41. Admonitions to Repent (1)

Hymn: RHC 414 Is Your All on the Altar? 565 Have You Counted the Cost? 561 Come with Contrite Hearts

Isaiah 9:8-21

⁸ The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. ⁹ And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, ¹⁰ The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars. ¹¹ Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together; ¹² The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. ¹³ For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts. ¹⁴ Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. ¹⁵ The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. ¹⁶ For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed. ¹⁷ Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. ¹⁸ For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke. ¹⁹Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother. ²⁰ And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm: ²¹ Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 

Admonitions to Repent

OUTLINE

(1) Yet Continue to Be Defiant (v8-13)

(2) Fearful Awaiting the Kindling of God’s Wrath (v14-21)

INTRODUCTION

The exhortations on the coming Messiah provided hope for God’s people. They may come to Him, find forgiveness for their sins, and find in His Word counsel for righteous living, receiving God’s peace and joy in their obedience to His commandments.

The prophet Isaiah observed despite the good news of salvation and sanctification in Christ, they were defiant and unrepentant. Because God loves His own, it leaves Him with the only recourse – His chastisement!

Hebrews 12:5-13 (KJV) And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 

When God’s people depart from Him, He seeks to bring them back to Him. He does so by bringing chastisement, to jolt them to repentance.

For a natural father would do the same to restore his son, much more our heavenly Father. What is the purpose of God’s chastening?

Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh who corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterwards it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

When chastening comes, the child of God who realizes his sin and turns from it and comes back to God is thereby restored. The chastening brought forth the peaceable fruit of righteousness. There is healing and there is restoration and return of joy.

However, if Israel continues to be defiant and continue to sin without recourse, God’s wrath is certain – Deuteronomy 8:19-20 (KJV) And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God.

The sad history of Northern Kingdom was destroyed in 722 B.C. by the Assyrians and the Southern Kingdom by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.

If they turn away from God because they are enticed and deceived, there will be the initial chastisements that will come to them.

Deuteronomy 11:16-17 (KJV) Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; And then the LORD’S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.

This was the case in Samaria during the reign of King Ahab, there was a drought for three years so there was a famine in the land to wake them up and turn back to God. God sent His prophet Elijah to challenge the people to follow the LORD their God in the challenge at Mount Carmel.

What was the spiritual state of Israel during Isaiah’s time? We notice that they continue in their defiance (v8-13) and thus there is a fearful awaiting the kindling of God’s wrath.

(1) Yet Continue in Their Defiance (v8-13)

⁸ The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. 

Israel has been warned. God’s Word came to them to show them “that lighteth upon Israel” where they have gone wrong, from whence they have fallen! They are exhorted to come back to Him quickly.

⁹ And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, 

Ephraim is with reference to the Northern Ten Tribes whose capital was Samaria. They were yet unrepentant. The “pride and stoutness of heart” describes the great haughtiness of heart. The literal translation, is “pride and great heart”. He defiantly brushed aside the chastisement of God. 

¹⁰ The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars. 

In their pride and arrogance, in their self-delusion and imagined strength, they boast of circumventing God’s wrath with their ingenuity and determined defiance.

Romans 1:21-22 (KJV) Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

Romans 1:29-32 (KJV) Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Because the hearts of some men were continually evil, God gave them up to uncleanness and vile affections, repeated twice in verse 24 and verse 26 and the third time, God gave them over to a reprobate mind (v28). It is that same verb used for emphasis. A mind that is abhorred by God due to the great extent of waywardness. God “gave up over” described the judicial act of God in handing these men and women over to suffer the consequences of his wrongdoing by their continual rebellion against the known will of God. 

The reprobate mind is described in verses 29-31 beginning with “all unrighteousness”, a total disregard for the laws of God and the way of God to expiate sin. It is filled with immorality, evil, greed, evil intent to harm, full of jealousy, killing, quarrelsome, deceit, propensity to inflict harm, gossiping, slandering, haters of God, violence, pride, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, foolish, untrustworthy, heartless, irreconcilable, unmerciful. All these are heartily done in a wilful and habitual manner.

The Apostle Paul gave a contrast in the born-again Christian with a restored mind to bear God’s image and spiritual fruit to a reprobate mind in Galatians 5:22-24 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 

Matthew Henry said, “The Lord sent a word into Jacob, sent it by his servants the prophets. He warns before he wounds. He sent notice what He would do, that they might meet Him in the way of His judgments; but they would not take the hint, took no care to turn away his wrath, and so it lighted upon Israel; for no word of God shall fall to the ground… Those are ripening apace for ruin whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences; for God will walk contrary to those who thus walk contrary to Him and provoke him to jealousy, as if they were stronger than He. Their incorrigibleness under all the rebukes of Providence…”

Joseph A. Alexander explained well, “The very words of the self-confident Ephraimites are now recorded – The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars – The oriental bricks are unburnt so that most of their brick structures are as little durable as mud walls. The sycamore is durable, but too light and spongy to be used in solid building. The latter accordingly contrasted with the cedar, and the former with hewn stone, the two most highly valued building materials.”

¹¹ Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together; ¹² The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. ¹³ For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts.

The LORD shall send formidable enemies to surround them from the north and down south so that there will be no escape – the Syrians in the north and the Philistines, their arch-enemies in the south! The LORD predicted the harassment of their enemies on Israel to discomfit and make their life miserable to awaken them from their self-conceit to jolt them to repentance.

(2) Fearful Awaiting the Kindling of God’s Wrath (v14-21)

¹⁴ Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. ¹⁵ The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. 

Barnes observed well, “Will cut off head and tail – This is a proverbial expression, which is explained in the following verse Deuteronomy 28:13-14. 

Deuteronomy 28:13-14 (KJV) And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

The head is often used to denote those in honour and authority. The tail is an expression applicable to the lower ranks, and would commonly indicate more than simply the common people. It would imply contempt; a state of great abjectness and meanness.”

Their prophets, their false prophets, were the tail and the rush, the most despicable of all. [Matthew Henry]

He further observed, “Branch and rush – This is also a proverbial expression, meaning the highest and lowest (Isaiah 19:15). 

Isaiah 19:15 (KJV) Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.

The word here translated branch, means properly the bough or top of the palm tree. The palm grew to a great height before it gave out any branches, and hence, the image is a beautiful one to denote those high in office and authority. The word rush means the coarse, long-jointed reed, that grows in marshes – an apt emblem of the base and worthless classes of society.”

¹⁶ For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed. 

The leaders followed not the LORD, and were disobedient to the commandments of God and thus the people suffered the wrath of God.

¹⁷ Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 

In their young men – The hope and strength of the nation. The word used here commonly denotes those who are chosen, particularly for purposes of war. The sense is, that the hope and strength of the nation, that on which the chief reliance would be placed, would be cut off. [Barnes]

¹⁸ For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke. 

This commences the third part of the prophecy, which continues to the end of the chapter. It is a description of prevailing impiety. The effects and prevalence of it are described by the image of a raging, burning flame, that spreads everywhere: first among the humble shrubbery – the briers and thorns, then in the vast forests, until it spreads over the land, and sends a mighty column of flame and smoke up to heaven. [Barnes]

To be continued…