Surrey Chapel Fellowship Group Notes October 13th/14th
Isaiah 3-4  - Promise

The two key themes of this study are judgement (Chapter 3) and hope (Chapter 4). These two themes occur frequently throughout the prophets and they reflect two key aspects of God’s character. He is a God of justice and sin must be punished, but he is also a God of love who offers a living hope for all who trust in him. (1 Peter 1:3)

Chapter 3 – Judgement on Jerusalem and Judah
Chapter 3 of Isaiah “reviews the collapse of ordered society because of underlying moral failure”*. 
Compare Isaiah 3 with Romans 1: 18-32. What parallels do you see with contemporary society?

3: 1-7 Society disintegrates:  Divine action removes everything that makes for a content and stable society. God removes the things that people have put their trust in. 
List some of these things. What are the modern equivalents or are they largely the same today?
V. 4-7 speak of a lack of respect between the generations, immaturity in leadership and unwillingness to take responsibility. Does this reflect 21st century Britain?

3: 8-15 The root cause and consequences of society’s collapse
What is the root cause of the problem?
“Jerusalem’s guilt is compounded by the fact that it is not regarded by the people as their guilty secret and they have no sense of guilt. Sin is no longer sin, it is the new morality. Thus it is that societies collapse.”*
Notice in v.13-14 God does not rush to act. The image of the courtroom shows that God is ensuring that justice is done.

3: 16-4:1 An oracle focusing on the women of Zion.
The earlier part of this chapter deals mainly with the men of Jerusalem, in these verse the attention is turned on the women of the city.
Why does Isaiah go into so much detail in verses 16-23? What can we learn from these verses?

Chapter 4 – The Branch of the Lord
After a chapter warning of impending judgement we come to an oracle of hope and restoration. God cleanses His people and they shall be called “holy”. Verse 5 speaks of God’s presence with His people – note the parallels with Exodus 13:21-22.
v.2 Many interpreters understand Branch... fruit as looking forward to the earth’s abundant fertility in the Messianic day. See Jeremiah 31:12 & Amos 9:13. When will this be???
The Branch is a Messianic title, see also Jeremiah 23:5 & 33:15 and Isaiah 4:2 marks is earliest occurrence.
 This is expanded in the famous Messianic passage in chapter 11.

Prayer Pointers
Reflect prayerfully on the lessons of this passage.
Josh Hooker and the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelisation in Cape Town.
Pray for groups and activities in the church that are prayed for less frequently. 			ADB