To Be Made Anew
A Sermon on Isaiah 22:8-14
Originally preached Nov. 25, 1956
Scripture
8¶ And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest. 9Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower …
Sermon Description
Have you ever come across a passage in the Bible that describes the exact situation you are in? This is not a coincidence, it is an illustration of the great message of the Bible. In this sermon on Isaiah 22: 8-14, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones examines the problems that Israel had in this passage, recognizes how similar they are to the problems of today, and explains that the answer to Israel’s problem is the same answer to the problems of today. In this passage, Israel is about to be attacked by the Assyrians, and they become no longer blind to their weaknesses and problems of their country. They had previously neglected their weaknesses but this led to “breaches in their wall”. It is the same with countries today; we don’t realize that we are in serious need of protection and think that everything is alright, until we are in times of trouble. Our reaction to this “unveiling” is the same as Israel’s as well. We become frantic and busy and start trying to figure out solutions, but in the end our actions are futile and it all fails. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones further addresses three reasons why these actions fail: just like Israel, we fail to see the moral character of our problem, we fail to realize the religious character of our problem, and we fail to see the profound and radical character of the problem. He explains that man’s trouble is in his heart and it cannot be fixed by just a little adjustment here and there, he has to be made a new made by God and turn to his maker. You need true repentance to fix the problems. The world is what it is because we have forgotten him.
Sermon Breakdown
- The passage describes the state of Judah and Jerusalem. The "covering" has been removed from their eyes, forcing them to see the truth.
- They discover the city walls have many breaches that have developed over time due to complacency and neglect.
- In response, they frantically try to repair the walls. They gather weapons, inspect houses, demolish some houses for materials, build defenses, etc. But their efforts are futile.
- They fail to recognize the moral and religious nature of their problems. They continue in pleasure-seeking and fatalism.
- They have not looked to God, the maker and fashioner of the city. Their problems are profound and radical, requiring a complete renewal.
- God calls them to repentance, weeping, and mourning. But they ignore him. So their doom is assured.
- The only solution is to return to God in repentance, faith in Christ, and obedience. Individuals must do this, and nations will follow.
Old Testament
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.