Colin Badger – Thematic Study of Isaiah – Class 6 – The Suffering Servant for Jubilee

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This is day six of the 1988
Idlewild Bible School.

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Our third period teacher is
brother Colin Badger.

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His subject is a thematic study
of Isaiah and his subtopic for

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today is the Suffering Servant
and Jubilee.

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My dear brothers and sisters, as
we come to this last session

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together, it should be apparent
that we’ve only really just

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scratched the surface in some of
these areas we’ve been

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exploring.
Our intention over this past

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week was to look at a number of
important themes that run

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through Isaiah.
Consider their background in the

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prophecy itself.
Try to explore whether those

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themes had any roots in the Life
and Times of the prophet

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himself, and especially in the
life and work of Hezekiah.

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We have drawn fairly heavily
upon Kings and Chronicles to

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gain a keener insight into the
life of Hezekiah and the

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circumstances that form the
background for these important

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themes in Isaiah’s prophecy.
We’ve carried through a number

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of keywords or terms, as well as
some important ideas and

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concepts, seeing how they go
right through the prophecy and

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with some careful understanding
of the meaning and the

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associations we have elsewhere
in Scripture.

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They’re like master keys which
open up the prophecy.

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Yesterday we were considering
that beautiful theme of the

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water symbology in Isaiah’s
prophecy and how it relates so

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very much to the circumstances
in and around Jerusalem at the

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time of Hezekiah and the
Assyrian crisis.

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We ended yesterday by
concentrating on the symbol of

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the highway, the cleansing, the
water that was there within

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eyesight of all who would
discern the words of the

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prophets and search for a deeper
meaning.

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I’d like, brothers and sisters,
just to pick up that thread and

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round it off a little bit more
before we consider in some

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detail the importance of the
Servant theme in Isaiah.

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The Servant himself as Messiah
brings certain blessings in the

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prophecy of Isaiah, obviously
the blessing of salvation.

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We’ve seen that he also brings
the wells of salvation.

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We see also in Isaiah 53 that
the suffering servant is a sin

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bearer.
We see throughout the pages of

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Isaiah that the great Servant,
God’s Son, usher’s in the

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Kingdom.
He is the righteous king,

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mentioned many times in the
prophecy, or at least described

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as being one who ruled, a
leader, a commander of the

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people.
He is first and foremost a

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Liberator, one who brings
freedom, and in the language of

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the prophecy of Isaiah, he is
one who proclaims a kind of

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jubilee.
And the work we’ve been doing in

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Joshua this week will provide a
useful background for that.

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As the Servant, he also, through
his messianic work of saving and

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the ushering in of a future
Kingdom, provides a place where

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that highway leads, a place of
refuge.

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And that language is what we’d
like to start with in this

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class.
Isaiah chapter 40, the section

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we were looking at fairly
closely yesterday.

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It is the springboard for
another important image that

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runs through the prophecy, and
it’s rich in its exhortation.

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Thinking as we did yesterday
about the symbology of a

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highway, a way of holiness, the
way of salvation that leads to

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Zion, brings us to the place of
the well of salvation, provides

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a way by which the Zion, the
daughters of Zion, might truly

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be cleansed.
Verse 3A Key phrase The voice of

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him that crieth in the
wilderness.

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Prepare, prepare ye the way of
the Lord, make straight in the

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desert a highway for our God.
We think of the words of our

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Master in the Gospel where he
described the way of salvation

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as being narrow.
He also used the word straight,

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didn’t he?
The way of salvation is narrow

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in contrast to the Broadway that
leads to destruction.

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So the Master himself used terms
to describe the way of salvation

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as though it was a straight
highway, narrow rather than

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broad.
So his words in the Gospels are

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in some way an echo of verse 3.
But more than that, this phrase

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prepare.
Ye.

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The way in the Old Testament, in
the book of Deuteronomy chapter

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19, we believe there’s an
important link which fills out

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the Old Testament thought here,
and I think it helps to have

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that in order to fill out the
picture that is given to us in

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this cry of Isaiah 40.
Would you turn then with me to

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Deuteronomy 19?
It’s dealing with the cities of

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refuge.
It provides another Old

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Testament background that helps
us to understand what these

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words would have meant to one
who has seized in the Old

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Testament.
Deuteronomy 19 verse one, When

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the Lord thy God hath cut off
the nations, whose land the Lord

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thy God giveth thee, and thou
succeedest them, and dwellest in

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their cities, and in their
houses, thou shalt separate 3

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cities for thee.
In the midst.

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Of thy land, which the Lord thy
God giveth thee to possess it

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thou shalt prepare thee away and
divide the coast.

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Of thy land, which the Lord thy
God giveth thee to inherit into

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three parts, that every Slayer
may flee there.

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Now, if you look at the context,
it’s talking about about one who

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has unintentionally, through
either carelessness or

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ignorance, slain someone.
He has the opportunity of

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finding asylum within three
cities of the land.

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They were called the cities of
refuge.

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And in these cities, brothers
and sisters, he would find

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protection for, or rather from
death.

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And here you would see, I
shouldn’t say 3 cities, 3 parts

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of the land divided with the
cities within.

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In these cities of refuge, in
three sections of the land,

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there was to be a place provided
for him.

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But there was a certain onus
upon those who had those cities

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or territories within their
tribal law, Their responsibility

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in verse 3 is spelled out.
Thou shalt prepare thee our way.

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Now, brothers and sisters, the
force of the original is that

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they were to make or to maintain
some form of route to those

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cities of refuge.
Every tribal area that took in

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these cities, the municipal
areas around them were to ensure

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that there is these roads were
maintained, that they were clear

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and that they were kept up so
that one who was fleeing for his

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life or for her life would
always be guaranteed of a proper

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Ave. to the city of refuge.
Now what’s important to notice

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here, brothers and sisters, is
this phrase which is echoed, we

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believe in Isaiah 40 For the one
who is guilty, or the one who

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has inadvertently brought guilt
upon himself in slaying another

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who flees for refuge and
protection, a way was to be

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prepared for that person.
Thou shalt prepare thee away.

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Prepare away.
And in verse 3 of Isaiah 40, the

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voice of him that crieth in the
wilderness to those who have

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been guilty or to those who are
in need of pardoning, those in

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need of asylum, the voice of him
crieth in the wilderness.

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And for them he says, prepare ye
the way.

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The way of the Lord makes
straight in the desert a highway

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for our God.
It was a call to prepare an Ave.

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by which those who were fleeing
for asylum and protection, those

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who were in need of pardoning
and forgiveness, would find

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refuge.
Verse 2.

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Speak he comfortably to
Jerusalem, and cry unto her that

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her warfare is accomplished,
that her iniquity is pardoned,

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for she hath received of the
Lord’s hand double for all her

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sins.
Now the apostle Paul in Hebrews

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picks up this picture in part
and in reference to the cities

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of refuge.
He tells us that we have a city

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of refuge, we have an anchor to
our soul, and we must flee unto

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it.
So clearly, the cities of refuge

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in the Old Testament were
obviously symbolic of something

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greater.
Paul, picking that up in

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Hebrews, shows that in a certain
sense the Lord Jesus Christ is

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our city of refuge, and we must
flee unto that city for

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protection.
But who has provided the way?

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The Master has provided the way.
For here in Isaiah 40, the way

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was prepared to those areas of
refuge in the Old Testament, and

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now more fully to the city of
refuge that we have in Christ

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Jesus.
The way has been prepared.

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It has been made straight, a
highway for our God and for the

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remnant that shall go therein.
You see, brothers and sisters,

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once again the language of
Isaiah is drawing upon Old

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Testament imagery.
Now consider how this is built

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up a little further in the
prophecy elsewhere.

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Let’s go to Isaiah chapter 4,
the language of the future age,

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describing the place of asylum
that we have in Christ and that

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the nation shall have when
Christ establishes His Kingdom.

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Now think carefully of the
language of the highway and the

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relationship to washing that we
picked up yesterday.

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Here also in Isaiah 4, verse 4,
when the Lord shall have washed

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away the filth of the daughters
of Zion.

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Remember, the fuller’s field,
when the Lord has washed away

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the filth of the daughters of
Zion, shall have purged the

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blood of Jerusalem from the
midst thereof by the spirit of

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judgment and by the spirit of
burning.

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And the Lord will create upon
every dwelling place of Mount

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Zion, and upon her assemblies, a
cloud and a smoke by day, and

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the shining of a flaming fire by
night.

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For upon all the glory shall be
a defense or a covering, the

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margin suggests, and there shall
be a Tabernacle for a shadow in

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the daytime from the heat, and
for a place of refuge, and for a

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covert from storm and from rain.
To see that in the future age,

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Zion with the presence of the
king, will be pictured truly as

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though it was a place of refuge,
a city of refuge.

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A highway has been prepared
there, the way of holiness, and

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when God has cleansed the filth
of the daughters of Zion, they

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will be welcomed to tread that
highway, a way of holiness, for

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as we read yesterday, the
unclean shall not pass through

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it.
Cleansing must take place 1st

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and advance by washing.
And those who come will find in

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Zion, in whom there is all her
springs, or their springs, a

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place like the city of refuge of
the Old Testament.

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And so the words of Isaiah for
it emerge with this picture.

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Prepare, prepare ye the way,
says the voice.

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Make it straight, make it plain,
take out the crooked, make it

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obvious, and make it sure.
See how elsewhere in Isaiah the

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same imagery is carried through.
Building on these themes, Isaiah

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chapter 25, perhaps with this
background that we’ve

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accumulated over the course of
our studies, brothers and

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sisters, when we come across
these terms in the future as we

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read Isaiah, they’ll have a
little more meaning, more of a

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concrete picture behind them,
what they would have meant for

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the readers in those days and
what they mean more importantly

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for us now in the future.
Notice verse 2 of Isaiah 25 As a

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lead in For Thou hast Made of a
city, and heap of a defense

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city, a ruin, a palace of
strangers, to be no city.

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It shall never be built.
That’s called in Isaiah quite

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often the city of confusion.
It’s speaking, of course, not

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only of Babylon, but in
particular of the nations and

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their cities and powers that
have been raised up against God.

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Now verse 3.
Therefore shall the strong

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people glorify thee, The city of
the terrible nations shall fear

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thee now in contrast, for thou
hast been a strength to the

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poor, a strength to the needy in
his distress.

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We think of the man who fled to
the city of refuge, to the needy

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in his distress, a refuge from
the storm, a shadow from the

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heat, when the blast of the
terrible one is as a storm

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against the wall.
Do you remember the picture we

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painted a few days ago?
The small remnant of those

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within the walls, the sheep
within the pen, like the

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language of Micah chapter 2, the
onslaught of the Assyrian army,

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the great waters that came down
but only went up to the neck.

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According to the language of
Isaiah chapter 8, the blast of

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the terrible one is as a storm
against the wall.

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So brothers and sisters, these
brethren who were faithful

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within those walls with
Hezekiah, whose hearts were

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tried in this crisis, would
appreciate the force of this

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language.
For indeed, around them, beating

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against the walls of Jerusalem,
was the Assyrian and the

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psychological threats posed by
Rab Sheka.

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But within that city of
Jerusalem in those days, they

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found a covert from the blast of
the heat.

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They found protection from the
jaws of the mighty Assyrian

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00:15:55,320 –> 00:16:00,960
lion.
They found by fleeing to it, not

220
00:16:00,960 –> 00:16:03,920
just those who were native
citizens of Jerusalem, as we’ve

221
00:16:03,920 –> 00:16:08,360
said before, but those who from
other tribes and towns, had

222
00:16:08,360 –> 00:16:12,320
taken the opportunity when time
allowed and gone down to join

223
00:16:12,320 –> 00:16:15,960
Hezekiah and Isaiah.
Those who perhaps had

224
00:16:15,960 –> 00:16:20,240
experienced the infusion of
spiritual strength when Hezekiah

225
00:16:20,240 –> 00:16:23,760
celebrated the Passover knew
what it was to be around a

226
00:16:23,760 –> 00:16:28,040
Hezekiah, a righteous king.
Those who had tasted of that

227
00:16:28,040 –> 00:16:32,400
experience in the hour of crisis
had gone down there to join

228
00:16:32,400 –> 00:16:36,840
others who were native to the
area and put in their lot with

229
00:16:36,840 –> 00:16:42,920
Hezekiah and Isaiah.
They had come seeking refuge

230
00:16:43,000 –> 00:16:47,240
from the storm shadow, from the
heat and the blast of the

231
00:16:47,240 –> 00:16:51,400
terrible ones, and the storm of
the Assyrians did not touch

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00:16:51,400 –> 00:16:54,880
them.
As Isaiah told Hezekiah, not an

233
00:16:54,880 –> 00:16:57,360
arrow shall be fired within
those walls.

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00:16:57,680 –> 00:17:00,960
Not an arrow.
You see, brothers and sisters,

235
00:17:00,960 –> 00:17:06,280
once again we find that the
experience of Hezekiah and his

236
00:17:06,280 –> 00:17:11,359
small flock within those walls
was intended by God to be a

237
00:17:11,359 –> 00:17:16,359
cameo, just a small picture of
something greater.

238
00:17:16,680 –> 00:17:20,280
It meant something to them, and
when we consider how it was

239
00:17:20,280 –> 00:17:24,640
worked out in their real
experience, we look forward to

240
00:17:24,640 –> 00:17:29,160
the time when the Master will
come and establish Zion as a

241
00:17:29,160 –> 00:17:33,480
culvert for all the world, a
place where He will invite all

242
00:17:33,480 –> 00:17:38,520
nations to come from, which will
go forth the Law, and He will

243
00:17:38,520 –> 00:17:43,200
teach the nation and His
brethren as Hezekiah taught

244
00:17:43,280 –> 00:17:46,880
those of His own people.
We saw how Hezekiah in

245
00:17:46,880 –> 00:17:51,720
Chronicles spake comfortably to
the heart of the Levites and

246
00:17:51,720 –> 00:17:53,880
those who would teach and
instruct the Law.

247
00:17:54,440 –> 00:17:58,240
You see, even in that limited
application, they too could take

248
00:17:58,240 –> 00:18:01,840
some meaning from those words.
For in his days the Law went

249
00:18:01,840 –> 00:18:06,360
forth from Zion, and under his
leadership and Isaiah, the law

250
00:18:06,360 –> 00:18:10,720
went forth and they taught the
people all once again, but a

251
00:18:10,720 –> 00:18:15,800
microcosm of something much
grander of the future once

252
00:18:15,800 –> 00:18:18,440
again.
Then we see a theme which runs

253
00:18:18,440 –> 00:18:22,840
all through Isaiah building as
it goes through the prophecies,

254
00:18:23,280 –> 00:18:27,160
creating a complete picture.
Once again we see how important

255
00:18:27,160 –> 00:18:30,640
it is to grasp the relevance it
would have had in those days.

256
00:18:31,560 –> 00:18:34,680
Well, let’s go back to Isaiah,
to the middle portion that we’ve

257
00:18:34,680 –> 00:18:38,680
been often in.
Take a look at something else

258
00:18:38,680 –> 00:18:40,440
that we haven’t really touched
on yet.

259
00:18:40,600 –> 00:18:44,360
In the middle of the Assyrian
crisis, Isaiah 37.

260
00:18:47,080 –> 00:18:50,720
God’s assurances that the
Assyrian will be turned back.

261
00:18:50,760 –> 00:19:01,560
The mighty raging storm, verse
29 of Isaiah 37 speaking as it

262
00:19:01,560 –> 00:19:07,560
were to the Assyrian, verse 29
Isaiah 37 Because thy Rage

263
00:19:07,560 –> 00:19:12,760
Against me and thy tumult is
come up into mine ears,

264
00:19:13,280 –> 00:19:23,800
therefore I will put my hook in
thy nose, and my bridle in thy

265
00:19:24,000 –> 00:19:28,120
lips.
Where have we heard that before?

266
00:19:28,760 –> 00:19:31,880
Well, we showed you a slide
Monday evening, I believe it

267
00:19:31,880 –> 00:19:36,080
was, which showed from an
Assyrian inscription, the

268
00:19:37,400 –> 00:19:43,600
practice amongst the Assyrians
of taking hooks or rings and

269
00:19:43,600 –> 00:19:47,600
putting them in the noses of
their captives and then

270
00:19:47,600 –> 00:19:51,440
stringing chords from captive to
captive, nose to nose.

271
00:19:51,680 –> 00:19:53,720
A rather painful way of walking
along.

272
00:19:54,480 –> 00:19:58,560
And how they would use this as a
source of daily torment when

273
00:19:58,560 –> 00:20:02,000
they’re captive, often naked, as
you saw in that slide, would

274
00:20:02,000 –> 00:20:05,200
follow along all the way to the
cities that they were to be

275
00:20:05,200 –> 00:20:07,680
placed in, whether it was back
to Nineveh or some other

276
00:20:07,680 –> 00:20:11,920
surrounding place of deportment.
So, brothers and sisters, that

277
00:20:11,920 –> 00:20:15,680
language drawing from the
practice of the Assyrians would

278
00:20:15,680 –> 00:20:19,760
have had special meaning.
Now it’s that very kind of

279
00:20:19,760 –> 00:20:23,320
language that is used to
describe the latter day

280
00:20:23,320 –> 00:20:26,160
Assyrian.
Perhaps it echoes something in

281
00:20:26,160 –> 00:20:30,000
your mind.
It’s used in Kings elsewhere,

282
00:20:30,400 –> 00:20:34,040
giving a parallel record to
Isaiah 37 of the Assyrians.

283
00:20:34,360 –> 00:20:37,200
But hold your hand here and slip
over to Ezekiel 38.

284
00:20:38,800 –> 00:20:41,560
This brings perhaps a little
more relevance to our times.

285
00:20:44,480 –> 00:20:49,360
Here in Ezekiel 38 we have the
threat of another northern

286
00:20:49,360 –> 00:20:54,360
invader, with many parallels to
the Assyrian of Hezekiah’s day.

287
00:20:55,280 –> 00:20:59,200
And Speaking of this Great
Northern invader, whose

288
00:20:59,200 –> 00:21:03,000
objective is to come down to the
same city that Sennacherib came

289
00:21:03,000 –> 00:21:08,040
to, whose objective is to
annihilate the same people as

290
00:21:08,040 –> 00:21:11,480
the Assyrian had intended to in
the days of Hezekiah.

291
00:21:12,400 –> 00:21:16,240
Of the future power it is said,
verse 3.

292
00:21:16,560 –> 00:21:22,240
Ezekiel 38 And say thus saith
the Lord God, Behold, I am

293
00:21:22,240 –> 00:21:26,440
against thee, O Gog, the chief
Prince of Meshech and Tubal, and

294
00:21:26,440 –> 00:21:31,040
I will turn thee back.
Now notice the language of the

295
00:21:31,040 –> 00:21:36,680
Assyrian practice, and put hooks
into thy jaws, and I will bring

296
00:21:36,680 –> 00:21:40,480
thee forth.
And all thine army and horses

297
00:21:40,480 –> 00:21:43,880
and horsemen, all of them
clothed with all sorts of armor,

298
00:21:44,160 –> 00:21:47,680
even a great company with
bucklers and Shields, all of

299
00:21:47,680 –> 00:21:51,920
them handling swords.
Now the language of Ezekiel 38

300
00:21:51,920 –> 00:21:55,360
describes an army.
And of course it doesn’t

301
00:21:55,360 –> 00:21:59,720
describe this invading northern
army in terms of Modern Warfare,

302
00:22:00,080 –> 00:22:04,000
but the language is reminiscent
of the Assyrian invasion.

303
00:22:04,520 –> 00:22:08,240
The same kind of forces, the
same kind of approach from the

304
00:22:08,240 –> 00:22:10,880
north.
In your margin, you might want

305
00:22:10,880 –> 00:22:17,800
to note Second Kings 19 verse
28, Second Kings 19, verse 28,

306
00:22:18,080 –> 00:22:21,600
where part of this language is
used in application to the

307
00:22:21,600 –> 00:22:26,880
Assyrians as an addition to the
Isaiah 37 passage we just began

308
00:22:26,880 –> 00:22:31,040
from.
Now let’s flip over to Micah, a

309
00:22:31,040 –> 00:22:33,360
prophet contemporary with
Isaiah.

310
00:22:35,640 –> 00:22:42,840
See how Micah puts this Speaking
of the latter days and yet no

311
00:22:42,840 –> 00:22:47,040
doubt having meaning to his
contemporaries, thinking of the

312
00:22:47,040 –> 00:22:50,840
backdrop of the Assyrian
invasion in Micah’s day, but

313
00:22:50,840 –> 00:22:54,840
looking forward to something the
Lord Jesus Christ must handle in

314
00:22:54,840 –> 00:22:58,080
the future against another
Assyrian.

315
00:22:59,120 –> 00:23:01,880
Micah 5.
We know it’s a Messianic

316
00:23:01,880 –> 00:23:06,360
chapter.
We know that because it refers

317
00:23:06,360 –> 00:23:08,560
to the Lord Jesus Christ in
verse two.

318
00:23:09,440 –> 00:23:13,520
Well known words to all of us.
But thou Bethlehem Ephrata,

319
00:23:14,040 –> 00:23:17,960
though thou be little among the
thousands of Judah, yet out of

320
00:23:17,960 –> 00:23:20,120
thee shall he come forth unto
me.

321
00:23:20,680 –> 00:23:25,000
That is to be ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth earlier in

322
00:23:25,000 –> 00:23:27,600
the week we said it means to
spring or descend out.

323
00:23:28,160 –> 00:23:32,240
Whose going forth or spring from
of old from everlasting.

324
00:23:33,120 –> 00:23:37,720
Therefore will he give them up
until the time that she which

325
00:23:37,720 –> 00:23:40,520
prevaileth Travaileth hath
brought forth.

326
00:23:41,280 –> 00:23:45,200
Then the remnant of his brethren
shall return unto the children

327
00:23:45,200 –> 00:23:49,160
of Israel.
And he, Jesus, shall stand and

328
00:23:49,160 –> 00:23:52,600
feed in the strength of the
Lord, in the majesty of the name

329
00:23:52,600 –> 00:23:57,640
of the Lord his God, and he
shall abide, for now shall he be

330
00:23:57,640 –> 00:23:59,640
great unto the ends of the
earth.

331
00:24:00,240 –> 00:24:05,320
And this man like Hezekiah,
shall be the peace when the

332
00:24:05,320 –> 00:24:08,120
Assyrian shall come into our
land.

333
00:24:09,160 –> 00:24:13,480
Verse 6 And they shall waste the
land of Assyria with the sword,

334
00:24:13,480 –> 00:24:16,040
and the land of Nimrod in the
entrances thereof.

335
00:24:16,520 –> 00:24:21,640
Thus shall he deliver us from
the Assyrian when he cometh into

336
00:24:21,640 –> 00:24:24,600
our land, when he treadeth
within our borders.

337
00:24:25,360 –> 00:24:27,040
Who is this, Brothers and
sisters?

338
00:24:27,560 –> 00:24:32,960
It’s the one born in Bethlehem.
It’s the one who shall be our

339
00:24:32,960 –> 00:24:37,280
peace when the latter day
Assyrian comes into the land of

340
00:24:37,280 –> 00:24:42,520
old, the land of Israel.
Taking Ezekiel 38 and the

341
00:24:42,520 –> 00:24:46,680
language of the hooks in the
jaws, the language of Micah

342
00:24:46,680 –> 00:24:50,640
chapter 5, describing this
northern invader Gog as a latter

343
00:24:50,640 –> 00:24:56,440
day Assyrian, and bringing with
it the language of Isaiah 37 and

344
00:24:56,440 –> 00:25:01,040
a passage in Second Kings.
A picture form showing us

345
00:25:01,040 –> 00:25:05,320
clearly that once again, the
events in Hezekiah’s day, the

346
00:25:05,320 –> 00:25:10,880
backdrop for much of Isaiah’s
prophecy only is a microcosm of

347
00:25:10,880 –> 00:25:13,160
something on a much grander
scale.

348
00:25:13,680 –> 00:25:17,840
And we suggest that a careful
examination of this Assyrian

349
00:25:17,840 –> 00:25:22,880
crisis and the movement of the
Assyrian himself is perhaps a

350
00:25:22,880 –> 00:25:26,720
kind of blueprint that should
guide us into an understanding

351
00:25:26,920 –> 00:25:31,240
of how these events shall stack
up in the latter days when we

352
00:25:31,240 –> 00:25:34,000
have once again an Assyrian in
the land.

353
00:25:35,000 –> 00:25:36,600
Well, we could explore that much
further.

354
00:25:37,160 –> 00:25:41,520
It’s to show us how valuable it
is to watch for these

355
00:25:41,520 –> 00:25:45,680
connections and to use them as
keys for an understanding of

356
00:25:45,680 –> 00:25:51,960
future events.
Back to Isaiah 37, for there’s

357
00:25:51,960 –> 00:25:55,680
more here that opens doors
through the prophecy.

358
00:25:57,760 –> 00:26:07,880
Isaiah 37, we ended verse 29.
I will turn the back exactly

359
00:26:07,880 –> 00:26:12,040
what is said in Ezekiel 38.
I will turn thee back by the

360
00:26:12,040 –> 00:26:15,800
way, by which thou camest.
So perhaps in your margin at

361
00:26:15,800 –> 00:26:19,760
verse 29 you want to write in
Ezekiel 38, verses 1-2 and

362
00:26:19,760 –> 00:26:23,640
three.
Then verse 30 we move on to a

363
00:26:23,640 –> 00:26:28,840
sign.
This is one of four signs given

364
00:26:28,840 –> 00:26:35,520
to Hezekiah, verse 30.
This shall be a sign unto thee.

365
00:26:36,360 –> 00:26:41,720
Ye shall eat this year such as
groweth of itself, and the

366
00:26:41,720 –> 00:26:44,720
second year that which springeth
of the same.

367
00:26:45,240 –> 00:26:50,840
And in the third year sow ye and
reap and plant vineyards, and

368
00:26:50,840 –> 00:26:55,480
eat the fruit thereof.
And the remnant that is escaped

369
00:26:55,480 –> 00:26:59,480
to the House of Judah shall
again take root downward and

370
00:26:59,480 –> 00:27:04,120
bear fruit upward.
Once again we ask ourselves,

371
00:27:04,960 –> 00:27:07,360
what is the source of this
language?

372
00:27:08,040 –> 00:27:11,440
Where have we heard this kind of
language before in the Old

373
00:27:11,440 –> 00:27:14,200
Testament?
This reference to fruitfulness,

374
00:27:14,680 –> 00:27:19,880
the promise of a blessing of
harvest, the mention of the 1st

375
00:27:19,880 –> 00:27:24,000
and 2nd and 3rd year, Well, some
margins will tip you off that

376
00:27:24,000 –> 00:27:28,720
the background for this is
Leviticus 25, Speaking of the

377
00:27:28,720 –> 00:27:32,160
year of Jubilee and the Sabbath
years.

378
00:27:32,840 –> 00:27:37,280
So we pause, put a marker there
and go back to Leviticus 25.

379
00:27:37,640 –> 00:27:41,080
I’d like just to survey that
chapter for a moment and pick

380
00:27:41,080 –> 00:27:45,960
out some of the key thoughts and
terms Leviticus 25.

381
00:27:46,360 –> 00:27:49,200
And I think we’ll prove, we’ll
find that it’s very useful for

382
00:27:49,200 –> 00:27:53,600
Isaiah’s prophecy.
Back we go to Leviticus 25.

383
00:27:57,760 –> 00:28:01,800
I suggest you read the chapter
when you’ve time in detail to

384
00:28:01,800 –> 00:28:05,640
get the full context.
Let’s just pick out these key

385
00:28:05,640 –> 00:28:12,840
ideas as they have a relation to
Isaiah 37 verse 2.

386
00:28:13,840 –> 00:28:18,160
Moses is told, Speak unto the
children of Israel, and say unto

387
00:28:18,160 –> 00:28:23,120
them, When ye come into the land
which I give you, then shall the

388
00:28:23,120 –> 00:28:27,920
land keep a Sabbath unto the
Lord six years.

389
00:28:28,160 –> 00:28:32,200
Thou shalt sow thy feel.
Now listen carefully to those

390
00:28:32,200 –> 00:28:37,080
words that run parallel to
Isaiah. 6 years thou shalt sow

391
00:28:37,160 –> 00:28:40,800
thy field, and six years thou
shalt prune thy vineyard.

392
00:28:42,000 –> 00:28:45,760
But in the seventh year shall be
a Sabbath of rest unto the land,

393
00:28:46,480 –> 00:28:50,160
a Sabbath for the Lord.
Thou shalt neither sow thy field

394
00:28:50,160 –> 00:28:54,520
nor prune thy vineyards.
That which groweth of its own

395
00:28:54,520 –> 00:29:00,120
accord of thy harvest thou shalt
not reap, neither gather the

396
00:29:00,120 –> 00:29:06,960
grapes of thy vine undressed.
For it is a year of rest when we

397
00:29:06,960 –> 00:29:10,520
come down and expand that a
little more.

398
00:29:11,080 –> 00:29:16,920
Read over here now to verse 18.
Wherefore ye shall do my

399
00:29:16,920 –> 00:29:21,200
statutes, and keep my judgments,
and do them, and ye shall dwell

400
00:29:21,200 –> 00:29:26,400
in the land in safety, and the
land shall yield her fruit, and

401
00:29:26,400 –> 00:29:30,080
ye shall eat your fill, and
dwell therein in safety.

402
00:29:30,840 –> 00:29:37,160
Now God anticipates a question,
verse 20 And if ye shall say,

403
00:29:38,040 –> 00:29:43,080
What shall we eat the 7th year?
Behold, we shall not sow nor

404
00:29:43,080 –> 00:29:46,400
gather in our increase.
Good question God says.

405
00:29:46,800 –> 00:29:52,240
And the answer verse 21 then
says God, I will command my

406
00:29:52,240 –> 00:29:57,320
blessing upon you in the sixth
year, and it shall bring forth

407
00:29:57,400 –> 00:30:03,520
fruit for three years.
Now that means the harvest in

408
00:30:03,520 –> 00:30:08,400
that year would be bountiful
enough to carry them over for

409
00:30:08,400 –> 00:30:14,160
three years, not 3 full years.
In fact, why does it say that?

410
00:30:14,640 –> 00:30:19,800
Because the land is to rest in
the seventh year, so that when

411
00:30:19,800 –> 00:30:23,240
the 7th year is over, what must
they do?

412
00:30:23,520 –> 00:30:29,040
They must sow and then after
sowing they must wait through

413
00:30:29,040 –> 00:30:31,360
that year before the harvest
comes.

414
00:30:32,560 –> 00:30:35,080
And it must be a good enough
harvest, brothers and sisters,

415
00:30:35,080 –> 00:30:38,440
to provide them food and ample
seed for the next sowing.

416
00:30:39,240 –> 00:30:45,680
So there’s about a three-year
period here related to the time

417
00:30:45,680 –> 00:30:48,800
of rest in the land in the
operation of these Sabbath

418
00:30:48,800 –> 00:30:52,640
years.
And God is saying, I promise in

419
00:30:52,640 –> 00:30:57,760
that 6th year to give you
sufficient to carry you over

420
00:30:57,760 –> 00:31:03,080
almost a three-year period,
enough seed and enough fruit to

421
00:31:03,080 –> 00:31:05,720
look after you.
It’s my promise if you’ll

422
00:31:05,720 –> 00:31:10,440
respond in faith.
Now that’s the background beyond

423
00:31:10,440 –> 00:31:14,120
any shadow of a doubt in those
words in Isaiah, of those words

424
00:31:14,120 –> 00:31:18,040
in Isaiah 37.
What’s it saying to Hezekiah and

425
00:31:18,040 –> 00:31:22,280
the people?
It’s a promise that at the end

426
00:31:22,280 –> 00:31:27,880
of the Assyrian crisis, this
will be a sign I will bless you

427
00:31:28,520 –> 00:31:32,520
with the terms of blessing from
the Sabbath year.

428
00:31:33,400 –> 00:31:37,240
It’s a promise that the remnant
that had stayed with Hezekiah

429
00:31:37,560 –> 00:31:40,760
and would come out into that
city would be blessed with

430
00:31:40,760 –> 00:31:43,800
fruitfulness.
But first they would be carried

431
00:31:43,800 –> 00:31:47,760
through sufficiently.
And the promise is in terms of

432
00:31:47,760 –> 00:31:50,920
the jubilee or the Sabbath
language, brothers and sisters.

433
00:31:51,800 –> 00:31:56,000
Now taking another look here at
Leviticus 25, pick up some of

434
00:31:56,000 –> 00:32:00,880
the keywords in this whole
context, verse one mention of a

435
00:32:00,880 –> 00:32:06,680
Sabbath.
Verse 5, a rest year, a year of

436
00:32:06,680 –> 00:32:11,360
rest, key idea, rest course,
it’s married with the idea of

437
00:32:11,360 –> 00:32:14,760
Sabbath.
Then in this context of the

438
00:32:14,760 –> 00:32:18,520
Sabbath year’s reckoning, the
jubilee is introduced in verse

439
00:32:18,520 –> 00:32:26,360
9. 7 * 749 years marked out, and
at the end a jubilee marked in

440
00:32:26,360 –> 00:32:30,720
verse 9 by a trumpet.
And when the jubilee is to be

441
00:32:30,720 –> 00:32:34,960
marked at the end of seven
sevens, it shall be in

442
00:32:34,960 –> 00:32:38,280
conjunction with the Day of
Atonement, verse 9.

443
00:32:38,920 –> 00:32:42,840
Thou shalt pause the trumpet of
the jubilee to sound on the 10th

444
00:32:42,840 –> 00:32:48,280
day of the 7th month in the Day
of Atonement, and he shall make

445
00:32:48,280 –> 00:32:50,840
the trumpet sound throughout all
your land.

446
00:32:51,640 –> 00:32:56,040
So a trumpet the Day of
Atonement, Sabbath rest.

447
00:32:56,560 –> 00:33:01,440
Verse 10, proclaim liberty
throughout all the land.

448
00:33:02,240 –> 00:33:05,640
At the end of verse 10,
assurance that they shall return

449
00:33:05,640 –> 00:33:09,920
to their possessions.
Then other key terms.

450
00:33:10,320 –> 00:33:13,880
Verse 25.
The word redeem is introduced in

451
00:33:13,880 –> 00:33:16,720
this context.
Middle of verse 25.

452
00:33:16,800 –> 00:33:19,320
Redeem.
And verse 26.

453
00:33:19,560 –> 00:33:23,360
If a man shall have none to
redeem it, and himself be able

454
00:33:23,360 –> 00:33:28,480
to redeem it, and so on, then
elsewhere in the chapter concern

455
00:33:28,480 –> 00:33:30,680
about the poor.
Verse 35.

456
00:33:31,440 –> 00:33:36,320
And if thy brother be waxing
poor, and fallen in decay, such

457
00:33:36,320 –> 00:33:38,040
and such shall be provided for
him.

458
00:33:38,840 –> 00:33:42,840
Verse 39.
The idea of being a prisoner or

459
00:33:42,840 –> 00:33:48,080
being sold in bondage is brought
to our attention For verse 39.

460
00:33:48,280 –> 00:33:52,320
If thy brother that dwelleth by
thee be waxed and poor, and be

461
00:33:52,320 –> 00:33:56,840
sold unto thee, thou shalt not
compel him to serve as a

462
00:33:56,840 –> 00:34:01,920
bondservant.
Now the terms in this context of

463
00:34:01,920 –> 00:34:06,040
that of a jubilee and that of
the promise of promised blessing

464
00:34:06,040 –> 00:34:09,760
and fruitfulness, stack up one
after another, about 10 key

465
00:34:09,760 –> 00:34:13,760
terms.
Sabbath rest, a trumpet,

466
00:34:14,239 –> 00:34:21,120
atonement, liberty, returning,
possessing, redeeming, and being

467
00:34:21,120 –> 00:34:24,639
redeemed.
Concern for the poor, for those

468
00:34:24,639 –> 00:34:27,960
who were sold, for those who are
in bonds.

469
00:34:28,639 –> 00:34:33,239
At least 10 key terms.
Now brothers and sisters, when

470
00:34:33,239 –> 00:34:38,320
you go through Isaiah beyond
chapter 37, you see that

471
00:34:38,520 –> 00:34:44,480
although Hezekiah and his people
experienced a kind of 7th year

472
00:34:44,480 –> 00:34:50,159
blessing, there was also
experienced in that a kind of

473
00:34:50,159 –> 00:34:54,880
jubilee experience for those who
were within the walls were

474
00:34:54,880 –> 00:34:59,160
liberated.
There had indeed been a Sabbath

475
00:34:59,160 –> 00:35:02,880
or a rest within those walls
from the bondage of the

476
00:35:02,880 –> 00:35:06,760
Assyrian.
The mention of a trumpet is

477
00:35:06,760 –> 00:35:09,920
mentioned elsewhere in Isaiah in
Jubilee terms.

478
00:35:10,040 –> 00:35:13,600
We’ll notice that in a moment.
Terms that relate to an

479
00:35:13,600 –> 00:35:17,640
atonement are referred to in
Isaiah’s prophecy, often in

480
00:35:17,640 –> 00:35:21,880
those passages that speak of
liberation and freedom, The

481
00:35:21,880 –> 00:35:27,240
promise of returning the remnant
of possessing their possessions

482
00:35:27,240 –> 00:35:31,120
that were rightly theirs, the
promise of being redeemed,

483
00:35:31,720 –> 00:35:36,040
concern for the poor and those
who had been sold, and those who

484
00:35:36,040 –> 00:35:38,840
had become bond servants.
All of the.

485
00:35:38,840 –> 00:35:44,080
Language surrounding these few
verses in Isaiah 37 are built on

486
00:35:44,080 –> 00:35:47,920
elsewhere in the restoration
passages, so let’s look for a

487
00:35:47,920 –> 00:35:52,600
sample using this as a key to an
understanding of what it meant

488
00:35:52,600 –> 00:35:56,560
to Hezekiah and the remnant with
him, and then further in the

489
00:35:56,560 –> 00:36:00,880
Kingdom.
Isaiah 35A Restoration passage.

490
00:36:01,680 –> 00:36:05,520
But words that hearken back to
the terms of the Sabbath year,

491
00:36:05,520 –> 00:36:15,160
blessings and the terms of
Jubilee Messiah. 35 Notice the

492
00:36:15,160 –> 00:36:19,440
terms of blessing and
fruitfulness from that which had

493
00:36:19,440 –> 00:36:22,360
been waste, that which was dry
without hope.

494
00:36:22,880 –> 00:36:25,760
Verse one.
The wilderness in the solitary

495
00:36:25,760 –> 00:36:30,800
place shall be glad for them,
and the desert shall rejoice and

496
00:36:30,800 –> 00:36:33,560
blossom as the Rose.
Verse 2.

497
00:36:33,880 –> 00:36:36,320
Promises of fruitfulness and
blessing.

498
00:36:36,720 –> 00:36:40,480
Caramel means fruitfulness.
Down to verse 10.

499
00:36:40,520 –> 00:36:43,400
This is the key one well.
Verse 9.

500
00:36:43,400 –> 00:36:47,440
Perhaps for context.
No lion shall be there, nor any

501
00:36:47,440 –> 00:36:49,440
ravenous beast shall go up
thereon.

502
00:36:50,200 –> 00:36:56,400
It shall not be found there, but
the redeemed shall walk there.

503
00:36:57,040 –> 00:37:03,800
Verse 10 And the ransomed of the
Lord shall return, and come to

504
00:37:03,800 –> 00:37:07,960
Zion with songs and everlasting
joy upon their heads.

505
00:37:08,360 –> 00:37:11,520
They shall obtain joy and
gladness, and sorrow, and

506
00:37:11,520 –> 00:37:16,760
sighing shall flee away.
Hear language that promises

507
00:37:16,800 –> 00:37:21,840
fruitfulness, the blessings of
God’s goodness, the promise

508
00:37:21,840 –> 00:37:26,240
though of liberation and
freedom, the promise of the

509
00:37:26,240 –> 00:37:31,480
ransomed being liberated and
freed, those who now can return

510
00:37:31,480 –> 00:37:36,320
and come to Zion, the promise,
brothers and sisters, of a

511
00:37:36,320 –> 00:37:40,320
future kind of jubilee.
Let’s go elsewhere.

512
00:37:40,800 –> 00:37:46,080
Isaiah chapter 58.
Many have noticed that the terms

513
00:37:46,080 –> 00:37:53,920
in Isaiah 58 contain a kind of
double strand.

514
00:37:54,560 –> 00:37:58,400
Many of the terms in Isaiah 58
hearken back to the Day of

515
00:37:58,400 –> 00:38:05,080
Atonement, but also many of the
terms in Isaiah 58 hearken back

516
00:38:05,200 –> 00:38:09,840
to the days of Jubilee, and
they’re not disassociated.

517
00:38:10,240 –> 00:38:15,760
Remember, Leviticus 25 talks
about the Jubilee being

518
00:38:15,920 –> 00:38:20,680
pronounced in conjunction with
the Day of Atonement for that

519
00:38:20,680 –> 00:38:24,640
year.
So thoughts related to Jubilee

520
00:38:24,960 –> 00:38:28,720
and thoughts related to the Day
of Atonement are actually

521
00:38:28,720 –> 00:38:33,280
married together in Leviticus
25, and thus there’s two strands

522
00:38:33,320 –> 00:38:36,400
running through the language of
Isaiah 58.

523
00:38:37,000 –> 00:38:41,920
First, notice the trumpet verse.
One cry aloud.

524
00:38:42,120 –> 00:38:48,760
Spare not, lift up thy voice
like a trumpet, and show my

525
00:38:48,760 –> 00:38:52,800
people their transgression, and
the House of Jacob their sins.

526
00:38:53,640 –> 00:38:55,680
And what’s the promise?
What’s the hope?

527
00:38:56,280 –> 00:38:58,320
Well, here’s how it ought to be
viewed.

528
00:38:58,520 –> 00:39:00,880
Verse 6.
Now in the language of the

529
00:39:00,880 –> 00:39:05,440
Sabbath, Verse 6.
Is not this the fast that I have

530
00:39:05,440 –> 00:39:08,880
chosen to loose the bands of
wickedness?

531
00:39:09,000 –> 00:39:14,320
Remember freedom from bondage,
to undo the heavy burdens and to

532
00:39:14,320 –> 00:39:18,440
let the oppressed go free.
Did she break every yolk?

533
00:39:18,640 –> 00:39:21,200
The one who was in bondage was
to be liberated.

534
00:39:21,400 –> 00:39:25,120
Leviticus 25.
Is it not to deal thy bread to

535
00:39:25,120 –> 00:39:30,000
the hungry, and that thou bring
the poor that are cast out to

536
00:39:30,000 –> 00:39:32,520
thy house?
The concern about the poor.

537
00:39:32,560 –> 00:39:37,480
Leviticus 25 Again, when thou
seest the naked, that thou cover

538
00:39:37,480 –> 00:39:41,000
him, and that thou hide not
thyself from thine own flesh.

539
00:39:42,000 –> 00:39:45,040
Then we come down to liberation
again in verse 9.

540
00:39:45,680 –> 00:39:49,360
Then shalt thou call, and the
Lord shall answer, Thou shalt

541
00:39:49,360 –> 00:39:52,240
cry, and he shall say, Here I
am.

542
00:39:53,280 –> 00:39:57,600
If thou take away from the midst
of thee the yoke, the putting

543
00:39:57,600 –> 00:40:01,480
forth of the finger, and
speaking vanity, if thou draw

544
00:40:01,480 –> 00:40:06,280
out thy soul to the hungry, and
satisfy the afflicted soul, then

545
00:40:06,280 –> 00:40:09,720
shall thy light rise in
obscurity, and the darkness be

546
00:40:09,720 –> 00:40:12,760
as the noonday.
Now the language of fruitfulness

547
00:40:12,800 –> 00:40:14,960
and blessing.
Verse 11.

548
00:40:15,640 –> 00:40:19,480
The Lord shall guide thee
continually, and satisfy thy

549
00:40:19,480 –> 00:40:23,200
soul in drought, and make fat
thy bones.

550
00:40:23,440 –> 00:40:27,560
And thou shalt be like a watered
garden, and like a spring of

551
00:40:27,560 –> 00:40:31,200
water, whose waters fail not.
Verse 12.

552
00:40:32,920 –> 00:40:37,280
And they shall be, and they that
shall be of thee shall build the

553
00:40:37,280 –> 00:40:39,960
old waste places.
Rejuvenation.

554
00:40:40,840 –> 00:40:44,320
Thou shalt raise up the
foundations of many generations.

555
00:40:44,440 –> 00:40:50,000
Restoration, and thou shalt be
called the repairer of the

556
00:40:50,000 –> 00:40:54,400
breach, the restorer of paths to
dwell in.

557
00:40:55,080 –> 00:40:58,880
And then in verse 13, the
prophet merges into the language

558
00:40:58,880 –> 00:41:04,520
of a true Sabbath, a Sabbath
liberation, concern for those

559
00:41:04,520 –> 00:41:08,680
who were poor and needy, concern
about liberation from bondage

560
00:41:09,000 –> 00:41:14,160
and if done properly, the
promise of God’s restoration,

561
00:41:14,480 –> 00:41:18,920
health and blessing for
fruitfulness, and all introduced

562
00:41:18,920 –> 00:41:24,440
by the blast of a trumpet. 58
verse one, and the mention of

563
00:41:24,440 –> 00:41:28,960
sin and transgression in terms
of the Day of Atonement

564
00:41:29,200 –> 00:41:34,040
announced by that trumpet sound.
He’s seen, brothers and sisters,

565
00:41:34,240 –> 00:41:39,240
as you look at these restoration
passages in Isaiah, His people

566
00:41:39,240 –> 00:41:43,280
knew what a jubilee was, as it
were, or the promise of a

567
00:41:43,280 –> 00:41:47,400
Sabbath blessing, The 7th year
Sabbath blessing given on the

568
00:41:47,400 –> 00:41:52,400
6th insurance that if they were
faithful would walk in His ways,

569
00:41:52,840 –> 00:41:56,880
God would bless them.
So that when Isaiah and his

570
00:41:56,880 –> 00:42:00,880
people heard these words, Isaiah
37.

571
00:42:01,280 –> 00:42:06,040
This shall be a sign unto thee,
Ye shall eat of this year such

572
00:42:06,040 –> 00:42:10,560
as groweth of itself, and the
second year that which springeth

573
00:42:10,560 –> 00:42:12,600
of the same, It’ll carry you
through.

574
00:42:13,200 –> 00:42:17,840
And in the third year sow ye,
and reap and plant vineyards,

575
00:42:18,520 –> 00:42:22,400
and eat the fruit thereof.
They were being told in the

576
00:42:22,400 –> 00:42:27,320
terms of Leviticus 25.
God would bless them if they

577
00:42:27,320 –> 00:42:31,560
were faithful, and they would
experience a Sabbath year

578
00:42:31,560 –> 00:42:33,560
blessing such as they’d never
known.

579
00:42:34,200 –> 00:42:38,360
Verse 31.
And the remnant that is escaped

580
00:42:38,360 –> 00:42:41,600
of the House of Judah, those
who’ve been liberated shall

581
00:42:41,600 –> 00:42:45,400
again take root downward and
bear fruit upward.

582
00:42:46,520 –> 00:42:51,680
Such a beautiful Old Testament
context, giving such concrete

583
00:42:51,680 –> 00:42:54,720
meaning to the promises
experienced in the days of

584
00:42:54,720 –> 00:42:57,560
Hezekiah after the Assyrian
crisis.

585
00:42:58,520 –> 00:43:02,560
One of us brothers and sisters,
he has showered upon us

586
00:43:02,600 –> 00:43:05,400
blessings.
We have the promise of the

587
00:43:05,400 –> 00:43:10,440
future age, no matter how
difficult our various trials

588
00:43:10,440 –> 00:43:14,720
are, no matter how many
distresses we have at home in

589
00:43:14,720 –> 00:43:18,720
the domestic scene, no matter
how many disappointments we

590
00:43:18,720 –> 00:43:22,080
might experience in our
ecclesial life and in our own

591
00:43:22,080 –> 00:43:27,280
personal lack of health at
times, as Hezekiah well knew, no

592
00:43:27,280 –> 00:43:31,240
matter how we may.
Feel like looking at the wall?

593
00:43:31,640 –> 00:43:35,800
And feeling that we were down by
the bars of death, there is

594
00:43:35,800 –> 00:43:38,920
hope.
There is always the vision of a

595
00:43:38,920 –> 00:43:42,640
better day.
Let us take heart, brothers and

596
00:43:42,640 –> 00:43:46,560
sisters, that those people with
Hezekiah in the pressure

597
00:43:46,800 –> 00:43:51,800
experienced within their walls,
when everything looked so dismal

598
00:43:52,200 –> 00:43:55,920
and their king was sick nigh on
to death in the critical hour,

599
00:43:56,560 –> 00:44:02,280
there was nevertheless a spring,
a spring of righteousness, a

600
00:44:02,280 –> 00:44:06,640
spring of refreshing water,
constantly an assurance of God’s

601
00:44:06,640 –> 00:44:09,880
blessing.
There was always the hope of a

602
00:44:09,880 –> 00:44:15,400
brighter vision in the future,
the promise of a jubilee of a

603
00:44:15,400 –> 00:44:20,120
Sabbath rest, the hope of being
finally liberated and

604
00:44:20,120 –> 00:44:24,240
experiencing the freedom of one
who could walk in the ways of

605
00:44:24,240 –> 00:44:27,320
holiness.
Never let us think that we have

606
00:44:27,320 –> 00:44:31,160
it too bad, or that others have
not walked in our steps.

607
00:44:31,520 –> 00:44:34,760
We’ve never yet walked in these
kind of conditions.

608
00:44:35,720 –> 00:44:38,000
It’s a source of hope and
strength.

609
00:44:38,520 –> 00:44:43,080
It’s an encouragement against
despair on those cloudy days.

610
00:44:44,040 –> 00:44:47,280
And if we are tending to looking
at the earth, it’s an

611
00:44:47,280 –> 00:44:49,360
encouragement to look up to
heaven.

612
00:44:49,440 –> 00:44:55,000
Brothers and sisters, the one
who promises himself in Isaiah

613
00:44:56,600 –> 00:45:00,760
to be the faithful servant who
will bring ultimately this

614
00:45:00,760 –> 00:45:06,040
jubilee, this liberation into
effect is described, as most of

615
00:45:06,040 –> 00:45:08,280
you know, I’m sure, in Isaiah
53.

616
00:45:09,400 –> 00:45:14,360
But Isaiah 53, brothers and
sisters is but a climatic

617
00:45:14,360 –> 00:45:19,120
chapter that is part of another
theme running through Isaiah.

618
00:45:20,000 –> 00:45:23,440
If you look up the word in the
concordance, there’s a pattern

619
00:45:23,440 –> 00:45:28,640
that emerges very intriguing.
From chapters 1 to 40.

620
00:45:28,640 –> 00:45:36,040
The term servant singular is
only applied to individuals as

621
00:45:36,040 –> 00:45:39,600
follows.
Isaiah, Eliakim, and David all

622
00:45:39,600 –> 00:45:44,560
described as God’s servants.
The other uses of servant would

623
00:45:44,560 –> 00:45:50,840
be even apply applying in Isaiah
14 to Babylon and his servants.

624
00:45:51,120 –> 00:45:54,600
Other references are to other
nations or powers.

625
00:45:54,880 –> 00:45:57,440
These would be the personal
applications in the first part

626
00:45:57,440 –> 00:46:01,320
of Isaiah.
Now as you advance from Isaiah

627
00:46:01,320 –> 00:46:05,640
40, the hinge of the book, just
notice how the term servant

628
00:46:05,640 –> 00:46:10,640
singular is applied and I have I
think an exhaust list here. 41

629
00:46:10,640 –> 00:46:14,880
verse 8 and 9 it applies to
Israel the nation and 42 verse

630
00:46:14,880 –> 00:46:21,440
one it applies to Messiah. 42
and 19 to Israel the nation and

631
00:46:21,440 –> 00:46:27,200
43 the nation. 44 numerous
references Israel the servant as

632
00:46:27,200 –> 00:46:30,600
a nation. 48 and 20 Israel the
nation.

633
00:46:31,400 –> 00:46:37,040
Then a congested series that
apply to Messiah chapter 49,

634
00:46:38,040 –> 00:46:46,680
chapter 50, chapter 52, chapter
53, the servant, Messiah the

635
00:46:46,680 –> 00:46:52,200
servant, Israel, the servant,
the singular servant.

636
00:46:52,720 –> 00:46:54,280
But now here’s something to
note.

637
00:46:55,360 –> 00:47:02,320
After Isaiah 53, every reference
to servant becomes plural.

638
00:47:03,800 –> 00:47:08,600
Every reference to servant
becomes plural after Isaiah 53.

639
00:47:08,960 –> 00:47:12,840
And in every case it has no
reference to the nations or to

640
00:47:12,840 –> 00:47:15,520
their slaves or servants, as it
does in the first part of

641
00:47:15,520 –> 00:47:18,600
Isaiah.
It always has reference to the

642
00:47:18,600 –> 00:47:22,960
redeemed, either from the nation
of Israel or to the Saints

643
00:47:22,960 –> 00:47:26,360
themselves directly.
So there’s a transition at

644
00:47:26,360 –> 00:47:29,280
Isaiah 53.
Why there?

645
00:47:30,240 –> 00:47:34,760
Isaiah 53 ends by mentioning a
plural seed.

646
00:47:35,280 –> 00:47:41,280
For the suffering servant shall
see his seed plural, and shall

647
00:47:41,280 –> 00:47:45,440
be satisfied.
God shall prolong his days and

648
00:47:45,440 –> 00:47:51,160
thus right after Isaiah 53, all
references to the servant is

649
00:47:51,160 –> 00:47:57,760
plural and we have chapter 54
redeemed, the redeemed called

650
00:47:57,760 –> 00:48:03,280
the servants in verse 17 once
again, verse 6 of chapter 56,

651
00:48:04,000 –> 00:48:09,040
then my servants 63 and 17,
applying it would seem to the

652
00:48:09,040 –> 00:48:12,360
nation.
First of all, 65 and 8, the

653
00:48:12,360 –> 00:48:15,920
nation of Israel.
Then in those verses of chapter

654
00:48:15,920 –> 00:48:20,120
65 you can see on the overhead
the redeemed from the nation of

655
00:48:20,120 –> 00:48:23,280
Israel and no doubt having a
double application to the

656
00:48:23,280 –> 00:48:26,640
Saints.
And it would seem in 66 and 14

657
00:48:26,960 –> 00:48:31,560
plural, the servants there is
referring to the redeemed as a

658
00:48:31,560 –> 00:48:34,280
whole, both from the nation of
Israel and the Saints

659
00:48:34,280 –> 00:48:38,680
themselves.
Now once that pattern is

660
00:48:38,680 –> 00:48:44,680
grasped, you can take a look at
Isaiah’s prophecy and you’ll

661
00:48:44,680 –> 00:48:49,360
observe there are 4 servant
songs in Isaiah.

662
00:48:51,040 –> 00:48:56,600
The one we are most familiar
with therefore, in Isaiah 53,

663
00:48:56,680 –> 00:49:02,960
which begins actually back in
chapter 52, is not the only key

664
00:49:03,000 –> 00:49:07,440
Servant section in Isaiah.
I must admit, I hadn’t

665
00:49:07,440 –> 00:49:10,760
appreciated this myself until we
looked at this in detail.

666
00:49:11,920 –> 00:49:16,320
The Servant Song, as it is
sometimes called in Isaiah 53,

667
00:49:16,800 –> 00:49:23,440
is but the fourth of four songs.
Each of those songs are worth a

668
00:49:23,440 –> 00:49:28,360
detailed examination.
Each throw out light on

669
00:49:28,360 –> 00:49:33,840
different aspects of the Servant
Messiah of the nation of Israel

670
00:49:33,880 –> 00:49:36,760
to become ultimately his
national Servant.

671
00:49:37,840 –> 00:49:42,720
And most importantly, pictures
of the servants, plural, the

672
00:49:42,720 –> 00:49:47,640
redeemed, the Saints of God.
Now, brothers and sisters, time

673
00:49:47,640 –> 00:49:51,240
doesn’t allow for a careful
examination by any means of

674
00:49:51,240 –> 00:49:56,360
those four servant songs.
But in each of them, brothers

675
00:49:56,360 –> 00:50:00,600
and sisters, there is hope.
In each, there is the assurance,

676
00:50:01,120 –> 00:50:04,080
the vision of a brighter day to
come.

677
00:50:05,120 –> 00:50:09,520
Each promises for all of us as
it promised for the people of

678
00:50:09,520 –> 00:50:14,280
Hezekiah’s day.
The hope of a jubilee, the hope

679
00:50:14,280 –> 00:50:19,120
of promised blessings,
liberation from bondage, the

680
00:50:19,120 –> 00:50:24,240
opportunity of returning to our
possessions, to our spiritual

681
00:50:24,240 –> 00:50:29,640
inheritance, the hope of
fruitfulness, God’s blessing in

682
00:50:29,640 –> 00:50:33,160
our lives, and most importantly,
in our salvation.

683
00:50:34,440 –> 00:50:38,840
For each of the Servant songs
there are terms which richly

684
00:50:38,840 –> 00:50:43,680
describe our hope.
So see Isaiah 53, the better

685
00:50:43,680 –> 00:50:49,280
known one, against this context.
And it helps us to more keenly

686
00:50:49,280 –> 00:50:54,200
appreciate that this one that we
know so well is but the climatic

687
00:50:54,200 –> 00:51:01,560
picture focused in the Servant.
For insomuch as the national

688
00:51:01,560 –> 00:51:06,880
servant failed as the servant of
God, Messiah, the servant

689
00:51:06,880 –> 00:51:09,720
succeeded where the national
servant failed.

690
00:51:10,320 –> 00:51:14,160
A key idea in these prophecies,
brothers and sisters, the

691
00:51:14,160 –> 00:51:19,960
servant failed as a nation,
Jacob, my servant, whom I have

692
00:51:19,960 –> 00:51:23,400
called.
But in Jesus, where the national

693
00:51:23,400 –> 00:51:28,320
Servant fails, we find victory,
the conquering of sin and death.

694
00:51:29,000 –> 00:51:34,560
And thus the nation that is sick
and afflicted in Isaiah 1 is

695
00:51:34,560 –> 00:51:41,320
therefore saved by the Servant
in Isaiah 53, who takes upon him

696
00:51:41,880 –> 00:51:45,320
the graphic terms of a kind of
leprous individual.

697
00:51:45,720 –> 00:51:50,280
Not that he has sinned, but
insofar as he is a sin bearer,

698
00:51:50,600 –> 00:51:54,720
he takes upon him descriptions,
as we saw in our second class

699
00:51:54,720 –> 00:51:57,720
this week, descriptions of the
sick nation.

700
00:51:57,920 –> 00:52:01,920
For he bears their iniquities,
He bears their sins.

701
00:52:02,960 –> 00:52:07,400
For brothers and sisters, what
is a servant but one who helps?

702
00:52:07,880 –> 00:52:10,680
What is a servant but one who
bears burdens?

703
00:52:11,440 –> 00:52:15,480
What are brothers and sisters
together as a sheepfold, but

704
00:52:15,480 –> 00:52:20,080
fellow servants, the one who in
the upper room, brothers and

705
00:52:20,080 –> 00:52:25,480
sisters who knelt down by a
basin, who took an apron and

706
00:52:25,480 –> 00:52:30,240
girded himself and washed the
feet of his disciples, show them

707
00:52:30,240 –> 00:52:34,160
what it is to be a servant.
Brother to brother, sister to

708
00:52:34,160 –> 00:52:39,480
sister, brothers and sisters.
We end on that theme, and let’s

709
00:52:39,480 –> 00:52:42,680
read the following passages by
way of conclusion.

710
00:52:42,680 –> 00:52:46,040
Just a few verses.
Isaiah 30.

711
00:52:48,400 –> 00:52:53,240
The thoughts brought together,
we believe, gives us a rounded

712
00:52:53,240 –> 00:52:56,560
picture of all that we’ve been
considering in this past week,

713
00:52:56,880 –> 00:53:00,600
these beautiful and marvelous
themes from Isaiah’s prophecy.

714
00:53:01,520 –> 00:53:04,400
Here is our hope.
We’ll just walk through these

715
00:53:04,400 –> 00:53:08,160
three references.
Isaiah 30, verse 15.

716
00:53:09,440 –> 00:53:14,400
For thus saith the Lord God to
all of us here, the Holy One of

717
00:53:14,400 –> 00:53:19,040
Israel.
He says to us in returning and

718
00:53:19,040 –> 00:53:25,640
rest shall ye be saved In
quietness and in confidence

719
00:53:25,960 –> 00:53:28,760
shall be your strength.
Brothers and sisters.

720
00:53:29,440 –> 00:53:35,240
Chapter 32, verse one.
We look forward to this as we

721
00:53:35,240 –> 00:53:38,000
leave our school.
Come down the mountain once

722
00:53:38,000 –> 00:53:42,400
again to the land surrounded by
Assyria.

723
00:53:43,080 –> 00:53:46,480
Behold verse one.
A king shall reign in

724
00:53:46,480 –> 00:53:51,120
righteousness, and Princess
shall rule in judgement, and a

725
00:53:51,120 –> 00:53:55,200
man shall be as an hiding place
from the wind, and a covert from

726
00:53:55,200 –> 00:54:00,400
The Tempest, as rivers of water
in a dry place, as the shadow of

727
00:54:00,400 –> 00:54:05,440
a great rock in a weary land.
The eyes of them that see shall

728
00:54:05,440 –> 00:54:09,560
not be dim, and the ears of them
that hear shall hearken.

729
00:54:10,080 –> 00:54:16,680
And finally, chapter 33.
A warning and an exhortation to

730
00:54:16,680 –> 00:54:20,640
all of us.
Verse 14 As those who wish to

731
00:54:20,640 –> 00:54:26,280
pass through our own crises.
Verse 14 The sinners in Zion are

732
00:54:26,280 –> 00:54:29,040
afraid.
Fearfulness have surprised the

733
00:54:29,040 –> 00:54:32,640
hypocrites.
Who among us shall dwell with

734
00:54:32,640 –> 00:54:36,240
the devouring fire?
Who among us shall dwell with

735
00:54:36,240 –> 00:54:41,160
everlasting burnings?
Who he that walketh righteously

736
00:54:41,480 –> 00:54:45,480
and speaketh uprightly?
He that despiseth the gain of

737
00:54:45,480 –> 00:54:49,200
oppressions, that shaketh his
hands from holding of bribes,

738
00:54:49,680 –> 00:54:53,160
that stoppeth his ears from
hearing of blood, and shutteth

739
00:54:53,160 –> 00:54:56,880
his eyes from seeing evil, he
shall dwell on high.

740
00:54:57,480 –> 00:55:00,560
His place of defence shall be
the munitions of rocks.

741
00:55:01,200 –> 00:55:06,760
Bread shall be given him.
His waters shall be sure thine

742
00:55:06,760 –> 00:55:10,440
eyes, Brothers and sisters shall
see the King in his beauty.

743
00:55:10,960 –> 00:55:14,440
They shall behold the land that
is very far off.

744
00:55:15,320 –> 00:55:17,640
On that note, the vision of a
brighter day.

745
00:55:17,640 –> 00:55:21,240
We end, but not totally of
course, our studies and the

746
00:55:21,240 –> 00:55:24,440
themes of Isaiah.
We will be leaving this

747
00:55:24,440 –> 00:55:27,360
afternoon, brothers and sisters,
and we wish you all Godspeed.