4. JUDGMENT WILL FALL ON JERUSALEM - Isaiah 1:21-31

 

‘How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers. Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water: Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them. Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies: And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin: And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city. Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness. And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed. For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen. For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water. And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them (Isaiah 1:21-31).

 

In this passage now before us we get the first glimpses of the coming Babylonian invaders. These are invaders who come at the Lord’s behest, being those whom God will use to purge the nation of Judah and to punish them because of their sin. The prophecy of Isaiah is one of warning, for there is yet time for Judah to repent. But if they do not, judgment will fall on Judah and on Jerusalem, which had alone been spared the destruction brought about by the Assyrians (1:8,9).

Verse 21: How amazing it is that the city of Jerusalem that was once faithful to God, has become a city where the Law of God is despised and is so unfaithful that it is described as a harlot. All of the people’s sins are symptoms of the city moving away from God and pursuing other things in place of God. It has become unfaithful to God and is therefore a spiritual harlot (Ex 34:15,16; Deut 31:16).

Once this city stood for righteousness, pursuing all that the Lord expected it to pursue. But now it has become so evil, that it is even a haven for murderers.

QUESTION: How can the church today be regarded as a harlot? Give examples of your answer.

 

Verse 22: Once the city was like pure silver and the best wine to the Lord, but now the silver has been totally corrupted and polluted by sin, becoming dross, and the wine so mutilated (literal meaning) by water that it is no longer wine. This whole illustration is pointing to a pollution that has penetrated everywhere, being permeated throughout the entire nation. The city used to be something special, even a righteous city, but now it is no longer anything near that.

Verse 23: This verse explains how the city of Jerusalem is now dross and mutilated wine. The rulers of the city were in rebellion against God, living in a manner contrary to the will of God and had in fact aligned themselves with wicked men. In fact the whole city had become corrupted and rebellious against God, striving after unrighteousness and refusing to pursue righteousness.

Verse 24: Because of all this sinfulness and rebellion, the Almighty and Sovereign Lord will bring judgment upon this now wicked city. There is deliberate irony here, for it is the Sovereign Lord who had previously fought for Judah that will now fight against Judah. Because of their rebellion, the people of Jerusalem were now considered as the enemies of God (Ezek 5:13) and so they will now face God’s wrath.

Verse 25: The Lord’s protecting hand will now become the hand of God’s judgment against Jerusalem. This judgment that God will bring upon Jerusalem will remove the corruption and rebellion of the city. In a real sense this judgment should be seen as a gracious judgment, for its purpose is to restore the city to what it once was, a ‘faithful city (1:21,26).’ But the judgment will not be a pleasant experience, as the passage makes plain.

QUESTION: How has God done this in the Church throughout the ages?

 

Verse 26: The result of God’s judgment will be a return to faithfulness and righteousness. The city will once again be as in earlier days, a city ruled by godly men and inhabited by those who will serve the Lord. It should be noted that this is what the Lord will achieve, for He says, ‘I will restore.’

Though there is the immediate reference to the post-exilic period, this prophecy also points forward to a much greater day, to that of the Messianic Kingdom as seen in the church and even beyond to glory.

Verse 27: Zion, the city of God (Jerusalem), will be brought back through the just payment for its sin. The people will turn back to God in repentance, being bought by the righteousness of God (59:20). Those who will be saved look to God for mercy and deliverance.

These redeemed are bought back because of what the Lord does and this reference may also be to the Messiah.

Verse 28: Those who would not repent but choose to continue in their sin and rebellion will perish, being totally destroyed (Job 7:9; Ps 37:20). These must be removed if Judah is to be returned to her righteous state.

NOTE INDIVIDUAL DISCOVERY QUESTION HERE: Why will Judah be ashamed of the Terebinth trees in 1:29,30?

 

Verse 29: When judgment falls upon Jerusalem the people will be ashamed of the Terebinth trees, which is most likely the place of their false worship (Deut 16:21; 1 Kings 16:33; Ezek 6:13). For the people carried on their false worship under these trees and probably directed their worship to these trees also. This was the false worship of those in the land before them.

The people would be greatly ashamed of their false gods and places of worship when God moves in judgment against them. All their false worship will be seen as vanity and as futile. These ‘gods’ will be seen to be nothing.

Verse 30: When judgment comes the people will be as Terebinth trees, but not those in full vigour of health, but those that are dying and as a garden without water. They will be ashamed and they will perish.

Verse 31: The strong ones in Jerusalem will become as firewood and their works will be the fire that causes them to be consumed (33:11-13; 50:11). Both will be seen as vanity, and both the man and his works will be destroyed. Their own sin will be the cause of their ruin, not just their temporal ruin, but everlasting ruin also.

QUESTION: Give examples of how a man’s sin can become a punishment for his sinfulness?

 

INDIVIDUAL DISCOVERY

What is Verse four speaking of? Please give reasons for your answer.

 

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16/06/2007

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