Isaías 1
Charles Spurgeon · Citado em PreceptAustin
Isaías 1:1
Spurgeon comments that… This is a chapter which teaches an important lesson to those of us who desire the salvation of men, for it shows us how God sets about that work. He begins by exhibiting the sinner’s sin to him before he proclaims mercy to him; and if we want to be the means of doing good to men, it will not be by merely crying to them, “Believe, believe, believe;” but there must be a laying of the axe at the root of the tree of self-righteousness, and a cutting away of all trust in self. A man must realize his danger before he will desire to escape from it, and it is a mistaken kindness which refuses to set before him the peril in which he is. God, who is infinitely tender and inconceivably merciful, shows us, in this chapter, how to go to work with sinners. (Exposition of Isaiah 1:1-31) The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz: Isa 21:2; Nu 12:6; 24:4,16; 2Chr 32:32; Ps 89:19; Jer 23:16; Nah 1:1; Hab 2:2; Mt 17:9; Acts 10:17; 26:19; 2Co 12:1 Isa 2:1; 13:1; 2Pe 1:21 Spurgeon notes that "Prophets were called seers, they saw what they were called to say; and every true preacher of Christ must first be a seer of Christ. He must see that is, realize for himself; and then he must tell to others what he has seen. This Book is about “the vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw”. During the time in which Isaiah prophesied, the worship of God was, upon the whole, maintained in Judah; yet, prosperous as the times appeared to be, there was visible to the eye of the Lord much iniquity. He who seeth not as man seeth, but who looks beneath the surface, and into the hearts of men (1Sa 16:7), saw that the condition of the people was exceedingly unsatisfactory. Do not forget that these upbraiding words were spoken during the reigns of comparatively good kings, and try to imagine how the Lord must have felt towards the people who lived in the reigns of bad kings. (Exposition of Isaiah 1) Vision (02377) (chazown/chazon from chazah = to see or behold) is a masculine noun meaning a revelation by means of a vision, an oracle, a divine communication. The emphasis is not so much on what is seen but on the message that is conveyed by what is seen. Thus chazon describes a divine revelation conveyed by something seen ("seer"). In this sense vision is somewhat similar to a dream, but as used in Scripture however, a vision is not a typical "dream" but represents an actual experience in which the individual is given superhuman insight or awareness. Dreams (not "day dreams"!) occur only when one is asleep whereas visions can occur while one is awake (cp Da 10:7). Some visions were conveyed by angels to men (Da 10:14). Visions usually conveyed prophetic truths that related to Israel (Da 9:21, 10:14). One of my favorite uses of chazon is Pr 29:18+ "When there is no vision (chazon "prophetic vision" Lxx = exegetes = literally one who leads on or out [great description of pastors, teachers!], expounder, interpreter - only 2 other uses in Bible - Ge 41:8, 24; related verb exegeomai of Jesus - Jn 1:18-note), the people are unrestrained, ("run wild!" which is what is transpiring in America circa 2016!), but happy (better "blessed") is he who keeps (observes) the law." The NET Note on Pr 29:18 says "The Hebrew word “vision” (from the verb חָזָה [khazah, “to see”]) refers to divine communication to prophets (as in 1 Sa 3:1) and not to individual goals or plans. C. H. Toy sees a problem here: The most calamitous period of Israel’s history was when prophetic vision was at its height, whereas people were often more obedient when God was silent. He also notes that in the book of Proverbs there is no mention of prophetic teaching with wisdom as a guide. So he emends the word to “guidance” following the LXX (see Proverbs [ICC], 512). The TEV has “guidance”; the NIV retains “revelation.” It must be stated that the prophetic ministry was usually in response to the calamitous periods, calling the people back to God. Without them the downward rush to anarchy and destruction would have been faster than with these prophetic calls from God. (THOUGHT - WOULD THIS BE APROPOS FOR AMERICA CIRCA 2023? JUST WONDERING!) Jeremiah 23:16 is instructive "Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the LORD." False prophets give a message from human origin (cp Ezek 13:16), not the Lord and the result is not surprising - futility! Baker adds that chazon "signifies the direct, specific communication between God and people through the prophetic office (1Sa 3:1; 1Chr. 17:15; Ps. 89:19) or the collection of such messages (2Chr. 32:32; Isa. 1:1; Obad. 1:1; Nah. 1:1; Hab. 2:2, 3). Also, the word is used of the messages of false prophets (Jer. 14:14; 23:16); a guiding communication from the Lord, often restricted when a people are under judgment (Lam. 2:9; Ezek. 7:26; Mic. 3:6); and the revelation of future events on a grand scale (Da 9:24; 10:14). (Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament). The Lxx translates chazon with horasis which describes the action (seeing) or what is seen, including supernatural vision (Acts 2:17). Vine says that "Chazon almost always signifies a means of divine revelation. First, it refers to the means itself, to a prophetic “vision” by which divine messages are communicated: “The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth” (Ezek 12:22). Second, this word represents the message received by prophetic “vision”: “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he” (Pr 29:18). Finally, chazon can represent the entirety of a prophetic or prophet’s message as it is written down: “The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz …” (Isa 1:1). Thus the word inseparably related to the content of a divine communication focuses on the means by which that message is received: “And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision” (1Sa 3:1 the first occurrence of the word). In Isa 29:7 chazon signifies a non-prophetic dream. (Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words) Note what happens when there is no chazon, no vision in Pr 29:18 (note) where same word is used for vision. (cp similar spiritual "dynamic" in 1Sa 3:1, Amos 8:11,12 Hosea 4:6)- "Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained ("run wild"), but happy (blessed) is he who keeps the law." Note that in Pr 29:18, the Septuagint chooses the interesting Greek word exegetes to translate the Hebrew word for vision (chazon). Exegetes in Greek literally means one who leads out, and so unfolds, declares or tells. Exegetes of course gives us our English “exegesis” which describes the unfolding interpretation brought about by teaching the Scripture. An exegetes in secular Greek described an expounder, interpreter, as of oracles dreams, omens, or sacred customs. Exegetes is not used in the NT but the verbal root exegeomai is used 6 times (Lk 24:35, Jn 1:18, Acts 10:8, 15:12, 14, 21:19) and means to provide detailed information in a systematic manner. God's people are best fed (and spiritually healthiest) when they are fed with the pure milk of the Word (1Pe 2:2-note), expounded by the Spirit endued and empowered exegete! For practical purposes when any people, individually or corporately, fails to have a Word from God, by default the only only source from which one can receive a "word" is from the godless world, the depraved flesh or the deceptive devil! And the result is chaos not kosmos (order)! Moses records "He said, "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream." (Nu 12:6) Ryrie Comments: God spoke to prophets through visions and dreams; but He spoke to Moses directly, openly (Nu 11:17, 25, Ex 34:5, cp Ps 103:7), and not in dark sayings (riddles). Webster's 1828 dictionary says that a vision - In Scripture is a revelation from God; an appearance or exhibition of something supernaturally presented to the minds of the prophets, by which they were informed of future events. Such were the visions of Isaiah, of Amos, of Ezekiel, etc.
Isaías 1:2-4
Spurgeon comments: Angels and men, the upper and the lower worlds, are called to witness the solemn scene. The whole creation shall stand in court to testify to the solemnity and the truth of the divine pleading. Both earth beneath and heaven above shall unite in condemning sin; the guilty shall have no appeal, though all are summoned that they may appeal if they dare. Both angels and men have seen the guilt of mankind and the goodness of the Lord, they shall therefore confess the justice of the divine utterance, and say "Amen" to the sentence of the supreme Judge. Alas, ye despisers! What will ye do and to whom will ye fly? (John Trapp) That these dumb creatures may be as so many speaking evidences against an unworthy people, and witness of God's righteous dealings against them. Jeremiah 2:12 “Be appalled, O heavens, at this, and shudder, be very desolate,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 6:19 “Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their plans, because they have not listened to My words, and as for My law, they have rejected it also. Jeremiah 22:29 “O land, land, land, Hear the word of the Lord! Micah 1:2 Hear, O peoples, all of you; Listen, O earth and all it contains, and let the Lord God be a witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple. Micah 6:1, 2 Hear (not a suggestion but a command! - verbs in red on this website virtually always identify a command or the imperative mood in either Hebrew or Greek [imperative mood in Greek]) now what the LORD is saying, "Arise, plead (Heb rub = to conduct a lawsuit or legal case and all that it involves, cp use of contend in Isa 3:13 and the merciful use in Isa 57:16) your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. "Listen, you mountains, to the indictment (Heb = rib, riyb = primarily means a quarrel or dispute between 2 parties, often with a focus on the feelings between the parties, cp over land rights in Ge 13:7, a controversy with sinners Je 25:31, a legal dispute or lawsuit - Ex 23:2, 1Sa 24:16) of the LORD, and you enduring foundations of the earth, because the LORD has a case against His people; even with Israel He will dispute. (Lxx = dielegcho = to argue a case, engage in a dispute, refute utterly). Spurgeon adds that… Heaven and earth might well be called to witness such strange ingratitude as this of which the Lord had to complain. It is an appeal of God to inanimate creation to bear witness to the ingratitude that He had received, as if it was of no use any longer to speak to men. The appeal is stated very solemnly and impressively “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth for the Lord hath spoken. I have nourished and brought up children,” cared for them, loved them, fed them, “and they have rebelled against me.” The ingratitude of a child is something shocking; and the ingratitude of man to God is of that character. (Exposition of Isaiah 1) A B Simpson writes that… The first chapter of Isaiah was probably the first of the prophet's public messages, and it is a good sample of many others. It may be described generally as a message concerning sin and salvation. Its form is most dramatic. Suddenly appearing in the temple court or the public square, with impressive gestures he calls the attention of the multitude by repeating the very words with which Moses had begun his last message to Israel. "Hear, oh heavens," he cries, "and give ear, oh earth, for the Lord has spoken." Then he arraigns the nation before the bar of heaven and calls as his witnesses the heavens and the earth and the very dumb brutes of the lower order of creation (Isa 1:3), whose fidelity to their masters is a silent reproof to the disobedience of God's people. Then follows the arraignment of the sinful nation as he proceeds to characterize the unnaturalness, ingratitude and fearful wickedness of the people, declaring at last that their wickedness has almost brought them to the condition of Sodom and Gomorrah (Isa 1:9). Then there seems to have come some voice of protest or defence from some one in the multitude, calling attention to their costly worship and offerings as a proof of their loyalty to God (Isa 1:10). But this only calls forth a more vehement denunciation of their wickedness, and the prophet proceeds to tell them that the very worst thing about them is their religion, inasmuch as it is a cloak of hypocrisy to cover their sins, and that their prayers and sacrifices are not only rejected (Isa 1:11, 12, 13, 14, 15a), but are an abomination to God so long as their hearts are corrupt and their "hands are full of blood." (Isa 1:15b) At last the voice of denunciation is changed to one of mercy (Isa 1:16, 17, 18). The loving heart of God seems to grow weary of reproof and longs to pour itself out in mercy and compassion. One is reminded of the time when the Lord Jesus Himself on earth had upbraided the cities of Galilee for rejecting His message and had begun to say to them, "It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, which are exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell; for if the mighty works which had been done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you." (Mt 11:22, 23, 24) But at that moment the Master's heart seemed unable longer to endure the pain of His own reproof, and suddenly He breaks out into an appeal of unspeakable tenderness as perhaps He sees in the multitude before Him some weeping face or penitent heart. "Come unto Me," He cries, "all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." (Mt 11:28, 29, 30). There is a similar revulsion of feeling a little later in His ministry, when after He had pronounced upon the Pharisees the fearful woes of the twenty-third chapter of Matthew, He suddenly pauses again and breaks out with an appeal of divine compassion, "Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets and stone them that are sent unto you, how often would I have gathered you together, even as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not." (Mt 23:37, cp Lk 13:34). Such a change comes over the prophet's message here. Suddenly his denunciations close, and turning to the people with tones of tenderness he cries, "Come now and let us end our reasoning; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool; if you be willing and obedient you shall eat the good of the land, but if you refuse and revolt, you shall be devoured with the sword, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it." (Isa 1:18, 19) (Christ in the Bible - Isaiah) Spurgeon observes that… It is not the heathen nor strangers that the Lord here upbraids, but His own highly-favored people, his lovingly-nurtured children, in sin was doubly sinful.
Isaías 1:2-4
Spurgeon: Creation was the fruit of a word (Jn 1:1, 2, 3). Jehovah said, "Light be," and light was (Ge 1:3). The Lord's acts are sublime in their ease and instantaneousness. "What a word is this?" This was the wondering enquiry of old, and it may be ours to this day. He commanded, and it stood fast. Out of nothing creation stood forth, and was confirmed in existence. The same power which first uplifted, now makes the universe to abide (He 1:3-note, "in Him" = in Christ = Col 1:17-note); although we may not observe it, there is as great a display of sublime power in confirming as in creating. Happy is the man who has learned to lean his all upon the sure word of Him who built the skies! (Ed: When He speaks, let us listen!) For - Explains why they were to listen listen. Why listen? It's not E F Hutton, but Jehovah Himself! Yes, Isaiah says Jehovah speaks but remember that from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, Jehovah is speaking to men, ever calling His rebellious creation to be redeemed and to return to Him! LORD (03068) (Yhwh = YeHoWaH = Yahweh = Jehovah) (see study on Jehovah) is always identified in the NAS (not NIV, ESV, NLT) by being in all caps. Jehovah is derived from hayah a verb which means to exist, to be, to become and at its core denotes "being" or the fountain head of being, which ultimately can be applied only to the one true and living God, the ultimate "Cause" of all other "being." In Exodus 3:14 we read God's own "definition" of Himself as "I Am (hayah) that I Am (hayah)". Recall that Jehovah is frequently combined with other names, even Isaiah's name which means "the salvation of Yahweh". The Jews never pronounced this name, not even in reading their own Scriptures. So sacred did they deem it, that when it occurred in their books, instead of the word Yahweh, they substituted the word Adonai (0136), a masculine noun which is used some 459 times in Scripture only as a name for God. Jehovah speaks - Don't go by this phrase too quickly. To be sure Isaiah penned the words originally (cp 2Pe 1:20, 21-note), but ultimately these are God's very own supernatural words. Yes, they seem to appear as only black print on white pages, but they are unlike any other book and are infinitely superior to the sum total of all the other greatest masterpieces ever penned by mortal men! When God speaks, all other words pale in comparison! The indictment that follows is from the great "I Am" Himself. These are His words and as the writer of Hebrews reminds us (also in the context of a strong warning to the predominantly Jewish readers to enter His rest [He 4:1-note] found ultimately in their crucified and now risen Messiah)… The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do ("we must give account" He 4:13NIV. (He 4:12, 13-notes) Related Resource: Music - Word Of God Speak - MercyMe THEIR PRIVILEGES Sons I have reared and brought up: Isa 5:1,2; Isa 46:3,4; Dt 1:31; 4:7,8; Jer 31:9; Ezek 16:6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14; 20:5-32; Ro 3:1,2; 9:4,5 Isaiah 1 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Isaiah emphasizes in chapter 5 again that Jehovah had cared for His people Israel just as any loving father would for his own dear children… Let me sing now for my well-beloved a song of my beloved concerning His vineyard (Isa 5:7). My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug it all around, removed its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it and also hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced only worthless ones. (Isaiah 5:1, 2) And again in chapter 46 Jehovah reaffirms His covenant (see Abrahamic vs Mosaic and Abrahamic vs Old vs New Covenants) lovingkindness and faithfulness commanding them… Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, you who have been borne by Me from birth, and have been carried from the womb (Dt 1:31), even to your old age, I shall be the same, and even to your graying years I shall bear you! I have done it, and I shall carry you; and I shall bear you, and I shall deliver you. (Isa 46:3,4) Paul in his explanation of God's plan for the Jews (and specifically that He is NOT finished with Israel -s see also study of the phrase Israel of God) in Romans 9-11 enumerates the incredible advantages Israel has always possessed as a people group… For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh,4 who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises,5 whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. (Ro 9:1, 2, 3-notes) THOUGHT: Beloved, if you are a believer, then you are a son (daughter) who Jehovah has begat (Jn 1:12, 13) by the new birth (Jn 3:3, 4, 5, 6). Just as He did for his sons in the OT, He has also provided us everything necessary for life and godliness (2Pe 1:3-note). Let us therefore be careful not to think lightly of the kindness of our Lord (cp Ro 2:4-note). Let us be wary, forewarned and forearmed by the sad example of Judah, remembering that there but by the grace of God (in moment by moment need and dependence) go each of us. Yes, we are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God, but that does not change the nature of our fallen flesh which still indwells us, ever lurking to trip us up and cause us to stumble and even to forsake the Lord our God (cp Mt 26:41, Mk 14:38). Sons - In Exodus we see this truth about Israel's divine sonship - Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Israel is My son, My first-born. So I said to you, ‘Let My son go, that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your first-born.”’(Ex 4:22, 23) God had been as a Father to Israel but in spite of His lovingkindness, they rebelled and fell away from Him as described in Isa 1:3. Israel was His wayward son (Ex. 4:22, 23; cp. Deut. 14:1; 32:20).
Isaías 1:2-4
Spurgeon remarks that "Men are more brutish than the beasts that perish. The lower animals, as men contemptuously call them, acknowledge the hand that feeds them; but men receive the bounty of God through long years, and yet live as if there were no God at all, and feel no gratitude to him whatsoever. Israel was God’s peculiar people, highly favored, and greatly indulged, and this made it all the worse for the Lord to be able to contrast them and the brute creation: “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.” (Exposition of Isaiah) The late renowned expositor James Montgomery Boice once made an interesting observation that relates to the spiritual declension in Judah and much of the modern church… It is important to understand two steps in the spiritual decline of nominally religious people. Such people do not live for God, though they think they do. They live for self, and the first stage of their decline is to put off the day of reckoning. At this stage they know what is right and expect to do the right someday. But in the meantime they want the imagined benefits of a life of sin. The second stage comes when sin has so trapped them and distorted their thinking that they lose sight of what is right or wrong and imagine their sin to be right conduct. At this point, far from putting off the day of reckoning, they actually desire it. They imagine that their deeds will be vindicated and that the people they have wronged will be shown to be deserving of their conduct. (From The Minor Prophets: An Expositional Commentary. Page 196. Baker Books. 2002) Harry
Isaías 1:2-4
Spurgeon - See how the Lord still owns the children of Israel as His people, though He contrasts their conduct with the behavior of the ox and the donkey. So we see that, however far God’s people may have gone into sin, they are His people still, and He does not deny their relationship to Him. Keil and Delitzsch - An ox has a certain knowledge of its buyer and owner, to whom it willingly submits; and a donkey has at least a knowledge of the crib of its master, i.e., it knows that it is its master who fills its crib or manger with fodder… Israel had no such knowledge, neither instinctive and direct, nor acquired by reflection… This nation, bearing as it did the God-given title of a hero of faith and prayer, this favourite nation of Jehovah, had let itself down far below the level of the brutes. Understand (0995) (bin/biyn) means to have insight and is not just mere accumulation of data but an understanding that results from comparative study. Biyn also conveys the idea of having the capacity to discern (To distinguish, discriminate or see the difference between two or more things. NAS translates biyn discern, discerning or discernment some 25 times) between what is good and what is evil (cp "discern" in Ps 19:12). Judah lacked this vitally important ability. Lxx = suniemi = means to bring together "to put the pieces of the puzzle together" so to speak again modified by the negative "ouk" signifying absolute negation! They do not have a clue how "the pieces of the puzzle fit together" is the idea! Woe! This is what sin will do to us beloved! Beware! When you sin you become senseless! Even the redeemed cannot be sinless in this fallen world with our fallen flesh but we should "sin less" lest we become senseless! Biyn - 20x in Isaiah - Isa. 1:3; 3:3; 5:21; 6:9, 10; 10:13; 14:16; 28:9, 19; 29:14, 16; 32:4; 40:14, 21; 43:10, 18; 44:18; 52:15; 56:11; 57:1 Judah did not know or understand that Jehovah was their Owner and their Master and that as such they belonged solely to Him and were to always be dependent upon Him as a loving Father to supply all of their needs. But sadly they yearned for the "leeks… and the garlic" (Nu 11:5) of this fallen world and that is what they ran after. When we loose sight of the truth that God is to be our sufficiency, we begin to seek other sources to supply our needs and greeds and the result is usually sin. We do well to read and heed, dear fellow believer! Through an earlier prophet Moses, Israel was instructed to guard and live out the statutes and judgments of Jehovah… So keep and do them, (why?) for that is your wisdom and your understanding (biynah from biyn) in the sight of the peoples (those who were not Jews, i.e., Gentiles - Israel was to be a light unto the Gentiles, a witness of the one true, living God) who will hear all these statutes and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding (biyn) people.' (Dt 4:6) Comment: A person who is wise and understanding (who has the ability to discern between good and evil) is one who characteristically knows the best goals for which to strive and the best paths to take. God is saying through Isaiah, that His people failed in this area of understanding. In the remainder of Isaiah 1, the prophet will explain in more specific terms how their failure to know and understand God and His Word led to bypaths rather than the "highway of holiness". Moses later writes they are a nation lacking in counsel (Heb = 'etsah = way of thinking and refers to a mental attitude, a state of mind, or viewpoint that determines the decisions one makes), and there is no understanding (Heb = tebuna [from root biyn] - capacity for discerning a right course of action) in them. Would that they were wise, that they understood (act with insight, to be prudent) this, that they would discern (biyn) their future! (Dt 32:28, 29) Ed Young commenting on do not understand writes that this means… Does not engage in conscious reflection either upon its own true interests or upon its immense obligations. The animals which did not have the ability to consider (understand), did at least know whence came their sustenance. Although endowed with capacities not possessed by the animals, Israel did not employ these divinely given capacities and so appears as less understanding than the beasts. (Young, E. The Book of Isaiah: Volume 1: William B. Eerdmans) The psalmist writes that… Psalm 49:20 Man in his pomp, yet without understanding (biyn), is like the beasts that perish.
Isaías 1:2-4
Spurgeon - What a terrible picture! A nation burdened with iniquity, as full of sin as their fathers were, and their offspring growing up like themselves. By hereditary transmission (Ro 5:12-note) they have received a predisposition to evil that cannot be taken out of the blood except by divine power. Sons who act corruptly - Young's Literal says "sons -- corrupters!" What a picture of the horrible effect of sin. Do not be deceived my beloved brethren by the deceitfulness of sin (He 3:13-note, Pr 28:26 Isa 44:20 Obad 1:3 Ro 7:11-note Ep 4:22- note Jas 1:14-note Je 49:16 Titus 3:3-note 2Pe 2:13-note) even the passing "pleasures" of sin (He 11:25-note). The Lord's charges against Israel are both dramatic and specific. Act corruptly (07843) (shachath) means to cause to spoil, putrefy, decay, pervert, come into a state of ruin. It was used to describe Israelites who worshiped the golden calf (Ex 32:7; Dt 9:12; 32:5, Hos 9:9). The idea is so to act as to become destructive to one’s self and to others! This is the very reason God destroyed the world by a flood! Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. (Ge 6:11-12).(shachath is used 3x) Shachath - Uses in Isaiah - Isa 1:4; 11:9; 14:20; 36:10; 37:12; 51:13; 54:16; 65:8, 25 Judges uses this word to describe Israel's downward progression (sinning is not a static process but inevitably a downward spiral - Pr 5:22-note) during the days of the Judges… But it came about when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly (shachath) than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways. (Jdg 2:19) What the Torah (Pentateuch, first five books of OT) had predicted would come to pass in God's chosen people had begun to ripen fully into fruit of putrefaction (in moral/ethical sense) (see predictions of corrupt behavior - Dt. 4:16, 25; 31:29). Alexander Maclaren calls us to … Notice, too, how the awful entail of evil from parents to children is adduced—shall we say as aggravating, or as lessening, the guilt of each generation? Isaiah’s contemporaries are ‘a seed of evil-doers,’ spring from such, and in their turn are ‘children that are corrupters.’ The fatal bias becomes stronger as it passes down. Heredity is a fact, whether you call it original sin or not. (Isaiah 1:1-9, 16-20 The Great Suit: Jehovah Versus Judah) They have abandoned the LORD: Dt 29:25; 31:16; Jdg 10:10; Jer 2:13,17,19 Isaiah 1 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Israel and Judah's forsaking of God is unfortunately a common theme in the OT. We all, like Judah, are either moving toward God (seeking Him) or away from God (abandoning Him). To abandon God is the opposite of seeking Him. God Himself predicted that His chosen people would forsake Him but also warned them that if they did He would forsake them… And the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers; and this people will arise and play the harlot (literally the idea of illicit sexual activity, but figuratively of describing spiritual unfaithfulness ~ "playing the harlot", cp Ho 4:10, 11, 12, 18, Ex 34:16, 17, 2Chr 21:11, 12, 13) with the strange gods of the land, into the midst of which they are going, and will forsake ('azab) Me and break My covenant which I have made with them (she was His "wife" - Je 31:32, Ho 2:19, Isa 54:5). Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake ('azab) them (cp Dt 28:20, 29:25, Josh 24:20; Who will He not forsake? Ps 9:10, 37:25, 28, Pr 9:6, 28:13) and hide My face from them, and they shall be consumed, and many evils and troubles shall come upon them; so that they will say in that day, 'Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have come upon us?' (Dt 31:16, 17) Moses as God's prophet also warned their abandonment of God would happen But Jeshurun (means "upright one" and is a term of endearment and refers ironically to Israel Dt 33:5, 26) grew fat and kicked-- You are grown fat, thick, and sleek-- Then he forsook ('azab) God who made him, and scorned (nabel = faded away from, lightly esteemed, dishonored) the Rock of his salvation. (How did the forsake and scorn Him?) They made Him jealous with strange gods; with abominations (tow'ebah = that which is loathsome) they provoked Him to anger. (Dt 32:15, 16) Abandoned (05800) ('azab) basically means to depart from something or leave. The prophets used 'azab to describe Israel's relationship God's covenant noting that like an unfaithful wife she “forsook” God and His covenant by turning to lifeless idols (Jdg 2:12, 13, 14, 15-note, Jdg 10:6, 7,10, 13, 14, When they ask Samuel for a king = 1Sa 8:8, What happens when we forsake God? = 1Sa 12:10 and 1Ki 9:9, Why were the 12 tribes divided, esp v33? = 1Ki 11:31, 32, 33, Elijah = 1Ki 19:10,Jer 22:9; Ezek 20:8) As noted above Moses warned God's chosen people of the danger of breaking God’s covenant (she was His "wife" - Je 31:32) and forsaking Him (Dt 31:16, 17). Jeremiah indicates the divine threat of God forsaking His people had become a reality for Judah (Jer 12:7). All uses of 'azab in Isaiah - Isa 1:4, 28; 7:16; 10:3, 14; 17:2, 9; 18:6; 27:10; 32:14; 41:17; 42:16; 49:14; 54:6, 7; 55:7; 58:2; 60:15; 62:4, 12; 65:11 To help understand the meaning of 'azab see… Ge 2:24 man shall leave ('azab) his father and his mother Ge 39:12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, "Lie with me!" And he left ('azab) his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside. Ru 1:16-note But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave ('azab) (cp who she had left - Ru 2:11) you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Ps 22:1-note My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken ('azab) me? The Septuagint translates 'azab with the verb egkataleipo a Greek verb used often in the OT and which means to desert, to utterly forsake, to totally abandon, all of these definitions presenting a dramatic picture of Judah's movement away from God. It was not just a little minimal degree of easily correctable backsliding but a total abandonment of the Holy One of Israel! (See quotations on Backsliding or Drifting) Alexander
Isaías 1:2-4
Spurgeon - the prophet spoke to the people of his day, and we may say much the same to the people of our own time. The professing church of God has gone away backward, forsaken the doctrines of truth, and turned aside from the purity of its life. God have mercy upon the world when the church itself becomes thus defiled! They have despised the Holy One of Israel: Isa 3:8; 65:3; Deut 32:19; Ps 78:40; Jeremiah 7:19; 1Co 10:22 Isaiah 1 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries 2Ki 19:22 ‘Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? And against whom have you raised your voice, And haughtily lifted up your eyes? Against the Holy One of Israel! Ps 78:41-note Again and again they tempted God, and pained the Holy One of Israel. We see a similar description of Israel again in Isaiah 5… Isaiah 5:24 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; (Why?) For they have rejected (refused, abhorred, as in 1Sa 10:19, Je 8:9) the law of the LORD of hosts and despised (naats = spurned, treated contemptuously) the word of the Holy One of Israel. Comment: Israel rejected the Holy One and the Holy One eventually rejected them in Hosea 4:6 as well as their worship in Amos 4:6! Beware of "dwelling" (wallowing would be a better description) in sin. It's like the poor children in third world countries playing in the sewage infested streams that run through the villages! Let us confess and repent lest we experience the same fate as Israel! Motyer writes that "Just as ‘seeking’ (God) is not looking for Him as though He were lost but showing a determination to be with Him where He is to be found (cp Je 29:13, He 11:6-note), so forsaking is deliberately distancing ourselves from Him. It arises from a change of heart whereby He who should be loved is rather spurned/‘treated with scorn. (Motyer, J. A. The Prophecy of Isaiah : An Introduction & Commentary. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press) Despised (05006) (na'ats) signifies the action or attitude whereby the former recipient of favorable disposition and/or service is consciously viewed and/or treated with disdain (cp Dt 31:20). It means to abhor which in turn means to regard with extreme repugnance. Ponder that thought… this is how God's very own people were interacting with the Holy One of Israel! When we turn away from God, it's amazing how far we can slide! Have you despised the Holy One of Israel by your unholy behavior? Are you trifling with some "little" sin even now as you read these notes? If you are, then you had better beware that you are on the proverbial "slippery slope" and you need to repent and return and experience God's restoration and rest. Na'ats also conveys the idea of spurning (men spurning God) which means to reject something disdainfully or contemptuously. Na'ats equates with unbelief in Numbers 14 (Why is their spurning God all the more shocking? What had they witnessed? = Nu 14:11, 23). The Septuagint translates na'ats with the verb parorgizo which means to provoke to anger and usually describes God's reaction (cp parorgizo in Dt 4:25, 31:29, 32:21) The Theological Wordbook has this note on na'ats…God's longsuffering (Ro 2:4-note) overlooked repeated rejections and scorning of His person (Nu 14:11; Ps 10:3-note), sanctions (Ps 10:13-note), counsel (Ps 107:11-note), and word (Isa 5:24). To the "despiser" nothing that is God's is considered holy (Isa 52:5; cf. Isa 1:4; Deut 31:19). Thus, he not only "deprecates God's power and ability to carry out his threats" but his contemptuous view of God leads him to prefer sin to God and to express this contempt in conscious contempt of God (Isa 1:4). (Harris, R L, Archer, G L & Waltke, B K Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Page 543 Moody Press) TO NOT BE HOLY IS TO DESPISE THE HOLY ONE! Keil and Delitzsch write that "There was apostasy in heart: “They have forsaken Jehovah.” There was apostasy in words: “They blaspheme the Holy One of Israel.” The verb (blaspheme, spurn, despise = na'ats) literally means to sting, then to mock or treat scornfully; the use of it to denote blasphemy is antiquated Mosaic (Dt. 31:20; Nu 14:11, 23; 16:30). Despite such unholy behavior against the Holy One note His longsuffering… For neither Israel nor Judah has been forsaken by his God, the Lord of hosts, although their land is full of guilt before the Holy One of Israel. (Je 51:5) Holy One of Israel - This phrase is used 25 times in Isaiah (2Ki 19:22; Ps. 71:22; 78:41; 89:18; Isa. 1:4; 5:19, 24; 10:20; 12:6; 17:7; 29:19; 30:11, 12, 15; 31:1; 37:23; 41:14, 16, 20; 43:3, 14; 45:11; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7; 54:5; 55:5; 60:9, 14; Jer. 50:29; 51:5) and clearly points to the Messiah. Furthermore this title for God occurs 12 times in the first division of Isaiah and 13 times in the second division. This and other similarities in usage of distinctive Hebrew words or phrases adds further proof to the unified authorship of the entire book. What a contrast this name of God brings out in this verse where the holiness of God stands in the sharpest possible contrast to human sinfulness. Keil and Delitzsch add that… It is with intention that God is designated here as “the Holy One of Israel,”—a name which constitutes the keynote of all Isaiah’s prophecy (see Isa 6:3). It was sin to mock at anything holy; it was a double sin to mock at God, the Holy One; but it was a threefold sin for Israel to mock at God the Holy One, Who had set Himself to be the sanctifier of Israel, and required that as He was Israel’s sanctification, He should also be sanctified by Israel according to His holiness (Lev 19:2, etc.). Vine writes that… as the Holy One He was Israel’s Sanctifier, and they should have sanctified themselves in response; He had said “ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God, am holy” (Lev. 19:2). (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson) Motyer adds that… Holiness is the heart of the nature of God. Thus, in the full reality of all that makes him divine and marks him out as unique he had drawn near to and in a real sense become the possession of Israel, he was ‘Israel’s Holy One’. This was the one they had treated with scorn. (Ibid) They have turned away from Him: Ps 58:3; Jer 2:5,31 Isaiah 1 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Literally this verse reads that they "have be-stranged themselves backward" or as Motyer phrases it they had "turned themselves back into strangers." Spurgeon - What a description this is of the state of the unregenerate, — even of God’s elect among them who are still crushed under the ruins of the fall! Peradventure, as I am reading this chapter, some poor soul here is saying, “That just describes me.” Well, let it describe you; and lament, and mourn, and humiliate yourself before the Most High as you realize what is your sad condition. You have acted worse to God than an ass does to its master; you have behaved shamefully to him, and thus you have provoked him to anger. Do not think lightly of your sin, but let it weigh heavily upon your spirit; as you are “laden with iniquity,” God grant that it may be a heavy burden to you! The Lord next goes on to exhibit the sin of the people in the light of his chastisement (Isa 1:4b). When a child sins, and does wrong, a wise parent uses correction to see whether he cannot overcome the evil tendencies; but, alas! there is no correction that will ever get sin out of the sinner. See what God did with these people, and what came of it. Keil and Delitzsch add that " lastly, there was also apostasy in action: “they have turned away backwards;"… The niphal (Ed: This Hebrew stem is often reflexive), which is only met with here, indicates the deliberate character of their estrangement from God; and the expression is rendered still more emphatic by the introduction of the word “backwards” (achor). In all their actions they ought to have followed Jehovah; but they had turned their backs upon Him, and taken the way selected by themselves. (Comment: Cp Acts 7:51 where Stephen describes the unregenerate Jews - "resisting" in Greek means to resist by actively opposing or rush against or upon in a hostile manner, assault, resist by force and violence - in Ac 7:51 "the Holy Spirit")" Turned away - The KJV renders it "gone away backward" (Back side of something, backward, behind = Hebrew word - 'achor =0268), a good description of "backsliding" (See quotations on Backsliding or Drifting). The noun 'achor is used by Jeremiah to picture backsliding which pertains to a state of little or no association compared to a prior association… “You who have forsaken Me,” declares the Lord, “You keep going backward. So I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you; I am tired of relenting! (Jer 15:6) Turned away (02114) (zur) actually means to be a stranger and thus the idea in the present context is to become alienated or utterly estranged from God. God's people had become as if they were now aliens, foreigners or non-Israelites. Motyer says "God’s chosen people have ‘reverted to alien status’." The Hebrew uses the Niphal stem here which can be reflexive which could be rendered "They turned themselves away". Their turning away was no accident and they had no one to blame but themselves. We all need to beware of the "victim mentality" and remember that God never tempts us to sin, but when we sin, it is because we have made a personal decision to sin rather than to obey. This verse describes every person ever born for we are all born into Adam (Ro 5:12-note), Paul explaining that the result is that we… were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death (2Co 5:18, 19, Ep 2:14-note, Ep 2:15, 16-note), in order to present you before Him holy (Ep 1:4-note) and blameless (1Co 1:8, Jude 1:24, 25) and beyond reproach (Ro 8:33-note) (Col 1:21, 22-note) Paul describes the mind that is alienated to God… For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; (Ro 8:6, 7-note) What happens when we turn away from God? Jeremiah writes "Thus says the LORD, "What injustice did your fathers find in Me, That they went far from Me and walked after emptiness and became empty (Hebrew verb habal = they became filled with false hopes, became vain or void [How would you like God to examine everything you've ever lived for, everything you've ever accomplished and after assessing it, stamp it "Void"!?], cp 2Ki 17:15, Ps 62:10)?" (Jeremiah 2:5)
Isaías 1:5-9
Spurgeon writes that… One of God’s ways of bringing people to himself is by chastisement and affliction. He had tried that method upon Judah; he had used his rod so long that, at last, he exclaimed, “Why should ye be stricken any more?” What is the good of my sending any more affliction upon you? “ Now, whenever the rod is of no more use, there will be a sharper instrument to follow. When men can no longer be chastened for their good, the axe of execution is ready to be brought forth. What a sorrowful description is here given of the people of Judah and their land! (Exposition of Isaiah) Matthew
Isaías 1:5-9
Spurgeon comments that "The nation had been so beaten that it was covered all over with bruises and sores. It seemed to be of no use to afflict Israel any more; and there are some persons in the world who have been chastened in every conceivable way, and yet they are none the better. There are graves in the cemetery where lie asleep those they love; the house that was their joy has long ago been sold, and they have not a roof to call their own; they have seen themselves at death’s door by fever and by other diseases; and yet all that God’s rod has done for them has come to nothing. The old Roman lictors (officer among the Romans, who bore an ax and rods, as ensigns of his office and whose duty it was An officer among the Romans, who bore an ax and fasces or rods, as ensigns of his office) carried an axe bound up in a bundle of rods; and, when the rods had been tried, and had failed, then came the axe. And if the milder forms of chastisement do not bring men to repentance, sooner or later will come the axe of destruction." Sole … to the head… nothing sound - Speaks of the pervasive aspect of their sinful condition. J C Ryle speaks of the sole to head pervasive nature of sin "Concerning the extent of this vast moral disease called "sin," let us beware that we make no mistake. The only safe ground is that which is laid for us in Scripture. "Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart" is by nature "evil," and that "continually." "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Ge 6:5; Je 17:9). Sin is a disease which pervades and runs through every part of our moral constitution and every faculty of our minds. The understanding, the affections, the reasoning powers, the will, are all more or less infected. Even the conscience is so blinded that it cannot be depended on as a sure guide, and is as likely to lead men wrong as right, unless it is enlightened by the Holy Spirit. In short, "from the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness" about us (Is 1:6). The disease may be veiled under a thin covering of courtesy, politeness, good manners and outward decorum, but it lies deep down in the constitution." (J. C. Ryle. Holiness) Nothing sound - In other words wholly filled with unsoundness. Nothing (0369) (ayin) meaning negation or nonexistence. The Septuagint (LXX) translates ayin with the Greek negative particle (ouk) signifying absolute negation, which emphasizes the completeness of Judah's deficiency soundness. The Great Physician gives presents a bleak outlook regarding Judah's spiritual health and all because they had refused the Physician's advice! It's not good to ignore a medical doctor's advice, but it's far worse to ignore the Great Physician! Bruises (02250) (chabbuwrah/habburah) is a wound, "stripe" (KJV) or welt (wound in form of a lump caused by a blow). There are only 5 uses in the OT (Ge 4:23; Ex 21:25; Ps 38:5; Pr 20:30; Is 1:6; 53:5), and two are in Isaiah, the first describes Judah's bruises (in context referring to her sins) and the second describing the Messiah Who was… was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities (cp Isa 1:4); The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging (habburah - KJV = "stripes") we are healed (Heb = rapha; Lxx = iaomai = to heal, used of "healing" from sin in Jn 12:40, Ac 28:27). (Isaiah 53:5) Sound (04974) (metom) speaks of wholeness, and in context refers figuratively primarily to the spiritual health. Used 4x in the OT - Jdg. 20:48; Ps. 38:3, 7; Isa. 1:6 and rendered as entire(1), sound(1), soundness(2). Psalm 38:3 There is no soundness (Heb = metom; Lxx = iasis = healing, cure, deliverance from a variety of ills or conditions that lie beyond physical maladies) in my flesh because of Thine indignation; There is no health (KJV = "rest" - Hebrew = shalom which means peace) in my bones because of my sin. Spurgeon: There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger. Mental depression tells upon the bodily frame; it is enough to create and foster every disease, and is in itself the most painful of all diseases. Soul sickness tells upon the entire frame; it weakens the body, and then bodily weakness reacts upon the mind. One drop of divine anger sets the whole of our blood boiling with misery. Neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. (KJV) Deeper still the malady penetrates, till the bones, the more solid parts of the system, are affected. No soundness and no rest are two sad deficiencies; yet these are both consciously gone from every awakened conscience until Jesus gives relief. God's anger is a fire that dries up the very marrow; it searches the secret parts of the belly. A man who has pain in his bones tosses to and fro in search of rest, but he finds none; he becomes worn out with agony, and in so many cases a sense of sin creates in the conscience a horrible unrest which cannot be exceeded in anguish except by hell itself. Psalm 38:7 For my loins are filled with burning; and there is no soundness in my flesh. Oil (08081) (shemen) generally referred to pure or refined olive oil which was used as a perfume or ointment as it could applied directly to the skin and wonderfully cleanse and soothe wounds and injuries. H A
Isaías 1:5-9
Spurgeon - Now, to translate all this into plain English, I have known men who have been chastened for their sins, and by their sins; God has chastised them, and they have been severely chastised; but no obedience, no repentance, has followed upon the chastisement. Men have been brought, by their sin, from wealth to poverty, from competence to actual want. Have we not seen them by drunkenness brought to rags, and by vice brought to rottenness? Have we not seen men brought to the very gates of hell by their iniquities, yet still they have clung to those iniquities? They have begun to drink the cup of their own damnation, and even when they realized what they were doing, they have still clutched the burning chalice in their hands, and have willingly drained it to the last dregs. Oh, it is horrible, it is terrible, to see at what a cost men will ruin their own souls! They go to perdition as if they were at a steeplechase; no hedge is too high, and no brook too wide for them, and they ride to destruction at a desperate pace. If we who are God’s people were half as earnest in serving him as the ungodly are in their efforts to be lost, what great service we should render to him! God reminded these people of all that he had done to them by way of chastening; yet no good had come of it. (Exposition on Isaiah 1)
Isaías 1:5-9
Spurgeon comments that "The land had been so harried and worried by invaders that it was little better than a poor shanty; the nation was comparable to a poor hut which the Arabs put up in the vineyard just to sleep in: “a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.” Shelter (05521) (sukkah) is a term used to describe temporary shelters where one dwells, as booths, huts, tents, etc. In context this word pictures the devastation and depopulation of Judah, because he foresees God’s people reduced to living in temporary shelters. Sukkah (booth) is the Hebrew word used in the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) - Leviticus 23:34, 42, 43. Like a watchman's hut in a cucumber field - The accurate interpretation of this simile (see terms of comparison) requires some knowledge of the practices of Isaiah's day (if interpretation is to be accurate interpretation context must rule - in this case the agricultural "context"). To his original audience Isaiah's picture would have been readily understood as an image of desolation. Why so? The answer is that crude huts were temporary shanties used by watchmen in late summer to keep the birds away from the crops, but once the season ended, the huts were abandoned.
Isaías 1:10-15
Spurgeon: If I regard iniquity in my heart. If, having seen it to be there, I continue to gaze upon it without aversion; if I cherish it, have a side glance of love toward it, excuse it, and palliate it; The Lord will not hear me. How can he? Can I desire him to connive at my sin, and accept me while I wilfully cling to any evil way? Nothing hinders prayer like iniquity harboured in the breast; as with Cain, so with us, sin lieth at the door, and blocks the passage. If thou listen to the devil, God will not listen to thee. If you refuse to hear God's commands, he will surely refuse to hear thy prayers. An imperfect petition God will hear for Christ's sake, but not one which is wilfully miswritten by a traitor's hand. For God to accept our devotions, while we are delighting in sin, would be to make himself the God of hypocrites, which is a fitter name for Satan than for the Holy One of Israel. Robert Gordon: If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. The very supposition that "if he regarded iniquity in his heart, the Lord would not hear him," implies the possibility that such may be the state even of believers; and there is abundant reason to fear that it is in this way their prayers are so often hindered, and their supplications so frequently remain unanswered. Nor is it difficult to conceive how believers may be chargeable with regarding iniquity in their heart, even amidst all the solemnity of coming into the immediate presence of God, and directly addressing him in the language of prayer and supplication. It is possible that they may put themselves into such a situation, in a state of mind but little fitted for engaging in that holy exercise; the world, in one form or another, may for the time have the ascendancy in their hearts; and there may have been so much formality in their confessions, and so much indifference in their supplications, that when the exercise is over, they could not honestly declare that they really meant what they acknowledged, or seriously desired what they prayed for. A Christian, it is true, could not be contented to remain in a state like this; and, when he is awakened from it, as he sooner or later will be, he cannot fail to look back upon it with humiliation and shame. But we fear there are seasons in which believers themselves may make a very near approach to such a state; and what then is the true interpretation of prayers offered up at such a moment? It is in fact saying, that there is something which, for the time, they prefer to what they are formally asking of God; that, though the blessing which they do ask may be for a time withheld, yet they would find a compensation in the enjoyment of the worldly things which do at the moment engross their affections; and that, in reality, they would not choose to have at that instant such an abundant communication of spiritual influence imparted to them, as would render these worldly objects less valuable in their estimation, and would turn the whole tide of their affections towards spiritual things… The Christian may sometimes betake himself to prayer, to ask counsel of God in some perplexity regarding divine truth, or to seek direction in some doubtful point of duty; but, instead of being prepared fairly to exercise his judgment in the hope that, while doing so, the considerations that lie of the side of truth will be made to his mind clear and convincing; he may have allowed his inclinations so to influence and bias his judgment towards the side of error, or in favour of the line of conduct which he wishes to pursue, that when he asks counsel it may only be in the hope that his previous opinion will be confirmed, and when he seeks direction it is in reality on a point about which he was previously determined… Another case is, I fear, but too common, and in which the believer may be still more directly chargeable with regarding iniquity in his heart. It is possible that there may be in his heart or life something which he is conscious is not altogether as it should be -- some earthly attachment which he cannot easily justify -- or some point of conformity to the maxims and practices of the world, which he finds it difficult to reconcile with Christian principle; and yet all the struggle which these have from time to time cost him, may only have been an effort of ingenuity on his part to retain them without doing direct violence to conscience -- a laborious getting up of arguments whereby to show how they may be defended, or in what way they may lawfully be gone into; while the true and simple reason of his going into them, namely, the love of the world, is all the while kept out of view. And, as an experimental proof of how weak and inconclusive all these arguments are, and at the same time how unwilling he still is to relinquish his favourite objects, he may be conscious that in confessing his sins he leaves them out of the enumeration, rather because he would willingly pass them over, than because he is convinced that they need not be there; he may feel that he cannot and dare not make them the immediate subject of solemn and deliberate communing with God; and, after all his multiplied and ingenuous defences, he may be reconciled to them at last, only by ceasing to agitate the question whether they are lawful or not. Robert Gordon, D.D., 1825. Isaiah repeats God's righteous indictment of Israel (and of all who would sin and seek to pray while in confessed sin)… Behold, the LORD'S hand is not so short that it cannot save; Neither is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear. (Isa 59:1, 2) John Bunyan… Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer. It’s not that God somehow goes deaf when we have sin in our life. It’s not that He can’t hear, it’s that He won’t hear. Communication with the Lord Involves much more than prayer, For we must also read His Word And listen to Him there. --Sper Worldly static disrupts our communication with God. John Piper in addressing the question of what facilitates answered prayer asks his congregation… Is there anyone here who conducts his business in a way that takes advantage of people, that deceives or exploits others? Is there anyone here whose investments or procedures oppress and gouge the fatherless, the widow, the poor, or any disadvantaged people? If so, God’s word to you is, “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen.” Christian, the answer to your prayers may depend on where your money is invested and how you do your business.
Isaías 1:16-20
Spurgeon: I will wash mine hands in innocency. He would publicly avow himself to be altogether clear of the accusations laid against him, and if any fault in other matters could be truthfully alleged against him, he would for the future abstain from it. The washing of the hands is a significant action to set forth our having no connection with a deed, as we still say, "I wash my hands of the whole business." As to perfect innocence, David does not here claim it, but he avows his innocence of the crimes whereof he was slanderously accused; there is, however, a sense in which we may be washed in absolute innocency, for the atoning blood makes us clean every whit. We ought never to rest satisfied short of a full persuasion of our complete cleansing by Jesus' precious blood. So will I compass thine altar, O LORD. Priests unto God must take great care to be personally cleansed; the brazen laver was as needful as the golden altar; God's worship requires us to be holy in life. He who is unjust to man cannot be acceptably religious towards God. We must not bring our thank offerings with hands defiled with guilt (cp Mt 5:23, 24-note). To love justice and purity is far more acceptable to God, than ten thousands of the fat of fed beasts (cp Micah 6:8). We see from this verse that holy minds delight in the worship of the Lord, and find their sweetest solace at His altar; and that it is their deepest concern never to enter upon any course of action which would unfit them for the most sacred communion with God. Our eye must be upon the altar which sanctifies both the giver and the gift, yet we must never draw from the atoning sacrifice an excuse for sin, but rather find in it a most convincing argument for holiness. (The necessity of personal holiness in order to acceptable worship.) Rahas is used in Isaiah 4 where the prophet records… When the Lord has washed (rahas) away the filth (Lxx = rupos = dirt, filth, used of sealing was and even ear-wax!) of the daughters of Zion, and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning (Isa 4:4) In Proverbs we see another use of rahas in the sense of spiritual washing… There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes, yet is not washed (rahas) from his filthiness. (Pr 30:12) Comment: The first phrase describes the self-righteous person, who like the Pharisees of Jesus' day were ostensibly clean on the outside like whitewashed tombs but inwardly they were full of moral, spiritual, and behavioral uncleanness. The KJV translates the Hebrew word "filthiness" as dung in 2Ki 18:27and Isa 36:12! However it should be pointed out that the NAS uses a different Hebrew word [heres - 02716] in both instances. Note that here in Isa 1:16 God commands the sinner to wash, whereas in Ezekiel 36:25, God speaks of cleansing that He will carry out. He alone is the only one Who can give the hard hearted sinner a new heart that desires to obey God. He is the only One Who can wash away our sins totally. As in so many places in Scripture, we see this mysterious, transcendent truth of man's responsibility and God's sovereignty. C H Spurgeon rightly observes that the command "wash yourselves" is your duty. However, (in Ezek 36:25) you are told that the Lord will wash you and make you clean. This is your privilege. “Ye are clean,” said Christ to His disciples, “through the word which I have spoken unto you” (John 15:3). That is “the washing of water by the word” (Ephesians 5:26) of which Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus. The free-grace covenant runs like this: “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean.” The Lord sprinkles this “clean water” on the leprous and the polluted sinner, on the man who lies covered with his own blood, a filthy thing in the sight of God, and loathsome to Him (cp "your hands are covered with blood" Isa 1:15b). When God Himself says, “Ye shall be clean,” I know that we are clean, for He is the best judge of true cleanliness. His pure and holy eyes detect every spot of sin and every latent trace of disease. Though it may be deep within the heart, He can spy it out; but He says, “I will sprinkle you, and you shall be clean.” Then the Lord goes on (Ezek 36:25b) to enumerate that from which He will cleanse us: “From all your idols, will I cleanse you.” Is drink your idol? Is some lust of the flesh your idol? “Oh!” you say, “I cannot get rid of these things.” No, but the Lord can cleanse you from them. Only come to Him, listen diligently to Him, trust Him, yield to Him, surrender yourself to Him, and He will dash your idols in pieces and tear them from their thrones. He will also cleanse you from whatever else there may be that is unmentionable: “from all your filthiness,” things not to be spoken of, not even to be mentioned, those things that are done in secret. “I will cleanse you from them,” says the Lord. I may be addressing somebody who, as he reads this, thinks that I am delusional. “Why,” says he, “I am a filthy creature. I am a great sinner. Can God bless me?” Yes, He can bless even you. Such was the case of Colonel Gardiner. On the very night on which he had made an appointment to commit a filthy sin, Christ appeared to him, and he thought that he heard Him say, “I have done all this for you; will you never turn to Me?” At that moment he did turn to Jesus. He became noted as an eminent Christian man, more noted than he had formerly been as a debauched officer in the army. The Lord Jesus Christ still works these wonders of grace. He meets men often when they are desperately set on mischief, just as a horse that is rushing headlong into battle. Christ comes and lays His hand on the reins, turns the steed, and leads it back wherever He desires. Such is the power of His almighty love. I pray that He will do the same for you, according to this wondrous promise: “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.” (from Grace, God's Unmerited Favor). Make clean (02135) (zakah) means to be clean or to cleanse and is used primarily in a figurative sense in the OT (study the uses below). Zakah - 8v in OT - Job 15:14; 25:4; Ps 51:4; 73:13; 119:9; Pr 20:9; Isa 1:16; Mic 6:11. The NAS renders zakah as blameless(1), clean(1), cleansed(1), justify(1), keep pure(1), kept pure(1), make clean(1), pure(1). Job 25:4 "How then can a man be just with God? Or how can he be clean (zakah) who is born of woman? Psalm 51:4 Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy sight, so that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak, and blameless (zakah) when Thou dost judge. Spurgeon: Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned. The virus of sin lies in its opposition to God: the psalmist's sense of sin towards others rather tended to increase the force of this feeling of sin against God. All his wrong doing centered, culminated, and came to a climax, at the foot of the divine throne. To injure our fellow men is sin, mainly because in so doing we violate the law of God. The penitent's heart was so filled with a sense of the wrong done to the Lord Himself, that all other confession was swallowed up in a broken hearted acknowledgment of offence against Him. And done this evil in Thy sight. To commit treason in the very court of the King and before His eye is impudence indeed: David felt that his sin was committed in all its filthiness while Jehovah Himself looked on (Pr 15:3, 5:21-note). None but a child of God cares for the eye of God, but where there is grace in the soul it reflects a fearful guilt upon every evil act, when we remember that the God whom we offend was present when the trespass was committed. That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. He could not present any argument against divine justice, if it proceeded at once to condemn him and punish him for his crime. His own confession, and the judge's own witness of the whole transaction, places the transgression beyond all question or debate; the iniquity was indisputably committed, and was unquestionably a foul wrong, and therefore the course of justice was clear and beyond all controversy. Psalm 73:13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure (zakah), and washed (rahas) my hands in innocence; Spurgeon: Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain. Poor Asaph! he questions the value of holiness when its wages are paid in the coin of affliction. With no effect has he been sincere; no advantage has come to him through his purity, for the filthy hearted are exalted and fed on the fat of the land. Thus foolishly will the wisest of men argue, when faith is napping. Asaph was a seer, but he could not see when reason left him in the dark; even seers must have the sunlight of revealed truth to see by, or they grope like the blind. In the presence of temporal circumstances, the pure in heart may seem to have cleansed themselves altogether in vain, but we must not judge after the sight of the eyes. And washed my hands in innocency. Asaph had been as careful of his hands as of his heart; he had guarded his outer as well as his inner life, and it was a bitter thought that all of this was useless, and left him in even a worse condition than foul handed, black hearted worldlings. Surely the horrible character of the conclusion must have helped to render it untenable; it could not be so while God was God. It smelt too strong of a lie to be tolerated long in the good man's soul; hence, in a verse or two, we see his mind turning in another direction. Psalm 119:9 (QUESTION) How can a young man keep his way pure (zakah)? (ANSWER) By keeping it according to Thy word. Spurgeon: When a godly man sues for a favour from God he should carefully use every means for obtaining it, and accordingly, as the Psalmist had asked to be preserved from wandering, he here shows us the holy precaution which he had taken to prevent his falling into sin. Thy word have I hid in mine heart. His heart would be kept by the word because he kept the word in his heart. All that he had of the word written, and all that had been revealed to him by the voice of God, -- all, without exception, he had stored away in his affections, as a treasure to be preserved in a casket, or as a choice seed to be buried in a fruitful soil: what soil more fruitful than a renewed heart, wholly seeking the Lord? The word was God's own, and therefore precious to God's servant. He did not wear a text on his heart as a charm, but he hid it in his heart as a rule. He laid it up in the place of love and life, and it filled the chamber with sweetness and light. We must in this imitate David, copying his heart work as well as his outward character. First, we must mind that what we believe is truly God's word; that being done, we must hide or treasure it each man for himself; and we must see that this is done, not as a mere feat of the memory, but as the joyful act of the affections. That I might not sin against thee. Here was the object aimed at. As one has well said, -- Here is the best thing -- "thy word"; hidden in the best place, -- "in my heart;" for the best of purposes, -- "that I might not sin against thee." (Ps 119:11) This was done by the Psalmist with personal care, as a man carefully hides away his money when he fears thieves, -- in this case the thief dreaded was sin. Sinning "against God" is the believer's view of moral evil; other men care only when they offend against men. God's word is the best preventive against offending God, for it tells us his mind and will, and tends to bring our spirit into conformity with the divine Spirit. No cure for sin in the life is equal to the word in the seat of life, which is the heart. There is no hiding from sin unless we hide the truth in our souls. A very pleasant variety of meaning is obtained by laying stress upon the words "thy" and "thee." He speaks to God, he loves the word because it is God's word, and he hates sin because it is sin against God himself. If he vexed others, he minded not so long as he did not offend his God. If we would not cause God displeasure we must treasure up his own word. The personal way in which the man of God did this is also noteworthy: "With my whole heart have I sought thee." (Ps 119:10) Whatever others might choose to do he had already made his choice and placed the Word in his innermost soul as his dearest delight, and however others might transgress, his aim was after holiness: "That I might not sin against thee." This was not what he purposed to do, but what he had already done: many are great at promising, but the Psalmist had been true in performing: hence he hoped to see a sure result. When the word is hidden in the heart the life shall be hidden from sin. The parallelism between the second octave and the first is still continued. Psalms 119:3 speaks of doing no iniquity, while this verse treats of the method of not sinning. When we form an idea of a blessedly holy man (Psalms 119:3) it becomes us to make an earnest effort to attain unto the same sacred innocence and divine happiness, and this can only be through heart piety founded on the Scriptures. Proverbs 20:9 Who can say, "I have cleansed my heart, I am pure (zakah) from my sin "? (ANSWER? no one in their own strength and merit!) Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight: Isa 55:6,7; Ezek 18:30,31; Zech 1:3,4; Mt 3:8; Ephesians 4:22, 23, 24; Titus 2:11, 12, 13, 14; 1Pe 2:1) Seek (command to seek) the Lord while He may be found; Call (command to call) upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. (Isa 55:6,7) “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his conduct,” declares the Lord God. “Repent (command) and turn away (command) from all your transgressions, so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you. 31 “Cast away (command) from you all your transgressions which you have committed and make (command) yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! (Ezek 11:19, 20, 36:26, 27, Jer 32:39, Ro 2:28, 29-note) For why will you die, O house of Israel? (Ezek 18:30, 31) “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Return (command) to Me,” declares the Lord of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. “Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Return (command) now from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.” ’ But they did not listen or give heed to Me,” declares the Lord. Remove (05493) (sur) means to turn away, desert, quit, stop, make depart. Here Jehovah commands them to get rid of evil. This series of Hebrew verbal commands (remove… cease… learn to do good, etc) are in essence a call by Jehovah Himself to faithless Judah to repent and believe and bear fruit in keeping with that repentance, the same message proclaimed by John the Baptist and by our Lord Jesus Christ… Repent, (present imperative = command) for the kingdom of heaven is at hand… 8 Therefore bear (command) fruit in keeping with repentance (Mt 3:2, 8, cp Acts 26:20) From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, (present imperative = command) (cp Ro 2:4-note, Jesus declared = Lk 13:3,4, 5, 15:7, 10, 16:30, 24:46, 47, Acts 3:19, 20, 5:31, 8:22, 17:30, 31, 20:21, 2Co 7:9, 10, 11, 12:21, Re 2:21-note, 2Pe 3:9-note; just before the last 3.5 years of the Great Tribulation, God sends an angel with a message for the world - Re 14:6-note, Re 14:7-note) for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Mt 4:17, cp Jesus' call in Mk 1:1, 1:15, 6:12) (Related Resource: See word study on metanoia = repentance) From My sight - All evil no matter how secret we might think it before men is open scandal in heaven for all sin is against God and blatantly in His line of sight (cp Ge 39:9, Neh 5:15, Ge 20:6, Nathan the prophet to David after sin with Bathsheba - 2Sa 12:9, 10, 11,12, 13, 14 then came David's cry of confession in Ps 51:4-note). This alone should cause us to be careful how we walk (cp Eph 5:15-note, 1Pe 1:17-note) Cease to do evil: Psalm 34:14; 37:27; Amos 5:15; Romans 12:9; Ephesians 4:25, 26, 27, 28, 29; 1Peter 3:11 Cease (02308) (chadal/hadal) means in plain English to stop! God is not stuttering. The Greek verb pauo (also in the aorist imperative calling for obedience to this command immediately and completely!) also means to cause something to stop, to bring to an end. From other Scriptures (eg 1Jn 1:8) we know that God is not saying that we are to be perfect for that is not possible in this present life, even for saved individuals. But in context, He is saying stop committing the willful, rebellious transgressions that are outlined in this chapter (and representative of all rebellious acts against God's holiness). Chadal/hadal - 53v in OT - Gen. 11:8; 18:11; 41:49; Exod. 9:29, 33f; 14:12; 23:5; Num. 9:13; Deut. 15:11; 23:22; Jdg. 5:6f; 9:9, 11, 13; 15:7; 20:28; Ruth 1:18; 1 Sam. 2:5; 9:5; 12:23; 23:13; 1 Ki. 15:21; 22:6, 15; 2 Chr. 16:5; 18:5, 14; 25:16; 35:21; Job 3:17; 7:16; 10:20; 14:6f; 16:6; 19:14; Ps. 36:3; 49:8; Prov. 10:19; 19:27; 23:4; Isa. 1:16; 2:22; 24:8; Jer. 40:4; 41:8; 44:18; 51:30; Ezek. 3:27; Amos 7:5; Zech. 11:12. The NAS renders chadal/hadal as cease(10), ceased(8), ceasing(1), deserted(1), fail(1), failed(1), gave up(1), hold back(1), leave(5), let alone(1), neglects(1), never mind(2), no(1), past(1), quit(1), refrain(6), refrained(1), refuse(1), regarding*(m)(1), rest(1), stop(4), stopped(4), stops(1), unavoidable*(1). J C Ryle rightly says that genuine belief…will cost a man his sins. He must be willing to give up every habit and practice which is wrong in God’s sight. He must set his face against it, quarrel with it, break off from it, fight with it, crucify it and labor to keep it under, whatever the world around him may say or think. He must do this honestly and fairly. There must be no separate truce with any special sin which he loves. He must count all sins as his deadly enemies and hate every false way. Whether little or great, whether open or secret, all his sins must be thoroughly renounced. They may struggle hard with him every day and sometimes almost get the mastery over him. But he must never give way to them. He must keep up a perpetual war with his sins. It is written, "Cast away from you all your transgressions." "Break off your sins… and iniquities." "Cease to do evil" (Ezek. 18:31; Da 4:27; Isa. 1:16). (J. C. Ryle. Holiness) John
Isaías 1:27-31
Spurgeon: The psalmist avows that his case was not at all peculiar, it was matched in the lives of all the faithful; they too, each one of them on looking to their Lord were brightened up, their faces began to shine, their spirits were uplifted. What a means of blessing one look at the Lord may be! (cp Isa 45:22KJV, Isa 45:22, cp Heb 12:2-note, Col 3:1-note, Col 3:2-note) There is life, light, liberty, love, everything in fact, in a look at the crucified One. Never did a sore heart look in vain to the good Physician; never a dying soul turned its darkening eye to the brazen serpent to find its virtue gone (cp Nu 21:5, 6, 7, 8, 9, Jn 3:14, 15). And their faces were not ashamed. Their faces were covered with joy but not with blushes. He who trusts in God has no need to be ashamed of his confidence, time and eternity will both justify his reliance. The more we can think upon our Lord, and the less upon ourselves, the better. Looking to him, as he is seated upon the right hand of the throne of God, will keep our heads, and especially our hearts, steady when going through the deep waters of affliction. Often have I thought of this when crossing the water opposite the old place of Langholm. I found, when I looked down on the water, I got dizzy; I therefore fixed my eyes upon a steady object on the other side, and got comfortably through. David Smith, 1792-1867. Haper/chapher - 15v in the OT - Job 6:20; Ps. 34:5; 35:26; 70:2; 71:24; 83:17; Prov. 13:5; 19:26; Isa. 1:29; 24:23; 33:9; 54:4; Jer. 15:9; 50:12; Mic. 3:7. NAS renders it as abashed(1), ashamed(1), confounded(1), disgraced(1), disgraceful(1), embarrassed(2), humiliated(6), shamed(1), shamefully(1).