DAY 290

CARVED INTO HIS HANDS

Isaiah 47, 48 & 49 and 1 Thessalonians 4

The three chapters of Isaiah today really deal with two situations. Chapters 47 and 48 deal with the judgment of Babylon and the command to the Israelites to flee it, and chapter 49 returns us again to the Servant. Chapter 47 is fairly easy to follow, you might call it a poem the title of which is “Babylon is judged.” Chapter 48 might seem a bit choppier. Look for patterns. What you find is four sections: verses 1-11, 12-15, 16, and 17-22. The pattern is that the first three all begin with the phrase, “Hear” or “Listen” and then the last section by the words “This is what the Lord says”. The point, leave Babylon at once and set off for home.

This means that we understand that everyone was taken to Babylon. For me that is a bit tricky. Just a few days ago we were rather slowly going through Hezekiah’s reign as king. Now we have fast forwarded through several kings, Jerusalem has fallen, people have spent years in exile, and now are being told to return. You might ask, “Did I miss something?” The answer is no, this is just one of the challenges of reading the prophets. You have read the history of the fall of Judah and Jerusalem in 2^nd Kings, now you are reading the prophecy associated with it. Interestingly the captives are portrayed as residents of one city, but citizens of another—Jerusalem.

Chapter 49 is another one of those fascinating chapters of the book, and I want to take it a bit slow. First let’s divide it into two pieces: verses 1-13 and verses 14 – to the end. The first part has the Servant speaking saying things such as “the Lord called me from the womb…” He speaks for the first 6 verses, then in 7-12 has two messages for the exiles, all reaching a culmination in verse 13,  Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.

I said this chapter was fascinating, in part because of the Servant (I will post an extra blog on Him), but the other reason I find it fascinating is because the second part of the chapter deals with an amazingly honest situation, you might even say “issue.” While Cyrus fades into the background there is still a tension. How could God have abandoned His people to Babylon, and yet at the same time proclaim He is faithful to them? Now here we are treading a bit lightly, we are not so much abstractly questioning God, but rather dealing with the text. The text asks the question, “Is God really faithful?” Isn’t the Bible remarkably honest about things such as this—its own text asks and explores this question! We should not be surprised; God is not intimidated by our questions. We see in verses 14-21 Zion’s lament. Here Zion stands not just for the nation, not just for the people, but for their complete identity. They have been hauled away to a foreign country and their Temple destroyed. They are facing a total loss of identity.

Let’s face it, we at times might feel abandoned by God, but look at God’s response: God, as God, can no more forget his people than a “mother forgets the baby at her breast” (v.15). They are carved into the palms of His hands (v.16). In the next verse he uses the analogy of a bride. In verses 22-26 God returns his focus to the rest of the world, they will have a choice to make. They can cooperate with God or not, but they will not be able to ignore His people – verse 26 is a “wee bit strong.”

Remarkably Isaiah will take us all the way to the end of time…we are not their yet…but so does the New Testament letter. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

The point for me today is the God does not abandon us…even when it seem like He has…even when it is dark. We may have to look far out into the future. We may wonder why we are in the particular plight we are in, but the Scriptures today invite us to have faith and to remember that we are carved into his hands…He does not forget us or abandon us.