Isaiah 27:1-6 – Mercy
You see here in verses 2 and 3 a different picture. The church is God’s vineyard, and He cares for it. God makes his people to be fruitful. Just as a vineyard doesn’t happen to be there by accident, the Church of God is created by God’s loving and gracious will. But God doesn’t start it out and then just leave it. No, He sustains it by that same holy and gracious will. God continues to take care of you, Christian. God continues to take care of you, Church of Jesus Christ. Just as the owner of a vineyard keeps it safe and secure, God keeps you safe and secure. There are many promises in the Scripture about that (Romans 8:31). This safety and security is constant. And that’s a good thing because we read the apostle Peter telling us in 1 Peter 5:8 that our greatest enemy, the devil, is constantly prowling about us like a dangerous lion seeking to eat us up. We don’t need to be scared of that lion because God constantly takes care of us!
Look here in verse 5, what God says to do. ‘Stop being fools that are afraid of me. Stop being fools who hate me. Grab hold of me. Seek to make peace with me.’ And how do we have peace with God? We read in Romans 5:1, that being justified by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, we have peace with God. Here is a gracious invitation to any of you who will listen. Jesus Christ is our peace.
Lastly, you see a promise here in verse 6. And it’s kind of a consequence of God’s judgment of his enemies and His mercy to his people. Israel shall blossom and bud and fill the world. Who is this Israel? All the people of God in all ages. There are those who think that the Church is doomed, that the Church must become unfaithful. But that’s not what the Scriptures teach. We see here the Church grows to fill the world. This isn’t the only place in Scripture that says this (Daniel 2:30-45; Isaiah 11:9; Habakkuk 2:14; Matthew 13:31-33). Surely in Jesus Christ the wicked will not always prosper. The wicked shall be brought more and more to justice, and more and more God’s mercy to his people shall shine forth.
Questions
- How does God take care of us?
- What promise is there in verse 6?
Prayer Points
- Give thanks for God’s loving care of you.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.