Focus:
Hope
Function:
To
help
people
appreciate
the
mystery
of
the
incarnation
Form:
Narrative
Intro:
Perhaps
you
think
this
an
odd
passage
to
begin
advent
with.
Isaiah is praying
because he and all of Israel are in trouble. God
has
allowed
their
enemies to defeat them.
All
the
hope
that
the
Children
of
Israel
have
for
being
God's
children
appears
to
have
been
washed
away.
It
is
if
they
are
left
with
the
shell
of
a
religious
structure,
with
the
shell
of
a
church,
with
a
shell,
or
maybe
a
distant
memory
of
better
times.
They
are
wondering
how
things
could
have
gotten
so
bad.
Why?
They
are
afraid
and
what
is
worse,
they
are
afraid
to
even
hope.
Have
you
ever
been
there?
Have
you
ever
wondered
why
God
just
doesn't
show
up
and
prove
His
mighty
power?
In
our
text
this
morning,
Isaiah
the
prophet
sits
in
an
unique
position.
He is God's prophet and because of that, sometimes, he can see into
the future. He
remembers
that
God's
people,
the
people
of
Israel,
also
sit
in
this
unique
position
over all
of
the
world.
They,
God's
people,
are
God's
evangelists
to
the
whole world.
That was God's plan.
The
OT
faith
was
created
to
be
the
means
by
which
God
would
draw
the
entire
world
to
Himself
through the Jewish people.
And
the
Jewish
people
believe because they have had some tremendous things happen for them
by God. They knew
why
they
should
worship
Jehovah
God. In
the past, they saw His mighty hand at work.
Isaiah,
on
behalf
of
the
nation
prays
this
prayer
to
God.
He
reminds
God
of
all
that
God
has
done
for
his
people.
It
is
obvious
to
Isaiah why
the
rest
of
the
world
doesn't
believe
in
God
like
the
Jewish
people.
God has done great
things for the nation of Israel, and other nations simply don't have
that history.
But the problem is, it
seems as if it has been a very long time since God has done anything
so spectacular.
Isaiah is
longing
for
those
days
again.
Aren't
we
all
longing
for
those
days?
So he prays this prayer
to God.
He
reminds
God
that
when
God
gave
them
the
10
commandments,
the
whole
mountain
shook
with
the
glory
of
God.
Let
me
re-read
some
of
the
verses
from
The
Message:
Whatever
happened
to
your
passion,
your
famous
mighty
acts?...
Why
are
you
holding
back?
Abraham
and
Israel
are
long
dead.
They wouldn't know us from Adam.
They wouldn't know us from Adam.
But
you,
You,
are
our
living
Father!
You are our redeemer, famous from eternity!
You are our redeemer, famous from eternity!
So, why,
God,
did
you
make
us
wander
from
your
ways?
Why
did
you
make
us
cold
and
stubborn
so
that
we
no
longer
worshiped
you
in
awe?
Oh
I wish that
you
would
rip
open
the
heavens
and
descend.
Make
the
mountains
shudder
at
your
presence.
I wish that you
would shock
your
enemies
into
facing
you.
Since
before
time
began,
no
other
nation
has
ever
seen,
heard
or
even
imagined
a
God
like
you!
Do
you
see
what
has
happened?
Isaiah
knows
that
his
people
have
turned
their
back
on
God.
He
knows
that
they
have
turned
away.
He
knows
that
the
people
have
rejected
God
and
have
began
ignoring
God
in
their
everyday
lives.
They
are
living
as
if
God
is
not
going
to
judge
evil.
They
are
living
as
if
mankind
alone
sets
the
standard
for
right
and
wrong.
To
these
people,
these
people
who
claim
to
be
the
people
of
God,
God
isn't
real.
They
have
all
forgotten
just
how
powerful
He
really
is.
And
Isaiah
is
almost
blaming
God
for
it.
He says, “you have
made us wander from your ways.”
He
reminds
God
that
the
reason
why
the
ancients
feared
God
was
because
God
made
Himself
known.
The
description
in
Deuteronomy
is
awesome.
First,
Moses
built
a
fence
around
this
mountain
and
gave
a
command
that
if
anyone
broke
through
the
fence,
they
would
die
because
of
God's
awesome
presence.
He
was
going
up
the
mountain,
and
he
wanted
to
be
sure
that
the
people
were
safe.
God
is
awesome.
And
in
some
sense,
He
is
terribly
fierce.
He
isn't
tame.
God is
love.
But
He
isn't
tame.
So,
Moses
went
up
the
mountain
and
God
shows
up.
