Outcomes: Trusting God or the Nations • 08.11.24
Outcomes: Trusting God or the Nations
Isaiah 34-35
Considering the results of each way of life
- Trusting the nations/self ends in bearing God’s wrath
- Trusting in God ends in enjoying God’s redemption
Good morning, church family! (Welcome guests + introduce self).
Ushers + Bibles (Isaiah 34; page 706)
We’ve learned a lot about trust in Isaiah. It has been a theme that has resonated throughout the chapters. Both Judah, as the original audience, and we, as modern-day readers, have been constantly confronted with questions like – “In whom do I trust? Where do I turn when life gets hard? Do I turn inward – like Judah in their self-reliance? Do I trust in my own strength/plan/wisdom/ability? Do I turn outward – like Judah in turning to Assyria for help, then to Egypt? Do I trust in my financial stability/family/friends/political leaders? Or do I trust in the Lord?”
How would you answer? Who do you trust or turn to for guidance and purpose and fulfillment in your life? This is an extremely important matter that has both immediate and eternal consequences for our lives. And, in many ways, the last 10 weeks have been building to our study for today. Chapters 34 and 35 of Isaiah are the culmination of the increasing tension between the two ways to live: Trusting God or Trusting the Nations/Self. Today we will hear of two radically different outcomes based on whether your trust is in the Lord or in something else. Hence the title of our sermon today: Outcomes: Trusting God or the Nations.
I must warn you that if you’ve thought any of the previous chapters of Isaiah were hard to hear, then chapter 34 is going to challenge you even more. Parents, I’m aware this is a Family Worship Sunday, and we have a lot of kids here. I do not intend to shy away from the truth of God’s Word, even the hard stuff. But kids, I want you to know, this hard stuff is very important to understand because it is the reason we need a Savior. You can’t appreciate the Good News without knowing the Bad News. And don’t worry, we’re going to hear Good News before the sermon is over.
Before anyone gets too upset or defensive about what you’re hearing, please consider, “Why did God include this in His Word?” It is incredibly loving for Him to warn Judah (and those who come after, like us) of the outcome of trusting anything other than Him. Please do not miss the incredible value and significance of this text simply because it is harder to hear for our delicate Western sensibilities. We need to be able to do business with the hard truths of God’s Word and the way He has designed things.
How is anyone supposed to understand their need to be saved if they do not first understand what they need to be saved from? To understand the Good News, you must first understand the Bad News.
With that in mind, let’s turn our attention to Isaiah 34. We’re going to read the entire chapter and discuss it before moving on to chapter 35. As we study today, our focus is…
Considering the results of each way of life
Let’s read the Word of God.
Isaiah 34:1–17 (ESV)
Draw near, O nations, to hear,
and give attention, O peoples!
Let the earth hear, and all that fills it;
the world, and all that comes from it.
This is a world-wide summons. God wants everyone, everywhere to listen up and pay attention! Why? What is he about to say next?
2 For the Lord is enraged against all the nations,
and furious against all their host;
he has devoted them to destruction, has given them over for slaughter.
3 Their slain shall be cast out,
and the stench of their corpses shall rise;
the mountains shall flow with their blood.
4 All the host of heaven shall rot away,
and the skies roll up like a scroll.
All their host shall fall,
as leaves fall from the vine,
like leaves falling from the fig tree.
5 For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens;
behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom,
upon the people I have devoted to destruction.
6 The Lord has a sword; it is sated with blood;
it is gorged with fat,
with the blood of lambs and goats,
with the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 Wild oxen shall fall with them,
and young steers with the mighty bulls.
Their land shall drink its fill of blood,
and their soil shall be gorged with fat.
8 For the Lord has a day of vengeance,
a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
9 And the streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch,
and her soil into sulfur;
her land shall become burning pitch.
10 Night and day it shall not be quenched;
its smoke shall go up forever.
From generation to generation it shall lie waste;
none shall pass through it forever and ever.
11 But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it,
the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.
He shall stretch the line of confusion over it,
and the plumb line of emptiness.
12 Its nobles—there is no one there to call it a kingdom,
and all its princes shall be nothing.
13 Thorns shall grow over its strongholds,
nettles and thistles in its fortresses.
It shall be the haunt of jackals,
an abode for ostriches.
14 And wild animals shall meet with hyenas;
the wild goat shall cry to his fellow;
indeed, there the night bird settles
and finds for herself a resting place.
15 There the owl nests and lays
and hatches and gathers her young in her shadow;
indeed, there the hawks are gathered,
each one with her mate.
16 Seek and read from the book of the Lord:
Not one of these shall be missing;
none shall be without her mate.
For the mouth of the Lord has commanded,
and his Spirit has gathered them.
17 He has cast the lot for them;
his hand has portioned it out to them with the line;
they shall possess it forever;
from generation to generation they shall dwell in it.
I told my wife earlier this week that I wanted to read this chapter and then just go sit down and weep for a bit. Not because I want to be emotionally manipulative, but solely because I believe that is the appropriate response to what we’ve just heard. Fortunately for you, she told me that would be weird, so I won’t do it. But this text should move all of us to great sorrow as we understand the end of the path for everyone who rejects God to trust in the nations/self. Chapter 34, without reservation or hesitation, in very graphic detail, reveals that…
- Trusting the nations/self ends in bearing God’s wrath
The Lord summons all those who have rejected Him so that they can know their condition before the Holy God. In their wickedness, they have brought His wrath and fury against them. Their rebellion against the King of Kings and Lord of Lords will not go unaddressed in the end.
In fact, in verse 2, we are told “he has devoted them to destruction” which is a very specific word choice that indicates they have become the sacrifice or offering for their sin. God is very clear about the reality of life in this Universe He has made – the wages of sin is death. Wages = pay/compensation. Put another way… your sin earns you death. This is not new information. This was revealed in the very first command given to man.
Genesis 2:16–17 – 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
From the very beginning, God linked sin (defying him) and death. And this is consistent throughout His Word – Old and New Testament testify to it.
Ezekiel 18:20a – The soul who sins shall die…
Romans 6:23a – For the wages of sin is death…
Remember Isaiah’s own reaction to having a vision of the Holy God?
Isaiah 6:5 (ESV)
5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
He was convinced that he was as good as dead! And he would have been, without God’s intervention to atone for His sins. To atone means to cover or remove sin, resulting in peace with God.
The content of chapter 34 ought to terrify every single one of us because we are all guilty of sin! Every one of us has gone our own way, defied God’s commands, and, as a result, earned ourselves death. Not even one of us here today has never lied, never stolen, never spoken unkindly, done all things perfectly… Our honest assessment of ourselves must be that we are sinners and in grave danger.
Without atonement, peace with God is impossible, and we are left exposed to God’s just and righteous wrath. If this is our situation, then WE will personally pay the penalty as the sacrifice for OUR rebellion (i.e. be devoted to destruction). And I hate to break it to you, but your sacrifice will not be sufficient to earn you salvation or eternal life. You cannot, in your own strength or merit, pay for the depth of your rebellion against the King of the Universe.
This is the Bad News! As chapter 34 reveals, a day is coming when God will judge the entire world and everyone in it. Verses 3-4 are quite graphic in their language. The literal meaning of the last line of verse 3 is that the mountains will be eroded by the amount of blood that is shed upon them. This is not a pleasant picture at all. Verse 4 speaks of the judgment of this day extending to the heavenly host (the stars/planets/sun/moon). This is a cataclysmic event!
Verses 5 and following use the specific nation of Edom as an example representative of all the nations and peoples who reject God. Edom was the perpetual enemy of Israel. Through creative literary devices, God speaks through Isaiah to reveal that His judgment extends to all the earth living in rebellion against Him. Edom is mentioned briefly, but then is traded out for the illustration of animals being slaughtered. Again, the point is not about animals but rebellious people. They are being slaughtered like animals…
And there is no getting around this… this is the Lord’s doing. Verse 2 spoke of the Lord being enraged. Verses 5-6 spoke of the Lord’s sword and the Lord’s sacrifice. Verse 8 speaks of the Lord’s day of vengeance and year of recompense. Here we are clued into a part of the reason for their Lord’s judgment – “for the cause of Zion” – the rebellious have opposed God’s plan and people! God will not stand to allow this to happen forever. He will avenge them.
And for the people/nations who reject God and oppose His people, the Lord’s vengeance is terrifying. Verses 9-17 further reveal the incredible destruction that comes at the Lord’s hand. Let’s consider again just verses 9-11…
Isaiah 34:9-11
9 And the streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch,
and her soil into sulfur;
her land shall become burning pitch.
10 Night and day it shall not be quenched;
its smoke shall go up forever.
From generation to generation it shall lie waste;
none shall pass through it forever and ever.
11 But the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it,
the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.
He shall stretch the line of confusion over it,
and the plumb line of emptiness.
This description of the destruction that is coming to rebellious nations describes a black, stinky, scorched landscape. It is utterly unlivable. If you know me well, you know I’m a big Star Wars nerd. Upon reading this, I immediately thought of the planet Mustafar. (Image) The location of Darth Sidious’ hide-out and where Anakin Skywalker was brutally burned and completed the transition to Darth Vader. If you know, you know.
But that’s a piece of science fiction. However, what God is describing through Isaiah is a true future reality. This is no laughing matter. It should not be taken lightly or forgotten quickly. God promises an everlasting judgment. This description contains similarities to what we believe hell will be like. (Isaiah 34:9-11)
In verse 11, it says he will stretch the line of confusion over it and the plumb line of emptiness. Not only is this a play on imagery – typically a plumb line is used for construction not destruction – but it is also a play on words. Confusion is the Hebrew word “tohu” and emptiness is the word “bohu”. That might not mean a lot to you but let me explain why it should. These are the same words in the second verse of the Bible (Genesis 1:2) where God describes the formless and void nature of the earth.
This passage in Isaiah reveals that after sin has run wild on earth, it returns the world to “tohu va bohu”. This is the inevitable outcome when God allows sinners to have their way. Death and destruction. The world is left uninhabitable by anything but wildlife. There are no more earthly kingdoms, just overgrown and overthrown strongholds and fortresses, as we saw in the rest of the chapter. And not only is this the result of man’s sin, but it is also enforced by the Lord. Verses 16-17 reveal that the mouth of the Lord has commanded it, his Spirit has gathered them (the wildlife/hawks), and his hand has portioned it out to them. God is the one who brings the judgment about and guarantees that sin will not go unaddressed!
This is incredibly bad news for sinners! There is no silver lining in this chapter. There is no answer given for how to avoid this outcome. Trusting in the nations/self always ends in bearing God’s wrath! So where do we turn for hope and help in our time of need?
Thankfully, we have answers in the larger context of the Bible. From start to finish in His Word, the Lord has also revealed the way of salvation. You do not have to be “devoted to destruction” or your own sacrifice for sins. There is another, better way. A way that leads to eternal life. Let me tell you about it by reading a selection of New Testament passages.
Romans 6:23 (ESV)
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Acts 4:12 (ESV)
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Hebrews 9:11–14 (ESV)
11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Hebrews 9:26–28 (ESV)
26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
Hebrews 10:10–14 (ESV)
10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
The Good News is that though each one of us is dead in sin and rebellion against God, He does not leave us stuck in this position. He sent His Son, Jesus, to make a way of salvation for all who repent and believe in Him. This was Jesus’ message:
Mark 1:14–15 (ESV)
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
The testimony of the Bible is that the Son of God took on flesh and dwelt among us as Jesus of Nazareth. And he lived the perfectly obedient, holy life that we could not live. Then he went to the Cross in his people’s place, to pay the penalty for THEIR sin and endure the wrath of God meant for THEM! This is what is known as substitutionary atonement. Jesus took on the guilt and endured the full wrath of God for his people’s sin! And, in exchange, he offers his perfect righteousness and the hope of peace and eternal life with God! This is what Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV)
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
What an incredible exchange! And, as you heard from Hebrews, this sacrifice secured an eternal redemption for his people. It also purifies their conscience so they can live completely transformed lives and serve the Lord. If you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you cannot and you will not stay the same!
Christians have confidence that God the Father accepted this payment on our behalf because Jesus rose from the dead and now reigns on high at the right hand of the Father. He is seated because he accomplished the work of his first coming and he now awaits the day when he will come again in judgment of the rebellious and to finish the work of salvation of the repentant, those who are eagerly waiting for him. That’s why Jesus’ sacrifice was a “once for all” sacrifice. It was sufficient for the forgiveness of all his people’s sins throughout all time.
If you want to learn even more about what Christ has done for His people, I highly encourage you to read Hebrews 8-10, Romans 5-6, or Ephesians 1-2! My aim in sharing this today is to give sinners like myself much hope. We certainly need it.
But let me be clear, I do not want anyone to attend Harvest and somehow miss the reality of the Bad News – everyone needs to understand what happens if you continue to reject God and go your own way. After reading chapter 34, it is abundantly clear that we all need to be saved from the wrath of God that our sin has earned us.
But, in the same breath, I also want everyone who attends Harvest to then immediately cling to the Good News of Jesus Christ. There is a better way to live with a better outcome! You do not have to continue trusting in the nations/self… As Isaiah has been holding out to the Judeans chapter after chapter, the better way to live is trusting in God! Let’s turn our attention now to the beautiful hope and outcome that is given in chapter 35. Follow along as I read from God’s Word.
Isaiah 35:1–10 (ESV)
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;
2 it shall blossom abundantly
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
the majesty of our God.
3 Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
4 Say to those who have an anxious heart,
“Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
For waters break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
7 the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
8 And a highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;
the unclean shall not pass over it.
It shall belong to those who walk on the way;
even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.
9 No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.
10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain gladness and joy,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Chapter 35 is quite the turnaround from 34! Rather than devastating judgment, we have the desert transforming into a garden paradise. We have weak people being strengthened. We even see a much different relationship with these people and God’s vengeance. Rather than being terrified by it, they are being rescued through it! God’s vengeance is their redemption. What a fascinating concept! How could this be? This is the outcome for all who trust in God!
- Trusting in God ends in enjoying God’s redemption
These two chapters capture two drastically different outcomes of the Day of the Lord. For those who reject God to trust in self/nations, God’s vengeance is against them. For those who trust in God, he is coming to save them, and his vengeance is what sets them free from the wicked. This important truth is an essential part of the framework that should inform how we live! Whether you’re willing to admit it or not, this is the context in which you live. Each of us will spend eternity somewhere and that is entirely dependent on our relationship with our Creator.
I don’t know about you, but I want to be a part of the incredible transformation and redemption that occurs by trusting God. The poetic imagery in chapter 35 is just incredible. The wilderness and dry land rejoicing and blossoming. From this (DESERT) to this (BLOSSOMING – 2 slides). This entire chapter speaks of incredible physical and spiritual transformation that God’s people will enjoy.
What stands out most to you in chapter 35? (Give time for answers) How does this help you get excited for what is to come? (Give time for answers)
Let’s think through this text together…
They are commanded to strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees. This is an ongoing action. This same passage is quoted in Hebrews 12, and it is speaking of the idea of being ready for the Lord’s return. Let us not grow weary in the race of faith! Let us be continually about the work of preparing for his return, because He is coming! Our God will not remain far off, and we should want as many as possible to be ready for his return! He is coming to finish what he began – the salvation of his people from sin and death. The wicked will no longer oppress them. Foreign rulers and proud religious leaders will be a thing of the past. God will surely save them! This is our certain hope and expectation.
In that day, when the Lord returns, the eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf unstopped, the lame man shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. These are declarations of both the spiritual and physical renewal that will come on the Day of the Lord. And, if you recall, some of these have already begun with Jesus’ first coming. God will not let even his people’s obstinance and infirmities stop him from saving them! He can overcome the spiritual stupor we put ourselves in with our sin and, when he returns, he will do just that! Praise God for his mercy and grace! My salvation does not depend on my ability and neither does your salvation depend on your ability. The glory for our salvation belongs to the Lord alone!
Verses 8-10 are the climax of the redemption poem. There is a highway that leads the redeemed of the Lord to Him. It is the Way of Holiness and those who walk on the way will have forsaken their unclean sin and folly. There is no place for either of those in God’s eternal kingdom. Of this imagery, commentator John Oswalt says:
It is not clear whether this is construed as a highway from the countries of exile (cf. 11:12, 16) upon which the returnees can come to Jerusalem, or whether it is a festal way upon which holy pilgrims can go up to Zion. The very uncertainty suggests that it is probably both and more. Once again poetic imagery resists reduction to mere literalism. The point is that God’s coming to his people (35:4) has its purpose in the people coming to him in holy lives for worship and fellowship (2:2–4; 4:2–6; 25:6–9; 66:18–23).
The end of the Holy Way is Zion the Holy City. The result of supernatural protection and provision, but most of all, of redemption, is a gladness which will drive away all sadness forever. This is the apex of the eschatological vision: a day when the people of God can be set free from their own sins and the sins of others, when they can come home to their God and be fully restored to his image, when a lifelong struggle to avoid grief and pain will be ended in their being overwhelmed by gladness and joy.
This is the hope of biblical faith. To be sure, there are foretastes in this life, foreshadowings of what is to come. Furthermore, there is a sense in which it is true that virtue is its own reward. But if the faith is shorn of its eschatological promises, what remains is but a shell. If God is God at all, then we may believe all his promises (1 Cor. 15:19).
He is a God who is faithful and true! And we can, we must, trust in Him!
What a glorious vision of what is to come! God, through Isaiah, has given Judah and future believers like us incredible hope. The brokenness of our present life and world will not be all we know. A day is coming when the redeemed of the LORD will rest and rejoice with Him forever! There will be no more danger from the foe or the beast. The fool and the wicked will not be present there. This holy city will be filled with the saints who have everlasting joy and gladness. In this place sorrow and sighing will be a distant memory, long forgotten. What a glorious day it will be!
I want to encourage you today, whether you are young or old, to embrace the hope that is found in trusting in God rather than the nations/self. Respond to the finished work of Jesus Christ with faith that leads to repentance (a turning from sin to God; a change of mind that changes life). If you are here and wrestling with what you believe or want to learn more about Jesus, I (or any of our pastors) would love to talk with you more about that. Please grab me after the service or contact the church and we’ll gladly meet with you. Kids, if you’re wrestling with what you believe, you can also talk to us, or I’m sure your parents would love to talk through that with you too.
Christian brothers/sisters, it is our calling and delight to make it our aim in all of life to please God. As we walk this faith journey, we have the privilege of representing the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, our Savior. We have been entrusted with an incredible message of hope and redemption, yet also the terrifying reality of eternal judgment for those who reject God. We must not keep these truths to ourselves. The world needs to hear, just as we have. They need the opportunity to repent and believe.
Will you take this message to our community? Will you be bold this week in your interactions with your family/friends/neighbors/co-workers? Kids, will you tell your siblings and friends about Jesus? You’ve heard the two outcomes. I assume you want chapter 35 for yourself. How could we not want it for our fellow man/woman too? This must be the message of the church and Christians in our day and age.
Let’s pray and ask God to give us a heart for the lost in our community.
Pray