Isaiah 12:4 In that day you will say: “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.
Growing up, I remember my father using a phrase to indicate some preparation was in order. I still hear him say versions of it. “One of these days…” “One of these days you’re going to …” Hearing that always put me in the mind of the future, for that is exactly what was being referred to. ‘When this happens, then that will be required.’
Isaiah uses his own version of “one of these days…” in today’s verse. In fact, he uses it more than once in this short chapter 12. And, much like the advice for then-coming days I received as a boy has since come to pass, Isaiah’s “in that day” has also come to pass. To understand what he’s talking about requires backing up to chapter 11. There, we read of a shoot coming up from the stump of Jesse. What’s that? Jesse was the father of King David. The stump refers to the seemingly dead line of kings from that family. But One came and revealed all of God’s promises. One came from that family line. His name is Jesus! Isaiah’s “in that day” happened 2,000 years ago!
What did Jesus’ first followers do? You can read about that in the book of Acts. But Isaiah hit the nail pretty much right on the head. They praised Him. They proclaimed His name. They made known among the nations what He had done. They proclaimed that His name was exalted. They had experienced new life in Christ and they had to share it!
But the work is not done. “In that day” comes for every man, woman, boy, and girl that puts their trust in Jesus. When we answer the call of the Holy Spirit and come to faith in Christ, then we are part of His church, and we are expected to fulfill Isaiah’s “in that day” in our world. Each of us has a group of people among whom God has placed us. They are our mission field. Our micro-mission. It is not just pastors and missionaries who are called to this task. All of Jesus’ followers, all who take on His name as Christians, are to join in this calling.
We are to give praise to the Lord. We are to proclaim His name. We are to make known among the nations (we may or may not have representatives of other ethnic groups in our acquaintance - we carry on as though we do). We are to proclaim that His name is exalted - that salvation is found in Jesus and no other. This is our calling as His people. Each of us.
Sometimes we hear things like, “religion is a very personal thing.” I don’t disagree. A relationship with Jesus is personal. But it’s not private! It shouldn’t be. If we believe the message of the Gospel, then we owe it to our friends and family to join in His mission. It’s time to mobilize! It’s “that day!”
Blessings
Pastor Russ
