Isaiah 62:1-12

On your wall, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchman; All day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the Lord, take no rest for yourselves; and give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

So, how does this verse speak to who I am, because I’m not a descendent of the ancient tribes of Israel. So then, I’m either reading someone else’s mail or I’m just reading for history’s sake. But, I connect the dots between the OT and the NT by way of the writings of Paul, who was a Jew and, who like myself, is a partaker of the newer and better covenant. Paul explains a bit about who I am (and you are) in Romans 11; “and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became a partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree.” Wow! We are talking good news! We who believe have been grafted onto the root;

And Isaiah says, “There shall come the root of Jesse, and He who arises to rule over the gentiles, in Him shall the gentiles hope”. (Rom 15:12)  Isaiah and the other prophets speak of a day when Israel’s fortunes will be restored through their participation in the newer covenant. But there are events that must precede that. One of the big ones is; the Jews returning to Yahweh because they have become jealous of those grafted in. The Jews may be aware that Christ is supposedly the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes (Rom 10:4), but apparently they have not yet seen anything sufficient to provoke their jealousy. This is where you and I come in and where Isaiah’s ancient words become relevant to us.

It is clear in the NT writings that Paul and others are endeavoring to shepherd the Church to the the place where they become the light of the world – a material reflection of Yahweh Himself, so bright that Israel (and all nations) take note.

My wife wants me to go to Jerusalem to walk on the wall of the ancient city and join those who are giving God no rest – praying for the restoration of Israel. I can tell, my indifference to this idea is a bit disconcerting to her and some of her Messianic oriented buddies. (My reasoning and my confession; If I went now, I am afraid my motives would be tainted by my deep desire to just eat falafels.) But, the way that I see it (and this is just my grasp of things), the prayers of those who are focusing on Israel are being answered by awakening some to pray specifically for the Church who (at least in my neighborhood) is provoking little jealousy. Those who are giving
God no rest on the wall are disturbing the complacency of the Church, who may be just heading to the dressing room but is nowhere near ready to meet the Bridegroom.

Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the acts of the saints. And he said to me, Write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” These are the true words of
God.

The word that seems alive in my heart is similar to that of Isaiah’s in verse 1 of our passage, except that, for “Zion”, I insert the “Bride of Christ” who unfortunately, (in the West anyway) seems strangely sleepy and indifferent to any future date with the King.

For Zion’s (the Church’s) sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s (the Body of Christ’s) sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning. And the nations (particularly Israel) will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory.

Far more than anything that I aspire to do or have in this world, I desire to be in attendance at this grand event. I am not going to be a very desirable guest though if my lamp is not filled with the oil of anticipation and preparation for that gathering. In fact, if my lamp is not full and I am not dressed right, I’m not getting in! Read about both the kindness and the severity of God in Matt 25:1-13 (The Parable of the Ten Virgins). Note; Like all good fathers, God is willing to motivate by kindness with the longings of love or by severity in the fear of punishment. But, the greater of these is for sure love.

At a prayer gathering I once encouraged, we all kind of looked at each other with that what-shall-we-pray-for-now look. I volunteered that we just want to pray for the things we sense that are on God’s heart. I cannot speak for others, but the thing that is mostly on mine is the Church of Jesus Christ – her current state of readiness and her future appointments. To his own, Jesus simply says, “…be on the alert (awake), for you do not know which day (or hour) your Lord is coming”.

Back to our question and theme: Who am I ? My response: I am Rob Cummins a son of God, made possible by the most generous act of love imaginable. The priceless blood of the Lamb of God was spilled in my behalf. My invitation to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb was written in His holy blood. Really! Can I not awaken and keep from slumbering through the preparations for this gala affair? I must! We must!

I believe, in His Word, we are asked to participate in the distribution of the Lord’s invitations by taking our place on the wall (if you will), giving Him (nor ourselves) any rest until He makes Jerusalem (the Church) a praise in the earth. By doing this our hearts take ownership in the Marriage Super of the Lamb – the event (it might be argued) toward which all human history has been headed since the beginning.

I also believe that the kingdom-dimension deeds which are good and have been prepared before hand to walk in are just in front of us, laid out for us to discover and walk out in full view of a disbelieving world (especially Israel).

Father, teach us to number our days that we may present to You on that day our hearts of wisdom. May we respond to Your voice that is saying; “Awake sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you”. May our lives trumpet the good news that our salvation has come and behold His reward (goodness) and His recompense (severity) is with Him. May we live with anticipation and in investment for that day when we are recognized and called “The holy people, the redeemed of the Lord, those who are an envied and sought out people, not those (who were apparently) forsaken. In Jesus’ name. Amen.