Who Are You – Isaiah 62:1-12

How are we, believers in the 21st century, connected to the story of ancient Israel? Paul and Isaiah helps us …

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.  Romans 11:17

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 (Paul quoting Isaiah 11:10)

Isaiah and the other prophets speak of a day when Israel’s fortunes will be restored through a new covenant but there are events which must come first, such as; the Jews returning to Yahweh, provoked by jealousy of those grafted in, who, with their lives, prove the efficacy of this New Covenant. Apparently, they have not yet seen anything sufficient to provoke their interest. However, it remains; this new covenant is our connection to the ancient story. The New Testament teachers labor to equip the Bride of Christ to see herself as the light of the world – a material reflection of Yahweh himself, one so bright that Israel, and all nations, take note.

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. Isaiah 62:6-7

I have a friend who daily walks the ancient walls of Jerusalem, giving God no rest, reminding him to remember his promises. As God listens, I’m sure his heart is moved to consider, not only his local real estate and Israel’s current citizenry, but his Bride.

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.'” Revelation 19:7

I believe God’s zeal is to assemble his family. The prelude to this, then and now, is to transfer the light of his life to his people so that they may shine brightly. The scriptures may call this Zion, the Holy City, the Church or the Body of Christ, but it all boils down to the manifestation of God’s life, in Christ. In light of these assumptions, I take a Gentile’s interpretive liberty with the opening verse of our passage.

For Zion’s (the Bride’s) sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s (the Bride’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.

More than anything, I aspire to attend the Marriage Supper of the Lamb but there are some sobering things said in regard to it. The lamps of those attending must be filled with oil. I am assuming this oil is the Holy Spirit and that the Spirit’s presence would provoke longing and anticipation. In Matt 25:1-13 (The Parable of the Ten Virgins) Father uses incentives and disincentives to motivate us. The bottom line is always …

            Be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. Matt 24:42

Father, teach us to number our days that we may present to you, hearts of wisdom. May your Bride hear her alarm going off, saying; “Awake sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you”. May your life be manifest in our anticipation, our longing and our prayers. May we live to see the day when your people are no longer seen as forsaken. Let us witness that day when the nations say, “These are a holy people, redeemed of the Lord. His delight is obviously upon them.” Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

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