Isaiah 1:21-31: The Faithful Wife

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.

www.sheepspeak.com 

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[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

Psalm 147:10 (&11) – “Neither delighteth he in any man’s legs…”

Presented to the Swift Current Corps 23 Janaury 2011

By Captain Michael Ramsay

Psalm 147:10 records “His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man.” I thought this was an appropriate passage to look at on Robbie Burns Day. For Christmas Susan bought me some Bible Commentaries on Psalms from the Word Biblical Commentary set – this is part of the reason why we are still looking at the book of Psalms in our Sunday meetings. In one of these books, in the author’s preface to the first edition of Volume I, the author, Peter C. Craigie, writes:

… for years I had been mystified by the psalms. I belong to a tradition in the church in which the psalms continue to be used regularly in worship. And yet as a teenager singing the psalms, their words for the most part contained little meaning for me; they were songs of a remote and distant land, with no evident relevance to my own world. It was the custom in Scotland for boys to wear the kilt to church on Sunday; to this day I can recall singing the words of Psalm 147:10 ‘Neither delighteth he in any man’s legs’. I pondered at that time the question of whether scripture condemned the kilt.[1]

When I read Peter Craigie’s quote I knew immediately what I should preach on while I am wearing my kilt for Robbie Burns Day. First, does anyone know who Robbie Burns is? Robert Burns (1759-1796) was an 18th Century Scottish poet and songwriter who wrote hundreds of lasting tributes to Scottish life in both song and poetry. Of himself, he wrote: 

A Scottish Bard, proud of the name, and whose highest ambition is to sing in his country’s service, where shall he so properly look for patronage as to the illustrious names of his native land: those who bear the honours and inherit the virtues of their ancestors? The poetic genius of my country found me, as the prophetic bard Elijah did Elisha—at the plough, and threw her inspiring mantle over me. She bade me sing the loves, the joys, the rural scenes and rural pleasures of my native soil, in my native tongue; I tuned my wild, artless notes as she inspired (ROBERT BURNS, Edinburgh, April 4, 1787).[2]

Robert Burns is a poet; he is not to be confused with Scotland’s patron saint, who is St. Andrew from the Bible. St. Andrew’s Day is the 30^th of November and it is a national holiday in Scotland. Robert Burns Day is the 25^th of January and this is a good time for people of Scottish heritage in this country here to get together, wear the kilt, eat haggis, and listen to the bard’s poetry. Sarah-Grace danced with her highland dance troop at the Robert Burn’s dinner at the Legion yesterday.

All right, to our text. In the NIV Verse 10 reads: “His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior [or 'man' in place of 'warrior' depending on the year published];” the rest of this sentence is contained in verse 11: “the LORD delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.”

This sentence tells us something very straightforward. It tells us what God does not delight in and what he does delight in. Psalm 147:10 is not necessarily talking about wearing a kilt, bathing suit, or shorts when it says that God doesn’t delight in a warrior’s legs.[3] This passage is not addressing Christian modesty. It is telling us that if we put our faith in people – in this example the passage by referencing ‘horse’ and ‘warrior’ is specifically referring to devoting our resources to and, by extension, our faith in the army[4] – if we put our faith in people, we will not impress God,[5] who is the creator, preserver, and governor of all things (cf. TSA d. 2). Some scholars suggest that this psalm was once two psalms and that Verse 10 was the conclusion of the first psalm and Verse 11 the commencement of the next one summing up its whole meaning and purpose.[6] Most scholars agree however that in this psalm in the form that we have it now, Verses 10 and 11 sum up the theme and the intent of the entire psalm. As such we shall look at each of these verses today.

Verse 10: “His [God’s] pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior” This verse is specifically referring to the cavalry and the infantry. We have discussed from this pulpit before how for most of their existence Israel and Judah were surrounded by hostile nations until God finally used these hostile nations to destroy Judah and deport the people in 586 BCE (2 Chronicles 36:17-21). Israel and Judah only had a very brief history as a united kingdom. God used King David to unify the kingdom at the end of a long civil war (1 Samuel 31 – 2 Samuel 5) and then because of the sins of David’s son, Solomon, God broke it apart again (1 Kings 11-12; cf. 2 Chronicles 10). One of the things the children of Israel were told way back when they left Egypt with Moses was not to get horses from Egypt (Deuteronomy 17:16). This reference to horses – just like in our text today - was a reference to putting faith in the military instead of in God.[7] One of the very first things the second king of Israel (Solomon) did was to get horses from Egypt (1 Kings 4:26, 9:19, 10:26; 2 Chronicles 1:14, 9:23; cf. Deuteronomy 17:16). The prophet Samuel warned the people – when God and the people were in the process rejecting the leadership of his own corrupt sons – he warned them that if they were a unified country under a single political leader that the leader would press their children into military service (1 Samuel 8:1-22). King Solomon and his heirs and his descendants did just this and more as they ignored this advice and continued to put their faith in themselves, their military, their legs, and their horses until God finally has enough and puts an end to all of their reigns (2 Chronicles 36:17-21).

How about us here today in this room? Do we ever fall into this same trap? Do we sometimes put our faith in the strength of the horse or the legs of a warrior, of a man? Do we ever put our faith in something other than God? I think we can be tempted to do this in a number of different ways in our society today. I think we do this whenever we do not believe that God will look after our needs. Most people acknowledge that we should give God at least a tenth of the money He gives us through our jobs, our pensions, our businesses, or whatever. I think we fall into the trap of Psalm 147:10’s sin of putting our faith in the horse and the legs of a man when we don’t at least tithe our income. I think when we withhold more than 90% of our income from God; we are saying pretty vocally that we don’t trust Him to provide for even ten percent of our needs (cf. Psalm 20:7, 33:17, Amos 2:14-15, Matthew 6:31-34; Luke 9:57-62, 18:19-30; Acts 2: 42-47; Hebrews 4). I think when we just try to solve our problems with our own thoughts and abilities; failing to petition God in prayer when we have decisions to make, we are showing God we don’t have faith in God. I think whenever we know what is right to do in a given circumstance but give into peer or a colleague’s pressure, it shows that we are putting our faith in the majority – democracy, the sin of the book of judges (cf. Judges 21:25) – instead of putting our faith in God. I think that when we make our decisions as to what we should do with our time and our abilities based on our wallets rather than on revelation from God - which comes from praying and reading the Bible - then we are committing the sin of our text today of putting our faith in the strength of the horse or the legs of the warrior man.

Let me give you a horrible example of putting one’s faith in money rather than God that has been near and dear to my heart lately (cf. Matthew 6:19-34). The advancement of the Kingdom of God has suffered what looks like some serious set backs in Swift Current here over the last couple of weeks. We know that putting faith in anything other than God is basically a rejection of Him and His kingdom. A New Testament equivalent to this warning about putting our faith in horses and men’s legs would be from Matthew 6:24-27.[8] I know you’ll recognize it as I read it:

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 

You cannot serve both God and money. ‘The Center’ downtown – which was started by God through a local church, renounced its Christian faith in the past weeks in favour of the secular religion. They wrote this:

The Community Youth Initiative as of December 15, 2010 has officially obtained a nonprofit status. From this point forward we will be known as the Swift Current Community Youth Initiative (SCCTI). Our entity or registration number is XXXXXX. This has opened the door to more corporate funding. Additional grant monies are now available because the SCCTI is NOT designated as a religious organization.

The Center’s programme decided NOT to be a Christian ministry anymore so that they could get more money. Now this claim that you are able to raise more money if you are not a Christian organization is not true but even if it were true, Matthew 6:24: ‘You cannot serve both God and money’; ‘you will devoted to the one and despise the other’. Psalm 147:10 “His [God’s] pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior.”

We don’t have to make this wrong choice our lives that the Center and the Swift Current Youth Initiative did. There is another way, Psalm 147:11: “the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.”

Now ‘fear’ can mean a lot of things in the Bible. Don’t worry I am not going to do an exhaustive word study here. The word translated ‘fear’ in this verse, ‘yare’, in the tense and context that it is used here refers quite simply to a moral reverence. It is a kind of deference but it does not include any of the moral dread that is involved with other variations of the word.[9] An example of this ‘fear’, ‘yare’ in our society is sort of like when one is in court and the judge tells you specifically to remove your hat, you do it. Mind you this may have a little bit of the aforementioned dread involved. This ‘yare-fear’ would probably be – in this context - more like if someone meets me on a Saturday or when I am on vacation and I am out of uniform and they are using rather rough language with a lot of profanity and swear words. As soon as they find out that I am an Officer, the equivalent of a pastor plus, they immediately apologize for every swear word they ever uttered in my presence (or anyone else’s sometimes) prior to making that discovering. Their ‘watching their language’ is out of respect for my vocation, my calling. It is not out of fright at all. Likewise, we in the Lord’s courtroom need to respect his authority and we can also put our faith in his unfailing love. 

This unfailing love (checed), as it is translated relates to a strong sense of goodwill especially as can be relied on in real times of need (cf. Deuteronomy 7:7,12; Psalm 89:24, 28, 33, 49; 2 Samuel 7:15; Isaiah 55:3).[10] Sometimes this word is translated as ‘mercy’ or ‘kindness’. This word, checed, relates to the person you can turn to in a crisis. We all have friends and family but we know that when the chips are down we really can’t rely on all of them. Some people let us down. This word for love or mercy applied in this context refers to one who will never let us down in a time of need. And this is God.

The Lord delights in those of us who respect Him – who care enough about His station and His feelings to watch our language around Him. And He can be trusted in our time of need because of His unfailing love for us (cf. John 3:16ff.). We don’t need to rely on horse and men’s legs. We don’t need to rely on cavalry and infantry. We don’t need to rely on man or Mammon. We don’t need to rely on people or money. We don’t need to rely on anyone in place of God. God will provide.

Corporately we should never deny our Christian faith in order to get government money like the Swift Current Center’s Community Youth Initiative did by intentionally rejecting its Christian roots and adopting the secular, so-called ‘non-religious’ religion instead. Individually we should make sure that we don’t make our decisions based on what other people think or on our own abilities and prejudices. We don’t need to withhold our tithe money because we think we can’t make ends meet without it. Do you really think that if you give God His tithe that He will unjustly let you starve to death? Do you not trust God? Do you put your faith in your own ability to handle your finances more than you put your faith in God? Who is best to look after you: you, the government (as is the hopes of the Center’s SC Youth Initiative), or God. Doctrine 2 of The Salvation Army says, “We believe that there is only one God, who is infinitely perfect, the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of all things, and who is the only proper object of religious worship.” We need only to serve God. Not money, not pride, not laziness, not whatever else it is that takes our focus off of God.  When we seek first the Kingdom of God, all else that we need will be given unto us (Matthew 6:33).

So today I charge us all, if we have been intentionally withholding any of our time from God by not reading our Bibles; if we have been withholding any of our time from God by not praying to Him but rather have been spending all of our so-called ‘free time’ watching television, playing video games or gossiping with friends; if we trust more in Oprah or Dr. Phil, Law and Order or your cousin Fred’s advice than we do in God; if we have not been tithing because bills are tight; then indeed we are putting our faith in horse and the legs of men. If there is anyone or anything in our life that we are tempted to put our trust in ahead of God than that is the naked knee in our life that we must cover up (cf. 1 Corinthians 8-9). Today I trust that none of us will be distracted by the naked knees of life but that we will all instead trust in the merciful love of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Let us pray.

http://www.sheepspeak.com/

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[1] Peter C. Craigie, 'Psalms 1-50', 2^nd  ed. (WBC 19: Word Books: Dallas, Texas, 2004), Author’s preface to the first edition.

[2] Cited from, C.D. Merriman, ‘The Literature Network: Robert Burns’ (Jalic Inc. 2006), cited 17 January 2011, available on-line at http://www.online-literature.com/robert-burns/

[3] Cf. Charles H. Spurgeon, ‘The Treasury of David Vol. 3: Psalms 101-150’, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, page 429.

[4] John H. Stek, ‘ Note on Psalm 147’, (NIV Study Bible: Zondervan: Grand Rapids Michigan, 2002), 950.

[5] Cf. Derek Kidner, Psalms 73-150: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1975 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 16), S. 523

[6] Cf. Leslie C. Allen, 'Psalms 101-150', 2^nd ed., (WBC 21: Word Books: Dallas, Texas, 2002), 383 – some even suggest 3 psalms; Cf. also Charles H. Spurgeon, ‘The Treasury of David Vol. 3: Psalms 111-150’, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers,

[7] Willem A. VanGemeren, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Deuteronomy/Exposition of Deuteronomy/III. The Second Address: Stipulations of the Covenant-Treaty and Its Ratification (4:44-28:68)/C. Specific Stipulations of the Covenant-Treaty (12:1-26:19)/2. National concerns (16:18-19:21)]/d. Appointment of and rules for a king (17:14-20), Book Version: 4.0.2

[8] Cf. Derek Kidner, Psalms 73-150: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1975 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 16), S. 523

[9] 'Yare', in The New Strong’s Complete Dictionary of Bible Words. (Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1966), p. 395. Cf. also Cf. The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, ‘3373: yare’ (Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1995), p.59.

[10] John H. Stek, ‘ Note on Psalm 6:8’, (NIV Study Bible: Zondervan: Grand Rapids Michigan, 2002), page 792; Cf. The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, ‘2617: checed’ yare’ (Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1995), p.46.