THE FORSAKEN

Isa. 2:6-22, “Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.   Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots: 

Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:   And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.   Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.   The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.  For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up;

and he shall be brought low:  And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,  And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up,  And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.   And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. 

And the idols he shall utterly abolish And the idols he shall utterly abolish.   And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.   In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;   To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.  Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?”

I. WHY FORSAKEN?

1) Polluted by pagans “because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.” 

1 Sam. 6:2, “And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place.” By intermarrying with pagans, and practicing witchcraft, they slapped the face of God!

2) Greed “Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots.” They disobeyed God’s commands because of Greed. Deut. 17:16, “But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.”

3) Idolatry “Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:   And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not. ” 

Hos. 8:4, “They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.” Their stupidity is shown in worshiping idols made with their own hands!

Isa. 40:18-20, “To whom then will ye liken God Isa. 40:18-20, “To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?  The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.  He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.”

II. THE DAY OF RETRIBUTION

“Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.   The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.  For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon everyone that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low.”

In actuality, the Lord is saying there will be no where to hide when the invading armies come to capture the city and destroy the inhabitants of the land. The aim of this vengeance is upon those who are proud and arrogant.

“And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,  And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up,  And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.   And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.” The cedars and the oaks represent the kings and the nobles who depended on their gold and silver.

“And the idols he shall utterly abolish “And the idols he shall utterly abolish.   And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.   In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;   To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.”

What is important to note is that the statement, “for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty,” is stated twice. This places great emphasis upon this part of the message. Paul did this also in Gal. 1:8, 9, when he speaks about not preaching another gospel.

III. THE GREAT LESSON

“Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?”

1) Who do you trust? God asks the people to wise up and not trust in men. Why? Because his breath is in his nostrils. Man is frail, mortal, and vulnerable to disease, pestilence, and death. Why trust in the creature, when you should be trusting in the Creator.

2) Who is man accountable to? “for wherein is he to be accounted of?” Psa. 4:5, “Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.”

The Targum reads, “for he is alive today, and tomorrow he is not, and he is to be accounted as nothing.” What is the Targum? Paraphrase/explanation/interpretation of the Hebrew text of the Jewish Scriptures provided by the rabbis in the course of teaching. It was scribed during the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, by Ezra.

Neh. 8:8, “So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.”

Psa. 8:4, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him Psa. 8:4, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?”