epcblog

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

Friday, December 14, 2007

Isaiah 63

We live in a very powerful nation. If you consider the most serious military attacks that we have faced against our homeland in the last century they might be the terrorist attack against the World Trade Center in 2001 and the attack against our navy at Pearl Harbor in 1941. Despite the seriousness of these events, when were we last surrounded by a superior enemy who appeared to be poised to invade and destroy us as a nation? We enjoy significant geographical advantages, a strong economy, and a vast superiority in military technology.

Other nations have not been granted such a fortunate situation. They may face the hatred of a bordering people with little hope of deliverance from within their ranks. If we were in such a poor strategic position, how might we react? We might welcome a powerful champion who would go forth to battle on our behalf, provided that he had a credible chance of victory.

God is able to do battle against any foe. In Isaiah 63 He is presented as returning from battle against Edom, the descendant of Jacob’s brother Esau and the enemy of Israel. The Lord is a solo warrior, stained with the blood of His vanquished enemies. He did this battle alone. This is a familiar fact of the cross. There was no one else who could have accomplished the victory that we needed. He comes in holy anger back from the fight against the nation of Edom. What He did, He did by Himself. There was no one to help.

God is the One for this task of defeating our foes, yet we do wonder about His stained garments since we know the fact of the cross and the meaning of the Lord’s sacrificial death for us. Was it our blood on Him? We were the enemies, but He faced the battle. Our Lord has great goodness, compassion and steadfast love. Yet in all the afflictions of His people, He was somehow afflicted. What price did He pay for our redemption? When redemption finally came, it would be the blood of Jesus that would be shed and not our blood or even the blood of our adversaries.

The Lord has lifted up His people and carried them for many centuries. Though they have rebelled against Him, He has been completely committed to the people of His Name. In the days of Moses, it was God who provided help from heaven. His people have always needed Him. If He turns away His face for even a moment, we soon will cry out, “Where is He who brought us out of the sea?” Imagine the exposed condition of a nation moving through the wilderness. God brought them through that experience for forty years.

Our situation in the church is like this. We are not the United States of America, with the geographic advantages of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Hostile forces are not only near us but among us. We have a great and continuous need for the Warrior who went to battle for our salvation. Because of Him we can call God our Father. We need His zeal and His might to be for us rather than against us. He is more reliable than any relation or friend. He is our only hope.

It is of vital importance that the Lord not harden our hearts. It would seem that this judgment against us might easily come upon us if we imagine that we are secure in our own strength. If we determine that we do not need the true and living God, and if we have no interest in His Word, what will become of us? What will happen to us if we don’t want to hear His voice any longer?

One of the roles of God’s faithful within any church or nation is to seek the One who is our only answer on behalf of those who have stopped listening to the Lord’s warnings. Others may have been abandoned to a hard heart, but we still want the Word of God. We call upon the Lord, who sent His own Son into mortal combat for us, to remember His everlasting commitment to His people. We have been called by His Name, and we should desire to be ruled by Him once again. We cry out to our great Redeemer and our only Hope, both for ourselves and for others who may have lost their ability to hear.

posted by Pastor Magee @ 7:00 AM

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