The Messengers’ Mandate

Well, I have good news and bad
news for you this morning. And if I may, I’d like to give
you the bad news first. And since the bad news that I
have to share with you comes from the book of Isaiah, may
I begin by more formally introducing you to this prophet. As you will
recall, Isaiah was dramatically drawn by God and answered God’s
call to serve as a prophet, as recorded in Isaiah 6. He served
as one of God’s prophets to Judah, the southern kingdom, for both
their correction and comfort, and they needed comfort. because
their sister nation Israel had already, pardon me, had herself
already been destroyed and her people taken captive. Isaiah
engaged there in a lengthy ministry that lasted some 40 years, roughly
from 740 to 680 BC. from the end of King Uzziah’s
reign to King Hezekiah’s reign, and we’ll talk more about that in
a moment. As a prophet, Isaiah is a figure that really, truly
seems to be larger than life. He’s been called the Apostle
Paul of the Old Testament because of his massive prophecy, And
he’s also been referred to as the messianic prophet because
his prophecy is so focused upon the coming Messiah. He and Paul
have that in common as well. And Isaiah is quoted in the New
Testament more than any other prophet. But listen to this. The apostle John, in the gospel
that bears his name, captures this amazing thought in chapter
12 of his gospel. But, though he, that is Jesus,
had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing
in him. This was to fulfill the word
of Isaiah the prophet, which he spoke, Lord, who has believed
our report and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
That taken from Isaiah 53 1. John continues, for this reason
they could not believe. As Isaiah said again, he has
blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts so that they would
not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart and be converted
and I heal them. That quote taken from Isaiah
chapter six, Isaiah’s commissioning, and it’s one of the most quoted
verses in the New Testament. But listen to this, listen to
how John finishes this citation. For this reason they could not
believe, for Isaiah said again, he’s blinded their eyes. And
then John says this, these things Isaiah said because he saw his
glory, that is Christ’s glory. He saw his glory and he spoke
of him. That’s our prophet, Isaiah. And Isaiah the book has been
called the Mount Everest of Hebrew prophecy. It’s the longest prophecy
in the Old Testament. It has also been creatively referred
to as the Bible in miniature. And that’s because just as the
Bible contains 66 books, Isaiah has 66 chapters. And I will just
tell you up front that some people take this whole Bible in miniature
thing way too far. For us, it’s enough this morning
to note that the Bible has two main divisions, the Old and the
New Testament. Isaiah has two main divisions,
and the main division occurs at the end of chapter 39, not
unlike the main division of the Bible. The second division of
Isaiah contains 27 chapters, and so two divisions, one through
39 and 40 through 66. Now, those first 39 chapters
are paralleled with the 39 Old Testament books in that they
focus on righteousness and holiness and justice, God’s law. Those first 39 chapters are heavy
laden with expressions of God’s condemnation and pending judgment. What one historian characterized
as woes and warnings. The reader is constantly confronted
with the need of salvation. And that is the overall theme
of the first 39 books of the Bible. mirroring the Old Testament
with its conflicts with God and the law. That’s the bad news. But I also promised you good
news. And as I said, the last 27 chapters of Isaiah are paralleled
with the New Testament books and God’s provision of the Redeemer
and Savior in Christ. The second division of Isaiah,
chapters 40 through 66, have an entirely different tone than
the first 39 chapters. They speak of comfort and salvation,
redemption. These are prophecies of hope,
with the provision of God’s salvation. The second division of the Bible
is known as the New Testament. It contains 27 books, and it
declares a message of hope and salvation in Jesus Christ. But Isaiah’s prophecies in this
second section, chapters 40 and following, they address future
things. As if the Babylonian captivity
was already a reality. That’s how Isaiah writes. Even though it was still more
than a hundred years away at Isaiah’s writing. He’s writing
as a true prophet. He’s looking down into the annals
of history, and by God’s grace, apprising us of some things. As I mentioned, the predominant
theme of Isaiah’s prophecy is salvation. In all the rest of
the prophets, salvation is only mentioned seven times. And yet,
in Isaiah, it’s mentioned no fewer than 26 times. So that’s the general context
of the book of Isaiah. And in order to set the immediate
context of our passage this morning, we really need to consider not
just the previous chapter, chapter 39, but the four previous chapters,
36 through 39. These chapters mirror 2 Kings
18, 19, and 20. But we’ll stay here in Isaiah
to do an overview of the reign of one of Judah’s good kings,
King Hezekiah. These chapters serve as a historical
connection point between these two great divisions of Isaiah’s
prophecy. Now, there’s no way that we can
read entirely these four chapters of scripture, but I’d like to
hop through them if I could, hitting the high points as we
begin to set our moorings for the passage at hand this morning.
Would you please turn to Isaiah chapter 36. Isaiah chapter 36,
and as you’re turning, I’ll just say that if you’re a good student
of scripture, you likely already know that Hezekiah was one of
Judah’s good kings. Good, not perfect, Israel had
no good kings, not one. Judah herself had a blend of
both good kings and bad kings. Hezekiah himself is a fascinating
character. He seems to have had a good heart,
desiring to do right and generally doing right in God’s eyes, but
he had a tendency to do some really goofy things. So as a
nice man, as he seems to be, I might characterize him as bumbling,
not unlike many of us, including me. If you’re in chapter 36, let
me set the scene. It’s Hezekiah’s 14th year of
reigning as king. He’s not a neophyte. And his
kingdom is facing a crisis. The king of Assyria had begun
to siege the city, preparing to destroy her. The Assyrian
king, Sennacherib, sends a messenger. Are you ready for this? His name
is Rabshakeh. And he sends him to mock Hezekiah
and Judah. Glanced down at verse four, if
you would, where Rabshakeh’s first challenge is, what is this
confidence that you have? He perceived Israel to be arrogant
because they didn’t just roll over and play dead. They were
putting up a fight. And he goes on to say that his
king sees their stubbornness as rebellion, verse five. And
Rabshakeh goes on to ridicule Judah’s alliances with Egypt,
a heathen nation, and Judah’s God. Look at verse seven. Are you really going to say we
trust in the Lord, our God? And he bids Hezekiah to make
a bargain in verse eight. Well, we can almost hear the
bony knees of Hezekiah’s spokesman rattling as they interact with
this arrogant messenger from Sennacherib. And that only provokes
him all the more. He sees and senses their fear. Glance down at verse 14. Thus
says the king, do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not
be able to deliver you, nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the
Lord, saying, the Lord will surely deliver us. This city will not
be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. You hear that
arrogance? Not only does he want the people
of Judah not to trust Hezekiah, he wants to destroy their trust
in God. Well, when Hezekiah’s team returns
to him with this report, he was quite dismayed. Look please at
chapter 37 and verse 1. Hezekiah, it says, tore his clothes,
covered himself with sackcloth, and withdrew to pray. And then
he called for Isaiah, the prophet. And in verse six, Isaiah provides
his counsel by way of a prophecy. Do not be afraid because of the
words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king
of Assyria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will put a spirit in
him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, and
I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.” Isaiah basically
says, don’t worry about it, Hezekiah. God, you see, took Sennacherib’s
taunts personally. and he’s going to strike him
dead. There’s nothing to worry about, Hezekiah. Well, that doesn’t stop the Assyrian
king from continuing his verbal assault. He doesn’t believe in
God in the first place. And so he writes a nasty letter
to Hezekiah, almost profane. Hezekiah does exactly the right
thing with the letter. He took the letter, spread it
before the Lord, and he prayed. If you’re in chapter 37, would
you scroll down to verse 17? This is Hezekiah’s prayer. Incline your ear, O Lord, and
hear. Open your eyes, O Lord, and see. And listen to all the words of
Sennacherib, who sent them to reproach the living God. He basically
tattles on this Assyrian king, Sennacherib. Look at what he’s
doing. Listen to what he’s saying. And
then please look down at verse 20. This is Hezekiah’s plea. Now, O Lord, our God, deliver
us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know
that you alone, Lord, are God. What a great prayer. That’s our
prayer. We want God to be glorified in
all things. We want God to be known as God. It’s a great prayer. Let all
the earth know that you are God. And you know that’s exactly what
God did? If you scroll down to verse 36,
chapter seven, verse 36, it says, then the angel of the Lord went
out and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. That’s
a pretty clear answer to Hezekiah’s prayer. But Hezekiah wasn’t finished
praying. Turn, if you would, to chapter
38. Chapter 38 records that Hezekiah came down with a terminal disease.
We don’t know what it was, some sort. And if you remember anything
about Hezekiah, you probably remember that he prayed for a
reprieve, a healing, if you will, and God did just that. He added
15 years to his life. But near the end of Hezekiah’s
extended life, he made one of his biggest blunders ever. Chapter
39 records that Hezekiah hosted the king of Babylon for a visit. The king of Babylon at that time
was a nobody from a weak nation. And yet inexplicably, Hezekiah
not only hosted him, verse 2 records that he takes this king on a
tour of Judah’s treasures. Shows them everything. Now Isaiah
hears about this and he comes to rebuke Hezekiah’s foolish
pride. And if you glance down at verse
six, this is the one verse from these four chapters that I really
wanted you to see. Behold, The days are coming when
all that is in your house and all that your fathers have laid
up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon. Nothing
will be left. You can think of this, if you
will, as the connection point of the first part of Isaiah and
the second part, the second division of Isaiah’s book. Let me explain. You see, Isaiah
prophesies here that one day Babylon is going to plunder his
treasure and his nation. That’s a sobering judgment. But
look at Hezekiah’s response in verse eight. Then Hezekiah said
to Isaiah, the word of the Lord which you have spoken is good.
For he thought For there will be peace and truth in my days.
He wasn’t afraid in the least of Babylon. Surely you can’t
be serious, Isaiah, that the king of Babylon is going to come
and invade. And even if they do, I’m long
gone. Dreadful thought. Hezekiah’s indifferent response
was due to the fact that at present Babylon was no threat whatsoever. They were at that time a weak
nation with a weak king. But they would grow into a powerful
nation and eventually fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy of judgment.
Isaiah’s prophecy opens up into chapter 40. The heavy tone of
the first 39 chapters is gone. It suddenly changes here in chapter
40, and it’s very abrupt. And that’s because between the
end of chapter 39 and the beginning of chapter 40, a lot has transpired. Or so it seems. Isaiah’s prophecies
of the first 39 chapters were direct, in real time. His prophecies
beginning in chapter 40 are all future. And their focus is broad,
it’s worldwide. Isaiah is now speaking to a situation
that has drastically changed. We left off in chapter 39 with
Hezekiah and Judah hearing of a pending invasion by Babylon
and almost mocking the idea that here in chapter 40 and beyond,
the invasion has already taken place. They’re being held captive
in Babylon. That fills the historical gap
of more than 100 years. When Hezekiah’s wicked son took
the throne in 695 BC, it began this final downward spiral of
Judah, and it all came to an end. We can read about the bitter
end in 2 Kings chapter 25. we have all the time in the world
today, would you turn back there? 2 Kings, chapter 25. If you’re
new, if that’s the clean part of your Bible, find the Psalms
and go back about a half a dozen books. Past Job, past Esther,
past Chronicles, all the way back to 2 Kings. I just want you to listen to
the the ultimate demise of the final remaining tribe of Israel,
Judah’s kingdom. If you’re in 2 Kings 25, look
at verse one. Now in the ninth year of his
reign, on the 10th day of the 10th month, Nebuchadnezzar, king
of Babylon, came. He and all his army against Jerusalem,
camped against it, built a siege wall against it. So the city
was under siege until the 11th year of King Zedekiah. It’s 586
B.C. if you’re keeping track on your
fingers. On the ninth day of the fourth
month, the famine was so severe in the city that there was no
food for the people in the land. Then the city was broken into,
jump down to verse eight. Now, on the seventh day of the
fifth month, which was the 19th year of King Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, the captain of the guard, the
servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. And he burned
the house of the Lord, the king’s house, with all the houses of
Jerusalem, even the very great, every great house, he burned
with fire. So all the army of the Chaldeans
who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls
around Jerusalem. Then the rest of the people who
were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted the
king of Babylon and the rest of the people, Nebuchadnezzar
and the captain of the guard carried away into exile. Isaiah’s prophecy fulfilled completely. This is the first reason that
Isaiah pictures Judah as captive in chapter 40. Isaiah, as God’s prophet, is
looking into the future and he sees this. An exiled Judah. And the scenario is more than
just a century into the future, but Isaiah addresses it as if
it’s a present reality. Isaiah died in 686 BC, but Babylonian
captivity didn’t even begin until 605 BC, 81 years after Isaiah’s
death. Now I’d like to give you some
really good news. And if you would, you’re just, back to Isaiah
if you would, only this time turn to Isaiah chapter 40. Isaiah chapter 40, and we’ll take it in full. Well, we’ll take it down to verse
11. Comfort, oh comfort my people, says your God. Speak kindly to
Jerusalem and call out to her that her warfare has ended, that
her iniquity has been removed, that she has received of the
Lord’s hand double for all her sins. A voice is calling, clear
the way for the Lord in the wilderness, make smooth in the desert a highway
for our God. Let every valley be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low, and let the rough ground
become a plain, and the rugged terrain a broad valley. Then
the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will
see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. A voice says, call out. Then
he answered, what shall I call out? All flesh is grass and all
its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers,
the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows upon it. Surely
the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower
fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Get yourself up on a high mountain,
O Zion, bearer of good news. Lift up your voice mightily,
O Jerusalem, bearer of good news. Lift it up, do not fear. Say
to the cities of Judah, here is your God. Behold, the Lord
God will come with might, with his arm ruling for him. Behold,
his reward is with him and his recompense before him. Like a
shepherd, he will tend his flock. In his arms, he will gather the
lambs and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead the nursing
ewes. Some of you will immediately
recognize those opening words as lyrics from Handel’s Messiah. I love Handel’s Messiah. It’s
almost, for me, not the Christmas season without it. The beautiful
thing about Handel’s Messiah is that it’s literally scripture
set to music. And Isaiah 40, verses one and
two, is one of the many wonderful songs. This song points to the
Messiah, the whole section points to the Messiah, making it one
of the most glorious Christmas songs of all. In 1741, Handel took these lyrics
from the popular translation of his day, the King James, and
all that Handel did was set Isaiah 41 and 2 to music, but the words,
the words were written by Isaiah some 700 years before Handel
had ever even read them. The deliverance about which Isaiah
foretells in these verses, had an immediate reference for the
Jewish captives. But its ultimate reference is
to the Messiah, who had come to save people, Jews and Gentiles,
from their captivity to sin. The coming Messiah is clearly
declared here in verses one through 11. All four of the gospel writers,
as you know, quote from verses three through five when they
speak of John the Baptist’s ministry. And the special revelation that
God speaks of here, the special revelation of his word, scripture,
and his son, those are proclaimed in verses six through 11. You
see, what the prophet Isaiah provides for us is a glimpse
into God’s instructions for His servants. We’ll talk about who
those servants are. What does God require of His
messengers? Verses 1 and 2 of chapter 40
lay out for us the messenger’s mandate. The messenger’s mandate. And I see three things here.
First of all, the first requirement for God’s servants is the directed
objective of the messengers. The directed objective is right
there in verse one. Comfort, oh comfort, my people
says your God. The very first thing that God
does in this latter portion of Isaiah’s prophecy is to alter
the entire theme of his prophecy thus far. Here, the immediate
directive to his servants, the prophets, is that of comfort. Of the 100 or so times that this
word is used, these two uses of it here in this verse are
the only times that this word is used in the imperative in
this form. This is a divine directive. This
is the objective goal for God’s messengers. They’re not to come
with a rebuke. They’re not to come with heaviness
and judgment. They’re not to come with a spirit
of condemnation, but comfort. This word in the Hebrew literally
means to cause to breathe again. Very graphic. It’s as if these
captives, they’re in Babylon were holding their breath under
the oppression that they were experiencing. And please note
the imperative verb is uttered, as I said, twice, comfort, comfort. It’s repeated for the sake of
emphasis. It intensifies the command. It’s as if we didn’t hear God
speaking the first time. Comfort, oh, comfort, my people. It’s a literary device that Isaiah
frequently employs. Listen to the urgency of what’s
communicated in the following. Isaiah 51.9 uses it. Awake, awake! Put on strength, thou arm of
the Lord. Isaiah 52.11, depart, depart,
go out from there. Touch nothing unclean. Isaiah
57, 14, build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstacle
out of the way of my people. Isaiah 62, 10, go through, go
through the gates. I think you get my point. You
know, it’s kind of funny. Until only a few weeks ago, I
don’t think we had mentioned Simeon’s name in 10 years. But we met with him as one of
the few who really truly believed in Solus Christus right off the
bat. And we came across him again
in our New Testament reading through Luke a few weeks ago.
And so you’re very familiar again with who Simeon is, godly man
waiting for the Messiah. Listen to Luke 2.25. Luke 2.25
says, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this
man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of
Israel. And the Holy Spirit was upon
him. He was waiting for the Messiah. God had promised in his day that
he would see him. So the true comfort of which
Isaiah speaks here is the hope of the Messiah. And that makes
the comfort, the cause to breathe again, a spiritual resuscitation,
not a mere rescue from earthly captivity. I’d like us to pause
and notice something very special here. It’s those two little identifiers,
my people and your God. I’ve heard it from time to time. usually from pastors talking
about their church as if they are the owners, as if they’re
ranchers, as if they’re brokers of their people. Can it be any more definitive
than this? You’re not mine. You’re God’s
people. And this is the point that God’s
shepherds dare not overlook. These are God’s sheep, God’s
people. And the use of this phrase is
most surely an allusion to another of God’s prophet, Hosea. Remember, Hosea had a gaggle
of children. And in his prophecy, remember,
God begins naming this prophet’s children as a living illustration
to Israel. The first one, Jezreel, a reminder
of one of Israel’s evil deeds. The second one, lo Ruhamah, no
compassion. It’s as if God says to the nation,
I will have no compassion on you. And the third, lo Ami, not
my people. But here in Isaiah, in God’s
mercy, he restores his affection and he says, Ami. Ami, my people. And this command comes with divine
authority. Says your God. This isn’t just Isaiah’s wish
list, this is God’s command. This is a divine mandate for
any who would take up the cause to care for God’s flock. Comfort,
oh comfort, my people, says your God. The speaker of this section is
clear, it’s God himself, it’s equally clear that the focus
of his concern is his people. What isn’t so clear is to whom
these commands are given. We could back away from this
passage and come away with a general answer to this question. It’s
certain that Isaiah himself should be included in this group to
whom God is speaking, the prophets as well. God is changing his
approach here. No more harshness, no more judgment,
but primarily comfort, the comfort of the gospel. We need not wander
away from our passage to find support for this. In verse nine,
he says that the message they bear is good news. Good news
can hardly be communicated with a harsh tone, heaviness, and
so the command to comfort God’s people is surely for the prophets,
but it would also be aimed at Christ’s apostles, His earthly
disciples, His pastors, His evangelists, they’re all tasked with bringing
the comfort of the gospel to sinners. In fact, even those sinners,
like you and I, converted by that sweet gospel message are
called to pass along this message of comfort. It’s to all of us.
You see, this command is a continuous command. And it ultimately falls
to the ears of every child of God, not just the prophets. God’s
people to be ever ready to declare the message of good news, comfort,
the comfort of the Messiah. Well, the captives of Babylon
certainly would have welcomed a pleasant word of comfort. There’s
no doubt they would have welcomed this prophecy as a comfort in
the midst of their captivity. But how much more do the sinners
of this world need to hear a message of comfort, hope, the good news
of a Messiah that he’s already paid for your sin? Paul, in writing to his son in
the faith, Timothy, reminded that reminded Timothy that those
outside of Christ are ensnared by the devil. They’re held captive
by him to do his will. It always amazes me, shocks me
to hear an unbeliever speak of the freedom that they believe
that they possess because they don’t believe in God, they don’t
go to church, they’re not Christians, they can do as they like, That’s
not freedom. That’s bondage. It’s inescapable
bondage. You couldn’t change if you wanted
to. Paul says basically the same thing in Galatians 4.3. Speaking
of our life before Christ, he says we were held in bondage
under the elemental things of the world. The little things
that we love, that sin that we love. Without Christ, we’re in
prison. We’re in a prison with no key,
no doors, a captor that can’t be negotiated with. There is no parole from this
prison. There’s no way of escape unless
Christ himself should set us free. We have an enemy, the devil,
that despises our very existence. Let me give you one sentence
on the devil. Listen carefully. The devil prowls around 1 Peter
5, 8, seeking opportunity, Ephesians 4, 27, to ply his schemes, Ephesians
6, 11, to set a snare, 2 Timothy 2, 26, so as to bring about condemnation,
1 Timothy 3, 6, and reproach, 1 Timothy 3, 7. The devil is
not your friend. He’ll do anything in his power
to keep you from rescue. But Jesus, the gentle Messiah,
says to burdened sinners, come to me, all who are weary and
heavy laden, and I will give you rest. See, we come as saved people. to a hurting, lost, sinful, guilty,
lonely, downtrodden, broken, discouraged, frustrated, angry,
disturbed, hopeless, bitter, estranged, sad, I’m just getting
started, sad, aimless, proud, self-sufficient, deceitful, hedonistic,
misguided, deceived, but we come. And we come with the same message,
a message of comfort that doesn’t, it doesn’t have to be this way.
You don’t have to be in this battle. There is escape from
this prison. The Messiah has come. Comfort
has come. Redemption has come. Salvation
has come. Comfort. First thing that God
requires of his servants is this directed objective of comforting
his people, the second. The expected demeanor of the
messengers, the expected demeanor, we find it in the beginning of
verse two, speak kindly to Jerusalem. Not only does God direct the
end goal, the objective, but he even communicates to them,
to us, our expected demeanor. Speak kindly to Jerusalem. The Jewish members of the tribe
of Judah were not in Jerusalem at the moment. They hadn’t been
there for more than 100 years, remember? They were being held
as prisoners, slaves, in Babylon. And Jerusalem herself is a heap
of rubble. So when God refers to Jerusalem
here, he’s referring to the people of Jerusalem. The Jewish tribe
of Judah, this is who he continues to refer to in verse two, her,
her, her, she. Here is yet another command,
an imperative, another imperative, spoken by the Lord. And this
word, davar, in the Hebrew, was often used with reference to
God’s directives to his prophets. Say this, speak this. They didn’t come with their own
message. They didn’t have their own agenda. Boy, I’m really gonna
let them have it today. The sense is, on the face of
it, this second command doesn’t really seem all that different
from the first. But the sense is a directive,
a command, an order. And in trying to determine what
God exactly is saying here, I don’t think we’re benefited that much
here from the translation that Handel cited. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem. In fact, I don’t even really
know what that means. I picture two friends in easy chairs, amiably
conversing as they drift towards a nap. The use of this word elsewhere
is really only of limited help, Genesis 34, spoke tenderly. Judges 19.3, spoke tenderly. And so tenderly, yeah, we understand
that. We want to be gentle. We don’t
want to be obnoxious or harsh when we share the gospel. But
in our comforting the lost with the gospel message, we are to
speak kindly or tenderly, not obnoxious as brute bullies, But utilizing words and a demeanor
and reasoning aimed at winning sinners’ hearts, that seems to
be the general idea. And as true as all that may be,
it’s a rather simplistic way of looking at this exhortation.
Because literally here, God says, speak to the heart. Speak to the heart. The heart
is the place where hurts and joys are felt. We speak all the
time, don’t we, of brokenheartedness. We speak as well as having joyful
hearts. And so when God says here, speak
to the heart, he urges us to address those innermost pains
that our friends are facing. Guilt. loneliness, shame, unforgiveness, a burden of sin, a battered conscience. Speak to the heart and administer
comfort. The comfort of a savior who died
for sinners, the comfort of sin forgiven, the comfort of peace
with God, the comfort of eternal fellowship. Speak to the heart. speak in such a way as to bring
them to life. See, we have this tendency when
sharing the gospel to preach to the mind, to lay out a series
of facts, Bible facts, facts about the gospel, facts about
sin, and in a measure there’s nothing wrong with that. But
we have a tendency to overlook the heart, to neglect to speak
to the heart, to make our presentation to the gospel so cold and wooden
as to make it bounce right off the heart of the person with
whom we’re speaking. Speak to the heart, God says. Tell sinners
about the love of God. Tell them about your loving concern
for them as a person, as a friend, as a fellow sinner. Don’t forget the heart. Of all the people that I’ve ever
heard or seen converted, few are converted merely by some
academic argument. Nearly all were touched and moved
by the news that a savior would die for them while they were
yet in their sin. That’s the good news of the gospel
that we share. We share with the inner person,
not mere facts. We appeal to the mind, but the
truth must ultimately reside and resonate with the person
in their heart. There’s a third directive that
the Lord provides, not only the directed objective of the messengers,
the expected demeanor of the messengers, but the instructed
declaration of the messengers. We find it at the end of verse
two. And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, that her
iniquity has been removed, that she has received of the Lord’s
hand double for all her sins. Isaiah records here a third imperative
uttered by God himself, call out. This Hebrew word sounds very
much like our English translation, kara. Our English word sounds
just like that. Call, it means to call or to
cry out. And it pictures the true herald,
perhaps the town crier, who publicly, enthusiastically, emphatically
proclaims his message. But listen to this representative’s
magnificent element. There are three elements to it. the first call out to her that
her warfare is ended. King James is here a bit more
helpful. It says that her warfare is accomplished. It’s over. Enough is enough. Now to the people of Israel and
Judah, they might have had somewhat of a likeness to their current
situation, but they hadn’t been at war for 150 years. They were
captives, prisoners, not soldiers. Something else entirely seems
to be in view here. There are, of course, earthly
battles. There always have been. But again
and again in this section, God is speaking to a spiritual problem. The Bible speaks of another kind
of war, doesn’t it? A war between sinners and a holy
God. Scripture says that the natural
man is at enmity with God, war. There is between humanity and
her creator a constant smoldering strife. The Apostle Paul frankly
says that we are haters of God, Romans 1. We are God’s natural
enemies. And the great Jonathan Edwards,
an early American pastor, explained He explained it this way. The
strictness of God’s law is a principal cause of man’s enmity against
God. If God were one that did not
so much hate sin, if he would allow them in gratification of
their lusts in some degree, and his threatenings were not so
awful against all sinful indulgence, if his threatenings were not
so absolute, if his displeasure could somehow be appeased by
a few tears, a little reformation, or the like, they would not be
so great enemies, nor hate him so much as they do. But God shows
himself to be an implacable enemy to their idols, He has threatened
everlasting wrath, infinite calamity for all that they do in the service
of their lusts. And this makes them irreconcilable
enemies to him. But God, God is a God of peace
and his son is the Prince of Peace. And he came to enact a
peace treaty of God’s design. And in order to end the war between
sinful humanity and himself, God sent Jesus to reconcile the
world to himself through his cross. Paul expressed
it this way to the Colossians. It was the Father’s good pleasure
for all the fullness, and that is the fullness of the deity,
to dwell in him and through him to reconcile all things to himself,
having made peace. through the blood of his cross.
We have this piece, Paul says in Romans 5, by faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ. No other way. The war is over. There is no more enmity. There
is no more strife. The warring madness of sinful
life is over. But there’s a second element.
to this declaration, a second and related element, not only
has our warfare ended, but God says that our iniquity has been
removed. Again, to cite the King James
here, her iniquity is pardoned. I find that helpful because the
iniquity has not just been removed, God’s justice has been fully
satisfied, and pardon is the result. God’s justice has been
satisfied in full. It isn’t merely that the sin,
that God decided not to punish the sin. God punished it completely
in Christ. Sinners’ iniquity, that is their
sinfulness, has been paid for by Christ’s atonement on the
cross. And I love the preciseness of
God’s word here. The word used here for removed
or pardoned is a powerful one, ratzah. It indicates that the
sin is so completely paid for that God takes great delight
in restoring this. Of course, you’re welcome. Of
course, you should come to me. And would you note, finally, there’s
a third and final element. Her warfare has ended, her iniquity
has been removed. She has received of the Lord’s
hand double for all her sins. As I said earlier, there is overlap
in these three elements. In a sense, this is an echo of
the previous two. I mentioned Handel’s Messiah
a while ago, and I think it’s only fair that I point this out.
Because here, in Handel’s lyrics, he makes one glaring omission. He omits this last line. Comfort
ye, comfort ye my people, comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith
your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,
speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare,
her warfare is accomplished. Her iniquity is pardoned. Her
iniquity is pardoned. And that’s where Handel’s Messiah
ends. He omits that final line, for she has received of the Lord’s
hand double for all her sins. Did we hear that? Handel unfortunately
omitted one of the most incredible lines in this whole passage.
She has received of the Lord’s hands double for all her sins. It’s there in the King James.
Perhaps Handel thought it made the song too long, I don’t know.
You can’t omit this verse. It doesn’t mean that Judah had,
through her decades of captivity, finally paid, like we think of
a criminal doing, paid for his or her sin, not at all. I want
you to note the language of this text. It’s for all her sins,
not just a sin individually, but all sins, the horrible, deadly,
sinfulness of sin has not only been met, but super exceeded
by God’s provision. He has done it. It has come from
the Lord’s hand. When God speaks of a double portion
here, double for all her sins, he points to the fact that Christ’s
atonement was far more than adequate in atoning for our sin. Sufficient,
but more than sufficient. Christ’s sacrifice provided an
exceedingly great measure of God’s grace and favor. Paul expresses the same truth
in Romans 5, doesn’t he? Where sin increased, grace abounded
all the more. Literally, he says there that
it superabounded. Christ’s sacrifice was far and
away more than enough for the sin of the world. This is our
Messiah. Would you humble yourself before
him?