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by Samuel E. Ward
Isaiah 9:8-12:6
Introduction
Historical Setting: You will recall that [Israel] divided after the death of Solomon; ten tribes in the north were organized as Israel, and two tribes in the south as Judah. The capital of Israel was Samaria; the capital of Judah was Jerusalem. Isaiah ministered in Jerusalem, but his messages touched both the Northern and the Southern Kingdoms. Isaiah lived to see Israel (the Northern Kingdom) decline and finally go into ruin under Assyria. The political scene was threatening to Judah at that time. Assyria was the menacing power and the other nations wanted to form a coalition to fight her. However, King Ahaz of Judah would not join the league. So, Syria and Israel united to attack Judah to try to force Ahaz to cooperate. Instead of trusting the Lord for help, Ahaz turned to Assyria for assistance and made a secret pact. Assyria was only too glad to get her foot in the door; she defeated Israel in 721 B.C., but Judah became a vassal state to Assyria, the price Ahaz had to pay for his security. No sooner was Israel out of the way than Assyria decided to attack Judah and enslave the entire Jewish nation. Isaiah told the people to trust the Lord for help, but various groups told the king to turn to Egypt for aid.
--Warren Wiersbe, Expository Outlines of the Old Testament, "Isaiah"
Review
I. God's Messages for Judah and Jerusalem, Isa 1:1-12:6
A. Jerusalem's Past, Present and Future, Isa 1:1-5:30.
B. Isaiah and King Ahaz, Isa 6:1-12:6
1. The call from the throne, Isaiah 6
2. The crisis in the kingdom of Ahaz, Isa 7:1-20
3. The coming Assyrian invasion , Isa 8:1-10
4. The caution given to Isaiah, Isa 8:11-15
5. The concluding of further preaching—trust in the message the Lord has revealed, Isa 8:16-22
6. The communicating of a future hope, Isa 9:1-7
We continue our study of Isaiah's ministry during the reign of Judah's King Ahaz by noting...
7. The unrelenting anger of the Lord toward Israel (Northern Kingdom), Isa 9:8-10:4
a. The attacks by the Arameans and Philistines will not yield repentance, Isa 9:8-12. (9:12)
Isaiah 9:12 (NIV) 12Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west have devoured Israel with open mouth. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
b. The elders and prophets will not bring the people back to God,
Isa 9:13-17. (9:16-17)
Isaiah 9:16-17 (NIV) 16Those who guide this people mislead them, and those who are guided are led astray. 17Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men, nor will he pity the fatherless and widows, for everyone is ungodly and wicked, every mouth speaks vileness. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
c. The desolation of Israel's land and people will only fuel their rebellion, Isa 9:18-21. (9:21)
Isaiah 9:21 (NIV) 21Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh; together they will turn against Judah. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
d. The pronouncement of woe upon the unjust leaders, Isa 10:1-2.
Isaiah 10:1-2 (NIV) 1Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, 2to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.
e. The inescapable consequence of the unjust leaders wickedness,
Isa 10:3-4.
Isaiah 10:3-4 (NIV) 3What will you do on the day of reckoning, when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your riches? 4Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives or fall among the slain. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
8. The future of Assyria, Isa 10:5-19
a. Assyria is an instrument in God's hands, Isa 10:5-6. (10:5)
Isaiah 10:5 (NIV) 5 "Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath!
b. Assyria foolishly thinks it is in control of its destiny, Isa 10:7-11. (10:10-11)
Isaiah 10:10-11 (NIV) 10As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols, kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—11shall I not deal with Jerusalem and her images as I dealt with Samaria and her idols?'"
c. Assyria will be used for God's purposes before being made to answer for its arrogant pride, Isa 10:12-14.
1) Assyria's mistaken view of itself, Isa 10:12-14 (10:13)
Isaiah 10:13 (NIV) 13For he says: "By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding. I removed the boundaries of nations, I plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued their kings."
2) Assyria's true standing before God, Isa 10:15
Isaiah 10:15 (NIV) 15Does the ax raise itself above him who swings it, or the saw boast against him who uses it? As if a rod were to wield him who lifts it up, or a club brandish him who is not wood!
3) Assyria's doom at the hand of God, Isa 10:16-19 (10:17-18)
Isaiah 10:17-18 (NIV) 17The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame; in a single day it will burn and consume his thorns and his briers. 18The splendor of his forests and fertile fields it will completely destroy, as when a sick man wastes away.
9. The message to the survivors of Jacob (combined Israel), Isa 10:20-34.
a. When the judgment of Israel has been accomplished, a remnant will return, no longer needing to fear Assyria, Isa 10:20-23. (10:20, 22)
Isaiah 10:20 (NIV) 20In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of the house of Jacob, will no longer rely on him who struck them down but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 10:22 (NIV) 22Though your people, O Israel, be like the sand by the sea, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overwhelming and righteous.
b. When God's anger toward Judah is finished, it will turn to Assyria's destruction, Isa 10:23-34. (10:23-25)
Isaiah 10:23-25 (NIV) 23The Lord, the LORD Almighty, will carry out the destruction decreed upon the whole land. 24Therefore, this is what the Lord, the LORD Almighty, says: "O my people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians, who beat you with a rod and lift up a club against you, as Egypt did. 25Very soon my anger against you will end and my wrath will be directed to their destruction."
c. When God's plan for Israel is complete it will bring in a new King and Kingdom, Isa 11:1-12:6.
1) The King and Kingdom will arise from Jesse's family line (Davidic lineage), Isa 11:1.
Isaiah 11:1 (NIV) 1A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2) The King will possess the fullness of the Spirit's attributes,
Isa 11:2.
Isaiah 11:2 (NIV) 2The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.
3) The King will delight in the fear (dedication to pleasing) of the Lord, Isa 11:3a.
Isaiah 11:3a (NIV) 3aand he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
4) The King will judge apart from the need of witnesses,
Isa 11:3b-5 (11:3b-4)
Isaiah 11:3b-4 (NIV) 3bHe will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5) The King will reign over an idyllic Kingdom comparable to Eden, Isa 11:6-9.
Isaiah 11:6-9 (NIV) 6The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. 7The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. 9They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
6) The King will assemble His people (Israel and Judah) from the four corners of the earth at His coming, Isa 11:10-16.
(Isa 11:10-12)
Isaiah 11:10-12 (NIV) 10In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious. 11In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. 12He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.
7) The glorious praise and thanksgiving of the saints of the Kingdom, Isa 12
Isaiah 12:1-6 (NIV) 1In that day you will say: "I will praise you, O LORD. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. 2Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." 3With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4In that day you will say: "Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. 5Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. 6Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you."
Relevance
Do you want some reasons to praise the Lord and be thankful for His persistent and loving pursuit of you? If you have repented and turned to Christ by faith, then consider these:
1. He has turned His anger from you to comfort you.
Ephesians 2:3-5 (NIV) 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
2. He has become your salvation.
Acts 4:12 (NIV) 12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
3. He has become your protector against all the things you fear.
Hebrews 2:14-15 (NIV) 14Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
1 John 4:16-18 (NIV) 16And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
4. He has done some awesome things for you worthy of proclaiming to others.
Mark 5:19-20 (NIV) 19Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." 20So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
Perhaps we should all sit down and write out our "Resume′ of Great Things He Has Done!"
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