So it's Isaiah chapter 29, and like I said in the announcements it's been four weeks since we were in Isaiah, we're in Isaiah 28 obviously last, where Isaiah was prophesying of the impending judgment coming via the Assyrians.
He started off focusing on the Ephraimites, if you remember, who had been overcome with wine, so it was a bit of a kind of anti-drinking sermon.
You know, it's a particular treatment, isn't it, that sort of thing, considering the state of things out there.
But we saw how those drunkards were to be trodden under feet, but then he turned his attention onto those of Judah who had also erred through wine.
The priest and the prophet he mentioned erring in visions, stumbling in judgment.
And we looked at how the subject of alcohol really is milk of the word stuff, really.
We're told time and again to be sober.
Isaiah 28, 9 said, whom shall he teach knowledge and whom shall he make to understand doctrine?
Them that are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breast.
And we looked at how knowledge and doctrine is built up with the foundation of faith in Christ and that cornerstone being essential.
But for those that stumble at the foundation, they stumble elsewhere too.
So if you stumble at that first foundation stone, you're going to stumble elsewhere.
We saw a warning to those rejectors, which also seemed to point towards a final fulfilment during the wrath of God, the scorpion locust.
The chapter finished with a sort of justification of how God's wrath is one of many ways to get the lost to respond,
with the message being that different people respond in different ways in different times of gospel.
Verse 24 said this from verse 24.
He said, Does the ploughman plough all day to sow?
Did the opener break the clods of his ground?
When he had made plain the face thereof, did he not cast the broad?
That the fetches had scattered the cumin and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rye in their place?
For his God doth instruct him to discretion and to teach him.
For the fetches are not threshing with a threshing instrument, neither is a cartwheel turned about upon the cumin.
But the fetches are beaten out with a staff and a cumin with a rod.
Bread corn is bruised because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horseman.
This also cometh from the Lord of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working.
And then Isaiah 29 continues with the warnings to Jerusalem.
It said in verse 1 of Isaiah 29, Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwell.
Ad ye year to year, let them kill sacrifices.
I'm going to pray, then I'm going to get started with this chapter.
Father, thank you for your word.
Thank you for this chapter of Isaiah, Lord, and the many things we can learn from it.
Help me to preach those clearly, accurately, boldly, full of your spirit.
Help everyone to have a tent of ears, Lord.
In Jesus' name, pray all of this. Amen.
Is everything all right with the microphone there, brother?
Yeah, all good.
Okay, so it said here, Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwell.
Ad ye year to year, let them kill sacrifices.
So Ariel apparently means the lion of God.
It's a city where David dwells, so clearly Jerusalem.
Okay, verse 7 to 8, in case you're wondering, makes that even clearer where it says in verse 7,
And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel,
even all that fight against her in her munition,
and that distress there should be as a dream of a night vision.
And then it says in verse 8, it shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth,
and behold, he eateth, but he waketh, and his soul is empty.
Or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and behold, he drinketh, but he awaketh, and behold,
his frame, his soul and appetite so show the multitude of all the nations that fight against Mount Zion.
So clearly used interchangeably with Ariel.
Okay, so we're talking about Jerusalem here, Mount Zion.
Here in verse 1, okay, Isaiah is saying woe to Jerusalem.
But perhaps by reminding them of what the city was supposed to be,
maybe that's why he's using that, the name Ariel, okay, the lion of God.
That's what the city was meant to be, the lion of God, where David dwelt.
The mighty king David dwelt there, it was the lion of God, reminding them really of its fall from glory.
He's saying keep going, this is what he's saying, keep going for a short time, yet,
because he said in verse 1, you know,
Add ye year to year, let them kill sacrifices, yet I will distress Ariel,
and there shall be heaviness and sorrow, and it shall be unto me as Ariel.
So it's coming.
There's going to be heaviness and sorrow, a time of hardship, of suffering,
which will also be a heaviness and sorrow.
I think he's saying to the Lord too, because he says this, he says,
Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow, and it shall be unto me as Ariel.
So I think he's saying it's going to be hardship, you know, heaviness and sorrow to him as well.
God has to do hard things sometimes.
Verse 3 says, And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount,
and I will raise forts against thee.
Which was what happened with the Assyrian siege, as we've looked at a few times in Isaiah so far.
So we're not going to go back there for today, so we're going to be looking at more in depth in a few chapters time.
But the mount is some sort of mound made to protect the invaders,
some sort of protecting mound to be behind as they're launching their siege,
forts being obviously fortified structures.
The point being that the Assyrians were going to be there for the long haul.
It wasn't just a quick kind of assault on the wall, and that was it.
It was going to be a long siege, and it was from God.
That's what we've just seen, it was from God.
He said in verse 4, And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground,
and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be as of one that hath a familiar spirit out of the ground,
and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.
So this is picturing the humbling of them, the result of the day of visitation.
How they will be brought down, they'll be much quieter, speaking out of their low place, whispering out of the dust.
Because that's what happens in hard times, isn't it?
Suddenly you're a lot less full of it, really, aren't you?
When things are hard, when you've had a hard time, the speech is usually a bit quieter, isn't it?
You're not quite wanting that, maybe you weren't looking for attention, but you want less attention now.
You want to avoid being noticed.
Often when things are hard, it brings you down, you lose confidence, basically.
Verse 4 says, And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust,
and thy voice shall be as of one that hath a familiar spirit out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.
So why is one that hath a familiar spirit?
Well, turn to Isaiah 8 quickly, Isaiah chapter 8.
Someone with a familiar spirit is someone that communed with devils, claiming to talk to dead people.
And nowadays, you know, what we see there, and it's pretty out there and open, is things like mediums.
Spiritualist types, spiritualist churches, they do this stuff.
People, mediums that are claiming to talk to dead people, well, those aren't just complete charlatans.
If they're talking to anyone, it's going to be devils.
Okay, they're speaking to, they have a familiar spirit.
And Isaiah 8, 19 says this, Isaiah 8 and verse 19 says,
And when they shall say unto you, seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and that mutter,
should not a people seek unto their God for the living to the dead.
So it's because they seem to be known to peep, mutter, speaking in whispers.
I don't know, it makes me think of old movies I've seen, where kind of like The Witch and Wizard,
they kind of almost whisper when they talk, you know, like this sort of thing.
If you've seen that sort of stuff, but those sorts of things.
And it seems that that seemed to be, they were known to peep and to mutter.
He said, as of one, thy voice shall be as of one that hath a familiar spirit, talking about whispering.
Well, this isn't a good thing, okay. Back in Isaiah 29, it's a result of being besieged by a load of angry,
scary Assyrians, okay, whispering, being sort of having a quiet voice where you're in fear,
where you're scared, where you've lost your confidence, where you've been brought down.
He said in verse 5, Moreover, the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust,
and the multitude of the terrible one shall be as chaff that passeth away.
Yeah, it shall be at an instant suddenly. So it seems that many people were to flee, okay.
The strangers in and around them, even the battle-hardened ones is what it's talking about.
So perhaps they had some foreign help, maybe some warriors from afar.
You can imagine that, you know, this is a trading city as well.
There's going to be people in and out.
They, you know, it was always, they always were meant to be welcoming in strangers.
And maybe, look, some of those were tough guys, but once the Assyrians are on their way, they will be gone.
Okay, I think is what he's saying here.
And it makes me think of, with this, it makes me think being this is God's people, God's kind of nation,
it makes me think of when a church is attacked.
Which, by the way, is par for the cause for legitimate soul-winning churches.
If anyone ever gets shaken and fazed by this stuff, that standard, that's the way it is.
You're not going to get it, you know, at the devil's churches, but we're going to get that sort of thing regularly.
And the usual way is obviously slander, is the lies in hypocrisy.
Okay, but there are varying tactics, okay?
That's kind of the usual stuff, you're going to get that stuff often.
But it's often, what is it, who is it that disappears from that?
Who is it that are blown away like these?
It's often the strangers, isn't it?
The strangers, it's the ones on the outside, whether spiritually or physically.
And often they're the target, they're the target for predators, aren't they?
The ones on the outside, the ones that are on the outside of the flock that are easy to pick off.
The ones that maybe don't have a vested interest in the church are more likely to flee, aren't they?
Those that are on the peripheral somewhere that are just outside there, they're more likely to flee, sadly.
They have less reason to stay and fight.
To be steadfast and unmovable, like we're being told to be in various ways in the Bible,
they're more likely to believe the lies maybe as well, especially if they're on the outside.
Because they're not experiencing the day-to-day stuff, so they're more likely to believe the slander.
The slander, what's the answer?
Well, don't be a stranger.
Yeah, that's the answer, isn't it? Don't be a stranger.
However terrible or mighty you might think you are, without being plugged in.
You might hear these terms, and it's a good term, without being plugged into church.
Being out on the outside will end up with you eventually being blown away.
That's what happens.
And sometimes you get people that maybe it happens, they blow away, they come a bit, they blow away.
And then sometimes they get right, and they're like, I just need to be, I need to be plugged into church, or I'm never going to make it.
But other people, sadly, they just disappear, don't they?
And they disappear because they were on the outside, they were basically like these strangers.
Even though they might have been mighty ones for a time, they might have been soul-winning, I was doing this.
But if they're not plugged in, they will eventually just get blown away.
He said, moreover, the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust,
and the multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away,
yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly.
And it comes suddenly sometimes.
Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.
And although all of these things might have literally happened at this time, okay,
I believe it's more likely what we've seen often throughout Isaiah, okay?
Like I've mentioned a few times, the non-literal interpretation, the thundering earthquakes and noise of an invading army, okay?
The storm and tempest of that force sweeping into the land, maybe.
The devouring of all in its path like fire, being that Assyrian army, also has a literal fulfilment still to come.
So turn to Revelation 16, Revelation 16, where the seven vials of God's wrath are poured out.
Okay, here in Isaiah 29, 6, it says this, so you're going to turn to Revelation 16, here in Isaiah 29, 6, it said,
Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.
So we're going to look for verse 17, though, of Revelation 16, which said this, in verse 17,
The seventh angel poured out his vial into the air, so this is the last of those vials, and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven from the throne, saying, It is done.
And there were voices and thunders and lightnings, and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth so mighty an earthquake and so great.
There were voices, and Isaiah said, in verse 6, we saw great noise. We've seen here thunders in Revelation, Isaiah said thunder, we've seen lightnings,
Isaiah said flame of devouring fire, we've seen great earthquake, Isaiah talked about an earthquake as well.
You'd have to turn to Revelation 11, 19 says, And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament,
and there were lightnings and voices and thunderings and an earthquake and great hail. Coincidence? I don't think so.
Okay, that's both basically line up with the Isaiah, this verse in Isaiah, in Isaiah 29, 6.
I think God's wrath will, you know, here we're seeing this link, God's wrath will be the final chance for those remaining to get saved,
and here in Isaiah 29, his wrath is to provoke a response to, okay, with that invading Syrian army coming.
Unfortunately for his people, they won't be destroyed, okay, they're not going to be destroyed.
Verse 7 says this back in Isaiah 29, And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her,
and her munition, and munition being fortification here, the walled city of Jerusalem,
it says, And that distress her shall be as a dream of a night vision.
It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and behold he eateth, but he awaketh, and his soul is empty.
Or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and behold he drinketh, but he awaketh, and behold he is faint.
And his soul hath appetite, so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion.
So it'll be like a dream, okay, that will come to fight against Ariel or Jerusalem, but it will suddenly end.
Why all the nations? Well, remember that by now the Assyrians were a growing empire over many nations, okay?
So the army would have reflected that as well.
I mean, that's one of the reasons that a sort of growing empire is so effective.
They're not still fighting with the same men of which half of them probably died in the earlier battles.
They're gathering more and more people and other nations and then fighting for them as well.
But for the people of Jerusalem, this army will be like a dream, okay?
I would imagine a bad dream, but it's a dream that they awake out of and it's gone, which is what I think he's saying here.
And of course, as we've already seen, we're going to see in more detail, especially as we get to Isaiah 37.
They're going to awake one morning to find them dead, okay?
Isaiah 37, 36 says, then the angel of the Lord went forth and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and four score and five thousand.
That's a hundred and eighty-five thousand.
And when they arose early in the morning, behold, they're all dead corpses.
So I think that's what he's talking about, basically like a waking out of a dream.
There's this bad dream, this besieging by this horrendous, this terrible, this scary army,
and then they wake up in the morning one morning and they're all dead.
He said in verse 9, stay yourselves, back in Isaiah 29, stay yourselves and wonder, cry ye out and cry.
They are drunken, but not with wine, they stagger, but not with strong drink.
So he's telling the people to stay or steady themselves and I think wonder and shout because they're drunken and staggering.
I think he's talking about the people of Jerusalem here with their lack of understanding.
They won't understand how God will deliver them from the Assyrians, they just don't get it.
Okay, even though it's being preached, being prophesied, they're just not getting it.
Verse 10 says, for the Lord has poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep and has closed your eyes.
The prophets and your rulers, the seers, have he covered.
And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed,
which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, read this, I pray thee, and he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed.
And a book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, read this, I pray thee, and he saith, I am not learned.
So the vision was there, okay.
Isaiah has been preaching it, I mean, you know, with a few other subjects and time periods,
but for the past 29 chapters, but there is this deep sleep amongst God's people with two responses.
Okay, so verse 11 is from the learned, the educated, those that people expect to be able to decipher the word of God.
Think nowadays of the so-called intellectuals, the finest minds out there,
and ask them to decipher the prophecies of God, and they can't.
It's sealed to them, isn't it?
It's like it's just sealed shut, they just don't get it, they can't understand it.
Why? Why do not the finest minds, why are there not all these intellectuals telling us what the word of God says?
Why are they not explaining to us what these prophecies are?
Why are they not using those great minds that are able to study and analyze and do all that to do that with the word of God?
Because it's not an intellectual exercise.
Because the word of God is not an intellectual exercise.
Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 2.
It's a spiritual exercise.
Understand the word of God isn't about intellect.
It's not about intellect.
Yet how many Christians are still trying to find some intellectual guru to explain the word of God to them?
All over the place.
They just cannot accept that it's not about intellect.
It's not about that. It's spiritual.
The Jordan Petersons.
How many Christians out there are still like, they'll go to like, honestly, they'll save people.
They're probably like, well, Jordan Petersons must know, because he's just so clever.
I mean, he uses such long words when he talks, doesn't he?
So he must be clever, right?
He must be able to tell me what it says.
Doctor this or that.
Oh, well, don't worry, this guy's a doctor of whatever.
So he must know what the word of God says, right?
The rabbis.
I mean, believers all over the place still go to rabbis.
Because he's a doctor of theology rabbi and he must really know what the word of God says.
But it's sealed to all of these unsaved intellectuals.
It's sealed. They don't get it. They don't understand it.
Now look, of course they can tell you about dates and they can tell you about certain things kind of connected.
And of course they can parent stuff as well.
You know, a clock's, a broken clock's right twice a day, isn't it?
And they'll get things and they can repeat things and stuff like that.
But they just don't get the spiritual stuff.
1 Corinthians 2 says this in verse 12.
1 Corinthians 2, 12 says,
Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
That's how we are to study the word of God.
By comparing the spiritual things with the spiritual things.
Not comparing the spiritual things with what so and so said.
Not comparing the spiritual things with what so-called scholar from whenever the 1800s said.
Church, fathers, whatever, you know.
No, we're meant to compare it with the word of God.
That's how we're meant to study.
Verse 14 says,
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him,
neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned.
But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judge of no man.
For who hath known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?
But we have the mind of Christ.
So the natural man, they're talking about the unsaved man.
We've looked at this verse many times, the famous verse of the Bible.
Because it just makes it so clear that people that are unsaved, they just cannot understand it.
In fact, they look at it a lot of the time as foolishness.
They cannot know them because they're spiritually discerned.
But he goes on to say, in verse 16,
For who hath known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?
But we have the mind of Christ.
So who could instruct us in the things of God if they don't have the mind of Christ, if they're not saved?
How are they going to instruct us in the word of God if they're unsaved?
Keep something here.
Keep something in 1 Corinthians.
Go back to Isaiah 29, because the problem in Isaiah 29 is that people just do not accept this.
People will not accept this truth.
Verse 11 says,
And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed,
which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee, and he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed.
So response one, for me, represents those that just can't really understand it.
And some try to, but others just make excuses.
For example, oh, well, it's lost in translation.
That's a quite convenient excuse, isn't it?
Well, you'd have to go back to the original language, wouldn't you?
So we just can't really know what this means.
It could mean this, it could mean that, but we don't really know.
So people obviously sometimes make excuses, well, for why they're claiming it's sealed.
But then you have the second response, which is most believers out there today.
Verse 12 says this,
And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee, and he saith, I'm not learned.
Basically, he's saying, I'm not clever enough.
I'm not intellectual enough.
I'm not a scholar.
I'm not a doctor of theology.
What would I know, basically?
Well, turn to 2 Timothy 2.
The reality of it is, is that a true believer out there could know more than all those people,
all those unsaved people, if you just put a bit of effort in.
Because ultimately, that's what it comes down to.
The Word of God just requires effort.
It just comes down to effort.
If you're saved, you have everything you need.
You have the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is there to help you with it.
It just requires effort.
We saw last week that it starts with the right foundation.
So it needs that right foundation, that foundation being faith alone in Christ alone.
So without that, you're the natural man, so you can't understand it anyway.
But once you have that foundation, that foundation we build up, so everything works out.
Have you ever noticed when you read the Bible, there's many parts of the Bible,
which without that faith in Christ alone, you could look at that and go,
Oh, well, maybe that looks like works or that.
But when you have the right foundation and you compare it and you can see through it,
you can work it out.
You look at it and go, OK, that's why that says that.
That applies to this, that applies to that.
That's in this context, that's in that context.
But you need that foundation, don't you?
You need that foundation.
Then it's built upon that, and we saw that last week.
Line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.
Precept upon precept.
So it builds, doesn't it, with clear doctrine.
And in 2 Timothy 2, Timothy, who was a doctor of theology from Derby and Lystra University.
No, he wasn't.
Timothy wasn't, OK?
He wasn't a doctor of theology.
He wasn't at Derby and Lystra University.
He was just a saved guy, a saved guy.
He was told this by Paul, another saved guy.
He said in verse 14,
Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord
that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearing.
So he said, command your church not to strive about pointless words, vain jangling.
Don't strive, don't fight over all that nonsense.
He then said this, study to show thyself approved unto God a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
And that's how we can all become learned, OK?
But it's in the right things.
It's being a workman, but it's not by studying all of the writings about the Bible.
That's not the sort of workman that he was talking about.
Let's study everything written about the Bible to understand the Bible more.
It wasn't by studying the church fathers to understand the Bible more.
We just need to know what those church fathers said.
Well, if you look at what the church fathers and the church fathers write,
have you seen these clowns out there?
That's all they ever talk about.
Well, what about what the Bible says?
Because isn't that what we're meant to be studying?
Not binge watching or previously it would have been binge listening
and before that probably binge reading other men's sermons.
That's not how we're meant to study as a workman, OK?
That's not how we're meant to do it.
It's studying the word of truth.
That's how you rightly divide it, but it's work.
There's no shortcut. There isn't a shortcut.
There really isn't.
People can get puffed up with a lot of knowledge
like listening to some things or reading some things quickly,
but without really that studying the word of God,
a lot of the time those people fall
because really there is no substitute for being that workman
studying, comparing the spiritual things to spiritual things.
But it's studying the word of truth
and obviously that includes reading the word of God as well.
You need to read the word of truth.
That's how you rightly divide it, OK?
That's how you rightly divide it.
And if you're doing that, by default you'll then, verse 16,
be doing your but shunned, profane and vain babblings,
for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
There's only so much time in a day, isn't it?
And if you're reading the word of God regularly
and you're doing the things of God or you're doing your work life
or maybe you're parenting kids or whatever you're doing, right,
you're working, maybe you're keeping an eye, maybe you're out of work,
you're coming to church, you're doing some soul-winning, etc.,
you're reading your Bible,
there's not really much time for the profane and vain babblings,
especially if you spend some time trying to study the word of God as well.
I mean, how much time do you have there?
Shun them, for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
All that trying to sound intellectual stuff.
And there's a lot of that out there.
Sadly, we can get pulled into that.
People can get sucked into that a bit.
Well, I need to sound clever to other people,
otherwise they're not going to take me seriously.
Parroting other people, getting pulled into that,
trying to impress the world by being seemingly learned in their eyes
and stuff like that, that's not what we're called to.
Now, look, nothing wrong with improving in your work life,
nothing wrong with learning stuff, I'm not saying that's wrong,
but ultimately when it comes to the word of God,
it's by studying the word of God, by comparing spiritual things to spiritual.
And if you're saved, you have the ability to do that.
So then instead of saying, like we saw in verse 12 back in Isaiah,
where it said,
And a book is delivered to him that is not learned,
saying, Read this, I pray thee.
And he said, I'm not learned.
Wherefore the Lord said,
Forasmuch as his people draw near me with their mouth
and with their lips to honor me,
but have removed their heart far from me,
and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.
You may recognize this as the Lord Jesus refers to it in the Gospels.
Now, turn to Matthew 15, okay?
Turn to Matthew 15.
It's a standalone verse with so much application,
but first and foremost,
it's on the back of those making excuses about reading the word delivered unto them.
And everyone here has had the word delivered unto them.
I mean, for a few quid, you can literally get it delivered to you.
I mean, it's not difficult, is it?
The word of God's there everywhere.
You could go on Amazon and get one of our, like, the giveaway Bibles we get,
for a few pounds odd,
and have it delivered straight to your front door.
I mean, you might not even have to be in,
because probably some of the thinner ones are posted through the letterbox for you.
Okay, so the word of God is delivered.
It is there for us, okay?
And some have that word.
And it stays sealed shut, sadly.
How many people have that word of God?
They've got it there, and it just stays sealed shut.
Others say, well, I don't really understand it.
I'm not learned, so no thanks.
Where would I even start? What would I know?
Do you know what you'll know more than if you don't read it?
You're just going to learn the more and more you read it.
So instead, you know, and this is what he's talking about.
He said, and I'm just going to remind you what verse 13 said.
He said, for as much as these people draw near me with their mouth and with their lips to honor me,
but have removed their heart far from me,
and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.
So there are people that will say the right things.
You know, I love Jesus, you know, I love Jesus so much.
You know, you get these people right now, especially, you know, this is a Christian nation.
You know, we're Christians, aren't we?
You know, this is a Christian nation.
The Bible is the word of God.
You know, and, you know, they're all, you know, at least the Christian nation bit, well, it's a bit sketchy,
but, you know, it was founded upon Christian principles, etc.,
at least that's had a big part to play in our nation.
But the thing is, you can say all those right things,
you can draw near with your mouth, you can, with your lips, honor him,
but are you reading the book?
Are you in the book that was delivered unto you?
Are you reading it? Are you listening to what he's got to say to you?
Are you like many out there whose Christianity is as much the precept or commandments, we might say, of men?
Which is a lot of people, they don't even know what the book says.
They just know what the men tell you to say and do.
Matthew 15 says this in verse 1, Matthew 15 one says,
Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?
For they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
Now, basically this isn't a doctrine, this isn't a teaching of God, it's a commandment of men.
And there are many of these out there amongst the religious, certain religious outfits, certain religious ways of speaking,
dos and don'ts that have been made up over the years amongst different religions,
and including Baptist churches, including legitimate Baptist churches.
And it's not that all of these things are bad.
So many things we do, we're trying to do things and we think God wants us to do them,
and there are traditions and things we do and, you know, the order of service, things like that.
It's not that they're from clear scripture, it's not that everything that's like that is bad,
but it is when you raise them up compared with clear commandments in the Bible.
When those things become up here and you're teaching them light, their doctrine,
they become something that you're like so angry and worked up about it,
you know, our tradition, the thing that we think we should be doing,
talking to me how I think I should be spoken to as a holy person or, you know, I can't,
they didn't call me pastor, you know, things like this.
It's like, well, no, that's not doctrine, that's some traditions and things that we do for certain reasons and stuff,
but that stuff isn't as important as clear commandments, clear doctrines of the Bible.
Because you can get all excited with that stuff, but it's the commandments from God which are the important things, right?
Verse 3 said, but he answered and said unto them, why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
For God commanded saying, honour thy father and mother, and he that curseth father and mother, let him die the death.
But ye say, whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, it is a gift by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me,
and honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free.
Thus have you made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
So basically they've made this get-out for honouring father and mother.
And the honouring here being financially, they've changed it to a sort of freewill offering, basically.
They're like, well, you know, give something as a gift.
But in this, you know, that's what they were meant to be doing, and the word of God says to do that, to honour your father and mother.
And first and foremost, it's talking about financially.
People that are unable to work anymore, that have provided for their kids their whole life,
so you're meant to be looking after them.
Well, they go, well, you know, if we kind of, we just say it's a gift, that's all right, you know.
Well, he said this in verse 7.
Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
These people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
And by the way, the modern day, what we call Jew nowadays has a, however many volumes of commandments of men
that they teach for doctrines known as the Babylonian Talmud.
But, hey ho, you know, there was nothing new, this is what they were doing back a couple of thousand years ago.
But like he's explaining here, many, it's not just like what we call Jews today that do this, people do this stuff.
It's like, it's clear commandment, and they're busy kind of squabbling and trying to rebuke someone
or approve someone for something that's got nothing, that's not even a sin.
It's like washing your hands, whether you eat or not, while they're busy trying to justify things
where you're clearly going against commandments.
And something that we need to be careful of, right, because we can easily get, you know, into our traditions
and things we think how we should and shouldn't behave and talk and acts and everything else,
and forget just clear scripture, right, clear doctrine.
So, how do you know what's the commandment of men and what's the doctrine of God?
Read the book that's been delivered to you. It's been delivered to you.
Don't seal it, don't claim that you're not learned enough, just read it.
Verse 13, back in Isaiah 29, said,
And this ultimately applies to the unsaved religious, so I believe, okay, who reject the word of God for the commandments of men.
And think about, for example, how infuriating it is when trying to explain the gospel to someone
that claims to be a Christian of some sorts, whether it's a Catholic,
and it's not always that, is it? I mean, some even claim to believe the word of God is the word of God,
and then when you're trying to show them just clear scripture from the word of God,
they're more interested in the commandments of men, the repent of your sins commandments of men,
you know, all the different versions of work, salvation, for example, okay.
But he said this after that, he then said,
And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
Now go back to 1 Corinthians, but this time chapter 1,
where the end of this verse is referenced by Paul, and helps us to understand what Isaiah is speaking of, okay.
So we saw that he said,
And in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 17, Paul said this,
it said,
So it's not our, you know, our skills, it's not the gift of the gab,
it's not our vocabulary, which gets people saved.
That's not what gets people saved.
For the preacher that crosses to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God.
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
So he said it is written, he's referencing here, Isaiah chapter 29 and verse 14, which said,
Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work.
Now I keep something in 1 Corinthians,
Therefore, behold, I proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder,
For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
He just said, For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
Well, in 1 Corinthians 1, okay, it's about the preaching of the cross.
That's what destroys the wisdom of the wise, and brings to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
And for me, for me, the marvellous work and wonder that Isaiah is prophesying of is what he's talking about, okay.
That's what he's talking about the cross. 1 Corinthians 1, then says in verse 20,
Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world?
Have not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God.
It pleased God by the foolishness of the preachers, save them that believe.
For the Jews require a sign, the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified.
Unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness.
But unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
So that stumbling block, that foolishness, is what destroys the wise and prudent, okay.
Verse 14 says this, back in Isaiah, in chapter 29,
Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder,
for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
So what then happens to these people?
So that's what I think he's talking about, he's talking about the cross.
What happens to those people, the wisdom, the wise men, the prudent men, they reject the Lord, don't they?
And this is what we saw en masse when Christ came, this is what we continue to see.
And he then says this about these types of people, verse 15,
Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark,
and they say, Who seeth thus, and who knoweth thus?
Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as a potter's clay,
for shall the work say of him that made it, he made me not?
Or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, he had no understanding?
Which is exactly what these God-rejectors out there basically say.
They turn it all upside down, make the creature some sort of God and deny the Creator's existence.
But it's like the clay pot saying that the potter didn't actually make him, that's how ridiculous it is.
It's like a clay pot saying, well, I wasn't made, I just made myself.
I mean, that's really how ridiculous it is.
And I know there is probably a tactic out there in debating and arguing
where you just kind of ridicule the opposite kind of argument
and it kind of gets you out of having to debate it.
But honestly, that's not what I do with atheism, that's not why I just ridicule atheism.
It is because it is ridiculous.
It is so foolish, I don't think it warrants and justifies the level of debate
that so many Christians have gone into with it.
Because it fails at the first hurdle.
There's a creation, so therefore there's a Creator.
It's so stupid, it's such a nonsense,
I don't think it deserves attempts at intellectual arguments and understanding their theories and reasoning.
It's as stupid as a clay pot saying that the potter didn't actually make him.
That's how stupid it is.
The thing framed, or we might say constructed, claiming that there was no understanding,
like it was some sort of accident.
Okay, well it was made but it was just some accident, there was no God.
I mean, it's ridiculous.
Look at us, look at everything out there, look at the whole creation.
Like, oh there's just no understanding, it just kind of came on its own by some sort of higher power.
I mean, what on earth?
I mean, it's madness.
But really they're just, as verse 15 says, hiding from the Lord.
He said, woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord,
and their works are in the dark, and they say, who seeth us and who knoweth us.
I think really it's denying his existence to justify their sin, you don't have to know.
John 3.19 says, and this is a condemnation, that light is coming to the world,
and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.
And that's really what it comes down to with atheism,
is people would like to just pretend there's no God,
because then they can justify the things they do in the dark,
they can hide their counsel from the Lord and claim that he doesn't exist,
and they say, who seeth us and who knoweth us.
So they continue to find all these wild and wacky reasons why God doesn't exist.
And some of them get pretty wild and wacky.
But Isaiah here said, woe unto them.
He said in verse 17, is it not yet a very little while a Lebanon should be turned into a fruitful field,
and a fruitful field should be esteemed as a forest.
Now what is he talking about here?
Now if you remember that back in Isaiah 10, he prophesied of the conquering of Lebanon.
And I believe Lebanon, the mountain region being a fruitful field,
and esteemed as a forest or growing plentifully, I think is what it's kind of saying here,
is talking of a great time to come.
Which I believe, following on from verse 14, is still referring to the first coming of Christ.
Now you could also refer to the second coming of Christ, but I believe he's talking about the first.
Said in verse 14, therefore behold I'll proceed to do a marvellous work among these people,
even a marvellous work and a wonder, for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish
and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
And we saw the end of it referenced by Paul was when he was talking of the cross.
Verse 18 then says this, and in that day, in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book,
and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
Now turn over to Matthew chapter 11 to see the Lord reference this verse as well.
So you turn into Matthew 11, I'm going to read verse 18 and 19 again.
You turn to Matthew 11, Isaiah 29 18 said, and in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book,
and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
And Matthew 11 says this in verse 2, Matthew 11 2 says,
Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
John the Baptist is sending his disciples, and said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see.
The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear.
The dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them, and blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me.
So basically John's having a little wobble in prison, okay.
Jesus tells John's disciples to remind him how he's fulfilling prophecy.
And the obvious prophecy was what we saw in Isaiah 29.
So he just said, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see.
The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear.
The dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them, and blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me.
Well, back in Isaiah 29 it said, verse 18,
And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
And of course the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy One of Israel, did supernaturally heal people,
but those healings pictured spiritual healing, didn't they?
Okay, but with that death, burial, and resurrection, we then see after that that the wicked are then accursed.
But before we move on, just that for me is what it's talking about.
It's talking about this first coming of Christ that's being referenced there by the Lord,
Isaiah 29, to prove that he was, you know, who he was.
But like I said, then afterwards we see that the wicked are then accursed,
because it then says in verse 20,
For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorn is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off,
that make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate,
and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.
So you've got here these different types of enemy.
He said in verse 20, he talked about the terrible one, and I think that's being the powerful,
the terrible, the powerful, maybe, you know, the ones that create a lot of awe,
those that have a lot of power in the world, okay?
Maybe you can think of the rich and wealthy and the powerful, those that have the most power, okay?
These are enemies of ours ultimately, aren't they, because the devil's the god of this world,
and it seems these people are serving him in many different ways.
Then he talked about the scorner, and often the god-rejecting atheist type you think of,
but there are many types, mocking, scorning the things of God, yeah?
And some there are scorners from other religions, aren't there, that scorn the gospel, scorn grace through faith, etc.
Then you've got these people, he said, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off.
So you've got they watch for iniquity.
He said they make a man an offender for a word.
So it's these people that are just trying to find something to bring down,
and ultimately it's talking about men of God here, I think,
and just people that are serving God, people that are doing things to God.
There are enemies out there. They watch for iniquity.
They make a man an offender. They're just desperate for something.
They lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate.
And someone who reproves in the gate makes me think of soul winners, makes me think of preachers.
They're reproving the gate, the gate being the meter plate.
They're going out, they're reproving. They're reproving the word of God, basically.
And that's what we're doing ultimately, aren't we?
We're going out with the word of God and we're reproving their false way of salvation.
But we're also doing that when we stand behind the pulpit and we're preaching.
They lay a snare for God's people.
They lay a snare for the soul winner. They lay a snare for the preacher.
And they do that in various ways, right?
And I think many people here are aware of the different ways people try and do this sort of stuff.
They turn aside, or try to pull away from God, you might say, the just,
for a thing of naught, basically for no good reason, for nothing.
They want to, they're desperate to turn aside the just and it's for a thing of naught, for nothing.
So, basically, what they're doing, it's not normal behavior.
It's not righteous anger stuff. It's reprobate stuff.
Which is why verse 20 said that they're cut off.
And all that watch for iniquity are cut off.
That make a man an offender for a word, and a snare for him that reproveth in the gate,
and turn aside the just for a thing of naught.
Now, just to make it clear, I think here it's on the back of, like I said, about the first coming of Christ.
And ultimately, didn't that happen to a lot of these people?
What were they doing to the Lord?
There were terrible ones out there.
There were those with the power at the time who were brought to naught.
There were scorners who were scouring everything the Lord Jesus Christ was saying.
And then there were those that were literally just following him around, trying to catch him in his words.
Trying to find fault, trying to accuse him, trying to find anything they could to pin on him.
And what happened to all these people?
Well, the terrible one was brought to naught, the scorner was consumed, and all that watch for iniquity were cut off.
For the terrible one is brought to naught, scorners queued in the door, that watch for iniquity are cut off.
That make a man an offender for a word, and a snare for him that reproveth in the gate,
and turn aside the just for a thing of naught.
Therefore, thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham concerning the house of Jacob,
Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax spells.
Abraham was redeemed, by the way, the same way as everyone else is, by the precious blood of Christ.
The house of Jacob is the house of Israel.
He's saying, I think, that God's people won't be ashamed forever.
We won't be persecuted eternally.
That's a nice thing to know, isn't it?
Sometimes, you know, for many people, you go through persecution at work, maybe.
Persecution, you know, in your families, in your circles, you feel like, yeah, this is pretty tough.
It won't be forever.
Therefore, thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham concerning the house of Jacob,
Jacob, and that's who we are, okay?
We're spiritual Israel, we're spiritual Jacob.
Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale.
He then said, but when he seeth his children the work of mine hands in the midst of him,
they shall sanctify my name and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and shall fear the God of Israel.
So Jacob, being one of our spiritual fathers, obviously, seeing his children with him in the future,
he's saying he's a reason to worship God's name.
He said, they also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.
So even those that were erring, that were murmuring, if they're saved,
there's eternity awaiting where they will get it all right, okay?
So God's children, he's saying here that, you know, ultimately they're children of the fathers,
they're children of Israel, we are children of Israel.
It's a reason to rejoice that we'll be with our spiritual fathers,
but he's saying even those, I think he's saying that those that erred in spirit,
so those that have made errors and didn't do the right thing, they murmured, you know,
there are those types out there, carnal Christians out there.
Well it's, you know, eventually in the future things will go right for them, they will get it right.
And that's a nice thing to know as well, for those of you that maybe struggle a lot and struggle with certain things
and find it hard to Christ your life, you know, eventually we will come to understanding,
eventually we'll learn doctrine, eventually we will be where God wants us to be when we get rid of this sinful flesh.
So the chapter started with a warning to Jerusalem, it finished with prophecy of the hope that awaits,
and that was Isaiah 29, and I don't know, I think there's some pretty great verses in there,
and I enjoyed going through that, and on that we're going to finish in a word of prayer.
Holy Father, thank you Lord for, well for salvation, Lord, thank you for your word as well,
thank you that, you know, your word is so deep, Lord, and you know, so many different layers to it,
we thank you that, you know, we can enjoy going through and studying it,
and trying to understand what the more cryptic verses mean, and what they don't mean, Lord,
and help us to just get that right, help us to all be, you know, to study to show ourselves approved,
and be that workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly to write in the word of truth,
help us to do that, to rightly divide it, Lord, help us to keep working,
to keep working with our Bible reading, to work with our Bible study, Lord,
to just keep trying to learn more and understand more, as you want us to be, Lord,
to understand that no, we don't have to be, you know, the finest intellects out there by the world standards,
we need to be saved, and we need to compare spiritual things with spiritual,
help us to all want to do that, help us to all want to grow, to not try and find shortcuts,
to just want to read the word, to listen to good preaching, Lord, to memorise scripture,
to be, you know, right in the other areas of our life as well, Lord, to just be more spiritual, Lord,
help us to get that right, help us to also just put, you know, the doctrines of you, Lord,
above the commandments of men, help us to recognise that and to do that by keeping reading the word of God, Lord,
just keep going through it time and time again, just keep refreshing what's doctrine and what's not,
Lord, help us to get all these things right, Lord, help us to get home safe,
safe this evening, Jesus, and for all of us. Amen.