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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

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Isaiah 66

The time has come to bring the message of this marvelous book of prophesy to an end. To do this well we must give careful consideration to the one who speaks here. I am not referring to the prophet Isaiah. A prophet is nothing at all unless he is an authoritative spokesman for God. We want to give careful consideration to the speaker behind the messenger, the true and living God. Heaven is His throne. Earth is His footstool. He does not need us to make Him a house. He is not hungry for any animals that we could burn on any altars. He is the Creator. How easy it is to forget just how impressive God really is.

If we understand who is speaking to us, then there is only one thing to do. We should humble ourselves before Him immediately. We should willingly and honestly confess our sins and fully turn away from them. We should seek a contrite spirit. We should ask God to grant to us a listening ear. We should tremble at his word.

Do not think that God could ever be satisfied with mere ceremonial righteousness. When Jesus pressed this point against the Pharisees He was not taking a new stand. The prophets made this same point many times. Do we think that we can appease God with the blood of an ox, the sacrifice of a lamb, a grain offering, and some incense? He calls us to hear Him and follow Him. This is step one for any blessing to come to anyone. We sometimes act as if that were not the case under the New Testament era, but then we forget that the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ was absolutely necessary in order for the cross to mean something for us. We need someone who answered every time that God called. We need someone who did what delighted the Lord in every particular of His life.

Of course, we have that someone in Jesus of Nazareth. It is incumbent upon us as followers of the King of Law-keeping, to hear the Word of God and to tremble at His word. Yes, the Lord is well aware that there are those who are arrayed against His church. These persecutors will not win. They will face certain defeat at the hands of the one who will come again to judge the living and the dead, but how will we stand if we deliberately reject the voice of the Lord.

As we have seen in earlier chapters, there is a very certain new day coming. A Kingdom will be born finally and decisively in the return of the Lord. There are those waiting in eager anticipation for that day, and it will come, though perhaps not in our lifetime. “Jerusalem” will not only live, but she will have many, many “children.” Perfect peace and the glory of the nations will be hers like an overflowing stream. When we read and consider any book in the Old Testament, and receive the great benefit for God’s Word, then we are fulfilling the plan of God in Isaiah 66. We are nursing at the breast of a Jewish heritage that is ours in Christ. There is no ethnic exclusion here of either Jew or Gentile, only an insistence that our inclusion in the Redeemed of the Lord must be through Jesus Christ.

Oh but the contrast between the righteous and the wicked! Is this not the whole of what Isaiah is about? Our extended family in Christ has made it through the entire battle. Our foot-soldiers in the Reformed church have faithfully proclaimed the truth for centuries. We are flanked by millions of Christians who have known and experienced the glory of God through suffering. They have lived by faith. We fall behind them as loyal servants of God. At the head of our army is our Captain and Redeemer. The weakest among the redeemed are with our Shepherd as He brings to us His new Zion, the holy Jerusalem from above.

The wicked will not have this victory. Those who do not know or obey the gospel, and who have persecuted the church of the Lord will face their horrific reward. But the righteous in Christ will be servants of our Master and Friend.

We must not forget what the Servant of the Lord has done for us. Without the One who came to suffer in order to redeem not only Israel but also the nations, there could be no hope for us. We would only have faced the wrath of God along with all the wicked. But we have been washed, we have been justified, we have been sanctified by the blood of the Lamb. Do not reject this One great Servant of the Lord. Do not imagine that a ceremonial gift will pay Him off. It was His blood that paid our ransom. It is essential for us to remember again the God who did this for us, and to make sure that we are not insulting the Spirit of Holiness sent to us with the blessings that only can come to us as a gift from the Lord.

posted by Pastor Magee @ 7:00 AM

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