Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Isaiah 44:2 Thus says the LORD who made you and formed you from the womb, who help you: "Fear not, O Jacob My servant; And you Jeshurun whom I have chosen."
THE HOLY SPIRIT CONTINUES TO DISTRIBUTE GOD'S GRACE (I)
Try to put yourself in the place of the nation of Judah as they heard the judgment of God upon themselves and their children. What would your reaction be if God told you that for the next seventy years your descendants would be in Iraq or North Korea? The Lord told them, "Fear not, O Jacob My servant; and you, Jeshurun whom I have chosen."
We have heard the Lord speak to His people as Jacob, who was their ancestor, but Jeshurun is a name that only appears one other time in Scripture, and in a similar situation. The name means "the upright one," and it was used when Moses addressed the people as they were about to enter the promised land of Israel. In both cases God had dealt with a generation that was rebellious, pronounced judgment on them, and then unexpectedly blessed their descendants. He is telling them that it would be no different here. His grace would continue in the generation to come.
It is key for us to remember that God's grace and mercy is not just for a particular time or for a particular people or generation. God chose His people from eternity and He will safeguard them into eternity. To consider ourselves exempt from God's grace is a gross underestimation of His love. The devil would like us to act in fear. The Lord wishes for us to act with confidence in Him.
