Scripture Passage
Scripture Focus
So the LORD must wait for you to come to him
so he can show you his love and compassion.
For the LORD is a faithful God.
Blessed are those who wait for his help.
(Isaiah 30:18 NLT)
Observation
I am amazed at the repeated echo of warning and invitation in Isaiah.
Today’s passage could not be clearer in its declaration of the coming judgment of Israel—“What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,” says the Lord (Isaiah 30:1 NLT). Israel trusts in Egypt (instead of the Lord) for deliverance. Israel rejects the word of the Lord and asks, instead, for comforting lies. Punishing judgment is assured!
“Because you despise what I tell you
and trust instead in oppression and lies,
calamity will come upon you suddenly—
like a bulging wall that bursts and falls.
In an instant it will collapse
and come crashing down.
You will be smashed like a piece of pottery—
shattered so completely that
there won’t be a piece big enough
to carry coals from a fireplace
or a little water from the well.”
(Isaiah 30:12-14 NLT)
And yet it seems impossible for God to stop there. He’s always following up with an invitation to return to Him, to rely on Him, to receive from Him—
This is what the Sovereign LORD,
the Holy One of Israel, says:
“Only in returning to me
and resting in me will you be saved.
In quietness and confidence is your strength.
But you would have none of it.
(Isaiah 30:15 NLT)
Israel will have nothing to do with God's rich invitation. But instead of slamming the door in Israel’s face, God waits—arms open.
So the LORD must wait for you to come to him
so he can show you his love and compassion.
For the LORD is a faithful God.
Blessed are those who wait for his help.
(Isaiah 30:18 NLT)
I don’t know—it simply remains remarkable beyond words. And I want to be among the blessed who wait for his help.
***
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