Let us turn again to God's Word
and I want to turn to the last chapter in the prophecy of Isaiah
Isaiah chapter 66 and reading verse 19 and I will
set a sign among them and I will send those that escape of them
unto the nations to Tarshish and Lod that wrought a bow to
Tubal and Japhan to the isles of Haroth that have not heard
my fame neither have seen my glory and they shall declare
my glory among the Gentiles. And really it's the opening clause
that I want to concentrate on this evening.
The words and I will set a sign among them, a sign or an ensign,
and it is the ensign of the sovereign grace of God that is being spoken
of. We might call it the gospel banner. I will set a sign, an ensign,
among them. And as we look at this portion
of God's Word, I want to divide what I say into two basic parts. First of all, to say something
with regards to the historical fulfillment of what we have here.
It is a word of prophecy, a promise, a prediction of what God will
do. To consider then the historical fulfillment, and then in the
second place, to say something with regards to the spiritual
significance of these words of the text. First of all then,
looking at the historical fulfillment, we are of course here at the
end of the book of Isaiah, and you don't need me to remind you
that it's very much a gospel book. Some have referred to it
as the fifth gospel. the gospel very much in terms
of course of the Old Testament, but a prophecy that has a great
deal to say concerning the Lord Jesus Christ in his person and
in the work that he came to do. And as we come to the end we
see that this prophecy, the content of this gospel book, is not just
for the Jews but for the Gentiles also. And here, in the previous
verses, we see how God is very much threatening the unbelieving
Jews, how He rejects their formal religion. They had the ordinances of God,
they had the services of the tabernacle and the temple, they
had all the Levitical laws. But what was all that formality? God says in verse 3, "...he that
killeth an ox is as if he slew a man, he that sacrifices a lamb,
as if he cut off a dog's neck, he that offereth an oblation
as if he offered swine's blood, and he that burneth incense as
if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own
ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations." God is
rejecting them and their their worship because of the sinful
ways of the people. Their religion was not truly
a spiritual religion. All they had was that mere form
of godliness. And so, see how God threatens
them in that portion from verse 15, For by fire and by his sword
will the Lord plead with all flesh and the slain of the Lord
shall be many. God says how he knows their works
and their thoughts. Men might look on the outward
appearance but the Lord God of course is that one who looks
upon the hearts of men. And so God is threatening those
unbelieving Jews And yet, even then, there was a godly remnant
still in the midst of the nation. And we have those various promises
that God gives to believers in the former parts. Verse 5, for
example, Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his
word. Oh God, he's mindful of these
characters. Verse 2, To this man will I look,
he says, even him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and
trembleth at my words. And what gracious words they
are that God speaks to that godly remnant. He says in verse 10,
Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, be glad with her, all ye that love
her rejoice, for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her. O God will have His people, yes,
to rejoice in all His goodness and all His grace. Verse 12,
Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like
a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. Then shall she suck, ye shall
be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees. as one whom his mother comforted,
so will I comfort you and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem."
So whilst there is that judgment that is spoken against the unbelieving
Jews, yet there is that remnant that God will ever preserve and
in due time He will even come and He will gather sinners out
of the Gentiles, the glory of the Gentiles coming like a flowing
stream as we read there in verse 12. But what a judgment it is
that is spoken of by the prophet here in verse 16. By fire and by his sword will
the Lord plead with all flesh, and the slain of the Lord shall
be many. And these threatenings did come
to pass, Here is the prophet. It's reckoned that he was prophesying,
exercising his ministry at the end of the 8th century before
Christ. His dates are said to be 740
to 680 before Christ. And then the the captivity comes about a hundred
years after he has exercised that ministry. He speaks much,
of course, about how they're going to be taken into captivity,
they're going to go into Babylon, and that Babylonian exile commenced
around about 605. But his prophecy isn't only to
do with what would come to pass a hundred years after he had
exercised his ministry. but also that that would be fulfilled
about 800 years after he had exercised his ministry. He doesn't
just speak about the Babylonians, he speaks in some measure also
about the Romans and what the Romans would do when in 70 AD,
70 in the year of our Lord, the Roman legions came under the generalship
of Titus and laid siege to Jerusalem and destroyed it. And it's that
awful visitation that is being spoken of really here in this
last chapter of the prophecy. Verse 15, Behold, the Lord will
come with fire and with his chariots like a whirlwind to render his
anger with fury and his rebuke with flames of fire. Oh, it's
God's visitation that he will bring upon those Jews, those unbelieving
Jews, those whose religion was nothing more than an outward
form. And the Lord Jesus clearly is
mindful of these things himself as he comes to the end of his
own ministry. The language that we find there
in Matthew chapter 24 Remember the opening words, here is Christ
at Jerusalem, and we're told there in the opening words of
that chapter, Matthew 24, Jesus went out and departed from the
temple, and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings
of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See
ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, there
shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be
thrown down. And then Elder Lord goes on and
he speaks really of what will come to pass about 40 years after
his own death. He says at verse 21, There shall
be great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of
the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And then again
at verse 28, Wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles
be gathered together. He is speaking of the Roman armies
under their banners, their eagles, gathering together surrounding
Jerusalem, and then the destruction that would come on the city of
God, as it was called. It would be a dreadful judgment
from the Lord, had not The Jews at the crucifixion of Christ
uttered those faithful words, His blood be on us and on our
children. And so it came to pass, it was
the fulfillment of words that we find here at the end of this
prophecy of Isaiah. And the words that I read for
our text, God says, and I will set a sign among them. and I will send those that escape
of them unto the nations to Tarshish pool and blood that draw a bow
to Tubal and Japhin to the isles afar off that have not heard
my fame neither have seen my glory and they shall declare
my glory among the Gentiles. A sign then is given here, a
sign from God himself and what it is a sign of? Well two things
It marks really the end of this Old Testament dispensation. This word sign, interestingly,
it's the same word that's used back in the book of Exodus, there
in the 10th chapter, of Exodus. And remember the significance
of what's happening as God delivers the children of Israel out of
the bondage, the servitude, that iron furnace that they found
themselves in there in Egypt. He brings them out. He's going
to establish them as a nation. He's going to take them into
the Promised Land. that land that he had promised
to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. And here is Moses, of course,
and he is the one who's going to be their deliverer. He's going
to bring them certainly to the borders of that land. And in
chapter 10 of Exodus, the Lord says unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh,
for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants,
that I might show these my signs before him. and that thou mayest
tell in the ears of thy son and of thy sons some what things
I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among
them, that ye may know that I am the Lord." It's the same word
sign there as we have here in this text, I will set a sign
among them. It's the end really of that Old
Testament dispensation what had been started
really in Egypt with their deliverance is going to be brought to an
end now and the gospel is going to go out to sinners of the Gentiles
they shall declare my glory it says at the end of the verse
among the Gentiles And so it was. Remember, we see
it in the Acts, there in the 13th chapter, we read of Paul
and Barnabas preaching and preaching at Antioch in Pisidia, and they
reject the Gospel. What does Paul say there? In
Acts 13, 46, the Gospel must first be spoken to you,
but seeing that she put it from you, lo, we turn to the Gentiles."
So they turn from the Jews, they turn now to the Gentiles. These are those who are escaped. This is that little remnant that
has escaped out of Israel, as it were, out of Judah. As we read here in this 19th
verse. those that have escaped of them. I will set a sign among
them and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations."
It's marking a significant event in God's dealings with the nations. These who have escaped are like
brands that have been plucked out of the burning and how they
address their fellow Jews. We think of the preaching of
Peter, for example, on the day of Pentecost. Save yourselves,
he says, from this untoward generation. All the gospel has come now.
It's marking then the end of the Old Testament dispensation. But it also marks the wondrous
works that God is going to do in this New Day, in the Day of
Grace. It's not just a sign of the destruction
of Jerusalem, but it's also that positive display of the power
of God in the souls of sinners under the Gospel. I will set
a sign among them. Literally, I will set a sign
in them. The sign is to be accomplished
in them. The Kingdom of God is within
you, says the Lord Jesus Christ, in the course of His ministry.
It's there in the hearts of men that God will do His great works
of grace and salvation. And though There's also that
sense, of course, in which God marks the ministry of Christ
and the ministry of his apostles by miracles. The Lord's own ministry,
of course, is authenticated by the great works that he performs. Even Nicodemus acknowledges,
thou art a teacher come from God, no man can do these works
that thou doest except God be with him. And when we see the
Lord performing miracles, this beginning of miracles, or signs
as it is in John's Gospel, did Jesus incarnate of Galilee and
manifested forth his glory, and his disciples believed on him. And then when we come to Hebrews,
there in the second chapter we read about God was bearing the
apostles' witness. bearing them witness, it says,
both with signs and wonders and with diverse miracles and gifts
of the Holy Ghost according to his will." There was that authentication
there. And when Paul's ministry is being
rejected by the church in Corinth, he'd been instrumental in taking
the Gospel to Corinth and first establishing that work of the
Gospel there, But there were those who had crept in amongst
them, false teachers, had turned their hearts against the apostle,
and now he has to address them and remind them of his authority.
In 2 Corinthians 12 and verse 2, truly the signs of an apostle,
he says, were wrought among you in all patience, in signs and
wonders and mighty deeds. the authentication of that ministry
then that he was exercising. Here then we have a significant
part of God's Word because we come to the end of this book
of Isaiah and we see that as God will judge the unbelieving
Jews and reject them Yet he speaks gracious words always to the
remnant, and that remnant will be those who are to take the
gospel even to sinners of the Gentiles. But what is the spiritual
significance of the verse, I will set a sign among them? And I
will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish,
Pul, and Lut, to Torah-bo, to Tobol, and Japheth, to the Isles,
the far off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my
glory, and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles."
Well, as I said, this word, sign, is a very interesting word. because of the richness of the
word that's being used, not just a sign, but also the idea of
an ensign, which of course would be normally used on the battlefield. The colors that are to be displayed,
that it might be a rallying point for those who are engaged in
the conflict. And what is this ensign? It's
very much the gospel banner. The psalmist says, I was given
a banner to them that fear that it may be displayed because of
the truth. And what is that banner that's
to be displayed? It's the gospel. It's the gospel
banner. Or the church says in the Song
of Solomon, his banner over me was love. Although God is speaking
here of judgment upon the wicked amongst the Jews, yet still the
language of Isaiah is very much that that centers upon the wonders
of God's grace and God's mercy. Now, I deliberately read that
second chapter of Numbers, and maybe you wonder just why. Well,
of course, It's the same word that is being used throughout
that particular chapter as we have here in the text this evening. Each of the families in Israel
had their enzyme and they were to gather themselves to that
particular enzyme as they were encamping round about the tabernacle. And so too, when they moved onwards,
when they marched through the wilderness, there was order in
their ranks. God delivered them, as it were,
from Egypt as a great army, as they marched out under the enzymes
of the various tribes of Israel. And when we come to the Gospel,
how this imagery is used in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ himself. In chapter 11 and verse 10, in
that day, and the significance of the expression in that day,
it's the gospel day. It's the last days. It's the
days of grace, the gospel dispensation in that day. There shall be a
root of Jesse which shall stand for an end sign. It's that word
again, an ensign of the people, to which other Gentiles seek,
and his rest shall be glorious. And then he goes on to speak
of those who are called to gather to this ensign. In the following
verses here, verse 11, it shall come to pass in that day that
the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the
remnant of his people, which shall be left from Assyria. and
from Egypt, and from Pathos, and from Cush, and from Elam,
and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble
the outcast of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah
from the four corners of the earth. It's the spreading forth
it, the spreading abroad of the gospel of the grace of God. And who are those who are called
that outcasts? They were those outcasts of Israel,
they're those who are dispersed even to the four corners of the
earth. Or doesn't the gospel say, look
unto me and be ye saved? All the ends of the earth, all
the ends of the earth, for I am God's. and there is none else. And one of the old commentators
remarks on what we have here in verse 19, these remote nations,
these unknown regions, difficult to identify, Tarshish, Pull,
Lud, Tubal, Jaipur, the isles are far off. Oh, this is where
the gospel is to go. And the psalmist, how the psalmist
cries out, from the end of the earth will I cry unto thee when
my heart is overwhelmed within me. Lead me to the rock that
is higher than I. These are those then who are
to be called to this ensign. It's amongst his people that
the Lord God sets his gospel. The those who feel themselves
to be at the ends of the earth those who feel that they have
no hope at all they're beyond redemption in some ways but God
calls them to that rock, lead me to the rock that is higher
than I think of the old hymn, O say to the rock that is higher
than I my soul in his conflicts and sorrows would fly well this
is the one that we have to look to it's this one that is being
spoken of but again observing the context
here how God in this chapter speaks of his judgments And yet
he speaks also of his mercies. In verse 16 he says, "...by fire
and by his swords will the Lord plead with all flesh, and the slain of the Lord shall
be many." He's not just speaking then here of the rejection of
Israel, The end of the Old Testament dispensation, it speaks in verse
16 of God's pleadings with all flesh. And the word that we have,
the word to plead, is from the verb that literally means to
judge. By his sword will the Lord judge
all flesh. and the slain of the Lord shall
be many does he not remind us of how God comes first to work
real conviction in the soul of the sinner doesn't God come first
in that holy law by fire it says and by his sword and how fire
is associated with the coming of the Lord of Gods back in Exodus
19 how God descends upon Mount Sinai it says in a fire and the mount is clouded in smoke
it's a terrible sight to behold and when at the end of Deuteronomy
Moses is recounting their experience when they came to Mount Sinai,
he says, from his right hand went a fiery law. Wasn't this
how God pleads with the nations, pleads with all flesh, judges,
the sinner. There's that law, the ministration
of death, the ministration of condemnation. God coming to work
that conviction in the soul. Those who are made to feel what
they are, they're outcasts. They're those who in their very
natures are alienated. And in their minds they're enemies
of God. And they're brought to feel what
they are. But the Lord has pity upon these
people. He will yet bring such characters to Himself. Wherefore
then serveth the Lord? asks the Apostle. What's the
purpose? What's the point of the law?
It was added because of transgressions. In that sense it's administration
of condemnation. It's that schoolmaster to work
conviction in the soul and to bring the sinner onto the Lord
Jesus Christ. As we said, the language here
at the beginning of this 19th verse The sign is not so much among
them, it's literally in them. I will set a sign in them, he
says. He will work in the hearts of
his people by his spirit. He'll bring them to the end of
himself. And this is the important thing.
Here were those, you see, in Israel, they were very taken
with the temple and all the services. that were to be undertaken, they
were to observe all those Levitical laws, they were to make all those
various sacrifices. But our God is really rejecting
their formal religion. It's all on the outside, there's
nothing truly spiritual. This is the difference, isn't
it, between what we have in the Old Testament, a worship that is carnal and of
this world, as it were, and what we have in the New Testament.
Now, that's brought out very much in the epistle of the Hebrews,
certainly in chapters 8 and 9 of that epistle, as the apostle
draws the contrast between that tabernacle that was set up by
men and that tabernacle that the Lord has set up in the person
and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Oh, it's those
inward marks then that are so important as God works mightily,
effectually in the souls of sinners. And the amazing thing is that
here we see that This message of the gospel is not placed in
the hands of sinless angels but this gospel comes in the mouths
of those who themselves were sinners, those who themselves
were dead in trespasses and in sins. We have that remarkable
example of it of course in the language of David in the 51st
Psalm, that Psalm in which we see David acknowledging his sin,
confessing the great horror of what he had done. He had not
simply sinned in his adultery and in his murder, but all that
he had done had been, as it were, before God, against the only,
the only of my sin is his. and done this evil in thy sight. But then his prayer there at
verse 12 of the psalm, Restore unto me the joy of salvation,
he says, and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach
transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee. All he wants to do is preach
the good news of the forgiveness of sins, as while he had known
and tasted so much of the goodness and the grace of the Lord. These
are the men then that the Lord is pleased to make use of in
the proclamation of his word. John could speak of his own experiences
of Christ, that which was from the beginning, he said, which
we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we
have looked on, and our hands have handled of the word of life. that which we have heard and
seen, declare we unto you." Oh, this is those then who are to
declare this message. Declare my glory among the Gentiles,
as it says at the end of the text. I will set a sign among
them, says God, and I will send those that escape of them. That
remnant, that true spiritual remnant in Israel, those who
came to trust in Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah, the
Son of God, sent to the nations that have not heard my fame,
neither have seen my glory, and they shall declare my glory among
the Gentiles. Oh God, I'll be pleased to bless
His truth to each and every one of us. Let us, before we come
again to pray, turn to the hymn 398. The tune is St. Bernard,
219. Dear shepherd of thy people,
hear thy presence now display, as thou hast given a place for
prayer, so give us hearts to pray. And may the gospel's joyful
sound, enforced by mighty grace, awaken many sinners round to
come and fill the place. 398 TUNE 219