2013_1001
Church in the home Wednesday
evenings:
Isaiah
1: 1 – 13
Isaiah,
the salvation of Jehovah, Yahweh.
Isaiah 1: 1 – 31
Expanded Bible:
V 1 This
is the vision Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem ·while [ in
the days when] Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah [792–686 bc].
The vision was not concerning the Church of
God, but Judah and Jerusalem.
The first King mentioned in V. 1 is Uzziah,
also known as (AKA) Azariah.
Uzziah
became king at 16 when his father, King Amaziah, was assassinated following a
military disaster. Uzziah was faithful to the LORD for a long time, and during
that time he and his nation prospered. Rising to power after a long period of
decline, he restored to Judah much of the strength and influence that had been
Israel's in the days of David and Solomon. He had a series of military successes
against the Philistines, the Gurbaal, the Mehunims, and the Ammonites. He
fortified Jerusalem, whose walls had been broken down just before he took
office, and he built military outposts throughout the land as well. Being an
inventor, he constructed turreted crossbows and catapults, mounting these in
towers at his outposts. He was also active in agriculture, digging wells and
planting vineyards throughout the land.
Unfortunately, later in his 52-year reign
Uzziah presumed to alter the worship of the LORD, placing himself in the
spotlight (…his pride led to his downfall. 2 Chron 26:16 NIV) by entering the
temple and burning incense, a duty reserved by the LORD for the priests only. A
group of 81 priests confronted the king, informing him of his violation — a
courageous act, given the unquestioned power of the king in those days. Uzziah
became furious. While he raged at the priests, the LORD showed his support for
the priests by afflicting Uzziah with leprosy, which became immediately visible
on his forehead. As no leprous person was permitted in the temple, the priests
began urging the now-unclean king to leave. Uzziah, himself in a panic, rushed
away.
Uzziah never recovered from leprosy. For the
rest of his life he lived in seclusion, and his son Jotham acted as king during
his absence.
Where to read Uzziah's story: 2 Kings 15:1-7; 2
Chronicles 26
V 2 Listen,
heavens, and pay attention, earth [ witnesses of the
covenant; Deut. 30:19],
because
the Lord is speaking:
“I
raised my children [or sons; the nation Israel]
and helped them grow [brought them] up,
but
they have turned [rebelled] against me.
Rebellion is often mentioned in the bible , Exodus
23:21, 1 Samuel 15:23, Proverbs 17:11, Jeremiah 28:16,
V 3 An
ox knows its ·master [owner],
and
a donkey knows where its owner feeds it [ the
feeding trough/crib of its owner/master],but the people of
Israel do not know me;
Most translations do not say “me” in V.3. It
make I clearer indeed to use “me” in this case. What a way to be compared, with
oxen and donkeys ! This is a rude awakening for the people of Israel.
V 4.
How terrible [Woe; Alas]! Israel is a nation of sin
[Sinful nation!],
·a
group of children [offspring; brood; seed] doing evil
[or born from evildoers],
children
[or sons] who are full of evil [act corruptly;
are depraved].They have left [abandoned;
forsaken] the Lord;they hate [despise; or have
rejected/spurned] the Holy One of Israel [Isaiah’s favorite title for God],and have turned away [become
alienated/estranged] from him.
The message is clear.
What about the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” see Bullingers companion Bible
extract below.The term "the Holy One of Israel" occurs 25 times in Isaiah. Outsidde of Isaiah it is used 1 by Isaiah himself, and 3 times in the Psalms
V. 5
Why should you continue to be [or do you insist on being] punished [battered;
struck down]? Why do you continue to turn
against him [rebel]?
Your
whole head is hurt [bruised; wounded],and your whole heart is sick [faint;
weak].
The rhetorical questions, Why ? Even though the
consequences are known and are negative, are going to hurt, nevertheless man
has this stubbornness against God and His will.
V. 6
There is no healthy spot [soundness] from the bottom [sole] of your foot to the
top of your head; you are covered with
wounds [bruises], hurts
[sores; welts], and open sores [raw/infected
wounds] that are not cleaned [pressed out] and covered [bandaged],
and
no medicine takes away the pain [not soothed/softened with oil].
Israel is
completely unhealthy.
V. 8 Your land is ruined
[desolate]; your cities have been burned with fire.
While you watch [Right in front of you], your enemies [L foreigners; strangers] are stealing
everything from [destroy; devour] your land [fields; crops];
it is ruined like a
country destroyed [overthrown] by enemies [foreigners; strangers].
V 9 If the Lord All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s
Armies; T of
hosts] had not allowed a few of our people to live [left us a few
survivors], we would have been like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
[completely destroyed; Gen. 19].
Frightening stuff,
if a few of our people were not allowed to live, there would have been complete
annihilation. Who were these few? Isaiah for one, other prophets, Micah, Nahum,
there must have been a few more?
V. 10 Hear [Listen to] the word of the Lord, you
rulers of Sodom [C Jerusalem is compared sarcastically to evil Sodom and
Gomorrah]! listen to the teaching [instruction] of our God,
You people of Gomorrah!
Nice comparison,
firstly oxen and donkeys, now Sodom and Gomorrah. Direct approach or sure,
Isaiah has a tough message to deliver and he did it unequivocally.
V. 11 The Lord says,
“I do not want all
these sacrifices [L What
are your many sacrifices to me?] I have had enough
of [am stuffed full with] your burnt sacrifices [Lev. 1:1–17] of male sheep and
fat from fine [fattened] animals [beasts; cattle]. I am not pleased by [take no pleasure in]
the blood of bulls, lambs, and goats.
V. 12 You come to meet with [appear before; worship]
me, but who asked you to do
all this running in and out
of [trampling/parading through] my Temple’s rooms [courts; courtyards]?
Good imagery, busy
running round looking sincere and parading with pomp and ceremony, a big
distraction from the real business at hand. Most translations call it trampling
(through my temple.)
V. 13 Don’t continue bringing me worthless [meaningless; futile] sacrifices!
I hate the incense you
burn [ Incense is
detestable/an abomination to me].
I can’t stand your New Moons, Sabbaths, and other feast days
[convocations; sacred assemblies];
I can’t stand [endure] the evil you do in your holy meetings [sin
and assembly].
Offerings of the
uncommitted are an abomination to Yahweh.
The strongest possible
language is used to show the divine displeasure in the observance of holy days.
Yahweh cannot endure them. He hates these feasts. They are a burden to him. In
v 4 iniquity was a burden to the people; here hypocritical worship is a burden
to Yahweh.
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