Gadfly's Muse

Isaiah 11-12:The Problem & The Promise of Hope

Image: "Upraised Hand", 2007, Village Fair, South of Seoul, RSK

Isaiah 11:1–2 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.

Isaiah 11:9–10 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea. 10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.”

Isaiah 12:3 Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation.

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The Old Testament writing prophets often get a lot of bad press.  To some folks they were just too dreary... always talking about the wrath of God and painting disturbing portraits of what that wrath would entail.  However we must remember that they lived in "the last days" of ancient Israel / Judah.  The smell of death was in the air and they were not alone in smelling it.  Time was running out and only drastic measures could offer any hope and therefore they were commissioned to call the nations to those drastic measures: repentance and a return to the fear of the Lord.

But there is another crucial aspect to the writing prophets' ministries that must not be overlooked.  It is in their messages that we get the first solid depictions of the ministry of the Holy Spirit.  

This is because the prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc.) came to a much fuller realization of the problem facing God's people.  It was not the imminent threat of Assyria and Babylon that was the big issue.  No, the big issue was their fellow man's hardness of heart.  The prophets were well aware of history... probably more than anyone else in their time.  The knew that time and time again Israel and Judah had been called to repentance and sometimes God had acted to give them strong leaders to guide them back to the pathways of righteousness.  But still, time and time again, they had fallen away.  The people of God not only traipsed off after pagan idols, they also lost their common decency.  Injustice, perversions, blasphemy, lusts, disloyalty, lawlessness, abounded.  The prophets saw that it was not a matter of just correcting peoples' manners for a while.  The problem was the deep seated sinfulness of their hearts... sinfulness that neither the individual man or the king over the whole nation, could rectify.  What men needed was a work of God changing their hearts.

It fell to the prophets to first proclaim that there was a solid hope that such a transformation was coming and they had the glorious insight that it was through the Holy Spirit being poured out in abundance that it would arrive.  The prophets saw a day when God would hear the deepest cry of sinful hearts... the cry for freedom from the bondage of sin... and they saw that God would answer this prayer in two, complementary ways.  He would send forth a "Rod from the stem of Jesse" (11:1), a Messiah from the house of David, and the Spirit of the LORD will rest upon Him and go forth at His bidding to bring this very relief from sin's oppression among His people. (11:2)

And what a transformation it was to be.  The famous passage (11:6-8) speaks of the wolf dwelling with the lamb, the little child leading the formerly vicious animals, the cow and the bear grazing contentedly together.  What we should see here is the "now and not yet" nature of this prophecy.  The fullest realization will come when the Lord returns and all forms of pain and suffering will be removed.  That is the "not yet" part.  The "now" part concerns how through the Holy Spirit, those people who have been born again into the likeness of Christ, will no longer be moved by the animal passions, like greed and lust, that caused them to abuse their neighbors.  The Holy Spirit breaks the heart of stone and builds a heart of flesh... a heart of warm and loving affections... which more and more gain supremacy in the individual Christian's sanctification. 

Here is man's main problem.  Man cannot change his nature.  Even when he has some elementary desire to be more noble, more righteous, more upstanding, what he discovers is that his evil heart takes each disciplined step he makes and warps it to evil.  Progressing in external piety he becomes inwardly more hypocritical and prideful.  The facade of civility often breaks down under the slightest of provocations.  The leopard cannot change his spots.

But the Lord Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God, can.  Through His Holy Spirit He opens a person's mind to see Him as the only answer to their guilt and shame and then, again, through that same Holy Spirit, He breaks down the walls of their rebellious nature and breathes into their soul a new vitality.  

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that God didn't do this in the Old Testament.  He did.  The witnesses of the saints like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David, etc. exhibit all this same transforming work.  The difference between Isaiah's day and now is not one of essence but one of degree.  The arrival of the Messiah would herald a day when it would no longer be a few people here or there undergoing transformation.  The New Day would be when "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.  And in that day, there shall be a Root of Jesse... and the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious."

This was Isaiah's comfort as he fought off despair.  Sin was the problem... but there was hope.  One day the Holy Spirit would truly be unleashed and the problem of sin would die its inevitable death.

 

 

 

Isaiah 9 & 10: In Darkness, Light

Image: "Emptiness", 2007, Minsok Village, vicinity Seoul, RSK

Isaiah 9:2 The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.

Isaiah 9:7  Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Isaiah 10:17 So the Light of Israel will be for a fire, And his Holy One for a flame; It will burn and devour His thorns and his briers in one day.

Isaiah 10:22 For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, A remnant of them will return; The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness.

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I don't think it was easy being a prophet.  Take a look at the flooding images in these two chapters alone.  Imagine how Isaiah must have felt as, on the one hand, God reveals to him the awful destruction that will come through Assyria acting as God's agent.  Israel and Judah will be like a bird's nest full of eggs and Assyria's hand will gather all the eggs for themselves (10:14).  There will be destruction as wickedness is punished like briers being burned in a fire (9:18).  Starvation will be so severe that a man will be tempted to "eat the flesh of his own arm." (9:20) This is the stuff of nightmares.  It's hard enough just reading it.  Imagine how it must have affected Isaiah to envision it.

But then, in the midst of such graphic horror, there are such beautifully poignant contrasts.  A Child is born... A Son given.  His Name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace!  This child will have an unending government sitting on the throne of David and establishing His kingdom with judgment and justice.  The same zeal with which God was going to wreak judgment on His people through Assyria was going to "perform this" also. (9:6-7)

 Then Isaiah is immersed again in visions of God turning on Assyria and punishing her.  Assyria is sunk in pride.  She is boastful and arrogant, believing that her great conquering powers flow from her own strength.  She is like an "ax" that boasts against the One who "chops with it" or a "rod" that doesn't see itself as only powerful when in the hands of the one who lifts it up. (10:15)  Therefore God will humble Assyria.  He will allow her to shake her fist at Mount Zion, the hill of Jerusalem, but then she will be "lopped off" with terror.  She will be cut down like trees in the forest. (10:32-34)  Thus Isaiah saw the horrors not only of what Assyria would do to his own Israel and Judah, he also saw the graphically depicted fall of Assyria who was judged for her sins as well.

However, like a graceful melody breaking through the cacophony of destruction, Isaiah sees that God will purify for Himself a remnant.  There will those who will escape the coming wrath and who will be restored in heart and soul to their own Mighty God.  The plowing of destruction will produce a harvest of righteousness at the hand of the Lord God of Hosts.

Thus back and forth the vision see-saws.  There is the darkness of judgment but also a "great light" that shines on those in darkness, under the shadow of death.  A "great light" that will come by way of "Galilee of the Gentiles."  This Light will cause the nation to increase in joy and the yoke of burden will be broken along with the rod of its oppressor (9:1-5). 

Isaiah must have felt like a ping-pong ball bouncing between God's paddles.  Salvation and Judgment, both wielded by God unto the end of His own glory.  What God requires He also gives.  The call is to trust, believe, hope and endure.  Like the old Western movies, the wagon train may be circled and under deadly attack, but the cavalry is coming and if you listen intently, you can hear the bugle sounding in the distance.

As it was for Isaiah so it has to be for us, at least to some extent.  We do not have the Spirit sending us intense visions showing us how this same set of visions will work out in the continuing life of God's Church.  We have plenty of visions written down for us to ponder but we have to let them sink deep.  To some extent we must let the twin bells of judgment and salvation ring in our ears.  If we truly believe in one we must truly believe in the other.  It is only in the midst of terrible judgment that amazing salvation makes sense.  It is only when we, like Assyria, learn that we are only instruments in God's hands and that we must put away any haughty looks or sense of personal accomplishment, that we will then be able to see the light shining in the darkness.

God's mighty hand was proved to us on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.  There we saw the darkness of judgment and the light of salvation.  Both were accomplished and both are still being accomplished.  Let us bow before our God and cast our hopes on Him.  Let us be the "remnant" that He will build into a mighty nation. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isaiah 8: Here Am I... Signs and Wonders For the Times

Image: "Rock Solid", 2010, Vicinity of Canmore, British Columbia, Canada

Isaiah 8:18–20  Here am I and the children whom the LORD has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel From the LORD of hosts, Who dwells in Mount Zion. 19 And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

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This chapter is chock full of inspiring and thought provoking teaching.  Several verses are quoted in the NT as being directly applied to the Person and work of our Lord Jesus.  Particularly important to me is the picture in Heb. 2:13 where verse 18 is put into the mouth of the ascended Christ as He stands before God the Father and proclaims "Here am I and the children whom God has given Me."  This eschatological picture affirms that in that great day when our Lord claims His inheritance in full and gathers all of His elect to His presence that He will stand among us, identify with us and call us His own.  What a wondrous promise that is!  It certainly is worth meditating on and allowing the hope it imparts to fill us with a holy resolve.  One day we will all be truly a family, whom our Christ will be delighted to call "My brethren" and we will all sing praises together! (Heb. 2:12)

But verse 18 also teaches us a good deal about today.  

In context, God is speaking to His disciples (8:16) and calling them, as His remnant in the coming judgment He is bringing on Israel and Judah, that they are to become "signs and wonders" in Israel.  In other words, an important mission of the continuing Church is to stand as a visible and potent testimony to the reality that there is "a God in Israel." (1 Samuel 17:46)  The whole earth is to be confronted with the truth of our Holy God, not only in and through the Scriptures, but also in the living witness of His true Church.  His providential ordering of all things is such that His people will never be destroyed, they will continue throughout the ages no matter what persecutions or pogroms are directed toward them.  No tyrant will be able to completely suppress them and the Holy Spirit will ensure that their continued existence is a source of amazement to their enemies.  

Not only are they to be "signs and wonders" by virtue of their miraculous preservation but also by the living witness of their righteousness.  They will be a beacon of the blessings that come from covenant faithfulness and obedience.  The "law will be sealed" among them and their principled lifestyle, centered on God's Holy Word, will distinguish them from the lawlessness of the surrounding culture.  They will be "filled with the fruits of righteousness... to the glory and praise of God" (Philippians 1:11) and "shine as lights in the world." (Philippians 2:15)

This is the highly charged and stimulating vision of the Church that God imparted to us through Isaiah.  He calls us to turn away from the vain whispering and muttering of idolatrous teachings coming at us from all side.  He calls us to be a "people" who "seek their God" (vs. 19) and stand on the "law and the testimony." (vs.20)  We are to judge all things "according to this word" resting in the truth that there is "no light" in the world that is apart from that word.  This compelling vision requires our utmost concentration and diligent watchfulness, especially in uncertain times.  But it is the fact of that uncertainty in the world about us, as people are vainly seeking some ground on which to stand, that calls us to this very task.

 

 

 

 

Isaiah 7: When The Winds of Fear And Doubt Assail

Image: "Intricacies", 2020, Severna Park, Md

Isaiah 7:2 And it was told to the house of David, saying, “Syria’s forces are deployed in Ephraim.” So his heart and the heart of his people were moved as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind.

Isaiah 7:7 7 thus says the Lord GOD: “It shall not stand, Nor shall it come to pass.  ....Isaiah 7:9 .... If you will not believe, Surely you shall not be established.” ’ ”

Isaiah 7:14  Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

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For all practical purposes Judah and her leaders were shaking in their boots.  Ahaz was on the throne and he was a piece of work.  We are told in 2 Chron. 28 that he saw all the apparent prosperity and strength of the Northern Kingdom of Samaria and decided that evidently they had it right.  So he gave himself over to walking "in the ways of the kings of Israel." (2 Chron. 28:2)  In doing so he pulled out all the stops.  There were no abominations that he did not commit, including burning his children in the fire.  

Even so he sat on the throne of David and therefore God had a special covenant interest in him.  When the very nations that he had sought to emulate, Syria and Samaria, conspired against him and gathered their troops to invade, "his heart and the heart of the people were moved as the trees of the woods are moved with wind." (7:2)  Terror and panic were in the air.  In the face of this prevailing fear God sent His servant Isaiah to speak to Ahaz and give him what should have been words of immense comfort.

"Don't worry... it shall not stand nor shall it come to pass" (vs7) Isaiah tells Ahaz.  "These two kings are nothing but two stubs o smoking firebrands. (vs. 4)  I have My plans for them and when I am done they will be nothing but a bunch of ashes."  Isaiah solemnly tells Ahaz at that point: "If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established (i.e. made firm)." (vs. 9)  God's message to Ahaz was conditional, at least as far as he was concerned.  God was going to work vengeance on Syria and Samaria... if Ahaz wanted to personally benefit from this then his response was to believe.  If he did not... well, he would not be kept secure.  It was a warning he should have heeded.  

Ahaz basically could not break the chains of unbelief in his soul.  He tries to pass off Isaiah's offer of a sign to prove what God had said as a facade of piety.  It didn't work.  God knew his heart and so the rest of the chapter is a heart wrenching preview of what would happen to Judah also in the day when God brought Assyria down to do His will on Samaria and Syria.  It was not a pretty picture.

Let's focus on vs. 9 though.  "If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established."

As with Ahaz we should understand that sometimes the great test of our faith, the "proving" trial of it, is to "trust in the face of hopelessness."  Ahaz was pretty scornful of Isaiah's comparing those two strong kings with burning matches.  Ahaz knew that they were completely capable of tearing down the walls of Jerusalem, ravaging the countryside and carrying off him and his entire clan as captives.  In 2 Chronicles 28 we read that this is exactly what happened.  We are left wondering what would have happened if Ahaz had believed Isaiah.  He didn't and therefore he was not "established."

So the test of faith for Ahaz was, as David did so often, whether or not to put all his eggs in God's basket.  God had worked wondrous victories against invading hordes before... He would do so again in the days of Hezekiah.  We can only believe that had Ahaz humbled himself... if he had undertaken to purge his heart and his land of idols... if he had begged God's forgiveness and pleaded for mercy... that a huge disaster might have been avoided.  Neither I nor anyone else can speak with certainty about what God would have done.  He is God... He does what He wants... but He is also always faithful to His Word.  God's word went out to Ahaz.  God did not have to warn him... nor challenge him to believe... but He did.  This creates the hypothetical possibility of an alternate outcome and I have to believe that God would have done something different.

Now we know that man cannot cause God to change His decree.  God knew that Ahaz would not believe.  Ahaz' fate was as certain as God Himself.  Yet, we are left with a lesson:  "If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established."

When we, with startling clarity, recognize the gathering storms about us.  When we are convinced that we cannot, in our own strength, withstand the bad news that is bearing down on us, then we must remember, "If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established."  Whatever is coming is entirely under God's sovereign control and is directed toward His purposes.  That means that God can turn back the mightiest tide of disaster... or He can cause that tide to work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.  There is no guarantee that God's plans may include catastrophe... but there is God's guarantee that such disasters will not shake us from His hand. 

The key is trust.  When the wind is howling we are not to panic as would those who know not God.  We are to "be still and know that He is God."  He will not suffer one of His children to be eternally lost.  We can face anything that comes having a peace that passes all understanding.  And, perhaps more often than not, we will see the power of God protecting us in ways we could not imagine.  What He does is up to Him.  What we know is that He will never leave us or abandon us.  Thus we will see ourselves "established" in accordance with our faith.

 

 

 

Isaiah 6: Behold Your God!

Image: "Goodness", 2020, Severna Park, Md.

Isaiah 6:4–5 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.”

Isaiah 6:12–13 The LORD has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.  13 But yet a tenth will be in it,  And will return and be for consuming, As a terebinth tree or as an oak, Whose stump remains when it is cut down. So the holy seed shall be its stump.”

John 12:41 These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.

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Isaiah's vision of God and his classic response to that vision, is a beloved staple on Christian discipleship.  It is only slightly less famous than that of Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus.  The Scriptures recount other stories that have a bit less drama in them: Abraham being called to pack up and leave, Moses' encounter at the burning bush, the Ethiopian Eunuch being baptized, etc.  We read these stories and we wonder if every Christian life should have a "Damascus Road Experience?"  Some denominations insist on it as evidence of being born again.  Others are open to the idea of "gradualism", as when a Christian can honestly say that he/she cannot ever remembering "not believing."  There are positives and negatives to each side.  Those who insist on such an experience can, all too often, "manufacture" an emotional setting where the individual does indeed have an "experience" and will base his assurance on that memory, often in the face of glaring contradictions in his behavior.  On the other side, doctrinal assent and a comfortable complacency can hinder the development of a vital Christian piety.  

What is important is to come to grips with the question:  Is a strong direct "encounter" with God's holiness a prerequisite to true faith?  I would answer that "no", such an earthshaking event is not required but a serious, conscious "decision" for Christ is.  I don't have room to talk about the whole "free will" thing here, I will just state for the record that this doesn't mean that the sovereignty of God in regeneration is impugned in any way.  I am simply saying that a truly regenerate soul must make a conscious "decision" and will, inevitably, do so.

How could any Christian, professing a knowledge of the awesome holiness of God such as confronted Isaiah in verses 4 & 5 ever forget the occasion, more or less vividly?  Such was the case in my own life, even though I was a pretty solid Christian kid before that.  John Stott was a famous evangelical preacher and pastor (d. 2011) when I was first getting really serious about Christianity.  I think his "conversion" experience mirrors that of many.

This was a classic evangelical conversion. Christianity was certainly not new to John Stott. He had learned it at his mother’s and nanny’s knees, at Sunday school at All Souls, in classroom and chapel at Oakley Hall and Rugby, and in classes for his confirmation in the Church of England in 1936. He not only knew the faith, he also practiced it devoutly, reading his Bible and saying his prayers, attending additional, voluntary services at Rugby, and spending time alone in one of the school’s chapels.¹³ He was unusually religious at a school where singing in chapel had degenerated into "polite moo-ing," according to one correspondent in the school magazine.¹⁴ But this was the moment when Jesus Christ came alive for Stott. It was a dramatic experience that justified talk of being born again. He would always see it as the defining moment of his life.¹

Simply put, I think every true Christian, has that moment, like Stott, when they know, at some deep level, that where as before they had known about God and His Son Jesus, now they know Him and HIs Son in a more direct and personal manner.  Some people describe it as "Jesus came alive to me!"  I know what they mean though there are perilous aspects to thinking of Jesus as being ONLY alive to me.  The main point of all this though is that for Paul and Isaiah and Moses and Abraham, there came a day when life took on a certain newness.  They weren't the same as they were before and what is more, they couldn't be the same.

When a person is confronted by God's holiness and perfection, as well as the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, in such an intimate manner there is a corresponding movement of their will.  They "decide" for God and His Son... they acknowledge that they want to be servants of the Triune God.. their heart and mind and soul and will find, perhaps for the first time in their lives, a central unity.  This is accompanied by a sense of wonder and of gratitude.  The person is aware of the deep privilege they have been accorded and they find that they cannot help but respond, as did Isaiah, "Here I am, send me!"

We modern Christians must find the right balance in our preaching, teaching and worship in this regard.  We must not resort to tactics of emotional manipulation ("Let us sing 'Just as I am' fifty more times until someone comes forward!"  Neither should we fear to use methods that do appeal and promote appropriate emotions.  If there is no passion in our preaching, no joy in our singing, no tears in our confessions of sin, then something is wrong.  Our proclamation of the Gospel is "Good News" and it should be received as such.

1. Alister Chapman, Godly Ambition: John Stott and the Evangelical Movement (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012), 13, http://www.questia.com/read/121629543/godly-ambition-john-stott-and-the-evangelical-movement.

 

 

Isaiah 5: Exalted in Judgment, Hallowed in Righteousness

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

Isaiah 5:7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.

Isaiah 5:16 But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, And God who is holy shall be hallowed in righteousness.

Isaiah 5:20  Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

 (Is 5:25) ... For all this His anger is not turned away,But His hand is stretched out still.

 (Ho 14:8) .....I am like a green cypress tree; Your fruit is found in Me.”

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Isaiah is a sobering book even as it is encouraging.  

It is sobering in its graphic depiction of how God's people had degenerated into wickedness.  The picture painted is one of strong contrasts.  There is the unrighteousness of injustice (vs.7), the wallowing in sensual pleasures (vs. 11), the greedy abuse of power (vs. 18), the deliberate recasting of good and evil such that evil is called good and vice versa (vs. 20), etc.  These behaviors are reprehensible in the godless world surrounding the Church but when they dominate the people of God themselves, then God's anger is righteously roused and He will not withdraw His hand until destruction is complete and His people's hearts are turned again to righteousness. (vs. 25)

God's people were created to show forth righteousness in their lives, profession and desires.  They are designed as a "vineyard", planted on a "very fruitful hill" and tended by God's providence with unwavering care. (vs. 1-2)  But when His vineyard produces "wild grapes" instead, or, like the fig tree Jesus encountered on the road to Jerusalem, barren during the time of harvest, God's righteous judgment is that it must be destroyed.  This should alert us to God's "complementary colors:" Judgment and Righteousness.  God will be glorified in both (vs. 16) as part of His Divine purposes for creation and history.

We must not turn our eyes away from this.  We don't like to think of God being angry with His Church. We, correctly, look to His love for His Church and His sovereign intent to bless it and protect it and, in due time, bring it to Himself.  These are true things and they constitute the deep assurances of the Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God.  That's where we want to fix our focus.  But God wants us also to face facts.  "Not all Israel (is) Israel", Paul proclaimed in Romans 9.  The Church has always existed, in space and time, including those who "profess with their lips but their hearts" are far from God.  Often these souls may be self-deceived.  Like the rich young ruler they sense something lacking in their lives but they persist in the forms of Christianity in vain hope that such will be sufficient.  The Church has always had this element in it.

It is when this essentially superficial Christian gloss of Christianity characterizes the majority of the Church, whether individual congregations, denominations or across the nation, that the extended hand of God's judgment can be expected and often observed.  What God desires and demands of all who draw near to Him is that they will see Him as Holy.  He wants His people to be filled with a godly awe / fear such that they are overwhelmed with a sense of privilege.  They see themselves as "chosen", called to be "servants of God", adopted children in His family who have access to the God of all Creation through His Son, our Lord.  

When this mindset dominates an individual, fills the breasts of the majority in a congregations, forms the core impulse in a denomination and becomes the passion of nation-wide Christianity, then "righteousness" begins to flow.  A "change" will be sensed in the air.  Wicked people, entrenched in the halls of power and possessors of vast fortunes, will begin to be on guard.  Young people will be given a true alternative to crime and many will be saved from lives characterized by imprisonment or death.  "Righteousness" flowing from the transformed hearts of God's people is a double dose of supernatural power.  It is God who changes our hearts and it is God who brings forth righteousness from it.  Hosea (above) speaking for God said, "Your fruit is in Me."  A fruitful life, a righteous life, is found in God and it is He who tills the soil, plants the seed, waters the growth, prunes the excess and reaps the harvest.  We have to understand that this is His purpose for us and we must not allow the distractions of superficial prosperity or the cares and worries of the world to cause us to lose sight of it.

God will be Exalted in Judgment and Hallowed in Righteousness.  This is His plan for all things and our part is to be fruitful vineyard where God's righteousness is made known.

 

 

 

 

Isaiah 3 & 4: Certain Signs of the Times

Image: "Broke Back Capitalism," 2013, Vicinity of Continental Divide Trading Post, Lordsburg, NM

Isaiah 3:1–3 For behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, Takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah The stock and the store, The whole supply of bread and the whole supply of water; 2 The mighty man and the man of war, The judge and the prophet, And the diviner and the elder; 3 The captain of fifty and the honorable man, The counselor and the skillful artisan, And the expert enchanter.

Isaiah 4:5–6 then the LORD will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering. 6 And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.

1 Peter 4:17–19 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?” 19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

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The old, ruined truck stop stood as a vivid reminder of the ephemeral quality of temporal prosperity.   Located about 3/5ths of the distance between Los Cruces and Tucson, this section of Rt. 10 is not all that heavily travelled and the only nearby attraction is the very campy Continental Divide Trading Post.  If you are aware of Pedro's South of the Border on the East Coast then that, on a smaller scale, is the trading post.  I image the writing was on the wall for the owners well before the doors were closed, the gas pumps were ripped of their bases and the inventory disposed of as best they could.  What started out full of hope, at some point, became just a grim acceptance of the inevitable.  That happens with men and nations also.  Isaiah 3 & 4 vividly depict just how it happens.

When a nation is in decay, like a human body growing old, it shows up in all its faculties.  There will be signs of it in the economy (3:1).  It will register in the ineptitude and corruption of the political leaders (3:4 & 14-15).  The people will become soft and effeminate and the manly virtues will diminish (3:2).  Greed and injustice will alienate the poor and the relatively poor and the nation will emulate the unprincipled actions of their leaders (3:12).  "Those who lead you cause you to err and destroy the way of your paths."

As Isaiah well knew, there comes a tipping point in any nation's history which, having been passed, cannot be reversed.  It was Isaiah's role then, as it is the Church's role now, to proclaim and warn.  The message has to be starkly stated.  There can be no flinching in delivery, no softening of tone, nothing which might make it sound non-threatening.  At some point, when a building is on fire, you have to shake the lazy person's shoulders and tell him "If you stay here you will die!"  Such is the nature and content of the Church's proclamation during the times of impending judgment.  "If you don't change your ways this nation will die and great will be the consequences to those in it."

As it was then, so it is no, "The LORD ... stands to judge the people.. with the elders of His people and His princes.."  (3:13-14).  Notice the all-inclusive address.  "You are all in this together... and judgment will fall on all together."  God is just.  He knows that all governments, at the very basic level, exist because the people allow them to govern.  Of course the government may be based on terror and the people subjected in fear, but there is a choice available.  There is no reason for 200 people to walk meekly to a killing ground when they are being guarded by 2 or 3 soldiers.  At some point the people can force their government to change even if it is at great cost.  If a people are willing to tolerate a corrupt society and even allow themselves to be corrupted in it, then God's judgment will rightly make that known.

The only hope, when signs of approaching collapse are present, is for a total, heart-felt, sweeping repentance to first fill Christ's Church (1 Peter 4 above).  A revitalized and courageous Church can then stand against the tide of filth and even begin to help reverse it.  Individuals can be saved and as the demand for righteousness becomes widespread, politicians will fall into line.  There will never be a true theocracy on this earth until the Lord returns but it is the duty of the Church to proclaim the Good News of hope:  The God Who will certainly judge unrighteousness also is the God who offers mercy.  

People today are pretty much convinced that disaster is coming.  We need to tell them that their fears are well grounded but it is not yet inevitable.  God has given us time... let's take advantage of it.

 

 

 

Isaiah 1 & 2: A Remnant... By The Grace of God

Image: "Strawberry Fields", 2020, Severna Park, Md

Isaiah 1:9  Unless the LORD of hosts Had left to us a very small remnant, We would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah.

Isaiah 1:11 “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats.

Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.

Isaiah 2:2  Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it.

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When a nation is in decline that fact is not completely hidden from its population.  It is "felt" rather than objectively proved.  It registers in a kind of mad, ostrich-like hunger for distraction.  People don't want to face up to it.  They deceive themselves with their apparent prosperity.  Like the French prior to WWII they imagine their armed forces, positioned defensively at their borders, sufficient to keep all the barbarians at bay.  Yet all around them the evidences keep piling up.   They cannot but recognize that there is "no soundness" in their society (1:6).  Where once the news gladly sounded out victories or economic gains or scientific advances, now it tells of "desolation", of "cities burned with fire", of "strangers" devouring the land and overturning the work of centuries.  (1:7)

People feel besieged... they hunker down and hope the storm passes over them without danger to their immediate persons or family.  A sense of desperation sets in and people grasp at straws... they fall prey to political hacks who promise the moon and deliver only more bad news.  Such is the tone of a nation "slouching toward Gomorrah" (Robert Bork's phrase).  It knows it is dying but it lacks the will to take the only medicine that will save it.

What I described above pretty accurately described Judah in the days of Isaiah.  All around him the evidences of God's righteous chastening were plain to the eyes of anyone who would really look.  God had already rained down preliminary judgments of such magnitude that had He not left "a very small remnant" (1:9), they would have been completely destroyed as was Sodom.  "Come," the Lord pleads, "let us reason together."  I have shown you My grace, I have not completely destroyed you, I have restrained My anger, you have all the assurance you need.  God was calling His people back to Himself.  He was calling them to quit serving Him only with cold formalities in worship.  The "blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats" was not what He most desired.

What God wanted was for His people to come to Him with their hearts in their hands... to yield obedience in life rather than conformity to bare religious rituals.  He was looking for a change of heart where His people would "put away the evil" of their doings, "wash" themselves clean of hypocritical self-worship, and to pursue justice, rebuking the oppressors, defending the weak and turning again to the righteousness which God requires in their conduct.  This was not too much to ask.  Indeed, it was a very gracious offer and had it been heeded, God's providential grace would have turned their poverty into security.

In 2:2-4 Isaiah foretold of the day when God would do this very thing.  In the "latter days" the Holy Spirit will turn people's hearts back to their God and they will listen to reason.  On that day God's electing blessings will flood down upon His "house" and it shall be established on the "top of the mountains."  It will truly be a City set on a Hill and its brilliant allure will cause nations from all over the globe to "flow" into it.  On that day the weapons of war will not determine who is blessed and who isn't.  In that brilliant city, ancient enemies will become new friends... even more than friends, brothers.  All will bear the same witness: they are sinners saved by grace.  

It started over 2000 years ago when Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God, founded this "New" city which is, in fact, the "Old" city reborn and revitalized and open to all nations.  Since that time it has spread and covers the earth.  As a prophetic voice in the world it shouts out Isaiah's message to those dazed and groping their way in the surrounding darkness.  "Come, let us reason together."  Turn from evil, embrace your true Lord, and see the power of God at work.

Yet, at its core, the world encompassing city is only a "remnant", saved by grace.  It still is only a slim minority in the world.  But as David was only a small "lad" when facing Goliath, so God's present remnant can claim that God is with us and no foe can defeat His purposes in us.

As our world careens toward crisis, this will be our comfort.  The secular nation around us may fall apart but God's City will always be preserved. God preserved His remnant throughout all the trials of ancient and modern times.  He will preserve us still but He requires our passionate submission and love.  Let us worship not only with our tongues but with our hearts and our will.

 

 

 

 

Song of Solomon 7&8: Love As Strong As Death

Image: Raspberry Blossoms, 2020, Severna Park, Md

Song of Solomon 8:6–7  Set me as a seal upon your heart, As a seal upon your arm; For love is as strong as death, Jealousy as cruel as the grave; Its flames are flames of fire, A most vehement flame. 7 Many waters cannot quench love, Nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love All the wealth of his house, It would be utterly despised.

1 Corinthians 13:8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

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It is a jarring statement: "for love is as strong as death!"  The tenderness of sweet words that have gone before lulls us into a bit of settled complacency.  We have heard the words of passion, the eloquent praise of beauty and virility, the tender warnings not to "stir up nor awaken love until it pleases."  We have been allowed a glimpse of a God-sanctioned image of marital love.  Some of us, more action oriented than anything else, may want to just "get on with it" and move on to more exciting stories.  Some of us may be swimming with this couple in nostalgic memories of youthful affections.  Whatever our attitude toward the book, when we come to this passage we are set back on our heels a bit.

"Love is as strong as death!"  

We don't normally link "love" and "death" together.  "Death" is such a downer... "love" is all warm and fuzzy, like a kitten purring on someone's lap.  But the startling phrase is designed to get our attention.  We recognize that we are no longer talking just about a man and wife living in ancient times.  We have been kicked out of the "particular and immediate" and into the "universal and transcendent" sphere.  God is perhaps teaching us that these few verses are the main point of this entire book.

Here we are alerted to the conquering power of love as well as the tyranny of offended "love" which is jealousy.  It is mentioned that love, once ignited cannot be extinguished by any floods of human history.  Further love's priceless value exceeds that of any or all of any man's possessions.  Only in 1 Cor 13 do we find any comparable level of eloquence on this topic.  Clearly, God is here commending "love" to us as the quality of life in which man finds his deepest joy and satisfaction.  "All we need is love.."

Briefly let's look at the specific teaching. "Love is as strong as death."  - We have only recently finished Ecclesiastes and there we learned that everything pursued "under the sun" is vanity because, despite all our striving, death comes and whatever we have built or done goes to the grave with us and in time, is forgotten.  In other words, "death" conquers us all... it binds us all... it is unstoppable... no one is beyond its power.  "Death" is the constant in man's earthly life and it conditions everything he does.

Here we are awakened to the truth that there is something that is "as strong as death" and what other passages teach us, even surpasses "death."  "Love" is greater than "death" in this world and in the next.  In this world, "love" is a taste of immortality and eternity itself.  The quality of love that man can attain and display in this life (agape) is not identical to the passions of sexual desire but, when present, imparts to those desires an holy, almost sacramental, character.  "Love" is that which makes the passing decades of life take on the added complexity and rich flavors that are so evident in well-aged wine.  "Love" is that which adds such "sweet sorrow" to the passing of the beloved and which remains, like a locket resting on our heart, a testimony to what was and yet, even in absence, still is.

Thus love transcends death.  It is not only as all conquering as death, it is that which conquers death itself.

It was the purest and most passionate love that mankind has ever displayed that drove our Lord Jesus to His death and resurrection.  His love was not then and is not now, some detached sense of responsibility.  He certainly knew His duty and did it.  But our Christ fulfilled His "duty" by loving as only He could love.  He loved His Father in heaven with a filial affection too deep from any fallen human to comprehend.  We know He loved but humility and respect demand that we not even attempt to describe it.  

He loved His people on earth.  It was for them that He came, again as a Servant doing His duty, but motivated most fundamentally by an all encompassing passion for them.  He loved them, and loves them still, unto the end of longing to be united with them.  He wants to be with us in the most intimate manner possible and in order to make that happen, His love drove Him to being born of woman, born under the law and living a life of obedience even unto death on a cross.

Now this is love... not that we love Him but that He first loved us with a love far stronger than death itself.  The grave could not contain that love.  He arose from that tomb, ascended into heaven, and now as our loving High Priest He is ensuring that all things work together for our good.  

Now that is love!  How blessed we are that we can have a taste of that love in this life - both for the special someone who is the object of our earthly affection but also a true love for our Christ.  Know this, that our love for others and our love for Christ are not two different things - they are the One Love that comes from our God and which stands alone at the top of all that is human in this world and in the next.

 

 

 

 

 

Song of Solomon 4-6: Sweet Nothings... And A Missed Opportunity

Image: "Virgin Lamps", 2020, Severna Park, Md

Song of Solomon 4:9 You have ravished my heart, My sister, my spouse; You have ravished my heart With one look of your eyes, With one link of your necklace.

Song of Solomon 5:3 I have taken off my robe; How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet; How can I defile them?

Song of Solomon 6:10  Who is she who looks forth as the morning, Fair as the moon, Clear as the sun, Awesome as an army with banners?

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Hyperbole is the poet's "stock and trade".  Poetry does not consist so much in favored rhyme or mastery in cadence.  Its perfection is in forming a metaphor which captures the reader's mind and never quite departs from it.  Dante Rossetti captured the idea of honeysuckle blossoms when he called them "All virgin lamps of scent and dew."  That's it!  That's exactly how a cluster of these blooms present themselves.  It is hyperbole, an exaggerated description that no one would take literally, at its best.

As we read these chapters today we find ourselves in the company of a master of hyperbole.  No woman on earth wants her teeth to be described as a "flock of sheep" by someone who was not referring to a sight which shepherds adore.  Sitting on a rock, gazing at beautifully white sheep, fresh from a wash, contrasting with the lush green hill on which they stand, a shepherd would understand this metaphor.  We moderns?  Well not so much.

And these chapters are full of such descriptions: Hair like a flock of goats... a man's legs are "pillars of marble set on bases of fine gold", lips that "drip as the honeycomb."  We are tempted to chuckle at some of them until we begin to feel uncomfortable.  There are some pretty graphic illustrations that, upon reading, we can only say "wow."  

This man and this woman were rejoicing in their delight with each other.  Any idea of cold, stern, prudish Calvinism goes out the window when the Song of Solomon is read.  (As an aside the Puritans were not that prudish... let's not malign them for that.)  In these verses we see that God has created us as beings in which sexuality serves to stamp our character in specific ways.  It is intended for health and character and when embraced as God has sanctioned it, becomes a great blessing to be enjoyed without reservation.  

These chapters serve to remind us of that and, with cheerful discretion, I have to agree with Forrest Gump that "that's all I have to say about that."

But there is another little tidbit in these chapters that is familiar to every married couple.  Let' call it the "I'm really not in the mood" syndrome.

For all the elegant and passionate exchanges that have occupied the verses up to 5:1, we have a very human situation develop.  The husband stands outside his wife's bedroom and calls out to her as he had spoken before.  He has come in from the hills where he watched his flocks... his head is covered with dew and "the drops of the night."  He desires to join her in bed.  

His wife finds herself, at least momentarily, not wanting to get out from under the covers... she doesn't want to walk across those cold floors... (5:3) and so she hesitates... perhaps she even protests just a bit... and then after some moments her passions were reawakened and her "heart yearned" for him.  She runs to the door but, evidently, he went stomping off into the darkness.  Passion is much to be desired until it is frustrated and then it can be a real problem.

Some drama develops.  She runs around looking for him.  The "watchmen" of the city treat her roughly for violating curfew and she becomes frantic.  All's well that ends well and she is restored to her lover and we have some more affirmations of his appreciation for her person and beauty.  She is compared to the bright light of morning, she is "fair as the moon and clear as the sun."  She is "awesome as an army with banners."  When it comes to mixed metaphors this guy is no slouch.

I suppose that we can glean a bit of wisdom from these chapters.

(1) Love is something that has to be nurtured and protected. 

God's love for us is renewed every morning and He is never distracted from His people.  He attends to us with the most caring affection and so we rest in the truth that He doesn't miss a beat in loving us.  We, however, aren't that good at it.  No matter how ardent our passions "in the beginning" or even as we continue in life, yet there are those occasions when "passion" just gets in the way.  This story reminds us that we have to be cautious about inflicting pain and frustration on those we love when we react to them in a callous or dismissive manner.  Love has to be nurtured and protected or else like the "beloved" in these verses, it may depart and have to be found again.

(2) What is true for human love for other humans is certainly true also for human love for our God. 

When passion in our spiritual lives get pushed to the aside and become cold embers, we can "put off" those times of fellowship with Him that are the foundation for a vital and energized spiritual life.  We should never be so comfortable in our present "bed" that we don't get up and spend some time with our true Husband.