The waiting God who changes His people (Isaiah 30)

 

God loves us so much that He will allow us go through hardships in order to get our attention.  He is committed to changing us, and often it takes a degree of suffering in order for this to happen. 

I received a card from a friend who explained how God had been working in their life:   

‘Over the past few years the Lord has been working on my heart and on my attitudes, He has changed me and allowed me to be broken.  Even though this has been deeply painful I know it has been necessary.  I am immensely grateful that He loves me so much that he would not leave me as I was.’

In this chapter we see a waiting God who wants to transform His stubborn people.

Stubborn (1-7)

‘Ah, stubborn children,’ declares the Lord (1).

Judah is under pressure.  There is the threat of invasion.  It was not that they are politically significant.  It is just that they are in the way.  They lie between Assyria and Egypt.  So, Assyria wants to roll over them.  Rather than trust God to deliver them Judah turns to the Egyptians for help.  This spells disaster!    

Why couldn’t they just trust God?  They made plans that weren’t God’s plans.  They made an alliance that was out of step with the Holy Spirit.  They abandoned all practical trust in Him.  They sent their envoys to Egypt to buy themselves protection.  It would all end in shame and humiliation. 

Egypt’s help in worthless and empty; therefore, I called her, ‘Rahab who sits still’ (7).  Rahab was a nickname for Egypt, meaning ‘turbulence’ or ‘arrogance.’  This arrogant neighbour was going to be no help.  God had already promised to defend His people.  God had rescued them from slavery in Egypt.  Why go back to that place of death?

Jesus invites us, ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls’ (Matthew 11:28).  But we would rather work out our own salvation.  ‘No, I will show you that I can work this out myself.’  ‘I will be a good person.’  ‘I will be loyal to my church.’  ‘I will pray.’  ‘I give blood.’  ‘I don’t need to rest in your grace.’  Stubborn children are what we are!

Rebellious (8-17)

The people had said to their prophets, ‘Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions … let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel’ (10-11).  The novelist, Flannery O’Connor, said, ‘the truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.’  Tragically, one of the places where we hear the most rubbish in our culture is at funerals.  The pressure is on every priest to tell people what they demand to hear.  The deceased may never have had an interest in Christ, but we are told that they are an angel in heaven.  At funerals we hear that ‘death is nothing at all.  But our God is a God of judgement.  Not that He is not a tyrant.  His heart breaks over the wickedness of people.   Over the wicked men of Moab, He wept (16:11).

Look at the gracious words of Yahweh.  ‘By coming back and resting you will be saved; in keeping quiet, and in trust will be your warrior strength.  And you were not willing’ (15).  The path to peace is to listen to God and return to Him.  They would not take God’s rescue, they committed themselves to military action and so they would be defeated.

By coming back and resting you will be saved.  Can you rest in God?  Can you obey His command to rest?  When I was a student doing theology I always took a day off, it happened to be Sunday, it didn’t matter if there was an exam the next day.  It really helped me.  It was like a gift from God.  It reminded me that we are not what we do our study.  I heard one preacher give the following advice to those facing exams: ‘when everyone else turns over the papers take thirty seconds.  Pray.  Tell God you are trusting Him.  Then start.’  Our restlessness is often based on our plastic idols.  We think that if we strive and earn more, attain more or achieve more then we will be happy.  Only Christ can truly satisfy!

Loved (18-33)

To these people that He has called stubborn and rebellious, God now speaks of amazing grace.  Verse eighteen marks the literary and theological centre of this chapter.  ‘Therefore, the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.  For the LORD is a God of justice, blessed are all those who wait for him.’ 

It is a strange ‘therefore’.  ‘You have been stubborn and rebellious’ therefore.  It is a ‘therefore’ of underserved favour.  They had deserted Him for a false-salvation, therefore, He seeks to be kind to them. 

Yahweh is a God of justice.  One commentator explains that the refers to the fact that He knows how to make the right decision at the right time (Motyer).  He knows how to discipline His people in a way that will catch our attention.  Sometimes it is only as we are feeding the pigs that we come to our senses.  When Judah was prosperous they did not listen to Him.  When God brought them adversity they listened.  He gave them the bread of adversity and they opened their eyes.

Those who return to Him are changed.  He comforts and blesses them.  He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry … (19).  He causes them to detest their idols and to see them as unclean—they literally see them as a menstrual cloth.  Truly encounter Jesus and so much of what we once strove for seems worthless or worse.  He heals us of the wounds He afflicted us with. 

Conclusion

Finally, Isaiah speaks of the judgement of God.  But those who have returned to the waiting God will have nothing to fear.  The apostle John would write to Jesus’ forgiven people and explain that ‘this is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence of the day of judgement: In this world we are like Jesus’ (1 John 4:17).

The book of Second Kings tells us of how judgement came on the Assyrians (2 Kings 19:35).  Not only was the army turned back but their king was murdered y His own sons (2 Kings 19:36-37).  God’s people rejoice.  Grace has been shown.  People have been rescued.  Justice will be done.  The goodness and severity of God will be displayed (Romans 11:22).