Isaiah 59 - 63 (31st July) - Weiling

Isaiah 59
On Unanswered Prayers

It was like darkness all around even as you sought to look for light. You try to find a way out but there is none in sight. You are so frustrated and irritated you growl like a bear and snap at people around you. You feel so low and depressed that you moan and weep. You wonder where salvation and justice is.

Perhaps you remember a time when you felt that or perhaps you are going through a time like this now. When you pray to God and it feels as if He does not hear or maybe the circumstances seem so impossible that you feel that there can’t be a miracle; that God can’t help. While God sometimes wants to teach us to wait and persevere and sometimes trust Him for a better answer than what we are seeking; it is good to also reflect on our lives and to ask God if there is iniquity/ unconfessed sin in our lives.

For we see in v2 that our iniquities will create a wedge between us and God and hide His face from us so that He does not hear. In 1 Peter 3:12 it says, “For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.” And also in Ps 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear”.

All acts of rebellion and disobedience to God are considered sin. Sins of “commission,” are those overt acts which are done in disobedience. However, sins of “omission,” are those things we don’t do in obedience, but know we should (James 4:17). The remedy for all sin is to confess it to God, forsake it, and ask Him to forgive you (1 John 1:9).

But ultimately God’s character is one of a champion of justice who sees it as “displeasing” when there is no justice. He will come as a Redeemer to Zion “and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob...”

Isaiah 60
Of Hope and Light – A Rebuilt Nation

Chapter 59 spoke of the groaning of Judah when they looked for light but all is darkness and they groped around like the blind, not seeing. But what hope there is now! Chapter 60 begins with the Lord calling to His people “Arise, shine, for your light has come!” “…the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you”. Such hope, such a picture of God’s glory this chapter paints. And God does this so that “nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn” and that His name will be glorified. The nations around Judah know that people of Judah are the people of the God of Jacob. And God’s name is glorified when the city is glorified.

However, God often had to discipline Judah because they were unfaithful to Him. But a day is coming when it will not be the sun and moon that brings light “…for the Lord will be your everlasting light and your God will be your glory… and your days of sorrow will end”.

Isaiah 61
Of the Lord’s Favour – Rebuilt People

It is heartening to know that God’s heart is tender towards the poor, the brokenhearted and the people in bondage that He wants to comfort them and turn their mourning into praising. It is also awesome to know that God wants to use us as part of His rescue plan to proclaim that this is the year of the Lord’s favour! to them, so that they can trade their ashes and brokenness into a crown of beauty.

Isaiah 62
Of a New Name – Renewed Fellowship

What is in a name? When our parents named us, the name carried with it our parents’ hopes and aspirations for us. We may also have earned nick-names along the way because of our characteristics. For example, your family may affectionately call you “pig” because you were chubby growing up. Our names may also be representative of our past.

Jabez was named thus because of the past pain his mother suffered while bearing him. All in all, names are special because they are associated with us and are representative of us. And while none of us would name ourselves “Lonely”, “Forsaken”, “Failure” or “Stupid”, some of these words are what we have began to associate ourselves with because we feel this way so often.

We brand ourselves with these “names” and sometimes it feels like we’ll always be this way. “How can things change?” “How can I change?” But today the Lord is telling you that you are not forsaken that He is seeking you out and he will change your name; to give you a hope and a future, to let you know His hopes and aspirations for you, to let you know that you are beautiful and so very precious. After all, we usually only name things that are precious to us.

When God gave me my baptism name Amanda (meaning worthy of love or beloved), it was to tell me that He will always love me. Even when I’m hungry or thirsty, my name remains. Even when I’m smelly or dirty, my name remains. And so God’s love for us will remain, always unchanging.

I Will Change Your Name

I will change your name
You shall no longer be called
Wounded, outcast, lonely or afraid
I will change your name
Your new name shall be
Confidence, joyfulness
Overcoming one
Faithfulness friend of God
One who seeks My face
Confidence, joyfulness
Overcoming one
Faithfulness friend of God
One who seeks My face

Isaiah 63
Of God’s Day of Vengeance AND Redemption

The theme and message of Isaiah is the full dimension of God’s judgment and salvation. The awful judgment to be unleashed on Israel and all who defy God is called “the day of the Lord”. The Lord’s kingdom on earth, with its righteous Ruler and his righteous subjects, is the goal toward which the book of Isaiah steadily moves. The restored earth and the restored people will then conform to the divine ideal, and all will result in the praise and glory of the Holy One of Israel.

Just as we know God is compassionate, let us not forget that God is also a holy and just God. He will mete our vengeance and redemption, judgment and salvation. In Chapter 63 from verse 7 onwards, we see the people of Judah recounting God’s mercies, a God who too was distressed when they were distressed, who lifted them up and carried them all the days of old (v.9). We see the people of Judah crying out to God to remember how He used to lead them and to return once again, after they “rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit”. Let us not grieve the Holy Spirit, a God who would let Himself feel what we feel.