The Faithfulness of a True Husband--Isaiah Series

            How long has it been since you really thought about the vows that you made to your spouse on your wedding day? Can you even remember exactly what you promised to do for your spouse “until death do you part?” Many people have found it very meaningful to renew their vows and thus remind themselves of their promises to each other.

            In our study of Isaiah this morning, we are going to read about God renewing His vows to Israel, so to speak. At various places in the Old Testament, God called Himself the husband of Israel and He took vows, so to speak—He made unconditional promises to them concerning blessings that He planned to give them.

            But there had always been a growing problem in this marriage—God is holy, and humans are not, so how could a holy God have a relationship with unholy people? We discovered the answer last week in chapter 53 in the sacrificial death of the Servant. With God’s plan for taking care of sin now revealed, the Lord once again affirms His promises to Israel and makes a free offer of salvation to anyone who would recognize their need and receive it.

            So picture yourself now watching a husband renew his vows to his wife, and let’s read chapter 54.

1. The Lord renews His wedding vows with Israel (Ch. 54)

            Let me just read this chapter and make a few brief comments, because the words are beautiful and largely self-explanatory. Israel and her God had had a rocky marriage because Israel had been frequently unfaithful to her vows. She had faced and still would face some painful consequences because of those sins. In the first several verses, God compares Israel to a barren woman who may have thought that she didn’t have a joyous future to look forward to, but the reality would be much different [READ 54:1-3]. In these verses, God is re-affirming His promise to Abraham that his descendents would be as numerous as the stars of the sky, and His promise to David that the kingdom of Israel would one day be firmly established and would suffer violence no more.

            The Lord then continues in v. 4 [READ 54:4-10]. I want to briefly emphasize vv. 9-10 because they are very important for the way we think about God’s plan for the future. Some of my dear brothers and sisters in Christ in other churches hold to the belief that God has no future plans for the nation of Israel, but rather all of the promises that God made in the Old Testament are being fulfilled today through God’s work within and among Christians. I feel compelled to disagree with that idea because of verses just like these. The Lord states that His promise of steadfast love to Israel is just like the promise He made to Noah that He would never again flood the whole earth. That promise to Noah was permanent, and I think God’s promises to Israel are permanent as well.

            Thus, I think God does have a future plan for the nation of Israel, and I think we are reading about that plan in verses like vv. 11-17. The Lord is apparently speaking about the city of Jerusalem as He says [READ 54:11-17].

Thus, on the basis of the Servant’s sacrifice that was prophesied in chapter 53, a holy God can re-affirm all of His promises to an unholy people, because a plan is in place for their sins to be forgiven. But the Servant’s sacrifice was never intended just for the people of Israel. It is available to anyone who will claim it as their own. So we see in the next chapter that…

  

2. The Lord invites all comers to find their soul’s satisfaction in Him (Ch. 55)

            Listen to the invitation in v. 1 [READ 55:1]. Notice the odd language of this invitation—the Lord is inviting those who have no money to come and buy from Him. How can you buy something when you have no money? (I think the government needs to ask that question a little more often!) How can you buy something when you have no money? Only if someone else pays the price for you! When we consider our salvation, the old saying rings true—there is no such thing as a free lunch. Forgiveness of sins is offered freely to us, but make no mistake—the price for forgiveness has been paid, and it has been paid by the blood of Christ, as we learned in chapter 53.

            The Lord goes on to state that we will find true satisfaction for our souls if we will accept His offer [READ 55:1-3]. Now what is this reference to King David all about? Well, it touches on promises that God made to David in 2 Samuel 7, where the Lord stated that He would raise up one of David’s descendents to fulfill all of the promises of peace and prosperity that God had made to Israel. You may remember that in Isaiah 9, the prophet spoke of a child who would be born who would sit on David’s throne, and this child would be called “the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” (Is. 9:6-7). And just to make Himself clear, God led the angel Gabriel to tell Mary, the mother of Jesus, in Luke 1 that Jesus was the descendent and the child that the Old Testament talked about (Luke 1:32-33).

            So the reference to David reminds us of all that David’s descendent was prophesied to accomplish, and when we come to God to find our soul’s salvation in Him, we get to participate in all the blessings that are available through Jesus Christ—the Son of David, the Son of God. These blessings include forgiveness of sins and reunion with God as well as the right to live one day in the kingdom of peace and righteousness that Jesus will establish in this world. As children of God and spiritual siblings of Jesus, we have a place secured for us in His kingdom.

            Verses 4-5 speak of David’s role as a witness to the promises that God has made, and in v. 6, Isaiah makes a passionate appeal for his readers to come to God before it is too late [READ 55:6-9]. Normally, when we hear vv. 8-9, we think of the difference between how much God knows and how little we know by comparison. That thought is true, but its really not the comparison that the Lord is making here. Rather, he is emphasizing that His thoughts and ways are holy and right, and ours are wicked and unrighteous. That is precisely what He said back in v. 7 [READ 55:7].

            You see, this difference in our thoughts and ways is the obstacle that separates us from God. This difference is why we don’t have peace with God until we come to Him for salvation. Our lives are on a path that is wicked, but we don’t realize it because our thoughts are unrighteous, which means they don’t line up with God’s standards, which describe the way things really are. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” My friends, please hear me—if you have never come to God through Jesus Christ to find forgiveness for your sins, you are on the way to death! You must realize that sin has deceived you and told you that you’re okay, but God is telling you the way things really are. But as Isaiah said, if you will recognize the danger that you’re in and forsake your wicked way, God will have compassion on you and abundantly pardon you.

            God is offering you His pardon today, and He will always make good on His word. Look at the next verses [READ 55:10-13]. God will always make good on His word, and His plan is one that will bring joy and peace to His people.

  

3. The Lord reassures us of His full acceptance and His reward for obedience (Ch. 56:1-8)

            In the first part of chapter 56, the Lord mentions two groups of people who were tempted to think that they were “second-class citizens” among God’s people. The first group was foreigners, people who were not ethnically Jewish. The second was eunuchs, people who were unable to have children. It is not uncommon for people in churches today to wonder if they are “second-class citizens” among God’s people. People who did not grow up in Christian homes can be tempted to think this way, as well as people who have had a very public moral failure that they have repented of. Or sometimes people think that if they’re not a pastor or a missionary, they are on some kind of second tier with God.

            But God doesn’t put His children in any such categories. What He looks for is obedience, which He promises to reward. Let’s read vv. 1-8 [READ 56:1-8]. You can see from these verses that God’s true concern is obedience.

            One command that he emphasizes here is the command for the people to keep the Sabbath, which is a word that refers to a period of rest. This command was a major test of faith and obedience for the people in the Old Testament. This command had two parts to it. First, the people were supposed to reserve the seventh and final day of each week to be a day for rest and worship. Second, they were supposed to let their ground lie fallow every seventh year without planting on it or harvesting from it. God had promised them that every sixth year, He would give them a harvest that would last them until the harvest of the eighth year—which was the first year of the next cycle.

            These commands were meant to teach the people to orient their lives around obeying God’s commands. All week long, they would have to keep in mind that the Sabbath was coming, and they would need to get their work done before it came. Every sixth year, they would face a major crisis of faith—will we obey God and believe that He will provide for us?

            Now, do those lessons sound familiar? Do you hear echoes of Jesus’ teaching in those lessons? Remember, the Lord said in Matthew 6, “Do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?” For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:31-33). What is the lesson? Obey God, and He will provide! Let Him worry about meeting your needs—you just concentrate on obeying Him!

            The Lord also calls us to orient our lives around obeying Him. In Matthew 16:24-25, He said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

            My friends, if you are a child of God, you don’t need to worry that you might be on some second tier. Just obey Him and He will reward you! And if you have never come to God by accepting the sacrifice that Jesus made for you, please understand the error of your way. Jesus died to pay for your sins, and His resurrection is proof that God accepted His payment and offers you forgiveness. Accept Him as your Savior today, and find true satisfaction for your soul.