Isaiah 19:25 The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.”
Difficult jobs are often fascinating to people. Mike Rowe has made a career out of documenting ‘dirty jobs’. One job that will likely never show up on one of those lists or TV shows is that of ‘prophet of God.’ However, I think that the role of Old Testament prophet would have been an exceedingly difficult, and sometimes dirty, job. As long as the prophet ‘stayed in his lane’ and pronounced woe and judgment on the enemies and blessing and goodness on Israel herself, things would be ok. But that’s rarely how it went. And then the trouble would start.
Isaiah (inspired by God) has, for a few chapters, been pronouncing judgement on nation after nation. His first readers or listeners might have been inclined to sit a little taller or even let out a cheer that these people that had been so terrible to Israel were finally going to get theirs! But in today’s verse, right at the end of chapter 19, things take a turn. This can’t have been immediately well received by those in Israel. “Egypt my people?” “Assyria my handiwork?” Did Isaiah get mixed up? Wasn’t Israel God’s people and handiwork? Had Isaiah forgotten what Egypt had done to Israel? Had he not read the news about how hateful and violent the Assyrians were? How they were, at that very moment, violently gobbling up one nation after another? What’s going on!?
The Lord had instructed Isaiah to write of judgment on these nations. But God’s purpose judgment was not eradication. He wanted to see those people become His people. He’s always been that way. Israel found it too easy to imagine themselves the center of the universe and take on a “You mess with us, you mess with our God!” sort of mentality. Sadly, too often, we in the church can be that way also.
Jesus said, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish, but have eternal life.” Jesus isn’t looking for nice people. He isn’t on the hunt for people that act right or look clean. He want’s a relationship with all people. I might be tempted to think, “Well then He better get busy!” But, actually, that’s exactly what He calls us, who claim a relationship with Him, to do! There are people in your world - people in your circle of acquaintance, whose only connection to God is through you. You encounter people who do not know any other Christian except for you.
The church is God’s people. But He is not content with the size of His church. He wants it to expand. In fact, He wants it to explode! He wants our service to that end. He wants us to stop thinking in terms of ‘us and them’ and begin thinking of ‘now and not yet’! May this be the year we embrace that mission!
Blessings
Pastor Russ
