We don’t know the hour or the Day when Jesus will come back. But He does give signs. Isaiah was a sign for his hearers. We are also called to be signposts for Christ.
Isaiah 22: An Oracle Concerning Jerusalem
1 The oracle concerning the valley of vision. What do you mean that you have gone up, all of you, to the housetops,
2 you who are full of shoutings, tumultuous city, exultant town? Your slain are not slain with the sword or dead in battle.
3 All your leaders have fled together; without the bow they were captured. All of you who were found were captured, though they had fled far away.
4 Therefore I said: "Look away from me; let me weep bitter tears; do not labour to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people."
5 For the Lord GOD of hosts has a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the valley of vision, a battering down of walls and a shouting to the mountains.
6 And Elam bore the quiver with chariots and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield.
7 Your choicest valleys were full of chariots, and the horsemen took their stand at the gates.
8 He has taken away the covering of Judah. In that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest,
9 and you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many. You collected the waters of the lower pool,
10 and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall.
11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.
12 In that day the Lord GOD of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth;
13 and behold, joy and gladness, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."
14 The LORD of hosts has revealed himself in my ears: "Surely this iniquity will not be atoned for you until you die," says the Lord GOD of hosts.
15 Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, "Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him:
16 What have you to do here, and whom have you here, that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock?
17 Behold, the LORD will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. He will seize firm hold on you
18 and whirl you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a wide land. There you shall die, and there shall be your glorious chariots, you shame of your master's house.
19 I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station.
20 In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,
21 and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
22 And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
23 And I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honour to his father's house.
24 And they will hang on him the whole honour of his father's house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons.
25 In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off, for the LORD has spoken."
Isaiah 23: An Oracle Concerning Tyre and Sidon
1 The oracle concerning Tyre. Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor! From the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them.
2 Be still, O inhabitants of the coast; the merchants of Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you.
3 And on many waters your revenue was the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile; you were the merchant of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying: "I have neither laboured nor given birth, I have neither reared young men nor brought up young women."
5 When the report comes to Egypt, they will be in anguish over the report about Tyre.
6 Cross over to Tarshish; wail, O inhabitants of the coast!
7 Is this your exultant city whose origin is from days of old, whose feet carried her to settle far away?
8 Who has purposed this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth?
9 The LORD of hosts has purposed it, to defile the pompous pride of all glory, to dishonour all the honoured of the earth.
10 Cross over your land like the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish; there is no restraint anymore.
11 He has stretched out his hand over the sea; he has shaken the kingdoms; the LORD has given command concerning Canaan to destroy its strongholds.
12 And he said: "You will no more exult, O oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon; arise, cross over to Cyprus, even there you will have no rest."
13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people that was not; Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They erected their siege towers, they stripped her palaces bare, they made her a ruin.
14 Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your stronghold is laid waste.
15 In that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:
16 "Take a harp; go about the city, O forgotten prostitute! Make sweet melody; sing many songs, that you may be remembered."
17 At the end of seventy years, the LORD will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.
18 Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the LORD. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the LORD.
Isaiah 24: Judgment on the Whole Earth
1 Behold, the LORD will empty the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the slave, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3 The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered; for the LORD has spoken this word.
4 The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the highest people of the earth languish.
5 The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left.
7 The wine mourns, the vine languishes, all the merry-hearted sigh.
8 The mirth of the tambourines is stilled, the noise of the jubilant has ceased, the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
9 No more do they drink wine with singing; strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10 The wasted city is broken down; every house is shut up so that none can enter.
11 There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine; all joy has grown dark; the gladness of the earth is banished.
12 Desolation is left in the city; the gates are battered into ruins.
13 For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.
14 They lift up their voices, they sing for joy; over the majesty of the LORD they shout from the west.
15 Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD; in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.
16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise, of glory to the Righteous One. But I say, "I waste away, I waste away. Woe is me! For the traitors have betrayed, with betrayal the traitors have betrayed."
17 Terror and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
18 He who flees at the sound of the terror shall fall into the pit, and he who climbs out of the pit shall be caught in the snare. For the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble.
19 The earth is utterly broken, the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken.
20 The earth staggers like a drunken man; it sways like a hut; its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls, and will not rise again.
21 On that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth.
22 They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit; they will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished.
23 Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the LORD of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders.
Things to think about…
1. Isaiah 22 is about the future capture of Jerusalem – ‘not slain with the sword or dead in battle…All your leaders have fled together; without the bow they were captured, Isa 22:2,3. We know Elam – the Babylonians, would eventually come and surround Jerusalem. They came in three waves, 605BC, 597BC and destroyed the walls and temple in 586BC. The leaders were captured – the kings sons were killed and then the King had his eyes put out and was taken to Babylon. The rest were captured and sent to Babylon.
2. Hezekiah is the king that ‘looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest’ Isa 22:8, ‘collected waters in the lower pool’, vs 9 and fortified the wall, vs 10 and ‘made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool’, vs 11. Hezekiah’s tunnel is still in Jerusalem today, The broad wall he built by destroying houses on the wall can still be seen today as well. He did this to endure a long siege when the Assyrians surrounded him. But God rebukes him by saying ‘you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago. ‘In that day the Lord GOD of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth’, vs 12. Hezekiah looked to earthly strength to deliver him rather than look to the Lord through faith and repentance. Eventually he was stripped of everything and he was forced to repent. It was then that Hezekiah saw a mighty deliverance from the Assyrians.
3. The Apostle Paul quotes “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die", the sentiment expressed inIsa 22:13 in 1Cor 15:32 when he speaks about the fact of the resurrection of Christ. We have a hope after this life in Christ, but those that live religiously without a heart change are like these ancient inhabitants of Jerusalem, living for the present because the future has no hope.
4. Shebna was the scribe and he ‘cut out here a tomb for yourself’, Isa 22:16 it was discovered in Siloam (Silwan - East Jerusalem) – the head piece of his tomb is in the British museum, http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=369626&partId=1. Shebna was the negotiator with the Assyrians, but conspired with them against Jerusalem. Shebna was replaced by Eliakin, Isa 22:20 – a faithful man. We are called to honour the Lord with our role and gifts. The Lord will remove us if we are not representing Him accurately. The proud will be humbled.
5. The coastal trade cities of Tyre, Sidon and Tarshish would all come under the judgement of God, Isa 23:1-12. They would be overtaken by the Chaldeans (Babylonians), Isa 23:12. This land that Assyria had thought was destined for wild beasts, vs 13 would rise up and be God’s instrument. This was the case under king Nebuchadnezzar 605-562BC. Pride always proceeds a fall.
6. The land of Tyre (like Jerusalem) would be desolate for 70 years, Isa 23:15. Under the Persian king Cyrus, people who were captured by the Babylonians would return to their lands from 538BC onward and the city of Tyre would again be a blessing for the Lord’s people as they trade with Tyre again, Isa 23:18.
7. Isaiah 24 is not a pretty picture. It speaks of the judgement of earth. No-one misses out “as with the slave, so with his master”, Isa 24:2. This is a very sobering picture. Everyone will face the judgement of the Lord, Heb 9:27, only those found in Christ will have any way of forgiveness and grace. Today is the day of salvation – let’s keep sharing the message of the cross and the gift of Christ our Saviour.
8. Isaiah 24:6-21 is a picture of events on the earth at the end of days. This looks exactly like Revelation 16-19 – trade stops, Isa 24:10-12, cataclysmic events occur Isa 24:18, 19, even the spiritual realm is judged, vs 21.
9. Note Isa 24:22 “They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit; they will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished” that there is a period of holding in judgement before the final judgement. This is what is referred to in the NT as ‘death and Hades’, Rev 19:20. This holding time before the judgement is for 1000 years, Rev 20. Satan is held in a bottomless pit Rev 20:1-3. We know after the Great White throne judgment both death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire (Hell) forever. All those whose names are not written in the Book of Life are there, Rev 20:14, 15. There is nothing more fearful in the scriptures than this truth.
10. Isa 24:23 “Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the LORD of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders”, speaks about the eternal reign of Christ. A new heaven and a new earth. The Lord will reign from the New Jerusalem that descends out of heaven. As this verse says there will be no need for the moon or sun, “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb”, Rev 21:23.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesdays. Ric Benson will be looking at the life of Christ in the church.
Pastor Jay has started the young adult’s life group after Sunday mornings café time. Open discussion around difficult topics and defending our faith is the focus.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for Easter season and this weekend’s Palm Sunday service
2. Conflict in Israel and Ukraine.
3. This week’s Working Bee on Saturday
4. Those who are considering baptism.
5. Church finances to cover all expenses.
6. Pray for of Kids@Church, Life groups and church community days.
7. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Monday afternoons. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
8. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
9. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Good attendance and discussion at Young Adults BBQ lunch
2. Wonderful spirit around church and Café yesterday – praise God for joy in His children.
3. Kids@Church ministry – Thankyou Hannah for teaching on Zacchaeus – the wee little man.
4. Continue to pray for Tad to gain strength at home. Good to see him at church yesterday. Continue to pray for Glenys as she now has a splint to gain full use in her left arm. Any encouragement you can give will be greatly appreciated.
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Working Bee – this Saturday March 23rd 8am to 12pm.
2. Palm Sunday Service – Sun, 24th Mar
3. Easter Friday service 9:00am 29th Mar. Easter Sunday 31st Mar.
4. Life Groups Wednesday night at Church – 6:30pm.
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
6. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for March...
Q. 18. What did God give Adam and Eve besides bodies? A. He gave them souls that could never die.
