The concept of the Divine Right of Kings has largely gone out of vogue around here. It makes one think of the oppression of England's monarchs, the beheading of Louis XVI, and such ugly things - and yet we see from Scripture that while monarchs are not unaccountable for cruelty, there is the fact that kings are God-appointed. The same is true for all leaders, since no one gets where they are outside of the Providence of God. Jesus Himself accepts this in His answer to those servants of the Pharisees in the Gospels, who asked if it was lawful for Jews to pay taxes to the heathen Caesar. Jesus' memorable response? "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things which are God's."
On the surface this seems pretty straight forward, but it really demands some consideration. What, therefore, is Caesar's, and what is God's?
First, we know that all things are God's, for "in Him we live, and move, and have our being," and "apart from Him [Christ] nothing was made that was made." We know that as our King, our God, our Creator, our Savior, and our Lord, we owe Him our very selves. This includes both mind and bodies, as indicated by Paul's admonition to "present our bodies a living sacrifice"; it includes our worship, adoration, and love. The fact that everything is God's means that the most minute details of our lives should be dedicated to His glory, including the payment of taxes to our Caesars.
And what is Caesar's? That which belongs to Caesar is that which God has given him. Jesus in speaking to Pilate said, "You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above." Clearly this shows the divinity and power of Christ, but it is true in other situations as well, for no created being can have any authority unless it is given to them from God Almighty. Rulers, whether they gain their situation by moral or immoral means, have authority which they could not have if it was outside of God's plan. Therefore, the laws which are theirs, the taxes which are theirs, and the allegiance which they demand, are all due them - always beneath the higher Kingship of God. But, unlike what we owe God, our homage and worship is not due to Caesar, which is something that may have come to the Jews' minds when they thought of the Romans' deification of their ruler.
There is not, I don't think, a hard and straight line between giving to Caesar and giving to God. As God has ordained that we are to "render to all their due," therefore our giving to Caesar with the object of doing right is also giving to God: we give to Him our obedience and submission to His will, by giving to Caesar what is his.
An earlier passage in the Gospel of Luke, which is what I'm currently reading, speaks of the widow and her two mites; Jesus exclaims that she has given all she possessed to God, and commends her for it. But why did she not use them to pay her taxes? While it is possible that she had already paid her taxes and used what was left to give in tithe, I don't think that is what the passage indicates. It simply shows that the woman understood that, first and foremost, all she had was due to the God who gave and sustained her life.
Showing posts with label Bible Passages. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bible Passages. Show all posts
Amos
The Minor Prophets are sadly neglected. I think many of us fall into the trap of considering them stiff and harsh; or they are just so small that they get lost, sandwiched between the great books of Ezekiel and Matthew as they are. However, Lucy recently read the book of Amos and we were discussing it together, and I was very blessed reading it for myself. It is a powerful book and has a great deal of feeling wrapped up in it, and it is, like all the rest of the Bible, of great worth.
The book begins, directly after Amos' calling from the humble occupation of a shepherd, with a declaration of the might of the Almighty that is reminiscent of the latter chapters of Job -
Immediately afterward He launches into a judgment of the nations for their lack of mercy and their persecution of God's people. For these things He says that He will break the gates of Damascus and send their people into exile; He will destroy the palaces of Gaza; He will set fire to the city of Tyre and to the lands of Edom and Moab and to the people of Ammon. From other books of the Bible we see that God sometimes used the neighboring nations to lead Israel into exile and show them their sins, and teach them to return to Him; but despite that, the heathen nations still had to answer for their treatment of God's chosen people, and He does send His wrath upon them.
But the judgment is not limited to the heathen people. In chapter 2 God turns to Judah and declares their sin of having despised His law, and declares again that He will send fire upon the palaces of Jerusalem. But the main focus of the book of Amos is on Israel, for these are the things he saw "concerning Israel." Here in pronouncing judgment God does not merely state their sins; He also speaks of His goodness to them and contrasts that with their sins -
There is a mixture of plea and anger in the tone of the words, that is not there in His addresses to the wicked nations. "You only have I known of all the families of the earth," God says in chapter 3; "Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." The punishment He gives to the people of Israel (and gives to believers now) is a good thing, meant to teach and instruct and correct. "For whom the LORD loves, He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights" (Proverbs 3:12). Discipline is a blessing, for God gives it to those whom He loves in order to set their feet on the straight and narrow path. It is His rod and staff that comfort us, as David says, and they are used equally to correct us when we sin and to protect us from enemies.
Israel despised God's first "round of discipline," if I can put it that way, and did not return to Him in repentance; yet again in chapter 5 He gives them a call to "repent and live." He commands them not to seek the land or other gods, but to call on Him, for "He made the Pleiades and Orion; He turns the shadow of death into morning and makes the day dark as night; He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth; the LORD is His name." The people are to seek good and not evil, and so to live; for God will send judgment and wrath on Israel and send them into exile in Damascus because of their sin.
Chapter 7 presents an image like Abraham when he pleaded for Sodom and Gomorrah. God shows Amos a vision of plague - locusts - first, and yet when Amos humbly and boldly cries out for Him to forgive the people, God, as He did for Abraham, says that He will not send the locusts. Again God shows a vision of fire, and again Amos pleads for Israel because it is so small and, one may infer, weak. And God, who "knows our frame, and remembers that we are dust," turns away this manifestation of His wrath and says again that it will not be so. There is, however, no record of a plea from Amos during the third vision, of the plumb line; he goes and speaks God's word to Israel, until the priest orders him to be silent and leave. Thus Amaziah the priest brings about God's judgment on himself, for contradicting the word of a true prophet.
Surely the punishment spoken of throughout seems very harsh: Israel will be overcome by her enemies and her palaces will be plundered, and so on, and God will bring destruction upon her. Yet the prophecy concludes with a hopeful tone within the somber context. God again declares His faithfulness to the house of Jacob, and says that, though He will destroy the sinful kingdom, yet He will not completely annihilate Israel. When the wicked have been dealt with, God speaks through Amos that He will again restore the people of Israel to the place that He gave them.
So the whole of the book is both strong and encouraging and full of applicable truth, for we can see a multitude of things about God in the prophecy. We see that He is strong to save His people and punish their persecutors, and that He will not leave them in trouble forever. We see His holiness and strength in dealing with sin, mingled with His mercy and everlasting love in that He persistently shows them the way of repentance, and that He always has a remnant of people who follow Him.
The book begins, directly after Amos' calling from the humble occupation of a shepherd, with a declaration of the might of the Almighty that is reminiscent of the latter chapters of Job -
The LORD roars from Zion, and utters His voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers.
Immediately afterward He launches into a judgment of the nations for their lack of mercy and their persecution of God's people. For these things He says that He will break the gates of Damascus and send their people into exile; He will destroy the palaces of Gaza; He will set fire to the city of Tyre and to the lands of Edom and Moab and to the people of Ammon. From other books of the Bible we see that God sometimes used the neighboring nations to lead Israel into exile and show them their sins, and teach them to return to Him; but despite that, the heathen nations still had to answer for their treatment of God's chosen people, and He does send His wrath upon them.
But the judgment is not limited to the heathen people. In chapter 2 God turns to Judah and declares their sin of having despised His law, and declares again that He will send fire upon the palaces of Jerusalem. But the main focus of the book of Amos is on Israel, for these are the things he saw "concerning Israel." Here in pronouncing judgment God does not merely state their sins; He also speaks of His goodness to them and contrasts that with their sins -
Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was as strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath. Also it was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt...
There is a mixture of plea and anger in the tone of the words, that is not there in His addresses to the wicked nations. "You only have I known of all the families of the earth," God says in chapter 3; "Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." The punishment He gives to the people of Israel (and gives to believers now) is a good thing, meant to teach and instruct and correct. "For whom the LORD loves, He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights" (Proverbs 3:12). Discipline is a blessing, for God gives it to those whom He loves in order to set their feet on the straight and narrow path. It is His rod and staff that comfort us, as David says, and they are used equally to correct us when we sin and to protect us from enemies.
Israel despised God's first "round of discipline," if I can put it that way, and did not return to Him in repentance; yet again in chapter 5 He gives them a call to "repent and live." He commands them not to seek the land or other gods, but to call on Him, for "He made the Pleiades and Orion; He turns the shadow of death into morning and makes the day dark as night; He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth; the LORD is His name." The people are to seek good and not evil, and so to live; for God will send judgment and wrath on Israel and send them into exile in Damascus because of their sin.
Chapter 7 presents an image like Abraham when he pleaded for Sodom and Gomorrah. God shows Amos a vision of plague - locusts - first, and yet when Amos humbly and boldly cries out for Him to forgive the people, God, as He did for Abraham, says that He will not send the locusts. Again God shows a vision of fire, and again Amos pleads for Israel because it is so small and, one may infer, weak. And God, who "knows our frame, and remembers that we are dust," turns away this manifestation of His wrath and says again that it will not be so. There is, however, no record of a plea from Amos during the third vision, of the plumb line; he goes and speaks God's word to Israel, until the priest orders him to be silent and leave. Thus Amaziah the priest brings about God's judgment on himself, for contradicting the word of a true prophet.
Surely the punishment spoken of throughout seems very harsh: Israel will be overcome by her enemies and her palaces will be plundered, and so on, and God will bring destruction upon her. Yet the prophecy concludes with a hopeful tone within the somber context. God again declares His faithfulness to the house of Jacob, and says that, though He will destroy the sinful kingdom, yet He will not completely annihilate Israel. When the wicked have been dealt with, God speaks through Amos that He will again restore the people of Israel to the place that He gave them.
'I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them,' says the LORD your God.
So the whole of the book is both strong and encouraging and full of applicable truth, for we can see a multitude of things about God in the prophecy. We see that He is strong to save His people and punish their persecutors, and that He will not leave them in trouble forever. We see His holiness and strength in dealing with sin, mingled with His mercy and everlasting love in that He persistently shows them the way of repentance, and that He always has a remnant of people who follow Him.
Grace
I recently reread some of A.W. Tozer's The Knowledge of the Holy and came across this beautiful passage in his chapter "The Grace of God."
"We can never know the enormity of our sin, neither is it necessary that we should. What we can know is that 'where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.' To abound in sin: that is the worst and the most we could or can do. The word abound defines the limit of our finite abilities; and although we feel our iniquities rise over us like a mountain, the mountain, nevertheless, has definable boundaries: it is so large, so high, it weighs only this certain amount and no more. But who shall define the limitless grace of God? Its 'much more' plunges our thoughts into infinitude and confounds them there. All thanks be to God for grace abounding."
What an inspiring truth! And one that we as Christians often take for granted and lose sight of altogether. But Tozer is right; if we would meditate on the "much more" of God's grace, it would overwhelm us and fill us with joy. I don't think we can read passages like Romans 5:20-21, or Ephesians 2, or I John 3:1-3, without some measure of delight in the love of Christ, which "surpasses knowledge." How great is the love of God.
"We can never know the enormity of our sin, neither is it necessary that we should. What we can know is that 'where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.' To abound in sin: that is the worst and the most we could or can do. The word abound defines the limit of our finite abilities; and although we feel our iniquities rise over us like a mountain, the mountain, nevertheless, has definable boundaries: it is so large, so high, it weighs only this certain amount and no more. But who shall define the limitless grace of God? Its 'much more' plunges our thoughts into infinitude and confounds them there. All thanks be to God for grace abounding."
What an inspiring truth! And one that we as Christians often take for granted and lose sight of altogether. But Tozer is right; if we would meditate on the "much more" of God's grace, it would overwhelm us and fill us with joy. I don't think we can read passages like Romans 5:20-21, or Ephesians 2, or I John 3:1-3, without some measure of delight in the love of Christ, which "surpasses knowledge." How great is the love of God.
The Hall of Faith
"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us; looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
It's funny that Merriette just posted something about this verse; I had worked out what I wanted to say about it last night during my dad's Thursday Night Bible Study (and a lot of this comes from what he said, so I can't take full credit), and then when I logged on today I saw her post. Mine, however, is looking at a different part of the passage and is really something of a continuation of my last "real" post, 'No Walk in the Park.'
The premise of those thoughts was that following Christ is no walk in the park - it's a race, a marathon. The author of Hebrews addresses that poignantly in chapter 10, where he instructs the Christians in Rome to hold fast to their confession and endure and to have faith in Christ. Those people were facing a great deal of persecution - physical and verbal - and were tempted to go back to the old ways of the Jews in order to avoid that. The author's whole point is to show them that they must not fall back, but must persevere. "Do not cast away your confidence," he tells them, and adds that they "have need of endurance." Don't we all?
Some of the worst persecution comes from unbelieving family members and former friends in the early years of being saved. It's difficult and painful to have your loved ones turn on you and mock what you believe, and that's part of what the audience of the book of Hebrews were facing in Rome from other, unbelieving Jews. It's the kind of persecution that we usually face today; we don't get fed to lions or drawn-and-quartered or hanged or burned at the stake, but we do get laughed at and shunned because of our faith. The author of Hebrews, however, tells his listeners to remember those days when they were persecuted in that manner (verses 32-34) and take comfort from that. How?
There's a certain something that comes with remembering being mocked or ridiculed for the faith. They're often sad memories, and sometimes bitter ones as well. It's hard to take delight in remembering a time when your mother or father scoffed at you, or your best friend started making fun of you. And yet there's something else that comes as well, which is what the author was pointing to when he tells them to remember those times; because when you look back (or around, if you're still in that situation), there's a knowledge that it's worth it.
The bearing of your cross and the undergoing persecution in various ways, shapes, and forms is all worth it when you consider what will result from that. Would the persecuted believer rather have Christ as their Heavenly Brother, or keep the friendship they once had with someone at school? Would they rather have the acceptance of their parents, or the secure knowledge that God is their Father? Would you rather be comfortable in this world, or know that you are following in Christ's footsteps? That's really the main point right there. Even when you're in the persecution, there is a realization that Christ was also ridiculed, mocked, abused - by His own family, too. When a believer faces and endures persecution, they are sharing with Christ in that - and I have no doubt that they would rather share persecution with Christ than have worldly comfort without Him!
There is no greater honour for a Christian than to be persecuted alongside Christ. Paul, that great apostle, thought it so; so did Peter and John - and the writer of Hebrews. To be persecuted for Christ's name is to put you in the same category as Abraham, Moses, and David, those great men of God whom we look up to. It is to place you alongside the Puritans in England, the Reformers, and the early Christians. It is to deny the world and follow Christ, as He commanded. It is to have you say like the man Athanasius, "If the world is against me, then I am against the world." Those are but a handful of those who are part of the "cloud of witnesses" that the author of Hebrews talks about, that surround us and support us and, in a sense, cheer us on.
Persecution is not merely something to be pushed through and borne: it is something to be seen as a gift. It probably will not last forever, as the believer's Christian acquaintance grows and it is no longer necessary for them to spend so much time with unbelievers; but no matter in what form it comes or for how long it lasts, persecution is a blessing from God - even though it doesn't seem like that at the time.
It's funny that Merriette just posted something about this verse; I had worked out what I wanted to say about it last night during my dad's Thursday Night Bible Study (and a lot of this comes from what he said, so I can't take full credit), and then when I logged on today I saw her post. Mine, however, is looking at a different part of the passage and is really something of a continuation of my last "real" post, 'No Walk in the Park.'
The premise of those thoughts was that following Christ is no walk in the park - it's a race, a marathon. The author of Hebrews addresses that poignantly in chapter 10, where he instructs the Christians in Rome to hold fast to their confession and endure and to have faith in Christ. Those people were facing a great deal of persecution - physical and verbal - and were tempted to go back to the old ways of the Jews in order to avoid that. The author's whole point is to show them that they must not fall back, but must persevere. "Do not cast away your confidence," he tells them, and adds that they "have need of endurance." Don't we all?
Some of the worst persecution comes from unbelieving family members and former friends in the early years of being saved. It's difficult and painful to have your loved ones turn on you and mock what you believe, and that's part of what the audience of the book of Hebrews were facing in Rome from other, unbelieving Jews. It's the kind of persecution that we usually face today; we don't get fed to lions or drawn-and-quartered or hanged or burned at the stake, but we do get laughed at and shunned because of our faith. The author of Hebrews, however, tells his listeners to remember those days when they were persecuted in that manner (verses 32-34) and take comfort from that. How?
There's a certain something that comes with remembering being mocked or ridiculed for the faith. They're often sad memories, and sometimes bitter ones as well. It's hard to take delight in remembering a time when your mother or father scoffed at you, or your best friend started making fun of you. And yet there's something else that comes as well, which is what the author was pointing to when he tells them to remember those times; because when you look back (or around, if you're still in that situation), there's a knowledge that it's worth it.
The bearing of your cross and the undergoing persecution in various ways, shapes, and forms is all worth it when you consider what will result from that. Would the persecuted believer rather have Christ as their Heavenly Brother, or keep the friendship they once had with someone at school? Would they rather have the acceptance of their parents, or the secure knowledge that God is their Father? Would you rather be comfortable in this world, or know that you are following in Christ's footsteps? That's really the main point right there. Even when you're in the persecution, there is a realization that Christ was also ridiculed, mocked, abused - by His own family, too. When a believer faces and endures persecution, they are sharing with Christ in that - and I have no doubt that they would rather share persecution with Christ than have worldly comfort without Him!
There is no greater honour for a Christian than to be persecuted alongside Christ. Paul, that great apostle, thought it so; so did Peter and John - and the writer of Hebrews. To be persecuted for Christ's name is to put you in the same category as Abraham, Moses, and David, those great men of God whom we look up to. It is to place you alongside the Puritans in England, the Reformers, and the early Christians. It is to deny the world and follow Christ, as He commanded. It is to have you say like the man Athanasius, "If the world is against me, then I am against the world." Those are but a handful of those who are part of the "cloud of witnesses" that the author of Hebrews talks about, that surround us and support us and, in a sense, cheer us on.
Persecution is not merely something to be pushed through and borne: it is something to be seen as a gift. It probably will not last forever, as the believer's Christian acquaintance grows and it is no longer necessary for them to spend so much time with unbelievers; but no matter in what form it comes or for how long it lasts, persecution is a blessing from God - even though it doesn't seem like that at the time.
Steadfast
"Here is a faithful saying: If we died with Him, then we shall also live with Him...if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself." II Timothy 2:11, 14
A couple evenings ago I read a lengthy portion out of the middle of Isaiah. I didn't mean to when I started; I'm actually reading through the book of Acts, and I was only in Isaiah to look at the context of a passage I'd quoted earlier - Isaiah 55, where the "Your ways are not My ways" verses are. I got distracted by a passage chapters earlier - in fact, by a familiar one in chapter 40 - and from there began reading/skimming up to chapter 55.
I have read through Isaiah before, but at the time it didn't really click with me. It seemed a rather dark and dismal book; after all, it deals with Judah's unfaithfulness and idolatry and God's response to her. On the surface that doesn't seem to make for a very cheery book. I knew, of course, about the beautiful prophesies of the Messiah in the book, especially in chapter 53, but subconsciously I still thought of Isaiah as sad and a little depressing as a whole. But several verses in chapter 40 caught my eye, and my subsequent reading gave me a better look at Isaiah and the promises of God's faithfulness and undying love.
"'Comfort, comfort my people,' says your God. 'Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.'"
Those are the first two verses of chapter 40, and they jumped out at me with their encouragement and strength. Despite Judah's apostasy (which God clearly addresses throughout the book), God commands Isaiah here to speak comfort to His people. He speaks and says that her sins have been paid for, and that she has received double for all her sins; later on in the chapter there is the reminder of the power of God and His steadfastness to those who put their hope in Him:
"...but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
God continues in the next chapter to voice that He is the LORD and talks of His power and how He rules the elements of the earth as well as the lives of all men, and in the midst of it He speaks of how He watches over and guards His people Judah. "'Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you,' declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." Though He reminds us that we are no more than worms, no better than the dust of the earth, He also reiterates His promise to help us; the double statement of "I Myself" makes the promise even stronger, as if God were swearing by Himself that He will help His people. Again in the next chapter He says that He has "called us in righteousness and will take hold of our hand."
From the middle to the end of chapter 42 Isaiah talks again of how Israel and Judah have sinned against the LORD, but immediately in the next chapter God demonstrates again His faithfulness, though they were faithless. "'Fear not,'" He says, "'for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.'"
In verse 4 of that chapter, He states that Judah and Israel are precious in His sight. He has redeemed them and because they are His, they are precious to Him. And we, as redeemed children of God, are precious in His sight as well. "'I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more.'"
Again, mixed in with these promises are verses and whole passages that speak of Israel's persistent unfaithfulness, but they make the punctuations that declare God's mercy all the clearer in the text. He does not forget His justice; He says that He will bring disgrace upon Israel because of her sin, and yet, because all of God's attributes work in harmony with each other at all times, He tempers that justice with mercy.
It's passages like these that lead up to what I posted earlier in chapter 55 of Isaiah, the wonderful promise of forgiveness to sinners. God is steadfast; when we are faithless, He is faithful, and ever ready to forgive our sins.
"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live."
A couple evenings ago I read a lengthy portion out of the middle of Isaiah. I didn't mean to when I started; I'm actually reading through the book of Acts, and I was only in Isaiah to look at the context of a passage I'd quoted earlier - Isaiah 55, where the "Your ways are not My ways" verses are. I got distracted by a passage chapters earlier - in fact, by a familiar one in chapter 40 - and from there began reading/skimming up to chapter 55.
I have read through Isaiah before, but at the time it didn't really click with me. It seemed a rather dark and dismal book; after all, it deals with Judah's unfaithfulness and idolatry and God's response to her. On the surface that doesn't seem to make for a very cheery book. I knew, of course, about the beautiful prophesies of the Messiah in the book, especially in chapter 53, but subconsciously I still thought of Isaiah as sad and a little depressing as a whole. But several verses in chapter 40 caught my eye, and my subsequent reading gave me a better look at Isaiah and the promises of God's faithfulness and undying love.
"'Comfort, comfort my people,' says your God. 'Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.'"
Those are the first two verses of chapter 40, and they jumped out at me with their encouragement and strength. Despite Judah's apostasy (which God clearly addresses throughout the book), God commands Isaiah here to speak comfort to His people. He speaks and says that her sins have been paid for, and that she has received double for all her sins; later on in the chapter there is the reminder of the power of God and His steadfastness to those who put their hope in Him:
"...but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
God continues in the next chapter to voice that He is the LORD and talks of His power and how He rules the elements of the earth as well as the lives of all men, and in the midst of it He speaks of how He watches over and guards His people Judah. "'Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you,' declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." Though He reminds us that we are no more than worms, no better than the dust of the earth, He also reiterates His promise to help us; the double statement of "I Myself" makes the promise even stronger, as if God were swearing by Himself that He will help His people. Again in the next chapter He says that He has "called us in righteousness and will take hold of our hand."
From the middle to the end of chapter 42 Isaiah talks again of how Israel and Judah have sinned against the LORD, but immediately in the next chapter God demonstrates again His faithfulness, though they were faithless. "'Fear not,'" He says, "'for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.'"
In verse 4 of that chapter, He states that Judah and Israel are precious in His sight. He has redeemed them and because they are His, they are precious to Him. And we, as redeemed children of God, are precious in His sight as well. "'I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more.'"
Again, mixed in with these promises are verses and whole passages that speak of Israel's persistent unfaithfulness, but they make the punctuations that declare God's mercy all the clearer in the text. He does not forget His justice; He says that He will bring disgrace upon Israel because of her sin, and yet, because all of God's attributes work in harmony with each other at all times, He tempers that justice with mercy.
It's passages like these that lead up to what I posted earlier in chapter 55 of Isaiah, the wonderful promise of forgiveness to sinners. God is steadfast; when we are faithless, He is faithful, and ever ready to forgive our sins.
"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live."
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