Today's readings are Isaiah 8.9-9.7 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=+Is.+8.9-9.7 ) and 1 Peter 4.1-19 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=1+Pet.+4.1-19 ).
Today we look in some detail at our text in Isaiah.
We read in verses 8-9 that all the striving people might do against God in the day of his judgment is for nothing. We may well ask the question - how do we strive to assert ourselves against God? Maybe we look at particular examples of evil in the world and criticize God. "If I were God there's no way those people in Africa would be starving." What about terrorist attacks in India? How about human right abuses in China? What about assaults on a free pres or free speech in Canada? If God is good why doesn't he do something about all this? If he really knows everything why does he let those villains get by with murder?
There's our nswer, of course. This iSGod's loving forbearance at work. For at the same time that some people are killing others with firearms others of us are hating our neighbors without cause. We are guilty of spiritual murder when we don't get the parking place we want. We commit adultery against our wives when we think about that other woman. We prove ourselves to be atheists and haters of God when we fail to love and trust him perfectly. Do we still want the Lord to swoop down and destroy all those sinners? Maybe we'd rather he did things his way after all.
In verses 11-22 we see that God's judgment against sin will not follow the pattern we might all expect. What, after all, were we expecting? A God made in our image? That's no God at all. But we see that in his bringing of mercy where he brings mercy and condemnation where he brings condemnation the mercy extends to all who belive him, while the condemnation falls on those who arrogantly assert their own plan above God's plan. This is more subtle than we might expect, though. Our Lord is not going to act in the way we would predict. He isn't made ib our image, after all.
In chapter 9 verses 1-7 we see the unexpected source of both God's judgment and his deliverance of his people. How does he do this? The judge, lawgiver, and atonement comes into this world as a frail, helpless baby. Though he is the mighty God he humbles himself to be one of us. Our Lord knows our weakness. He understands all our temptation to sin. And he understands that left to ourselves that is exactly what we will do. Again we see the forbearance of our Lord as Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us and rescued all who believe on him from the penalty of their sin.
This same Jesus, whose first coming we celebrate at this time of year, will return to bring final judgment on sin. We do not know when that will be. We do know it will be at exactly the right time, in perfect accord with his plan to redeem the world to himself.
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