishment. And so there’s a time after the return that there is no revelation from God. Things are just quiet. Is that certainly true? And I believe it’s part of an overall picture that goes back to the time in the wilderness when God literally brought forth rocks, or water from the rocks, streams of water in the desert. What was that a symbol of? It was a symbol of God’s abiding care, God’s abiding nourishment. And so we see that same picture here in chapter 32. By the way, there’s that last phrase like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. I don’t know if you’ve been noticing how many songs come from Isaiah.

This particular phrase is used in three different songs. Shade of a rock and a weary land. It’s a beautiful picture. A weary land, you think of the desert, you think of temperatures, 110, 115, 120. Just the shade itself is a great mercy. That’s what God is like. Shade in the desert. And so it is in our lives, that there are many things in this world that are not good. And they are coming at us. And God is our rock in a weary land, providing shade. He is our nourishment. That is rocks and streams and rivers in the desert. That’s the picture. And we see that picture of water in the desert over and over again. Chapter 35. The burning sand shall become a pool and the thirsty ground springs of water.

41, and the poor and needy seek water. I will open rivers on the bare heights and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water. Now, if you think of that figure of God providing for his people, and then you think about the idols. What are the idols providing? Well, they claim similarly to provide blessings for their people. But what does God say? He says, I will dry up all their vegetation, I will lay waste their mountains. I will dry up their pools. That which seems to be blessings by the idols, he says, I will dry it up. And I believe his purpose is to prove that the idols are nothing. Are they like God, the one true God?

Absolutely not. Whatever they may think they have, I will dry it up. I will dry it up so that they will see a difference. And so he says in verse 16, I will bring the blind by a way they did not know. I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them. That is, those that do not see, I will open their eyes. And the crooked place is straight. Same language you used back in chapter 40. Voice crying in the wilderness, make straight the paths for the Lord. And things I will do for them, these things I will do for them and not forsake them, they shall be turned back. They shall be greatly ashamed who trust in carved images.

3. Who Is Blind but My Servant?

And they say to the molded images, you are our gods. In other words, God will make war with the idols. He will make a difference scene to those who are willing to look and see. And those that will not see, they will be greatly ashamed, because their idols will not provide deliverance. Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, verse 18, that you may see. Who is blind but my servant? In other words, here’s what God has planned for his people. I’m going to provide a great deliverance. I am at war with the idols. You’re going to see that there is no comparison with that one true God. But from that great picture of glory, he looks down and says, You deaf, you blind, who is blind but my servant?

Or deaf as my messenger whom I see send. Here I believe he’s talking clearly about Jacob. Because in the context, when you get down to verse 24, the same description, when he talks about this servant is plundered, he says, Who gave Jacob the plunder? So the servant here is Jacob. A different servant than the first part of the chapter. First part is Messiah, second part is Jacob. Who is blind but my servant? The ones who are in covenant relationship with God, and I believe that’s what he means, but when he says, Who is blind as he who is perfect? That’s the New King James. I believe the King James reads similarly. Other translations, the N of E says, uh, those who are committed to me. The New American Standard Version says, those who are at peace with me.

English Standard Version says, my dedicated one. In other words, those who were in covenant relationship with God that knew the differences should know. Who is as blind as them? Seeing many things you do not observe, opening the ears, but he doesn’t hear.

In other words, the problem is not the law that God had given, the covenant that he made with his people. The problem was with Jacob. This is a people robbed and plundered. All of them are snared in holes and they are hidden in prison houses. They are for prey and no one delivers. For plunder and no one says restore.

Ezekiel would write in chapter 22 and verse 30. I sought for a man who would stand in the gap in the wall and found none. Verse 23, who among you will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear for the time to come? Who gave Jacob for plunder and Israel to the robbers? Was it not the Lord? He against whom we have sinned. For they would not walk in his ways, nor were they obedient to his law. Therefore he has poured on him the fury of his anger and the strength of battle. It has set him on fire all around, yet he did not know. It burned him, and he did not take it to heart. In other words, that which God used to try to convince his people that they were going down the wrong path should have been goads.

Remember with words of Paul on the road to Damascus. What Jesus said to him, it’s hard for you to kick against the goads. God goads people to get them to turn. He had goaded Israel to turn. And he didn’t even understand it. He didn’t take it to heart. Did not cause a change in his behavior. So we see that we look from this future glory to the current situation, and we say it just doesn’t match up. These are covenant people of God. Surely they should know the difference. But they don’t. And therefore they will go into captivity. So he gets to chapter 43. And chapter 43, he talks about future redemption. Jacob will be redeemed. But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and he who formed you, O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed you.

4. Fear Not, for I Have Redeemed You

We talked back in chapter 40 about comfort, comfort ye, comfort me, ye, my people. How the people in Babylon in captivity, after seventy years might think that God had cast them away. Perhaps God had even divorced them, like he had Israel of the north. Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have purchased you back. I have called you by my name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, and they shall not overflow you. Reminiscent of the language he used when he talked about Assyria back in the chapter 10, I believe it was. Oh, is there he would overflow the land like a river, but it would only go up to the neck. That’s similar picture of assurance.

He says, When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned. That language is not applicable to the time before they went into captivity. You know that because the last verse of chapter 42 was, it burned him, and he did not take it to heart. But he says, When I redeem you, here’s what I have in mind for you that I will be your protection. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flames scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt for your ransom. Ethiopia and Seba in your place.

Since you were precious in my sight, you have been honored, and I have loved you. Therefore I will give men for you and people for your life. There’s a sense in which God treats Israel differently than some of the other nations because of his covenant relationship and promises to them. And it’s not just one-sided, they are expected to be his witnesses. You see that in the text over and over again. So he says, Fear not, I am with you. Verse 5, I will bring your descendants from the east and gather you from the west, and I will say to the north, give them up and to the south. Do not keep them back. Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth.

Everyone who is called by my name, who I have created for my glory, I have formed him, yes, I have made him. So he says, Bring out the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears, let all the nations be gathered together. In other words, come forth as witnesses. Let the people be assembled. Who among them can declare this and show us the former things? Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified. Or let them hear and say it is truth. You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am He. Before me there was no God formed, nor shall they be after me.

I believe this language is applicable directly to the restoration of the people from Babylon. And he calls them forth his witnesses. I have told you beforehand what will happen. Open your eyes, listen, you’re going to see it. I even I am the Lord, and besides me there is no Savior. I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, and there was no foreign God among you. That is, there was no foreign God that could be expected to fulfill this. There’s no foreign God that predicted it. There’s no foreign God that brought it forth. History records that when Israel came back from Babylon, the problem with the idols was not what it had been before. I believe they had seen a difference. It was distasteful to them. He says, Therefore you are my witnesses, says the Lord, that I am God.

Indeed, before the day was, I am He, and there is no one who can deliver out of my hand. I work and who can reverse it. And this is in the context, I believe, the indication that he’s talking primarily here about the return from Babylon. Verse 14. Thus says the Lord your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, for your sake I will send to Babylon, and bring them all down as fugitives. That is like a fugitive and brought to justice. He’s going to bring them down. The Chaldeans who rejoice in their ships, that is commerce. I am the Lord your holy one, the creator of Israel, your king, and their power will not go forth. Verse 16, thus says the Lord who makes a way in the sea.

What does he mean by that? I think he calls to mind what he’s done in the past. Right? When they came out of Egypt. What did God do? He made a way in the sea. He made a way for them to cross through on dry land through the Red Sea. So, thus says the Lord, who? Which Lord? The one who made a path in the sea, and a path through the mighty waters. Which bring forth the chariot and the horse, the army, the power, they shall lie down, they shall not rise, they’re extinguished, they are quenched like a wick. In other words, they remembered and trusted in these past events, but he says, Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing.

Now it shall spring forth. Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness. Yeah. A road in the wilderness. Chapter 35. We saw the concept of a highway shall be there and a road, the highway of holiness. And I believe he’s clearly talking about messianic times. Here, he’s clearly talking about a return from Babylon. And that again shows the dual nature of that prophecy in the first few verses of chapter 40, where he talked about a voice crying in the wilderness, make way state for the highway in the desert for my God. We see that same picture applied to both events, the time of Messiah, and here the time of recovery from Babylon. So associated with that, I will make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

You see that picture of God’s nourishment again. The beast of the jackal will honor me, beasts of the field will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I gave waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert to give drink to my people, my chosen. This people I have formed myself, they shall declare my praise. God says, I’m going to provide this great deliverance. You are my witnesses. And when it happens, my people shall praise me, because they will have seen what I have done.

5. You Have Burdened Me With Your Sins

Remember, we start off in chapter 42. He had this wonderful picture of Messianic times, and he turned to look at the current state. Now he’s turned and looked to the return from Babylon. And again he looks to the current state. But you have not called upon me, O Jacob. And you have been weary of me, O Israel. You have not brought me the sheep for your burnt offerings, nor have you honored me with your sacrifices. I have not caused you to serve with grain offerings, nor rearied you with incense. You have brought me no sweet cane with money, nor have you satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices, but you have burdened me with your sins. You’ve wearied me with your iniquities. Who had they done this to?

I, even I, he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Who had they done this to? The great God, who was full of mercy and long suffering. And so again, he says, put me in remembrance. Let us contend together. Look back to chapter 40 and verse 27. Remember this court case that’s before us? Where Jacob had a statement. Chapter 40 and verse 27. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord, and my just claim is passed over by my God. He’s just given two wonderful cases of future glory that he has planned for his people. In each case, he’s looked back to the current state. And the people have failed God miserably.

And he says, Okay, you said my just claim is passed over. Put me in remembrance. What did you say now? Let’s contend together. In other words, call the court together. State your case that you may be acquitted. Well, he summarizes. Your first father sinned, and your mediators have transgressed against me. Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary, and I will give Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches. Is he saying that because your first father sinned and your mediators have transgressed, for that reason, I will take you into judgment? Kind of sounds that way, doesn’t it? John? I think he’s saying, yes, they did this, but it is not for their sins, it’s for yours. You have continued in this unrighteousness. And that’s the message to us today, too.

Okay. I believe you’re correct. It’s just not stated that way, but if you go back to chapter 25, the one who does not remember sins. Does he now say that I remember all these sins and I’m going to bring them on you? No. We know the words of Ezekiel 18. The soul that sins, it shall die. Son shall not bear the iniquities of the father. Or the father the iniquities of the son. But we also know, if you go back to Exodus chapter 20.

Talking about idols, he says, You shall not bow down to them nor serve them, for I, the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. Kind of get the same picture, don’t we? The fathers have sinned. And what about the children? What’s he really saying here? Well, the Israelites had a saying in Ezekiel chapter 18, the fathers sinned, or the fathers of eating sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge. As if this was unjust. I believe what he’s saying here is that I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children of the third and fourth generations of who?

Those who hate me. In other words, when you have a child that does wrong, do we just send him forth and say, Be gone, you’ve sinned. We continue to go after that child. Why? Because we love him. We have a relationship with him. And I believe God has a relationship with his people. And those that are stubbornly rebel, generation after generation, does God just give them up after the first generation or the second generation or the third generation? No. For multiple generations, he seeks to turn them. Of who? Those who hate me. Not those that did hate me, but those that continually rebel, God continues to go after them, generation after generation, in order to turn them back. I believe that’s the same picture we have here.

These people are going into captivity because they have followed in the sins of their fathers and repeated over and over again. The same sins. Now God says, I will give the Jacob to the curse. And I believe what he’s talking about is going back to Deuteronomy chapter 28 through 30, the curses and the blessings. God says, Here’s my law. Follow it, and you will live. Reject it, and here are the curses that will follow those that stubbornly reject me.

Conclusion

Quite a striking picture, isn’t it? Two great contrasts the glory of Messiah and the current situation. The glorious return from Babylon and the current situation. It should give Jacob room to stop and think. We’ve got about one minute. Any questions or comments before we close. Kathy? Um I was struck several times in this relationship of father to child, father to child, and the I will not keep silent any longer. I’ll be a woman in labor and unrestrained. But it’s also pain. He’s doing this with pain. I think so. And you know, that they’re not honoring the Him with their heart and their spirit and their sacrifices, they’re doing it grudgingly. You know, and He says, I’m weary. You know, I’m tired. And again, I’m not a parent, but I can imagine when your children do something, not because they love you, but because they just feel like they have to, and the attitude behind it is wearying, and it’s just not acceptable.

And so that pain and that that disappointment, I think, is being rejected there. Good point. And a good parent, when they discipline a child, will often speak to them about this is not what I want for you. And talk about what I really want for you. That’s what God has done here, as he’s talking about the future glory and the Messiah. The future return with power and battle. Here’s what I’ve got in mind for you. Here’s where you’re at. There’s a difference. You need to make a change. Thank you for your time.