The contrast between Isaiah 34 and 35

Isaiah 34 (Judgment) [Hell]	Isaiah 35 (Salvation) [Heaven]
Trusting the world/self	Trusting God
Becomes a desert	Becomes a garden
No way (Isa 34:10)	A highway (Isa 35:8)
Destruction and desolation	Restoration and renewal
The power of the Gentiles will be broken	The redeemed will see the kingdom of God
God's wrath against the nations	God's glory transforming Zion
God, not the world, is the one to fear	God, not the world, is the one to hope in

God, Not the World, is the One to Fear (Isaiah 34)

Titles for Isaiah 34: Judgment -- Listen, Look into the Scroll. When You Don't Trust God. Judgment, an Unpalatable Topic: Painful passages about divine wrath and judgment, such as Isaiah 34, are hard to read and take in, but Isaiah does not spare our feelings.

Listen, Pay Attention, Hear, Look, Read and Learn that (34:1, 16):

1. God will Judge the World (1-15).
2. God's Plan will Happen (16-17).

According to Isaiah 34, God-neglect will turn us into an eternally barren desert. But if we trust God, our desert will be transformed into a garden. That is what the grace of God can do (Isaiah 35). Each of us is moving in one of these two directions, either into judgment or into salvation. What God wants is to save you.

Judgment (Isaiah 34) and Salvation (Isaiah 35)

The theme of Isaiah 34 is the final overthrow of the world in all its hostility to God's rule. [Judgment: Listen, Look into the Scroll (34:1-17).] Isaiah 35 paints a glorious picture of the final pilgrimage of the Lord's people to their eternal and blissful destination in Zion. [Salvation: A Highway Will Be There for the Redeemed (35:1-10).]

1. Judgment: Listen, Look into the Scroll (Isaiah 34).
2. Salvation: A Highway for the Redeemed (Isaiah 35).

Trusting God to Ruin the Nations and Transform Zion (Isaiah 34-35) [Gary Smith]

1. God's Wrath against the Nations (34:1-17)
1. Learn that God will judge the nations (1-15).
1. Judgment on heaven and earth (1-4).
2. The sword against "Edom" (5-7).
3. The devastated land (8-15).
2. Learn that God's plan will happen (16-17).
2. God's Glory Transforming Zion (35:1-10). Ultimate realities: pilgrims to Zion.
1. God's transformation of nature (1-2): New world, a promise to the pilgrims.
2. God's transformation of the weak and blind (3-6a): New life, salvation for the pilgrims.
3. God's transformed people will return (6b-10): New highway, homecoming for pilgrims.

Salvation (Isaiah 35): A Highway Will Be There

"And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it" (Isa 35:8, NIV).

In Isaiah 28-35 the central issue was the stupid advice of the leaders for Judah to trust Egypt, instead of God. Isaiah 34 poetically expresses that trusting in the nations results in a desert, while Isaiah 35 shows the drastic and dramatic contrast when one trusts God. In brief, God will turn the desert into a garden (Isa 35:1). "The burning sand will become a pool" and the places "where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow" (Isa 35:7). This is in sharp contrast to the desolation that endured from generation to generation (Isa 34:10, 17). Even such desolation can be changed by God if we let him. God will reveal his glory by making them as rich and abundant as the forests on Lebanon and Carmel or the grasslands of the plan of Sharon (Isa 35:2; 33:9). When the rains of God fall, a barren waste springs into splendorous color almost overnight.

Be Our Strength Every Morning (Isaiah 33:1-16)

"Lord, be gracious to us! We wait for You. Be our strength every morning and our salvation in time of trouble" (Isa 33:2, HCSB).

Isaiah 33 continues the description of the kingdom of the true messiah. It is introduced by the 6th and final woe in this section that began in Isaiah 28. But this woe is not addressed to the people of Israel or its leaders, but to the enemy of Jerusalem, almost certainly Assyria. The true king is the one who can bring about the deliverance that the drunken blind leaders cannot. 33:1-16 has two parts:

1. The woe and an appeal to God (1-6).
• the woe (1).
• an appeal to God (2), which is based on
• God's character and power (3-6).
2. Deliverance to come from God (7-16).
• the hopelessness of the situation (7-9).
• a promise by God to take action (10-16).

Trust God, only He Saves (Isaiah 25)

Isaiah 25:1-12

"On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food (fatness) for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines. ⁷ On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; ⁸ he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people's disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.⁹ In that day they will say, 'Surely this is our God; we trusted in him (waited for him), and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him (waited for him); let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation'" (Isa 25:6-9, NIV).

From shattered silence to joy is the sharp contrast of Isaiah 24 and 25. Isaiah 25 forms the response to the announcement of the destruction of the earth city (Isa 24:10). In Isaiah judgment and destruction (Isa 24:1, 3) are never God's intended last words. Rather, it paves the way for hope and redemption (Isa 25:9). From the silence of the shattered city (Isa 24:8) comes the joy of a feast where the host is the Lord (Isa 25:6).

1. The song (1-5): Thanksgiving for God's faithfulness. Joy in the Lord. Individual praise: his supernatural acts.
2. The banquet (6-8): Announcement that God's purpose in the destruction of the earth is her redemption from death.
3. The festivities (9-12): Joy that comes from being delivered from their enemies, typified by Moab. Communal praise: his saving acts.

God's Glorious Holy Kingdom (Isaiah 4:2-6)

Interchange and Contrast in Isaiah 1-6

1:1-31	2:1-5	2:6-4:1	4:2-6	5:1-30	6:1-13
Negative (+)	Positive	Negative	Positive	Negative	Positive (-)
Judgment	Salvation/Hope	Judgment	Salvation/Hope	Judgment	Salvation/Hope

Outline of 2:1-4:6

1. The Ideal: Our Glorious Future Hope (2:1-5).
2. The Actual: Our Dark Present Reality (2:6-4:1).
3. The New: Our Glorious Future Hope (4:2-6).

The immediate future will be terrible for Judah if the nation does not stop trusting mankind and start exalting God alone. Isaiah wanted God's people to know that their rebellion and pride (2:6-4:1) will not defeat God's ultimate plan to establish his glorious kingdom in the future (2:1-5; 4:2-6). In contrast to 2:1-5 which focuses on the coming of the foreign nations to hear God's laws, 4:2-6 focuses on the purification of a holy remnant.

Pride Rejects God's Gracious Promises of Salvation (Isaiah 15-16)

Isaiah 16:1-14; 4b-5

"Make up your mind," Moab says. "Render a decision. Make your shadow like night—at high noon. Hide the fugitives, do not betray the refugees. ⁴ Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you; be their shelter from the destroyer." The oppressor will come to an end, and destruction will cease; the aggressor will vanish from the land. ⁵ In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it—one from the house of David—one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness. ⁶ We have heard of Moab's pride—how great is her arrogance!—of her conceit, her pride and her insolence; but her boasts are empty (Isa 16:3-6).

Theme: Despite God's gracious offer of justice and righteousness, pride rejects it.

1. Despite Your Failures, Let's Meet and Talk (Isaiah 1).
2. The Ideal and The Reality (Isaiah 2-4).
3. A Worthless Vineyard (Isaiah 5).
4. I Saw The Lord (Isaiah 6).
5. Trust or Bust (Isaiah 7).
6. Is God Your Sanctuary or Your Judge? (Isaiah 8).
7. See The King in His Beauty (Isaiah 9).
8. Destruction and Deliverance (Isaiah 9-10).
9. A Glimpse of Heaven (Isaiah 11-12).
10. How You Have Fallen (Isaiah 13-14).

A Glimpse of Heaven (Isaiah 11-12)

Isaiah 11:1-12:6; 12:2; 11:9

"Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation" (Isa 12:2, NIV). "Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord" (Isa 11:9, NLT).

Theme: Despite his people's rebellion, God faithfully keeps his promise to bring forth his salvation.

1. Despite Your Failures, Let's Meet and Talk (Isaiah 1).
2. The Ideal and The Reality (Isaiah 2-4).
3. A Worthless Vineyard (Isaiah 5).
4. I Saw The Lord (Isaiah 6).
5. Trust or Bust (Isaiah 7).
6. Is God Your Sanctuary or Your Judge? (Isaiah 8).
7. See The King in His Beauty (Isaiah 9).
8. Destruction and Deliverance (Isaiah 9-10).

The Ideal and The Reality (Isaiah 2-4)

Isaiah 2:1-4:6; 2:2

"In the last days, the mountain of the Lord's house will be the highest of all—the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship" (Isa 2:2, NLT). "In the last days the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it" (Isa 2:2, NIV). [Alternate titles could be "Glorious Hope, Painful Reality;" "Hope in the Midst of Judgment."]

Previous sermon: Despite Your Failures, Let's Meet and Talk (Isaiah 1).

Theme: Our glorious hope is that despite our utter sinfulness (Isa 1:4) and even God's people's rottenness (Isa 1:10-15), Isaiah sees a vision of the coming of the kingdom of God.

How Does Salvation Happen? (Jonah 2:9)

“Salvation comes from the LORD.” (Jonah 2:9, NIV ‘84, '11) “Salvation belongs to the LORD!” (ESV) “Salvation is of the LORD.” (KJV)

Which is it? Did you first accept/believe Jesus and then God saved you? OR did God save you first and then you accepted/believed Jesus?

(Related post: Jonah: an Introduction.)

Not a new question. Throughout church history , Christians have explained salvation in 2 predominant ways. Those who emphasized God’s sovereign grace or divine election have been called Calvinists (after John Calvin), or Augustinians (after St. Augustine), while those who objected to this emphasis and contented for a rational doctrine of free will have been called Arminians (after James Arminias) or Wesleyans (after John Wesley). It is important to note that both perspectives are compatible with traditional orthodox Christianity. Thus, Calvinists and Arminians are friends in Christ, not angry argumentative combatants, just as George Whitfield a Calvinist was friends of John Wesley an Arminian. A “3^rd category,” which is non-Christian, is Pelagianism (after the heretical monk Pegagius who was excommunicated from the church), because they reject that man is a sinner and deny the need of grace for man’s salvation. Finneyism (after Charles Finney of the 2^nd Great Awakening) has also been regarded by some to be non-Christian because of his vagueness about salvation through justification, and his narrow and primary focus on man’s free will in determining his salvation.

Divine Judgment (Gen 6:5-13)

Theme: God's salvation (the ark) is always through judgment (the flood). There is never any salvation without judgment.


To countless people, the very idea of God's divine judgment is upsetting, outdated, and irrelevant to them personally and practically. 3 things in this account of God's divine judgment in the time of Noah may help us understand why it should not be so.

1. The Violence of Man (pleads for the necessity of divine judgment)
   
2. The Pain of God (not delight, when he has to exercise divine judgment)
   
3. The Solution to Both (is salvation through judgment)

God Preserves the Meek and Humble; God Removes the Arrogant (Zephaniah 3:8-20)

Previous post: Do I know God's heart that is broken to pieces because of the perishing? (Zeph 2:3; Luke 20:13)

Judgment

God promises that a day of judgment will come. This is not a threat but a fact and a certainty, which all mankind should humbly consider. God will gather the nations, not for blessing (Isa 30:18), but for his coming judgment (Zeph 3:8). Though this arrogant and rebellious generation loathes and despises this, God states plainly, "I have decided to assemble the nations, to gather the kingdoms and to pour out my wrath on them—all my fierce anger. The whole world will be consumed by the fire of my jealous anger" (Zeph 3:8). But God's retributive acts are always redemptive, for God will save his remnant among the meek and humble (Zech 3:12,18-20). God intends that the nations turn to him (Zeph 3:9,10), including his own people (Zeph 3:11-13). This will cause rejoicing (Zeph 3:14-17), not least because God alone has accomplished salvation (Zeph 3:18-20). God is both God the Judge and God the Gracious

Salvation

The promise of salvation can only be accomplished by God: "I will leave within you the meek and humble. The remnant of Israel will trust in the name of the LORD. They will do no wrong; they will tell no lies. A deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouths. They will eat and lie down and no one will make them afraid" (Zeph 3:12-13). Salvation, which is always undeserved, will always lead to rejoicing (Zeph 3:14-16). This is only possible because "The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing" (Zeph 3:17).

The only reasonable way to live: Wait, not for a better life now, but wait for the day of salvation, which will come for the remnant of God.

The promise of God: "I will leave within you the meek and humble" (Zech 3:12) and "I will remove from you your arrogant boasters" (Zech 3:11).

Who our God is: "The LORD your God is ... the Mighty Warrior who saves... take(s) great delight in you; ... rejoice(s) over you with singing" (Zeph 3:17).

To help remember an overview of this Minor Prophet Zephaniah, check out this chart again.

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Don't Drift (Heb. 2:1-18)

1st of 6 warnings in Hebrews: Don't drift/neglect such a great salvation (Heb. 2:1-4). Heb 2:1 exhorts/warns us Christians to "pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it." What have we heard? We 1st heard "the message declared by angels," which is the law of Moses, and which is still binding, and leads to retribution and punishment to those who sin and disobey (Heb. 2:4). But now we're heard the gospel proclaimed through Christ, which is surely the greater salvation (Heb 2:3), and which God has attested to "by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will" (Heb. 2:4).

Surely, the Christian life is repeatedly fraught with temptation, distraction, discouragement, disillusionment, persecution, betrayal, etc. We want to be in charge or in control, to give up, give in, be in our comfort zones, go on cruise control, live at ease, blame others, etc. But what we should do is to never neglect or drift from the gospel of "such a great salvation" (Heb. 2:3).

Only Jesus is the Founder of Salvation for only He is fully God and fully Man (Heb. 2:5-18). Though Jesus is God, and greater than the angels, he was made "lower than the angels...because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone" (Heb. 2:9). Without knowing the grace of One who tasted death in our place, our faith can always easily falter and drift.

Heb. 2:14,15 explains that a human Savior was necessary, because human beings are in need of a propitiatory (satisfying God's wrath) sacrifice and a sympathetic high priest (Heb. 2:17,18). Praise Jesus who willingly tasted the hell and death that we fully deserve, so that he could be our great salvation.

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