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“…nourished… children…rebelled”
…nourished … children…rebelled
Isaiah 1:1–9
1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. 4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. 5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. 8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
Happy Fathers Day.
Im not always a “Happy Father”, and I dare say The LORD never celebrated “Fathers Day”.
The truth is that Parenting is not always fun, not always rewarding, not always filled with happiness. Yet I don’t know many parents who regret having children. I am sure they may be out there.
“And it repented the LORD that he made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart” (Gen 6:6)
That is the reality of parenting at times. We can speak of all the wonderful things of Children, but if we look back, even at our own lives, there is little doubt that some of us have deeply caused our parents to mourn and sorrow and grieve because of our behaviour.
Clearly this is not going to be your typical Fathers Day Message.
My hope is however that it would encourage you, even though its reality can be sobering.
In this passage in the ist chapter of Isaiah, we see that God is a father, a father who has “nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against” him.
In this testimony we come to realise that the rebellion of the children is not always a reflection of the character of the father. Unlike earthly fathers, God is a perfect father, and yet the children rebelled against him.
We are imperfect fathers, and while there may be those few times when we have erred, it does not always follow that those few errors in life, with all the circumstances of life, justify the rebellious attitude of the children.
Cause and Effect is not always a straight line.
People are held accountable to their own actions.
But there is within this passage a few lessons that we can learn that may help us understand our role both as men and as fathers.
This morning we will see HOW God “nourished” his children and how God had “raised” them, “brought them up” that we may learn.
But we will also learn a little about responsibility, and to whom blame can be laid for the behaviour of the children IF we have “nourished” and “raised” our children in the way God had brought up his own.
For some context;
The book was penned by the Prophet Isaiah in the years that preceded the Babylonian Captivity of Judah. He tells us plainly in the first verse of the first Chapter the extent and duration of his ministry;
His ministry extended from the duration of at least three Kings with the beginning of his ministry most likely in the final year of the reign of Uzziah.
Uzziah (AKA Azariah) reigned 52yrs, Jotham 16 years, Ahaz 16 years and Hezekiah 29 yrs.
Tradition tells us that Isaiah was murdered by the son of Hezekiah, Manasseh, by being sawn in half with a wooden saw; perhaps such is the meaning of the reference in Hebrews 11:37 “…They were sawn asunder…“.
Such would naturally identify the end of Isaiah’s ministry.
There is a hint that perhaps the ministry of Isaiah actually began in the year Uzziah died(Isaiah 6:1). If true, the ministry of Isaiah would have been some 61 years from the last year of Uzziah to the last year of Hezekiah.
Approximately 20 years from the beginning of the ministry of Isaiah the northern kingdom of Israel would be taken away by the Assyrian Empire. The fall of Samaria, the ten tribes of Israel, LOST as far as a group identity is concerned.
Isaiah now speaking to the Southern Kingdom of Judah, which shall remain for less than 150 years until it too is taken away for its rebellion against God, to Babylon.
The passage we have before us in Isaiah 1:2-9 I have identified in its parts as:
The STATEMENT OF FACT v 2
The REPORT CARD v’s 3-6
The PROPHETIC REALITY v’s7-8
The CONSOLATION v9
THE STATEMENT OF FACT is that God is a Perfect Father with Rebellious Children.
THE REPORT CARD Testifies as to the current state of the Children of Israel.
THE PROPHETIC REALITY is where it will end for most of the “Children” if they remain in that state.
THE CONSOLATION is that some are faithful.
This morning message will show two items;
1/ How God raised his Children and has no responsibility as to their rebellion against him,
2/ How fathers therefore ought to raise their Children, to limit their responsibility if their children go astray.
Pray.
The STATEMENT OF FACT
Unlike mortal fathers, God is perfect with no unrighteousness in him, and yet his children still rebelled.
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
What an incredible two part statement of fact!
The first that we discover is God, refering to himself as a father, in that he has “nourished and brought up children“.
We know this IS God because both the heavens and the earth are called upon to bear witness, to the words spoken by the LORD “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken…”
It is an incredible phrase, but it is not the first time heaven and earth are called upon as a witness to what is being said by the Lord or in the name of the Lord;
Moses in Deuteronomy 4:26
26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, …
He does so again in chapter 30;
Deuteronomy 30:19
19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
And in many ways so is the call of the wise father to his children.
While the child is in the dependant care of the parents he shall soon be set into the world with the words and ways that OUGHT to stand him in good stead;
I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
The choice respecting the manner of life will be theirs, so too the blessing and the cursing dependant on how they choose to live.
Then we have the song of Moses in chapter 32, Turn there for a moment.
Again appealing to what we see as INANIMATE OBJECTS, to bear witness to the words of truth;
Deuteronomy 32:1–3
1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. 2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: 3 Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
That the appeal to heaven and earth for their witness is seen here in Isaiah, tells of the importance and value that the witness is given as a STATEMENT OF FACT!
and WHAT IS THAT FACT?
I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
Immediately we are struck with astonishment:
This is GOD who has raised up these children.
This is not an imperfect man, laden with iniquities, struggling with the daily tasks of an ordinary life, toiling to provide sustenance and a degree of comfort for his family;
a roof over their heads,
food in their bellies;
and still dealing with all the aspects of life that affect all mortal beings, which may include illness and the care of the older generation etc.
THIS IS GOD who has raised up these children, and YET “they have rebelled against me” says he.
Perhaps you are hearing this as a father, or even as a mother and are somewhat relieved that if God’s own children can rebel against him, than what my son or daughter has done is not necessarily all my fault!
At least to a degree you certainly can.
If God, perfect and pure spirit that he is, has “nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against” him; clearly the rebellion of our children does not always meanthey are “A PRODUCT OF THEIR ENVIRONMENT” (as is the modern tendency to avoid responsibility).
For what is it about the “environment” that God has provided which would cause them to “rebel”?
Does not God properly “nourish” his Children?
Did he not give them a law greater than anything ever seen in any nation of the world that tells the secret of how this universe is governed?
If you were a person who loves to play video games in a make believe world, would you not love to find the code that makes the game work? some hidden “Cheat code” if you will, that could tell you that the fantasy universe in the game works IN YOUR FAVOUR “if you do this“?
THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT GOD HAD GIVEN TO ISRAEL!
JUST Imagine that the creator of the Fantasy Game, placed within its coding structure a code of rules that, if you followed them, you would win almost every time.
Imagine if he gave that to you before you went into a competition with other gamers who had no idea there was a code of laws sown into the fabric of the fantasy universe that would allow you to win every time!
Deuteronomy 30:19
19…. I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
God also made PROVISION FOR THEM.
He gave them a land flowing with milk and honey.
It is part of an area known as “The Fertile Crescent“, which is the region that extends from Lower Egypt, through Israel and Syria/Lebanon to the ancient land of Mesopotamia (between the rivers), and into the Persian Gulf.
So God had given to his Children both the written law that they may learn how to live in this world, AND he had given them provision in the most prosperous land in which they may have every opportunity available to them…
AND they still rebelled
This is THE STATEMENT OF FACT
The REPORT CARD v’s 3-6
Isaiah 1:3-6
3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. 5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
A just and proper REPORT CARD ought to have a standard upon which it is measured to be a JUST report.
In the first verse of the passage it is measured against the KNOWLEDGE of God, or rather, the lack of knowledge for that which they OUGHT TO KNOW;
3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
What we glean from this passage is what we touched on in the first point, God raises his children on KNOWLEDGE, he taught them his laws.
In this God gives to earthly fathers an example of our responsibility.
Turn to;
Deuteronomy 4:7–8
7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? 8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
Beloved fathers, the example of God that you have in this passage is that you ought to be TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN about God!
We are giving consideration of what level of responsibility we have in the outcome of our children.
We see that God has NO RESPONSIBILITY at all that can be laid against him, for he is a perfect father.
No earthly father can ever claim NO RESPONSIBILITY, but every father can LIMIT their responsibility by attending to raising their children as GOD raised his.
The first way of raising them is in TEACHING THEM.
TEACH THEM the knowledge of God and the knowledge of the underlying “CODE” of CREATION.
This world was SPOKEN into existence, therefore it is LOGICALLY governed by the words through which it was created.
Think I am exaggerating?
Turn to;
Hebrews 11:1–3
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
When asked about any advantage given to the Jew, we are told what their advantage is, turn to Romans 3
Romans 3:1–2
1 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? 2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.
Therefore, the first work we ought to do as parents is to teach our children of the Lord.
The first responsibility of the father is to teach his children the WAY of THE LORD. This is not a responsibility for the mother, though mothers ought to also undertake this work, but teaching the way of the Lord IS the overall responsibility of the father.
The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
THE REPORT CARD so far is just!
The Second Way is to ‘nourish’ them, to provide for them that they may prosper on their own when the time comes.
God certainly did so for them. He did it at the first when setting Adam in the Garden of Eden that gave him his fruit WITHOUT the SWEAT OF HIS BROW.
He did so with Israel in setting them in The Fertile Crescent, God had provided for opportunity that they may prosper. Indeed, what more could God have done?
While the people are seen in Isaiah 1 as his Children, they are referred to in Isaiah 5 as his Vineyard, turn there with me and see the Lord lament having done all he can for his vineyard.
Isaiah 5:3–6
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. 4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? 5 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: 6 And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
Fathers are to provide for their children to the best of their ability. The first levels are food, clothing and shelter, the next perhaps Education and Employments or business.
Should they not take advantage of all they have been provided for, the RESPONSIBILITY is their own.
In short, if fathers have brought up their children in the knowledge of the Lord and of his words, and have provided for their development and opportunities, they have essentially fulfilled that which God has attended to. Responsibility now belongs to the child.
A PROPHETIC REALITY v’s7-8
Isaiah 1:7-8
7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. 8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
Though the passage is written in the present tense, it actually refers to a time yet future. We know this only because what is referred to in these two verses had not yet transpired.
At the time of the writing of Isaiah 1 which we ought to presume was written under the reign of the first King he identifies in verse 1, ie Uzziah, the country was not yet ‘desolate” nor the “cities burned with fire” nor anything else that is seen in these two verses.
There are indeed passages in Isaiah that literally read as a present tense NEWS ITEM for that which is YET to occur. A literal commentary of an event yet future but read is if it were happening live. I tried to find the passage with some key words I thought were in it but couldnt. No doubt Ill see it the next time I read through the book.
Nevertheless, what we see is the outcome of a people who have rebelled against the Lord and against his word and his ways.
Wisdom had seen it before it occurred, but foolishness, still bound in the heart of the Childwho was spared the rod of correction (Prov 22:15), was blind to where their foolishness would end.
As for Israel and as for Judah, as for the majority of the children of God, their rebellion would see their blessing come to an end.
In this instant what we see is the correction, or the punishment of God upon his Children. This is the final threefold frame of a father.
The first is to Teach: Specifically, to teach the knowledge of God and of his law that the Child may understand how the world works and how they may be blessed in the world.
The second is to provide: Through the example of the father, to provide for the wellbeing of the Children; Food, Clothing, Shelter, that they too may learn to prosper and take advantage of all the provisions that are before them for their own families in time.
The third, and the most unpleasant, is to correct, to chastise, that the natural foolishness and stuborness of the child may be driven from them.
Turn to Proverbs;
Proverbs 22:15
15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Proverbs 19:18
18 Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
Proverbs 13:24
24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
Hebrews 12:6–8
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
There are no references to daughters in the Bible related to foolishness, no doubt they exist in reality, but God chooses his focus upon those charged as bearing responsibility, that is, men.
Therefore only “sons” are referred to when it comes to chastisement. Women, or daughters, are always “under” the charge and of either a father or a husband who is responsible for them and, MOST IMPORTANTLY, will be HELD ACCOUNTABLE for the behaviour and actions of the daughter or wife.
Proverbs 15:20
20 A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.
Proverbs 10:1
1 The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.
Proverbs 17:25
25 A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him.
God instructs his Children
God provides for his Children
God corrects and chastises his Children.
When fathers have God as their example in the nourishing and raising of their Children, and act upon it accordingly, the responsibility for the outcome of the child is greatly limited.
God has NO responsibility for the rebellion of his Children, earthly, imperfect fathers will always bear some, but only in proportion to Godly ministry.
A CONSOLATION v9
Isaiah 1:9
9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
I am not looking at doing a proportional representation in this sermon. The sermon application that I am drawing out is not to perfectly represent the text before us but to illustrate the principal of rasing Children with God as our example.
Nevertheless, what we see in this passage is that a remnant holds tightly to the law of their father and will not rebel. The passage tells of God leaving unto the nation a “very small remnant” and this is indeed true.
We see this in Churches also, and indeed that which is representative of Israel is seen evident in Churches and extrapolated in the family. The same father nature of God is exampled in the father nature of the pastor in the Church, indeed, he is strictly qualified by his relationship to his Children in the home.
Turn to 1 Timothy
1 Timothy 3:4–5
4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; 5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
Interestingly, and perhaps uncomfortably for some, the role of the Pastor in the Church is similar to the role of the father in the home.
He is to Teach.
He is to Nourish / Provide, not so much food and clothing, but practical tools for successful Christian living for the brethren to employ.
He is to correct, to “reprove, rebuke and exhort”…
2 Timothy 4:2
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
Sadly brethren who will not receive such exhortation are quick to malign the character of the pastor, just as rebellious children despise their fathers and just as rebellious Israel turned against God.
Their REPORT CARD is not good, and their PROPHETIC REALITY will certainly play out if they will not repent.
Jesus asked a rhetorical question in Luke 18:8;
“…Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
We would like to hope there will be a remnant!
To summarise this sermon for you fathers, and even to a degree mothers;
God is a PERFECT FATHER, but the sinful nature of ALL Children will not guarantee ALL Children will turn out good. Being perfect, God bears no responsibility for the rebellious hearts of his Children.
Earthly fathers limit their responsibility IF and ONLY if, they have God as their example in the raising up of their Children; In Teaching, in Provision and in Correction.
If you can get those two main items from this sermon, you will certainly be blessed in your work and responsibility as a father.
When fathers do all they can do as faithfully as they can before God, the responsibility for the outcome of their Children is passed from the father to the child.
BUT, the more fathers ignore the biblical raising of their Children, the more they will bear responsibility for the outcome of their Child, should she/he rebel.
The post “…nourished… children…rebelled” appeared first on Hope Baptist Church.
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By Hope Baptist Church…nourished … children…rebelled
Isaiah 1:1–9
1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. 4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. 5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. 8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
Happy Fathers Day.
Im not always a “Happy Father”, and I dare say The LORD never celebrated “Fathers Day”.
The truth is that Parenting is not always fun, not always rewarding, not always filled with happiness. Yet I don’t know many parents who regret having children. I am sure they may be out there.
“And it repented the LORD that he made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart” (Gen 6:6)
That is the reality of parenting at times. We can speak of all the wonderful things of Children, but if we look back, even at our own lives, there is little doubt that some of us have deeply caused our parents to mourn and sorrow and grieve because of our behaviour.
Clearly this is not going to be your typical Fathers Day Message.
My hope is however that it would encourage you, even though its reality can be sobering.
In this passage in the ist chapter of Isaiah, we see that God is a father, a father who has “nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against” him.
In this testimony we come to realise that the rebellion of the children is not always a reflection of the character of the father. Unlike earthly fathers, God is a perfect father, and yet the children rebelled against him.
We are imperfect fathers, and while there may be those few times when we have erred, it does not always follow that those few errors in life, with all the circumstances of life, justify the rebellious attitude of the children.
Cause and Effect is not always a straight line.
People are held accountable to their own actions.
But there is within this passage a few lessons that we can learn that may help us understand our role both as men and as fathers.
This morning we will see HOW God “nourished” his children and how God had “raised” them, “brought them up” that we may learn.
But we will also learn a little about responsibility, and to whom blame can be laid for the behaviour of the children IF we have “nourished” and “raised” our children in the way God had brought up his own.
For some context;
The book was penned by the Prophet Isaiah in the years that preceded the Babylonian Captivity of Judah. He tells us plainly in the first verse of the first Chapter the extent and duration of his ministry;
His ministry extended from the duration of at least three Kings with the beginning of his ministry most likely in the final year of the reign of Uzziah.
Uzziah (AKA Azariah) reigned 52yrs, Jotham 16 years, Ahaz 16 years and Hezekiah 29 yrs.
Tradition tells us that Isaiah was murdered by the son of Hezekiah, Manasseh, by being sawn in half with a wooden saw; perhaps such is the meaning of the reference in Hebrews 11:37 “…They were sawn asunder…“.
Such would naturally identify the end of Isaiah’s ministry.
There is a hint that perhaps the ministry of Isaiah actually began in the year Uzziah died(Isaiah 6:1). If true, the ministry of Isaiah would have been some 61 years from the last year of Uzziah to the last year of Hezekiah.
Approximately 20 years from the beginning of the ministry of Isaiah the northern kingdom of Israel would be taken away by the Assyrian Empire. The fall of Samaria, the ten tribes of Israel, LOST as far as a group identity is concerned.
Isaiah now speaking to the Southern Kingdom of Judah, which shall remain for less than 150 years until it too is taken away for its rebellion against God, to Babylon.
The passage we have before us in Isaiah 1:2-9 I have identified in its parts as:
The STATEMENT OF FACT v 2
The REPORT CARD v’s 3-6
The PROPHETIC REALITY v’s7-8
The CONSOLATION v9
THE STATEMENT OF FACT is that God is a Perfect Father with Rebellious Children.
THE REPORT CARD Testifies as to the current state of the Children of Israel.
THE PROPHETIC REALITY is where it will end for most of the “Children” if they remain in that state.
THE CONSOLATION is that some are faithful.
This morning message will show two items;
1/ How God raised his Children and has no responsibility as to their rebellion against him,
2/ How fathers therefore ought to raise their Children, to limit their responsibility if their children go astray.
Pray.
The STATEMENT OF FACT
Unlike mortal fathers, God is perfect with no unrighteousness in him, and yet his children still rebelled.
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
What an incredible two part statement of fact!
The first that we discover is God, refering to himself as a father, in that he has “nourished and brought up children“.
We know this IS God because both the heavens and the earth are called upon to bear witness, to the words spoken by the LORD “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken…”
It is an incredible phrase, but it is not the first time heaven and earth are called upon as a witness to what is being said by the Lord or in the name of the Lord;
Moses in Deuteronomy 4:26
26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, …
He does so again in chapter 30;
Deuteronomy 30:19
19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
And in many ways so is the call of the wise father to his children.
While the child is in the dependant care of the parents he shall soon be set into the world with the words and ways that OUGHT to stand him in good stead;
I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
The choice respecting the manner of life will be theirs, so too the blessing and the cursing dependant on how they choose to live.
Then we have the song of Moses in chapter 32, Turn there for a moment.
Again appealing to what we see as INANIMATE OBJECTS, to bear witness to the words of truth;
Deuteronomy 32:1–3
1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. 2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: 3 Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
That the appeal to heaven and earth for their witness is seen here in Isaiah, tells of the importance and value that the witness is given as a STATEMENT OF FACT!
and WHAT IS THAT FACT?
I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
Immediately we are struck with astonishment:
This is GOD who has raised up these children.
This is not an imperfect man, laden with iniquities, struggling with the daily tasks of an ordinary life, toiling to provide sustenance and a degree of comfort for his family;
a roof over their heads,
food in their bellies;
and still dealing with all the aspects of life that affect all mortal beings, which may include illness and the care of the older generation etc.
THIS IS GOD who has raised up these children, and YET “they have rebelled against me” says he.
Perhaps you are hearing this as a father, or even as a mother and are somewhat relieved that if God’s own children can rebel against him, than what my son or daughter has done is not necessarily all my fault!
At least to a degree you certainly can.
If God, perfect and pure spirit that he is, has “nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against” him; clearly the rebellion of our children does not always meanthey are “A PRODUCT OF THEIR ENVIRONMENT” (as is the modern tendency to avoid responsibility).
For what is it about the “environment” that God has provided which would cause them to “rebel”?
Does not God properly “nourish” his Children?
Did he not give them a law greater than anything ever seen in any nation of the world that tells the secret of how this universe is governed?
If you were a person who loves to play video games in a make believe world, would you not love to find the code that makes the game work? some hidden “Cheat code” if you will, that could tell you that the fantasy universe in the game works IN YOUR FAVOUR “if you do this“?
THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT GOD HAD GIVEN TO ISRAEL!
JUST Imagine that the creator of the Fantasy Game, placed within its coding structure a code of rules that, if you followed them, you would win almost every time.
Imagine if he gave that to you before you went into a competition with other gamers who had no idea there was a code of laws sown into the fabric of the fantasy universe that would allow you to win every time!
Deuteronomy 30:19
19…. I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
God also made PROVISION FOR THEM.
He gave them a land flowing with milk and honey.
It is part of an area known as “The Fertile Crescent“, which is the region that extends from Lower Egypt, through Israel and Syria/Lebanon to the ancient land of Mesopotamia (between the rivers), and into the Persian Gulf.
So God had given to his Children both the written law that they may learn how to live in this world, AND he had given them provision in the most prosperous land in which they may have every opportunity available to them…
AND they still rebelled
This is THE STATEMENT OF FACT
The REPORT CARD v’s 3-6
Isaiah 1:3-6
3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. 5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
A just and proper REPORT CARD ought to have a standard upon which it is measured to be a JUST report.
In the first verse of the passage it is measured against the KNOWLEDGE of God, or rather, the lack of knowledge for that which they OUGHT TO KNOW;
3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
What we glean from this passage is what we touched on in the first point, God raises his children on KNOWLEDGE, he taught them his laws.
In this God gives to earthly fathers an example of our responsibility.
Turn to;
Deuteronomy 4:7–8
7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? 8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
Beloved fathers, the example of God that you have in this passage is that you ought to be TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN about God!
We are giving consideration of what level of responsibility we have in the outcome of our children.
We see that God has NO RESPONSIBILITY at all that can be laid against him, for he is a perfect father.
No earthly father can ever claim NO RESPONSIBILITY, but every father can LIMIT their responsibility by attending to raising their children as GOD raised his.
The first way of raising them is in TEACHING THEM.
TEACH THEM the knowledge of God and the knowledge of the underlying “CODE” of CREATION.
This world was SPOKEN into existence, therefore it is LOGICALLY governed by the words through which it was created.
Think I am exaggerating?
Turn to;
Hebrews 11:1–3
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
When asked about any advantage given to the Jew, we are told what their advantage is, turn to Romans 3
Romans 3:1–2
1 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? 2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.
Therefore, the first work we ought to do as parents is to teach our children of the Lord.
The first responsibility of the father is to teach his children the WAY of THE LORD. This is not a responsibility for the mother, though mothers ought to also undertake this work, but teaching the way of the Lord IS the overall responsibility of the father.
The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
THE REPORT CARD so far is just!
The Second Way is to ‘nourish’ them, to provide for them that they may prosper on their own when the time comes.
God certainly did so for them. He did it at the first when setting Adam in the Garden of Eden that gave him his fruit WITHOUT the SWEAT OF HIS BROW.
He did so with Israel in setting them in The Fertile Crescent, God had provided for opportunity that they may prosper. Indeed, what more could God have done?
While the people are seen in Isaiah 1 as his Children, they are referred to in Isaiah 5 as his Vineyard, turn there with me and see the Lord lament having done all he can for his vineyard.
Isaiah 5:3–6
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. 4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? 5 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: 6 And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
Fathers are to provide for their children to the best of their ability. The first levels are food, clothing and shelter, the next perhaps Education and Employments or business.
Should they not take advantage of all they have been provided for, the RESPONSIBILITY is their own.
In short, if fathers have brought up their children in the knowledge of the Lord and of his words, and have provided for their development and opportunities, they have essentially fulfilled that which God has attended to. Responsibility now belongs to the child.
A PROPHETIC REALITY v’s7-8
Isaiah 1:7-8
7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. 8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
Though the passage is written in the present tense, it actually refers to a time yet future. We know this only because what is referred to in these two verses had not yet transpired.
At the time of the writing of Isaiah 1 which we ought to presume was written under the reign of the first King he identifies in verse 1, ie Uzziah, the country was not yet ‘desolate” nor the “cities burned with fire” nor anything else that is seen in these two verses.
There are indeed passages in Isaiah that literally read as a present tense NEWS ITEM for that which is YET to occur. A literal commentary of an event yet future but read is if it were happening live. I tried to find the passage with some key words I thought were in it but couldnt. No doubt Ill see it the next time I read through the book.
Nevertheless, what we see is the outcome of a people who have rebelled against the Lord and against his word and his ways.
Wisdom had seen it before it occurred, but foolishness, still bound in the heart of the Childwho was spared the rod of correction (Prov 22:15), was blind to where their foolishness would end.
As for Israel and as for Judah, as for the majority of the children of God, their rebellion would see their blessing come to an end.
In this instant what we see is the correction, or the punishment of God upon his Children. This is the final threefold frame of a father.
The first is to Teach: Specifically, to teach the knowledge of God and of his law that the Child may understand how the world works and how they may be blessed in the world.
The second is to provide: Through the example of the father, to provide for the wellbeing of the Children; Food, Clothing, Shelter, that they too may learn to prosper and take advantage of all the provisions that are before them for their own families in time.
The third, and the most unpleasant, is to correct, to chastise, that the natural foolishness and stuborness of the child may be driven from them.
Turn to Proverbs;
Proverbs 22:15
15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Proverbs 19:18
18 Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
Proverbs 13:24
24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
Hebrews 12:6–8
6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
There are no references to daughters in the Bible related to foolishness, no doubt they exist in reality, but God chooses his focus upon those charged as bearing responsibility, that is, men.
Therefore only “sons” are referred to when it comes to chastisement. Women, or daughters, are always “under” the charge and of either a father or a husband who is responsible for them and, MOST IMPORTANTLY, will be HELD ACCOUNTABLE for the behaviour and actions of the daughter or wife.
Proverbs 15:20
20 A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.
Proverbs 10:1
1 The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.
Proverbs 17:25
25 A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him.
God instructs his Children
God provides for his Children
God corrects and chastises his Children.
When fathers have God as their example in the nourishing and raising of their Children, and act upon it accordingly, the responsibility for the outcome of the child is greatly limited.
God has NO responsibility for the rebellion of his Children, earthly, imperfect fathers will always bear some, but only in proportion to Godly ministry.
A CONSOLATION v9
Isaiah 1:9
9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
I am not looking at doing a proportional representation in this sermon. The sermon application that I am drawing out is not to perfectly represent the text before us but to illustrate the principal of rasing Children with God as our example.
Nevertheless, what we see in this passage is that a remnant holds tightly to the law of their father and will not rebel. The passage tells of God leaving unto the nation a “very small remnant” and this is indeed true.
We see this in Churches also, and indeed that which is representative of Israel is seen evident in Churches and extrapolated in the family. The same father nature of God is exampled in the father nature of the pastor in the Church, indeed, he is strictly qualified by his relationship to his Children in the home.
Turn to 1 Timothy
1 Timothy 3:4–5
4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; 5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
Interestingly, and perhaps uncomfortably for some, the role of the Pastor in the Church is similar to the role of the father in the home.
He is to Teach.
He is to Nourish / Provide, not so much food and clothing, but practical tools for successful Christian living for the brethren to employ.
He is to correct, to “reprove, rebuke and exhort”…
2 Timothy 4:2
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
Sadly brethren who will not receive such exhortation are quick to malign the character of the pastor, just as rebellious children despise their fathers and just as rebellious Israel turned against God.
Their REPORT CARD is not good, and their PROPHETIC REALITY will certainly play out if they will not repent.
Jesus asked a rhetorical question in Luke 18:8;
“…Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”
We would like to hope there will be a remnant!
To summarise this sermon for you fathers, and even to a degree mothers;
God is a PERFECT FATHER, but the sinful nature of ALL Children will not guarantee ALL Children will turn out good. Being perfect, God bears no responsibility for the rebellious hearts of his Children.
Earthly fathers limit their responsibility IF and ONLY if, they have God as their example in the raising up of their Children; In Teaching, in Provision and in Correction.
If you can get those two main items from this sermon, you will certainly be blessed in your work and responsibility as a father.
When fathers do all they can do as faithfully as they can before God, the responsibility for the outcome of their Children is passed from the father to the child.
BUT, the more fathers ignore the biblical raising of their Children, the more they will bear responsibility for the outcome of their Child, should she/he rebel.
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