The Lord will not stretch out His hands forever

Sermon for Midweek of Trinity 26

Isaiah 65:1-12

Once again, Isaiah’s prophecy is filled with wonderful news for some, and terrible news for others. Old Israel will fall because of their idolatry and impenitence. But New Israel will arise, including some from Old Israel and many from the rest of mankind. The time was not far off when the Lord would replace apostate Israel with genuine believers.

“I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ To a nation that was not called by My name.

This is wonderful news for the Gentiles! That’s who the Lord is talking about here. Prior to Jesus sending out His apostles into all the world, the Gentiles didn’t know the LORD, didn’t seek the LORD, didn’t serve the LORD. And yet the Lord promises to reach out to them. St. Paul quotes this verse in Romans 10 and explains how it’s being fulfilled in his time as he and the other apostles take the Gospel of Christ out to the nations. So, this is wonderful news for you and me and for the millions of people who have been called by the Gospel and brought into the people of God, not because we deserved it, not because we were better than Israel, but purely out of the mercy of God, He sought us out and made Himself known to us.

But what about Israel? God says, I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people. Imagine stretching out your hands for even a minute to someone whom you love, someone whom you care for, someone whom you just want to bring in for a hug and help them in their desperate need…and that person snubs you, just stands there watching you hold out your hands to him, folds him arms, and says, “I don’t want to have anything to do with you.” Would you stand there for a whole minute in the face of that reaction? What about ten minutes, stretching out your hands? An hour? But God wants Israel to picture Him standing there with outstretched arms “all day long,” and the whole time they remained stubborn and rebellious.

God lists some of their rebellious behavior. A people who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts; In other words, they don’t care about God’s commandments, They do what they want, what they think is right for them, without giving a thought to God. A people who provoke Me to anger continually to My face; Who sacrifice in gardens, And burn incense on altars of brick; Whereas God had commanded them to offer sacrifices only in the temple in Jerusalem. Who sit among the graves, And spend the night in the tombs; Communing with dead, not unlike the Mexican Day of the Dead practices. Who eat swine’s flesh, And the broth of abominable things is in their vessels; contrary to the dietary restrictions God had given Old Testament Israel in the Law of Moses. Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, Do not come near me, For I am holier than you! Did you know, this is where the phrase “Holier than thou” comes from? The people of Israel had turned their backs on their God and pretended to be holier than He is! “We’re holier than Thou, God!” Not unlike today, when some people are so brazen as to criticize how God runs the universe, who dare to blaspheme God and accuse Him of wrongdoing, as if they were holier than God.

These are smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day. A picture of the greatness of God’s wrath and anger against these people who had turned their backs on Him.

“Behold, it is written before Me: I will not keep silence, but will repay— Even repay into their bosom— Your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together,” Says the Lord, “Who have burned incense on the mountains And blasphemed Me on the hills; Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”

God stretched out His hands to Israel all day long, but He won’t do it forever. He will repay Israel for their blasphemy and idolatry and stubborn rebellion. And He isn’t only talking about the coming destruction by the Babylonians. He’s talking even more about the near-complete destruction of the Jewish nation after they rejected Jesus as the Christ, never to recover. Remember, the people who currently occupy the territory of Israel are not the continuation of Old Testament Israel. They don’t even try to live under the Old Testament, nor would it help them if they did, because the Old Testament is no longer in effect.

But alongside that terrible news for apostate Israel was a bit of wonderful news for a small number of them. Thus says the Lord: “As the new wine is found in the cluster, And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, For a blessing is in it,’ So will I do for My servants’ sake, That I may not destroy them all. I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, And from Judah an heir of My mountains; My elect shall inherit it, And My servants shall dwell there. Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, And the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, For My people who have sought Me. There would be a remnant of Jews who would repent and believe in the Lord and in His coming Christ. God wouldn’t forsake them. He wouldn’t destroy them along with their unbelieving neighbors. He would welcome them, together with the Gentiles, into His New Israel—an Israel that’s no longer named for their ancestry, but for their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; whose territory is no longer a specific piece of land, but whose territory is the permanent inheritance of heaven.

“But you are those who forsake the Lord, Who forget My holy mountain, Who prepare a table for Gad, And who furnish a drink offering for Meni. (Gad and Meni are pagan gods of Fortune and Destiny.) Therefore I will number you for the sword, And you shall all bow down to the slaughter; Because, when I called, you did not answer; When I spoke, you did not hear, But did evil before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight.”

Scathing words from God to the rebellious people of Israel, words of utter destruction, both temporal and eternal. And their destruction is the worse because God called them to repent, to believe, and to obey—He held out His hands all day long to them—and they still refused.

Now, think about it. Who today hasn’t heard about the God of the Bible, the God of Israel who sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins and to bring us into the New Israel of His holy Church? Who hasn’t heard God’s call to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus? In Isaiah’s time, there were few outside of Israel who had heard the Word of God at all. What about today? Today, most of the world has heard God call, has heard God speak, and has still chosen to do as they please, to worship as they please, to believe as they please. God has stretched out His hands for nearly 2,000 years to the people of the world, and, in countless ways, the world has told God, “We are holier than Thou!”

God has terrible news for the world that continues to reject Him and His commandments. But for you and for all who will listen to God’s voice before it’s too late, God has wonderful news of salvation and eternal glory. He still stretches out His hands to you, to embrace you in His forgiveness and love. Don’t harden your hearts to Him! Don’t be rebellious or holier than Thou! Trust in the Lord’s promise of salvation, and then set your minds on keeping His commandments, with the aid of His Holy Spirit. Amen.