Final Week! (13 of 13). Isaiah 63-66. The End of the Beginning.

Welcome to the Final Week of Isaiah readings! 

You did it!  Or You're doing it!  Or You're going to do it!  In any case, we are nearly to the end of this 66-chapter masterpiece of God's inspired word.

Be sure to read Dr. Bo Lim's final commentary on Isaiah www.spu.edu/lectio.  In it he takes on what most of us would sooner avoid - the first 6 verses of chapter 63, with it's portrayal of God as a vengeful warrior.

Don't miss out on reading the "communal psalm of lament" starting in 63:7 and continuing through the end of chapter 64.  It summarizes Israel's experience of exile in relational terms.  It can make a difference in our spiritual lives and our communal life as a church, by giving us words to express our unfaithfulness to the Lord, acknowledge him as our heavenly father, and plead for him to restore us to a right relationship.  Great verse - Isaiah 64:8 "Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand."

Have you noticed how much of Isaiah speaks of the Family Relationship between God and his people?  We see this again in Chapters 64-66. In chapter 64 we see the relationship rift from the human side, where guilty children cry out to a Father who seems distant and hidden.

• 64:1 "O that you would tear open the heavens and come down." 64:12 "After all this, will you restrain yousrelf, O Lord?  Will you keep silent, and punish us so severely?"

In chapter 65 we see how God the Father looks at the relationship.

• 65:1 "I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me.  I said 'Here I am, here I am,' to a nation that did not call on my name."  65:12 "When I called you did not answer, and when I spoke you did not listen."

In chapter 66 we read of a restored relationship, and encounter Jerusalem/Zion and God being described in images of family relationship that are shockingly maternal.

• 66:10 "Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her - that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious bosom."  66:13 "As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem."

One of my favorite mission passages in scripture appears in Isaiah 65:20-23.  I discovered it when I read a small book by Raymond Fung, who at the time headed up evangelism efforts with the World Council of Churches.  He believed that evangelism should be simple:

1. Pursue God's vision in Isaiah 65:20-23 with people in society,
2. Worship and invite people to worship with you as you pursue the Isaiah Vision in society
3. Live the life of discipleship and invite people into that life as you both worship & pursue the Isaiah Vision in society.

Reading Isaiah reminds us of the big picture of God, his people, and their relationship in real human history. Let's keep reading Isaiah...and get ready for the next Lectio focus on the Gospel of Luke, much more prepared to understand Jesus' life and ministry in light of God's overarching purpose and plan.

 

Joyfully in Christ,

Pastor Kurt

 

Merry Christmas!