After spending several months listening to the words of Jesus from the book of John, I found, as Easter drew near I was especially drawn to a passage from the book of Isaiah. Who was this man, who could speak so deeply into my soul? God explains through the prophet, almost eight hundred years prior to the arrival of Christ, just what kind of Savior we were to expect and who we now know and have.
The arrival of this Servant-King is to be announced to the world, but just as Isaiah came to know, not all would believe or accept. The lack of acceptance by the masses does not make the message any less important or truthful. I will start this new Focus Friday session in the middle of the fifty-second chapter of Isaiah and continue through the end of the fifty-third, as it helps us to get the full picture of the one we call Lord.
“And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord. “For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock,” declares the Lord. “And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed. Therefore my people will know my name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I.”
Isaiah 52:5-6
Oh, how this sounds so much like our present-day reality. Life was bad for the people of Judah, but it was nothing like what Isaiah was telling them was coming. The surrounding pagan nations would attack, invade, and carry off God’s people into exile. Could anyone see anything good coming from the prophet’s message?
What is worse than having the name of your God mocked and blasphemed? Little did their enemies know that God had allowed this to happen. God’s hand of protection had been removed from his people because they too had blasphemed his name through the worship of idols.
What must it be like for God to hear his name blasphemed all day long. We certainly live in a day where that is happening, and not just outside the church.
However, as God tells his people—a day is coming when those who know my name will realize that I had foretold not only this disaster but their salvation as well.
As for many today, the day is dark, yet salvation is at hand, but not in the way they expect it. For the Christian, we know what it is to say, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming!”
Pray for those who blaspheme your God today. The message we’ve heard and accepted is for us to share with them as well.
Grace and Peace
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