Weighing the Options Isaiah 5: 1-25 (p. 634 ff )

Weighing the Options... a Life is full of options and choices: g What to eat; what to buy; where to invest; who to see; where (how) to live...??? b When must / should we involve and consider the L ORD in our decisions? a Isaiah: Always involve and consider the Lord in everything b “Come now, let us reason together” says the L ORD [ Y a HW e H ]. (1:18) g If you are willing and obedient you will eat from the best of the land (1:19) g BUT if you resist and rebel you will be devoured by the sword” (1:20) b “Let us walk in the light of the Lord” (2:5) b “Tell the righteous it will be well with them” (3:10)

1. Isaiah: Hope for the Faithful a Isaiah prophesies in the period from 750 – 700 BC. b Still speaks to us today: g The way we live has changed, but the issues of life remain the same. g Isaiah is the greatest prophet of the OT, and most alluded to in the NT. a Assyria was resurgent after a long period of decline g Tiglath-Pileser III ( BC) Re-established Assyrian power. b During the decline, Judah under King Uzziah, became strong & wealthy (2 Chr 26) b PRIDE and PLEASURE had caused them to drift far from the L ORD b Poverty, injustice and licentiousness were common.

2. God Cared faithfully for His People (5:1- 7) a Isaiah’s “Song of his Beloved’s Vineyard” b He dug it up and cleared the stones b Planted the best vines b Built a watchtower (to protect it) b Built a winepress (prepared for the harvest) b But it yielded only BAD FRUIT! a Therefore: b He will take away his care and let it become desolate, a “wasteland” (v 5-6)

3. His People responded with Unfaithfulness (5:8-25) a Woe ! b To those who have become wealthy without regard for the poor (v 8-10) b To those who drink and party without regard for the L ORD (v 11-17) b To those who seek after sin and scoff at the L ORD (v 18-19) b To those who invert God’s values and affirm wrong as right (v 20) b To those who think they can put their own wisdom above God’s (v 21) b To those who pervert justice by ignoring God’s Law (v 22-24) a Therefore the L ORD ’s anger burns against his people (v 25)

Hope for the Faithful a Isaiah presents us with a clear picture of what faithfulness looks like b We cannot buy God off with rituals, observances, acts of piety, etc when we live our lives for ourselves. (1:10-17) b Faith is all-day, every-day recognition of God as he is, and our place under him g True faith always leads us to servanthood (epitomised in Isaiah 53) a Isaiah encourages God’s people to “walk in the light of the Lord” (2:5) b Regular assurances of Hope for the faithful E.g. 1:18-19; 2:1-5; 4:2-6 b Isaiah gives us a picture not only of ourselves and up to Christ, but to the heavenly Kingdom of eternity