Ex/ Some people say, in alcoholic anonymous, had to hit rock bottom. People would tell them stop what you are doing, but addicted and hooked, were not able to come out of it until what they call rock bottom.

This is the same of the people of Israel. Message Isaiah has will harden people until they hit rock bottom and so then repent.

Painful process. Grace is not cheap.

End goal of all of this, even though at the beginning it will be hard and harsh for the people.

In fact they (people of Israel) will go through the same thing Isaiah had to go through when He encountered the Lord.

Isaiah was penitent and had a soft heart, when he came into the presence of the Lord in his vision. Woe is me I am a man of unclean lips. What happened to Isaiah with the burning coal is what will happen to the rest of the people.

Salvation will come through judgement. Deliverance through discipline. Isaiah’s lips burned and thereby he was healed. That is the goal of the disciplines God will send on his people.

>> Goal of bringing them to hit rock bottom. Until cities lie waste. Until exile has come.

 Punishment that God foretold when He agreed to the Sinai covenant, and He made with His people. God will be faithful to His covenant, to discipline them greatly for their sins but the goal of that as He says also in the Sinai covenant Lev 26:40 and following

Goal of the punishment when they are finally kicked out and realize how far they have fallen they will turn and repent, and be faithful to God, and God will bring them back.

>> That is the goal here but come first with hard words, end even now with the growth of stump of tree that has been cut down, once again grow into a great tree.

God says the holy seed is its stump. The tree will be cut down, the stump will be left, the holy seed, the family prophesied to Abraham when God His covenant with Abraham.

The seed through which the world will be blessed, God’s people have a home

Hopeless fall into quickly, redemption and hope prevail. Consolation to our own lives.

Suffering

1 Poor Choices

2 Nature of humanity

He will walk us through it, quickly forget. Suffering often our choices, He is right there.

Seed when get down to it, is JESUS. He brings us to our heavenly home and brings through baptism into the covenant people of God.

When Isaiah begins to preach, he gives this parable of a vineyard in Chapter 5 to describe what has happened and what is going to happen to the people in God’s discipline. JC does the same thing.

Isaiah 1-39 Isaiah Talking to the people of his day some things that will come, sometimes about Babylon, destruction of the Northern Kingdom, God’s discipline and God sending a Savior.

Isa 40 Suddenly telescoped in

Doesn’t seem like Isaiah is talking to the people around him

Isaiah talking right to the people who have been exiled after Babylon has come

Isaiah talking to the people in the 500’s BC and really talking about things that will happen but speaking to the people, to them, God speaking through the prophetic voice of Isaiah at that time

Division in the Book of Isaiah universal agreement

1-39

40-66 Starts something new, Isaiah speaking ahead of time to address specifically the people who have been exiled by Babylon, about God’s restoration of them now that they have undergone this discipline

Restoration is there

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