WE SHALL NOT DIE - Reading With the People of God #17নমুনা

God is Self-Revealing

Isaiah 21 is a difficult chapter to read unless one sees it in the context of Israel’s history and understands that Isaiah is writing prophetically. Isaiah’s ministry was to warn Judah of God’s impending judgment at the hands of the Babylonians, which is described in the book of Daniel. In this chapter, Isaiah is prophesying the future fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians and is staggered by what he sees in his vision.

This is the narrative, but what do we learn about God from this chapter in Isaiah? God is self-revealing through the life and people of Israel and His dealings with them. Here we see that God is gracious, giving sinful people a warning, a chance, and a time to repent. He is long-suffering and patient, holding off judgment while His prophets give the call to repentance. We also see that He will not tolerate sin past the appointed time; He is a God of judgment, and as a just God, must hold accountable those who refuse to worship Him alone, obey, and serve. Also, underlying is the revelation that God is transcendent, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. All time and all people are subject to His purpose and plan.

In Acts Chapter 9, we see grace in the context of Jesus Christ. All judgment was poured out on Jesus on the cross at Calvary. The just God has not changed, but in Christ, redemption has; it is finished in Him, and now we are offered mercy and forgiveness through His sacrifice. That is what Paul, the Christian killer, encountered on the road to Damascus: grace and mercy; a chance to repent and follow Christ, an opportunity to serve and obey. The astounded Paul gratefully accepted the mercy and forgiveness of his gracious God through acceptance of Jesus as his messiah.

Through Peter’s ministry, we also see the hand of the gracious and forgiving Lord. Peter denied his Lord, even after declaring Him the Messiah (Matthew 16:13-20). As the forgiven Peter ministered in Jesus’ name, God worked signs and wonders, helping to establish the church on the foundation of the apostles with Jesus as the chief cornerstone.

Primer contributed by Jinet Troost