Day 251: Isaiah 17–19; 2 Corinthians 10

0:00Now, right, welcome to today 251 of Journey Through Scripture. Today we're going to be in Isaiah, chapters 17 through 19, and 2 Corinthians, chapter 10. Okay, in Isaiah today we continue with some of these oracles against the nations that surround Judah, but I think it ends in a place that's very exciting, something that I find to be pretty exciting. So first off, we see an oracle concerning Damascus in chapter 17, and we know that in Isaiah's day Damascus, well, for a lot of Israel's history really, but perhaps his own day is no exception.

1:00That's how we should phrase it. Damascus is quite a threat to Israel, particularly when they're, I'm sorry, to Judah, particularly when they're teaming up with Israel. And so the oracle here behold Damascus will cease to be a city, it will become a heap of ruins, the cities of a rowar where our deserted, our rowar has, there's actually four our o'erres in the Old Testament. There's one in Moab, there's one in Gad, there's one in Judah, and there's one by Damascus, and this of course is the one by Damascus. They will be for flocks. We've seen several times some of these oracles, one, some imagery that is used, where you have animals now living in the cities, and the flocks there don't have to be afraid, right, they can just hang out, they can lie down, none will make them afraid. The fortress will disappear from Ephraim and the kingdom from Damascus. Here we do have a hint that this is during the time which they're in league together, right, because they're mentioned side by side here.

2:03But then interestingly, note the hope that this ends with, the remnant of Syria, the remnant of Iran, will be like the glory of the children of Israel. So not only is that just obviously hopeful, but also look how you have the word remnant used, and typically it is, this is something that is used for Israel, right, it's Israel or Judah, the remnant will return here, the remnant, the Sh-R of Iran will be like the glory of the children of Israel. So future hope, and this starts to trickle down more and more as we go through today's passage, future hope for these nations, not just judgment. The glory of Jacob will be below, so now here it kind of turns to Israel a little bit, the fat of his flesh will grow lean. It shall be as when the reapers gather standing grain and his arms harvest the ears as when one cleans the ears of grain in the valley of Refaim.

3:06So they think of the crops that you have growing in the field now they're laid bare because the reaper has come and gotten stuff. But here too it ends in a note of hope for the remnant. Gleenings will be left in it as when olive tree is olive tree is beaten two or three berries in the top of the highest bow four or five on the branches of a fruit tree. Remember the future community that will be blessed of the Lord after this time of judgment will be few but it will be there and it will grow to something glorious as the idea. But then it turns back to what appears to me to be a word of judgment. Which is a little strange because it's phrased in that day man will look to his maker his eyes will look to the holy one of Israel. Normally if you think of that it's like okay they're turning to the Lord but I think it's more of oh gosh what just happened and like God what is happening to us.

4:13Okay so in the punishment that is coming from the Lord they're not going to be looking to the alters the work of their hands for answers they're not going to look on what their own fingers have made they're not going to look at their asher in or their alters of incense and their cities their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights there will be desolation. Why because you have forgotten the God of your salvation the God who saves you right he's not just the God who's in charge and so he demands things of you but he's the God who's actually saved you. You've not remembered the rock of your refuge he's the God in under whose wings you find refuge it's not just God commanded you and you should do it and you're not doing it so you're getting punished but God has actually loved you and you've turned your back and forgotten him. And so though you plant pleasant plants and so the vine branch of a stranger though you make them grow on the day when you plant them and make them blossom in the morning that you so okay so you're super impressive at what you do okay though you're you you do a really good job at at the at the planting and the bringing forth of fruit.

5:27Obviously hyperbole here right they're blossoming in the same morning that their own even if even if you are have all your ducks in a row and are really good at what you do it will be a day of grief and incurable pain. Ah the thunder of many people they thunder like the thundering sea and here we see this invading army coming once again and notice how how well this gels with what we know about the invasion of Sennacherib in 701 BC they roar like mighty waters rate and but but when they come in right this this thundering army this army that just sounds like a torrent of a flood. He will rebuke them and they will flee far away chased like chaff on the mountains whirling dust before the storm at evening time behold terror right and this is when they were struck they were struck at night before morning they are no more this is the portion of those who loot us and the lot of those who plunder us so God is you know there's judgment there's hope God is defending his people all of those things.

6:43Alright chapter 18 then is turns its attention to Kush now Kush in the Bible I might remind you is the area south of Egypt so this would be what we today know as Ethiopia kind of the ends of the earth as far as the Israelites are concerned and it's called here a land of warring wings and it's some people think that this refers to insects I think it makes more sense speaking of ship. I notice it they send ambassadors by the sea vessels of papyrus on the waters so you know the I favor the other interpretation here where this is like lightweight ships on the waters go you swift messengers to a nation tall and smooth this is how they would have appeared you know the bronze skinned Ethiopians the dark skinned Ethiopians a people feared far and near a nation mighty and calm.

7:43So I'm not a conquering whose land the rivers divide Israel does not have a ton of interaction with Kush but the interaction it has had in particular we think we might think of during the reign of Assad early on in Judas history and second chronicles 14 nine through 15 we saw how Zerach the Ethiopian had come up with an army that is unbelievably large almost undoubtedly a hyper and the land right and the Lord did save them from them but that must have been just absolutely terrifying so all you inhabitants of the world you who dwell on the earth when a signal is raised on the mountains look there's that word again nace I think I pronounced it not the other day but the signal right like the flag the thing you can see from a distance it's raised on the mountains look a trumpet is blown here for thus Yahve said to me I will look quietly from my door when I'm dwelling like clear heat in sunshine like a cloud of dew and heat of harvest so God is just kind of chilling watching and and watching as before the harvest before the blossom before the flower becomes ripe the shoots are cut off with pruning hoops pruning hooks he is lopping and clearing off the branches and the it's they've been laid away so that once again

9:13the animals come the birds of prey and the beasts of the earth now kind of finish off what is left and the birds then summer on them and the beasts winter on them and so the idea of course again is before anything can really become of them right before the harvest comes before anything is gathered the Lord will cut them off but do you remember what we saw with Damascus right there was this this frightening oracle of judgment but that then language being used of them that we so far in Isaiah has been reserved for Israel so at that time tribute will be brought to Yahve of hosts from the the very people and look the descriptions exactly the same of them as it was in verse two a people tall and smooth the people feared near and far a nation mighty and conquering whose land the rivers divide so this this very people that was judged is going to be bringing tribute to Yahve of hosts and you're kind of like huh what is that all about well now watch what happens with Egypt

10:21okay so chapter nineteen the oracle against Egypt so Yahve begins with Yahve riding on a cloud and coming to Egypt so taking taking a trip a long distance trip and the idols of Egypt there right so here is the one true God and all the idols are in his presence now trembling and the people who worship them the Egyptians their hearts are melting within them and and notice here how God acts he this is this tells of God's sovereignty over the things right because it's not just like it's not just ambiguous imagery perhaps or some foreign invading army the kind of things that we've come to expect in Isaiah but here it's internal it's internal terminal turmoil so Egyptian will fight against Egyptian the each against each other against his neighbor city against city kingdom against kingdom the spirit of the Egyptians will be emptied out and I will confound their counsel so the look to the to inquire of their idols and their sorcerers mediums and necromancers and I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a hard master and a fierce king

11:41will rule over them so it's it's he's causing the country to fall apart from within here and I think it's noteworthy that the hard master that that adjective Kasha in Hebrew is the this is used twice in Exodus to describe the way in which they treated the Israelites Exodus one fourteen and six nine their treatment of them is hard or you might say harsh and this this will continue so skipping forward to verse 11 notice again the social collapse the the the government kind of doing it to itself a tearing itself apart from the inside so the princes of so on so on of course referring to the northeastern Nile Delta are foolish and their counselors give stupid counsel and like how can you say as a Pharaoh would say I am the son of the wise the son of ancient kings that's no longer going to be something a Pharaoh can utter where are your wise men let them tell you that they might know what yavé has purposed against Egypt and so again the princes of so on become fools the princes of Memphis deluded

13:04the those who are the cornerstones of her tribe so the most important people there the local leaders have made Egypt stagger yavé has mingled her with in her a spirit of confusion and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds as a drunken man staggers in his vomit right they will make it the foolish leadership will will tear it apart from the inside and there will be nothing left for Egypt that head or tail palm or branch palm branch or read may do so all these things that you know the palm branches and the reads specially the reads you know all the the resources that is that Egypt has are going to be sitting there and no one's going to be able to do anything with them just useless and then we back up a little bit very because we skipped forward to verse 11 and following verses five also talks about you know is Egypt's central source of security which of course is its water that this you know you look at you look at a map of Egypt it's just the the Nile right and and anywhere that the Nile in and dates has got this rich rich dark soil and then it comes up north into what's known as lower Egypt

14:20and it spreads out into the Nile Delta in these branches here we see all of these drying up the rivers parched the canals become foul the branches of the of Egypt's Nile diminishing dry up reads and rushes rhodaway and so and even you know the fishermen who who who fish there are mourning and a lempt and lamenting all who cast a whole bunch of all who cast a hook languishing who spread their nets on the water and the the workers in the things that grow because of this fruitful land the workers encombed flax and weavers of white cotton making nice textiles and clothes and things like that and blankets and tapestries there they will no longer be able to do any of that. Now I said that I say that I say it really ends up in an exciting place today and and I I love where chapter 19 ends so look at verse 18 in that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of canin okay and this is so Israel due to the obviously dwelling in a land that we could refer to as canin

15:44is has some kind of influence now right like that that now this Egypt is is torn down and they are and they're speaking the language that you would speak in the promised land and not only are they speaking the language but they're swearing allegiance to Yahweh of hosts and then the English standard version reads one of these will be called the city of destruction which of course it is if that is the correct reading then I think the meaning there is that like a city in which the the judgments the aforementioned judgments took place has really ravaged will is now going to be speaking the language of canin and swearing by Yahweh of hosts but another thing important inside about that phrase city of destruction is that there is abundant textual evidence that this actually should read city of the sun

16:44so it's a it's a it's a rarer Hebrew word for son the normal word being shemash here it's cheres but which is which is similar to Harris meaning destruction but Harris is indeed used to refer to the sun at least 12 to other times in the Hebrew Bible judges 14 18 and Job 97 and indeed the rarity of that expression to refer to the sun is probably probably accounts for the for the variant reading that we find in the later Hebrew maseritic tradition Harris which means destruction it's just like and one and one it's a difference of one letter and the letters look about as similar as letters can look but yeah so the the cheres son is attested in the Dead Sea Scrolls in one Q Isaiah a in 15 other Hebrew manuscripts in simichesses Greek translation of the Old Testament in the Targums in the Latin Volgate so it's likely should be one of these will be called the city of the sun

18:00which likely is referring to heliopolis a very important Egyptian city but that's not the super interesting part that I wanted to get to yet verse 19 in that day there will be an altar to Yahweh in the midst of the land of Egypt okay there's speaking the land of Canaan they're swearing allegiance to Yahweh of hosts there's an altar to him there there's a pillar to Yahweh at its border and you're looking around you're like well this is this is not the Egypt that I know it will be a sign and a witness to Yahweh of hosts in the land of Egypt when they cry to Yahweh because of oppressors he will send them a savior and defender and deliver them that sounds a lot like Israel right the striking and then the turning to the Lord and and the healing of them notice how he says it right that He will send them a savior and a defender Yahweh will make himself known to the Egyptians the Egyptians will know Yahweh in that day

19:08Will worship with sacrifice and offering they will make vows to Yahweh and perform them This is what Israel should be doing and Yahweh will strike Egypt and here again we have the striking and the healing and and Noteworthy is that striking here the verb that's used Nagoff in Hebrew is used of several of the plagues that Egypt had undergone so It's used of the plague of frogs in Exodus 727 It's used of the of the killing of the firstborn in Exodus 1223 and so In a way similar to that they will be struck But then they will be healed They will return to Yahweh and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them and now watch this in So let me ask you at this point in Israel's history when Isaiah is writing who were the two big baddies in Israel's history throughout all their years

20:09right it's Egypt and now it's a Syria you can't think of anyone worse than these guys and and and these are the ones from whom the two exoduses have taken place obviously the Exodus from Egypt and the future new Exodus that Isaiah speaks of but now look what happens to these two nations these two big bad guys There will be a highway from Egypt to a Syria now bust out your map. Where does that highway run right through Israel? And a Syria will come into Egypt and Egypt into a Syria so they're they're linked and they're coming through Israel to one another and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians in that day Israel will be the third with Egypt in Assyria so think of like a Venn diagram, right like a pie chart One third Egypt another third Assyria and another third

21:14Israel so they're these are incorporated into one as worshipers of Yavai a Blessing in the midst of the earth whom Yavai of hosts has blessed saying blessed be and Think about how offensive this must have been to the the first years who heard this Blessed be Egypt my people and Assyria the work of my hands. No where God's people where the work of his hands Blessed be Egypt my people and Assyria the work of my hands and Israel my inheritance so not to denigrate Israel but to lift these other nations up now I think what we see here is Is an important stream in biblical theology that takes us to what God eventually does in Christ right because a Syria was judged and they did fall they did fall right and even and and and they are they are Except for ancient history. They they are forgotten. They no longer have any influence or no longer a people

22:18That's not to say that there's not modern day Assyrians, but in terms of the Assyrian Empire Right just like the in terms of Faronic Egypt Egypt is still there, but it's what what this is saying is That those the nations that you can least imagine Loving the Lord and worshipping him along and being incorporated into the people of God one day Will be and so this becomes a like a type an image of what God will one day doing Christ and taking those The peoples who you would least think would be incorporated into the people of the God of Israel and make them his own and Having as much of a home with them as Israel has Okay, let's go to second Corinthians 10 So here Paul now is steering more directly into the critique of his ministry and he will remain here for a couple chapters And this this kind of is like the like the the final phase of this this letter to him

23:23So notice how personally he wants to talk Outos ego Paul loss I Paul myself Intreat you Intreat you what with a hammer with power with you know with Scolting and rebuke no by the meekness and gentleness of Christ and and I and I want to make clear that I'm doing that in this letter Because this is the one whom apparently some are accusing of being Humble when face to face but bold towards you when I am away. So here I am writing in my letter And you expect me to be bold and bossy and maybe Making use of my apostolic authority, but no I'm appealing to you now by the meekness of gentleness of Christ But notice how you also get the idea here you see you start to see what some of the criticism of him looks like right He's so on he's unimpressive when he actually comes here But when he's at a distance he's not afraid to bust out the big words, right?

24:28I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh So again Paul is coming there, right? And he's saying I want this to be a visit of peace I wanted to be a visit of meekness and gentleness and that I don't have to be bold and and and and throwing people out of the church if I have to Right? You know, I beg you that that might not have to happen and And if you want to know like why I am the way I am it's because I'm not walking according to the flesh I'm not trying to impress you. I'm not trying to To make you think that I'm awesome Or that I've got it all together or that Or any of the things that the eyes of this world people who judge according to the flesh would regard as as great

25:29I don't have greatness Okay, I don't walk according to the flesh and that's not the weapon of those are not the weapons of my warfare the weapons of our warfare Paul says are not of the flesh but rather have divine power To destroy strongholds so the same God that we see like thundering in Isaiah is the God who thunders through the gospel of God's mercy in Christ and and and through the knowledge of Jesus Christ we destroy arguments, okay? And every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, right? That's what we're where where that's what we Those are the terms of the battle that were that's the battle that we're fighting We take every thought captive to obey Christ a Murray Harris in his excellent second Corinthians commentary probably my favorite second Corinthians commentary says we carry off these

26:30Foreign thoughts into captivity in Christ the Greek is this big word I'm a low tizantist, right? We can't we carry these captives these thoughts captive To obey Jesus Christ being ready to punish Every disobedient so you get the idea here. Oh, some have suggested maybe even like a military court martial kind of imagery here Being ready to punish every disobedience and we've seen I think the punishment that he's talking about here is casting the wicked people out of the church and we've seen Been dealing with a lot of this at Corinth. He's dealing with those who judge him according to the flesh He's he's dealing with those who support false apostles He's he's dealing with the the sexually immoral idolaters among them and even those who deny the resurrection Okay, he doesn't want to have to do that, but he's ready to do it and he's armed with spiritual powers for spiritual warfare in order to do this

27:36And so he says look what is before your eyes look like You this letter's being read but but presumably in your congregation and in your gathered church, right? Look around If any one of you is confident that he is Christ let him remind himself That just as he is Christ So also are we right we belong to the same Lord that you do And you know what sometimes maybe I do boast a little bit too much of my apostolic authority I'm not trying to pull rank on you like think of first Corinthians how many challenging things he said in that right like like Maybe I do come across too strong sometimes I don't want to be frightening you with my letters um and and my critics, you know They're harping on this they say just just like you know I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold when I'm away now here It's like fleshed out in a quote his letters are way deans strong, but his bodily presence is weak and his speeches of no account

28:42Let's such a person such a person who says this Understand that what we say one led with by letter when absent, you know like your picturing You know how we often say like when you text you can't convey emotion Properly or you can't nuance or get inflection and so writing is often open to interpretation like you're picturing What the person's emotional attitude is towards you just through their words and that we can We can mistake that and so he's saying like the same The same thing that I do when I present when I'm present that's how I intend my letters like I'm not actually Any different But you the difference is is that you don't understand what authority in the kingdom of god looks like You think it's someone pulling rank you think that it's somebody being harsh you think it's someone yelling at you You think it's somebody you know threatening you and doing all kinds of uh or or or or using using the tools of worldly power

29:44No, it's not the things I write you as an as a humble apostle in Christ and you are misinterpreting it um I'm the same way when I'm present as I am when I write my letters um and I'm not I don't dare classify myself the classify or compare myself with some of those who are commending themselves like you know those Who think you should listen to them rather than listen to me like I'm not trying to compare myself with them Um that when when they make it all about comparison, you know Better than Paul where where we should listen to us instead of him. They're simply without understanding Um the things that I boast about and now here I've mentioned a couple times that Paul's theology of boasting is kind of interesting And here I think he flushes it out almost as well as he does anywhere else um When I do um Say things that can be interpreted as boasting okay or it can be it can be interpreted as pompous right like

30:47uh If I need to I will command you as your your apostle I'm not boasting beyond limits when I talk about the churches that that that I've planted when I've talked about being your father in Christ when I talk about You know you being immature and me being able to call you out on that and telling you you know Who to put out of the church think first Corinthians five. I'm not boasting beyond limits Right, I'm only boasting with regard to the area of influence god has assigned to me Or he's using the plural we so him and those who are with him unless of course this is like a editorial we or something like that But um I'm not I'm only boasting regarding to the Within the area of influence that god has given me these are things that are legitimate that god has given me right Um, uh, we're not I'm not over extending myself as though I didn't reach you like don't pretend as if I didn't spend a year and a half with you As the one who established you in Christ I we were the first to come to you

31:51Uh, all the way to you with the gospel of Christ um I'm not boasting beyond limit in the labors of others. It's not like someone else planted you and someone else established you right no Um, and in fact our hope is that as you grow in your faith as your faith increases um That my influence on you will will also increase because I'm doing all of this for your good I'm saying all this for your edification and so that Just like he says about his ambition in going to Rome So that we may preach of the gospel and lands beyond you right? I it's um, I pay a lot of attention to you But I've got a lot of other churches that and a lot of other ambitions to share the gospel And just like as it was with you, you know, I was the first to reach you with the gospel of Christ We me and my companions right we will be the first to reach them as well And one of the things that that means is that um is that I'm not boasting in someone else's work

32:53I'm boasting in what God has done Um, uh, let the one who boasts boasts in the Lord and this is uh, of course a quotation from Jeremiah 923 through 24 I quote a passage that he also shared with them in 1 Corinthians 131 So, you know, he's made you know clear that any boasting he has is boasting in the Lord And again, I think um as I noted in Romans 15 when we were there I think he says something very similar um to clarify You know what he boasts about and what he doesn't so he says I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished Through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience um So and and and he makes it therefore his ambition to preach the gospel where not where Christ has already been named Lest I build on someone else's foundation But rather as it is written those who have never been told of him will see and those who have never heard will understand So Paul is all about reaching the unreach and planting churches where churches do not exist

33:58And that is the area that he Can exercise his authority as an apostle and if you want to call that boasting go ahead But it's boasting about what the Lord has done through him Um, and he ends for it is not the one who commends himself who is approved Because there's plenty among you who are happy to commend themselves But the one whom the Lord commends And if you want evidence that the Lord has commended me look at yourselves and look at your faith And look at the fruit that the Lord has produced through what he used me to start among you All right, that's it for today as always thanks for joining me And I look forward to being with you tomorrow and until then keep reading scripture take care and bye-bye

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