The offer stands. Anyone who senses a desire to approach God and serve Him will surely be welcomed into His presence. There are covenant blessings in this life, and the spiritual covenant blessings of eternity. The former is a parable of the latter, and it is essentially impossible to separate them, because the language of one is that of the other. Isaiah declares here the ways of God, blended in a message about the Covenant of Moses, but which surely applies to Noah and Christ. This chapter is highly quoted in the New Testament, and many will find these verse familiar, even to the point of modern songs thickly drawn from here.
What is the basis for a covenant with God? Only the sense of need, the "thirst" for things which human commerce cannot provide. Trade in the world's goods may pile up in your barns, but will mean nothing if you don't seek the blessings of God. The moral quality of the universe may not be obvious, but that does not make it less real. The gains of sin cannot fill the heart, but just acquisitions under the Laws will bring peace which God alone can give.
The price God demands is not measured as men measure things, but in terms of your heart, your loyalty and commitment to His Person. David becomes the symbol of both the Royal House of Israel, but also the Last Davidic King, Jesus. At his best, David merely kept peace with the Gentile nations, while Christ sent His message of repentance and forgiveness to all humanity. Further, it is certain those nations will heed that call.
God does eventually close the door one final time. He alone knows when. For so long as the message goes forth, it's not too late. Anyone any where on this earth can turn to Him and embrace the Covenant offer. There is always room in His provision to cover sin, to restore peace. We cannot pretend to limit Him and His actions, His choices. We cannot pretend we will ever understand so much as He chooses to reveal of Himself. So long as we stand in this life, there remains much we cannot grasp. All the more so, we cannot pretend to approach His revelation with merely what man's mind can construct. We cannot pretend human logic can explain it all.
We might know the mechanisms of hydrology. What we cannot grasp is what makes it rain or snow, only what things often come with it. Precipitation falls to the earth, plants and animals absorb it, crops grow and we eat them. When God acts to reveal Himself, that revelation does not fail. When He offers promises under His covenants, they always come true. What He commands never fails, so it is upon us to walk in His commands to reap the harvest of life.
Those who returned from Babylonian Exile would rightly rejoice with song and dance. So those released from their captivity to sin, embracing the promises of the covenant, as they come out into the life God designed us for, will be filled with joy hard to express for its greatness. Creation itself will rejoice at those who live according God's revelation, for Creation is designed to respond to just and righteous conduct of people. Mountains and hills will sing, and trees will wave and clap their hands, celebrating at the opportunity to join us in righteous living. Thorns will cease to grow, giving place to cypress trees; briers will yield to oaks. Let it never be forgotten God favors those who favor His ways.
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By Ed Hurst
24 July 2009
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: People of honor need no copyright laws; they are only too happy to give credit where credit is due. Others will ignore copyright laws whenever they please. If you are of the latter, please note what Moses said about dishonorable behavior -- "be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23)