Isaiah 31
It is a sad thing when a child begins to consider his parent an enemy who is inferior to him and is safely ignored, rather than his superior and an ally in helping the young one to do his best and to be all that he can be. To be fair, in the case of our families, some of the fault of this deplorable situation belongs to fathers rather than to children. Too often we exasperate our children with our own foolishness and hypocrisy, and make it altogether easy for them to choose a pathway of rebellion in the hope that it will merely be a different plausible pathway where a child could find peace in life and also some measure of distance from a parent who has too often exasperated those he might have encouraged. Nonetheless, this accusation can in no way be made against God, who is a perfect Father of His children. In His case, when we find the rebellious child, we know plainly that the fault lies with the children.
As with Isaiah 30, and several other chapters throughout the prophets, the specific bad move of the children of God was in turning to
Why is God intent that His people not rely on the strength of the world for their survival? Why does He insist that they turn to Him? He is teaching them something about the way that things work in the world that He has created. That world consists of visible things and invisible spiritual realities. The biggest and best of these invisible realities is the Lord Himself. He expects His people to pay attention to His revelation and His mighty acts of deliverance.
God did things through Moses that were far beyond the physical capabilities of a man with a staff in his hand. Was it really just a magic stick that any man could have used to bring plagues and to take them away – to remove the seas for one group of people and to cover another group with the waters again? Of course there was some great spiritual reality beyond the physical staff. We need a help that is spiritual. Spiritual things can have an impact on the physical. Horses are great in the day of battle, but can the flesh of the strongest horse stand up to the Spirit of God who made the horse? We need spiritual wisdom. If we have that wisdom we will begin to think about things in a much more helpful way. Chief among these thoughts is this: God is the uncreated eternal Spirit who is sovereign over everything else. To turn away from such an immense spiritual power in disobedience, whether because of allegiance to some other entity, or out of a strange devotion to one’s own greatness, is a horrible mistake.
But who is this God? How has He made Himself known? Certainly we learn much from the world around us, but has He not sent His Son as the ultimate testimony to His truth? Is the resurrection of Christ a fact that can be safely ignored? Is it not an absolute necessity that we consider the power and meaning of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and then attend to the written record of the Scriptures, which Christ Himself tells us “cannot be broken?”
God tells us in Isaiah 30 what we surely already know: that He will not be intimidated by the power of any adversary. He will come down to fight on “
How should we turn to Him even now? Cast away your idols of the heart and of the mind. Do not continue in sinful patterns of thought and behavior that will only bring you loss and difficulty. He can kill legions of Assyrians with a command. Remember Him in His power, and embrace Him in His love. It is a strange thing for any of us to turn away from Jesus. Do not revolt against the One who is so committed to your spiritual growth and your eternal well-being.
posted by Pastor Magee @ 7:00 AM
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