The text this morning is from the prophet Isaiah, the sixty-third chapter:
I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord, the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. For he said, “Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely.” And he became their Savior. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them. Then he remembered the days of old, of Moses and his people. Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put in the midst of them his Holy Spirit, who caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to make for himself an everlasting name, who led them through the depths? Like a horse in the desert, they did not stumble. Like livestock that go down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest. So you led your people, to make for yourself a glorious name.Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
They aren’t the happiest of readings this week, with the people rebelling against God in Isaiah and the blessed child martyrs found in Matthew. But, our Epistle reading gives us the key to understanding them and receiving them with joy, “God sent forth His Son, born of a woman… to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption.” Keeping this in mind is key to understanding our text for today.
For this reason, the steadfast love of God even exists, that He has sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to bring the mercy of God to every man. For the sake of Christ, God guided His people through the wilderness out of slavery. For the sake of Christ, God had patience in their rebellion. For the sake of Christ, God redeemed His people and brought them to Himself. Christ coming in human flesh to bear our sins and be our Savior is the key to understanding everything in the Scriptures.
In Isaiah today, everything is about Christ. Christ is the steadfast love of God. Christ is the praise of the Lord. Christ is the great goodness of God toward Israel. Christ is God’s compassion. Christ is the Savior. Christ is the angel of God’s presence. Everything is about Him, because it is all, literally, Him.
Isaiah has been prophesying Israel’s coming salvation, and here is no different. Isaiah evokes the past so that his hearers would understand what is coming. The steadfast love of the Lord has been shown before, so why not now? He’s been compassionate before; He will continue to be. The way he does this is by, essentially, singing praises to God. He will recount His deeds. And so he does.
In love and compassion, God looked down on Israel in their hardship in Egypt and rescued them. They were His people, the people from whom would come His own Son. As they suffered, so, too, did God suffer for them, with them. So, God became their Savior in Egypt, leading them out, not by the strength of Moses, but by pillars of cloud and fire. These pillars were the Son of God, leading His people before He took on flesh. He is the angel of the Lord, leading His people to salvation. Yet, when they went into the desert, God was afflicted by them through their sinful disobedience. Yet, He still had mercy. He carried them through their desert of sin and into the promised land, but still the disobeyed. They turned from the Lord.
Finally, in order to discipline His wayward children, God made Himself their enemy, not in reality, but in consequence. He always desired them to repent and be forgiven, to turn back to Himself, but He sent army after army, affliction after affliction, bad king after bad king to them that they might learn, turn, and seek God’s face. In this, in all that God sent to discipline His children, God remembered they were His people. He sent them Moses to shepherd the flock. He sent them His Holy Spirit that they might see the signs of His wonders. He led them, and will lead them forever.
This is all about Jesus. As hard as we turn against God, like the Israelites, God remembers that He is our God and we are the sheep of His pasture. He does not leave us rudderless in the sea, but brings us safely back to His port. This He does by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, in our flesh, the little child who will lead us, that His name might be glorious.
God does not abide sin, and He chastises those whom He loves who commit it. But it is not that God is kicking us out of the house, rather that He sends His Son to put the house in order for the wayward children who return. There, in the house of God, this house, the Church, and the house that is to come, the Kingdom of Christ, we will find rest in the Lord.
God saved His people Israel from their slavery. He chastised them in their sin. God sent His prophets to lead them back to Himself. God forgave them. When they sinned again and forgot Him, the Father sent His Son to lead them, to chastise them and forgive them and to make them sons. And so we are chastised in our sin and are forgiven and we are made sons. We have been brought to the house of the Lord, not by our own works, but because Christ has allowed us to be adopted. When the last day comes, only those who belong to the family of God will live into eternity. So we are His family, and so we will live. That day is soon coming, that day which was won by our Jesus on the cross, that final day which is the resurrection of the dead, the day is coming when we shall rest in the Lord, He who has saved His people from their sin, and we shall be called His children forever, never to wander, never to be afflicted, but always to be welcomed, and, with Isaiah, recount the praises of the Lord forever and ever. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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