“Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea, declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it, send it out to the end of the earth; say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!” They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and the water gushed out. ” (Isaiah 48:20-21, ESV)

It’s like a second exodus. They would be redeemed, this time not from the Egyptians, but from the hand of the Babylonians. This theme of God as the great emancipator, setting His people free from their captivity, appears time and again in the scriptures. Notice, He reminds the people of Israel of the protection they had from Him when they left Egypt. They didn’t have it easy, but as they wandered in the wilderness, God provided for their needs.

It’s interesting, when you are in the desert, the thing you need the most is WATER. Without it, you can die in a matter of hours. Here, God reminds the Israelites that He had supernaturally provided for this need, implying that He could do it all over again.

Leaving Babylon wouldn’t be easy. It would be tough. Rebuilding wouldn’t happen instantly, it would be hard going. Jerusalem lay in waste. The temple was destroyed and the walls were broken down. Yet, Israel had nothing to fear, they had both the COMMAND and the PROMISE of God.

In some ways, this is like our situation today. As believer’s we are called to come out of the “Babylon” of sin and death. It won’t be easy… there will be difficult things ahead, but we need not fear… as we walk away from the life of sin and death, following Jesus into the wilderness looking forward to the land of promise, we can trust Him to provide for our every need. We will never “thirst” spiritually, for we have come into relationship with the water of life.

“Stand fast in your enchantments and your many sorceries, with which you have labored from your youth; perhaps you may be able to succeed; perhaps you may inspire terror. You are wearied with your many counsels; let them stand forth and save you, those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons make known what shall come upon you. Behold, they are like stubble; the fire consumes them; they cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. No coal for warming oneself is this, no fire to sit before! Such to you are those with whom you have labored, who have done business with you from your youth; they wander about, each in his own direction; there is no one to save you. ” (Isaiah 47:12-15, ESV)

In the last chapter, we saw a song of rejoicing that began with a reminder to Israel of the impotency of the false God’s of Babylon. In this chapter, we have a poem or a song describing the fall and utter destruction of Babylon. It isn’t just Babylon proper, the physical kingdom that is being described… but the spiritual entity that can be traced back to the false religion that grew around Nimrod and the events surrounding the construction of the tower of Babel.

Throughout the scriptures, the idea of “Babylon” is one that is constantly used to refer to the overarching demonic/worldly element to the great kingdoms of this earth. Babylon, though a real entity in and of itself, can be seen as a commercial, spiritual and physical entity that spreads far beyond national and cultural barriers. It is a title used for the kingdom that runs in opposition to the Kingdom of God.

Look at the text above… Babylon as a whole is almost being taunted, they are being prodded to go ahead and stick with their sorcery and dark demonic means of gaining power… the prophet Isaiah says somewhat sardonically, “perhaps you will succeed”.

But then the truth comes forth like a crushing blow… The things you have trusted will be burnt up, turned to stubble and utterly destroyed. Notice what the outcome of their continued war against God and His kingdom really ends up being. - “THERE IS NO ONE TO SAVE YOU!” What a have phrase… after living an existence of making war against God, they are left destitute with no one to come to the rescue.

Truth be told, an individual has two choices in this life: You can put your trust in Jesus and become a part of His glorious Kingdom, or you can reject Jesus and be caught up in the whirling terror of Babylon. There is no middle ground. In the end, there will be no bystanders… Babylon and God’s Kingdom will meet in a final battle, and God will win. The question is, what kingdom will you be aligned with?

“Bel bows down; Nebo stoops; their idols are on beasts and livestock; these things you carry are borne as burdens on weary beasts. They stoop; they bow down together; they cannot save the burden, but themselves go into captivity. Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save. ” (Isaiah 46:1-4, ESV)

These 4 verses can be broken up into two chunks: The first chunk is basically a taunt of the Babylonian deities, and the second is an admonition addressing the children of Israel and calling them to trust the LORD.

The two chief deities of Babylon, Bel and Nebo, are depicted as stooping, bowing down, caving under the pressure and demands. Rather than effective bearers of burdens, the Lord describes them as a burden to the people who serve them. Far from being able to save their people, they are led into captivity along with their people. This is another stark example of the danger inherit in trusting idols or “false-gods”.

None of us (hopefully) have little statues sitting in our rooms that we pray to or sacrifice to. However, that doesn’t exempt us from the dangers of idolatry. What do you expect to carry the burdens of life for you? Friends? Family? A Job? What do you look to for relief? When you are overwhelmed, were do you turn? Are there things in your life that function as a “savior” from the things that stress and plague you? Do some of you worship the almighty shopping mall? Do others bow down to the glories of the great and powerful Xbox? Those things can’t bear your burdens… yet we think they can.

The Lord is the answer. Look at what He promises in the latter half of the verses above. He is our Lord and our Maker, and He will carry us until the very end. The promise in verse 4 is beautiful. We are His people, and He will bear our burdens, He will carry us, and He will be our salvation.

If life is feeling burdensome, it may be time for some personal inventory. Are you carrying around false God’s and functional saviors that can’t help you? If so, it is time to turn to your Maker, for he alone can bear your burdens and be your Savior.

For the Lord is God,

and he created the heavens and earth

and put everything in place.

He made the world to be lived in,

not to be a place of empty chaos.

“I am the Lord,” he says,

“and there is no other.

I publicly proclaim bold promises.

I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner.

I would not have told the people of Israel to seek me

if I could not be found.

I, the Lord, speak only what is true

and declare only what is right.

Isaiah 45:18-19

There are several claims that the Lord makes in these verses and I want us to focus in on them.

1. I made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos. This is a very important truth. The Lord makes it clear here, as in other parts of the scripture, that this world was made with an incredible PURPOUSE. It wasn’t fashioned in vain, or created to merely be a living ball of chaos… God made this world to be the perfect home for His greatest creation of all, Men and women created in His image! This truth is often questioned today… many people would like us to believe that this world, and consequently, all that is on it, are merely the product of chance or a cosmic accident. God tells us clearly here, this world was meant to be a perfect home! Right now, it is quite chaotic, but one day, it will be restored to full usefulness.

2. I boldly proclaim promises in public; I don’t whisper obscurities in the dark. Another allegation is that the Bible isn’t relevant to life today. This passage shoots that idea down as well. God says clearly here that He doesn’t whisper obscure words in a dark corner, but instead He proclaims bold and public promises, promises that are just as real today as they were when He first uttered them. Don’t let anyone tell you the Word of God isn’t relevant to us today. It has never been more relevant!

3. I wouldn’t tell people to seek me if I couldn’t be found. Other people today make it seem like truth is something we can’t know about with any certainty. Here God tells us there is something we can know with COMPLETE CERTAINTY: If we seek Him, we can find Him. God is the great absolute, or as Jesus said, “The Way, The Truth, and The Life”.

4. I only speak truth and I only declare what is right. God doesn’t make empty promises or worthless declarations. He is never guilty of telling us what we want to hear or pulling a bait and switch. God speaks truth, and truth is what we find in the pages of scripture. Truth about us, truth about God, truth about creation, truth about His plan and truth about where everything is headed. Friends, we live in a world where truth can be a hard thing to come by, and the experts are constantly changing their minds about what the “truth” is in any given area. Through the scriptures, we can know the one who is the truth, and know that He will never lead us astray!

Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done this wondrous thing.

Shout for joy, O depths of the earth!

Break into song,

O mountains and forests and every tree!

For the Lord has redeemed Jacob

and is glorified in Israel.

Isaiah 44:23

We know that this redemption and glorification of the people of God is only possible because of Jesus first coming as “the Lamb of God”, and that it will be made final at His second coming as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”.  It all centers on the Death and resurrection of Jesus, and from that resurrection springs an unquenchable hope that God’s work WILL BE COMPLETED.

Notice in this passage that the ones who are called to sing and rejoice are not the people of God.

Who are they?

The Heavens.

The Depths of the Earth.

The mountains, the forests and EVERY TREE!

In this passage God calls on THE ENTIRETY OF CREATION - The Heaven’s the Earth, and the plant life that grows on it - to rejoice in the WONDROUS WORK of God’s redemption and glorification of His people, a work that begins with and centers upon ISRAEL. We realize that though this work has a specific people group at its core, it is a work that results in GOOD NEWS for all that God has made. The idea contained here is simple: This process of redemption and glorification holds great promise for ALL that God has made! This is why we read about forests rejoicing, heavens singing, and the earth shouting out for joy.

It reminds me of the words of Paul in Romans 8 -

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

Romans 8:18-25

Paul paints a clear picture… Just as our SIN in Adam tainted all of creation (subjected it to the curse against its will), so its salvation will be found in ours. We share a hope, a hope that one day we will be set free from the curse and bondage of sin and death ONCE AND FOR ALL!!!

In Isaiah 44 the Lord tells us this work is as good as done, and it is time to start rejoicing because it will SURELY COME TO PASS!

But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.

O Israel, the one who formed you says,

“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.

I have called you by name; you are mine.

When you go through deep waters,

I will be with you.

When you go through rivers of difficulty,

you will not drown.

When you walk through the fire of oppression,

you will not be burned up;

the flames will not consume you.

Isaiah 43:1-2

Did you notice anything about what those verses DIDN’T promise? They promised a lot of things, but there is something that they very clearly DIDN’T promise that many people seem to think God SHOULD have promised. Can you figure out what it is? Read the verses again and see if you can figure it out…

These verses promise God’s provision and protection… but they don’t promise it INSTEAD of difficulty, they promise it INSPITE of difficulty.

See, the verses don’t say that God will keep us from deep waters… instead they say WHEN we go through deep waters, God will be with us. They don’t promise that we won’t have to pass through rivers of difficulty, but they DO promise that God will keep us from drowning. They don’t promise that we won’t have to walk through the fires and flames of oppression and tribulation… instead they promise that we won’t be burned up or consumed.

Friends, the Bible doesn’t promise that we will be spared from difficulty. On the contrary, it communicates that we WILL (not that we might) go through periods of GREAT DIFFICULTY. The promise is that the Lord Himself will see us through these times! He has made and formed us, ransomed us and called us by name; we can be assured that He will care for us, and even in the face of great difficulty and danger, we have NOTHING to fear.

“Look at my servant, whom I strengthen.

He is my chosen one, who pleases me.

I have put my Spirit upon him.

He will bring justice to the nations.

He will not shout

or raise his voice in public.

He will not crush the weakest reed

or put out a flickering candle.

He will bring justice to all who have been wronged.

He will not falter or lose heart

until justice prevails throughout the earth.

Even distant lands beyond the sea will wait for his instruction.”

Isaiah 42:1-4

This passage is a description of Jesus, our messiah. He is referred to here as the promised “Servant”, a theme Isaiah uses often in the final chapters of his book. By definition a Servant is one who carries out the work of another. In the Gospels, Jesus tells us that He came to serve us! This Servant is one who is sent by GOD to carry out HIS work on OUR behalf. So, though He serves us, the work He does is God’s work. His service doesn’t come according to the terms we lay down, but according to God’s will and perfect plan.

In these 4 short verses the word “justice” appears 3 different times. What we learn is that justice plays a central role in the work He does here. However, that justice is not a hard, brash or brazen justice… instead it is a justice that will not crush the weakest or quench those who are burning out… it is a justice that looks to fight for those who have nothing, to stand up for the weak and the broken. We are told here that He will bring justice to ALL who have been wronged. What a promise!

This passage closes with a declaration that should bring all believers strength, hope and encouragement. The Lord says that He will not falter or lose heart as He continues to serve UNTIL JUSTICE PREVAILS THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH.

Now, we know that Justice has not yet prevailed throughout all the earth, and that means that God is still actively at work. He isn’t finished and He hasn’t slacked off… He will bring His work to full completion.

We know that Justice and Mercy met together at the cross… but their final consummation is still to come. One day soon, Jesus will return, and justice will prevail ONCE AND FOR ALL!

Though you are a lowly worm, O Jacob,

don’t be afraid, people of Israel, for I will help you.

I am the Lord, your Redeemer.

I am the Holy One of Israel.’

Isaiah 41:14

This passage is very basic, but it is something that we need to be reminded of often. He addresses Jacob and the children of Israel, but since we are a part of the people of God, this passage applies to us as well.

“Though you are a lowly worm, do not be afraid, I will help you.”

Why will He help worms like us? Because He is our Redeemer!

You see, the Bible reveals two things to us simultaneously… it shows us that we are great sinners, as the psalmist said, “I am a worm and not a man”. When we study the scriptures we become acutely aware of the fact that we fall woefully short of God’s standard. We need a Savior in a bad way. If we were left to our own, we would have no hope at all.

But what does the Lord say? He says that even though we are mere worms, we need not fear, for HE will be the help we so desperately need!

The way this help is going to come is through REDEPMTION. Jesus Himself has bought us back, and now He has every right to be the LORD of ALL! This is the second revelation that comes to us as we study scripture: Jesus Christ is a GREAT SAVIOR!

The more you study, the more you will come to understand these themes, and as you do, your understanding and appreciation of the Death and Resurrection will grow DEEPER and DEEPER.

Friends, don’t fear today… even though we are helpless, we serve a God who is more powerful than anyone or anything else!

O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?

O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?

Have you never heard?

Have you never understood?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of all the earth.

He never grows weak or weary.

No one can measure the depths of his understanding.

He gives power to the weak

and strength to the powerless.

Even youths will become weak and tired,

and young men will fall in exhaustion.

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.

They will soar high on wings like eagles.

They will run and not grow weary.

They will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:27-31

How often do we hear people talk as though God has let them down? How often do we start to go down a path in our thought life that makes assumptions that we are somehow forgotten and neglected by the Lord? We see things happening, we pray, and we don’t get the answer we expect. We struggle and strive, and feel like we are barely staying above water and we think, “Lord, where are you?!”

Friends, no one can mine the depth of God’s understanding… He sees what we cannot see, and He knows what is best for us. Nothing is out of His reach!

We are reminded here that even the strongest, the most fit among us will reach the point of exhaustion… no can “make it” on their own steam.

It is those of us who keep trusting, keep relying, keep resting on the Lord. Wait for Him. He is faithful! He will renew and restore… notice, He won’t end the trial… but He will give you wings and stamina, keeping you going in the midst of it. Some things we deal with just won’t make sense this side of eternity. Until then, keep trusting!

Soon after this, Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent Hezekiah his best wishes and a gift. He had heard that Hezekiah had been very sick and that he had recovered.Hezekiah was delighted with the Babylonian envoys and showed them everything in his treasure-houses-the silver, the gold, the spices, and the aromatic oils. He also took them to see his armory and showed them everything in his royal treasuries! There was nothing in his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.

Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did those men want? Where were they from?”

Hezekiah replied, “They came from the distant land of Babylon.”

“What did they see in your palace?” asked Isaiah.

“They saw everything,” Hezekiah replied. “I showed them everything I own-all my royal treasuries.”

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to this message from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies:’The time is coming when everything in your palace-all the treasures stored up by your ancestors until now-will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left,’ says the Lord.’Some of your very own sons will be taken away into exile. They will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of Babylon’s king.’ “

Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “This message you have given me from the Lord is good.” For the king was thinking, “At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime.”

Isaiah 39:1-8

Here is what we were hinting at yesterday. Overly secure in his promised 15 years of life, Hezekiah makes a foolish decision without praying or consulting anyone else. He reveals all of the treasures of his house to Babylon, the very nation that would one day take the Israelites captive.

The very last verse of this chapter is very telling: Hezekiah says “at least there will be peace and security during my lifetime.”

Sadly, because Hezekiah thought he knew what the future held, he became very self focused. This choice, and his response to the consequences reveal a couple of things to us. They reveal the pride of Hezekiah, his over emphasis on the greatness of what he possessed; and they reveal his lack of concern for others.

Friends, if we aren’t careful, we can end up in this same place. The thing that keeps us from PRIDE and SELFISHNESS are a proper understanding of WHO GOD IS and WHAT HE HAS DONE. When we get a good view of who God is, we will be humbled. The best we have looks like filthy rags when compared to the continual faithfulness of God. Secondly, when we see the Jesus Christ and all He did to save us, His death and resurrection, we can’t help but respond with an attitude of selfless love. Jesus said “He who has been forgiven much loves much”.

Friends, its really quite simple. The best way to keep our hearts from growing cold is to be aware of the forgiveness of God in your life TODAY, never allowing it to merely become something that happened long ago in the distant past. If we keep the Cross near, we will be those who are marked by humility and love.