A Voice of Hope Sounds Forth Through an Impossible History

The Book of Isaiah is an exceptional witness.  Not only  to the history of the Hebrew people's journey from oppression, under the Egyptian rule, into the Promise land filled with milk and honey. (Ex. 3:8)  And of God's persistent involvement in their lives and their choices.  The story is not a pleasant one.  The people acted like ordinary humans (imagine!) with their own idea of what God should do; and how God should treat them.  They grumbled, fought, complained and were generally obnoxious and so often dissatisfied.  They seemed to have no concept of what God had done for them.  Saving them from brutal slavery.  All they could think of was themselves and how they wanted life to be. 

Needless to say it was a life of poor choices, challenges, suffering and lots of failure.  Like most of us, they saw the grass as much greener "in the old days" back in Egypt.  The grass is always greener on the other side of life!  And so they suffered through all of the awful that life has to offer.  They, from the beginning, failed to be faithful and committed to God's plan.  And God's anger, and disappointment, became visibly and physically apparent from the Exodus forward.  Thus, God got the reputation as a mean, wrathful and judgmental God.  What the people missed was that they had some responsibility for the punishment and judgment they received.  Their life choices and idols worship put their relationship with God at risk.  

If you were to take the time to dig into all of the stories of the Old Testament you would soon see a consistent pattern of behavior and consequence evolving. It goes something like this,  The people screw up!  God punished them, or warned them of their coming disaster!  The people repented!  God forgives!  And then the cycle would repeat itself.  That was the rhythm of the relationship between God and the people.  

Through all of that active history there has been, and still is, a glowing constant.  God never gave up on them!  God stayed true to his promises!  The promise to be with them and guide them, love them, and forgive them!  Over and over and over again!  That is what we would call amazing grace!  

Throughout the entire Old Testament, from beginning to end, all God ever asked of the people was to believe -- to trust in God's promise.  He also ask them to take care of the creations and to take care of each other.  That is all God asked then!  That is all God asks now!

In the midst of a massy history and exile from their home and culture we hear this song of hope.  A claim of an intimate relationship with the Creator God.  We hear of the faithfulness of God to a people who have violated God's trust.  Somehow this person saw through the obvious!  The constant battle!  And somehow believed dispute the present conditions! 

I invite you to take a look at what faith can to in the worst of situations!

1 O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you, I will praise your name; for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. 

2 For you have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin; the palace of aliens is a city no more, it will never be rebuilt.

3 Therefore strong peoples will glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you. 

4 For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat. When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm, 

5 the noise of aliens like heat in a dry place, you subdued the heat with the shade of clouds; the song of the ruthless was stilled. 

6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. 

7 And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; 

8 he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.

9 It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.(Isaiah 25:1-9)