This Scripture from Isaiah is one that has a special meaning, this isn’t a rebuke or chiding by the Lord, but rather a glimpse into the heart of compassion that the Lord has for His people.
I love the way
He describes Himself in the beginning, “I am Yahweh, your Kinsman-Redeemer”
He first makes it clear that He is ‘Yahweh’ the God of the Israelites, whose
name was revealed to Moses as four Hebrew consonants (YHWH) called the
Tetragrammaton, which many scholars believe that the most proper meaning may be
“He brings into Existence Whatever Exists” (Yahweh-Asher-Yahweh). In I
Samuel, God is known by the name (Yahweh Teva-ʿot), or “He Brings the
Hosts into Existence,” the hosts possibly referring to the heavenly court
or to Israel.
The term
"kinsman-redeemer" is used only seven times in the Book of Ruth, and "avenger
of blood" is used twelve times in the bible, the Hebrew verb “ga'al”
from which both of these terms are translated, is used over 100 times and
rendered by such additional terms as "redeemer" or "near
relative." The Hebrew term designates a male relative who delivers or
rescues, redeems property, or person who avenges the murder of a relative as a
guiltless executioner and receives restitution for wrong done to a relative who
has since died. The unique emphasis of the redemption/salvation/vindication
associated with the kinsman-redeemer is the fact that this action is carried
out by a kinsman on behalf of a near relative in need. This idea is most
clearly illustrated in the Book of Ruth. God is Israel's Redeemer, the one who
will defend and vindicate them, and that translates to us also.
Then there
is the term ”holy one of Isreal” which is the Hebrew word ‘qadowsh’
transliterated ‘kä·dōshe' which means Holy one, or set apart one. God is set apart from all other gods and is special,
unique, and different.
God is
making it clear in this passage who He is and what His role is for His people. “I am the
one who makes you succeed” He is stating that He is the one who
teaches us that we may succeed in life, He is our provision as well as our
portion in all things.
He also
states that I am the one “who leads you step by step in the way you should
go.” God is the one who leads us
forward literally ‘step by step’ in the way we has chosen for us to walk. It is this type of leading that God is best known
for, taking a person by the hand and leading them forward step by step as only
a loving Father would do. The purpose
of this type of leading is to develop trust and confidence that God will do
what He says He will do, and His promises are steadfast.
God also
states “If you had listened to my command then peace would have flowed like
a river for you and success would wash over you like waves of the sea.” By listening and obeying to the command of
the Lord we are protected and experience His peace which is connected to His
presence.
It is described that God’s
peace will flow like a river for us.
Jesus emphasizes this in the book of John:
“Believe in me so that rivers of living
water will burst out from within you, flowing from your innermost being, just like
the Scripture says!” John 7:38 (TPT)
Success will
be our portion compared to the waves of the sea which come in constant rhythmic
fashion . God is telling Israel (us)
that if we place our complete trust and allegiance in Him and His purpose for
us that He will be before us and lead us
to success and to His peace.
This is
really amazing because of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for us we have all that we need placed within us, Peter takes up
this thought in further detail:
“Everything we could ever need for
life and complete devotion to God has already been deposited in us by his
divine power. For all this was lavished upon us through the rich experience of
knowing him who has called us by name and invited us to come to him through a
glorious manifestation of his goodness.” 2 Peter 1:3 (TPT)
There is
everything we need at our disposal if we call upon the Lord and trust in His
provision, He is our defender, our Holy one, our teacher, and our leader. All of this will flow out from us because He
resides within us. That is His promise!
Be Blessed;
Stephen
Barnett
If He resides in us, then WHERE in us is He...?
ReplyDeletePaul in Romans also says the following:
ReplyDeleteRomans 12:2 TPT
"Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes".
The greek word for that type of change is 'metanoia' which is a change of heart/mind or conversion from thinking one way, to another different way. This is how the word of God has an effect on our mind/hearts. And that is where He resides.