Isaiah 1-6: Who Do You Trust? (LSFAB S13E006)
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[TEASER - 00:00]
I'm not advocating for a theocracy run by religious zealots.

[INTRO S13E006 - 00:12]
This is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California. And podcasting since 2004, I'm your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. Welcome. This is the daily podcast where we'll read through the entire Bible in a year. Welcome to longtime Lifespring family members, and if you're a new listener, I'm so glad you found the show, except I prefer to think of you as a Lifespring family member instead of a listener.

A lot of you are new listeners and it really does thrill my heart to have you aboard. There's a lot of stuff going on in the world today, don't you think? And I believe with every fiber of my being that the Bible has the answers that so many people are looking for today. Specifically, I believe - no, I know from personal experience that a personal relationship with Jesus is the way to have peace in your heart in the midst of chaos and turmoil. That's why the Lifespring Family Audio Bible exists.

I'm always open to your comments and I'll read some of 'em on the show. Call the Lifespring Family Hotline at 951-732-8511 to leave a comment, a prayer request, a praise, or anything else you'd like to share with the Lifespring family, and I'll play some of the comments on the show. My email address is steve@lifespringmedia.com and you can comment at comment.lifespringmedia.com.

This is Prophecy Friday, and we're gonna read from the book of Isaiah, chapters 1 through 6, after which I'll share some of my thoughts with you. And I'm calling this episode, "Who Do You Trust?" Before we begin reading, I'll have... I'll share a short introduction to the book of Isaiah.

Are you ready? Let's begin. 

[INTRO TO ISAIAH - 01:51]
This book is the first of what are considered the books of prophecy. Now, most people when they hear that word “prophecy”, uh, they think of telling the future, and sometimes it does, but that's only a part of what prophecy is. A biblical prophet is a person who speaks for God. God has actually given them a specific message and usually for a specific person or specific group of people, and God tasks the prophet to deliver that message.

Now, by the way, the prophet Isaiah was a little bit like the Billy Graham of his time. Billy Graham counseled every president from Harry S. Truman to Barack Obama. Twelve consecutive presidents. His active ministry years stretched from 1943 to 2013. Seventy years! And as an aside, I had the privilege to interview Dr. Graham's longtime friend and musical director George Beverly Shea on the Lifespring podcast in 2006. If you're interested, I'll have a link to that episode in the show notes.

Now, Isaiah's ministry lasted from about 740 BC to around 680 BC, roughly 60 years. And unlike some of the other biblical prophets, Isaiah had personal access to the kings of his day. And like Billy Graham, Isaiah maintained an international perspective in his ministry, and throughout the book of Isaiah. Now, of course, with a 60 year ministry, God gave Isaiah more than one message. Isaiah spoke to the people about caring for the poor and needy, following God's instructions on how to live and pursuing social and economic justice.

Yeah, sounds like that maybe he could have ministered today, right? And then, of course, he spoke of coming judgment because of Israel's failure. But - and this is important - he also spoke of God's promise to restore Israel if and when they would turn from their errant ways and return to him. So let's get started.
 
[ISAIAH 1 (NASB) - 03:52]
Isaiah, chapter 1.

(1) The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

(2) Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth;
For the Lord speaks,
“Sons I have reared and brought up,
But they have revolted against Me.
(3) An ox knows its owner,
And a donkey its master’s manger,
But Israel does not know,
My people do not understand.”
(4) Alas, sinful nation,
People weighed down with iniquity,
Offspring of evildoers,
Sons who act corruptly!
They have abandoned the Lord,
They have despised the Holy One of Israel,
They have turned away from Him.
(5) Where will you be stricken again,
As you continue in your rebellion?
The whole head is sick
And the whole heart is faint.
(6) From the sole of the foot even to the head
There is nothing sound in it,
Only bruises, welts and raw wounds,
Not pressed out or bandaged,
Nor softened with oil.
(7) Your land is desolate,
Your cities are burned with fire,
Your fields—strangers are devouring them in your presence;
It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers.
(8) The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard,
Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.
(9) Unless the Lord of hosts
Had left us a few survivors,
We would be like Sodom,
We would be like Gomorrah.

(10) Hear the word of the Lord,
You rulers of Sodom;
Give ear to the instruction of our God,
You people of Gomorrah.
(11) “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?”
Says the Lord.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle;
And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.
(12) When you come to appear before Me,
Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?
(13) Bring your worthless offerings no longer,
Incense is an abomination to Me.
New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies—
I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.
(14) I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts,
They have become a burden to Me;
I am weary of bearing them.
(15) So when you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide My eyes from you;
Yes, even though you multiply prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are covered with blood.
(16) “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight.
Cease to do evil,
(17) Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Reprove the ruthless,
Defend the orphan,
Plead for the widow.

(18) “Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool.
(19) If you consent and obey,
You will eat the best of the land;
(20) But if you refuse and rebel,
You will be devoured by the sword.”
Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

(21) How the faithful city has become a harlot,
She who was full of justice!
Righteousness once lodged in her,
But now murderers.
(22) Your silver has become dross,
Your drink diluted with water.
(23) Your rulers are rebels
And companions of thieves;
Everyone loves a bribe
And chases after rewards.
They do not defend the orphan,
Nor does the widow’s plea come before them.
(24) Therefore the Lord of hosts,
The Mighty One of Israel, declares,
“Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries
And avenge Myself on My foes.
(25) I will also turn My hand against you,
And will smelt away your dross as with lye
And will remove all your alloy.
(26) Then I will restore your judges as at the first,
And your counselors as at the beginning;
After that you will be called the city of righteousness,
A faithful city.”
(27) Zion will be redeemed with justice
And her repentant ones with righteousness.
(28) But transgressors and sinners will be crushed together,
And those who forsake the Lord will come to an end.
(29) Surely you will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired,
And you will be embarrassed at the gardens which you have chosen.
(30) For you will be like an oak whose leaf fades away
Or as a garden that has no water.
(31) The strong man will become tinder,
His work also a spark.
Thus they shall both burn together
And there will be none to quench them.

[ISAIAH 2 (NASB) - 08:29]
Isaiah, chapter 2.

(1) The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

(2) Now it will come about that
In the last days
The mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established as the chief of the mountains,
And will be raised above the hills;
And all the nations will stream to it.
(3) And many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
That He may teach us concerning His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For the law will go forth from Zion
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
(4) And He will judge between the nations,
And will render decisions for many peoples;
And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war.
(5) Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.
(6) For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are filled with influences from the east,
And they are soothsayers like the Philistines,
And they strike bargains with the children of foreigners.
(7) Their land has also been filled with silver and gold
And there is no end to their treasures;
Their land has also been filled with horses
And there is no end to their chariots.
(8) Their land has also been filled with idols;
They worship the work of their hands,
That which their fingers have made.
(9) So the common man has been humbled
And the man of importance has been abased,
But do not forgive them.
(10) Enter the rock and hide in the dust
From the terror of the Lord and from the splendor of His majesty.
(11) The proud look of man will be abased
And the loftiness of man will be humbled,
And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

(12) For the Lord of hosts will have a day of reckoning
Against everyone who is proud and lofty
And against everyone who is lifted up,
That he may be abased.
(13) And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up,
Against all the oaks of Bashan,
(14) Against all the lofty mountains,
Against all the hills that are lifted up,
(15) Against every high tower,
Against every fortified wall,
(16) Against all the ships of Tarshish
And against all the beautiful craft.
(17) The pride of man will be humbled
And the loftiness of men will be abased;
And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,
(18) But the idols will completely vanish.
(19) Men will go into caves of the rocks
And into holes of the ground
Before the terror of the Lord
And the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises to make the earth tremble.
(20) In that day men will cast away to the moles and the bats
Their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
Which they made for themselves to worship,
(21) In order to go into the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs
Before the terror of the Lord and the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises to make the earth tremble.
(22) Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils;
For why should he be esteemed? 

[ISAIAH 3 (NASB) - 11:36]
Isaiah, chapter 3.

(1) For behold, the Lord God of hosts is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah
Both supply and support, the whole supply of bread
And the whole supply of water;
(2) The mighty man and the warrior,
The judge and the prophet,
The diviner and the elder,
(3) The captain of fifty and the honorable man,
The counselor and the expert artisan,
And the skillful enchanter.
(4) And I will make mere lads their princes,
And capricious children will rule over them,
(5) And the people will be oppressed,
Each one by another, and each one by his neighbor;
The youth will storm against the elder
And the inferior against the honorable.
(6) When a man lays hold of his brother in his father’s house, saying,
“You have a cloak, you shall be our ruler,
And these ruins will be under your charge,”
(7) He will protest on that day, saying,
“I will not be your healer,
For in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;
You should not appoint me ruler of the people.”
(8) For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen,
Because their speech and their actions are against the Lord,
To rebel against His glorious presence.
(9) The expression of their faces bears witness against them,
And they display their sin like Sodom;
They do not even conceal it.
Woe to them!
For they have brought evil on themselves.
(10) Say to the righteous that it will go well with them,
For they will eat the fruit of their actions.
(11) Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him,
For what he deserves will be done to him.
(12) O My people! Their oppressors are children,
And women rule over them.
O My people! Those who guide you will lead you astray
And confuse the direction of your paths.

(13) The Lord arises to contend,
And stands to judge the people.
(14) The Lord enters into judgment with the elders and princes of His people,
“It is you who have devoured the vineyard;
The plunder of the poor is in your houses.
(15) What do you mean by crushing My people
And grinding the face of the poor?”
Declares the Lord God of hosts.

(16) Moreover, the Lord said, “Because the daughters of Zion are proud
And walk with heads held high and seductive eyes,
And go along with mincing steps
And tinkle the bangles on their feet,
(17) Therefore the Lord will afflict the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs,
And the Lord will make their foreheads bare.”
(18) In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, headbands, crescent ornaments, (19) dangling earrings, bracelets, veils, (20) headdresses, ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets, (21) finger rings, nose rings, (22) festal robes, outer tunics, cloaks, money purses, (23) hand mirrors, undergarments, turbans and veils.
(24) Now it will come about that instead of sweet perfume there will be putrefaction;
Instead of a belt, a rope;
Instead of well-set hair, a plucked-out scalp;
Instead of fine clothes, a donning of sackcloth;
And branding instead of beauty.
(25) Your men will fall by the sword
And your mighty ones in battle.
(26) And her gates will lament and mourn,
And deserted she will sit on the ground. 

[ISAIAH 4 (NASB) - 14:47]
Isaiah, chapter 4.

(1) For seven women will take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach!”

(2) In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel. (3) It will come about that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem. (4) When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, (5) then the Lord will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. (6) There will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain. 

[ISAIAH 5 (NASB) - 15:50]
Isaiah, chapter 5.

(1) Let me sing now for my well-beloved
A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard.
My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill.
(2) He dug it all around, removed its stones,
And planted it with the choicest vine.
And He built a tower in the middle of it
And also hewed out a wine vat in it;
Then He expected it to produce good grapes,
But it produced only worthless ones.
(3) “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
Judge between Me and My vineyard.
(4) What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it?
Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?
(5) So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:
I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed;
I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground.
(6) It will lay waste;
It will not be pruned or hoed,
But briars and thorns will come up.
I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it.”
(7) For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel
And the men of Judah His delightful plant.
Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed;
For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.

(8) Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field,
Until there is no more room,
So that you have to live alone in the midst of the land!
(9) In my ears the Lord of hosts has sworn, “Surely, many houses shall become desolate,
Even great and fine ones, without occupants.
(10) For ten acres of vineyard will yield only one bath of wine,
And a homer of seed will yield but an ephah of grain.”
(11) Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink,
Who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them!
(12) Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine;
But they do not pay attention to the deeds of the Lord,
Nor do they consider the work of His hands.
(13) Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge;
And their honorable men are famished,
And their multitude is parched with thirst.
(14) Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure;
And Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry and the jubilant within her, descend into it.
(15) So the common man will be humbled and the man of importance abased,
The eyes of the proud also will be abased.
(16) But the Lord of hosts will be exalted in judgment,
And the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness.
(17) Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture,
And strangers will eat in the waste places of the wealthy.
(18) Woe to those who drag iniquity with the cords of falsehood,
And sin as if with cart ropes;
(19) Who say, “Let Him make speed, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it;
And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near
And come to pass, that we may know it!”
(20) Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
(21) Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
And clever in their own sight!
(22) Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine
And valiant men in mixing strong drink,
(23) Who justify the wicked for a bribe,
And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right!
(24) Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble
And dry grass collapses into the flame,
So their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust;
For they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts
And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
(25) On this account the anger of the Lord has burned against His people,
And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down.
And the mountains quaked, and their corpses lay like refuse in the middle of the streets.
For all this His anger is not spent,
But His hand is still stretched out.
(26) He will also lift up a standard to the distant nation,
And will whistle for it from the ends of the earth;
And behold, it will come with speed swiftly.
(27) No one in it is weary or stumbles,
None slumbers or sleeps;
Nor is the belt at its waist undone,
Nor its sandal strap broken.
(28) Its arrows are sharp and all its bows are bent;
The hoofs of its horses seem like flint and its chariot wheels like a whirlwind.
(29) Its roaring is like a lioness, and it roars like young lions;
It growls as it seizes the prey
And carries it off with no one to deliver it.
(30) And it will growl over it in that day like the roaring of the sea.
If one looks to the land, behold, there is darkness and distress;
Even the light is darkened by its clouds. 

[ISAIAH 6 (NASB) - 20:49]
Isaiah, chapter 6.

(1) In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. (2) Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. (3) And one called out to another and said,

“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts,
The whole earth is full of His glory.”

(4) And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. (5) Then I said,

“Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

(6) Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. (7) He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”

(8) Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (9) He said, “Go, and tell this people:

‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive;
Keep on looking, but do not understand.’
(10) Render the hearts of this people insensitive,
Their ears dull,
And their eyes dim,
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their hearts,
And return and be healed.”

(11) Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered,

“Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant,
Houses are without people
And the land is utterly desolate,
(12) The Lord has removed men far away,
And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
(13) Yet there will be a tenth portion in it,
And it will again be subject to burning,
Like a terebinth or an oak
Whose stump remains when it is felled.
The holy seed is its stump.” 

[COMMENTS - 22:54]
I like the way chapter 2 ends. It says, “Stop regarding man whose breath of life is in his nostrils for why should he be esteemed?.” The NIV says it a little bit more clearly. It says there, “Stop trusting in mere humans who have but a breath in their nostrils. Why hold them in esteem?”

Beloved, I am as interested in politics as anybody else is. These days it's kind of hard to escape political talk, isn't it? But we need to keep in mind that no politician, no supposed leader, is going to save us. No president, no governor, no prime minister, no king will ever come up with a plan to right the wrongs or save the economy.

The sooner we recognize this, the sooner we'll be able to look to the one who has the answer. That one is the King of Kings.

Now, don't misunderstand. I'm not advocating for a theocracy run by religious zealots. When Jesus walked the earth, some of his followers thought he was going to establish an earthly kingdom then, and when it became clear that his mission did not include that agenda, one of the twelve disciples, Judas, betrayed him into the hands of those who ultimately crucified him.

Jesus' mission when he was here was to bring the message of salvation, not of conquest. His goal was to change hearts, and I believe that's our mission today. As a matter of fact, we know that's our mission because he gave us that mission with his last words before ascending into heaven. Here's what he said: “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. (19) Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,  baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. (20) Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Jesus told us to go and make disciples. Our mission is to tell people the good news that God came in human form and he made a way for them to be reconciled with God and to live with him in eternity.

Beloved, when a heart is turned toward God, that is when peace begins.

Now, as we read through Isaiah and many of the other Old Testament books, it's important to keep in mind that when God speaks of and then brings judgment on Israel and other nations, it comes with a message of warning first, then with a promise of restoration. So many people have the idea that the God we see in the Old Testament is angry and vengeful and just waiting for you to blow it so he can, BAM, bring judgment. But in reality, he is a God of second and third and tenth chances. He's a patient and loving and forgiving God.

You'll see that as we make our way through the Bible together this year.

[SEND FEEDBACK - 26:00]
What do you think? I'd like to hear from you. Call the Lifespring Family Hotline at 951-732-8511. I'll share some comments from the Lifespring family member on the show. And remember, I don't want you to just listen to the show. I want you to participate just like a family does. Tomorrow is Gospel Saturday and we'll read the first two chapters of the Gospel According to Matthew.

[SUPPORTER THANKS - 26:27]
I want to thank Lifespring Family Berean, Brother Paul of Seattle who sent in his monthly $20 donation. Thank you Brother Paul and God bless you.

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[ANNOUNCER]
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[SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW – 27:34]
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[OUTRO S13E006 – 28:31]
Comment on the show by calling 951-732-8511 and leaving a message or go to comment.lifespringmedia.com or email me at steve@lifespringmedia.com or. Leave a comment on the show notes page at lifespringmedia.com/s13e006 and for now, I guess it's time. I say, until tomorrow may. God bless you richly.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for inviting me into your day. My name is Steve Webb. Bye.