Isaiah 10:16-19

¹⁶ Therefore the Lord, the God of hosts, will send a wasting disease 

among his stout warriors;
And under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.
¹⁷ And the light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame,
And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day.
¹⁸ And He will destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, 

both soul and body,
And it will be as when a sick man wastes away.
¹⁹ And the rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number
That a child could write them down.

Yesterday, I attended a Celebration of Life service for a woman in my Bible study/life group at church. It was a beautiful celebration, indeed, and she was a beautiful person and sister in Christ. One of her sons-in-law spoke at the service, using the theme "Semper Paratus" ("Always ready") to describe this woman's approach to her everyday and spiritual life. Made a strong impression on me, as it was so true of her. Not able to concentrate on writing here yesterday, I'm glad for God's speaking to me through this man's words, because that saying gives a framework for Isaiah's words and ministry, too.

"...preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine...."

--II Timothy 4: 2 and 3a

Chapter 10 began with Israel and Judah not being ready. Not in the preparation of their armies or strategies against the mighty foe of the Assyrian armies. They were not ready with their allegiance and devotion to God. They were not ready with sound judgment and Godly decision-making. The day would come when God would raise up Assyria to take the land of Israel. Because they were not ready, they had no one to Whom to flee.

Isaiah speaks to Judah, under King Hezekiah, who "did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done." (II Kings 18: 3) When Assyria's King Sennacherib raised new threats of takeover, was Judah ready? As I hope you read last week, Judah was. Hezekiah "went up to the house of the Lord" (II Kings 19:14) and prayed, asking God for deliverance. This was a king who lived "Semper Paratus" in serving, worshiping and calling upon His God.

Isaiah's words regarding Assyria might well have been scoffed at by those who did not serve God as faithfully as Hezekiah. Certainly, Sennacherib would have pompously laughed off this mockery to himself, being the ruler of the most powerful empire of the day. But God is the supreme lead when it comes to living and acting "Semper Paratus." He is always ready to bring forth righteous judgment at the appointed time. As this segment of Chapter 10 finishes, we see what awaits Sennacherib and the future of Assyria.

"Therefore...," given Sennacherib's prideful disdain for God, even in light of God's working in his nation, "the Lord, the God of hosts" will bring punishment. (vs. 16)

"We are sure he can do it, for he is the Lord of hosts, of all the hosts of heaven and earth. All the creatures are at his command; he makes what use he pleases on them. He is the Lord of the hosts both of Judah and of Assyria, and can give the victory to which he pleases. Let us not fear the hosts of any enemy if we have the Lord of hosts for us."

--Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

Linger on that last line and claim that today: "Let us not fear the hosts of any enemy if we have the Lord of hosts for us." Hezekiah did not fear the words of Sennacherib, but he did not simply turn away and deny that the leader of a powerful empire was steps away from his boundaries. Hezekiah turned to the Lord, seeking His deliverance, and did not try to orchestrate his own. To whom do we turn when a host of the Enemy is on our doorstep?

There is no need for great explanation or exposition on these verses. God will weaken the strength of the fighting men and burn with His power across the empire. If anything the dichotomy between God as light, and God as fire and flame (vs. 17) draws my attention. The pictures are as old as the days in the wilderness.

"The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night."

 --Exodus 13:21

John would pick up on the theme of light in his gospel, "In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." (John 1: 4 and 5) The Light would not leave Judah, even in the midst of times of darkness, whether this time of fearful anxiety with Sennacherib or the eventual darkness of the days of exile in Babylon. The darkness of the world does not understand, but mocks, and instead prides itself on its own strength and power. Yet, "in Him is life." Where does that leave those without Him?

Interestingly, Light becomes fire.
 

"Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the Lord; and when the Lord heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp."

--Numbers 11:1

Our passage in Isaiah is all about the consuming fire that is God, the God of Light. God shows wrath, jealousy for His people and judgment that has been physical. Isaiah's phrasing of the work of the Fire turns Assyria's mighty warriors into "thorns and briars" (vs. 17) which will not stand against an Almighty blaze. Sennacherib's "forest" and "garden" (vs. 18)--the kingdom he has grown--likewise, will be destroyed. Whatever trees might remain after such a ravaging fiery spread had numbers so small "that a child could write them down." (vs. 19)
 

 

Are we always ready in our knowing who God is? Not that we will know everything there is to know about God! But, are we always ready to grow our teachable hearts? To live life "Semper Paratus"--Ready to serve as God calls us? Ready to love as He showed us? Ready to honor and worship Him as He is due? Ready to thank Him with all that we are?

 

"Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire."

--Hebrews 12: 28 and 29

Because the Light still shines, "A remnant will return".... 'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: calfiresandiego.blogspot.com

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Next week: Isaiah 10:20-23

Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 9: 18-21

 

¹⁸ For wickedness burns like a fire;
It consumes briars and thorns;
It even sets the thickets of the forest aflame
And they roll upward in a column of smoke.
¹⁹ By the fury of the Lord of hosts the land is burned up,
And the people are like fuel for the fire;
No man spares his brother.
²⁰ They slice off what is on the right hand but still are hungry,
And they eat what is on the left hand but they are not satisfied;
Each of them eats the flesh of his own arm.
²¹ Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,

And together they are against Judah.

In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out.

^{There are some weeks when it is such a joy to study and write. I am enlightened, encouraged...wisdom-filled! Then, there are some weeks when it is difficult to read the text, either for content being so tough to understand or so tough to accept, or because the events of my life or the world are overwhelming and consuming. It has definitely been one of the more overwhelming weeks from a world perspective.}

 

^{The massacre in Newtown, CT, this past Friday, has touched the world. The responses run the gamut, as do the questions, focuses of conversation, posts and statements. Was God there? Yes, no, in what capacity, with what attitude, with what purpose? As believers, we draw near to God and His Word seeking comfort, seeking guidance, seeking understanding. Even more important, we need to just plain seek God and rest in the knowledge of who He is, because this is beyond our scope:}

^{"How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand....}

^{Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it."}

^{--from Psalm 139: 6, 17 and 18}

 

^{It would be important for me to mention, too, that we need to take caution with words of prophecy. Isaiah's words, and the words of other prophets, were spoken to the people of their day, forthtelling a time to come. Many of Isaiah's prophecies have already come to pass, as you know from reading the Scriptural account of the Christmas story. Some prophecies have yet to be fulfilled, while others may see a double-fulfillment (then and to come). And some of the ideas contained within the prophecies might still seem viable today. This world continues to be a fallen one, needing a Savior. But let us be wise in our application of God's Word, seeking the Holy Spirit's counsel as to what from Scripture we apply to events of today and what is to be left as history from which to learn.}

 

^{Recall that we are in a multi-stanza poem, speaking of the woes of Israel. We will conclude the poem with next week's post. Again, the refrain, from verse 21: "In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away and His hand is still stretched out." The wrath or "the fury" (vs 19) of God drives the events that we read about in Israel--these in response to the constant sinfulness and dark-heartedness of the people.}

 

^{I'm finding it hard to find images to match what Isaiah describes in his words, which are so much stronger. Wickedness, he says, "burns like a fire." (vs 18) One evil act, word, thought or attitude can be the catalyst for a blaze that catches onto everything in its path--like the briars and thorns of the field. The fire results in a smoke cloud that covers the sky with darkness. Do you find that wickedness clouds everything else from your vision? I think I have experienced that this week.}

 

^{The "Lord of hosts" (vs 19) has brought calamity upon the people in His discipline and righteousness, but the lack of appropriate response from the people makes them, as Isaiah says, "fuel for the fire." If Israel had repented and turned away from its idols, turning back to God, their obedience would have been a beautiful offering, rather than the "column of smoke" (vs 18) ascending from the altar of their apostasy.}

 

^{"The godly person has perished from the land,
And there is no upright person among men.
All of them lie in wait for bloodshed;
Each of them hunts the other with a net.}

^{Concerning evil, both hands do it well.
The prince asks, also the judge, for a bribe,
And a great man speaks the desire of his soul;
So they weave it together.}

^{The best of them is like a briar,
The most upright like a thorn hedge....}

^{A man’s enemies are the men of his own household."}

^{--Micah 7: 2-4 and 6b}

^{"They do nothing to turn away his anger; they do not repent and reform, do not humble themselves and pray, none stand in the gap, none answer God’s calls nor comply with the designs of his providences, but they are hardened and secure."}

^{--Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible}

^{Dig beyond the literal when reading verse 20. The ravenous, insatiable hunger depicted by Isaiah represents Israel's pride and longing for the greatest of success. But without God in their picture, their efforts were ultimately futile. In fact, verse 21 says the in-fighting among the tribes of the Northern Kingdom is part of what keeps God's hand "still stretched out."}

^{Manasseh and Ephraim, two of the tribes, had been in a civil war at the time of the Judges. No one does well in a civil war! But what our Isaiah passage notes is that even though these Kingdom brothers had issues with each other, they could unite in ganging up on another brother, Judah. It is the dynamics of relationships like this that call us to pause on the end of verse 19: "No man spares his brother."}

^{Micah said, "A man’s enemies are the men of his own household." It is difficult this week to read these Scriptures and to consider our world today, not to mention remembering what I know of the coming prophecy in Revelation. These are not unexpected or unknown times and ways. They have not left us. They will continue to be with us.}

^{"No man shall spare his brother, if he come in the way of his ambition of covetousness, or if he have any colour to be revenged on him; and how can they expect God should spare them when they show no compassion one to another? Men’s passion and cruelty one against another provoke God to be angry with them all and are an evidence that he is so....."}

^{--Matthew Henry}

^{Matthew Henry is speaking of the impetus and the results of civil war, and God's people's defiance of His truth. But should we not take heed to hear what these Scriptures are saying, for us, for now? We cannot completely remove evil from this world, but we do not have to be "fuel for the fire" in spurring it on in its various forms--many of which are completely under our power to change. For the sake of our families, our children, will we consider these words?}

^{We cannot change everyone in the world, but, embracing a change of heart is within our means. As a song heard at this time of year says, "Let it begin with me."}

^{Reasons for God's wrath, as our poem closes. 'Til next Wednesday....}

^{Photo: americandigest.org}

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Next week: Isaiah 10: 1-4

Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 5: 24 and 25

  

²⁴ Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble
And dry grass collapses into the flame,
So their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust;
For they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts
And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
²⁵ On this account the anger of the Lord has burned against His people,
And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down.
And the mountains quaked, and their corpses lay like refuse in the middle of the streets.
For all this His anger is not spent,
But His hand is still stretched out.

With his use of dramatic imagery continuing, Isaiah speaks of the judgment awaiting Judah at the hand of God.

I thought about taking a picture of our backyard when I read about stubble and dry grass in verse 24. Appropriate in this scorcher of a Central Virginia summer! But the image above fits Isaiah's words better, as he describes what could be seen as tongues of fire "licking up straw" (New International Version) and dry grass practically melting in the flames. It's a fire that spreads like a hot post on Twitter!

"Sinners make themselves as stubble and chaff, combustible matter, proper fuel to the fire of God’s wrath, which then of course devours and consumes them, as the fire devours the stubble, and nobody can hinder it, or cares to hinder it. Chaff is consumed, unhelped and unpitied."

--Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

The result is that the once-abundant vineyard that was Judah is facing rot at its core. And without roots, you have no shoots, much less blossoms, much less fruit.

 

"Moreover, the pride of Israel testifies against him,
And Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity;
Judah also has stumbled with them.
They will go with their flocks and herds
To seek the Lord, but they will not find Him;
He has withdrawn from them....

Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,
Because he was determined to follow man’s command.
Therefore I am like a moth to Ephraim
And like rottenness to the house of Judah."

--Hosea 5: 5, 6, 11 and 12

We read, again, in verse 24, that it is Judah's rejection of the law and despising of the word that brings about this incredible wrath from God. What has happened to the book of the law? Remember, Isaiah is writing of a time of extreme apostasy by the leadership and the people. Not that all who sat on the throne were spiritually lost, but more of them were unrighteous than righteous.

"'Go, inquire of the Lord for me and the people and all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found, for great is the wrath of the Lord that burns against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.'"

--II Kings 22: 13

King Josiah came to power after Isaiah's prophecy and death. He was one of the righteous who served prior to the fall of Jerusalem. God's wrath had been burning against the people, but Josiah hadn't quite figured out what the cause was. (He was 8 when he first took the throne!) In 622 B.C., some 18 years into his leadership, Josiah summoned his scribe to go to the high priest to work through a financial transaction--he wanted the workman repairing the house of the Lord to be paid. In that visit, the high priest uncovered the book of the law to share with the scribe, who shared it with the king. As his scribe read the word, Josiah tore his clothes--a sign that he understood the sacredness of the law and the resulting response from God against His people.

[Our merciful God showed Josiah grace from His wrath in that He told the king he would pass from this life (609 B.C.) before the initiation of captivity at the hands of Babylon (587 B.C., in or about).]

Picking up with verse 25, because of the blatant disregard for God's Word, upon which rests the foundation for the ongoing relationship His people have with the Lord, God is angry and is stretching out His hand against His people. One of the cross-references for this verse is in Exodus, with Aaron, holding up the staff that God gave Moses, and calling for Egypt's waterways to be turned to blood. This same hand that protected and provided for these people under so many circumstances is now to be held up against them. I just find the imagery so compelling.

"Mountains quake because of Him
And the hills dissolve;
Indeed the earth is upheaved by His presence,
The world and all the inhabitants in it."

--Nahum 1:5

I hadn't taken in the full meaning of this idea until reading this passage in Nahum. "Indeed the earth is upheaved by His presence." Who was bringing that state of calamity upon Judah? God is fully responsible. His presence causes upheaval in our lives. And we can see this in a positive light [His people needed a wake-up call!] or a negative one [Captivity is painful, Lord!], but we need to understand that THINGS HAPPEN in the presence of God! Here, He says, "I'm angry! You will notice my presence!" Judah's road to hard times was being announced through Isaiah. Babylon was merely a tool in the Lord's battle arsenal. Captivity and the loss of their home will cause the nation to "be still and know that I am God."

Again, I note the frustration in the work of the prophet who would not see the times change with his warnings. That progressing work would come in exile, with the prophet Daniel bringing together all of these thoughts in his prayer to God on behalf of His people:

"Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him. Thus He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth. Therefore the Lord has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the Lord our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice."

--Daniel 9:11-14

A "distant nation" is coming.... 'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: thewe.cc

* * *

Next week: Isaiah 5: 26-30

Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 4: 4-6

⁴ When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion 
and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, 
by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning,
⁵ then the Lord will create over the whole area of Mount Zion 
and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, 
and the brightness of a flaming fire by night;  
for over all the glory will be a canopy.
⁶ There will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, 
and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain.

With the close of Chapter 4 comes the return of a picture of God that should have spoken volumes to His people, as Isaiah speaks of what the Jews coined the "Shekinah"--a visible presence of the glory of God in their midst. More on this shortly, because His holy glory cannot be present in the presence of sin, which is where we begin with verse 4.

Verses 4 and 5 are a "when...then" construction, as opposed to an "if...then." There will be a time when the Lord will clean up, if you will. As we discussed here last week, sin cannot exist with true holiness. This is why we will always be sinners in our fallen world. Our steps toward true holiness will never be enough to fulfill what God has established as holy. That should not stop us from trying to be Christlike. We just need to realize that every step He brings us in that direction will be accompanied by time on our knees in humility, recognizing, as did Christ, that equality with God is not something to be grasped. (Philippians 2:6)

The Lord will cleanse Judah of its filth (moral and otherwise) as well as its penchant for violence. Bloodshed was common in Judah under its evil kings, notably--and just prior to the nation's Babylonian captivity--under the rule of King Manasseh, who reinstated all of the evil ways his father, "good" King Hezekiah, had abolished. The Day of the Lord will bring bloodshed as well. But, in the time of a revived Zion, in the days of the remnant that would be eternally saved, God would take all of that away through judgment and burning. "Through the process of refining fire, consuming the faithless and purifying the faithful, God will produce a holy Zion." (Reformation Study Bible)

Note the dichotomy, looking at verse 5, as Isaiah moves from speaking of fire as a destructive, yet purifying force to fire as the protective, guiding presence of God Himself. Once the table has been set, God may come to it. Isaiah says He will return to His people in the form He took as in the days of old, leading them out of bondage in Egypt through the wilderness to the Promised Land.

"The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people."

--Exodus 13: 21 and 22

As I said up top, the Jews would come to refer to this presence of the glory of God with them as the Shekinah. ("That which dwells," in the Hebrew. --International Standard Bible Encyclopedia) Ezekiel, in Chapter 43, reveals his own encounter with the Shekinah, through a vision. "And His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory." (43: 2b) Through the wilderness adventure, as recounted in Numbers, the cloud and pillar would appear over the tabernacle--home of the very word of God. When the cloud or pillar moved, so would the people. Whether days or weeks, the people watched and honored the God who led them. These are the days that are coming back! 

"...all the glory will be a canopy," (vs. 5) and, "There will be a shelter...." (vs. 6) The King James Version uses 'defence' for canopy, meaning "chamber or closet," and 'tabernacle' for shelter, meaning "hope, refuge, place of refuge, shelter, trust." [all references, Strong's] That word shelter also more literally means "hiding place," a metaphor Isaiah will use more than once in his prophecy.

"You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with songs of deliverance."

--Psalm 32:7

Not only will the presence of God be literal, but His presence of safety and protection will be also. For a nation on the verge of captivity, there remains hope. For souls in the last days on the verge of being lost, there is a "hiding place" and a hope from which there is deliverance.

"That God will protect his church, and all that belong to it (Isa. 4:5, 6); when they are purified and reformed they shall no longer lie exposed, but God will take a particular care of them. Those that are sanctified are well fortified; for God will be to them a guide and a guard."

--Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

Concluding today with a theme that we can pick up in a word in verse 5: create. It is important to note, also, the subject that goes with that verb: the Lord. The Lord creates. As has been said before, Judah was not in a position to save itself from itself. God is going to save His people from their sins. To do that, He has to bring about renewal and refinement to create holiness. The Lord washes away and purges that which makes people unholy. He causes His presence to be made known once conditions are right for Him to appear. He brings the shelter, the refuge, the protection, the hope and the glory. "Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves...." (from Psalm 100:3)


We can pray for His presence. We can pray for His protection. We can pray for hope. We can pray for revival. We can pray for the return of His glory. What we need to accept is that we cannot make these things happen by our own will! We need to honor Him as the Creator of all, honoring His word as the Holy Bible, and the Holy Spirit as our Help and our "hiding place" in a fallen world. "For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting
and His faithfulness to all generations." (Psalm 100:5)

"Reformation-work is God’s work; if any thing be done to purpose in it, it is his doing. But how? By the judgment of his providence the sinners were destroyed and consumed; but it is by the Spirit of his grace that they are reformed and converted. This is the work that is done, not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts (Zech. 4:6), working both upon the sinners themselves that are to be reformed and upon magistrates, ministers, and others that are to be employed as instruments of reformation."

--Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

The "Parable of the Vineyard" ....'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: oneyearbibleblog.com

* * *

Next week: Isaiah 5: 1 and 2

Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).

Isaiah 1: 27-31

  ²⁷ Zion will be redeemed with justice
And her repentant ones with righteousness.
²⁸ But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together,
And those who forsake the LORD will come to an end.
²⁹ Surely you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired,
And you will be embarrassed at the gardens which you have chosen.
³⁰ For you will be like an oak whose leaf fades away
Or as a garden that has no water.
³¹ The strong man will become tinder,
His work also a spark.
Thus they shall both burn together
And there will be none to quench them.

Chapter 1 closes out with a strong statement of judgment and a series of vivid metaphors. Indeed, the writer in me is seeing the writer in Isaiah, and I'm flooded with verses that tie in with what he is saying. I hope I don't inadvertently get us sidetracked too far from his points today!

Picking up from where we left off last week, remember that Isaiah is speaking of the end times here. (As it turns out, Chapter 2 will continue with this theme.) According to my study Bible, Zion originally referred to a designation for the hill Ophel (a mountain near the Mount of Olives). There seems to be some discrepancy as to what area is exactly covered under 'Zion.' But, when Isaiah uses 'Zion' in his prophecy, he speaks of Jerusalem.


The term "repentant ones" used in verse 27 is more literally translated "returnees." The King James Version says 'converts,' and the Reformation Study Bible explains the reference to mean those "ransomed, transferred or freed from ownership by another through the payment of a price...." The term refers to the "remnant" of the tribes of Israel, preserved by God, who will return to Jerusalem in the end times at Jesus' second coming and earthly reign. God's promise of old--permanent sanctification of His relationship with His people--shall be fulfilled through these "repentant ones."


But, there must also be a "smelting away" of the "dross," to use last week's words from verse 25. The "New Jerusalem" will be a holy city, one that must be devoid of sinfulness in any form if the Lord is to preside over it.

"It is a universal ruin, which will involve the transgressors and the sinners together, that is, the openly profane that have quite cast of all religion, and the hypocrites that live wicked lives under the cloak of a religious profession—they shall both be destroyed together, for they are both alike an abomination to God, both those that contradict religion and those that contradict themselves in their pretensions to it."

--Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible

 

I hadn't really thought of transgressers and sinners being different, but the Hebrew definitions help to make clear the distinctions [all following definitions from Strong's]. The word for transgress means, "to breakaway (from just authority), i.e. trespass, apostatize, quarrel." The transgressor is a rebel. Matthew Henry termed these the "openly profane." Then, there are those who may not be profane, but are not true followers either. A sinner is "a criminal, or one accounted guilty." Are we all guilty before God? Yes, we are. Thank God for the saving, merciful grace and forgiveness through Jesus Christ, however, that we may not be forever condemned as guilty! That's the difference between the "repentant ones" and the "sinners." Finally, those who "forsake the Lord" will also face eternal judgment, 'forsake' meaning "to loosen, leave or relinquish" [a relationship with God].

"For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed."

--II Thessalonians 1: 6-10

With verse 29, Isaiah depicts through a nature metaphor the difference between paradise and, well, truly, Hell. Simple words like oaks and gardens carry a bit more weight than at first glance.

An alternate translation for 'oak' is 'terebinth,' which is another type of sturdy tree that would have been prolific in the area. From reading in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, a terebinth could reach as high as 40 feet with a huge spread of branches. It featured berries in season and, alternatively, lost its colorful leaves in season ("an oak who leaf fades away"). It was under these mighty trees that Judah and Israel chose to offer up sacrifices in worshiping their created idols.

"They offer sacrifices on the tops of the mountains and burn incense on the hills, under oak, poplar and terebinth, because their shade is pleasant...."

--Hosea 4:13

Likewise, 'garden' does not refer to a household flower or vegetable patch. In Biblical times, gardens were walled enclosures featuring amazing varieties of plants, fountains and other sources of running water, and planned seating areas. Yes, think Eden--a paradise, in which one could sit and enjoy the pleasantness and peacefulness of beautiful surroundings. No wonder God began the story of Man in such a place! The Hebrew for 'garden' in its most basic form means "a covered or hidden place." [Strong's]

I think Isaiah is referring to the heart when he speaks of the garden in this passage. God knows our hidden-most place and what dwells in that place. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee." (Psalm 119:11, KJV) But Jerusalem had turned from His word. It had become a "garden with no water." (vs. 30) How can the heart of the believer be filled and maintained without the living water of God? "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'" (John 7:38)


In contrast to the lushness of a garden of paradise, Isaiah tops off his nature metaphor with a counter dry, parched metaphor to represent sinful man and his works. Rather than the strong oak, we read of the strong man who is reduced to timber, with his fruit also to be tossed into the fire. The Reformation Study Bible says, "Drought and fire are metaphors for judgment. Water in Isaiah signifies free, gracious, and bountiful salvation. The absence of water signifies separation from God’s blessings." These metaphors tie together perfectly!
 

Couple this with the King James', which reads "the strong shall be as tow." Tow is the fiber that comes out of flax when it is being processed for use in making thread. The Hebrew means "something shaken out." [Strong's] The tow is the weak, undesirable leftovers on the threshing floor. John the Baptist used his own tow-like metaphor in pronouncing the arrival of the Messiah:

"His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

--Matthew 3:12

If we find ourselves in that dry, parched land, may we know in the wellspring that is our heart that living water is at hand by promise of His Word.

"Oh that my ways may be established
To keep Your statutes!
Then I shall not be ashamed
When I look upon all Your commandments.
I shall give thanks to You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.
I shall keep Your statutes;
Do not forsake me utterly!"

--Psalm 119: 5-8

"God's Universal Reign," begins a five-chapter discourse with a look at the New Jerusalem. Chapter 2.... 'Til next Wednesday!

Photo: thinkgeek.com

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Next week: Isaiah 2: 1-5

Note: I read from the New American Standard Bible translation,
specifically, The MacArthur Study Bible (NASB).
I will quote other sources if used in a post.
I also use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
(with notes from the King James Version).