July 6, 2009

• Isaiah Chapter 1

  We were running out of time at Bible study but Pastor Don wanted to do a quick overview of part of Chapter 1 to set us up for next week’s study.

  Isaiah begins with complaining and upset and end with a silver lining of happiness and joy.

  Isaiah 1:1 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.

  In previous teachings Pastor Don covered a basic history of the Kingdoms – the Northern and the Southern. Isaiah is written for the Southern Kingdom – Judah.  This is a vision Isaiah saw, the Northern kingdom (Israel) and the southern Kingdom (Judah and Benjamin).  The Northern Kingdom constantly did what was evil in God’s sight, and resorted to idolatry.  Judah had several kings who were pleasing to God, and the priests stayed in the Southern Kingdom.  The Southern Kingdom obeyed the Torah more. 

  Reheboam, Solomon’s son caused trouble in the Kingdom by intensifying the oppression on the people and caused division in the Kingdoms.  This prophesy covers the Southern Kingdom and the kings mentioned in verse 1.

  Isaiah 1:2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken:  “I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebeled against Me;

  God is speaking to the heavens and the earth.

  Isaiah 1:3 The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, My people do not consider.”

  Pastor Don’s comment, “What a way to start a book!”

  Isaiah 1:4  Alas, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel, they have turned away backward.

  They have turned away BACKWARD.

  Isaiah 1:5 Why should you be stricken again?  You will revolt more and more.  The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints.

  My goodness, the whole heart faints, the whole head is sick.  They were so caught up in idol worship and wrong thinking and were so far gone that not a right thought was in their head.

  Isaiah 1:6  From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; they have not been closed or bound up, or  soothed with ointment. 

  There is no soundness, sad at the direction the country is heading toward.  The scepter is passing, even in our country.  We need to pray for our leaders even more than before.

  Isaiah 1: 7-9 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire; strangers devour your land in your presence; and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, as a hut in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.  Unless the LORD of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been made like Gomorrah.

  A VERY small remnant, and without that then Judah would have been just like Sodom and Gomorrah. 

  Pastor Don told us that if we see the same pattern we will know that God will do the same thing again.  Some say that if God does not judge America, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.

  Isaiah 1:10-11 Hear the word of the LORD,  you rulers of Sodom; give ear to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah:  “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” says the LORD.  “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats.

  With all the sin going on they were still doing sacrifice to God, but why?  They were not living a Godly life.

  Isaiah 1:12-15  When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no more futile sacrifices; incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies— I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear.  Your hands are full of blood.

  They took the sacrifice and feasts of God and added their stuff to them and that made it an abomination to God.  The Sabbaths and the feasts God ordained.  In the book of Samuel we will see Eli will die as will his sons.  The reason is that Eli added the practice of baal and molloch worship.  There were prostitutes in the temple in Jerusalem and there was sex with men, boys and women, and it was done under the guise of temple worship. 

  In Russia and Yugoslavia they still practice that today.  Eli’s sons did not honor God in the sacrifice, for they would take a meat hook and pull out the best pieces of meat from the sacrifice, from the portion that belonged to God.

  1 Samuel 2:12-17 Now the sons of Eli were corrupt;^Sandcastles