All right, if you would please open to Isaiah chapter 29. Take up the next section. Remember we took up the second unit in this larger section, and we're about to take up the third. And it's really two groups of three, so this will be the last of the units that focus on these primary principles, if you will. That is, that God is sovereign over history, and that His people should trust Him, but they don't, and then we're gonna see the application of that principle of God's sovereignty over history, his faithfulness to his people, that they should trust him, but they don't, applied in the next three units. Isaiah chapter 29, verse, I'm actually just gonna read the first two verses and we'll jump in. Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, who sees us? Who knows us? You turn things upside down. Shall the potter be regarded as the clay that the thing made should say to its maker, he did not make me? Or the thing formed say of him who formed it, he has no understanding? Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest? That should be a question mark. This is a reading of God's holy inspired word. You may be seated. Let's pray. O gracious Father, Lord, we come into your presence this evening as your children, received as such because of the precious blood of your Son, Jesus Christ. And we thank you, Father, that you have given us eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts that believe your Son, Jesus Christ. Father, would you help us to understand just how deceptive our hearts once were, and still are at times. And Father, help us to remember how great the salvation is that your Son has accomplished for us. Father, we ask this in Jesus' precious name, amen. All right, so again, last week we were in Isaiah chapter 29, verses 1 through 14, where we saw that the Lord was announcing His judgment upon Jerusalem and Judah, that He would besiege Jerusalem, that He would come against her, and that He would lay Jerusalem low. So there was going to be chastisement. We're going to call it chastisement precisely because then he turns and talks of Jerusalem's deliverance. So he would chastise Jerusalem, that is, lay his people low, but he was not going to destroy his people. Instead, he was going to deliver them. How would they respond? Well, the same way they always respond. they would continue to reject His sovereign reign. They would continue in their blindness. We saw that depicted in verses 9 and following. Astonish yourselves and be astonished. Blind yourselves and be blind. You are drunk, but not with wine. You stagger, but not with strong drink. For the Lord has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep and has closed your eyes, the prophets, and covered your heads, the seers. So chastisement and deliverance, that is, that physical chastisement and that physical deliverance from their enemies was not going to bring about the reconciliation with their God that they desperately need. Instead, the Lord would do wonderful things. with this people with wonder upon wonder and the wisdom of the wise men shall perish and the discernment of the discerning men shall be hidden. New section. But this is really just a continuation. It's an exposition in one sense of what has just been said. In fact, the discernment in verse 14 is going to be used of the Lord himself when he is accused of having no discernment or understanding. What is the problem? They hide deep. We see actually here The problem, if you will, the source of the disease, already mentioned before in verse 13, that is that their lips, with their lips they honor Him, but their hearts are far from Him. And we see the source of the disease, we also see the remedy of the disease. So, looking at verse 15 and 16, the source of the disease. First, notice the symptoms. Deeds and words that are symptomatic, if you will, of their disease. Their deeds, they hide in the dark. Their plans they hide in the dark, their deeds they do in the dark. Their plans they hide deep from the Lord, attempting to not allow him to see them. Not that they're actually doing deeds in some inner room or making their plans in some inner room or doing all their deeds at night, but instead this is a picture of their heart posture. treat the Lord as though he does not see, they act as though the Lord does not know. I mentioned last week, and I'll just reference it again quickly, that what is being alluded to here, though Isaiah is using ambiguous terms, is explained explicitly or in detail in chapter 30. Stubborn children declares the Lord to carry out a plan, but not mine. and who make an alliance, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin, who set out to go down to Egypt without asking for my direction, and take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh, and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt." That is the counsel that they have hid from the Lord, the deeds they are doing in darkness, but again, these ambiguous terms are used precisely because this is kind of just a remix of the same old song. Israel has consistently and constantly, and now Judah specifically, consistently and constantly put their hope someplace else. Right now it's Egypt, but before it was Assyria. Before that, somebody else. After this, Babylon. Israel and Judah have consistently and constantly placed or better misplaced their trusts. Why? Again, that's the symptom. What's the diagnosis? Verse 16, their heart is deceitful above all things. One might say delusional. You turn things upside down. Really, all we have here is a noun that's emphatic. Your perversity, the Lord says through Isaiah. You make things perverse. You turn them upside down. This is the great opposite. It's a reversal. What is the reversal? Well, shall the potter be regarded as the clay? This is the primary perversion, if you will. A denial of God's holiness. Isaiah focuses on the holiness of God, that is, that God is completely other. He alone is God. Think of Isaiah 45, you could turn there if you want, where we read over and over again, I am the Lord and there is no other. Repeatedly, verses five, 6, 18, 21, and 22. I am the Lord and there is no other. I am the Lord and there is no other. I am the Lord and there is no other. But this is exactly what Judah is denying. Shall the potter be regarded as the clay? Isn't God just like us? One of us? No, He's the Holy One of Israel. In fact, the Holy One of Israel, that expression is used, by the way, 25 times in Isaiah, only 7 in the rest of the Old Testament. This is a major theme. He is the Holy One of Israel. We should be picturing right now Isaiah chapter 6, where the holiness of God is made manifest, if you will, in a vision to Isaiah. Holy, holy, holy. And what is Isaiah's response? Woe is me. But the ones that are being addressed here are denying this central tenet, this fundamental truth. The Lord is God and there is no other. There is only one Potter. And by the way, every true religion, and there's only one, every true worldview, also only one, has this as a fundamental tenet. The ability, the worldview itself, the ability to make that most basic distinction between creator and created. You mess that up, and you get nothing else right. Nothing. Zero. This is fundamental. There is God, and then there is everything else. And the everything else is not God. The God whom we have to deal has revealed himself as the Holy One of Israel. The Lord, Yahweh, is his name. He is God, and there is no other. There's lots of pretenders, but there's only one. He is the one who revealed himself to Abraham, called Abraham out of the land of Ur, promised to make him a great nation and to give him a great name, make him a great name, to bless all the families of the earth through him. He is the God who... actually brought forth out of the barren womb of Sarah when Abram was past child-bearing-making age and her past child-bearing age. Yeah, he didn't bear. We don't need that lesson right now. But that's the God who brought Isaac forth. The God who chose Jacob while he was still in his mother's womb, though there were two sons, he chose the younger, and the older was to serve the younger. and the promise was passed on. He's the God who 400 some years before promised Abraham that his children would go down into exile, into Egypt, and that he would bring them out in the fullness of time. When the time was just right, when the sin and the iniquity of the peoples in that land was full, he would bring them out of Egypt and he'd bring them into the promised land. That is the Lord. He is God and there is no other. We could go on, but that is exactly what is being denied here when the potter is simply regarded as the clay. The thing made, saying to its maker, think about how delusional this is. He did not make me. This, by the way, is a denial, and the one leads to the other, right, inevitably, but is a denial of God's sovereignty. You did not make me leads to a denial of Yahweh's kingship. Isaiah 43, 15, I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. In fact, we could go back to Isaiah 45, where the Lord again, over and over again, says, I am the Lord, and there is no other. And that actually concludes, the end of that chapter concludes with this, for I am God, there is no other, verse 22. Verse 23, to me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear allegiance. I mean, it makes sense. If you're God, you get to be king. That's just, like, that math works out every single time. And we shouldn't miss, we can't afford to miss, that Judah is doubly wrong. God not only is her maker in the sense that he is the maker and creator of the heavens and the earth, but in that covenantal sense, he brought forth Israel. You go to Deuteronomy chapter 32 and read about how the Lord formed her, brought her forth, gave birth to her, in a sense. Their denial of his sovereignty goes hand in hand with their denial of his discernment or understanding. Or the thing forms say of him who formed it, he has no understanding. Remember, by the way, the very first unit in chapter 28 ended with, he is wonderful in counsel, he is excellent in wisdom. That's summarizing the agricultural analogy used there of farmers knowing exactly how to bring forth the crops that they're aiming to bring forth. They know how to do it because the Lord has instructed them. It's a movement from lesser to greater. All right, they're getting their instruction from the Lord. Surely the Lord, excellent in wisdom and wonderful in counsel, knows how to produce the crop that he's after as well. Indeed, he does. But his people are saying he has no understanding. This is a perverted heart, turning everything on its head. Pot claims to be wise and understanding, saying to the potter that he has no understanding. These aren't really three different denials, but one from three different perspectives, if you will. Simply denying that God is God. By the way, hopefully it goes without saying that we understand that we have all contracted this heart disease from our father Adam. This wasn't a problem just in Judah in the Middle East and ancient Near East. This is a human problem. And also, before we move on, the irony here is thick, by the way. Don't miss the fact that those who are saying that he doesn't see, or who sees us, that is a rhetorical question meaning no one sees us, who knows us, rhetorical question meaning no one knows us, is being said by the very people who have received a spirit of stupor, if you will, or deep sleep, and who have been made blind. The same ones who claim that God does not understand are the ones who, according to verses 11 and 12, have now no understanding. The irony is supposed to be thick. They think the wisdom and discernment of men, according to verse 14, are greater than the wisdom and counsel of God. And I would just remind us, so did we. Our foolish hearts were darkened, claiming to be wise. We became fools and exchanged the glory of God or the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. We all suppressed the truth at one time. The human heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. Who can understand it? I, the Lord, search the heart. and test the mind, to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds, we read in Jeremiah chapter 17. So what is the remedy to this condition, this deeply deceptive, delusional heart? Well, It's the true knowledge of God that comes through the great reversal. Verse 17 is not, is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest? It's a rhetorical question. It is just a very little while, right, from the Lord's perspective. There will be a great redemptive reversal. Lebanon, a place known for its cedars, it is a force also most likely at this point in redemptive history also occupied by Assyria, which might mean something, shall be turned into a fruitful field. All right, so this isn't a difficult analogy to understand or metaphor to understand. The forest is cultivated or uncultivated. Uncultivated. We planted fruit trees at the Ingram Hobby Farm. And we're hoping to harvest fruit sometime in the near future. Maybe even this year. Who knows? So it's clear around those trees. They need sunshine. We planted them in an open field so that they don't have to compete with other trees. But you know what would happen if we left for five years? Actually, just one year. Honeysuckle. It doesn't take long. But if we left for five years, you know what would happen if we came back? The fruit trees might still be there. I don't know. They probably wouldn't be nearly as productive. It would be woods. Actually, when we bought our property, the woods had encroached upon the former clearing. We had old pictures of the property in a pretty impressive way. Forests is what happens when man is not there to exercise dominion. Forest is what happens naturally. Forest is uncultivated land in comparison with that which is cultivated. That where dominion is being exercised and fruitful trees are bearing fruit. And so, all of this to say that there will be a great reversal. That which was formerly forest will become a fruitful field, an orchard, a garden land, and the garden land will become a forest. In that day. The deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. The great redemptive reversal, kind of explained in very broad, ambiguous terms, is now here explained in two specific terms. That is the first, spiritual reversal, and the second, a reversal of position or status. The spiritual reversal. The deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. Right? Don't miss it just to the right. If you move just to the right, you'll see that the condition of Israel, because of their hard-heartedness, the Lord gave them over to even greater hard-heartedness. How is that described? Well, and the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. Those words of the book that they could not read. Why? Well, because it was sealed and no one was going to bother to break the seal. And even if it was broken and opened and taken to someone who couldn't read, they couldn't read it. So either way, the words of the book were not understood. But there was a day. day promised. In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see." This is the great reversal of verses 9 through 12. It's also the great reversal already mentioned. By the way, this great reversal is all over in Isaiah. The judgment coming upon Judah is described in these terms, and they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and they will be thrust into thick darkness, but there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt, goes on, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness, on them has light shown. Those formerly in gloom and darkness, in a state of judgment, their position has been reversed. Their spiritual condition, better, has been reversed. Those who could not hear, those who could not see, now they hear. Now they see. Positional reversal in the next verse. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among mankind shall exalt in the Holy One of Israel. The meek and the poor, just think the lowest of the low, will obtain fresh joy, have this added joy. They will exalt or rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. Those who were formerly laid low are lifted up. Because, or but, the contrast here, whether it's the reason for this or not, the ruthless shall come to nothing, and the scoffers cease, and all who watch do evil shall be cut off. Who by a word make a man out to be an offender, and lay a snare for him who approves in the gate, and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right. So this spiritual reversal and positional reversal where those who were low, those who were oppressed, are freed and exalted. Those who were in the position of power are made to be nothing. They come to an end. Those who watch to do evil are cut off. Why? Because of their injustice. a man out to be an offender, they lay a snare, they lay in wait to reproof the innocent at the gate, and with emptiness they turn back the righteous. Therefore, thus says the Lord, by the way, In regards to this answer to the delusional heart, this disease, this diagnosis of the deception of the human heart, the answer is this great reversal that does come through the promised seed of David, the root of Jesse, the branch. Remember, we're reading Isaiah this way, from left to right. Okay? Well, if we were in our Hebrew Bible, we'd be reading it right to left, but that's neither here nor there. Ours are in English, and we're reading left to right. So we've already heard this language before. We're not starting over every time we come to a passage and wondering what Isaiah's talking about or what the Lord is communicating through Isaiah. He's already told us. There's darkness and gloom coming for those who refuse to stand firm and to trust the word that the Lord has spoken. What is that word? There is a promise of a future day in which a child will be born unto us. A child will be given, right? A son will be born unto us, a child will be given. We've already heard that promise. We know what that promise means. That promise means that there is a kingdom coming. That David's throne will be established and there will be a kingdom of righteousness established. Chapter 11, in fact, takes up these very verses that we've just heard in regards to the meek and the poor when we read, "...he shall not judge by what his eyes see or decide, disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth." So at this point in Isaiah, the Lord only has to tell us this, and we're taking up everything we've already heard, and we're remembering that, oh yeah! There's another king coming. There's another king coming who's going to establish a better kingdom. A kingdom without ends. By the time we're reading Isaiah, we already have 2 Samuel chapter 7. We already have Genesis. We're reading not just Isaiah left to right, but the whole stinking Bible. What's the remedy to the sick heart? What's the remedy to our delusion? The delusion that we still battle against. We are still tempted to regard the potter as though he is clay, like us. Do we not find incredibly creative ways to fashion him in our image? We do. Do we not find incredibly creative ways to deny the maker his right to make us as he chooses? To reign over us as he pleases for his good purposes? Do we not kick against the goads, folks? Maybe I'm the only one. Could be. Wouldn't be the first time. Do we not daily, maybe hourly, struggle with whether he knows what he's doing? Does he really have understanding? Is there really anyone behind the wheel? Because I'm ready to take over if he's not there. The Lord speaks, though, just as he spoke at the end of the last unit. Remember that verse 13, and the Lord said, because as people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people with wonder upon wonder. All right, now just shift over. This unit ends in a similar way. Therefore, thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham. It's fascinating, isn't it? When did the Lord redeem Abraham? He redeemed Israel out of Egypt. We read that. We never read that he redeemed Abraham, except here. He did redeem Abraham, did he not? Did He not deliver him from all sorts of trouble? Is He not the God who is constantly redeeming His people, each and every one? Is there anyone who is the people of the Lord, if you will, who has not been redeemed? No. who redeemed Abraham concerning the house of Jacob. By the way, the main function of that, and there is emphasis put on it in the Hebrew, the main function of that is not necessarily the redemption piece, it's pointing the people back to Abraham, the receiver of the promise, if you will, and reminding them that the Lord has always been faithful to his word. Always he has never failed at the Old Testament from Genesis to Isaiah Because that's where we're at you could conclude the rest of it though. It would be true, too But from Genesis to Isaiah is is an account of the God who is faithful to his word always in everywhere always in everywhere never once did it fail never in fact that faithful God, faithful to His Word, has been faithful throughout to a faithless people. It's kind of the point of the whole Bible. So the question then is, if the Lord has just promised a great reversal, is He going to keep His Word or not? Or let me ask it this way. Is this the point at which the Holy One of Israel is going to abandon His plan? That it started with the call of Abraham? I know it started before the foundation of the world, but just, you know, we're just working with what we got here, okay? Did something go wrong? Is something outside of His control? Did he not see something coming? Or maybe their sin just got too great. And what? Same God. Same God who called Abraham out of Ur. Same God who put Abraham into a deep sleep and made a promise. What do you do 400 years later? He walked between the cut animals and the blood all by himself. The same God. It's the same God. Same God who promised Isaac and then brought him forth. Same God who promised to make Esau greater than his brother before he was ever born. Same God. It's the same God. Same God who told Joseph that the sun and moon and stars would bow down to him long before he was ever sent into Egypt into exile and raised up to the right hand of Pharaoh to save many. Same God, same God. Do you understand? God is faithful even to the faithless. Us. Right. This is what he says, Jacob should no more be ashamed, no more shall his face grow pale for when he sees his children, the work of my hands in his midst. Oh, man. This is good stuff. First, Jacob here, ashamed of what? his children, which is just, that's saying something in and of itself. The guy was a scoundrel. But that scoundrel is ashamed of his children. Like, I thought I was bad. Look at y'all, right? His face grows pale as he looks at them. For when he sees his children, the work of my hands in his midst, they will sanctify my name. Here's the promise. This is what God's going to do. Here are the wonderful things, the wonder upon wonder that he is going to work in the midst of the earth. A greater redemption. A greater salvation. Here's the deliverance they need. Not a deliverance from Assyria that's besieging the city, but a deliverance from their own delusional hearts. Oh, wouldn't that be marvelous? It's right here. They will sanctify my name. They will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob. They will stand in dread of the God of Israel. And those who go astray in spirit will know understanding. And those who murmur will accept instruction. By the way, this forms an inclusio with that first section by taking up the word see. In the hardness of their hearts, they ask, who sees us? Who knows us? The Lord responds in the end that Jacob will see his children, the work of my hands. By the way, work also there at the beginning. It was their works done in the dark. And it was the work of the worker, if you will, the thing made, that work, saying to its maker, the one who worked it, he did not work us, he did not make us. The work of my hands in his midst, they will sanctify my name. And those who go astray in spirit will know understanding. Who knows us? This is, again, just one more very clever way of depicting that great reversal. Those who go astray in spirit will know understanding. Those who murmur will accept instruction. So much more there. Who goes astray? Saints. Have any of you? Ever? Isaiah will say what? All we like sheep have gone astray. Right? Who's gone astray? Every single one of us. We'd be strained still if the Lord had not fulfilled his word. Do you realize that's the only reason you're sitting here this evening? Well, you might be sitting here because your parents made you. And if you are, remember that at any age, you can cry out to the Lord and be saved. Every single one of us strayed like sheep, happily going along our merry way, believing indeed if there is a potter, he was just like the clay. That we were not made by any maker. And that the potter, if there be any such thing, had no understanding. And what did the maker do? He became a pot. So that he could be crushed for our iniquity. He became like the pot in every way except for sin. And then he was broken so that we wouldn't be. Right? The Lord is faithful to the faithless. He has accomplished his word. He has accomplished his promise here in Isaiah. Indeed, we are the children of Jacob. As incredible as that thought is. We're going to encounter this, by the way, again and again. in Isaiah. We're going to get to a reference in the second part of Isaiah to remember Abraham, that he was one when he was called forward. And the reference to children is going to come up again and again. Think Isaiah chapter 44, right? Where the barren woman is told to break out in song because she has become the children of many. Paul refers to it in Galatians. It's a common theme. We have become the children of Jacob, those who sanctify the name of the Lord, who sanctify the Holy One of Israel, the One who is in our midst. We stand in dread of God. By the way, that sanctifying the Lord and the dread, that was exactly what the Lord commanded Isaiah and those who stood with him to do back in chapter 8. Same words. This is exactly what he told them to do. The Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear and let him be your dread. And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense. And indeed, the Lord has. He has become a sanctuary, He has become a stone of offense, and we have found our refuge in Him. We who went astray in spirit have come to no understanding, and we who once murmured, ooh, need to go to Deuteronomy 1, verse 27, and look at that, but I won't slow us down and take time to take us there now, but I do encourage you to do that. Those who murmur will accept instruction. What's a diagnosis? Deceptive hearts, delusional hearts even. What's the remedy? The remedy is the salvation of God provided through the Lord Jesus Christ. What is the result? The great reversal. We who were blind now see by eyes of faith. We who were deaf now hear the word of the Lord and believe. We who were meek and poor or humble, Think poor in spirit and humble, laid low to the dust, have been raised up and seated with Christ in heavenly places. Praise be to God. We have a true knowledge of God. I want to say one more thing even though I've went long tonight. I want to say this. It is really easy to miss that the knowledge we have comes through the Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot know the Father apart from Christ. The reason I want to say that is not because I don't think you know that, like up here, like you know that, yeah, I know I need to know Jesus in order to know the Father, to have a true knowledge of God. But I need you to understand that you need to know Jesus. Not like a head knowledge, like, okay, yeah, I got it, he was a Nazarene, his mom was Mary, he was Jewish, I'm pretty sure. And other neat facts about Jesus, even deep theological truths about Jesus. You need to know Jesus. Like, know him. in a personal relationship where you understand that He is the knowledge of God that you desire. To walk with Him, to listen to what He says, to bask in the glow of His glory, to cultivate a greater desire to see His beauty, to understand His majesty, to spend time with Him. Can you spend time with Jesus? I hope you're spending time with Jesus right now. Listen, to whatever extent the Word has been rightly preached tonight, your Savior is speaking. Hear Him, listen to Him, and know Him. I mean, know Him. I think we all get this, right? Caden, you know your wife, right? Yeah, I know mine. Not because I know her birthday or where she was born or her height or weight, which I would never share, baby. But because I know her, right? Please, saints, understand that your knowledge is a knowledge that is relational at its very core, or it is no knowledge at all. Know your Lord. Know Him. Learn of Him. And you will find that you love Him more and more. Let's pray. Oh, gracious Father. Lord, we confess corporately that We still sense that in our hearts we want to regard you as clay. Father, we confess it in our hearts. We want to believe that we are an unmade people that will not have to give an account to one who understands all things. Now, Father, forgive us this offense when you have Rent the heavens to make us your own and sent your son to be made like us in every way except for sin. The potter becoming the pot that he might be broken. Father, what incredible love this is you have demonstrated, made manifest for us. Father, give us a greater desire to know your son, to know him. Father, to pursue him as he pursues us. Father, would you stir up in us real affections for him, for his people, for you, for Holy Spirit. Father, we're asking for a work that we cannot do, but we trust that we are your workmanship and that you have created us for this purpose. Father, to know and love your son, and to know the love that you have for us in him. Father, would you help us towards a sin that you might be magnified and glorified in our midst even more, we ask in Jesus' holy name, amen.