Biblical Influence & Life Application: Are You a Watchman? As Watchmen, Are You Guarding God's People by Warning Them to Obey the Lord, Keep His Commandments, and Live Righteous Lives?

The Savior's Message to Leaders and Idolaters, to the Prideful and Greedy, 56:9–57:21

(Isaiah 56:9–57:21) Introduction: corruption in leadership, idolatry, pride, greed, and covetousness—were major problems within the society of Isaiah's day. And sadly, they have become major problems within every generation, including today. We often read or hear about leaders who have become corrupt, who have sought personal gain instead of the welfare of the people they were supposed to serve. Countless people in the world are idolaters. They worship man-made ideas or objects or other mere beings instead of the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Creator of all things. We all know people who are prideful, who exalt themselves and demean others because they consider themselves more worthy of recognition, honor, or attention. Others we know covet more and more, hoarding what they have while so many desperate needs exist throughout the world. God has a very special message for all who have failed in any one of these areas. And the message is just as relevant today as it was in Isaiah's day. This is The Savior's Message to Leaders and Idolaters, to the Prideful and Greedy, 56:9–57:21.

The Savior's Message to Leaders & Idolaters, the Prideful & Greedy, Isaiah 56:9–57:21

⁹Come, wild animals of the field; come, tear apart the sheep; come, wild animals of the forest, devour my people.^a ¹⁰For the leaders of my people—the Lord's watchmen, his shepherds—are all blind to every danger. They are featherbrained and give no warning when danger comes. They love to lie there, love to sleep, to dream. ¹¹And they are as greedy as dogs, never satisfied; they are stupid shepherds who only look after their own interest, each trying to get as much as he can for himself from every possible source.

¹² "Come," they say. "We will get some wine and have a party; let's all get drunk. This is really living; let it go on and on, and tomorrow will be even better!" (Isaiah 56:9–12)

¹The good men perish; the godly die before their time, and no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to realize that God is taking them away from evil days ahead. ²For the godly who die shall rest in peace.

³But you—come here, you witches' sons, you offspring of adulterers and harlots! ⁴Who is it you mock, making faces and sticking out your tongues? You children of sinners and liars! ⁵You worship your idols with great zeal beneath the shade of every tree and slay your children as human sacrifices down in the valleys, under overhanging rocks. ⁶Your gods are the smooth stones in the valleys. You worship them, and they, not I, are your inheritance. Does all this make me happy? ^7-8You have committed adultery on the tops of the mountains, for you worship idols there, deserting me. Behind closed doors, you set your idols up and worship someone other than me. This is adultery, for you are giving these idols your love instead of loving me. ⁹You have taken pleasant incense and perfume to Molech as your gift. You have traveled far, even to hell itself, to find new gods to love. ¹⁰You grew weary in your search, but you never gave up. You strengthened yourself and went on. ¹¹Why were you more afraid of them than of me? How is it that you gave not even a second thought to me? Is it because I have been too gentle that you have no fear of me?

¹²And then there is your "righteousness" and your "good works"—none of which will save you. ¹³Let's see if the whole collection of your idols can help you when you cry to them to save you! They are so weak that the wind can carry them off! A breath can puff them away. But he who trusts in me shall possess the land and inherit my holy mountain. ¹⁴I will say, Rebuild the road! Clear away the rocks and stones. Prepare a glorious highway for my people's return from captivity.

¹⁵The high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, the Holy One, says this: I live in that high and holy place where those with contrite, humble spirits dwell; and I refresh the humble and give new courage to those with repentant hearts. ¹⁶For I will not fight against you forever, nor always show my wrath; if I did, all mankind would perish—the very souls that I have made. ¹⁷I was angry and smote these greedy men. But they went right on sinning, doing everything their evil hearts desired. ¹⁸I have seen what they do, but I will heal them anyway! I will lead them and comfort them, helping them to mourn and to confess their sins. ¹⁹Peace, peace to them, both near and far, for I will heal them all. ²⁰But those who still reject me^a are like the restless sea, which is never still, but always churns up mire and dirt. ²¹There is no peace, says my God, for them!^{^[1]} (Isaiah 57:1–21)

The Message to The Leaders:

The Nation (Judah) Will Be Judged and Devoured by Beasts (Invaders) (56:9–57:2).

The Lord spoke forcefully and directly to the leaders of Judah: their nation would be judged by being devoured by beasts. Apparently, this is a reference to the conquest of Judah by the soldiers of Babylon. Corrupt, degenerate leadership was the primary reason Judah fell. If the leaders had led the people to repent and turn back to the Lord, God would have delivered them. But the leaders had become self-centered, deceitful, and negligent in their official duties. In a spirit of defiance and rebellion against God, they were living unrighteous, wicked lives. Their behavior stood diametrically opposed to the will and commandments of God. Note the Scripture.

The Message to The Leaders: The Nation Will Be Judged, Devoured by Beasts (Invaders)

¹² "Come," they say. "We will get some wine and have a party; let's all get drunk. This is really living; let it go on and on, and tomorrow will be even better!"

A. God's Message to The Leaders Is a Message of Condemnation.

As leaders, they were far more responsible for the welfare of the nation than the average citizen. Consequently, God held them far more accountable. Four reasons are given for God's strong condemnation:

1) The leaders were the watchmen of the nation, but who were the leaders? They were the rulers, government officials, priests, and prophets, and sadly they had proven to be blind. As watchmen, they were to stay alert to any approaching danger. Once a danger was spotted, they were to warn the people. However, a serious indictment was being pronounced against the leaders of Judah: they were blind, unable to see the coming threats to the nation. They were totally ignorant and lacked the understanding they needed to perceive the impending danger. As watchmen, they should have been guarding God's people by warning them to obey the Lord, keep His commandments, and live righteous lives. But because they were blind, they could not see how people's behavior and decisions were related to God and His righteousness. Nor could they see the importance of living righteously day by day. They simply could not recognize the dangers of disobeying God and His commandments. Thus, they failed to warn the people.

V "But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" (Mt. 6:23).

V "Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch" (Mt. 15:14).

V "For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them" (Ac. 28:27).

V "This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness" (Ep. 4:17–19).

V "We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men" (Is. 59:10).

V "Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore, hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me" (Eze. 3:17).

2) The leaders were sleeping dogs that failed to bark and warn the people (v. 10). When a thief enters a house, a watchdog should be alert, bark, and warn the homeowner. But the leaders were asleep, which means they were complacent, at ease, and unconcerned. Their primary focus was their own comfort and self-interest, not their duty to the nation or the people.

V "Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning" (Mk. 13:35).

V "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now, is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us, therefore, cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light" (Ro. 13:11–12).

V "Therefore, let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober" (1 Th. 5:6).

3) The leaders were greedy dogs, totally self-centered (v. 11a). A spirit of covetousness gripped their souls, and they craved more and more authority, power, and wealth. Misusing their authority, they took advantage of their official positions in the government to build up their personal estates and to gain more influence and control.

V "And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater, and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God" (Lu. 12:15–21).

V "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience" (Col. 3:5–6).

V "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Ti. 6:10).

V "The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour. He coveteth greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth and spareth not" (Pr. 21:25–26).

V "He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live" (Pr. 15:27).

V "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour's" (Ex. 20:17).

V "And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so, they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage" (Mi. 2:2).

4) The leaders were shepherds who lacked discernment (v. 11b–12). Ignoring the people's welfare, they sought their own gain. Instead of taking care of the flock, they fleeced it. They were materialistic, indulgent, and drunken (v. 12). They felt confident in their prosperity and secure in their comfortable lifestyle. They believed that when tomorrow came, it would be just like today, leaving them undisturbed to enjoy and revel in carnal pleasures. They gave no thought whatsoever to the frailty of human life, and they neither feared God nor dreaded His judgment. The uncertainty of this life with all its pleasures and prosperity never crossed their minds. They lacked discernment, so they continued to be unworthy, corrupt leaders diametrically opposed to God and His righteousness.

V "And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares" (Lu. 21:34).

V "But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep" (Jn. 10:12).

V "Let us walk honestly, as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof" (Ro. 13:13–14).

V "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Ga. 5:19–21).

V "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise" (Pr. 20:1).

V "Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright" (Pr. 23:29–31).

V "Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!" (Is. 28:1).

V "Therefore, thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors [shepherds] that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord" (Je. 23:2).

V "My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting-place" (Je. 50:6).

V "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock" (Eze. 34:2–3).

V "Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!" (Hab. 2:15).

B. Although God Would Judge the Unrighteous Leaders and Citizens, He Took Very Special Care of The Righteous (57:1–2).

Before the judgment fell upon Judah, God took them to heaven to be with Him. In His love, He made sure they died an early death in order to escape the impending disaster. Fulfilling the promise, He gives to all believers, God protected the righteous of that day by taking them away through an unexpected death, thus sparing them the terrifying judgment and horrible suffering that would soon come upon the wicked.

Note that unbelievers did not understand what was happening. The thought that God was saving the righteous from the coming judgment never crossed their minds. To the wicked, there is no hope in death, but to the righteous, there is the greatest of hope. The righteous enter into peace and find rest even as they lie on their deathbeds. When they pass from this world into the next, more quickly than the eye can blink, they enter into eternal rest and peace to live with God forever. Even as true believers face death, God gives them perfect assurance of being immediately transferred into His presence.

H.C. Leupold, the excellent Lutheran commentator, says this:

Good men have been dying off in surprising numbers (cf. Ps. 12:1; Mic. 7:2). By this fact, God is trying to say something to his people [Israel], but they have failed to take notice. So, the prophet is telling them what it all means. Good people, the "salt of the earth," have been taken away, very likely by an unexpected death. Why does God allow that? That is the way things usually go before great calamities break-in: "The righteous are always taken away from the evil to come." This phenomenon has been observed so often that it may be laid down as a general rule. Thus, the righteous man is spared, being off the scene before the calamity breaks … generally speaking, men are so dull-willed that they usually fail to see what God has in mind and how he is sparing his saints' much grief.¹

V "And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died and was buried" (Lu. 16:22).

V "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord" (2 Co. 5:8).

V "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better" (Ph. 1:21–23).

V "For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day" (2 Ti. 1:12).

V "And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve [transfer, transport] me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen" (2 Ti. 4:18).

V "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour, therefore, to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief" (He. 4:9–11).

V "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.… But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city" (He. 11:13–14, 16).

V "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me" (Ps. 23:4).

V "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints" (Ps. 116:15).

V "The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death" (Pr. 14:32).^{^[3]}

Prayer For Our Leaders and Our Nation That Will Be Judged and Devoured by Invaders Because Of Our Unrepentant Wicked Ways

Father God, we look to the day when our leaders honestly see the problems we face, and that they would use their intelligence knowing the realities of the challenges we all face, and that they would look to you, Lord, for their strength to stand guard for us and our benefit. Instead, our leaders seem content with all you have provided for them through our serving of them instead of serving us for our benefit. Father God, we are thankful for their careful wisdom with the issues and needs we face, but they act selfishly, looking for their good, denying our needs. Our leaders often do not deny themselves of anything that would impair their judgment because they do not care or function as if they care about seeing us hurt whom they serve. And they continue daily in their struggle to fight for justice on our behalf, but they know that they will continue to face even more struggles while denying justice for the weak.

But God, we thank our government leadership for defending us the best they have, for we know they cannot do anything good for us without you controlling the events of time and bringing about your will. We know, Lord, that the weak will receive justice, knowing that the wicked individual who persecutes the righteous receive their due penalty in your timing. Father God, we also thank you for the leaders who work to remove the evil in our lives and that you are the One that takes away the wicked so that the righteous can live in peace, safety, and prosperity. We thank you, Father God, for we know that you protect us so that we do not need to seek a hiding place far from harm and fear for our lives; you are the one Lord that makes it possible for us to live in peace continually.

We thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name we pray, Amen

Are You a Watchman? As Watchmen, Are You Guarding God's People by Warning Them to Obey the Lord, Keep His Commandments, and Live Righteous Lives?

^a 56:9 devour my people, implied.

^a 57:20 those who still reject me, literally, “the wicked.”

^{^[1]} Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible, Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.

^a 56:9 devour my people, implied.

^{^[2]} Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible, Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.

¹ H.C. Leupold. Exposition of Isaiah, Vol.2, p. 272.

^{^[3]} Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah: Chapters 36–66. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.

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Monday, August 22, 2022

Are You a Watchman? As Watchmen, Are You Guarding God's People by Warning Them to Obey the Lord, Keep His Commandments, and Live Righteous Lives?

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