12/03/17 Isaiah 1:21-31 “Even the strongest can never escape the justice of God”

Isaiah 1:21How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

 

faithful – established; faithful; be carried (as by a nurse); sure; lasting; reliable; trusty.

harlot – be a harlot; commit fornication, adultery; be a cult prostitute; be unfaithful to God.

judgment – or justice; execution of judgment.

lodged – to lodge, pass the night; to abide, remain.

murderer – or assassin.

 

Vs 21-23 are a lament of God over Jerusalem. How that the faithful city (the city that I established, the people that I carried as a nurse) has now become a harlot (unfaithful to her husband, adulterous, turned prostitute)! (See Luke 19:41)

See Isaiah 1:2bI have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. God has already stated that the children (Judah) He has brought up have turned away from Him. He brought them up to be just and righteous, but they have turned away from His ways and become murderers.

 

They who were betrothed to God for ever are now playing the harlot; the betrothal for ever will soon become a bill of divorcement!

Hosea 2:19-2019 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. 20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord.

Jeremiah 3:6-86 The Lord said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen [that] which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot. 7 And I said after she had done all these [things], Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw [it]. 8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.

 

We can hear these same sentiments as in Isaiah 1:21 in what Jesus said to the Jews in Jerusalem, especially the pharisees.

John 8:42-4542 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. 43 Why do ye not understand my speech? [even] because ye cannot hear my word. 44 Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 45 And because I tell [you] the truth, ye believe me not.

 

Isaiah 1:22Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:

 

Your value was once as silver, but now has become the rubbish that is thrown out (the dross; corruption). You are like wine that was once good but is now mixed (weakened; adulterated; watered down) and likewise rubbish, not fit to drink. You were valuable once, but now you are only fit to be thrown away. You have passed your use-by date! This verse above uses Hebrew parallelism.

Matthew 5:13Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

 

Isaiah 1:23Thy princes [are] rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

 

Your princes (rulers) are rebellious (stubborn) and companions (associates; worshippers) of thieves. These men were rebellious against the commandments of God. They associated with thieves and similar, and probably even supported (gave judgments in favour of) such evil men, clearly because such men paid them well (gifts; rewards) to pervert the course of proper justice.

Hosea 9:15All their wickedness [is] in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes [are] revolters.

 

All those who should be judging with righteousness, instead ask for bribes. They would rather get given a reward than to dispense justice. They don’t give justice for the orphans, neither they listen to the cries of the widows. They don’t care!

See Isaiah 1:17Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

Note Luke 18:2-52 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. 4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

 

Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah, Amos and Hosea, has a similar message.

Micah 7:2-32 The good [man] is perished out of the earth: and [there is] none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. 3 That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge [asketh] for a reward; and the great [man], he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.

 

Isaiah 1:24Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:

 

Therefore, God who is the Lord over all other authority (Lord Sabaoth), the mighty One of Israel – this is a clear case of God pulling rank on everyone else who might think he has right to rebel, to be stubborn. Who can claim greater rank (authority) than the Lord of all authorities, the mighty One?

 

Ah – ah! alas! woe! This is that same “Ah” in Ah sinful nation (Isaiah 1:4) but there it meant “Alas!” whereas here it could mean “Woe!” (as a threatening term), or even “Woe to you!” or “Hear me now!” God is stating His solution and none may argue!

 

God warns that He will ease Himself of the burden (console Himself; be comforted with the dealing) of His adversaries, and avenge Himself upon His enemies. (These enemies will include those rulers (princes – vs 23) who judge unfairly (see Vs 26 – “And I will restore thy judges as at the first”). God appears to be focusing upon justice for His people in this passage; look at the many references to judgment in this passage today. Justice is one of God’s perfect attributes; any who try to thwart God’s justice will suffer His retribution sooner or later! No-one will escape God’s judgment!

Ezekiel 5:13Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the Lord have spoken [it] in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.

 

 

Isaiah 1:25And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:

 

turn – cause to return; bring back; restore; require requital; recompense; repulse; hinder; refuse; turn (face) away; turn against; bring back to mind; revoke.

And God will turn His hand (strength; power) against them (He will turn away from you; He will require recompense of you; He will revoke His care for you). And because God has all authority, these threats are totally admissible! God will purge away (refine as by fire) their dross (their impurities – as in the metal) and take away (remove; reject) all their tin (can be dross, but more likely the alloy – impurity – mixed in with the silver).

 

Zechariah 13:9And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It [is] my people: and they shall say, The Lord [is] my God.

1 Peter 1:7That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Deuteronomy 32:35-3935 To me [belongeth] vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in [due] time: for the day of their calamity [is] at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste. 36 For the Lord shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that [their] power is gone, and [there is] none shut up, or left. 37 And he shall say, Where [are] their gods, [their] rock in whom they trusted, 38 Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, [and] drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, [and] be your protection. 39 See now that I, [even] I, [am] he, and [there is] no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither [is there any] that can deliver out of my hand.

 

Isaiah 1:26And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.

 

restore – as for “turn” in Vs 25 above. This word has some sense of returning things back to their original state. The judges (law-givers; ones who make and execute judgment) and the counsellors (advisors; consultants) will be as they were originally (or should have been originally; or meant to have been originally): righteous and faithful (to the commandments of God), thus the city of righteousness (especially of the rulers and judges) and the faithful city (the city that God established, the people that God carried as a nurse). “the faithful city” was used in Isaiah 1:21:

Isaiah 1:21How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

But the city has now become unfaithful, and the judgments unrighteous; one day it will be returned to its original state of faithfulness and righteous judgment (according to the commandments of God, of course). This verse is therefore a reversal of the evil situation; that is, one day God will say, as He had at the beginning: It [is] my people: and they shall say, The Lord [is] my God (Zechariah 13:9)

 

Jeremiah 2:2-32 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land [that was] not sown. 3 Israel [was] holiness unto the Lord, [and] the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord.

Note Jeremiah 33:16In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this [is the name] wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness.

This is clearly a yet-future event; see Ezekiel 37:26-28 further down.

 

Isaiah 1:27Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.

 

judgment – justice; act of deciding a case; sentence; execution of judgment; fitting.

 

Zion (Jerusalem) shall be redeemed (ransomed) with judgment (justice) (as per Isaiah 1:17 – “seek judgment” and Isaiah 1:21 – “full of judgment”), and her converts (those who turn back again, or return to God) with righteousness (in judgment and government). A ransom is that cost paid to set free a person or object stolen or kidnapped. The ransom obtains the redemption of the person or object. In this case, the payment of judgment and righteousness is the ransom paid for the redemption of Judah (or Israel). For Christians, the ransom paid for their redemption is the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.

Matthew 20:28Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Isaiah 1:27 is a statement of fact; Zion (that is, her converts) will be redeemed.

 

Ezekiel 37:26-2826 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

Joel 2:31-3231 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. 32 And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.

(Actually, this last passage from Joel makes it clear that God will call (choose) His remnant from those who call upon the name of the Lord to be delivered (saved) – see Romans 10:13! This is clear evidence of the foreknowledge of God; if only the calvinists would take off their ear-muffs and blinkers and just attend to the facts!)

 

Isaiah 1:28And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners [shall be] together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed.

 

This appears to be a simple statement in contrast with Vs 27 above. Justice and righteousness will be the redemption of those who turn back (converts) to God, while those who continue to transgress and sin (both against the commandments of God) and those who refuse to return to the Lord God (those who forsake or reject God’s offer of mercy through His infinite grace) shall be consumed.

Lamentations 3:22-2322 [It is of] the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 [They are] new every morning: great [is] thy faithfulness.

 

There are two groups here, the righteous and the unrighteous. One group will be raised to eternal life, and the other to everlasting condemnation.

John 5:28-2928 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

But there will be many who just don’t want to return to God.

Isaiah 30:15For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

And all will face the judgment of Christ; not one may be excused.

Hebrews 9:27And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

 

Isaiah 1:29For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.

 

God’s condemnation continues of those who won’t return to Him, for this is, sadly, the general theme of Isaiah, that in returning to God they could all be redeemed but they just would not! (See Isaiah 30:15 above)

For in the judgment, they (transgressors and sinners – Vs 28) shall be ashamed of the oak (mighty tree; terebinth) which they have desired for their worship of false gods. These were the groves of trees under which they carried out their ritual sacrifices. These were forbidden by God who would one day judge them accordingly.

Deuteronomy 16:21Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the Lord thy God, which thou shalt make thee.

Note “under every green tree” in the following:

 Jeremiah 3:6The Lord said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen [that] which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.

 

Bohemian Grove is a 2,700-acre (1,100 ha) campground located at 20601 Bohemian Avenue, in Monte Rio, California, belonging to a private San Francisco-based men's art club known as the Bohemian Club. In mid-July each year, Bohemian Grove hosts a two-week, three-weekend encampment of some of the most prominent men in the world. (Wikipedia)

Their ceremonies include the use of an owl shrine (“Lilith”).

 

They would also be confounded (ashamed; abashed) in the judgment because of the gardens that they have chosen (for the use of their worship of false gods).

Isaiah 65:1-31 I am sought of [them that] asked not [for me]; I am found of [them that] sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation [that] was not called by my name. 2 I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way [that was] not good, after their own thoughts; 3 A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick;

 

Even after God had told them not to worship the false gods of Canaan, the Hebrews played the harlot with the false gods.

Ezekiel 20:28[For] when I had brought them into the land, [for] the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering: there also they made their sweet savour, and poured out there their drink offerings.

But they just had to know what false worship was all about, despite the warning!

Deuteronomy 12:29-3029 When the Lord thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land; 30 Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.

 

Isaiah 1:30For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.

 

For they would be like oaks with withered leaves and like a garden dying of drought. This is what sin really does to people, not the false image of glamorous life with which the enemy tries to tempt the unwary of the world.

Psalm 1:3-43 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 4 The ungodly [are] not so: but [are] like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
The life of evil is not what it’s painted up to look like; in the grip of sin, most would wish to escape, but very few actually will.

 

Isaiah 1:31And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench [them].

 

towshort or broken fiber (as of flax) that is used especially for yarn, twine, stuffing.

the maker – work; deed; the doing.

 

And those who imagine that they are so strong and able to withstand anything will be like a strand of beaten flax; it will be their doing that causes the spark that lights it. Both person and spark shall burn together and nothing will be able to put it out. This is a picture of the eternal fires of torment in hell. God is indeed Lord Sabaoth!

God anger is a consuming fire that can never be put out. (See Hebrews 12:29)

Jeremiah 7:17-2017 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead [their] dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. 19 Do they provoke me to anger? saith the Lord: [do they] not [provoke] themselves to the confusion of their own faces? 20 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.

 

Those who will not return to God, no matter how strong they think they are, will burn forever and shall never be quenched.

Isaiah 66:24And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

Mark 9:4848 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

And this judgment will not only be for the Jerusalem of Isaiah’s day, but for all people.

Revelation 20:15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

 

How many people of this world think it just can’t happen to them??

Matthew HenryWhen the sinner has made himself as tow and stubble, and God makes himself as a consuming fire, what can prevent the utter ruin of the sinner?

 

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