May 7, 2009

A Great Rock in a Weary Land – Isaiah 32:2

"A man will be as a hiding place from the wind, and a cover from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land."

Most of us in our modern world rarely deal directly with the harsh forces of wind, storm, drought and heat that nature can wield. But in Isaiah's day, people were often caught without defense against the rages of the environment. However, they had also come to realize that nature itself provided their refuges, in the rivers and in the rocks.

In this verse, Isaiah is prophesying that a man, the man Jesus, would Himself be a refuge. People would seek Him in great desperation because of the overwhelming winds, tempests, and famines in their lives. He would be their cover, their security, their source of refreshment, and their comfort.

What we need to understand, however, is that the
only way we can know the great strength and provision of Christ is precisely in the context of great need. Without the storm, a shelter has no meaning. Unless we thirst, water has no appeal. Until the sun beats mercilessly down upon us, we never look for a shady place to escape it.

In the same way, God deliberately brings each of us into situations where we have no resources of our own by which to survive. From our point of view we might think of this as cruel, but in fact there is no other way we can comprehend the great glory and mercies of God except in the specific context of harshness and poverty.

Nevertheless, there are many who foolishly reject the grace and gifts of God, clinging proudly and stubbornly to their miseries. These are also people who routinely deceive others, not knowing that they in fact are the ones being deceived.

But they will be exposed, Isaiah tells us, in the day when "a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice" (verse 1). Then, he says, "The foolish person will no longer be called generous, nor the miser said to be bountiful" (verse 5). Also, the schemes of the schemers will be revealed as evil, as intending to "destroy the poor with lying words" (verse 7). Only the truly generous will continue to stand (verse 8).

Isaiah also warns those who are not particularly evil, but who are merely complacent. In verses 9-14 he speaks to women who are accustomed to enjoying the benefits of pleasant fields and fruitful vines. He tells them to be troubled, and to go into mourning, for they are about to have all their comforts and securities removed from them.

The time is coming, he writes, when "the palaces will be forsaken, the bustling city will be deserted, the forts and towers will become lairs forever, a joy of wild donkeys" (verse 14). But once again, we should see this devastation not as cruelty, but as the necessary backdrop for the revelation of God. For these things will only last, Isaiah says, "until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is counted as a forest" (verse 15).

Just as a cold drink is most pleasant when we are most thirsty, so the reign of God will be established after a season of deep desolation, that His glory might be most evident. We sometimes think we understand the goodness of God now, but how much more will we (or if not us, then those who live during that coming day) be unspeakably grateful when Isaiah's prophecy is finally fulfilled.

"Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places" (verses 16-18).