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Devotional thoughts (Monday through Thursday mornings) from the pastor of Exeter Presbyterian Church in Exeter, NH // Sunday Worship 10:30am // 73 Winter Street

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Isaiah 39

In this chapter we have the conclusion to the historical interlude in Isaiah, where we have recorded several important interactions between the prophet and the king. Up to this point they have all seemed to shine a positive light on the man Hezekiah, who was truly a great king. It is in this episode where we perhaps begin to see the limits of understanding of even this great man.

The occasion for this story is that Hezekiah has recovered from a life-threatening illness. We saw that the Lord gave Hezekiah an additional fifteen years in response to the king’s earnest plea before God. This was great answer to prayer, and the beginning of a new day for a man who had been suffering and grieving.

The Babylonians were interested in the life and death of the King in Judah. They sent friendly letters and a special gift to Hezekiah with envoys from the king of Babylon. Hezekiah’s response was most cordial. He welcomed them gladly, and showed them everything about Jerusalem that might make it attractive to the invading force of a foreign power. After the visitors have departed, Isaiah tells Hezekiah that it will be this Babylon which will carry off everything to their land, even some of the king’s own descendants.

It is Hezekiah’s reaction to this prophecy that is most troubling. Instead of repentance or regret, the king seems to be genuinely happy about the good word of the Lord on this matter. His reasoning is that there will be peace and security in his day.

How can we understand this reaction? Hezekiah might have taken it as a foregone conclusion that the Lord was going to eventually fulfill His word in sending His people into exile. He may have had a great sense that the time was very near. He may have concluded that there would ultimately be no amount of tears that would change this situation. With that in mind, it was good news that the day of reckoning for Jerusalem would not come in his day.

What are we to think about the day of destruction of Jerusalem? We are of two minds at the same time. On one hand, we mourn the barbaric destruction by fierce Gentiles of the Lord’s own holy things. We also consider the tremendous loss of life and civil freedom that would be coming to God’s nation. So many people would die! So many would suffer and then live on as slaves in a foreign land. We can only grieve about these things. On the other hand, we too know that this has been a long time in coming, and that the vindication of the righteousness of God requires that his sentence against his disobedient nation must actually take place. But even more than this, we must know that the way of approaching God through ceremonies designed for only one nation and people would eventually have to end, giving way to a New Testament life built on the blood of the one Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. Now eternity has been opened to all the nations of the world. In order for this great new way to come, something old had to finally pass away, which had been prophesied long ago.

The plan of God for the salvation of the nations is older than Adam. It was stated very clearly through Abraham, for this man of faith was to somehow be a source of blessing to all the peoples of the earth. This would happen through His descendant, Jesus Christ. Those who would insist that nothing had changed in terms of Jewish law for the faith and life of the church were soundly corrected by the first church council in Acts 15. Paul, Peter, and James were all able to see how these developments were a part of the great plan of God and that they had been amply testified to in the Hebrew Scriptures.

There is something for us to see here. The fact that there will be peace and security in any day is a blessing that should not be quickly dismissed. We should be grateful for a delay in the judgment of God, knowing that He is not rejoicing today in the death of the wicked, and that in some sense that He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should find life in Christ. A day of peace for the proclamation of the word of God’s peace is a great gift for us in any era. May we take what we have been given with grateful hearts.

Nonetheless, we should not be naïve about the purposes of those who are against the Kingdom of God. We do not boast about all that we have in such a way that the envious will be tempted to come against us with the power that they trust in. Furthermore, may we not forget that a day of judgment upon our children is a difficult day that should be mourned, just as a day of judgment against us is a day of great difficulty.

Above all the mysteries of things that have been revealed and things that remain in the secret counsels of our Almighty Father, we can trust the One who has spoken through the prophets. He is working out His holy will. The coming of the New Testament age required the closing of the older way of doing many things. The new way was a very significant step in bringing us that much closer to the completion of the Lord’s good purposes for all that He has made. We are to long for that day, to wait for that day, and to watch for that day. Together with the saints in every age we say, “Come soon, Lord Jesus!

posted by Pastor Magee @ 7:00 AM

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