Christ Church Bentonville

The Lord rebukes Judah for their failure to wait for and on Him.  But what is truly remarkable is the fact that He waits on them despite their disobedience. 

Isaiah address both hard-hearted sinners who deny judgment is coming and proud hypocrites who deny they are worthy of judgment and declares that the only hope for all sinners is the Lord Jesus Christ. 

We don't sing in worship to connect with God.  We sing in response to the fact that God has connected Himself to us in and through Christ.

We are all on walking on one of two paths.  We are either walking in our own self-sufficiency which leads to desolation or in Christ's all-sufficiency which leads to consolation.  

As we’ve seen throughout this series of oracles, though there has been a great deal of judgment, there has also been a glimmer of hope in each one; and this one concerning Tyre is no exception. 

The Lord, through Isaiah, continues to drive home the point that reliance upon anything or anyone other than Christ, particularly ourselves, is futile.

Chapter 21 not only describes God working in the midst of the geo-political conflict of Isaiah's day, it also speaks to how we are to live in our day between the already and the not yet of God's Kingdom and our salvation.

Isaiah wasn’t the only prophet to be asked to do something that resulted in his own personal humiliation.  The Lord Christ "endured the cross and despised the shame" to take our guilt and shame upon Himself.

All the nations of the earth would be blessed through Abraham and His seed; and that includes Israel’s classic enemy of Egypt. (This was recorded at our annual visit to Blowing Springs for worship and fellowship outdoors.)

At the right time, God would intervene and accomplish His purpose and plan for Judah, Cush, and all the nations whose destinies were in HIs hands.

Fixing our eyes on anyone or anything to experience life, other than Jesus, ultimately leads to death.  It is to Him alone that we should look.

The Lord of the nations is sovereign over the nations, the judge of the nations, and a Savior for the nations.

Like Assyria, Babylon’s pride would lead to its demise.  But we must admit, the seed of pride is in all our hearts.

The aim of Christ's question was to shift Martha's attention away from the general resurrection of the dead to Himself as the resurrection and the life, and it worked.  

The section of Isaiah's prophecy that began with being confronted with God's holiness and his own sinfulness, fittingly concludes with a glorious doxology.

We can be content and confident in the midst of our circumstances as we see them between the bookends of the past reality and the future hope of the covenant God has made with us in Christ. 

"While Assyria’s remnant was as a few scattered trees of the forest, and there was no hope; Jacob’s remnant had hope as broad as the promises of the God of truth." - E. J. Young

In Christ, we are no longer under the Lord's hand of judgment, we are in the Lord's outstretched arms of mercy, and He will never let us go.  There is no other way to flee from the Lord than to flee to the Lord.  

The point in redemptive history upon which everything would turn was the birth of a boy.  The glimmer of hope in the midst of the pronouncement of judgment was that a son would be given and the darkness of sin and death would give way to the brightness of God’s glory.   

Ahaz wouldn't ask for a sign, but the Lord gave him one anyway; a son born of a virgin whose name would be Immanuel, God with us.

God's revelation of his holiness led to Isaiah's realization of his own sin which God responded to with mercy.

Chapter 5 is a folk song that told a very real story about an ordinary people who were doing very disappointing and destructive things in the midst of an extraordinary relationship.

Judgement and salvation are inextricably linked together.  Therefore, there is not only bad news regarding the last day, there is good news as well!

There was a day the Lord had determined to exercise judgement on Judah, and it pointed to the fact that there is a day the Lord has determined to exercise full and final judgment.  On that day, will it be woe to you or well with you?

In Chapter 2 Isaiah's vision describes the latter days, the current day, and the coming day.  And in light of what is and what will be, he said today is the day to trust the Lord and walk in His ways.