Sermon(Is 43:1-7): God of love

The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/50025287027

 

 

 Scripture reading: Is 43:1-7

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>> 1 But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy one of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. 4 Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. 5 Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you; 6 I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, 7 every one who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. <<

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When a man is seriously ill, he thinks, 'Oh, when will I get over this disease and run around in the same good health as before?' When our country was once a Japanese colony, our ancestors maybe thought day and night, 'When will we be liberated and live freely?' There are many fetters in the world that bind man. Diseases, poverty, debt, imprisonment, unemployment, etc. are the fetters that torment us. When things don't improve over time, people give up their dreams in despair. So did the Israelites. Decades of years had passed after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had conquered Israel and taken Israelites captive, but there were not any signs of prospect of the liberation of Israel. Now, almost all of the first generation of prisoners died, and the people of the second and third generation have become almost Gentiles. Will God's people disappear from the history like this? Where is the God who chose Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to promise the eternal blessings of future and who freed Israel from the slavery to Egypt? Until now they have prayed to the God of Jacob for many years, but there was no answer. Now even prayer is useless?

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But now, but now the darkness is over and it dawns. “'But now' thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you. (v. 1)” God says that literally 'now' he is going to give the answer. We can infer from this verse that God wanted to respond to his people but didn't for some reasons. Above all, Israel, which was punished by God, needed a cooling-off period. Living as prisoners in foreign lands, Israelites must repent their past sins and become a new man. It seemed proper to God that Israel should be slaves to another country for about 70 years in order to be a new-born people of God. The exodus after the slavery of 430 years in Egypt was the first birth of Israel. Now the liberation of Israel from the slavery of 70 years in the north country Babylon can be regarded as the rebirth (the born-again) of Israel. ("Behold, I will refine them and test them, for what else can I do, because of my people? (Jer 9:7)") For those seventy years God has seen the shells of Israel's sins peeled off one by one. Sometimes his people cried out for help, but God, though feeling sorry for it, waited for the right time patiently. That period was the period of suffering to God also. God surely reveals his face when the term of suffering is completed and the time has come. When the time comes, God himself begins to lead his people. He responds to their long wishes. He says this (now) is the time. My brethren, do not complain that the help of God is too late.

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Brethren, do you know what God is worrying about? He worries that his people might misunderstand him. Seeing God's harsh judgement, people think God to be a ruthless God; seeing his long silence, they think him to be a heartless and indifferent God. Some people even consider God who doesn't help them to be an incompetent (powerless) God. So they conclude that such a God is the one who does not love his people. But God defends himself that he is not a God of that kind.

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First, God tells us that he is always with us. Especially God tells us that he accompanies us when we go through the path of suffering and tears. “When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. (v. 2)” This is not only a promise of the future, but also the fact (the reality) of the past and present. Because God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. God is always a close protector of his people. He always walks with us and leads us into the path that is best for us. Those who have opened the eyes of faith can always see God nearby. God accompanied Israelites on the way of the exile. He kept them. He will walk with them also when he brings his people out of the Gentile lands in the future. So the word that he always gives us is "Fear not!" (v. 1, 5). My beloved brethren, believe that God is going with you your way of suffering now, and do not be afraid. Brethren, believe that he is now leading you in the blessed way.

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God says that he is not a merciless God or a heartless God, but a God who loves Israel. “You are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you. (v. 4)” What love is most pure and strong? It is the love of father for his children. What other love is stronger, purer, and more spontaneous than that? God says that he has such love for Israel. “Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth. (v. 6)” God now says 'son' and 'daughter'. God rules Israel as the King, but he says that he as a father is saying to them as to sons and daughters. This relationship between father and son is one that can overcome all evils and be recovered. However severe a sin a son may commit, his father can forgive him. No matter how much a son has sinned and caused harm to others, the father takes the responsibility for the sins of his son upon himself and compensates for the damage. No matter how great a sin a son committed, his father will try to free him who is in jail at any cost. Because God regarded Israel as his children, he saw them suffering as prisoners and determined to rescue them at all costs. “I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. ... I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. (v. 3, 4)” In other words, God is saying that he will give other nations as ransom to the strong nation that is holding Israel captive in order to liberate Israel. In short God will use other sinful peoples to rescue his people. Brethren, sinners are miserable because they suffer disaster or die in place of the righteous. The disaster is not unjust for the sinners because it is their reward, however the righteous can avoid disaster thanks to them. Because God puts the wicked where the righteous could suffer harm, instead of the righteous. Because they are precious and holy in the sight of God. Not because they are outstanding and righteous, but because they are children of God.

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Brethren, please believe that God sees you as his beloved children. Usually people say that the God of the Old Testament is a stern God while the God of the New Testament is a loving merciful God, however, today's text says that the God of the Old Testament also is the God of love and mercy to his children. If God is the Father of Israel, might he have punished them because he hated them, or might he have loved them and whipped them to make them a good people? Of course, he punished them to make them go the right way. So Israel should not bear hostility or a bitter feelings against God because they have severely whipped by God before. Don't run away when you don't want to see him. The Bible teaches us that we should love and respect him more when God disciplines us. My brethren, please dispel the anger against God and fear (love and honor) him more.

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Brethren, is the God incompetent because he didn't give answer to your prayers? Is the God weaker than the nation that was holding Israelites prisoner so that he didn't liberate them when they had been praying to him for 70 years? God says, "Jacob, I am the Lord who created you" (v. 1). God is omniscient and omnipotent. He is the Creator. You can see his power in the fact that he freed Israel which was in slavery in the great kingdom Egypt and made it a nation. Usually, when a nation prospers, people cut a tree or a stone to make a god and, making the idol their protector, conquer neighboring countries. But God, the living God, freed Israel, the weaker slaves of the mighty power Egypt. That can't be done by a god made by men. only the living God, who can bring 10 disasters upon Egyptians freely and divide the sea and throw the Egyptian army into the sea, can do that. God, who regarded Israel as his children, was such a powerful one. God uses all the power of the world as his tool. The Assyria that destroyed North Israel and the Babylon that destroyed Judah were all God's tools. How can an ax say that he who holds the ax in his hand is weaker than itself? Babylon was an ax in the hand of God. God says, "I am the Lord your God, the Holy one of Israel, your Savior. (v. 3)" What was precious to God was not the ax but Israel. The one with the ax in his hand was the God of Israel. He is holy. He is the deliverer of Israel. If he makes a plan for something, it is certain to happen. History goes as he determines. He who destroyed Israel and scattered them all around, now has set the course of history in the opposite direction. Now God declares that he'll bring all the Israelites, even those who are at the end of the earth, to their homeland. “Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you; I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth (v. 5, 6)” No matter how deep you sink into plight, no matter how far away you are from peace and happiness now, God draws you from there and sets you near him. God will take you to the haven of peace. Now wipe away the tears of long years and look at the loving God the Father. Believe in him who is potent. Trust him. Your savior is the strongest in the world.

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Can a father say to his child, "You are mine"? Is that a good ｅxpression of your feelings for your sons or daughters? It's a little out of place, isn't it? But if a loved one tells his / her lover, "You are mine", it is a very good statement. Every woman wants to hear from her lover, "You are mine." 'You are mine' means 'you and I are one'. And God says to Israel, "You are mine (v. 1)." But did God think of Israel as goods when he said that? No! God meant, "You are my lover (my beloved one)." Thus the God of the Old Testament also thinks of Israel as a bride. What else can be said about God's love for Israel? God says to each of you, "You are mine." Accept this love of God. If you reject that love of God, he will be jealous. "I am a jealous God," he said clearly.

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You, too, should 'now' abandon your vain love for the world and love only God with all your heart and sincerity. Obey him. You, too, give your heart to him and confess your love. "My God, I love you!"

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May God now wipe away your tears, now release you from all your shackles, and now lead you in the garden of happiness and joy.

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Chong Tack Kim

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                           - Dongtoma Sunshine Church -