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“As surely as my new heavens and earth will remain,
    so will you always be my people,
with a name that will never disappear,”
    says the Lord.
²³ “All humanity will come to worship me
    from week to week
    and from month to month.
²⁴ And as they go out, they will see
    the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me.
For the worms that devour them will never die,
    and the fire that burns them will never go out.
All who pass by
    will view them with utter horror.” (New Living Translation).

So this great book of Isaiah concludes on the note of division. We might say it ends in a minor key, with the final key change occurring in the last verse. We move from the exuberant, joyful picture of an enduring ”new heavens” and ”new earth”, with an enduring people of God, and the worship of God by ”all mankind”, to a devastating scene of judgment and loss. We are faced with the question, ‘On which side of this dividing line am I?’ Will I be with the company of God’s worshippers, or among the rebellious, with their bitter end? (Verse 24 does not speak of gloating, but sober reflection).

‘…the final verse contains a chilling reminder that those same promises to Abraham implied judgment. They confronted men and women with the unavoidable responsibility to respond: to bless or curse, and be blessed or cursed themselves. The last verse does not detract in any way from the victory of the previous verse, but rather testifies to the completeness of it. God will not stoop to conversion by force. He will give us what we choose, and be glorified as much by his righteous judgment as by his saving grace.’ Barry Webb: ‘Isaiah’, p.251.

 “I know everything they’ve ever done or thought. I’m going to come and then gather everyone—all nations, all languages. They’ll come and see my glory. I’ll set up a station at the center. I’ll send the survivors of judgment all over the world: Spain and Africa, Turkey and Greece, and the far-off islands that have never heard of me, who know nothing of what I’ve done nor who I am. I’ll send them out as missionaries to preach my glory among the nations. They’ll return with all your long-lost brothers and sisters from all over the world. They’ll bring them back and offer them in living worship to God. They’ll bring them on horses and wagons and carts, on mules and camels, straight to my holy mountain Jerusalem,” says God. “They’ll present them just as Israelites present their offerings in a ceremonial vessel in the Temple of God. I’ll even take some of them and make them priests and Levites,” says God. (The Message).

In the light of the judgment about which we read yesterday, what should the church be doing? The answer involves the spreading of the gospel on a worldwide scale.

It may be that these verses look ahead to the conversion of Israel, and its aftermath (see Rom.9-11, especially 11:25-32). We may well ask with Paul, ”But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!” (Rom.11:12).

Christians who believe there will be a literal reign of Christ on the earth for 1,000 years, after He comes back (‘the Millenium’, see Rev.20:6,7), may be inclined to see the fulfilment of this passage as lying in that future era.

But I find Barry Webb’s comments persuasive:

‘This last tremendous paragraph contains God’s entire programme for the evangelization of the world. It is summarized in verse 18. In a word, God’s fundamental response to the evil actions and imaginations of his creatures is one of grace. His gathering, rescuing activity, once restricted to the dispersed of Israel, is to be extended to all people. He wil come and gather people of all nations and tongues so that they may see his glory (18). The goal of mission is the glory of God, that God might be known and honoured for who he really is…It is the nations that are harvested, and converts from all nations that are presented to the LORD as holy offerings…What a stunningly accurate portrayal this is of things to come! No prophet understood more deeply the missionary nature of God’s heart, or the shape of the mission he would put into effect when the time was right. ‘Isaiah’, from pp.249-251.

Prayer:Lord, give us hearts to see the lostness of the world without you, and a deep willingness to play our our part in your mission to the world.

You’ll see all this and burst with joy
    —you’ll feel ten feet tall—
As it becomes apparent that God is on your side
    and against his enemies.
For God arrives like wildfire
    and his chariots like a tornado,
A furious outburst of anger,
    a rebuke fierce and fiery.
For it’s by fire that God brings judgment,
    a death sentence on the human race.
Many, oh so many,
    are under God’s sentence of death:

¹⁷ “All who enter the sacred groves for initiation in those unholy rituals that climaxed in that foul and obscene meal of pigs and mice will eat together and then die together.” God’s Decree. (The Message).

‘The judgment that begins with the house of God has its significance not simply in itself but in what it points to. It is a sign of the final, universal judgment to come. It puts the whole world on notice.’ Barry Webb: ‘Isaiah’, p.249.

As we have been reading these later chapters of Isaiah we have repeatedly seen the awful reality of God’s judgment. It has become clear that there is a dividing line running through history (and even through the midst of the church: the people of God), and there will be those who are ‘saved’ and those who are ‘lost.’ Now, this great prophetic book comes to a conclusion on same note. In large parts of the church numbers of people are going soft on this message. But it is not for us to re-write the Bible just because we find somethings hard.

If it is the case that:

”Many, oh so many,
    are under God’s sentence of death”

then may we in the church feel the pain of it. Motivated by this understanding, let us pray, and commit ourselves to playing our own part in the great missionary movement we are going to read about next time.

“I’ll pour robust well-being into her like a river,
    the glory of nations like a river in flood.
You’ll nurse at her breasts,
    nestle in her bosom,
    and be bounced on her knees.
As a mother comforts her child,
    so I’ll comfort you.
    You will be comforted in Jerusalem.” (The Message).

The above words take me back to Isaiah 40. We end where we started:

”Comfort, comfort my people,
    says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
    and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
    that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
    double for all her sins.” (1,2).

In Isaiah’s vision of the future, Jerusalem will enjoy ”peace…like a river”, ”the wealth of nations like a flooding stream”, and a mother-like ”comfort” (NIV). God’s blessing will be lavish and abundant.

We should also realise that His ”comfort” is real, and it is not to be hoarded:

”Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.  And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-7).

I seem to remember an article I read, written by someone – a believer – who admitted that he would go looking for comfort in pale substitutes for God. Then, he said, he learned, in his moments of pain, to pray, ‘Holy Spirit comfort me’, and he found God’s help to be real.

We can all go searching in the wrong places.

PRAYER: Lord, please forgive me for my feeble and futile attempts at self-medication. Rescue me from idolatry, and enable me to find all my satisfaction in you.

‘Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her,
    all you who love her;
rejoice greatly with her,
    all you who mourn over her.
¹¹ For you will feed and be satisfied
    at her comforting breasts;
you will drink deeply
    and delight in her overflowing abundance.’

Many years ago I listened to a talk given by David Pawson, who was a high profile Bible teacher at the time. As I recall, it was entitled, ‘It is time for the Gentiles to repay their debt to the Jews.’ He highlighted how much the world owes to Israel, for all that she has contributed to the development and advancement of the human race, in so many fields.

But how much more does the church owe! In Romans 9:1-5 Paul writes:

 ”I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit— I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. ⁵ Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.”

Barry Webb writes that the church will ‘…always owe a debt to the mother who gave it birth. Zion’s children would always remember that they had been suckled at her breasts, and be thankful (10-11).’ In a footnote he adds: ‘There is a sense, of course, in which the church continues to draw nourishment from its Jewish heritage. The Old Testament is three-quarters of the Christian Bible! Cf. Paul’s image of the root and branches in Rom.11:11-24.’ ‘Isaiah’, p.248.

‘Before she goes into labour,
    she gives birth;
before the pains come upon her,
    she delivers a son.
⁸ Who has ever heard of such things?
    Who has ever seen things like this?
Can a country be born in a day
    or a nation be brought forth in a moment?
Yet no sooner is Zion in labour
    than she gives birth to her children.
⁹ Do I bring to the moment of birth
    and not give delivery?’ says the Lord.
‘Do I close up the womb
    when I bring to delivery?’ says your God.
¹⁰ ‘Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her,
    all you who love her;
rejoice greatly with her,
    all you who mourn over her.
¹¹ For you will feed and be satisfied
    at her comforting breasts;
you will drink deeply
    and delight in her overflowing abundance.’

Long may be the wait during the season of protracted prayer. But when it is the time for God to move – to fulfil His Word – things can happen unusually quickly.

Isaiah is not speaking here about post-exilic Jerusalem, but looking on to the end of history. There is a similarity with Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15: 51,52a:

”Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.”

If we sometimes feel God is not moving fast enough for our liking, we need to remember:

”The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9.

Hear the word of the Lord,
    you who tremble at his word;
‘Your own people who hate you,
    and exclude you because of my name, have said,
“Let the Lord be glorified,
    that we may see your joy!”
    Yet they will be put to shame.
⁶ Hear that uproar from the city,
    hear that noise from the temple!
It is the sound of the Lord
    repaying his enemies all they deserve.

The opening words of this section link with the second part of verse 2. But honouring God’s Word may get you into trouble (yes, even in the church) with other ‘professing believers’ who don’t see it as you do. They feel free to take liberties with God’s Book. It has to be said that religious persecution can be mean and nasty and cynical, and even violent.

‘What finally divides the true from the false in the church is faithfulness or unfaithfulness to the word of God. Clinging to the promises of God will always seem fanatical and foolish to those who have abandoned them…Religion that loses its anchorage in the word of God either becomes pathetically ineffective, or turns into a monster. Persecution is always ugly, religious persecution especially so, and ecclesiasticism is its native soil.’ Barry Webb: ‘Isaiah’, p.247.

”I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.” (Jesus: Jn.17:14).

They have chosen their own ways,
    and they delight in their abominations;
⁴ so I also will choose harsh treatment for them
    and will bring on them what they dread.
For when I called, no one answered,
    when I spoke, no one listened.
They did evil in my sight
    and chose what displeases me.’

We have noted this point before, but it is worthy of repetition: we sometimes talk about the problem of unanswered prayer (or apparently unanswered). But God Himself repeatedly faces the problem of an un-answering people.

Why should we expect God to listen to our voices when we don’t listen to His? Mercifully, He does give us His attention, even though we are imperfect beings. But there are times when wilfully holding on to sin (or sins), and refusing to repent, will cause a blockage in our prayer life.

The Isaiah passage shows us that if we go our own way, even though we cover it in a veneer of ‘worship’, it will be ultimately disastrous – unless we turn back to God.

The God who wants our hearts also wants our ears!

PRAYER: ”Oh! give me Samuel’s ear, the open ear, O Lord, alive and quick to hear each whisper of thy word; like him to answer at thy call, and to obey thee first of all.” James Drummond Burns (from the hymn: ‘Hushed was the evening hymn’).

“Your acts of worship
    are acts of sin:
Your sacrificial slaughter of the ox
    is no different from murdering the neighbor;
Your offerings for worship,
    no different from dumping pig’s blood on the altar;
Your presentation of memorial gifts,
    no different from honouring a no-god idol.
You choose self-serving worship,
    you delight in self-centred worship—disgusting!
Well, I choose to expose your nonsense
    and let you realize your worst fears,
Because when I invited you, you ignored me;
    when I spoke to you, you brushed me off.
You did the very things I exposed as evil,
    you chose what I hate.” (The Message).

If you have a building, however glorious (whether it’s the temple or a church), but the people in it do not humble themselves before God and His Word, what you end up with is ”self-serving worship” and ”self-centred worship”. It is a ”form of godliness” but lacking the ”power” (2 Tim.3:5). J.B. Phillips translates this verse: ”They will maintain a facade of “religion”, but their conduct will deny its validity. ” There is something here to steer clear of. Tom Hale says that God ‘detests purely ritualistic acts of worship. He adds that in God’s eyes, such acts are equivalent to brutality and idolatry; they are abominations.’ ‘Applied Old Testament Commentary’, pp.1072,1073.

Barry Webb comments that Isaiah ‘…was not against the temple, but against ecclesiasticism, that ugly distortion of true religion which inevitably reasserts itself where there is no recognition of the greatness of God or heartfelt contrition before him (1-2). ‘Isaiah’, p.247.

Prayer: Dear Lord, how we want to worship you with our whole hearts. Cleanse our services; purify the hearts of the worshippers. Deliver us from ritualism. Cause us to bring to you not only the offering of our lips, but also our lives. When you speak, enable us to hear and obey. Help us to bring to you Spirit-led worship, anchored in your truth. For your glory.