Please tell me you’re like this too, in that you have a list of people in the Bible you hope to chat with in our forever home with the Lord!
Isaiah is one near the top of my list. I so want to hear his story, but I also want to thank him for being a faithful servant of the Lord in sharing His words.
Read these verses slowly . . . and very carefully. Then we’ll chat on the other side . . .
Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool (Is 1:18 ESV).
I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins (Is 43:25 ESV).
I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you (Is 44:22 ESV).
Come – it’s both an imperative and an invitation. This is where our response begins—coming to the Lord Jesus. Pretty minimum requirement, don’t you think? And rather doable. But it is on us to take that first step.
Now – the sooner, the better. And do not delay.
Says the Lord – YHWH. The voice-of-all-wisdom, with ultimate authority, to heed. And accept His calling to cognize His truth.
Let us reason – another invitation. Reasoning seems to have “left the building.” But we are called to it. Reasoning is also reciprocal. It’s not one-sided. We can reason with God, by consulting His Word, bringing our requests and questions to Him in prayer. We can wait before Him and listen. And we can seek the godly counsel of His servants.
Though = grace! And for added emphasis Isaiah has employed parallelism, two poetic ways of saying the same thing. Though our sins are grievous and many. Though we have His blood on our hands. Though we lowly creatures should be condemned guilty. Though . . . (need I go on?)
I Am He – Jesus. Blotting that extensive is only Jesus-possible. He emphatically states that only I Am is the remedy of the fallen human condition.
Remember not – yesterday’s post featured how the Lord remembers. But today, it’s what He has chosen to forget. Our iniquities, sins, and transgressions are not only forgiven, they are forgotten. More grace!
I have – done! Past tense. Believe it!
WOW!
Merciful God, may we be faithful servants of Your Word like Isaiah. And pour out such gratitude, that what You spoke through him is now a reality for those in Christ Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer, who blots out our sins like mist.
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