God's Makeover of Judah

Isaiah chapter 1, we'll begin reading at verse 21 and read through chapter 2, verse 5.

! See how the faithful city has become a harlot. She once was full of justice, righteousness used to dwell in her, but now murderers. Your silver has become dross.

Your choice wine is diluted with water. Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves. They all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless.

The widow's case does not come before them. Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, the mighty one of Israel declares, Ah, I will get relief from my foes and avenge myself on my enemies.

I will turn my hand against you. I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities. I will restore your judges as in days of old, your counselors as at the beginning.

Afterward, you will be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city. Zion will be redeemed with justice, her penitent ones with righteousness.

But rebels and sinners will both be broken, and those who forsake the Lord will perish. You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks in which you have delighted. You will be disgraced because of the gardens that you have chosen.

You will be like an oak with fading leaves, like a garden without water. The mighty man will become tender, and his work a spark. Both will burn together with no one to quench the fire.

This is what Isaiah, son of Amos, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In the last days, the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains.

It will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.

He will teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths. The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord. Makeovers. Makeovers are a popular theme on television these days.

Maybe it's a bathroom to see it made over from the old to the new. Maybe it's a bedroom, maybe the whole house. Maybe it's the landscaping.

But none of these makeover shows are quite as sensational as the makeover of real people. And so we have a picture of them before the raw product and then after.

And sometimes the after picture is so different from the before picture that we really wonder, can this be the same person? And indeed it is.

Well, in our text today, Isaiah shows us the unbelievable makeover of God's people, Judah. They're represented as Jerusalem, the capital city of Judah.

And the first picture we have is of what they were in Isaiah's own day. And he describes them to us. And then the second picture that he gives us is what they will be afterward.

After what? Well, after the purging of the exile in Babylon. After the coming of Messiah and the gospel age in the last days.

Two pictures. What is now in Isaiah's day and what is to come after the exile, after Messiah in the last days.

Now that was their destiny. The second picture is their destiny. This is what they would be. They would become like this. But it was so far from so far removed from what they presently were in Isaiah's day that.

Only those with faith would really believe it. So we're seeing today Judah's makeover. And if we have eyes to see and ears to hear, we'll also be hearing something of our own makeover.

How God comes and finds us ruined by sin. And how our maker is our remaker in Christ Jesus. Now, in verse 21, then, Isaiah begins to describe the first picture.

The present condition of the people as seen in Jerusalem. A microcosm of the whole nation of Judah. They're nothing like they used to be, we're told.

See how the faithful city has become a harlot. The once faithful bride of the Lord, who walked in his ways, has now turned their back on their husband, Yahweh, and has gone their own way to play the harlot with other lovers.

We saw a similar theme in the book of Hosea. And these rebels are here called harlots because of their unfaithfulness to God.

Now, what did this unfaithfulness look like? When Isaiah went out of his house and walked the streets of Jerusalem, what did he see? Well, he saw thieves everywhere making off with other people's things.

He saw bloodshed and murderers with hands full of blood. He saw helpless widows and the fatherless children being taken advantage of, their houses seized, their land robbed.

But worst of all, the ones killing, stealing, and plundering were not being punished. They were getting away with murder, literally.

Why? Because the rulers, who should have been upholding justice in the land, were being paid off to turn the blind eye to all the crime that was being committed.

In fact, the rulers were in cahoots with the thieves. They were companions of thieves, the scriptures say. They loved and chased after bribes rather than chasing down the guilty party.

Court systems were a joke. Ruling in favor of the guilty. Truth was fallen in the streets. Justice was nowhere to be found. And this is not Los Angeles or Las Vegas or Mexico City.

This is Jerusalem. The holy city. The city of God. Now, it hadn't always been this way, Isaiah says.

The city once was faithful. It was once full of justice and righteousness used to dwell in her. But now, murderers.

It's full of them. And they're at home here. And folks, when murderers are at home there, so is every lesser.

Crime and wickedness. That's what Isaiah sees when he walks through Jerusalem. He witnesses the ruination of a city.

What was once valuable is now worthless. Verse 22. Precious silver is now nothing but dross. The off-scouring. The off-scouring. Choice wine is now diluted with water.

Precious life is now so cheap that anyone will take a life for a bribe. Sin spoils everything.

It ruins society. Families, churches, businesses, schools, courts, governments, economies.

Sin ruins a society. And it rains where God doesn't. So it's an ugly picture that we see. And Isaiah wants us to see.

And this is our first lesson. The ruination of society begins with forsaking God. With forsaking God. This is what's at bottom of the ruin of any society.

Unfaithfulness to God leads always to unfaithfulness to our fellow man. When God is not loved, neither are our neighbors.

Whereas love for God always secures our love for our neighbors. Because we love God and in wanting to love Him more and please Him, He says to us, well then keep my commandments and love your fellow man as yourself.

Don't murder him. Don't steal his wife. Don't steal his possessions. Don't steal his good name. Don't lie about him. Don't even covet what he has.

That's the way you love me. So wherever God is loved, neighbor is loved as well. But when God is not loved, worshipped, obeyed and feared, then men are left to their base desires.

And so it's each man for himself. Biting and devouring one another. Chasing after personal gain to the neglect and abuse of the poor and the weak and the helpless where might equals right.

And that's the universal witness of Scripture that where there is no fear of God, there's every sort of wickedness against mankind. How would you like to live in Jerusalem of that day?

In a corrupt society without the rule of law. Pastor Jason prayed for our missionary friends in the Far East. And this week, a woman who wanted to do them harm hired some thugs to come.

They run a school for needy children. And she hired some thugs to come and they beat up the guard and started beating some of the children.

And when the missionaries came, they started to beat up him as well. And the police had been called. But they were seen being paid money by this woman.

And so as they started to beat up the missionary, they just turned and walked away. There is no protection here. There's no rule of law. You're on your own.

That's the way it was in Jerusalem. And such corruption is not rare in the world today. We're seeing it increasingly in our own land. And it's the inevitable result.

When men forsake God, they begin to mistreat each other. Now, Isaiah was not the only one observing all this corruption going on in the city.

The Holy One of Israel also was seeing it. And he was seeing all that was done in darkness. And what he saw made him both sick to his stomach and very angry.

And he announces, Ah, I will get relief from my foes and avenge myself on my enemies. I will turn my hand against you.

Here he is talking about getting revenge against his enemies. And the next sentence he says, And it's you. You, Jerusalem. You, Judah. You have become my enemy.

And my wrath is going to be cut loose on you. These who had known God, what it was for God to be fighting for them, were now to find God fighting against them.

I'll turn my hand against you, he says. God is the best of friends, but he's also the worst of enemies.

Mighty to save, but also mighty, the almighty to destroy, as he says in verse 24. So when the almighty lifts up his hand against a people to get revenge, we know it's going to get ugly.

And we're almost afraid to look and to read what happens next. But once again, as we will find so often in the book of Isaiah, we are surprised by grace.

That in the very context of judgment, we also find a message of hope. And as he pours out his wrath, he remembers to show mercy.

For his purposes in this judgment, his purpose in this judgment is not to finally annihilate Judah, but it is rather to purify her, to restore her, and to redeem her.

He'll take them into the Babylonian exile, and it will be a most painful, fiery trial, but it will be with a beneficial purpose. I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove it, remove all your impurities.

Verse 25. Even as silver is put into a fire, a fiery furnace, not to destroy it, but to purify it, to make it better. That's the purpose of God's judgment on Judah.

Verse 26. Not only will I purify you, I will restore your judges as in the days of old, your counselors as at the beginning. Instead of these rebellious rulers, these judges who are intent on taking a bribe, these companions of thieves, they will be righteous judges.

They will be wise counselors as at the beginning. The beginning of your city, Jerusalem. When King David established Jerusalem as the center of politics and worship for the whole nation, it will be like it was then.

And then, verse 27 says, Zion will be redeemed with justice. Jesus redeemed. You redeem something by the payment of a price.

And later in the book, Isaiah will paint out clearly for us what that price would be to redeem Judah. It would be a human sacrifice when the servant of the Lord would be slain for the transgression of His people.

And then afterward, that's His word at the end of verse 26, afterward you will be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city. Called that because that's what they will indeed be.

Faithful. Righteous. And we look at that picture and we look at what they were as Isaiah was speaking to them and we say, can this be?

Can this be the same city? The same people? Well, this is God's makeover of Judah and Jerusalem.

Notice, the makeover is all something that He will do. It's what He will make of her. He purifies, He restores, He redeems.

He makes the harlot into a faithful city. He makes the city of murderers into the city of righteousness. And it all begins by turning back to God whom they had forsaken.

Faithfulness and righteousness are found in God and He alone can make Judah faithful and righteous. Notice in verse 27, it's not everyone in Zion who will be purified, restored and redeemed.

No, it's only those who repent. It's her penitent ones will be redeemed. It will be a repentant remnant in Judah. Those who will turn from their own way and their own sins back to God and to His ways.

The penitent ones will be redeemed. Those who stop doing wrong and who start learning to do what is right.

As chapter 1 has been saying, that's repentance to turn from our way back to God and His way through the mediation of His own Son, our Savior.

Now, we see then the second lesson, there is no salvation without repentance. There is no salvation without repentance. The only ones redeemed are the penitent ones.

the only ones ever redeemed. From the time that Adam and Eve fell to the last sinner that's saved, no one will be saved without repentance.

So, this judgment of the Lord brings a separation in Judah. You have the wheat and the chaff. Her penitent ones will be redeemed with justice and righteousness.

But, verse 28, rebels and sinners will both be broken and those who forsake the Lord will perish. So, fire of judgment is coming upon Jerusalem and Judah.

And that fire will purify, restore, and redeem some and it will consume and destroy and break others.

Those who repent will be redeemed. Those who refuse to repent will perish. There is no mercy for the impenitent. I told you what one commentator said about the whole book of Isaiah.

That there is not one word of good news in the whole book for those who will not repent. That is not only true of the book of Isaiah. That's true of all 66 books of the Bible.

There is not one good. There is no mercy, not a drop of it, for the one who refuses to repent. It's the Lord Jesus himself who said, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

It was John the Baptist's first sermon, repent, the kingdom of God is at hand. It was Jesus Christ's sermon, the summary of what he preached, repent, the kingdom of God is at hand.

It was the Apostle Peter's first sermon at Pentecost, repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. And it was Paul's message as he preached to those Gentiles in Athens.

God has commanded all men everywhere to repent. There's no salvation without repentance. It's not an Old Testament thing alone. It's part of the everlasting gospel.

You cannot come and receive Christ and all of the benefits of salvation until you turn away from your way and your sins and you come empty handed to receive Jesus Christ and all that he gives.

Now, part of Judah's unfaithfulness to God was idolatry and that's what we see at the end of the chapter 29 to 31. He talks about the sacred oak groves and the gardens.

These were idolatrous symbols that were used to worship the fertility gods. They thought would give them fruitfulness and blessing upon their fields, their wombs, and all of their lives.

But their misplaced trust would leave them disappointed and disgraced in their time of need because when God's judgment falls, they will find themselves to be like an oak tree whose leaves are crinkled up and failing and falling, dry, ripe for judgment, like a garden without water.

You know what your garden would look like if it had no rain or water. It would be ready for the fire. And so he says the mighty man will become tender and his work a spark.

Both will be burned together with no one to quench the fire. You'll be disappointed in what you've trusted in, but whoever trusts in the Lord will never be disappointed.

They forsook the Lord. They turned their back on the Lord thinking we can do just fine without him. And God says when my judgment falls, you'll find that all that you're trusting in won't be able to save you.

So we have here a warning. Don't presume on God's grace. Don't think God is such a God of love that in the end he'll have mercy on all.

No. The message of hope only applies to those who repent and turn from their way to God. God. So we learn that Judah will only become true to her calling, which was to be a witness to the world by going through judgment, a purifying judgment that will bring her back to God and restore her and redeem her.

And it will be a redeemed Judah that will then be a witness to the nations. So we're getting the after picture.

picture. We've seen the before picture, what Judah is now, and we keep seeing the after picture and it continues on. God's makeover continues on into the next chapter.

Verse one, Isaiah is still telling us what he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. This is what I saw. Yes, it's the same Judah and Jerusalem that now is an unfaithful harlot.

But this is what I saw in vision of what she will be. And this makeover gets even more amazing. Because we see in this vision that Jerusalem is not only becoming the faithful and righteous city, but she's also becoming the most exalted city.

She's becoming a glorious light, wonderfully fulfilling her calling to be the witness to the nations that Yahweh alone is God. God. Now, the picture is of the last days, we're told.

That undated future period, which the New Testament explains as the period of time from Christ's first coming in his incarnation to until and including his second coming when he comes again in judgment and salvation.

So that's the last days. We are now living in these last days. And that's what Isaiah is seeing. A picture of Judah and Jerusalem as she will be in this period of the last days.

In the last days, verse two, the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains. It will be raised above the hills and all nations will stream to it.

Now, many pagan religions believe that their gods lived on the mountains. So you had Mount Olympus and and all the Greek 12 chief Greek gods lived up on Mount Olympus.

And so it was with pagan religion. And Isaiah says that the mountain of the Lord's temple where the Lord dwells outstrips them all. It will be the chief among the mountains.

It will be raised above the hills. Now, remember in the revelatory dream in Daniel, we saw a rock grow up into a mountain that kept growing until it filled the whole earth, teaching us that Messiah's kingdom will overcome all other kingdoms and will last forever and ever.

It will be the universal kingdom. So here, we're not to think literally of an upthrust of the earth's plates, a geological shift in elevation that literally raises Mount Zion to becoming the highest point on the planet.

Something far more glorious than that is being foretold here. Mount Zion that houses the Lord's temple where Yahweh dwells on earth.

Mount Zion that was the worship center for all the nation of Judah, to which all of Judah came for her offerings and her festivals and her worship.

Mount Zion is now to become the center of worship for all the nations of the earth. Little Mount Zion, which was comparatively insignificant in the 8th century BC.

A little hill, the capital of a despised nation Judah, that would soon become a laughingstock of the nation as Babylon would come in and wipe them out and destroy them and their temple and take them off into captivity.

This little hill, this little Jerusalem and her God will one day be exalted above all the other mountains and hills and will be worshipped as first in importance, chief, highest in honor as all the nations stream into it.

So Zion's story is to be like that classic makeover story of Cinderella. No longer is Zion to be the despised Cinderella in shabby clothes stained with ashes.

No, she is now the beautiful princess splendidly dressed, replete with glass slippers. The apple of the eye of the prince and the envy of every woman at the ball.

Isaiah is making this point of the worship of God and of his name will trump all other religions.

And they and their third lesson is then that God's people will be a multinational community. All nations will stream up to Mount Zion. God's people will be a multinational community.

That's what Isaiah is telling us in this picture. It's the first use Isaiah makes of the word nations, but he'll use it 66 times before he's done. And the word people some 21 times.

And many of those passages refer to this event right here that we're seeing of God, including among his people, all the nations of the world. We're told that after Judah goes away into exile, not only will they be gathered back, but in this gathering, after the exile will come the Gentiles, the nations.

The root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples and the nations will rally to him. I'm about to gather all nations. These are the prophecies we'll see further on in Isaiah.

So that in chapter 54, 5, it said of the Holy One of Israel that he will be called the God of all the earth. The Holy One of Israel, of Judah, is now to be the God of all the earth as all the nations stream into it.

Gentiles will be purified, restored, and redeemed by the servant of the Lord and called by his name and be a part of the reconstituted Israel of God.

So all the nations are swarming up to Jerusalem. Now the prophets used symbols and figures and they used symbols that were common to the people that they were speaking to in their day to express realities prophecies in the future.

Indeed, in the last days, in the days of Messiah. So Jerusalem, Mount Zion, is the Lord's temple and house, and it's found to be in the New Testament, none other than the church of Jesus Christ.

The Israel of God, Galatians 6.16, the temple, the house of God. So this picture of Zion is a picture of what God's people.

The church will be in the days, the last days, when Messiah comes, between his first coming and his last coming. It's of the church of Christ in Ephesus that we find, where we find Gentiles who are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's house, joined together in Christ and rising to become together, Jew and Gentile, together, a holy temple, a dwelling in which God lives by his spirit, Ephesians 2.19-22.

Paul says to Jewish and Gentile believers in the church of God in Corinth, don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple? You are God's temple and that God's spirit lives in you.

And such text could be multiplied in the New Testament. The vision of Isaiah is pointing to a day when Gentiles will stream into the church of Jesus Christ in this period in which we are now living called the last days.

He's speaking of disciples being made from all the nations and being gathered into the community of God's people, a community that will be a multinational community, no longer comprised of one nation, Judah, but now comprised of all the nations all over the earth.

This would be the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham that I will bless all the nations through you. Now, why are these people who are streaming up to Jerusalem, why are they coming so willingly?

Why are they streaming into Jerusalem? This is an important question. Let's ask them. We hear them talking to each other in verse 3. Many peoples will come and say, this is what they're saying as they're coming, come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.

He will teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths. And Isaiah comments, the law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

They come seeking the God of Jacob. they've abandoned their nationalistic gods to come and to hear Israel's God and his law as it goes out from Zion.

They're not going to Mecca to hear about Muhammadism. They're not going to Tibet to have the Dalai Lama teach them something about Buddhism.

they're not streaming up to Oprah to be taught New Age religion about becoming one with the universe. They're seeking Israel's covenant God.

Nations are encouraging each other. Come on, let's go. Let's go up to Israel's God and learn from him his ways. Calvin says that's the evidence of genuine faith and conversion.

when you have interest not only in your own salvation but in seeking the salvation of as many others as you can reach. Here are the nations. Come on, we're going.

Aren't you coming with us? We're going up to the Lord to have him teach us his ways. Notice they're coming to be taught by him. He will teach us his ways.

Isn't that beautiful? He will teach us. That's what happens in Zion. It's the place where the law, the word of the Lord, the saving truth of God goes out.

This is the great attraction that will draw them like bees to the hive. God is here teaching us his word.

It's the one place in all the world where truth is to be found. Divine revelation from God to man in Zion where God teaches men his word.

Now it's a humbling fact for the nations to realize that the truth is not to be found in their gods in their religion only in Zion and you must seek it from him in Zion or you will not find it at all.

saving truth is not to be found in any other religion of the world. They're all bankrupt. It's only here in Zion that God speaks and his voice is heard.

And so they come hungry hungry for the word of the Lord. They've got an appetite that nothing but Yahweh's word will satisfy. They're tired of the empty drivel of men's thoughts, human prognosticators and what they have to say.

They're tired of the wisdom of this world that does not answer their deepest needs, their greatest problem. They're tired of being lied to by false prophets saying whatever their itching ears want to hear.

So they come, they come, they come to be taught the truth by God himself to hear the voice of the one true shepherd and to follow him.

They're being drawn by the spirit of God to and so they come. They come to hear about a savior who's done what sinners could never do keeping the law of God perfectly and who then died as a sacrifice in the place of sinners to take the punishment that they deserved that they might be counted righteous forever in him.

They come thirsty Hungry! Tell us this word! We've heard it's to be found Here in Zion! And notice they come with teachable spirits teachable hearts that come saying he will teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths why do they come to hear the word of the Lord so that they may walk in his ways they may walk in his truth they come to be taught how to live not just to hear the word so as to become smarter!

than the rest of men just to get more knowledge that puffs up they come to have their lives redirected and changed by this word they want their ways to be in line with the ways the paths of God they don't come to check out the message that is to be found here and if it suits their fancy and if it agrees with what they think well then they'll walk in those ways no notice what he says he will teach us his ways so that we may walk in his truth in his paths and there's our fourth lesson all God's people want him to teach them how to live their prayer is lead me in paths of righteousness for your name sake that's the way I want to go and every true Christian is a student of God's word in order to live by it has a very practical end to why they study the word of God they want to walk this way they're done walking in their ways they want to stop doing what's wrong and they want to learn to do what's right so they come to

Israel's God and they say teach me teach me how to think I don't even know how to think I don't know teach me how to live teach me how to be a husband teach me how to be a wife teach me how to do family your way God teach me what to do with my money with my time teach me what to do with the strength of my youth teach me what to do with my years of retirement I come to be taught I come to you Lord you have the truth this is the community of God's people being described and there seem to be a people of the book we are preeminently a people of one book the

B I B L E yes that's the book for me is it the book for you that's what the nations are doing they're streaming up to Zion to hear the word of the Lord what a beautiful picture of Zion who is now an unfaithful harlot and all these ways of the Lord they're the very same ways that Israel now refuses to walk in she will not walk in those ways she's going her own way but in the end not only will she be found walking in those ways but all the nations will be streaming up to hear and I say oh church of Jesus Christ oh Zion of God have we lost a sense of our unique treasure we of all peoples have the very word of

God the one place where God speaks his word it's in Zion it's in his church it's in his people to them has been given the word of God and how sad it is to see Zion when the people come to worship Zion giving them more entertainment more of this and more of that but less of the word of God why would we give people more of what they can get anywhere else and less of what they can only find in Zion the word of the living God what a picture a makeover that's been done to Judah at last she will be the faithful witness to the nations as they stream in to learn from

God's people how to live how to be saved who to live for and that part of this vision is being fulfilled even now are you a Jew are you from Judah have you not streamed up to Zion to hear the word of salvation and to embrace it and to live have you not become a part of this grand pilgrimage to Zion but there's more to the makeover there's justice and peace it says he will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many people many peoples and here we see Judah's God not only teaching but now judging all nations and peoples he's no mere localized deity just to hold court with Judah no he judges all the nations and everybody in it now when it says he settles disputes there's an argument who's right who's wrong well he'll settle it and it's good news for the people of

God that her God will settle all disputes how many injuries and injustices are still waiting this judgment it's not yet happened because the last days are not done yet but they're all awaiting these injustices are awaiting this coming judge when he'll right all wrongs and pay back wrong into the laps of every wrongdoer outside of Christ Mike and Angela Campbell owned a 3,000 acre citrus and mango farm in Zimbabwe President Mugabe came to power and instituted a land takeover policy in which he took away white farmers land and gave it to his black cronies and he sent his thugs to Campbell's farm they were an older Christian couple I heard her give testimony to the Lord and their trust in him an older couple in their seventies and they refused to leave their land and they were both severely beaten

Angela was found beaten and tied up with barbed wire through her mouth knee deep in mud they burned their house and barns and crops and chased them off their land all with no protection no recourse to get justice and seventy year old Mike Campbell died homeless in April from brain injuries that he suffered in his beating but the God of Judah will settle that dispute!

One day he will right the wrong when he rises to judge the earth not one stone will be left unturned every littlest wrong will be put right as he pays back justice into the lap of the wrong doer and the result of his judgment will be universal peace that's our fifth lesson the result of his judgment is universal peace the verse goes on to say verse for that they the nations will beat their swords into plowshares and they'll beat their spears into pruning hooks nation will not take up sword against nation nor will they train for war anymore now it's not saying that the armies of the future will go retro and revert back to swords and spears that's not what he's saying again he's taking the present weapons of Isaiah Isaiah and he's talking about a reality that will happen at the last day it simply means that the weapons of war whatever they are will be transformed into agricultural use

Dale Ralph Davis says tanks into tractors bombs into balers missiles into milk parlors all the weaponry of the entire nations no more use for it because there's no more war won't that be something wouldn't that change an economy they won't even train for war anymore the old spiritual ain't gonna study war no more no more west points no more air force academies no more terrorist camps in the hills of Pakistan they're not going to study war anymore war that has been so much a part of this world's history will be a thing of the everlasting past and the scene is on earth not in heaven things are to be put right here on earth as it is in heaven and this peace will not be brought about by the UN it will not be brought about by any number of peace negotiations among the nations it will be brought about when

King Jesus returns and judges the evil doers and then there will be peace universally then and not before come and see the works of the Lord the desolations that he has brought on the earth he makes war cease to the ends of the earth he breaks the bow and shatters the spear he burns the shields with fire psalm 46 but until then wars and rumors of war but that's the makeover of Jerusalem and Judah we hardly recognize her in this picture do we the harlot the unfaithful city full of murderers and now purified righteous faithful walking in God's ways and having all the Gentile nations swarming in to hear the law of God from her and to walk with them in God's ways there's one more verse and it's Isaiah's passionate appeal to his own hearers in his day and to you and me living this day come oh house of

Jacob let us walk in the light of the Lord! walk in the light of God's truth the ways of the Lord are right the righteous walk in them but the rebellious stumble in them Hosea 14 so we need to be ready to walk out of step with the world they're stumbling in the ways of the Lord we need to walk in the ways of the Lord and Isaiah says come on now let's let's walk maybe he uses the very language of the nations come on let's go up to

Zion to learn his ways and to walk in his maybe Isaiah is using that very language here to his own people come on let's walk in his ways to provoke them to jealousy by reminding them all the Gentiles are going to stream up!

to! in are you going to walk in these ways to walk in the light of your destiny that's our last lesson live in the light of your destiny what you're going to be dear friends now we're the children of God and what we will be has not yet been made known but we know that when he appears we shall be like him because we will see him as he is that's that's the after picture of everyone in Christ we're going to be like him perfect pure and then John says and everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself live in the light of your destiny you're going to be as pure!

as Christ right now come on let's walk in his pure ways well we've seen the makeover story of Judah how will this Judah become that Judah the short answer is God the longer answer will be spelled out in the book it will be through the king like unto David it will be the servant of the Lord who suffers and brings his people to this status be through the Lord Jesus Christ and to him all the nations will stream and trust in him and when he comes back all the nations of the world the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and our Christ and then Jesus alone shall reign do you see yourself in this makeover story a life ruined!

by sin Jesus Christ is the great remaker and you come to him and he'll make all your past forgotten and a glorious destiny ahead of you let's pray our almighty God we see this morning that there's grace for sinners and there's hope for sinners but that hope is only found in Jesus Christ and for those who turn from their own ways to embrace him and his way so bring us afresh to that place where we come humbly to you to be taught how to live how to trust help us to cast ourselves upon your savior and then to rise up and to walk in your ways we ask it in

Jesus mighty name Amen