Would Israel be restored and would foreigners join them? Is God impressed by national pride or national repentance? Let’s look at Isaiah 14.
After divine punishment for their sins, would Israel experience a great reversal?
When the Lord has compassion on Jacob and again chooses Israel, and settles them on their own land, then strangers will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob. The peoples will take them along and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will make them their own possession in the land of the Lord as male and female servants; and they will take their captors captive and will rule over their oppressors. (Isa 14:1-2 NASB)
Will Babylonian oppression end and people finally be at rest and at peace?
On the day the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has come to an end! How his fury has ended! The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers, which in anger struck down peoples with unceasing blows, and in fury subdued nations with relentless aggression. All the lands are at rest and at peace; they break into singing. Even the junipers and the cedars of Lebanon gloat over you and say, “Now that you have been laid low, no one comes to cut us down.” (Isa 14:3-8 NIV)
Are the departed spirits of the dead excited and stirred up to meet the Lord at His coming?
Hell [Sheol, the place of the dead] from beneath is excited about you, To meet you at your coming; It stirs up the dead for you, All the chief ones of the earth; It has raised up from their thrones All the kings of the nations. They all shall speak and say to you: ‘Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, And the sound of your stringed instruments; The maggot is spread under you, And worms cover you.’ (Isa 14:9-11 NKJV)
Is the king of Babylon symbolic of a once bright and shining angel, who fell from heaven, who because of his delusional ambitions, became the devil?
How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star [Helel, Lucifer], son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. For you said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.’ Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths. Everyone there will stare at you and ask, ‘Can this be the one who shook the earth and made the kingdoms of the world tremble? Is this the one who destroyed the world and made it into a wasteland? Is this the king who demolished the world’s greatest cities and had no mercy on his prisoners?’ (Isa 14:12-17 NLT)
Does the fate of the king of Babylon picture the fate of all abominable national leaders who lead their country to ruin?
All the kings of the nations sleep in glory, everyone in his own house. But you are cast away from your tomb like an abominable branch, clothed with the slain who are thrust through with the sword, who go down to the stones of the pit; like a dead body trodden under foot. You will not join them in burial, because you have destroyed your land. You have killed your people. The offspring of evildoers will not be named forever. (Isa 14:18-20 WEB)
Will Babylon be in ruin and the political progeny of such a corrupt city also be cut off?
Prepare a place to slaughter his sons for the guilt of their father. Don’t let them arise to take over the earth or fill the world with cities. I will arise against them, says the Lord of heavenly forces. I will cut off Babylon’s renown and remnant, offshoot and offspring. I will make it the home of herons, a swampland. I will sweep it away with the broom of destruction, says the Lord of heavenly forces. (Isa 14:21-23 CEB)
Will the Assyrians before the Babylonians also be wiped out?
The Lord All-Powerful has made this promise: Everything I have planned will happen just as I said. I will wipe out every Assyrian in my country, and I will crush those on my mountains. I will free my people from slavery to the Assyrians. I have planned this for the whole world, and my mighty arm controls every nation. I, the Lord All-Powerful, have made these plans. No one can stop me now! (Isa 14:24-27 CEV)
Should the Philistines not rejoice too much over Assyria’s defeat, because their own destruction is coming?
In the year that King Ahaz died came this oracle: Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod that struck you is broken, for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent. And the firstborn of the poor will graze, and the needy lie down in safety; but I will kill your root with famine, and your remnant it will slay. Wail, O gate; cry out, O city; melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you! For smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks. What will one answer the messengers of the nation? “The Lord has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.” (Isa 14:28-32 ESV)
How important is national humility to God as opposed to national pride?
But He gives greater grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6 HCSB)
Would Israel be restored and would foreigners join them? Is God impressed by national pride or national repentance? You decide!
Babylon (Isaiah 13)
Did the destruction of Babylon symbolize the elimination of all corrupt human governments? Do we hope for a perfect government from heaven? Let’s examine Isaiah 13.
Is this a prophecy about the end of the Babylonian Empire which captured Judah? Could it also apply to that final human government symbolically called Babylon in Revelation?
Isaiah son of Amoz received this message concerning the destruction of Babylon: “Raise a signal flag on a bare hilltop. Call up an army against Babylon. Wave your hand to encourage them as they march into the palaces of the high and mighty. I, the Lord, have dedicated these soldiers for this task. Yes, I have called mighty warriors to express my anger, and they will rejoice when I am exalted.” (Isa 13:1-3 NLT)
Does this passage have a double meaning, human armies destroying ancient Babylon and heaven’s armies destroying a future Babylon?
The noise of a multitude is in the mountains, as of a great people; the noise of an uproar of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together! Yahweh of Armies is mustering the army for the battle. They come from a far country, from the uttermost part of heaven, even Yahweh, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. (Isa 13:4-5 WEB)
Do people lose heart at the events of this “day of the Lord?”
Wail, for the day of the Lord is near. Like destruction from the Almighty it will come. Then all hands will fall limp; every human heart will melt, and they will be terrified. Like a woman writhing in labor, they will be seized by spasms and agony. They will look at each other aghast, their faces blazing. (Isa 13:6-8 CEB)
Will God show mercy or pity on that terrible day of the Lord?
I, the Lord, will show no mercy or pity when that time comes. In my anger I will destroy the earth and every sinner who lives on it. Light will disappear from the stars in the sky; the dawning sun will turn dark, and the moon will lose its brightness. (Isa 13:9-10 CEV)
Is this just a prophecy against an ancient empire or are there also allusions to the final day of the Lord?
I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless. I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the Lord of hosts in the day of his fierce anger. (Isa 13:11-13 ESV)
How terrible will Babylon be and the consequences she will face?
Like wandering gazelles and like sheep without a shepherd, each one will turn to his own people, each one will flee to his own land. Whoever is found will be stabbed, and whoever is caught will die by the sword. Their children will be smashed to death before their eyes; their houses will be looted, and their wives raped. (Isa 13:14-16 HCSB)
Who eventually conquered ancient Babylon? Was this fulfilled by Cyrus the Great in 539 BC? Were they a ruthless bunch indifferent to bribes?
Watch out! I’m stirring up the Medes against them, who care nothing for silver and take no delight in gold. Their bows will dash the young men to pieces; they’ll show no pity on those not yet born, and their eyes will not spare children. (Isa 13:17-18 ISV)
Is ancient Babylon now nothing but ruins at modern-day Hillah, in southern Iraq?
And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs [wild goats] shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged. (Isa 13:19-22 KJV)
Will a symbolic final Babylon experience a similar fate as ancient Babylon?
And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality.” (Rev 14:8 LSB)
Did the destruction of Babylon symbolize the elimination of all corrupt human governments? Do we hope for a perfect government from heaven? You decide!
Is this a prophecy about the end of the Babylonian Empire which captured Judah? Could it also apply to that final human government symbolically called Babylon in Revelation?
Isaiah son of Amoz received this message concerning the destruction of Babylon: “Raise a signal flag on a bare hilltop. Call up an army against Babylon. Wave your hand to encourage them as they march into the palaces of the high and mighty. I, the Lord, have dedicated these soldiers for this task. Yes, I have called mighty warriors to express my anger, and they will rejoice when I am exalted.” (Isa 13:1-3 NLT)
Does this passage have a double meaning, human armies destroying ancient Babylon and heaven’s armies destroying a future Babylon?
The noise of a multitude is in the mountains, as of a great people; the noise of an uproar of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together! Yahweh of Armies is mustering the army for the battle. They come from a far country, from the uttermost part of heaven, even Yahweh, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. (Isa 13:4-5 WEB)
Do people lose heart at the events of this “day of the Lord?”
Wail, for the day of the Lord is near. Like destruction from the Almighty it will come. Then all hands will fall limp; every human heart will melt, and they will be terrified. Like a woman writhing in labor, they will be seized by spasms and agony. They will look at each other aghast, their faces blazing. (Isa 13:6-8 CEB)
Will God show mercy or pity on that terrible day of the Lord?
I, the Lord, will show no mercy or pity when that time comes. In my anger I will destroy the earth and every sinner who lives on it. Light will disappear from the stars in the sky; the dawning sun will turn dark, and the moon will lose its brightness. (Isa 13:9-10 CEV)
Is this just a prophecy against an ancient empire or are there also allusions to the final day of the Lord?
I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless. I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the Lord of hosts in the day of his fierce anger. (Isa 13:11-13 ESV)
How terrible will Babylon be and the consequences she will face?
Like wandering gazelles and like sheep without a shepherd, each one will turn to his own people, each one will flee to his own land. Whoever is found will be stabbed, and whoever is caught will die by the sword. Their children will be smashed to death before their eyes; their houses will be looted, and their wives raped. (Isa 13:14-16 HCSB)
Who eventually conquered ancient Babylon? Was this fulfilled by Cyrus the Great in 539 BC? Were they a ruthless bunch indifferent to bribes?
Watch out! I’m stirring up the Medes against them, who care nothing for silver and take no delight in gold. Their bows will dash the young men to pieces; they’ll show no pity on those not yet born, and their eyes will not spare children. (Isa 13:17-18 ISV)
Is ancient Babylon now nothing but ruins at modern-day Hillah, in southern Iraq?
And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs [wild goats] shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged. (Isa 13:19-22 KJV)
Will a symbolic final Babylon experience a similar fate as ancient Babylon?
And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality.” (Rev 14:8 LSB)
Did the destruction of Babylon symbolize the elimination of all corrupt human governments? Do we hope for a perfect government from heaven? You decide!
Rejoice (Isaiah 12)
In the end of all things, will there be great joy and no more reason for sorrow or crying? Do we look forward to this? Let’s begin in Isaiah 12.
When the hope of nations comes, will people give thanks and sing songs of praise?
Then you will say on that day, “I will give thanks to You, Lord; For although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, And You comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the Lord God is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.” Therefore you will joyously draw water From the springs of salvation.
And on that day you will say, “Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; Make them remember that His name is exalted.” Praise the Lord in song, for He has done glorious things; Let this be known throughout the earth. Rejoice and shout for joy, you inhabitant of Zion, For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. (Isa 12:1-6 NASB)
As a foretaste of world peace, is there now no difference between Jews and Gentiles who call on the name of Jesus?
As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Rom 10:11-15 NIV)
Will all the troubles on earth eventually be resolved in such a way that there will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying?
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Rev 21:1-4 NKJV)
In the end of all things, will there be great joy and no more reason for sorrow or crying? Do we look forward to this? You decide!
When the hope of nations comes, will people give thanks and sing songs of praise?
Then you will say on that day, “I will give thanks to You, Lord; For although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, And You comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the Lord God is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.” Therefore you will joyously draw water From the springs of salvation.
And on that day you will say, “Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; Make them remember that His name is exalted.” Praise the Lord in song, for He has done glorious things; Let this be known throughout the earth. Rejoice and shout for joy, you inhabitant of Zion, For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. (Isa 12:1-6 NASB)
As a foretaste of world peace, is there now no difference between Jews and Gentiles who call on the name of Jesus?
As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Rom 10:11-15 NIV)
Will all the troubles on earth eventually be resolved in such a way that there will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying?
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Rev 21:1-4 NKJV)
In the end of all things, will there be great joy and no more reason for sorrow or crying? Do we look forward to this? You decide!
Hope of Nations (Isaiah 11)
Is there a king in whom the Gentiles or nations will hope? Do we look forward to His rule? Let’s look at Isaiah 11.
Who is the rod out of the stem of Jesse, a king that descends from the family of David?
Like a branch that sprouts from a stump, someone from David's family [KJV: a rod out of the stem of Jesse] will someday be king. The Spirit of the Lord will be with him to give him understanding, wisdom, and insight. He will be powerful, and he will know and honor the Lord. (Isa 11:1-2 CEV)
Are righteousness, equity and faithfulness some of the character traits of this king?
And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. (Isa 11:3-5 ESV)
Will wild animals literally be tamed during the reign of this king? Does this reverse some curses in Genesis?
The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat. The calf, the young lion, and the fatling will be together, and a child will lead them. The cow and the bear will graze, their young ones will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. An infant will play beside the cobra’s pit, and a toddler will put his hand into a snake’s den. None will harm or destroy another on My entire holy mountain, for the land will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the sea is filled with water. (Isa 11:6-9 HCSB)
Will this “root of Jesse” rally all nations and recover the descendants of the ten tribes from various locations?
At that time, as to the root of Jesse, who will be standing as a banner for the peoples, the nations will rally to him, and his resting place is glorious. At that time, the Lord will reach out his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people, from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. He will raise a banner for the nations and will assemble the dispersed of Israel; he will gather the scattered people of Judah from the corners of the earth. (Isa 11:10-12 ISV)
Will the enmity between the northern and southern tribes be healed? Will there be a highway for the remnant to return?
The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt. (Isa 11:13-16 KJV)
Does the author of Romans allude to this prophecy in regard to Jesus?
And again Isaiah says, “There shall come the root of Jesse, And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, In Him shall the Gentiles hope.” (Rom 15:12 LSB)
Is there a king in whom the Gentiles or nations will hope? Do we look forward to His rule? You decide!
Who is the rod out of the stem of Jesse, a king that descends from the family of David?
Like a branch that sprouts from a stump, someone from David's family [KJV: a rod out of the stem of Jesse] will someday be king. The Spirit of the Lord will be with him to give him understanding, wisdom, and insight. He will be powerful, and he will know and honor the Lord. (Isa 11:1-2 CEV)
Are righteousness, equity and faithfulness some of the character traits of this king?
And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. (Isa 11:3-5 ESV)
Will wild animals literally be tamed during the reign of this king? Does this reverse some curses in Genesis?
The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat. The calf, the young lion, and the fatling will be together, and a child will lead them. The cow and the bear will graze, their young ones will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. An infant will play beside the cobra’s pit, and a toddler will put his hand into a snake’s den. None will harm or destroy another on My entire holy mountain, for the land will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the sea is filled with water. (Isa 11:6-9 HCSB)
Will this “root of Jesse” rally all nations and recover the descendants of the ten tribes from various locations?
At that time, as to the root of Jesse, who will be standing as a banner for the peoples, the nations will rally to him, and his resting place is glorious. At that time, the Lord will reach out his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people, from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. He will raise a banner for the nations and will assemble the dispersed of Israel; he will gather the scattered people of Judah from the corners of the earth. (Isa 11:10-12 ISV)
Will the enmity between the northern and southern tribes be healed? Will there be a highway for the remnant to return?
The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt. (Isa 11:13-16 KJV)
Does the author of Romans allude to this prophecy in regard to Jesus?
And again Isaiah says, “There shall come the root of Jesse, And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, In Him shall the Gentiles hope.” (Rom 15:12 LSB)
Is there a king in whom the Gentiles or nations will hope? Do we look forward to His rule? You decide!
Nations Judged (Isaiah 10)
When Israel fell to Assyria and Judah paid heavy tribute, was God disgusted with Assyria’s arrogance? Are our nations arrogant? Let’s learn from Isaiah 10.
What does God say about legislation that punishes the needy and robs the poor?
How terrible it will be for the one who enacts unjust decrees, for those who write oppressive laws that they have prescribed to deprive the needy of justice and to rob the poor of my people of their rights, so that widows may become their spoil and so that they may plunder orphans! What will you do on the day of Judgment, in the calamity that will come from far away? To whom will you run for help, and where will you leave your wealth, so you won’t have to crouch among those in chains or fall among the slain? Yet for all this, his anger has not turned away, and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike. (Isa 10:1-4 ISV)
Which nation would God primarily use to punish the northern tribes of Israel?
O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. (Isa 10:5-6 KJV)
However, instead of humbly acting as God’s vehicle of punishment, does Assyria go too far, acting in an arrogant manner?
But it does not intend to act in this way, And it does not think in its heart in this way, Rather, what is in its heart is to destroy And to cut off many nations. For it says, “Are not my princes all kings? Is not Calno like Carchemish, Or Hamath like Arpad, Or Samaria like Damascus? As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols, Whose graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria, Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her images Just as I have done to Samaria and her idols?” (Isa 10:7-11 LSB)
Will Assyria also receive punishment at the hand of the Lord?
So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the arrogant pride of his eyes.” For he has said, “By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this, Because I have understanding; And I removed the boundaries of the peoples And plundered their treasures, And like a powerful man I brought down their inhabitants, And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a nest, And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth; And there was not one that flapped its wing, opened its beak, or chirped.” (Isa 10:12-14 NASB)
Why is God angry with Assyria? Was their boasting a cause for God to curse them too?
Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it, or the saw boast against the one who uses it? As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up, or a club brandish the one who is not wood! Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors; under his pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame. The 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. The splendor of his forests and fertile fields it will completely destroy, as when a sick person wastes away. And the remaining trees of his forests will be so few that a child could write them down. (Isa 10:15-19 NIV)
Will the remnant of Israel repent and return to dependence on God?
And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, To the Mighty God. For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, A remnant of them will return; The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness. For the Lord God of hosts Will make a determined end In the midst of all the land. (Isa 10:20-23 NKJV)
Does God encourage Judah not to be afraid of the Assyrians?
So this is what the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, says: “O my people in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians when they oppress you with rod and club as the Egyptians did long ago. In a little while my anger against you will end, and then my anger will rise up to destroy them.” The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will lash them with his whip, as he did when Gideon triumphed over the Midianites at the rock of Oreb, or when the Lord’s staff was raised to drown the Egyptian army in the sea. In that day the Lord will end the bondage of his people. He will break the yoke of slavery and lift it from their shoulders. (Isa 10:24-27 NLT)
Will the Lord eventually punish Assyria for their arrogance, like lopping a large tree?
He has come to Aiath. He has passed through Migron. At Michmash he stores his baggage. They have gone over the pass. They have taken up their lodging at Geba. Ramah trembles. Gibeah of Saul has fled. Cry aloud with your voice, daughter of Gallim! Listen, Laishah! You poor Anathoth! Madmenah is a fugitive. The inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety. This very day he will halt at Nob. He shakes his hand at the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. Behold, the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, will lop the boughs with terror. The tall will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low. He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One. (Isa 10:28-34 WEB)
Did Jesus also speak of yet another punishment of Jerusalem for her sins, one that occurred about 40 years later?
Now Jesus left the temple and was going away. His disciples came to point out to him the temple buildings. He responded, “Do you see all these things? I assure that no stone will be left on another. Everything will be demolished.” (Mat 24:1-2 CEB)
When Israel fell to Assyria and Judah paid heavy tribute, was God disgusted with Assyria’s arrogance? Are our nations arrogant? You decide!
What does God say about legislation that punishes the needy and robs the poor?
How terrible it will be for the one who enacts unjust decrees, for those who write oppressive laws that they have prescribed to deprive the needy of justice and to rob the poor of my people of their rights, so that widows may become their spoil and so that they may plunder orphans! What will you do on the day of Judgment, in the calamity that will come from far away? To whom will you run for help, and where will you leave your wealth, so you won’t have to crouch among those in chains or fall among the slain? Yet for all this, his anger has not turned away, and his hand is still stretched out, ready to strike. (Isa 10:1-4 ISV)
Which nation would God primarily use to punish the northern tribes of Israel?
O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. (Isa 10:5-6 KJV)
However, instead of humbly acting as God’s vehicle of punishment, does Assyria go too far, acting in an arrogant manner?
But it does not intend to act in this way, And it does not think in its heart in this way, Rather, what is in its heart is to destroy And to cut off many nations. For it says, “Are not my princes all kings? Is not Calno like Carchemish, Or Hamath like Arpad, Or Samaria like Damascus? As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols, Whose graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria, Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her images Just as I have done to Samaria and her idols?” (Isa 10:7-11 LSB)
Will Assyria also receive punishment at the hand of the Lord?
So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the arrogant pride of his eyes.” For he has said, “By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this, Because I have understanding; And I removed the boundaries of the peoples And plundered their treasures, And like a powerful man I brought down their inhabitants, And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a nest, And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth; And there was not one that flapped its wing, opened its beak, or chirped.” (Isa 10:12-14 NASB)
Why is God angry with Assyria? Was their boasting a cause for God to curse them too?
Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it, or the saw boast against the one who uses it? As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up, or a club brandish the one who is not wood! Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors; under his pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame. The 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. The splendor of his forests and fertile fields it will completely destroy, as when a sick person wastes away. And the remaining trees of his forests will be so few that a child could write them down. (Isa 10:15-19 NIV)
Will the remnant of Israel repent and return to dependence on God?
And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, To the Mighty God. For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, A remnant of them will return; The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness. For the Lord God of hosts Will make a determined end In the midst of all the land. (Isa 10:20-23 NKJV)
Does God encourage Judah not to be afraid of the Assyrians?
So this is what the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, says: “O my people in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians when they oppress you with rod and club as the Egyptians did long ago. In a little while my anger against you will end, and then my anger will rise up to destroy them.” The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will lash them with his whip, as he did when Gideon triumphed over the Midianites at the rock of Oreb, or when the Lord’s staff was raised to drown the Egyptian army in the sea. In that day the Lord will end the bondage of his people. He will break the yoke of slavery and lift it from their shoulders. (Isa 10:24-27 NLT)
Will the Lord eventually punish Assyria for their arrogance, like lopping a large tree?
He has come to Aiath. He has passed through Migron. At Michmash he stores his baggage. They have gone over the pass. They have taken up their lodging at Geba. Ramah trembles. Gibeah of Saul has fled. Cry aloud with your voice, daughter of Gallim! Listen, Laishah! You poor Anathoth! Madmenah is a fugitive. The inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety. This very day he will halt at Nob. He shakes his hand at the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. Behold, the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, will lop the boughs with terror. The tall will be cut down, and the lofty will be brought low. He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One. (Isa 10:28-34 WEB)
Did Jesus also speak of yet another punishment of Jerusalem for her sins, one that occurred about 40 years later?
Now Jesus left the temple and was going away. His disciples came to point out to him the temple buildings. He responded, “Do you see all these things? I assure that no stone will be left on another. Everything will be demolished.” (Mat 24:1-2 CEB)
When Israel fell to Assyria and Judah paid heavy tribute, was God disgusted with Assyria’s arrogance? Are our nations arrogant? You decide!
A Government (Isaiah 9)
Do we look forward to a coming government that will rule with fairness and justice? Let’s look at Isaiah 9.
Will there be a great light in Galilee that will replace the gloom of the northern tribes?
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. (Isa 9:1-2 NIV)
Will there be great joy because oppression no longer exists?
You have multiplied the nation And increased its joy; They rejoice before You According to the joy of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For You have broken the yoke of his burden And the staff of his shoulder, The rod of his oppressor, As in the day of Midian. For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle, And garments rolled in blood, Will be used for burning and fuel of fire. (Isa 9:3-5 NKJV)
Will all that happen because a child will be born who will head a government? What child born was also called God in the Bible?
For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen! (Isa 9:6-7 NLT)
Do human political promises often sound like boastful hot air with no substance?
The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it falls on Israel. All the people will know, including Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and in arrogance of heart, “The bricks have fallen, but we will build with cut stone. The sycamore fig trees have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.” (Isa 9:8-10 WEB)
Regardless of the northern tribes’ political bragging, did God’s punishment succeed?
So the Lord raised up their foes against them, and stirred up their enemies—Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west—and they devoured Israel with an open mouth. Even then God’s anger didn’t turn away; God’s hand was still extended. (Isa 9:11-12 CEB)
Did the northern ten tribes repent and worship God?
The people of Israel still did not turn back to the Lord All-Powerful and worship him. In one day he cut off their head and tail, their leaves and branches. Their rulers and leaders were the head, and the lying prophets were the tail. They had led the nation down the wrong path, and the people were confused. The Lord was angry with his people and kept punishing them, because they had turned against him. They were evil and spoke foolishly. That's why he did not have pity on their young people or on their widows and orphans. (Isa 9:13-17 CEV)
Was God’s anger against a sinful nation like a wildfire?
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. 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. 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, 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. (Isa 9:18-21 ESV)
Who was the Word, and how did He become God in the flesh?
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created… The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-3, 14 HCSB)
Do we look forward to a coming government that will rule with fairness and justice? You decide!
Will there be a great light in Galilee that will replace the gloom of the northern tribes?
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. (Isa 9:1-2 NIV)
Will there be great joy because oppression no longer exists?
You have multiplied the nation And increased its joy; They rejoice before You According to the joy of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For You have broken the yoke of his burden And the staff of his shoulder, The rod of his oppressor, As in the day of Midian. For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle, And garments rolled in blood, Will be used for burning and fuel of fire. (Isa 9:3-5 NKJV)
Will all that happen because a child will be born who will head a government? What child born was also called God in the Bible?
For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen! (Isa 9:6-7 NLT)
Do human political promises often sound like boastful hot air with no substance?
The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it falls on Israel. All the people will know, including Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, who say in pride and in arrogance of heart, “The bricks have fallen, but we will build with cut stone. The sycamore fig trees have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.” (Isa 9:8-10 WEB)
Regardless of the northern tribes’ political bragging, did God’s punishment succeed?
So the Lord raised up their foes against them, and stirred up their enemies—Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west—and they devoured Israel with an open mouth. Even then God’s anger didn’t turn away; God’s hand was still extended. (Isa 9:11-12 CEB)
Did the northern ten tribes repent and worship God?
The people of Israel still did not turn back to the Lord All-Powerful and worship him. In one day he cut off their head and tail, their leaves and branches. Their rulers and leaders were the head, and the lying prophets were the tail. They had led the nation down the wrong path, and the people were confused. The Lord was angry with his people and kept punishing them, because they had turned against him. They were evil and spoke foolishly. That's why he did not have pity on their young people or on their widows and orphans. (Isa 9:13-17 CEV)
Was God’s anger against a sinful nation like a wildfire?
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. 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. 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, 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. (Isa 9:18-21 ESV)
Who was the Word, and how did He become God in the flesh?
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created… The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-3, 14 HCSB)
Do we look forward to a coming government that will rule with fairness and justice? You decide!
The Longest Name (Isaiah 8)
When a nation is in serious trouble, where do we go for help? Let’s look at Isaiah 8.
What was the purpose in God naming Isaiah’s second son the longest name in the Bible? Is his name “swift booty, speedy prey,” a prophecy of Assyria conquering the northern tribes of Israel?
The Lord said, “Isaiah, get something to write on. Then write in big clear letters the name, MAHER-SHALAL-HASH-BAZ. I will tell Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah to serve as witnesses to this.” Sometime later, my wife and I had a son, and the Lord said, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. Because before he can say ‘Mommy’ or ‘Daddy,’ the king of Assyria will attack and take everything of value from Damascus and Samaria.” (Isa 8:1-4 CEV)
Had the northern tribes rejected the gentle waters of Jerusalem, God’s loving provision? So, will they be symbolically flooded with the waters from the Euphrates, the Assyrians?
The Lord spoke to me again: “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.” (Isa 8:5-8 ESV)
Will any human schemes thwart God’s plans to punish the nation? Does the meaning of “God with us” (Immanuel) shift from God being with the faithful remnant of Judah to God is literally with us in Christ?
Band together, peoples, and be broken; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for war, and be broken; prepare for war, and be broken. Devise a plan; it will fail. Make a prediction; it will not happen. For God is with us. (Isa 8:9-10 HCSB)
Who should we fear, those who spread panic and conspiracy theories or God?
For this is what the Lord spoke to me, as his forceful hand was resting on me, and as he was warning me not to live the way this people were living: “Don’t call conspiracy everything that this people calls conspiracy, and don’t fear what they fear, or live in terror. The Lord of the Heavenly Armies—he’s the one you are to regard as holy. Let him be the one whom you fear, and let him be the one before whom you stand in terror! Then he will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel he’ll also be a stone with which someone strikes himself, a rock one stumbles over, a trap and a snare to those who live in Jerusalem. Many will stumble on them; They’ll fall and be broken; They’ll be snared and captured. (Isa 8:11-15 ISV)
Were Isaiah’s sons Shear-Jashub (a remnant shall return) and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (swift booty speedy prey), and Isaiah’s name (God is salvation) prophetic signs of what God was about to do?
Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion. (Isa 8:16-18 KJV)
What does God say to those who seek an answer from the occult?
Now when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. And they will pass through the land hard-pressed and hungry, and it will be that when they are hungry, they will be angry and curse their king and their God as they face upward. Then they will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be banished into thick darkness. (Isa 8:19-22 LSB)
How is Jesus both the chief cornerstone and a stone of stumbling?
For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone, And the one who believes in Him will not be put to shame.” This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for unbelievers, “A stone which the builders rejected, This became the chief cornerstone,” and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this they were also appointed. (1 Pet 2:6-8 NASB)
When a nation is in serious trouble, where do we go for help? You decide!
What was the purpose in God naming Isaiah’s second son the longest name in the Bible? Is his name “swift booty, speedy prey,” a prophecy of Assyria conquering the northern tribes of Israel?
The Lord said, “Isaiah, get something to write on. Then write in big clear letters the name, MAHER-SHALAL-HASH-BAZ. I will tell Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah to serve as witnesses to this.” Sometime later, my wife and I had a son, and the Lord said, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. Because before he can say ‘Mommy’ or ‘Daddy,’ the king of Assyria will attack and take everything of value from Damascus and Samaria.” (Isa 8:1-4 CEV)
Had the northern tribes rejected the gentle waters of Jerusalem, God’s loving provision? So, will they be symbolically flooded with the waters from the Euphrates, the Assyrians?
The Lord spoke to me again: “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.” (Isa 8:5-8 ESV)
Will any human schemes thwart God’s plans to punish the nation? Does the meaning of “God with us” (Immanuel) shift from God being with the faithful remnant of Judah to God is literally with us in Christ?
Band together, peoples, and be broken; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for war, and be broken; prepare for war, and be broken. Devise a plan; it will fail. Make a prediction; it will not happen. For God is with us. (Isa 8:9-10 HCSB)
Who should we fear, those who spread panic and conspiracy theories or God?
For this is what the Lord spoke to me, as his forceful hand was resting on me, and as he was warning me not to live the way this people were living: “Don’t call conspiracy everything that this people calls conspiracy, and don’t fear what they fear, or live in terror. The Lord of the Heavenly Armies—he’s the one you are to regard as holy. Let him be the one whom you fear, and let him be the one before whom you stand in terror! Then he will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel he’ll also be a stone with which someone strikes himself, a rock one stumbles over, a trap and a snare to those who live in Jerusalem. Many will stumble on them; They’ll fall and be broken; They’ll be snared and captured. (Isa 8:11-15 ISV)
Were Isaiah’s sons Shear-Jashub (a remnant shall return) and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (swift booty speedy prey), and Isaiah’s name (God is salvation) prophetic signs of what God was about to do?
Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion. (Isa 8:16-18 KJV)
What does God say to those who seek an answer from the occult?
Now when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. And they will pass through the land hard-pressed and hungry, and it will be that when they are hungry, they will be angry and curse their king and their God as they face upward. Then they will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be banished into thick darkness. (Isa 8:19-22 LSB)
How is Jesus both the chief cornerstone and a stone of stumbling?
For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone, And the one who believes in Him will not be put to shame.” This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for unbelievers, “A stone which the builders rejected, This became the chief cornerstone,” and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this they were also appointed. (1 Pet 2:6-8 NASB)
When a nation is in serious trouble, where do we go for help? You decide!
Judgment on the North (Isaiah 7)
Buried in a warning of a coming Assyrian invasion of the northern ten tribes, is there a prophecy of Jesus? Do we believe that if God is for us, who can be against us? Let’s look at Isaiah 7.
Did the northern tribes of Israel align with two foreign kings against Jerusalem?
Now it happened in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not conquer it. When it was told to the house of David, saying, “The Arameans have camped in Ephraim,” his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. (Isa 7:1-2 LSB)
Did God offer Ahaz of Judah, king in Jerusalem, calm assurance that enemy plans would fail and he need only believe?
Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the road to the fuller’s field, and say to him, ‘Take care and be calm, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because of these two stumps of smoldering logs, on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah. Because Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has planned evil against you, saying, “Let’s go up against Judah and terrorize it, and take it for ourselves by assault and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” this is what the Lord God says: “It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass. For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken to pieces, so that it is no longer a people), and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not believe, you certainly shall not last.”’” (Isa 7:3-9 NASB)
Is this important prophecy of Immanuel familiar to those who remember Christ’s birth?
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.” Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. (Isa 7:10-16 NIV)
Was there a warning regarding the northern tribes, with Ephraim at its head, regarding a future destruction by Assyria?
The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people and your father’s house—days that have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah.” And it shall come to pass in that day That the Lord will whistle for the fly That is in the farthest part of the rivers of Egypt, And for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. They will come, and all of them will rest In the desolate valleys and in the clefts of the rocks, And on all thorns and in all pastures. In the same day the Lord will shave with a hired razor, With those from beyond the River, with the king of Assyria, The head and the hair of the legs, And will also remove the beard. (Isa 7:17-20 NKJV)
How thorough would the destruction by Assyria be upon the northern tribes?
In that day a farmer will be fortunate to have a cow and two sheep or goats left. Nevertheless, there will be enough milk for everyone because so few people will be left in the land. They will eat their fill of yogurt and honey. In that day the lush vineyards, now worth 1,000 pieces of silver, will become patches of briers and thorns. The entire land will become a vast expanse of briers and thorns, a hunting ground overrun by wildlife. No one will go to the fertile hillsides where the gardens once grew, for briers and thorns will cover them. Cattle, sheep, and goats will graze there. (Isa 7:21-25 NLT)
How was part of this prophecy used in explaining Jesus’ birth? Was Jesus God with us during His ministry on earth?
Now all this has happened that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel,” which is, being interpreted, “God with us.” (Mat 1:22-23 WEB)
How should we understand the presence of God here on earth?
So what are we going to say about these things? If God is for us, who is [can be] against us? (Rom 8:31 CEB)
Buried in a warning of a coming Assyrian invasion of the northern ten tribes, is there a prophecy of Jesus? Do we believe that if God is for us, who can be against us? You decide!
Did the northern tribes of Israel align with two foreign kings against Jerusalem?
Now it happened in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not conquer it. When it was told to the house of David, saying, “The Arameans have camped in Ephraim,” his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. (Isa 7:1-2 LSB)
Did God offer Ahaz of Judah, king in Jerusalem, calm assurance that enemy plans would fail and he need only believe?
Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the road to the fuller’s field, and say to him, ‘Take care and be calm, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because of these two stumps of smoldering logs, on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah. Because Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has planned evil against you, saying, “Let’s go up against Judah and terrorize it, and take it for ourselves by assault and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it,” this is what the Lord God says: “It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass. For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken to pieces, so that it is no longer a people), and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not believe, you certainly shall not last.”’” (Isa 7:3-9 NASB)
Is this important prophecy of Immanuel familiar to those who remember Christ’s birth?
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.” Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. (Isa 7:10-16 NIV)
Was there a warning regarding the northern tribes, with Ephraim at its head, regarding a future destruction by Assyria?
The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people and your father’s house—days that have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah.” And it shall come to pass in that day That the Lord will whistle for the fly That is in the farthest part of the rivers of Egypt, And for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. They will come, and all of them will rest In the desolate valleys and in the clefts of the rocks, And on all thorns and in all pastures. In the same day the Lord will shave with a hired razor, With those from beyond the River, with the king of Assyria, The head and the hair of the legs, And will also remove the beard. (Isa 7:17-20 NKJV)
How thorough would the destruction by Assyria be upon the northern tribes?
In that day a farmer will be fortunate to have a cow and two sheep or goats left. Nevertheless, there will be enough milk for everyone because so few people will be left in the land. They will eat their fill of yogurt and honey. In that day the lush vineyards, now worth 1,000 pieces of silver, will become patches of briers and thorns. The entire land will become a vast expanse of briers and thorns, a hunting ground overrun by wildlife. No one will go to the fertile hillsides where the gardens once grew, for briers and thorns will cover them. Cattle, sheep, and goats will graze there. (Isa 7:21-25 NLT)
How was part of this prophecy used in explaining Jesus’ birth? Was Jesus God with us during His ministry on earth?
Now all this has happened that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel,” which is, being interpreted, “God with us.” (Mat 1:22-23 WEB)
How should we understand the presence of God here on earth?
So what are we going to say about these things? If God is for us, who is [can be] against us? (Rom 8:31 CEB)
Buried in a warning of a coming Assyrian invasion of the northern ten tribes, is there a prophecy of Jesus? Do we believe that if God is for us, who can be against us? You decide!
Deafen their Ears (Isaiah 6)
Why did both Isaiah and Jesus not want the stubborn and unrepentant to understand? Are we repentant? Let’s look at Isaiah 6.
Is Uzziah the first of four kings during whose reign Isaiah prophesied? Was he one of the good kings of Judah?
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. (Isa 6:1 WEB)
Are the seraphs around God’s throne a unique kind of angel? The Hebrew im-ending is the same plural as our English s-ending. What did they look like? What were they doing?
Winged creatures [Seraphim] were stationed around him. Each had six wings: with two they veiled their faces, with two their feet, and with two they flew about. They shouted to each other, saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of heavenly forces! All the earth is filled with God’s glory!” The doorframe shook at the sound of their shouting, and the house was filled with smoke. (Isa 6: 2-4 CEB)
Does a mature believer realize deeply how sinful our nature actually is?
Then I cried out, “I'm doomed! Everything I say is sinful, and so are the words of everyone around me. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord All-Powerful.” One of the flaming creatures flew over to me with a burning coal that it had taken from the altar with a pair of metal tongs. It touched my lips with the hot coal and said, “This has touched your lips. Your sins are forgiven, and you are no longer guilty.” (Isa 6:5-7 CEV)
Did God call for a volunteer to go and did Isaiah respond? Is God asking for volunteers today?
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” (Isa 6:8 ESV)
How did God respond to Isaiah volunteering? Was his message to be similar to that of Jesus, who spoke in parables to hide the meaning from unrepentant crowds?
And He replied: Go! Say to these people: Keep listening, but do not understand; keep looking, but do not perceive. Dull the minds of these people; deafen their ears and blind their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their minds, turn back, and be healed. (Isa 6:9-10 HCSB)
How long was Isaiah to prophecy during the reigns of four kings of Judah? Who is the holy seed?
Then I asked, “For how long, Lord?” He replied: “Until cities lie waste, without inhabitants, and houses without people; and the land becomes utterly desolate. Until the Lord removes people far away, and there are many empty places in the middle of the land. Even though a tenth of its people remain in it, it will once again be burned, like a terebinth or an oak tree, the stump of which, though the tree has been felled, still contains holy seed.” (Isa 6:11-13 ISV)
When asked why He spoke in parables to people who did not really want to repent, did Jesus echo this chapter of Isaiah?
And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. (Mat 13:14-15 KJV)
Why did both Isaiah and Jesus not want the stubborn and unrepentant to understand? Are we repentant? You decide!
Is Uzziah the first of four kings during whose reign Isaiah prophesied? Was he one of the good kings of Judah?
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. (Isa 6:1 WEB)
Are the seraphs around God’s throne a unique kind of angel? The Hebrew im-ending is the same plural as our English s-ending. What did they look like? What were they doing?
Winged creatures [Seraphim] were stationed around him. Each had six wings: with two they veiled their faces, with two their feet, and with two they flew about. They shouted to each other, saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of heavenly forces! All the earth is filled with God’s glory!” The doorframe shook at the sound of their shouting, and the house was filled with smoke. (Isa 6: 2-4 CEB)
Does a mature believer realize deeply how sinful our nature actually is?
Then I cried out, “I'm doomed! Everything I say is sinful, and so are the words of everyone around me. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord All-Powerful.” One of the flaming creatures flew over to me with a burning coal that it had taken from the altar with a pair of metal tongs. It touched my lips with the hot coal and said, “This has touched your lips. Your sins are forgiven, and you are no longer guilty.” (Isa 6:5-7 CEV)
Did God call for a volunteer to go and did Isaiah respond? Is God asking for volunteers today?
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” (Isa 6:8 ESV)
How did God respond to Isaiah volunteering? Was his message to be similar to that of Jesus, who spoke in parables to hide the meaning from unrepentant crowds?
And He replied: Go! Say to these people: Keep listening, but do not understand; keep looking, but do not perceive. Dull the minds of these people; deafen their ears and blind their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their minds, turn back, and be healed. (Isa 6:9-10 HCSB)
How long was Isaiah to prophecy during the reigns of four kings of Judah? Who is the holy seed?
Then I asked, “For how long, Lord?” He replied: “Until cities lie waste, without inhabitants, and houses without people; and the land becomes utterly desolate. Until the Lord removes people far away, and there are many empty places in the middle of the land. Even though a tenth of its people remain in it, it will once again be burned, like a terebinth or an oak tree, the stump of which, though the tree has been felled, still contains holy seed.” (Isa 6:11-13 ISV)
When asked why He spoke in parables to people who did not really want to repent, did Jesus echo this chapter of Isaiah?
And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. (Mat 13:14-15 KJV)
Why did both Isaiah and Jesus not want the stubborn and unrepentant to understand? Are we repentant? You decide!
Six Woes (Isaiah 5)
Does God warn Israel of six woes, consequences of their wrong ways? What can we learn from this? Let’s look at Isaiah 5.
What does this song picture and what does the vineyard symbolize?
I will sing a song about my friend's [beloved’s] vineyard that was on the side of a fertile hill. My friend dug the ground, removed the stones, and planted the best vines. He built a watchtower and dug a pit in rocky ground for pressing the grapes. He hoped they would be sweet, but bitter grapes were all it produced. (Isa 5:1-2 CEV)
Did God tend His vineyard well but still it did not produce well?
And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? (Isa 5:3-4 ESV)
Does God warn what He is about to do to His vineyard? Does God finally name His vineyard?
Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled. I will make it a wasteland. It will not be pruned or weeded; thorns and briers will grow up. I will also give orders to the clouds that rain should not fall on it. For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah, the plant He delighted in. He looked for justice but saw injustice, for righteousness, but heard cries of wretchedness. (Isa 5:5-7 HCSB)
Are there six woes that God warns Israel and Judah about? Is greed still driving us to make smaller and smaller house blocks and farms with no room for wildlife between fields?
“How terrible it will be [Woe #1] for you who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you have settled yourselves alone in the middle of the land!” The Lord of the Heavenly Armies has declared this so I could hear it: “Surely many houses will become desolate, great and beautiful houses, without occupants. For ten acres of vineyard will produce only one bath, and one omer of seed will produce only one ephah.” (Isa 5:8-10 ISV)
Do we also have a problem with alcoholism among our people?
Woe [#2] unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands. (Isa 5:11-12 KJV)
What will happen to the nation because of their sins? Does God eventually treat all nations alike in this regard?
Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; And their honorable men are famished, And their multitude is parched with thirst. Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without limit; And Jerusalem’s majesty, her multitude, her rumbling, and the exultant within her, descend into it. So the common man will be bowed down and the man of importance will be made low, The eyes of the lofty also will be made low. But Yahweh of hosts will be lofty in judgment, And the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness. Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture, And sojourners will eat in the waste places of the wealthy. (Isa 5:13-17 LSB)
Will criminals with their deceptive scams, bribery, labeling evil good and vice versa be among the first to be punished by God?
Woe [#3] to those who drag wrongdoing with the cords of deceit, And sin as if with cart ropes; Who say, “Let Him hurry, let Him do His work quickly, so that we may see it; And let the plan of the Holy One of Israel approach And come to pass, so that we may know it!” Woe [#4] to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe [#5] to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight! Woe [#6] to those who are heroes in drinking wine, And valiant men in mixing intoxicating drink, Who declare the wicked innocent for a bribe, And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right! (Isa 5:18-23 NASB)
After initial punishment will God relent or double down?
Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore the Lord’s anger burns against his people; his hand is raised and he strikes them down. The mountains shake, and the dead bodies are like refuse in the streets. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised. (Isa 5:24-25 NIV)
Did God then beckon Assyria to invade Israel? Will our modern nations escape God's punishment for our sins?
He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar, And will whistle to them from the end of the earth; Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly. No one will be weary or stumble among them, No one will slumber or sleep; Nor will the belt on their loins be loosed, Nor the strap of their sandals be broken; Whose arrows are sharp, And all their bows bent; Their horses’ hooves will seem like flint, And their wheels like a whirlwind. Their roaring will be like a lion, They will roar like young lions; Yes, they will roar And lay hold of the prey; They will carry it away safely, And no one will deliver. In that day they will roar against them Like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks to the land, Behold, darkness and sorrow; And the light is darkened by the clouds. (Isa 5:26-30 NKJV)
Rather than the bad fruit of a rebellious nation, what fruit does the Holy Spirit produce?
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (Gal 5:22-23 NLT)
Does God warn Israel of six woes, consequences of their wrong ways? What can we learn from this? You decide!
What does this song picture and what does the vineyard symbolize?
I will sing a song about my friend's [beloved’s] vineyard that was on the side of a fertile hill. My friend dug the ground, removed the stones, and planted the best vines. He built a watchtower and dug a pit in rocky ground for pressing the grapes. He hoped they would be sweet, but bitter grapes were all it produced. (Isa 5:1-2 CEV)
Did God tend His vineyard well but still it did not produce well?
And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? (Isa 5:3-4 ESV)
Does God warn what He is about to do to His vineyard? Does God finally name His vineyard?
Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled. I will make it a wasteland. It will not be pruned or weeded; thorns and briers will grow up. I will also give orders to the clouds that rain should not fall on it. For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah, the plant He delighted in. He looked for justice but saw injustice, for righteousness, but heard cries of wretchedness. (Isa 5:5-7 HCSB)
Are there six woes that God warns Israel and Judah about? Is greed still driving us to make smaller and smaller house blocks and farms with no room for wildlife between fields?
“How terrible it will be [Woe #1] for you who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you have settled yourselves alone in the middle of the land!” The Lord of the Heavenly Armies has declared this so I could hear it: “Surely many houses will become desolate, great and beautiful houses, without occupants. For ten acres of vineyard will produce only one bath, and one omer of seed will produce only one ephah.” (Isa 5:8-10 ISV)
Do we also have a problem with alcoholism among our people?
Woe [#2] unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands. (Isa 5:11-12 KJV)
What will happen to the nation because of their sins? Does God eventually treat all nations alike in this regard?
Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; And their honorable men are famished, And their multitude is parched with thirst. Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without limit; And Jerusalem’s majesty, her multitude, her rumbling, and the exultant within her, descend into it. So the common man will be bowed down and the man of importance will be made low, The eyes of the lofty also will be made low. But Yahweh of hosts will be lofty in judgment, And the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness. Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture, And sojourners will eat in the waste places of the wealthy. (Isa 5:13-17 LSB)
Will criminals with their deceptive scams, bribery, labeling evil good and vice versa be among the first to be punished by God?
Woe [#3] to those who drag wrongdoing with the cords of deceit, And sin as if with cart ropes; Who say, “Let Him hurry, let Him do His work quickly, so that we may see it; And let the plan of the Holy One of Israel approach And come to pass, so that we may know it!” Woe [#4] to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe [#5] to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight! Woe [#6] to those who are heroes in drinking wine, And valiant men in mixing intoxicating drink, Who declare the wicked innocent for a bribe, And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right! (Isa 5:18-23 NASB)
After initial punishment will God relent or double down?
Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore the Lord’s anger burns against his people; his hand is raised and he strikes them down. The mountains shake, and the dead bodies are like refuse in the streets. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised. (Isa 5:24-25 NIV)
Did God then beckon Assyria to invade Israel? Will our modern nations escape God's punishment for our sins?
He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar, And will whistle to them from the end of the earth; Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly. No one will be weary or stumble among them, No one will slumber or sleep; Nor will the belt on their loins be loosed, Nor the strap of their sandals be broken; Whose arrows are sharp, And all their bows bent; Their horses’ hooves will seem like flint, And their wheels like a whirlwind. Their roaring will be like a lion, They will roar like young lions; Yes, they will roar And lay hold of the prey; They will carry it away safely, And no one will deliver. In that day they will roar against them Like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks to the land, Behold, darkness and sorrow; And the light is darkened by the clouds. (Isa 5:26-30 NKJV)
Rather than the bad fruit of a rebellious nation, what fruit does the Holy Spirit produce?
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (Gal 5:22-23 NLT)
Does God warn Israel of six woes, consequences of their wrong ways? What can we learn from this? You decide!
Jerusalem Cleansed (Isaiah 4)
Do we believe that Jerusalem will finally be cleansed and become holy? Let’s look at Isaiah 4.
Does warfare often kill so many male soldiers that women become a majority for a time? Does this depict desperate women?
In that day seven women will take hold of one man and say, “We will eat our own food and provide our own clothes; only let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace!” (Isa 4:1 NIV)
Is there a reference to Jesus in this prophecy? Is that just a thought of Him giving people hope in dark times or does this also apply in some way to His return? What does it mean that some are recorded among the living?
In that day the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious; And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing For those of Israel who have escaped. And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. (Isa 4:2-3 NKJV)
When the Branch of the Lord reigns will He wash Jerusalem’s sins, and because they are clean, will God’s presence be there again?
The Lord will wash the filth from beautiful Zion and cleanse Jerusalem of its bloodstains with the hot breath of fiery judgment. Then the Lord will provide shade for Mount Zion and all who assemble there. He will provide a canopy of cloud during the day and smoke and flaming fire at night, covering the glorious land. It will be a shelter from daytime heat and a hiding place from storms and rain. (Isa 4:4-6 NLT)
How are we saved, by our own goodness or by a washing from heaven?
not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5 WEB)
Who is the Branch that will bring cleansing to Jerusalem, mentioned here in this prophecy?
I, Jesus, have sent my angel to bear witness to all of you about these things for the churches. I’m the root and descendant [Branch] of David, the bright morning star. (Rev 22:16 CEB)
Do we believe that Jerusalem will finally be cleansed and become holy? You decide!
Does warfare often kill so many male soldiers that women become a majority for a time? Does this depict desperate women?
In that day seven women will take hold of one man and say, “We will eat our own food and provide our own clothes; only let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace!” (Isa 4:1 NIV)
Is there a reference to Jesus in this prophecy? Is that just a thought of Him giving people hope in dark times or does this also apply in some way to His return? What does it mean that some are recorded among the living?
In that day the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious; And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing For those of Israel who have escaped. And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. (Isa 4:2-3 NKJV)
When the Branch of the Lord reigns will He wash Jerusalem’s sins, and because they are clean, will God’s presence be there again?
The Lord will wash the filth from beautiful Zion and cleanse Jerusalem of its bloodstains with the hot breath of fiery judgment. Then the Lord will provide shade for Mount Zion and all who assemble there. He will provide a canopy of cloud during the day and smoke and flaming fire at night, covering the glorious land. It will be a shelter from daytime heat and a hiding place from storms and rain. (Isa 4:4-6 NLT)
How are we saved, by our own goodness or by a washing from heaven?
not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5 WEB)
Who is the Branch that will bring cleansing to Jerusalem, mentioned here in this prophecy?
I, Jesus, have sent my angel to bear witness to all of you about these things for the churches. I’m the root and descendant [Branch] of David, the bright morning star. (Rev 22:16 CEB)
Do we believe that Jerusalem will finally be cleansed and become holy? You decide!
Jerusalem Judged (Isaiah 3)
As God judged Jerusalem, will He eventually judge the wrongs of the whole world? Let’s look at Isaiah 3.
What did the Lord say He would do to Jerusalem? Did the people rely upon many things but not God? Do our people?
The Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will take away from Jerusalem and Judah everything they depend on: every bit of bread and every drop of water, all their heroes and soldiers, judges and prophets, fortune-tellers and elders, army officers and high officials, advisers, skilled sorcerers, and astrologers. (Isa 3:1-3 NLT)
What happens when the young and foolish dominate a culture?
I will give boys to be their princes, and children shall rule over them. The people will be oppressed, everyone by another, and everyone by his neighbor. The child will behave himself proudly against the old man, and the wicked against the honorable. (Isa 3:4-5 WEB)
Can times get so bad that mature and wise leadership is totally lacking and nobody wants the responsibility?
Someone will seize a family member, saying, “You have clothing! You be our leader! This mess will be your responsibility!” Someone else will cry out on that day, “I’m no healer! I have neither food nor clothing in my house! Don’t make me the leader of the people!” (Isa 3:6-7 CEB)
What was the cause of Jerusalem’s troubles? Did they bring it on themselves?
Jerusalem and Judah, you rebelled against your glorious Lord—your words and your actions, made you stumble and fall. The look on your faces shows that you are sinful as Sodom, and you don't try to hide it. You are in for trouble, and you have brought it all on yourselves. (Isa 3:8-9 CEV)
Can the wrong kind of leaders come to power? What about our national leadership?
Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him. My people—infants are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, your guides mislead you and they have swallowed up the course of your paths. (Isa 3:10-12 ESV)
Could God charge our world with similar wrongs, plundering the poor and crushing people?
The Lord rises to argue the case and stands to judge the people. The Lord brings this charge against the elders and leaders of His people: “You have devastated the vineyard. The plunder from the poor is in your houses. Why do you crush My people and grind the faces of the poor?” This is the declaration of the Lord God of Hosts. (Isa 3:13-15 HCSB)
Are some of our women vain and self-centered? What did God say about the women of Zion?
The Lord says, “The women of Zion are haughty, walking along with outstretched necks, flirting with their eyes, strutting along with swaying hips, with ornaments jingling on their ankles. Therefore the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion; the Lord will make their scalps bald.” (Isa 3:16-17 NIV)
What would God say about arrogant and self-indulgent women?
In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, The rings, and nose jewels, The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails. (Isa 3:18-23 KJV)
Is God’s way of teaching people to love their neighbor, sometimes for them to experience the suffering they ignored in others?
Now it will be that instead of sweet perfume there will be the smell of rot; Instead of a belt, a rope; Instead of well-set hair, a plucked-out scalp; Instead of fine clothes, a donning of sackcloth; And branding instead of beauty. Your men will fall by the sword And your mighty ones in battle. And her gates will lament and mourn, And deserted she will sit on the ground. (Isa 3:24-26 LSB)
Will a similar thing happen to this world’s Babylonian system, built on the excesses of capitalist greed, obnoxious wealth for some and deplorable slavery for others?
And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any more—cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; every kind of citron wood, every article of ivory, and every article made from very valuable wood, bronze, iron, and marble; cinnamon, spice, incense, perfume, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, and cargo of horses, carriages, slaves, and human lives. (Rev 18:11-13 NASB)
As God judged Jerusalem, will He eventually judge the wrongs of the whole world? You decide!
What did the Lord say He would do to Jerusalem? Did the people rely upon many things but not God? Do our people?
The Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will take away from Jerusalem and Judah everything they depend on: every bit of bread and every drop of water, all their heroes and soldiers, judges and prophets, fortune-tellers and elders, army officers and high officials, advisers, skilled sorcerers, and astrologers. (Isa 3:1-3 NLT)
What happens when the young and foolish dominate a culture?
I will give boys to be their princes, and children shall rule over them. The people will be oppressed, everyone by another, and everyone by his neighbor. The child will behave himself proudly against the old man, and the wicked against the honorable. (Isa 3:4-5 WEB)
Can times get so bad that mature and wise leadership is totally lacking and nobody wants the responsibility?
Someone will seize a family member, saying, “You have clothing! You be our leader! This mess will be your responsibility!” Someone else will cry out on that day, “I’m no healer! I have neither food nor clothing in my house! Don’t make me the leader of the people!” (Isa 3:6-7 CEB)
What was the cause of Jerusalem’s troubles? Did they bring it on themselves?
Jerusalem and Judah, you rebelled against your glorious Lord—your words and your actions, made you stumble and fall. The look on your faces shows that you are sinful as Sodom, and you don't try to hide it. You are in for trouble, and you have brought it all on yourselves. (Isa 3:8-9 CEV)
Can the wrong kind of leaders come to power? What about our national leadership?
Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him. My people—infants are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, your guides mislead you and they have swallowed up the course of your paths. (Isa 3:10-12 ESV)
Could God charge our world with similar wrongs, plundering the poor and crushing people?
The Lord rises to argue the case and stands to judge the people. The Lord brings this charge against the elders and leaders of His people: “You have devastated the vineyard. The plunder from the poor is in your houses. Why do you crush My people and grind the faces of the poor?” This is the declaration of the Lord God of Hosts. (Isa 3:13-15 HCSB)
Are some of our women vain and self-centered? What did God say about the women of Zion?
The Lord says, “The women of Zion are haughty, walking along with outstretched necks, flirting with their eyes, strutting along with swaying hips, with ornaments jingling on their ankles. Therefore the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion; the Lord will make their scalps bald.” (Isa 3:16-17 NIV)
What would God say about arrogant and self-indulgent women?
In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, The rings, and nose jewels, The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails. (Isa 3:18-23 KJV)
Is God’s way of teaching people to love their neighbor, sometimes for them to experience the suffering they ignored in others?
Now it will be that instead of sweet perfume there will be the smell of rot; Instead of a belt, a rope; Instead of well-set hair, a plucked-out scalp; Instead of fine clothes, a donning of sackcloth; And branding instead of beauty. Your men will fall by the sword And your mighty ones in battle. And her gates will lament and mourn, And deserted she will sit on the ground. (Isa 3:24-26 LSB)
Will a similar thing happen to this world’s Babylonian system, built on the excesses of capitalist greed, obnoxious wealth for some and deplorable slavery for others?
And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any more—cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; every kind of citron wood, every article of ivory, and every article made from very valuable wood, bronze, iron, and marble; cinnamon, spice, incense, perfume, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, and cargo of horses, carriages, slaves, and human lives. (Rev 18:11-13 NASB)
As God judged Jerusalem, will He eventually judge the wrongs of the whole world? You decide!
Day of the Lord (Isaiah 2)
Will we endure as the end of the age and the Lord’s return draw near? Let’s look at Isaiah 2.
How will world peace come, from human leadership or from the Lord? Why will mount Zion be exalted above every other mountain?
The vision that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s house will be established at the top of the mountains and will be raised above the hills. All nations will stream to it, and many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us about His ways so that we may walk in His paths.” For instruction will go out of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will settle disputes among the nations and provide arbitration for many peoples. They will turn their swords into plows and their spears into pruning knives. Nations will not take up the sword against other nations, and they will never again train for war. (Isa 2:1-4 HCSB)
Why did God reject Israel? Will God tolerate eastern religious practices and idolatry?
You house of Jacob! Come! Let’s live in the Lord’s light. For you have rejected your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled with practices learned from the East and they are fortune-tellers like the Philistines. They cut deals with foreigners. Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures; their land is filled with horses, and there is no end to their chariots. Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made. So mankind is humbled, each human being is brought low, and you won’t forgive. (Isa 2:5-9 ISV)
Who will be exalted on the day of the Lord, and who will be humbled?
Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. (Isa 2:10-11 KJV)
Will the day of the Lord also be a day of reckoning? For whom and what symbols of human arrogance?
For Yahweh of hosts will have a day of reckoning Against everyone who is proud and high And against everyone who is lifted up, That he may be made low. And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, Against all the oaks of Bashan, Against all the high mountains, Against all the hills that are lifted up, Against every lofty tower, Against every fortified wall, Against all the ships of Tarshish And against all the desirable craft. (Isa 2:12-16 LSB)
Is there a lot of arrogance in the world and even various religious traditions? Who alone will be exalted on that day?
And the pride of humanity will be humbled And the arrogance of people will be brought low; And the Lord alone will be exalted on that day, And the idols will completely vanish. People will go into caves of the rocks And into holes in the ground Away from the terror of the Lord And the splendor of His majesty, When He arises to terrify the earth. On that day people will throw away to the moles and the bats Their idols of silver and their idols of gold, Which they made for themselves to worship, In order to go into the clefts of the rocks and the crannies of the cliffs Before the terror of the Lord and the splendor of His majesty, When He arises to terrify the earth. Take no account of man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; For why should he be esteemed? (Isa 2:17-22 NASB)
Does the New Testament also address the day of the Lord? Who will help us endure until the very end?
He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Cor 1:8-9 NIV)
Will we endure as the end of the age and the Lord’s return draw near? You decide!
How will world peace come, from human leadership or from the Lord? Why will mount Zion be exalted above every other mountain?
The vision that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s house will be established at the top of the mountains and will be raised above the hills. All nations will stream to it, and many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us about His ways so that we may walk in His paths.” For instruction will go out of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will settle disputes among the nations and provide arbitration for many peoples. They will turn their swords into plows and their spears into pruning knives. Nations will not take up the sword against other nations, and they will never again train for war. (Isa 2:1-4 HCSB)
Why did God reject Israel? Will God tolerate eastern religious practices and idolatry?
You house of Jacob! Come! Let’s live in the Lord’s light. For you have rejected your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled with practices learned from the East and they are fortune-tellers like the Philistines. They cut deals with foreigners. Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures; their land is filled with horses, and there is no end to their chariots. Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made. So mankind is humbled, each human being is brought low, and you won’t forgive. (Isa 2:5-9 ISV)
Who will be exalted on the day of the Lord, and who will be humbled?
Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. (Isa 2:10-11 KJV)
Will the day of the Lord also be a day of reckoning? For whom and what symbols of human arrogance?
For Yahweh of hosts will have a day of reckoning Against everyone who is proud and high And against everyone who is lifted up, That he may be made low. And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, Against all the oaks of Bashan, Against all the high mountains, Against all the hills that are lifted up, Against every lofty tower, Against every fortified wall, Against all the ships of Tarshish And against all the desirable craft. (Isa 2:12-16 LSB)
Is there a lot of arrogance in the world and even various religious traditions? Who alone will be exalted on that day?
And the pride of humanity will be humbled And the arrogance of people will be brought low; And the Lord alone will be exalted on that day, And the idols will completely vanish. People will go into caves of the rocks And into holes in the ground Away from the terror of the Lord And the splendor of His majesty, When He arises to terrify the earth. On that day people will throw away to the moles and the bats Their idols of silver and their idols of gold, Which they made for themselves to worship, In order to go into the clefts of the rocks and the crannies of the cliffs Before the terror of the Lord and the splendor of His majesty, When He arises to terrify the earth. Take no account of man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; For why should he be esteemed? (Isa 2:17-22 NASB)
Does the New Testament also address the day of the Lord? Who will help us endure until the very end?
He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Cor 1:8-9 NIV)
Will we endure as the end of the age and the Lord’s return draw near? You decide!
Apostasy (Isaiah 1)
How does God view a society that relies on religious rituals, but abandons love of God and neighbor? Let’s look at Isaiah 1.
After about 700 years in the land, 400 years under judges and 120 years under three kings, as the northern Tribes were being taken captive by Assyria, Isaiah prophesied. Was this vision during the reign of three good kings of Judah and one evil king, Ahaz?
The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. (Isa 1:1 KJV)
After Solomon, was Israel divided in two, Israel in the north and Judah in the south, partly because they became apostates, forsaking God?
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; For Yahweh speaks, “Sons I have reared and raised up, But they have transgressed against Me. An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master’s manger, But Israel does not know; My people do not perceive.” Alas, sinful nation, People heavy with iniquity, Seed of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have forsaken Yahweh; They have spurned the Holy One of Israel; They have become estranged from Him. (Isa 1:2-4 LSB)
Is God sorry for the self-affliction that sin has caused to Judah?
Where will you be stricken again, As you continue in your rebellion? The entire head is sick And the entire heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing healthy in it, Only bruises, slashes, and raw wounds; Not pressed out nor bandaged, Nor softened with oil. (Isa 1:5-6 NASB)
Is sin a cause of national destruction? Does this apply to other nations as well?
Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers. Daughter Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a cucumber field, like a city under siege. Unless the Lord Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah. (Isa 1:7-9 NIV)
Why was Israel in such trouble even while keeping feasts that God had commanded? What were their hands full of?
Hear the word of the Lord, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You people of Gomorrah: “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” Says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats.
“When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, To trample My courts? Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. (Isa 1:10-15 NKJV)
What other attributes are more important to God than keeping feast days and rituals?
Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. (Isa 1:16-17 NLT)
How could their sins become white as snow? Was repentance involved? Is Jesus the ultimate answer to our sins?
“Come now, and let’s reason together,” says Yahweh: “Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured with the sword; for Yahweh’s mouth has spoken it.” (Isa 1:18-20 WEB)
Has Jerusalem become unfaithful, like a harlot? What specific sins does God list?
This faithful town has become a prostitute! She was full of justice; righteousness lived in her—but now murderers. Your silver has become impure; your beer is diluted with water. Your princes are rebels, companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and pursues gifts. They don’t defend the orphan, and the widow’s cause never reaches them. Therefore, says the Lord God of heavenly forces, the mighty one of Israel: Doom! I will vent my anger against my foes; I will take it out on my enemies, and I will turn my hand against you. I will refine your impurities as with lye, and remove all your cinders. Then I will restore your judges as in earlier times, and your counselors as at the beginning. After this you will be called Righteous City, Faithful Town. (Isa 1:21-26 CEB)
How important are justice and doing right to God? How vile is idolatry to God?
Jerusalem, you will be saved by showing justice; Zion's people who turn to me will be saved by doing right. But those rebellious sinners who turn against me, the Lord, will all disappear.
You will be made ashamed of those groves of trees where you worshiped idols. You will be like a grove of trees dying in a drought. Your strongest leaders will be like dry wood set on fire by their idols. No one will be able to help, as they all go up in flames. (Isa 1:27-31 CEV)
What will Jesus say to those who did not act in love for their neighbor?
Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Mat 25:44-46 ESV)
How does God view a society that relies on religious rituals, but abandons love of God and neighbor? You decide!
After about 700 years in the land, 400 years under judges and 120 years under three kings, as the northern Tribes were being taken captive by Assyria, Isaiah prophesied. Was this vision during the reign of three good kings of Judah and one evil king, Ahaz?
The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. (Isa 1:1 KJV)
After Solomon, was Israel divided in two, Israel in the north and Judah in the south, partly because they became apostates, forsaking God?
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; For Yahweh speaks, “Sons I have reared and raised up, But they have transgressed against Me. An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master’s manger, But Israel does not know; My people do not perceive.” Alas, sinful nation, People heavy with iniquity, Seed of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have forsaken Yahweh; They have spurned the Holy One of Israel; They have become estranged from Him. (Isa 1:2-4 LSB)
Is God sorry for the self-affliction that sin has caused to Judah?
Where will you be stricken again, As you continue in your rebellion? The entire head is sick And the entire heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing healthy in it, Only bruises, slashes, and raw wounds; Not pressed out nor bandaged, Nor softened with oil. (Isa 1:5-6 NASB)
Is sin a cause of national destruction? Does this apply to other nations as well?
Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers. Daughter Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a cucumber field, like a city under siege. Unless the Lord Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah. (Isa 1:7-9 NIV)
Why was Israel in such trouble even while keeping feasts that God had commanded? What were their hands full of?
Hear the word of the Lord, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You people of Gomorrah: “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” Says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats.
“When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, To trample My courts? Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. (Isa 1:10-15 NKJV)
What other attributes are more important to God than keeping feast days and rituals?
Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. (Isa 1:16-17 NLT)
How could their sins become white as snow? Was repentance involved? Is Jesus the ultimate answer to our sins?
“Come now, and let’s reason together,” says Yahweh: “Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured with the sword; for Yahweh’s mouth has spoken it.” (Isa 1:18-20 WEB)
Has Jerusalem become unfaithful, like a harlot? What specific sins does God list?
This faithful town has become a prostitute! She was full of justice; righteousness lived in her—but now murderers. Your silver has become impure; your beer is diluted with water. Your princes are rebels, companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and pursues gifts. They don’t defend the orphan, and the widow’s cause never reaches them. Therefore, says the Lord God of heavenly forces, the mighty one of Israel: Doom! I will vent my anger against my foes; I will take it out on my enemies, and I will turn my hand against you. I will refine your impurities as with lye, and remove all your cinders. Then I will restore your judges as in earlier times, and your counselors as at the beginning. After this you will be called Righteous City, Faithful Town. (Isa 1:21-26 CEB)
How important are justice and doing right to God? How vile is idolatry to God?
Jerusalem, you will be saved by showing justice; Zion's people who turn to me will be saved by doing right. But those rebellious sinners who turn against me, the Lord, will all disappear.
You will be made ashamed of those groves of trees where you worshiped idols. You will be like a grove of trees dying in a drought. Your strongest leaders will be like dry wood set on fire by their idols. No one will be able to help, as they all go up in flames. (Isa 1:27-31 CEV)
What will Jesus say to those who did not act in love for their neighbor?
Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Mat 25:44-46 ESV)
How does God view a society that relies on religious rituals, but abandons love of God and neighbor? You decide!
The Groom Arrives (Song of Songs 8)
Does the bride long for her groom to come? Do we long for Christ to come? Let’s look at Song of Songs 8.
Does the bride wish her groom was a brother, so she could kiss him publicly without shame? Does she dream of his hand under her head in intimate embrace?
If only I could treat you like my brother, one who nursed at my mother’s breasts, I would find you in public and kiss you, and no one would scorn me. I would lead you, I would take you, to the house of my mother who taught me. I would give you spiced wine to drink from my pomegranate juice. His left hand is under my head, and his right arm embraces me. Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you: do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time. (Song 8:1-4 HCSB)
How intense is the love of the bride for her groom? How intense is the love of the Church for Christ?
Who is this coming up from the desert, leaning on her beloved? Under the apple tree I awakened you. There your mother had gone into labor with you; there she went into labor and gave birth to you. Set me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, passion as intense as Sheol. The flames of love are flames of fire, a blaze that comes from the Lord. Mighty bodies of water cannot extinguish love, rivers cannot put it out. If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, he would surely be viewed with contempt. (Song 8:5-7 ISV)
Do the bride’s brothers reminisce about her childhood with gratitude for what she has become? If she was a wall of purity would they honor her highly? Did they guard the door to promiscuity and protect her virginity? Who is protecting our spiritual purity?
We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar. (Song 8:8-9 KJV)
Does the bride openly declare her purity, like a wall that cannot be breached, as she rejects Solomon’s vineyard and wealth?
I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers; Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace. Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; He gave the vineyard to caretakers. Each one was to bring one thousand shekels of silver for its fruit. My very own vineyard is before me; The thousand shekels are for you, Solomon, And two hundred are for those who take care of its fruit. (Song 8:10-12 LSB)
What do the bride and groom say to each other in conclusion? Do we also wait for Christ hoping He will come soon?
“You who sit in the gardens: My companions are listening for your voice—Let me hear it!” “Hurry, my beloved, And be like a gazelle or a young stag On the mountains of balsam trees!” (Song 8:13-14 NASB)
Though we may fall asleep waiting for the bridegroom to come, have we prepared by putting oil in our lamps?
The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ (Mat 25:4-6 NIV)
Does the bride long for her groom to come? Do we long for Christ to come? You decide!
Does the bride wish her groom was a brother, so she could kiss him publicly without shame? Does she dream of his hand under her head in intimate embrace?
If only I could treat you like my brother, one who nursed at my mother’s breasts, I would find you in public and kiss you, and no one would scorn me. I would lead you, I would take you, to the house of my mother who taught me. I would give you spiced wine to drink from my pomegranate juice. His left hand is under my head, and his right arm embraces me. Young women of Jerusalem, I charge you: do not stir up or awaken love until the appropriate time. (Song 8:1-4 HCSB)
How intense is the love of the bride for her groom? How intense is the love of the Church for Christ?
Who is this coming up from the desert, leaning on her beloved? Under the apple tree I awakened you. There your mother had gone into labor with you; there she went into labor and gave birth to you. Set me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, passion as intense as Sheol. The flames of love are flames of fire, a blaze that comes from the Lord. Mighty bodies of water cannot extinguish love, rivers cannot put it out. If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, he would surely be viewed with contempt. (Song 8:5-7 ISV)
Do the bride’s brothers reminisce about her childhood with gratitude for what she has become? If she was a wall of purity would they honor her highly? Did they guard the door to promiscuity and protect her virginity? Who is protecting our spiritual purity?
We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar. (Song 8:8-9 KJV)
Does the bride openly declare her purity, like a wall that cannot be breached, as she rejects Solomon’s vineyard and wealth?
I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers; Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace. Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; He gave the vineyard to caretakers. Each one was to bring one thousand shekels of silver for its fruit. My very own vineyard is before me; The thousand shekels are for you, Solomon, And two hundred are for those who take care of its fruit. (Song 8:10-12 LSB)
What do the bride and groom say to each other in conclusion? Do we also wait for Christ hoping He will come soon?
“You who sit in the gardens: My companions are listening for your voice—Let me hear it!” “Hurry, my beloved, And be like a gazelle or a young stag On the mountains of balsam trees!” (Song 8:13-14 NASB)
Though we may fall asleep waiting for the bridegroom to come, have we prepared by putting oil in our lamps?
The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ (Mat 25:4-6 NIV)
Does the bride long for her groom to come? Do we long for Christ to come? You decide!
Intimacy (Song of Songs 7)
Can we see past the sins of this world to the purity of intimacy in a faithful marriage and how it pictures Christ’s love for the Church? Let’s look at Song of Songs 7.
As we examine this unashamedly intimate passage of a man’s love for his bride, can we see the intimate love of Christ for His Church?
How graceful are your sandaled feet, willing woman! The smooth curves of your thighs—like fine jewelry, the work of an artist’s hands! Your navel, cupped like the full moon—may it never lack spiced wine! Your belly is a mound of winnowed wheat edged with lilies. Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle doe; your neck, like a tower of ivory; your eyes, pools in Heshbon, by the gate of that lordly city. Your profile is like the tower of Lebanon, looking out toward Damascus. Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, and your hair, braided in royal purple—a king is bound by the tresses! You are so beautiful, so lovely—my love, delightful one! Your stately form resembles a date palm, and your breasts are like clustered fruit. I say, “I will climb the palm tree; I will hold its fruit!” May your breasts be now like grape clusters, and the scent of your breath like apples! Your palate is like excellent wine flowing smoothly for my love, gliding through the lips and teeth. (Song 7:1-9 CEB)
As we examine the bride’s perspective in this unashamedly intimate passage, can we appreciate the Church’s love for Christ?
My darling, I am yours, and you desire me. Let's stroll through the fields and sleep in the villages. At dawn let's slip out and see if grapevines and fruit trees are covered with blossoms. When we are there, I will give you my love. Perfume from the magic flower fills the air, my darling. Right at our doorstep I have stored up for you all kinds of tasty fruits. (Song 7:10-13 CEV)
How important is physical intimacy in a godly marriage?
The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. (1 Cor 7:3-5 ESV)
Can we see past the sins of this world to the purity of intimacy in a faithful marriage and how it pictures Christ’s love for the Church? You decide!
As we examine this unashamedly intimate passage of a man’s love for his bride, can we see the intimate love of Christ for His Church?
How graceful are your sandaled feet, willing woman! The smooth curves of your thighs—like fine jewelry, the work of an artist’s hands! Your navel, cupped like the full moon—may it never lack spiced wine! Your belly is a mound of winnowed wheat edged with lilies. Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle doe; your neck, like a tower of ivory; your eyes, pools in Heshbon, by the gate of that lordly city. Your profile is like the tower of Lebanon, looking out toward Damascus. Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, and your hair, braided in royal purple—a king is bound by the tresses! You are so beautiful, so lovely—my love, delightful one! Your stately form resembles a date palm, and your breasts are like clustered fruit. I say, “I will climb the palm tree; I will hold its fruit!” May your breasts be now like grape clusters, and the scent of your breath like apples! Your palate is like excellent wine flowing smoothly for my love, gliding through the lips and teeth. (Song 7:1-9 CEB)
As we examine the bride’s perspective in this unashamedly intimate passage, can we appreciate the Church’s love for Christ?
My darling, I am yours, and you desire me. Let's stroll through the fields and sleep in the villages. At dawn let's slip out and see if grapevines and fruit trees are covered with blossoms. When we are there, I will give you my love. Perfume from the magic flower fills the air, my darling. Right at our doorstep I have stored up for you all kinds of tasty fruits. (Song 7:10-13 CEV)
How important is physical intimacy in a godly marriage?
The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. (1 Cor 7:3-5 ESV)
Can we see past the sins of this world to the purity of intimacy in a faithful marriage and how it pictures Christ’s love for the Church? You decide!
In the Garden (Song of Songs 6)
Are our marriages on earth meant to be a jubilant foreshadow of the marriage of the Lamb, a joyful celebration? Let’s look at Song of Songs 6.
Acting as narrators, what do the young women of Jerusalem ask the Bride?
Where did your beloved go, most beautiful of women? Where did your beloved turn, so we may look for him with you? (Song 6:1 ISV)
How does the Bride answer the question from the narrators, the women of Jerusalem? Does the Church ask where Jesus has gone?
My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies. (Song 6:2-3 KJV)
What did the groom say to his beautiful bride? Did God love Israel? Does Jesus love His Church?
You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, As lovely as Jerusalem, As majestic as an army with banners. Turn your eyes away from me, For they have overwhelmed me; Your hair is like a flock of goats That have leapt down from Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of ewes Which have come up from their washing, All of which bear twins, And not one among them has lost her young. Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate Behind your veil. (Song 6:4-7 LSB)
When a man is truly in love, how does he look upon his bride? How did God look upon Israel? How does Jesus look upon the Church?
There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, And young women without number; But my dove, my perfect one, is unique: She is her mother’s only daughter; She is the pure child of the one who gave birth to her. (Song 6:8-9a NASB)
How did the young friends of the bride describe her?
The young women saw her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines praised her. Who is this that appears like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, majestic as the stars in procession? (Song 6:9b-10 NIV)
When love came into his heart, did an ordinary stroll through the garden seem like a royal pageant? Is it like a return to Eden, as Jesus marries His Church?
I went down to the garden of nuts To see the verdure of the valley, To see whether the vine had budded And the pomegranates had bloomed. Before I was even aware, My soul had made me As the chariots of my noble people. (Song 6:11-12 NKJV)
Do the young women want to gaze on the Bride? Did the Groom ask why they look while the Bride dances between two lines?
Return, return to us, O maid of Shulam. Come back, come back, that we may see you again. Why do you stare at this young woman of Shulam, as she moves so gracefully between two lines of dancers? (Song 6:13 NLT)
Is the Church to be married to Christ, as a pure virgin, without sin?
For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy. For I promised you in marriage to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ. (2 Cor 11:2 WEB)
Are our marriages on earth meant to be a jubilant foreshadow of the marriage of the Lamb, a joyful celebration? You decide!
Acting as narrators, what do the young women of Jerusalem ask the Bride?
Where did your beloved go, most beautiful of women? Where did your beloved turn, so we may look for him with you? (Song 6:1 ISV)
How does the Bride answer the question from the narrators, the women of Jerusalem? Does the Church ask where Jesus has gone?
My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies. (Song 6:2-3 KJV)
What did the groom say to his beautiful bride? Did God love Israel? Does Jesus love His Church?
You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, As lovely as Jerusalem, As majestic as an army with banners. Turn your eyes away from me, For they have overwhelmed me; Your hair is like a flock of goats That have leapt down from Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of ewes Which have come up from their washing, All of which bear twins, And not one among them has lost her young. Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate Behind your veil. (Song 6:4-7 LSB)
When a man is truly in love, how does he look upon his bride? How did God look upon Israel? How does Jesus look upon the Church?
There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, And young women without number; But my dove, my perfect one, is unique: She is her mother’s only daughter; She is the pure child of the one who gave birth to her. (Song 6:8-9a NASB)
How did the young friends of the bride describe her?
The young women saw her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines praised her. Who is this that appears like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, majestic as the stars in procession? (Song 6:9b-10 NIV)
When love came into his heart, did an ordinary stroll through the garden seem like a royal pageant? Is it like a return to Eden, as Jesus marries His Church?
I went down to the garden of nuts To see the verdure of the valley, To see whether the vine had budded And the pomegranates had bloomed. Before I was even aware, My soul had made me As the chariots of my noble people. (Song 6:11-12 NKJV)
Do the young women want to gaze on the Bride? Did the Groom ask why they look while the Bride dances between two lines?
Return, return to us, O maid of Shulam. Come back, come back, that we may see you again. Why do you stare at this young woman of Shulam, as she moves so gracefully between two lines of dancers? (Song 6:13 NLT)
Is the Church to be married to Christ, as a pure virgin, without sin?
For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy. For I promised you in marriage to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ. (2 Cor 11:2 WEB)
Are our marriages on earth meant to be a jubilant foreshadow of the marriage of the Lamb, a joyful celebration? You decide!
A Knock at the Door (Song of Songs 5)
When Jesus knocks on our door do we hesitate? Let’s look at Song of Songs 5.
What did the Bridegroom and the young women of Jerusalem say to the Bride?
I have entered my garden, my treasure, my bride! I gather myrrh with my spices and eat honeycomb with my honey. I drink wine with my milk. Oh, lover and beloved, eat and drink! Yes, drink deeply of your love! (Song 5:1 NLT)
Why did the Bride delay answering the door? What happened when she searched for him? Do we hesitate when Jesus knocks? Are we beaten up by this world?
I was asleep, but my heart was awake. It is the voice of my beloved who knocks: “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled; for my head is filled with dew, and my hair with the dampness of the night.” I have taken off my robe. Indeed, must I put it on? I have washed my feet. Indeed, must I soil them? My beloved thrust his hand in through the latch opening. My heart pounded for him. I rose up to open for my beloved. My hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, on the handles of the lock. I opened to my beloved; but my beloved left, and had gone away. My heart went out when he spoke. I looked for him, but I didn’t find him. I called him, but he didn’t answer. The watchmen who go about the city found me. They beat me. They bruised me. The keepers of the walls took my cloak away from me. (Song 5:2-7 WEB)
What conversation does the Bride have with the daughters of Jerusalem?
I place you under oath, daughters of Jerusalem: If you find my love, what should you tell him? That I’m weak with love! How is your lover different from any other lover, you who are the most beautiful of women? How is your lover different from any other lover, that you make us swear a solemn pledge? (Song 5:8-9 CEB)
How does the Bride describe the uniqueness of her Groom? Is Jesus unique because of His resurrection?
He is handsome and healthy, the most outstanding among ten thousand. His head is purest gold; his hair is wavy, black as a raven. His eyes are a pair of doves bathing in a stream flowing with milk. His face is a garden of sweet-smelling spices; his lips are lilies dripping with perfume. (Song 5:10-13 CEV)
How else is the Bridegroom unique? How else is Jesus unique? Is He both 100% divine and 100% human? Is He God’s unique Son?
His arms are rods of gold, set with jewels. His body is polished ivory, bedecked with sapphires. His legs are alabaster columns, set on bases of gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. (Song 5:14-16 ESV)
What did Jesus tell the church in Laodicea? What does that say about our choices, our free will?
See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. To the one who conquers I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. (Rev 3:20-21 HCSB)
When Jesus knocks on our door do we hesitate? You decide!
What did the Bridegroom and the young women of Jerusalem say to the Bride?
I have entered my garden, my treasure, my bride! I gather myrrh with my spices and eat honeycomb with my honey. I drink wine with my milk. Oh, lover and beloved, eat and drink! Yes, drink deeply of your love! (Song 5:1 NLT)
Why did the Bride delay answering the door? What happened when she searched for him? Do we hesitate when Jesus knocks? Are we beaten up by this world?
I was asleep, but my heart was awake. It is the voice of my beloved who knocks: “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled; for my head is filled with dew, and my hair with the dampness of the night.” I have taken off my robe. Indeed, must I put it on? I have washed my feet. Indeed, must I soil them? My beloved thrust his hand in through the latch opening. My heart pounded for him. I rose up to open for my beloved. My hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, on the handles of the lock. I opened to my beloved; but my beloved left, and had gone away. My heart went out when he spoke. I looked for him, but I didn’t find him. I called him, but he didn’t answer. The watchmen who go about the city found me. They beat me. They bruised me. The keepers of the walls took my cloak away from me. (Song 5:2-7 WEB)
What conversation does the Bride have with the daughters of Jerusalem?
I place you under oath, daughters of Jerusalem: If you find my love, what should you tell him? That I’m weak with love! How is your lover different from any other lover, you who are the most beautiful of women? How is your lover different from any other lover, that you make us swear a solemn pledge? (Song 5:8-9 CEB)
How does the Bride describe the uniqueness of her Groom? Is Jesus unique because of His resurrection?
He is handsome and healthy, the most outstanding among ten thousand. His head is purest gold; his hair is wavy, black as a raven. His eyes are a pair of doves bathing in a stream flowing with milk. His face is a garden of sweet-smelling spices; his lips are lilies dripping with perfume. (Song 5:10-13 CEV)
How else is the Bridegroom unique? How else is Jesus unique? Is He both 100% divine and 100% human? Is He God’s unique Son?
His arms are rods of gold, set with jewels. His body is polished ivory, bedecked with sapphires. His legs are alabaster columns, set on bases of gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. (Song 5:14-16 ESV)
What did Jesus tell the church in Laodicea? What does that say about our choices, our free will?
See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. To the one who conquers I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. (Rev 3:20-21 HCSB)
When Jesus knocks on our door do we hesitate? You decide!
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