Word Live: I Will Wait
The carol ‘Joy to the world’ includes the line ‘Let every heart prepare him room’.* We know he is already living within us, but take a moment to prepare your heart to experience the joy of his presence once again.
*Isaac Watts, 1674–1748, ‘Joy to the world’, 1719
Bible passage
Isaiah 8:1–22
Isaiah and his children as signs
8 The Lord said to me, ‘Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.’ 2 So I called in Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses for me. 3 Then I made love to the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said to me, ‘Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 4 For before the boy knows how to say “My father” or “My mother”, the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.’
5 The Lord spoke to me again:
6 ‘Because this people has rejected
the gently flowing waters of Shiloah
and rejoices over Rezin
and the son of Remaliah,
7 therefore the Lord is about to bring against them
the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates –
the king of Assyria with all his pomp.
It will overflow all its channels,
run over all its banks
8 and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it,
passing through it and reaching up to the neck.
Its outspread wings will cover the breadth of your land,
Immanuel!’
9 Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered!
Listen, all you distant lands.
Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;
propose your plan, but it will not stand,
for God is with us.
11 This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people:
12 ‘Do not call conspiracy
everything this people calls a conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,
and do not dread it.
13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,
he is the one you are to fear,
he is the one you are to dread.
14 He will be a holy place;
for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
a trap and a snare.
15 Many of them will stumble;
they will fall and be broken,
they will be snared and captured.’
16 Bind up this testimony of warning
and seal up God’s instruction among my disciples.
17 I will wait for the Lord,
who is hiding his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.
18 Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.
The darkness turns to light
19 When someone tells you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people enquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of warning. If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. 21 Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upwards, will curse their king and their God. 22 Then they will look towards the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Explore
Advent is a season of waiting in the darkness. Today is Christmas Eve (if you have managed to keep up with your Bible reading in what can be a very busy season), the fulfilment of all we have been waiting for is almost over. But let us avoid the temptation to race ahead into the joy of Christmas Day, and pause once more in the darkness.
As we look around this world, it is easy to see that God’s judgement is upon us. The rage, distress and cursing described in verses 21 and 22 are very obvious in our neighbourhoods and workplaces. But like Isaiah and his children, we can be signs and symbols from the Lord in the midst of the darkness (v 18).
How? By seeing the world around us with eyes of faith. We are commanded not to fear what our culture tends to fear (v 12), but to fear the Lord, waiting faithfully and trusting in him (see also Philippians 2:14–16).
Author
Jennie Pollock
Respond
Waiting is a hard discipline, but a powerful one. Could you take a few minutes to deliberately stop and wait for the Lord? It might help to say today’s key verse aloud: ‘I will wait for the LORD … I will put my trust in him’ (v 17).
Deeper Bible study
‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them.’1
Wait for it! Christmas is coming! Isaiah is about to focus on the child coming to turn darkness into light and bring God’s peace to a redeemed world. He has a few other reminders to bring first, however, using his own son’s name as a picture. We are all different; some respond better to statements and facts, whereas others are more influenced by images and pictures. Isaiah is happy to use both – the important thing is that the message gets across. The warnings given in this chapter are stark: verses 19–22 make it clear that the possibility of for ever remaining in the darkness was very real. The key seems to be who and what God’s people listened to and trusted. At various points Israel made positive and helpful trade relations with neighbouring countries – the use of Lebanon’s cedar wood in the building of the Temple is a good example2 – but when God’s people began to see political alliances as the basis for building a prosperous future and defeating their enemies, rather than concentrating on what God required of them, then they were heading for disaster. Furthermore, when they listened to and joined in the fears and conspiracy theories of those around rather than fearing the Lord Almighty, then God himself would be a stumbling block to them (v 14) rather than the cornerstone of a new building!
Our situation is rather different. The church is chosen by God as his people, but not as a nation. However, we do need to hear and heed these warnings. In a democratic context, everyone has responsibility to make choices, but if the whole church were to choose to yoke itself to any political group and give its primary allegiance to it, then we, like Israel of old, would be heading for disaster!
Pray that God will reveal to you whether the values of any group you are allied to have become more important than God’s values. Pray for help to make changes.
Author
Mary Evans
