The Branch cleanses Israel for the Nations
Isaiah 2-4
Let’s turn to Isaiah 2. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we’ll bring one to you. Isaiah 2 is on page 567 in the Bibles we are passing out.
We are all fascinated by predictions about the future. I remember how intrigued I was in high school reading Alvin Toffler’s book Future Shock – which gave 10 predictions about the future. Many people read their horoscope every day to hear predictions about their future. And people are intrigued by the writings of Nostradamus which contains cryptic predictions about the future.
And the Bible you hold in your hands is full of predictions about the future. But what makes the Bible different from books and horoscopes and Nostradamus is that it comes from God who planned the future, knows the future, and perfectly controls the future. And this book is full of predictions about the future – many of which have already taken place, many which will still take place.
And Isaiah 2 through 4 God gives Isaiah specific predictions about Israel’s future, and some of them include you. Interested? Let’s take a look. So what does God say will happen in Israel’s future? Let’s start reading in ch.2 vs.1 --
1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it,
3 and many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Notice that God is talking about “the latter days.” That phrase usually refers to the time between Jesus’ first coming 2,000 years ago and His second coming at the end of history. And God says that in the latter days He is going to do something with the mountain of the house of the Lord. The house of the Lord is the temple which is located in Jerusalem. And Jerusalem is located on a mountain called Zion.
So God is saying that in the latter days He’s going to lift up His temple, lift up His house, above everything else – so it will be clearly seen as above everything else. And the result is that all the nations will look and say: “Whoa! Let’s go to God’s temple so we can learn about Him.” So in the latter days people from every nation will see God’s house, see God’s temple, and turn to God.
Then v.4 --
4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
I think this refers to the end of the latter days – when Jesus comes back. At that time, after this massive evangelism, God will judge between the nations, stop all war, and establish peace forever. Wow. Did you know that this is what God is going to do?
So what does this mean for us here at Mercy Hill? We are living in this latter days period. And in Gal 3 and Rom 11 Paul says that when we Gentiles trust Jesus we become part of the true people of God – the true nation of Israel. And in the New Testament we read that today the temple is not in Jerusalem; it’s wherever Jews and Gentiles who trust Jesus gather together.
So I take this passage to mean that before Jesus returns God is going to lift up His people before all the nations. God will send groups of Jews and/or Gentiles who trust Jesus throughout the world – He will lift up these groups so everyone notices their love and strength and everyone sees Jesus in them. And people from all the nations will come to trust Jesus. This will not be easy – Matt 24 and Mark 13 and Luke 21 warn us of suffering and persecution. But God will lift up Jesus through us and there will be a flood of conversions from every nation. And then Jesus will come back, and stop all war and establish peace forever.
Do you see how God loves this world? God loves the nations He’s created. So even though we’ve turned from Him and plunged this world into sin and darkness, God will save this world. He will lift up His people so they shine with Jesus, bring salvation to all the nations, and stop war and establish peace in His world forever. God loves this world!
So what would this mean for Israel at that time? Isaiah spells it out in v.5 –
5 O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.
See, Israel has foolishly turned from God to worship the idols of the nations. But God says: “Listen. The day is coming when people from every nation will turn from their idols to Me. So how much sense does it make for you to turn from me to their idols? Walk in the light of the Lord.”
So in 2:1-5 Isaiah tells Israel what’s in her future. But that’s not all that’s in her future. If Isaiah stopped with just this picture of Israel’s future, some in Israel could say – “Oh, that must mean God has changed his mind about the punishment he warned about in ch.1. Maybe we are going to escape judgment.”
So does this mean Israel will escape from God’s punishment? When you read where Isaiah goes next – from ch.2 vs.6 all the way to ch.4 vs.1 you will see that the answer is “no.”
Now I have to warn you. This is a heavy section. But let me put it in context. Think of who God had been to Israel. He had chosen Israel when she was the smallest of the nations. He had offered her the joy of knowing Him, trusting Him, walking with Him. He proved Himself by delivering her from Egypt with signs and wonders, by parting the Red Sea before them, by providing her with water and manna and quail in the wilderness.
But what did Israel do? The vast majority of Israel turned their backs on God. Despised God. Ignored God. And God sent prophets to them to bring them back – and what did they do? They beat the prophets, threw them into prison, killed the prophets.
So even though God is slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness – in His justice He has to punish Israel – just as He has to punish all of us for our sin against Him. So Isaiah starts off in v.6 talking about how God has rejected His people because of their sin --
6 For you [God] have rejected your people, the house of Jacob, because they are full of things from the east and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.
Instead of relying on God for their security and satisfaction and guidance, they turned from God and relied on the idols and fortune-tellers of the nations around them.
Then skip down look at vv.17-19 – which give a description of the eternal punishment that God will bring on all those who continue holding to their idols –
17 And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
18 And the idols shall utterly pass away.
19 And people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.
Then in 3:1 he talks about punishment that will happen to Israel in the exile --
1 For behold, the Lord GOD of hosts is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah support and supply, all support of bread, and all support of water;
This is exactly what happened 200 years later. Jerusalem was besieged, and she had no food or water.
And in v.8 we read that Israel was not sorry for her sin; she was not repentant about her sin. No – she was defiant in her sin --
8 For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their deeds are against the LORD, defying his glorious presence.
In v.16 Isaiah hammers women for the prideful way they flaunted their beauty –
16 The LORD said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet,
And then look at the frightening punishment they will experience in the exile --
17 therefore the Lord will strike with a scab the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will lay bare their secret parts.
18 In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands [and so forth]
24 Instead of perfume there will be rottenness; and instead of a belt, a rope; and instead of well-set hair, baldness; and instead of a rich robe, a skirt of sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty.
The men also have sinned terribly – and we see their punishment in v.25 --
25 Your men shall fall by the sword and your mighty men in battle.
26 And her gates shall lament and mourn; empty, she shall sit on the ground.
So many men will be killed that there will be seven times more women than men --
4:1 And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, "We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach."
Now why does God go into such detail about the punishment that’s coming? It’s because He loves Israel. It’s because He wants Israel to see the just punishment that’s coming and turn back to Him. God does not take any pleasure in punishing. That’s clear in Ezekiel 18. But because He is just, He will punish.
But do you see how Israel is full of sin? The vast majority of Israel are living full-blown rebellion against God. But this raises another question. If Israel is that full of sin, and justly faces this kind of punishment, how is she ever going to bring all the nations to God? How will sinful Israel ever be able to bring salvation to the world?
The optimists among you might think Israel just choose to stop sinning. But think about Israel’s history. All through her history the vast majority of Israel willfully and knowingly sinned against God. One day God frees them from Egypt with signs and wonders – hours later they are complaining that Egypt’s army is coming towards them. Then God parts the Red Sea – the next day they are grumbling about not having any bread. Israel is just like us; she has a sin nature which makes her not want to turn back to God and love and trust Him.
So how will sinful Israel ever be able to bring salvation to the world? Look at what Isaiah says in ch.4 vv.2-6 –
2 In that day the branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel.
Who is the branch of the Lord? Look at Isaiah 11:1 (a couple pages to the right) --
1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
This branch is someone from the line of Jesse, who was the father of David. And notice in v.2 –
2 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.
So the branch is a person in the line of Jesse on whom the Spirit powerfully rests.
In Luke 4 Jesus visits a synagogue, and is invited to read the Scriptures. He turns to Isaiah 61 – which is just like Isa 11 – and reads: “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.” He reads these verses from Isaiah 61, which is just like Isaiah 11 – and then Jesus rolled up the scroll and said “today this is fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus is the One on whom the Spirit of the Lord rests – in Isaiah 61 and Isaiah 11. And Jesus’ great-great-great-great-great grandfather was Jesse. So who is the branch? Jesus is the branch.
So read v.2 again –
2 In that day the branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land [probably another reference to Jesus] shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel.
3 And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem,
What does it mean to be called holy? It means being completely set-apart from everything else to trust God, rely on God, worship God, obey God. So how did sinful Israel, people with sin natures like us, come to be called holy?
Look at v.4 --
4 when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning.
Commentators are divided about what Isaiah means by the spirit of judgment and of burning. I think what fits the context is that it’s the power of the Holy Spirit burning away our sinful natures and changing our hearts.
And the reason the Holy Spirit can do this for us is because of the Branch. In Isaiah 53 we will read that the Branch – Jesus the Messiah – will die on the Cross and be punished for our sin. And because He pays all the punishment we deserve for our sin, God can bring His saving power upon us through the Holy Spirit and burn out our sin nature and implant in us a new nature which loves and trusts Jesus more than anything.
That’s how Israel and all of us who trust Jesus are called holy. And the result of this is that our names are written for life in Jerusalem, which I think is a reference to the Lamb’s book of life described in Revelation.
And then look at vv.5-6 --
5 Then the LORD will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy.
6 There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.
Because His people are washed clean from sin through the Branch, God brings His presence on them like the pillar of cloud and smoke in the book of Exodus. His glory will be over them like a canopy. And He will be shade and refuge and shelter for them.
So here’s what Isaiah is saying: as a result of the Branch’s work on the Cross – the moment you – Jew or Gentile -- confess your sin and turn to trust Jesus, you have a new nature created in you which loves God more than anything, as a result you are called holy, your eternity is securely written in the Lamb’s book of life, you are washed and cleansed and experience the presence of God covering you with glory, and as a shade and refuge and shelter for you.
And as we all shine with God’s glory corporately – men and women from all nations will see and turn to God and be saved through Christ. Astonishing.
So what is the Holy Spirit saying to us this morning?
Whenever we open up God’s Word and read and study hungrily and prayerfully – the Holy Spirit will impress us with exactly what we need to know at that time.
And I can think of a couple truths the Holy Spirit might be impressing on some of us here this morning.
Are any of you discouraged about not seeing people come to faith? Take heart. This is promised. We are never told how quickly this will happen. But we are promised that it will happen. So be encouraged.
Are any of you in bondage to an area of ongoing sin? The Branch will cleanse you. If you will bring that area of sin directly and personally to Jesus – and talk to Him about it – repenting of it and confessing it, He will cleanse you. Not that you’ll never be tempted again. But you will not walk in constant defeat. You will have victory after victory after victory. Part of the cleansing might involve confessing it to someone else. Part of the cleansing might be finding promises in God’s Word that expose the lie of the temptation. But take heart – the Branch will cleanse you.
And I think some of you might have way too small a picture of God. God is huge. God created this world – and God will save this world. God writes history. As someone has said “history” is truly His-story. All of history is heading to this time where God’s people will be lifted up in love and truth and display of Jesus and men and women from every nation, tongue, and tribe will be saved. Then Jesus will return, bring history to a close, punish those who continued in rebellion, put a stop to all war, and begin a never-ending reign of perfect peace on this earth.