Treasure in Earthen Vessels—2 Corinthians

The Apostle Paul had written a scathing letter to the church at Corinth admonishing them for immoral behavior (1 Corinthians). Now at the end of his third missionary journey, he had the difficult task of writing to them again regarding a different issue. Fortunately, the church had responded to his first letter in repentance. Paul commended them in 2 Cor.7:8-11 that his letter had produced a “godly sorrow” in them, and they had been made sorrowful to the point of repentance. Paul had sent Titus to check on their progress, and Paul promised to follow him with a visit to Corinth of his own. Critics of Paul in Corinth had accused him of not being faithful and trustworthy because he had not shown up like he promised. This was just another opportunity for these false teachers to attack Paul, criticize his ministry, and deny his special office of being an Apostle of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Paul wrote the second letter to the Church at Corinth in defense of his ministry, his apostleship, and the true gospel that he preached. On his way to Corinth, Titus met Paul in Macedonia with good news from Corinth. Most of the Corinthians had repented and affirmed their loyalty to Paul, but the false teachers were still there criticizing Paul. Paul preceded his visit with this letter explaining why he had not shown up before because of intense persecution, and to ask them to prepare an offering for the depressed church in Jerusalem. Chapter 8-9 is the key New Testament passage on giving.

The God of all Comfort

Paul had been prevented from coming to them by severe persecution “to the point of death”. In 2 Cor.1:3-5, Paul praised God for comforting him in the midst of his affliction. No matter how great the threat was, the comfort of God more than matched it. Paul also had the perspective that there was a very positive purpose in his affliction. Because Paul had been afflicted and experienced God’s comfort, he was able to “comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we are comforted by God.” Paul’s suffering just made him more qualified to comfort others. Paul even had the “sentence of death” in order that he could better learn to live by faith and entrust his ministry to the Lord in spite of his circumstances. In ch.1-2, Paul explained his travel plans, his delay, and his love for them.

In ch.3, he explained the superiority of the New Covenant of grace over the Old Covenant of laws, and in ch.4 he taught on the supernatural character of his ministry. Even though his life was hard, he did not lose heart because of the awesome things God was doing spiritually through the gospel he was preaching. Imagine the comfort it brought Paul to see hundreds of lost souls believe in Christ and be transformed by the Spirit of God. Everywhere he went people were being saved, and given hope and meaning to their lives.

The Treasure

In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul used a beautiful and humble image to represent the power of God in the message that he preached. In 4:7, Paul said it was like having the most valuable treasure in an earthen vessel (meaning his body), “we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves.” What a great image of the weakness and temporary nature of his body compared to the power and eternality of the “treasure”. What exactly did he mean by “the treasure”? In 4:1-6, Paul listed a series of descriptions or explanations of this dynamic treasure: v.1, this ministry, v.2, the word of God and the manifestation of truth, v.3, our gospel, v.4, the light of the gospel, v.5, Christ Jesus our Lord, v.6, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.

Paul had no gold or silver or diamonds or pearls. He had no treasure as the world knows it and chases after it, but Paul had a treasure that motivated him far beyond any of these. What could possess him that he could overcome prison...

2 Corinthians 3-Let’s Make a New Deal

We are all familiar with the long running TV show “Let’s Make a Deal”. The host gives you a good deal that has good value, but later offers you a NEW DEAL. You can choose to make a new deal behind a curtain. Some people like the Old Deal so they keep it, even though they are told there is a better deal behind one of the curtains. Since there seems to be a risk involved (a sense of loss), they are tempted to stay with the Old Deal because they would have to give up the Old Deal to get the NEW DEAL. What is so tempting about the Old Deal? They have it, they can see it, feel it, and own it. In the Bible, God gave Israel the Old Deal, which we call the Old Testament or Old Covenant. Testaments or covenants are contracts or deals. The Old Deal was basically that God gave His perfect holy moral standard to them to keep. If they kept it, they would be blessed in every way and be God’s special mediators to the world. The problem with the Old Deal was that we are all flawed people and unable to keep God’s perfect holy standard. The old deal God made with them was conditional on obedience, and the penalty for breaking the covenant was death.

In the history of the nation of Israel, God’s Law was neglected, forgotten, and forsaken, therefore God sent prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah with a bad news—good news message. The bad news was that if they didn’t repent, God would send nations with big armies to destroy their cities and carry the people into captivity. The good news was that in the future God would send the Messiah with a NEW DEAL. In Jeremiah 31:31-34, God promised to make a New Covenant with His people that would be much better than the Old Covenant of Law. The New Deal would supplant the Old Deal. In the New Deal God would change their hearts and enable them to keep the Law. In Ezekiel 36:26, God said that in the New Deal He would “give you a new heart and put My Spirit within you and enable you to walk in my statutes”. The New Testament authors tell us that this New Deal is a spiritual birth, and God provides His Spirit to change us from the inside out, thus giving us a new heart for God’s holy standard. What we couldn’t do for ourselves, God has done for us. At the same time, the adversary of God is offering not only Israel, but the whole world something akin to the Old Deal, which is “do it yourself religion” based on self will and self reliance. In Judaism they are to keep the traditions related to the Mosaic Law. In Islam they have to keep the Five Pillars of Faith formula, and in Buddhism they believe in keeping the Eight Fold Path. Whatever the worldly religion is, it depends on the human being’s self-reliance to keep it. The adversary of God appeals to our pride and independence in believing we can actually live up to the holy righteous standard of God by our own efforts. We must choose the New Curtain that God is offering because behind it is the atoning work of Christ and the life changing ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Jesus all reveal to us that there are five major problems of the Old Covenant deal: 1. The laws are written on external tablets or paper when it needs to be an internal heartfelt desire to obey, 2. The Old Covenant needed teachers to teach the letter of the law, when it is the spirit of the law we need, 3. The Old Deal requires human priests or mediators, but being human they were selfish and exploited people. 4. The Old Covenant failed to remove sin, as it was designed to only cover it temporarily. Man’s need for forgiveness was incomplete. 5. The Old Covenant was conditional and had strings attached and they couldn’t keep it so they received the consequences for disobedience. We can read Jeremiah 31:31-34 and see that the New Covenant solved all of these weaknesses. The author of Hebrews put it well, “Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant with better promises” (Heb.8:6),

2 Corinthians 1: The God of all Comfort

Second Corinthians is a personal letter to an audience that the Apostle Paul knew very well. Paul had planted the first church in Corinth about five years earlier while he lived there for 18 months. Paul was originally Saul of Tarsus, a Jew who was so well educated in Judaism in Jerusalem that he had become a Pharisee, the highest religious office someone from the tribe of Benjamin could attain. In Jerusalem Paul had persecuted Christians and led the charge to arrest all of them. While on a mission to arrest Christians, he encountered the glorified Christ on the road to Damascus. Jesus personally called and commissioned him to be Christ’s ambassador to the Gentiles. Therefore, after much input from the Lord and ministry experience in Tarsus and Antioch, Paul was sent out on three missionary journeys to Asia Minor (modern day Turkey), Macedonia, and Greece. On Paul’s second journey through Asia he crossed over the Aegean Sea to Macedonia where he planted the first church in Philippi. Then Paul planted a church in Thessalonica but he was persecuted and threatened so leaving disciples there to carry on, he moved on to Berea where he planted another wonderful church. But a disturbance arose there also and he fled to Athens in about 52 AD. Alone now, Paul went to the Areopagus at Mars Hill where all the intellectuals and philosophers gathered to debate. After a spirited presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, a few Athenians were converted but most of them scoffed at him. Then in the Spring of 52 AD, Paul journeyed on down to the important port city of Corinth—think San Francisco or New Orleans, a wild and woolly place with a reputation for prostitution, debauchery, and perversion. It was a center for the Roman slave trade. Corinth was so immoral that its name became slang for sexual vice—to Corinthianize meant to corrupt and a Corinthian girl was a prostitute. Into this dark depraved city Paul came alone in “much fear and trembling” according to 1 Cor. 2. Paul had been arrested and beaten in Philippi, harassed and chased out of Thessalonica, threatened in Berea, laughed out of Athens, and now he was broke in Corinth. He got a job making tents there and went to the local synagogue every Sabbath to present Jesus as the promised Messiah. In spite of all his adversity, the Lord used him to lead many to Christ, so many that there arose a movement within the Jews to stop him. Paul shook off their rejection and said, “From now on I will go to the Gentiles in Corinth”. Paul stayed in Corinth for 18 months and hundreds of people believed in Christ during that time and formed a large church in Corinth. All the while he was leading people to Christ, he was also being persecuted, threatened, and even arrested, but God was blessing him in the midst of all the trouble.

Paul returned to his home church in Antioch, and then began his third missionary journey. All the while Paul’s disciples were sending him messages about the progress and state of affairs in the churches. The report he got from Corinth was not good. They were still involved in many of their previous immoral activities and there were serious divisions within the church there. While in Ephesus, Paul wrote a letter of admonishment to Corinth we still have a copy of in our Bible called First Corinthians, and fortunately the congregation responded favorably. But later while Paul was traveling to Macedonia, he received troubling news that false teachers were undermining him and altering the true Gospel in Corinth. Therefore Paul sent Titus ahead to check out the situation. Meanwhile Paul was delayed by great affliction in both Asia and Macedonia so severe he said “we were burdened excessively beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life, indeed we had the sentence of death”. Fortunately Paul made it to Macedonia where Titus returned to him with good news that most of the Corinthians had repented and reaffirmed th...

Corinth—Known for Immorality

Corinth was a major city in Greece in the first century that was known for its moral corruption. There was actually a word coined in Greek which translated was “to behave like a Corinthian” which meant immorality and drunken debauchery. In 1 Cor. 6:9-10, Paul listed the typical lifestyle in Corinth—pornography, idolatry, homosexuality, stealing, drunkenness, swindling, and sexual sin of every kind. The problem with the young church there in 55 AD was that they had not moved past this lifestyle. They were even involved in sins that “even pagan Gentiles didn’t commit” like incest (5:1).

Corinth was Paul’s last “church planting” stop on his second missionary journey recorded in Acts 16-18. He came into the city about 51 AD “in fear and trembling” because he had been persecuted in Philippi, Berea, and Thessalonica, and now he was alone entering the wildest city in the kingdom. He met Aquila and Priscilla, fellow Jewish believers from Rome who were also tentmakers like Paul. He made a living while in Corinth making tents. He preached every Sabbath in the Synagogue there reasoning with the Jews that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Many Jews believed in Jesus including Crispus the leader of the Synagogue (Acts 18:8) which caused “many of the Corinthians” to believe in Jesus. This provoked the Jews who rejected him to rise up against Paul and drag him off to the proconsul of Achaia, and accuse him of “persuading men to worship God contrary” to their religion. The proconsul was irritated at such charges and drove them away. The Greeks who there hearing this nonsense before the proconsul, grabbed the leader of the accusers, and beat the snot out of him. The amazing thing about this event is that the accuser who got beat up was named Sosthenes. Luke, the author of Acts usually named such minor characters only if they were still around and had a role in the church. Amazingly enough, Sosthenes was later converted to Christ and was accompanying Paul on his 3rd missionary journey in Ephesus when Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians. Paul mentioned him in 1 Cor.1:1 as a co-contributor to the letter. Apparently that beating was the best thing that ever happened to Sosthenes.

Paul ministered successfully in Corinth for 18 months before he returned to Antioch, Syria. An important Christian evangelist named Apollos went to Corinth after Paul left and had a very successful ministry there also. Later, on Paul’s third missionary journey, Paul stopped at the main city in Asia Minor, Ephesus for a stay of 2-3 years. While he was there, Paul received word from one of the Christians in Corinth that some severe problems had developed in the church there. Divisions in the church threatened to break it up, and even worse, immoral behavior was the norm. Not long after that, a delegation from the church at Corinth brought a letter to Paul with numerous questions about important issues like marriage and divorce, idolatry, Christian liberty, women’s rights, the Lord’s Supper, the use of spiritual gifts, and the resurrection. Therefore Paul wrote The First Letter to the Corinthians in response to all these issues.

Can of Worms in Corinth

Imagine a church full of clicks, wracked by divisions. One group follows one minister, while another group will only listen to a certain teacher, and in all there are at least four major divisions within the church. None of the members are distinguishable from the world around them. In a world that is punishing Christians, there is no evidence to convict them. One guy is sleeping openly with his stepmother. Many Christians are suing each other, and most visit with prostitutes. Debates rage about women’s role in the church. People are babbling in unknown tongues that no one understands, and it is disruptive. All are arrogant and prideful. They desire only the prestigious spiritual gifts, and no one wants to serve.

Jesus in Isaiah 53

Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12, is often called “The Servant’s Song”. This song or poem is unique because most of the verb tenses are in the future, but some of it lies in the present. Therefore it has a timeless quality of it as if this servant will affect everyone whether they live in Isaiah’s time around 700 BC or in the future. It presents the future servant as a certainty as if he is already history. There is a timelessness about the work of the servant. To God, his work is already done, but certain factors were still to be accomplished. Some theologians refer to this as “the already but not yet” promises of the Messiah.

Isaiah 52:13-15 is actually the prologue of Isaiah 53. These three verses contain in short form what is taught in length in ch.53. God’s servant will be greatly exalted after being deeply humiliated. God graded the work of His servant with three verbs in 52:13, “be high, and lifted up, and greatly exalted.” Nevertheless, men will misunderstand who this servant is. They will be startled and surprised at his disfigured appearance (after the scourging at the crucifixion), so his exaltation will be a greater surprise.

Isaiah 53

In verses 1-3, the servant will be totally misunderstood. Who could believe that a king could be so humble? How could a great man look so ordinary, hang out with sinners, and be willing to die for sinners? In these verses we have a picture of Jesus from the cradle to the grave. He lived a life of humility and suffering, and in the end he was despised, shunned, and rejected.

Verses 4-6 give us a sharp contrast to v.1-3. In v.4-6, we are told from God’s perspective, “But in fact” he was a willing substitute for the guilty. Nothing was wrong with him, but all was wrong with us. He appeared to be smitten by God, but nothing could have been further from the truth—it was our transgressions he died for, not his own. The question is why did the servant do this for us, or why did we need him to do it? Here in v.6 we read an often used biblical image of sheep to represent humanity. It must be an analogy that fits since it is the most common metaphor for human beings in the Bible (about 44 times). Here’s a tip, this is not a compliment. Sheep are among the dumbest, and most defenseless animals on earth. They are too slow to run away, and too dumb to hide, so God is not trying to increase our self esteem here. He is saying that sheep need a Shepherd, and are defenseless without one. If, as v.6 depicts us, we wander off like dumb sheep thinking we are self reliant, we will be food for wolves. Yet, that is what the human race has done in verse 6, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.”

Let’s face it, when someone tells us what to do, we swell up, and our desire is to assert ourselves. But here is a valid question, “Can you find your own way to heaven? Do you know where God is? Can you keep yourself from dying? Are you perfectly safe, secure, and free of guilt? You should answer all those questions with a “NO”, because we can never have a Shepherd until we admit that we are sheep that need a Shepherd to show us the way.

In Isa.53:7-9, the servant (Christ) is totally innocent, but totally submissive to his affliction on our behalf. He did not defend himself, but like a sheep led to the slaughter, he did not open his mouth. Tried by an unjust court, he would be “cut off from the land of the living”. The purpose statement for willingly suffering death for others is that he took the punishment that others deserved so that they could be saved. In verse 9 we have another strange event that was fulfilled by Jesus. Even though he died the death of a loathsome criminal, he was given an honorable burial in the tomb of a rich man (Matt.27:57-60).

In verse 10, we find out that it was God who was at work all along, and “the Lord was pleased to crush him, putting him to grief.

Isaiah 40: Comfort My People

In Isaiah 39:6-7, the prophet Isaiah told King Hezekiah of Jerusalem that in the future, Babylon would attack Jerusalem, destroy the city, and carry the survivors off to Babylon as captives. All the nobles of Jerusalem would become servants to the king of Babylon. Isaiah predicted this about 700 BC, and it actually happened between 605 and 586 BC. In this context, the rest of Isaiah, chapters 40-66, is futuristic and pertains to the redemption and restoration of the people of Judah. The time period of the Jews being captives in Babylon ended in 536-539 BC when the Persians under King Cyrus defeated the Babylonians and allowed the Jews to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild. Over a hundred years in advance, Isaiah wrote chapter 40 to the Jews who would be in captivity in Babylon from 605 until 536BC. Isaiah’s purpose was to encourage the Jews in captivity with God’s promise to redeem them and restore them to the land. Be comforted by the message that God is with you and still has a wonderful plan for your life. In the same way, all God’s people today can be comforted with this message that in spite of appearances, God is not absent and God cares about your situation. Therefore, be comforted by the promise that God has a plan for your future blessing. You may be going through some really hard times, but God has a wonderful plan for your life.

The God of all Comfort, Isa. 40:1-2

In Isa. 40:1-2, we read Isaiah’s message to a futuristic Israel living in captivity. They will have to go through tough times of trial and violence against them, but should take comfort that God is disciplining them according to what they deserve, yet God will forgive them and restore them. About 100 years later, the prophet Jeremiah wrote similar reassuring words to Jerusalem in Jer. 29:10-14 and 31:10-14, “I will bring you back to this place (Jerusalem). For I know the plans that I have for you…plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope” and “He who scattered Israel will gather him and keep him like a shepherd keeps his flock, for The Lord has redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he…for I will turn their mourning into joy and will comfort them and give them joy for their sorrow”.

Paul gave a similar message of comfort to the church in 2 Corinthians 1:3-11. Paul had been beaten and thrown in jail, and was explaining to the church why he had been delayed, yet he expressed rejoicing about his circumstances saying, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction.” What comfort is there in being beaten and thrown in jail? How can he say “God of all comfort”? Don’t we find comfort in friends and family, or even alcohol or tranquilizers? The comfort from God is that we know what the future holds—God’s plan to bless us eternally. Any worldly comforts are temporary and fleeting, but the comfort God offers is eternal and permanent.

A Prophetic Voice to Clear the Way–Isaiah 40:3-5

In 700 BC when Isaiah wrote this, the roads were rough and obstructed, so when monarchs or dignitaries were coming, a city would go out and clear and level the road so they would be prepared for the arrival of the VIP. Isaiah used that image to tell the people to get ready for the coming of the Lord. The New Testament makes it clear that this was fulfilled by John the Baptist preparing the people for the Messiah Jesus. We read the fulfillment in all four Gospels which quote Isa.40:3. John the Baptist was the prophetic voice that prepared the way of the Lord. In Mark 1:2-8, John called the people to confess their sin, and repent and be forgiven in order to prepare the way for a greater baptism of the Holy Spirit. The baptism that Jesus gave them through His Spirit would save their souls and change their lives.

Isaiah 36-37: The Prayer of Hezekiah

The year was about 701 BC, and the dominant empire in the Middle East was Assyria. The King of Judah and Jerusalem was Hezekiah and God’s prophet in Jerusalem was Isaiah. 2 Kings 18 gives us the historical account from the Jewish perspective. Judah was a tiny nation caught between the two powerful forces of Assyria and Egypt. The northern kingdoms of Israel and Syria had already fallen to Assyria, but Hezekiah had avoided war by paying massive tribute of gold and silver, but in 701 BC, he rebelled. King Sennacherib of Assyria led a massive force into Judah, defeated the Egyptians and took all the cities in the Middle East, except one—Jerusalem. Finally the Assyrian army laid siege to Jerusalem, but Isaiah assured Hezekiah that the Assyrian army would not take Jerusalem. In 2 Chronicles 32:7, we read his encouraging words to his people, “Be strong and courageous, do not fear the king of Assyria, nor shall you fear the multitude which is with him, for the one with us is greater than the one with him.”

Intimidation–the Letter from the King of Assyria

The problems of life are cleverly disguised as overwhelming and unsolvable. The King of Assyria sent an intimidating letter to be broadcast to the people of Jerusalem. Not only was the Assyrian army huge, but they had destroyed every other nation and city they had attacked. So far their record was about 200 to nothing, so why would Jerusalem be any different? Scared, Hezekiah sent a delegation to the prophet Isaiah to inquire of The Lord. Then Hezekiah went into the Temple and laid out the ruthless letter of Assyria before The Lord. From a humanistic viewpoint the argument of the letter was irrefutable–your ally Egypt will be no help, your religion won’t help you any more than the religions of all the other cities, even if we spotted you 2000 horses you couldn’t field the men to ride them, the more powerful Assyrian god sent them and he is on our side, and odds makers put us a thousand to one favorite. The messenger of Assyria yelled an enticing but deceitful offer to the people, “surrender and come out and I will take you to a new and better land and give it to you”.

The Boasting of the King of Assyria vs. the Humility of Hezekiah

I’m sure the Assyrian ambassador sounded like the pro wrestlers on TV talking about how great they are and all the horrible things they plan to do to their opponents. This begs the question–why does the human race revel in such boasting? Why do people love to listen to the pro wrestlers? Why is Joe Namath famous because he guaranteed a Super Bowl win? Why is Jimmy Johnson famous for guaranteeing the win over San Francisco in the NFL Championship game? My theory is that we secretly wish we could get away with such blatant self promotion. We fantasize our own selfish vain glory, and we would love to be able to actually do what our pride fantasizes we could do. Meanwhile the King of Judah was prostrate within the Temple. Isaiah 37:1 tells us that King Hezekiah tore his clothes off and put on sackcloth (a burlap bag), which were signs of grief and humility, and then he entered the house of The Lord to pray. To us, this is a sign that they had come to an end of themselves, they were broken, and were placing themselves totally in the hands of God. The answer came through Isaiah from God that they should not worry, but He would send the bad guys back to Assyria where King Sennacherib would be murdered by his own. The nature of the day within Jerusalem was disclosed in Isaiah 37:3, “a day of distress, rebuke, and rejection”, but Assyria sent yet another boastful message to Jerusalem in Isa. 37:10-13. My paraphrase of that letter is “Don’t listen to your prophet from God, we kicked everyone else’s behind and we will kick yours too. Their gods couldn’t help them and yours won’t help yo...

Isaiah 14: Shake Hands with the Devil

About 730 BC the king of Judah and Jerusalem was Ahaz, and 2 Kings 16 tells us he was truly evil and was involved in leading the people into idolatry. He was so bad that he even sacrificed his first born son to the idols. The two kings of Israel and Syria were bringing armies against Jerusalem to take the city and depose Ahaz. Patiently, God sent His spokesperson Isaiah to warn King Ahaz, and to assure him that God would not allow those two kings to take Jerusalem. Therefore Ahaz should repent of his evil and trust in The Lord, but Ahaz stubbornly said no. The reason Ahaz said no is basically the same reason that Adam and Eve said no to God, and the same reason Cain said no when he killed Abel. Instead of submission to authority they want to be the authority. Ahaz wanted fame and fortune and power, but it was elusive. He had to finagle, deceive, compromise–anything to achieve his ends. Therefore he made a behind the scenes shrewd alliance with the greatest warrior nation of that time–Assyria. He shook hands with the devil and it came back to bite him. After Assyria knocked off Syria and Israel and Egypt, they headed for Jerusalem. Ahaz had to pay huge tribute (extortion money) to Assyria to keep them at bay–so much that Ahaz had to loot all the gold and silver out of the Temple of God in Jerusalem. Assyria used and abused Ahaz, and made him worship their pagan idols–even to the point of sacrificing his child in the fire.

Isaiah 13-23

In Isaiah chapters 13-23, the prophet makes it clear how insane it is to make these compromises and shake hands with the devil. Isaiah’s question that he asks and then answers with predictions is, “Why make unlawful foolish alliances with evil corrupt nations when God is going to judge and destroy each and every one of these nations like Assyria, Egypt, and Babylon?” Why not trust God instead? Here’s a radical idea–Why not do what is right and trust God to bless you for it? In order to prove how foolish it is to trust all the evil pagan nations, Isaiah meticulously went through the future fate of each of the surrounding nine nations making it clear that they were all in the hands of our all powerful sovereign God. Historically, all these nations went down just like Isaiah predicted. Maybe you are thinking–what’s that got to do with me? Jesus said in Matthew 12:30, “Whoever is not with me is against me”. Most think they are just living their own lives like a neutral party, but if you are not with God, you are unknowingly with the adversary of God. From time to time all of us are like Peter in Matt.16:23 when he told Jesus he would not allow Him to be crucified. Jesus said “Get behind me Satan”, meaning that at that point in time Peter was selfishly opposed to Gods interests and therefore in league with Satan.

In Isaiah 13-14, the prophet discussed the great issue of pride and self seeking that plagues humanity. As examples, Isaiah discussed the pride and ambition of the ruthless kings of Assyria and Babylon. Isaiah predicted that although God would use these nations to discipline Israel and Judah, eventually God would wipe out Assyria and Babylon. Historically this was fulfilled for Assyria being destroyed in 605BC and Babylon destroyed by Persia in 539 BC. Both were wiped out and never rebuilt. What was their problem? What led them to be so ruthless and ambitious, and why did they fall? Isaiah wrote a poem about it in Isaiah 14. In Isaiah 14:12-15 we will see that the King of Babylon was the personification of Satan, and we will see the angelic rebellion against God led by the adversary of God. The point being that all people who rebel against God are just following the lead of the original rebel, and by rejecting the one true God they align themselves with Lucifer. What was Lucifer’s original sin and what caused him to fall?

Isaiah 7—God’s Sign to Judah, the Virgin Birth

In 730 BC, the nation of Assyria was the most powerful nation in the Near East. Operating from their capital of Nineveh in Mesopotamia they spread their domination in all directions. One of their ambitions was Egypt, but between them and Egypt lay smaller nations like Syria, Israel, and Judah. The kings of these nations spent much of their time and wealth dealing with the Assyrian threat. By 730 much of the northern land of Israel had been taken by Assyria. Israel and Syria joined in a coalition to oppose Assyria. Ahaz, the king of Judah, weighed his options of joining the coalition or being attacked by Syria and Israel. Ahaz foolishly chose to ask Assyria for help. This was like three mice having a fight and one of them asks the cat for help. One important choice never occurred to Ahaz, to trust and obey the Lord God. Therefore, God sent His representative, Isaiah, to warn him and prophesy the future plan of God. The Lord loves His people and desires to help, but rebellious idolaters like Ahaz refuse to humble themselves and repent. Therefore Isaiah told him and all of Judah that God would give them a sign of both impending doom, but ultimate hope. The sign was that only through a virgin who would be with child could help come to Judah and Jerusalem. His point was that only through supernatural intervention could all the promises of God to bless them come true. The New Testament confirms that the virgin birth of Christ is the fulfillment of that supernatural intervention.

Historical Setting

We can refer to the book of 2 Kings 16:1-19 and 2 Chronicles 28:1-25 to get a feel for what was going on in the days of King Ahaz in Jerusalem. Remember that after Solomon, Israel broke into two nations—Israel in the north with Samaria as the capital, and Judah in the south with Jerusalem as the capital. King Ahaz was an idol worshipping corrupt and evil king who “did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord”. How bad was he? He was so bad that he even sacrificed his first born son according to the abominations of the evil nations. The Kings of Syria (Aram) and Israel brought their armies to Judah to attack Jerusalem. Isaiah 7:2 tells us that all Jerusalem shook with fear at this threat. God’s spokesperson Isaiah told them not to fear, but to trust the Lord to save Jerusalem, but instead King Ahaz sent messengers to the king of Assyria asking for help (2 Kings 16:7). Ahaz even went so far as to loot the Temple of God in order to send large quantities of silver and gold trying to buy Assyria’s help.

Isaiah’s Confrontation with King Ahaz

In Isaiah 7:4, we read that God sent Isaiah to King Ahaz to deliver a message—“have no fear”, instead trust God when He says, “It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass” (referring to the feared invasion). Isaiah even went so far as to assure them that within 65 years Israel (Ephraim) and Syria would be shattered and no longer even be. This prophecy was fulfilled when Assyria took Damascus and Samaria, and then Assyria resettled both Syria and Israel with foreigners. Then in Isaiah 7:10-25, the Lord sent Isaiah out to confront King Ahaz again with another appeal to repent. Since Ahaz was so stubborn, Isaiah told him to ask God for a sign, but Ahaz refused, using as an excuse a misuse of Scripture. Ahaz said he would not ask or “test the Lord”. This was a referral to Israel in the wilderness after the Exodus in Deuteronomy 6:16. Israel rebelled in Exodus 17:7, and threatened God saying, “If you don’t give us better food and water, we are going back to Egypt”. This ridiculous threat tested God’s patience, but clearly had nothing to do with God’s offer to King Ahaz. God was offering visual confirmation that Isaiah spoke the truth, but Ahaz wanted none of it.

Isaiah was clearly frustrated at the King’s response, so Isaiah gave him a sign anyway. It was a sign to all of Judah that should have blown their minds,

Isaiah 6: Anthropology

Anthropology is a big word with a lot of definitions and very differing views. Is it important? Your anthropology determines your view of God, it determines your view of religion, sin, salvation, and many other things. Most picture it from a secular worldly view, so a Biblical view of anthropology is in the minority. Anthropology is the study of the nature of man.

Because of the events in Isaiah 6, Isaiah’s view of God changed radically because his view of the nature of man changed radically. Before, he viewed himself as a good person, religious, who did good deeds, led a good life, he was focused on his goals, and he felt deserving of God’s favor. Afterward, he was humble, sober, felt undeserving, desperate, had no self-reliance, and no self-dependence. It is natural to man to feel pride in who I am and what I have done; so Isaiah had to unlearn that before he could truly serve God. Isaiah learned to have pride in who God is, and what God has done.

Words and Phrases

Every culture develops words and phrases unique to it that are very revealing of the nature of the people in it. In the last 10-15 years in sports, phrases like “corking the bat”, and “taking the juice” have real meaning to us. In business it’s “cooking the books” and “after hours trading”. Many Americans have great pride in being a “self made man”. I always want to add, “How nice of you to relieve God of the blame.” When you say I am a self made man it means you started with nothing and now you are great and/or have a lot of stuff. What it really means is that you are smarter, more talented, and more ambitious. It escapes your notice—your anthropology, that God created you. God gave you those brain cells, that talent, and the good health to use them.

A Whole New Ball Game

After Isaiah’s experience in ch.6, he had a whole new anthropology, meaning a whole new view of himself, his nature, his value, and accomplishments. He got a close-up view of God’s glory, holiness, and righteousness. He saw true righteousness and it wasn’t him. As Jesus said, “Only God is good” (Mark 10:18), or as Paul said “I have no righteousness of my own, the righteousness I have is the imputed righteousness of Christ” (Phil.3:9).

You may say, “How pessimistic and depressing”—NO, what we see is that Isaiah is now free to serve God as never before. Pride, ego, self-righteousness had him bound up, held him prisoner, but now he was free. Popularity, success, or fear of rejection was no longer an issue. It was no longer about him, now it was all about God.

The Text of Isaiah 6

Isaiah lived and ministered in Jerusalem between 740-680 B.C. In 740 good King Uzziah died, and then his son Jotham took over. Jotham died, and he was succeeded by Ahaz in 731. King Ahaz was evil, and according to 2 Kings16, Ahaz was an idol worshiper who even sacrificed his own baby son in the fire. Isaiah was born into a wealthy family of royal blood in Jerusalem, but when Uzziah died something incredible happened that forever changed Isaiah’s life. God gave Isaiah a heavenly vision. The glory of it was frightening, and the holiness of it was humbling. He saw God’s glory, the highest order of angels, and he heard the heavenly host praising and glorifying God. All of his senses were involved—the sights, sounds, smell of smoke, and he felt the trembling foundations at the voice of God; but the main thing that moved Isaiah, and provoked his response was the holiness of God. It humbled him, and it convicted him of his own unworthiness.

The Before and After

Isaiah had been self assured, he had felt good about himself, he was exalted by his peers, looked up to by men; but now he was fully aware of being unclean, unworthy, and just a sinner—hopelessly so. Just as many great men, before and after Isaiah, when confronted with the true holiness of God, he was humbled. Take Job for instance,