Isaiah 8:17
17 And I will wait [chakah] upon the LORD, [Yahovah]
that hideth [cathar] his face [paniym] from the house [bayith] of
Jacob, [Ya`aqob] and I will look [qavah] for him. KJV-Interlinear
17 And
I will wait for the Lord who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; I will
even look eagerly for Him. NASB
Isaiah has written this
message and has given it over to Ahaz, to a couple of notable public figures as
witnesses, and to the people in general.
The response, to Isaiah
and the words given by God, was less than enthusiastic, if at all. The general consensus was to reject Gods
offer, and to accept of the Assyrian offer.
A bad choice.
The house of Jacob, is a
reference to differentiate the one true God in all of creation, as opposed to all
other gods or philosophies that man has invented throughout the ages.
The house of Jacob
likewise differentiates the people of God as genetic descendants from Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob, or the Israelites, as opposed to the people that are not of
God, also described as foreigners and strangers.
The house of Jacob
finally also describes those who have believed in the Messiah and Savior, who
we also know as Jesus Christ, as opposed to those who reject Christ, also known
as unbelievers.
So, just because you are
born of Abraham, does not mean that you are going to believe in Christ.
Just because you are a
believer in Christ does not mean that you are positive toward God or Christ or
doctrine.
Judah was full of Jews
who had not believed in the Savior to whom they so religiously and regularly offered
sacrifices. Judah was also full of Jews
who did not adhere to the principles taught by the scriptures and sacrifices.
Judah was full of
unbelieving Jews, and spiritually negative believers.
God, offers much favor to
those who treasure truth and His counsel for righteousness.
But to those who reject
God and doctrine, He withdraws His favor.
And the turning His head away, or the hiding of His face, is a phrase
that describes God as withholding his favor, and letting the people go in the
direction of their choice.
God controls history. He can control history directly, indirectly,
or by permission. And here the third method
is in view.
God only answers prayer
requests that are in compliance with His divine plan. God only answers prayers from positive advancing
believers.
But there is a situation
when God will not only answer, but grant the wishes of those who are outside of
that realm.
And when negative
believers reject God, when unbelievers reject God, then they are in effect
asking to be left alone and to be able to go their own way, even if that way,
unknowingly to them, is the wrong way.
And so God lets them have their request.
Unfortunately unbelievers
end up in the Lake of Fire, and believers end up in eternity without
reward. And in this world, everyone ends
up with many varying degrees of problems or worldly benefits in life, as the
case may be. This was what they wanted,
or what they pursue. And ultimately in
the end, God gives them what they want, even though it will not be good.
And as for Isaiah, and
all who take life seriously and as God has intended life to be, he and they
will wait, knowing full well that trouble is coming, but they intend to trust
in God, regardless of what occurs.
In Isaiah’s day, he knew
that an invasion was coming and that it would not be good. Yet, in either life or in death, Isaiah and
believers of the time, would trust in God to do with them which was best for
them, whether they survived or not.
As for our day, we know,
or you should know by now, that the world is pretty much anti-God and
anti-Christ, and certainly anti-doctrine.
So, you know that trouble will be on the horizon sooner or later. That trouble could be due to many little
problems that come along such as bad weather, or poor economic times, or any
number of other problems that can occur in ones life.
Also, we know that the
Bible has given us certain signs of the end of times, such as any of the many
increases of occurrences of activities in the world, including the great
apostasy that will clearly be present at the end of our dispensation.
And even though we know
that these things may occur over the course of several generations, our
objective is not to spend our time worrying over this event or that event
trying to figure out Gods calendar, but our responsibility is to our individual
spiritual growth to maturity.
With that growth, you
will be prepared no matter what comes along.
The objective of life in
this world is not to be successful from this world, but to be spiritually prepared
for eternity. And even though many
spiritual preparations, call for responsibility in the activities in this
world, we are to not grow indifferent toward, but to make time for, our
spiritual side of life.
The world will drift
along in its fog and God will withhold His favor as He sees fit. But as for those who remain obedient and
positive toward Gods will, then favor will always be there regardless of the
circumstances that will exist in the world.
You just have to figure out
on which side of favor you are going to live your life.
Hab 2:3:
For the vision is yet for
an appointed time,
But at the end it shall
speak, and not lie:
Though it tarry, wait for
it;
Because it will surely
come, it will not tarry.
