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Learning From The Assyrian Invasion – Part 1
Isaiah 33:1-24 (1-12)
November 26, 2023

I read a quote this past week that I thought was pretty funny.
It said, “Experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it.”

Someone else said that “Experience is what allows you to recognize a mistake when you make it a second time.”

Either way, you all understand the idea that
We are supposed to learn from our mistakes.

The beauty of this life is that we live in a society where
Sometimes we get the opportunity to learn from other people’s mistakes.

I’ve heard Peggy say many times that the reason she was the best kid in her family growing up is because she saw all the spankings that Ronnie, Donnie, and Leo got growing up.

When things happen in life we gain experience
And we are all called to learn from it.

You may have even had one of those parents growing up who would sit you down after you made a mistake and ask you what you learned from it.

Well, that is exactly what is happening here in Isaiah 33.

By now you are aware of THE MAIN EVENT of Isaiah’s day.
Assyria is ravaging the world (or at least Isaiah’s world).
• They are attacking and destroying everyone.
• They already toppled the Northern Kingdom
• Now they have even invaded the southern kingdom.

At the point when Isaiah 33 was written
• Assyria had already toppled of number of Judah’s cities
• And was now sitting outside the gates of Jerusalem threatening her too.

So at this point there has been a lot of explanation
That has been given by Isaiah.

We know Isaiah’s ministry with his vision of the Holy One.
• That encounter changed Isaiah’s life.
• That encounter changed Isaiah’s focus.
• And that encounter began Isaiah’s ministry.

He would immediately confront the hypocrisy of his people.
• He would confront their useless religion that had done more to irritate God than please Him.
• He would talk about their lack of righteousness and justice.
• He would point out that God had raised up Assyria to punish them for it.

• Isaiah would then warn them not to trust in the Philistines or the Babylonians, or the Egyptians, or the Ethiopians.
• He would tell them to repent and trust in God.

JUDAH WOULD REFUSE
And God would continue to send Assyria to afflict them.

And now, here is Assyria, with a literal strangle hold on Jerusalem.
They have reached right up to the neck, just as God said they would.

And it is as though Isaiah has called a town meeting
Amongst the survivors to ask them, “So what have you learned?”

Has your recent experience taught you anything?

• God didn’t raise up Assyria on a whim.
• This was not random or accidental.
• God had a purpose in mind.
• There is a lesson to be learned here.
• What have you learned?

And that lesson bleeds all the way down through the ages TO US as well.

We weren’t living in Jerusalem in that day,
It is not our experience that we are studying.

We have merely been granted the opportunity
To examine the experience of those who live in Jerusalem
And learn from their experiences.

And the question then comes to us as well:
What have you and I learned from this?

Well, that is what we are going to discuss this morning.
There is a message here to 4 distinct groups.
• Each of these messages reveals what they should have learned
• Or what they should learn from all that is going on.

Let’s look at these 4 lessons.
#1 TO THE DESTROYER
Isaiah 33:1

Here Isaiah speaks first to the “destroyer”
And the message of verse 1 is quite simple: “YOU’RE DEAD!”

• God used you.
• You were evil.
• And now, you’re going to die.
• No wonder the message starts out with the word, “Woe”

If you read commentaries on Isaiah 33 there is a general consensus that
The “destroyer” in verse 1 is a reference to Assyria.

It’s not hard to understand why they come to that conclusion.
Assyria was both a destroyer and treacherous.

The destruction they brought to the region is well chronicled, as we saw when we studied all of those oracles.

Isaiah 10:5-7 “Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hands is My indignation, I send it against a godless nation And commission it against the people of My fury To capture booty and to seize plunder, And to trample them down like mud in the streets. Yet it does not so intend, Nor does it plan so in its heart, But rather it is its purpose to destroy And to cut off many nations.”

Their treachery is also seen in the book of the Kings in they way they manipulated Hezekiah.

2 Kings 18:13-16 “Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them. Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong. Withdraw from me; whatever you impose on me I will bear.” So the king of Assyria required of Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. Hezekiah gave him all the silver which was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasuries of the king’s house. At that time Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the doorposts which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.”

First things first,
• This is really a despicable decision by Hezekiah.
• We know that Isaiah has been preaching for years in Jerusalem calling for Judah to trust God,
• It is apparent that the message had still failed to reach the king.

For when Assyria threatens Hezekiah decides to try and pay them off
And he even robs God’s temple to do so.

As Raymond Ortlund put it:
“It is humiliating to Judah and doubly dishonoring to God. His people treat Him as a worthless ally and then make him pay the bill for their disloyalty.”
(Ortlund, Raymond [Preaching The Word Commentary Series: Isaiah, God Saves Sinners; Crossway; Wheaton, IL; 2005] pg. 188)

When all other efforts at salvation had failed this is the last resort.
• Let’s just send Sennacherib everything valuable out of the city and maybe then he’ll leave us alone.

But if you know Satan at all, you know he is not content just to steal.
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…”

• Stealing is only part of his objective.
• He also desires to kill and destroy.

And so did Sennacherib.
So even though he took the money and perhaps agreed in principle to retreat upon payment; Sennacherib changed his mind.

He broke the agreement and decided to wipe them out anyway.
He was destructive and he was treacherous.

And so when commentators speak of the “destroyer” being Assyria,
We have no objections. Certainly Isaiah saw it this way.

And certainly God is going to deal with him.
• We have mentioned on several occasions already how God will go out and kill
185,000 in the Assyrian camp in one night.
• We have mentioned several times how Sennacherib will retreat home to
Nineveh and be assassinated in the temple of his false god.

It certainly fits.

AND YET, I think chapter 33 asks us to widen
Or perhaps deepen our gaze here a little.

• For when Isaiah confronts the enemy he does not refer to him as “the king of Assyria” which he has been prone to do.
• Isaiah merely calls him the “destroyer”.
• Furthermore, it is clear to us that this particular message of Isaiah will reach beyond the gates of Jerusalem and is preached for the nations.

We see references in verse 9 to “Lebanon”, “Sharon”, “Bashan” and “Carmel”.
Later in verse 13 Isaiah will address “You who are far away…”

Chapter 34 begins like this:
Isaiah 34:1 “Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples! Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it.”

My point simply is that you should not limit the application of this verse to only Assyria.
I think it is certainly true that the power behind Assyria is in view
AND THAT IS MOST CERTAINLY SATAN.

Satan is the ultimate destroyer and the ultimate committer of treachery.

We remember God addressing him back in chapter 14.
Isaiah 14:12-15 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ “Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.”

AND THIS IS THE MESSAGE THAT ISAIAH STARTS WITH.

Of all the people participating in or witnessing this Assyrian invasion,

The first one who should learn a lesson here
Is the one who is at work to destroy God’s people and that is Satan.

And the simple message to him is: YOU’RE DEAD!

“Woe to you, O destroyer, While you were not destroyed; And he who is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him. As soon as you finish destroying, you will be destroyed; As soon as you cease to deal treacherously, others will deal treacherously with you.”

Martin Luther taught us in his timeless hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”

“And though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us. We will not fear for God hath willed, His truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim; we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure; FOR LO HIS DOOM IS SURE; one little word shall fell him.”

We know even from the mouth of Jesus that hell itself was created for Satan and his horde of treacherous fallen angels.
Matthew 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;”

And the book of Revelation reminds us that he will most certainly go there.
Revelation 20:10 “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

As we read this saga unfolding of the Assyrian invasion,
Don’t let it escape your notice that
Those who rise up to afflict God’s people will be destroyed.

• While it is true that God’s people have defected…
• While it is true that God’s people are not relying on Him…
• While it is true that God has raised up Assyria to discipline them…
It is also true that God will never abandon His people…

As you study this Assyrian invasion you should see that.
It does not end well for the destroyer.

But that is not the only person Isaiah asks what they learned.

To The Destroyer
#2 TO JERUSALEM
Isaiah 33:2-12

Just to go ahead and break any confusion.
The simple message that is basically given to Jerusalem is this:

The LORD is coming to save and to judge; FEAR HIM!

That is made clear to us in the final 3 verses of this segment.
(10-12) “Now I will arise,” says the LORD, “Now I will be exalted, now I will be lifted up. “You have conceived chaff, you will give birth to stubble; My breath will consume you like a fire. “The peoples will be burned to lime, Like cut thorns which are burned in the fire.”

This segment which is meant primarily for the inhabitants of Jerusalem
Is that God is about to arise from His throne
And come to intervene in the situation surrounding Jerusalem.

• He is coming to render judgment upon the wicked.
• He is doing this in order that He might save the righteous from their hand.

The call to the city is that it is time for you to start fearing the LORD.
• It is time for you to start showing reverence to the God of your salvation.
• It is time for you to stop trusting every other Savior and start trusting God.

That is the basic and simple message that is proclaimed,
But obviously there is more here than just that.
This segment of the message needs to be broken down a little further
To grab the full effect of what Isaiah has to say.

So let’s break this message to Jerusalem down into 4 points.

1) THE PRAYER (2-4)

If you are familiar with the narrative of the Assyrian invasion
From the book of 2 Kings you won’t have trouble
Spotting where this prayer took place in Isaiah’s day.

WE ALREADY SAW
How Hezekiah tried to pay off Sennacherib and how that didn’t work.
• Sennacherib surrounded the city anyway
• He threatened the inhabitants of the city not to listen to Hezekiah, not to trust God, and not to run to Egypt.
• He told the citizens of Jerusalem that they should come out of the city, surrender to the Assyrians,
• And he would let them live on their own land until the time in which he would deport them to his own country.

This announcement from Assyria terrified Hezekiah.
• He was out of options.
• Egypt hadn’t been able to help.
• The bribe had not worked.

And in a last-ditch effort Hezekiah finally turned to God.

2 Kings 19:1-4 “And when King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth and entered the house of the LORD. Then he sent Eliakim who was over the household with Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and rejection; for children have come to birth and there is no strength to deliver. ‘Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the remnant that is left.’”

FINALLY!
We’ve spent 32 chapters waiting for Jerusalem to seek God even a little.
The inhabitants of Judah have done everything but that.

Finally, Hezekiah sends for Isaiah and asks him to pray.
• You sense how foreign it is even to Hezekiah at this moment
• For when he summons Isaiah he refers to God as, “the LORD your God” (as opposed to my God).

BUT IT IS A START NONE THE LESS.
Isaiah is tasked to pray that God would intervene.

In verse 2, we see a prayer that certainly would have fit that moment.

(2) “O LORD, be gracious to us; we have waited for You. Be their strength every morning, Our salvation also in the time of distress.”

It is an interesting prayer that is offered here.
For in his prayer Isaiah references two groups of people.

He speaks of “us”
• When he prays, “be gracious to us; we have waited for You.”

And he speaks of “their”
• When he prays, “be their strength every morning”

And then he speaks of “our”
• Which would be both groups together when he prays, “Our salvation also in
the time of distress.”

Having studied the book of Isaiah up to this point
It seems obvious to us who those two groups are.

The “us” Isaiah references are the remnant.
• It is those who have waited for God.
• It is those who have trusted God.
• It is Isaiah and that small remnant who have believed him.

The “their” Isaiah references are the unbelievers in Jerusalem who are now seeking God.
• It is those who have thus far failed to seek.
• It is those who have run to Egypt.
• It is Hezekiah and those who have only now begun to seek God.

Isaiah speaks of both groups together because
They are both together in the middle of this Assyrian invasion.

Perhaps that brings a little clarity even to how the church should pray in the midst of a godless nation when the Lord brings discipline to our land.

Isaiah prays for all.
• He prays for God to be gracious to those who have been faithful as they
have waited on God and trusted in Him alone.
• He prays for God to provide a new found strength for those who are just now
starting to seek God

Ultimately he prays that God would intervene and save them all.
That is a good example of how to pray.

And the reason Isaiah wants God involved is because of
The ability God has to totally fix this situation.

(3-4) “At the sound of the tumult peoples flee; At the lifting up of Yourself nations disperse. Your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers; As locusts rushing about men rush about on it.”

• When God intervenes the enemy flees.
• When God intervenes the destroyer runs for cover.
• When God intervenes His people rush upon the spoil.

I like the analogy.
“Your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;”

That is, slowly.
• There will be no rush, there will be no threat.
• They can take their time and get it all.

He also says, “as locusts rushing about men rush about on it.”

That is, thoroughly.
• Locusts get everything when they come and so will God’s people.

It reminds a little of a story that occurred several years prior in Samaria.
• It is when Aram besieged Samaria and was literally starving the city.
• That is where we get that story about the two women who appeal to the king
because they ate one woman’s son, but the next day the other woman hid
her son.
• They were selling dove poop for 5 shekels of silver.
• But God intervened and routed the Arameans in the night.
• The next day some lepers stumbled upon the spoil.

2 Kings 7:3-8 “Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why do we sit here until we die? “If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ then the famine is in the city and we will die there; and if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they spare us, we will live; and if they kill us, we will but die.” They arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Arameans; when they came to the outskirts of the camp of the Arameans, behold, there was no one there. For the Lord had caused the army of the Arameans to hear a sound of chariots and a sound of horses, even the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.” Therefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents and their horses and their donkeys, even the camp just as it was, and fled for their life. When these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they entered one tent and ate and drank, and carried from there silver and gold and clothes, and went and hid them; and they returned and entered another tent and carried from there also, and went and hid them.”

Those lepers then went and told the inhabitants of the city and the whole city came out and slowly and thoroughly gathered the spoil.

That is how God intervenes.

Isaiah says that this is why he is appealing to God.
God can do what no one can do.
God can deliver in ways that no one can deliver.
• God can show grace to the remnant.
• God can give strength to the hesitant.
• God can save them all.

So at Hezekiah’s request Isaiah prays.
AND THEN Isaiah preaches.

Here’s a second thing to see here.
2) THE SERMON (5-6)

It’s only two verses, but what a mouthful of a sermon!

(5-6) “The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. And He will be the stability of your times, A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; The fear of the LORD is his treasure.”

WHO IS GOD?
He is the “exalted” One.
• He is not like any other savior or deliverer you have ever sought or known.
• While they pretend to have power, God does have power.
• He is transcendent.
• He is exalted.

Isaiah said that when he saw Him, “the train of his robe was filling the temple” as the “temple was filling with smoke.”

Angels surround Him and cry out, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.

This is no ordinary savior you have just appealed to.
He is the real deal.

WHERE DOES GOD DWELL?
“He dwells on high”
• He is not a man that man should defeat Him.
• He is not a man that He is prone to mistake.

He sits above the earth.
He sits above the heavens.
He does whatever He pleases.

WHAT HAS GOD DONE?
“He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness”

Why is righteousness the expectation of the day?
Why is justice so important?

Because God has decreed it so.
• God loves justice.
• God loves righteousness.
• He can do no other.

AND HE WILL DO NO OTHER.

WHAT WILL GOD DO?
“He will be the stability of your times.”
• God will fix this situation.
• He alone can take the chaos and settle it.
• He alone can make what is about to fall stable.

Isaiah says that He’ll be: “A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge;”

He will provide what no other savior can provide.

The simple sermon of Isaiah is that you have finally made a wise decision.
You have finally chosen what is best.
You have finally chosen a real and bona fide savior.

And I love the final statement of this short sermon.
It is the ultimate encouragement to those who are living in this besieged city.

“The fear of the LORD is his treasure.”
A man should probably make an entire sermon out of just that phrase.

What does it mean?

Put yourself in Hezekiah’s shoes.
Or try to identify with the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
• Foreign powers have invaded and wiped out every other city in your land.
• They have now surrounded the capital, the city in which you dwell.

You are trying to figure out how to survive.
• All your money has already been given to him.
• All of your allies proved to be of no help.
• Your soldiers are gone.

What things are the most important to you right now?
What is your treasure at this point?

• Are you holding on to those barrels of water to help you survive when the water supply is dried up?
• Are you holding on to those chickens to provide you with eggs when the food supply is cut off?
• Is that closet full of ammunition valuable now as you seek to protect your family?

You can imagine all the thoughts traveling through their minds.

And Isaiah says, YOU DON’T HAVE ANYTHING IN THIS CITY
AS VALUABLE AS THE FEAR OF THE LORD.

“The fear of the LORD is his treasure.”

The most valuable thing you have is your faith.

Consider the book of 1 Peter.
It is written to persecuted believers who are scattered all over the region.
• They have lost their jobs, their homes…everything.
• They are on the run.

When you have to flee, what do you pack to take with you?
What treasures are of such importance that you must take them as you escape?

Peter told those people the same thing Isaiah did.
There is nothing more valuable than your faith.

1 Peter 1:3-7 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;”

Peter said that your faith is “more precious than gold” because it results in “glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

That is what Isaiah says.
• Your gold couldn’t save you, Hezekiah tried that.
• Egypt couldn’t save you, many of you tried that.
• Your fast horses couldn’t save you, you are surrounded.

But there is one thing that still can.
You must fear God and trust Him…He can save you!

THAT IS THE SERMON.

• Hezekiah told Isaiah to pray and he did.
• And then Isaiah turned to encourage the people to trust God.

Then comes another aspect of the sermon.
Isaiah is not finished addressing the people.

3) THE OBSERVATION (7-9)

This should be seen as Isaiah’s explanation
Why God alone should be trusted.

It is as though Isaiah asks his congregation to pause and look around
At all the people who refuse to trust God.

And Isaiah asks, “How’s that working out for them?”

(7-9) “Behold, their brave men cry in the streets, The ambassadors of peace weep bitterly. The highways are desolate, the traveler has ceased, He has broken the covenant, he has despised the cities, He has no regard for man. The land mourns and pines away, Lebanon is shamed and withers; Sharon is like a desert plain, And Bashan and Carmel lose their foliage.”

How did it work out for those “brave men” who were going to fight?
• They “cry in the streets.”

How did it work out for those “ambassadors” skilled in negotiation who were going to take money and negotiate with Assyria?
• They “weep bitterly.”

How about those people that were going to flee on horses down the highway?
• “the traveler has ceased”

How about all those surrounding allies that were going to help?
• “Lebanon is shamed and withers; Sharon is like a desert plain, and Bashan and Carmel lose their foiliage.”

WHAT IS THE POINT?
NOT TRUSTING GOD HAS NOT WORKED WELL.

Isaiah is emphasizing his point.

“We are in a city who has trusted in
Our strength, our wisdom, our horses, and our neighbors
And everyone who has done that is totally disillusioned right now
Because they couldn’t save.”

There is only one Savior.
“The fear of the LORD is his treasure.”

Until you learn to fear and trust God above every other there will be no salvation.
• How pitiful to think you are strong enough to endure it.
• How pitiful to think you are wise enough to negotiate it.
• How pitiful to think you are fast enough to escape it.
• How pitiful to think you have other allies that will deliver you.

Jesus said it like this:
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Peter reiterated it:
Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Paul said it too:
1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”

I realize you don’t easily see it today.
• I realize that today even those who don’t trust in Christ seem totally at ease.
• I realize that today even self-righteous men feel totally secure in their pride.

But listen, there is coming a day
When all of those things will be shown for what they are.

There is coming a day of judgment so severe
That no man will be able to escape it.

On that day there is but one thing of value to you and that is Jesus Christ.
Your faith in Him is all that is of value during the day of judgment.

AND ISAIAH REMINDS THE CITY OF THAT.

I hope you see this church.
THERE IS NO OTHER SAVIOR.

Brave men and ambassadors end up weeping at their own inadequacy.
But only those who trust in Jesus Christ are saved.

Isaiah 40:28-31 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”

Church, drop every other idol!
ABANDON your would-be saviors!
Take everything you’ve got and place it all on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Your soul – Your eternity – Your tomorrow – Your finances – Your health
Your protection – Your relationships – Trust Him with everything.

HE IS THE ONLY LEGITIMATE SAVIOR!

There is one more point Isaiah makes here in his message to Jerusalem, and we’ll only have time to introduce it.

But very simply this: GOD ANSWERS ISAIAH’S PRAYER
4) THE ANNOUNCEMENT (10-12)

(10-12) “Now I will arise,” says the LORD, “Now I will be exalted, now I will be lifted up. “You have conceived chaff, you will give birth to stubble; My breath will consume you like a fire. “The peoples will be burned to lime, Like cut thorns which are burned in the fire.”

• Hezekiah finally showed a smidget of faith.
• Hezekiah had only a mustard seed of faith when he, in absolute desperation, asked Isaiah to pray to his God.

Isaiah did and God answered.
I’M ON MY WAY!

2 Kings 19:5-7 “So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. “Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.”’”

The King of Assyria had “conceived chaff” and he would “give birth to stubble.”

That is to say, “You planned that which was foolish and empty and I’m going to show you how pointless it all was.”

“My breath will consume you like fire, the peoples will be burned to lime, like cut thorns which are burned in the fire.”

“Everything you have accomplished
Will soon be nothing but white ash on the ground!”

2 Kings 19:35 “Then it happened that night that the angel of the LORD went out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men rose early in the morning, behold, all of them were dead.”

There is more to say in this regard,
But surely you can see that God has proven Himself holy and mighty!
Surely you can see that there is no other Savior.

Now, we are asking what you have learned from the Assyrian invasion and we can already think of several things.

1) It does not end well for those who afflict God’s people.
2) Trusting in ourselves or other men for salvation is stupid.
3) God is a true and trustworthy Savior.
4) Faith in God or fear of the LORD is the most valuable thing you can possess.
5) It is not difficult for God to conquer the foe.
6) Even a little faith is effective when we are talking about God.

And those are just a few of the things we have learned.
Perhaps you can start assessing this over the next couple of weeks.

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Return To Him – Part 4
Isaiah 31-32 (32:11-20)
November 19, 2023

YOU KNOW THAT
• Judah is facing the threat of Assyrian invasion.
• Judah offended God because they sought Egypt and not God for help.

We have called it the sin of DEFECTION

• They defected in person, by physically approaching Egypt.
• They defected in principle, by even removing their hearts away from God.

Isaiah 31-32 is God calling them back.

So far we’ve seen the two aspects of their defection from God.
#1 FAILURE TO TRUST
Isaiah 31:1-32:8

Isaiah spelled it out in the first verse.
Isaiah 31:1 “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help And rely on horses, And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very strong, But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD!”

He called this deep defection and he called Judah to return to the LORD.
Isaiah 31:6 “Return to Him from whom you have deeply defected, O sons of Israel.”

And hopefully you remember from last Sunday night that
If they would return to Him then God would send to them their King.

The King who would:
• Remove their idols
• Rout their enemies
• Reign righteously
• Restore discernment

Stop seeking Egypt, start seeking God,
And God will send His King to deliver you.

That was the first aspect of their defection.

THIS MORNING we started looking at the other aspect of their defection which was more of an internal and spiritual issue.

#2 FAILURE TO TREMBLE
Isaiah 32:9-20

To put it plainly Judah offended God but was not concerned about it.
They were facing the wrath of God, but could care less.

(9) “Rise up, you women who are at ease, And hear my voice; Give ear to my word, You complacent daughters.”

It is important tonight that I remind you
Of those two words which describe Judah’s defection.

“at ease” – SHA-A-NON
It means “secure”. It can be translated “undisturbed” or even “arrogant”

• It was people who should have been afraid, but they weren’t.
• It was people who should have trembled at the knowledge that they had
offended God, but they didn’t.

They were filled with apathy
And totally unconcerned that God was offended.

“complacent” – BA-TACK
It means “to trust” or “to feel safe, be careless”

We likened it to false assurance.

Like the congregation of John the Baptist who were facing the imminent judgment of God “for the axe is already laid at the root of the tree”,
But they felt secure because “Abraham is our father”.

They had a assurance, but they shouldn’t have.
And on the day of judgment it was all going to come crashing down.

And this is precisely what Isaiah told the people of Judah.
• Right now you are “at ease” and undisturbed.
• Right now you are “complacent” and feel safe.

(10) “Within a year and a few days You will be troubled, O complacent daughters; For the vintage is ended, And the fruit gathering will not come.”

You have been living an allusion.
You have been living on borrowed time.
My what a rude awakening you are in for.

One cannot help but think about our nation
And the ease and complacency that has set in here.

We have fallen fully into an “ENTITLEMENT” culture.
• We deserve “free health care”
• We deserve “free education”
• We deserve comfort and luxury and satisfaction

And we have almost no concept of life without all of our comforts.
It can lull a nation to sleep regarding the judgment of God.

THAT WAS CERTAINLY JUDAH
And Isaiah told them that trouble was on its way.

And that is when we came to
THE INVITATION portion of this second announcement.

It is a little more direct than the first, but it is an invitation none the less.

(11-14) “Tremble, you women who are at ease; Be troubled, you complacent daughters; Strip, undress and put sackcloth on your waist, Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine, For the land of my people in which thorns and briars shall come up; Yea, for all the joyful houses and for the jubilant city. Because the palace has been abandoned, the populated city forsaken. Hill and watch-tower have become caves forever, A delight for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks;”

The key word is “tremble”
• It is the word RAW-GAZ
• It means “to quake” or “to quiver”

Isaiah told them to
• “tremble”
• “Be troubled”
• “put on sackcloth”
• “Beat your breast”

Those are all pictures of repentance.
• Like the tax collector in the temple
• Like the king of Nineveh.

So you quickly see that the call is to REPENT AND RETURN

Acts 3:19 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;”

Now, what we also see here is that
GOD IS WELL AWARE THAT

REPENTANCE WON’T COME OF THEIR OWN FREE WILL.

• They aren’t going to just wake up today and decide to tremble.
• They aren’t going to just change their mind and put on sackcloth.

• These people are “at ease”
• These people are “complacent”

So God is going to rattle them out of their complacency.
God is going to shake them out of their undisturbed mindset.

THEY WILL BE TROUBLED AND THEY WILL TREMBLE.

WHY?

(12-14) “Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine, For the land of my people in which thorns and briars shall come up; Yea, for all the joyful houses and for the jubilant city. Because the palace has been abandoned, the populated city forsaken. Hill and watch-tower have become caves forever, A delight for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks.”

Did you take inventory of all the things God is about to wreck?
• “pleasant fields”
• “fruitful vines”
• “the land”
• “all the joyful houses”
• “the jubilant city”
• “the palaces”
• “the populated city”
• “watch-tower”

GOD IS ABOUT TO REMOVE IT ALL.

RIGHT NOW these people just go forward in their sin with no concern that God is offended and with no fear that He might punish them.
• They just go to their fields and their vineyards
• They harvest their crops.
• They turn their flocks out into the fields to graze like normal.
• The come back home and they sing and dance in their houses.
• The go out into the city and everyone is happy and doing what they want.
• The kings palace is happy and secure.
• The city is populated.
• The soldiers are in the watch-tower.

Life is easy and fun and great.

And in a moment God is about to remove it all.
• Then let’s see if you remain at ease and complacent.
• Then let’s see if you are troubled.
• Then let’s see if you tremble.
• Then let’s see if you are concerned about your offense to God.
• Then let’s see if you are bothered that God is angry.

DO YOU SEE THE POINT?

How long can a nation just continue living in a manner that offends God and expect for things to go on like normal?
• It is a foolish complacency.
• It is a false assurance.

How long can you or I live undisturbed by our sin and feel secure in our apathy and expect that it will always be this way?
• It won’t be long now.
• God is about to break their pride.

BUT it is at this point that we learn a very important truth, and one that absolutely reinforces the reformed theology we have grown to love.

1) Judah has clearly defected.
• Both positionally and principally

2) God has clearly called for their repentance and return.

3) God has clearly stated that upon their repentance and return He will hear them, answer them, be gracious and show them compassion.

4) And God has promised that upon their repentance and returning that He will send the appointed King to deliver them.

WE HAVE SEEN ALL THAT.

BUT WE HAVE ALSO SEEN THAT JUDAH WON’T DO IT.
• No matter how much Isaiah warns…
• No matter how hard Isaiah pleads…
• Judah will not repent.
• Judah will not return.

And God knows that too.

So God will take matters once again into His own hands.
• He will cause Judah to repent.
• He will cause Judah to return.

And the question is:
HOW WILL GOD DO THAT?
Answer: THE HOLY SPIRIT

When you read that story of the prodigal son who returned to his father
It is quite easy to read over one little statement
And fail to see all that is implied.

Luke 15:17 “But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!”

The monumental phrase is, “when he came to his senses”.

We have a tendency to read that like
• The boy just smartened up.
• The boy just invoked a bit of logic.
• But that is NOT what happened.

That boy was dead!
The father said so.

Luke 15:32 “But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.”

• That boy was dead in his sin.
• That boy was spiritually blind.
• That boy was spiritually deaf.

Like Isaiah’s congregation, he had eyes but didn’t see;
He had ears but didn’t hear; he had a heart but didn’t comprehend.

So how did he all of a sudden come to his senses?

GOD DID THAT THROUGH THE REGENERATION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Ephesians 2:4-5 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),”

Perhaps you remember when we studied that “500 Years of Reformation” study we talked about REGENERATION.

We said that regeneration is a MONERGISTIC work (work of 1)
It is not a SYNERGISTIC work (cooperative effort)

The sinner DOES NOT work in cooperation with God in regeneration.
How could he?

Now when you get to justification, there is a little synergistic work involved for the sinner exercises the faith that God gives him.

When you get to sanctification, there is a little synergistic work involved for the redeemed sinner works out his salvation with fear and trembling.

But when we are talking about REGENERATION,
THAT IS GOD AND GOD ALONE.

Lazarus did have to walk out of the tomb,
And thus cooperated with the call of Christ,
But Lazarus had nothing to do with Jesus making him alive.

JESUS DID THAT ALL BY HIMSELF.

This is what we call regeneration
And it is important for you to understand
THIS very bedrock of reformed theology.

That: REGENERATION PRECEDES FAITH.

THAT IS TO SAY,
• You must be regenerated before you can even cry out in faith to Jesus.
• You must be made to hear the gospel invitation.
• You must be made to see the resurrected Christ.
• You must be made to understand the high call of God.
• Your heart must be exposed in its sin.
• Your heart must be made to desire salvation.

All of that is regeneration
And it happens BEFORE you ever call on Jesus to be saved.

We call it regeneration,
But you might be more familiar with a different name.

John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus called it being “born again”.

And He was talking about a spiritual work
That is done in the life of a dead sinner
Thus making it possible for him to repent and return.

If you remember John 3
• Nicodemus goes on to question what Jesus is talking about
• Since a man can’t enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born.

Jesus answers him:
John 3:5-8 “Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

The key phrase there is when Jesus starts talking about
Being born “of water and the Spirit”.

That is the indicator to what Jesus is talking about.

AND YOU SAY, “Good, so what is He talking about?”

TURN TO: EZEKIEL 36:22-27

You see here that
• God is about to do something.
• Void of your help.
• And for His own sake alone.

God is about to awaken a dead nation
And cause them to repent and return to Him.

Did you catch verse 25, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.”

• When Jesus said you must be “born of water”,
• That is what He is referencing.
• It is the cleansing work of God on the sinful heart.

And then you see in verse 26-27
• That God will give a new heart
• And put a new spirit inside you
• And “cause you to walk in My statutes.”

God will awaken the dead soul
And cause them to repent and return and obey.

The sinner doesn’t do that, God does that.
The sinner WON’T do that, God has to do it.
The sinner CAN’T do that, God must do it.

And if you like illustrations,
Then look at the next chapter in Ezekiel.

TURN TO: EZEKIEL 37:1-10
Those ten verses are an illustration of what Ezekiel just announced in chapter 36.

That God would, by His Spirit,
Take those who are dead and make them alive.

That is called REGENERATION.
Jesus called it being BORN AGAIN.

It is when God takes a spiritually dead sinner
Who is blind and deaf and awakens them to the truth
And changes their heart to long for the things of God.

Think about it in your own life.
• Why did you all of a sudden become aware of your sin?
• Why did you all of a sudden see you needed a Savior?
• Why did you all of a sudden want to come to Christ?

You just got smart?

Hardly!
I dare say you’d probably heard the gospel message many times before that day and never before had it impacted you or concerned you.

It is that on that day God made you alive.
He gave you ears to hear and eyes to see and a heart to desire Christ.

That is why you came.
That is why you confessed.
GOD DID IT.

Incidentally,
Ezekiel is not the only one to talk about this.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

That is the work of the Holy Spirit in a life.
Without that, the sinner will never repent and return.

Without the intervention of the Holy Spirit
The sinner will never hear, will never see,
And will never respond to the gospel.

The only way Judah is ever going to repent and return to God
And be able to welcome in their reigning King is if God does it for them.

THEY’LL NEVER REPENT ON THEIR OWN.

Now look at what Isaiah says that God will do.
Israel will stay stagnant in their sin.
Israel will stay under the punishment of God.

(15) “Until…”

UNTIL WHAT?
• Until they repent? Yes
• Until they return? Yes

But we already saw they aren’t ever going to do that.

(15) “Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high…”

This is so clarifying to us in regard to salvation
And also in regard to evangelism.

IN REGARD TO SALVATION:
• Now we see why heard the gospel.
• Now we see why we felt conviction.
• Now we see why we wanted Christ.
• Now we see why we call on Him.

God had poured out His Spirit upon our life and caused those things.

IN REGARD TO EVANGELISM:
Put yourself in Isaiah’s shoes for a moment.

• God commissioned Isaiah back in chapter 6.
• He was to go and preach to this people.
• But God told him they would not respond because they were deaf and blind and hard-hearted.
• In fact, God told Isaiah that only a remnant would return.
• Only a tenth portion would return.

So what did Isaiah do?

Did he only preach to 1 out of every 10 people? No
Did he go out and say, “You can’t come, you can’t hear, so why bother, I’m just going to sit in my room and play video games”? No

Isaiah went out in the highways and the hedges.
He entered homes and palaces.
He stood in the temple and in the market.

And he called out like a voice in the wilderness to anyone and everyone that they should repent and return to the LORD.

• He told them all about the Holy One of Israel.
• He called them all to lay down their idols and return to God.
• He promised them that if they would repent that God would be gracious.

WAS THAT A TRUE SERMON?
YES!!! That was absolutely true.

That was a true and valid offer to every sinner in his day.
Just as it is a true and valid offer to every sinner in our day.

But at the same time we understand that based on
Our ability to preach and their ability hear
NO SINNER WILL EVER BE SAVED.

We aren’t that good of preachers.
They aren’t that good of hearers.

The ONLY WAY anyone is going to heed the message
Is if God sends His Spirit to open their hearts to the gospel.

And that is exactly what we read about here.

No one is coming “Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high…”

Look at what Zechariah says about the day that Israel returns to Christ.
Zechariah 12:10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.”

• It is the Spirit that will cause them to see their sin.
• It is the Spirit that will cause them to recognize Christ.
• It is the Spirit that will cause them to weep over Him.
• It is the Spirit that will cause them to trust in Him.

That is what Isaiah says too.

And then look at what will happen on the day that they do.

(15b-16) “And the wilderness becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field is considered a forest. Then justice will dwell in the wilderness and righteousness will abide in the fertile field.”

First you see a great out-pouring of fruitfulness don’t you?

“the wilderness becomes a fertile field”
• That which was previously useless starts producing a crop.
• That which produced nothing finally starts producing.

“the fertile field is considered a forest”
• That field will be so productive and fruitful that you can’t even hardly walk through it.

But if you’ll remember we AREN’T talking about literal fruit here.

Do you remember that parable of the worthless vineyard all the way back in chapter 5?

Isaiah 5:7 “For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel And the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.”

And that is what you finally see happening here.

“justice will dwell in the wilderness and righteousness will abide in the fertile field.”

They didn’t do it.
Isaiah didn’t do it.
The Spirit of God did it.

And once righteousness and justice return what will be THE EFFECT?

(17-18) “And the work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation, And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places;”

You’re going to love this.

What was the problem with the people back in verse 9?

• They were “at ease” – SHA-A-NAN
• They were “complacent” – BA-TACK

And they were wrongfully so
For they were at ease in their sin and complacent regarding judgment.

But once the Spirit of God comes
And does a work in their heart and leads them to pursue righteousness.

Guess what happens?

“the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence (BA-TACK) forever.”

• God will give them true security.
• God will make them genuinely careless.
• God will make them perfectly feel safe.

He will give them true assurance.

“Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation, And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed (SHA-A-NAN) resting places.”

• God will take away their worries and their fears.
• God will cause them to live legitimately at ease.

DO YOU SEE THAT
God is not opposed to you being at ease or to you having assurance?

God is not trying to keep assurance from you.
God is not trying to keep you from being at peace.

In fact, it is God’s design that you be in such a state.

BUT NOT at ease in your sin.
AND NOT at in assurance while under judgment.

It is God’s plan to send His Spirit to transform your life
To make you at peace with God…true peace.
And to give you true assurance.

The Spirit comes to regenerate you and lead you to Christ so that you will be justified and then you will be at ease.

The Spirit comes to make you born again and to grant you faith in Christ so that you will be justified and then you can feel safe.

Judah wanted to feel safe and be at ease in their sin.
God said, “No!”

But He will send His Spirit to drive you to Christ
So that you wil be righteous and thus feel safe and at ease.

Isn’t that a great work!

And then Isaiah gives THE CONCLUSION.
(19-20) “And it will hail when the forest comes down, And the city will be utterly laid low. How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters, Who let out freely the ox and the donkey.”

Verse 19 is a little difficult to deal with for it sounds again like judgment in the midst of this otherwise glorious passage.

The NIV simply says, “THOUGH it will hail when the forest comes down…How blessed you will be…”

In other words:
• Even though God is about to walk you through a time of tremendous peril;
• Peril to the degree that it will cause you to tremble and be troubled.
• Even though God is about to bring horrible discipline to you,
• Rest assured that God will use it to drive you to Himself.
• Rest assured that God will also send His Spirit to give you new birth,
• So that you will repent and return and reap all the blessings of God.

In short Isaiah says,
“What you refuse to do for yourself, resulting in trembling,
God will do for you, resulting in security and peace.”

And that is the gospel.
That is THE INVITATION.

And it was valid in Isaiah’s day, just as it is valid in our day.

Have you defected from God?
Are you trusting in other saviors other than God?
Have you found contentment in sin?
Are you loving what God hates and hating what God loves?
Are you undisturbed that God might be offended by your lifestyle?

Well the call is for you to repent and return.
• The call is for you to beat your breast and put on sackcloth and fall in humility before God that He might forgive you.

And everyone who does that
God will certainly grant them grace and compassion.

BUT WE ALSO KNOW:
The only reason anyone will do that is because God is at work in their life to cause them to do that.

It is His Spirit who draws men to Christ.

SO
• If you have repented and returned…
• If you have felt the blessings of the King in your life…
• If He has removed your idols.
• If He has routed your sin which is the enemy of your soul.
• If He has begun to reign righteously in your life.
• If He has restored your discernment and given you the mind of Christ.

If all that has happened for you.
• It is because God caused you to be born again.
• God regenerated you.
• God woke you up.

God did not leave you deaf and blind and complacent.
Like that prodigal, God caused you to come to your senses.

And we praise Him for that.
On my own I would have never come, but God did it for me.

And if Isaiah’s name has never made sense to you before,
It certainly will now.

Isaiah means: “The LORD is Salvation”

How true is that?

He not only saves sinners who come,
But He is the One who causes them to come in the first place.

What a glorious Savior!

Tonight, I invite you to come to Him too.
• I invite you to repent and return.
• I invite you to stop trusting false saviors.
• I invite you to stop defecting from His character.
• I invite you to repent of your sin and find grace from God.

And I implore the LORD to bring that about in your life.
• For He is the One who makes it happen.