Emmanuel Baptist Church of Nipawin Sermons

Passage: Isaiah 13:1-14:27 | Message By: Chris Hutchison | Series: Lord of the NationsIntroduction to This Series

Here we are, the Sunday after the federal election. An election that, more than any in recent history and perhaps Canadian history, was shaped by international concerns.

Four months ago, nobody would have predicted the result of Monday night because four months ago, nobody would have predicted the kinds of things the President of the United States would start saying and how both the Canadian public and Canadian politicians would respond to those statements.

And here we are, in the aftermath of an election that will no doubt prove to be consequential, and might be particularly so for the people of God in this nation. As Canadian Christians, in addition to caring about many of the same issues that the rest of our nation cares about, we especially care about religious freedom and the moral fabric of our nation and whether religious charities get tax exemptions, all matters that could very well be shaped in the next few years by the decisions Canadians made on Monday night, decisions that were shaped largely by international concerns.

And none of this is new. Relationships between other nations have always been a major factor for the people of God. From Abraham to Moses to David to Nehemiah, so much of the history of God's people was forged in relation to the nations that surrounded them.

And the clear message time and time again that God had to send to His people is that though He was their God, He was not merely their God. The God of Israel was the God of more than just Israel. All the earth was His, and Israel was His treasured possession among all peoples (Exodus 19:5–6).

And we know how often Israel forgot this, which is why the Lord needed to remind them again and again through the prophets of what was true.

It was three years ago that we spent time in Isaiah 1-12, where the theme was God's grace triumphing over the rebellion of his people. And Isaiah told how that would happen through the arrival of an anointed king who would rule over the nations, whose government would increase unendingly, and under whose reign the world would be made new (Isaiah 9:7, 11:6). “In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious” (Isaiah 11:10).

One day, Israel's king will be the world's king. But in the meantime, God told His people how He was sovereignly directing the history of the nations for the good of His people. We got a sneak peek of this back in Isaiah 10 with God's judgement on Assyria. But now, in this next section of Isaiah, this theme moves front-and-centre. Israel and Judah are definitely in the picture, but the main focus becomes how God is going to deal with the nations of the earth, both in the immediate future and then into the distant future.

And just like with Israel, we see both judgement and salvation. In fact, that's one of the most wonderful pictures of the future we get in these chapters—the nations gathered in, worshipping Him and enjoying His grace right alongside of Israel.

And that's a time that we're already living in. Most of us are among those Gentiles who have been welcomed into the people of God, living in a time when David's son is ruling from His heavenly throne and God is directing the nations for the good of His people. Even so, there are many promises we still await fulfillment of, and we need to be reminded, as much as Isaiah's first readers, that our God is the Lord of the nations.

Introduction to This Passage

So, that's a general introduction to this series in Isaiah which will take us through the rest of the spring and summer. Now, let's take a specific look at today's passage, which, as we can see from verse 1, is an oracle—or a prophetic announcement—concerning Babylon.

We might not be all that surprised to see Babylon head up the list of Isaiah's pronouncements on the nations. Babylon is the big bad guy in the story of the Bible, right? Of course Isaiah would start with Babylon.

Well, not so fast. Babylon was not actually the big, bad empire in the world at this point. Assyria was. It was during Isaiah's ministry that the northern kingdom of Israel would fall to Assyria, and the Assyrians would invade Judah and threaten Jerusalem.

Babylon was still just another nation in the world at that point, and a nation that was actually on friendly terms with Judah. In Isaiah 39 we read about envoys from Babylon coming and getting friendly with the king of Judah, who showed them around Jerusalem to show off all of his wealth. He didn't see them as a threat at all.

But God shows Isaiah what's coming. Babylon will rise. Babylon will be the next great world power that destroys Assyria. Babylon will be the nation that finally brings judgement down on Jerusalem, 150 years or so after Isaiah's ministry.

So it's quite significant that Isaiah starts his oracles of judgement against the nations with Babylon. Long before they even become an empire, the Lord is declaring how that empire will fall. Just like God will later say in chapter 48, He declares the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things not yet done (Isaiah 46:10).

And that's what He's doing here. But there's another reason for starting with Babylon. Babylon is not just a place, a city, an empire: ever since the Tower of Babel, Babylon is a symbol of humanity's long opposition against God. You might remember that in Hebrew, "Babel" and "Babylon" are the exact same word. There's no difference. The Babylonian empire is just a remix of Genesis 11 and the tower that tried to reach to the heavens.

And that's why, right to the end of the Bible, Babylon is a symbol of the sin and wickedness of people who refuse to submit to God's rule but instead try to climb up into heaven in order to take His place. We can't forget that in our passage today. When God pronounces judgement on Babylon, He's not just talking about the historical city at the centre of the empire. He's also pronouncing judgement on everything that Babylon stood for, everywhere that shows up in all of history.

Babylon's Crimes

So what did Babylon stand for? That's actually where we want to start today. What were the crimes that brought God's judgement down upon Babylon?

To answer that question, we can first look at verse 11 where we see general phrases: evil and iniquity. But that evil and iniquity are further described in that verse as "the pomp of the arrogant" and "the pompous pride of the ruthless."

Pride features large here. Pride in lifting oneself up above other people, being inflated with a sense of self-importance. And the word "ruthless" is connected to tyranny. Babylon was actively proud, forcing their will on other people, using all of their military might to make people submit to them or be crushed.

This violent arrogance is described further down in chapter 14, starting halfway through verse 4:"How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury ceased! The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of rulers, that struck the peoples in wrath with unceasing blows, that ruled the nations in anger with unrelenting persecution.”

Those words are talking about Babylon, which beat the nations into submission with anger and violence. And the root of this brutal violence comes back to pride. Consider how Babylon’s pride is described in sarcastic, mocking language in chapter 14 verse 12.

“‘How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!’ You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’” (Isaiah 14:12-14).

There was an old Canaanite myth about the Morning Star, the early riser up before the sun, who tried to climb up to the far north where the gods met and steal the show for themselves. But the plan failed, and the Morning Star was instead cast down to the lowest places on earth.

Throughout history some interpreters of the Bible have taken these words to be talking about the fall of Satan, and it's from the word "Morning Star" that we get the name "Lucifer." Jesus may be referring to this versewhen he tells his disciples that He saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven (Luke 10:18). But in context, this is talking about the king of Babylon, whose pride literally was sky-high.

And this especially makes sense when we remember the background of the Tower of Babel, where the early residents of later Babylon did gather to try to rise above everybody else and make a name for themselves by getting up to where God lives by their own power.

The king of Babylon repeated both of these stories—the fable and the history—as he marched across the earth, conquering nations, beating them into submission, and lifting himself high over everyone else.

And ultimately it's a much older story that he was repeating. The fundamental sin of humanity, going back to the garden of Eden, is our desire to be like God (Gen 3:4-6). It was that desire to be like God that led Eve to bite the fruit, it's what led the Babel-builders to put their tower together, and and we've all been doing it again and again ever since.

And this wicked, age-old arrogance is at the heart of Babylon's guilt and Babylon's crimes.

God's Judgement

And it's this sin that brings upon Babylon the judgement of God, which is what the majority of this oracle describes.

God judges Babylon by giving them a taste of their own medicine—letting them be conquered even as they conquered.

It begins with a signal banner being raised on a bare hill in 13:2.

What can we learn from a chapter like this?

Why did Jesus choose the cross as the way to die?

History is not just a series of short stories that each end in death. Christ's resurrection guarantees Isaac's resurrection—and your resurrection.

Jacob's follow-through only meant something because there was a faithful and gracious God waiting to bless Him at Bethel.

Passage: Genesis 34:1-31 | Message By: Austin Dyck | Series: Blood Brothers1. Recap 

Today we come to Genesis 34, where a lot happens that seems out of the blue after the happy events we saw in the last chapter.

In chapter 33, after returning from 20 years in Paddan-aram, Jacob reunites with his brother in an unexpected reconciliation. Instead of wanting to kill him, which had been the whole reason Jacob ran away in the first place, Esau wants Jacob to come and live with him.

But Jacob can’t do that. And one of the reasons is because God told him to go back to the land of Canaan—the land of his people, the land God promised him. The land God promised to bring him back to.

But God’s promise to bring Jacob back to the land isn’t the only promise on the table. There’s also a promise that Jacob made to God. On His way out of the land, after God met him and promised to bring him back to the land, this happened:

“Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you’” (Genesis 28:20–22).

If God keeps His word—which is almost a dare, given that God promised to do this—then God will be Jacob’s God, and Jacob will set up that stone to be God’s house.

Perhaps he means to make a temple for God there, or even just build an altar. The point is, He’s promised to come back to this place when God brings him back to the land in peace.

And look what God has done. He’s brought him back to the land—and He’s done it in peace. He’s given him peace with Laban, peace with Esau.

So what should Jacob be doing next? I mean, he knows how kind God has been to him. Before he met Esau, he said, “I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps” (Genesis 32:10).

He should be heading straight for Bethel. But instead, he seems to be dragging his feet. We saw last week that after Esau leaves him, he settles for a time in Succoth, on the far side of the Jordan, not even in the land of Canaan officially, and he stays there long enough to build a home and booths for his animals. He was in no rush.

And then we were told he came peacefully to Shechem, in the land of Canaan (33:18). A step closer. He buys some land and builds an altar, which is good, but he still hasn’t come all the way back to Bethel.

It seems like he’s on his way there. But he’s taking his time. God has kept His promises to Him, but He’s not showing any urgency to keep his promise to God.

And it’s here, on the outskirts of Shechem, almost-but-not-quite where he should be, that a terrible thing happens to his daughter.

2. Conflict

•           Dinah & Shechem 

“Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land.” (34:1)

Besides their births and meanings of their names, none of Jacob’s children have been mentioned to this point. Now, we’re reintroduced to Dinah as the daughter of Leah. We’ve already seen that Jacob didn’t care much for Leah and didn’t care as much about the children that Leah had borne to him.

In this time in history, for a young woman to go out alone was dangerous. Remember how Boaz told Ruth to stay close to his servants so that nothing bad would happen to her? So why is Dinah, with a dad and twelve brothers, going out by herself? Does this suggest some neglect from her family?

Whatever the case may be, we do know that she is seen by Shechem, who we read to be the son of Hamor the Hivite, and prince of the land (34:2). In verse 2, we read that when Shechem (who was a young man—34:19) saw Dinah (who was a young woman—34:3) – “ he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her.” (34:2)

Shechem saw Dinah, and he took her, and he forced himself on her, and it’s probably accurate to view this as an act of rape. His behavior follows the same pattern as Eve in the garden, who saw that the fruit was good, and took it and ate of it. Lust follows the same patterns.

But here, it’s another person involved. And what Shechem does is awful.

There is no excuse for what Shechem did, and nothing Dinah did made her deserve or cause this to happen. She is a victim here of a violent, lustful aggressor. Shechem treated Dinah in a way that no man should ever treat a woman, no excuses.

What’s interesting is that after Shechem’s shameful act, we read in verse 3 that his soul was drawn to Dinah, and that he loved her, and even spoke tenderly to her. This almost seems like phrases that we would hear in a romantic love story, not in the following of this terrible event.

Shechem may be seeing more of Dinah than he did before for him to now treat her in a “loving” matter. Although, this use of “love” by the author is up for interpretation, and it is debatable if Shechem loved her more than just a first glance, and is experiencing anything more than just empty feelings.

His behavior towards her certainly doesn’t suggest genuine love. Nevertheless, in the grip of these romantic feelings, verse 4 tells us that “Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this girl for my wife” (34:4). He wants Dinah to now – be his wife.

It seems like Shechem totally ignores his awful actions towards her, and has no remorse or regret. His lust is still very strong—he still wants Dinah, but he just wants her for keeps now.

•           Family Responses  

So as Shechem goes to his father, there’s another father who hears this – being Jacob. Jacob hears of this news from possibly a witness or servant, and we would expect him to be fuming with anger after hearing of his daughter’s abuse. We’ve seen Jacob angry before. Dads, how would you respond if you heard this kind of thing happened to your daughter? 

How do we see Jacob respond? “But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came.” (30:5) For Jacob, a man of initiative, strength, and willfulness as we’ve seen throughout his life so far, it’s surprising to see here that Jacob doesn’t act, at all – but stands still until his sons get back. Does this possibly show a lack of care for Dinah?

Now at the same time, Hamor, Shechem’s father is making his way out to speak with Jacob, in following up on Shechem’s strong request. Hamor may or may not of heard the whole story of what happened between Dinah and Shechem – but seems that if he did, he turns a blind eye to it.

What does give us a sense of balance in the midst of Jacob’s slowness, and Hamor’s quickness to action, is verse 7: “The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry…” (30:7a).

Them being indignant displayed a recognition that what was done to Dinah was awful, and they were very angry “because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing must not be done.” (30:7b)

At this point, we can understand and relate to, and even cheer for their anger. Their anger appears righteous, because they are responding to the outrageous thing that had been done to their sister. It’s good to be angry when someone else is wronged, and certainly the brothers, who hear and rush home in anger, appear more to be in a positive light than their father at this point.

3. Proposals  

As the story continues, Hamor the Hivite comes to Jacob’s land. “But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife.” (30:8)

In this time in history, families—and fathers in particular—had more of a role in securing marriage partners. Hamor speaks to “them,” verse 8, which we find out includes Jacob and his sons.

We’re not sure if it was normal for the brothers to be part of these negotiations, but at least it seems like a good thing at this point because of their greater concern for Dinah, than Jacob appears to demonstrate.

And it does seem as though Jacob’s sons have an important role to play here. Hamor’s use of the term “your daughter” in verse 8 is plural, meaning that Hamor is attributing to Jacob and his sons the role of being the father to Dinah. As the record displays, the sons are now representatives of Israel, and will have a part to play in how this proposal pans out.

•           The Hivite Offer 

In following his son’s request, Hamor then makes one of his own in verses 9 & 10. He proposes three things: intermarriage, trading opportunities, and land acquisition. Hamor wants his people and the people of Israel to join together as one. That way, the whole Dinah and Shechem incident can become an effective way for both groups to profit.

We should give some credit to Hamor for his cleverness, making a proposal to Jacob’s house that would give them much more land than they had currently, and perhaps greater protection and prosperity.

But we should also be concerned about this, because Jacob and his sons are clearly the smaller group here, and so if they mix with these people, it seems like they will be absorbed into the Hivites and cease even to exist as a distinct people. 

This offer is not in line with what God had promised to Jacob.

And as Hamor finishes his offer, Shechem, who apparently had come along with his father, says, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. Ask for a great bride-price and gift as you will, and I will give whatever you say to me. Only give me the young woman to be my wife.” (34:11b-12)

Shechem is trying to give an offer to Jacob’s house that they cannot refuse.

Unexpectedly, Esau represents God in this passage: running to meet us, eager to reconcile, happy to forgive, zealous to save.

As we watch God and Jacob wrestle, don't marvel at Jacob's audacity—marvel at God's humility.

Passage: Genesis 31:1-55 | Message By: Victor Kuligin | Series: Blood Brothers

Just because God blesses us does not mean He approves of our actions...