Good News of Hope in Isaiah

Isaiah 51:1--6

Ps 138

Romans 112:1-8

Matthew 16:13-20

The Second Isaiah contains some of the most profound verse in all of Scripture. 

 Isaiah 51 compels us: Listen! Look! over and over.

He proclaims hope to a distressed and discouraged people. He calls them to trust God's promise with courage. He doesn't deny that things are bad, he just declares that God will make them better. 

"Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you that seek the Lord."

Verse 1, 4, 7 all begin with the word "shama"--listen, hear, obey--is a key word in the Hebrew Bible. It begins their prayer shema Israel, hear Israel. Listening, and obeying, is the love response to God's gift of salvation as Kingdom people.

"you that seek the Lord" In 45:9 the prophet says GOd did not say 'seek me in vain' and in 65:1 "I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. Those who pursue a right relationship with God, who seek His face--they will find Him. Jesus Himself confirms this in the Sermon on the Mount.  

The prophet says--look at your ancestors--look to Abraham and Sarah. They were a solitary old couple who became a great nation, I can repair and renew my people in every age. 

The barren land (a reminder of exodus) feels uninhabitable. Yet YHWH God promises comfort (a root word for Noah's name). Human eyes look at a the desert waste, but the eyes of faith see a garden of Eden (Paradise).  Pay no attention to what worries you, says the Lord, be filled with joy and gladness, sing a song and give thanks. My salvation will be forever and my deliverance will never end.  Salvation (yeshuah in Hebrew--or Jesus) is forever. Focus on Jesus friends, not the problems of the world. 

Be brave. Be strong. Look at all the turmoil and remember the sky will vanish and the earth will disappear. What the materialist calls concrete reality is really a smoky vapor. Humanity is mortal, we die like a bug.  But YHWH's saving love in Jesus is forever.

We are a broken and wounded people. We too often forget our heritage, we are distracted by our worries and concerns. We fret about real life concerns, it is hard not to do, but we too easily forget the divine perspective. God doesn't see the next election or the status of Corona the way we do. God sees us.

I find comfort in Isaiah 51 because God says, "Hey! Listen to me. Look at me. Jesus salvation is forever, the desert is the Garden of Eden still under construction. Trust me, be brave, spend more time praising and thanking. Feel the hope, feel the joy."

I think we should do just that.