The mighty power of His grace: a remnant shall return…

As the sovereign King, and Lord of all the earth, is the Author of history, He is using kings and kingdoms for his purposes and for the sake of his people.  There is a purpose, design, and intentionality – it is not random – it is not arbitrary.

Remember, we said we always have to do with God in all of life.  And if all things are from God – our response to all things show what we think and believe about God.  This goes for elections, for climate change, for natural disasters, for work problems, for an argument with your spouse, with the birth of a new child, or the loss of a loved one.  He rules and through it all his one purpose is to reconcile all things to Himself through Christ.

Often the way God’s people react to life, show the idols in their lives and in the church.  Therefore, God comes in discipline.  But not a judgement of utter destruction, but the judgement of redemption.  The judgement of refining.  So that He might preserve for Himself a holy remnant – wholly dependent upon Him.

Last time we looked at the first part of this sermon of Isaiah about the people of Israel found in 9:8-11:19, and we looked at his first two points – the decision of the people to trust in their own devises, and the world’s means of doing things, and the judgement of God for their decision.  Today we look at the remnant that will return.

The mighty power of His grace:  a remnant shall return…

1. Grace: The destruction of the enemy (10:16-19; 10:28-34)

2. Grace: The salvation of the remnant (10:20-27)

 

The destruction of the enemy (10:16-19; 10:28-34)

Pride is the heart of all sin.  We see it again and again and again in the prophets.  If you lift yourself up – God will cut you down.  As the song goes,

You can run on for a long time;
Sooner or later, God will cut you down.

If you do not acknowledge the Holy One of Israel, God will cut you down.  The only growth that God will accept in the heart of man is growth in humility and dependance.

Cut down.  This is what happened to the Assyrian king!  The one who thought he could play God.  This is the king that believes he is like God.  Unlike the redeemed of the LORD in 12:2b who believe the LORD is their strength, he depends on his own strength (10:13).  Unlike the branch of 11:2 upon whom the Spirit of wisdom and understanding will rest, he believes that he has the spirit of wisdom and understanding (10:13).  That he controls the nations and takes down kings and sets them up (10:13).  That he is the one who gathers all the earth (10:14). This is in contrast with the LORD who is the One who gathers his people in 11:12,16.

BUT God sees.  He is never defeated, but always at work.  He is at work through even unbelieving nations.

And He is at work in verse 16-19.  The imagery of judgement is one of sickness and fire!  Although the time was considered a time of darkness and gloom in 8:22, it is not as if the light of Israel had gone out!  The light would shine till it would rise in the Son of righteousness!

Isaiah emphasizes the exalted divine title “the Lord GOD of hosts” (vv. 16, 23, 24, 33), because his grace is a mighty power.  He is the absolute King, the LORD of heaven’s armies.  If only his people would see this!  Other titles for God are sprinkled throughout this section for the same reason.  The grace of God is not his weak pleading, but his strong prevailing.

He will win the victory without ANY help!  His people are absolutely powerless!  But they will enjoy all the spoils of war as if they had won the victory, as we see in chapter 11 and 12.

“… And it will burn and devour his thrones and briers in one day.”  Thorns and briers reminds you of the curse.  They cannot bear good fruit.  And are worthy of being cast into the fire.  God will consume the curse, so that He might cause the world and his people to be fruitful.  The glory of God consumes the vain glory of man; his Holiness is a blazing fire, and it will either refine and redeem, or consume and damn.

By his mighty grace toward his people the proud bully, Assyria, will be brought low.  We see this in vv. 27–34.  The way that God does it proves that He alone does it.  To Him belongs the victory.  We need to trust Him for that.

The Assyrian army surges forward with victory after victory.  From Aiath – which is probably Ai – 24 km north of Jerusalem, they go through the region of Michmash, and by the time they get to Geba they are in Judah and 9km away, they take out town after town, easy, and by the time they come to Nob they are only 1.6 km from Jerusalem.  God’s people are panicking.  Even though this passage is bookend by the victory of God in v. 27 and 33.

But they need not be afraid.  For with holy city Jerusalem almost within their grasp, the Assyrians are stopped dead in their tracks as “the Lord GOD of hosts” cuts them down to size.

O, it looks scary.  It looks inevitable—but it is at the moment that they shake their fist at the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem, that they will be destroyed.  Don’t ever say there is no hope.  If you do, you don’t know the holy One!   Don’t ever think that the church is gone.  Don’t ever fear for the future of God’s people.  Believe – look to Christ – and live in faith.  Look at verse 32-33, and the transition.  They are coming… coming… coming… like a massive tidal wave.  Inevitable destruction, until with one cut, he lops it off; the ax has become the tree that is to be cut down.

 

Grace: The salvation of the remnant (10:20-27)

Like Israel leaned on Egypt we lean on the might and power of this world too often, and we use God as a backup battery, when our battery runs dry!  The HOLY One of Israel will not stand for that!  Thanks be to God!

10:22: “In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who stuck…” 

We often lean on the thing that will destroy us.  That’s what sin is, that is what the devil does.  It says to you, trust me, if you want to grow and remain strong for the next generation – then you have to loosen your doctrine a little bit.  Or personally you can make an alliance with fame, money, or power.  We confuse success for faithfulness.  We prioritize happiness over holiness.  We lean on the world to provide satisfaction.  But that is the way that leads to death.  In the end it will devour you.  A relationship with sin is abusive to you and to the church.

And God graciously takes these things away so that, “we lean on the LORD, the Holy one of Israel in Truth.”  It is a picture of weakness resting on strength!  Like a child in the arms of a father.   So that his amazing grace, and the reality of his power, are trusted completely.  It is easy to trust power when you have some, it’s easy to trust education when you have it, it’s easy to trust hard work when it gets you places.  These are gifts from God.  But Israel trusted the gifts over the Giver, and so God graciously removed the crutches so that they would trust in the LORD.  And when you trust in the LORD, not just in words, but in deeds, then you trust in Him in truth.  God supplies every need!

The question is, can we trust God – like that?  Can we really rely on Him like that, dear church?  When death seems certain?  This is what it means to be willing to lose all, in order to gain all.

Can we trust Him?  He does not ask us to take a blind leap of faith, no, He proves to us that we can trust!  HE gives all.  And Jesus trusted his Father when he is asked to suffer the worst – He says: not my will, but your will.  And for the joy set before Him He endured the cross!  The church conquers through human weakness, humility and dependence!  It is so contrary to our hearts – that at times we want to stop hearing it.

You see this often in mission context.  For example the Reformation Study Center – a place started because a pastor could not preach anymore.   A place started in weakness.  Now serving thousands.  Was it easy?  NO.  Was it absolutely good and beautiful?  Yes!

This is God’s grace! We think of grace as something that is just beautiful and easy.  No, grace is hard.  It’s hard to accept for proud sinners.  But when you come to that point, where all earthly hope is gone, finally, you become fearless!  Finally, you become bold.  As Paul tells Timothy, “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Tim. 1:7)

By his mighty grace, the Lord will make his remnant people fearless in the face of strong opposition (vv. 24–26). After all, God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness (cf. 2 Cor 12:9), winning for us surprisingly lopsided victories (cf. Judges 7:19–25; Exodus 14:15–31).

V. 21 says a remnant will return.  You remember what Isaiahs child’s name was?  Yes – exactly the same!  God is true!  And where do they go?  To the mighty God!  The exact same word as Isaiah 9:6 – He is the wonderful Counselor, the mighty God!  That child is the same God!  He is the warrior God!  That will save his people!  Not through human strength, but through dependence on his Father.

V. 22 says, “For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.”  Out of judgement, righteousness is pressed.  This is the way of God in this world!  In the judgement God’s righteousness is revealed.  As righteousness that is by faith.  It comes to us by trusting in his promises.  Will you trust Him?

Remember we said, his holiness is a blazing fire, and it will either refine and redeem, or consume, and damn.  We find a refuge in God’s grace, from God’s wrath!  As the prophet Jeremiah says, " Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.”

 

Dear church, do not think in terms of size – whether the church is big or small, matter little to God – what He looks for is faithfulness.  Faithfulness!  The emphasis in these verses is a remnant.  V. 20 speaks of survivors, v. 21 of a remnant twice, v. 22 again a remnant.

For the Lord, GOD of hosts, will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth!  All the earth.  He put an end to Assyria’s reign, across the world.  Done, full stop.  But there is a greater end coming – an end to a period to the enemies of God’s people on a hill called Golgotha!  There He truly made full end!  There He was under the rod of God’s anger, and carried it’s full weight, so that we might not fear.

This is why, first, Israel need not be afraid, but we have so much more reason not to fear.  “Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, “O my people” (what hope is contained in those words) “who dwell in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did.”

There is so much hope for God’s people in every time.  First look at who is talking, “the Lord GOD of hosts!”  Look at the works of hope when He says, “my people,” and what promises are not found in the word “Zion” and what great deliverance was worked for Israel when they were oppressed by Egypt.  If you need hope you have it in this one verse!

And why such hope?  “For in a little while my fury wile come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction.”  For a little while, can also be translated very soon.  True faith lives expectantly!  It believes in the Lord’s return soon!  As one theologian says, “Anyone who does not acknowledge that God can show Himself gracious here and now is ultimately excluding God entirely from his life.”  His anger is ultimately bent on sin, and wickedness!  Not on his people.  Sin will be annihilated.  Especially the leaders are in view.  And his people will be saved as through dry ground.

It reminds me of Lord’s Day 19, Q&A 52,  “In all distress and persecution, with uplifted head, I confidently await the very judge who has already offered Himself to the judgment of God in my place and removed the whole curse from me.  Christ will cast all his enemies and mine into everlasting condemnation, but will take me and all his chosen ones to Himself into the joy and glory of heaven.”.

In the next verse we see that.  On the one hand we see the destruction of the enemy especially in the leaders, when He speaks of Midian at the Rock of Oreb, and He talks about his people’s deliverance when He speaks of the staff being raised through the sea.   Oreb escaped death in battle, but died when he fled.  So shall Sennacherib die, the leader of Assyria.  When he goes back home from battle.

And in that day his burden will depart from his shoulder.  That day.  God works in time, and his time is perfect! In that day He will remove the burden.  He will set us free.  Galatians 5:1 says it is for freedom that Christ has set us free!  He has smashed the yoke of slavery under which we lived!

“The survivors of the house of Jacob” will stop putting their hope in worldly powers that have only let them down; they will finally trust in the Lord (v. 20).  They will turn back, in repentance, to the mighty God who really can defend them (v. 21).  There must be true faith and repentance among God’s true people, for every false hope is doomed to destruction (vv. 22–23).

Jesus was the One who was overwhelmed by the judgement of God as the enemies hounded Him his whole life, He had nothing, died with nothing.  The LORD lifted his staff of judgement over Him.  So that we might walk through the waters of judgment on dry ground.  Through it all He trusted in his Father’s good and gracious plan, even when it looked like anything but good and gracious.  So that we might live.  He was the perfect remnant and in his death, He defeated our enemies completely.  Not Assyria, or Midian, or Egypt.  But those enemies which haunt us all from Adam onward – sin, Satan, death.

This is the story of God’s faithfulness despite his people’s sin. It is the story about God preserving for Himself a people no matter what.  The seed of the serpent will bruise his heel, but the seed of the woman will crush his head.  Or in the words of today’s text, “He will shake his fist” (10:32), ” but the LORD will lop of the bough with terrifying power” (10:33).  This is about the sovereign LORD of hosts – the Light of Israel, the Holy One.  Reigning over all nations, and over all of history, for the sake of his beloved people!

Amen.