Monday, January 19, 2009

Isaiah 56:1-2

We often think that the Gospel gets rid of the need of doing good things. And in a way it makes good works ‘unnecessary’. However, of course, we all know God’s will is that we follow after Him in the way of righteousness. And we see the necessity of this in verse 1 of chapter 56:

Thus says the LORD:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
For My salvation is about to come,
And My righteousness to be revealed.”’ (Isaiah 56:1)

God instructs the Israelites (and indeed anyone who would listen – as is made clear in the rest of the chapter) to ‘Keep justice, and do righteousness’ even though His own salvation was about to come (in Jesus). In fact, He specifically says to keep justice and do righteousness because His salvation is about to come. Why? There is a strain of logic that says that it should be the other way around. That since we have the gift of the LORD’s righteousness, then it has become unnecessary to have our ‘own righteousness’ so to speak. But this rightly rejected by this passage. Why?

Blessed is the man who does this,
And the son of man who lays hold on it;
Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.’ (Isaiah 56:2)

Blessed…I think that is the message. Yes, God’s righteousness and salvation is a gift, one that we cannot work for. But if we want to experience the goodness of that gift in this life, then much depends on how we live out our lives (which is done through God’s strength as well!). So the exhortation, or command, is to ‘Keep justice, and do righteousness’! This is most imperative because we have already received God’s righteousness! When God speaks here, he speaks in terms of the future, and His words are emphatic. How much more so now! Let us live in God’s righteousness, striving to become more and more like Him as we grow in Him.

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