IN- BETWEEN THE TIMES
Isaiah 40:1-8
Introduction:
During
my time with Youth With A Mission India, I traveled quite a bit to several countries.
After clearing customs, security check, I would finally board the flight. I am
now seated fastening my seat belt and the Airplane is lifted off the ground
leaving my family, my home country and everything that was familiar behind and
going to a country that is not my own.
Once
the flight is in midair a bunch of mixed emotions and thoughts used to flood my
mind. It was like living in a no man’s land, scary and exciting at the same
time. It was scary! Because I didn’t know what kind of reception I was going to
receive in the new country. would I be accepted or rejected? Would I land
safely in the first place? Will I ever return to my home country to see my wife
and children again?
It
was Exciting! Because of the adventure of meeting new people, eating new food,
and visiting new places. On the flipside of those in-between times were some of
the most comforting times for me. I’ve learned to let go control over my life,
and surrender into the hands of God who is my pilot and is more than able to
lead me safely to my destination.
Paul
Tournier, in A Place for You, describes the experience of being in between:
Between the time we leave home and arrive at our destination; between the time
we leave adolescence and arrive at adulthood; between the time we leave doubt
and arrive at faith. It is like the time when a trapeze artist lets go the bar
and hangs in midair, ready to catch another support: it is a time of danger, of expectation, of
uncertainty, of excitement, or extraordinary aliveness.”[1] Advent is all about
living, “In-Between the Times.” Whether we realize it or not Christian life is
also about living, In-Between the Times.
Last
week we learned how Israelites held on to their Hope during trying times. This
week, we will look at a prophecy regarding a people who were living In-Between
the Times, and how God promised to move them from captivity to freedom and brokenness
to wholeness.
A
BIT OF BACKGROUND:
Isaiah
was an 8th Century BC Southern prophet, a contemporary of Hosea and
Micah. He is called “prince of the prophets” because of the grandeur of his prophecies.
Chapters 40-66 address Judah during the Babylonian captivity as if it were a
present reality, though that captivity did not begin until 586 BC. They focus
on redemption and hope. But the scope of the book moves beyond Israel’s history
to the redemption of the whole world.
Chapters
40-48 deal with the coming of Cyrus and the fall of Babylon as proof of the
power of the God of Israel both to foretell and to fulfill, in amazing contrast
to the idols of the heathen, which could do neither. Let’s explore the passage.
Isaiah 40:1-2, “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God. “Speak tenderly to
Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes,
the Lord has punished her twice over for all her sins.”
I. FROM
CAPTIVITY TO FREEDOM:
Th
is prophecy was primarily spoken to a captive people who were In-between the
times of their captivity and freedom. They were living in a foreign land many
miles from their home, and longing to return to their home country one day. Two main themes we see in this prophecy: The
brevity of human life, and God restoring the good fortunes of people through
redemption. In Vs 1-2, Isaiah was instructed not to whisper, but to speak
tenderly to Jerusalem, that her hard service has been completed, her sad days
are over, and her sins were forgiven, though the Lord had punished twice over
for all her sins. What comforting words these were to captive Israel!
This
scripture gives hope not only to Israel but to all those who are going through
struggles. If you are one of those, be encouraged, take comfort in the Lord,
your hard times will not last forever, sooner than later you will see relief
come your way, may be during this advent season. On the other hand, there is nothing
can give more comfort to a sin ravaged soul than to hear God say, “My son and
my daughter, your sins are forgiven, now you are free to live, to love and to
experience all the good things that I have instore for you.”
The
commission and the instructions were not only given to the prophet Isaiah only,
but to all the Lord’s prophets. The Church is also given similar instructions
to proclaim comfort to God’s people. To let them know in spite of their
hardships, one day they will experience God’s grace, strength, peace and His
abundant provision again. Their later days will be more glorious than their
former days. That was the Hope of Israel. Let’s look at the brevity of human
life.
II.
THE BREVITY OF HUMAN LIFE (Vs 6-8)
Vs
6-8, A voice said, “Shout!” I asked, “What should I shout?” “Shout that people
are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field. The
grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the Lord. And so, it
is with people. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God
stands forever.”
Just
imagine, if God calls, you and instruct you to go to Hollywood and shout
saying, “you people in Hollywood, you are like the grass, your beauty fades
just like the flowers of the field and the grass of the wild, but the word of
the Lord stands forever.” What kind of reception do you think you will
get? Probably, you will get some bottles
thrown at you, or you may be arrested and put in jail. The prophets of the old
were given a difficult assignment. They were to bring God’s message to a rebellious
people who were bent on doing their own thing.
Yet
the prophets spoke boldly for which they dearly paid with their lives. The
message of Isaiah to the captives in Babylon applies to all mankind, yet we don’t
like to hear the truth. We all are like the grass. No matter how hard you try
to cover up, or do face lifts and apply all other beauty treatments, I have sobering
news, our beauty will quickly fade away just like those flowers and the wild
grass. The prophet says, God can blow it away just like that by his breath. But this was not what God had in mind, when
He created man. He had great plans for him. Here is what God intended for man. Psalm
8: 3-6, “When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—the moon
and the stars you set in place—what are mere mortals that you should think
about them, human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only
a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You gave them charge
of everything you made, putting all things under their authority.”
How
did man fall from that great height to a very depraved low? Adam and Eve the
first couple were deceived by the Devil. They believed and exchanged the truth
for bunch of lies. They disobeyed God’s command by eating the forbidden fruit.
In the Bible that whole situation is described as, “The fall of Man.” With that
fall man lost his glory and honor.
The
bible says, “everyone
who sins is a slave of sin.” John 8:34. That is the truth, because Jesus was
the one who spoke those words. The Bible also says, “For everyone has sinned;
we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Romans 3:23. In the passage we
read, ancient Israel sinned therefore it was exiled to Babylon. In between
their captivity and freedom, God spoke words of Comfort and Hope. No matter who
you are, we all are sinners, slaves to sin. We are in need of forgiveness and
redemption. Our lives that were supposed to have been wholesome now are riddled
with brokenness. Who will deliver us from captivity to freedom? Who can put our
broken lives together and make us whole again? Who can restore our lost glory
and honor?
III.
FROM BROKENNESS TO WHOLENESS
Vs
3-5, “Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the
wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our
God! Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the
curves, and smooth out the rough places. Then the glory of the Lord will be
revealed, and all people will see it together. The Lord has spoken” This
prophetic voice, told Israel to prepare for the revelation of God’s glory.
Israelites
were to clear the way through the wilderness, make a straight highway through
the wasteland, fill the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. They were
to clear all those obstacles first, only then, they and all those who were
around them could see the glory of God. In other words, they were to repent of
their sins and turn their hearts back to God.
Nearly
five hundred years later, this prophecy was fulfilled in John the Baptist, who
preached the gospel of repentance. “When the crowds came to John for baptism,
he said, “You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? “I
baptize you with water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so
much greater that I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of
his sandals.
He
will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He is ready to separate the
chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the
threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with
never-ending fire.” (Mark 3:4-17). John the Baptist, became the forerunner
preparing the people for the Messiah’s first coming, by preaching to people to
repent and turn their lives over to God. Many have repented and turned to God
What
makes people totally free and truly experience all that God has for them? It is
“Repentance.” Eugene Peterson, in his book “A long Obedience in the Same
Direction” notes, “Repentance is not an emotion. It is not feeling sorry for
your sins. It is a decision.
It
is deciding that you have been wrong in supposing that you could manage your
own life and be your own god; it is deciding, that you were wrong in thinking
that you had, or could get, the strength, education and training to make it on
your own; it is deciding that you have been told a pack of lies about yourself,
and your neighbors and your world. And
it is deciding that God in Jesus Christ is telling you the truth.”[2]
Only
through repentance and by His grace we are saved. A few final thoughts: Israel
was living in between their captivity and freedom. They were living in between
their brokenness and wholeness. They were looking for someone who could move
them from their In-between places to a spacious place where they once again
enjoy life the way it meant to be. They were given hope by the prophetic words
of Isaiah; that prophecy was later fulfilled in John the Baptist.
As
people who are living in between the first coming and the second coming of
Christ how are we to live and prepare others for the Lord’s return? The Lord
Jesus told us what to do. “So, you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know
what day your Lord is coming.” Matthew 24:42. Keep watching means to prepare
ourselves, to live Holy and Christ honoring lives.
Keep
watching also means, like John the Baptist the cousin of Jesus we are to do the
work of an Evangelist. Jude another brother of Jesus warns us we must show
mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from
the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great
caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives. May the Lord help us all
to be powerful voices of hope and repentance to people around us during this
Advent. Amen!
[1] Eugene Peterson, A long Obedience
in the Same Direction, page 20
[2]
Eugene H. Peterson, “A long Obedience in the Same Direction.” Pages
29-30
