In the middle of an address to Israel’s enemy, we read Isaiah wording a prayer for us (Isaiah 33:1-6).  It’s a prayer that Believers pray when they are in the middle of difficult circumstances.  Like many Psalms, Isaiah’s prayer is designed to teach us how to pray.  Following the grammatical and syntactical rules reveals that the largest section (vv. 3-6) explains a reason for praying and trusting God (“we wait for you” in v. 2).  One of my favorite phrases in all Scripture is found in v. 6, “and he will be the stability of your times.” If we believe who God is and what He has promised for us, then we will readily ask Him to “be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble.”

Isaiah 30:18-26 records an encouraging report about our Lord waiting to give us His best gifts.  It proved to be very applicable for a Christmas Day message.  The preaching portion included not only what God will do, but also how His people will respond.  It is this future look that contains information on how genuine Christians respond to God now.  In Isaiah, this type of response guarantees that God’s people will escape destruction and be completely delivered in the Day of the Lord.  Verses 20-21, for instance, describe a new capacity to see and hear.  Spirit-controlled Christians have this capacity now.  That leads to an inevitable change of lifestyle (v. 22) as genuine Christians do away with their idolatry.  Contrast this response of the godly with Revelation 9:20-21 where we read of those who “did not…give up worshiping…idols…”  The ethical sections of prophetic material instruct the Church by showing how genuine Believers live life now while they wait for their Lord’s return.

Isaiah 28 closes with a parable.  Like New Testament parables, one key to interpreting them is to note repetition (in this case the idea of being taught by God in vv. 26 and 29).  The successful farmers believe in God’s ways and farm their land accordingly, unlike God’s people.  Isaiah was addressing God’s people, many of whom, were not trusting and obeying God.  That’s the point of this section: God’s people are encouraged to believe and obey God’s word like the farmers in the parable do.  Verse 29’s description of our Lord is designed to drive us to depend on Him for guidance and direction through life.  Remember that Isaiah is continuing to urge God’s people to stop the trend of looking more and more like society and less and less like their Savior.  Meaning for parables are often disclosed through the law of end stress (what comes last is important).  This certainly is true in 28:29.  We shouldn’t forget at Christmas time that this description of God first occurred back in Isaiah 9:6 where it points to our Savior, the Son given to us.

Isaiah 28 is possibly the clearest presentation of God’s people being made up of two groups: counterfeit believers and true believers.  The intention of chapter 28 is to move true believers towards trusting God’s invitation to rest in Him.  Verses 12 states why Ephraim and its leadership were to be judged: “to whom [the Lord] said, ‘This is rest…’; yet they would not hear.”  In contrast to Ephraim, true believers do listen to God’s Word, they trust in God’s “precious cornerstone” (v. 16), and they experience the results: “Whoever believes will not be in haste.”  Chapter 28 forces us to look at all the stressors in life that cause us to worry and be anxious.  It forces us to look at the times when we’re tempted to believe that God cannot deliver us. It forces us to look at all those other sources of rest we might be tempted to trust.  The example of Ephraim and the leadership teaches us to “go and do otherwise.”  By exposing their unbelief, Isaiah urges true believers to believe in Christ and to live out that faith in the form of righteousness.

Isaiah 26:1-8 reads like a Psalm.  It also functions like a Psalm since it is designed to urge us to sing its words.  The fact that it begins, “In that day this song will be sung…”, means it functions like all biblical prophecy–it shows us a picture of the future to urge true Believers to sing it now.  So, because of our relationship to God through faith in Christ and the power of the Spirit, we can now sing about our existence in this strong city (v. 1), we can evaluate whether we are citizens who are allowed to enter God’s city of salvation (vv. 2, 4-6, 8), and also enjoy city life characterized by “perfect peace” and a “level” path (cf. vv. 3, 7).  Our Savior makes it all possible for us as He experienced on the Cross the humiliation expressed in vv. 5-6 for us.  The songs of Isaiah, like so many Psalms, are designed to be experienced by Believers.  We sing these words to the extent that we experience the status they describe.  Prophecy moves us to adopt this lifestyle of trust and obedience (cf. v. 8).

Isaiah 25 sounds like a Psalm of praise.  God’s people are exalting God because of all the “wonderful things” He has done for them.  After two expressions of intentions (“I will…I will…” in v. 1), a series of explanations (“For you have…”) make up the largest part of the praise-prophecy.  When you arrive at v. 6, the prophecy shifts to what the Lord will do.  Verses 6-8 present a quality of life that everyone wants to experience.  Isaiah is urging the Church to be sure they will be there in that day.  Verse 9 presents the condition: “…this is our God; we have waited for him…”  Isaiah intends for their future confession to be our confession now.

Isaiah 19:18-25 presents a bizarre look at “that day” when even some people from God’s notorious enemy nations will be saved.  Israel’s problem in Isaiah has been the tendency to trust the nation, Assyria, for help (cf. also 2 Kings 16:7).  In vv. 18-22 Isaiah shows us what will happen to some individuals because of God’s activity.  Verse 21 shows what they will do and their actions become an example for every Believer to follow.  Also important for the Church is to be sure that we will be in this trio of blessed people: Egypt, Assyria, and Israel.  Of course, that requires that we are working now with God in making Himself known to the nations.  It’s His mission; it’s our mission.  Remember that prophetic Texts are designed to drive us toward more holiness and faithfulness.  This picture of God’s future day is a day we participate in partially now because of Christ’s accomplishments.  It’s not just will Christians be in on that day, but how are we participating in part of that day now through faith in Christ.  This angle fits many Old and New Testament prophetic and visionary Texts.

Isaiah includes a huge section on the judgment of the nations (chapters 13-27) that is difficult to preach.  Look for reasons why judgment falls on them.  Isaiah is urging God’s people to not act like the nations so they will escape judgment.  In Isaiah 13:6-11 and 14:12-17 we encounter a description of the day of the Lord that’s coming, “cruel, with wrath and fierce anger…to destroy its sinners…” (13:9).  Then 14:12-17 contain the well-known claims of an egotistical king (“I will make myself like the Most High” v. 14).  As 2 Peter 3:1-13 states, all this talk about coming judgment is designed to urge God’s people to holiness.  All the pride of the king in 14:12-17 is contrasted by our Savior who “…humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death…” (cf. Phil. 2:5-8).  Believers respond to the prediction of future judgment by trusting and obeying their Savior.  Allow judgment Texts to spur us on to holiness.

Verse 1 begins, “You will say in that day…”  So the preaching portion describes a predicted confession on the part of God’s people.  Much like the Psalms, this chapter in Isaiah is designed to be recreated in the experience of God’s people.  The content of what we say helps us understand how our salvation operates on a daily level.  The reasons why we say these things to God and about God remind us of all God has done for us in Christ.  It is fitting for redeemed people to sing praises for their redemption (cf. Exodus 15 and the song of Moses and Miriam).  The Gospel appears in this song as we explain how God turned away from His anger towards us so He could comfort us (cf. Isaiah 12:1).

One of the challenges of preaching through lengthy prophetic sections in Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Ezekiel, is deciding how to handle the restatement of themes.  Isaiah 9:8–10:34 continue to bounce back and forth between destruction and deliverance.  The judgment is aimed at His own people who do not form the redeemed remnant, but also against the nations that oppress His people.  Deliverance is being offered to “the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob” (cf. vv. 10:20-21).  Isaiah continues to challenge church attendees to be sure they are in that remnant.  The way that happens in Isaiah 11:1-9 is through providing a glimpse of the object of our faith and the kind of new world God is creating (sort of like the current TV series, Terra Nova).  This Text is designed to urge God’s people to be sure they are trusting in this Spirit-empowered Deliverer so that His attribute become ours.  No other god has this ability.  Also, when we read the peace-filled life portrayed in vv. 6-9, it should make us all want to be there, to be able to get there (in part now, but fully one day).  Of course, on the cross, Jesus was the one struck and killed by God for our sins so we could enjoy His righteous rule now and forever.