Growing with God: A daily devotional with Tonia Slimm.
Isaiah 50:2-3 (NIV)
“When I came, why was there no one? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Was my arm too short to deliver you? Do I lack the strength to rescue you? By a mere rebuke I dry up the sea, I turn rivers into a desert; their fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst. I clothe the heavens with darkness and make sackcloth its covering.”
Isaiah 50:2-3 (MSG)
“So why didn’t anyone come when I knocked? Why didn’t anyone answer when I called? Do you think I’ve forgotten how to help? Am I so decrepit that I can’t deliver? I’m as powerful as ever, and can reverse what I once did: I can dry up the sea with a word, turn river water into desert sand, And leave the fish stinking in the sun, stranded on dry land . . .Turn all the lights out in the sky and pull down the curtain.”
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“Why, when I came, was there no man [to greet Me]? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Is My hand really so short that it cannot redeem [My servants]? Or have I no power to rescue? Listen carefully, with My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers into a desert; their fish stink because there is no water and die of thirst. I clothe the heavens with the blackness [of storm clouds] and make sackcloth [of mourning] their clothing.” -AMPLIFIED
“Here the Lord compares Himself to a man and father of a household who is treated shamefully by his own wife and children. When he came home, there was no one to welcome him and when he called, no one answered him. Hence, He who had the right to all their respect was treated as one without any rights.” ~Harry Bultema
As we began Isaiah 50, we found God representing Himself as the faithful husband, and Israel as the unfaithful wife, this would be a metaphor that the people would understand.
“Yahweh asks, “Have I abandoned you? Can you show me your mother’s divorce papers
that prove I sent her away? Do you think I sold you into slavery to pay off a debt?
No, you sold yourselves into slavery because of your sins, and because of your rebellion I sent your mother away!” -Isaiah 50:1 (The Passion Translation)
God continues with this allegory in today’s text. We find Him inquiring of Israel where they were when He came to in search of them. Why did they not answer when He called? God says:
“Why is it that when I came to visit, no one was there to greet Me; and when I called out for you, no one answered? Do you think My reach insufficient, My power too limited to rescue you? I need only to speak the words and entire oceans will evaporate; rivers will become deserts, leaving fish to stink and die for lack of water. I can dress the heavens with blackness and trade its velvet skies for the scratchy clothes of mourning.” -(VOICE)
God asks the people of Israel:
“Where were you when I came home, for no one came to welcome me? Why did you not answer when I called you? Was there no one who was willing to answer me? Did you think that I could not save you, or that I was powerless to save you?
All of these are rhetorical questions, of course, for Adonai–Tzva’ot, God Almighty, goes on to answer His own questions.
“Look, all I need do is speak and the ocean will dry up, and the rivers will turn into deserts, leaving all the fish to rot in the hot sun, for there will be no water left for them to swim in. I can also turn the skies into pitch black, darkness as far as the eye can see, just like the sackcloth of mourning.”
The point being, God never changed in His relationship and love for Israel, but His bride’s attitude and love for Him had changed.
“Was I too weak to save you? Is that why the house is silent and empty when I come home? Have I no longer power to deliver? No, that is not the reason! For I can rebuke the sea and make it dry! I can turn the rivers into deserts, covered with dying fish. I am the one who sends the darkness out across the skies.” -(TLB)
“The last miracle recorded here, namely, that of covering the heavens with sackcloth, was performed by our Lord even when he was in his death agony. We read that, at high noon, the sun was veiled, and there was darkness over all the land for three black hours. Wonder of wonders, he who hung bleeding there had wrought that mighty marvel! The sun had looked upon him hanging on the cross, and, as if in horror, had covered its face, and traveled on in tenfold night. The tears of Jesus quenched the light of the sun. Had he been wrathful, he might have put out its light forever; but his love not only restored that light, but it has given to us a light a thousand times more precious, even the light of everlasting life and joy.” ~Charles Spurgeon
God had not abandoned Israel; they had turned their proverbial backs on Him. Remember that promise that Moses made for God back in Deuteronomy:
“Be strong and brave, and don’t tremble in fear of them, because the Eternal your God is going with you. He’ll never fail you or abandon you!” -Deuteronomy 31:6 (VOICE)
Remember, Paul telling us that nothing can separate us from God’s love in the book of Romans:
“Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from the love God has for us. Not death, not life, not angels, not ruling spirits, nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us, nothing below us, or anything else in the whole world will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 8:38-39 (ICB)
Nothing can separate us from Him but we ourselves. Isaiah addresses this in chapter 59 of his book. There we learn that our disobedience and sin has separated us from God:
“Listen now! The Lord isn’t too weak to save you. And he isn’t getting deaf! He can hear you when you call! But the trouble is that your sins have cut you off from God. Because of sin he has turned his face away from you and will not listen anymore. For your hands are those of murderers and your fingers are filthy with sin. You lie and grumble and oppose the good. No one cares about being fair and true. Your lawsuits are based on lies; you spend your time plotting evil deeds and doing them. You spend your time and energy in spinning evil plans that end up in deadly actions. You cheat and shortchange everyone. Everything you do is filled with sin; violence is your trademark. Your feet run to do evil and rush to murder; your thoughts are only of sinning, and wherever you go you leave behind a trail of misery and death. You don’t know what true peace is, nor what it means to be just and good; you continually do wrong and those who follow you won’t experience any peace either.” -Isaiah 59:1-8 (TLB)
“The problem is not that God has forgotten his people. It is rather that no one responded to Him when He came wanting to restore their relationship with Him. No one answered when He called. The people acted as if God has no power to redeem or deliver.” ~Thoralf Gilbrant
My friend, sin separates us from God. God never moved, He never changed. He came looking for a faithful people, but they were unfaithful. He was expecting a welcome, but we had turned our backs on Him, and ignored Him. His love for us never changed, but our love for Him had. So, the fact is, we need to repent, and renew our relationship with Him, not vice versa. He has been there all the time, waiting for us to acknowledge Him. Will you do so today?
“Oh, the sorrow in the heart of God – the pang, the pain, the agony, the suffering – when His children sin!…. Sin in the lives of God’s people clothes heaven with blackness and sackcloth.” ~Alan Redpath
My Prayer:
Adonai–Tzva’ot, God Almighty, my loving Heavenly Father, I ask for your forgiveness, for I too have had a wandering heart. I have not been faithful to you, and I am so sorry. You expected to be welcomed with open arms, with love and with respect. Sadly, there have been times that I have not received you as I should. I went through the motions, because it was expected of me, or I ignored you completely. Lord, I am so sorry. You deserve better, you deserve my best. Today, I would like to start fresh. With your help, I want to begin new, placing you in your rightful place in my life. Lord, be glorified in me, I pray.
Growing with God 