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Today I have come back to prayer and the Bible like a hungry man!

Let me explain:

You see, I have been ‘on holiday’ for just over a week, and I recognise that I have neglected my regular times alone with God. Yes, I could start to make excuses, but none of them will stick.

What I now see so clearly is how easy it is to drift spiritually with just a little neglect; how easily one can become spiritually lethargic.

I know the Bible does not set out a rule that you must have a ‘quiet time’. But think of it in other terms: if you keep on skipping meals, what happens to you?

Spiritual growth is indissolubly linked to a diligent use of ‘the means of grace’: (these include prayer, Bible reading, fellowship etc).

A little neglect may quickly take you a long way in the wrong direction.

If we find a way back, it is the mercy of God.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

It’s been said that if we want to enter into the benefits of all that Jesus has done for us (as described in verses 4,5), we must come to this place of confession.

Here is the heart of the gospel.

We have first a definition of sin (and an admission that we are sinful/sinners). Sin is both going ‘astray’ and turning ‘to our own way’. It is falling short – like when an arrow misses the target, and it is positive rebellion. It is trespassing: the deliberate crossing of a known boundary. In the church we have regularly spoken about sins of omission, and those of commission. We both miss the mark and we cross the line.

Secondly, we have a declaration of what ‘the Lord’ has done with our sin. He has laid it all on the Servant – the Messiah, Jesus. In the context of the third stanza (53:4-6) we see that Jesus died in our place taking our punishment.

”He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24

But we are not automatically saved because He did this. We must come to this place of confession/repentance.

‘Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.’ Prov.28:13

‘If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.’ 1 John 1:8,9.

Here is a quote, and a prayer from Ray Stedman:

”Frank Sinatra made a song popular a few years ago, I Did It My Way. When you hear that it sounds like something admirable, something everybody ought to emulate. How proud we feel that we did it our way. But when you turn to the record of the Scripture, you find that that is the problem, not the solution. Everyone is doing things their way, so we have a race that is in constant conflict, forever striving with one another, unable to work anything out, because we all did it our way.

The way to lay hold of the redemption of Jesus is to admit that All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one to his own way; and then to believe the next line, But the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He bore our punishment and took our place.

Thank you, Lord, for taking my own punishment upon yourself. Forgive me for those times that I still seek to do things my way rather than yours.”

Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

Once again I can hear Handel, and his chorus based on this passage, with its ‘Surely…surely…’ like great hammer blows. Here is something to be clear about, to be certain of: Jesus died for us; Jesus died for me.

If we view this fourth ‘Servant Song’ in terms of concentric circles (see the post from two days ago), here we are in the central circle, and it brings us to the centre of the gospel: the substitutionary death of Christ. He was substituted for us in His death on the Cross. He died in our place taking our punishment. (Note the repetition of the words ”we”, ”our”, ”us” throughout this middle section).

They (we) were correct to ‘consider’ that Jesus was punished by God, but wrong to imagine that it was because of any wrong-doing on His part. His punishment was all for us. ‘…their view of him was a dangerous half-truth. The true half was that God was involved: God was the active agent in the suffering. The untrue half was that this man had done anything to deserve punishment from God.’ Derek Tidball: ‘The Message of the Cross’, p.106.

We are on Holy ground here. Indeed, it is the Holiest of Holies. We can only remove our shoes in wonder and worship and profound gratitude.

‘Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.’

Who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
² He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

As I write this I can hear in my head Handel’s sad, but beautiful, musical setting of the words of verse 3: ‘He was despised…despised and rejected’

What a contrast with the previous stanza (52:13-15) and its vision of ‘many’ being impacted by Jesus (see also vv.11,12, where there is a further reference to ‘many’ – x2).

There is nothing contradictory about this, but it is an example of a paradox, which is an apparent contradiction. There is a balance and realism in the Bible’s presentation of the response we can expect from people towards Jesus. Yes, there will be ‘many’ who will believe, but there will also be widespread rejection. Whilst believing for the first outcome, we should in no way be surprised when we meet up with the second.

Who can believe this message without a gift of divine revelation (v.1)? Derek Tidball makes the point that the Servant ‘had an unpromising beginning’ and an ‘unimpressive appearance. He says God’s ‘strength and power were at work. But who would have guessed it? His work could not be judged by any of the normal measurements of power…People’s minds are so distorted by sin that they would never come to the right conclusions about the servant except by divine revelation.’ ‘The message of the Cross’, p.104.

See, my servant will act wisely;
    he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
¹⁴ Just as there were many who were appalled at him—
    his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
    and his form marred beyond human likeness—
¹⁵ so he will sprinkle many nations,
    and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
    and what they have not heard, they will understand.

Isaiah 53 is a remarkable prophecy of the suffering and death of Jesus. Written more than 500 years before the Lord died, it almost feels like Isaiah stood at the foot of the Cross and was an eyewitness to the events surrounding it.

But in fact, the fourth and final ‘Servant Song’ begins at Isaiah 52:13, and then goes through to the end of chapter 53. Barry Webb says that this is ‘the jewel in the crown of Isaiah’s theology, the focal point of his vision.’ (‘Isaiah’, p.209).

The fourth song is divided into five stanzas, with three verses in each. These may be seen as a series of concentric circles. The outer circle (52:13-15/53:10-12) is about the resurrection, exaltation and enthronement of Christ. There is a story told about a preacher who kept repeating his theme throughout his Easter sermon. Over and over he said, ‘It’s Friday, but Sunday’s a comin’!’ While the middle part of this ‘Servant Song’ is undoubtedly about ‘Friday’, it begins and ends with the affirmation of ultimate victory: ‘Sunday’s a comin’!’ The inner circle concerns Jesus’ rejection (53:1-3/7-9), while the central circle (53:3-6) is all about His substitutionary death. It is as though the whole piece is structured to draw us into the centre.

This first stanza is full of missional promise. It encourages us to expect an international impact for the gospel, with ”many” being affected by it. There will be ”kings” and ”nations” who are impacted, and in our praying we should not settle for less. It may well be that the ultimate fulfilment lies in that day when ‘every knee’ will ‘bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil.2:10,11). But I believe that, even in the short term, these words can inspire and encourage us in our evangelism.

‘His truth and grace

Fill time and space;

As large His honours be,

Till all that live

Their homage give,

And praise my God with me.’ Henry Francis Lyte.

Depart, depart, go out from there!
    Touch no unclean thing!
Come out from it and be pure,
    you who carry the articles of the Lord’s house.
¹² But you will not leave in haste
    or go in flight;
for the Lord will go before you,
    the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

This, it appears, is what Ezra did: he stood on the promise of God. He said:

There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. ²² I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.” ²³ So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.

There are echoes of the Exodus story here, but perhaps the contrasts are greater than the similarities. The great similarity is that God will be with them: He will go before and behind them.

Tom Hale makes the point that many of the Jewish exiles had become comfortable in Babylon. Now they were being called to return to Judah, and to a life of uncertainty and hardship. They were hesitant and fearful. He says, ‘It is the same for us when the Lord calls us to step out into new and uncertain ventures – into missions or into new ministries – let us not hold back. Let us remember that the Lord will go before us; we need not fear. We need only to obey.’ Applied Old Testament Commentary, p.1054.

Derek Kidner writes: ”…behind the literal departure from Babylon, Rev.18:4 sees a greater movement, the withdrawal of the church from the embrace and judgment of the world, ‘so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues’.” New Bible Commentary, p.662. (See also Paul’s exhortation in 2 Cor.6:14-18).

How beautiful on the mountains
    are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
    who bring good tidings,
    who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
    ‘Your God reigns!’
⁸ Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
    together they shout for joy.
When the Lord returns to Zion,
    they will see it with their own eyes.
⁹ Burst into songs of joy together,
    you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people,
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰ The Lord will lay bare his holy arm
    in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
    the salvation of our God.

It is significant that Paul quotes Isaiah when writing about the preaching of the gospel:

 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵ And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:14,15).

Preaching the good news of the gospel involves foot and mouth. We ‘bring good news’, which implies movement: going where God sends us. Feet that take the news about Jesus are ‘beautiful’.

I am reminded of Paul writing in Ephesians 6:14,15:

‘Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.’

Also, earlier in this letter, in 2:17, he says:

‘He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.’

Paul is describing here how Jesus ‘came’, in and through His church, to preach the message of reconciliation to both Gentiles (who could be described as geographically ‘far away’) and to Jews (‘who were near’). We have again the combination of feet going and a mouth speaking.

The immediate application of the Isaiah passage has to do with the return of the Jews from Babylon to their homeland, and the re-population of Jerusalem (see also 40:9-11). God is going to completely reverse ‘Zion’s’ circumstances and all the world will see Him do it. (Note how in prophecy God sometimes speaks of something that is going to happen as if it had happened. So certain is it. This is known as ‘the prophetic perfect.’ See verses 9,10). However, this is all but a foreshadowing of that greater redemption still to come in and through ‘the Servant of the LORD’, Jesus Christ. So how fitting it is that this passage is to be followed by one in which Isaiah prophesies the suffering and glory of the Messiah.

 “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.
⁶ 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.”

‘It is only in retrospect that I can connect the dots on the timeline of life and begin to see my sacred history from God’s perspective – as God’s story of me.’ Henri Nouwen.

There are things that happen to us we would not choose. We didn’t want them to occur, and probably wouldn’t want them to come near us again. But, looking back, we know that in those times we came closer to God. We felt we were drawn into a deeper relationship with Him, and we learned to trust Him more. They were, maybe ‘the worst of times’ and ‘the best of times.’

We cannot truly say that nothing bad will ever happen to God’s people, but we can affirm that ”in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom.8:28).

One day, I believe, we will be able to see how ‘the dots’ join.

For this is what the Lord says:

‘You were sold for nothing,
    and without money you will be redeemed.’

⁴ For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

‘At first my people went down to Egypt to live;
    lately, Assyria has oppressed them.

Those who oppressed God’s people never owned them. They did not pay for them. They could not say they had bought them. Although Israel had been knocked about in the world, this people were always ‘my people’. Perhaps they felt valueless: ‘’sold for nothing‘ – but this was very far from the truth.

My mind turns to 1Peter 1:18,19:

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

Our redemption was not achieved by money.

In 1 Cor 6:19,20, Paul spells out some practical applications for those who are bought by Christ and owned by God:

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies.