College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Isaiah 33 - Introduction
EXAMINATION
Chapter S THIRTY-TWO AND THIRTY-THREE
DEFINITION
(Define the following words or phrases as they were discussed in the comments.)
1.
a man shall be as a hiding-place
2.
churl
3.
careless ones
4.
Spirit
5.
hail in the downfall of the forest
6.
be thou our arm
7.
as locusts leap
8.
Ye shall conceive chaff
9.
munitions of rocks
10.
a people of deep speech
11.
broad rivers and streams
12.
Thy tacklings are loosed
MEMORIZATION
Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and ye that are near, _____ my might. The _____ in Zion are afraid; trembling hath seized the _____ ones: Who among us can dwell with the devouring _______? who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walketh _____, and speaketh uprightly; he that _____ the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from taking a _____, that stoppeth his _____ from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from looking upon _____: he shall dwell on high; his place of defence shall be the _____ of rocks; his _____ shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. (Isaiah 33:13-16)
EXPLANATION
1.
Explain why the king reigning in righteousness is the Messiah (Isaiah 32:1-2).
2.
Explain how Judah's enemy broke its covenant? (Isaiah 33:7-8)
3.
Explain why the inhabitant of Jerusalem shall not say, I am sick. (Isaiah 33:24)
APPLICATION
(In its context every scripture has one meaningthe author's intended meaning. How may the following be applied in the believer's life?)
1.
How does the discussion of the fool no longer being called noble and the churl bountiful apply to the Messianic age? (Isaiah 32:1-8)
2.
How does the faith of the remnant in Jehovah's arm bring stability to the nation and how does that lesson apply today? (Isaiah 33:1-6)
3.
What three attitudes or areas of human relationship to God expressed in Isaiah 33:13-24 brings serenity? How does this still apply to the believer today?
SPECIAL STUDY
KINGSHIP OF GOD
by Paul T. Butler
INTRODUCTION
I.
SCRIPTURES
A.
O.T.
1.
The Lord is king for ever and ever, Psalms 10:16.
2.
He is the king of glory, Psalms 24:7-10.
3.
He is the king of all the earth, Psalms 47:7.
4.
The Holy One of Israel is our king, Psalms 89:18.
B.
N.T.
1.
The Magi came seeking the One born King of the Jews.
2.
Mary's son was to receive the throne of David and
reign forever.
3.
The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem brought forth the prophecy from Zech. Behold thy king cometh unto thee.
4.
The people shouted, Blessed be the king who comes in the name of the Lord.
5.
Pilate's first question to Jesus was: Are you the king of the Jews? Jesus-' answer: You have said so.
II.
AMERICANS CANNOT APPRECIATE KINGSHIP
A.
It means absolute rule.
1.
Simeon, holding the baby Jesus in his arms, said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart. Lord is a translation of despotes, from which we get the English word despot.
2.
It is allegiance to a MONARCH!
B.
The church is a kingdom, not a democracy.
1.
Its citizens have no authority in formulating its laws, covenants, means of administration.
2.
Its citizens can only decide whether they shall accept and respond to its rule or whether they will rebel and refuse to have its King rule over them.
III.
THREE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE KINGSHIP OF GOD
A.
Justice
B.
Beneficence
C.
Glory
DISCUSSION
I.
JUSTICE (The ONE thing man needs above everything else is a Divine Dispenser of Perfect Justice; man is a moral being and morality demands not only a knowledge of right and wrong but a Divine enforcement of right and wrong; this is the very essence of the power necessary to motivate man in all his moral potentialities such as love, holiness, etc.)
A.
The King's Actions in Justice are twofold.
1.
Punishing the Rebel
a.
Christianity is a moral religion; it is moral life itself. Whenever we talk about anything moral judgment necessarily enters into it.
b.
If there is any difference between right and wrong, God in His perfect Justice and Righteousness must be hostile to the wrong.
c.
Hebrews 1:9 says of Christ the King, But of the Son he says, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, the righteous scepter is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. GOD HATES REBELLION AND LAWLESSNESS AND WILL PUNISH IT!
d.
God is the Judge who in any transaction decides who is in the right and who is in the wrong.
It is God who allots to each man his reward.
God's judgment falls upon the arrogant, the insolent, and the oppressor.
e.
God's methods of punishment and judgment are many:
He has built some of his judgments into the natural laws of our physical existence. If we violate physical right, we will suffer the consequences.
He has built some of his judgments into the conscience of man. If we violate the mental and spiritual right, we will suffer guilt, spiritual disorientation and disintegration.
He has built some of his judgments into the social structures necessary for this existence. If we violate them we shall suffer chaos, anarchy, frustration.
f.
BUT HE HAS RESERVED HIS PERFECT WRATH FOR THE NEXT LIFE, THE FUTURE EXISTENCE.
2.
Protecting the Righteous
a.
A corollary of JUSTICE is that God the Judge-King protects the rights of the defenseless.
b.
He delivers the one who believes and trusts and obeys Him.
c.
God's justice will vindicate the righteous and obedient.
d.
God has punished all sin, potentially, in Jesus Christ's death on the cross. He has carried out His justice and has, by grace, offered to justify all guilty sinners who accept Christ's death in their place by faith and obedience (Romans 3:21-26).
B.
The Citizen's Reaction to the King's Justice
1.
Fear (Reverence and Awe); one of the three meanings of phobos is reverence and awe.
a.
This fear is the source of the chaste life, 1 Peter 3:2.
b.
This fear is the source of holiness, 2 Corinthians 7:1.
c.
This fear is connected with the godly sorrow that brings repentance, 2 Corinthians 7:11.
d.
This fear is the source of Christian effort. working out one's own salvation with fear and trembling.
e.
This fear is the basis of mutual respect and service which Christians are bound to render to each other, Ephesians 5:21.
f.
This fear can be the motive power of persuasion. Christianity always comes to men with a promise and an offer, but any promise can be disbelieved and any offer can be refused, and there is a necessary consequence of disbelief and refusal.
g.
Christian discipline is to be publicly exercised that others may see it and fear (1 Timothy 5:20). It is an interesting thought that Christian discipline is to be exercised not only for the sake of the man who has sinned, but also as a means of warning the man who has not sinned to abide in the right way,
In the N.T. phobos is one of the great words. There can be no religion at all without the awe of the creature in the presence of the Creator. The feeling of reverence, the awareness of God, is at once the prophylactic against sin, the dynamic of the Christian life, and the mainspring of the Christian effort.
2.
Faith (obedience, trust); reverence (phobos) must turn to faith and not fear in the lower, paralyzing sense.
a.
Faith in God's fairness
b.
Faith in God's mercy
c.
FAITH IN GOD'S HOLINESS. Those who rebel against God's Kingship are really those who disbelieve in God's righteous and holy wrath. THEIR FAITH IS FANCIFUL AND NOT BASED ON THE FEAR OF GOD!
II.
BENEFICENCE (It is evident from the failing attempts of human governments and other human institutions that man needs a benefactor, a Divine Supplier; man doesn-'t even know what he needs, let alone being incapable of supplying his needs.)
A.
The King's Actions
1.
Provider (physical necessities)
a.
He provides physical well-being; health, safety, a world full of challenge in which to work.
b.
He provides friends and loved-ones to help us.
c.
Seed-time and harvest are controlled by Him.
d.
It is all His domain; He is king of the earth, of the universe.
It is His by right of creation, but He sees fit to share it with us.
e.
He could take it all away with merely a word; He could banish us from its boundaries by merely wishing it to be so.
2.
Pilot (spiritual necessities)
a.
Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
b.
He supplies the water of life that quenches the eternal thirst of the soul which dries, withers and dies without it.
c.
He supplies the bread of life that fortifies, edifies and energizes the soulwhich starves, sickens and dies without it.
d.
He is chart and compass, He is the Way, the Truth and the Life giving direction to lifewhich is directionless, chaotic, stormy and lost without it.
e.
He supplies light to life, dispelling the darkness of ignorance, illuminating the ugliness of sin, beaming the brightness of holiness to man.
B.
The Citizen's Reaction
1.
Stewardship
a.
Jesus taught more on stewardship than any thing else!
b.
A steward is one who tends to another's property or affairs.
c.
A steward is one who works!
d.
The king has provided, but we are to work.
e.
We hear a great deal these days about helping the helpless, and I believe it to be the very nature of a Christian to do so, for after all God helps each of us in our helplessness. BUT IT IS JUST AS GOD-LIKE AND CHRIST-LIKE TO CONSIDER THE MATTER OF STEWARDSHIP, WORK, LABOR. GOD WORKED SIX DAYS. JESUS WORKED.
f.
The apostles taught that the Christian community was not to tolerate the shiftless, lazy, parasite who could work. The apostles practiced what they preachedthey worked.
g.
If such is the norm for the Christian, certainly we ought not to think we are doing the non-Christian a favor by condoning laziness.
h.
Stewardship implies wise judgment and forbids indiscriminate pampering or perpetuation of either social or spiritual laziness.
2. Discipleship
a.
Jesus, the King, has beneficently provided our spiritual life also.
b.
Here again, WE ARE TOLD TO WORK.
c.
Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life. John 6:27.
d.
This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. John 6:29.
e.
It is well for us to remember that all our spiritual life comes by grace, but that grace has to be SOUGHT AND BOUGHT WITH THE SACRIFICE OF SELF AND THE DISCIPLINE OF SERVICE!
f.
Jesus said the kingdom is like a man going on a long journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Mark 13:34
g.
The Pearl of Great Price, when found (note the man was searching to find it), demands a cost, a trade.
The Field with Buried Treasure, when discovered (God's beneficence is sometimes discovered and sometimes searched for), demands cost.
III.
GLORY (Man will glorify someone or something. Man, whether he admits it or not, inherently and inevitably worships some other than his own person. He has demonstrated time and again that he must glorify some other outside his own individuality, even if it is mankind in general he glorifies.)
A.
The King's Acting Glory
1.
His Greatness (His Creative Power)
a.
The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork, Psalms 19.
b.
Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle! Psalms 24:8.
c.
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory. Isaiah 6:3.
d.
... myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. Revelation 5:12.
e.
The word Glory literally means, to be heavy or laden with riches, power and position.
f.
NO HUMAN BEING WILL BE EXCUSED FOR FAILING TO SEE THE GLORY OF THE IMMORTAL GOD IN NATURE AND MAKING SOME RESPONSE.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men. For what can be known about God is plain to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. Romans 1:18 ff.
2.
His Goodness (His Moral Beauty)
a.
Perfect in Holiness; Perfect in Love; Perfect in Humility; Perfect in Wisdom; Perfect in Consistency (Unchangeablness) Perfect in Justice; Perfect in Power.
b.
It is the goodness of God that leads to repentance.
c.
Moses had a craving to come to grips with God as he was in himself. In reply, God emphasized his goodness. His moral beauty (Exodus 33:19).
d.
Oh, the ineffable worth of God's moral richness.
e.
We glorify the wisest of menthe powerfulest of menthe most charitable of menthe most consistent of menthe purest of menthe richest of menthe most just of men BUT GOD EXCEEDS THEM ALL AS A MILLION MT. EVERESTS EXCEED ONE GRAIN OF SAND!
f.
And all His glory was exhibited to men in a Man, Christ Jesus. We beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father. In him the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily.
g.
And look how Jesus exhibited the GLORY of God to men.. as a servant, as a redeemer, as a sinless, holy, powerful, compassionate, KING WHO CAME TO WOO AND WIN A THRONE IN MAN'S HEART!
B.
The Citizen's Reacting Glorification of the King
1.
Worshipping His Glory
a.
Praise, adoration, honor
b.
Preaching His ineffable characterOUR PREACHING IS TO GLORIFY GOD AND HIS SON CHRIST, AND HIS CHURCH.
We have no reason to praise men, except as their lives exemplify and glorify God.
c.
This can be done by writing books to glorify His name, by composing and singing music to His adoration, by giving of our means to honor His name throughout the world.
2.
Walking In His Glory
a.
He made us in His image and glory, BUT WE HAVE FALLEN SHORT!
b.
He wants us to be changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another.. THIS IS DONE BY BEHOLDING HIS GLORY.
c.
Beholding His glory means to imbibe of it. to wrap ourselves in it. to assimilate it into our nature.
d.
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature 2 Peter 1:3-4.
e.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
f.
Remember the definition of glory? To BE HEAVY.. GOD WANTS US TO WALK AROUND LADEN DOWN WITH HIS RICH CHARACTER OF MORAL PURITY AND GOODNESS.
Instead of Jesus people, we might call ourselves GOD HEAVIES!
CONCLUSION
PAROUSIA: THE ARRIVAL OF THE KING
In the papyri and in Hellenistic Greek, parousia is the technical word for the arrival of an emperor, a king, or a ruler, into a town or province.
For such a visit preparations had to be made. All things had to be readied. New coins were always struck to commemorate the visitation of a king. It was as if with the coming of the king a new set of values had emerged.
One of the commonest things is that provinces dated a new era from the parousia of the king. A new section of time emerged with the coming of the king.
WHEN OUR KING COMES HE BRINGS WITH HIM HIS JUSTICE, HIS BENEFICENCE, HIS GLORY.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18