One of the most common questions that any human being can ask another, is this: "How are you doing?"
And in my circles, there are a few really common answers to this: "I'm fine. I'm alright. I'm really busy." There's also one more: "I'm tired."
It seems today as though everyone is always tired. Some of us have schedules that are too full, and don't we don't take the time to just slow down, and stop, and rest, enough. Some of us have alternative lives online. It feels like our true selves are our online persona-- our League of Legends account, or our Fortnight character. And we abuse our actual physical bodies, and neglect them, so that we can pour our true selves into our digital selves. Others of us are just unhappy, and one of the weird things about that is that we tend to stay up late, and abuse our bodies that way, when we feel that way. We make our bodies feel as tired and worn out, as we feel on the inside. And others of us just have too many stressful things in life to worry about, or too many kids to be anxious about, for us to sleep. How can you sleep very much, when there's so much to worry about (and lest we pick on that too hard, 2 Corinthians 11:28; there's a perfectly normal type of "anxiousness")?
So we're tired. We look tired. We feel tired. We try to compensate, perhaps, by sleeping more, or drinking more coffee, or pounding energy drinks all day. But we live tired.
Some of us are also tired in different ways, in relationships. We're tired of fighting our kids, or our parents, or our coworkers, or our boss. We're tired of bad attitudes, and poor work ethics, and complaining, and feeling like everything at the end of the day has to be done by us, if it's to be done at all.
A few of us, perhaps, are tired in a different way. We are tired spiritually. Now, what would that mean, to be tired spiritually?
Any talk about spirituality starts off by feeling broad, and fuzzy. But if someone told me they were tired spiritually, my gut reaction would be to assume they mean something like this: "I'm tired of church. I'm tired of worship. I'm tired of reading my Bible, and getting nothing out of it. I'm tired of praying."
A really transparent Christian might even take this a little farther. If you were brave, and honest, you might admit that you were tired of God. You're tired of Him seemingly doing nothing. You're tired of Him being far away, of Him not looking at you, of Him not listening to you (Isaiah 8:17). You're tired of praying, and getting nothing from God. No response, no help. Nothing.
I'm not sure I've ever met a Christian who was quite so transparent, or honest, or brave. I'm not sure that we tend to be aware of when we've reached this place. We don't spend enough time in the psalms to realize that these feelings are common the experience of God's people. We don't realize that the psalms help us fight through this, and fight for God's attention, and closeness. What we tend to do instead in this situation is just drift away from God, and from God's people, and we turn to someone or something else. When we get tired in marriage, it tends to lead to divorce. When parents get tired of their kids, it tends to lead to inattention, and neglect. When we get tired of God, we tend to turn to a different god (pointing toward next week's verses).
That's basically what's happening in today's passage. God's people, stuck in exile, are tired of God. They're tired of being his servants, of being his people. God doesn't listen to them. He ignores them. He doesn't help. And so they're tired of crying out to God, and getting nothing. They're tired of being in a one-sided relationship where they serve God, and God does nothing. They're tired of praying, of worshipping, of trying to maintain hope in him. God's people can't leave Babylon, because they've been conquered, and they're stuck. But there are a couple things they can do. They can be open, and transparent, about how they feel about Yahweh. They can leave Yahweh, and turn to other gods/idols. And that's what they've done.
In our passage today, we read Yahweh's response to this. It's another argument/disputation kind of passage. God's people are tired of him. How does God feel about that? And what does God say, and do, in response?
Isaiah 43:22:
(22) Now, not to me have you called out, O Jacob, ["not to me" is focused]
but you have become weary of me, O Israel.
There is a way of talking about God, and to God, that isn't really prayer. We can call out about our problems, and situation, in a way that's not really directed to God. We say things like this: "I wish God would help." "I hope God comes through for me." Even, "I trust God. I trust that He's got this under control. I trust that He will help." But none of that is actually addressed to God. None of that's actually prayer.
And so God starts his response by saying, "It's not to me that you've said all these words (and here is a good example of where discourse analysis of Hebrew really helps. The fronting/focused "not to me" points us to where we should focus, in thinking/reflecting on it; Young's Literal Translation is one of the few that gets it here). I've overheard you talk about your problems, and your needs, and your frustrations. But you were talking to other people about that, instead of me." It's like when you're upset with your spouse, and you talk to everyone else about how unreasonable your spouse is, and how you're mad at them. But the one person you don't talk to, is the one you have a problem with.
Instead of calling out to him, God says, you've become weary of me. You view me as this giant burden.
And so God will now pick at this idea. What made God's people tired of God? What's God done, that He deserves that? Children can get tired of their parents pushing them to do chores, or whatever. Students can tired of unreasonable, demanding teachers. Employees can get tired of a boss who is always picking them apart, always demanding more. So God's like, let's take a look at what I've asked from you. Verse 23-24b:
(23) You haven't brought to me the small livestock [Gen. 30:32] of your burnt offerings,
while your sacrifices you haven't honored me [with].
I haven't caused you to serve ["serve" here has the same stem as the key noun "servant"] with grain offerings [Leviticus 2:1ff],
while I haven't caused you to be weary with [demands for] incense/frankincense [Exodus 30:34; Lev. 2:1; Jer. 6:20; Isaiah 60:6].
(24) You haven't bought for me with silver, aromatic cane [Exodus 30:23; Ezekiel 27:19],
while the fat of your sacrifices you haven't satisfied/satiated me [with].
So God's people are tired of serving him. But what exactly has that service required? It hasn't required them giving up any of their sheep or goats to offer whole burnt offerings-- the type of sacrifice where it's given entirely to God, without it being a three-way shared meal with you, God, and priests. It hasn't required them giving a portion of their grain crops. It hasn't required them giving costly incense. They haven't had to open up their wallets and buy aromatic cane. And they've even gotten to keep the very best part of meat-- the fatty part-- for themselves.
When I was a kid, I was best friends with a Lutheran kid down the street, and he asked me one time what kind of church I went to. I said I went to an Evangelical Free church, and when he asked what that meant, his dad said something very helpful. He said that meant you could go to church for free. There's no entry fee, no ticket to buy. Going to an Evangelical Free church costs you nothing. And he said that, not even knowing that the church gave out donuts every Sunday asking only for a freewill offering. Which to a young boy meant that you could eat 2 or 3 every Sunday, because they were free, as well.
That's basically what God is saying here. God has required very little of his people in exile. Sacrifices are costly, but God hasn't demanded any of that from them. There's been no altar set up; there's no priesthood still in place. It's no longer a Lutheran church; now it's Evangelical Free. God hasn't asked them to serve him. He hasn't made them tired with his expectations.
God then goes on to say this, line three of verse 24:
Instead, you have caused me to serve with your sins;
you have caused me to be weary with your iniquity/guilt.
The way it's supposed to work, in every religion, with every god, is that the people serve the gods (*Claus Westermann). Nothing's really ever Evangelical Free, where God requires nothing of you. It's always Lutheran (lol).
But what's happened instead here, is that God's people have flipped the relationship upside down. They've put God in a situation where He has become the servant. He's been forced to carry their sins. (the verse doesn't quite unpack this, but I think that's the idea behind it). One of the metaphors to describe sin in Hebrew thought is of "carrying" them. Sin/guilt/punishment is something that has to be carried by someone; it's a burden to be carried. What they've done, is load up God's backpack with their sins. And they've caused God to be weary through this. God is weary.
So God's people are tired of God. And God is tired of his people. Everyone's tired of everyone. What comes next? Judgment? Will God drop the hammer here?
Verse 25:
(25) I, I, [am] He: The One Blotting Out [Genesis 6:7] your rebellions for my sake,
while your sins I will not call to mind.
God here describes himself as the One Blotting out your rebellions. You are rising up against him, and against his kingdom, and that rebellion is like a bad stain on a piece of clothing. But God blots that out, not because you deserve it, but for his sake. God wants this relationship to work, and for that to happen, He's been hard at work with the OxyClean. And God also tells them, using a different metaphor, that He's choosing to not think about your sins. Their sins are like the elephant in the room, but God is choosing to not focus on that (very different metaphors here for how God deals with sin).
At this point, let's flip back to how this whole series started. Isaiah 40:1-2 (NRSV updated no reason):
40 Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the LORD’s hand
double for all her sins.
God started his message to his exiled people by summoning his divine council to encourage his people that Israel had paid off its sins through God's punishment, and in some sense that must be right. But at the same time, from God's perspective, Israel's rebellion and sin continues to be an ongoing problem. Nothing's changed. There's been no repentance. There's been no turning to Yahweh (the key call of Isaiah 44:22 comes next week). And so God continues to blot out, and to not focus on, their sin.
So picture this situation. God's people are tired of God, because God has been ignoring them, and not helping them. They're tired of serving him, and calling out to him. And God is tired of his people, because they don't actually serve him, or call out to him. All they do is sin and rebel, and God is tired of doing the laundry of blotting that out, and tired of forcing himself to not focus on the elephant in the room.
What's the solution?
God here deals with this ugly situation the right way. He hashes it out with his people. He has an argument with them, basically. And the metaphor used here comes from the legal system. God invites his people to go to court with him, and present their argument proving that they are innocent-- that it's right for them to be tired of God:
(26) Cause me to call to mind;
let us enter into judgment together.
State/charge/declare [Ezek. 23:36] -- you-- in order that you may be proven right/innocent.
(27) Your first father (=Jacob?) sinned [Isaiah 48:8; 58:14; Hosea 12:3-5; *Shalom Paul],
while your spokesmen (Genesis 43:23; 2 Chr. 32:31) rebelled against me,
(28) and I profaned/polluted the officials of the sanctuary,
and I gave, to destruction, Jacob ["to destruction" is focused?],
while Israel to taunting,
So God invites his people, present your best argument. Make your cause, to show that I've failed you. Help me call to mind the ways I've failed you.
But all we hear is crickets from them. Instead, in verse 27, we hear God's case.
Basically, it goes like this: "You, my people, have a long history of sin. More recently, your spokesmen rebelled, and I responded by judging you. I gave you over to destruction, and to taunting.
So God's people feel like God is ignoring them, and not helping them (Isaiah 40:27). They feel like God has been blind and deaf toward them (Isaiah 42:18-19, where God says, "No that's actually you"). But that's because they still, at this point, can't or won't see things from God's perspective. No matter how many times this prophet speaks God's word to them, they just don't get it. They aren't suffering in exile because God is ignoring them. They're suffering in exile, because they rebelled, and because God has been punishing them. "That's why you're here. That's why life is hard. You're tired, because you don't understand what God has been doing, and why."
So now what? We find ourselves again maybe expecting God to drop the hammer. But instead, God continues, 44:1 (and this surprising message of hope has the same startling contrast as 43:1, "while now"):
(44:1) while now, hear, O Jacob, my servant,
and Israel-- I have chosen him--:
(2) "Thus has said Yahweh-- The One Making you, and The One Forming you from birth,
who will help you:
May you not be afraid, my servant, Jacob, [41:8, 9; 43:10; 45:5]
while Upright One ("Jeshurun"; Deut. 32:15; 33:5, 26), I have chosen you.
(3) Even as I pour out waters upon the thirsty,
while streams upon dry ground,
[so] I will pour out my Spirit upon your descendants,
while my blessing upon your offspring,
(4) that they may sprout up in a field of grass like poplar trees by channels of water.
(5) This one will say, "Yahweh's, I [am],
while this one will be called by the name Jacob,
while this one will write on his hand, "Yahweh's," [Ezekiel 9:4]
while in/by the name of Israel he will be entitled. [Galatians 6:16]
God promises his people here a much better future. And what's interesting about this (I think), is how the blessings God promises to his people, are more about their descendants, than about themselves. Every good parent wants to their leave their child in a better position than they were. They want a better future for them, than they themselves had. They want them to start their adult lives from a higher place of wisdom, and skill, and maturity, (and prosperity,?) and spirituality. They want them to have at the age of 20, what they didn't have until they were 40.
In these verses, God understands this impulse. He knows that the greatest promises He can give, are promises for his people's descendants. And so He promises to pour his Spirit on their kids. God will bless their kids. God will root them like a tree, in a place where can prosper (Psalm 1). And He promises that their descendants will happily identify themselves as belonging to Yahweh. Your kids will be thrilled that Yahweh is their God.
And so you might be tired, right now, of God. You might have given up on him, because you think God's given up on you. But there's a lot you're getting wrong. You don't understand that you're suffering right now because of your own rebellion. And you don't understand that this suffering is coming to an end. God hasn't abandoned you. He will help you. And He will absolutely pour out his blessings on your descendants. Things were rough for you, ultimately because you made them rough. But things will be better for your kids.
So that I think, is how God wanted his people to hear these verses originally. And I'm guessing they grab you in all kinds of ways.
But let me just focus on the idea of being tired of God. There's a lot of Christians floating around, I think, who are tired of God. They don't necessarily have the words for this, exactly. Or they're maybe not transparent, or brave, or honest enough to even let themselves give voice to this. But that's where they are at. They've gotten used to the idea that God isn't actually very helpful. He doesn't listen. He doesn't appreciate their service. The relationship is one-sided, and there's just tired of how unbalanced it feels.
Now, before I say anything else, I should say that I'm pretty sure there are plenty of psalms that sound a lot like this. Many people have cried out to God, seeking his face, seeking help, and that help is very slow in coming. They've cried out day and night, they've cried so much their bed floats, and still they see nothing. I just want to say that, because it'd be easy to apply this Isaiah passage in an unhealthy way, that pushes against the broad testimony of the psalms. And if you find yourself in that situation, God has given those psalms to you to help you keep living from a place of trust, and hope, and persistence.
So that's my disclaimer.
Now, when we turn back to Isaiah 43, what should we learn from it?
(1) Sometimes, when God's people are tired of God, it's because they don't understand the position they've put themselves in with God. They are rebelling, and sinning, in an ongoing way, and so they aren't in a position where God will give quick answer to their prayers.
(2) Sometimes, when God's people are tired of God, it's because they never had much of a relationship with God. It's not to God that they talk about their problems. It's not from God that they seek help. They have the view that God knows everything they need, so why pray? God is entirely in control of the situation, his will is always done, so why ask? They have a relationship with the Bible, and with the church, but they don't have much of a relationship with God. When you live this way, you get tired of God not helping. But you're not really asking God for help. You assume He's a good Father, and will give you what you need, so you don't ask him to give you your daily bread. You assume that God is your Warrior-Protector, but you don't ask him to fight for you when your enemies surround you. You assume that God forgives you through Jesus Christ, but you don't actually confess your sins and repent, and it's that part of it that has to be there for the sins to be forgiven (1 John 1:8-9). You assume that God is the Healer, the Great Physician, but you don't take advantage of the promise in James 5:14 that if you go to the elders, and they pray with faith, that you will be healed. I think a lot of times we operate under really flawed practical theology, and this leads us to being tired of God. We just don't understand that this covenant God has set up with us is a real, actual relationship.
So sometimes, when you're tired of God, it's actually completely unreasonable, and God is the one who has the right to feel tired. He's been working at this relationship a lot harder than you, and He's willing to go to court and have both sides present evidence, to show that He's right. These are tough words God gives here. "You're tired? Of what exactly? I'm the one who is legitimately tired." If a young seminary student was taking a class on pastoral counseling, and said something like this to a troubled Christian, they'd probably get an F. But the tone here, again, I think matters. God is reasonable; He's working with them; He's not upset. And God keeps giving the people the same basic message through his prophet. "You're here because of your rebellion. You've paid off your sin; I'm continuing to forgiving you; I'm choosing to not focus on your sin. And my help is on its way. I have the right to be tired, but I'm doing my best to reason with you, and call you back to me." And they just won't hear it. Time after time, the prophet speaks, and nothing happens (steering toward Isaiah 49:4). Nevertheless, a better future is possible.
So if you've reached the point where you're tired of God, what's the solution? I think God would encourage you to take a good look at this relationship between you and God, and at how you serve. What exactly have you been offering God in service to him? Has God been the center of your life, and everything else has been revolving around that? Have you been faithfully committed to him? Or has your life been based on some bad theology? Have you been making God tired with your sin and rebellion? Wrestle with all of that, and then go talk to God about your tiredness. Ask from him what would have to happen, for you and your descendants to have a better future.
God's preference is to pour out his blessings on you, and on your kids (Acts 2:17). He wants to set all of you up in a place where you can prosper, and do well. He wants to pour out his Holy Spirit on you in new, and unexpected ways. He wants people to happily self-identify as belonging to him, and belong to his people.
If you feel like you don't have that, turn to him. To God, call out.
Translation:
(22) Now, not to me have you called out, O Jacob, ["not to me" is focused]
but you have become weary of me, O Israel.
(23) You haven't brought to me the small livestock [Gen. 30:32] of your burnt offerings,
while your sacrifices you haven't honored me [with].
I haven't caused you to serve ["serve" here has the same stem as the key noun "servant"] with grain offerings [Leviticus 2:1ff],
while I haven't caused you to be weary with [demands for] incense [Exodus 30:34; Lev. 2:1].
(24) You haven't bought for me with silver, aromatic cane [Exodus 30:23; Ezekiel 27:19],
while the fat of your sacrifices you haven't satisfied/satiated me [with].
Instead, you have caused me to serve with your sins;
you have caused me to be weary with your iniquity/guilt.
(25) I, I, [am] He: The One Blotting Out [Genesis 6:7] your rebellions for my sake,
while your sins I will not call to mind.
(26) Cause me to call to mind;
let us enter into judgment together.
State/charge/declare [Ezek. 23:36] -- you-- in order that you may be proven right/innocent.
(27) Your first father (=Jacob?) sinned [Isaiah 48:8; 58:14; Hosea 12:3-5; *Shalom Paul],
while your spokesmen (Genesis 43:23; 2 Chr. 32:31) rebelled against me,
(28) and I profaned/polluted the officials of the sanctuary,
and I gave, to destruction, Jacob ["to destruction" is focused?. Or, Jacob is delayed to put it nearer Israel?],
while Israel to taunting,
(44:1) while now, hear, O Jacob, my servant,
and Israel-- I have chosen him--:
(2) "Thus has said Yahweh-- The One Making you, and The One Forming you from birth,
who will help you:
May you not be afraid, my servant, Jacob, [41:8, 9; 43:10; 45:5]
while Upright One ("Jeshurun"; Deut. 32:15; 33:5, 26), I have chosen you,
(3) even as I will pour out waters upon the thirsty,
while streams upon dry ground,
[so] I will pour out my Spirit upon your descendants,
while my blessing upon your offspring,
(4) that they may sprout up in a field of grass like poplar trees by channels of water.
(5) This one will say, "Yahweh's, I [am],
while this one will be called by the name Jacob,
while this one will write on his hand, "Yahweh's," [Ezekiel 9:4]
while in/by the name of Israel he will be entitled. [Galatians 6:16]
