Exposition by Max A Forsythe
We will divide our chapter for today between two weeks. Even though the first half of chapter thirty details the stubborn, obstinate attitude of Isaiah's people, the last half will show us the loving heart of our Father who loves His own people with an everlasting love. Well, you might wonder, why don't we just skip the bad news of the first half and go on to the good news of the second half? After all, like Isaiah's listeners in verses ten and eleven, we live in a time when the majority of the people really want to go away from Church thinking pleasant thoughts. Even those who are charged with planting churches for the PCA in our time are encouraged to present the good news of the gospel in a winsome manner so as to attract the most people. Yes the gospel is preached, and people are still won to Christ's Church. So why belabor the issue of sin at all? Well, a story is told about a minister by the name of Alexander Whyte of Edinburgh who was widely known for always preaching about sin. Evidently the nature of his reputation got back to him, so he briefly considered changing his ways. John Stott reports that while on a walk in the country, his mission was made clear. He was given a mandate to make his congregation see themselves in God's holy law as in a glass. If he wouldn't do it, there would be no one else to do it. It seems that some things never change in human relationships. From Isaiah's time, to Jesus' time, to the Reformation, to our own, people just do not want to hear the grim notice that repentance is in order. The issue that makes such prophecy and preaching rare in our day is that there are so many choices when it comes to attending church. Beginning in the twenties, the older evangelical orthodoxy began to break down. Many churches became innovative about theology because the mood of the country seemed to demand a less intensive study of God's law. As more and more congregations and denominations downplayed the essentials, others felt that they had to do the same to keep their crowds.
While I was in Seminary we had a special seminar on making worship entertaining and interesting. We were told that people would be afraid of staying home because they might miss something. Excitement, creativity and the unexpected we were told would build our morning attendance. Well, I didn't take the whole package, but when I got to my first church, we were able to dramatically make a difference. The first month in that congregation, we had a Sunday School of five, a worship of seventeen and an annual budget of $ 5,000! In eighteen months seventy to eighty people were in church each Lord's Day and the budget had risen to $ 22,500. I also had a list of another seventy-five people that I was talking to in the community. Well, I was younger then, better looking, or at least slim and trim with energy to match. The Church growth experts would have been very proud of our efforts. However, after my troubles with the liberal Presbytery and my moving on, all of my efforts proved to have been less than adequate. The church fell back into a slump.
I asked myself if I had done the right thing. It is evident that the spiritual intensity of that Church was not raised as high as we all thought. Of course some people were indeed saved and the Name of Christ made more widely known. However, I decided that if I ever had another chance to build up a congregation, there would be a few changes! I remember when we first started, some visitors were present, and it seemed to some that every other word out of my mouth was "sin"! Would people put up with hearing that word so often? Well, they did and the rest is history - God's people have been multiplied here much more intensely than in my first congregation and in God's own time - perhaps in numbers as well. You see, if we are going to do the Lord's work in His way, there are certain obligations on our part. More and more we have to realize exactly what it is we are being saved from if we are really going to appreciate the Good News.
In the chapter before us, Isaiah would warn his people away from a worldly dependence on the power of Egypt. This issue keeps coming up again and again in the political struggles of Isaiah's age. Certainly, the Jewish state was hard pressed by Assyria all through this time period. Over and over again the worldly party in Jerusalem urged a military solution based upon the mighty power of Egypt. In verse four Hezekiah may have actually allowed representatives to travel back to the place of captivity to seek the assistance of Israel's former masters. In no uncertain terms Isaiah declares this to be sinful. Instead of depending upon worldly cures, God's people must learn to trust alone in Him. Oh, you say, we have to use worldly means and methods to survive. Really? In the worst military disaster of the century, this country by intervention for profit set the stage for our whole sorry experience. In the Great War of 1914, if we had declared early on that we would sell nothing to any of the warring parties, that war would not have lasted nearly as long or planted the seeds for every other conflict that has followed since. Winston Churchill, reflecting late in life said that if such had been our policy, both sides could have gotten serious in the winter of 1915 about putting an end to the grim mistake. Yet, ever and always people want to depend upon military solutions and worldly plans and projects. Now don't get me wrong, defensive war is always allowed and using God's wisdom we may plan for the future. However, too much of a dependence upon worldly solutions can hardly separate Christ's Church from the majority of religious practices in our day and age. "Who will go down to Egypt without consulting me?", God asks bluntly in verse two. Wouldn't we all, given half a chance? Yes, quite often I have been tempted to use some of the worldly methods that are very popular and very successful in building up Christ's Church. We have even done so on several occasions. But God doesn't bless those efforts on our behalf for some reason! Instead He has used the power of His Spirit to bring people here.
Our greatest increase in numbers came in the fearful months after the inauguration of the Hillbilly from Arkansas. Can you remember one short year ago? Remember, how I was continually counseling that things really weren't as bad as many of you thought. After all, I told you, God is in heaven and He is still in control. All of these political things serve His final purpose. And political power is indeed a fragile thing. The current administration is now going from crisis to crisis, and their socialist medical agenda may never get back on track. The worldly powers of any age are after all no threat to the reign of our Creator God. This lesson God makes clear in verses six and seven. Look at the ungodly title that the Lord would hang on mighty Egypt: "Rahab the Do-Nothing".
Rahab here is the name of a mythical sea monster, in western lore a dragon, if you will. Now we don't fear these creatures any more; if they ever existed as leftover dinosaurs and sea creatures who may have briefly lasted into historic times, they no longer pose any threat whatsoever. Of course dinosaurs are very big now in our culture, and the thought that mankind over the course of some centuries may have exterminated them to make life more pleasant is unheard of. And yet, what do the murmurings of emerging literature suggest in many cultures but that very thing! Puff the Magic Dragon - Egypt isn't! Dragon the Do-Nothing is a more apt description. Egypt has always been an ancient culture; we are not really certain about a lot of details. The Sphinx may have even been built in pre-flood times for all we know. But the pyramids will not march to Jerusalem; neither will the awesome power of the Pharaoh do Israel any good.
Isaiah is told to tell the people of Jerusalem this news on a scroll. Of course the people will reject it with the words heard ringing down through all the centuries: "stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!" Okay, says the Lord of Hosts! Because you have rejected this message of Isaiah your worldly dependence will fall in upon you and crush you to pieces. Do you depend upon the worldly notions and ideas, means and methods for your daily spiritual diet? Are you really open to the very Word of God revealed to His prophets? Would you really rather hear pleasant things and avoid any confrontations with God's Spirit? God would confront you each and every one. And there is a purpose in His confrontation which Isaiah explains in our closing three verses. "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.”
Well should we accept this because of the descriptions we see in verses sixteen and seventeen. The dangers of Isaiah's time are well illustrated here. Finally in verse eighteen is the invitation for all who would be in Christ. "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" Years ago, in the liberal Church someone once criticized me for finding and preaching Christ's forgiveness from the Old Testament. At the time I thought that criticism told me more about the state of his heart than any truth about the Old Covenant. After all God our Lord has always been a God of justice and compassion wanting people to admit their sin, seek His forgiveness and live in obedience to Him. Blessed are the people who learn these lessons in time. May you each and everyone be so blessed. Amen.
Resources Used:
Ellis, Charles..
The Wells of Salvation.
Thomas, Derek..
Welwyn Commentary Series: God Delivers.
Young, Edward J.
The Book of Isaiah.
Youngblood, Ronald F. The Book of Isaiah: An
Introductory Commentary.
The Holy Bible.
New International Version (1984 Edition)
NOTE: I am not able to automatically
recommend any future editions.
Christ Covenant Reformed (Presbyterian Church in America) -
Box 13926 - Columbus, OH 43213
(c) 2001
08 May 1994
Permission granted to redistribute unedited versions with this notice.