Isaías 1

Isaías 1:5-9

Constable adds that "Many Israelite families lived in villages but built little shelters in their fields and camped there during the harvest season. After the harvest these little shacks looked pitiful, abandoned, useless, and deteriorating. (Isaiah - Expository Notes) Like a besieged city - Again a knowledge of the historical context is mandatory to arrive at the most accurate interpretation of this simile. In ancient times cities were walled for protection and impeded easy invasion by enemy forces, which instead would surround the city thus cutting it off from all supplies necessary for normal life. Such sieges might last many months or even years, but the end result was the same in that eventually the besieged city would experience desperation and hunger (cp a description of the horrible conditions in Dt 28:49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57+). QUESTION: "What does the Bible mean when it refers to a 'Daughter of Zion'?" ANSWER: The “daughter of Zion” is mentioned several times in the Old Testament, usually in prophecy and once in poetry. “Zion” meant Jerusalem and, later, Israel as the people of God. “Daughter of Zion,” then, does not refer to a specific person. It’s a metaphor for Israel and the loving, caring, patient relationship God has with His chosen people. As a representation of the people of Israel, the daughter of Zion is described in several different situations: 2 Kings 19:21: A people confident in the deliverance of their God. When Assyria threatened Jerusalem, King Hezekiah went to the Lord. In response, God sent Isaiah to reassure Hezekiah that Jerusalem would not fall to Assyria, and God considered the threatening insult to “the virgin daughter of Zion” as a personal affront to Himself. Isaiah 1:8: A hut, abandoned after judgment came to an evil family. Here, Isaiah compares the rebellion of Judah to a sick body in a devastated land. The daughter of Zion is left as a lone remnant—a shelter hidden in the vineyard or a hut in a cucumber field that barely escaped destruction. Jeremiah 4:31: A woman in labor, helpless before attackers. The steadfastness of Hezekiah was rare in Judah—most kings encouraged rebellion against God instead of loyalty to God. Jeremiah warns that if the nation does not turn away from evil, God will punish them severely. And the people will be helpless against it—as helpless as a woman in labor. Isaiah 62:11: A people awaiting salvation. After the punishment of exile, God promises restoration to Israel. He will rejoice over His chosen people again. And in verse 11, He promises the daughter of Zion, “Lo, your salvation comes; behold His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.” Micah 4:13: A bull that threshes his enemies. In verse 10, God warns that the daughter of Zion will suffer as much as a woman in labor. But in verse 13, He promises vengeance. The weak, powerless woman will become a bull with horns of iron and hoofs of bronze that will crush its enemies. Zechariah 9:9: A land awaiting its king. This prophecy promises Israel’s enemies will be destroyed, but also speaks about a more permanent solution to the problem of sin. “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; he is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Despite the consistent rebellion of the daughter of Zion against her Father, He promises to restore her and present her with a Deliverer-King in the form of Jesus. Daughter implies that God is a loving father. He cherishes and loves His people, even while they reject Him. By using the metaphor “daughter of Zion,” God showed how He felt for the rebellious Israelites: frustrated, angry, but always with an eye to the future when the relationship would be restored, and He could once again return to them and welcome them into His arms (Zechariah 2:10). (Gotquestions - recommended resource) Isaiah 1:9 Unless the LORD of hosts Had left us a few survivors, we would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah (NASB: Lockman) English Translation of the Greek (Septuagint): And if the Lord of Sabaoth had not left us a seed, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been made like Gomorrha. Amplified: Except the Lord of hosts had left us a very small remnant [of survivors], we should have been like Sodom, and we should have been like Gomorrah. [Gen. 19:24, 25; Ro 9:29.] (Amplified Bible - Lockman) KJV: Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. NET: If the LORD who commands armies had not left us a few survivors, we would have quickly become like Sodom, we would have become like Gomorrah. (NET Bible) NJB: Had Yahweh Sabaoth not left us a few survivors, we should be like Sodom, we should be the same as Gomorrah. (NJB) NLT: If the LORD Almighty had not spared a few of us, we would have been wiped out as completely as Sodom and Gomorrah. (NLT - Tyndale House) Young's Literal: Unless Jehovah of Hosts had left to us a remnant, Shortly -- as Sodom we had been, To Gomorrah we had been like! Unless the LORD of hosts had left us a few survivors: Lamentations 3:22; Habakkuk 3:2; Romans 9:29 Remnant - Isa 6:13; 10:22; 17:6; 24:13; 37:4,31,32; 1Kings 19:18; Ezek 6:8; 14:22; Joel 2:32; Zech 13:8,9; Mt 7:14; Ro 9:27; 11:4, 5, 6 Unless… left us… we… we - Unless means except, the idea is when saying that if something does not happen, something else will happen. Notice how Isaiah identifies with his people referring to "us" (we) instead of saying "you". Do you see the sovereign hand of the covenant keeping God, Yahweh, here called Jehovah Sabaoth, LORD of hosts (of armies) which speaks of His attributes of sovereignty, omniscience & omnipotence. In other words, He is able to preserve a remnant of believing Israel in the end times in the Time of Jacob's Trouble. Had left (Remnant) (03498)(yathar) means to be left over, remain, remain over, leave 1a) (Qal) remainder (participle) 1b) (Niphal) to be left over, remain over, be left behind 1c) (Hiphil) 1c1) to leave over, leave 1c2) to save over, preserve alive 1c3) to excel, show pre-eminence 1c4) to show excess, have more than enough, have an excess. Although 4 different Hebrew words express the concept of remnant) Yathar refers to one portion of a quantity which has been divided and generally refers to the smaller part remaining. Remnant can mean that which is spared, preserved, escaped, survived, and thus that which is not in a condition of danger or death. The idea of the remnant is “those being left” or “having escaped,” especially a portion of a community which has escaped a devastating calamity and will form the basis for a new community. A few survivors - More literally this reads "a little remnant", and the Septuagint (LXX) translates it with the noun sperma or seed. As long as there is a seed a plant line can be propagated. God in His grace has preserved a seed to propagate the line of Israel. Specifically, the remnant almost always refers to believing Jews (those who like Abraham have been declared righteous by faith, cp Ge 15:6). In contrast to the attitude and actions of the majority who did what was right in their own eyes (cp Jdg 21:25), the faithful remnant were those who did what right in the sight of Jehovah their King! The implication from Isaiah's declaration in this verse is that most of the Jews in Isaiah's day were not believers , not part of the faithful remnant who feared (reverentially) Jehovah and therefore who had not entered into the covenant of Abraham by grace through faith. In Romans 9-11 Paul deals specifically with the Jewish question "What will happen to Israel? Will the Jews be saved?". In his 3 chapter "treatise" dealing with this question, he alludes to the remnant twice declaring… And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, "THOUGH THE NUMBER OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL BE AS THE SAND OF THE SEA, IT IS THE REMNANT THAT WILL BE SAVED; (Ro 9:7-note) In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant (of Israel) according to God's gracious choice. (Ro 11:5-note) As an aside, I have noticed that Romans 9-11 are often quickly passed over in sermon series on Romans, and occasionally not preached upon at all! This is a mistake for without a proper understanding of these 3 chapters in Romans, one can never truly understand God's dealings with Israel, especially His dealings which are yet future. Given this widespread deficiency in the modern church in the understanding of Romans 9-11, Tony Garland has performed a great service to the body of Christ by making his 12 hour course on these chapters freely available on the internet - Romans 9-11 What Will Happen to Israel?. If you are confused about God's plan for Israel, then this series is for you (click). Each link will in turn give you several choices including an Mp3 message and brief transcript notes. The Mp3's are long (avg 70+ min) but are in depth and thoroughly Scriptural with many quotations from the Old Testament, which is often much less well understood than the NT by most Evangelicals. Garland takes a literal approach to Scripture, and his love for the Jews and passion to see them saved comes through very clearly on these 12 hours of teaching! Take your home Bible Study group through this series if you dare. Take notes on the tapes as the transcripts are a very abbreviated version of the audio messages. This course is highly recommended for all who love Israel! I think you will agree that Tony Garland, despite coming to faith after age 30 as an engineer, clearly has been given a special anointing by God to promulgate the truth concerning Israel and God's future plan for the Jews. He has also produced more than 20 hours of superb audio teaching in his verse by verse commentary on the Revelation (in depth transcripts also available - and similar studies are in progress on the heavily prophetic book of Daniel and should be completed in 2009) which will unravel (in a way you did not think was possible considering the divergent interpretations) God's final message of the triumph and return of the our Lord Jesus Christ as the King of kings and Lord of lords! Maranatha! We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah: Genesis 18:26,32; 19:24; Deuteronomy 29:23; Lamentations 4:6; Amos 4:11; Zephaniah 2:9; Luke 17:29,30; 2Peter 2:6) Like Sodom...like Gomorrah - "Like" or "as" these are in a sense "code words" which usually identify a simile, one of the common forms of comparison used in Scripture. Whenever you encounter a term of comparison (most commonly simile or metaphor), stop and ask what the writer is comparing (Or why?, etc - Interrogate the text with the 5W'S & H - like a reporter). In the present context, the names Sodom and Gomorrah, speak not only of places of despicable, abominable evil, but of the complete and utter destruction that was God's recompense for that evil. Faithless Judah deserved no less, but because of God's covenant lovingkindness to His unconditional covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would spare a remnant of Jewish "seed" in every generation, looking forward to His fulfillment of the promise He made to Abraham to give his descendents the land of Israel, a promise that has not yet been completed. for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. (Genesis 13:15) And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. And I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. (Genesis 17:8-9) More importantly it would be out of the seed of the remnant of believing Israel that the Messiah would one day come into the world, which was also God's promise to Abraham. As Paul wrote in Galatians… Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ. (Galatians 3:16) QUESTION - What does the Bible mean when it refers to a remnant? ANSWER - A remnant is a left-over amount from a larger portion or piece, whether it is food, material from which a garment is fashioned, or even a group of people. Although remnants could be looked upon as worthless scraps, and many times are, God assigned high value to those of His people whom He had set aside for holy purposes, those He labels as “remnants” in several places in the Bible. To begin, in Isaiah 10 the story is told of the Lord’s judgment upon the Assyrians. In verse 12 God says, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes.” He continues in verses 17-18: “The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame; in a single day it will burn and consume his thorns and his briars. The splendor of his forests and fertile fields I will completely destroy, as when a sick man wastes away.” God then relates how His people will turn back to Him as a result of this tremendous display of His strength—His utter destruction of most of Assyria: “In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of the house of Jacob, will no longer rely on him who struck them down but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God” (Isaiah 10: 20, 21). He goes on to assure the remaining Israelites that they need not fear the Assyrians, for soon He will destroy them. There are other remnants—those left over from a larger group—in the Bible, even though the word remnant isn’t used to describe them. Noah and his family were the remnant saved out of the millions on the earth before the flood (Genesis 6). Only Lot and his two daughters survived the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, a very small remnant, indeed (Genesis 19). When Elijah despaired that he was the only one left in Israel who had not bowed down to idols, God assured him that He had reserved a remnant of 7,000 “whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him" (1 Kings 19). God’s sovereign choice as to whom He will save can also be seen in the New Testament: “Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: ‘Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved. For the Lord will carry out His sentence on earth with speed and finality’” (Romans 9:27-28). This implies that great multitudes of the Israelites would be cast off. If only a remnant was to be saved, many must be lost, and this was just the point which Paul was endeavoring to establish. While the word remnant means “what is left,” particularly what may remain after a battle or a great calamity, in this verse, it means “a small part or portion.” Out of the great multitude of the Israelites, there will be so few left as to make it proper to say that it was a mere remnant. Of course, the most blessed remnant is that of the true Church, the body of Christ, chosen out of the millions who have lived and died over the centuries. Jesus made it clear that this remnant would be small when compared to the number of people on the earth throughout history. “Many” will find the way to eternal destruction, but “few” will find the way to eternal life (Matthew 7:13-14). We who believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior can, with great peace, rest in the fact that we belong to the “remnant.”GotQuestions.org Dwight Pentecost in his book Thy Kingdom Come : Tracing God's Kingdom Program and Covenant Promises (borrow book) has a nice summary of the doctrine of the remnant… 1. The fact of a preserved remnant Micah 4:6,7; 5:3 2. The remnant preserved by divine power Isaiah 1:9; 11:11,12 Jeremiah 23:3; 31:7 Micah 2:12–13 3. The remnant will be small Isaiah 65:8,9 4. The remnant is a believing remnant Isaiah 10:20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25,2 6, 27; 24:13, 14, 15 Ezekiel 6:8, 9, 10; 39:22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 5. The remnant of Assyria a type of the remnant of the Tribulation Isaiah 37:31; 32 6. The remnant a witness for Jehovah Isaiah 24:14, 15; 66:19 Ezekiel 14:22, 23 Malachi 3:16, 17 7. The remnant will be restored to the land Isaiah 11:11, 12; 65:9, 10 Micah 2:12; 4:6, 7 Zephaniah 2:6, 7 8. The covenants will be fulfilled in the remnant a. The Abrahamic Covenant Isaiah 65:8, 9; 10:21, 22 b. The Davidic Covenant Jeremiah 23:3, 4, 5, 6 c. The Palestinian Covenant Isaiah 11:11, 12; 65:9, 10 Micah 2:12; 4:6, 7 Zephaniah 2:6, 7 d. The New Covenant in the Old Testament