Gadfly's Muse

Jeremiah 10-12: Sometimes We Have To Just Get Out of Ourselves....

Image: "Common Magnificence", 2020, Severna Park, Md

Jeremiah 10:10  But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.

Jeremiah 10:23  O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.

Jeremiah 11:20  But, O LORD of hosts, You who judge righteously, Testing the mind and the heart, Let me see Your vengeance on them, For to You I have revealed my cause.

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A person, or an entire community, can only stare at bad news for so long.  It is one thing to see the world realistically, that is, to not put on rose-colored glasses or, on the other hand, to bury our head in the sand and deliberately ignore what's happening.  It's another thing to let the whelming flood of disasters heaped on tragedies immobilize us in despair.  These chapters in Jeremiah show us God giving Jeremiah a bit of relief.  True enough he is still pronouncing "woes" on Israel and Judah and the pagan nations around them, but he is also having his eyes directed beyond those "woes" to the Almighty Hand and Person of God.  In the midst of judgment, there are promises of grace.  Above the horror of pending desolation, there are visions of incomprehensible beauty and glory.

Jeremiah 10:7  Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? For this is Your rightful due. For among all the wise men of the nations, And in all their kingdoms, There is none like You.

There are many parallel passages to this exuberant cry.  Jeremiah sees through the apostasy of his own people and the apparently unstoppable hordes of enemies who will sweep down in judgment on them, and sees God, High and Lifted up, bathed in glory and ruling all things with incredible wisdom. 

He is "King of the nations."  Every creature on this earth is part of His household.  Every human on this earth, given the high privilege of rational thought and warm affections, was created to serve Him in representative holiness and derivative wisdom.  All things, every creature great and small, are designed to beautifully bear witness to Him as not only their Creator but as their constant Guide and Friend.  This is our God... He is our King... and conscious acknowledgment, praise and submission to Him as such is only our "reasonable service" (Rom. 12:1), our most elementary duty.

He is Lord! He is King of all kings!  He is not absent but rather all things, however depressing and fearful they may be, are not random events nor devoid of meaning.  He is not arbitrary in His dealings with His beloved creation.   Even those barbarians who seek to tear down and destroy anything that is beautiful and conducive to man's spiritual well being, are not outside of His sovereign plan.

Jeremiah 12:16  And it shall be, if they will learn carefully the ways of My people, to swear by My name, ‘As the LORD lives,’ as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they shall be established in the midst of My people.

In these words, God is directing His commands to those very people intent upon desecrating all that is holy.  He calls on them to learn from the "ways of My people", the remnant of faithful believers who are ever preserved through catastrophes so that God will have His witness in the world.  All the world is to learn from those Christians who have perhaps suffered under God's chastising and have benefitted from it.  In repentance and hope, they stream back to their "home", as the wayward young fool who, awakened to his true senses, returned to his father.  They have been received with rejoicing and now, as a redeemed, sanctified and Spirit-filled body, they stand in God's place, welcoming even the foulest former idolaters to the table of the Lord.

When things appear pretty dismal, it is right and good for us to "get out of ourselves" and see things from God's perspective.  Indeed, we need to see God Himself in all His glory and power.  Like Revelation 4 & 5, placed strategically in John's Apocalypse to show us the foundation on which all the subsequent visions will be built, Jeremiah himself, and we with him, are called back to the basics.  Despair, like fear, is essentially rooted in a "me" universe.  We fall into the trap of seeing things in terms of ourselves or our families.  We focus on what's in front of our eyes and we aren't seeing what's behind it all.

To know that God is King is to be allowed to take a deep breath, relax our bodies, put away the "fight or flee" adrenalin rush, and regain our peace, if only for a while.

I think it worked for Jeremiah... It will work for us also.

 

 

 

Jeremiah 7-9: Has Truth Perished in the Land?

Image: "Relics in Time", 2020, Severn River, Annapolis, Md

Jeremiah 7:5–7  “For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, 6 if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, 7 then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.

Jeremiah 8:22  Is there no balm in Gilead, Is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery For the health of the daughter of my people?

Jeremiah 9:23–24  Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; 24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD.

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Jeremiah is an uncomfortable read.  That's not a new insight, ... virtually everyone who studies the book in anything other than a superficial manner, gets a bit antsy.  It's just so vivid in its descriptions and it is just so easily recognized as reflecting our own time.

Take, for example, Jeremiah 7:28:  “So you shall say to them, ‘This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the LORD their God nor receive correction. Truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.

"Truth has perished!"  Do we not recognize the prevalence of that judgment all about us?  

What does this mean?  Basically, when truth departs from a society the people do not recognize or embrace any proposition or judgment that is higher than mere "opinion."  The idea of convincing others of a position or statement based on some considered perspective such that it becomes morally imperative for them to believe it... because it is the truth... is rejected.  In its place is colorful, emotional, passionate rhetoric that is almost entirely subjective.  Some person declares: "This is right!" and "That is wrong!" on no other basis than their own authority and desires and demands agreement by rousing up similar passions in their audience.

Counter arguments are shouted down because no opposing passions or positions are to be considered.  "Truth", understood as ultimately able to withstand all counterarguments because it is, in fact, true, is rejected.  It is no longer about seeking truth but rather manipulating an audience.  

The Scriptures teach us that we reap what we sow and this is happening now.  Decades of corrupting rhetoric passing for "education" in our colleges and universities have indoctrinated almost an entire generation with self-referential ideas and policies.  The most discouraging aspect of this is that it almost eliminates the possibility of dialog even as "dialog" appears at the top of the list of every demand.

The Church of Jesus Christ is supposed to be the "pillar and ground of the truth" in every society (1 Tim. 3:14-15).  Our current circumstance in this country, just as it was in Jeremiah's day and society, is a blazing indictment against the Church.  God did not point Jeremiah's finger at those nasty pagans in other countries and declare that they were what brought on this sordid situation.  Rather (9:3) God clearly pointed at His own people and those over them and declared: "They are not valiant for the truth on the earth."  He goes on to say "they do not know ME."  This is the severest indictment that can ever be registered against God's people.  To not "know" the living God is to be cut off from the whole idea of "truth" itself.

There is no "truth" unless that "truth" is absolute, eternally valid, and ultimately victorious.  Of course, we may have to resort to "provisional" truths on occasion in areas where no certain authority can be established.  But even then, we, by that very method, assume that acting in accordance with "provisional truth" will lead us to see it more clearly and establish its truth content more certainly or reject it entirely.  

The bottom line is this.  When God's people think of "faith" as more akin to "opinion" than embracing "truth", then we no longer are salt and light, a city set on a hill, or prophets of the living God.  We must be convicted of truth, convinced of truth, enthralled with truth, and inspired by truth.  The living presence of a separate people manifesting this character will make a difference in the world around us.  Such a people can be hated, despised, and ridiculed but they cannot be ignored.

Jeremiah spoke to his people of his day but in doing so he spoke to every generation of professing God followers that followed him.  And through him, God is speaking to us today.  

 

 

 

 

Jeremiah 5 & 6: Ask For The Old Paths...

Image: "Here Comes the Sun", Cone Flower, 2020, Severna Park, Md

Jeremiah 5:2  Though they say, ‘As the LORD lives,’ Surely they swear falsely.”

Jeremiah 5:8–9  They were like well-fed lusty stallions; Every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife. 9 Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the LORD. “And shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?

Jeremiah 6:14  They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace.

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Any parent who has dealt with recalcitrant teenagers knows the phenomenon.  You speak words of wisdom to them, perhaps couching the message with clear warnings, and yet you know that it just isn't penetrating.  Perhaps their minds have been filled with astonishing claptrap gleaned from social media or a circle of "friends" exerting a bad influence.  In your presence, their demeanor alternates between sullen resentment and flashing anger.  They don't want to hear what you have to say.

Jeremiah saw this same behavior characterizing God's people in His day. Jeremiah 5:30–31 “An astonishing and horrible thing Has been committed in the land: 31 The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?  Did you catch that?  Those people who were supposed to lead the people in paths of righteousness had become perverted wretches.  They were filling the people's heads with claptrap.  The next statement though is very telling: "My people love to have it so..."

There is the nub of the problem.  Whether it is a family dealing with a stubborn and willful teen or a nation watching relatively young people engaged in lawless riots and wanton destruction, the basic issue is the same.  They have been fed a bunch of lies and something in them moved them to embrace it.  There is no logic to it beyond that.   Reasoning with a rebellious teen is usually fruitless.  The parents have to exercise control... they must try to put boundaries on the situation.  What they are trying to do is to protect the youngster from himself/herself until, with the process of time, the hormones settle down a bit and some semblance of sanity is restored.  Our current cultural climate appears to have many parallels with this.

At the heart of both situations is a rejection of the past.  The rebellious teen "doesn't want to be treated like a child."  He doesn't want anyone "telling him what to do" (specifically his parents).  He is acting out against his own history.   We see the same thing in the rioters as they seek to deface or destroy all that links today with yesterday.

Over and against this, the Lord cries out through Jeremiah: Jeremiah 6:16  Thus says the LORD: “Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’  What God is teaching here is that He has not left mankind with plenty of good instruction about how we should live, what we should believe, and how we are to deal with issues in our journey through time.  God has given us an entire book of teaching on this subject.  What is amazing about it is the unchanging nature of the instruction.  What was right and good for the people of Jeremiah's day was to turn back to what was the "old" way then.  They were to survey their own history and the history of the whole world since the days of Adam and there they were to see the stable, predictable, and infallible wisdom of God.  

The wages of sin, in this life, are more sin.  The more sin the bigger the problems that sin creates.  Stubborn persistence in rebellious wrongdoing will not produce peace no matter how many false prophets declare such peace as coming or even as here.  What the "parents" need to do now is the same as what was required of the ancient patriarchs right down through the apostles:  We need to call our rebellious generation to repentance.  We need to show them the old paths and the fruit which comes from walking those paths.  

What God wants in His people is exactly that character which will commend our words to those in rebellion.  God wants us to display authentic Christian transparency, stability, wisdom, and hope.  The charge most often hurled by young people against the older generation is that of "hypocrites."  Far too often they have real grounds for so charging us.  So, we have to walk those old paths of repentance also and seek the Lord in our own lives... then we can carry our message and warning to those who know not Christ.  In doing so we will stand on solid ground and fulfill our mandate.  God will honor our obedience one way or the other.

 

 

 

Jeremiah 3 & 4: Beating Against the Wind

Image: Severn River Scene, 2020, Annapolis, Md

Jeremiah 3:9–10 So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. 10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense,” says the LORD.

Jeremiah 3:14–15  “Return, O backsliding children,” says the LORD; “for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. 15 And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

Jeremiah 4:4  Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, And take away the foreskins of your hearts, You men of Judah and  inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest My fury come forth like fire, And burn so that no one can quench it, Because of the evil of your doings.”

Jeremiah 4:22 “For My people are foolish, They have not known Me. They are silly children, And they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, But to do good they have no knowledge.”

Jeremiah 4:27  For thus says the LORD: “The whole land shall be desolate; Yet I will not make a full end.

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A couple of things should catch our eye in these chapters.

First of all, notice how God roots His relationship to His wayward children in the most intimate of terms.  "I am married to you," He says.  Human marriage provides the possibility for some of the most blessed, deep, and satisfying life experiences available to mankind.  In it there can be deep companionship, the satisfaction of team accomplishment, the mutual help relationship that makes every challenge less formidable, security against loneliness, and a host of other benefits.

Human marriage also opens up the possibility of the deepest kind of pain, entrenched anger or even rage, and the extreme disappointment that follows crashing dreams and expectations.  Divorces can shatter a person's life and in the face of betrayal make it extremely difficult to ever truly trust someone again.

God comes to His people as One who has been betrayed in marriage.  He is the aggrieved party and His righteous anger is roused to inflicting punishment commensurate with the crime.  Remember, wanton adultery in the Old Testament was punishable by death.  Judah and Israel, by giving themselves to foreign gods, were guilty of the most heinous of sins, betrayal of their vows to their husband, the loving God who had blessed them so magnificently in their lives together.

Secondly, notice that the pollution of sin extends even to the environment.  They have "greatly polluted" the land itself through their apostasy.  This means that God will extend His judgment not only to the people but to the very earth itself.  God manifests His judgments, often, indirectly through physical phenomena.  He removes the earth's prosperity.  The skies dry up and send no rain.  The earth becomes parched and often subjected to windstorms or earthquakes.  God is sovereign over all things and He does not begin His judgment by killing off His apostate people in mass executions.  Rather He gives time for repentance.  When all that sustains life becomes unpredictable, when the winds of catastrophes are in the air, then people should look to their God.  This is clearly taught in these chapters where God says that even though "there has been no latter rain.... yet, you refuse to be ashamed."  

But as long as there is time there is hope.  All it takes is for God's people to open their eyes to what is really happening.  They need to see that their uncertain times filled with fear and foreboding are first and foremost the advance notice of what yet lies ahead.  It is the time for them to hear God say "Return... and I will bring you to Zion .... and I will give you shepherds according to My heart...."

Even as God's judgments are directed against the "whole person" of His people, encompassing their lives, their economies, the land itself, so His restoring forgiveness is extended to the fullness of their lives also.  

If we, as God's people, find ourselves beating against the wind, trying to tack left and right to get our lives back on solid ground, then perhaps it is time to hear God calling us to a renewed zeal for Him and His Kingdom.  How can we bring a message of hope, reconciliation, and security to our nation if we are ignoring that message ourselves?

It is time to "circumcise" ourselves to the LORD with just the humble penitence that Jeremiah demanded of people in His day.  We need to put away vain things and focus on the true source of well being... our marriage to our Great Husband and King.

Jeremiah 1 & 2: Called From the Womb

Image: "Brilliant Droplets", 2020, Severna Park, Md

Jeremiah 1:4–5  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

Jeremiah 1:18–19  For behold, I have made you this day A fortified city and an iron pillar, And bronze walls against the whole land— Against the kings of Judah, Against its princes, Against its priests, And against the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,” says the LORD, “to deliver you.”

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The vocation of "prophet for the living God" has got to be among the toughest of all.  People are ill-disposed to hear from God in even the best of times.  When the message is one of impending, very righteous, and very harsh, judgment then things can get pretty hairy.  

Such was the case in Judah during Jeremiah's day in spades.  To say that God's people had given themselves over to idolatry is only to state the surface truth.  What people want is for God to "get off their backs."  They are vaguely unsettled by the notion that there is Something or Some One beyond the everyday world of experience, so they long for some teaching or religious idea that will essentially tell them that it is OK to do what they want.  They like the idea of "tossing God a bone" so that He may content Himself with some pittance.  The Israelites still had a superficial relationship with their Covenant God.  The temple still stood and they gave token acknowledgment of their historic privilege as God's chosen people.  But they had little respect for His precincts and especially His laws.  They were more attuned to the world they saw.  They were addicted to the pursuit of wealth and comfort or power.  They viewed the notion of living according to principle rather than pragmatism as naive at best.  They were not unduly concerned about the injustice of their actions and how those actions might impact their poorer brothers and sisters.  

There were many kings, princes, and priests in Judah who either explicitly or implicitly sanctioned such behavior.  There were many false teachers and idolatrous priests who assured them that whatever gods there be, they would not interfere with the Israelites lustful desires.  Truly they were chasing after spiritual prostitutes and were egged on by people of influence who peddled lies as truth.  

In other words, the world Jeremiah faced was not all that much different than the world we face today.

As only a mere boy Jeremiah was awakened to his job.  He was not all that thrilled at the idea, thus showing us that he pretty much understood what was happening.  He did not put on rose-colored glasses; he did not fall into romantic notions of heroic tragedy.  Jeremiah was being "sentenced" to a rough life and he was given only one sure and certain hope on which to base his trust.  "They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you.  For I am with you, says the LORD, to deliver you."  That was it.  

Jeremiah knew that there was still a whole lot of latitude left open to what he might have to face.  To be a prophet of God in a hostile culture is no laughing matter but it was what Jeremiah was called from the womb to do.  It is what we are called from the womb to do also. (Mark 10:29-30) 

We modern Christians have fallen into a deadly trap.  We have been told that all God requires of us is to generally be "good" and to have "faith."  It is this last aspect that is miscast.  "Faith" throughout Scripture is characterized as "Trusting in God as a servant."  We have been taught, by our own era's false prophets, that "faith" is something we add to our otherwise normal life.  It consists of building a certain religious component into the passing days, weeks, and months.  It is essentially pretty tame.  Depending on the individual or family there may be some religious duties for which we volunteer and we may even give generously in our tithes.  But when we pause and compare this attitude to that which Jeremiah understood then we see just how far short of "faith" we really are.

"Faith" is not something we add to our otherwise normal life... "faith" is that which transforms our otherwise normal life.  It becomes the center of our being and all other things such as personal goals, family ideas, understanding of the church, even our view of the wider world itself, is reoriented to this central "faith."  It is only when this happens that our own "servanthood" takes over.  We understand ourselves as called... in a manner not all that dissimilar to Jeremiah.  God owns us and has commissioned us, as His servants, to do His will.  A significant portion of our task will be speaking prophetically to our world.  For some of us, it may be the dominant call.   For others, it may be required in a more ad hoc fashion. But this is certain, it is required of all of us and it is especially required of us when it becomes most uncomfortable or even dangerous to do so.

Jesus told us that He did not come to bring peace but a sword.  That sword is His righteous, prophetic word and it is ours to wield.  In a world given over to idolatry and to a people who often think of themselves as Christian, we must be prepared to speak.  But God is with us and He will not allow His obedient servants to fail in bringing about the results He has ordained to bring about through them.

 

Isaiah 63-66: Hope for a Sinking Society

Image:  "Bright Colors", 2020, Severna Park, Md

Isaiah 63:2  Why is Your apparel red And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress?

Isaiah 64:1  Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence—

Isaiah 64:4  For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him.

Isaiah 65:17–18  “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy.

Isaiah 66:1–2 Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool.  Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? 2 For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist,” Says the LORD. “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.

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The closing chapters of Isaiah pound home the message that God's people are not to give up hope.  Though bound to cruel oppressors in Babylon for many of them and others reduced to dreadful poverty among the ruins of Judah and Israel, yet God calls them to remember their God.  He promises that those who oppress them now will one day be subject to His terrible judgment.  He will tread on them as a wine presser and their blood will stain the earth.  He will deal with those who lead them into the sin for which they were being judged, reminding them of the guilt which brought on their present status as well as the greater guilt of their spiritual leaders.  

But in the midst of all these solemn pronouncements, there was another message.  It was the sure promise of God to bring His people to a better world, a world in which the "former things" have passed away and will not even be brought to mind.  God knows that it is hard for us broken humans to believe such a thing.  We are immersed in a world gone mad.  We see horror every day in the images presented on our television screens and computer videos.  Lawlessness controls many streets and gross incivility rules most of our tongues.  Women drivers are beaten when they are forced to stop and first-responders are treated like villains.  How, in the face of all these things, can we have hope?  We need to remember that, bad as it is, the Remnant of God's People in Isaiah's day had it much worse.

So we need to revisit these promises.  God reminds us that "heaven is His throne and the earth His footstool" (66:1).  He dwells in incomprehensible magnificence, glory, and power.  Yet all that glory is tempered by His Heart for He tells us that it is on "this one that I will look, on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit... one who trembles at My word."  God brushes away all of those things that terrify us.  He looks at the evil abounding in the world and contemptuously judges it to be impotent and of no ultimate consequence except to those who love it.  What He sees and loves is the broken-hearted sinner.  That man, woman, or child who knows that their only hope is grace because they have no high moral ground to judge any other sinner.  They know sin up close and personal because it is their own sin that humbles them.  But, as broken sinners, their hearts have been made tender.  They hurt with those who are being hurt.  They wail at the injustice being done all about them and yearn to help those who are truly oppressed.  The hunger for righteousness, not only for themselves but for God's beautiful world.

These are the ones whom God deems eternally important for it is they who are the beneficiaries of His Holy Spirit and the work of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  He swears to them on His own Person that the new heavens and new earth will come and all their deepest desires will be met to overflowing.  

We Christians need to take a lesson from the Day Lily.  We need to open our arms to the Sun/Son and bask in His Person as the seal of our deepest hope.  We must again regain the initiative by showing forth hope and a vision for a better tomorrow to a world that seriously doubts that such hope and vision are possible.  We have it sealed in His blood... confirmed by His word... and guaranteed by His promise.  Let's take up the joy of our salvation and carry our message to the whole, hurting world around us.

Isaiah 60-62: A Bird's Eye View

Image: "Slipping The Surly Bonds of Earth", 2004, Hattiesburg, Ms. (T-28 RC model aircraft, Erskine Pou)

Isaiah 60:2–3  For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. 3 The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.

Isaiah 60:19  “The sun shall no longer be your light by day, Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; But the LORD will be to you an everlasting light, And your God your glory.

Isaiah 61:1–2  “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,

Isaiah 62:11 Indeed the LORD has proclaimed To the end of the world: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Surely your salvation is coming; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.’ ”

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Indeed, those hours that I spent solo piloting my aircraft through the sky's blue corridors were among the happiest of my life.  The poem "High Flight" captures the spirit far better than I can express it. In my mind, when not tumbling among the "sun-split clouds", it was the majestic quietness of the soul that settles in when gazing at the earth and seeing it clean and beautiful.  From "up there" one sees the "big picture."  All of man's puny squabbles, his chaotic despoiling of the good world God has given him, are absent from sight, shrunken to their true proportions.  What one sees is God's Artistic Handiwork and is assured that He shall never let it be completely defaced.

This section of Isaiah is somewhat of the same "bird's eye" view of the truth of that last statement.  These chapters are chock full of God's promises for His people reminding them of their eternal hope.  God seals His oath with the strongest possible guarantee; He swears by "His right hand and by the arm of His strength", (62:8) that there will come a day when all ugliness shall be washed away and the people of God will be "a praise in the earth." (62:7)  They will be "a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD". (62:3)   All of this will come about (in Isaiah's vision) through the One on Whom the Spirit of the Lord GOD shall rest.  He will be the one who will "heal the brokenhearted" and liberate the captives.  They will be given "beauty for ashes...(and) the garment of praise.."  Those things that were ruined by the sin-besotted insanity of men will be rebuilt and the desolation brought by generations of sinners will be renewed in vitality. (61:1-5)

It was these last referenced verses that our Lord Jesus read to the assembled synagogue (Luke 4:18) and then applied them to Himself.  He said: "This day these verses are fulfilled in your hearing!"  Jesus pointed them to this "bird's eye view" of His Person and His work.  He came to fulfill the promise subjectively and spiritually for those born into this continuing world who will be regenerated with faith.  He came also to carry on His work unto the objective and ultimate reality that shall be brought at His second coming.  For our God is not content to leave His handiwork in its present uncleanness.  He designed it for a Holy Habitation, a cosmic garden where He will walk with His completed sons and daughters and share the intimacy that mankind can only experience with a perfected soul in a perfected body.

On that day, as John also so clearly saw (Rev. 22:23), it will no longer be the sun which will be our "light by day" nor will we require the "brightness" of the moon to illumine the darkness.  God, Himself, will be our "everlasting light" and our Glory. (60:19).  Our new Jerusalem, the "city" of gathered saints will be comprised of all nations.  "Sons of foreigners" will be joined with "kings". gathered from afar, to the "Holy One of Israel." We will show forth the very glory of God, manifesting to all the astonished legions of angels the perfection of His eternal counsel. (60:9-10)  

On that day the LORD shall arise over us and the present darkness that covers the earth and its people will be lifted.  The Gentiles are yet seeing the light of Christ and are coming to Him.  They will continue to do so until the fullness of "Israel" will be saved.  (Romans 11:25-27)  

God has not left His people without promises for their future.  He has not left the generations of those born after the fall of Jerusalem without concrete hope for a concrete resurrection.  We err greatly when we conceive of our future life with God as being restricted only to some "spiritual" existence, something overly-trivialized by the idea of sitting on clouds and plunking a harp.  We have solid promises given to us by God about what shall yet be.  True enough, as here, it is given in a "bird's eye view", but never-the-less, it shows us that God intends the fullness of eternal life to be lived in the fullness of a body/soul communion with our Risen Lord, whose concrete body, possessing spiritual qualities, is the guarantee of what we shall attain.

Here is a hope that fills the soul with longing but also inspires us to that life yet remaining to us on this poor broken planet.

 

 

 

 

Isaiah 57-59: These Present Trials - What Might God Be Telling Us?

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Isaiah 57:1 The righteous perishes, And no man takes it to heart; Merciful men are taken away, While no one considers That the righteous is taken away from evil.

Isaiah 59:12–13  For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And as for our iniquities, we know them: 13 In transgressing and lying against the LORD, And departing from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.

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I have had several requests for comment on the immediate issues that are inflaming the country.  Most people know my conservative political and economic views.  I am no fan of radicalism.  To say that I abhor violent demonstrations, riots, and violence, is to make a serious understatement.  On the other hand, it is a serious understatement to say that I was "repulsed" by the video record of George Floyd's apparent murder.  I suppose a criminal investigation might find some mitigating factors but to me, it appeared sadistic.  So, as the question is sometimes posed, today as I read these verses, I found myself wondering if God was telling us something about today in terms of Isaiah's day.

The first thing that came to mind was the overall message.  God is telling Israel that their present circumstances were a result of their sin.  That doesn't mean that God was excusing the sin of the invading Babylonian hordes or the sadistic treatment their captors was giving them.  But God was saying that sin breeds more sin and the punishment for sin is often in terms of "payback."  A people or a nation cannot look for peace in a culture that tolerates evil.  

Isaiah 57:21 “There is no peace,” Says my God, “for the wicked.”

Might this not be a lesson about what is going on now?  There is no "peace" because "wickedness" is flourishing among us.  Now right away we have to pull ourselves up short.  God is here speaking to His People... He is speaking today to His People.  We Christians must step up to the plate and acknowledge our guilt in the face of God's obvious displeasure.  We have grown complacent, comfortable in our prosperity and we have not, as a community, really undertaken to address the issues in our culture.  True enough we have verbally opposed and stood "strong" against things like abortion, sex slavery, the drug culture, etc.  But notice what God says in these chapters:

Isaiah 58:6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?

God is not here saying that opposing unrighteousness "in principle" is all He requires.  He is saying that His people are to be engaged in the fight against wickedness.  Should we perhaps ask ourselves if the current slogan "Silence is Consent" might not be an unpleasant truth we would rather ignore?  I have often said that the Bible does not call us to be "Lone Ranger Christians", but neither does it call us to be "couch potato Christians" either.

I do no buy into the whole "Critical Race Theory" presuppositions.  I do not believe that the white peoples of this nation are racists simply by virtue of being born white.  However, as Christians, have we only shaken our heads in sadness over the years when unjust actions have become public.  We Christians are "law and order" folk because God hates chaos and lawlessness.  That is as we should be.  But what if "lawlessness" extends into the ranks of those who are in positions of power.  Of course, the police are one such powerful position, but what about the multitudes of others.  Have we undertaken to stand against the corruption in government, the blatant abuse of power by evil men and women, or have we just been content to vote for folks we think might do something about it for us? 

The problems with evil in this country run far deeper in our society than just the degree to which blacks and other people of color are alleged to be unequally oppressed by the police.  The facts may not support that this is true, at least as far as being "unequally" oppressed.  What does not seem to be in dispute is that there is injustice in our society.  We can point our fingers at the break down in nuclear families, the war zones that exist in the inner cities, the failure of entire generations to instill in their young the moral imperative to seriously pursue educational opportunities, the debilitating effects of massive welfare and social service policies, etc. and in essence proclaim: "they are just getting what they deserve."  In other words, the urban fiasco is the fault of those who are living it.  We might be doing that.

All I am saying is that God might be telling us that we had better think again.

Isaiah 58:10  If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday.

The Christian conscience, under the prompting of the Holy Spirit, should move us to solemnly consider the fragile reality of our cultural situation.  We should and we must condemn the chaotic violence and lust-driven looting.  But let us also condemn the wickedness that has brought about these things.  We have the only message of hope for a world convulsed by sin.  There is only one Power that can bring some sanity to our circumstances.  The Christian tribe in this nation should carry that message of hope to the forefront of the battle and we should carry it not only in Word but in Deed.  

 

Isaiah 55 & 56: Why Go Hungry? Come And Eat....

Image: "Glorious", 2020, Assateague State Park, Md

Isaiah 55:1  “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price.

Isaiah 55:6–9 Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.

8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:12  “For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Isaiah 56:7  Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

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These two chapters ought to be constantly remembered by God's people.  We should dwell on them... let them swirl deliciously through our consciousness as we pursue our walk with the Lord.  They were certainly on His mind when He was doing His earthly ministry.  Could 55:1 and its call to "come and eat" not have been present in His mind as He called the multitudes to feast with Him on the mountain.  When He cleansed the temple it was Isaiah 56:7 that He quoted to tell folks why He was doing it.  When Jesus called in His sermon and said "seek and you will find", was He not referring to the teachings of 55:6&7 for those verses certainly clarify what is meant to "seek the LORD."  In Matthew 24 Jesus says that His word will by no means pass away and here in 55:11 God reminds us of the same thought, that His Word will not fail to accomplish what He pleases.

In these two chapters, we are spoken to in our present situation and we are transported to the sublime vistas of God's heavenly transcendence.  We are exhorted in our neediness, our hunger, our thirst, to come and eat... to drink... what is freely provided for us.  God knows our fallen state.  He knows the depths of our sin better than do we.  He knows that all our best intentions have fallen short and our most righteous acts are tattered rags.  He knows that in our hearts we want validation... we desire to be what we were created to be... we hunger for righteousness... and to answer those needs He calls us to Himself.  He is our food.  Jesus said that we are to partake of His body and drink His blood.  This was, of course, no crass pagan sacrilege nor was it a call to the Roman fallacy of the Eucharist.  Jesus was calling us to partake of Him spiritually but really. He wants us to open our spiritual mouths and be filled with His spiritual food.  This is the answer to our needs.

But, even as a Pharisee asked long ago, "how can this be?"  so we wonder if this is not just some mystical mumbo jumbo. No, God replies.  You are confining your thoughts only to your worldly framework.  Look to Me... I am higher than your thoughts... My ways are higher than your ways.  I bring the rain to water the earth and make it bring forth and bud.  I do this by My word that goes out of My mouth.  It always accomplishes just that which I sent it to do.  Even so, hungry sinner, My word will prosper in you.  Hear My Voice in my revealed Scriptures.  Hear My Holy Spirit speaking through them and calling you to repentance and faith.  Look with spiritual eyes that I will give you and see My Son, High and Lifted Up, ruling over heaven and earth.  Know that this world and all that is in it, including you, are Mine and that I have done all that is necessary for you to "go out with joy and be led out with peace."

But, you say, I am so sinful.  My shame is too great to even allow me to step one foot in your Holy Precincts.  Listen to me (56:4), though once it was such that a eunuch was too marred and blemished to be allowed into my temple, yet now, through the blood of My Son, they and all other broken and tainted believers are welcomed.  You will get an everlasting name and no one, even Satan himself will ever accuse you of unrighteousness again.

My house SHALL be called a house of prayer for all nations... men and women from every tribe on earth will gather in worship in my Holy Abode.  This is the great feast that I have prepared for My Son and His Bride.  You who are hungry and thirst, draw near.  I have longed to have this meal with you.

 

 

Isaiah 53 & 54: Like A Tender Plant

Image: "Like A Tender Plant", 2020, Severna Park, Md

Isaiah 53:2–6 (NKJV) For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
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Isaiah 53 & 54 taken together, read or proclaimed, and explained straight through, provide as sound a statement of the Gospel as anyone would ordinarily need. Virtually every topic that needs to be covered is either explicitly stated or undeniably implicit. Here we have the great plan of God, the redemption, salvation, and ultimate glorification of His people, clearly stated. Is it any wonder that these verses thrill our hearts even today? Is it not astonishing to remember that they were written centuries before our Lord's incarnation? Is it not obvious why He consciously and explicitly thought of His work and His ministry in their terms? It is astonishing... it is humbling... and it arouses the deepest sense of gratitude in our breasts.

Behold the plan of God and contemplate how far removed it was from any imagining of ordinary men.  God reveals that His Holy "Arm" is being revealed or prophesied.  His "Arm", the One Who will demonstrate His Own power and strength.  His "Right Hand Man" Who will be His Servant and do great wonders.  We would expect such a glorious Being to arrive with brilliant fanfare and shouting heralds.  His trappings should reflect His eminence.  But no, we are told that He shall not be revealed in "strength", that is, with hordes of soldiers anxious to do His bidding.  Rather His coming will be in weakness, as a tender plant, a rooting just pushing above ground, the very essence of vulnerability and fragility.  

We would expect a grand Person whose very stature and complexion would immediately draw our admiration.  But no, such was not to be.  Rather, He would have no beauty, no statuesque form or physical attractiveness.  Rather He would be one, such as a leper, whose visage was marred by sorrows and grief, such that men averted their eyes from Him.  He was "despised."  

But though He would suffer at the hands of men this was not His most noble task.  No, He was stricken and smitten by God.  It was God who placed on Him the awful and torturous burden of our sins... our transgressions... our iniquities.  He was born into this world to bear our sins... and bear them He did.  His waking breaths were drawn in full consciousness of this burden.  It grew heavier and heavier throughout His life until, at the cross, that burden consumed Him.  He died under the awful weight of sin and the passion of their penalty.  It was the LORD Who laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

"It pleased the LORD to bruise Him in order to make His soul an offering for sin" (53:10) but it was not a tragedy in His mind then nor now!  He knew that His story would not end on the cross nor that the sufferings He endured would swallow up joy.  Rather He knew, as was prophesied in 53:10, that He would see His seed.   His days would be prolonged, even to eternity, and every one of the saints for whom He suffered and died would be added to Him in due time.  This was His portion... this was His inheritance... this was His Father's absolute promise to Him which, before the creation of the world, was to be the reward of His assigned work.

Is it any wonder then that Isaiah 54 is a glorious celebration of this eternal reward?  God calls all His chosen peoples, across the ages, to joyful singing.  They will celebrate the incredible work of the Holy Spirit which has caused them, as the Family of God, to expand right and left so as to inherit all the nations of the earth.  They, as God's assembled Bride, will be joined to Him in that great "wedding" feast where they acknowledge that their "Maker" is their "Husband."  As His redeemed bride, washed of anything that soiled her, dressed in beautiful garments, they will dwell in the absolute, unchanging certainty that He will never again be angry with them... or that they will earn His rebuke... because His covenant of peace will never be removed. (54:10)

So much more could be said.  The comprehensive Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God, is summarized as only the Holy Spirit Himself could do so.  Here is our hope and peace.  All that remains is to embrace it in faith...  to let its comforting truth sink deep into our souls so that we, along with all the saints who have gone before, may be warmed and equipped for His service.  This is OUR Christ!