[Brother V]

Isaiah 4-6

Isaiah 4

1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

Exactly what day this is, we aren't told just yet. But it sounds like it will be an awesome day, when seven ladies beg one man to be married to him. Not only are they offering to marry him, but they are self sufficient, they would be his sugar momma's. SEVEN OF THEM!!!

2 In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

Alright, who are "them that are escaped of Israel"? These are probably people who survived the attack of Tiglath-Pileser III. Tiglath was an Assyrian king from 745 to 727. Tiglath attacked Israel, but Judah had a treaty with Assyria, Tiglath was the person who took all the people away from the country of Israel, thus creating the 10 lost tribes. Them that are escaped of Israel, would be the distant cousins of the people of Judah. The ones who managed to get away and not be taken off to Assyria.

4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

Remember, back in 2 Kings 15, that Pekah was king of Israel. Azariah

29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.

Pekah was king for 8 years. They (Israel) did bad things during his time.

So, God made Tiglathpileser take over Israel, so he could wipe the chalkboard clean, as was mentioned yesterday. Imagine it like Canada and the United States. Canada has rebelled against the LORD, the U.S. has a treaty with Russia, but Canada doesn't. God then sends Russia in to Canada, and the ruskies remove all the canadians and take them back to moscow to be indoctrinated into the russian lifestyle. Russia doesn't necessarily move in to Canada, they just take all the canadians away. Only a few are able to escape to the U.S. After all the people are gone, the ones who defected can then go back. Those are the good ones that are left. The filth is gone, the remaining are the pure.

5 And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.

God will protect the ones who are left. Remember the last time that God used a cloud by day and fire by night?

Isaiah 5

1 Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:

The wellbeloved is the LORD. The LORD has a vineyard, that vineyard is the kingdom of Judah.

2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.

God, built fences for the grapes to grow on, he made the soil good, and he planted the best vines, heck he even put one of those windmills in it, for decoration. But it didn't grow good grapes, it only made bad grapes. Apparently, the choicest vines were overrun by the wild vines. Granted, I'd expect a good farmer to be able to recognize when the wild vines were taking over, and prune them or remove them all together, so that the good grapes can grow and flourish. But you know how it is with gardening, you take one day off from weeding it, and then suddenly you've got more weeds in it than you have the vegetables that you want.

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?

I'd expect an all powerful God could probably have taken wild grapes out of existence, instead of just complaining that they took over the vineyard. Or, you could have payed closer attention to when they were growing, and removed them, or, instead of making wine with the wild grapes (as they probably aren't good for that) you could make a jelly.

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:

I would think that one of the worst ideas would be to totally dismantle the garden. It's not the wall's fault. It's not the hedges fault. It's the gardeners fault.

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.

If you just commanded the wild grapes not to grow, then we wouldn't be in this predicament.

7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.

In case you missed the metaphor before, Israel is the vineyard (actually, the kingdom of Judah).

12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.

Wow, there's some prophecy in that verse. Some people complain that an all knowing God would be able to write down explicit instructions on what we can and can't do. For example, they would say something like this.

God: Moses, write this down.
Moses: Ok God, I'm ready.
God: Men should not drive over the speed limit in cars.
Moses: uh... what?
God: I said, Men should not drive over the speed limit in cars.
Moses: Dear LORD, these things you say make no sense. I don't know this word "cars".
God: It's in the future, cars will be things that people ride in. Like a chariot. Just write it down, put it with the laws about leprosy.
Moses: ok, whatever you say God.
God: The next law is, man shouldn't look at pornography while surfing the internet on their computers.

But you see, God didn't tell Moses these things. So, why doesn't an all knowing God, who sees the future tell us of these things? Look at verse 12 again.

Harp, tabret, pipe, viol. Did you catch the last one? VIOL.

Remember this is in the time of Isaiah. Probable in the mid 700 bc's.

According to wiki:

The viol is any one of a family of bowed, fretted, stringed musical instruments developed in the mid-late 1400s and used primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

HOLY CRAP!!! 2100 years before, the LORD made Isaiah prophesy bowed, fretted, stringed musical instruments!!! PRAISE JESUS!!!

So, the LORD can tell the future. And people can write down the thing the LORD wants them to. Which leads to the question, why isn't there a biblical law against speeding, or looking at porn on the internet?

16 But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.

After the people are taken away, then the good people will remain, the God will be exalted.

20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

If you like the bad things, woe unto you.

24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

After forest fires, or controlled burns of weeds, the ground is more fertile and can accept new growth.

25 Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

When we get to the book of Amos, we'll hear about an earthquake. But it seems to be referenced here. Amos was a prophet during Uzziah's reign as well. The earthquake is more famously associated with Amos, than with Isaiah. From wiki:

Masonry walls best display the earthquake, especially walls with broken ashlars, walls with displaced rows of stones, walls still standing but leaning or bowed, and walls collapsed with large sections still lying course-on-course. Debris at six sites (Hazor, Deir 'Alla, Gezer, Lachish, Tell Judeideh, and 'En Haseva) is tightly confined stratigraphically to the middle of the eighth century B.C., with dating errors of ~30 years.…The earthquake was at least magnitude 7.8, but likely was 8.2…This severe geologic disaster has been linked historically to a speech delivered at the city of Bethel by a shepherd-farmer named Amos of Tekoa."

Wait, did that sound familiar? Walls with displaced rows of stones. Walls collapsed, debris...

Read verses 5 and 6 again.

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.

This place was abandoned for nearly 2000 years. God really tore down his vineyard.

30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.

Then, the enemy army will come, and take them all away.

Isaiah 6

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

Uzziah died in roughly 750 BC.

5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

Isaiah was afraid that he should be unclean and in the presence of the LORD.

6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:

7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

I don't believe that Isaiah was iniquitous. He, as the prophet, was probably bearing the sins for the people.

8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

How many people today, will say "Here am I; send me"? Most people look around to see if anyone else is going to volunteer. Are you saying "Here am I; send me"?

9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

Um, what?

10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

This sounds like something Jesus said.

Matthew 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

Jesus even mentions Isaiah (although he called him Esaias). Jesus spoke in parables to deceive people. Isaiah was sent to mislead people, so that they could be bad enough to be wiped away.

11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,

12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

Go and deceive the people, until they are all carried away.

So what have we learned today?

1. After all the men are taken away, the remaining good men will have their choice of wives.

2. Be like Jesus and Isaiah, deceive people so they will not get salvation.

3. God isn't the greatest of vintners.

YIC
V