The Reason We Hope In God
Isaiah 20
August 6, 2023
NBC12 out of Richmond reports:
In Virginia there is a so-called church
That believes in worshiping God completely in the nude.
Pastor Allen Parker noted that, “If God made us that way, how can that be wrong?”
He explained that nudity is a great equalizer, as it becomes impossible to judge someone based on their expensive or shabby clothes if they simply aren’t wearing any.
Parker went on to say, “People are more open as far as hearing the word of God, and speaking the word of God…I consider this a gift and a privilege God has given me…They’re caring, they’re understanding, and they’re community and family oriented. We have one of the most involved chapels anyplace around. I’ll put our church up against others around.”
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nude-church-white-tail-virginia_n_4763199
Now just in case you are confused,
• No, it is not the will of God that anyone should meet under such circumstances,
• And it should be blatantly obvious that this is not a church.
Paul wrote an entire letter to Timothy regarding how one
“ought to conduct himself in the household of God”
And the key word used over and over is “godliness”.
It was James who wrote about not showing favoritism to the rich or disregarding the poor in their shabby clothes,
• But the solution for James was not having everyone shed their clothes,
• But rather that such people repent of their prejudice.
Obviously this is sinful, this is NOT a church,
It is just another example of the depravity that lurks around our culture
Even hiding itself among Christianity.
But I share that news story with you because
It is horrific even to hear about such a place,
And the thought of visiting such a place is even more horrific.
None of us is going to any place like that.
And certainly none of us is going to listen to or follow
Any so-called pastor who seeks to lead in that condition.
And yet THIS MORNING we are confronted with Isaiah in exactly that condition and it causes us all to wonder what in the world is going on.
4 points
#1 THE SETTING
Isaiah 20:1
You know by now that Isaiah likes to give you
A way to date the circumstances he talks about.
“In the year that King Uzziah died…” (Is. 6:1) – 739 BC
“In the year that King Ahaz died…” (Is. 14:28) – 715 BC
Well Isaiah does it again here.
“In the year that the commander came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it.”
Incidentally, this should NOT be totally NEW information to you.
If you were with us on the Sunday night where we discussed the oracle concerning Philistia we heard Isaiah prophesy this.
“Ashdod” was a Philistine city.
• Had become a vassal kingdom to Assyria
• And had been forced to pay tribute to Sargon, king of Assyria.
• But one of Ashdod’s puppet kings (Azuri) had refused to pay tribute to Assyria
• Had conspired to form an alliance against Assyria with his neighbors
• So Sargon (King of Assyria) replaced Azuri with his more compliant brother Ahi-miti.
• But the people of Ashdod resented the outside interference
• They overthrew Ahi-Miti and replaced him with a king of their own choosing named Yamani
• Yamani had been a leader among the insurgents who sought to break free from Assyria.
• Yamani tried to form an anti-Assyrian coalition and reached out to Judah, Edom, and Moab to join him in resisting Assyria.
And if you’ll remember the oracle concerning Philistia (Isaiah 14:28-32)
Isaiah referenced the messengers who wanted Israel to join them.
That sermon was preached by Isaiah in 715 BC
(“the year that King Ahaz died”)
Isaiah told Judah to tell them, “Thanks, but no thanks”
Isaiah 14:32 “How then will one answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD has founded Zion, And the afflicted of His people will seek refuge in it.”
You tell them that God founded Zion and God will protect her.
And of course Isaiah also revealed at that time
• Going to the Philistines for help would be a terrible decision
• For Assyria was going to return and destroy them.
Isaiah 14:29 “Do not rejoice, O Philistia, all of you, Because the rod that struck you is broken; For from the serpent’s root a viper will come out, And its fruit will be a flying serpent.”
And indeed history bears out that
• In 711 BC Sargon did return and brought Ashdod back under his rule.
• Excavations years later revealed a mass grave with 3,000 skeletons attributed to Sargon’s return to Ashdod.
And this is the event Isaiah uses to date his next sermon.
“In the year that the commander came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him and fought against Ashdod and captured it,” (711 B.C.)
So first and foremost there ought to be a reminder there
To Isaiah’s audience that 4 years ago Isaiah was right.
He had told them not to run to the Philistines.
He had told them Assyria would destroy the Philistines.
And his prophecy had come to pass.
So Judah was right to listen to Isaiah and not run to the Philistines.
But if you’ll remember, that was NOT the current temptation.
• The opportunity to run to the Philistines was over and gone.
The current temptation was to run to Cush and Egypt.
That is the idea being kicked around Jerusalem at the present.
And Isaiah had spoken to that too. (2 Sundays ago)
• He told them not to run to Cush, for God would save them.
• He told them not to run to Egypt, for even Egypt would need a Savior.
And the obvious implication is that
If Isaiah was right about the Philistines
Certainly he is right about the Ethiopians and the Egyptians.
BUT YOU KNOW ISRAEL
They always seem to have a difficult time believing God.
And here in chapter 20 we find that
Judah had ignored Isaiah and some were already fleeing to Egypt.
You see that down in verse 6, “So the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, Behold, such is our hope, where we fled…”
(Isaiah will address that again in chapters 30-31)
But even the King of Assyria knew this was Judah’s plan.
Isaiah 36:4-6 “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? “I say, ‘Your counsel and strength for the war are only empty words.’ Now on whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me? “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.”
So THE SETTING now has become clear.
• Isaiah is receiving clear messages from God.
• God is doing exactly what He promised.
• God told them not to run to Egypt.
• But people have ignored that and run to Egypt anyway
Isaiah now has a sermon regarding those people who fled.
It is a sermon certainly meant to
Encourage the rest of Judah not to follow their lead.
The Setting
#2 THE SIGN
Isaiah 20:2
“at that time” – That would be 711 BC, Sargon just toppled Ashdod.
“the LORD spoke through Isaiah the son of Amaz, saying, “Go and loosen the sackcloth from your hips and take your shoes off your feet.” And he did so, going naked and barefoot.”
Now, just to go ahead and answer the question:
• No, this does not justify the church in Virginia.
• God at times commanded his prophets to do outlandish things to make a point.
BUT WHAT COULD POSSIBLY BE THE POINT TO THIS?
Why would God have His prophet engage in such appalling behavior?
In fact, SEVERAL COMMENTARIES like to
Try and dial back what the Scripture says here.
One commentary says, “It was only figuratively speaking, Isaiah certainly didn’t do it.”
• But verse 2 says, “And he did so, going naked and barefoot.”
Another commentary says, “It wasn’t totally naked, he would have still worn a tunic that reached down to his ankles.”
• But verse 2 says, “naked” and what is more later in verse 4 there is reference made to “buttocks uncovered”.
Others say, he wouldn’t have done it continually either, perhaps just when he was preaching,
• But verse 3 says, “Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot three years as a sign”
So if we take this verse literally, and we have no reason not to,
Then we find ourselves with a story that we really don’t like.
We’d say:
• “That’s vulgar!”
• “That’s indecent!”
• “That’s embarrassing”
If you went to Isaiah’s church, you’d hope that word didn’t get out.
• YOU’D BE EMBARRASSED When people said, “I heard about your preacher!”
• YOU’D BE ANGRY trying to explain it to your kids.
• YOU’D BE DISHEARTENED that this once faithful preacher had lost his mind.
IN SHORT, THIS WOULD BOTHER YOU!
It likely bothers you now.
And so it is UNDERSTANDABLE
• Why commentators would try to soften what is clearly said here.
• Why commentators would try cover Isaiah’s shame and find a way to dance around what Scripture says happened.
But let me remind you of a few things before you do that.
1) It is not uncommon for God to use His prophets in very dramatic fashion to illustrate their message.
In Jeremiah 13, Jeremiah was told to go buy a linen waistband and then hide it in the rock. Later he was told to retrieve it and it was ruined. And that was a picture of what God was going to do to Judah.
Ezekiel was very dramatic.
• We have the story in chapter 4 of him building a little model of the city and then
smacking it with an iron plate.
• Later he ties himself to the ground for 430 days.
• He is commanded to eat his bread cooked over human dung (though God
concedes to allow for cow dung)
• Later he shaves his beard and then mutilates it.
• Even later in chapter 24 God killed his wife to show how painful it was going to
be to God to let His people go into exile.
We remember Hosea who was told to marry a prostitute.
Sometimes God required His prophets
To do eccentric things in order to make a point.
I would agree that this one for Isaiah seems extreme,
But it’s not beyond what God has been accustomed to doing.
2) I would also remind you that Scripture seems to have no problem illustrating the ultimate shame of sin and judgment.
Of course the pinnacle picture of this is when
Christ bore our sin and our shame
As He hanged naked on the cross for all the world to see.
I just point that out to you to say this.
This scene from Isaiah may utterly offend you…
IT IS SUPPOSED TO!
You’re supposed to be sickened, angry, embarrassed, and appalled when you hear about that so-called church in Virginia.
You’re supposed to be sickened, angry, embarrassed, and appalled when you find that Isaiah went for 3 years naked and barefoot.
But that is what God commanded him to do.
And we can certainly imagine the ramifications.
• I would imagine that attendance to Isaiah’s sermons dramatically decreased.
• I would imagine that no one wanted to hear what he had to say.
After all, if a naked man walked into our sanctuary this morning
And said, “Follow me!” There is no way you’re going.
• But I am also certain what Isaiah did would have caught everyone’s attention.
Do you suppose that there was a single person in Jerusalem
Or in all of Judah that did not know about Isaiah?
He was “THE” preacher of the day.
I promise you if John MacArthur pulled such a stunt everyone would know.
• He’d be mocked and scorned and ridiculed.
• He’d be discounted and likely condemned.
• But EVERYONE would know what he was doing.
No sermon Isaiah ever preached…
No deed Isaiah ever did…
Would be as far-reaching as this one.
This message would reach every corner or Judah
And every household in Jerusalem.
It was a sign you couldn’t miss.
The Setting, The Sign
#3 THE SIGNIFICANCE
Isaiah 20:3-4
This is what we really are curious to learn.
What possible purpose could God have had in telling Isaiah to do this hideous thing?
And the answer is that Isaiah was
“a sign and token against Egypt and Cush”
WHY?
Because “the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.”
And after 3 years had passed,
Isaiah now explained the significance of his nakedness.
This will be the fate of everyone who runs to Cush and Egypt
Because this will be the fate of Cush and Egypt.
Now, as I said, you know people were distancing themselves from Isaiah.
• You know, no one was taking him seriously in such a state.
• You know, no one was attending his sermons.
• You know, no one wanted anything to do with a lunatic like that.
He was shameful.
He was appalling.
He was disgraceful.
You’d tell your kids, “STAY AWAY FROM HIM!”
AND THAT IS THE MESSAGE.
• Trusting in Egypt or Cush is shameful.
• Trusting in Egypt or Cush is appalling.
• Trusting in Egypt or Cush is disgraceful.
• STAY AWAY FROM THEM
You won’t like the results of following them.
And because the scene was so outrageous
I am confident that it was heard by everyone in Judah.
God was serious about this.
• Don’t put your hope in Egypt.
• Don’t put your hope in Cush.
• You won’t like how it ends.
And then we get one more point in the chapter.
#4 THE SERMON
Isaiah 20:5-6
Here is the sermon.
Isaiah spells it out for the people in case the dramatic demonstration had been too difficult to understand.
Let me break what he said down 3 ways.
1) EGYPT IS AN EMBARRASSING HOPE (5)
“Then they will be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their boast.”
You can see the point clearly.
How many devoted followers do you suppose Isaiah had before he started walking about naked?
• Do you suppose they were dismayed on the day that Isaiah did this?
• Do you suppose they were ashamed of him?
You know they were.
You know all the nay-sayers were coming out of the woodwork and asking questions like, “What do you have to say about your preacher now?”
You know Isaiah’s followers were disillusioned.
You know Isaiah’s followers were embarrassed.
And Isaiah says, that is what’s going to happen
To everyone who puts their hope in Egypt or Cush.
Egypt is an embarrassing hope
2) EGYPT IS A DISAPPEARING HOPE (6a)
(6a) “So the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, “Behold, such is our hope, where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria;”
You will see the Egyptians and the Cushites being led away naked and barefoot.
• They will be a pitiful sight of weakness and shame.
And as they are being led away you’ll say,
“And that’s who we thought would save us.”
That is where we staked all our hope.
That is the basket we put all our eggs in.
And as they train of captives disappears over the hilltop,
Your hope will disappear with it.
If you place your hope in the Egyptians then there will soon come a day
When you won’t have hope any more.
An embarrassing hope; a disappearing hope
3) EGYPT IS A FAILING HOPE (6b)
“and we, how shall we escape?”
• Not only will you be ashamed that you fled to them.
• Not only will you see your hope disappear.
But you will also soon find that you are now in danger of the Assyrians
Because you have been found in league with the rebel Egyptians.
Where are you going to run now?
If you follow a false prophet or a bad preacher and he shows his true colors by doing something shameful.
• Not only are you ashamed…
• Not only do you see your hopes disappear…
• But you have to wonder also where his preaching has led you…
Trusting in a false hope is more than humiliating,
It is absolutely damning!
Shame moves to despair and despair gives way to absolute terror
When you see where trusting in the wrong thing takes you.
AND THE POINT?
• EGYPT IS NOT YOUR HOPE!
• CUSH IS NOT YOUR HOPE!
• GOD ALONE IS YOUR HOPE!
And church, we again find such simple but necessary application here.
• What are you trusting in?
• What is going to be your deliverance?
• What is it that is going to cause you to escape the coming judgment and arrive
safely in the presence of God?
I HOPE YOU ARE NOT TRUSTING IN YOURSELF.
• Well, I’m a pretty good person,
• I think on the average I’m doing alright.
• My hope is that in the end the good I did will outweigh the bad.
IS THAT YOUR HOPE?
You’re a good person?
Have you totally ignored all the passages of Scripture which speak to the depth of human depravity?
Have you overlooked?
Romans 3:10-12 “as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Have you forgotten the standard to which God holds all men?
Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Do you suppose that you are as good as God?
Do you suppose that you are as perfect as God is perfect?
If you are trusting in your works you must be.
Jesus told a parable about that kind of foolishness.
Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
No one can build a house strong enough
To survive the judgment that is coming.
That would be like Noah deciding not to build the ark
Because he’s a pretty good swimmer.
• The only thing that would survive that flood was the ark, which Peter says is Jesus.
• And the only thing that will survive that judgment is that rock who is Jesus Christ.
Would you really put your hope in the fact that have done good things?
• I go to church…
• I give to the poor…
• I got baptized…
And that is supposed to be enough to save you
From the corrupt rebellion of your sinful heart?
No!
• You must be perfect!
• You must have the righteousness which only comes through Jesus Christ.
There is only ONE HOPE to which we can cling and that hope is Jesus
OUR ONLY HOPE
• Is that He really was the Son of God who was born of a virgin.
• He had to be or else He is Adam’s descendant and just as fallen as we are.
OUR ONLY HOPE
• Is that He lived a sinless life and perfectly fulfilled God’s Law which is the
written standard of His righteous expectation.
OUR ONLY HOPE
• Is that He died and in dying took the punishment that we deserved.
OUR ONLY HOPE
• Is that He would rise from the dead signifying that He was indeed sinless and
His death was not for His own sin.
OUR ONLY HOPE
• Is that He ascended to the right hand of the Father and is now the reigning
King and also the great High Priest who intercedes for us.
OUR ONLY HOPE
• Is that He will return to judge the living and the dead and to rescue His
kingdom.
HE IS OUR ONLY HOPE.
And THIS MORNING, with the remainder of our time,
I want us to examine why He is a sure and steadfast hope!
TURN TO: HEBREWS 6
Hebrews 6 begins with a very real and frankly terrifying warning.
(READ 1-8)
The promise couldn’t be clearer.
• If someone is fully enlightened to the truth of the gospel.
• If someone is given a full taste of the greatness of Christ.
• If someone is given the full conviction of the Holy Spirit.
• If someone is given understanding of the gospel.
• If someone is able to see the power and effect of new life in Christ.
If someone sees all that and still chooses to reject Christ,
Then it is impossible for that person to be saved.
Anyone who would reject all of that…
There’s nothing that can be said or shown to convince them to be saved.
It’s like the Abraham said to the rich man in Hades.
Luke 16:27-31 “And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ “But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ “But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”
That is a terrifying reality.
BUT…
That is NOT what the writer of Hebrews thinks this congregation will prove to be.
(READ 9-12)
• He says, look, I don’t think that’s you.
• I have seen fruit in you that I am certain testifies to your salvation
• What I want to see is you continue doing what you are doing.
But notice how the writer of Hebrews expresses that encouragement.
He tells them (11) “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end.”
In other words, keep standing firm! Keep striving for Christ!
Carry out your hope in Christ to its absolute end.
So where Isaiah would tell the people of Judah
To give up this foolish hope of running to Egypt,
The writer of Hebrews would tell his congregation that
Jesus is no foolish hope.
You ride Jesus all the way to the end!
WHY?
(READ 13-18)
Now you need to know at this point that
There are two verses that are driving the entire book of Hebrews.
And one of those verses is:
Psalms 110:4 “The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
The writer of Hebrews is absolutely mesmerized
• Not just the reality that God has granted another priest according to the order of
Melchizedek
• But that when God announced it He actually swore to the fact.
See, God doesn’t have to make an oath.
• It is impossible for God to lie anyway.
• His yes is always yes and His no is always no.
• For God to make an oath is overly redundant.
So if God does make an oath about something
He must be really serious that you should believe Him.
Now you see that God has done this before.
He did it with Abraham. (14) “Saying, “I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.”
• There was no need for God to add that word “surely” in there,
• But God did it so that Abraham would be doubly sure that God would do it.
Well, what God did for Abraham, He did also for us.
He not only promised us a coming King/Priest like Melchizedek
But He actually swore to it.
Now why would God do that?
Because He wants you to be doubly sure that you can trust what He said.
• On one hand you should trust Him because He can’t lie.
• On the other hand you should trust Him because He swore an oath.
(18) “so that by two unchangeable things…we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.”
AND THAT’S HIS POINT.
• God said you can trust Jesus.
• God swore that you can trust Jesus.
I’m telling you to trust Jesus all the way to the end.
And here comes his exclamation point.
(READ 19-20)
We have a hope!
• A sure hope!
• A steadfast hope!
• A hope that is inside the veil!
And notice that the hope is compared to AN ANCHOR.
I love this imagery.
If you are in the market for an anchor or if you ever need to use one there are three things you want to know about it.
One concern has to be how strong the shaft of the anchor is.
• When your boat pulls against it with the force of the sea driving it on, will the shaft of that anchor hold?
• We would ask, how sure is the anchor?
Another concern has to be how good is the anchor at gripping the surface?
• Will it actually hold to what it is clinging to or will it let go allowing your ship to be driven along?
• We would ask, how steadfast is the anchor?
And another concern has to be will it reach and grip in the area where I want to be?
• If the anchor won’t reach the floor where I need to stop what good is it?
Now notice what the writer of Hebrews says about Jesus.
(19) “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil,”
• He is “sure” He won’t give.
• He is “steadfast” He won’t let go, nothing can snatch you out of His hand.
• He “enter within the veil” He is at the right hand of God.
He is the ruling and reigning King.
He is the accessible High Priest.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?
Jesus will never embarrass you.
On the day of judgment, there will be no shame
For those who put their hope in Jesus.
Hebrews 13:9-14 “Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited. We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate. So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.”
You might have to endure His shame and reproach for a season.
• Go ahead!
• What He offers is worth it.
Jesus gets the last laugh.
Jesus offers a lasting city and nothing in this earth can offer that.
It also means that Jesus will never disappear.
He is not a disappearing hope.
In fact Scripture says He is a REAPPEARING hope.
Hebrews 9:24-28 “For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”
• Our King currently sits enthroned at the right hand of God ruling over the universe.
• One day He will reappear and save those who wait for Him.
• He is not a disappearing hope.
It also means that Jesus will never fail you.
He is not a failing hope.
Hebrews 10:11-14 “Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”
This priest can make you perfect.
• He can make you pleasing to God.
• There will be no shame in the day of judgment if Jesus is your hope.
The point is simple.
There is only one sure hope and that is Christ.
• Don’t trust your works.
• Don’t trust some earthly government.
• Don’t trust some political leader.
• Don’t trust some court.
• Don’t trust some bank account.
All of those things are as foolish as following a naked preacher.
You trust in Christ and you will not be disappointed.
1 Peter 2:6 “For this is contained in Scripture: “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
