"The vision of Isaiah the son of Amos, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem; in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah: Hear, O you heavens; and give ear, O earth, For it is Jehovah that speaks. I have nourished children, and brought them up, And even they have revolted from me. The ox knows his possessor; And the ass the crib of his lord; But Israel knows not me: Neither do my people consider. Ah sinful nation! a people laden with iniquity! A race of evil doers! children degenerate! They have forsaken Jehovah; They have rejected with disdain the Holy One of Israel; They are estranged from Him; they have turned their back upon Him. On what part will you smite again, will you add correction? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint; From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness therein; It is wound, and bruise, and putrefying sore; It has not been pressed, neither has it been bound; Neither has it been softened with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burnt with fire; Your land, before your eyes strangers devour it; And it is become desolate, as if destroyed by an inundation. And the daughter of Zion is left, as a shed in a vineyard; As a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a city taken by a siege." (Isaiah 1:1-8,Lowth)
Inasmuch as everybody has the Bible in the so-called Authorized Version, and can refer to it at pleasure, and very many have the Revised also, it has been thought best in the present study to give the readers the benefit of another translation. The one chosen has been that of Bishop Lowth, which is without doubt, as a whole, the best English translation of the prophecy of Isaiah.
Accordingly we shall print the text of this, as above, and shall in the notes give the student the benefit of any other translations that serve to make any portion of the text more striking. This statement of the case will serve for the regular reader, so that it will not need to be repeated.
Let everyone who proposes to derive lasting benefit from these studies of the Gospel according to Isaiah, give heed to the following counsel: First of all study the text carefully. How? Read it again and again, taking special pains to find out exactly what it says. Note the dependence of every verse and sentence upon that which precedes.
Nobody in the world can tell you anything that is true concerning the text, that is not found in the text itself; and if you give heed, you can tell what the Lord says as well as anybody; for He uses the language of the common people.
The notes that follow are only designed to fix your attention more sharply on what is contained in the text, and to help you to retain it by associating it with other familiar portions of Scripture. You will see that nothing is introduced that is not contained in the text of the lesson, and will thus learn how rich is the Word of God.
The Lord Speaks
"Hear, O you heavens, and give ear, O earth." (Isaiah 1:2)
Why? Because the Lord has spoken. When the Lord speaks, it is the time for everyone in heaven and earth to keep silence. "The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him." (Habakkuk 2:20) "Job answered the Lord and said, Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer You? I will lay my hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken; but I will not answer; yea, twice; but I will proceed no further." (Job 40:3-5)
The importance of keeping still when the Lord speaks cannot be too strongly emphasized.
When one of the great men of earth speaks on a subject of which he is supposed to be master, most people have the good sense to give attention, esteeming it a privilege to be permitted to hear; and even though they do not fully agree with all he says, they are modest about expressing their opinion.
But few have any scruples about answering back when the Lord speaks. Almost everybody considers himself competent to be a critic of the Bible. But if we would always keep silence before the Lord, not even in our inmost hearts uttering a word, but allowing God to give us His thoughts, we should find not only life but sound wisdom as well; for the word of God is life, and: "The Lord gives wisdom; out of His mouth comes knowledge and understanding." (Proverbs 2:6)
But there is a special force in calling upon the heavens and the earth as witnesses when the rebellion of men is mentioned; for they have never transgressed God's will. The earth is obedient to the voice of God, and has been ever since He said, "Let the earth bring forth grass." (Genesis 1:11) "For ever, O Lord, your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness is unto all generations; You have established the earth, and it abides. They abide this day according to your ordinances; for all thingsare your servants." (Psalm 119:89-91)
Two other instances where the Lord calls upon the heavens and the earth to witness the apostasy of the people are: "Be astonished, O heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be very desolate, says the Lord. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." (Jeremiah 2:12-13) "Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: Because I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe greatness unto our God." (Deuteronomy 32:1-3)
Beasts Wiser Than Children
Now notice the contrast brought to view in Isaiah 1, verses 2 and 3. In the original the contrast is very marked,--children as against dumb brutes. "Children have I made great and exalted, and even they have rebelled against me." (Isaiah 1:2)
So much for children, while the ox and the ass recognize their master. The ox and the ass give more respect to their possessor than children to their Father. What a striking contrast.
Whom do the ox and the ass recognize as their lord and master? The answer is easy; it is the one who feeds them. The ass knows the crib of his lord. He knows where he finds his sustenance. And the beasts show their recognition of their owner by bending their necks to the burden which the master lays upon them. They give service to the one from whom they receive their support.
Does someone say that this does not require very much discernment on the part of the beasts? Then what shall be said of the children whom God has nourished? If the recognition of a master is so simple a thing that even a beast is not considered as specially worthy of credit for submitting to the hand that feeds him, what language can express the stupidity of men who do not know the Lord, "who gives us richly all things to enjoy?" (1 Timothy 6:17) "[even] life, and breath, and all things." (Acts 17:25)
Remember that man was made to be the lord of the brute, and as such is designed to be infinitely above the brute in knowledge. What excuse can be made for him then, when he is ignorant of that which the slowest witted of beasts know perfectly well?
To know God is the easiest thing in the world. If it were not, there would be some who would have excuse for not knowing Him. But all are "without excuse," (Romans 1:20; For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse) for everything reveals Him. One does not need to be a philosopher, in order to know God. All that is required is that one have as much knowledge as an ox or an ass, to recognize the simplest facts. Continually to recognize the One who feeds us, is all that is needful to make one a Christian. One does not need to theorize; the Gospel is not a theory, but a fact. Simply to believe things that are, is all that is wanted. "He that comes to God must believe that He is." (Hebrews 11:6)
And the evidence that He is, is seen in the gift of our daily bread. Everybody can easily see that he does not feed himself. The ox and the ass know that. All our living comes from without ourselves, and we do not make it. Now in order that no one can have any chance to cavil, and say, "How can I know the name of the one who does provide this food?" we may say, "All that you are required to do is to recognize the Creator." "Worship [the One] who made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." (Revelation 14:7)
When we do this, it will be easy to see that the One who gives us life has a right to the management of that life, and our duty is done. "Ask now the beasts, and they shall teach you." (Job 12:1)
Someone may be inclined to say that the portion of Scripture allotted to this lesson is not very comforting, since it is all reproof. Well, it is true that the necessities of the case have forced us to take only a broken fragment of the message, but it is not without comfort, even if it is reproof. It is a reproof addressed to children, and the Lord says, " My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of His correction; For whom the Lord loves He chastens; even as a father the son in whom he delights." (Proverbs 3:11-12)
The Holy Spirit, whose special office is that of Comforter, is first of all a Reprover of sin. "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." (John 16:7-8) "The commandment is a lamp, and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life." (Proverbs 6:23)
Laden with Iniquity
"Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity." (Isaiah 1:4)
Shall we cringe and cower before the Lord because He addresses us in that manner? Not by any means; for we hear the call of the Saviour: "Come unto me, all you that labor, and are heavy laden; and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and you shall find rest unto your souls." (Matthew 11:28-29)
"Take my yoke upon you," says the Lord. Certainly. The ox and the ass submit to the yoke of the one who feeds them; why should not we? And they bear heavy burdens for their masters; but our Master calls us to come to Him, that He may relieve us of our burdens.
We are "laden with iniquity." Why? Because we have departed from Him. His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. Only when we "have gone away backward" do we find hard labor and heavy burdens. What a blessed service it is, that gives rest from labor!
Sin Punishes
"Why will you be still stricken, that you revolt more and more?" (Isaiah 1:5)
When the ox and the ass are rebellious and refuse to bear the burden placed upon them by their lord, or when they turn aside out of the way, what do they bring upon themselves? The rod of correction, of course. Even so it is with us, when we depart from the way. But bear in mind that the strokes that come are not given arbitrarily. Departing from the way of life is in itself death. So the offense brings its own punishment. "For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord; They would none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof. Therefore they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them." (Proverbs 1:29-32)
They that sin are treasuring up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath: "But after your hardness and impenitent heart treasure up unto yourself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." (Romans 2:5) "His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate." (Psalm 7:16)
Full of Disease
"From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness [in the body because of the sin that has been committed;] but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores." (Isaiah 1:6)
That is the result of refusing to hear the words of the Lord, which "are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh." (Proverbs 4:22)
Nothing is more sure than that there is the closest connection between sin and disease. Disease is only the working of death; and death came into the world with sin. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." (Romans 5:12)
But for sin, there would be no disease in the world. "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." (Romans 10:17)
And, "The just shall live by faith." (Romans 1:17)
That is, men can live by the words of the Lord. It is a fact that we have no life except that which the Lord gives us. This everybody must admit. And it is also a fact that the Lord's life is perfect and eternal. There is no life but the life of the Lord, therefore the life which the Lord gives us is a perfect life.
Then is it not, to say the least, as easy for the Lord to give us perfect health as to have us suffering from all manner of disease? Certainly, and far easier; for the Lord cannot give us any other life than that which is perfect. Why then do we suffer disease? Simply because "[we] have all gone out of the way," (Romans 3:12) and have departed from the Lord. We have rejected His words, which are Spirit and life. It is not the Lord who sends us disease, but disease comes as the result of rejecting or neglecting the word of the Lord. "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." (Hosea 4:6)
Read Psalm 38:1-8 to find a parallel to Isaiah 1:4-6. "O Lord, rebuke me not in your wrath: neither chasten me in your hot displeasure. For your arrows stick fast in me, and your hand presses me sore. There is no soundness in my flesh because of your anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities are gone over my head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness. I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is nosoundness in my flesh. I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart." (Psalm 38:1-8)
Notice how often in the Bible disease of body is named as a result of departing from the Lord. When men shall have wholly rejected the Spirit and Word of the Lord, the first manifestation of it will be a plague of "a noisome and grievous sore" (Revelation 16:2) upon them. And the plague that appears in the body of a man, will be only the working out of "the plague of his own heart." (1 Kings 8:38)
Read Luke 7:50 and 8:48, noting the margin of the Revision: "And He said unto the woman, Your faith has saved you; go in peace." (Luke 7:50,RV) "And He said unto her, Daughter, your faith has made you whole [margin: "saved you"]; go in peace." (Luke 8:48,RV,margin)
There we see that Jesus used the same words to the one whose sins He forgives as to the one whom He healed of a grievous disease. "Your faith has saved you," is the same as "Your faith has made you whole." Salvation is simply the work of making whole.
When Jesus on the Sabbath day healed the lame man at the pool of Bethesda, He made him "whole." Afterward when He found the man in the temple, He said to him, "Behold, you are made whole; sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you." (John 5:14)
This shows us that:
1. The man's disease had been the result of personal sin;
2. Jesus in healing his disease had saved him from the sin, even as He did the paralytic. (See Matthew 9:2-6)
"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; Who forgives all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases." (Psalm 103:2-3) "From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it." (Isaiah 1:6)
That is our condition apart from the Lord. But when the lame man at the gate Beautiful was healed by the name of Jesus of Nazareth, Peter said to the people who gathered round, "His name through faith in His name has made this man strong, whom you see and know; yea, the faith which is by Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all." (Acts 3:16)
That man was not only healed in body, but saved as to his soul, for all the prophets gave witness "that through His name whosoever believes in Him shall receive remission of sins." (Acts 10:43)
Moreover when Peter talked of the case the next day before the judges, he declared that the man stood there whole in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, in whom alone there is salvation, thus identifying the healing of the body with salvation.
One thing more we must not omit in the consideration of this lesson. Note the horrible condition brought to view in Isaiah 1:56. Remember that disease is but the outward physical manifestation of sin. It is not always the result of our own personal sin, but that makes no difference; if we are not responsible for it, we may be sure that God will save us from it, since He saves us from the result of our rebellion.
The fact which we wish to keep in mind is that disease is but the working of death, which is the fruit of sin. Now a body that is full of wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores is not by any means a pleasant object to look at. It is, indeed, most disgusting. Now remember that, no matter how fair one's person may be to the sight of man, if the heart is corrupt that person looks to God just as he would to us if covered with loathsome ulcers. "The Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)
Remember also that this fearful condition of body is but the result of departing from the Lord and lading ourselves with iniquity. Then read the blessed Gospel according to Isaiah: "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. ... But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone tohis own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:4-6)
If we are laden with iniquity, and covered with sores and bruises, we but share the lot of the Lord. We put it that way, although the fact is that He shares our lot. He takes our burden of sin and our sicknesses. What for? In order that we may be freed from it all.
His sores heal our sores. How so? Because His sores are our sores. "What? are the sores that He has my sores?"
Yes, certainly. "Why, then I do not have them anymore."
No; they are all upon Him. Let Him keep them then, for: "He will swallow up death in victory." (Isaiah 25:8)
Wonderful Physician, who heals our diseases by His own; but so it is, and so let it be.--Present Truth, December 29, 1898--Isaiah 1:1-9.