No. 15. >> Not long ago in one of my Bible classes, a question arose regarding God's expectations of humankind. Actually the exact question was this: What does God most desire from his children? Answers among the group varied widely. One woman insisted the correct answer is faith. Another member of the class suggested love. And yet, another guessed worship or obedience. I think the best answer is trust. And so Chapter 12 holds special beauty for me. Would you mind commenting on Chapter 12? And perhaps you would be willing to say something about the value God places on a believer's trust in him. >>DR. R. REED LESSING: Let's understand Isaiah Chapter 12, again, in its context. Let's back up and make a few broader comments on this chapter. Remember, we said that Chapter 1 is an overview, 2:1 to 5 another overview. Then 2:6 through Chapter 12 are its own unit. We have another unit beginning at 13:1, if you may recall. That's the third and the last superscription we have in the book of Isaiah. So Chapter 12 is someone in a ***janis position. By that I mean it looks back to what has transpired from 2:6 through Chapter 11 as well as looking forward to the oracles against the nations in it Chapters 13 through 23. Having said that, we want to understand the biblical idea of trust within this Isaianic context. Our discussion in Chapter 7 indicated that in the Syro-Ephraimitic Crisis of 735 BC, the Judean king Ahaz did not trust God's sign of Emmanouel. But there's another king coming. A king who is righteous and just. A king who is Spirit empowered. That's the king we looked at in Chapter 11. So why is Chapter 12 so full of joy and thanks giving? Because as Ahaz fails, another king will come from the stump of Jesse. And this king will succeed because this king finally is the king who was enthroned in the middle of two malefactors on a hill called Galgatha. This king succeeds in bringing justice and righteousness and being obedient to the Father's will. This king is Jesus. So this is why Chapter 12 of Isaiah is this hymn of thanks giving. Because here is a king who will trust the Father on behalf of all humanity. Let's look, also, contextually at another major idea that we have in Chapter 12 of Isaiah. Look at it, if you will, Verse 2. It says: Behold, the God of my salvation. I trust and I am not afraid. And then the second part of Verse 2 in Isaiah Chapter 12: Because my strength and song is Yah, literally shortened word for Yahweh. My strength and song is Yah, Yahweh, and he has become my salvation. What's that all about? Isaiah is quoting almost directly word for word from Exodus Chapter 15 Verse 2. Why is that important? Because Exodus Chapter 15 is the great song of deliverance where Moses and Miriam and the children of Israel thank and praise the Lord because he provided a way for them on dry ground. And the sea came crashing in then on Pharaoh's chariots and horses. And they said at that point: The Lord is my strength and my song. He's become my salvation. Isaiah pictures then another exodus. A greater exodus whereby God will deliver his people from bondage and captivity. Not in Egypt. But this time within the era of the Old Testament. From the exile in Babylon. I want us to look at this slide that is before us now to understand this major Isaianic theme of the exodus as we go through Chapter 12 of Isaiah. On the right hand part of our slide, we can see the exodus event. Where God comes down. You see the chains there in the land of Goshen. He delivers them. He brings them to Mt. Sinai. They wander around for 40 years. And then he brings them into the Promised Land. On the left upper part of the slide is God's act of creation. So God creates the world. His chosen people are enslaved. And he redeems them. Now we go to the middle part of the slide that Isaiah Chapter 2 Verse 12 is speaking about. Isaiah is celebrating, you see, the future. And as we said already, that much of the believer's life is a celebration now for what God will do in the future. God will send this king of Chapter 11. And God will deliver his people from bondage in Babylon. So there we have in the middle part of the slide the chains indicating bondage. But this time you see the word Babylon. And the Babylonian ziggurat on our slide. God will deliver his people. He will bring them out. He will do that by means of his glory. We mentioned that very shortly and quickly in our discussion on Isaiah 6 Verse 3 where holy, holy, holy is General Yahweh. The whole earth is filled with his glory. Remember I said that glory is God's presence revealed? Well, the glory of God is in the Old Testament quite often the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud. That's why we have that symbol on our slide. Within several texts in the second part of Isaiah, God uses this idea of glory to indicate his leading Israel from Babylon to a new exodus. For example, in Chapter 40 Verse 5 Isaiah says: And all flesh will see the glory of the Lord. See, what is that glory? It's just not a quiver in your liver. It's not an ocean of emotion. It's a tangible incarnational presence of God. And God is going to do that, see. He's going to lead them back to Jerusalem. And there will be a new creation there. A new rebuilt city. All of this then typologically, as we have already learned, applies to our life in Christ. In the bottom part of the slide it shows us in captivity. Not in Egypt. Not in Babylon. But the theory of Satan and of death and that arrow going around bring us to the great Latin phrase ***incurvatis in se, curved in on self. That's our bondage. God uses water for the deliverance. The water of baptism. Just as he promises in Isaiah 43 Verses 16 and following that he'll make a way in the desert. And there will be rivers in the desert in this Babylonian exodus. So in our exodus there's water, baptismal water. Baptized into the life, death, resurrection of Jesus, we, too, you see, are a new creation. II Corinthians 5 Verse 17 says: If any person is in Christ, that person is a new creation. The old is gone. The new has come. And all this is from God. Verse 18. Who reconciled us to himself. Well, look at that slide again. And that gives you a fuller dimension of why Isaiah is so full of joy in Chapter 12. He's looking forward not only to the Davidic deliverer in Chapter 11. But also to the new exodus that we have so prominent in Chapter 12 Verse 2. The Lord is my strength and my song. He's become my salvation. Well, let's go on then with our discussion in Chapter 12. In Verse 3 it should not surprise us that he says: You will draw water, you see. Water when you're coming back from Babylon. Water to sustain you. Enjoy. From the springs of salvation. You will say, Verse 5, on that day: Give thanks to Yahweh. Call on his name. Make known among the nations his works. Remember that his name is exalted. So we've said that Chapter 12 is this ***janis like chapter in the book of Isaiah. It looks back on the lack of trust of Ahaz. The trust of the Davidic king in Chapter 11. It looks forward to the new exodus God will accomplish for the Babylonian exiles. But it also looks forward in a different way. It looks forward to making known his works among the nations. You see that in Chapter 12 Verse 4. The nations are an important part of the book of Isaiah. And the mission to the nations. This same idea continues in Verse 5. Make music to Yahweh. Because he has done great things. Make this known in all the earth. Isaiah Chapters 13 through 23 of the immediate fulfillment and contextual link with God's concern with all the earth, with all the nations. So Chapter 12 introduces us to the future in terms of the next part of the book of Isaiah. The chapter then ends with these words: Shout aloud. Cry out with joy, O inhabitant of Zion. For great is the holy one of Israel in your midst. It's a nice summary of Chapter 6, isn't it? That this God is holy. He's separate. He's apart. He's different. But he's in our midst. He's taken up residence in the Solomonic Temple. He will finally take up residence in a prophet from the Galilean small town called Nazareth. So there you have it in Chapter 12. A beautiful hymn of celebration for what God has done and what he will do because this God is faithful to every promise because, as we said, all of his promises are yes in Christ our Lord.