March 13, 2025

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.” (Isaiah 55.6-7)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

At the close of yesterday’s reflection on God’s Word (Isaiah 55.8-9), I spoke of the “up/down” dynamic for seeing the Messianic impact on the world (the people who on earth do dwell.) I was not speaking of a theological rollercoaster ride but the truth that those who desire to see the better of life becoming a reality ought to be “looking up.” For example, when Jesus was leading Nicodemus out of the darkness of the Pharisaical mindset into the light of God’s truth, He said, “For as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so too must the Son of Man be lifted up in order that those who believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” This is, in fact, the introduction to John 3.16 which goes on to say, “For God so loved the world that He gave [us] His only begotten Son so that whosoever would believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” And we know this up/down dynamic which Jesus directed Nicodemus to see so that he would understand was lived out daily in the life of Jesus. Even in His death, where we literally see “the Son of Man lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness” on the cross on Golgotha’s hill, all eyes had to “look up.” The confession of the Roman Centurion having seen all the proceedings and Jesus’ response to it all declared, “Surely this was (take your choice) righteous (Luke); God’s Son (Matthew); the son of God (Mark).” Following this, the One who had been lifted up before all men (righteous or unrighteous, believing or unbelieving) was taken down and placed in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea to be buried according to the tradition of the Jews. They did this before the sun sat on the day and brought on the beginning of the Sabbath. It was from that tomb Jesus was raised on the third day as it was foretold. Jesus Himself had alluded to this when the teachers of the Law demanded a sign from Jesus to validate the claim of the people who had seen Him perform miracles of healing and the bestowing of the forgiveness of sins. He said, “No sign shall be given to such an evil and adulterous generation save the sign of Jonah who spent three days in the belly of a great fish and then went and preached redemption.” (Matthew 12) It was one thing for Jesus to be preaching to the people of the life of righteousness and its impact on their world which He was still with them. It would be another for Jesus to do so after His death and resurrection. His being raised up from the dead to lift up the eyes of the world to the glory of God was another. His ministry after death, and that which continues on through commissioned believers year after year, becomes the dividing line of “the truth which sets all people free.“

It is here that I turn back to the preceding verses of those presented yesterday concerning “the ways and thoughts of God.” (55.8-9) There is little doubt that Isaiah was being presented with the starkness of the truth which God was presenting in part and in whole. In part, God was speaking to the exiles in Isaiah’s days (and of the other exilic prophets, too) of taking the advantage of God’s offer of mercy to draw them out of exile and back into “promised land.” He had offered forgiveness, reconciliation and reconstruction to all who would believe. He had worked the discipline of His people to separate those who were “falsely righteous” from those who were “truly righteous.” True righteousness did not come from wealth, power nor high position. If we follow the dynamic of verses 8-9, we know God’s ways and thoughts were higher than human beings could conceive and achieve. Regardless then of what the “world” thought, the kingdom of God was more. God’s sovereignty was not about His people alone, the chosen ones called Israel. God’s sovereignty was about all people. He caused all eyes to be lifted up to see the mighty works of God which would effect redemption, reconciliation and renewal. They all, seeing how God has disciplined and then restored Israel, were given the opportunity to not only believe in God but receive Him as their own God, the One and True God. It was a “limited time” offer, however. We see this in the words which Isaiah delivered in verses 6, “Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.” These words for the exiles of Israel in Isaiah’s day would echo forward and be heard in the days of Jesus. Were the people of Israel also not exiles in their own land. They were ruled by unrighteous leadership emanating from the Temple as, in the words of Jesus, “whitewashed tombs, sons of vipers and blind guides.” To make matters worse, they were overseen by the unrighteous foreign leadership of Rome. They were truly a people scattered across the hills like “sheep without a shepherd.” That term itself turned the eyes of the people to the “son of David” and “David himself” who was the “shepherd of Israel as God’s anointed and appointed.” It was the position which Jesus accepted as “the good Shepherd.” He demonstrated “true righteousness” with humility, integrity and the poverty of Spirit. His power was generated by His allegiance to God and God’s Word. He did what His Father asked of Him, directed Him and granted Him to do. He assumed nothing of His own authority but only that which God commanded. He was a challenge to the ruling authorities and a hope for all generations. Yet even His ministry was for a time.

What time was that? Let’s liken it to that of a prospective groom wooing a prospective bride. He comes bearing the gifts of truth, wisdom and love. He manifests himself to the bride-to-be whom he adores and to her family. He states the purity of his intentions and the honesty of his favor. If she accepts the very gifts which his life presents and represents, then he will go away to prepare a place for them to be as one- husband and wife. When the work is completed, building up the house, and with his father’s permission, the groom will come to take his bride with him to where he had gone so that they may dwell there forever. No one, but the father alone, knows the day nor the hour when the groom will be sent to claim his bride. What is known is that everyone is to be on the ready. Consider the very fact that the groom did not build in secret. His progress was a matter of fact reported daily to the bride, her family (especially her father) and her friends (especially the bridesmaids.) They did not put their lives on hold but “on the ready.” The wedding would take place. They dare not miss out on the moment of glory when God’s affection for His people would be remembered, revisited and sent forth. Until that moment, life went on as it was meant to be with one eye to the wheel and the other to the road. Mighty ones of God, we are living in that “waiting time” for the Groom to return. He is building up a place for us, the Church as the chosen people of God who have chosen God to be their one true God, to be with Him forever and ever. His building up in Heaven is mimicked by our building up the community of faith on earth. We are the body of believers (the bride) waiting to be united with the head of the body (the Christ who is the one true groom.) This season we have been living in since Jesus was raised from grave and lifted up to Heaven, is like to that which Jesus had with the disciples before His crucifixion. He demonstrated with them how to live in preparation so that we, too, might live in preparation for the day of His final return. We must heed the teaching given to Isaiah that calls us “to see Him while He may be seen and find Him while He may be found.” We are to report daily of the progress of His heavenly house building whose canopy space is heaven itself. We do not know the day nor the hour of His coming, but we know He is coming because He was raised from the dead as He said. His word is true not only of His resurrection but of ours with Him. His word is true not only of His righteousness but of ours through Him. His word is true not only of His hope for us but of our hope in Him. It is, to be sure, a limited time offer!

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness which we know is folly but righteous works which declare Your glory and further witness the truth that can set all who believe free from death. So may we live by the name of Jesus our Christ.