Read & Understand the Prophets pt.2 (Isaiah 5)

Speaker: 
Andrew Fountain
Date: 
Sun, 2022-05-22

Video cover images by George Bannister CC BY 2.0 and Jack CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

  • Learning a few basic ideas about how to read the Prophets can make a huge difference in how well we can understand and connect with the message.
  • Many people today think the Old Testament God is harsh and angry, but a correct reading of Isaiah 5 paints an entirely different picture.
  • If you have trouble viewing this video, you can try watching it directly on Vimeo
  • Play Audio

Sermon Slides - Read & Understand the Prophets pt.2 (Isaiah 5)

Video cover image by George Bannister CC BY 2.0

  • Part 1 was back on November 21 last year, when Anne & I did a tag-team preach
    • If you want to catch up with is, go to our website, nlife.ca, and click on this picture

last time

last time

Image source: link

Prophets pt 1

Prophets pt 1

Image source: link

  • Summary
    • archeological attestation
    • prophetic perspective

Goal

To help us get more out of reading the Prophetic books in the O.T.,
by understanding what they are about
and how they can speak to us.

  • I have three points today but it is not the same as normal when I go through them in order
  • I will tell you all three to start with, and we will keep weaving in and out of them as we go through the passage
  • For each of the three I have a picture, to help you visualize
  • Calling the Nation Back to the Covenant Agreement

Covenant

Covenant

Image source: “George Bannister” CC BY 2.0

  • The Shape of Ancient Literature

structure

structure

Image source: boomerkc

  • The Issue of Social Justice

Social Justice

Social Justice

Image source: Jack CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

  • My very good Friend

Peter J. Gentry How to Read and Understand the Biblical Prophets

1. The Three points

Calling the Nation Back to the Covenant Agreement

Covenant

An agreement between two parties making binding, official, and permanent a relationship of faithful, loyal love, obedience, and trust. Not a business contract or marketplace agreement. Gentry p.15

The Shape of Ancient Literature

Structure

…reading and studying the Bible may not be straightforward for readers with a modern and Western background in culture and language.

The biblical texts in origin are ancient and Eastern—they come from a different culture and a different time.

The normal pattern of Hebrew literature is to consider topics in a recursive manner, which means that a topic is progressively repeated. Such an approach seems monotonous to those who do not know and understand how these texts communicate. Gentry p.16

The Issue of Social Justice

2. A Careful Reading of Isaiah 5

Isaiah 5 – Structure

  1. Song of the Vineyard 1–7
    1. A Story of a Vineyard and Its Fruit 1–2
    2. The Listeners Asked for a Verdict 3–4
    3. The Decision of the Owner 5–6
    4. The Application to Judah 7
  2. Bad Grapes: Indictment of God’s People 8–24
    1. Round 1 8–17
      1. Woe: Land Grabbing 8–10
      2. Woe: Partying and Revelry 11–12
        1. Therefore 1 13
        2. Therefore 2 14–17
    2. Round 2 18–24
      1. Woe: Mocking Divine Justice 18–19
      2. Woe: Inverting God’s Standards 20
      3. Woe: Self-Approved Wisdom 21
      4. Woe: Partying and Inverting Social Justice 22–23
        1. Therefore 3 24
  3. The Vineyard Ravaged: Announcement of Punishment 25–30
    1. The Final Therefore 25

From Peter J, Gentry How to Read and Understand the Biblical Prophets p.20

Isaiah 5

Click here for Isaiah 5 animation

  • Key words are woe and therefore
    • 2 woes
    • 2 therefore’s
    • 4 woes
    • another therefore

3. How this relates to us

Relating to Us

  • The New Covenant is not the same as the Old
  • The law is written on our hearts and we have the Spirit of God within us in a new way
  • Yet terrible things can happen in the name of Christianity
  • This brings disrepute on the name of God

Be a light!

  1. Love: “I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” John 17:23
  2. Compassion: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” Mat 5:7
  3. Rest in the strength of Jesus: ” Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Mat 11:28
  • You can’t do this without Jesus
    • It is not that we are better than them, it is the law vs the life of the Spirit within us

Updated on 2022-05-24 by Andrew Fountain