Isaiah 63:17-19 – Straying Sheep
It can be a fearsome thing, a possibility dreaded by God’s people, believers, when they have sinned greatly and are awakened to their failure. So it is with these of Judah and Jerusalem. They had sinned greatly, and their shame was heavy upon them. They wondered that their Father would let them go so far, but so He does sometimes. It allows His people to see their own hearts, to see how far from complete their sanctification is, and their constant need to be depending upon the blood of Christ and upon the indwelling Spirit of God!
Verse 18 tells us of the final disaster brought about by the sin of God’s people. All that God had blessed them with was gone. What was it that God’s people had possessed for a little while? First, It was the land, a place of special blessing, and in the midst of which God dwelt. Specifically the Temple is mentioned, which was the most precious thing that the Israel of God had. There it was that their redemption, and their Redeemer, were all portrayed by the the priests, the sacrifices and offerings, the holy days and feasts, and all the Temple ceremonies. And they look to it as shamefully destroyed. At the time that Isaiah wrote this, the people still had the land and the Temple, but this prophecy looks way ahead. There would be nothing left to them that spoke of God’s favour, God’s covenant, God’s promises – except His Word written and His Word become flesh in Christ, if only they would heed them! Christ is their inheritance, and in Him is all the fulfillment of the promise of the land, the seed, and the everlasting blessing to the nations.
In verse 19 the remnant sees that the wreckage extends to their own witness. They were to be a witness to the nations of God’s holiness, God’s grace, and God’s wisdom (Deuteronomy 4:5-8). Yet, in the nation’s turning away, again and again, they became like the nations around, or worse. Thus it was that God treated them like the nations around, although they were His. The godly were grieved with the sin all about, and were crying for mercy and for strength to repent. Their need was, and is, as it is for all sinners, to believe in Christ, who does and who will have mercy upon those who come to Him in faith and repentance.
Question
- Why does God permit His people to stray?
Prayer Points
- Pray for the preaching and hearing of God’s Word tomorrow.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.