Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
I wonder if you have a ‘nickname’? Can you remember the story behind why that is your ‘nickname’ and when people started referring to you with that ‘nickname’? I don’t know if Mr. Isaiah had a nickname but come with me again today as we discover God used some ‘nicknames’ for His people, and even Himself, in this next message Isaiah received from God, found in Isaiah 58.
You’ll remember Isaiah was recording these messages from God during a dark and difficult time in the history of the people of Israel and the city of Jerusalem in particular around 700bc. The northern kingdom Israel, with its capital city Samaria, had been invaded, overrun and decimated by the armies of Assyria.
The region we know today as the Gaza Strip was a stronghold of the vicious Philistines and they were continually doing exactly what Hamas did on October 7, as their Philistine terrorists would run into southern Israel ransack villages, killing and taking as hostages innocent Israelites and stealing whatever they wanted.
King Manasseh was a wicked man, and he was the Jewish king in Jerusalem for more than 5 decades creating a terrifying time to be alive in Jerusalem! Yesterday we looked at Isaiah’s message of hope for God’s people, found in Is. 58:8-11.
Today, let’s continue as God’s next words to His people gave them a hopeful future purpose and a nickname! Look with me at Is. 58:12 as God speaks to his prophet Mr. Isaiah: “Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings….” Now think about your ‘nickname’ for a moment my friends? Is your ‘nickname’ positive, encouraging and does it declare a good purpose for your life?
As Isaiah and his people looked around at what had been the great nation of Israel, from Beersheba in the south all the way to Dan in the north, and from the Jordan river all the way to the Mediterranean Sea, oh my there was not very much geography that had escaped unscathed from generations of warfare.
In fact, my friends, life almost anywhere in that entire region in 700bc was very, very much like it is, in exactly that same place, today in 2024! Except there were no reinforced concrete bunkers to hide in 2700 years ago. There was no sophisticated radar system to give warning of incoming dangerous missiles!
Sadly, within 100 years of Isaiah’s writing, things unraveled into total destruction as King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army conquered and totally destroyed Jerusalem, including the great Jewish Temple. In those dark years all Jews thought the end had come for the nation of Israel and life for a Jewish person anywhere in the world was pretty close to despair!
But God had a plan and His message to Isaiah was a glimpse into that miraculous plan for the restoration and rebuilding of Jerusalem and even the Temple, which was accomplished in 515bc. That miracle story is found in the Bible book of Ezra. The Jewish captives did return from Babylonian captivity, and they did rebuild the ancient ruins of their city.
And then another dramatic miracle of God fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy when Nehemiah, cupbearer to the Persian emperor, was given permission to return to Jerusalem and with God’s help accomplish the rebuilding of the broken-down walls of Jerusalem in only 52 days in 445bc!
That story is, of course, told in the Bible book of Nehemiah. And for the next 400 years Jews kept returning from all the places where they or their ancestors had been taken as captives. As they returned, they rebuilt the towns and villages all over Israel, so that when God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, there was a wonderful little town of Bethlehem, and the great city of Jerusalem, and all the towns in the Galilee region including Nazareth, and Cana and Capernaum.
All of that had been miraculously rebuilt, with the help of God, from the ashes of defeat and despair, which is why the God of Israel, along with His empowered people were nicknamed “Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets and Dwellings.”
Now my friends, did you know God’s mission for you and me today is very similar? Three chapters later, in Isaiah 61 we find one of the most famous messages from God. In fact, part of this was directly quoted by Jesus in His hometown of Nazareth, as part of His identifying Himself as the living fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecies, the Messiah! Luke 4:14-30 records that historic, amazing event and the radical response of the people of Nazareth, which is why Jesus rarely if ever returned to that town!
In Isaiah 61:1-3 God gives a clear explanation of the power of God upon His people through the Holy Spirit’s regeneration and anointing work deep in the life of every follower of Jesus Christ.
And then in Isaiah 61:3b,4 God declares that we, the Holy Spirit transformed and anointed people of God, would have a very specific life purpose and new ‘nickname’: “They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor. They will REBUILD the ancient ruins and RESTORE the places long devastated; they will RENEW the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.” (Is. 61:3b,4) That my friends, is one of God’s great ‘nicknames’ for you, if you are an authentic Christian, a redeemed, follower of Jesus Christ. And do you see our life mission is almost word for word the same as what God gave to Isaiah for those Jewish captives who would return from all over the world to rebuild and restore Jerusalem, their Temple and all of Israel.
But here’s an important difference for you and me today: we are not ALL called to pack up and move to Jerusalem and help in the ongoing building of modern Israel. We are called to be God’s people rebuilding and restoring and renewing the cities where we each live, all around the world!
So, look closely at your town. What’s the history of your town or city? What was it like 100 or 200 or 500 years ago if it existed then? What have been the devastating forces which have decimated parts of your city? Is it crime or gangs or alcohol or drugs or gambling or sex trafficking or prostitution? Is it corruption in government or business or education or healthcare or churches which have failed badly? Has it been moral corruption in all types of leaders in your city? Perhaps it has even been strong occult or demonic activity?
Whatever has caused the demise of your city, is God wanting to REBUILD and RESTORE your city and RENEW the heart and soul of the people of your city? Is that God’s mission for you and all the Christians in your city?
Is Isaiah 58:12 and Isaiah 61:1-4 God’s powerful Word for a life mission for YOU and me, each and all of us, wherever you are in the world today? How does God want to accomplish this mighty mission in your town and mine, through us?
I think this is an important time to pray, seeking God’s answer to these questions while we worship with this great song, and join me again here tomorrow and let’s see what God says to us next, through Isaiah His prophet.
Today’s Scriptures: Is. 58:12 & Is. 61:1-4.
Choose below to read or listen.
Is. 58:12
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Is. 61:1-4
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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