The Returning
Backsliders Would Be Reconciled to God
5for
your Creator will be your “husband.” The Lord Almighty is his name; he is your
Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth. 6For the
Lord has called you back from your grief—a young wife abandoned by her husband.
7For a brief moment I abandoned you. But with great compassion, I
will take you back. 8In a moment of anger I turned my face a little
while; but with everlasting love, I will have pity on you, says the Lord, your
Redeemer.
9Just
as in the time of Noah I swore that I would never again permit the waters of a
flood to cover the earth and destroy its life, so now I swear that I will never
again pour out my anger on you. 10For the mountains may depart, and
the hills disappear, but my kindness shall not leave you. My promise of peace
for you will never be broken, says the Lord who has mercy upon you.[1] (Isaiah54:5–10)
The Repentant Backsliders Would Be Reconciled to God.
I. Note That Reconciliation Is Initiated by God Himself, “Your Maker” and “Your Husband.” This is a startling statement, for it claims that the bond between God and His people is just like the loving bond between a husband and his wife. As their Maker who truly loves them, God could never abandon His people to their enemies or to the enslaving power of their sin. He was bound to be reaching out to His wayward people, longing for them to return to Him. God has the power to reconcile backsliders to Him because He is the Lord of hosts, the Lord Almighty who controls all beings in both heaven and earth. God is also the Holy One of Israel, which means that He is flawless and righteous. He will always do the right thing, always show His love by accepting backsliders who return to Him. Moreover, God is the Redeemer, which means that His very nature is to save His people from their enemies and from the sins of the world.
a)
Note who the Redeemer is: He is God of all the earth. It is He who seeks
to be reconciled to His people who have gone astray. They, or anyone else for
that matter, can be reconciled and have a relationship with the God of all the earth. What a staggering
thought! But that is the promise of this passage.
Like a loving
husband, the Lord calls His people to return to His arms. Despite the fact that
His people had abandoned Him for the gods and wickedness of this world, He
still desired to be reconciled to them.
b)
Note the stress upon God’s love for His
people. His love is like the love of a young married man who is ardently
attracted to and single-minded in the pursuit of his wife. God is passionately
in love with His people and longs for close fellowship and communion with them.
Even when God’s people drift away, He seeks after them with the hope that they
will return to Him.
c)
Even as the love of God is stressed, His
justice must be acknowledged as well. Sin can arouse His anger and force
Him to act (vv. 7–8). God will chastise any of His people who turn away from
Him. When believers are unfaithful and commit spiritual adultery by turning to
false gods or to the sins of this world, God will discipline them. God will
abandon and hide His face from carnal, worldly sinners, but only for a short
time.
d) God is merciful and compassionate (vv. 7–8). For that reason, He assures His backsliding people that He will show mercy to them. Although they may seem far away by living in unbelief and sin, the day is coming when God will take His people back. He will receive all who repent and turn back to Him. No longer will He hide His face in anger against them; instead, He will have compassion and redeem them (v. 8).
II. The Lord’s Sworn Oath Guarantees This Reconciliation (Vv. 9–10). The day is coming when the Lord will never again rebuke or be angry with His people. This oath is more sure than the oath God swore to Noah when He promised to never again judge the earth with a worldwide flood. And it is more sure than the presence of the mountains and hills, which are sometimes shaken and removed. In summary, God will never take His unfailing peace and love from His people (v. 10).
A.
God Loves His People and Longs to Be
Reconciled to Every Individual Who Has Strayed from Him.
Backsliders are those who have deserted God, turned away from Him to form adulterous relationships with the sinful world and the gods of false religion. When backsliders abandon God, they wound His heart and cause Him excruciating pain, all because God loves His people and longs for a close relationship with them. He wants His people to continually speak to Him through prayer and listen to Him by meditating on His Holy Word. And He wants His people to obey Him, for His commandments tell a person how to live a victorious, productive, and meaningful life.
B.
When We Drift Away, The Lord Reaches Out to
Us in Love. He Wants Us to Forsake Our Adulterous, Sinful Ways and Return to Him.
If we will return from our backsliding, the Lord will have mercy upon us. He is perfectly willing to be reconciled to any backslider. But we must know this one fact: reconciliation comes only through Jesus Christ. In other words, if we desire to be reconciled to God, we must approach Him through Christ. Christ alone has brought peace between God and the human race. Christ alone can forgive our sins, for Christ alone died for the sins of the world. Reconciliation with God is possible only if we approach the Father through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
V “For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16).
V “But God commendeth his love toward us, in
that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now
justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when
we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more,
being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Ro. 5:8–10).
V “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new. And
all things are of God, who hath
reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of
reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto
himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us
the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though
God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled
to God. For he hath made him to be
sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in
him” (2 Co. 5:17–21).
V “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great
love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us
together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)” (Ep. 2:4–5).
V “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes
were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who
hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his
flesh the enmity, even the law of
commandments contained in ordinances;
for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one
body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby” (Ep. 2:13–16).
V “In whom we have redemption through his
blood, even the forgiveness of sins”
(Col. 1:14).
V “And, having made peace through the blood of
his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven. And you, that were
sometime alienated and enemies in your
mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled: In the body of his flesh
through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight”
(Col. 1:20–22).
V “Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted” (He. 2:17–18).[2]
God said that he had abandoned Israel for a
brief moment, so the nation was like a young wife rejected by her husband. But
God still called Israel his own. The God we serve is holy, and he cannot
tolerate sin. When his people blatantly sinned, God in his anger chose to
punish them. Sin separates us from God and brings us pain and suffering. But if
we confess our sin and repent, then God will forgive us. Have you ever been
separated from a loved one and then experienced joy when that person returned?
That is like the joy God experiences when you repent and return to him.[3]
[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[2] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah: Chapters 36–66. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
[3] Life Application
Bible Notes. 2007. Tyndale.
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