Understanding His story helps us to understand that His-Story is our Story!
Understanding His story helps us to understand that His-Story is our Story!
How much do you know?
(Answers at the end of the lesson)
Overview - Things we need to know...
We live in a universe of unimaginable complexity and precision! Many people believe that all of this happened as a result of something called “The Big Bang”. Modern scientists tell us that there was a ball of… “something” (smaller than a single atom), that was “created by nothing”??? It exploded causing everything to appear and formed the universe we live in! Stephen Hawking said, "The universe itself, in all its mind-boggling vastness and complexity, could simply have popped into existence without violating the known laws of nature".
When we studied the Book of Amos, we talked about the intelligent creatures the Lord made. And Adam and Eve were intelligent! Until they chose to seek wisdom… from a fruit! Then, when we studied the call of Isaiah, we talked about those intelligent beings trying to cover their shame and sin with… fig leaves! Today, the intelligent creatures the Lord made are still seeking wisdom, only this time it's not from a fruit or fig leaves! They are seeking wisdom from... “NOTHING”!!! God created man with the ability to understand things that no other living creature can understand but it seems like we are going backwards instead of forward in the human search for wisdom! And, the funny thing is… they absolutely believe everything was made by nothing! (I wish all believers had that strong of a faith in the Lord!) Don’t believe me? Look it up on Google or search “Richard Dawkins Nothing is Something” on youtube. He is an Oxford professor emeritus, scientist and the world’s foremost atheist. “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Rom. 1:22 KJV). The Word of God tells us that the Lord made everything! As science progresses in the areas of physics and quantum mechanics, scientists are amazed by the complexity of the universe. But for them, God as designer is not an option.
So many people today try to make sense out of a universe they do not understand. Science (secular scientists) tries to explain creation through theories, like evolution, which do not explain the beginning of life or a beginning of the universe. They have had a hard time avoiding the question “Where did it all come from?” They try to explain the operation of the universe by inventing things like dark matter which have not ever been proven to exist. The math they are using does not answer the problem of how the universe came into existence or how it holds together! It makes no sense, so they invent something that will make their math equations add up! They try to explain how gravity and time work so precisely in an effort to prove there is no creator while they ignore the one who spoke it all into existence. The Word of God has the answer to their question! The universe holds together by Jesus Christ, through whom all things were made that are made! “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col. 1:17 NIV). If you think about it, Satan has convinced man that what holds the universe together is not the Light of the World, Jesus Christ, but rather something that cannot be seen called DARK matter!
How can people believe in something as silly as “nothing made everything” (called - “Spontaneous Creation”) and “Dark Matter”as fact before it has been proven? Rom. 1:21 answers that! - “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” The irony is, the only dark thing the Lord speaks of here is the darkened hearts that many of these scientists have. The dream of most secular physicists and scientists is to, once and for all, prove there is no creator! Each of these God denying scientists wants to achieve the holy grail of science! The theory of everything! The thought that, somehow, everything can be explained by the human mind! The thought that the human brain can explain EVERYTHING is foolish! (See: Rom. 1:22 above.) Scientists are even searching for life on other planets and believe that discovering life out there somewhere would prove there is no God!
They do not glorify God or give Him thanks for what He has made because of pride. A pride that says something like, “We pulled ourselves out of the muck of the ancient earth and we have risen to the pinnacle of the universe by our own wisdom! By our own strength! And, because of that, we are not going to be held accountable by God or anything else!” In other words... “WE ARE GODS!” This prideful attitude can be seen from the beginning in the all the way up to today. (Take the Tower of Babel for instance? See: Gen. 11.) Just look at the TV shows and movies being produced today! Or, the science books used to teach our children? Man idolizes himself as being master of the universe. It seems man wants exactly what Lucifer desired so long ago - to be God! As Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels said, “If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth.” And that is what the “father of lies” wants them to do (John 8:44)! They lie to themselves and they lie to everyone else as they twist the truth of God and what He has done as our Creator. Humans continue to seek wisdom, but true wisdom only comes from our Omniscient God and Father!
Lesson Objective
In this lesson, we will come to understand and recognize the simple path that Pride will take us down if we are not constantly humble before the Lord God Almighty. We will better understand why God desires for his people to have a spirit of humility rather than a prideful and puffed up attitude.
Key Truths
We are saved by GRACE through FAITH! Not saved by ourselves through pride! It is not by intelligence or our own efforts. That is why the statement “Not of works, lest any man should boast” is so true (Eph. 2:9 KJV).
God hates prideful efforts of false worship even when it is directed toward Him in some way.
God expects His children to grow up and mature in the Lord by becoming Bible literate and in humility, living out the Word of God as He intends.
Lesson Outline
Introduction
The Northern Kingdom had been warned time and again about their rebellion against the Lord, but they would not listen! There was no justice or righteousness in Israel. Although the Kingdom was divided, both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms had the same problems! After all, they were all Israelites. The Lord had spoken to them through Moses around 700 years earlier in Lev. 26 and warned them about the consequence of their pride! “If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. I will also break down your pride of power…” (vv. 18-19). Solomon also warned them... “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling” (Prov. 16:18). In fact, the Lord had warned Israel from the Book of Job all the way up to Amos and Hosea, but because of their pride, the ten tribes of the north were carried off into exile by the Assyrians in 722 BC. Isaiah most likely wrote his visions and prophecies down at different points in his life and the first few chapters of the book were most likely written some time after the “Here am I, send me” experience found in chapter 6. Chapter 1 was probably written after Assyria had carried Northern Israel away, but we do not know for sure. Some chapters can be traced to specific dates due to the events or specific kings they describe, but most of the book does not fall into a neat chronological order. Remember, Isaiah was preaching and writing multiple messages from the Lord! Not a history book or an autobiography of his life. But there is a recurring theme! Just like the Northern Kingdom had been when Amos was sent to them, there is a lack of justice and righteousness in the Southern Kingdom of Judah and I believe we would do well to understand that pride in the place of humility was the problem that resulted in all kinds of sins for both kingdoms and ultimately resulted in their downfall.
We need to pay attention to the example God made of Israel as we live, work and raise our families in America today… Billy Graham once said, “Self-centered indulgence, pride, and a lack of shame over sin are now emblems of the American lifestyle.” How true! As we read Isaiah, “self-centered indulgence, pride and a lack of shame over sin are common denominators between the ten northern tribes and Judah! Isaiah was prophesying about these things 2,700 years ago, but obviously man has not changed very much. At least not for the better?
1. Pride - Rebellious Children - Isa. 1
“Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth! This is what the Lord says: ‘The children I raised and cared for have rebelled against me’” (1:2 NLT). As the Lord begins speaking about Judah in chapter 1, He is speaking to the rest of Creation in a tone that basically says, “Can you believe this? “Can you believe they are still so rebellious?” As if, the Creator and the rest of creation can see what they have done and it is the most immature thing anyone could possibly do! Then He said, “My people don’t recognize my care for them.’ Oh, what a sinful nation they are—loaded down with a burden of guilt. They are evil people, corrupt children who have rejected the Lord. They have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him” (1:3-4 NLT). The Lord has called them children twice and it was not in a positive tone. The Lord’s Words struck me as important here! Why? It sets the tone for what is about to happen to Judah! My thought as I read this was - the Lord is ticked!!! I didn’t know if I should use the word ticked or not so I looked up “ticked off” at thesaurus.com and this was the list... annoyed; enraged; exasperated; furious; incensed; indignant; infuriated; irritated and livid! In other words… It looks to me like the Lord has had enough! He is addressing them like they are immature kids or teenagers.
Besides raising two boys, I have spent thirty-eight years as a Pastor, Youth Pastor, Education Pastor and at times, a Children’s Pastor, so I recognize a rebellious teenager when I see one. The path that rebellious teens usually follow is exactly what I see in Isa. 1! Step by step Israel has gone down this path of rebellion and separation: v.2 - rebellion; v.3 - refusal to recognize authority; v.4 - weighed down by guilt, rejecting their father (parent), even dispising him, and ignoring him; v.5 - daring their father to punish them; v.6 - continues to rebel even after being punished; v.7 - doesn't care about what their father has provided for them; and in v.11 - they think that a little sacrifice without changing their attitude will make it all better; v.12 - if they have to go to church to worship, they want it to be fun; v.13 - they do not want to give their best; vv.13-14 - they celebrate physical things instead of the One who made everything!!!
If that is not a description of so many of the rebellious teenagers (and some adults!) I have worked with over the years, I don’t know what is! They apparently believe they can literally get away with murder if they do the minimum of what is required. They would try to appease their Father as long as it is not real work or real commitment. But God says, NO! They will not get away with it any longer. He says, “When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look. Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen, for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims” (1:15 NLT). In v.21, they have become unfaithful, unjust and unrighteous; v.22 - they have taken things into their minds that have made them impure and watered down; v.23 - they run with the wrong friends and want more and more money that they have not worked for. (I can honestly say as a Youth Pastor, that I believe there are more teens like this today than there were twenty years ago!)
But, the Lord, like a good parent, offers them the chance to come clean, tell the truth and seek forgiveness! The Lord tells them to “Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows” (16-17 NLT). He is telling them to change their attitude: do good; seek justice; help the oppressed and defend those who have no one to defend themselves. These would be true signs of a changed heart instead of children saying anything they can to get out of the punishment they have coming. They had become drunkards, partiers, self-centered, selfish, arrogant, disrespectful, and overconfident people, all because of pride! They were rebellious children! Be careful not to allow yourself to travel down that same path of pride
2. Pride - The Proud will be Humbled! - Isa. 2
Isaiah begins a new vision in chapter 2. “In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house will be the highest of all—the most important place on earth” (2:2 NLT). The last days were foreseen by several prophets including Jeremiah, Daniel and Ezekiel. I believe John’s vision in Rev. 21-22 is also describing this same vision in Isa. 2. But why is Isaiah’s vision of the last days right in the middle of the warnings and judgments the Lord is pronouncing on Judah before the captivity? I don’t know for sure, but I think it is because they had lost site of the future the Lord had promised them through Moses. The future Messiah that would bring redemption as promised in Deut. 18:15 (NLT), “‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.’” They had stopped looking for the One who would come to be Prophet, Priest and King! The Christ! They took their eyes off the prize! Eternity with the Lord!
Well, we have taken the long way around, but we have finally arrived at Isaiah’s pronouncement of condemnation for the root cause of the problem… It is repeated twice in chapter 2. (When the Lord repeats Himself, it is wise to sit up and take notice!)
v.11 - “Human pride will be brought down, and human arrogance will be humbled.” (NLT) and v.17 - “Human pride will be humbled, and human arrogance will be brought down.” (NLT) Pride is a major problem with the Lord and the people of Israel were proud to the point of arrogance. Then in v.12, He says, “For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has a day of reckoning. He will punish the proud and mighty and bring down everything that is exalted.” (NLT) Connect that to Prov. 8:13 (NLT), “All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech.” It has been said that pride is the root from which all other sins spring. Do you think God may be upset with the prideful people of today? Do you think God may even be upset with some in the church because of pride? People who have forgotten the Lord because they have pulled themselves up by their own boot straps? (See: Amos 3:10, Hos. 2:13, 4:6, 8:14, 13:6 - “But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me.” NLT) Isaiah’s message to Judah is a message to us!
3. Pride - Eternal Consequences - Isa. 2 - 3
“God made man out of nothing, and as long as we are nothing, He can make something out of us.” - Martin Luther
The Lord makes another statement twice in this passage! “Only the Lord will be exalted on that day of judgment” (2:11, 17 NLT). The message is clear. Justice and righteousness are the things that are missing in Judah (1:17, 21, 27) because they have become pious (v.13)! Pious is defined as - sanctimonious, hypocritical, insincere, self-righteous and holier-than-thou and that whole list can be wrapped up in one word... And that is what is seen in the people of Judah! Again and again Israel’s pride gets in between the Lord and His people! That is still true for many people today who call themselves “Christian” and “Church member” but see themselves as somehow, better than others because of a lack of true humility. When speaking of the coming Judgment, Jesus said, “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me’” (Matt. 25:45). Justice and righteousness are not present in Judah because the people left the Word of God behind and raised generations that had become biblically illiterate children that never grew up in the Lord. (1:2, 4) Bible illiteracy leads to a lack of humility. There is no humility because they have forgotten the Lord! They forgot the Lord because they became Bibe illiterate! - It is a vicious circle! A spiral of death that destroyed their nation and sent them into exile. The Word of God was there for them to learn from, but Judah had replaced the Word of God with foreign gods and things they made with their own hands (2:8).
All sin begins and ends in pride… “I will” is what we decide when we choose to sin. True repentance begins and ends in humility! Submitting our will to Him! Although there are many passages in Isaiah describing the judgment the Lord brings upon those who reject Him, He paints a terrifying picture at the end of chapter 2 of what they will do on the day of Judgment in the last days. “On that day of judgment they will abandon the gold and silver idols they made for themselves to worship. They will leave their gods to the rodents and bats, while they crawl away into caverns and hide among the jagged rocks in the cliffs. They will try to escape the terror of the Lord and the glory of his majesty as he rises to shake the earth. Don’t put your trust in mere humans. They are as frail as breath. What good are they” (2:20-22 NLT )?
Sin always brings consequences. The Lord continues in chapter 3 and promises that “The Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will take away from Jerusalem and Judah everything they depend on…” (3:1 NLT)
Application - Finding Jesus on Every Page
What does this lesson teach us about God? Man? Sin? Grace?
The Answer to the Problem of Pride!
“This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.” (1 Tim. 2:3–7) - The Apostle Paul
The people of Judah became apathetic toward the Lord and so have many people in the church today. As I said in the lesson from Amos, “These times in the Divided Kingdom Era reflect the growing apathy of the people toward the Lord. The dictionary says, apathy means - lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern. Apathy is an enemy that brings attitudes of self-centeredness, self-righteousness and Bible illiteracy.” In fact, I believe that forgetting the Lord began through parents raising the next generation without a proper understanding of God’s Word. Then, that generation raises the next with even less understanding of God’s Word and so on and so on… They became Bible ILLITERATE and we must make sure that does not happen in the church during our lifetime! When the Word of God is removed from a people, the ways of the flesh replace the ways of the Spirit. Without Bible Literacy there is no thought of the future or eternity. Prov. 29:18 (KJV) says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” The word “Vision” here is: prophecy or divinely inspired word. Other translations say things like “Without revelation people run wild” (HCSB). Both are correct! Without the Word of God being poured into people’s lives they run wild and die in their sins! Every believer must carry out BOTH parts of the Great Commision! Win the lost and teach them His Word! (See: Matt. 28.) And we must remember - IT BEGINS AT HOME!!!
Summary
God speaks through Isaiah to the people of Judah to pronounce judgment upon them because they are like prideful rebellious children who had rejected and forgotten their Father, the Lord their God.
God acts by sending them a prophet to proclaim God's Word, not only for judgment, but also a call for them to return to Him.
God reveals His grace offering to wash their sins away and make them as white as snow (1:18).
Discussion Questions
What do you think was the cause of Israel's Pride?
How does Israel’s forgetting about the Lord and what He had done for them compare to people in the church today? Does that still happen? Has it ever happened to you? How about in our country today?
How can we make sure that future generations do not go down this prideful path of rebellion against our Father in Heaven like the people of Israel did?
Answers to: How much do you know?
1) Sodom and Gomorrah. 2) Uzziah. 3) Open to discussion. Obviously the Lord rebukes the proud.
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STAY CLOSE! STAY CLEAN! READ THE WORD!