IS ISAIAH CRYING MARANTHA? (Advent 1 December 2020)
Text: Isaiah 64:1 - 9
O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence— 2 as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence! 3 When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. 4 From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him. 5 You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed. 6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7 There is no one who calls on your name,
or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. 8 Yet, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. 9 Do not be exceedingly angry, O LORD, and do not remember iniquity forever. Now consider, we are all your people.
In the New Testament, there is a word (Maranantha) that of significance is found in I Corinthians 16:22: “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha” (KJV). [Marantha] “… consists of two Aramean words, Maran'athah, meaning, "our Lord comes," or is "coming." If the latter interpretation is adopted, the meaning of the phrase is, "Our Lord is coming, and he will judge those who have set him at nought."" https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/maranatha/ Paul used this word during a time when Christians were being persecuted. There are some in today’s world who would slight the church, forbid worship services but keep the liquor stores and strip joints open.
In today’s text, Isaiah in the midst of a difficult time. “Confronted with the desolation of the community in the post-exilic setting, and having recounted something of the tumultuous relationship between God and God's people, the plea is for God to intervene in a way that will cause the very creation to shake (64:1-2)”. https://www.sermonsuite.com/emphasis-preaching-journal/reading-last-chapter-first-0 Though we are not a post-exilic community, like the one in today’s text we too, want relief from our disasters of this tumultuous year. The one thing that quarantine has in common with being exiled is isolation. We too, want relief from all of the Covid 19 problems, unrest, the unsettled election. We too, want God to act and fix things. Isaiah 64:5 and 7 mentions how Isaiah described God as hiding. We too might even feel like God has been hiding from us this year. God always has a way to get the attention of His people when they have neglected to listen to prophetic warnings. Sometimes it is through our self-made sinful circumstances that God may let us reap the consequences of what has been sown.
Are we allowing God to mold us as a potter molds clay?
There are three themes that are interwoven in this passage of scripture which are sovereignty, reverence and waiting.
SOVEREIGNTY
Have you ever wanted God to use His sovereignty---His absolute power to fix things with our enemies? The late J. Vernon McGee draws some interesting parallels between Isaiah’s day and ours: “Just as fire makes water boil, so the presence of God would make the nations tremble. Today the nations are not conscious of the existence of God. There are people who wonder how we can sit down with godless nations like Russia or China. The reason is that we are just about as godless as they are. In our day the nations of the world are not turning to God, nor do they recognize Him. However, as the end of the age approaches, I believe there will be a very real consciousness that God is getting ready to break through. There was that consciousness throughout the world at the time of the birth of Christ, and several Roman historians have called attention to that fact. McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Prophets (Isaiah 36-66) (electronic ed., Vol. 23, p. 186). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. How many nations recognize God and God’s people today? How many are turning to God?
Who likes trouble?
1) Insurance: We all like insurance and how it corresponds to our needs in health, accidents, dental, travel and so on. “You know its going to be a bad day when you wake up in the hospital in traction and your insurance agent tells you that your accident policy covers falling off the roof, but it doesn’t cover hitting the ground.” (Michael E. Hodgin. ed. 1002 Humorous Stories. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004, p. 371). Salvation is about a relationship with the Savior. It is not supposed to be fire insurance! Insurance cannot deliver us from troubles, adversity and suffering!
2) Patience: Speaking of patients, what about the guy in traction who got a call from his insurance company? Have you ever wondered about the irony of the label of patients in the hospital? Most of them are probably anything but patient! The word patient implies that waiting is involved. How patient are we when it comes to trouble?
3) Inviting trouble: Neglecting and ignoring God invites trouble! Who likes trouble? If I were to do a survey on that one question, I am sure that I would get lots of answers. If I could boil all of those answers down to one statement, what do you think that statement would be? My guess in the shortest answer possible would be three words---”Not a fan!”
How can anyone have any idea of the sovereignty of God? When it seems like God might be hiding, it might be that we are not listening! As someone (Clarence Edward McCartney) has pointed out, we know God through nature, conscience and revelation. (Clarence Edward McCartney. The Faith Once Delivered. Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, Nashville, 1952, pp. 9 -14).
1) Knowing God: In the words of Thomas Aquinas, we already know that everything we see in nature had to come from somewhere because it had a “primary mover” a Creator who made it. Every watch has a maker!
2) Conscience: There is the conscience which is describes describes how God made us with a sense of right and wrong. “Man’s conscience is the lamp of the Eternal.” (Clarence Edward McCartney. The Faith Once Delivered. Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, Nashville, 1952, p. 15). What made Adam and Eve hide in the Garden of Eden? What made Cain bury his brother Abel after he murdered him?
3) Revelation: God reveals Himself in all of His creation to those whom He made in His image! God revealed His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ in the manger of Bethlehem. God also revealed Himself in His only begotten Son Jesus our Savior who died on the cross for us! God. Jesus will come back some day to be our judge! In the between time
REVERANCE
If God has given us the ability to recognize His sovereignty and He has, then how can we treat God like a spare tire?
1) Neglect: Do we ever act as if we do not need God? Do we not sometimes take God for granted? How far can we go as individuals without God?
2) Hiding: Does God hide? Though it seems like God had hidden Himself from us (Isaiah 64:5 RSV), God has not abandoned us! Again, sometimes it is through our self-made sinful circumstances that God may let us reap the consequences of what has been sown.
3) Breathe: Every breath we breathe because God gives it to us! Psalm 150:6 reminds us that we should praise God for the air we breathe: “Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD” (RV). Today’s text seems to illustrate how God will let us experience the consequences of neglecting our relationship with Him! Is that not where we are right now in many ways?
Isn’t being thankful to God a way of reverence? Should Thanksgiving be limited to just one day?
1) Advent: The last Sunday after Thanksgiving usually starts the Advent season. Advent is about preparing for the Lord’s coming. We live between in what many call the between times when we anticipate celebrating Christ coming to us the first time and when He is going to come back.
2) Work to do: Isaiah 64:6 reminds us that we have work to do! Isaiah 64:: We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
3) The work is continuous: “ Dear God, So far today I’ve done all right. I haven’t gossiped, I haven’t lost my temper, I haven’t been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish or over-indulgent. I’m very thankful for that. But in a few minutes, God, I’m going to get out of bed, and from then on, I’m probably going to need a lot of help”. Amen. https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon-illustrations/18344/dear-god-so-far-today-i-ve-done-all-right-i-by-charles-r-swindoll Does this reflection not describe a lot about us?
WAITING
How many of us have patience when it comes to waiting?
1) On hold: How many of you like to be on hold? Do you like to wait? Do you enjoy lines at Wal Mart? What about Fast Food lines? What about those restaurant seating area closed, drive through service only? What about long traffic lights? What about those doctor’s office appointments? Have you almost gone to sleep while waiting on the to call your name?
2) Statistics: …. “The average business executive spends about 60 hours a year on hold on the telephone, according to a survey. He/she also spends 32 minutes a day reading and writing unnecessary memos, or 128 hours a year; and an hour and 12 minutes a day at unnecessary meetings, or 288 hours a year.” Galaxie Software. (2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press. [Source unknown]. Do we like waiting? How many of you like to wait to see what happened on Dallas when everyone was waiting t see who shot JR? Do you like waiting for the final result of the 2020 election?
Why is waiting important in our relationship with God?
1) Purpose: Isaiah mentions the importance of waiting on God in Isaiah 64:4 reminding us that God acts on behalf of those who wait on Him. Consider also Isaiah 40:28-31: Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard? the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary; there is no searching of his understanding. (29) He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might he increaseth strength. (30) Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: (31) but they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint. God who neither slumbers or sleeps, knows both our trials, limits and, our boiling points! God wants us to be still long enough to wait, pray and seek His guidance!
2) Timing: Many of us just got through with our Thanksgiving turkey and anticipate the coming joy and fellowship of sharing a Christmas turkey. As we know, all store bought turkeys have a timer. So what does that have to do with waiting? Rev. Dr. Tony Evans explains it well. “Some people use “pop-up” timers when they cook their turkeys. This apparatus is designed to be stuck way down in the turkey, and as the turkey heats up, the rising temperature registers with the thermometer. When the turkey gets fully cooked, the outside of the thermometer pops up and the turkey is done.
“But now, this only works if it is stuck way down into the inner core of the turkey because if the turkey is not cooked, then it is not ready to eat. When the inner core Is right, the external thing pops out signaling its time to eat!
“Many people are waiting for God to pop up and say that He will give them the desires of their heart. But what they don’t realize is that God is waiting on them to be fully cooked. He’s waiting on them to be “done” and they just haven’t finished cooking”. (Tony Evans. Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations. Chicago, Moody Publishers, 2009, pp. 338 -339). God wants us to be obedient in learning to trust Him so that He can act on our behalf. So while we are begging God to come and fix things, God is also calling us to draw closer to Him.
Advent is a time that we prepare for Jesus’s coming as He did the first time. The first time when Jesus came to us our Savior, there was not enough room in the Inn echoing how we can be in our hearts. Will we be ready when Jesus comes back as our judge? Will we allow to mold us and show us after His will like a potter shapes clay?
In the Name of the Father, the Son andthe Holy Spirit. Amen.
