The God Who Saves
The Spirit of God leads us to rest despite ourselves. Israel contributed nothing to their salvation. Israel’s greatest need was not geographical restoration or political savvy or military brilliance. Israel’s greatest need was deliverance from her own sins. And it was that very thing which was pictured in the Passover lamb and is fulfilled so beautifully in Christ wherein we find rest.
In Isaiah 63 we find a familiar word used twice. It’s the word hesed or lovingkindness. I say it’s familiar because we run across it in many different places in Scripture. It is a word pregnant with meaning and so translators often heap word upon word to give its sense. For example, it is sometimes translated as covenant faithfulness, loyal love, steadfast love to name a few.
But notice the text of Isaiah 63. Reflecting on the notion of hesed, the prophet is compelled to pull into his service words like goodness and compassion and abundance in order to describe it. But if we could boil it down to a single idea hesed is a word synonymous with covenant. It has to do with God’s gracious faithfulness toward His people.
And yet, for all of that, this text is not so much about the blessings as much as the Bless-er. In other words, this text has more to do with the One who is faithful to bless rather than the blessings He bestows. Now, having this background notice three things in this text with regard to God – the One who grants blessing upon blessing.
His Identity
First, notice the Identity of God in Isaiah 63. And if we look carefully, we notice that God is set forth in these verses as triune. In other words, all three persons of the Trinity are here in these verses. For example, in v. 7, Isaiah says, “I will make mention of the loving kindness of Yahweh.” Now, look over to v. 16. There Isaiah says, “You, O Yahweh, are our Father.” Clearly, God the Father is in these verses.
But notice also the Holy Spirit is mentioned no less than three times. He is in verses 10, 11, and 14. He is described as the Spirit of the Lord. Now, it seems fairly clear that the Father and Holy Spirit are here but what about the Son? Notice verse 9. There we find what is described as the “angel of His presence.” This is a reference to the Lord Jesus.
Perhaps you are thinking that this is a stretch. So, let’s look at this reference to the “angel of His presence” for a minute.
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Romans 8: Distractions
No matter the situation or context, no matter the “craziness” going on around us, the Christian is that person who sets themselves to still thinking about and focusing on the things of the Spirit. Are there distractions? Yes! There will always be distractions…perhaps it is our focus on God in the midst of distraction which is so necessary for our growth and faith and life.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.Romans 8:5-6
I first wrote these meditations in the early months of the COVID pandemic when everyone was isolated at home, and it struck me how much I and other brothers and sisters needed to meditate deeply upon God’s word. Essentially, I was attempting to help my church and anyone else who would read these do precisely what Paul says Christians do in Romans 8:5 – setting our minds on the things of the Spirit. Even now, this reminds me of a famous sermon C.S. Lewis preached in Oxford in 1939, right at the outset of WW2 and during the German blitzkrieg where German bombs were continually dropping on England day and night. Lewis, asking what should students do in the midst of such turmoil, when the world was seemingly coming to an end, answered thus:
“The peculiar difficulty imposed on you by the war is another matter, and of it I would again repeat what I have been saying in one form or another ever since I started—do not let your nerves and emotions lead you into thinking your predicament more abnormal than it really is. Perhaps it may be useful to mention the three mental exercises which may serve as defenses against the three enemies which war raises up against the scholar.
The first enemy is excitement—the tendency to think and feel about the war when we had intended to think about our work. The best defense is a recognition that in this, as in everything else, the war has not really raised up a new enemy but only aggravated an old one. There are always plenty of rivals to our work. We are always falling in love or quarrelling, looking for jobs or fearing to lose them, getting ill and recovering, following public affairs. If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable.
Favorable conditions never come. There are, of course, moments when the pressure of the excitement is so great that only superhuman self-control could resist it. They come both in war and peace. We must do the best we can.”
In essence, Lewis maintains that we should give our minds and effort to business as usual, as best we can. I think this is right in line with what Paul is getting at in Romans 8, verses 5-6. No matter the situation or context, no matter the “craziness” going on around us, the Christian is that person who sets themselves to still thinking about and focusing on the things of the Spirit. Are there distractions? Yes! There will always be distractions – some certainly greater than others. But perhaps it is our focus on God in the midst of distraction which is so necessary for our growth and faith and life. Isn’t this what Paul says in verse 6?
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The Wicked Will Not Stand | Psalm 1:5
Although we may lament the prosperity of the wicked, let us keep the day of judgment ever before our eyes. In Psalm 73, Asaph began to envy the wicked, who seem to have no trouble at all, yet when he went to the sanctuary of God, he was reminded anew that the LORD establishes the wicked “in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin” (Psalm 73:16).
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment
Psalm 1:5 ESVAfter giving a three-verse portrait of the blessed, the psalmist gave a terse contrasting image of the wicked. Unlike the blessed, they do not delight in and meditate upon God’s Word; thus, they are not rooted in eternal truth like trees beside streams of water as the blessed are. Rather, they are like chaff that the wind drives away. ‘Therefore,’ the psalmist continues, ‘the wicked will not stand in the judgment.’
While there can be any number of judgments that the LORD pours out upon the wicked in this life, the psalmist likely has the final judgment in mind, the day when “God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14). Elsewhere, Scripture calls this the Day of the LORD. Under the new covenant, we know it also as the return of our Lord, the second coming of Christ. John records his vision of that day:
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated upon it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life.
REVELATION 20:11-12, 15
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Live Quietly and Eat Your Own Bread
In frequenting the houses of others to find food, this lazy person would avail himself to the affairs of others, be a busybody, and thus live anything but quietly. Visiting a neighbor is like eating candy—it’s something fun, but one can have too much of a good thing. Proverbs 25:16 warns us not to indulge with honey lest we eat too much and vomit. Similarly, Proverbs 25:17 (the very next verse) warns our feet not to be too frequent in our neighbor’s house lest his welcome turn to hatred.
Some people refuse to work and are intentionally lazy and idle. They know better but disobey the instruction of God and refuse to follow the example of hard-working Christians. They busy themselves in the lives of others, and burden others with their needs. What does Paul say to these people?
In 1 Thessalonians 4:9–12, Paul urges Christians to show love and, in doing so, live quietly, mind their own affairs, and work. These actions make for a good, Christian testimony to unbelievers and a life of independence, not unduly burdening others.
In 2 Thessalonians 3:6–15, Paul instructs believers what to do with someone who persistently refuses to work—avoid such a person while admonishing him to work. Such a person is disobedient to God, turns into a busybody, and is an unnecessary burden. In 2 Thessalonians 3:12, Paul directly addresses the lazy person—live quietly and eat your own bread (i.e., work to meet your own needs).
What might the Proverbs add to Paul’s command to live quietly and eat one’s own bread?
Live Quietly
The command to eat one’s own bread implies that these lazy people were eating the bread of others.
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