December 15, 2019 Text: Isaiah 35:1-10
Dear Friends in Christ,
Most of us have had the opportunity to see the country of Iraq as we have watched footage of war and violence. The country is mostly barren desert. You get a few splashes of green by the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers but Iraq is mostly dry, desolate wilderness. It hasn’t always been that way. The Tigris and Euphrates once flowed out of the Garden of Eden. Paradise probably once flourished where Iraq now sits. But Adam and Eve were driven out by their sin and the great flood showed God’s judgment and changed the landscape.
Today the prophet Isaiah will take the lead as we see how . . .
“GOD RESTORES OUR RUINED WORLD WITH NEW LIFE”
There is trouble in our text. This wasn’t how Judah’s world was supposed to be. Israel was a ruinous desert and the streets of Jerusalem were deserted. Their world was ruined because of their sin. They kept worshipping false prophets and they weren’t listening to the prophets, including Isaiah. The destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC was violent and devastating. The Jews were banished from the land because of sinful behavior.
We too have trouble in our world. Pollution and natural disasters indicate a world in decay. Blindness and deafness and birth defects affect the quality of life for many. Cancer and heart disease and chronic pain further indicate the fallen world we inhabit. Add to this our “living for pleasure and power” over the peace and forgiveness of Jesus and we are in the middle of a mess.
The ruin of our world is judgment on our sin. From the time Adam and Eve knew better than God, creation has broken down. Banished from the Lord’s sight. Death and decay all around.
But God restores our ruined world with new life. God brought renewal for the people of Judah. The wilderness and wasteland would blossom and rejoice with streams of water and new growth. “They shall see the glory of the Lord.” The blind will see, the ears of the deaf will be opened and the lame will leap like a deer. These promises were fulfilled in Christ’s coming.
This new life was a sign of God’s forgiveness and presence in their world. God would come to save his people when Jesus suffered the vengeance of God for all the sins of all the people. Instead of casting them out, He would come in strength to take away their fears. The exiles would return on the “Way of Holiness.” The ransomed and redeemed would return.
God will restore our ruined world with new life. When Jesus returns on the last day God will make a new heaven and a new earth. A river of life will spring forth from the throne of the Lamb. The life-giving waters of Holy Baptism are turning us into new men and women, forgiven, and redeemed by the blood of Jesus. There will be no more death, disease, or pain in the renewed earth.
This new life is a sign of God’s forgiveness and eternal presence in Christ. The Lord will wipe every tear from our eyes. We will enter the heavenly Jerusalem and walk the streets of gold. Christians from all nations will enter the city whose gates are never shut.
Most of us have seen a sports movie or two in our days. What is the one thing they all have in common? The pep talk. Whether The Rookie or Hoosiers or Facing the Giants or The Mighty Ducks. The team is losing and down in the dumps and here comes the coach or a father or even a girlfriend and they give some inspiring talk about courage and not giving up. Then it happens. The comeback, the determination seemingly out of nowhere and the sweet, sweet victory. The underdogs win and somebody gets carried from the field or basketball court.
Do you ever wish that could be your life? Your world is up and then it’s down and you don’t want to face the next day. But wait, here comes someone, yes, I believe it is your life pep talker. Give it to me, pep talker! And they do. You are so inspired you that you ace that test you dreaded, you impress your co-workers with your jaw-dropping presentation or you throw your walker away and start skipping down the hallway. Is it all a movie?
The reality is we have a God who comes alongside us when the odds are against us, and by the power of His Word he gives us the strength and courage to keep going in life. God gave this pep talk to the Jewish exiles in our text. And it is the best kind of pep talk, because he is not telling them what they can do, how they can “win one for the Gipper.” He is telling them what He will do for them. It is the same message we hear today: “Be strong; fear not…your God…will come and save you.” (v. 4) The desert is restored and the world is renewed with new life.
Amen.