A Truce With Hell

A TRUCE WITH HELL

TEXT: Isaiah 28:13-15

Isaiah 28:13-15 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. [14] Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. [15] Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

American Standard Version Isaiah 28:15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us; for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

Moffatt’s Isaiah 28:15 -- “You think you have struck terms with death, and made your compact with the powers of doom, so that the surging scourge of a flood can never reach you, since you are safe behind a lie and sheltered by a falsehood!”

Taylor’s Isaiah 28:15 -- “You have struck a bargain with Death, you say, and sold yourselves to the devil in exchange for his protection against the Assyrians. They can never touch us, you say, for we are under the care of one who will deceive and fool them.”

l. INTRODUCTION -- WHERE HAS HELL GONE TO?

-Where has Hell gone to? The vast majority of people that you met last week and those you will meet tomorrow and throughout the week do not believe in Hell.

Albert Mohler Jr. -- “At some point in the nineteen-sixties, Hell disappeared. No one could say for certain when this happened. First it was there, then it wasn’t. Different people became aware of the disappearance of Hell at different times. Some realized that they had been living for years as though Hell did not exist, without having consciously registered its disappearance. Others realized that they had been behaving, out of habit, as though Hell were still there, though in fact they had ceased to believe in its existence long ago. . . . On the whole, the disappearance of Hell was a great relief, though it brought new problems”.

-Hell may be under fire but popular opinion cannot quench it’s eternal flames.

-One man gave an account of sitting in a “Bible believing” church for thirty-years and never once did he recollect of hearing his pastor preach a message on Hell. He remembered a 16 mm film being shown on Hell, but never a message on Hell. The last time that I specifically preached about Hell was on November 3, 2002. I have to admit that it is a neglected thought even among my own preaching.

-You have heard the word, hell, used in banter and amusement among co-workers. You have heard the word used in anger at someone else. The phrase, “Just go to Hell.” It rarely strikes us anymore because the word has gotten so common that very few, and a very small few, really believe that beyond the grave, you will spend your life in one of two places: Heaven or Hell.

-The reason: A truce has been reached with Hell. But this is not a new occurrence. In fact, the people among Isaiah’s day fell into the same trap. That was around 750 B.C. which was 2700 years ago.

ll. THE TEXT

A. The History Behind the Text

-The reformation that had started with Hezekiah was only half-hearted in its measures. Hezekiah willingly destroyed the idols, he cleansed the groves and the high places of idol worship. All of this brought a partial revival back to the land but was not enough.

-The problem appeared when Hezekiah did not deal with the host of moral issues of the day. Idolatry was put away but the pet sins were left hidden beneath the surface and it was not long before the nation had taken another downward turn.

-The great lesson in this is one that the Lord would bring to greater light when He urged that the house that is swept clean must be filled with something righteous and holy because left vacant, the old things will creep back in and this time will be seven times stronger (Matthew 12:43-45; Luke 11:24-26).

-Their drunkenness and their great disregard for the prophets rose up against them. Ultimately, it would lead them into captivity.

-Isaiah was probably just a small child when the prophet Amos appeared at Bethel (755 or 750 B.C.). He was probably a young man when Hosea begin to live out his living object lesson with Gomer in northern Israel and from time references, Micah was probably a contemporary of Isaiah.