Isaiah
35 reminds me of a cartoon I saw recently of a large person standing
on a bathroom scale shouting, “Don’t
judge me!” In the midst of
the holiday eating season, it is easy to get mad at the scale for our
own overindulgence. In today’s chapter, Isaiah reveals the “after”
side of God’s weight loss program. “The
desert… the
parched land will be glad… rejoice and blossom… it will burst
into bloom… rejoice greatly and shout for joy“.
Isaiah explains the real reason for their joy, “they
will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God“.
And they will experience His power to, “Strengthen
the feeble hands“. They will
be become a spokesperson for Almighty God, “say
to those with fearful hearts…“.
And what does Isaiah instruct them to say?
“do not fear; your God will come, He will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution He will come to save you“.
What did he say? I believe they are speaking to two groups. To one
they say do not fear, He will come to save you; and to the other,
your God will come, with vengeance and retribution. It appears there
is a weigh-in for all on God’s perfect scale and those found
lacking will face the vengeance of God. Many today self-righteously
shout, “Judge not, lest you be judged” in defiance, believing
they have special immunity. Romans 12:19 speaks very clearly that God
most certainly has the authority to judge and to condemn. “Do
not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath,
for it is written: ‘It is Mine to avenge; I will repay,’
says the Lord“.
Are you confident in the verdict God will pronounce?
The
Bible is very clear that none of us can be holy on our own. We are
born with the sin of Adam and that sin separates us from God. Jesus
came to die in our place to pay the debt of our sin and restore us to
unity with God. Each of us have a choice to believe and receive
forgiveness, or deny and stand before God on our own. Jesus told the
religious leader who refused to believe that He was the Savior, “I
told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that
I am He, you will indeed die in your sins”
(John 8:24). The balance on God’s scale rests on Jesus Christ.
“Whoever believes in Him is not
condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already
because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only
Son” (John 3:18). Is your
life in balance?
The
chapter closes with Isaiah’s description of all of the other
benefits that come along with access to God. “Then
will the eyes of the blind be opened… the lame leap… the mute
tongue shout for joy“. Our
spirit is made alive as God’s Holy Spirit lives in us. Our barren
life is filled to overflowing, “Water
will gush forth… streams
in the desert. The
burning sand will become a
pool… bubbling springs“.
Isaiah continues, “a highway
will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness… The unclean
will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it… nor
any ravenous beast… only the redeemed will walk there…
those the LORD has rescued“.
This diet begins with a “Yes” and ends with “everlasting
joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and
sorrow and sighing will flee away“.
When the weight of sin is lifted, joy fills us up!