From Isaiah 9-12
In today’s passage Isaiah says the same thing over and over again. Its a warning. The LORD is angry at Judah’s sin and he is going to put it to an end. He has punished them already, but there is more judgement to come. The passage reminds us that God will not stop until sin and evil is eradicated. Jesus tells us to cut it out of our lives or else face the consequences.
This post is part of my bible in a year series.
Passage and Comments
Isaiah has just made a significant prophecy, predicting the coming of a Davidic king (Isa 9.1-7). In today’s passage Isaiah continues and returns to judgment.
8 The Lord has sent a word against Jacob, and it will fall on Israel;
9 and all the people will know, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and in arrogance of heart:
10 “The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.”
11 But the LORD raises the adversaries of Rezin against him, and stirs up his enemies.
12 The Syrians on the east and the Philistines on the west devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still. (Is 9:8-12)
Jacob has faced several battles and survived. They have suffered, but they want to rebuilt. To make things better than they were before. They feel pride in their achievements.
The initial battles were early warnings from the LORD they needed to repent.
‘For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still’. The LORD will send out still more enemies. Its only a matter of time. Eventually the descendents of Jacob will be cut down.
13 The people did not turn to him who struck them, nor inquire of the LORD of hosts.
14 So the LORD cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed in one day—
15 the elder and honored man is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail;
16 for those who guide this people have been leading them astray, and those who are guided by them are swallowed up.
17 Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men, and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows; for everyone is godless and an evildoer, and every mouth speaks folly. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still. (Is 9:13-17)
Isaiah sees the initial struggles the people have faced as warnings. They should have repented, they should have inquired of the LORD, but they didn’t.
Have you ever been warned by the LORD? Given opportunity to turn to him?
The people have been lead astray by their leaders. This is why they are in this predicament in the first place. The consequences of their leadership over the people are immense.
The LORD does not rejoice over them. Everyone has become godless and evil. As a result the LORD will punish them. He will bring justice to his kingdom.
‘For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still’.
18 For wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briers and thorns; it kindles the thickets of the forest, and they roll upward in a column of smoke.
19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts the land is scorched, and the people are like fuel for the fire; no one spares another.
20 They slice meat on the right, but are still hungry, and they devour on the left, but are not satisfied; each devours the flesh of his own arm,
21 Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim devours Manasseh; together they are against Judah. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still. (Is 9:18–21)
Wickedness draws the LORD’s wrath. It has another quality which Isaiah comments on. It burns.
Wickedness is highly flammable.
Fire spreads. Fire consumes. The imagery Isaiah uses is about people and their wickedness. ‘People are like fuel for the fire no one spares another’. ‘They devour’, ‘but are not satisfied’.
The imagery captures what war is like. Invading armies destroy cities by fire. They burn buildings, shops and markets. They burn houses and homes. The LORD is angry and armies destroy whole cities by fire.
‘For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still’.
10 Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression,
2 to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
3 What will you do on the day of punishment, in the ruin that will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth?
4 Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still. (Is 10.1-4)
Isaiah comments again on Judah’s leaders. They promote injustice in the realm. The group of people who are the most affected are the lower social class. The poor and the needy. The LORD will judge and punish those who oppress them. Who turn justice aside.
‘For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still’.
Story of Israel
Isaiah’s repeated point is that the LORD’s judgment has not finished. He will keep going on and on until wickedness is eradicated from Judah. After many warnings and opportunities to repent, Judah eventually fell to the Babylonians.
Story of Jesus
‘For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still’. Isaiah’s repeated point should give us an inclination regarding how serious we should take sin and the lengths to which we should remove it from our lives. The LORD will not stop until sin and wickedness is put away, destroyed, burned. In the gospel Jesus says,
42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
49 For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” (Mk 9:42–50)
Copyright © Joshua Washington and thescripturesays, 2015. All Rights Reserved.
