Isaiah 30:18-26
18 Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you;
And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
Blessed are all those who wait for Him.
19 For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem;
You shall weep no more.
He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry;
When He hears it, He will answer you.
20 And though the Lord gives you
The bread of adversity and the water of affliction,
Yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore,
But your eyes shall see your teachers.
21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
"This is the way, walk in it,"
Whenever you turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left.
22 You will also defile the covering of your images of silver,
And the ornament of your molded images of gold.
You will throw them away as an unclean thing;
You will say to them, "Get away!"
23 Then He will give the rain for your seed
With which you sow the ground,
And bread of the increase of the earth;
It will be fat and plentiful.
In that day your cattle will feed
In large pastures.
24 Likewise the oxen and the young donkeys that work the ground
Will eat cured fodder,
Which has been winnowed with the shovel and fan.
25 There will be on every high mountain
And on every high hill
Rivers and streams of waters,
In the day of the great slaughter,
When the towers fall.
26 Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun,
And the light of the sun will be sevenfold,
As the light of seven days,
In the day that the LORD binds up the bruise of His people
And heals the stroke of their wound.
The patient possess their souls in God in Christ. Many of the promises made to Israel include the rest of God’s people called in Christ. We all therefore are told to wait for His mercy and grace given ultimately in the Messiah as we see His greatness and justice fulfilled in His work of saving grace. Just as the citizens of Jerusalem past were told to cry out and anticipate His answer that their tears may be taken away, so we all look forward to the New Jerusalem where there will be no more tears to follow in His presence as Revelation 21:4 demonstrates to us. When we cry out to Him, He hears and delivers forever, not just from the latest army attacking Israel as before. We all similarly experience adversity and affliction in life as His people, yet those who are our faithful teachers will not be moved as they lead us on the truths of scripture. God Himself has further promised to teach us and guide us by His Spirit who lives inside us now; when we wander from His way, He is here to show us the way to go as we turn off to the left or right, and He leads us in holiness to cast aside any and everything we worship apart from Him along the way as we grow in sanctification. Like Israel, as God’s people we also will be fruit along this way in adverse circumstances because He leads us and guides us for His name’s sake for His glory, honor, and praise. We anticipate the river flowing through the Celestial City (Revelation 22:1-2) after the final battle when our enemy is defeated forever and his tower of power over us, namely sin and death, is forever defeated (Revelation 20:14, 1 Corinthians 15:54, 56-57). God’s light will be our moon and sun to illuminate everything (Revelation 21:23) as He heals His people and removes sin’s wounds upon us at last! We will also be taken away from the presence of sin at last as God shows us grace and guidance into eternity. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
No comments:
Post a Comment