Good weekend to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Debris piles everywhere… is what the pictures I have seen lately show me of North Carolina and Florida and Gaza and parts of Beirut and southern Lebanon and hundreds of cities in Ukraine. Death and destruction are happening in so many places around our world that it almost takes our breath away, doesn’t it?
That’s how it seemed for people living in Israel 2700 years ago when the prophet Isaiah received and wrote down this brief, powerful message of HOPE from God: “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear.” (Is. 59:1)
Sometimes, when we are surrounded by the debris of our world, when there seems to be NO tangible, visible evidence of God’s goodness or His approaching rescue, it’s just good to hear such powerful words of HOPE, isn’t it?! But in fairness, we must ask the hard question… are these only calming words or is there some reason to find genuine hope in those courageous words when attributed to God?
Consider this thought which just filled my mind: Hope is a forward look of optimism; when surrounded by the present reality of despair, because hope is based on a backward look seeing God’s miracles of the past. For the people of Israel, surrounded by every reason for despair, Isaiah’s words held HOPE only because these words pointed to the cherished stories passed to them by their ancestors of so many, many remarkable times the God of Israel had, in the past, come to the rescue of His people in despair!
Central to the culture of Israel are the regular, intentional celebrations as each generation passed along to the next generation, the miraculous stories of their shared past. But this act of older adults retelling the stories of their ancestors to their grandchildren was not restricted to only the Festival times. Oh no! It was a key part of every Friday evening, Shabbat dinner. And more than that, it was simply a part of life for a people who cherished God’s involvement in their past, while always looking for the next time God would do something special in their generation!
What if you and I lived like that with our families? And if you are older and your families are scattered, what if we used technology to record and tell the great stories of God?
However, that key element of HOPE in the culture of a people wanes as people find themselves enamored with man-made things or man devised entertainment, and their attention drifts away from God, am I right? What is the evidence of this? Just look around your neighborhood on a Sunday morning, how many people are going on about life as normal without any plans for some time of worshiping God? Or look around the restaurant the next time you are out to eat and watch to see how many people will bow their heads and thank God for their meal before they eat? Or ask any elementary school teacher how many kids have loving parents at home who will help the children with their homework? Or ask any Junior High or High School teacher what percentage of the kids in their classes have BOTH biological mother and father at home with them helping them navigate the complexities of Gen Z life?
And so, Isaiah had to write the very next painful message from God in Isaiah 59 to a people doubting the validity of that opening, hopeful statement about the LORD’s help: “But your iniquities have separated you from God, your sins have hidden God’s face from you so that He will not hear you.” (Is. 59:2) Ouch! Concise, clear, unequivocal and TRUE for every person, of every generation, in every place in the world!
But listen, can you hear the global cries of excuses or refusal to see the truth in ourselves. ‘Not me!’ ‘I’m not as bad at that guy over there!’ ‘It wasn’t my fault’! “I didn’t know’! Oh, while the words might be a little different, the condition of our hearts are the same regardless of our skin color, the language we speak, our generation or our gender. That’s why God continued speaking and Isaiah kept writing, even though Isaiah must have winced in pain as he wrote these next words from God to humanity: “For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things. No one calls for justice; no one pleads a case with integrity…” (Is. 59:3,4)
Rarely can sweeping statements be made that apply to everyone, everywhere, but Isaiah 59 is God’s sweeping assessment of all humanity and He’s right. But of course, we all have this natural desire to point at other people helping God see they are much worse than we are. That’s why God led the Psalmist to write these words: “Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in God’s holy place? The person who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by anything false…” (Ps.24:3,4) Is there anyone like that, anywhere in the world?
I think it would be wise to stop right here this weekend, looking around our debris-filled world; and if we are courageous enough standing before the mirror to look deeply into our own eyes. Are God’s words through Isaiah true about our world in 2024? Are they true about your city and mine?
This weekend I urge us to look around our world and take a fresh analysis. How true, or far from the truth, do you see Isaiah 59, even though it was written 2700 years ago? You see my friends, as with any problem, before we can fix it, we need to understand it and what caused it. So, let’s be problem analyzers this weekend and on Monday let’s look at God’s solutions of HOPE!
And here’s a powerful, reflective worship song to help us, and whet our appetite for gathering with God’s people to worship this weekend wherever you live in the world…
Today’s Scripture: Isaiah 59:1-4.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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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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