Isaiah 63
The Rest of God’s Hesed!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, March 8.
In Isaiah 63, after invoking the Divine Warrior imagery of the Messiah, Isaiah proclaimed the covenant faithfulness of God – His hesed. He made it very clear that it was not the people’s faithfulness that rescued them from Egyptian slavery and brought them into the Promised Land, the land of rest (Joshua 21:43-45). Rather, it was the covenantal love of God, His hesed, as proclaimed in Isaiah 63:7, “I shall make mention of the lovingkindnesses [hesed] of the Lord, the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has granted us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which He has granted them according to His compassion and according to the abundance of His lovingkindnesses [hesed].” It was God’s hesed that persevered with the people of God and led them into His rest, as stated in verses 12-14:
Who caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name, who led them through the depths? Like the horse in the wilderness, they did not stumble; as the cattle which go down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest. So You led Your people, to make for Yourself a glorious name.
In the same way, it is Jesus who leads us into the rest of God’s hesed. As Paul declared in Colossians 1:13-14, “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” When we are in Christ, we enter the rest of Jesus’ covenant obedience to the Father, who bestowed upon Him the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:5-13). Find rest by taking on the easy yoke of Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30; Galatians 5:1).
Seize the moment and diligently enter His rest by walking by the Spirit (Hebrews 4:10-11; Galatians 5:16-25).
God bless you!
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