False Sons
Isaiah 30:1-18
October 29, 2023
Leo stuck his head in my office Wednesday night
As he was working on the music for this morning.
He’d read Isaiah 30 and said, “Another chapter about rebellious people.”
Perhaps you have felt that fatigue as well.
It seems as though every time we turn the page in Isaiah
We are confronted with more of the same.
• Another chapter about Israel’s stubbornness.
• Another chapter about Israel’s rebellion.
• Another chapter about Israel’s refusal to listen.
It is easy to find this study a little exhausting
As we naturally want to move into something a little less heavy
And a little more cheerful.
And IT’S OK if you’ve had those types of feelings
As we cover this same issue week after week.
IN FACT, I might point out to you that God feels the exact same way.
All you have to do is read verse 18
(18) “Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him.”
• Do you know who else would like to move on?
• Do you know who else would like to leave judgment and talk about grace?
• Do you know who else would like to focus on compassion?
GOD
Nothing would make Him happier than to be able to move on
From warnings of judgment against stubborn and obstinate people.
The frustration that we feel in this lengthy section of rebellion
Is the frustration that occurs between a righteous God of justice
And sinners who refuse to repent.
THIS MORNING that frustration of God bubbles over to a whole new level.
For here God now looks at the inhabitants of Jerusalem and declares, “You are not Mine.”
• In verse 1 God says, “Woe to the rebellious children…”
• In verse 9 He calls them, “a rebellious people, FALSE SONS, Sons who refuse to listen…”
We knew their identity had already been in question.
Isaiah 1:2-3 “Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the LORD speaks, “Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me. “An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master’s manger, But Israel does not know, My people do not understand.”
In chapter 1 God had been questioning their quality as sons,
But He still called them “sons”, He still called them “My people”.
But now in chapter 30 it is being questioned whether they are His at all.
God calls them, “false sons”.
And that is not beyond the scope of possibility.
Romans 9:6 “But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel;”
Galatians 3:7 “Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.”
The implication being that those without faith are not true sons.
Jesus certainly had His moments
Of exposing the faulty DNA of the Jews in His day.
Who can forget Him telling Nicodemus He needed to be “born again”?
We certainly remember Him warning the Jews:
Luke 13:28 “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out.”
It must have been shocking to the Jews to hear that in the afterlife
They would have no place in the kingdom with their ancestors.
Of course the most direct moment of conviction came in John 8
John 8:39-47 “They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. “But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. “You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? “He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
You can’t get much more direct than that.
• Abraham isn’t your father…
• God isn’t your father…
• “You are of your father the devil”
We are confronted once again with the sobering reality that
Not everyone who claims to be a child of God is a child of God.
Not everyone who claims to be saved actually is saved.
1 John 2:19 “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”
There is such a thing as false sons.
Certainly then it should be our ambition to examine our own spiritual DNA
And make sure that we are in fact children of God.
Peter said:
2 Peter 1:10 “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;”
Paul said:
2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?”
Jesus said:
Luke 8:19-21 “And His mother and brothers came to Him, and they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd. And it was reported to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You.” But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”
False sons are real.
And this morning God is going to use Isaiah
To help us see what they look like.
Do you want some indicators of a false son?
Do you want some clues as to how to spot one?
We’ll break these verses into 4 points.
#1 THE ISSUE OF GOD’S WARNING
Isaiah 30:1-7
When you read those 7 verses in a lump
The problem of the day becomes evident.
As the Assyrian army is bearing down on the land of Judah
The response of the people of Jerusalem is to send to Egypt for help.
(2) “Who proceed down to Egypt, Without consulting Me, To take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!”
THAT IS THE PROBLEM.
• We’ve known about this problem for several weeks.
• Back in chapter 28 Isaiah referred to it as “a covenant with death” and “a pact with Sheol”
It is the logical plan of the inhabitants of Jerusalem
To find salvation from the coming Assyrian threat.
But God has a warning for them in regard to this decision.
1) GOING TO EGYPT IS SINFUL (1-2)
• God pronounces “Woe” on the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
• And God calls them “rebellious children”
And the reason is because they “execute a plan, but not Mine”.
They “make an alliance, but not of My Spirit”
It’s the reality of someone who faces a dilemma and needs a Savior
But does not consult God’s plan for salvation.
• They follow their own logic.
• They follow worldly advice.
• They do what seems best to them.
There is no room for faith.
There is no room for seeking God.
And they run to put their trust in someone who is not God.
IT IS A SINFUL ALLIANCE.
We remember Paul warning the Corinthians
About not being unequally yoked with unbelievers.
That is what Jerusalem is seeking to do here.
And God says to do so is “to add sin to sin;”
We have been told our whole lives that “two wrongs doesn’t make a right”
And that is being pointed out here.
Their FIRST SIN was idolatry and disobedience to God.
• That sin was what caused God to send Assyria in the first place.
• God sent His Assyrian Rod into Judah to punish them for their idolatry.
• The purpose was to cause them to cry out to Him for forgiveness and salvation.
But that let to their SECOND SIN which was to run to Egypt instead.
• They didn’t consult God.
• They didn’t try to find salvation in God.
• They went to Pharaoh as though he was a savior.
God says this was a sinful decision.
But that’s not all God says about it.
2) GOING TO EGYPT IS SHAMEFUL (3-5)
(3) “Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be your shame And the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.”
That is to say, “What you think is your brilliant idea of salvation will end up being remembered as the dumbest thing you ever did.”
IT WILL NOT END WELL.
WHY?
(4) “For their princes are at Zoan And their ambassadors arrive at Hanes.”
• “Zoan” and “Hanes” were Egyptian cities.
SO WHAT IS THE POINT?
You went looking for a savior
And you looked for someone who lives on earth.
Later Isaiah will say:
Isaiah 31:3 “Now the Egyptians are men and not God, And their horses are flesh and not spirit; So the LORD will stretch out His hand, And he who helps will stumble And he who is helped will fall, And all of them will come to an end together.”
You needed a savior and you looked on earth for him.
• You didn’t consult the God of heaven.
• You didn’t consult the eternal Maker of the universe.
• You went to “Zoan” to find your deliverance.
You’re going to look back on this decision in humiliation someday.
(5) “Everyone will be ashamed because of a people who cannot profit them, Who are not for help or profit, but for shame and also for reproach.”
God DIDN’T raise Egypt up as a savior,
He raised them up as a means to humiliate all who trust in him.
Incidentally, even the king of Assyria knew Egypt was no savior.
2 Kings 18:19-21 “Then Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, “What is this confidence that you have? “You say (but they are only empty words), ‘I have counsel and strength for the war.’ Now on whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me? “Now behold, you rely on the staff of this crushed reed, even on Egypt; on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him.”
But it didn’t stop Jerusalem from seeking him.
And still God has more to say about trusting in Egypt.
3) GOING TO EGYPT IS STUPID (6-7)
Here we come across that word “oracle” again.
• You know it means “burden”
• And here it is a literal burden.
Isaiah looks at the leaders of Jerusalem and asks them for a moment
TO CONSIDER THE BURDEN OF SEEKING EGYPT.
Would you stop for a second and just consider how hard and how costly it is to try and recruit Egypt’s help?
Just look what it’s doing to your donkeys and camels!
(6) “The oracle concerning the beasts of the Negev. Through a land of distress and anguish, From where come lioness and lion, viper and flying serpent, they carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys and their treasures on camels’ humps”
You pack up all your payment and treasures
And lead your donkeys through lion country and there are snakes.
And I don’t even know what a “flying serpent” is, but trust me I don’t want to.
Look at how hard this trip is!
Look at how dangerous this trip is!
AND IT WOULD BE ONE THING
• If you were making this journey to someone who could actually save you,
• But you are making this journey “to a people who cannot profit them;”
(7) “Even Egypt, whose help is vain and empty. Therefore, I have called her, ‘Rahab who has been exterminated.’”
• Another translation would be “Rahab the do-nothing”
You went to all that work and faced all that danger and paid all that expense just to recruit a savior who can’t save. HOW STUPID!
WHEN ALL ALONG
• All God wanted was for them to consult Him.
• All God wanted was for them to repent and submit their lives to Him.
You see that later:
(15) “For thus the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said, “In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength.” But you were not willing,”
God simply wanted His sons to submit to Him,
But instead they insisted on being “rebellious children.”
And there we learn our first indicator of what a false son looks like.
THEY WANT SHELTER WITHOUT SUBMISSION.
Are they a people who know they need to be saved? Yes
Do they want salvation? Yes
But they aren’t willing to submit to God to obtain it.
• The Bible says that in order to be saved you must confess Jesus as Lord.
• You are called to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him.
IF YOU WILL NOT submit your life to Him in obedience
THEN YOU DO NOT get to be His child.
As we read a moment ago:
Luke 8:21 “But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”
And yet there are many people
• Who will associate with God’s people.
• Who want to be saved and want a savior.
• But they are not interested in submission or obedience to God to obtain it.
So instead, when life gets difficult and judgment looms,
Instead of submitting their will to Christ,
They run to human means to find salvation.
• They don’t seek God.
• They don’t repent of their sin.
• They run to some human Egypt to deliver them from God’s discipline.
They would rather take their chances with a human savior
Than have to leave their sin and submit to God.
THEY WANT SHELTER WITHOUT SUBMISSION.
That is a mark of a false son.
Let’s keep going on the chapter.
#2 THE PRESERVATION OF GOD’S WITNESS
Isaiah 30:8-11
Because these people are so stubborn, God now has a command for Isaiah.
(8) “Now go, write it on a tablet before them And inscribe it on a scroll, That it may serve in the time to come As a witness forever.”
These people won’t listen today,
So write it down for the day in which they will listen.
Or perhaps write it down for their children who will want to know how this whole mess got started and they can read it and be informed.
• You likely remember 1 Corinthians 10 where Paul told us to learn from the example of Israel’s disobedience in the wilderness.
But Isaiah is told to quit preaching and start writing.
(9-11) “For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen To the instruction of the LORD; Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions”; And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions. “Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”
It’s quit a mouthful isn’t it?
• They aren’t interested in the vision of the seers.
• They aren’t interested in the message of the prophets.
WHY?
• Because the seers and the prophets keep giving them the word of God
• And that word is the same word over and over.
• That word is HOLY
Ever since Isaiah entered that temple and saw the Holy One on the throne
He has not been able to put it out of his mind.
God is Holy, Holy, Holy!
And I am not.
And we are not.
We are all people of unclean lips.
We all have bad hearts.
WE MUST REPENT!
But the people have gotten sick of hearing that message.
• “Quit telling us to repent!”
• “Quit telling us that we are sinners!”
• “Quit telling us that we need to be saved from the wrath of God!”
“Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions.”
• We don’t even care if it’s true we just want it to be more upbeat.
• We don’t care if it it’s accurate, just try to be funny.
And look, preachers like Joel Olsteen
Have built their entire ministries on this fallen mindset.
Paul warned us:
2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”
When Stephen preached
• He exposed the stubbornness of the people in Jerusalem
• But they covered their ears and rushed at him and stoned him to death.
God has had one standard for these people and it is holiness.
And they don’t want to hear it.
And this is yet another indication of a false son.
THEY WANT HAPPINESS WITHOUT HOLINESS
I just want God to make me happy.
I want a God who just loves me as I am.
I want a God who isn’t bothered by my sin.
My sin makes me happy
And I just want God to be happy for me and love me anyway.
“Quit telling me to repent!”
“Stop being so judgy!”
“Why can’t you just let me do what I want and be happy for me?”
Just preach me a little sermon about
How good God is
And how He wants to bless me
And how my picture is on His refrigerator.
You’ve heard it all haven’t you?
Well that is a mark of a false son.
They come to God because they want to be affirmed in their sin,
But if God insists on confronting their sin
They want nothing to do with Him.
They’ll leave that church and go somewhere
That makes them feel good about themselves.
Several years ago we had a couple leave our church and the reason given by the wife was: “I’m just tired of feeling bad when I leave church.”
My response was, “It’s called repentance.”
But the mark of a false son is that
THEY WANT HAPPINESS WITHOUT HOLINESS.
The Issue of God’s Warning
The Preservation of God’s Witness
#3 THE EXPLANATION OF GOD’S WRATH
Isaiah 30:12-17
Here God returns to their foolish decision
To seek refuge in some manmade shelter.
Like the man who built his house on the sand,
It’s just not going to survive the coming storm.
(12-14) “Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, “Since you have rejected this word And have put your trust in oppression and guile, and have relied on them, Therefore this iniquity will be to you Like a breach about to fall, A bulge in a high wall, Whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant, Whose collapse is like the smashing of a potter’s jar, So ruthlessly shattered That a sherd will not be found among its pieces To take fire from a hearth Or to scoop water from a cistern.”
They were trying to provide their own refuge in Egypt.
God said
• “That is like a man building a wall to hold back a tidal wave.”
• “It’s going to bulge and crack and it’s not going to make it.”
• “It’s going to fall suddenly and be destroyed thoroughly.”
You cannot try to save yourself with human ingenuity.
God says that they “have put your trust in oppression and guile, and have relied on them,”
Those are human means of getting ahead.
• “oppression” is the word OSHEK and it means “extortion” or “unjust gain”
• “guile” is the word LOOZ and it means “to go wrong” or “devious”
It’s just a picture of how humans will bend the rules and cheat
To try and save themselves instead of placing their faith in God.
AND THIS WAS JERUSALEM.
• Instead of doing what God commanded them, they went wrong.
• They chose to be corrupt and run to Egypt instead.
And God says, that won’t work.
Egypt is like a poorly built wall in a tornado.
(15) “For thus the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said, “In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength.” But you were not willing,”
God has reiterated that there is ONLY ONE WAY TO SURVIVE this storm.
YOU MUST REPENT!
• “repentance” – a Hebrew word that means “retire” or “withdraw”
• “rest” – a Hebrew word that means “quiet attitude” or “to sit down”
• “quietness” – a Hebrew word that means “be calm” or “quiet down”
• “trust” – a Hebrew word that means “trust” or “confidence”
You put it all together and it becomes clear WHAT GOD HAS WANTED
• I want you to sit down.
• I want you to close your mouth.
• I want you to listen to Me.
• I want you to do what I say.
This is God’s plan for how to be saved from Assyria.
What was Jerusalem’s answer? NO!
(16-17) “And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses,” Therefore you shall flee! “And we will ride on swift horses,” Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift. One thousand will flee at the threat of one man; You will flee at the threat of five, Until you are left as a flag on a mountain top And as a signal on a hill.”
• No, we won’t sit down!
• We’re not going to listen to You!
• We’ve got our own plan and it doesn’t require doing what You say!
We’re going to run!
• And God says, “You’ve got that right.”
Well we’re going to run fast!
• And God say, “Not fast enough.”
God says I’m going to totally blow up your plans
Until you are left all alone in judgment.
How foolish!
But we see yet again another mark of a false son.
THEY WANT REFUGE WITHOUT REPENTANCE
• They don’t want to leave their sin, they want to escape with it.
• They aren’t looking to put their sin down they want to know how to escape and keep it.
If repentance is God’s only option then they look for another savior.
They’ve got other plans to try and escape judgment.
• Some men will cry for the mountains and hills to fall on them and hide them from the presence of the One who sits on the throne.
• Some men will say, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy and cast out demons and work miracles?”
• Some will try to wear their own clothes and sneak into the wedding banquet but they will be caught and thrown outside.
• Some men will simply beg for Lazarus to touch his finger in the water and give them relief from the flame.
All kinds of plans regarding how to escape judgment,
BUT NONE OF THEM WILL WORK.
There is only one plan that works and that is repentance.
You must leave your sin and submit yourself to God.
He will save you from your sin and make you holy.
But if submission and holiness and repentance are not your interest
Then you are carrying all the DNA of a false son.
One more point to make in this passage.
#4 THE REMINDER OF GOD’S WILL
Isaiah 30:18
And we’re going to talk again about these false sons,
BUT DON’T MISS A BEAUTIFUL POINT HERE.
• Despite their rebellion…
• Despite their stubbornness…
• Despite their love of sin…
• Despite their hatred for holiness…
How beautiful is it to see that God has not given up on them?
“Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion to you.”
Despite their rebellion God is not waiting to destroy them.
God is waiting to forgive them.
It is God’s desire to reconcile with them.
It is God’s desire to save them…STILL
He “longs to be gracious”
He “waits…to have compassion”
AND SINFUL MAN SAYS:
Well if that is what He wants to do, then why doesn’t He just do it?
• If He longs to be gracious, then why not just be gracious?
• If He longs to have compassion, then why not just be compassionate?
And that is very must the mindset of our world.
• They’ve heard many times over how loving and merciful and gracious, and compassionate God is.
• So now, our culture, even in their sin have decided that I’ll just stay in my sin and God will be gracious.
Why does God wait to have compassion?
“For the LORD is a God of justice;”
He is gracious and He is compassionate, but He is also just.
• He will immediately show you grace…when you repent.
• He will instantly have compassion on you…when you repent.
That is why Isaiah says, “How blessed are all those who long for Him.”
And notice the word “all”.
What a blessing to know that every single person
Who repents of their sin and seeks His face
Is guaranteed to receive grace and compassion.
It is available for all who will seek Him!
It is available for all who will repent and ask!
But He will wait for you to ask.
He will wait for your repentance to give out either.
And that indicates for us then THE PROBLEM.
Matthew 23:37-39 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! “For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’”
• All they had to do was repent.
• All they had to do was submit to Him.
• All they had to do was cry out to Him for salvation.
He would bless them and save them and shelter them and secure them.
BUT THEY WOULD NOT.
• They told their prophets to stop preaching, in fact they killed the prophets.
• They told their missionaries to get lost, in fact they stoned them.
Jesus was ready to forgive but they were unwilling to repent.
And here you find one more attribute of a false son.
THEY WANT SALVATION WITHOUT SEEKING
• Just let us go about our business.
• Just let us keep doing what we want.
• Just let us keep on rejecting You.
BUT YOU GO AHEAD AND SAVE US ANYWAY.
Be gracious.
Be compassionate.
I won’t stop You.
That is not what a true child of God thinks.
False sons want shelter without submission.
False sons want happiness without holiness.
False sons want refuge without repentance.
False sons want salvation without seeking.
A true son submits to His Father in all things.
A true son delights in holiness because his Father is holy.
A true son repents of the sin which has offended his Father.
A true son longs for his Father’s presence, not just some benefit.
DO YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE?
Now you know why God calls these people “false sons”
They don’t submit
They don’t listen
They don’t repent
They don’t seek Him.
And maybe as we study this text
God has convicted your heart that this is you.
As you took the DNA test you got honest and said,
• I don’t submit to or obey Christ.
• I don’t seek holiness in my life.
• I don’t listen to His word or seek it.
• I don’t repent of sin, I just try to get away without getting punished.
• I don’t seek God, I just want to go to heaven when I die.
Maybe that is you and God has confronted you this morning.
And you are wondering, what should I do?
Let’s end this morning with a story about a son who woke up one day and discovered that he had been a false son too.
Let’s look at what he did
And how the Father responded.
TURN TO: LUKE 15:11-24
You know that story.
• A false and ungrateful son who didn’t love his father.
• He wanted sin and he wasn’t afraid to chase it.
But one day he came to his senses.
• He humbled himself
• He returned to his father in repentance
• He sought his father in humility and silence
And his father couldn’t wait to have compassion on him.
• His father graciously threw him a banquet!
If you find yourself to be a false son, then come home to your Father.
“the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.”
