ISAIAH 22:1-142008 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Isaiah 22:1-14

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2008. We're starting out in Isaiah chapter 22 though, and so if you'll read along with me, let's look at verses 1 through 14 together. Isaiah chapter 22, starting in verse 1, it says this, "...the burden against the valley of vision."

Verse 2.

Verse 5. Verse 6.

Verse 8. Verse 8.

Verse 12.

And in that day, the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and for mourning, for baldness and for girding with sackcloth, but instead joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating meat and drinking wine. Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Verse 14. Then it was revealed in my hearing by the Lord of hosts,

Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, even to your death, says the Lord God of hosts. Here as we are looking at Isaiah chapter 22 and just the first half of the chapter this evening,

We find the continuation of what God has been saying. Chapters 13 or 12 through 23 of the book of Isaiah are really dealing with the judgment of the nations. God has been pronouncing judgment upon Israel, which was the northern kingdom of the nation of Israel. He's been pronouncing judgment upon the surrounding nations as well, like Moab and Egypt and

He's been promising that the nation of Assyria would be his instrument of judgment. That Assyria was going to come down and conquer the nation of Syria, the nation of Israel, the northern kingdom. Assyria was also going to conquer Moab and Edom and all of the surrounding nations.

Of course, God would later deal with Assyria as well, with the nation of Babylon, who would be used by God to give back to Assyria the judgment that's due to them. But God's been pronouncing judgment upon all of these nations because of their rebellion to him and their refusal to be obedient to what he has spoken and what he has said. As God is pronouncing all of these judgments,

Here in chapter 22, now he focuses his attention on the kingdom of Judah. Judah is the southern kingdom of the nation of Israel.

At one time, the nation was united under King Saul and David and Solomon. But after Solomon and his son, the kingdom was split in two. And so the northern part of the country was known as Israel. And the southern part of the country was known as Judah. This is where Jerusalem was, where the temple was.

And where many of the kings that you are familiar with, they reigned in the nation of Judah, such as Hezekiah, who we'll be referring to later on as well this evening. Here in Isaiah chapter 22, God is focused now on the southern kingdom of Judah and pronouncing judgment upon the nation of Judah for their rebellion against God.

Now this is one of those passages that I've really struggled with and I've had some time to struggle with it since I've been ill and I was actually preparing to teach this two weeks ago but the Lord changed plans at the last moment and so it's something I've been meditating on and I want to share that with you because well most commentators would share this portion of scripture a little bit differently than I will share it with you tonight.

Most commentators will look at this portion of scripture and share with you that it was the nation of Assyria that was coming against Judah, and that is what Isaiah is talking about here in Isaiah chapter 22. But as I study this portion, as I've been seeking the Lord on what he would have me to share this evening, I really believe that this is not the case. Although Assyria does come against Judah,

There's some key elements about that attack that really are not fulfilled in this portion of scripture. And rather, this is describing the attack by the Babylonian kingdom against the nation of Judah. And so I encourage you to be good Bereans, to study these things on your own. The attack of Assyria against the nation of Judah takes place, and you can read about it in 2 Kings 18.

As well as 2 Chronicles chapter 32, 2 Kings chapter 18, and 2 Chronicles chapter 32. And this takes place during the reign of Hezekiah. If you remember this story, the kingdom of Assyria comes against Judah, surrounds Jerusalem,

But God, through Isaiah, pronounces that they will not be successful, they will not be victorious, and that God will fight the battle for them. And in fact, what happens is, as they are seeking God, they're surrounded by the Assyrian army, and the angel of the Lord goes on.

to battle for them. In one night, the angel of the Lord goes through the Assyrian army and wipes out 185,000 of the Assyrian soldiers. And they are delivered. The Assyrian army goes back to its own land, beaten, whipped, with their tail between their legs because they have been completely slaughtered by the angel of the Lord. Assyria does not successfully conquer the nation of Judah or the city of Jerusalem.

But, Jerusalem is conquered, Judah is taken captive during the reign of Babylon. Now, we'll look at that more as we go, and I'll share those things of why I believe it's Babylon as we continue on in the coming verses. But first of all, here in verse 1, it says it's the burden against the valley of vision. The valley of vision, this is a reference to the nation of Judah, to the city of Jerusalem.

We can tell that very easily by looking at verse 8, where he says he removed the protection of Judah. Also, in verse 10, he says you numbered the houses of Jerusalem. And so this burden, this vision is specifically against the southern kingdom of Israel, the nation of Judah, and specifically, even more specifically, against the city of Jerusalem, which was the capital of the nation of Judah.

And as he's pointing at and focused on this group of people, the nation of Judah, he says, what ails you now that you have all gone up to the housetops? What troubles you that you've all gone up and you're all on your housetops? What's got you freaked out? What's got you troubled that you're up there looking for what is going to take place?

Now, what would happen in those days is their housetops, their rooftops would often be flat and many of their homes would be built against the wall of the city. If you remember like Rahab, when the spies went into Jericho and Rahab hid the spies and they were able to go out of her window and escape through the window because her house was on the wall of the city.

In the same way, when all of the walls of Jericho fell down, the portion where her house was remained standing. It was not knocked over by the Lord.

And so, much like that, here in Judah, there would be houses and homes all along the wall, and in order to see over the wall, what they would do is they'd climb up on top of their rooftops, and they'd be able to see over the wall and see what was coming out them from the surrounding area. If there was an army attacking them, or if there was something going on, they'd be able to see over the wall and see what was happening.

And this is the picture that we get. That Judah is there and they're freaked out. They're on top of the roofs looking over the wall at this army that is coming towards them. This attack that has been mounted against them. He says, what ails you now that you have all gone up to the housetops? He goes on in verse 2 to say, you are full of noise, a tumultuous city, a joyous city. He's asking the question now.

You're supposed to be a joyful city. You're supposed to be this great, but you're full of wailing. You're full of sorrow. You're full of, well, you're freaked out. What's going on? Why are you so troubled? He goes on to explain why they're so troubled. And why is that? He says, your slain men are not slain with the sword nor dead in battle. There's people dying, but it's not because of battle.

In other words, there's not a fight taking place. Well, what's happening then? Verse 3, he tells us, He's describing a scene where,

Where this army is coming against Judah. They're on their rooftops. They see it coming. They know it's happening. They're freaked out about it. They're not going out to meet this army with an attack. They haven't called to arms and are marching out to meet this oncoming army. But instead they're...

hold up in the city of Jerusalem. They're fortified in there, and they're not moving until they flee. All your rulers have fled, he says. Now, this again is one of the reasons why I believe that this is talking about the attack of Babylon upon the nation of Judah. Because that's exactly what happened.

You can check it out for yourself in Jeremiah chapter 39. In fact, let's turn there very quickly and you can keep your thumb here. We'll come right back. Jeremiah is the next book over. So just a few pages to the right and look at chapter 39 verses 4 and 5. Jeremiah chapter 39 verses 4 and 5.

Zedekiah is the king of Judah when Babylon is attacking. And it says in Jeremiah chapter 39 verse 4,

And he went out by way of the plain. Verse 5. But the Chaldean army, that's the Babylonian army, pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had captured him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him. See here in Jeremiah chapter 39, he tells us what was happening. Well, there's this battle that was taking place. Babylon was coming against Judah.

They knew they were lost, and so as soon as the wall was broken through, they took off. Zedekiah the king, all the rulers, they fled. They fled, and they tried to get away. So there wasn't a battle that took place. They didn't flee to fight the Babylonians, but they fled to get away from the Babylonians. The Babylonians caught up to them, put them to death for many of them, subjected them to bondage for some, and carried them off to Babylon.

And so we find exactly what Isaiah is prophesying here in Isaiah chapter 22 taking place. All your rulers have fled. Your dead men are not dead because they've gone out to fight the battle, but they've fled and they've been put to death as a result of their fleeing and not their fighting. And so Isaiah in response to this back in Isaiah chapter 22 in verse 4, he says,

Therefore I said, look away from me, I will weep bitterly. Do not labor to comfort me because of the plundering of the daughter of my people. Isaiah, as he sees this vision, as he sees what's taking place and the state of Judah at this time, he's filled with sorrow and he says, don't even bother trying to comfort me. This is a troubling vision. It's a difficult thing. Don't even bother trying to bring me peace.

Because of this vision that has come upon me, the plundering of the daughter of my people, and the extent of the damage that is going to take place when Babylon comes against the nation of Judah.

We find it fulfilled exactly like the prophet Isaiah said. You can read about it in Jeremiah. You can also read about it at the end of 2 Kings and at the end of 2 Chronicles. It details Zedekiah's life and the attack of Babylon and how these things were fulfilled exactly like God promised.

In verse 5, he goes on to say, Again, the breaking down the walls. It was not accomplished by the Assyrian army, but it was accomplished by the Babylonian army. And again, you can see that in Jeremiah chapter 52, verse 7. God is promising judgment upon the nation of Judah.

Looking at verse 8, he says he removed the protection of Judah. As Isaiah is troubled about this vision, God is experiencing the same heart. God is never excited about judgment. And as I often share, if we don't understand the judgment of God, we don't understand man's rebellion. God is not anxious to pour out his judgment upon the nation of Judah.

He's not excited about it. It's something he has been very patient with this nation, sending prophet after prophet after prophet after prophet, speaking to them and telling them, turn back, repent, don't go this way. There's trouble ahead because you're rebelling against God. But he comes to the point, really, the nation of Judah pushes God to the point that

Where verse 8 says he removed the protection of Judah. Where he could not hold back judgment any longer. But they had stored up wrath for themselves in such a way that it needed to take place. That it was the only way for God to break through and prove that he is the Lord. It says he removed the protection of Judah.

Again, this is not something that took place when Assyria attacked the nation of Jerusalem or the nation of Judah, the city of Jerusalem. God did protect them. In fact, he wiped out 185,000 of the army in one night. But they continued to rebel. And so when Babylon came, the protection had been removed. They were no longer under the covering of the Lord. And this is a great danger for people today.

That if you continue to rebel against God, if you continue to harden your heart to what He is saying to you, even though, like the nation of Judah, these were God's people. They had the temple there in the city of Jerusalem. They had everything for them. They had the Word of God. But they refused to heed. They refused to hear. And if you do that, if I do that, if we, although...

We can say that we're Christians. Although we can say, well, I went forward and said a prayer. Although we can say, well, I read my Bible. But if we refuse to be obedient to God, although there has been deliverance in the past, although there has been things that he has done for us, if we do not turn, if we do not continue our walk with God, we will come to a point where God will be forced to remove his protection and deal with us in judgment just like he did with the nation of Judah.

He removed his protection. And what did the nation of Judah do? He says in verse 8, you looked in that day to the armor of the house of the forest. God has removed his protection. There's this army coming against them. They're on their rooftops, wailing, freaked out, knowing that there's this battle that's going to take place. And what did they look to? Oh, they didn't look to God. It says they looked to the armor of the house of the forest.

The house of the forest, it was a place within the city of Jerusalem that was used to store all of their armor, their shields, and their armory was there. And so they looked, okay, what are we going to do? We have this problem. We have this issue. It's got us freaked out. Let's go into the armory. Let's go mount up. Let's look to our own resources to how we can protect ourselves.

Look at verse 9. Here's what they continued to do. You also saw the damage to the city of David, that it was great. And you gathered together the waters of the lower pool. So as they see this attack coming, they see this problem happening, they see it building, they're looking to their armory, and then they look around and they see, hey, the city's kind of broken down. There's some dangerous spots here. There's weak spots, and we need to get prepared for what is about to happen.

We're going to need water if they lay siege against us. And so they gathered together the waters of the lower pool. In verse 10, it says that they numbered the houses of Jerusalem and some of the houses they broke down in order to fortify the wall because the wall was weak in some areas. They had to break down their homes to try to strengthen the wall to protect themselves against the oncoming attack.

In verse 11, he says, you also made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. Again, preparing water for themselves, knowing that siege is imminent, that they're coming against them. But God's cry against the nation of Judah continues on at the end of verse 11 there. But you did not look to its maker, nor did you have respect for him who fashioned it long ago. Here's the problem God has with Judah. He's their God. They're his people.

And yet, as this attack is coming, they do not look to God. They look to their armory. They look and see, well, what can I do? We can strengthen this wall. We can fortify this. We can build this. Hey, if we have to tear down homes to do it, let's do it so that we can protect ourselves and keep ourselves safe. But they would not. They refused to look to the Lord of hosts. They didn't have respect for the one who fashioned the things of long ago.

The Maker, the Creator. They would not look to God. Now again, there's a difference here between when Assyria attacked and when Babylon attacked. We actually have a good example from Assyria's attack. Because Hezekiah is the king of Judah at the time. And as the kingdom of Assyria, the armies of Assyria are camped around Jerusalem.

Hezekiah does look to the Lord. Now he does many of the things listed in verses 8, 9, and 10. He fortifies the wall. He prepares the water. He does all of that. But then he gathers together the people of Israel. And you can read about this in 2 Chronicles 32. He gathers the people there together in the city of Jerusalem and says, Do not be afraid. Take courage. Why? With them is the arm of the flesh. But with us is the Lord God of hosts.

Hezekiah, when Assyria came and threatened Judah, Hezekiah turned to the Lord and turned the hearts of the people back to God. They did look to their maker. But several years later, when Babylon comes against the nation of Judah, King Zedekiah at that time and other kings before and after him, they refused to look to God. Even though Jeremiah is there ministering, even though the prophets are there

telling the kings to repent, to turn back, to look at God. Zedekiah at one point even calls to Jeremiah and says, okay, what does God want us to do? But then deliberately, he does specifically what God told him not to do. He didn't look to his maker. The people of Judah at that time were in such a place that even hearing the complete and clear word of God,

They openly rebelled, purposely rebelled against God. And so this is the state. It's a very sad state of the nation of Judah. And unfortunately, it's the state of many people today as well. So insistence on doing their own thing. There's problems, there's issues, there's troubles. They're looking to their own resources. That even to the point that when God's word is so clear before them, this is what you need to do. They will not look to their maker.

But instead, they look to their own resources. In verse 12, it goes on to say, And in that day the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and for mourning, for baldness and for girding with sackcloth. During this time, as God is sending these prophets, as the siege is coming into play, as Babylon is coming against Jerusalem, again, God is not anxious. He wasn't desirous to bring judgment upon them.

He was calling out, the Lord God called for weeping and for mourning, for the girding of sackcloth. He was calling for repentance, saying, guys, turn. Even to the last minute, really, he's saying, turn. There's still time. Repent. Look to me. Rely upon me. Walk with me. But instead, what he found was,

And verse 13 says, Joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating meat and drinking wine, saying, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Here's the general idea. Oh my goodness. This army is coming against us here on the rooftops. We can see them. There's nothing we can do. We've done our best to fortify the wall and broke down our houses. And it looks like we're going to die, so we might as well have one last good party. Let's eat and drink. Tomorrow we're going to die. It's hopeless.

There's nothing we can do. Instead of repenting, instead of mourning at the state of their hearts and where they were as a people, they decided, well, we'll live it up one last time. Verse 14, Then it was revealed in my hearing by the Lord of hosts. Here's what God says in response. Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, even to your death, says the Lord God of hosts. This was Judah's last chance. It was Judah's last opportunity.

to repent, to turn, and they refuse. And so God says, that's it. There'll be no more atonement for you. That was your last chance. To your death, you're going to experience the judgment of God. Again, it's not something God was excited about, desirous of, but it's something that was brought upon themselves because of their rebellion against God. I don't know what's been going on in your heart and in your life, but you know it's possible that this evening you're

God is speaking to you and saying, listen guys, this is your last chance. This is the last chance. This is the last opportunity. I've been trying to speak to you. You've been doing your own thing. You've been walking your own ways. You've been looking at your own resources. I've been sending the prophets, people to minister to you, pastors and messages and bringing things your way, but you continue to just look the other way and do your own thing. It's possible that there are those listening to this now

And it's your last chance. God says, this is it. It's the last time. May it not be so. That he finds in this last opportunity, in this last chance, as he's calling for repentance, that our hearts would say, hey, let's eat and drink for tomorrow we die. Satan can so easily deceive us. Our hearts can so easily condemn us and trick us, saying, hey, I've already blown it. I've already messed up. I've already gone this far. Might as well eat and drink.

I'm going to be judged anyways. My life's ruined anyways. I might as well continue in sin. I might as well keep on doing this. Here's the ironic thing about this prophecy against Judah. Nothing is without meaning and without purpose in the Word of God. And notice, looking back at verse 1, it starts out saying, "...the burden against the valley of vision." In this pronouncement of judgment upon the nation of Judah, the city of Jerusalem,

He refers to them by this title, the valley of vision. Here's really the irony of this prophecy, of this burden. God is pronouncing against the valley of vision, the place where he has decided, he has determined to pour out vision, to reveal himself.

to make way for people to have relationship with God, the place where God has set up all these things and decided, I will reveal myself through this place, through this people, here specifically within this nation. It is to those people and to that place that God is pouring out judgment.

To the place that He designated, He calls it the valley of vision. I want to give vision. I want to reveal Myself. I want to bring forth My Word. I want to pour forth of Myself that men might know Me, that they might walk with Me, that they might have their needs met, that I might fight for them, that they might receive all of the blessings that are listed there in My Word, in My Law, in Deuteronomy 28, 29, 30.

All the blessings that I have in store, I'm going to do it through this place, through the Valley of Vision. And yet it's that place that had such a hardness of heart, that was in such a state that God promised judgment will come. Because although you are the central place where I want to reveal myself, you refuse to listen to me. You refuse to be obedient to me. And I want to challenge you this evening. Because Jesus made some very important promises to us as believers.

And much like Judah, we have great advantages on our side. Jesus promised in John chapter 14, as well as John chapter 16, that if he would go away, he would send the Holy Spirit. That every believer in Jesus Christ would have the Holy Spirit indwelling within them.

And that having the Holy Spirit within them, in John chapter 14, verse 26, Jesus promised that He, the Holy Spirit, will teach you all things. The Holy Spirit will teach you all things, Jesus says. What is that limited to? Nothing. Everything that we need. Everything that God wants to speak to us and teach us will be taught through the Holy Spirit in our life.

In John chapter 16 verse 13, Jesus says of the Holy Spirit that he will guide you into all truth. Everything that's true. Everything that you need to know. The Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth. Jesus also promised that he would remind you of the things that Jesus taught. Remind you of the word of God. Much like the nation of Judah was labeled the valley of vision, you and I are the recipients of the Holy Spirit.

And just as God had chosen there in Jerusalem to reveal himself, to meet with man, to dwell with man, the Holy Spirit indwells you as a believer in Jesus Christ. And the Holy Spirit has been sent to teach you all things, to remind you of what Jesus taught, to guide you into all truth. And yet, how many times as believers in Jesus Christ, just like the nation of Judah, have

who's known as the valley of vision, yet they did not look to God and hear from God and walk in his ways. How many times do us as believers, we're on the rooftop, we're seeing what's coming, we're seeing what's, oh my goodness, there's this attack that's coming against us. There's this battle that's going to take place. There's this trouble that we're facing. And instead of tapping into, spending time with God,

allowing His Spirit to teach us all things and remind us of what He's taught us and guide us into all truth. Instead of looking to the Lord, we begin to fortify our walls and look at our credit cards and look to our bank accounts and look to our own resources and how we can accomplish things and how we can figure it out and how we can make it work and make sure that we're going to survive and we're going to be okay. Oftentimes, just like the nation of Judah, you and I as believers, we have everything we need

in a relationship with God. God's waiting there. He wants to speak to us. But instead, we're looking to our own resources. We're not walking in the Spirit. This evening, I want to encourage you and challenge you. Let's walk in the Spirit. We have every advantage. God desires to teach us all things. He desires to remind us of what He's spoken. He desires to lead us into all truth through His Holy Spirit. But we as Christians, we need to learn to walk in the Spirit.

that we might receive the benefit of the valley of vision, that we might learn to hear from God and be obedient to what He puts upon our hearts. We need to walk in the Spirit. And so the worship team is going to come up and we're going to end this evening with some different things. Spending time in worship and ministering to one another and allowing God's Spirit to work within us. And I want to challenge you as a believer in Jesus Christ that you have the Holy Spirit indwelling within you.

Listen to what God is speaking to you this evening. Learn to hear from Him that you might walk in the Spirit. If you're in a place right now where you've been living in sin, God is calling for mourning, for repentance. And you need to repent. You need to turn back. Don't continue on that way.

If you're in a place where there's something coming against you, there's a trial, there's a difficult situation you're facing, you have the valley of vision. You need to spend time with God and allow His Spirit. We need to be in tune with the Holy Spirit and learn to walk in the Spirit as believers in Jesus Christ.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.