Thursday
Evening Bible Study
November
14, 2019
Introduction
The book of Isaiah is the first book in the section of the Old Testament
that we call the “prophets”.
It is the Old Testament book that has the clearest picture of the coming
Messiah.
The New Testament quotes from Isaiah more than from any other prophet.
John, the forerunner of Christ, began his ministry with a quote from Isaiah
(Mat. 3:3).
Jesus preached His first sermon in Nazareth from Isaiah (Luke 4:17-21).
Old Bible critics will say that the book of Isaiah is actually
two books written by different authors, with chapters 1-39 as the first
book, and chapters 40-66 as the second.
The two sections are indeed distinct, but they serve different purposes.
The first half is a book of judgment, the second half is one of comfort.
Better, recent scholarship, including the contribution of the Dead Sea
Scrolls affirms that it is a single book written by a single author.
This is not a book that was written all at once, in a single sitting. There
are various sections of the book, and it is the compiling of the writings of a
man over sixty years.
There will be times that the prophetic message is aimed close to Isaiah’s
time.
There will be times when the prophetic message is aimed far in the future.
There will be times when the message has a double effect with both a near
and far prophecy.
Isaiah has contemporaries.
His ministry overlaps the prophets Hosea and Micah.
His ministry lies roughly between 740-700 BC.
He prophesies during the reigns of the Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah –
all kings of the southern kingdom of Judah.
Keep in mind that in Isaiah’s lifetime, Israel has been split into two
different nations.
The northern ten tribes were called “Israel”, or “Ephraim”.
The southern two tribes were called “Judah”
Isaiah lived in the southern nation, and they are the main
focus of his prophecies.
Two concepts to keep in mind as we study prophecy:
We have seen that some prophecies have “double fulfillments” – they may be
fulfilled inside Isaiah’s day, and then again far in the future (like Is. 7:14
– the virgin).
We are also seeing that when it comes to prophecy, sometimes the prophecy
can skip hundreds or thousands of years between one phrase and the next. This
is called “prophetic telescoping”.
We are now in this second section of Isaiah, filled with all kinds of
comfort and words that will jump out at you as if God were speaking directly to
you.
Isaiah 44
read v.1-5
:1 Jacob My servant
One of the threads we’ve been tracking is the identity of the “servant”.
We have been seeing that there are actually three
people called God’s servant in Isaiah.
1.
The Jews
2.
Cyrus (more tonight…)
3.
Jesus
Here is it the Jews.
:3 I will pour water on him who is thirsty
We saw this promise last week
(Isaiah
41:18 NKJV) I will open rivers in desolate heights, And fountains
in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry
land springs of water.
We’re told here that this is connected with God
pouring out His Spirit.
Jesus said if we were thirsty we should come to
Him and drink, and He will pour out rivers of living water (John 7:37-38)
(John 7:37–38 NKJV)
—37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood
and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart
will flow rivers of living water.”
(John 7:39 NKJV) But this He spoke concerning the Spirit…
Jesus said,
(Matthew 5:6 NKJV) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall
be filled.
:5 Another will call himself by the name of Jacob
The Jews have not been a race of people that are often thought of
fondly. They are often targets of bigoted racism.
Yet there will be a day when God has poured out His Spirit on them, and
people will want to be identified with them.
Lesson
Do people want to be like you?
Illustration
A young girl became a Christian in an
exciting revival at her church and was baptized the closing Sunday
morning. That afternoon she ran through
the house singing and dancing. Her sour grandfather rebuked her with these
words, “You ought to be ashamed of yourself! Just joined the church and singing
and dancing on the Lord’s Day!” Crushed by her grandfather’s attitude, the
little girl went out to the barn, climbed up on the corral fence, and observed
an old mule standing there with a sad, droopy face, and bleary eyes. As she
reached over and patted the mule sympathetically, she said, “Don’t cry, ole
mule, I guess you’ve just got the same kind of religion that grandpa has!”
The Bible says,
(Psalm 34:8 NKJV) Oh, taste and see that the Lord
is good; Blessed is
the man who trusts in Him!
If the Lord is at work in us, then
when people get close enough for a taste, what they should taste should be
sweet. This too comes from the Holy
Spirit.
Ideally we should want people to want to be more like
Jesus, and that comes when we show people that we belong to Him.
(John 13:35 NKJV) By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love
for one another.”
read v. 6-8
:8 I know not one
We have seen over and over through these chapters that God has made it
clear that there are no other “gods”. In
fact, He doesn’t know of any at all.
There have been various demons through history that have masqueraded as
“gods”, but they are lesser beings.
Paul will write,
(1 Corinthians
10:19–20 NKJV) —19 What am I saying then? That an idol
is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? 20 Rather, that
the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to
God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.
read v. 9-20
:19 Shall I fall down before a block of wood?
It’s really quite silly if you think about it.
The man himself has taken a piece of wood, burnt part in the fire, baked
his bread with the fire, and formed a “god” with the rest and declares that it
is his “god”.
Paul tells us why men descend into this kind of foolishness…
(Romans 1:21 NKJV) because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as
God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish
hearts were darkened.
(Romans 1:20–23
NKJV) —20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His
eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as
God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish
hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became
fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made
like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
Man was created to worship, we have an innate need
to “worship”.
When man begins to reject the knowledge of the true God,
he begins a downward spiral into foolishness, including the creation of
“idols”.
We can kind of chuckle at the foolishness of idolatry,
but put yourself in the place of the Jews who would one day be carted
off to Babylon, and living in a land filled with the worship of idols.
What we are to read will be a great encouragement to those captives.
read v. 21-23
:22 I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions
This of the captives in Babylon, who knew their nation had fallen because
of their sins and idolatry.
Then they hear that God has blotted out their sin.
I wonder how the Jews who are being persecuted by the antichrist will look
at these verses.
read v. 24-28
:24 He who formed you from the womb
He has been acquainted with us since conception. The life of the unborn is precious to God.
:24 Who stretches out the heavens…
He is the Creator of the heavens and earth.
:25 frustrates the signs of the babblers
Babylon was known for their “wise men”.
God is able to turn their advice upside down.
:26 Who confirms the word of His servant
The true prophet of God will speak for God, and it will come true.
:26 Who says to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be inhabited,’
This wouldn’t make sense in Isaiah’s day.
It would make sense after the Babylonian captivity, after Jerusalem had
been wiped out.
:27 I will dry up your rivers…
We’ll see in a minute that this plays into the fall of Babylon.
:28 Who says of Cyrus…
Isaiah is writing about 700 BC. In
586 BC (+114yrs), Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, would conquer the city
of Jerusalem and take the Jews with him back to Babylon.
Cyrus was the king of Persia who would eventually conquer Babylon in 538 BC
(+162yrs).
Josephus tells us that when Cyrus conquered Babylon, he found out about
Isaiah’s ancient prophecies about him, even calling him by name, and responded
by making a decree that the Jews could return to Jerusalem and rebuild their
temple. (Antiquities, 11:1:3-7)
Isaiah 45
read v.1-2
:1 Thus
saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus
anointed – mashiyach – anointed,
anointed one;
This is the word used for the Messiah; and
for kings and priests.
In Israel, priests and kings were anointed
by having a special perfumed oil poured over them.
God calls Cyrus His anointed because He has chosen him and put him into his
position.
Cyrus would be used to conquer the then known world.
The historian Xenophon says he
conquered the Syrians, Assyrians, Arabians, Cappadocians, the Phrygians, the
Lydians, Carians, Phoenicians, and Babylonians; also
the Bactrians, Indians, Cilicians, the Sacae, Paphlagonians, and Megadinians;
likewise the Greeks that inhabit Asia, Cyprians and Egyptians.
:1 loose the armor of kings
NLT: “mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear”
ESV: “loose the belts of kings”
Old King James and NASB have, “loose the loins of kings”.
There was a literal fulfillment when Cyrus conquered Babylon during the
feast of Belshazzar (Daniel 5). For
Belshazzar, it started when a mysterious hand wrote strange words on the wall:
(Daniel 5:6 NKJV) Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him,
so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his
knees knocked against each other.
(Daniel 5:6 CSB) his face turned pale, and his thoughts so terrified him that he
soiled himself and his knees knocked together.
:2 break in pieces the gates of bronze
Remember Is. 44:27 – the rivers drying up?
The historians Herodotus and Xenophon tell us that Cyrus’ army, under the
command of Ugbaru diverted the waters of the great
river Euphrates and entered into the city under the
walls. When the army got to the bars in
the river, they had been left open and because of Belshazzar’s great feast, the
guards were all drunk. The inhabitants
of the city were also drunk and the city fell without
a fight. Sixteen days later Cyrus
himself entered the city with much public rejoicing.
read v.3-7
:3 the treasures of darkness
The ancients would hide their treasures in secret underground vaults. Cyrus became incredibly wealthy from all the
countries that he conquered.
:5 though you have not known Me
Cyrus was a pagan. He ascribed his
victories to the “great gods”. He
attributed his victory over Babylon to “Marduk”, the
head god of the Babylonians.
You will see throughout the Scripture that God will use even the
unbeliever.
read v.8-10
:9 Shall the clay say to him who forms it…
Lesson
No Mistakes
It does seem kind of silly that if a lump of clay to talk, it would
question the potter and say, “What are you doing with me?”
Yet that’s what we do sometimes with God.
We may not understand right now what God is doing, but God doesn’t make
mistakes and God doesn’t make junk.
Illustration
Helen Keller (1890-1968), was deaf and blind from an incurable childhood
disease. Anne Sullivan taught her to read through her senses of touch, smell,
and taste.
Helen would one day write, “I thank God for my handicaps,
for through them, I have found myself, my work and my God.”
read v.11-14
:13 Not for price nor reward
When Cyrus freed the Jews, nobody paid him to do it.
Josephus tells us that after Cyrus conquered Babylon, he found out about
Isaiah’s ancient prophecies about him, even calling him by name, and responded
by making his decree that the Jews could return to Jerusalem and rebuild their
temple (Antiquities, 11:1:3-7). He would
set the Jews free, and He did it for free.
In vs.14, the Persians would conquer further nations (as we saw in Is.
43:3), and that would be a sort of “reward” for letting the Jews return to
their land.
read v.15
:15 who hide Yourself
The pagan gods were statues that you could look at. There are no pictures of our God. He is a spirit. He is invisible (1Tim. 1:17)
read v.16-19
:19 I have not spoken in secret
Even though God is invisible (v.15), He speaks openly through His word.
read v.20-25
:23 every knee shall bow
Sound familiar?
(Philippians
2:10–11 NKJV) —10 that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the
earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
:25 Look to Me, and be saved
Lesson
Look to Jesus
A relationship with God comes when you stop looking everywhere else and
start looking to Jesus for help.
Illustration
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, in the minds of some of us, was the greatest
preacher since the apostle Paul.
When Spurgeon was 15 years of age, he had not come to a personal commitment
to Jesus Christ. On a blustery, snowy Sunday morning, he decided to go to
church. He couldn’t get to his planned destination because the weather was so
bad. So he turned into a side street, and went into a
Methodist church. The preacher didn’t even get there. Only fifteen people had
come to the church. An uneducated deacon preached on Isaiah 45:22.
Charles Spurgeon heard God speaking to him, he “looked unto Jesus”, and was
saved.
A simple verse, and God used it.
Illustration
Louie Zamporini had been shot down in the Pacific
during WWII. While he drifted on a life
raft for months, he had looked up into the heavens one evening and made a
promise to serve God if God would rescue him.
Louie would be captured by the Japanese, and one of his captors
tormented him constantly. After the war,
Louie would hear a preacher named Billy Graham and he was faced with the choice
of whether he would “look” to the memory of his tormentor, or
look to Jesus.
Isaiah 46
read v.1-2
:1 Bel bows down, Nebo stoops
Bel was the chief god of the Babylonians, also known as “Marduk”, the god of the sun.
Daniel’s Babylonian name “Belteshazzar” meant “Bel’s prince”
Nebo was the son of Marduk in Babylonian
mythology.
Nebuchadnezzar (“may Nebo protect the crown”) carried his name
:1 carriages were heavily loaded
When a nation was conquered, it was common for the conqueror to carry the
conquered nation’s idols home with them on wagons.
:2 They could not deliver…
The Babylonian gods wouldn’t be able to save them from the Persians.
read v.3-4
:4 even to gray hairs I will carry you!
The Jewish rabbis had a saying that “a
man sixty years old is come to old age, and one of seventy to gray hairs”
(Gill).
Lesson
Useful Old Age
Us old folks get a bad rap. Some
think we can’t keep up with the times, like these folks learning to use their
webcam…
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But sometimes an old dog knows a few tricks
he can teach a young dog.
You’re never too old to be useful.
Illustration
At 65, Winston Churchill became British prime minister for the first time
and started the epic struggle against Hitler.
At 72, Golda Meir became prime minister of Israel. At 75, Ed Delano of California bicycled 3100
miles in 33 days to attend his 50th college reunion in Worcester,
Massachusetts. At 80, Grandma Moses, who
had started painting in her late 70s, had her first one-woman exhibit. At 81, Benjamin Franklin skillfully mediated
between disagreeing factions at the U.S. Constitutional Convention. At 80,
Winston Churchill returned to the House of Commons as a member of parliament and also exhibited 62 of his paintings. At 96, George C. Selbach
scored a 110-yard hole-in-one at Indian River, Michigan. And on his 100th
birthday, ragtime pianist Eubie Blake exclaimed, “If
I’d known I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself.”
I may be handing off my role as Sr. Pastor to Caleb come the first of the
year, but I am not planning on stopping ministry, nor being useful.
Summarize v.5-13
Once again God launches another reminder of the silliness and uselessness
of idols.
Once again God will remind His people:
(Isaiah 46:9 NKJV) Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is
no other; I am God, and there
is none like Me,
Isaiah 47
read v.1-3
:1 virgin daughter of Babylon
Babylon is initially called a “virgin” because it had not yet been
conquered. It wouldn’t be conquered
until the Persians.
Keep in mind, Isaiah is writing this hundreds of years
before Babylon even becomes a dominant world power.
:2 grind meal
Babylon would rise to power, and then be brought low, as if made a slave.
read v.4-9
God would allow Babylon to conquer Judah to bring judgment on them, but
Babylon went way overboard and showed no mercy.
:8 I shall not sit as a widow
Babylon doesn’t see the judgment that’s coming.
In Revelation 17-28 there is another “Babylon” that will be around in the
last days. It will be a world system
with it’s own false
religion.
Isaiah is quoted:
(Revelation
18:7 NKJV) In the measure that she glorified herself and
lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she
says in her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see
sorrow.’
Even though Isaiah 47 was partially fulfilled through the fall of
Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon to the Persians, there are some aspects that have not
yet been fulfilled, such as the “sudden destruction”. Babylon was captured suddenly by the
Persians, but it’s destruction came slowly over
time. Yet the Babylon in Revelation
17-18 will be destroyed with a sudden
judgment.
Lesson
Not according to plan
The folks in Babylon had never known defeat. They had all their five-year and ten-year
plans written in stone. They had thought
that they were in control of their future.
But they were wrong.
Illustration
The Mermaid
Three guys are out having a relaxing day fishing. Out of the blue, they
catch a mermaid who begs to be set free in return for granting each of them a
wish. Now one of the guys just doesn’t believe it, and says, “Okay, if you can
really grant wishes, then double my IQ.”
The mermaid says, “Done.” Suddenly the guy starts reciting Shakespeare
flawlessly and analyzing it with extreme insight. The second guy is so amazed, he says to the
mermaid, “Triple my IQ.” The mermaid says, “Done.” The guy starts to spout out all the
mathematical solutions to problems that have been stumping all the scientists
in various fields-physics, chemistry, etc.
The last guy is so enthralled with the changes that his friends that he
says to the mermaid, “Quintuple my IQ.”
The mermaid looks at him and says, “You know, I don’t usually try to
change people’s minds when they make a wish, but I really wish that you would
reconsider.” The guy says, “No, I want
you to make my IQ five times higher, and if you don’t do it, I won’t set you free.” “Please,” says the mermaid, “You don’t
understand what you’re asking, it will change your entire view on the universe.
Won’t you ask for something else...a million dollars, anything?” But no matter what the mermaid said, the guy
insisted on having his IQ increased by five times its usual power. So the mermaid sighed and said, “Done.” . . . . And he
became a woman.
The point is, things don’t always go according to your plans. Are you willing to submit to God’s plans for
you?
read v.10
:10 No one sees me
We always get ourselves into trouble when we start to think that God
doesn’t see what we’re doing.
The truth is, God does see.
:10 I am, and there is no one else besides me
That sounds suspiciously like what God has been saying about Himself.
Babylon has put herself in the place of God.
read v.11-15
:15 No one shall save you
Lesson
Who shall save?
The Babylon of Daniel’s day would fall.
The Babylon that’s rising up around us will also
fall.
John writes about the fall of that future Babylon…
(Revelation
18:4 NKJV) And I heard another voice from heaven saying,
“Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive
of her plagues.
The “voice” is quoting from Isaiah 52:11
(Isaiah
52:11 NKJV) Depart! Depart! Go out from there, Touch no unclean thing; Go out from
the midst of her,
Be
clean, You who bear
the vessels of the Lord.
Babylon is like a sinking ship. It’s
going down.
We don’t have to be afraid of the sinking ship, and we don’t have to go
down with the ship.
Jesus is the lifeboat that saves us.
(John 3:16 NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.