Lent Day #24

Isaiah 43:22-26 (ESV)
22 "Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;
but you have been weary of me, O Israel!
23 You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings,
or honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings,
or wearied you with frankincense.
24 You have not bought me sweet cane with money,
or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins;
you have wearied me with your iniquities.
25 "I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.

26 Put me in remembrance; let us argue together;
set forth your case, that you may be proved right."

THOUGHTS:
The speaker here is God (see Isaiah 43:15). There is a common perception is that God is all wrath and retribution in the Hebrew Scriptures ... and that the Christian Scriptures are all Jesus, love, and grace. In truth, we find a lot of love and grace throughout the Bible (and yes, there is some smiting too). It's not a simple story about a "vengeful God" and a "loving Jesus" who shelters us from God's smiting. Sometimes, it seems like God is a bit moody, but we see repeatedly where God loves all of creation. God tries time and time again to reconcile the world even in the midst of his dissatisfaction with our sins. God seeks to draw us in under God's wings and hold us close.

God gives us free will and then longs for us to focus our attention on God. Sometimes I can't help thinking that God seems immature -- that God's jealously seems to win out and control decisions. In these times, I am comforted that God kept trying and trying to erase the roadblocks that kept us far away -- that God is always doing new things (see Isaiah 43:19). At the times I want to argue with God, I take comfort in the fact that this is part of the Judeo-Christian heritage. It isn't sacrilegious or irreverent or heretical to argue with God. God invites us to argue together -- insisting that we could even be proved right! (See Isaiah 43:26 above.)

One of my favorite things about this passage is the imagery of God's forgiveness in verse 25. It says that when God forgives us, our sins are no longer remembered -- the forgiveness is so complete that it is like the sins never even happened! Here is another translation of Isaiah 43:25 (JPS)

"It is I, I who -- for My own sake --
Wipe your transgressions away
And remember your sins no more."

Wait -- for whose sake? God forgives us for God's sake. Why?

I think maybe God will do whatever it takes to erase the things that separate us from God.

What do you think?

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, we thank you for the sheer depth of your love. Help us to remember that your ways are not our ways, and help us to do our part to remove the walls we build up between us and You. We know that we can't do it on our own. We want to dwell freely in your shadow and to recognize Your Spirit moving in the world around us. In Jesus name, AMEN.