As we read the story about the Israelites and their tendency to turn away from God, we should be careful not to judge them too quickly. You see, we can relate to the Israelites a little too closely. We have all turned away from God and broken His heart at times. That is why God knew we needed a Savior and sent Jesus to rescue us from sin and death and a life of separation from God.
The prophet Isaiah promised the coming of Jesus, the Savior of the world, who would rescue us from sin and death, in the book of Isaiah. He writes about the coming savior as a "man of sorrows, acquainted with the deepest grief" (verse 3). He was a man of sorrows because "it was our weaknesses He carried; it was our sorrows that weighed Him down" (verse 4). Isaiah continued, He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins… All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all" (verses 5-6). Do not miss the remarkable sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross when He fulfilled this prophecy in Isaiah. We human beings are sinful. We worship other things as if they were a god, much like the Israelites constantly did in the Old Testament. Even still, God had a plan. He would send Jesus at just the right time, and Isaiah, the prophet, prophesied about it years and years before Jesus came.
What wondrous love our God has for us that He would send Jesus to come to earth, face sorrows and grief, and die on a cross for our sins. Even though our sins break His heart, God's love remains. It remains today. That is why Jesus said in John 3:16, "For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” There is no greater love.
You are extraordinarily loved. God loved you before you could say "yes" to Him. He loved you even when you were lost in sin and broke His heart by giving in to sin. He loved you so much that He went to extraordinary lengths to save you so that you do not have to experience eternal life apart from Him. May you stand confidently and firmly in His love today.
Praise God that even when we were lost in sin, He had a plan to send a Savior! One of the ways we can remember what God did for us and praise Him for sending Jesus is to worship Him at our weekend services. Make plans this weekend to attend one of our services and bring a friend with you who needs the hope of Christ.
1 Who has believed our message?
To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
2 My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot,
like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
nothing to attract us to him.
3 He was despised and rejected—
a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care.
4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
5 But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all.
7 He was oppressed and treated harshly,
yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
8 Unjustly condemned,
he was led away.
No one cared that he died without descendants,
that his life was cut short in midstream.
But he was struck down
for the rebellion of my people.
9 He had done no wrong
and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
he was put in a rich man’s grave.
10 But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him
and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
11 When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
for he will bear all their sins.
12 I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.
