I find several very familiar references in today’s reading, and chapter 58 has really got me thinking….
Before I get to my insight today based on Chapter 58, I should note a few other things that jumped out at me this morning. I don’t know about you, but I enjoy seeing things I haven’t noticed before, or recognizing a familiar verse tucked away in the middle of an unfamiliar passage. I think it’s good to understand our “favorite verses” based on the context they were originally delivered in, so that we don’t end up twisting the meaning into something that they were never meant to convey.
In Chapter 54 the Lord speaks of great blessing that will come “in just a little while”. We should note that a “little while” was somewhere between 70 and 2000 years. Seriously. God says “for a brief while I abandoned you” and the captivity was 70 years. Now maybe God abandoned them for a period of months or days, and the captivity was the fallout from that, I don’t know…but I do know that when God says “my thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways aren’t your ways” He’s being serious. God sees and acts differently than we do, in part because He has all the information and perspective, and in part because He is holy, much better than we are. The good news is: we can trust him to always do what is right and best.
The blessing that He speaks of is familiar. The barren woman will have children…many children. The barren land, or the land covered with briars will have trees instead. God is speaking as the one who restores. He says here that one day we will be blessed and be called “Rebuilder of broken walls”. I take that to mean that God is pleased when we restore people, their safety, their dignity or perhaps their means of survival.
If God has given you much, then use it to restore others. Isn’t this the story of Joseph? A teenage boy abandoned by his brothers, abused, forgotten and unable to survive on his own…living in prison while retaining a vision of God’s promise to bless him mightily? And what happens to Joseph? In a moment he is elevated to social and political heights that he couldn’t achieve on his own if he dedicated his whole life to trying. And what does he do once there? He restores. He restores Egypt, protecting if from famine and it’s people from starvation. He protects his family and restores them. He rebuilds the family ties and mends the broken fences of hurt feelings. Isn’t this the same story that Peter surmises in one sentence in Acts 3:6? “silver and gold I have none, but what I do have I give you, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth get up and walk”. Boom! A man’s legs are restored, his dignity is restored, his hope is restored and his means of supporting a family, or perhaps of having a family and a legacy…all restored. Restored because Peter was willing to share what God had given him an abundance of. Wow.
In 54:11 and following it sounds to me like God is describing the city that John saw in Revelation. If that’s the case then these wonderful blessings are yet to come.
Chapter 55 is speaking of the food of knowledge. Wisdom is what will save us, the wisdom that allows us to realize our fallen state apart from God and causes us to humbly repent and serve Him. In the first chapter of John it says that Jesus was the “Word of God made flesh” Jesus is the wisdom of God appearing in human form. Anyone who follows Jesus will be transformed from dead to alive, from insignificant to integral, and from weak to powerful. Their life will change, their outlook will change and their behavior will change. They will stop thinking only of themselves and will begin focusing on how they can…yes, you guessed it……restore others!
So in verses 10-13 of Chapter 55 that’s what’s being described. God’s Word is going out from Him and restoring the land…all of creation, really. I haven’t thought much about how the sharing of God’s Word affects weather patterns and harvests. Could the sharing of God’s Word keep us from sliding into the ditch on icy roads? Yes! Could it allow us to walk through the woods without being stung, bitten or contacting poison ivy? Yes! The revelation of God’s Word heals all things, it doesn’t just let people know the way to heaven…the plan of salvation. God’s Word is the voice of God, the same voice that created all things in the first place.
Chapter 56 is where we are included. God mentions “all people” not just Jews. He speaks of foreigners, that’s us. I’m not sure of who or what the eunuchs represent. In Isaiah’s day they were men who had been castrated, supposedly for religious or political purposes. The act had nothing to do with worshipping God. In fact, now that I think about it, no one could come into the temple if their “private parts” were damaged in any way. By castrating these men the enemy guaranteed that they could never appear before God again. But here, God is saying that the old order of how things were done will be finished, and those who were unworthy will once again be forgiven…restored….and not only allowed to enter the temple, but will have significant jobs and a new name there. What was impossible under the law is made possible through the ministry and sacrifice of Jesus.
Sinful leaders are those who are focused on personal gain. The leader who takes resources for his luxury while others are hard pressed is condemned by God. I think that we should balance this verse with the verses that say “don’t muzzle the ox while treading out the grain”, meaning that we should give generously to those who care for our spiritual needs…but at the same time, those very leaders shouldn’t become lazy, greedy or self focused.
Chapter 57 says that sometimes the good die young because God is protecting them from the evil times ahead. That thought bears consideration. I wonder if we would be upset by the early passing of our loved ones if we knew the difficulties that God was sparing them from? Remember, God sees things differently than us. Maybe the hard times ahead of them would be too much for their faith, or their ability.
Finally, Chapter 58. Okay, so it seems to me that the people described in this chapter have been “going to church” and doing everything that church people do…while in church. They sing, they give, they pray and greet one another with smiles and handshakes. From every outward appearance they seem to be wonderful godly people. What’s the problem?
The problem is the other 6 days of the week. As soon as they leave the church, they hoard their resources, cheat the workers out of a fair payment and disobey the very laws they were nodding in agreement with on Sunday! In fact, these people are fasting, which is the work of more serious Christians..and God isn’t impressed. Wow. In fact, God calls them on it, and says they are “going through the motions” of worship and relationship. My overactive imagination goes off to a movie I once watched, where the husband was a secret agent, and married a woman as part of his cover. She loved him and thought what they had was genuine, but he was just going through the motions. When he finally was discovered, she was crushed, and said “was any of it real?” I think that must be what God is feeling….”Is any of it real?”
Are we really and truly trusting in God for our eternal salvation? Or are we simply going through the motions of worship, praying because “God’s people pray” and serving and giving because we believe in the institution or the Pastor, but not the Lord?
Food for thought. I pray that the Lord will give new insight and perspective to me and whoever reads this, so that together we can be filled with the Holy Spirit, and continue to develop as serious, intent, devout followers of Jesus Christ.
Faithfully,
PR