Sketch and Overview of Isaiah 28-33, 2016

Woe To Those Who Do Not Wait / Trust in God (Isaiah 28-35): John Oswalt's overview. Other commentators title this section as "Six Woes," "Human schemes and God's plans," and "Do not trust in enemies who will be defeated."

• Isaiah 28-29: Bad/false leadership. Human rulers implementing human rules. Leaders are drunken, blind and deaf to God's word.
• Isaiah 30-31: Bad/false solution/advice/decision. Trusting in Egypt, instead of God.
• Isaiah 32-33: Good/true leadership/government. When the Messiah reigns and rules.
• Isaiah 34-35: Conclusion of Isaiah 28-33 (13-33): The summary of judgment and blessing. A desert (Isaiah 34) or a garden (Isaiah 35).

Six Woes:

1.  First woe (Isa 28:1): Against the drunken leaders in Ephraim (northern Israel).
2. Second woe (Isa 29:1): Against the presumptuous leaders in Jerusalem who depended habitually on their religious practices.
3. Third woe (Isa 29:15): Against those who hide their plans from the Lord. The folly of the human mind without God.
4. Fourth woe (Isa 30:1): Against obstinate leaders who insist on their own plans and refuse to consult the Lord. Despite human unfaithfulness, God remains faithful.
5. Fifth woe (Isa 31:1): Against those who go down to Egypt for help.
6. Sixth woe (Isa 33:1): Against the enemy of Jerusalem.

Schedule:

Nov 2015 - Ben Toh. 28:1-19: Mocking Isaiah's Words (Isa 28:10, 12-13). Consider:

1. Two crowns (1-6).
2. Two words (7-13).
3. Two covenants (14-22).
4. Two parables (23-29).

Jan 17, 2016 - David Weed (God's Rebuke, God's Love). 29:1-14: Lips and Life Disconnect (Teaching Human Rules from the Bible). (Isa 29:13). "Ariel" (altar hearth) (Isa 29:1), symbolizing Zion, has the double meaning of the place where the Lord has set his altar and the place where his fire burns (Isa 29:2). It has both the privilege and the peril -- the means of salvation (Isa 6:6-7) and a danger to sinners (Isa 6:5).

Zion is both privileged and endangered. Spiritual blindness is both self-chosen (Isa 29:9b) and a judgment of God upon the choice made (Isa 29:10): it is a deliberate decision (Isa 29:9) and also a divine judgment on that decision (Isa 29:10). Alec Motyer.

Jan 24, 2016 - David Weed. 29:15-24: Creature and Creator Disconnect (Acknowledge the Holiness of the Holy One). (Isa 29:16, 23). "Oh, your upside-downness!" "Oh, your perversity!" (Isa 29:16) To exalt the human and exclud the divine is the reversal of all that is right and proper. It is the spirit of self-sufficiency, arrogance, usurpation and thoughtless stupidity. It is as if that which manifests thought, craft and purpose should deny these attributes to their originator. It is a denial of the Lord's distinctiveness, sovereignty and wisdom.

Jan 31, 2016 - Tim Fitch (God Longs to be Gracious to You). 30:1-17: Easy Shade, Easy Bible Study and Easy Salvation (Find Rest in Repentance). Isa 30:15 is the distinctive challenge of Isaiah (Isa 7:4, 9; 28:12).

1. Easy shade is useless (1-7).
2. Easy Bible study doesn't work and cannot stand (8-14).
3. Easy salvation that avoids repentance is self-defeating (15-17).

Feb 7, 2016 - Tim Fitch (God Hears Our Cries). 30:18-33: God Longs To Be Gracious To You. Isa 30:18 is one of the greatest statements in all of Scripture. God reveals himself as a:

1. Teacher promising spiritual regeneration (19-22).
2. Healer promising physical blessings and the healing of wounds (23-26).
3. Conqueror who defeats all of Israel's enemies, in particular Assyria (27-33).

Feb 14, 2016. David Weed. 31:1-9: Trusting Egypt Doesn't Work (Return to God). (Isa 31:6).

1. Trusting Egypt doesn't work/Don't trust Egypt (1-3).
2. Trusting the Lord does/Trust God (4-9).

• Why? God will protect Jerusalem (4-5).
• How? Repent/return to the Lord (6-7).
• Why? God will destroy Jerusalem's enemies (8-9).

Feb 21, 2016. David Weed. 32:1-20: The king and his kingdom (32:1-20). Righteous King, New Society (32:1-20). A king of righteousness and peace (Isa 32:1, 17). Peace is the Fruit of Righteousness (True Productivity and Peace, Safety and Security). (Isa 32:17).

1. The nature of true leadership (1-8): righteousness and justice (Isa 32:1).
2. The Spirit as necessary for true leadership (9-20).

Feb 28, 2016. Rhoel. 33:1-16: The king who is exalted (33:1-16). Be Our Strength Every Morning (33:1-16). Dwell with Fire on the Heights (Isa 33:14, 16). What is required of us to live in the presence of the consuming fire and on the heights (Isa 33:14-16)?

Mar 6, 2016. Rhoel. 33:17-24: The King in His Beauty (Isa 33:17). See the king in his beauty (Isa 33:17; 6:5). Beauty requires harmony, symmetry, rhythm and balance. Christ the King offers:

1. Beauty and wide opportunity (Isa 33:17).
2. Security (Isa 33:18-20).
3. Deliverance (Isa 33:22).
4. Health in its most comprehensive form (Isa 33:24).

Mar 13, 2016. Angie. 34:1-17: Judgment -- Listen, Look into the Scroll  (Isa 34:1, 16). The theme of Isaiah 34, which is a universal proclamation, is the final overthrow of the world in all its hostility to God's rule.

Mar 20, 2016. West Loop Easter Conference: Up From The Grave.

Mar 27, 2016. Easter Sunday. Jim Cook.

Apr 3, 2016. Tim Fitch. 35:1-10: Salvation -- A Highway Will Be There (Isa 35:8).

Apr 10, 2016. 36:1-22: How Satan Makes You Give Up. The Ultimatum.

Apr 17, 2016. 37:1-38: How to Stand Firm Against Satan.

Apr 24, 2016. Matthew Celeya. 38:1-22; 39:1-8: The Fatal Falter of a Man of Faith. Even a Good Leader is Fallible. Mistakes and Failures from a Godly Leader. Hezekiah's Demerit.

May 1, 2016.