Day: June 16, 2024

HE IS OUR FATHER

Isaiah 64:1-12 NET.

¹ If only you would tear apart the sky and come down! The mountains would tremble before you! ² As when fire ignites dry wood, or fire makes water boil, let your adversaries know who you are, and may the nations shake at your presence! ³ When you performed awesome deeds that took us by surprise, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. ⁴ Since ancient times no one has heard or perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who intervenes for those who wait for him. ⁵ You assist those who delight in doing what is right, who observe your commandments. Look, you were angry because we violated them continually. How then can we be saved? ⁶ We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight. We all wither like a leaf; our sins carry us away like the wind. ⁷ No one invokes your name, or makes an effort to take hold of you. For you have rejected us and handed us over to our own sins. ⁸ Yet, LORD, you are our father. We are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the product of your labor. ⁹ LORD, do not be too angry! Do not hold our sins against us continually! Take a good look at your people, at all of us! ¹⁰ Your chosen cities have become a desert; Zion has become a desert, Jerusalem is a desolate ruin. ¹¹ Our holy temple, our pride and joy, the place where our ancestors praised you, has been burned with fire; all our prized possessions have been destroyed. ¹² In light of all this, how can you still hold back, LORD? How can you be silent and continue to humiliate us?

I don’t have a lot of memories of my father, but I do have a lot of memories of stories that people have told me about my father. He was not a mild-mannered man. His first name was Dewey, but everybody knew him as Buck. He had a reputation of being somewhat of a wild person. I remember my mother telling me a story about one day when she was listening to the radio. She heard about a man who had decided to box a gorilla. Then she realized that that man was her husband. Things were going pretty well for him until the gorilla decided to take his gloves off. The gorilla put him in the hospital. But if there was going to be a challenge my dad would take up the challenge.

I also heard the story of the day my dad grabbed me by the throat and dragged me out of the house. No, this is not a story of domestic violence. My dad grabbed me by the throat because I had swallowed an open safety pin. He dragged me out of the house to put me in the car and take me to the hospital. There, the doctors were able to close the pin, retrieve it and save my life. He was not being a hero that day, he was being a dad.

I am grateful to God for the many things that he has given me in my life. One of those things was a father who was there when I needed him to rescue me when things went wrong. Today’s passage is a prayer from the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah is pleading with God to rescue him and his nation. He pleads with God based on his relationship with his nation. He says that the Lord is his nation’s father. He says his nation is the product of his father’s labor. He pleads with God to rescue his nation.

Isaiah remembered (3-5a).

Isaiah remembered the Father’s rescue in the past. God the Father performed marvelous deeds that surprised the nation of Israel. He did not stay in heaven but came down from heaven, and the mountains trembled before him. Unlike the gods of the other countries, The heavenly father intervened for the nation Israel who waited for him. That nation was in slavery in Egypt. The heavenly father sent plagues to force the pharaoh to release his children. When the Egyptian armies pursued his children in the wilderness, the heavenly father parted the Red Sea so the Israelites could escape. When Pharaoh’s Chariots pursued them, the heavenly father drowned them in the sea.

But the heavenly father is not just a rescuer. He is also a teacher. He comes alongside his children and teaches them the right thing to do. He gives them commands to guide their lives. He forms a covenant with those who delight in doing what is right. In so doing, He creates families free not just to survive but to thrive. This is the heavenly father that Isaiah remembers.

Unfortunately, Israel turned against the commands of his heavenly father and rejected the covenant. The results of this rejection were something that Isaiah learned to regret.

Isaiah regretted (5b-7).

Isaiah regretted the children’s desperate situation. The father, who could have protected them, is now angry with them. They had violated his covenant. They had disobeyed his commands. Consequently, there was no one left to rescue them. Isaiah is left asking how then they can be saved. He says they are all like one who is unclean. He says all their righteous acts are like menstrual rags in God’s sight. Their works cannot please God because even their works are sinful. Their worship is hypocritical. Their leaders are corrupt. Their religious professionals are defiled. The things they take pride in are shameful. How can they expect rescue from God if they are constantly disappointing him? How can they expect God to come near if they engage in practices repulsive to him?

Isaiah regretted what Israel had done to itself. The nation was supposed to be a tall and stately tree. But its leaves have withered. Its fruit has shriveled up. It has ceased to bear fruit. The nation is a fig tree that is cursed. The people’s sins have carried them away like the wind. They are a nation in exile. They are far away from any help. The father’s rescue is too distant. As a result of this distance, no one invokes the father’s name. No one tries to take hold of God. Everyone blames God for having rejected them and handing them over to their own sins’ consequences. But Isaiah dares to pray.

Isaiah requested (1-2, 8-12).

Isaiah prayed for the Father’s intervention. Through the eyes of faith, Isaiah saw the Lord tearing the sky apart and coming down to save them. He heard the mountains trembling before the majestic, almighty God. He saw God as a raging fire igniting all the dry wood. The flames boiled all the water in the seas. Finally, God’s enemies knew who he was, and the nations shook at his presence.

After all, the Lord is their father. He is the Potter and they are the clay, they are the product of his labor. Isaiah prays for God not to remain angry at them. He prays for God not to hold their sins against them continually. He asks the heavenly Father to take a look at his children. If he only looks, he will see they are desperate.

The cities in Israel were once chosen cities, impressive displays of God’s blessing and human prosperity. But those chosen cities have now become a desert-a desolate ruin. The holy temple that was once the pride and joy of all God’s people-the place where Isaiah’s ancestors praised him-has now been burned with fire. All of those things that the people once prized and prided themselves over- those things are all destroyed.

Isaiah prayed and pleaded. He wondered how God could still hold back, how he could be silent and continue to humiliate his people. But God did remain silent. This prayer fell on what appeared to be deaf ears for seven centuries. It was not yet time for God to act, but God did answer Isaiah’s prayer.

God answered! (John 3:16).

The heavenly father loved his children. He loved his children in Israel. He loved his children in exile. He loved the whole world. We are all his children. God showed that he loved the world in this way: he gave his only son that whoever believes in him would not perish but have permanent life. That is how God answered the prayer in Isaiah 64. Our heavenly father waited until just the right time to bring rescue and salvation to his lost children. That rescue and that salvation is found in Jesus Christ. He is the answer. Jesus is the answer for the world today. Beside him, there’s no other. Jesus is the way.

On this Father’s Day, we celebrate all our fathers: the ones who have passed away and those who are here today. But let us not forget that each of us has a heavenly father. He is not going to pass away. He is always here to stay. And he is here to bring rescue into our lives. He has sacrificed his son’s life to purchase that rescue for us. All we, like sheep, have gone astray; all of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his path, but the LORD caused the sin of all of us to attack him. Jesus came to seek us and to save us, to give his life as our ransom. His life, his death, and his resurrection were all part of our heavenly father’s plan. Our resurrection, glorification, and eternal life are also part of that plan. Our Father has not forgotten us. He is not asleep, and he is not silent. He has done what he can do to assure our ultimate victory.

Because of this, we can look at the words of Isaiah 64 differently today. They are not the words of a frustrated prophet trying to figure out why God does not act. They are a prayer that God answered. He answered that prayer in an unexpected way. Isaiah prayed for his people, but God responded for all people. Isaiah prayed for a supernatural display of power. God answered that prayer by sending a baby. That baby grew up and certainly did display God’s power. And he overcame the power of death itself. The supernatural display of God’s rescue is on its way. But God allows all of us to accept his solution to our problems today. The Kingdom is coming, but we can receive that Kingdom today.

Did Isaiah know that God would answer his prayer in such an unorthodox fashion? Read the next chapter! It begins with these words: “I made myself available to those who did not ask for me; I appeared to those who did not look for me. I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’ to a nation that did not invoke my name.” It also includes this verse: “For look, I am ready to create new heavens and earth! The former ones will not be remembered; no one will think about them anymore.” We are going to face many disappointments in this life. But the next life will never disappoint. Our Father has a new universe filled with such wonder that we will not even think about this one. Our future destiny is so bright that our present reality will seem like a candle compared to the sun.

There remains only one question. Have you put your trust in God’s answer? Have you declared your faith in Jesus Christ? He is and always will be God’s answer. This Father’s Day, come to the Son.