Devotional - 110609

Our church has a tradition that before we preach through a particular book of the Bible, we first read through it (sections of it anyway). This is known as a Reading Service. It’s quite impacting. If “faith comes by hearing” the word of God, it stands to reason that we should do this more often. During our devotional time we read to ourselves. We don’t actually hear it audibly so Reading Services are a great reminder of how powerful it is to simply hear the Word of God being read.

We are starting a new preaching series on the book of Isaiah. Lemma tell ya, I’m more than giddy. Our pastor Erik Thoennes did a wonderful job reading the first six chapters. While reading aloud, the proper intonations, emphasis, and pauses at times when it’s called for in the text, gives insight and understanding without commentating. It’s a wonderful way to learn Scripture.

During my graduate work at Talbot School of Theology, I took a course on the book of Isaiah and read John Oswalt’s commentary. I remember the course and the commentary rocking my world. In short, Isaiah demonstrates in his account that God blazes in holiness and will not overlook sin. At the same time, while God does not overlook sin, He constantly and consistently offers an opportunity to repent. Even when repentance is refused and judgment is passed, the Lord still offers hope in the form of a faithful remnant. The enormous amount of patience the Lord has for us blows me away, especially now that I am a teacher trying to teach young students how to walk straight.

There is an amazing aspect about God as I read through Isaiah. Namely, God is fully and completely merciful and wrathful at the same time. This drew me back to when I was at Biola University studying Theology Proper into the late hours of the night. A.W. Tozer says this, “The harmony of His being is the result not of a perfect balance of parts but of the absence of parts. Between His attributes no contradiction can exist. He need not suspend one to exercise another, for in Him all His attributes are one. All of God does all that God does; He does not divide Himself to perform a work, but works in the total unity of His being.” In understanding the Scriptures, we better understand the properties of God. In understanding the properties of God, we better understand the Scriptures. It's part of the beautiful cycle of sanctification and growing in the knowledge of the Lord.

It brings great comfort to know that God never stops being merciful towards us. At the same time, it’s sobering to know that God blazes in holiness and will not overlook sin. If God is not divided in Himself, it stands to reason that neither should be His people between their affections towards the things of this world or God being the ultimate objective of our affections, adoration, and loyalty.