Grace Fellowship 01/31/10 The Branch of the Lord Isaiah 4:2ff
CLICK HERE to listen to this sermon in MP3 audio.
We want to turn together once again to the book of Isaiah, and we’ll study today at chapter 4, but not yet. Last week, we were warned from Isaiah regarding the sin of pride, and the deception of focusing on ourselves rather than upon God. Judah had not simply become self-focused, but they had abandoned God in order to make their own gods. Some of their gods covered with gold and silver. Others were covered with skin and appeared in the mirror. When God’s people are self-indulgent, God is belittled and berated and minimized God. To exalt sinful man is to insult a holy God. He becomes secondary. Unnecessary.
The Scriptures tells us how we are exalted: in humility. When we humbly recognize who God is, when we admit who we are before God, when we acknowledge our guilt in breaking His law, and we plead for His mercy and forgiveness, THEN God lifts us up and exalts us. A person who exalts himself doesn’t need any help from God. But when we bow down before the King of Glory and cry out for Him to have mercy on such wretches as we truly are, then we are exalted by Him.
Here is an example of the kind of lowliness of heart and humility of mind God is looking for in us. This is an excerpt of a prayer of Ezra (Ezra 9:5-6).
5 And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment and my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God, 6 saying: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens.
Shame for sin is not characteristic of those who have excellent self-esteem, and as we’ve already discussed, such was the case with Judah. Their high view of themselves, their pride made them arrogant in their sin. Here is how God described Judah through the prophet Jeremiah:
Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown," says the Lord. (Jeremiah 6:15 & 8:12)
The inability to be ashamed of one’s sin (especially if one claims to belong to God) does not lead to further exaltation. Nor does it lead simply to humiliation. It leads to destruction. The lack of shame for sin is irrefutable proof that such a person does not know God at all.
Turn with me to Luke 18.
9 [Jesus] told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The humble understand their own sin. They understand their need for the mercy of God. The self-righteous and the self-sufficient do not. Here is Daniel’s take on it:
28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” 31 While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, 32 and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” 33 Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles' feathers, and his nails were like birds' claws.
34 At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever,
for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; 35 all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”
36 At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
This is what Isaiah is talking about. This kind of humbling is about to take place in Judah on a national scale. God can humble an individual, like King Nebuchadnezzar, or He can humble an entire kingdom. He resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. Judah and her inhabitants are proud in themselves. God is against them. He is going to bring them down from their lofty arrogance, and He is going to exalt Himself. Look at Isaiah 3. In verse 25, God says to Judah,
Your men shall fall by the sword and your mighty men in battle.
And I will make boys their princes, and infants shall rule over them. And the people will oppress one another, every one his fellow and every one his neighbor; the youth will be insolent to the elder, and the despised to the honorable. (3:4-5)
Only old men and youngsters will survive. There will be no marriageable men left in Jerusalem. God is going to humble Judah by means of their enemies and kill nearly all of their young men.
And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, "We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach." (4:1)
Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him. (3:10-11)
That is the situation in Judah. This is what the Lord is going to do. He is going to deal with His people according to their sinfulness. There will be no mercy. If His people will humble themselves, He is willing to forgive their sins and heal their land. But if they persist in this shameless, arrogant, haughty rebellion, He knows exactly how to humble the proud and the unrepentant. But once that purging work is done, notice what happens in Judah among God’s people:
4:2 - In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel.
The result of God’s purging and cleansing of Judah is beauty and glory, healing and prosperity. His people will know and Him and they will experience wonderful blessing from His hand.
I want you to pay attention to the phrase the Branch of the Lord. That phrase is used several times in the Old Testament to refer to the Messiah, but not always. In Isaiah 11:1 we read, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” There, the word “shoot” or “Branch” is obviously speaking of a person who will be a descendant of Jesse and David. Judah will be cut down like a tree, but a Shoot will sprout from the stump.
In Jeremiah 23, that prophet speaks of the same future person by referring to Him as a righteous Branch:
"Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” (Jeremiah 23:5).
Again, in Jeremiah 33 we read:
“In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” (Jeremiah 33:15).
Zechariah 3:8 - “Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch.”
Zechariah 6:12 - And say to him, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, "Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.
These are all clear references to Christ and His future coming to Israel. He is referred to as the Branch because it indicates new growth. The word literally means “shoot” as a shoot or a branch growing from the stump of a tree, or a green tender shoot that has been planted like a grape vine.
If you look at Isaiah 4, you see that Isaiah is speaking about a future nation of Judah, one that has gone through the destruction promised in chapters 1 through 3. After God has cut down Judah like the cutting of the trees of the forest, after He has finished purging and burning and cleansing her of sin and rebellion against Him, notice what God promises will come from the ashes:
2 In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. 3 And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, 4 when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. 5 Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy. 6 There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.
Then, immediately after these words, Isaiah describes the history of Israel and Judah by telling the story of how God created them like a farmer who plants a vineyard. All of this is in keeping with the idead of a branch or a shoot, things that are planted or that grow unexpectedly. Look at Isaiah 5:
1 Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
2 He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it;
and he looked for it to yield grapes, --- but it yielded wild grapes.
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.
4 What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it?
When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?
5 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured;
I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.
6 I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed,
and briers and thorns shall grow up;
I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting;
and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed;
for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!
The imagery used repeatedly by Isaiah is that of planting and uprooting, of shoots and branches and fruit. All of this, the people of Judah would have been very familiar with. It is a repeating theme throughout the Bible, and Jesus uses the same terminology in describing Himself as THE Vine and His disciples as His branches.
Here in Isaiah 5, the Lord says He chose a fertile hill, Mt. Zion, for His vineyard. He removed the rocks and cultivated the earth by removing the Jebusites, the pagans who lived there. Then He planted that hill with “choice vines”, the Jews, the people of His own choosing. God built a watchtower in it, which was the Temple. He put a wine vat in it, which was His altar where the blood of the covenant was shed regularly. Then, after everything was in place for His vineyard to begin producing a wonderful crop --- “it yielded wild grapes.” And God asks Judah, “Why? Why didn’t My vineyard produce for Me? What was needed that I did not do? In what way have I fallen short as the vinedresser? Tell Me.”
Since God planted it, and God cultivated it, and God built it and provided everything for it, but it STILL produced worthless grapes, then He will remove His vineyard, remove every provision, every protection, and allow it to be consumed because it is worthless. And He says that this vineyard He is speaking of is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting. They will be no more. Look at 5:8.
8 Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room,
and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land.
11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them!
18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes,
19 who say: “Let him be quick, let him speed his work that we may see it;
let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!”
20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!
22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink,
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right!
24c for they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Listen to the nature of the woe that is about to befall them, the description of Judah’s enemies:
26 He will raise a signal for nations afar off, and whistle for them from the ends of the earth;
and behold, quickly, speedily they come!
27 None is weary, none stumbles, none slumbers or sleeps, not a waistband is loose, not a sandal strap broken;
28 their arrows are sharp, all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs seem like flint, and their wheels like the whirlwind.
29 Their roaring is like a lion, like young lions they roar;
they growl and seize their prey; they carry it off, and none can rescue.
30 They will growl over it on that day, like the growling of the sea.
And if one looks to the land, behold, darkness and distress;
and the light is darkened by its clouds.
When we preach the good news of the Gospel, the good news is only as good as the bad news is bad. If there is no bad news, if there is nothing to fear, then any so-called good news is rather dull. God’s future blessing of Judah has to be considered in contrast with His cursing. Here in chapter 5 Isaiah pronounces six woes upon the people of Judah. He is not simply saying things will be bad. The Lord, through Isaiah is saying “Woe unto you! Woe upon you! Distress, affliction, pain, suffering upon you and all who are with you!“ What we have been seeing in Haiti - the destruction of their city, the deaths of thousands upon thousands, the helpless orphaned children, the increase of violence, the corpses in the streets, the devastation, the grief, the agony - THAT is the kind of woe Judah has to look forward to unless they repent. And we know from the historical record they did not.
But . . . even so, . . . the day is coming when there will be a branch that sprouts from the wreckage, a remnant that survives the destruction. This branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. There will be beauty from the ashes. Restoration from the destruction. Planting from the burning. Rebuilding from the cutting down. A day of unimaginable blessing because of the day of unstoppable judgment. This is the theme of the entire book of Isaiah. Very bad news, followed by very, very good news. While there will be immense suffering, there will be endless joy. The future branch that sprouts will be the people of God! Look with me at chapter 60.
Isaiah 60
1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.
3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 Lift up your eyes all around, and see; they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.
5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult,
because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
6 A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.
7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you; the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;
they shall come up with acceptance on my altar, and I will beautify my beautiful house.
8 Who are these that fly like a cloud, and like doves to their windows?
9 For the coastlands shall hope for me,
the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your children from afar,
their silver and gold with them, for the name of the Lord your God,
and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has made you beautiful.
10 Foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you;
for in my wrath I struck you, but in my favor I have had mercy on you.
11 Your gates shall be open continually; day and night they shall not be shut,
that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations, with their kings led in procession.
12 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish;
those nations shall be utterly laid waste.
13 The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress, the plane, and the pine,
to beautify the place of my sanctuary, and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
14 The sons of those who afflicted you shall come bending low to you,
and all who despised you shall bow down at your feet;
they shall call you the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
15 Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, with no one passing through,
I will make you majestic forever, a joy from age to age.
16 You shall suck the milk of nations; you shall nurse at the breast of kings;
and you shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
17 Instead of bronze I will bring gold, and instead of iron I will bring silver;
instead of wood, bronze, instead of stones, iron.
I will make your overseers peace and your taskmasters righteousness.
18 Violence shall no more be heard in your land,
devastation or destruction within your borders;
you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.
19 The sun shall be no more your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon give you light;
but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.
20 Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself;
for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.
21 Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever,
the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.
22 The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation;
I am the Lord; in its time I will hasten it.
This is a description of the future heavenly life that awaits the humble, the people the Lord will redeem for Himself. The Lord will replace the sun and He Himself will be the light of Israel. ALL the people of that future Israel shall be righteous! They will be the branch of God’s planting. He will glorify Himself by making Himself known to them as the Lord, your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
That does not only apply to the descendants of Abraham, the Jews. It applies to all who trust in the Messiah of God. That is our future possession as well.