Peter Misselbrook's Blog

Oct 9 2019 - Isaiah 44:1-23 – Incomparable God

Two days ago, when looking at the first of the four Servant Songs in these chapters of Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-9), we noted that Isaiah speaks of "the servant of the Lord" throughout chapters 40-55. Sometimes the servant is a specific person from within Israel, distinct from the rest of the nation and called to act on God's behalf for the salvation of Israel and of the wider world (think particularly of Isaiah 53). Elsewhere it is a title used of God's people as a whole – as is the case in this chapter.

The Lord addresses Jacob (whom he renamed Israel and who was the father of the Children of Israel) as his chosen servant. The nation was chosen in the person of their ancestor. God determined to bless Jacob the trickster and through him to fulfil his covenant promise to Abraham that through his descendants all peoples on earth would be blessed. Israel had been chosen to act as God's servant in fulfilling this promise.

But before this rebellious people can become a blessing they must first experience the riches of God's blessing for themselves. So God declares:

I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,
    and my blessing on your descendants. (v. 3)

God will rescue his people from captivity in Babylon and so demonstrate that he is the living God and that there is no other god like him. He is the God who hears the cry of his people and responds to their call. He is the God who comes to save. And because of his saving activity he enables his people to act as witnesses to him:

You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?
    No, there is no other Rock; I know not one. (v. 8)

This is then followed by a lengthy mockery of idols which are of no use to those who make and worship them until they are burned to provide warmth or to cook their food (vv. 12-20).

The living God, however, has acted to save his people and he promises never to forget them or neglect them (v. 21). He has forgiven the sins of his people so that they melt away from his remembrance like the morning mist disappears in the light and warmth of the sun (v. 22). In the light of these things, the Lord calls on his people to turn away from their rebellion and return to him.

All of creation shall rejoice together when the Lord saves his people (v. 23). This is more than extravagant poetic language. We know that God's promise to Abraham find's its fulfilment in the Lord Jesus; he is the seed/descendant of Abraham through whom all nations will be blessed – he is the Saviour of the world. His death marks the end of the reign of sin and death. His resurrection is the beginning of the new creation – a world in which all things are put to rights. At Jesus' return, that work of new creation will be completed in us when we are raised with bodies like his glorious body – no longer subject to sickness, pain, decay and death. Nor will this affect humanity alone, for the whole of the created world is in bondage to decay and groans as it waits to be brought into the freedom of the children of God on that great resurrection day (see Romans 8:19-22). On that day heaven and earth shall sing for joy and mountains, forests, trees and all the animal kingdom will burst into songs of joy.

We do not need to wait for that day; we should be filled with songs of joy now. Our joyful praise of our saving creator God is part of our witness to a world that is growing tired of its useless idols.

Father God, may our songs of praise for all that you have done for us in Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, make the very foundations of the earth shake and lift the rafters of heaven. May our praise act as a powerful witness to those around us who feel the weight of their mortality and the burden of life's undoing. Empower our witness to the hope of a world made new.

Oct 9 2020 - Hebrews 5:1-14 – Learning obedience

Obedience is costly. This is a lesson that no one ever learned as well as Jesus, the Son of God. The writer of this letter tells us that, "During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission" (Hebrews 5:7). The primary reference is surely to the agonised prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of his betrayal. Jesus knew the ordeal that lay before him and viewed it with horror. He longed to be spared the torment of all that lay before him. Nevertheless, he concluded his prayer with the words, "yet not my will, but yours be done." And so, "he learned obedience from what he suffered" (5:8). He learned the cost of being obedient to the Father; it meant the suffering and agony of the cross (cf. Philippians 2:8).

One of the most puzzling elements of these verses is the insistence that Jesus' fervent prayer that he might be saved from death "was heard because of his reverent submission." In what sense was his prayer heard? In reverent submission and obedience he did not turn back from the cross but suffered death for us. Perhaps we should see this reference to Jesus' fervent cries as embracing more than his prayer in the Garden; perhaps the reference is also to his words from the cross, even to the loud cry with which he gave up his spirit. His resurrection from the dead is surely the ultimate proof that his prayer to the one "who could save him from death... was heard because of his reverent submission."

There is no circumstance that we can face that will demand more of us than the cross demanded of our Saviour. What is said of the purely human high priests in verse 2 is true also of Jesus; "He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is [/was] subject to weakness." But Jesus can offer so much more than sympathy; "He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him" (5:9). He who learned obedience through the cross, calls us to follow him, to learn of him and to obey him.

But these are not easy lessons to learn. Our lives are not always marked by reverent submission. All too often they are marked by self-will and rebellion against God. We need his help if we are to learn from him and grow to be like him. And we are encouraged continually to seek that help, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to feel sympathy for our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (4:15-16). There is no temptation we face that can defeat him; he has been this way before us and has been victorious. We need to turn to him rather than away from him in times of temptation and trial. We need to call upon his help in our time of need confident of his grace and power – he will never turn away from those who seek him. He endured the cross for us and now lives for us to lead us to glory. He is ready to be with us every step of the way and to help us in our lessons.

And by his grace and power, we are not only able to learn obedience, we are equipped to become teachers of others (5:12): able to teach others no mere abstract truths of Christianity but to teach from experience the way of following Christ and submitting to his lordship (5:14).

Lord, teach me to be obedient to your call upon my life even as you were obedient to the call of the Father. Then make me a teacher of others that we may follow you gladly together and live for your glory.

Peter Misselbrook