A question we may ask when looking at our nation; Is this even worth redeeming? How should the church look at our surrounding world? We see hatred and violence; we see a world with rampant problems with justice, corruption, greed, and violence. As we look at the world, we wonder, is it worth saving? As Isaiah looked at Israel, he was dismayed at the injustice, the lack of desire to serve God, the casting aside the orphans and widows, and selfishness that Israel had been practicing. He urgently wanted to get their attention that they needed to REPENT and turn back to the way God had established for them.
One word defines our time, DIVISION. People are at odds with one another because they worship, dress, cook, or work differently. If there is more than one way of doing something, there will be an argument over it; as a people, we fight with one another over everything, even what ride is the best at Disney will cause people to argue in earnest. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that our politics are as contentious as they are. The power of the world thrives on division, but God calls us to unity, so we may be dismayed that we are far from where God wants us to be. Still, God reminds us that He loved the world enough to send Jesus to die for our sins and that we can be a part of God bringing peace and unity back to the world.
Isaiah had this hope and reminded Israel that God would bring hope, peace, and His pure love to the world. God will clean up the filth and make it beautiful again. Let us turn to Isaiah, chapter four, to look at Isaiah proclaiming this over Israel.
Isaiah 4:2-6
2 In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel. 3 Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem. 4 The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire. 5 Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over everything, the glory will be a canopy. 6 It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.
The previous chapter in Isaiah details the sin of Judah and the results of that sin, as it will lead to the destruction of the nation. The nation that God set apart, or made HOLY, had become full of corruption and injustice. The country had turned away from God. In this passage, Isaiah echoes Isaiah 2:2-5, where he tells those that remain faithful to God will serve as a sign to the world that sin cannot thwart God’s mission, but rather God will redeem the world through His people, through His Holy Nation, through His Church. God cleans the nation of its iniquity and protects from the storms that come.
God is faithful to fulfill His promises.
God has not changed His redemptive purpose for Israel’s children, and Isaiah has not lost this hope for his people. So, as he began this series of prophecies with God’s original vision for the house of the Lord (2:2–5), he ends the series with God’s vision for Judah and Jerusalem after their suffering in conquest, and their exile has passed. While our current circumstances may lead us to doubt God, God will remain by our side, God is going to guide us through the darkest night, and His ultimate message to us is to have HOPE. The effects of sin cloud our vision of God’s providence, however through God’s grace, the power of love and peace break through the darkness and show us that God desires us to place our faith and trust in Him.
Although God protects us, we are not immune to the painful results of sin.
The cost of sin, which is rebellion against God, is exile and facing conquering at their neighbors’ hands. Judah could not escape the fact that the nation was facing expulsion because of their fighting with God and would not eat the land’s good. While they remained God’s People, they still had to face the results of their sin. The wages of sin is death; Paul reminds us. Jesus Christ gave His life on our behalf that we may not suffer the ultimate consequences of our sin, but we are not immune to the results of our faithlessness or turning our backs on God’s calling in our lives. Sin is a deadly disease, far more lethal than CoViD-19. Even though God rescued us from the fatal consequences, our bodies, minds, and actions are still affected and show symptoms of our infection. So too, many in our world are showing signs of infection and are desperately in need of the cure, the healing that can only exist in Christ Jesus. What are we prepared to do to bring those around us into the shelter provided by God?
As the church, we aren’t just survivors but are glorified by God to be His light amid the world’s darkness.
The survivors or remnant of Israel and Jerusalem demonstrate to the world that they were not just survivors, but that God could pull them through their circumstance. They were thriving in a post-exile life, not to become what they were before, but instead, they would grow into a nation that establishes justice and embraces God’s holy mission for them in the future. The world is full of danger, and the storms will surround us. Some want to prevent the mission of the church from moving forward. We cannot be afraid of confronting the dangers because we remember our hurt, but instead, we must be willing to put our mission out into the world, with complete knowledge of God’s protection. The early church grew unafraid of the circumstances of the first century, facing persecution from Rome. They went out into the world, knowing that God’s grace was upon them. GOD’S grace didn’t make them immune from deadly circumstances, like Stephen, but they knew God had made them secure eternally. Horizon will emerge from our current circumstance, which can feel like an exile at times. We will once again have in-person services. However, we do not know when we know that the God we serve is preparing us for something that will be life-giving in the midst of death. Right now, as a church, we need to prepare our hearts and souls for walking in God’s glorious light and going out into the world to bring God’s grace to our community.
God did not prevent Judah’s exile, for the results of their sin led to tragedy and being driven from their land. However, God used exile to prepare the nation to fulfill a greater calling to bring light to the world. God is also calling His Church to share the Gospel message with the world, to share the light given to us through the saving power of Christ Jesus, with the world. It may seem dark and that we live in a merely irredeemable world, but God, who is infinitely just, wants his Church to bring light into the darkness. For into the darkness, God sent His Son to redeem us, while we were worthy of death, saved us from death, and brought us new life. Therefore, since God sought to redeem us from our sins, we must be willing to go out into the world and be His light in the darkness.
Elpis and Shalom 