A Word to the Outcasts of Israel

July 18, 1993

Isaiah 56:8 "...the LORD GOD which gathereth the outcasts of Israel..."

Introduction

It is impossible to "explain" poetry, even when that poetry is the living Word of God. But that can not prevent poetry from speaking deep and true into our very innermost being. And when that poetry IS the Word of God, the message that it speaks kindles life itself.

This portion of Isaiah (found in the 56th chapter,) flowing out of the "Servant Passage," speaks particularly of how the great Jehovah God loves all mankind, is willing, desires to be everyone's God, even -and perhaps particularly- those who seem to be hopeless or somehow "inferior."

Rather than analyze and dissect this chapter, I would let Isaiah lift us up on poetic wings for an overview of his joyful, hopeful, confident, gracious portrait of the great God we love and serve.

I. A GOD OF GREAT COMPASSION

42:3 A bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish

God is in the life-saving, life-lifting business; not in the life-extinguishing, find-a-reason-to-kill-you business!

46:1-4 Bel, Nebo (Babylonian idols) ...the things that YOU carry, are burdensome, a load for the weary beasts... "Listen to Me..You who have been borne by Me from birth, and have been carried from the womb; even to your old age, I shall be the same, and even to your graying years I shall bear you!

The prophet contrasts His God with (and even makes FUN of) the idols of the nations. JHWH carries His loved ones!

God is not just interested in our "souls." He cares how we feel; His heart feels the good and the bad along with us.

I do not pretend to understand the apparent inequities of life; I do serve a God Who CARES about these inequities, and Who has promised that He would be with every one who calls on Him, and that His PRESENCE would give us REST.

II. A GOD OVER ALL THE EARTH

45:1 "The LORD says to Cyrus, His anointed ... "I will go before you and make the rough places smooth ...

I am the LORD and besides me there is no God I am the Lord and there is no other...

[God could and did take the king of Persia and subdue and chastise the king of Babylon, and in the doing (Romans 8:28) care for the Chosen, while establishing His name in all the earth.

And He can and shall do it again ... without (I might add) the frantic, sweaty help of those who think God NEEDS us! On the other hand, however, remember that God can and will use the human instruments that SUBMIT to Him!

The ancient world had pretty much divided itself into isolated armed camps, and each social group had its own version of deity. Most of these deities were pale reflections of human vices and virtues raised to the Nth power, and the concept of pure GOODNESS, or unfailing JUSTICE, or overarching HOLINESS seemed to be missing.

JWHW declared Himself to be concerned about ALL peoples!

The modern world creates its own gods in its own self-serving image, as well. There is really nothing new under the sun... and today God Almighty says:

I AM THE LORD! BESIDE ME THERE IS NO OTHER!

You Nazarenes do not own Me! You Roman Catholics did not create ME!

III. A GOD OF A SPECIFIC PEOPLE

1. He chose Abraham, and then formed a Covenant People. THERE IS ALWAYS A HUMAN RESPONSE TO GOD'S CHOICE INVOLVED!

   Our God chooses people by making covenant with them!

2. But from the very beginning, God's plan has been that the CHOSEN, the "covenant people" always will share God's kindness and love to all the world:

   49:5 And now, says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant — My God is My Strength— He says, Is it too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel;

   I will also make You a light to the nations So that My salvation may reach the end of the earth Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and its Holy One, To the Despised One To the One abhorred by the nation, To the Servant of Rulers, "Kings shall bow down Because of the LORD who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you."

3. (We believe that THE CHURCH carries on this covenant relationship! Instead of circumcision, now the covenant is baptism, and also the covenant of the Eucharist.) And...

   God STILL chooses those who will listen to be HIS people! But He STILL chooses them in order to let the rest of the world know just what kind of God He IS! He still loves all people, everywhere!

IV. A GOD OF THE HOPELESS

[Which brings US/me to the passage for today... this great and gracious God speaks particularly to the disenfranchised, the minorities, the discriminated against, the "outcasts in Israel," the aliens, or, in our modern buzz-word jargon, the "victims."]

56:3 "Let NOT the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely separate me from His people" Neither let the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a dry tree."

MY house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples!

The Lord GOD who gathers the dispersed of Israel declares, "YET OTHERS I will gather... to those already gathered!"

NO one! is "shut out" from God's love! We are separated from each other at times ... we separate ourselves from each other— we think we are separated from God. That there are special "elite" called people! such as... The JEWS! Birthright Christians! Second generation Nazarenes! Gifted! Moneyed! Those "in the clique!"

SUMMARY:

THE GOD OF GRACE INTENDS THAT IN HIS RIGHTEOUS KINGDOM NO ONE WHO DESIRES TO HAVE LIFE SHALL BE SHUT OUT!

CONCLUSION

The ("bottom line") word that comes through loud and clear from this poet-preacher Isaiah is the fact that this great God wants very much to be YOUR God and YOUR Friend!

66:2 "To this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at (deeply reverences) my word." God wants a people He can love and that He can work with- - and who will be His witnesses: A GOD WHO WOULD BE YOUR GOD

(Exhortation:)

And just how important it is that you connect with the REALITY that is this great God!???

By "reality" I mean MORE than human thought, or human feelings, or human determination and will. To KNOW GOD is an exercise in TRUST, in FAITH that God IS! And that God is a Rewarder of those who seek to know HIM! God is as real a person as you are. Therefore you must not seek so much to know ABOUT Him as to know HIM!

JUST ONE FACET OF THIS "IMPORTANCE":

My highest priority as a pastor is to save the children of the church family from losing their faith and slipping into the maelstrom of the world and being lost in time and eternity.

The best, the only real prevention for the loss of our children is a personal relationship with Jesus as Savior, Lord and Friend.

The way this is most likely to happen is if they have a model or models who have a "real" working relationship both with Jesus and with them. This is not to say that people cannot work their own ways through to genuine salvation without a Christian family or network. But the usual pathway is role model and example.

This makes the following question one which should not be avoided. [My problem sometimes is that people think I am exaggerating when I'm serious, or think I'm serious when I am having fun and exaggerating. I want absolutely no confusion here: I am as serious as I know how to be!]

The question is: HOW REAL IS JESUS CHRIST TO YOU? If you, as parent, role model, leader, have a "get-by" or "mediocre" friendship with Jesus, and your prayer life is not an increasing push into the adventure of the mystery of knowing God in Jesus Christ, then it is likely that those watching you will not be excited about the faith that you may well hold dear.

We need to talk with Jesus. We need to walk with Jesus, and tell Him constantly how we are, what we are thinking. And then we need to put at the top of our intercessory prayer list the people we do not want to be separated from for all eternity!

#617 A Closer Walk with Thee