Isaiah 49:14-50:3.  I guess my week puts yesterday’s post (In reality 5 days ago) to the test.  After posting that it’s about a relationship and not just being religious about “cranking out” these posts again my week got very hectic.  This time I had house guests for most of the week (My oldest son and his family.  Read  “three energetic grand-children”).  Also I was pressed to finish a project for a customer.  On Sunday Cookie mentioned a couple of things she wanted to talk about, one of them is still waiting.  And then there was that Deacon’s Meeting that I had forgotten about.  That doesn’t mean that I haven’t had interaction with God this week but this regular time of letting God teach and speak to me has suffered.  It’s sad too, since even after 35 years of being a believer (that’s longer than some of your parents have been alive, maybe) I still have questions for God.  There are still situations that I’m unsure about what to do in.  Yesterday I was sorking on a project in an industrial area and there was a guy who lives as a caretaker on a property across the street from where I was working.  I was there kind of late (8:45 PM) and at one point in the early evening we talked.  At one point he asked me where I got the energy and I told him, “Desperation, I’m not old enough to get Social Security.”  (He is retired and living on social Security).  I think that maybe that is why the answers don’t all come easily as we live for God; we need to stay “desperate” in our relationship to keep us coming back.  That may sound like a “there are no atheists in foxholes” kind of remark but remember that Paul was given a physical infirmity to keep his relationship with God in line (2 Corinthians 12:7).  And as one pastor pointed out to me, I’m no Paul, so how much more do I need “reminders” to keep me close to God (You know, looking back, that remark really didn’t make much sense, I was comparing him to Paul and myself to the Bereans.  Hmmm…).

Back to the reading.  Remember we are looking at some mini messages from God through Isaiah.  Isaiah originally arranged theses message together for the people of Judah and Jerusalem to read.  The messages may have been given at an earlier time for various reasons but they seem to be arranged in the book of Isaiah to deal with two main ideas:  God will deal with pride and God is the one who deserves to be honored.  These two ideas are really related because pride honors self which often contrasts with honoring God.  We take the credit instead of giving it to God (Maybe like me telling that guy that I have energy because I am desperate rather than saying, “Oh! From God.”  But I did give God credit later when I said that it was God who kept me going in the face of negative circumstances in life.)  There was an earlier set of mini messages (Isaiah 40-48) that focused on the fact that God was gong to save the Israelites and fulfill all of his promises to them so they needed to avoid finding their own solutions to their problem, including avoiding alliances with Babylon.  The temptation to make an alliance with Babylon against Assyria seems to be the more immediate situation for this part of the book.  This new section of mini messages (Isaiah 49-55) is more about “how” God is going to fulfill his promises to Israel.  Remember that each of these mini messages ends with a song of praise to God.  That should always be our response when we learn something about God, praise or honor.  To me that is what real worship is, learning (seeing who God is and what he is doing) and giving him a “shout out” for it.

The “how” that we are seeing in these mini messages involves the “servant” of God.  We first met the servant in chapter 42 (well really before as we come to understand who he is.  He is the child in chapter 7 and the light/child/prince of peace in chapter 9 and the descendant of Jesse (David’s father) in chapter 11.  Probably the king in Isaiah 32:1 and definitely the king in Isaiah 33:17 (and note v. 22 where the king is identified as Yahweh)).  So if he is a king how is he a servant?  And as we have seen why is there this mixed message about victory and suffering?  Let’s get back to that.

Remember yesterday’s mini message was about how this servant would be the one who would make all the promises come true, and the effect would reach beyond the Israelites to the whole world.  But the people of Judah were in the midst of an invasion that would take 46 of their fortified cities and many villages.  No wonder in verse 14 they felt abandoned.  In the following verses God assures the people that he has not forgotten them (v. 15) and that he will cause the people of the world to bring their “children to them”(v. 22) and that he has the power to make it all happen (vv. 24-25).  In verse 18-21 we see a promise by God to the people of Judah (and by extension to all the Israelites, See “What’s in a Name”).  If you speak a second language you know that translation from one language to another is as much art as science.  There is actually no verb in the first part of verse 19 so what is going on with the waste places, desolate places, and destroyed land has to be interpreted from the surrounding verses by the translators.  It appears that the people of Jerusalem are being told that God knows that their land is being invaded and destroyed.  The mini message then goes on to assure them that their lives will be restored, their God given destiny will be fulfilled.  The reference to children is probably a metaphor.  Often in the Old Testament we see things happening for the sake of God’s reputation.  Israel was supposed to help the world realize that their God, Yahweh, was the one true God, but they were not very successful at it.  In a way they were to produce “spiritual” children, people who lived for and honored the one true God, Yahweh.  So verses 20-21 are a promise that that destiny will be fulfilled, with God’s help (vv. 22, 24-25).   The fact that Jerusalem will be too crowded for all these people tells us that the fulfillment of this prediction was not when the people came back from captivity in Babylon after the decree of Cyrus in 539 BC.  This prediction seems to be pointing to an ultimate fulfillment some time in the future.

In the book of Job, Job was confident that even if he died that he would see his “redeemer” in a restored resurrected physical body (Job 19:25-26).  In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul tells us that those who have trusted in Jesus for their eternity (v. 23) will be given a new and restored body, even those who have already died (vv. 35, 51), or maybe more correctly even those who are still alive at his coming (1 Thessalonians 4:15) since 1 Corinthians 15 is really talking mostly about resurrection of the dead and not so much about the similar transformation of those who are alive when Jesus returns.  So I think it might not be too much of a stretch for Isaiah 49:20-21 to be talking about actual children who have died and are brought back to life and to their parents, but the main idea I think is people from all over the world coming to Jerusalem as “spiritual children” of the Israelites.

Verse 26 ends the section about God taking care and having the power by describing God as a savior and redeemer.  Remember that is the word Job used for God too.  In Isaiah 50:1 God asks two questions of the Israelites.  The questions are rhetorical to point out the relationship between God and the Israelites.  The questions are rhetorical and presume that God has “divorced” them and that he has “sold them”.  This can be seen in the two “answers” in the second half of the verse.  The reason for both situations is that they had “iniquities”, a word that means to be bent, distorted, or perverse (a word that means turned around), and transgressions, a word that means to rebel or revolt, to go against authority.  So we see that the Israelites are living disobedient lives and consequently they had a bad relationship with God, really a broken relationship or no relationship.  The next verse (v. 2) asks two more questions;  “Where is every body?” and “Why isn’t anyone answering?”  The answer is implied in God’s responses to these questions.  He responds by telling them he can deal with the broken relationship, he has the power to do it.  The rest of verse 2 and verse 3 illustrate the power of God.  In the book of Hosea, Hosea is a prophet that is told to marry a prostitute.  When the woman cheats on him he sends her away, but later he is told to take her back. The picture that Hosea’s life paints is one of God and Israel, Israel is the “cheating” wife and God is “Hosea” (who’s name means to save or rescue, see “What’s in a Name”).  So we see that we are unfaithful and deserve divorce but God is faithful and forgiving and able to “redeem” (or pay for our return) us fro our rebellion.  In next few reading we will see just how God “pays” for us.  And in that, we will see the answer to the questions above about the servant being a king and also suffering.

The thing that I get out of this reading is that God has the power and that he cares enough to use it for our benefit.  I especially like verse 16.  He has written us on the palm of his hands.  As a carpenter I am often without paper at work.  Often we write notes on a scrap of wood only to lose it or use it later.  So we can lose important information.  A lot of times, if I have a pen, I will write something on my hand.  It usually horrifies some one to see me do it but my response is that I’m not likely to misplace the information (though occasionally I’ll wash it off before I remember to transfer it to a better place).  Being inscribed on God’s hand shows me that I’ll be remembered and later we see that his hand represents his power so being in/on his hand means that he will use his power for me.  But he can also use his power to punish.  John 1:12  tells us the if we truly have put our eternity in his hands that we have the right to be his children, children who will be with him forever in the New Jerusalem (Isaiah 49:20, Revelation 20-22).  Thank you Jesus for proving the power of resurrection.  Thank you for making that same resurrection available to me, and not just me but for any one who will come (John 1:12, 1 John 2:2< Revelation 22:17).  While I wait for your return and that new forever existence with you help me live a life that pleases you and shows you to the world.  Let me never take the credit for myself but give it to you.  Let me be there when you come, let me answer when you call.  Thank you for writing me on your hand.