Thrive: Deeper

• We’ve seen Isaiah’s message of both Judgement and Hope for Jerusalem • Isaiah made it clear through his messages that the people of Israel and Jerusalem had rebelled against God, amongst other things they had continued with their worship of idols, and treating the poor and less fortunate with contempt. • As a result of this rebellion, Isaiah tells the rulers that God is going to use both the nations of Assyria and then later Babylon to bring Israel’s kingdom to nothing through this act of judgement. It would be turned to rubble. But there would be a remnant. • As we concluded in Chapter 39, Isaiah predicts the fall of Jerusalem and to the Babylonians and then the exile that followed. • This all came to pass around 100 years after Isaiah had died. • Throughout Isaiah’s prophetic words of judgement there were also words of Hope. • Isaiah was looking forward to the new Jerusalem. A new kingdom where Gods rule would be restored – through a messianic King yet to come. • This would be a time when all nations would live together in peace. • This points forward to a figure who is called God’s Servant and who is going to fulfill God’s MISSION to bless ALL the nations. • 2 ways to respond to this message of hope from the Servant: o Respond in humility and repent, turn from their sin and accept what God has said in his judgement, but also in his mercy. We are forgiven. (The Servant’s/The Seed) o Reject the Servant and his servants (the Seed). Isaiah ends with a picture of the fulfillment of ALL of God’s covenant promises, through the suffering Servant King. Matt mentioned Sons of Korah's version of Isaiah 53. Here's a link to the video: https://youtu.be/wzlKxDvuvqQ

Through Isaiah, God warned that he would bring military crisis and judgement upon Jerusalem. People were characterised by spiritual insensitivity, religious hypocrisy and unwillingness to trust their destiny to God. The coming crisis would be severe , but God would suddenly and miraculously rescue the city from the armies outside the walls of Jerusalem. This prophecy anticipated God’s deliverance of Jerusalem in 701bc. Deliverance will only come through repentance and faith. If only they would cry out to Him, he would renew their spiritual wisdom and give them prosperity. God would appear in splendour and destroy the Assyrians with His people rejoicing over the demise of their enemies. Messianic visions where Isaiah anticipated a day when a just King would rule over the land, along with rulers who would treat the people justly. Judgement of the nations brings restoration for God’s people. Dramatic description of God’s universal judgement. God will unleash his anger across the nations. Even the heavens would not escape. The enemy would be laid waste (Edom) but God’s weakened and discouraged people would be rejuvenated by God’s mighty deeds on their behalf.

Isaiah Chapters 13-28 are focussed on Isaiah’s Judgment Speeches. These are not just judgements on Israel and Judah, but all the nations of the world and specifically those surrounding Israel and Judah at the time. God is sovereign over ALL nations. God’s people should not have feared the surrounding nations, but they also should not rely on them for aid! However, as we have already seen in Isaiah, this message of judgement is delivered with a message of hope – that in spite of this judgement and the nations continued disobedience, God would one day fulfill all His covenant promises through an everlasting King of David’s line. Deliverance could, and can, only come through repentance and faith. And God is waiting for us to turn to Him.

Isaiah 1-12 (740-700 BC) Isaiah the Prophet lived in Jerusalem in the last part of the 2 Kingdom period (Israel in the North and Judah in the South) and his prophetic word was directed to the leaders of Jerusalem and Judah. Isaiah had been warning Hezekiah (the king of Judah at the time) about the nations rebellion against God and under Hezekiah’s reign there was a ‘revival’ of sorts. In 701bc, the Assyrian ruler Sennacherib marched against Judah and besieged Jerusalem and Isaiah urged the King – Hezekiah - to trust the Lord, who miraculously delivered the city from the Assyrian army. But Isaiah could see the eventual exile of Judah and continued to speak into this future generation. Isaiah preached that God’s judgement was going to come to Israel and Judah through the nations of Assyria and later Babylon, because they refused to turn from their idolatry and oppression of the poor. But, as we will read as we work through the book of Isaiah, this message of judgement is delivered with a message of hope – as we saw with Micah – that in spite of this judgement and the nations continued disobedience, God would one day fulfill all His covenant promises through an everlasting King of David’s line. The purpose of this covenant though remember, was not just about the nation of Israel, but that God’s blessing and salvation would flow to ALL the nations as per his promise to Abraham. We do a ‘deep dive’ on Chapter 6 as we hear of Isaiah’s call to God’s mission. In Isaiah’s vision (around 740 BC soon after King Uziah’s death) he sees God sitting on His throne in His temple, surrounded by heavenly creatures shouting HOLY HOLY HOLY and worshipping Him. This opens dramatically Isaiah’s awareness of the seriousness of his own sin and that of the people of Israel. Isaiah needs to trust God. Israel will be chopped down like a tree and left like a stump in a field which will also be scorched and burned, but will become a ‘holy seed’ that will survive. We then see the prefigurement of Christ as Isaiah tells of the new King whose Kingdom will set people free from oppression. This new King – Immanuel – will be empowered by the Spirit of God to rule over the NEW JERUSALEM, bringing peace to all with the nations looking to this King for his wisdom. This Kingdom will transform ALL CREATION and bring PEACE.

Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah and Hosea – He prophesied mostly in Judah (but speaking to all Israel (North and South), across the reigns of 3 kings of Judah: Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. This book, much like Hosea is also written in Hebrew Poetry. Micah announces God's judgment against Israel. Israel has exploited the poor and twisted the laws of the Torah, and God’s justice means that he will deal with them severely. But Micah’s prophecies are not without hope. The God of Israel is also faithful and full of mercy. God promises to preserve a faithful remnant, from which he will create a new Jerusalem on the other side of sin and exile. Micha saw the fulfillment of his prophecies about the fall of Samaria to the Assyrians, and also witnessed the great revival initiated by Hezekiah, which delayed God’s judgement on Judah and Jerusalem for almost a century. (One of the few prophets whose warnings of judgement were heeded). The Good Shepherd The book of Micah paints a picture of a just, yet merciful God. Like a shepherd, God will one day gather and restore a faithful remnant to the land. He will rebuild Jerusalem, defeat evil forever, and send a messianic King to rule over the people and bless all the nations.

The book of Hosea is mostly written in the form of Hebrew poetry. Hosea actually means ‘Salvation’ in Hebrew. Hosea was a contemporary of Isaiah and Micah – at the time of Israel (Northern Kingdom) ruler Jeroboam 2. 750-722 BC. Hosea is one of the most autobiographical of the prophetic Books in that the opening account of Hosea’s own marriage and family actually formed a vital part of his message. The people of Israel (Ephraim) placed false hope in their own remedies. Like farmers trying to sow in the wind. The seed would blow away and foreigners would take it. Their idols, temples and fortresses would be destroyed and military alliances would drain them dry, enslave them, and carry them away. Because of their rebellion and wickedness in trusting in the fertility cult of Baal, the Lord would reject them and make the people barren. A Life that pleases God: Sow righteousness Reap unfailing love Seek the Lord BUT . . . God stands ready to forgive and restore those who turn to Him in repentance.

In this episode we cover the books of Jonah and Amos, both written about the same time period during the rule of Jeroboam 2 one of Israel’s worst Kings. The story of Jonah, is probably one of the most well known Bible stories. In many ways, it is holding up a mirror to our own disfunction when it comes to understanding God’s ways and in particular His unmerited grace. Are we OK with the fact that God loves our enemies? Do we let our pride get in the way of our joy as God redeems people to Himself? Amos was called by God to head north into Israel to preach Gods truth to the people. The book is a collection of visions, poems, prayers etc from Amos that were compiled at some later stage – all with the intent of presenting a clear message to the evil northern Kingdom – a message we still need to hear today. He accuses Israel’s wealthy of ignoring the poor and of grave injustice to the people. Here we see the relationship between God’s justice and His mercy. He must judge and punish injustice and evil, but His ultimate plan is redemption – to restore Gods covenant family.

Written to Christians in the Roman province of Galatia. (In the center of modern Turkey). Capital of Galatia at the time was Ancyra. Written about the same time as Corinthians or alternate view is that this was Pauls earliest letter. The Christians in this province came manly from a Gentile background. They were relatively new believers (most likely only a matter of 2 or 3 years). Paul wrote to respond to issues that had arisen after he left the Galatian church, where there were people saying that Christianity had to be a sect that sat within Judaism. Essentially Gentiles had to become Jews – and follow the Mosaic laws (circumcision, diet etc.), before they would be accepted as part of Gods people. These false teachers were called Judaizers. We don’t belong to Gods family because of our behaviour, following ‘rules’ or even good works. We can’t make ourselves ‘righteous’ with God. We can only be righteous with God because of what He did for us in sending Jesus to die for our sin and brokenness. We have to remain and grow in sensitivity to the leading of the Spirit so that we stay in step with God’s good and perfect way to live.It’s through the Spirit that Jesus can make us into the people God created us to be, we can live lives loving God and others and in this way we still fulfill the Torah of the Messiah. We need to be thankful that we are free from the burden of having to earn God’s love and approval. Love is BigHearted NOT Big Headed. Legalism condemns, whilst Grace restores. We impress others with what we know. We impact others with how we love.

The Apostle Paul teaches about the spiritual war that the children of God are engaged in. He defends himself against those who oppose him. He recounted how he was caught up into the third heaven and described how his weaknesses proved to be a blessing. Before ending his epistle, Paul exhorted the Saints in Corinth to examine themselves and prove their faithfulness. In last part of 2 Corinthians we learn that Paul gloried in the Lord and taught that his own weaknesses should not be used to justify not listening to him. Paul mentioned additional ways Satan seeks to corrupt our thoughts and lead us away from Jesus Christ, including the use of false Christs and false apostles. Paul recounted the suffering he had endured as a true Apostle of the Saviour.

The church at Corinth had recently been struggling with divisions and quarrels which Paul had dealt with in his first letter. Now in this second letter, Paul felt the need to articulate a defense of his apostleship and his message. Some in the church had apparently taken his meekness among them to be a sign of moral weakness or lack of authority. Paul argued that he was of equal stature and importance as the other apostles, that he had deep knowledge of the Christian faith, that he had suffered profound physical punishment in the name of Christ, and that he had received visions and revelations from God. The message for us today is clear: living in unity requires us to humbly forgive one another and to follow our leaders. Second Corinthians reminds us that even as Christians, we hurt each other and need to forgive those who wrong us.