Isaiah: Judgment and Hope in Prophecy and Repentance

Isaiah Judgment and Hope I. Isaiah: Background Information Isaiah’s story fits in the books of 1 & 2 Kings and ______________________. Isaiah lived in __________________ and was a prophet to Judah and the leaders of Judah. Isaiah’s ministry took place during constant ________, threat, and opposition. Either a neighboring kingdom would attack them, or the mighty Assyrians would. How should the people respond to these situations? What does it mean to trust God in these moments? During the reign of king Uzziah, both Israel and Judah were relatively prosperous. This gave them a false sense of security and fostered complacency, apathy, and ___________________. Isaiah and Judah witnessed Israel being captured and taken away by the ________________________. Isaiah and the leaders of Judah watched this all take place. Isaiah warns Judah that they are next if they do not change their ways. Isaiah’s message is a message of _______________________: Judah’s rebellion against the covenant through their idolatry and oppression of the poor would lead to their capture by Assyria and Babylon. Isaiah’s message is a message of ____________________: God would fulfill His covenant promises by providing a future king from the line of David, who would lead His people into faithful covenant keeping. This would result in God’s blessings flowing out to all of the nations, as He promised to Abraham.

II. Outline of Isaiah: The Book Section One: Isaiah 1-35 Exile: Isaiah 36–39 Section Two: Isaiah 40-66 III. The Call of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-13) What is success? He was called to minister to his people a message of repentance until the city lied in ruins. Success is being obedient to God’s call, not the results we produce. IV. Outline of Isaiah: Section One (Isaiah 1-35) A. Words of _______________________ (Isaiah 1-35) God’s case against Judah and Israel. (Isaiah 1-12) God’s case against the surrounding ________. (Isaiah 13-23) God’s case against all the nations. (Isaiah 24-35) B. Agents of God’s _________________ (Isaiah 36-39) Looking back at the Assyrians (Isaiah 36-37) Looking ahead to the __________ and exile (Isaiah 38-39) V. Outline of Isaiah: Section Two (Isaiah 40-66)

Words of ___________ and hope (in exile; 40–66) The Sovereign God will comfort (Isaiah 40-41) God will deliver through the Suffering _________ and Cyrus (Isaiah 42– 55 God’s deliverer will save completely (Isaiah 56-66) God has not __________ His people God has not __________ His people. God’s people are not beyond His reach. VI. Implications Perhaps the most pervasive issues Isaiah confronts are ______________ and finding security outside of God. Isaiah teaches us that God alone is worthy of our trust! See Isa 26:3 Jeremiah Continuing Covenant I. Jeremiah: The Basics

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The Book of Jeremiah is unique because it is a collection of sermons, poems, and narratives that God called Jeremiah and his scribe Baruch to gather. This unique format makes the book of Jeremiah seem like a quilt. The key ideas that link each of these sermons, poems, or essays together in four collections are repentance, surrender, and God’s grace. Jeremiah ministered to Judah in their final years before their destruction and exile at the hands of Babylon. Judgment is certain. The people’s only response if they want to endure is to surrender to Babylon. II. Collection 1: Jeremiah 1-24 The People The people of Judah are committing spiritual adultery against God and practicing injustice against their own people. They have completely abandoned God’s instruction. The people are described as having an issue with their heart. Their hearts are sinful and make it nearly impossible for them to repent. Their hearts are nothing but  sinful (17:1)  evil (3:17; 7:24; 11:8; 18:12)  uncircumcised (4:4; 9:26)  wicked (4:14)  defiant (5:23)  devious (17:9)

God’s Heart God mourns the fact that His people have abandoned and betrayed Him. Though Jeremiah is the weeping prophet, he reflects God’s own hurt as an abandoned spouse. God has no other choice than to send judgement ( see 2:11; 4:18; 5:7–9; 6:10, 15; 7:9–11; 8:4–12; 9:9, 10, 12). III. Collection 2: Jeremiah 25: The Judgment God’s cup of wrath is filled to overflowing, and He is about to pour it out on Judah. The new King of Babylon is coming for Judah. He will take them away into exile. If the people wish to survive, they have to surrender to babylon. IV. Collection 3: Jeremiah 26-45 The Survival Judah’s leaders reject Jeremiah and at one point kidnap him and take him to Egypt. Even with all of this rebellion God promises that he won’t forget His people and will replace the old covenant with a new covenant. The Nations God promises to judge the other nations around Judah as well, especially babylon. Judah can find hope in God making things right. Babylon will meet the same fate that they brought about for Judah. V. The New Covenant Issues

The New Covenant was given in Jeremiah’s ministry… this makes it crucial that we understand it in this context! Judah/Israel is repeatedly called "_______ Israel" (meshuva Israel) 4:12 "Return, Faithless Israel (meshuva shuv) They are characterized by their inability to repent and return. What Jeremiah envisions in this New Covenant is provisional solutions to Israel's ongoing issues.  Their hearts and actions will be shaped by Torah.  They will fully know God in covenant.  Their sins will be forgiven. Jeremiah's new covenant points toward a day when (after experiencing covenant curses) God would regather Israel from foreign lands, forgive their sins, change their hearts, and reaffirm his love for them.

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Lamentations Comfort in The Chaos I. Lamentations: An Overview We don’t really know who wrote Lamentations, but tradition ascribes it to jeremiah. The situation described in Lamentations fits the circumstances of Jeremiah’s day. All of the things God’s people had been trusting in were gone.  jerusalem, the city of God, was gone.  The temple, the place that symbolized God’s presence among his people, was gone.  The religious rituals were gone. Everything was gone. Was God gone too? Lamentations clings to the one truth that gives him hope: even though we are unfaithful, God is not. God’s love tempers His wrath, and God’s compassion always accompanies His judgments. In the middle of the disorder and questions of how jeremiah states his hope: “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.” Lamentations 3:22-23

Ezekiel Life from God I. Ezekiel: Beginning at the Beginning Ezekiel was from a family of priests. He was taken from Jerusalem to Babylon during the first wave of exiles. The events in Ezekiel begin 5 years after he arrives in exile. Ezekiel’s vision is a reminder of the presence of God at Mt. Sinai and on the Ark of the Covenant. The question is, “What is the presence of God doing in Babylon?” II. Ezekiel’s Message of Judgment (1–33) A. Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah: Ezekiel 1-24 God accuses Judah and the people of Jerusalem of idolatry and social injustice . Leviticus 19–26 forms the basis of his message. God calls Ezekiel to be His . As God’s watchman, he would warn the wicked, warn the righteous to avoid sin, and warn of danger (judgment and punishment for sin). Ezekiel would use “watchman” or “street theatre” to visually tell God’s warning message. No one would listen to Ezekiel’s message because the people of Judah had a hard heart. B. Ezekiel’s Street Theatre of Judgment

Text What God Commanded Ezekiel to Do What It Symbolized 4:1-3 Draw a map of Jerusalem surrounded by an enemy. The siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. 4:4-5 Lie flat on your left side for 390 days. Bearing the northern kingdom’s sin for 390 years. 4:6-8 Lie on your right side for 40 days. Bearing the southern kingdom’s sin for 40 years. 4:9-17 Eat food cooked over cow manure. The defiled food that would be eaten by the exiles. 5:1-12 Shave your head and beard. Divide the hair into thirds— burn a third, strike a third with the sword, and scatter a third to the winds. God’s destruction of Judah—1/3 die by plague or famine, 1/3 die by the sword, and 1/3 scatter as exiles. 12:1-6 Pack your bags for exile and dig through the wall in the night. A picture of Zedekiah’s attempted escape, the exile of his people, and his blindness. 12:17-19 Tremble as you eat and drink. Citizens of Jerusalem eating with fear and anxiety. 21:6-7 Weep in Public. Destruction coming to the Jewish people, after which they will weep and wail. 21:18-24 Draw a map with two routes for the king of Babylon to follow. King’s decision to take the road to Jerusalem and to destroy it. 24:15-27 Do not mourn when your wife dies. Jerusalem will fall, their pride and joy (the temple) destroyed, loved ones killed, and no mourning. C. Judah’s Idolatry Ezekiel has a vision of the temple with the people of Judah worshipping other gods inside the temple complex. Ezekiel sees the presence of God leave the Temple and head to a mountain in the east. God has not abandoned his people. He is with them in exile.

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D. Ezekiel’s Stories of Judgment Ezekiel tells a collection of stories or parables to illustrate to the people of Judah God’s _________ against them. The stories include a story about a burnt vine, an adulteress wife, a captured lion, and two promiscuous ________________. The stories illustrate that God holds individuals responsible for their ______________. Ezekiel 18:4 - “The one who sins will die.” F. Judgment on Pagan Nations: Ezekiel 25-32 Ezekiel moves from warning Judah and Jerusalem of their coming destruction to the destruction coming to the ________________________. God would use _______________________ to punish the other nations for their sin as well. G. Jerusalem is Destroyed (33) Once the news of Jerusalem’s destruction reaches Ezekiel and his audience, his ministry becomes more effective and he begins moving toward the process of repentance and restoration. III. Ezekiel’s Message of Hope (34–48) A. Hope for Judah: Ezekiel 34-37 God would remove his people’s hard hearts and replace them with a new heart. God would restore the people back to the land and prevent a repetition of the injustices that led to exile in the first place.

B. Hope for God’s People: Ezekiel 37 God illustrates this by giving Ezekiel a vision of a valley of dry bones that go from bones to muscle to flesh to live through the Spirit of God. C. Hope for the Nations: Ezekiel 38-39 Evil nations, leaders, and authorities will resist God’s plan to restore His people. Through a series of supernatural events, God will judge and defeat the evil nations. D. Hope for All Creations: Ezekiel 40-48 Ezekiel has a vision of a new city and a new temple. From this Temple flows a river into a dry and desolate place. “Dead” Jerusalem becomes like the garden of Eden because of God’s presence. This new garden-like location or garden city is called “The Lord is There.” E. Interpreting Ezekiel 38-48 Main Point: God will one day defeat all evil and chaos, reverse all injustice, and fully take up residence with His people.

Daniel Hope that Motivates Faithfulness I. Introduction When Nebuchadnezzar began his conquest of Judah in 605 B.C., he deported a number of Jews to Babylon, including Daniel and his friends. They were probably teenagers at the time. God blessed Daniel and gave him important places of service under four different rulers who represented three different kingdoms. Daniel is a man of God who was faithful to the Lord and glorified Him in the enemy’s land. Daniel serves as a wise man and advisor of powerful kings He interprets dreams, challenges excessive pride and power, and envisions God‘s triumph over every earthly and spiritual power and expression of arrogance. He serves as an example of godly wisdom and faithful expectation in God. II. Outline of the Book of Daniel

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III. Main Theme: Pride and Power

The driving question is this: How will God address the oppressive empires that afflict his people? Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and the empires of Daniel's dream exhibit pride and corrupting power. God will deliver his people from the current empire and will preserve them in the future. XII. When God Daniel consults jeremiahs scroll and asks God to fulfill his promise of 70 years of exile soon. However, sin is preventing this. The prophet prays a long prayer, confessing their sins and asking for forgiveness. God is portrayed as good and faithful, the people are portrayed as shameful and rebellious. While enduring exile under the power of other nations, God is not unable to bring about restoration.

The Minor Prophets -Hosea Obadiah Habakkuk Joel Jonah -Zephaniah -Amos -Micah -Haggai Obadiah Nahum Malachi Collective Voice The Minor Prophets were written on a single scroll. This scroll was called the Book of the twelve. The Twelve are structured according to theme and chronology. They don't follow perfect chronological order. Major Themes The day of the Lord- God will come to judge the wrong and deliver the righteous. repentance- Israel needs to turn from their sins and back to God. God's character- The people are reminded of the fullness of God's character according to Exodus 34:6-7. Looking Back The Minor Prophets provide an account of Israel and Judah's journey through the exile. The Minor Prophets tell us why the exile happened and how God would restore them. Why Exile? God repeatedly sent the prophets to warn Israel. Israel refused to repent from their sins and return to God. Main issue: covenant unfaithfulness.  Idolatry

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 Social injustice  Violence  Sexual immorality  Lack of Knowledge Judgment isn't God breaking his covenant but is a sign of his faithfulness to his people. Built into the covenant are curses and blessings that are used to cultivate faithfulness (Deut 28; 30:1-10) Restoration After the exile, God would bring the people back to Israel, restore their , and restore their blessings and kingship. Repentance For restoration to happen, the people had to repent. Despite the warnings, the people wouldn't return to God (Amos 4:6-11). Judah and Nahum Nineveh is the only nation in the twelve to repent. By Nineveh repenting, unrepentant Israel is rebuked. Jonah doesn't think they deserve God's grace (Jonah 4:2//Exod 34:6). Nahum comforts God's people (Judah) by reminding them that God is their protector. Nineveh is eventually destroyed for their horrific actions.

Major and Minor Prophets_Fall 2023

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