Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 26
January 2014
By Captain Michael Ramsay
When we last spoke
on Isaiah here, we talked about Isaiah 1:1-20, highlighting verses 18-20:[1]
“Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool
if you are willing and obedient.
You will eat the good things of the land
but if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Today we are going to pick up from where we
left off. Isaiah 1:21-23, Isaiah declares:
See how the faithful city
has become a prostitute!
She once was full of justice;
righteousness used to dwell in her—
but now murderers!
Your silver has become dross,
your choice wine is diluted with water.
Your rulers are rebels,
partners with thieves;
they all love bribes
and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
the widow’s case does not come before them.
Who is the
faithful city in the text today? The faithful city is Jerusalem and Jerusalem
here represents all the people of God. And God says that the faithful city has
become a prostitute. The analogy here is clear. God is saying that the once
faithful city of Jerusalem… God is saying that the once faithful country of
Judah… God is saying that the once faithful ‘people of Israel’ has become
unfaithful.[2] God is
saying that Israel, Judah, Jerusalem, the daughter of Zion was once like a
faithful newlywed wife of God who loved and respected her husband but now she,
the once faithful wife, has become a prostitute chasing after lovers for money.
God is saying that the things Israel and Judah are doing are hurting Him just as
much as if His new bride, His true love, were to leave His bed in the middle
night to chase after lovers. God is saying that the once faithful city of
Jerusalem… God is saying that the once faithful country of Judah… God is saying
that the once faithful ‘people of Israel’ has become unfaithful to Him.
In what ways has
Israel and Judah’s faithfulness turned to unfaithfulness? Isaiah says that
while Israel used to be just and righteous, now she is a murderer. Her rulers
are rebels. She partners with thieves; she loves bribes; she chases after
gifts; she no longer takes care of the widows, the orphans, the vulnerable and
the marginalized.[3] In chasing
money for oneself and in failing to look after the vulnerable and the
marginalized, in so doing, God says that it is as if her wine has been so
watered down that even if she drinks it looking for a warming feeling, that
feeling will never come. It is as if Israel’s valuable silver has turned to
dross before their very eyes. It is as if we take all the money that we all own
in the whole world and gather it before us in front of everyone here and then
as soon as we do this – instantly, all these new polymer bills turn into a heap
of recycled plastic right before our eyes. God says when we don’t love our
neighbour, God says when we turn our backs on those in need it, God says when
we chase after money, God says when we look out for ourselves first before we
look out for God and our neighbour, God says it is the same as taking
everything that He has given us in the whole world and tossing it in the
recycling bin. Because of this, verses 24,25a
Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
the Mighty One of Israel, declares:
“Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes
and avenge myself on my enemies.
I will turn my hand against you.
Because God's
people have acted as an unfaithful wife committing adultery for a profit:
because God’s people have turned their backs on the vulnerable and the
marginalized in society, because God's people have forsaken Him by forsaking
their neighbours; God says, “I will vent my wrath on my foes…I will turn my
hand against you.”[4] And He warns
them even more, Verses 28-31:
…. rebels and sinners will both be broken,
and those who forsake the Lord will perish.
“You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks
in which you have delighted;
you will be disgraced because of the gardens
that you have chosen.
This is saying
that they and we will be ashamed and disgraced of putting their faith in money
and the economy.[5] When we fail
to invest God’s love into our neighbours but invest in capital instead: banks
fail; economies fail, we fail. And then,
You will be like an oak with fading leaves,
like a garden without water.
The mighty man will become tinder
and his work a spark;
both will burn together,
with no one to quench the fire.”
God’s people have
been unfaithful: chasing lovers for money and forsaking the poor, the widow,
the immigrant, the refugee, the marginalized and those in need. God says, Verse
25, “I will vent my wrath on my foes…I will turn my hand against you.” Then,
Verses 30-31: “The mighty man will become tinder and his work a spark; both
will burn together, with no one to quench the fire.”
This is the state
of Israel and Judah centuries BCE. Israel eventually ceased to exist as a
sovereign state in 586 BCE and Judah was destroyed in 720 BCE. As the countries
continued to forsake God, they found themselves forsaken.
What about the
nation of Canada in the 21st Century? Where do we stand? Are we a loving and
faithful wife true to God and the vows we have taken with and before Him? Are
we faithful to the principles upon which our very nation was founded? Canada
was founded upon Psalm 72, the Order of Canada upon Hebrews 11; The House of
Commons used to be a house opened with prayer, as did our classrooms. Canada,
we used to be a faithful wife. Even as recently as my arrival in our fair city
here, there wasn’t a public event I can recall that wasn’t opened in prayer or
grace asked prior to a meal; now - save Legion events - the opposite seems to
be true. It seems that we are not true to God any more. This is sad.
Canada within the
world and Saskatchewan within Canada used to stand tall as a place where people
loved people because they loved God. There was a time not that long ago when
anyone would be welcome at anyone’s home anytime they were in real need of a
meal; there was a time not that long ago when anyone would help a friend find
work; there was a time not long ago in this province when we intentionally set
aside personal privileges in order to provide Medicare and medical and other
assistance to those in very real need - now I fear the opposite may soon be
true. These days, I hear politicians (even Christian ones) talk about cutting
taxes and therefore cutting services to the poor, the weak, and the marginalized.
As we said the previous time I chatted with you from up here, God tells us that
how we love Him is reflected in how we love our neighbour. The faithful wife
will love her husband's children. The unfaithful wife will chase after money
and her own lusts in the middle of the night. Which is our country? I fear that
maybe Canada is along with Israel, the once faithful wife now chasing after our
own lusts and private monetary gain.
What about you and
I assembled here today? It is one thing to talk about our vast country in
general. It is yet another thing to talk about a foreign nation, oceans and
millennia apart from our own. But as our pericope asks, how are we here at
defending the cause of the fatherless? How are we here at defending the cause of
the widow? How are we here at standing up for and standing up with the
marginalized in our own time and place? How are we at helping out those in need
around us in Swift Current, in this corps, in this congregation? There are many
people in real need in our midst today. There are some in need of food and
shelter. There are some in need of something to do. There are some in need of a
hug and there are some in need of a prayer. There are some here who would love
nothing more than for you to visit them during the week so loneliness will no
longer drag them through despair. There are some here that if you call them
this week, you will fill them with such joy that you cannot even fathom it. You
and I here today, how are we at being the faithful wife? Do we need to return
to the loving embrace of the Heavenly Father by extending an appropriate loving
embrace to our neighbour? If we do, as we do, when we do take the time to find
out what the people around us need and when we extend that helping hand to them
in the Lord’s Name. God says, Verses 25b-27:
I will thoroughly purge away your dross
and remove all your impurities.
I will restore your leaders as in days of old,
your rulers as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called
the City of Righteousness,
the Faithful City.”
Zion will be delivered with justice,
her penitent ones with righteousness.
Even though Israel
is evil; even though Israel is turning her back on God by turning her back on
her neighbour; the Lord loves her. He is faithful even though she is faithless.
He will remove her impurities.[6]
He will recycle the discarded plastic back into brand new polymer bills. He
will restore His wife to her faithfulness and He will deliver her with justice.
Even with all of the sins that Israel is committing in stepping out on God and
by treading on the downtrodden; the faithful, Verse 27, the penitent ones, will
be delivered with righteousness (TSA doc 10). No matter how bad they have become and no
matter how much the faithlessness of the nation costs the people, the penitent
ones will be delivered with righteousness (TSA doc 7).
It is the same
with us: no matter how bad we have become, no matter how selfish we have
become, no matter how much we have put ourselves first, no matter how much we
have chased after what we want in life rather than what God wants of our life,
no matter how much we have ignored our Lord by ignoring the needs of the people
around us, God is still calling us back. And as we repent, as we love Him and
as we love our neighbour, as we return to Him, as we seek Him, we will find Him
and then He will purge away all our dross making as pure as the purest silver,
as faithful as the most faithful spouse, and as righteous as His most righteous
city.
Let us pray.
---
[1] Michael Ramsay,
'Isaiah 1:1-20: White as Snow,’ presented to Swift Current Corps of The
Salvation Army, (Sheepspeak.com: Swift Current, SK: 12 Jan 2014). Available
on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2014/01/isaiah-11-20-white-as-snow.html
[2] Cf. Gene M. Tucker, NIB VI: The Book of Isaiah 1-39,
(Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tenn: 2001), 60.
[3] Cf. Walter Brueggemann, ‘Isaiah 1-39,’ Westminster Bible
Companion (Westminster John Knox Press: Louisville, Kentucky, 1998), 21-22.
[4] Cf. Reuven Kimelman, "Prophecy as Arguing with God and the
Ideal of Justice," Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology 68,
no. 1 (2013): 22.
[5] J. Alec Motyer, Isaiah:
An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press,
1999 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 20), S. 57
[6] Cf. Geoffrey W. Grogan, The Expositor's Bible Commentary,
Pradis CD-ROM:Isaiah/Exposition of Isaiah/I. Oracles Concerning Judah and
Jerusalem (1:1-12:6)/A. God's Charge Against His People (1:1-31), Book Version:
4.0.2
Posts
