Isaiah 9:8-10:4

This passage has a lot to say about the anger of God (9:12,17,21:10:4) and His fury (9:19,10:5). God who is the most loving person in the Bible is also the angriest. The bible tells us God is love, it never says God is anger.

Ch 1-5 the disaster that people are
Ch 6 Grace comes to Isaiah
Ch 7-9:7 Grace for Judah and now in 9:8 – 11:6 grace for Israel

First the wrath of God at sin, that can take us further into grace than we could go ourselves.
The wrath of God is his active, resolute opposition to evil, provoked byteh defiance of His creatures. God’s love can’t make peace with our evil, his wrath isn’t moody vindictiveness, it is the solemn determination that a doctor has cutting away a cancer that is killing a patient. But God is not detached and clinical. He hates sin, because he loves the sinners and he will rid the universe of sin’s afflictions.

In God’s loving anger and kindness he had destroyed the guilt of sinners at the cross, he will destroy all remaining sin in the hearts of those who take refuge in Jesus and he will destroy all injustice and suffering in this world when He recreates heaven and earth (Ortlund)

9:8-10: If God’s people choose evil, his wrath works with unrelenting force.
10:5-15 God rules over his unwitting agents

9:8-12 The northern Kingdom Israel (10 of the tribes) basic problem is pride v9-10. Israel has come under attack, but they are laughing it off and carrying on.
v11 Rezin = Assyrians raised up by God. The Lord opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4;6; 1 Peter 5:5) – Israel ignores that truth and so God is stretching out against them.

v13 They don’t enquire of God. When God disciplines the biggest mistake we can make is to turn away from him instead of turning to him.

v19-21 the wrath of God is in the damage that sin inflicts – like self seeking people devouring each other.
“If you bite and devour one another, watch out you are not consumed by one another” Gal 5:15

10:1-4 Injustice leads to helplessness – Isaiah can see prophetically prisoners of war and heaps of dead bodies – fulfilled when Assyria overan Israel in 722BC.

What can we learn and apply

• If you are not a Christian, God’s wrath applies to your sin – Romans 1 tells us that his wrath is shown by giving us over to what we desire. We get the consequences of our sin.
• Jesus died on the cross as a propitiation for our sin that’s a theological word for God’s anger is turned away. God will never have an angry thought over a believers sin. Isa 54:10 “The mountains and the hills will be removed, but my kindness shall never leave you, nor shall My covenant of peace with you ever be removed.” Moving mountains will require some effort! But God wants us to be sure of his kindness and peace!
• He will still discipline us to help us grow.
• Ask God about the stuff of life
• Use words to build up – If we bite and devour one another… That’s a challenge for my family at the moment!