A Father’s Heart
In disappointment He still holds on
It’s 740 BCE and the Father is watching His children making all kinds of stupid mistakes. (“Didn’t I teach you better than that?”) They are living in the cesspool of their poor choices. (“See, I told you this would happen!”) They are enjoying their brazen rebellion. (“After all I’ve done for you?!?”)
Though I tried to refrain from saying those things to my kids, the prophet Isaiah isn’t holding back.
And rightly so. Not only is he standing in the middle of the mess of it all, he can see what’s ahead. It’s scary. His vision of what’s coming is not just fear or speculation as ours often is; God has given him a virtual window into Israel’s future, and it doesn’t look good. Isaiah can’t move to Florida to distance himself from the situation, either. He has to go through it with them.
The LORD speaks through him to the heart of the matter: just going through the motions, showing up for Easter dinner, and sending a card on Father’s Day isn’t cutting it. He wants a relationship.
So He opens a door: “Come now, let’s settle the matter…” He makes a proposal with a promise:
Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will…
