AM Isaiah 11:1-12:6 "In that Day"

[0:00] in the passage that's on your sheet in Isaiah, the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 11 and into chapter 12 to the end. So it's headed up in this version anyway, the righteous reign of the branch in chapter 11.

[0:20] There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

[0:43] He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth, and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

[1:07] Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion, and the fatted calf together, and a little child shall lead them.

[1:27] The cow and the bear shall graze, the young shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the whole of the cobra, and the weeding child shall put his hand on the adder's den.

[1:43] They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

[1:55] In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples, of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

[2:07] In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Parthros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.

[2:27] He will raise a signal from the nations, and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

[2:39] The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart, and those who harass Judah shall be cut off. Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah, and Judah shall not harass Ephraim, but they shall swoop down on the shoulder of the Philistines in the west, and together they shall plunder the people of the east.

[2:58] They shall put out their hand against Edom and Moab, and Ammonites shall obey them. And the Lord will destroy the tongue of the sea of Egypt. And will wave his hand over the river with his scorching breath, and strike it into seven channels, and he will lead people across in sandals.

[3:20] And there will be a highway from Assyria for the remnant that remains of his people, as there was for Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt.

[3:33] You will say in that day, I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation.

[3:46] I will trust, and will not be afraid. For the Lord God is my strength, and my song, and he has become my salvation. With joy will I draw water from the wells of salvation.

[3:59] And you will say in that day, give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his needs among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted, sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously.

[4:13] Let this be made known in all the earth. Shout and sing for joy, O inhabitants of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

[4:25] May God bless his reading from his own inspired word. I'd like to turn back to the passage we read in Isaiah.

[4:38] I'll just read one verse from chapter 12 at the moment. With joy, verse 3 of chapter 12, With joy he will draw water from the wells of salvation.

[4:53] Isaiah, it's a kind of, the section in Isaiah from about chapter 7 to 12, some people include chapter 6 in that section, but it follows on, and chapter 12 is a kind of conclusion to all that's gone before.

[5:13] And so to try to understand chapter 12, you'd really need to look at chapter 6 onward. But we haven't got time to do that. But what we will do, you'll notice that chapter 12 starts with, you will say, in that day.

[5:33] And you'll perhaps notice when we read chapter 11, that phrase occurs twice, in verses 10 and 11, in that day, in that day. It's also repeated in chapter 12 as well.

[5:46] So it's recurring words, looking towards a day. So, before we look at chapter 12, I just wanted for that reason, to briefly, to summarize chapter 11, to help us understand chapter 12.

[6:06] I'll just briefly go through chapter 11, to get the background. And I'll say, if you've got time later on, you can read the previous chapters.

[6:18] So, verses 1 to 5, most Bibles have that as a section in itself. And it's a description of the kingly office of the Messiah, who showed concern for the meek.

[6:32] He'll vindicate his people against all those who oppress them. And as you read the first five verses of chapter 11, you can't help thinking of the root of Jesse that was promised.

[6:46] And of course, that was fulfilled when Jesus came. He was the root of Jesse. He was descended from Jesse, the father of David, and as you know, the genealogies.

[6:58] So, it's looking towards the shoot from the stump of Jesse. It's looking forward to the Lord Jesus Christ. And the description of him in the first five verses, you know, the promises are so applicable, aren't they?

[7:15] A branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And we're even seeing today the fruit of the work of this one that was promised from the shoot from the stump of Jesse.

[7:29] The shoot from the stump of Jesse. We're seeing the fruit today that's still being fruit produced as people come to acknowledge him as Savior. So, it's a great promise that the prophet makes about the one that was going to come.

[7:44] There'll be great fruit. Shall bear fruit. But then, some of the other descriptions about this one, from the root of the shoot from the stump of Jesse, it says about him, the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.

[8:02] And that gives, it jumps you, doesn't it, to the picture of Jesus' baptism, when he was baptized, and the river Jordan, and the dove descended upon him.

[8:13] So, a lot of these images in the first five verses are pointing towards the fulfillment of the shoots from the stump of Jesse, and how he bore fruit, and how the Spirit fell upon him, and how, as a result, he was able to give counsel, and might, and knowledge, and the fear of the Lord.

[8:37] Even at the age of 12, you remember, he was discussing with those outside the temple. Such wisdom. And so, that gives us a picture in these first five verses about the one who was to come, one who would be a great counselor from the stump of Jesse.

[8:58] Jesse, of course, was from Bethlehem, and remarkable, all these years later, Jesus, who was from that family, was born in Bethlehem. That's another fulfillment of Scripture.

[9:11] And, there was a great promise, some of you know it, I'm sure, in 2 Samuel chapter 7, about the one who was to come from David. Your house and your kingdom will remain established forever.

[9:26] And that's, the first five verses is describing this one. who would come and make this approach to the poor, and who would be a great ruler, and who would be equipped for the tasks that he was sent for.

[9:45] Righteousness will be the belt of his waist. So, the first five verses are describing, pointing towards, in that day, and the shoot from the stump of Jesse comes, and it's looking forward to that.

[9:58] And then there's that wonderful picture, in verses 6 to 9, that we read, a picture of peace, if only, we had some of that peace, as we were praying.

[10:11] But this is a wonderful picture of peace, isn't it? Pointing towards, a new kind of Eden, as it describes all the different animals, lying beside each other, and so on.

[10:24] And, it's, it's talking about God's holy mountain. And, I think God's holy mountain, is wherever God is, that's his holy mountain. And God is with us, it's as though, he is here with us, and this is his holy mountain today.

[10:40] So, just, that gives you, this picture, wonderful picture, in verses 6 to 9, of the peace promised. And then we have this, as I say, verses 10 and 11, repeated as chapter 12 starts, in that day.

[10:56] And it's twice, in verse 10, in that day, the root of Jesse, shall stand as a signal, for the peoples. Of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place, shall be glorious.

[11:09] So, it's talking about, in that day, when the root of Jesse, and Jesus Christ comes, he will stand as a signal, for the peoples. In that day, the Lord, will extend his hand, a second time, to recover the remnants, that remain of his people.

[11:27] And from all different parts, of the country, they would come. And, in that day, and, it, the rest of the picture, in chapter, chapter, 11 there, talks about, this lifting up, of this root of Jesse.

[11:47] How he, like a signal, for the nations. And you remember, how that was fulfilled, when Jesus was lifted up, on the cross. He would draw all men, unto me. It was like the serpent, in Moses, time in John, chapter 3, was lifted up.

[12:02] And that's what it's pointing to, in the first few verses, there, following, in verse 12 onwards, in that day, but lifting up, looking forward, to the day, when he was lifted up.

[12:14] To, to, to sort of, give scripture evidence, for that, you can turn to, Revelation 22, 16, where it says, I am the root, and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.

[12:26] So, there in Revelation, it helps us understand, if we didn't before, that it's talking about, Jesus Christ, who, who declares in Revelation, I am that root, and, I am the root, and the descendant of David, and Jesse, of course, the bright morning star.

[12:45] So, it's pointing towards, was, was the Lord Jesus Christ, who, who was promised, and fulfilled there, as a, a quoted in Revelation, a declaration, that he was the one, was fulfilling all these promises, that were made, so many, centuries ago.

[13:04] And, it talks about, this highway, that he was going to, God provide this highway, so that people would, make their way, and, I think, that gives a, a very brief, introduction, to chapter 12, which I, I think, I'll move on to, and leave it at that, but just to, see the connections, in Isaiah, and, all this, so that's how chapter 12, starts, in that day, echoing, some of what, we've read about, in chapter 11, bringing it all, forward, we're meant to think about, all the things, that were said, in chapter 11, especially, in that phrase, in that day, in that day, so, in chapter, 12, I'd like to, look at, three things, first of all, when it says, and I've called, verses one to three, God is my salvation, and there's, three points,

[14:06] I want to make, first of all, that is, God, is my salvation, the promise, to end alienation, the promise, to end fear, and the promise, to end thirst, these are the three things, we see in each of these, first three verses, so, first of all, the promise, to end alienation, you will say, in that day, I'll give thanks, to you Lord, for though, you were angry, with me, your anger, turned away, that you might, comfort me, so, here we have, the basic situation, facing the sinner, the wrath of God, can I just read, John 3, 36, here, whoever believes, in the son, is eternal life, whoever does not, be the son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God, remains on him, and that's what, chapter one, verse one, is talking about, how, the Lord, though you were angry, with me, your anger, is turned away, that you comforted me,

[15:16] God's anger, in John 3, 36, is emphasized, we all know, John 3, 16, but if you read it on, from John 3, 16, there's that John 3, 36, reminding us, about God's anger, upon those, who do not know him, so, it's talking about, in that day, the root of Jesse, in other words, in that day, when Jesus, is lifted up, as, we saw in chapter 11, it's talking about, him being lifted up, in that day, when Jesus, is lifted up, God's anger, will be dealt with, a lot of chapter 12, is drawing, especially from, Exodus 15, if you, if you know the song, in Exodus 15, a lot of that language, is being brought in, and, Exodus 15, is remembering, the redemption, you know, how they crossed over, from the Red Sea, and they sang this song, in Exodus 15, and, a song, actually, I remember singing, many years ago, and that song, is, sort of, the background, of this song, here, it's remembering, the redemption, but it's pointing, towards, another kind of redemption, it's pointing, towards, the redemption, that we have in Christ, in Exodus, in these passages, in fact,

[16:41] I've been reading them, at home, I'm going through, Carson's, Love of God, which, based I think, is on, McChain's readings, and I've just been reading, about all these sacrifices, in Exodus, and Leviticus, and that's how they, approached God, after Egypt, but now, we have this, Root of Jesse, the Lamb of God, who takes away, the sin of the world, remember John the Baptist, behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away, the sin of the world, he says, now, this, verse one, reminded me, of one word, and that word, is the word, propitiation, and that's why, I chose this, well known hymn, because, I think, the Gettys, especially, this line here, the wrath of God, was satisfied, I think that's a good, interpretation, of what propitiation means, the wrath of God, was satisfied, and, we read about this, in 1 John 2, 1, and many, other places, and, words used, in the New Testament, in 1 John 2, 1, but if anyone does sin, we are to advocate, with the Father,

[17:57] Jesus Christ, the righteous, he is the propitiation, for our sins, and not, for ours only, but only for the sins, of the, but also for the sins, of the whole world, he is, the one, the propitiation, where the wrath of God, was satisfied, and that's what, verse 1, is talking about, the promise to end alienation, God's anger, God's wrath, though your anger with me, your anger has been turned away, it's pointing towards, these promises, and these teachings, in the New Testament, how the wrath of God, was satisfied, because of the work, of Jesus Christ, on the cross, and, what happens is, his righteousness, in other words, is imputed, to us, and, we become righteous, in his sight, because of his work, and, and also, as I said, through this reading, of McChain's, and, a verse jumped out to me, it's in Exodus 23, 6, and, sometimes, it's advantageous, to do these readings, and you, you see something, that you don't see before, and that verse, says, don't put an innocent, or honest person, today, and, when you read through, the New Testament, how often, does Pilate, declare Jesus, innocent, as, as, as, what, what Carson does, doesn't only give you, a New Testament reading, he gives a New Testament reading, so,

[19:31] I've been reading, through the Gospels, and, you read through, the Passion narrative, and, there's Pilate, saying, he's innocent, he's done nothing wrong, and, and, it struck me, that that verse says, don't put an innocent, or honest person, to death, and that's exactly, what happened, they put an innocent, and honest person, to death, in Jesus Christ, and declared, by Pilate himself, he has done no wrong, but, as they say, it's echoed, in other places, this, this propitiation, this laugh of God, being satisfied, verse 1, talks about, the alienation, being ended, and it's in 1 John 4, 10, we're told, that God sent Jesus, to be, the means, by his death, and the cross, by which God's anger, against us sinners, would be dealt with, so, this is, what we're encouraged, to pray, in verse 1, of chapter 12, here, is, Lord, may your anger, be turned away, from me, through, the Lord Jesus Christ, and we pray that prayer, asking God, to accept us, as Christ, took this wrath, upon himself, we can come to him, because his wrath, has been turned away, in his finished work, the psalm, that we're going to finish, for Psalm 85, it's a wonderful psalm, and, the question, the psalmist asks there, is, will you be angry, with us forever, revive us, that your people, may rejoice in you, show us, your steadfast love, and grant us, your salvation, so the psalmist, pleads, you know, will your anger, last forever, revive us, and the solution, to that, earlier on, in the psalm, is in Psalm 2, rather, verse 12, kiss the son, it says, lest he be angry, and you perish, in the way, for his wrath, is quickly kindled, blessed are all, those who take refuge, in him, so you're blessed, if you take refuge, as you embrace Christ, as your saviour, then, what happens is, his anger is turned away, and what happens, after that, is that you, you get comfort, that God gives you comfort, knowing that you, have been pardoned, of your sins, that you might comfort me, the comfort comes, once we come to the Lord, in that way, as Isaiah, later on, says in chapter 40, comfort, comfort my people, he says, says your God, speak tenderly, to Jerusalem, and cry to her, that her warfare, has ended, that her iniquity, is pardoned, that she has received, from the Lord, hand double, for all her sin, that's, that's a great comfort, that Isaiah, speaks about later on, in his prophecy, a great comfort, to know that, our sins, have been dealt with, through Christ, and the cross, that his anger, has been turned away, and we have received, the comforter, remember, he says, on the cross, he says, rather, earlier, than going to the cross,

[22:43] I will pray, I will pray to the father, and he shall give you, another comforter, he is our great comforter, so, Christ, as you know, took, upon himself, this anger, and because of that, it was turned away, and because of that, we are comforted, and, that happened, in that famous, cry on the cross, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me, he was forsaken, as, the wrath of God, came upon him, that we deserved, there's an interesting, word, propitiation, from it, you get the word, mercy, it's the same root, and Hebrews, 8, 12, says, I'll be merciful, towards their iniquities, and remember their sins, no more, this is why, we have that parable, of the publican, and sinner, and, all the sinner, could pray, as he fell down, prostrate, was God, be merciful, to me, a sinner, that word, merciful, implying, take your wrath, and turn it away,

[23:52] Lord, and be merciful, to me instead, and that's the prayer, that we need to pray, so, the promise, to end alienation, is fulfilled, in that day, when, the root of Jesse, came, and died, on the cross, for us, the promise, to end fear, is in verse 2, behold, God is my salvation, and I will trust, and not be afraid, for the Lord God, is my strength, and my song, he has become, my salvation, behold, my salvation, notice, how often, it's singular here, my salvation, I will trust, my, God is my strength, my song, my, become my salvation, it's a very, very personal thing, that we can declare, you notice how, in, assured, the prophecy, behold, God is my salvation, there's no, there's no kind of, doubt about it,

[24:54] God is, my salvation, and we, we need to have, some of that assurance, perhaps we should have, had blessed assurance, all this morning, because there's the assurance, isn't it, I think, I seem to remember, the NIV, it says, surely God, is my salvation, so, as, as, Isaiah, pens these words, it's jumping back, to chapter 6, isn't he, his own experience, remember chapter 6, as I said, which might be, all part of this song, it's, taking all the resources, from chapter 6, onward, to chapter 11, to 12, and there, in chapter 6, we read about, Isaiah's experience, so, with the live call, he touched my mouth, and said, behold, as it has touched your lips, your guilt is taken away, and your sin, is atoned for, behold,

[25:54] God is my salvation, Isaiah says here, he's remembering, his own experience, and assured, that God is his salvation, assured, that I will trust, this is, full of assurance, isn't it, verse 2, that, that, that, that, he's assured, that he's going to trust, because he knew, God was faithful, to his promises, as we, reflecting, upon the work, of Jesus, and the cross, we all know, the first, promise, was in Genesis 3, 15, we find it there, about, how, the, one would, the serpent, would bite my heel, he will crush my head, and that promise, was made, way back in Genesis, and God has fulfilled, that promise, in the root of Jesse, God is my salvation, I will trust, God is faithful, he's he, to his promises, and we're told, blessed is the man, who trusts, in the Lord, and that will give us, a sense of, well-being, another way, to translate that word, trust, it's the same, often translated, in other places, and it's at duge, it's hope, it's giving us hope, rather than fear, that fear is taken away, instead of fear, we have trust, we have this hope, that God gives us, and, so, as we have this, salvation, remember I said, about Fanny Crosby, who couldn't see, she had the hope, of one seeing, the Saviour, that was her hope, and, we're told, that we're no longer, to fear, and, so, fear is taken away, the promise to end, fear, but instead of fear, there's this, trust, and instead of fear, we can say, the Lord God is my strength, he is the one, that enables me, to carry on, in life,

[27:56] I have strength, I've not got any fear, I have no strength, because of what, I can surely say, God is my salvation, this gives, God is my strength, and my song, as a result, of this confidence, of this assurance, and, because of this, end of fear, and, he's able to have, the strength, to onward go, his journey, his pilgrimage, here, and that, will give us strength, in our own pilgrimage, when we have this assurance, in God's faithfulness, I will trust, I won't be afraid, because God's my strength, my salvation, I can keep going, in the path, that's ahead, because, God will strengthen me, and he has become, my salvation, so, there's no, no longer, any fear, I will not be afraid, so, it's the end of, fear, instead of fear, and, not only is there strength, but he's become, my song, singing, is very important, in the Christian, church, and it's, and it's, to the Lord, as we'll see, singing, has its place, to lift us up, but also, as a witness, to him, and, it's a great gift, that God has given us, in our singing, and thank you, for those who are singing, and leading the singing, this morning, it's good to, lift up our voices, in song, and that's just one, another way of, our assurance, as we come, and sing,

[29:31] God's praises together, in this song, we read in Isaiah, again, chapter 35, and the ransom, the Lord shall return, and come to Zion, with singing, everlasting joy, shall be upon their heads, so, I see I need to, swiftly move on, the promise, dead, and alienation, alienation, yes, the promise, to end fear, and now, the promise, to end thirst, is in this, chapter, verse 3, that I highlighted, right at the start, with joy, you will dry water, from the wells, of salvation, the promise, to end thirst, it's, it's, it's, it's, a verse, saying, that we are satisfied, with God's, blessings, to us, in our salvation, we sang, in Psalm 36, earlier on, and, I'll just read it from, from, the verses, from here though, They feast on the abundance of your house and you give them drink from the river of your delights for with you is the fountain of life in your light we do see light.

[30:40] So that psalm we're saying talks about how God satisfies us. It's a picture representing new life in the spirit. Remember Christ in the Sermon on the Mount said Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled.

[30:58] With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled. This picture of the wells of salvation I'll have to be very brief here but it's taken up in Revelation first of all I'll just quickly read some of these verses in Revelation that I'm sure you're familiar with taking the same picture 717 in Revelation The Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd and he'll guide them to springs of living water and God will wipe away every tear.

[31:36] So it's talking about the end of suffering first of all according to Revelation when we have this picture of the wells drawing water from the wells of salvation Revelation reminds us it's a picture of when God will wipe away every tear when all suffering will be done away with.

[31:57] Then in 21 verse 6 of Revelation he said to me It's done I'm alpha and omega to the thirsty I'll give from the springs of water of life without payment.

[32:10] The condition that John writes in Revelation about being satisfied is having this thirst. You see people are made in the image of God and they try in all sorts of ways to quench that thirst and satisfaction and that fails.

[32:29] And Revelation reminds us that we need to have the thirst for God and come to have this water of life without payment and that's a great reminder of this draw water from the wells of salvation the water of life without payment it says and then finally in Revelation 22 17 we read the spirit and bride say come and let the one who hears say come and let the one who is thirsty come let the one who desires take the water of life without price you see the price has been paid and Revelation reminds us we can now draw waters from the wells of salvation because the price has been paid.

[33:18] So there's these verses in Revelation that cover this theme as you know I'll just mention quickly John 4 it brings to that picture of the woman at the well and how Christ spoke to her water I'll give him will become a spring of water welling up into eternal life and again John 7 when he's at the feast that great day Jesus stood up and cried out if anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink whoever believes in me as the scripture said out of his heart will flow rivers of living water and what does that mean what's the picture of all these quotes that are brought out in Revelation and John I think it's summed up in John 7.39 now this he said about the spirit whom those who believed in him were to deceive it's talking about having the spirit of God in your life and that's how

[34:22] John summarizes it now I've taken my time in the first three verses and I'll just summarize the rest very quickly for you and you will see in that day so there is in that day again pointing towards the day perhaps and we'll meet the saviour face to face in that day give thanks to the Lord give thanks to God but if you can say God is my salvation thank him for revealing himself to you for speaking to you for knowing that his wrath has been taken away for knowing that you do not need to fear for the trust that you can have for the strength that you enjoy for the songs that you can sing because you can say become my salvation give thanks to the Lord call upon his name pray pray to his name when you come to pray it's interesting the first thing that Isaiah says call upon his name when you have a coming prayer we have

[35:35] I'm as guilty as any maybe start with other things but as Jesus taught our father call upon his name first of all get in your mind who you're praying to the name of God as you know is it the Jews who don't even call God Yahweh they just say the name it's so holy that we can come to this God and call upon his name so thank him call upon his name in prayer make known his needs among the peoples now there's two words in Hebrew for peoples and the word here is covenant peoples what is encouraging to you to for you to do as God's peoples is to tell each other what God has done for you to share with others oh it's a nice day today that's the conversation we go down but what Isaiah is saying instead of talking about these things which you can talk about tell others his deeds tell them tell them what God has done for you what blessings you have received what difficulties you have been brought through how God has helped you make known his deeds among the peoples among the covenant peoples but also proclaim that his name is exalted as well as sharing what God has done among ourselves and being encouraged proclaim his name to others so that they would know that these promises in Isaiah and then

[37:15] I need to come to a quick conclusion sing praises to the Lord when we're singing we're singing to the Lord and just perhaps it's a simple thing to say but it's good to remind ourselves when we're singing we're singing to the Lord isn't that great to remember he's done gloriously and that's why we're singing to him he's done gloriously shout and sing for joy in the inhabitants of Zion for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel so in that day it's mentioned several times in that day would you be able to say God is my salvation and come to him and thank him for his blessings to you may God bless these few thoughts from his own word okay so thank you you