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THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Isaiah: Jahweh Is Salvation

Part XXXIII: Lessons In Evangelism From God's Call To Doomed Edom

(Isaiah 21:11-12)

I. Introduction

A. In our last lesson in this series out of the prophecy of Isaiah, we learned in Isaiah 21:11-12 of God's evangelistic ministry through His messenger Isaiah to the doomed nation of Edom.

B. We review that ministry, with a view to gaining insight on practical evangelism in our era (as follows):

II. Lessons In Evangelism From God's Call To Doomed Edom, Isaiah 21:11-12.

A. By way of review, we note the key components of God's evangelistic call to doomed Edom in Isaiah 21:11-12:

1. Stressed from Assyrian oppression, Edom, here called "Silence" as it would end up a silent land of death due to its unbelief and judgment, was calling out to Isaiah, God's watchman of the night, to ask how much more suffering, how much more of the night before the hope of a morning of deliverance, Isaiah 21:11.

2. God's watchman replied that there was a night and a morning, that if the Edomites wanted to seek, inquire about a morning of deliverance, they should seek, inquire of the Lord of Judah and turn back, repent in faith in Judah's God and relent of their hatred of Judah, and come to faith in God for salvation, Isa. 21:12.

B. The lessons from this brief yet potent passage on practical evangelism are great and far-reaching (as follows):

1. Note that Edom is initially called the land of "Silence" due to its inevitable final doom as a nation, Isaiah 21:11a. We must thus recognize that not all unsaved people to whom we give the Gospel will believe it, but that we are still called to be a witness of the light as God's "watchmen of the night" unto a lost world.

2. Romans 1:16 states the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and Revelation 22:17 with John 16:7-11 reveals the Holy Spirit apart from the "Bride," the Church, convicts and witnesses a "come" call to the lost. According to 2 Peter 1:21, Isaiah was empowered by the Holy Spirit to write Isaiah 21:11-12, so we must also rely on the Holy Spirit for the part He would have us play along with His own work on the lost.

3. In connection with the need to rely on the Spirit, 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 claims that Satan, the god of this world, has blinded the minds of the lost lest they should believe the Gospel and be saved. Thus, we must rely on the Holy Spirit for opportunities to witness (Col. 4:3), to give the actual Gospel (Col. 4:4) in clarity and boldness (Eph. 6:18-19, parresia, T. D. N. T., v. V, p. 882-883) instead of relying on our own might.

4. Isaiah's willingness to be used of God as a "watchman" for Edom, to function as a guardian, revealed a willingness to exhibit love for an enemy, for Edom was Judah's hardened foe, Obadiah 10-12. Similarly, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we must express Christ's love to reach even hostile people, 2 Cor. 5:14-15.

5. The Edomites were expressing a "thirst" for deliverance in Isaiah 21:11 by making a call to the watchman of the night in Isaiah, what Revelation 22:17 indicates must occur for the unsaved to desire to come to Christ. Isaiah, sensitive to their "thirst," addressed Edom's thirst first in his message, noting that a night or a morning was an option for Edom (Isa. 22:12a), so we too must be sensitive to the "thirst" expressed by the lost and address it before directing them to the means of quenching their "thirst" in Christ's Gospel!

6. In Isaiah 21:12, Edom is told to trust in Judah's God and change her attitude toward Judah as evidence of her faith unto salvation. Similarly, in the coming Great Tribulation period, the treatment of the Jew by Gentile nations will be evidence of their heart attitude toward God: if they treat the Jew well, they will show they believe in Israel's God, but it they fail to treat them well, they will give evidence of rejecting Israel's God, cf. Matt. 25:31-46; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, ftn. to Matt. 25:32. Applied to evangelism in today's Church dispensation, we should call people to true faith in Christ and His atonement for salvation from their sin, John 3:16. The Gospel involves addressing the issue of sin with God's salvation in Christ's atonement, 1 Cor. 15:1-11. True salvation will also be evidenced in a life that turns upright, 2 Cor. 13:5.

7. Note how Isaiah places the responsibility on the Edomites to seek, inquire and come to the Lord, telling them, "If you will seek, inquire, then seek, inquire; turn back, return; come." We must bring the lost to see their need to make a decision, to make them responsible to exercise faith in Christ to be saved.

Lesson Application: Like Isaiah of old, may we view our calling as mere messengers, mere watchmen of the night to a lost world, that we rely on the Holy Spirit's convicting work and power to witness versus relying on our own might, that we witness in love, that we realize not all the lost will believe in our message about Christ, that we be sensitive to and address the "thirst" for deliverance that is expressed by the lost, that we address the issue of sin and salvation in the Gospel message and place the responsibility on the lost to make the decision to trust in Christ.