God’s Faithfulness- How Does He Express It?
“Now stop your mocking, or your chains will become heavier; the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me of the destruction decreed against the whole land” Isaiah 28:22.
Isaiah was a powerful prophet who lived in the 8th century before the birth of Christ. He prophesied during the reigns of kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah.
Doom and Gloom Prophet
The book of Isaiah is filled with grim accounts of Israel’s sin and Isaiah’s prophecies of their impending destruction. To be sure, he was a doom and gloom prophet. Consequently, he was rejected and persecuted. To read the whole chapter for context, click here.
Isaiah faithfully spoke the message God gave him even though he was mocked, ridiculed and made fun of. The reason he did this in spite of such opposition is he loved God and His people.
Even more amazing is that God continued to give him a message of truth for these people who treated it with such contempt.
God’s Faithfulness in Patiently Enduring Rejection
What an expression of love! He could’ve just washed his hands, so to speak. He could’ve said, “if that’s the way you want it, fine. Be judged for your sin”! But he instead patiently endured the rejection of His word, His prophet and Himself.
Not just once or twice, but many times before He finally brought the judgement Isaiah warned of. God loved them enough to tell them the truth even though they mocked and ridiculed and rejected Him all the more for it.
According to 1st Corinthians 13, “love is patient and kind. . . is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered. . . bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”.
Mocked Prophet, Beautiful Expression of God’s Love
These attributes of God, who is love, are beautifully expressed in this account of the mocked and rejected prophet. Giving these sinful, idolatrous people a hard-hitting message of coming destruction was the greatest expression of love God could’ve shown them.
If they would’ve heeded it, they would’ve been spared the destruction and doom. Had they turned, they would’ve been healed of their sinful ways (Mathew 13:15). God would’ve set them on a path of life and blessing and abundance.
Telling them the truth was the greatest kindness God could’ve shown them, given the situation. True, it made them feel bad about themselves. But this was necessary to bring them to repentance. “The lovingkindness of God leads us to repentance” Romans 2:4.
God’s Faithfulness in Hurting Us So He Can Set Us Free
It’s no expression of kindness or love to allow us to go on in our blindness and deception. We might avoid getting our feelings hurt. But this is the path that leads to destruction. God is much more concerned with our long-term well-being then with how we may feel in the short-term.
God will do whatever is necessary to get us on that path of righteousness and blessing. He will hurt us with the truth so that we can ultimately be set free by it.
To read another post with similar ideas to God’s Faithfulness- How Does He Express It, see How Does God Restore Your Wasted Years? This one discusses what happens when we don’t heed God’s warnings. Or here’s another recent post: Meaning of Genesis 3 15: Crushing the Serpent’s Head.
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