Isaiah 65

“I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We close the prophesy of Isaiah with Gods' response to Israel in the final two chapters. He begins by saying "I've been here all along. In fact, I've been trying to get your attention!".

Of course, God was attempting to draw the attention of a people who "continually provoke me to my very face, offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on altars of brick; who sit among the graves and spend their nights keeping secret vigil; who eat the flesh of pigs, and whose pots hold broth of impure meat; who say, ‘Keep away; don’t come near me, for I am too sacred for you!’
Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day".

Since God is righteous He demands justice for the sins of Israel so He says "I will not keep silent but will pay back in full; I will pay it back into their laps—both your sins and the sins of your ancestors,” And, we know, the "time of Jacob's trouble" is not over. 

It seems axiomatic that whenever we call upon God for deliverance...from anything...the first thing God has to do is clean up the mess we made because the mess is what's making us sick. Think of a physician. If you go to him with an infected cut, the first thing he has to do is debride the wound. If you go to a financial manager the first thing she will do is perform a major "housecleaning" of your existing money situation.

Same with God. He will have to debride our lives of the toxic consequences of our misbehavior...sin. This can be painful but it's the only path to healing. But...as Paul Harvey famously used to say, this is "the rest of the story!" Our world doesn't end with God punishing Israel. It ends with God's blessings.

He says "See, I will create new heavens and a new earth...
1. Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or
2. The one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child;
3. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat.
4. They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. 
5. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.
6. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and
7. The lion will eat straw like the ox,
8. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord".

This is the picture of life for believers when Christ returns. Are we willing to undergo spiritual cleansing in order to enjoy the things to come? Some say "the treatment is worse than the disease". Not in this case.

Live boldly out there today...