Before we look at our passages from Isaiah today, we are going to revisit Israel and the aftermath of the invasion by Assyria in 2 Kings 17:24-41. (From the June 28 reading.)

If the people of Judah looked northward after Assyria swept through Israel, they saw very little that was left of their Israelite brothers and sisters. The Assyrians had a policy of deporting conquered people and then replacing them with foreigners from other parts of their empire. In Israel’s case the Assyrians brought in people from Babylon, Kuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim.

These people didn’t know how to worship God. When they began to institute their pagan religious practices in the Land, God showed his displeasure by sending lions to kill them.  They cried for help and the king of Assyria sent an Israelite priest back to Bethel to teach them how to worship God. It had mixed results.

“They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought. To this day they persist in their former practices . . . Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did.” 2 Kings 17:33

The Great Light Comes to Israel

After the northern tribes were conquered and taken away, the land where they had lived was called Samaria. The Judeans were prejudiced against the Samaritans, even though some of them were their Israelite brothers and sisters. They considered them half-breeds with corrupted religious practices.

It wasn’t until Jesus came and lived in Galilee that the Samaritans began to experience the light of God’s favor again, beginning with the Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well in Sychar. (John 4:1-26) She was one of the seekers the Jews rejected, but Jesus loved her with all his heart.

Isaiah was talking about people like this Samaritan woman when he said,

“Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past [God] humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan – the people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:1-2

When the Samaritan woman said, “I know that Messiah (called Christ) is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” – and Jesus replied, “I who speak to you am he” – the great light dawned in Israel. Salvation came to the Samaritans who had been walking in darkness, and living in the shadow of death for so long.

God never stopped loving Israel. When Jesus came, he lived among those who needed him most, among the remnant of Israel, but also among people who descended from many other nations.

Judah’s Guilt

It’s hard to imagine what the people of Judah thought when their northern family was defeated and swept away by the cruel Assyrians. Isaiah had the huge responsibility of steering Judah’s people, king, and  national leaders through this disaster and back to the Lord. He had his work cut out for him.

“See how the faithful city (Jerusalem) has become a prostitute! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her – but now murderers! Your silver has become dross, your choice wine is diluted with water. Your rulers are rebels, partners with thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them.” Isaiah 1:21-23

The residents of Jerusalem and Judah had slipped into idolatry, superstition, and divination, by borrowing religious practices from the nations around them.

“Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.” Isaiah 2:8

It was hard to get the attention of people who were preoccupied with gods they made for themselves.

The Women of Jerusalem

Jerusalem’s women had a reputation for proud, seductive behavior, but God told them things were about to change for them.

“In that day the Lord will snatch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces, the earrings and bracelets and veils, the headdresses and anklets and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, the signet rings and nose rings, the fine robes and the capes and cloaks, the purses and mirrors, and the linen garments and tiaras and shawls.” Isaiah 3:18-23

They were used to having men at their beck and call, but in the future, they would be lucky if there was one man for every seven women.

Judgment on Judah

The people of Judah loved their wealth, luxury and self-indulgence.

“Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks, who stay up late at night till they are inflamed with wine . . . they have no regard for the Lord, no respect for the work of his hands . . . Therefore Death expands its jaws, opening wide its mouth; into it will descend their nobles and masses with all their brawlers and revelers. So people will be brought low and everyone humbled, the eyes of the arrogant humbled. But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will be proved holy by his righteous acts.” Isaiah 5:11-12, 14-16

God was not opposed to prosperity or celebration. He wasn’t opposed to wine, but the fact that he decided to come against Judah with his justice and righteousness tell us that the Judeans were practicing widespread injustice and unrighteousness.

The Lord’s Vineyard

Isaiah wrote a beautiful song about God and his vineyard. It’s a metaphor for God’s history with Israel and Judah, beginning when they first arrived in the Promised Land. There God cleared away all of the obstacles so they could settle in the land and prosper. But when God looked for good fruit from their lives, he found idolatry and sin.

“Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard; I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.” Isaiah 5:3-6

God was about to take away his hedge of protection from Judah. Babylon was going to invade and destroy Jerusalem, trample it and break down its walls.

Unlike Israel, where the people were deported and foreigners replaced them, the people of Judah were going into exile, but would return later. No one was going to prune or cultivate the fields in Judah while the people were away; the land would revert to nature.

Lessons for Today

We are reading ancient history in the Old Testament, but the lessons are relevant to today because God hasn’t changed. People come and go, nations rise and fall, but God’s intense focus on the world remains the same. He continues to look for people who want a relationship with him. He still hates sin and he still warns people to repent and return to him while they can. He rushes to reconcile with them as soon as they do.

God still provides for his people and protects them from evil. He has a forever home for them in heaven. The Messiah Israel looked for is our Messiah today. The atonement sacrifices the Israelites offered for their sins at the temple were finished once and for all in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

By reading the stories of Israel we learn what pleases God and what breaks his heart. We see the sins that offend him and we can avoid them. We can also see how God deals with a nation that refuses to do what he wants it to do.

God didn’t care about religious practices in Israel and Judah. He cared about what happened to the poor, the weak, and the people that were bought and sold for profit. He cared about institutionalized murder, theft, bribery, and injustice. He got angry with people who felt entitled to self-indulgence and who worshiped their possessions. He hated anything that alienated the hearts of people from him.

It’s easy to say that Israel fell because of idolatry, but do we also worship the wrong things today?

God left us these stories so we could test our own hearts and find out how we measure up.