Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

"I will break down the gates of bronze.". Isaiah 48:20a.

Susanna Petroysan heard her daughter cry out, "Mommy, I’m thirsty. I want a drink." She and four-year-old Gayaney were stuck in a basement beneath tons of collapsed concrete and steel. It was December 7, 1988 and an earthquake in Armenia had just killed 55,000 people.

"Mommy, I’m so thirsty. I want a drink."

After feeling around in the darkness of their basement Susanna found some shattered glass. She used it to slash her left hand and then gave it to Gayaney to suck her blood. Days passed. Susanna had no idea how many times she cut her hands. She only knew that if she stopped her daughter would die.

Hands were cut, blood was shed and the child was saved.

In August of 586 BC Israel’s world caved in. The temple collapsed, theMonarchy lay in ruins, the land became a wasteland and all hope was dismantled and destroyed. Then a massive aftershock brought further wreckage and ruin. Seven hundred miles from home, Israel’s exiles became trapped in a basement called Babylon.

And with every passing year, the Babylonian god Marduk seemed more and more powerful, while Yahweh seemed more and more incidental. Slowly but surely the exiles began to accommodate themselves to their new surroundings. Economic documents unearthed in Tel el Murassu on the Tigris River show that blending in with Babylon brought with it stunning financial success. Living comfortably in a place of destruction and death became the new way of life.

It was the whole boiling frog syndrome. You know, it is said that if a frog is placed in hot water, it will jump out, but if it is placed in lukewarm water that is gradually heated, it will never get out, but slowly die.

The exiles are calling their Babylonian basement the new normal. They are in hot water! If they don’t get out soon, they will die!

Isaiah’s charge, therefore, is to do everything possible to awaken Israel out of this spiritual slumber and get them out of Babylon. So he announces that Yahweh "will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations." His "glory will be revealed and all flesh will see it together." Rest assured, says Isaiah, that "those who wait on Yahweh will renew their strength," for "a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out." And in 51:17, and then again in 52:1 he cries out, "Wake, awake!"

The climax of this preaching comes in Isaiah 48:20, "Get out of Babylon, flee from Chaldea, declare it with a shout of joy."

And Israel’s response? Nothing ... nothing!

They wouldn’t leave! The lights of Babylon, the sounds of Babylon, the religion of Babylon coaxed most of them into staying … in Babylon!

That’s why throughout Isaiah 48 the prophet calls them, and I quote, "stubborn … unyielding … headstrong … prone to idolatry … deaf … deceptive … and a stubborn rebel from birth." All this because Israel refused to listen to the gospel of their salvation; "listen" is the governing verb of the chapter. It appears eleven times in Isaiah 48.

Can’t you just imagine the people responding to the prophet? "Isaiah, haven’t you heard? Babylon is the political-military-religious superpower of the day. This is the land of life, liberty and the purchase of happiness! Why should we go back to little back-water Judah? Besides, what a huge hassle it would be to liquidate our assets, pack our bags, and pull up stakes … just to live in a land devastated by famine and warfare. Get out of Babylon? Isaiah, have you lost your mind?"

This is like a thirsty person choosing to drink raw sewage instead of water from a mountain stream,

or a bankrupt company rejecting a government bailout, or a student saying they don’t want an automatic "A" from a teacher! The exiles are unmoved by Isaiah’s poetic claims, alarming stories, and stunning doxologies.

Our bondage began with just one more drink, one more lie, one more fling, one more glance. But one more always longs for one more, and then … just one more.

I know, oh God, I know.

And then a massive earthquake hits and in its aftershocks we find ourselves trapped in a basement called Babylon.

What next?

The boiling frog syndrome unleashes its hypnotic power!

Sure, being obsessed with pornography, money, gossip, food, people’s approval and work are strange places to be in, at first. It’s crushing to be trapped beneath tons of collapsed hopes and shattered dreams.

But in time we become accustomed to living in destruction and death. With each passing day it becomes easier to deny that I am stuck on stuff that kills and steals and destroys. We are in hot water!

Hear the word of Yahweh, "Get out of Babylon, flee from Chaldea, declare it with a shout of joy."

It’s in Yahweh’s heart to call people out of darkness and into his marvelous light. He called Abram and Sarai to get out of Haran because it was the center of moon worship. He urged Lot and his family to get out of Sodom and Gomorrah because it was the center of sexual perversion. And he called Israel to get out of Egypt because it was the epicenter of a socialization that brought about massive dehumanization. You see, at the core of Israel’s story is Yahweh’s ongoing call for his people to get out of decay, decadence and death.

And what is our response?

Too often … nothing!

We don’t listen to the gospel of our salvation. Isaiah 30:10-11 is the classic response to the prophetic call. "Speak to us smooth things, prophecy illusions; stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!"

But deep down we’re thirsty. Not for more of the same. We know its salt water in the desert. It doesn’t quench – it kills.

No. We’re thirsty for a clean conscience, a fresh start, for a loving, tender hand to reach into our basement and lift us out.

Well, that’s exactly what Yahweh says to his Israel. Isaiah 40-55 is chalked-full of good news! Consider these words from Isaiah 43. "I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine." "You are precious and honored in my sight and I love you." "I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist."

These great and precious promises are found, fulfilled and come to fruition in Isaiah’s Servant who alone is able to reach into our wreckage, and he does it with hands laced with blood.

Finally, you see, blood was all Jesus had. His disciples had deserted him. His garments had been gambled away. Even his Father had turned his back. Blood was all he had, but the blood of Jesus is all we need.

"What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!"

Hands were cut, blood was shed, and we are saved.

And our response? We get out of Babylon, we flee Chaldea and we declare it with a shout of joy! There is no place like home!

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.